ESPN+'s PGA Tour Live Appears To Deliver A Streaming Breakthrough For Golf

This stubborn cable subscriber has been looking for streaming to show it can be better and mostly it’s been a clunkier version of the same picture quality. But the debut of ESPN+ coverage last week offered stunning pictures, fun multicasting and a clear path for golf's streaming future. I explain here.

Plus, a word on Kapalua's record scoring and how players clearly are not missing their green reading books or 46-inch-plus driver shafts.

The item is here for all to read because I was just so happy after watching the Rams and Chargers lose in devastating fashion. You can read more here on The Quad in 2022.

Whoa Nelly! USGA Lifts U.S. Women's Open In Big, Bold Ways

The USGA billed it as a major championship announcement and the hyperbole matched the depth of the news announced Friday.

The U.S. Women’s Open purse goes to $10 million, world class venues like Riviera and Interlachen were added, Pinehurst will host another back-to-back men’s/women’s Open, and a presenting sponsor (ProMedica) is announced.

I cover it all and analyze at The Quadrilateral. Everyone can read a preview here. (More here on The Quad and plans for 2002, including increased women’s major coverage.)

Here is the official press release:

USGA Significantly Elevates U.S. Women’s Open with Addition of its First-Ever Presenting Partner – ProMedica  

Purse raised to $10M with plans to grow to $12M; future venues to include “cathedrals of the game” 

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (Jan. 7, 2022) – The USGA and ProMedica today announced a long-term partnership that includes presenting partner rights for the U.S. Women’s Open, notably elevating the championship through a $10 million purse, additional host sites that include some of the most esteemed courses in the U.S., and increased charitable support, to ensure that its life-changing impact continues to set the standard in the women’s game. 

ProMedica, a mission-based, not-for-profit integrated health and well-being organization that serves communities in 28 states, becomes the newest partner in the USGA’s global program, which is designed to extend the reach of the Association’s mission to champion and advance the game of golf. In addition to the U.S. Women’s Open presenting sponsorship, as part of the long-term relationship, ProMedica becomes the official health and well-being partner of the USGA.  

The U.S. Women’s Open has led the way for more than 75 years and is already considered the world’s premier women’s golf championship. To retain and enhance its standing, most immediately and beginning with the 2022 championship that will be conducted June 2-5 at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C., the purse will nearly double, increasing from $5.5 million to $10 million, the highest in women’s golf and among the leaders in all of women’s sports. The USGA also announced a commitment to raise the Women’s Open purse to $11 million and then $12 million over the next five years. 

“The USGA prides itself on conducting championships that not only provide an incredible stage for the athletes, but also give younger players something to dream about,” said Mike Whan, USGA CEO. “For more than 75 years, the U.S. Women’s Open has been the one that every little girl, in every country around the world, has dreamed of winning. This partnership with ProMedica allows us to substantially grow the championship in every way, from its purpose, to its purse, to the places that host the event. While I’m incredibly proud of what we are announcing today, I know this is just the beginning, as together with ProMedica, we’ll push to change the game and what it means to young women worldwide in order to reach new heights every year.” 

Key to the partnership is a joint commitment by the organizations to highlight the importance of addressing health inequities across the United States, which will include sharing the personal stories of golfers and USGA competitors nationwide who have used golf as a means to a healthier lifestyle.  

ProMedica will also utilize the global stage the U.S. Women’s Open provides to generate charitable dollars for its ProMedica Impact Fund, which will become the official charity of the U.S. Women’s Open. The ProMedica Impact Fund is committed to raising more than $1 billion over eight years to strategically invest in grants, impact investments, and research and learning activities, all designed to improve individual and community health. The partners will conduct fundraising to support social determinants of health (SDOH) initiatives and other programs in championship communities. 

“With this unprecedented partnership, both organizations are breaking new ground,” said Randy Oostra, ProMedica president and CEO. “ProMedica will benefit from taking its work in social determinants of health onto a national stage, while the USGA will benefit from the opportunity to embrace a not-for-profit organization whose mission and support will elevate its signature women’s event.

“You simply cannot talk about improving the health and well-being of all individuals without talking about the disproportionate impact of social determinants of health on women. The U.S. Women’s Open is a perfect platform for bringing this message to a much broader audience,” said Oostra. 

As a piece of the partnership, ProMedica will provide on-site medical services at several USGA championships, as well as deliver health and well-being experiences for fans on-site and throughout host communities.  

The USGA today also named five additional U.S. Women’s Open host sites: The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. (2026); Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio (2027); Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in Village of Pinehurst, N.C. (2029); Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn. (2030); and Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (2031 and 2042). The championship is set to visit some of the game’s iconic venues over the coming years: 

2022 Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club

2023 Pebble Beach Golf Links

2024 Lancaster Country Club

2025 Erin Hills

2026 The Riviera Country Club

2027 Inverness Club

2028, 2038 Oakmont Country Club

2029 Pinehurst Resort & Country Club

2030 Interlachen Country Club

2031, 2042 Oakland Hills Country Club

2034, 2046 Merion Golf Club

The Riviera Country Club, designed by George C. Thomas Jr. and William Bell and opened in 1926, will host its fourth USGA championship. Ben Hogan won the first of his four U.S. Open Championships in 1948 at Riviera. The club, which was most recently redesigned in 1992 by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, has also hosted the 1998 U.S. Senior Open and 2017 U.S. Amateur.  

Inverness Club is located in Toledo, Ohio, home of ProMedica, and has previously hosted eight USGA championships, including four U.S. Opens. Inverness was founded in 1903 and its current course was designed by Donald Ross in 1916. Among its historic moments, Inverness is where four-time champion Bob Jones first competed in a U.S. Open, and it most recently hosted the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur and the 2021 Solheim Cup. The club will also host the 2029 U.S. Amateur. Andrew Green completed a restoration of the Ross design in 2018. 

Pinehurst No. 2, site of the 2024 and 2029 U.S. Open Championships, will host its second “back-to-back” championships in 2029. This will be the second U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst, with Michelle Wie West earning her first major championship there in 2014. Pinehurst, which was named the Association’s first anchor site in September 2020, has hosted 10 USGA championships, and is set to host five additional U.S. Opens over the next 25 years. 

Interlachen will host its second U.S. Women’s Open and sixth USGA championship overall. The 2030 U.S. Women’s Open will be played on the 100th anniversary of Bob Jones’s U.S. Open victory at Interlachen, where his victory set the stage for Jones to secure the Grand Slam later in 1930 at Merion. The club has also hosted the 1935 U.S. Women’s Amateur, the 1986 U.S. Senior Amateur, the 1993 Walker Cup and the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open, won by Inbee Park. Interlachen has retained Andrew Green to do restorative work to its Donald Ross design beginning in 2023. 

Oakland Hills will host its 12th USGA championship and first U.S. Women’s Open. It will become the fifth club to have hosted a U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur, with Pebble Beach set to do so in 2023. The South Course, which has hosted six U.S. Opens, was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1918. It was renovated by Robert Trent Jones (1950), Rees Jones (2006) and Gil Hanse (2021).  

The U.S. Women’s Open is one of 15 national championships conducted annually by the USGA. The championship began in 1946 and its winners include Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Betsy Rawls, Mickey Wright, Hollis Stacy, Amy Alcott, Meg Mallon, Annika Sorenstam, Se Ri Pak, Juli Inkster, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer, Inbee Park and Michelle Wie West. Showcasing the world’s best players on the greatest stage in the game, the U.S. Women’s Open welcomes the global golf community to participate in and experience America’s national championship. 

About the USGA 
The USGA is a nonprofit organization that celebrates, serves and advances the game of golf. Founded in 1894, we conduct many of golf’s premier professional and amateur championships, including the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open. With The R&A, we govern the sport via a global set of playing, equipment, handicapping and amateur status rules. The USGA campus in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, is home to the Association’s Research and Test Center, where science and innovation are fueling a healthy and sustainable game for the future. The campus is also home to the USGA Golf Museum, where we honor the game by curating the world’s most comprehensive archive of golf artifacts. To learn more, visit usga.org. 

About ProMedica 
ProMedica is a mission-based, not-for-profit health and well-being organization headquartered in Toledo, Ohio. It serves communities in 28 states. The organization offers acute and ambulatory care, an insurance company with a dental plan, and post-acute and academic business lines. The organization has more than 49,000 employees, 12 hospitals, 2,500+ physicians and advanced practice providers with privileges, 1,000+ healthcare providers employed by ProMedica Physicians, a health plan, and 335+ assisted living facilities, skilled nursing centers, memory care communities, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and hospice, palliative and home health care agencies. Driven by its mission to improve your health and well-being, ProMedica has been nationally recognized for its advocacy programs and efforts to address social determinants of health. For more information about ProMedica, please visit

Report: Inverness To Host 2027 U.S. Women's Open

INverness (The Fried Egg)

Congrats to all involved at the continued (re)ascension of an American classic, Inverness in Toledo.

Kyle Rowland of the Toledo Blade with the news to be confirmed Friday in a USGA press conference.

Whether this leads to a men’s U.S. Open down the road remains to be seen but the combined success of Andrew Green’s restoration of Donald Ross, the elimination of the ghastly Fazio holes and the overall appreciation for this important place in American golf history is a fun thing to witness.

The Fried Egg’s overview of the work before this year’s Solheim Cup:

"Take note of the PGA golfers who play in Saudi Arabia. They’re accepting blood money."

The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga takes pro golfers to task for taking Saudi Arabia’s money at the PIFSIFSIA/Bonesaw/Saudi Golf League group get together next month. Full disclosure: Svrluga’s former colleague at the Post, Jamal Khashoggi, was lured to his death and reportedly sliced into pieces and disposed of by a squad working for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. At least in the CIA’s assessment.

Thanks to all who shared this and who wondered if the players will see it—or care—but this about LIV Golf Investments’ Greg Norman and the Public Investment Fund will put Svrluga on the Shark’s bad list:

Here’s Norman, in a November interview with Golf Digest within days of his announcement, immediately trying to distance the PIF from the brutalities inflicted by bin Salman.

“[The PIF is] obviously a commercial operation,” Norman said. “They’re very autonomous. They make investment decisions all around the world. They’ve invested in major U.S. corporations because of commercial reasons. They invested in LIV Golf Investments for a commercial opportunity. They’re passionate about the game of golf.”

He’s a self-serving snake-oil salesman but worse. Don’t trust him.

No TJ Maxx-bound Shark shirts for Barry!

Regarding Khashoggi, Svrluga writes:

Khashoggi was a thoughtful and relentless critic of bin Salman and the Saudi government. In October 2018, Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents for his impending marriage. He was murdered and most likely dismembered. His body has never been returned to his family. The CIA concluded that bin Salman ordered the killing.

That murder should hang over the field at the Saudi International. As should the senseless war in Yemen, which the United Nations estimated had caused 377,000 deaths by the end of 2021. As should the hit squad bin Salman allegedly sent to Canada for the attempted murder of a former Saudi intelligence official. As should the fact that, according to Human Rights Watch, prominent women’s rights advocates have remained in Saudi jails since 2018 merely for their advocacy.

The Saudi International is just a bit piece in bin Salman’s attempt to use international sport to help distract from his abhorrent record.

Here’s the bad news for golf: Svrluga’s entirely correct and all of the big players in this know what they’re getting into. But outside of Rory McIlroy, how many can bring themselves to draw a line? And how come the the PGA Tour and European Tour Chief’s can’t condemn Saudi Arabia knowing what we know now?

Today In Disruptor Tour Files: Tour Formerly Known As European Rolling Over On Releases, Players Thankful For The Leverage

Just as their strategic partners have done, the Tour Formerly Known As European will be granting releases to the Asian Tour’s PIFSIPSIA next month, reports The Guardian’s Ewan Murray.

Filling the field of the Saudi-backed event, formerly a European Tour event that was the brainchild of Chief Keith Pelley and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, appears to be quite easy. Especially when tours are rolling over so easily. There was a Telegraph report of possible repercussions after players tee it up.

Murray writes:

By the Monday deadline, between 30 and 40 members of the tour had requested releases to play in the Asian Tour-run event near Jeddah, from 3 February. It is sponsored by the Saudi public investment fund and carries huge appearance fees.

Despite speculation of potential bans for European players who compete in the Saudi International, dismissed by some as little more than a cash grab, it is understood they should be informed this week that releases will be granted with conditions relating to future commitments to DP World Tour tournaments. Should those conditions not be met there is scope for disciplinary action, but player power has seemingly won the day.

Do we even call them disruptors with so little resistance?

Meanwhile over in Hawaii, the winners assembled for the Sentry Tournament of Champions are thankful for the opportunity and leverage created by the Saudis. Only one player, Justin Thomas, expressed hopes of this cash grab having benefits for fans.

Tony Finau, who will be playing the PIFSIPSIA, thanked the PGA Tour but is clearly not ruling out a move if the Saudi’s form a real tour:

TONY FINAU: I mean, yeah, I've been approached just like I think most top guys, as you would expect. I don't have a stance on it yet. I think we're just like everyone, don't really know what's going on with that.

But I'm grateful to be on the PGA TOUR, it's been an honor for me to have an opportunity to play and display my talent in front of the world on a TOUR like the PGA TOUR, so much history there.

Again, I watch guys like Tiger, like Phil, all these guys play PGA TOUR evens and win PGA TOUR events. That's all I know since I was a kid, I didn't know any other tours and I didn't think any of the other tours had what the PGA TOUR had to offer and up to this point in my career very happy I'm on the PGA TOUR and having won a couple times I would like to win more this year.

Jodan Spieth was asked if the league concept backed by the regime would benefit golf and made clear he so far only sees benefits to the players.

JORDAN SPIETH: Well, I think certainly it's a threat to the PGA TOUR. I think as a player overall it will benefit in that I think that the changes that have come from the PGA TOUR have been modernized in a way to, that may or may not have come about if it weren't there.

So I think for us players on the PGA TOUR, I think that so far it's been something that has kind of helped the PGA TOUR sit and say, hey, where can we look to satisfy our membership and potentially make some changes going forward that, where there's some similarities potentially to a league like that, but while maintaining kind of the integrity, the 501(C)(6) category that the PGA TOUR has.

And I think that going forward, I mean, I guess we'll have to see. But for me to sit here and -- I mean, I can only say from my point of view I think that it's been beneficial to the players to have competition, and I think the TOUR would say that they probably feel that they're in a better position going forward by having to sit back and kind of take a look at things and make some changes.

And this from Justin Thomas was the best of the answers in appearing to think of the entertainment aspect over the financial benefits:

JUSTIN THOMAS: I think the idea is healthy for the, it's healthy, could be healthy for the TOUR. I think two competing tours is not healthy for golf, if that makes sense.

I think if the idea of other competition and other tours or whatever happening, I think is a good opportunity for the TOUR to kind of maybe sit back and us players sit back to realize what can we do better on our TOUR and then make our product better, versus having two competing tours to me is not good because you're diluting the product on both sides and it's just not, you're not going to get the best -- it's not possible to get the best players in the world on both tours. They're either going to be one or the other or a little bit of both.

It continues to confound how repulsed players were by the idea of taking the Saudi’s money and now, well, no one is mentioning discomfort at that element after having time to think about it.

Let The Model Local Rules Begin! Major(s) News & Notes For January 6th, 2022

Bifurcation begins Thursday at Kapalua. While reducing driver shaft length will likely only annoy Phil or Bryson, the player-driven ban on various green reading materials could impact a lot of top players. The bifurcation so many have desired has arrived! It’s a party! With killer views and Kona winds.

I explore those ramifications and a lot more in this week’s Quadrilateral, including the key major dates in 2022, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas going deep on two topics, Masters patrons get good news, Tweets, Reads and a YouTube archival find in this week's Major(s) News & Notes.

As always you can read more about The Quadrilateral here or subscribe here.

OEM's Launch Latest AI-Infused Tungsten Cartridge Speed Frame Jailbreak Stealth Twistface Carbonwoods Guaranteed To Go Longer, Straighter

Wonder why Tiger was outdriving JT at the PNC 🤔

A good source from TMade told me players are seeing 2-4mph ball speed gains, which is as much as 8 yards in added distance. Rory, DJ, Wolff 🚀 https://t.co/DSq3BnMhfG

— Eric Patterson (@EPatGolf) January 4, 2022

As we inch closer to a decision based on the Distance Insights Study, just about any decision will lead to from Carlsbad even as they stare at record profits, give little back to the charitable side of the game and account for maybe 10% over the overall golf “business”.

So with that inevitable sobbing to come, perhaps as soon as May, the January 4th launches by Taylormade and Callaway—with their partners at the independent media operations hoping they’ll buy ads—will be good to file away for safe keeping.

Traditionally when any form of rulemaking is discussed to keep certain skills and courses relevant, the manufacturers claim they’ve maxed out the technology. When they want your $600, the technology is breakthrough, stealth, AI infused and almost guaranteed to add distance and lower spin.

The various golf publications peddled it all as usual. There was this from a Taylormade engineer to keep in mind as they phase out Titanium for the next great innovation, speaking to Golf Digest’s Mike Stachura.

THE DEEP DIVE: The titanium face driver, the golf industry’s staple since the mid-1990s, has run its course. So says TaylorMade’s team of engineers who in fits and starts over the past 20 years have been pursuing something they say is not merely entirely different from titanium, but of course, fundamentally better. As Tomo Bystedt, TaylorMade’s senior director of product creation, puts it, referencing the famous “S Curve” for innovation, “We knew the S curve for Ti was ending and the S Curve for carbon-composite faces was beginning.”

Kind of like the bubble shaft! Until it wasn’t.

Look, these are good people who have to come up with something to differentiate their product. But the numbers also do not lie: the engineers are very good at what they do and know how to arm today’s elites with equipment they hit longer by just going on a launch monitor and testing.

So this spring when their bosses, only thinking of shareholder value, claim distance has peaked and how there’s nothing to see here, just remember January 4th’s claims and supporting coverage.

Even Tiger chimed in as part of launch day:

I played the new Stealth Carbonwood Driver this past December. Thank you to @TaylorMadeGolf for getting it to me so quickly. Truly an amazing product. #StealthDriver pic.twitter.com/6SfeHLstWk

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) January 4, 2022

And Callaway has introduced a new Chrome Soft that you guessed it, goes longer even though the ball has hit its limit whenever the USGA and R&A are thought to be changing any equipment rules.

From Andrew Tursky at Golf.com, after explaining how Callaway studied its off-core Chrome Softs to make sure that doesn’t happen again. But there was this regarding the new Chrome Soft X:

So, Callaway listened. Without changing the spin profile at all, Callaway was able to increase driver ball speed by 0.7 mph due to the new core in the 2022 version.

And regarding the new and improved Chrome Soft X LS:

According to Callaway, the new Chrome Soft X LS increases driver speed by 0.8 mph, reduces driver spin by 130 rpm, and reduces iron spin by 120 rpm compared to the previous version.

Tom Watson: "Golf courses...have to adjust to the distance that guys hit it."

It’s a short list of people who have both designed courses and suggested it’s ok to ask courses to adjust to modern distances. Golf architects Rees Jones, Tom Fazio and Steve Smyers have all been ok with that notion, but I never expected Tom Watson to join that list. Especially since just three years ago he was saying the ball goes too far.

From his Q&A with Golfweek’s Adam Schupak:

When I designed golf courses, I first started at 250 was my turning point.  Then it became 267. Now it’s like 280 is the turning point, back tees on championship golf courses.

Again, golf courses I think have to adjust to the distance that guys hit it. I would think the wrong thing to do would be to make the golf ball go shorter. If they did, they ought to make it go shorter for everyone, you, me, Aunt Alice, everybody.

GW: You’re not a bifurcation guy?

TW: No.

Bad news Tom, we have two rules in place this week that spell b-i-f-u-r-c-a-t-i-o-n.

There was also this:

GW: Did you like the changes to the Rules of Golf?

TW: Yeah, very much. Yeah. Spike mark was the best one.

GW: How do you think your pal (former USGA President) Sandy Tatum would have thought of the changes?

TW: He would have thought it would be sensible.

For giggles I cracked open Mr. Tatum’s A Love Affair With The Game to double check that this is the same Sandy Tatum I’m pretty sure was a big “play it as it lies” guy.

Yep, same Sandy!

He called Winter Rules a pervasive intrusion on the “True Spirit” of the game and called the PGA Tour playing preferred lies “the most heinous departure from the true spirit of the playing of the game.”

Not feeling like he’d be a pro spike mark tapping guy in a game with few spikes and better conditioning than ever before.

"Why joining an exclusive golf club isn’t as unrealistic as you might think "

Golf.com’s Paul Sullivan looks at the various options for national and international memberships and even as costs go up there are still reasonable options out there.

Yet not all national membership are five figures to join. A cheaper way in is to get the junior rate by joining before you’re 40. A decade ago, Young locked up his membership at Kinlock [sic] Golf Club, a top-rated course in Virginia, for $1,000. And when it first opened, Chechessee Creek Club, a Coore-Crenshaw design in South Carolina, offered national junior memberships for $5,000.

The greatest deal may be an international membership. One at Melbourne’s Kingston Heath, ranked 22 in the world by GOLF, will costs you $1,500 a year, and that outlay gets you member access to other top courses around the world, including Walton Heath in England; Portmarnock in Ireland; the Philadelphia Cricket Club; and Nine Bridges in South Korea.

Of course, however cheap a national membership is, you still need the extra income to get and stay there.

There is that!

Modern Shafts No Match For A Giant Robber Crab

“He’s a ripper!” Imagine finding this after putting our for your handy double bogey. But good news, the driver snapped by this robber crab can be replaced under the revamped Rules of Golf.

From Australia’s Christmas Island, which is closer to Indonesia and famous for its crabs:

How's this for a handicap 🦀🦀🦀

A group of golfers on Christmas Island have clashed with a GIANT 'robber' crab. Footage from the course shows the crab hanging onto a golf bag before it snaps a club in half. #9News pic.twitter.com/Zr08iX50he

— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) January 3, 2022

Golf Has Its First DAO With Hopes Of A Crowdsourced, Crypto-Funded Club

It’s a little more complicated than George Crump and friends building a course in the pine barrens and you are more than free to admit this makes no sense, but Josh Sens has the lowdown on golf’s first significant decentralized autonomous organization.

LinksDAO sold more than 9,000 NFTs in and initial offering for $11 million in Ethereum. The “grand experiment” is the vision of Mike Dudas, a Stanford start-up entrepreneur hoping to buy a course and create a community of members. Initial buyers of the NFT’s merely bought the right to buy into the next purchase.

Sens writes for Golf.com:

Nor will the money raised by the NFT sales be put toward buying a course. It will be used instead to fund other DAO operations, including course scouting, acquisition planning, marketing, legal compliance, community development and more.

Dudas concedes that there is a still a way to go.

But LinksDAO, he notes, has already progressed quickly.

Dudas started pondering the details of the plan only about three weeks ago, shortly after posting the idea on Twitter.  He was inspired, in part, by another crypto-real world convergence called Flyfish Club, a private dining club concept in New York that has been selling memberships through NFTs. But Dudas says his thinking around LinksDAO also arose from his aversion to the stodginess and strictures of traditional country clubs: the exclusive memberships, the uptight customs.

“As a kid, it was my least favorite part of golf,” he says.

Much of the momentum behind LinksDAO, he believes, is fueled by people who feel the same.

This is what happens when you ban hoodies. The kids start looking for ways to buy you out!

Perfect Putt’s Jared Doerfler filed this look that helps better break down all of the crypto stuff in golf for the majority of us who feel like they’re reading a second language.

"Trials In Renovation"

Country Club of Farmington (

Sometimes we forget the arduous task of conceptualizing, selling and executing a golf course restoration, particularly with the number of successful projects and satisfied courses.

So for those thinking of pushing to get their older golf course restored, I’d recommend reading about the experiences and lessons learned of Geoffrey Manton, a radiologist and Green Committee Chairman at Country Club of Farmington.

Not everyone will understand what we’re trying to accomplish by restoring the golf course, and maybe that’s not their fault. After all, everything is relative. There is a dominant feature on our golf course, a former sand quarry, that has been overgrown for over a half-century. Our consulting architect created computer generated imagery of what a restoration of this feature might look like. “Can you imagine, it looks like Pine Valley!” said one member to another. “What’s Pine Valley?” replied the other. Some detractors have been more direct, like opposing green expansions, citing the atrocity of having a sprinkler head on the putting surface or calling for tree planting to replace those lost from the emerald ash borer. Each member has their own perspective and as I’ve been informed – “I pay dues. I have a right to complain.”

Some things in golf never change!

Anyway, it’s worth a read over at LyingFour.com whether you are a budding Green Chairman or just dreaming of becomin gone. Manton’s also posted some images at Twitter showing off the finished product.

Devereux Emmet built a bunker in the line of charm. Mother Nature and maintenance practices modified it. @Dusenberry_Golf morphed it into moat. The line of intent is a wiser play. 6th hole Par 5 The Country Club of Farmington, CT @ScottRamzay formore pics: https://t.co/IrNSnK8sQD pic.twitter.com/cv0WFCHTkE

— Geoffrey Manton (@glmanton) June 12, 2020

PIP Meet The PIFSIPSIA! Saudi International Names Sponsor, More Stars To Field

After intense, last-minute negotiations, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia has been named title sponsor of the Saudi International. Terms of the deal were not announced.

This means the full tournament name is the Public Investment Fund Saudi International Powered by SoftBank Investment Advisors, or, as they might want to call it around the LIV Golf team’s Slack: PIFSIPSIA.

More alarming for the PGA Tour and European Tour should be the continued addition of players to February’s field. Besides now having commitments from five of the world top 10, they’ve added Tony Finau, Patrick Reed, Matthew Wolff, Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert. The allure of the Asian Tour!

The gold rush and late adds seem to be fueled by the PGA Tour’s “stand” against the existential threat, which included creating the widely-mocked PIP and granting of releases with meager consequences for players passing on the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It’s a far cry from last summer when players were supposedly going to face membership expulsion for jumping ship. But the Saudis went out and got themselves some Asian Tour co-sanctioning and the snowball is picking up speed.

As Rex Hoggard notes here in the best possible light, the Tour was “slow” to grand competing event releases. If that’s the best they’ve got in their arsenal, it’s going to be a long year at the Global Home.

The PIF has assembled an impressive field at this point and sets up the potential for some fascinating names finding their way into the AT&T Pebble Beach field. As in, half the Champions Tour, all Korn Ferry grads, and definitely some Beljan’s and Uresti’s. Shoot, at this pace they may be the headliners!

Anyway, For Immediate Release with the new tournament logo included:

Reed, Finau, Smith join the world’s best with the PIF announced as new title sponsor for Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers 

January 3rd, King Abdullah Economic City, North of Jeddah:  An array of international stars has been added to the line-up for next month’s PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers – in what will be the Asian Tour’s strongest-ever field.

With the Public Investment Fund (PIF), announced as the new title sponsor and a field packed with the world’s best players, the landmark tournament is set for a record-breaking edition when it returns to King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, 3-6 February 2022.

2018 Masters Champion Patrick Reed will once again be returning to Saudi Arabia, playing in every tournament since the inaugural event in 2019. Another US Ryder Cup star confirmed is Tony Finau, who finished runner-up to Dustin Johnson last year and will be looking to go one better to kickstart his 2022 season.

Alongside four of the world’s top 10, the tournament will also see several new faces with a debutant for Matthew Wolff, one of golf’s hottest young talents. Further newcomers to KAEC will be exciting Australian trio Cameron Smith, Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert. Frenchman Victor Perez will also join a star-studded field competing for an increased prize purse of $5 million and one of the highest OWGR point totals in international golf. 

Previously announced players announced include defending champion Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Louis Oosthuizen, Sergio Garcia, Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood and Phil Mickelson.

Quadrilateral: The Martin Slumbers R&A Holiday Card

The R&A Chief recaps 2021, looks ahead to the Open's St Andrews return and the Quadrilateral’s team of reporters gets it exclusively.

And if you aren’t already receiving this kind of intel directly to your inbox, here’s more on how to do that.

Even An Orangutan Can Drive A Golf Cart

Longtime readers know one of the worst parts of this whole blog thing is the consistency with which news feeds share horrendous stories of golf cart accidents. So this post is for all of you who think they’re extra clever to drive carts like total shmucks.

Because we learn in this glorious video: even an orangutan can drive a golf cart. What a cool customer!

Besides consisting of the most soothing 3 minutes you’ll enjoy today, there is also this glorious bit of tiger trolling:

I’m not clear where this was shot, but based on scenery, the orangutan’s age and the amount of knuckle hair, this could be any Tuesday in The Villages.

The full video: