Video: Harvey Penick Piece From WGC Match Play Telecast
/They broke away from the spellbinding matchups last weekend to air this Jimmy Roberts-helmed piece on NBC. It’s a good watch if you were dozing or watching college basketball.
When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Walker Cup Ticket Policy Announced: Only $500 Trophy Club Passes Available
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May’s Walker Cup now has a ticket policy: limited attendance with only $500 three-day passes offered to those who signed up requesting information. No ticket option is currently listed on the Walker Cup site.
Three days with food and beverage puts it at $167 dollars a day.
Not clear? What constitutes the make up of those beverages.
The policy and some commentary was posted on Twitter:
Phil On TV: "Commentating is not going drive me to be in the gym...or drive me to drink green juice."
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Phil Mickelson boards a VistaJet as a luggage handler brings his clubs along.
Phil Mickelson opened up to Forbes’ Mike Doic in less-than-subtle puff piece to plug his VistaJet partnership. And it yielded some gems.
On the possibility of moving into television commentary:
“I can see myself as an announcer because when I look at the game of golf, I see things that others don’t and I’m able to articulate it, and I think I’d be really good at it,” Mickelson says before backtracking a little on the idea.
“But it doesn’t bring out the best in me personally. Commentating is not going drive me to be in the gym, like this morning, or drive me to drink green juice. I envision being on the road and not being as accountable to my overall health. I really need the game of golf to push me and bring out the best in me.”
Wait until he sees how the camera adds 10 pounds. It’ll be celery shots for dinner.
And sounding as first world as one possibly can on a non-April 1 day, he talks of fractional ownership perks. We can all relate to this kind of freedom:
“When Amy and I would travel to the mountains to go ski, I would need to know months in advance when I was going to go, so that I could get a hangar. Otherwise, if the plane sits outside, things freeze and there is a huge additional expense that always comes up,” Mickelson explains.
“With, VistaJet, they handle that problem. We don’t have to tell them months in advance. We can tell them hours in advance, and they drop us off wherever we want to go and they deal with all the logistics,” he adds.
I’ve always said, it’s hangar rentals that just kill the joys of ownership.
Quadrilateral: David Barrett Q&A, Plus Match Play Notes Including A Koepka Update
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We the team at The Quadrilateral are moving into major mode with a few new editions.
The Story of the Masters author David Barrett answered my questions about his ambitious new book, available here. This Q&A was open to all Quad subscribers and you can read it here as well.
Following the scintillating WGC Dell Technologies won by Billy Horschel, I offered these notes for Masters and Ryder Cup watchers. This one is only for paying subscribers and includes news on Brooks Koepka’s possible status for Augusta.
Three UT Players Out Of The ANWA After Testing COVID-19 Positive
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Beth Ann Nichols reports on a a rough start to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur where three players have WD’d due to COVID-19 positive tests. They had yet to travel from Austin to Augusta.
All three play for the University of Texas, including Kaitlyn Papp, the fifth place finisher in the inaugural 2019 ANWA.
"Golf has about as much place in the Olympic Games as competitive eating"
/There will be many columns like this heading into Tokyo where the field may be missing a lot of top players.
Building off Dustin Johnson’s decision to pass, Gavin Newsham writes a New York Post commentary on golf’s inclusion in the Olympic Games. After explaining the return, he writes:
In golf, the world’s best play each other all the time; in the majors, in the World Golf Championship events and then pretty much every week on tour. In that respect, Olympic soccer and tennis can make way for events that would benefit from being in the Olympics, like squash or lacrosse. And as for rugby — really?
Of course, if the IOC wanted to, it could simply make golf revert to the original ethos of the Games by making the event strictly for amateur players, giving those up-and-coming players that rarest of opportunities to represent their country in the Olympics.
Failing that, they could look at their famous Olympic motto — “Faster, Higher, Stronger” — and ask whether golf really ticks any of those boxes.
As even a less-than-thrilling WGC just proved, match play should have been the format.
And as any of the team events remind us, they’re almost always better than 72-holes of stroke play. They also lead to peer pressure to play, something the organizers might want to think about for the golf in the Games.
Report: U.S. Women's Open To Be Played With No Fans
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The USGA is insisting they haven’t closed the door on fans at Olympic Club this June, but the San Francisco Chronicle’s Ron Kroichick reports otherwise.
State and local public health officials, in coordination with the United States Golf Association and LPGA, made the decision mostly because of the challenges in controlling social distancing at golf events, according to two sources close to the situation.
Only a limited number of Olympic Club members are expected to be permitted on site during the event.
This is noteworthy for the reason (distancing) and since the men’s U.S. Open is played two weeks later in California this year. I’m surprised also surprised they could not find some accommodation for a small crowd given the recent pace of vaccinations.
The U.S. Women’s Open website currently offers a chance to sign up for ticket information and updates.
Video: Tornado Rips Through Shoal Creek
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Severe tornadoes that moved through Alabama and killing five, hit Shoal Creek. The club has hosted two PGA’s and most recently, the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open.
Live Stories Media posted this surreal drone footage:
Legendary Pro Bob Ford Will Fold His Last Salmon Sweater After 2021's Walker Cup
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The longtime pro at Oakmont retired there in 2016 and now will call it a grand career at Seminole after this May’s Walker Cup.
Craig Dolch with a nice look at the golf pro to two of America’s most revered courses—including a 16-year run serving both clubs—for the Palm Beach Post:
“I wanted to work through the Walker Cup, because that’s such a great event,” Ford said last week. “I wouldn’t say it was a difficult decision. Everybody has a shelf life.”
What a life the 67-year-old Ford has enjoyed in golf, spending more than four decades working at two of the most prestigious golf clubs in the world. The Jupiter resident has deservedly earned his share of accolades – both as a player and as a PGA Professional.
In 2005, Ford was inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame. He was also the recipient of the 2017 Bob Jones Award, the highest honor the USGA can bestow on someone. Typically, the low-key Ford downplays his accomplishments.
Winwood, Winged Foot, You Get The Drift
/After his team beat Iona in round one of the NCAA tournament, Alabama men’s basketball head coach Nate Oats and Iona men’s basketball head coach Rick Pitino chatted on the phone. Oats is buddies with Pitino’s son and wanted input on his team. Apparently golf came up and Coach Pitino, a resident on the fourth hole of Winged Foot, offered to have Oats for a game.
Erik Hall of the Tuscaloosa News with this from Oats’ radio interview explaining the invite;
Although Oats appreciated the invitation, he seemed oblivious.
“He talked to me about where he’s living up there — what’s that Winwood?” Oats said. “What’s the big-time golf course up there?”
One of the show’s hosts asked if Oats meant Winged Foot.
“Winged Foot, sorry yeah, I’m not a big golfer,” Oats said. “He lives up there on Winged Foot. He was telling me I’ll have to come by.”
Winged Foot Golf Club hosted the first U.S. Open in 1929 and the 1997 PGA Championship.
“Apparently, those that are really into golf, that’s a big-time spot,” Oats said. “So maybe, I’ll take him up on it and get up there once.”
Of course Winged Foot did not host the first U.S. Open in 1929 but we’ll let that slide.
Winwood! Beautiful.
BTW, go Bruins on Sunday!
Trump Aberdeen's Proposed Second Course Seen As Another Dunes Destroyer
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Business Insider’s Thomas Colson reports on outrage over the proposed second course at Trump International Golf Links near Aberdeen.
Trump's second course will adjoin the existing one and be built on a different area of sand dunes that remain part of the Site of Special Scientific Interest. There are fears that those, too, will now be destroyed, meaning the entire sand dune system will eventually be destroyed - or "stabilized."
"I think it will lead eventually to further damage to all of the sand dunes," said the LSE's Bob Ward.
"There will be nothing left of the natural dune system. At the moment if you go there, you go along the shoreline and there's a very large dune bank that protects the inland including the golf course. And once you go inland, there was this whole dune system. But part of it has already been destroyed by the golf course - and now a bigger area is going to be affected by this second golf course. The whole thing is going to be unrecognizable."
The council said the new course "will contribute towards the significant social and economic benefits expected to be delivered by the wider development proposals within the Menie estate."
Adding to the matter: the failure so far to deliver the promised economic benefit. Trump Golf will claim it needs the second course but given the abundance of links that seems a stretch.
But the current course has posted losses of over $1 million a year and locals say the economic benefits promised by the Trump Organisation when they built the first course have never materialized.
Guy Ingerson said: "Mr Trump and his organization promised the world: Thousands of jobs, lots of new amenities for the local community. That hasn't happened. So why are we allowing him to create a new golf course when he hasn't delivered on the existing promises made?"
Bloomberg recently offered this look at the drop in Trump’s net worth while in the White House and the golf properties stood out as a strength compared to other assets. They cite $18 million in debt, $108.3 million in and while a -19% income change from 2015-2020, and a $271.7M valuation.
Golf has been one of the few bright spots for the Trump empire during the pandemic, thanks to enthusiasm for a socially distanced outdoor sport. The number of rounds played last year was among the highest ever, according to Mike Loustalot, co-founder of Sagacity Golf, which collects data on the industry. But all isn’t well at the 19 courses his company owns or manages. Two in Scotland, Trump Turnberry and Aberdeen, have consistently lost money, U.K. filings show. After the Capitol attack, the PGA of America voted to end an agreement to host next year’s tournament at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey, saying holding it there would hurt the group’s brand. The opening of Trump World Golf Club Dubai, Trump’s second course in the United Arab Emirates, has been delayed for years. That course, and two in Indonesia, are listed on his website as “coming soon.”
Masters Lifts 72-Hour COVID Negative Test Result For Average Patrons
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The Augusta Chronicle’s Will Cheney reports on the change in policy for spectators at the 2021 Masters:
Fans attending the practice rounds and the Masters will no longer be required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to entry. Those attending are still encouraged to get tested before arriving to Augusta.
Ticket holders were notified of the change in an email Wednesday afternoon. The protocols can also be found on the Masters website under the Patron Info tab.
The new policy only applies to those with practice round tickets, daily tournament tickets and series badges. Berkman’s Place ticket holders will still have to take the at-home test 72-hours prior to arriving and an on-site test the day of attending.
This last portion is interesting for a few reasons:
—The policy makes sense given how little non-Berckmans fans would be indoors on club property.
—A 72-hour negative window is pretty pointless given how the test will be administered before the person likely hangs in an airport or on a flight.
—The club is committed to resisting the option of adding fully vaccinated patrons or health care workers in a show of support to getting the country back to normal. Seemed like a tap-in. But so was adding women as members.
-The Augusta Chronicle or Golfweek misspelled Berckmans.
SBJ: Nantz And CBS Come To Terms
/Jim Nantz has said he hopes to broadcast fifty Masters and his chances improved with a new deal at CBS. Terms have not been disclosed but he needs to stick around until 2035 to accomplish his goal.
John Ourand broke the news for Sports Business Daily.
Nantz’s current deal was set to expire this summer.
This is yet another feather for CBS as it rides a huge upswing on their early season coverage and major golf production upgrades in recent years. The Masters and PGA of America are undoubtedly thrilled to know they’ll have gravitas in the booth. And the PGA Tour is assured of having the very best in the business, especially in looking so fascinated by the dreaded CEO interviews.
The Ground Game Makes Good TV, Files: Spieth And Wolff At Austin CC
/No need to say much other than it sure is fun to see players use the ground so beautifully.
The PGA Tour’s Twitter account agrees. Artists at work, 2021 WGC Dell Match Play:
Spieth and Wolff are in a fascinating bracket both because of the recent strong play by their other group members (Fitzpatrick/Connors), but also because their Friday scenarios are wild.
From GolfDigest.com’s Christopher Powers:
Now, rather than being 2-0-0 and controlling his own destiny, Spieth is 1-0-1, as is Wolff, who will play Matthew Fitzpatrick on Friday. Fitzpatrick won his Thursday match handily over Corey Conners, the group’s fourth member, bringing his record to 1-1-0. Should Spieth lose to Conners on Friday, a Fitzpatrick victory would advance the Englishman to the knockout stage, while a Wolff win or tie would put him in the knockout stage. Even if Spieth wins, he may still have to beat Wolff in a sudden-death playoff if Wolff beats Fitzpatrick. A Spieth win and a Fitzpatrick win or Wolff-Fitzpatrick halve are Spieth’s two dream scenarios. Got all that?
First Look At "The Hay" And The Inspiration For Its Fun Logo
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Erik Matuszewski of Forbes has some first look Martin Miller images and details surrounding the April 16th unveiling of the reimagined Peter Hay Course. Now “The Hay” and reworked by TGR Design, the opening marks yet another landmark day for par-3 course legitimacy and a big upgrade for the resort.
On the backstory of the course and costs when it opens:
Hay had a passion for introducing newcomers, particularly juniors, to golf and in 1957 developed one of the nation’s first short courses at Pebble Beach. The former Peter Hay Golf Course at the same site hosted generations of young golfers along with a wealth of junior tournaments and charity events over the years, but despite its prime location had gotten a bit rough around the edges, with scruffy bunkers, some bare spots and crooked tees. Woods’s design team took advantage of the Monterey Peninsula’s expansive water views while incorporating more variety into hole lengths and shot options, and adding more puttable areas within the green surrounds.
Hay’s vision carries forward with the new course, as juniors 12 and under can play the par-3 course for free. All golfers will have access to the 20,000-square-foot putting course for no cost. Resort guests and the general public can play The Hay for $65.
At first glimpse you might wonder about the logo but the story behind it is great fun.
