Housing Developer Offers $120 Million For Top Canadian Course

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Thanks to reader MJ for this stunning Globe and Mail story about the National Golf Club of Canada considering a $120 million sale to a real estate developer. The No. 3 course in Canada in Golf Digest’s latest ranking and an exclusive all-men’s club, is situated on prime Toronto real estate but has members fleeing due to excessive difficulty and cost.

From Andrew Willis’ story:

When noted golf architects George and Tom Fazio designed the National, which opened in 1974, it was well north of Toronto’s suburbs. Over more than four decades, the city swallowed the club. Large homes now surround the course, while shopping malls, Canada’s Wonderland amusement park and a subway station are minutes away.

In recent years, an increasing number of National members decided to unload their stakes, in part because aging golfers often find the course too challenging to play enjoyably. Not enough new members stepped forward and there are currently more sellers of memberships than buyers, according to Roxborough, who declined to comment on the exact numbers. Several sources at the National, whom The Globe And Mail granted confidentiality to because they were not authorized to speak for the club, said dozens of members are currently trying to sell their stakes, which typically change hands for around $40,000. Annual dues at the club are about $12,000.

Hundreds of course closures have occurred in recent years, but I’m fairly certain this would vie as the most significant

On Tiger: "Four rounds without the troubling signs of the summer should be enough."

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Bob Harig at ESPN.com assesses what we’ve seen from Tiger since landing in Japan and revealing how long the surgically repaired knee has been an issue. While Harig sets a low bar, it’s the right one given this being Woods’ first start since August and also likely his last until December’s Hero World Challenge.

He acknowledged Monday that the knee surgery he had in August was something he meant to do a year ago, but put it off after winning the Tour Championship. After capturing the Masters, his knee slowly got worse, to the point that it was difficult for him to squat and read putts.

He said the knee pain and uneasy walking led to other issues with his back. He also withdrew from a tournament with an oblique injury.

Perhaps this is the explanation for Woods looking out of sorts for most of the summer. Why the back stiffness and unsteady gait led to some unseemly scores, especially for the Masters champion. And maybe it is why he seemed so at ease Monday, knowing that things are on the right path.

He did look genuinely at ease walking, swinging and playing the role of entertainer. That certainly was a far cry from the gimpy, bruised-and-battered looking golfer we saw post-Masters. Add it all up and this increases the intrigue around his Presidents Cup captain’s pick status and more importantly, 2020.

Technology Debate: "Those Superfast Nike Shoes Are Creating a Problem"

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Many thanks to reader JH for sending Amby Burfoot fascinating look at Nike’s new technologically superior shoes causing serious rules consternation. This follows a pair of remarkable performances by Eliud Kipchoge in Vienna and Brigid Kosgei in Chicago prompting calls for more stringent rules on legal running shoes.

Here’s the part about the recent design breakthrough:

The Nike shoes also include a carbon fiber plate in the midsole. This plate might increase energy return, or it might improve foot function during the running stride. Either way, the plate is prominently mentioned in Nike’s patent application.

Nike-supported experts soon published papers in scientific journals showing that the Vaporfly shoes could improve marathon times up to 3 percent. That sounds small until you consider it is often the difference between a gold medal and a quickly forgotten fifth-place finish.

The results were so astounding, in fact, that some considered them as just another example of Nike sports marketing.

“I was skeptical at first, but then came the second and third and fourth report,” said Ross Tucker of the Science of Sport website. “I had to change my skepticism. Now I think the effect is real, and large.”

And this may sound familiar to those interested in the golf techology debate. The quote is from a rival manufacturer whose runners appear to now be at a disadvantage:

Nike is well known in the patent world for its large and increasingly frequent applications. It also has plenty of lawyers, though no one can say what might happen in any patent infringement case until it is litigated.

White said he would be unhappy if the I.A.A.F. tightened its shoe regulation policies. “We could end up limiting creativity and losing the chance to improve running shoes for the everyday runner,” he noted. “I think the ‘must be widely available’ part of the rule is the best answer.”

The everyday runner is likely not seeing the advantage that the elite runner is getting. Sound familiar?

GroundBreaking: A First Look At PGA Of America's New 36-Hole Frisco Facility

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The Dallas Morning News’ Scott Bell attended the Governor William J. Le Petomane Thruway, err, I mean, Silicon Valley of Golf groundbreaking on some of Frisco’s finest farmland.

The usual groundbreaking speeches and demos were presented, though refreshing in the videos below with Gil Hanse and Beau Welling discussing their works, the “fun” word was mentioned as the priority. Imagine that ten or fifteen years ago.

The golf portion includes two 18-hole championship courses -- the East Course and the West Course -- as well as a short course and practice areas. Organizers expect the new PGA of America headquarters to become the home of national player development and coaching programs.

In total, the city of Frisco expects more than $2.5 billion in economic development over the next two decades, according to an economic impact study it commissioned.

Preparation for major golf events is already underway

There will be no shortage of big events taking place at PGA Frisco.

The site has been promised 23 championship events over a 13-year span, including six majors across the PGA, LPGA and Champions Tours: PGA Championship (2027, 2034), Women’s PGA Championship (2025, 2031) and Senior PGA Championship (2023, 2029).

Ticket sign-ups for those events coming soon, get them if they ever have the chance to last!

A couple of preview videos, first with Hanse and Welling, and a second with a look at the land plan that includes a par-3 course and Himalayas “interactive” putting green.

"It was like the Skins game version of Between Two Ferns. In that way it was almost endearingly bad."

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Almost!

Look, golf on TV is hard to do. The Skins Game succeeded for two decades in part because it was only nine holes per day and tape delayed. And the money meant something back then. So did the timing of Thanksgiving weekend.

The revitalized and much-hyped MGM Grand Resorts The Challenge Japan Skins was played to provide GOLFTV Powered by the PGA Tour content and to kick off the Tour’s first official Japan event was bound to be imperfect. And other than not playing a practice round or taking their warm-up very seriously, leading to some loose golf early on, the players did their part. But the actual event execution was abysmal, from the broadcast production to the brilliant idea of playing a rushed 18 holes (instead of two days of nine holes). A foursome of Trevino, Demaret, Hagen and Palmer couldn’t have come off well with these constraints.

The Golf.com gang’s take, including the Josh Sens line from the headline above:

Michael Bamberger, senior writer: It looked like a practice round on a course that would never be the site for a PGA Tour event, here in the lower 48. I should say I fell asleep before the gents reached the fourth green. It was just guys playing golf and spreading good cheer. They weren’t raising money for war bonds, but it was still a good time and at times a good cause. What’s not to like?

Alan Shipnuck, senior writer (@AlanShipnuck): I didn’t make it to the back nine. The golf was sloppy, the course uninspired, the banter forced and cheesy, the money laughably small. But other than that…

Josh Sens, contributor (@JoshSens): Well, that was one weird show. The production itself was almost local cable access quality — you could hear the players talking and then you couldn’t; the shot tracer worked and then it didn’t; the images glitched and jumped then steadied. It was like the Skins game version of Between Two Ferns. In that way it was almost endearingly bad. I kind of liked how unslick it was.

Maybe the kids today and the adults who put all of the capital into appearance fees instead of the Skins and production will have found this acceptable. But it’s hard to imagine Tiger and friends will want to be associated with a glorified Periscope broadcast, no matter how lavish the appearance fees.

As we discussed on Morning Drive, it’s hard to have fun banter or great Skins moments when you’re in a hurry:

Rory: "He's super competitive like we all are. I see where he's coming from.''

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Rory McIlroy diffused any kind of potential manspat with World No. 1 Brooks Koepka, for now.

Bob Harig reporting for ESPN.com from Chiba, after the MGM Grand The Challenge Japan Skins Powered By The PGA Tour In the The Middle Of The Night.

"What Brooks said wasn't wrong,'' said McIlroy, who was competing with Tiger Woods, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama on Monday at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, the site of this week's Zozo Championship.

"He's been the best player in the world for the last couple of years. Four majors. Don't think he had to remind me that I haven't won one in a while. I love Brooks. He's a great guy. He's super competitive like we all are. I see where he's coming from.''

McIlroy’s on-course chat with Hennie Zuehl during The Challenge:

"Braggadocious Brooks stands out for reasons that are obvious."

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Nice work by Eamon Lynch to explain for Golfweek readers why some are so offended by Brooks Koepka’s blunt ways:

Boastfulness isn’t much embraced in professional golf. A sport that prides itself on being a gentleman’s game is predisposed to treat bombast as vulgarity. Through that muted lens, Walter Hagen was viewed as more carnival barker than confident champion. Greg Norman held his ego largely in check until he moved wholly into business, at which point it was a brand asset. Even at his peak, Tiger Woods lets his clubs speak for him, though that didn’t stop the sniping about his aloofness and fist-pumping being unbecoming.

Golf has long lionized stars who conduct themselves as though inhabited by the ghost of Byron Nelson: courteous throwbacks to a time when sportsmen were free of profanity, scandal and indictments. Blandness over bluster. Against that colorless standard, Braggadocious Brooks stands out for reasons that are obvious.

Matt Every Suspension And Poll: Is Marijuana Performance-Enhancing For Golf?

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In some dark corners of the internet you’ll find outrage that tour player Matt Every’s second suspension for being in the vicinity of Mary Jane is a sign of some sort of tone-deaf problem. Even though the drug policy is set by WADA, the PGA Tour has issued warnings ad nauseum to players reminding them of the policy and a common sense belief that marijuana could be a performance enhancing, some think it’s a different beast.

Eamon Lynch at Golfweek does not believe so:

Count me among those who believe recreational drug use that doesn’t improve performance is no one else’s business. But all players know the Tour policy is in line with stringent World Anti-Doping Agency protocols. That’s what Every signed up to.

This week was a gentle reminder of the pitfalls inherent in the PGA Tour’s old marketing line, “These Guys Are Good,” which implies there isn’t a jerk, blowhard, cheat or abuser among them. Most guys are good, to be fair, but the Tour’s reputation need not be symbiotic with those who play it. Hitching its image to the conduct of individual players risks the Tour being embarrassed with every minor transgression, and crucified when a major one invariably comes.

That Every has already served three months for a prior violation, continued the use and did not apologize in issuing a statement, suggests either he may continue the practice when he returns to the PGA Tour.

“For me, cannabis has proven to be, by far, the safest and most effective treatment,” Every said. “With that being said, I have no choice but to accept this suspension and move on. I knew what WADA’s policy was and I violated it. I don’t agree with it for many reasons, mainly for my overall well-being, but I’m excited for what lies ahead in my life and career.”

While he says the doctor who has treated him since age five could not provide any other alternative remedy for his issues, Every has never suggested he filed for, and was denied, a Therapeutic Use Exemption. Nor has the PGA Tour deviated from WADA with regard to marijuana, as they have in a few other areas.

Which brings us back to the core issue: is marijuana potentially performance enhancing?

I have no idea but given that Matt Every stuck with it after one suspension and never suggested he ever applied for its use medicinally, it was not performance unenhancing.

Whether pot usage is enough to alter outcomes is another story. But in the grander scheme, as its usage is legalized in more places and a younger generation sees it as harmless, golf and WADA may need to study its impact on performance. I don’t need a case made but there may be a surprising number of fans who struggle to understand what the big deal is all about.

So…simple question based on your views of the game and what you know about cannibas…

Is marijuana performance enhancing for golf?
 
pollcode.com free polls



"Tonight’s event, for Woods, really is about GOLFTV. "

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While it’s hard to take The Challenge too seriously given that the purse is lower than the original Skins Game (1983) and a third of what Mickelson, Mediate, Choi and Ames played for in 2008 before sending Skins six-feet under.

Still, there should be plenty of things to watch for in the midnight ET event on Golf Channel, which is carrying the event in America while GOLFTV Powered by the PGA Tour beams the Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama and Jason Day exhibition to the rest of the world.

Michael Bamberger at Golf.com thanks Tiger for spicing up what would have been just a nice, average fall night for late night golf viewers. But he also makes clear in this Golf.com column this is about Tiger clocking in and earning some credits on his GOLFTV Powered By The PGA Tour deal.

Tonight’s event, for Woods, really is about GOLFTV. His contract with GOLFTV looms large in his life. Woods has done only one interview about winning his fifth green coat win since leaving Augusta National on Masters Sunday, and that interview was a GOLFTV production. The interview was conducted by Henni Zuel and it lasted 28 minutes, but Woods likely got credit for an even half-hour. It’s an excellent interview, by the way, but too short.

Woods will surely have more to say about that Masters win in his memoir, Back. No publication date has been announced. In the interest of synergy, GOLFTV could film Woods while he is writing his book. That could be interesting.

No one should have to see that, or whoever it is doing the transcribing.

Anyway, as Bamberger correctly notes, the game face will come on later in the week in the inaugural Zozo Championship where we’ll find out the state of Woods’ game.

Hovland Sets New Mark: 19 Straight PGA Tour Rounds Under 70

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This Golfweek item was posted after the PGA Tour rookie posted a 69 to set the mark of 18 under-70 rounds in a row.

Viktor Hovland followed with a second round 69 in the CJ Cup to make it 19.

More astounding may be the sight of only one round over 71, as seen in this Tweet (again, before round two’s 69):


"Caracas Country Club: Where the 0.01% Await Socialism’s Collapse"

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Bloomberg’s Ethan Bronner takes us inside Venezuela’s Caracas Country Club, where the dress code standards have been slipping. But given what’s going on outside the club gates, it’s a minor issue for the historic club situated amidst a crumbling country.

It may seem remarkable, if not obscene, that a citadel like this exists, and thrives, in the middle of one of the world’s most violent and distressed cities, the capital of a country whose economy has collapsed and where malnutrition and disease rates are soaring. Millions have emigrated to escape the grind of finding enough to eat, of living without reliable electricity or tap water. And here, inside a gracious hacienda where chandeliers twinkle overhead, there is renewed focus on sartorial protocol.

Bronner’s piece goes on to consider the many striking and bizarre issues facing the country club set in a place of turmoil.

Brandel: Koepka Was "Disrespectful" Toward McIlroy

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I was hoping for something less level-headed, but Brooks Koepka’s good buddy Brandel Chamblee makes a solid case in refuting the World No. 1’s recent remarks. Saying he’s added “fuel to a rivalry that definitely exists,” Chamblee convinced me that Koepka’s “he hasn’t won a major in five years” jab was, in fact, disrespectful when viewed through the context of golf greats.

The 2020 PGA Tour Off-Season Will Last All Of Seven Days...

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For those who grew restless during the expansive two-week off-season following the 2018-19 PGA Tour season, The Forecaddie has great news: this week’s Korn Ferry Tour schedule release has that tour’s playoffs going head-to-head with the PGA Tour Playoffs so that the two tours finish on the same weekend.

That’s to give the players a much needed one-week vacation before the 2020-21 season starts September 7th. Which is also the first week of the NFL season, traditionally.

So much for getting away from the start of football season.

Something Went Terribly Wrong With The Ryder Cup Ticket Sale, The PGA Of America Has No Explanation And Fans Have Turned Into Non-Fans

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Twitter gripes can be found any time tickets go on sale for an in-demand event. And while I have no scientific way of gauging the outrage over Wednesday’s “lottery” to purchase Ryder Cup tickets, it would appear unprecedented.

Worse for the enormous uptick in complaints and volume of scorned patrons has kicked off the 202 Ryder Cup countdown in nightmarish fashion.

But I bring some good news. More on that momentarily.

The primary issues involve the lack of a lottery sensibility detected by fans and a landslide of unsuccessful outcomes due to a combination of technical problems. The situation appears to have been worsened by immediate offers to the unsuccessful buyers for purchase of wildly marked-up prices on the PGA of America’s exchange partner, PrimeSport, with Sunday prices already starting at at $427.50 per ticket.  

The PGA of America, 2020 Ryder Cup hosts, had no further comment beyond a Tweet citing unprecedented demand. 

If you have the time, read the replies to that Tweet. The sheer volume and intensity of the complaints is pretty staggering given how many ticket buyers should have walked away with something for the highly anticipated event.

Despite the onslaught of unhappy replies covering the gamut of frustration to accusations of price fixing, the mood worsened when a second Tweet—receiving just as many angry replies—suggested to those unable to buy tickets from the PGA of America’s secondary market provider and purveyor of travel packages, PrimeSport.  A similarly disastrous post with equally vitriolic replies appeared on Instagram.

The notice to buy marked-up tickets greeted some waiting as long as three hours for the chance to buy Ryder Cup tickets. That’s a bit like being turned away from the nightclub and then being asked to pay for the privilege of sweeping the red carpet.

When combined with extensive reports of processing issues and “high volume” customer support messages, the reactions were extensive and ugly. The words “scam” and “fraud” and “class-action lawsuit” were widely bandied about, with fans questioning the year-long collection of email addresses only to sense there was little organization behind the lottery process.

I asked on Twitter about positive experiences and while some replied in the affirmative, the majority continued to reply about a terrible process, even when they did get through.

The entire affair is, if nothing else, a huge wake-up call for the PGA of America heading into the highly-anticipated affair. Demand to attend the matches appears unprecedented. This should have come as a surprise to no one given the passionate Wisconsin and worldwide Ryder Cup fan base.

Still, the inconsistency in wait times, experiences and overall satisfaction suggests the web technology was woefully unprepared for Wednesday’s sale. Even buyers who got through reported long waits, glitches and expressed gratitude after multiple click attempts helped finalized their purchase.

What this means for the on-site experience remains to be seen, but recent Ryder Cups have seen huge crowds despite only a few groups on the course at a time (Saturday and Sunday). Hazeltine National, host in 2016, worked well enough despite what appeared to be way more fans than the even could handle. But finding places to walk and sit at Hazeltine’s farmland-turned-golf course is a much different affair than Whistling Strait’s farmland-turned-rugged Pete Dye design.

I asked the PGA’s spokesperson for a ballpark on the number of daily tickets being sold was, but the PGA would not disclose. Needless to say, we also will never know how many tickets were guaranteed to the third party exchange beyond the pre-allotted travel packages.

So that good news I mentioned?

This year’s PGA Championship, aggressively priced and featuring huge ticket quantities scooped up by third party-exchanges, were sold at rock-bottom prices. While it’s hard to imagine $6 Ryder Cup tickets next September, do not be surprised to see another fire sale. Or maybe Captain Steve Stricker’s request will be realized, though given the difficulty of navigating Whistling Straits, be careful what you wish for: