Troon Golf Buys Indigo, Raising Portfolio Up To 630 18-Hole Courses

Adam Schupak of Golfweek has the details on Troon’s purchase of Indigo Golf Partners, formerly Billy Casper Golf. The number of courses under the Troon banner is pretty staggering. Also noteworthy is the expansion for Troon into muni’s and lower-green fee golf:

Troon substantially increases its portfolio of facilities with the acquisition of Indigo Golf Partners – the company now provides managed services at 585-plus locations around the globe, including managing 630-plus 18-hole equivalent golf courses. In particular, the deal diversifies Troon’s portfolio of client properties that had been heavily weighted to the high-end daily-fee category. Indigo Golf Partners, which focused primarily on providing services to the municipal golf space and facilities with lower price points, brings more accessible golf under the Troon umbrella.

Indigo Golf Partners is one of the largest golf-course management companies in the United States, owning and operating more than 160 golf courses, country clubs and resorts in 29 states. Members and guests of Indigo-managed facilities will continue to experience the same level of service, course conditions and food and beverage options, the company said in a release.

NLU Podcast: Lisa Cornwell Shares Allegations Of Golf Channel Mistreatment

Adam Woodward and Julie Williams at Golfweek break down Lisa Cornwell’s appearance on the No Laying Up podcast. Most concerning to viewers is the incident detailed related to this fall’s ANA Inspiration when Cornwell shared on air that LPGA player and early contender Xi Yu Lin had been unable to get new Mizuno clubs after a fitting two weeks before the ANA Inspiration. She ended up buying the sticks in the latest oddball tale of a manufacturer not giving an LPGA equipment, even as USGA rules allow for freebies that manufacturers now regularly shower on young (mostly male) amateur players.

It certainly was legitimate news but Cornwell received pushback from headquarters and was pulled from her assignment for not checking with Mizuno. Certainly a reporting mistake but one compounded by a Golf Channel correction that was not correct.

After that round, Cornwell described a heated phone call from Russell over the way it was handled, namely that Cornwell did not call Mizuno to confirm the story before mentioning it on air. Cornwell said she was aware of many other LPGA players who had a similar experience with other equipment companies as Lin.

Golf Channel brought Cornwell home from the event after that round and she did not conduct another post-round LPGA interview on air through the end of the year. Golf Channel also sent a correction concerning Cornwell’s reporting of the Mizuno incident via Twitter. Lin and the club fitter both responded that the correction was not actually correct, and Cornwell said a Golf Channel HR manager admitted the same to her. The tweet remained on Golf Central Twitter anyway.

Cornwell said the events were prominent in her next correspondence with the EEOC.

“A man, in his 60s, who was my boss, screaming and cussing me out and sending me home over a gender-related issue from a women’s golf tournament during the middle of a retaliation, gender-discrimination, EEOC case,” she said on the podcast. “I don’t know what organization allows that to happen but Golf Channel didn’t do anything about it.”

The full podcast is here or wherever you subscribe:

-@LisaCornwellGC’s seven year tenure at the Golf Channel recently came to an end. She has spoken out on social media about how she was treated there, and now joins the podcast to tell her story.

Apple: https://t.co/I0mWYhWd1O pic.twitter.com/pbaeZsjpsJ

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) January 4, 2021

**Hall of Famer Karrie Webb has voiced support for Cornwell:

Truly respect @LisaCornwellGC for taking this stance. There’s no place for this kind of treatment of women anywhere! The golf industry and the @GolfChannel is no exception either. Well done Lisa! 👏👏 https://t.co/pgQMMCCfS4

— Karrie Webb AO (@Karrie_Webb) January 5, 2021

World No. 2 Rahm Moves To Callaway...

The new year occasionally brings a top player coming off a huge year making a lucrative move from one manufacturer to another.

David Dusek on world No. 2 Jon Rahm going from Taylor Made to Callaway and assorted brands under their umbrella for an undisclosed, but likely lucrative sum given how a few top players recently prioritizing play with what they like most, even at a cost to their pocketbook:

According to Callaway, Rahm plans to use prototype woods and irons, Callaway JAWS Forged wedges and a Callaway Chrome Soft X golf ball. While he is not expected to start 2021 using an Odyssey putter, he has been testing different models and is expected to add one to his bag in the coming weeks.  

“The equipment is already performing well for me,” said Rahm, who added that when he played his first round with his new gear at Silverleaf Golf Club in Scottsdale, he scored a course-record 59.

Rahm is in this week’s field for the Sentry Tournament Of Champions and Point Earners.

2020 In Review And Looking Ahead To 2021 Here At GeoffShackelford.com

I’ve thought long and hard about my 2020 year in review and while I’d love to dwell on the Dodgers finally winning it all or yours truly joining the list of Kentucky Derby winning owners, it was by any metric, a positively awful year.

With that, I would like to thank the over 1 million unique visitors to this blog in 2020 with a heartfelt but succinct recap of the worst year ever:

.

Moving along to 2021, I anticipate one of the zaniest years in golf history lies ahead. The recreational sport will keep thriving due to altered social engagement patterns (more time!), changing ways of life (fewer commutes), and a continued appreciation for fresh air.

The professional game will see an acceleration of trends. Some positive, most not and probably deservedly shedding some tournaments from schedules. This will provide more fodder than I’d like as one can only spend so much time reading about playing opportunities, premature moves to welcome fans back before they’ve been vaccinated, or marketing-fueled hyping of an increasingly boring game to watch. And let’s not forget the forthcoming excuses by the governing bodies to avoid touching distance gains.

I could go on and on about what will make the off-course moves fascinating quite often and needlessly repetitive at other times. For now, I must end this abbreviated 2021 preview with a tease: coverage here at GeoffShackelford.com will continue free of charge and the snark will still shine through to help us weather these tough times. As a team.

However, very shortly I’ll be announcing a pivot in my coverage that I’m very excited about. It will allow me to focus on the events, courses and trends that I love. I hope you’ll agree and join me for the ride. Stay tuned. But for now, Happy New Year and thank you for your continued readership.

"Win Equity" Stat A Fascinating Study And One We Probably Won't See Adapted By Tours

When I saw the euphemistic-sounding “Win Equity” stat cooked up by John Ezekowitz , a No Laying Up fan fed up with debates over Tony Finau’s one win status, I feared an excuse-maker for players who seem to have immense talent, contend a lot, but just don’t seem to win much.

But just based on my C+ math skills, this seemed like a pretty neat bit of research that looks how players perform on the weekend and how often they are genuinely unlucky to lose. We’ve had our share over the years and more recently, Rickie Fowler and Tony Finau have gotten the most attention.

Anyway, check out his Medium post here. This is Strokes Gained level stat-re-imagination but I wouldn’t count on adoption by the PGA Tour since it could put a player in a negative light (even though the stat also validates who have been recently clutch performers, something fans and the, eh-em, investors would like to know).

This can be illustrated through a stat I call Win Equity, which is defined as Expected Wins given Actual Play minus Expected Wins entering Round 4. Generating positive Win Equity means that a player outperformed his expectations, ignoring what others shot. This stat best removes luck from the equation of final round play.

Finau’s performance in Win Equity especially noteworthy: in the 36 final rounds where Finau has entered in the top 10, he has added win equity through his play in only 3 of them (2017 Valero Texas Open, 2019 HSBC Champions and 2018 Safeway Open). That is by far the lowest rate amongst these players.

Forbes: Declared Losses Now At "Roughly $90 Million" On Trump's European Golf Resorts

On top of the Scotsman’s reporting about Trump Golf’s year-end Scottish property declarations, Forbes’ Dan Alexander couples Doonbeg’s losses into the tally.

Since the president opened his Aberdeen course in 2012, he has lost $15.5 million. Business has been even worse at Turnberry, which Trump bought in 2014 for $65 million. Despite investing an additional $75 million or so to fix up the property from 2014 to 2018, the place piled up losses of $58 million, according to an analysis of financial reports. The 2019 figures, first reported by the Scotsman, bring Turnberry’s total losses to $61 million since 2014.

The Turnberry and Aberdeen properties make up half of Trump’s troubled portfolio of golf resorts. In Doonbeg, Ireland, he spent nearly $20 million on a third property, the Trump International Golf Links & Hotel, in 2014. The president poured in another $12 million from 2015 to 2018, but he failed to see much of a return, racking up about $9 million in losses. Irish documents released in December show an additional $1.5 million of losses in 2019.

The Turnberry losses seem the least alarming given the amount of money put into the resort, but the lack of turnaround at Trump International Aberdeen and Doonbeg can’t bode well for the future given the relatively low development or purchase costs.

In other golf-related news, the (reluctantly) outgoing President cut short a busy slate of Florida golf to return to Washington so he could work the phones. His holiday golf included rounds with a group that included Rickie Fowler and another with Bernhard Langer, who vouched for the pardon of developer James Batmasian, reports the Daily Mail’s Harriet Alexander.

On December 23, Trump announced that he was pardoning South Florida real estate developer James Batmasian. The pardon was backed by Langer, GOP Congressman Brian Mast and 'many others from the South Flroida community', according to a White House statement.

Peter Dawson Made A CBE In New Year Honours List For "Services To Golf"

Only the Queen knows what services made retired Chief Inspector Peter Dawson worth of a “Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire”. Perhaps his old pal the Duke of York weighed in from exile with a good word?

Anyhow… congrats to the former R&A chief and Dubai golf-grower for the honor despite overseeing the bastardization of the Old Course and years of resisting an Open at Royal Portrush.

His successor Martin Slumbers chimed in with a congratulatory message.

Martin Slumbers, who succeeded Mr Dawson as Chief Executive of The R&A and Secretary of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club, said, “On behalf of all of us at The R&A and the Club I would like to congratulate Peter on being made a CBE. It is thoroughly deserved recognition for the sterling work he has done over many years in supporting and growing the game not only here at the home of golf in St Andrews but throughout the world.”

Oh it grew…with tees on the Eden, the New, the Jubilee and the Himalayas. Splendid.

Trump Turnberry, Aberdeen Report Another Year Of Losses

The Scotsman’s Martyn McLaughlin reports that 2019 was another year of reported losses for Trump Golf’s two Scottish golf properties, with increased revenues at Turnberry but £4.86m in depreciation and amortization write offs, marking the sixth year in a row in the red.

The new filings, posted at Companies House, cover the 12 months to 31 December 2019, and do not reflect the widespread disruption to Turnberry’s business brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

But they show that since the outgoing US president took over the historic property in 2014, its losses now total nearly £45m.

It comes just days after accounts for Mr Trump’s inaugural Scottish resort in Aberdeenshire posted losses of £1.1m, the eighth consecutive year it has been in the red.

Norman Speaks To Today Show About Surviving The Coronavirus He Would Not Wish On Anyone

Good for Greg Norman in highlighting how, in spite of his remarkable fitness at age 65, he experienced the brutality of COVID-19.

Speaking to the Today Show’s Gabe Gutierrez, Norman reiterates the need to take this seriously and avoid getting the coronavirus at all costs. As silly as it sounds ten months into the pandemic, his message remains important for skeptics to hear (and maybe will quiet his criticism of leaders enacting rules to help stem the spread?.

Norman also says he started feeling symptoms Sunday of the PNC Championship just two days after attending this party and photo shoot with most of the field. The piece ends with Gutierrez saying the Today Show reached out to the “PGA” for comment and “have not heard back”.

The full feature and interview:

Golf icon Greg Norman is recovering after a harrowing struggle with COVID-19 that saw him hospitalized twice over the past week. @gabegutierrez reports. pic.twitter.com/4SIdIsWzoE

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 29, 2020

Books! Proctor's Monarch Of The Green, Pettit's MacKenzie Reader, McStravick's Road War Papers

It’s that time of year when chances are pretty good you got a golf trinket you didn’t want and still await that amazing golf book you mumbled out loud about. Well, I don’t like your chances so might as well treat yourself.

I’ve only read one of the three but have good reason to believe the other two, while pricey, will be real keepers.

My favorite read of a summer we were deprived of links golf comes from American Stephen Proctor who meticulously researched Monarch of the Green: Young Tom Morris, Pioneer of the Game.

A former senior editor at the Baltimore Sun, the San Francisco Chronicle and Houston Chronicle, Proctor took on the difficult task of telling Young Tom Morris’ story and delivered a highly readable, immensely satisfying work of non-fiction despite the—spoiler here—dark ending. I note the non-fiction component given the previously published and also superb, Tommy’s Honour, Kevin Cook’s researched and fictionalized account of the Morris’. While the liberties were small, any created dialogue can be a killer for some (it was not for me, a credit to Cook’s respect for the subject matter).

While telling the story of Young Tom, Proctor also introduces to the origins of The Open, life in St Andrews and other areas without ever straying from telling the incredible life story. A must if you are going to Scotland or dreaming along those lines. Aren’t we all these days?

Another great Scot—when he wanted to be—is going to be chronicled in a much needed compilation of writings, photos, plans and other information. Josh Pettit’s MacKenzie Reader is at the printer and will provide an update to the prior MacKenzie coffee table book by Tom Doak. So much has been uncovered since that excellent work and I can’t wait to see what Pettit ultimately will surprise and delight us with (I’ve seen portions and also contributed a short piece on the Good Doctor’s less-than-rosy days spent in L.A.).

Ordering information is here.

Today, 30 August 2020, is Dr. Alister MacKenzie’s 150th birthday (b. 30 August 1870). In commemoration of the Good Doctor’s sesquicentennial the MacKenzie Institute is pleased to announce the new book "The MacKenzie Reader" is now available for pre-order https://t.co/MoxaNfqglH

— Dr. Alister MacKenzie (@DoctorMacKenzie) August 31, 2020

Reading about a nasty fight over a road does not exactly sound very golfy, but owning Roger McStravick’s other well-researched works and knowing his passion for St Andrews, I can’t wait to find out more about those early days that shaped the town and led to an absurd war.

Nick Rodger profiles McStravick and previews the book here in this Herald story.

It seems we’ll also learn more about how the Old Course came to be. My copy is on order and I can’t wait.

“Everybody had written that the first hole was created in the 1840s or so,” he said. “But I found the receipt from the 1830s which showed the carter was being paid to take the rubbish from St Andrews, dump it on what was the beach, level it off and that reclaimed land was how the first hole was created. The man who actually did this, John Carstairs, talks about the whole case. The first hole is effectively built on the rubbish.”

For McStravick, the Old Course and St Andrews as a whole is the gift that keeps on giving. “There are so many wonderful twists and turns in the history of St Andrews and that’s the beauty of the place,” he said.

You can order the book here.

Masters Delays Ticketing Decision To Late January 2021

One hundred days from the first tee shot, ESPN.com’s Bob Harig reports that patron badge holders have been told the traditional January 1 “ticket process” has been delayed.

"As planning continues on how to stage the 2021 Masters Tournament safely and responsibly, we would like to inform you that Augusta National is delaying the ticket process for Patron Series Badges, which traditionally begins Jan. 1,'' the club said in an email to ticket holders.

"Our intention is to communicate our decisions for the 2021 Masters to all patrons of record by the end of January. No further action is needed with your account at this time.''

As Harig notes, all 2020 practice round tickets sold will be honored in 2021, adding to the decision-making challenge. Given the already lagging vaccine rollout and continued difficulty in getting rapid test results, the prospect of normal-sized galleries this April seems unlikely.

Yahoo Feature On Elite Golf’s Entry Barriers; Youth On Course Fundraising Issues

As part of Yahoo’s Privilege of Play series, Jay Busbee tackles the always complicated matter of entry into golf with a focus on aspirational professionals.

One element of the extensive feature saddened me, another put a smile on my face.

This was disappointing:

The issue of race remains phenomenally touchy in the world of golf, so much so that many in the sport would rather simply avoid the question rather than address it. Multiple PGA Tour players either declined to speak or didn’t respond to a Yahoo Sports inquiry on diversity in the ranks of golf. The First Tee program also declined to speak, aside from providing statistics on the program’s reach. 

Greg McLaughlin is the CEO of the First Tee, former confidante of Tiger Woods and is paid well presumably (Form 990’s related to his new World Golf Foundation gig are not available). I believe pathetic is the word that most comes to mind.

This also comes as some of the other programs designed to help introduce this expensive game to those of less privilege are struggling to raise necessary funds, including the incredible Youth On Course.

Paul Sullivan filed this New York Times story (thanks reader JB):

But the pandemic has also increased fund-raising challenges for nonprofit groups that are trying to open up a sport traditionally associated with wealth to young men and women in need — even as their numbers have surged this year. Through the largess of these groups, young people who could not afford to pay the course fees or buy the equipment learn the values of the sport and gain life skills.

One of the nonprofit groups, Youth on Course, subsidizes rounds of golf so young men and women can play for just $5. It has already reported a 100 percent increase in rounds this year, to over 400,000 from 205,000 in 2019. Memberships in the program rose to 100,000 young men and women from 70,000 last year.

On a lighter note, Busbee did highlight some exceptions of players who have overcome having nothing to make it.

Cue…much needed reminder of the artist that is Chi Chi Rodriguez.

A child of a broken home, his father never made more than $18 a day as a dishwasher and farm worker. Rodriguez fell in love with golf by watching players at a nearby public course, and taught himself well enough that he was winning club championships in his teens. Always a prankster, he’s cast his hardscrabble life in mythic, comical terms.

He’s the most visible example of a player working his way up from virtually nothing, and 50 years later, he remains a rarity.

And a beautiful coincidence, the PGA Tour Champions posted this collection of masterful Chi Chi moments today out of the blue. Imagine doing this with the flatbellies today. The horror!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by PGA TOUR Champions (@pgatourchampions)

"Bryson DeChambeau’s outsized impact in 2020 extended far beyond just his own game"

While he’ll probably lose out in the writers’ season-ending Player of the Year voting, 2020 in golf will forever be remembered as the year Bryson DeChambeau played a very different game en route to winning the U.S. Open.

Alan Shipnuck offered this in his year-end review of DeChambeau transformation and launch angle golf approach.

It’s hard to overstate the impressiveness of DeChambeau’s transformation; it was as if Tom Brady gained 40 pounds, made himself a fullback and then rushed for seven touchdowns to lead his team to victory. But could DeChambeau’s bruising new style prevail at any of golf’s Super Bowls, with their more penal setups? A strong run at the PGA Championship offered a clue, and then at the U.S. Open, in September, he overwhelmed one of the game’s brawniest courses, Winged Foot. The revolution was complete.

“It’s honestly hard to process what Bryson accomplished,” says Andy North, who won two U.S. Opens the old-fashioned way. “In so many ways it’s like he’s playing an entirely different game.”

Check out the rest of the piece here.

DeChambeau’s ultimate legacy may be the corner he put governing bodies in with 2020’s transformation. Any equipment rule changes potentially formulated pre-pandemic could look like they were targeting him if they attempt to impact launch conditions.

This is an optimistic take clearly since we’re more than 18 years since the Joint Statement of Principles and nothing has been done to protect the concerns spelled out back then during Bomb and Gouge, the prequel.

Bob Charles: “Shorten the tees, shorten the golf courses and shorten the performance of the ball’’

What a fabulous rant this is by Bob Charles on the absurd situation that is regulators having ignored doing their job.

Stuff’s Tony Smith talked to Charles about his biography and pointed thoughts in it on what a mess things have become.

As always I suggest hitting the link to enjoy it all, including his views on the new approach to U.S. Open golf. However, the 70-time winner and former Open champion’s view on the time rounds take and the women’s game was especially good:

The answer, Charles believes, would be to limit the power of the golf ball. He noted tennis and cricket balls had not “changed over the years’’, although cricket bat improvements had allowed the ball to be hit further.

“It’s a combination, in golf, of technology in clubs and balls, which are not doing anything for the good of the game.

“What people must know is that technology helps the fitter, stronger golfer much more so than it helps someone with a slow swing speed, the club golfer who only hits it 200 yards or less.’’

Charles, who still enjoys watching golf’s Majors on television “and events on courses I know and enjoy’’, is concerned that longer courses are leading to longer rounds, which could, potentially, put people off golf.

“When I first went to St Andrews, the course measured 6500 yards. Every tee was beside the green. The playing time for the members was between three to three-and-a-half hours. That was how I grew up – a round of golf took three to three-and-a-half hours.

“Now it’s taking four to four and a half hours. Watching those ladies play [in a LPGA event], they take five and a half hours. Now, what’s that doing for the game?”

I know! Nothing.

Outgoing IGF Head Dawson On Olympic Golf: "We would like to try to find...some kind of team format"

In a wide ranging interview broken up in to a pair of Insidethegames.com by Mike Rowbottom, outgoing International Golf Federation head Peter Dawson reflected on the Rio games, golf’s future in the Games and big (crowd) “numbers” he expects for Tokyo 2020 in 2021.

He also hinted at what might be plans for a team addition to the Games and defended the current 72-hole stroke play format.

"They [the IOC] wanted the format in the Olympic Games that was prevalent in the sport, not some fancy format for the Olympics," he said.

"And strokeplay is the way that golf largely determines its major champions."

Asked if he sees that changing, Dawson responded: "We would like to try to find a way, potentially, of getting at some kind of team format as part of the golf process.

"It would simply be the addition of the performances of the individuals, adding together their gross scores.

"There have been other formats where that has been done – at the Canada Cup and the World Golf Championships.

"A personal view is that I would like to see that add to the competitive landscape of the Games - but that’s a matter for others now.

Anything would be better than just two stroke play events. The bar is low, let’s raise it before golf gets run back out of the Games again.

Annika Sorenstam takes over as IGF head January 1.

Also worth reading is Rowbottom’s look back with Dawson at Rio 2016 and some of the wild comments in the run-up to those games ultimately boycotted by several players over Zika virus concerns.

Australia’s two-time British Open winner Greg Norman told The Sunday Times pre-Olympics: "There’s a disaster building. Google the name of it and you will see that it is located on what was a swamp.

"There are problems with pollution, with the perimeter property. You’re much more exposed to the possibility of a mosquito bite there than if you are competing inside the stadium.

"I hope that is their reasoning and it’s not just because they fancy a break. I fear now that golf might not survive beyond its two-Games cycle. The reputation of the sport looks like it is going to get a black eye over Rio."

McIlroy compounded the IGF’s discomfiture by subsequently claiming at a press conference: "I'll probably watch the Olympics, but I'm not sure golf will be one of the events I watch.” After being asked which events he would watch, the 27-year-old stated: "Probably the events like track and field, swimming, diving, the stuff that matters."

What we wouldn’t give now for the gravity of a Zika virus scare.