The Shop is Closed

by Gary Williams | Mar 2, 2023 | Blog

One of the great and valuable lessons in life is to learn from your mistakes. Repeating ill-fated plans or procedures is not only a clear sign of stubbornness, but it also strongly suggests that the most capable businesspeople may not be in charge. In a period of rapid and profound change on the PGA Tour, much of it was driven by the existence of LIV Golf. They have now decided what the future looks like, and it feels familiar and soft. The details of the structure of the new Designated Events are disappointing and it didn’t have to be this way.

For all the hand wringing and public sniping at and about Greg Norman by many top players in the world he has been the impetus for two significant shifts in men’s professional golf in the last 25 years. First, his desire to create a world tour in the late 90’s was squashed from within and from it came the World Golf Championship Series. It was more like the United States Golf Championship Series and another country to be named later. It produced the coming together of more top players beyond the four majors and a few other elite events, and re-introduced no cut events to men’s professional golf after they disappeared from the game almost altogether once television and Sunday finishes became the norm. There are still a few no cut events, mostly composed of very short fields, like the Tournament of Champions and the Tour Championship, and now with shorter fields in the FedEx Cup playoff events you can add them to the list. World Golf Championships were no cut events with smaller fields generally 78 players and the match play event was 64 players with a bracket that eventually eliminated the best Wednesday in golf. There is very little competition for that title but the jeopardy of 32 players being eliminated on the first day was great television. The problem that the tour and its sponsors argued is that stars were being bounced early more often than top-seeded teams coached by Rick Barnes. (Just a reminder to all you Tennessee fans that the reckoning is coming. It’s what Rick does.) So even the mildly confrontational match play event took on the softness of the other stroke events in the series. Furthermore, the small field, no cut formula that is being reported will be the construct of the designated events in 2024 and it smells all too similar to LIV Golf… minus the shotgun starts with optional transfusions and cargo shorts.

The Tour is at the mercy to a great degree to the wishes of their stars and their stars have the “hand”. As was famously said in an exchange between George Costanza and his girlfriend in an episode of Seinfeld as George was trying to display his power in the relationship. “But I have hand!!!” he pleaded. Her dismissive response was, “and you’re going to use it”. Not exactly the predicament the players face today.  They truly control the direction of the tour because of all the leverage they’ve gained from the presence of LIV offers.  But the players are missing part of the plot. Yes, people tune in for the stars and their engagement with each other propel the big interest in the sport.  However, the sport will always need to keep the door open for the underdog. The underdog has always woven their own thread through the history of great moments, especially in the biggest events. When Max Homa won the Wells Fargo championship, and outplayed Rory McIlroy playing with him in 2019, he was ranked 417th in the world rankings. He would not be in the field under the new make-up of the designated events of which Wells Fargo is one this year. Homa is now a top 10 player in the world and the belief and sense of belonging started there. It’s not to say that his ascension would not have still happened, but that beginning was memorable because it was on a huge stage. Ultimately talent will never be denied if it is matched with commitment and drive but the realization on the biggest stages are what sports have always been about.

Stars deserve the most money and now more than ever the biggest stars and best players are getting paid the lion share of the purses all the way down to the Player Impact Program (PIP), which is a glorified Q rating with an algorithm. The PGA Tour is championship golf. They had the opportunity to split the difference between the frivolity of 54 holes, no cuts and shotguns and maintain the edge of bonafide fields with at least a hundred players and the jeopardy of a 36-hole cut. Instead, they’ve opted for, what at first blush, feels more like a cool speak-easy with a secret handshake and the top players get to play with the house’s chips.

Recognizing Contributions Beyond the Fairway: A Call for Hall of Fame Honors

by Gary Williams | Feb 7, 2023 | Blog

Enshrinement into any Hall of Fame requires a volume of achievement. Most accumulate the necessary statistics over a career that spans, if you’re lucky, a decade, to on very rare occasions, two decades. The Halls of Fame that celebrate the greats in the NBA, NFL, and MLB are reliant on a sensible voting body, and with the exception of time removed from the game, there is no baseline criteria for consideration. The World Golf Hall of Fame (WGHOF), which will soon be returning to Pinehurst, has changed criteria, voting bodies and gone from annual ceremonies to hosting once every couple years. The last and most recent decision is by far the most practical measure the hall has made in decades. The actuary tables of historic golf being played constantly reminds us that few truly distinguish themselves from their peer group to the degree that they become so distinctly deserving of Hall of Fame status in perpetuity. But for too long the WGHOF has been overlooking people who impact the game far more than the best players of their generation and it’s beyond time for these people to be recognized.

Since the first Hall of Fame class of 1974 there have been more than 30 individuals who have been enshrined who did not distinguish themselves by winning major championships and/or constructing a resume of individual achievement. Those people include, two presidents, administrators and tournament chairmen, ambassadors of the game, course designers and one clearly defined teacher. How is that possible in a sport for a lifetime in which the vast majority of the people who play do not play the game as a profession. Participation is the cornerstone of the industry, and it drives everything in the game, especially professional tournament golf. There is no Hall of Fame that should be identifying and enshrining more contributors than the World Golf Hall of Fame, and that’s why it’s beyond time for Butch Harmon, Mike Keiser and the design tandem of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw to receive the recognition. Ben is a member of the 2002 class as a player but there is no Coore without Crenshaw, and that distinction should be added to his plaque.

Mike Keiser was a very successful man in the greeting card industry before turning his attention to reimagining the public golf space which was uninspiring and idling when he turned it on its head with the creation of Bandon Dunes. Not only did Keiser bet on the remote Oregon coastline and its sandy soil he, more importantly, trusted the souls and sensibilities of golfers to value and invest in the journey. Bandon Dunes is mecca for men and women who want what Keiser was selling from the beginning, that it’s about golf. The food is fine, and the rooms are acceptable, but the golf inspires. It inspires tens of thousands each year to make the trek, but equally it has inspired other developers to create destinations that challenge the concept of the direct flight. Actually, many of Keiser’s properties would challenge the fortitude of Neal Page and Del Griffith, the characters made famous in planes, trains and automobiles. The singular purpose of the journey has created a whole new category of retail golf and Keiser is its godfather. He’s created jobs in remote and modest communities. He’s enhanced the profiles of a handful of course designers and helped spawn the next generation of design. He’s pumped up the travel segment of the industry but, most importantly, he’s insured the unbridled joy of experiential jobs for generations now and later. Oh, and he’s made it profitable. He’s driven a reverse engineering of a model that got sideways, and then just bad, with real estate taking the priority over the quality of the golf course. Design was not celebrated in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s as much as it was tolerated. Keiser has been a king maker and if you want to gauge impact on the game in the last 20 years, I mean real impact, Keiser is at the top of the list.

Similarly to Mike Keiser, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw have redefined the golf design industry and their work is so lauded, and these two men are in such demand, they could, if they choose, work well into their 80’s. Any careful examination of the history of golf design in the United States will provide a handful of projects as the most significant for their originality, inspiration and impact on the game and the industry. Chief among the most important courses built in the last 30+ years, Sand Hills in Mullen, Nebraska was the true paradigm busting project that has driven growth and development well into the future. The story of Sand Hills is a screenplay waiting to be constructed. From the natural existence of countless holes to the physical challenge of development to the isolated location, it takes “Field of Dreams” to a different galaxy. It not only drove the private sector for private destination golf, but it also ushered in a return to a minimalist approach of golden age architecture where the course designer led with land use, not the developer. In 30 years Coore/Crenshaw have built courses that are recognized among the very best in the world. Additionally, their consequential renovations at places like Pinehurst #2, Maidstone, Old Town and Prairie Dunes have helped fuel a part of the design industry that sat dormant for decades.

Coore and Crenshaw take a level of personal responsibility with each project that is now being matched by this generation’s best designers. The decades of design decay ushered in a level of ennui amongst golf fans such that little discussion was conducted when new courses opened and the familiarity with the prolific designers of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s was effectively non- existent. Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus were prolific designers, but the chatter was as much because they were Jack and Arnie as it was for the number of inspiring golf holes they designed. Coore and Crenshaw have threaded the needle with the uber wealthy benevolent dictator owner who all have the same goal, build the most memorable experience for their members and guests – not the best golf course, but the most memorable. That aspiration requires a commitment and care uncommon to the norm. Bill and Ben quibble over finite details and the most ordinary hump or rumple on a landscape. To them they are the stewards of the land, the preservation of contour is their charge, and the ultimate goal is their work should look as if it was there. We are living in a renaissance of golf course design. The leaders applying the sense and sensibility to the current trade are Coore and Crenshaw. Why wait? Enshrine them now.

Finally, it’s time for the WGHOF to right what has been a continual wrong for at least a decade. In the history of golf there are few families who have had a greater run of sustained importance and relevance in the game of golf than the Harmon family. Claude Harmon was the platinum standard of club professionals during a period of heightened awareness and reverence for the golf pro. Not only did Claude direct the golf programs at Seminole and Winged Foot, but he was also among the better players in what amounted to be a part time job of playing at the highest level. He won the 1948 masters by five shots and finished 3rd in four additional majors, including the 1959 US Open at his home club Winged Foot. Claude fathered four boys who all made their way into the golf business, first as aspiring players, and ultimately all four were among the finest club professionals and teachers in the game. Each would go on to work with major champions and FedEx Cup winners, but one became the teacher and coach to the very best in the game.

Butch Harmon could play. He could play well enough to win a satellite/opposite field event on the PGA Tour called the Broome County Open which was played opposite The Open Championship. Butch, like his father, had a keen eye for the golf swing and like his father he knew how to make the motor run for those he was entrusted with. In Claude’s case it was the mind manipulation of his four sons that included unrelenting mental challenges. With Butch it’s been with the best players the game has seen, with few exceptions over the past 30 plus years. Golf Channel was built and launched in 1995 when Greg Norman was the biggest star in the game. Butch helped refine a golf swing that was majestic, dynamic, and productive. In 1993, with an initial interlude in Houston, Butch and Tiger Woods began a working relationship that produced the most destructive stretch of golf ever produced in the professional game. That included a total reconstruction through Tiger’s second full year on the PGA Tour. In addition to Tiger, Butch would become the swing and de facto mind coach for Ernie Els, Fred Couples, Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson to name a few. He became a valuable voice globally in the game as a commentator on Sky Sports. In addition, he conducted golf schools for the well- heeled who spared no expense to find improvement and joy in the game. Harvey Penick was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2002 and his enshrinement was celebrated overwhelmingly. There has never been a better, greater, or more successful instructor to the stars in the history of golf. Instruction is a driving force in the golf industry today, and top instructors are TV stars, pseudo-celebs and Butch Harmon is their godfather. 3-day, 5-day and month-long golf schools have been job creators and industry staples for decades. There is no greater metric to determine whether someone was a significant contributor in the game than to say emphatically he or she changed the game. Instruction and its impact on the millions of people who play the game recreationally and the best players who compete for trophies on the best tours has never had a bigger role. Butch Harmon has been a driving force coupled with unparalleled success with many of the greatest players the game has ever seen. The time is now for the World Golf Hall of Fame to recognize him with enshrinement in its next class.

Golf as an industry relies on people playing the game. No other sport mirrors the rules played by amateurs with the best in the world more closely than golf. Each market segment is either mildly or significantly impacted by the others. People’s enjoyment of the game through instruction and the experiences on the finest golf courses in the world drive the business of golf. Mike Keiser, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and Butch Harmon have made the game better, more enjoyable, and more sustainable because of their contributions. Not for now, for always. They created opportunity, inspired others who wanted to pursue what they pursued, and opened doors for others to make careers in the game. The door should be opened for all of them to take their rightful place in the World Golf Hall of Fame.