The Card – Volume XXV

by | Jan 29, 2024 | The Card

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

 

  1. Arnaud Massy, the 1907 Open Championship winner, getting major run on a Saturday night on CBS from Jim Nantz was all we ever needed.  Massy was a Frenchman like Matthieu Pavon, the winner of the Farmers Insurance Open.  Martin Trainer was born in France but when he won the Puerto Rico Open in 2019, he was representing the United States, but he changed his sporting nationality to French in October of 2022.  This of course set off a social media shit storm as Pavon was being declared the first French champion since WWII on the PGA Tour.  I just want to know who was the courtesy car sponsor for the Open Championship in 1907 when Massy won?  Also, the ability of a faction of the golf media to choke the charm out of all things including bickering about who was born where and which country they represent is unrelenting.
  1. Pavon’s closing hole birdie was wildly impressive considering he was in a mini meltdown.  He pulled his second shot on 17 which left him a lengthy birdie putt. The resulting pulled 4-footer for par gave him a one-shot lead on 18 and after a poor drive, a below average fairway bunker shot that nestled in the long rough he was staring at 155 yards over water to a front pin.  His 3rd shot and the downhill make for his first win was accentuated by the great work of the CBS golf team and was excellent television. 
  1. Nicolai Hojgaard is up to 30th in the Official World Golf Rankings and if you include the Data Golf Rankings, he’s even higher.  He’s that guy.  Equipped technically, emotionally, and psychologically to swim in the deep end of the pool.  2024 will continue his ascent and the likelihood of his first PGA Tour win is strong and a major weekend that he should be in the throes of it all.
  1. There are people I respect and trust for their sensible viewpoints on the men’s professional game who expressed real concern about the future of Will Zalatoris since his return at the Hero World Challenge.  The surgery was a very big deal and the switch to the long putter always causes pause but his week at Torrey should hopefully stop some of the hysteria.  Too good and too committed to not find the rare air again.
  1. I asked Frank Nobilo late last fall about the chemistry of CBS’ golf broadcast team, and it was not an easy explanation, but what he said is that viewers can just hear it and feel it and the CBS team just has it.  They also have something else, the support of the golf social media intelligentsia.  Those things foster confidence, and you couple that with the willingness of the network to spend on technology and you have a house in order.  
  1. Kazuma Kobori won the New Zealand PGA as an amateur.  He turned 22 last fall and just picked up his 3rd win on the Australian PGA.  Kobori was born in Japan and moved to New Zealand when he was six years old.  He’s coming to America, how soon we will share see, but he’s got the goods.
  1. Aldrich Potgieter became the youngest winner in Korn Ferry Tour history in winning last week in the Bahamas.  Potgieter, 19 years old from South Africa, won the Amateur Championship at 17 and destroyed the field at last year’s junior invitational at Sage Valley.  It’s not beyond the realm that Mike Weir will give him a hard look for the Presidents Cup team if he can make his way to the PGA Tour by the summer.  It means he needs more Korn Ferry Tour wins, but he is a freak show of talent.
  1. That gets me to Nick Dunlap, who starts the professional meter this week at Pebble Beach.  He will immediately get the advocacy of top players starting with Justin Thomas for the next U.S. international team at the Presidents Cup.  Not unlike Jordan Spieth in 2013, the first impressions he will give to the established USA guard will give captain Jim Furyk ample evidence that he’s ready now for the cauldron.  The bold type he has on his resume already is historic. 
  1. The Crosby clambake was gone a long time ago, but a reasonable facsimile has been in place for decades with the ATT Pebble Beach pro-am.  Long gone were the deep fields, replaced by what almost felt like an alternate event.  This week, the marathon rounds, and excruciating depth chart of celebrities is being replaced by a short field with the best players on the PGA Tour.  A forecast of cold and windy wet weather coupled with the possibility of an attractive leaderboard give the PGA Tour a chance, without football being played next Sunday, for something they haven’t had in a while…a good TV number.
  1. Attending the PGA merchandise show in Orlando for the first time since 2020 gave me a sense of a few things.  One, there is still a belief among the entrepreneurs and dreamers that they have something that the industry of golf needs.  From gadgets to gear new products were everywhere.  Secondly, technology as it pertains to remote instruction has taken off.  The days of needing an hour with your local pro are not gone because the local clubs have never been in greater demand but sophistication of getting a fix from someone is on fire as a facet of the industry.
  1. Seeing established brands like Tumi make a real plunge into golf is just another indicator that the GAME is riding a wave that is showing real sustainability.  Companies like Vessel expanding deep into the shoe game off their high-end golf bag offerings and full-scale proliferation of the launch monitor category amplifies the big money being spent by the golf consumer.
  1. The newest incarnation of “The Match” featuring Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Rose Zhang and Lexi Thompson has a chance to resuscitate a stalled franchise.  The date, venue, and players are what the made for TV event desperately needed.  Professional athletes playing golf on TV can be entertaining and the right ones paired with great golfers can work, but players hitting uncommon shots with a good dose of personality is the recipe.  The Park will sizzle under the lights.
  1. Thorbjorn Olesen won for the eighth time on the DP World Tour with his win at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.  A rising star 10 years ago, Olesen has found his footing again in all phases and is another example of the sneaky depth from Europe coupled with rise of young talent in Ludvig Aberg, and the Hojgaard brothers.  Bethpage is way out on the horizon, but Europe and Luke Donald transitioned in warp speed.
  1. If you want to hear some fantastic stories from life on tour, carve out the time for Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz’ conversation with Steve Marino on the SubPar podcast.  Colt and Drew excel in getting guys to share memories and rarely heard tales and Marino gives the details on his infamous flight with Ernie Els and a weekend pairing at the Open with Tom Watson just to name a few.
  1. I ran into Keith Rhebb at the PGA show, the primary shaper for Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, and the co-creator of the Winter Park 9 with Riley Johns.  Keith and Riley have their own projects, but Keith told me that the Coore/Crenshaw project in Montana, Crazy Mountain Ranch is a showstopper.  Incredible land and huge scale to the site.  Sounds like an America’s Guest episode in 2026.
  1. The report this week from Dylan Dethier that Anthony Kim is strongly pondering a comeback to professional golf is fascinating and will create a fair amount of buzz.  I walked with Anthony in his singles match in 2008 vs. Sergio Garcia at Valhalla as well as his win at Quail Hollow.  He was dynamic and interesting and I loved interviewing him.  The notion that he will come back, and win is beyond remote.  He was never the hardest worker, best player or most focused guy.  Now, a lifetime removed from the arena he’s going to come back and be relevant?  Not happening.  He’s mythical to many who now cover the game which makes his narrative pseudo fiction among younger fans who never really saw him play.  Its far more of a young man’s game than when Anthony left the stage as a young man.  Fun for us all but him winning again won’t be part of the next chapter.
  1. The culmination of the LPGA’s Drive on Championship coincided with the 4th quarter of the AFC championship game which was not ideal.  What they got in the last hour was a dream scenario for the tour.  Arguably the two biggest stars battling in the playoff when it looked like both were going to win at different points of the day.  The Nelly 3-3 finish after the Lydia eagle on 17 was all you can ask for as a golf TV show.  Nelly’s 9th win deprived Lydia of auto entry into the LPGA Hall of Fame.  A glorious start to the season for a tour ascending.
  1. My conversation with Sony Open winner Grayson Murray is now available on all of our 5 Clubs platforms including our YouTube channel.  We all have things to atone for and I am not telling anyone to forget his mistakes, because he certainly hasn’t.  I know from where he’s been when alcohol takes control of your life.  Hope is lost, confidence is gone and the belief that life is possible without alcohol is almost extinguished.  I believe you’ll hear someone you are likely unfamiliar with if you’ve followed his career.  I appreciate his vulnerability and his truth.  My own journey of recovery is helped hearing from others walking a similar path. 

The Card – Volume XXIV

by | Jan 22, 2024 | The Card

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

 

  1. Rory’s 34th worldwide win in Dubai is additive on his resume but can be part of something much bigger when we look back on the year. He will turn 35 at the beginning of May and his greatest season was ten years ago with his summer blitz of two majors and a WGC. A career year of wins punctuated by a major win in 2024 is how historic players pass others at the top of the all-time food chain.  A win in January is a nice start.
  1. Rory’s win was the largest 36-hole deficit, 10 shots, that he’s overcome to win on any tour but it was not without some scruffy moments.  Standing on the 13th tee with a two shot lead he proceeded to hit three of his next four tee shots left and caused himself real stress.  Additionally, he played the par 5’s on Sunday in one over, like the final day at the U.S. Open.  He closed but in the micro analysis of the victory he knows he has things to cleanup.
  1. Cameron Young racked a nice check by playing in Dubai as opposed to the American Express and he now has another Sunday with a lead that he did not close.  He is capable of blowing fields away but so many wins are simply about efficiency and being tidy around the greens.  His failure to birdie the drivable par 4 17th was his last true chance.  Cam winning is inevitable, but this is another missed opportunity.
  1. Rasmus Hojgaard was getting more attention than brother Nicolai heading into last year and Nicolai burst in front of him punctuated by his Ryder Cup selection.  Both brothers had a good week in Dubai finishing within a shot of each other and I expect Rasmus to have a big 2024 and set up a compelling brother act and inevitable Ryder Cup partnership starting in 2025.
  1. Min Woo Lee shared this past week that Adam Scott has offered him rides on his plane that he said is curated with some items from Augusta National Golf Club.  Scott will be a member of the Hall of Fame and although their styles were different, the best comp I can come up with for Adam is Raymond Floyd.  They both enjoyed their single days, and they liked the finer things in life.  Can Adam remain competitive well into his 40’s like Raymond did into his 50’s?
  1. I received and just read an advanced copy of Hughes Norton’s forthcoming book, “Rainmaker”. Norton was golf’s top super-agent culminating with him being Tiger’s first agent.  The book is full of great nuggets, a fascinating perspective on Mark McCormick who built the monolith known as IMG in addition to a ton of self-examination from the author.  I look forward to my conversation with Norton on 5 Clubs soon and I expect this book to do very well.  The Tiger chapters alone will drive sales.
  1. Steven Alker made $841,849 in his career on the PGA Tour in 87 starts periodically for 25 years.  In 53 starts since turning 50 and earning membership on PGA Tour Champions he has won seven times in 53 starts and earned just under $7.5 million.  Somehow, he kept the lights on and dream alive and his success against a plethora of hall of famers and major champions is as good a story as men’s professional golf can provide.
  1. The reversible 9-hole “Crossroads” at Palmetto Bluff from King/Collins opened this past week.  Looking forward to playing it in February and is the latest example of their creative vision and willingness to build way outside the box.  The duo has a flare and a daring that is earning top commissions.
  1. Jack Nicklaus turned 84 on Sunday and he’s been awfully good to me through the years.  His reflex was to act ambivalent about many of the interviews I’ve done with him through the years, but his nature never allowed him to deliver ordinary responses.  His competitiveness always prevailed to produce the most thorough answers and most comprehensive examination of each subject. 
  1. Of all the records Nicklaus accumulated that produces jaw dropping responses from daily’s best players is not a scoring record or results record.  For me, Jack starting every major from 1962 until the 1998 U.S. Open is so preposterous it’s hard to comprehend.  It’s a combination of great luck health-wise and a reliability that will never be duplicated.
  1. Images and renderings of Tiger Woods’ reported new apparel collaboration with TaylorMade were seen this week.  The Tiger silhouette makes sense since the TW mark is not an option.  As I’ve stated before the apparel plays by Nike for the last 25 years with Tiger never really exploded, the commercials did, so this is a GOLDEN opportunity to achieve something between the parties that is not a follow to something truly great.  
  1. Brandel Chamblee sat in the lead analyst chair this past week and he was good.  Brandel is a lethal weapon as an opinion maker and one of the essential voices covering all aspects of the game.  I don’t think this is the best role for him.  He needs room and time to pontificate and be the provocateur that he is.  “Live From” is a great sports property, not just golf property, and that’s his home.  I would infuse a dose of Brandel into the biggest events on NBC from the “Live From” perch on big decisions and getting his reaction to big moments.  
  1. Lydia Ko earned her 20th win at the age of 26 in winning the first event of the LPGA season at their Tournament of Champions.  Ko will one day be enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame.  If you consider she was the youngest rookie of the year all-time and youngest player of the year all-time.  She’s re-invented herself several times and made tons of changes with her “team”, but she has always been a sheer delight in any setting.  A truly historic player.
  1. Jackie Burke Jr.’s passing this past week truly marked the end of a very different era for golf.  He started the Champions Golf Club with Jimmy Demaret.  He won the Masters and the PGA Championship 68 years ago this spring and summer.  68 years!  He was shepherded by Claude Harmon at Winged Foot, who won the Masters in 1948.  I was lucky enough to spend time with him a little over a year ago at his club.  Engaged, grateful and full of grace and to the end the touchstone of the club and culture he created at Champions.  An amazing journey.
  1. The LPGA smartly created a season opening event that brings together its best players with former athletes and other celebs.  More of that at the right venues is an effective way to cross pollenate the professional game with cultural relevant individuals.  I’ll be in Canton Ohio on Tuesday to be a part of the announcement of a new Champions Tour event in Florida that will engage the biggest brand in American sports, the NFL.  Hall of Fame football players and golf legends was once achieved at an event in North Jersey and the newest incarnation is coming soon.
  1. 22-year-old Santiago de la Fuente shot a final round 64 to win the Latin America amateur championship and earn invites to the Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship, plus the U.S. Amateur and Amateur Championship.  A truly embarrassment of lifetime opportunities for the University of Houston junior. After finishing a shot back last year Santiago completed the task and earns a trip down Magnolia Lane and hopefully, he takes advantage and spends at least one night in the Crow’s Nest.
  1. Justin Thomas is going to have a big year.  Every historically great player had a year that was outside their career curve.  He’s too good and too driven and this year will return him to the top 5 in the world.
  1. Nick Dunlap IS the story of the week.  His win and the way he won is hard to fathom.  He didn’t come from way off the pace and post a low score without getting any attention for the previous days.  To do something on the PGA Tour that has not been done in 33 years and to set a scoring record is absurd.  The PGA Tour gets a massive story in January from an amateur and expected soon to be professional and member.  I wrote it three months ago after the Walker Cup that the victorious U.S. Team had a chance to be a historically great team.  One box checked.

The Card – Volume XXIII

by | Jan 15, 2024 | The Card

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

 

  1. Tommy Fleetwood is now a seven-time winner on the DP World Tour after his win Sunday at the Dubai Invitational.  Add his runner-ups at two majors and Ryder Cup moments and he is unequivocally the most accomplished player yet to win on the PGA Tour.  You’d expect him to pick one off this year but if he doesn’t, the hole in the resume will be morphing into a personal rubicon. 
  1. Any second place in a tournament field of very good players is a solid result.  However, the context under which Rory McIlroy finished second in Dubai to Fleetwood produces anguish for his legion of fans and some media members.  A 3-putt from 2-ft and rinsing his tee shot on the final hole is the narrative in a small chapter of the book of Rory.  Soaring to uncommon heights, hitting jaw dropping shots, boat racing fields and producing the occasional head scratching final round with a blunder or simply not firing at all.  Yes, its golf and it happens but it seems to happen with him more than it should.  
  1. Thriston Lawrence missed out on a PGA Tour card by a shot at the final event last year on the DP World Tour.  It’s a matter of time before the 27-year-old South African gets to the PGA Tour on a more full-time basis and his tie for 2nd in Dubai continues a great stretch of golf.  If you’re looking for a Presidents Cup dark horse for the International side, he’s the guy.  Mike Weir wants to see him in the States more and don’t be surprised if he gets some invites for that reason.  He’s ascending big time.
  1. This week the LPGA is in Orlando at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.  With the continued infusion of money into major purses and beyond the tour is in a good place.  Couple things that will be a huge boost for the tour in 2024, Nelly Korda and Rose Zhang having big years and the Olympics.  The global footprint of the LPGA tour schedule and membership gives the women’s golf competition a head start, coupled with the Paris venue, this will be massive for women’s golf in 2024.
  1. Taiga Semikawa had a great week at the Sony Open.  He is 23 years old, reached number one in the world amateur rankings and already has five professional wins globally.  He was named after Tiger Woods which continues the amplify the Tiger effect to even younger generations and we should have never looked at Tiger’s impact myopically.  It was never about how many minorities would get to the tour; it was always about how many people would make golf a part of their lives.
  1. The report this past week alleging that Jay Monahan had his first conversation since June with Yasir Al-Rumayyan is confounding.  What?  It is unimaginable that both parties would not speak for the balance of the year after dropping the news of the framework agreement on June 6th. Look forward to confirmation or refuting of that report.  Confounding if true.
  1. Keith Pelley leaving the DP World Tour, knowing he’s leaving for a good job back in his home country running a professional sports organization should come as no surprise.  When the Saudis wanted in and took the Premier Golf League model, the DP World Tour was in a gun fight with a sand wedge.  Creating a bridge for more players to the PGA Tour got Pelley bashed by European fans and media.  Truth is all great Europeans eventually have come to the PGA Tour, so I never saw that as a massive blunder under the circumstances.  Secondly, getting the PGA Tour to subsidize their television product was akin to a ventilator because without it they may have expired.  
  1. Martin Slumbers announcing his departure this year as CEO of the R&A is of zero surprise.  Martin had a rich life before accepting the job and considering the rollback resolution for 2028 and 2030 being executed and his vibrant age it’s a great time to enjoy life.  The CEO post remains a critical seat in the game and despite all the turbulence Slumbers always displayed calm and control.  From significant rules changes in 2016 to the advancement of the championship calendar, including the Women’s Open, its rota and the doubling down on Portrush for the men, Slumbers never appeared above it all and never emoted a stench of stuffiness. 
  1. Without knowing anything I would venture a comfortable guess that the next big chair at the table to turn over will be at the PGA of America.  Seth Waugh is a youthful 66 and didn’t need the job when he took it in 2017.  With the Frisco headquarters now up and running I would expect Seth to pass the baton in the next year. 
  1. There are several good social media follows in golf but if I was to have to actually rely on one for information and a sense of learning something Justin Ray is the follow.  His twitter account is @justinraygolf.  Having worked with him at Golf Channel I thought he was the best hire the company made in my ten years there.  He’s a machine of data, information and anecdotes and he’s also a true lover of what he does.
  1. In 2021 Daniel Berger made his first Ryder Cup team and as a contemporary to Spieth, Schauffele, and Thomas was part of a high school class (2011) that was doing special things.  His last start was the 2022 U.S. Open after disclosing his back injuries and ailments.  He’s now 634 in the OWGR but he returns this week at the Amex. He’s exempt this year because of prior accomplishment but he’s not exempt into majors and signature events.  With the great unknown beyond this year playing his way back to being a top 50 player has added pressure knowing the two-tier system we are likely headed for in 2025.
  1. Gil Hanse’s Ladera Golf Club in the California desert received the best new private club award from Golf Digest this past week.  2024 for Hanse, Jim Wagner and the Cavemen will bring the opening of their course at the Apogee Club north of Jupiter, Florida, Kinsale Club in Naples, and the renovation/restoration at Colonial Country Club.  Plus, what is getting ready to happen at Yale Golf Course and Spanish Bay, Hanse is flying in a rare altitude.  Considered the new “Open” doctor, Oakmont will be the next U.S. Open venue that underwent a Hanse touch up, plus his original projects, he simply is getting the majority of the truly special commissions from all categories.
  1. With the postponement of the Bills/Steelers on Sunday because of a white out in western New York it had me thinking about the worst weather I’ve ever played golf in.  Lahinch and Waterville on two separate trips to the southwest coast of Ireland.  Lahinch was my first ever round in Ireland and it was howling, and rain was coming down in sheets and only because it was our first round did we even finish.  Waterville, years later half of the flagsticks were blown out of the holes, and it was legit blowing 50 mph. I hit driver from 205 yards on the Mass hole, the par three and was 20 yards short.  Love a brutal weather day, once a decade.
  1. Gary Woodland played this week at the Sony Open and missed the cut.  Doesn’t matter.  His thoughts and disclosures about his battle with a lesion on his brain in the last year and his reflections on the week Friday night were powerful and poignant.  Having truly spent time with Gary, he’s just a great dude and his candor was admirable.  Already well liked, Gary is going to get enormous support this year from fans at every event.
  1. Diverse leaderboard and holes with nuance and influenced by persistent and shifty winds, Waialae Country Club is a gem and a fantastic tournament venue.
  1. Grayson Murray is now 30. His 20’s were turbulent like many lives can be at that age or any age.  I appreciate him talking about his sobriety and he sounds like there is a peace of mind that those who can’t think like an alcoholic, thank God you can’t, would not understand.  He’s always had elite talent.  The way he won the Sony Open was unlikely but not nearly as unlikely as him even making a living playing golf if he continued down the path he was on.  Inspiring as hell.
  1. The first two winners of the 2024 season have stared into the abyss in life and found hope and purpose.  Holy shit, this could be a year.
  1. America’s Guest featuring CapRock Ranch is now available on all of our platforms at 5Clubs.  We hope you enjoy and share with other golf enthusiasts.

The Card – Volume XXII

by | Jan 8, 2024 | The Card

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

 

  1. I’m totally OK with the additional players in the field for the Sentry.  With the challenges that exist already to get all members starts, let alone getting the very best together as often as possible, a field of roughly 60 works.  Kapalua has been, and remains, the very best place to start the new season. Superior optics and a golf course that produces angles, and height and flight on shots that are uncommon for most tour events.  May it always be Maui to start.
  1. Mark Rolfing is a friend, but beyond that he’s a genuine friend of golf.  His involvement with players, projects and initiatives in the game are boundless.  His expert voice on all things Hawaii is as reliable as any person associated with a town, tournament or region anywhere in professional golf.  His love for his home is admirable.
  1. Received the “Mackenzie Reader” as a Christmas gift and it’s a must keepsake for all thoughts and writings from Dr. Mackenzie.  Available through the Mackenzie Institute it is a compilation of his writing and so many holes in addition to a collection of essays from various historians. The opening chapter on is background in the construction of entrenchments is worth the purchase by itself.  
  1. The ambition of King/Collins for their new project The 21 Golf Club outside Aiken, South Carolina is next level.  The creation of the 9 double green concept never actually executed by Alistair Mackenzie is as interesting a project currently being funded.  I’m determined to get down there throughout the build process of the two courses.  Aiken is blazing with top projects.
  1. Jason Day’s new apparel deal with Malbon got plenty of attention this week.  Going away from just being another Nike guy is good for him and us.  Way too many guys look too much like each other and that’s why Keith Mitchell gets the appreciation he deserves from his commitment to celebrating the styles of Sid Mashburn.  Its invaluable to look different in one of the few sports that allows it.  
  1. I’m determined to play the following for the first time this year.  Royal Dornoch, Nairn, Skibo Castle, Camargo, Rock Creek Cattle Company, Myopia Hunt Club, High Pointe, Shoreacres, Lido, Eastward Ho, and The Creek.  Ambitious and determined.  A good combination. 
  1. Not surprisingly Kevin Kisner was glib, insightful and comfortable on his first broadcast.  Two reasons why he’s going to be considered great at this as we predicted, one, you can either do it or you can’t.  It doesn’t mean you can’t get better if you start off poorly it’s just that your ceiling is going to be low.  Secondly, Kevin is exceedingly well-liked by the young influencers and content creators.  He will get great reviews because consciously or not people have agendas.  Kevin won’t need the excessive positive feedback because he’s going to be excellent at his new job but he’s going to get it and that will only enhance his standing and foster even greatly validation of the hire by NBC. 
  1. Watched Paul Giamatti’s new movie “The Holdovers” about a prep school in the early 70’s.  Great writing, funny, poignant and Giamatti is outstanding.  Highly recommend.
  1. Rory McIlroy validated again the weightiness to his words this past week with his reflections on his evolving position on LIV golf.  He certainly didn’t toss bouquets in the direction of all LIV players but his willingness to express a more pragmatic position had Phil Mickelson and Greg Norman immediately commending Rory.  Only Tiger would illicit such response.  Heady company.
  1. Viktor Hovland turned a glaring weakness, his chipping, into a bonafide asset with the assistance of Joe Mayo this past year.  Hovland disclosed this past week they are no longer working together.  Only those involved know the true nature of relationships but the instability of instructors and caddies at the top of the professional game would be an unnerving existence.  
  1. Dylan Dethier of Golf Magazine has gotten much more attention over the last year from his inclusion on “Full Swing” but he has taken his already excellent writing to another level.  His work is fantastic and must-read stuff for all things pro golf related.
  1. The “half pars” on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, especially on the inward nine make the final two hours of coverage among the most entertaining in televised golf.  Half par holes are the most fun for the recreational golfer and they are easily the most compelling for the broadcast product.  Coore/Crenshaw and Gil Hanse have mastered a design concept used by the likes of George Thomas, Alistair Mackenzie and C.B. MacDonald a hundred years ago.
  1. Akshay Bhatia is a star in the making.  It was always his journey, and I was simply hoping he’d get past the challenge of teenage transition to his professional career without any collateral and what he is now is dynamic and a sheer delight.  Supremely interesting to listen to and his golf swing is wildly electric.  He’s easily one of the most entertaining players in the game.
  1. Eric Cole was just announced as the Rookie of the Year this past week and proceeded to start the year with another quality result.  At 35, Cole didn’t get the meter running on the PGA Tour until very late and that’s why I will celebrate every top 10 and another big check after spending a dozen years just keeping the dream alive on countless minor league tours. Plow that field EC.
  1. Jacob Modleski was an alternate to start the week of the Jones Cup Invitational at Ocean Forest and emerged the winner of the first and one of the very best amateur events in golf. The freshman from Notre Dame shot a final round 69 to finish 1 under and win by one.  The field and the venue are elite and the win is a massive way to start his year.
  1. Jordan Spieth is going to have a big year.  The best he’s had since his last major win season in 2017.  I expect him to win on the west coast and be one of the three betting favorites when we get to Masters week.
  1. Chris Kirk is not a good story, he’s a continual story of inspiration.  As one also leading a journey of recovery his willingness to speak on his gratitude and hope helps so many people.  I promise it does.  
  1. A final reminder that we will be releasing episode 1 of “America’s Guest” this week.  We want to celebrate truly special places and we promise you will be blown away by CapRock Ranch.

The Card – Volume XXI

by | Dec 29, 2023 | The Card

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

 

  1. Rose Zhang repeated as the NCAA individual champion, and with her U.S. Women’s Amateur and Augusta National Women’s Amateur titles on her list of accomplishments, she left amateur golf with a historic resume and then abruptly won her first start as a professional in the shadows of lower Manhattan.  Poised and possessive of easy charm, Zhang is a delight and a massive new marketing chip for the LPGA.
  1. The public sector and retail golf platform continue to rise and inspire.  If Bandon Dunes or Sand Valley hasn’t added an asset then Streamsong will, as they have with the short course called the Chain.  Jay Blasi’s renovation of Sharp Park in San Francisco, Gil Hanse’s “The Park” in West Palm highlight community assets.  Landmand Golf Club in Homer, NE from King/Collins opened to rave reviews and their reversable course at Palmetto Bluff will open in ‘24. Pinehurst opens course #10 in the spring and having played it recently, Doak’s first original for the resort will be a homerun.  Cabot Citrus Farms opens as well in ‘24 on the old-World Woods property.  And although 2026 is the likely completion date for Cobbs Creek in Philadelphia, the groundbreaking this year for the Gil Hanse rebuild plus the Tiger Woods short course and TGR learning center is a future boom for golfers in the Northeast.
  1. Lee Trevino is a treasure and although he has never professed any vigilant wellness lifestyle he is as vibrant and enthused as Gary Player who is a couple years older than him.  This past year he conducted a couple fantastic longform interviews with “No Laying Up and The SubPar podcast.  Storytelling and reflections on people and his experiences in the game are timeless. 
  1. The performance of the United States Walker Cup team at St. Andrews was merely a culmination of enormous achievement among the group assembled by captain Mike McCoy.  There have a been a number of decorated teams from the U.S. in the last 25 years but the collective of Nick Dunlap, Caleb Surratt, Ben James, Preston Summerhays and Gordon Sargent have a chance to make the ‘23 team one to look back on as one the truly great squads. 
  1. Steph Curry will receive the Charlie Sifford award at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on the Monday of U.S. Open week primarily for what he’s created with the Underrated Golf Tour.  Being involved with it from the beginning it’s been a gift for me to see talented junior golfers travel the country free of the stress of any costs playing and bonding with each other.  The 2024 schedule will be released fairly soon, and the tour stops are fantastic.  Being close to it, Steph’s next chapter is already started.  His impact on golf has just begun.
  1. Lilia Vu’s 2023 was historic.  An American winning two majors in one season had not happened since Juli Inkster in 1999.  It was not long ago that Vu was struggling to find her footing on the LPGA.  A chance encounter with John Ply, a very successful retired businessman, author, and a true friend of golf helped Vu recalibrate her goals and her belief system.  Her ascendency this year came from the depths.  Wildly impressive. 
  1. 2023 saw a group of younger voices given precious positions calling golf on television.  Trevor Immelman has been refining his craft for several years but the seat next to Jim Nantz feels like it opens as often as a membership drive at Seminole. E xceedingly well prepared, Immelman talks to players, communicates with the media and showed he belongs.  Colt Knost is not new in 2023 but his role at CBS is rising and his connection to the present players puts him in rare company.  Smylie Kaufman walked and talked his first Ryder Cup and is of the age of many of the stars in the game.  Johnson Wagner, our 5 Clubs teammate has quickly distinguished himself at Golf Channel filling any role asked of him and expect much more live golf analysis from him in 2024.  Which will also give us the debut of Kevin Kisner as the lead analyst for NBC for a few events starting at the Sentry.  I expect Kevin to not be good, but great at talking tv golf.  
  1. 2023 saw Rickie Fowler, Jason Day, Justin Rose, and Lucas Glover wake up the echoes of former glory by winning again on the PGA Tour.  Tons of money made and in the case of Rose and Glover the percentage of winners in their 40’s presently on tour is slim.  All four are universally liked and respected and people have discovered how damn interesting Lucas Glover is, as evidenced by our May interview with him that tripled its viewership on our 5 Clubs YouTube channel in the month of August.
  1. Camilo Villegas gets his own category of renewal because what he and his wife Maria endured with the passing of their young daughter Mia in 2020 is simply unimaginable.  Poor form is certainly challenging but the true human tragedy makes his first win since 2014 one of the better stories in years.  
  1. Chris Kirk’s win back in March is an altogether different type of comeback.  Having experienced the depths of alcoholism, and all that it can rob you of, his triumph and continued willingness to talk about his journey helps others.  I promise you, it does.
  1. I don’t think the golf IQ of the viewing public has ever been higher.  When we started Morning Drive on Golf Channel in January of 2011, Fried Egg and No Laying Up did not exist.  More than a dozen years later their audience is robust and for good reason.  They are content workhorses.  It’s a good time to want to hear long form discussion on all things tour life, rollback, design developments and they have both become essential outlets for serious golfers. 
  1. The continued unrest between LIV and the PGA Tour, they now have an extension for negotiation on an agreement, has been disruptive to the sport of men’s professional golf.  Oddly, one of the early disruptions has turned into an extraordinary win for Ryder Cup Europe.  If all the legendary European Ryder Cup players of the past 20 years didn’t go to LIV it’s not unreasonable to suggest Luke Donald MIGHT never have become the captain.  Donald handled the awkward transition from Henrik Stenson’s removal as captain with aplomb and then he proceeded to execute a masterclass in decision making.  He hit all the right chords publicly and privately and goes for the encore at Bethpage in 2025. 
  1. Member for a Day is a nonprofit organization that helps raise dollars through the auctioning of pristine golf experiences for a plethora of charitable causes.  Started in 2020 almost on a lark by Eric Sedransk, Member for a Day has now topped seven million in charitable dollars raised through the game of golf.  Go to the website www.memberforaday.com to find out the great experiences they are auctioning for 2024.  Along with the National Links Trust the opportunities to play the greatest courses in America for charitable causes has never been better.
  1. As the year closes and you look at the combination of new courses and restored courses that debuted in 2023 the design industry is flying.  There are not enough architects in the World Golf Hall of Fame to begin with, but I think we are witnessing a glorious time of inspiration.  Gil Hanse and Tom Doak will get entry into the hall of fame.  I stated last year Coore/Crenshaw should be in (Ben’s in as a player).  Rob Collins, Tad King, Tyler Rae, Kyle Franz, Kyle Phillips. Brian Schneider, Blake Conant, Mike Devries, Mike Clayton, Andrew Green, Dave Axland, Rod Whitman, Keith Cutten, Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking, Ashley Mead and so many more I could name are producing thoughtful, detailed and full of fun designs that will stand the test of time.  
  1. Padraig Harrington was a beacon of humorous and introspective light in 2023.  The height of Harrington’s playing days offered the profile of a taciturn yet sometimes quirky tinkerer.  Padraig has always been approachable but with the advent of media and content outlets that populate the ether with more than soundbites Harrington is a must listen.  Pragmatic, witty, unorthodox and unfailingly authentic, Harrington is a vital voice on all subjects.
  1. Tiger Woods looked compromised beyond repair after his WD at the Masters in April.  The next time we saw him in December his walk was improved, his pain abated and the speed he has displayed on the few occasions he’s played was present at the Hero World Challenge.  He suggested a tournament a month in 2024 as possible.  As he celebrates his 48th birthday he’s kept the door of dreaming ajar.
  1. In a year that saw different players have historic stretches we at 5 Clubs are making Bernard Langer our golfer of the year.  We are not suggesting the tournaments he won are the equivalent of those won by the younger set, but Langer did something I thought was virtually impossible.  He passed Hale Irwin for most wins all time on PGA Tour Champions.  He’s won twice as many times in his 60’s than the other Top 5 winners in Champions Tour history did combined.  More importantly, he represents the lifelong pursuit we all hope to have about the game and that is the pursuit of better.  He’s awe-inspiring to his peer group on PGA Tour Champions and his dedication is a model for all walks of life.
  1. Playing golf has never been more enjoyable for me.  It’s not accidental that a clear mind and a heart full of gratitude, two things I robbed myself of for years, is a better state of mind on the golf course.  What I found this year traveling and playing the game of golf, more than I have in a decade, is the intellectual, physical and emotional investment people are making in playing the game is ascending.  Golfing Societies are thriving, retail golf is cresting, and clubs are building waitlists all over the country.  The game is giving something again that was the driving force for interest in it from the outset.  It was about time with my dad.  In his passing I have found the joyful experiences of being with new friends and cherishing the rounds with those who know me best.  Our motto embodies my sentiments about golf in 2023.  It’s about the time, not the score.

The Card – Volume XX

by | Dec 17, 2023 | The Card

18 thoughts, observations and reflections on 18 special holes played in 2023

 

  1. The opening hole at Chicago Golf Club is a glorious combination of all that the experience there offers.  The tee is thrust in the heart of everything.  Proximity to the open-air patio, practice putting green, 18th green and the cross walk to the driving range.  The hole has big width off the tee and the approach to the first green provides a welcome to the greatest set of greens complexes in America. It’s a top 10 opener in golf.
  1. The 2nd hole at Somerset Hills is a beautiful redan Par 3.  The tilt from front right to back left is bold.  The vastness of the front nine is on full display from the tee and you can see almost every hole on the opening nine from the 2nd tee. This was my first trip to this wonderful place and the contrast between the two nines is outstanding.
  1. The 3rd hole at Sweetens Cove plays along the perimeter of the property of one of America’s finest fun factories. You can view all the holes from this corner of the property and the big tree guarding the left side of the green is one of the club’s true landmarks.  The severe slope fronting the green embodies what Sweetens is and the green complex is a violent sea of contour.
  1. The 4th hole at Ohoopee is the 3rd straight “half par” designed by Gil Hanse and the cavemen.  The short 4 begs you to challenge the fairway bunker on the left and catch the speed slot to possibly chase your tee shot onto the green.  The green itself is filthy with roll and tilt going in all directions.  This hole sums up making choices and living with them.
  1. Upon reflecting on all the par 4 5th holes I played this year I think it is the absolute deepest catalogue of majestic holes.  I chose the 5th at Crystal Downs because I can’t stop thinking about it.  The trees that frame the fairway.  The fairway itself which is presented like the spine of a gigantic rhinoceros and the green complex that requires a thorough examination.  It’s simply an all-time hole design from Alistair Mackenzie.  Other amazing 5th holes played in 2023… “the 5ths” at Pine Valley, Lookout Mountain, Fishers Island, Old Town, and Cypress Point.
  1. The par 4 6th hole at Seminole is the apex of Donald Ross’ expertise as an architect.  The challenging of trouble down the left side, very close to the massive bunker that frames that side of the hole to the left to right contour of the fairway.  The approach is mind manipulation.  You can’t believe how much deeper the green is on the right-hand side compared to the front left portion.  It is no wonder Ben Hogan had such reference for the hole.  Exacting and unforgiving.  
  1. The par 5 7th hole, the Road Hole, at National Golf Links is so damn good you want to walk back to the tee and play it again over and over.  Its Macdonald showing off an understanding of the template hole that mesmerizes the player.  The trust required for your blind tee shot to the road bunker that protects the left portion of the green.  I played it this year with three friends who were seeing it for the first time and one of them said, walking off the green, “that hole is simply amazing”.
  1. The short par 4 8th at Pine Valley has always been one of my favorites in golf.  The first time I played it the “right green” had not yet been built. Both greens are a sliver from left to right and even with a half wedge in your hand for your second the perched up green looks like a shrunken postage stamp.  Surrounded by cavernous bunkers it sums up the mind fuck that Pine Valley is likely to be, either in a moment or for the round.
  1. The par 5 9th at San Francisco Golf Club is a downhill 615-yard hole from the back tees.  I have always believed SFGC is the most refined experience in American golf.  The optics of the 9th include the regal clubhouse, beautiful Tillinghast bunkering and a walk that showcases almost every hole in your panoramic from the middle of the fairway.
  1. The par 5 10th at Lookout Mountain is a mind-numbing display of contour, elevation and the majesty that has been reclaimed by Tyler Rae and Kyle Franz with the restoration of the original intent of Seth Raynor.  The scale of the hole is spectacular and the view from the tee and eventually the green might be the best on this amazing piece of land.
  1. The par 3 11th at Fishers Island is Seth Raynor’s application of the Eden hole at this 1926 showstopper.  The entire experience is one of one and there are at least six holes at Fishers that could be identified as the best of its numerical fraternity.  The 11th measures 164 from the back tee and the green has an infinity look with the ocean right and beyond the green.  This is arguably the most picturesque golf course in the country and this hole captures it perfectly.
  1. The par 5 12th hole at Congaree is a sweeping right to left hole that showcases all that Congaree presents.  The razor edges of the waste areas right and left frame the fairway and the continued motion from right to left persists until you get within 120 yards of the green.  The green complex sits in its surrounds so expertly you’d think nature created it.  The homage to the Sandbelt of Australia is on full display with the greenside bunkering and the pitch of the green from back to front is sinister.
  1. The par 5 13th at Old Sandwich plays 560 yards from the back tee with a downhill fairway cascading toward the green.  The beautiful naturally sandy areas frame the hole majestically with the dense forest to the right.  The greenside bunkering is sublime and Coore/Crenshaw set the green into the hillside masterfully.  The use of the ground game is on display here as much as anywhere at this incredible Plymouth, MA playground.
  1. The short par 4 14th hole at Old Town designed by Perry Maxwell and restored by Coore/Crenshaw is a genius display of deception.  The back bunker behind the green on the right-hand side appears to be short of the green and the framing bunker on the 7th hole way in the distance is an example of design principles taken to a higher level.  The green melts from right to left and seeing the green once you reach the 16th green gives you an even greater appreciation of its setting.
  1. The par 4 15th at CapRock Ranch is the final episode of sensory overload you’ll experience on one of America’s finest new golf courses.  From the tee you leave the prairie for the last time and play down to the Snake River canyon.  The view once you reach the green is one of the most spectacular in the world. The short and natural walk off the back of the green onto the 16th tee is subtle and sensational.  Stay tuned to 5Clubs for our new show that will introduce so many to CapRock Ranch.
  1. The par 3 16th at Cypress Point is arguably the most majestic and powerful view in the world of golf.  To play it fills me with immense gratitude as the walk is almost over but not before you have your breath taken away.  It’s quite simply perfection in a very imperfect game.
  1. The par 3 17th’s at both Tree Farm and Old Barnwell deserve to share this recognition together.  Both holes measure between 120 and 135 yards on the card.  Employing cavernous bunkering guarding the left of 17 at Old Barnwell and the right at Tree Farm the hole only asks for a short iron but the look of both is rugged and righteous.  These two courses have almost identical born on dates and they will grow together as two very special places nestled near Aiken, SC.
  1. The par 4 18th at Shinnecock Hills is the quintessential closing hole on one of America’s truly great championship golf courses.  The broad sweeping hole plays up to the green with the elegant Stanford White clubhouse perched at the top of the hill to the right of the green.  This hole is the culmination of one of the most rewarding and enjoyable walks in golf.