Honorable Company

by | Oct 6, 2024 | Blog

When the mind is quiet it is inclined to drift to the things that matter most.  Those things are our people.  The ones we love, the ones we’ve lost, the ones we choose to spend the most precious thing on…time.  In September of 1995 I traveled to Scotland for the first time and did so with my dad.  We returned in July of 2002, and on both occasions, we had the Muirfield day.  Returning there again for the first time in 22 years with three dear friends in a head space with clarity and comfort made the conditions right for reflection and acceptance.  Not your typical round of golf but rather an examination on the human condition. 

In a world that has gone casual, having a day at the gathering place for the Honorable Company of Edinburgh Golfers has become golf’s most refined and glutinous costume party.  The tie has died but at Muirfield neckwear is not only fashionable, it’s required.  Truth is, we all clean up pretty nicely we just don’t do it much anymore.  Fleece is the new cashmere and hoodies are today’s double-breasted blazers.  Rarely would you ever think a room ensconced in tweed would be a cool room and maybe it only is because we are at the best defacto “golf gala”.  Seeing the giddiness on the faces of dozens of men coming off the 18th green at Muirfield knowing they are showering and putting on a coat and tie happily is counter intuitive to the way we sashay through life now.  One of the top items sold in many of the finest golf clubs in America are logoed sweatpants.  Sweatpants!  Not your dad’s thick sweats from the local sporting goods store, but sweats, nonetheless.  A spectacular item as I’m a card-carrying wearer of the soft bottoms.

At Muirfield you’re obligated to show a little respect.  Respect for the place, for each other and for yourself.  Among the other particulars of the Muirfield day is the requirement to play alternate shot in the afternoon after imbibing and ingesting enough food and drink to make a nap the most normal thing to do.  That format gave me a cathartic moment in September of 1995, seeing my partner, my dad, hitting our tee shot on the 8th hole with his silhouette painted against the Firth of Forth in the background.  Standing 200 yards down the fairway I felt a sense of love and appreciation for the man who raised me, guided me, and championed me without condition or reservation my entire life.  Being present with clarity and good intentions has allowed me to achieve something altogether lost while in the throes of alcoholism.  Stillness.  The still mind creates the full heart and being back at Muirfield with friends who have known me since I was a teenage freshman at Vanderbilt was humbling.  

The clockwise outward nine direction at Muirfield takes you from the northwestern portion of the property riding along the dunes recessed from the shoreline of the firth.  From there, you play on the interior of the property in the counterclockwise direction meandering through the native fescues and re-vetted faced bunkers.  Our Muirfield day was breezy and by late afternoon the low clouds were breaking away and the light on the golf course was illuminating the ground into a high-definition landscape.  The shades of tan, brown, and green of the fescues and gorse offset by the churn of the blue and white of the distant sea created a transient texture.  I never once consciously reminded myself of moments at Muirfield with Dad, it was simply happening.  It was a flow state of gratitude and introspection and coupled with the continuous reaction of Lawrence, Bill, and Jay to the reveal of each hole was the summit of what the game can give.  A trip to Scotland gives you an appreciation of each place, it’s history and the respect for certain traditions.  It provides endearing fellowship, a little edge of a competition and a togetherness that comes from the pilgrimage to simple be there.  In what area of your life do you devote countless hours to be in the company of others by your own choice?  Not just the hours being on the golf course but every waking hour eating, talking, and laughing.  I fell in love with golf because of my dad and the time afforded and it was seminal moments at places like Muirfield that reinforced my affection for the game.  To return there with men who I’m exceedingly proud of for their boundless successes, starting with their families, and to share an appreciation for pictures on the walls, the carving stations at the lunch buffet, the clearing bell on the 11th hole, and the grand gathering room for a libation to cap the day.  

I understand why people play favorites.  It’s only natural to build proclivities for people and places and it’s why we choose to spend time with certain people and at certain places.  For years I’ve resisted declaring which is my favorite golf course.  I was never doing it to be cute or unwilling to make the declaration because it served any purpose.  However, not long after we finished our round last Tuesday at Muirfield and we were gathering our belongings to head out into an increasingly colder Scottish evening I said to my guys, “this is my favorite course in the world”.  The reasons are personal beyond the majesty of the holes, but isn’t our relationship with the game personal?  

 

The Card – Volume LIV

by | Sep 22, 2024 | The Card

18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…

 

  1. The opining on LIV golf and the PIF of Saudi Arabia has been comical at times beginning at the beginning with many pundits exclaiming LIV’s demise before they even launched.  This past week there was a report that one of the stipulations being proposed by PGA Tour members is that LIV players give back their signing bonuses specifically Jon Rahm.  Is it likely that tour players have voiced that as a reflex to a possible return for some players?  Sure, but as a reasonable negotiation point it’s imbecilic.  PGA Tour players at the top of the food chain trickling down to the upper middle class on the tour have leveraged the tour into a challenging financial position.  Seeking additional monetary retribution from defectors is not how all of this is going to be resolved. 
  1. The modest roll-out of the latest incarnation of the match featuring Bryson and Brooks vs. Rory and Scottie was telling on several levels.  It was not augmented by a PGA Tour attention seeking blitz and the sponsorship and venue was not identified.  Rory’s persistence in cleansing the waters with LIV is not new, it’s just more pronounced. The first indication that he was softening his position publicly was his practice round at the 2023 Masters with Brooks which was the first Masters with LIV players.  Additionally, Rory has aligned himself with Scottie who has been the most agnostic figure regarding all the unrest in the men’s sport.  Scottie and Brooks have the same agent, which is a wrinkle in all this, but Rory is being as impactful as he can be in spurring a resolution.  Rory is more fortified financially than virtually any other player, but he’s only focused on common ground and has expressed no interest in extracting money from LIV guys.
  1. Yasir Al-Rumayyan showed up at PGA Frisco this past week like many of us do when we find ourselves in the same town as a new venue or historic venue and we simply want to go by and see it unannounced.  But the head of the public investment fund of Saudi Arabia just turning up at PGA Frisco is funny, peculiar and kind of head scratching.  Within 24 hours the PGA of America announced something that we already knew and that is that LIV players will be eligible for the Ryder Cup on the United States side.  The visit by Yasir and the announcement seems oddly timed and I think that’s all it is.  The more interesting questions going forward how are quickly the Europeans re-engage former Ryder Cup stalwarts like Westwood, Poulter, Garcia and McDowell into the leadership system and will Keegan Bradley include LIV players in roles beyond potential team members?  I think the answer to both are beyond Bethpage, but Rahm, Hatton, Brooks and Bryson will be outfitted for competition a year from this time.
  1. The pre-event press conferences at LIV’s final team event of the year struck a consistent refrain from the headline players led by Phil Mickelson.  While changes to the overall construct of the tour is expected the appeals and desires for the team component to grow is telling.  The global footprint in the final four months of the year is the most viable pathway for integration between LIV and the PGA Tour.  The team dynamic being the primary driver of what is formed between the two entities and while there are only a few LIV players that the PGA Tour is anxious to re-introduce to tour events, the viability of top players like Scheffler, Schauffele and McIlroy playing some team events around the world is the carrot for LIV and the for profit arm of the PGA Tour is likely utilizing viability studies to assess the market value and revenue streams for the tour’s ignited a team division of its businesses.  The bigger question is how many top players want hard commitments outside the United States during football season?  The indication is not many.
  1. Matteo Manessero having two straight weeks with a chance to win big events, the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship, is a testament to his belief and determination.  Manessero was ranked 1333 in the world at the end of 2019.  Five years later he is back inside the top 100 and he wasn’t gifted anything.  He was uneven on the final nine holes of both events but his ability to play his way into leads in big events is another big step for the one-time golden child of the DP World Tour.  
  1. Peter Malnati made the decision to travel to Wentworth to play the DP World Tour’s premier event.  Malnati missed the cut, but the grander point is the one worth making.  The best way to learn about yourself and grow is to take yourself to uncommon places.  Malnati is a great story in 2024 in his ability to express gratitude after winning the Valspar in March and after sharing his vulnerability and compassion after the passing of Grayson Murray in May.  Peter is an example that you don’t have to be a star to be an inspiring leader for your organization.
  1. Thriston Lawrence may have butchered the first playoff hole of the BMW PGA Championship, but he displayed more evidence that he is a top 50 player in the world heading into 2025 and his star will be on the rise even more in the United States.  At 27 with four wins on the DP world tour and a 4th place finish at the Open Championship Lawrence is projected to be on the Presidents Cup team in 2026 and I would have him in Montreal if I was Mike Weir as an indoctrination into the competition and look at him as a future commodity.  Building the culture to change the narrative requires different thinking.
  1. I made a point of watching the final couple holes of Mark O’Meara’s career as he came down the stretch at Pebble Beach on Saturday night.  Mark found a gear in the late 90’s rooted in his time and relationship with Tiger Woods that changed his historical trajectory.  The story of his first win on tour in 1984 was built on a summer of insane production and relentless play.  He played 32 events that year and had 11 top ten’s and four 2nd place finishes before breaking through in Milwaukee and finally winning by five shots over the best player in the world, Tom Watson.  Mark closing the book at Pebble where he won five times and once with his Dad, Big Bob, as his amateur partner.  I once played in a three-day event with Mark in Chicago, and I was a steaming bag of dog excrement and every time I see Mark I apologize.  Congratulations on a hall of fame career as a player and person.
  1. Rory’s year of heartbreak continues.  To his immense credit he keeps playing his way into the biggest moments in most tournaments and he did it again at the BMW PGA Championship.  This time it was Billy Horschel and his eagle on the second playoff hole that added another gutting chapter to Rory’s season.  The sensational way that Rory has come up short in some of these events does not rival Greg’ Norman’s episodic heartbreak but the results are eerily similar.  Rory will give it another try at St. Andrews in a weeks’ time at the Dunhill and if he happens to win that event with his dad it will be a wonderful elixir for a year of soul crushing seconds.
  1. Has any player evolved in the public’s eye more in the last decade than Billy Horschel.  He has thought beyond his own borders by becoming a global player.  He has been willing to share his righteous opinions about tour issues with the content leaders in the game and he has been a pragmatic and dignified professional. His comportment after the Open Championship was admirable.  His support of Aaron Rai down the stretch at the Wyndham Championship as Rai was trying to win for the first time was admirable.  Finally, his reflection on beating Rory in the playoff was top class and authentic.  Impressive evolution.
  1. Mike Weir needs a raucous atmosphere in Montreal from the opening match on Thursday.  He will most certainly get that from fantastic Canadian golf fans, but the rub is maintaining it.  Expect Canadian players to lead the home team on that first day and I will focus on the players who are there, but it will always confound me that Nick Taylor is not on the team.  His win last year in Canada was the biggest moment in Canadian golf since Weir won the Masters not to mention he’s unafraid of the big moments.  A total miss.
  1. Min Woo Lee will be the breakout star this week for either team.  Like Tom Kim, Max Homa, Sergio Garcia, and Patrick Reed in recent memory in team competitions, Lee is a hot dog in the best way.  He’s a showoff and he will be completely turned on by the environment.  
  1. The other big question for Mike Weir this week is what he will get and how many matches from Adam Scott and Jason Day.  Scott has had a very good run of golf going back to late summer and Day is a malleable team guy willing to play with anyone.  Scott is the presumptive captain in 2028 in Australia and you just wonder if he will experience winning the event just once as a player.
  1. This is a critical week for Keegan Bradley as he assesses pairing and the culture.  He knows that the Ryder Cup team next September will most likely include Bryson and Brooks which is big oxygen coming into the team room.  The other questions include who on this U.S. team beyond the top five are viable back half the roster guys at Bethpage.  Finally, can he identify a solid partner for Scottie Scheffler not named Sam Burns since he is far from a lock for next year.
  1. Jim Furyk made it clear this past week he’s not in on the premise that the USA losing is in the best future interests of the event.  The imbalance is a challenge to rev up a fan base amid football season, but the health of the event financially is very good.  The next three events starting in Chicago and then onto Australia will be home runs for a sponsorship and hospitality standpoint just like this one will be, as were Quail Hollow and Royal Melbourne.  The PGA Tour hasn’t built this for thirty years to suddenly share in the profits.  If you want a mixed team event, I’m for it but it will not be this event.
  1. The Johnson Wagner re-enactments this week in Montreal will be epic.  After long days having Johnson on the lager lathered fairways of Royal Montreal will be a tremendous scene.  Expect the cackling from Brandel Chamblee and Paul McGinley on the “Live From” desk to be next level.
  1. This week we will release for the 1st part of a 2-part conversation with Rich Lerner of Golf Channel.  Learning about Rich’s path in the game and his career and life in television is nostalgic and illuminating.  From his view of his partners on Live From to the best broadcasters of all time and his look at where it’s all going.  Rich is a friend and an elite essayist and host.  I know you’ll enjoy this broad and deep conversation available on the website and YouTube channel at 5 Clubs.
  1. I’m headed to the Scottish Highlands this week and you can count on daily diaries and short videos from Royal Dornoch, Nairn, Skibo Castle, Muirfield, Gullane and North Berwick.  Highs in the upper 40’s and low 50’s.  That’s four-ply cashmere layering weather.  Hell yeah!