by Gary Williams | Oct 23, 2023 | The Card
18 thoughts, observations and predictions…
- The person responsible for the REDZONE, more importantly, the REDZONE on a two-hour flight deserves the same lofty status afforded Jonas Salk, Albert Einstein, Ben Franklin, and the Wright Brothers.
- The USA team of Gordon Sargent, Nick Dunlap and David Ford won the World team Amateur Championship in Abu Dhabi. These three were part of what I believe will be the most productive U.S. Walker Cup team collectively on the professional level since the 2011 team which included Spieth and Cantlay and a host of others with excellent professional resumes.
- Adrian Meronk is having one of the great non-Ryder Cup participating seasons from a European on the DP World Tour ever. It barely gets a shrug since Europe won.
- The assembled roster of players for the inaugural season for the TGL, starting in 2024 is akin to the 1927 New York Yankees line-up. Matched equally by the collection of celebrity/athlete/Wall Street investor roster of team owners. Expect the technology to be next level and with Tiger’s participation for it to be a primetime TV ratings hit.
- Played Old Barnwell in Aiken, South Carolina on Friday. The Brian Schneider and Blake Conant design is a BIG ballpark with immense scale. With plans for a kid’s course, another 18 hole course and founder Nick Schreiber’s mission of access and inclusion of all walks, expect Old Barnwell to be applauded for its impact on all generations and their desire to play the game.
- Ryo Ishikawa had a fantastic week at the Zozo Championship, finishing in the Top 5. His appeal, popularity and importance to golf in the Far East a decade ago is proven out by his multiple special invitations to the Masters. Those invitations are rarely extended, especially to the same person more than once.
- The Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship is being conducted this week in Australia with an invitation to the Masters being extended to the winner. Augusta National has been clairvoyant identifying the emerging golf regions and has seen almost immediate validation with the success of Hideki Matsuyama from Asia and Joaquin Neimann from Latin America.
- My hour-long conversation with Alan Shipnuck, the author of “Live and Let Die” is available now on the 5 Clubs YouTube channel and all digital podcast platforms as well. There isn’t a single player either quoted or profiled in the book that I have any less affinity for than before I read the book. Conflict and chaos are humanizing, they are not sweeping indictments of everyone. I hope you enjoy the discussion.
- Colin Morikawa went roughly 27 months between his 5th and 6th win. One, he’s the most accomplished player of his specific vintage. Two, its exceptionally hard to win golf tournaments on that tour and every player has ebbs.
- The fall has produced wins by Sahith Theegala, Tom Kim and Colin Morikawa. Couple the pedigree of the winners with the additional wrinkle of players trying to get into early 2024 Signature events and the PGA Tour must be pleased.They just need to adjust the days and get out of the way of football at all costs on the weekends.
- Rory McIlroy has added F1 investor/owner to his business portfolio. Rory is not fond of Greg Norman, but he is following in his path of being a global businessman with a wide array of financial interests.
- I had a very lengthy discussion with someone who has spent their career in mergers and acquisitions at the macro level and the most telling thing shared was that parties run out of things to negotiate after a couple weeks. Translation, the proposed partnership between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia is on life support.
- The St. Andrews Links collegiate starts Monday with the women’s and men’s teams from Vanderbilt, North Carolina, Georgetown and Notre Dame competing at the Jubilee and Old Course over three days. Topgolf is now a strategic partner of St. Andrews Links and along with World Wide Technology they’ve brought this college event to life. Expect more and a brilliant stroke on their part to give the American college programs the stage at the Old Course.
- George Savaricas arrived at Golf Channel a few years after I did, and he not only is exceedingly likeable on the air, but he’s also become a very versatile broadcaster. Hosting live golf, studio anchor, field reporter, George can handle all of it, quite well.
- Eric Cole is a plow mule. Another start, number 36 on the season. He was built to play in the 80’s. Cole’s last four starts include a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. He’s a lock for rookie of the year.
- Minjee Lee won the BMW ladies Championship. In winning she held off Alison Lee, Lydia Ko, and Angel Yin. Minjee did not have the type of major championship season she expects of herself but at 27 with double digit wins on the LPGA she is a Hall of Fame player reaching the height of her powers.
- Steph Curry will receive the Charlie Sifford award from the World Golf Hall of Fame at the induction ceremonies next June in Pinehurst. His impact on the game is just beginning but shining a brighter light now will only increase his ability to use the game for good.
- The state of South Carolina is on fire with new and great projects. Palmetto Bluff commissioning King/Collins and Coore/Crenshaw for projects only increases the buzz about the Palmetto State beyond the new Tree Farm and Old Barnwell and the fairly recent gem, Congaree.
by Gary Williams | Oct 16, 2023 | The Card
18 thoughts, observations and predictions…
- The Lexi Thompson invite seemed ill timed and clunky considering the season that she’s had on the LPGA, but she was compelling and competitive, and she deserves big credit for all of it.
- The merits for a mixed event were already there and should not be predicated on ONE female player being competitive in a men’s event. Find the right facility in the middle of the season to accommodate hosting men and women simultaneously, its overdue.
- Eric Cole is a professional golfer in the purest way. He’s always wanted to play for a living and finally given the opportunity he’s thrived on the best tour in the world. He would have fit in at the time his dad played the tour. No weeks off.
- Talor Gooch is not a top 10 player in the world. I’m not sure where he falls in the world rankings, I suppose in the top 25, but he’s getting paid like a top 10 quarterback in the NFL.
- Ludvig Aberg is a plow mule. Forget that he’s young and full of energy, he can’t help himself when it comes to competing. He insists on contending no matter the venue. That is an uncommon trait.
- Guys playing for spots in Signature events for early 2024 is the kind of inside golf nerdiness that we all need to watch events coming down the stretch on Sundays up against the NFL.
- Angel Yin getting her first win on the LPGA by going through Lilia Vu in a playoff is the very best way to break into the winner’s circle.
- Alan Shipnuck’s new book, “LIV and let Die” about the last year of turbulence in the professional game is interesting.The tension, friction and battle lines doesn’t make people look less appealing; it just makes them human.I recommend the book if you like professional golf.
- Sean McDonough is a generational broadcaster and hearing him on the NHL and college football this past week reminded me how his voice is missed during the major championship season.
- Playing Shinnecock this past week reaffirmed my belief that along with Oakmont they are the best and sternest championship venues America can offer the world.
- Fishers Island is a singular experience from the boat ride to the Raynor template holes to the panoramic joyride from 1 through 18.
- National Golf Links of America on a fall afternoon with knee-high fescue providing glorious contrast to the hurling fairways along the Peconic Bay is the finest golf day imaginable.
- Tiger Woods hit a few wedges on video this past week at the Hay at Pebble Beach and they were analyzed like swings of players playing closing holes in majors. He’s still the needle.
- Jon Rahm playing in Spain is an inspiring thing and is not dissimilar from Americans supporting tour events in their home states.
- There have been plenty of plugged in pundits who have predicted the demise of LIV since before it began. It’s not going anywhere soon.
- It’s the start of the winter season in south Florida and the proliferation of new courses in Martin County plus the new Coore & Crenshaw course at McArthur and the first full season at The Park in West Palm makes it a winter wonderland of golf.
- Tom Kim is a star. Three wins already and an infectious manner, plus the superstars of the game love his company. He’s a real asset for the PGA Tour.
- Playing Old Barnwell this Friday, the new offering outside of Aiken, South Carolina. Hearing great things and will provide a thorough recap next week.
by Gary Williams | Oct 1, 2023 | The Card
18 thoughts, observations and predictions…
- Luke Donald was appointed Ryder Cup captain in the middle of utter turmoil for Team Europe and the DP World Tour. He did a brilliant job in every facet starting with flipping the format of Friday’s opening session. Superb in all departments.
- Zach Johnson let the team pick the team and his captains picks went 4-12-4. An atrocious winning % and Sam Burns, Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas came up small. He has to own the decisions… which he will.
- The cries for less captains’ picks will come from American fans. I can only hope the PGA of America will resist reverting back to the old system. Trust the next captain and remember he is constructing a team not rewarding 12 all-stars.
- USA golf needs some new faces and voices inserted in the brain trust system. Furyk, Stricker & Love have all had their decades of inclusion. It’s time to give others time and a chance to contribute like Brandt Snedeker, Webb Simpson and Hunter Mahan.
- Tiger Woods has first right of refusal for every captaincy going forward until he decides to take the wheel. Bethpage seems logical and it is especially with a lot of guys he’s close to in their prime BUT Adare Manor in 2027 presents him with a chance to end the road drought and he’s close to the owners of the property.
- The next European captain may be its last, Luke Donald but the cleansing of LIV has started and in less than a year I expect the exiled to be returned to the system. There are simply too many worthy candidates if they are all eligible to give the post to Donald again.
- The Ryder Cup should always be thinking about ways to improve itself as a sports property. Its beyond time for the captains to be picking pairings together like the Presidents Cup. Its compelling and adds big time juice. Don’t shy away from confrontation, take it on. Now.
- Jordan Spieth was asked about the lay-off between the Tour Championship and the Ryder Cup and he said he’d ideally like a week or two. Expect the Tour and the PGA to configure the schedule in 2025 with less weeks between their last individual event and Bethpage.
- The European team now has three huge pieces in Rory, Rahm and Hovland. Add the steady Hatton, Fitzpatrick and Fleetwood and a potential star in Aberg and they will have a very capable group rolling into New York and they have made their BIG pivot.
- Max Homa is a star. He’s not a superstar because you have to contend in majors to be at the very small table that those players dine, and by 2025 he may have that box checked, but his appeal and his response to the environment make him a huge asset for the USA.
- The USA appeared to have several great pairings for the long haul, but the game can change that very quickly. While it appears Cantlay/Schauffele will still be viable Thomas/Spieth is now a question mark and all the other pieces are not tethered to anyone.
- Joe Lacava is a great dude and a universally respected caddy, but it appeared he suffered temporary insanity on Saturday night. Can only imagine what his player was subjected to all day BUT you cannot do what he did. Period.
- The USA team’s inability to hit the fairway on the first hole may have been a byproduct of nerves but the necessity to hit that fairway should have demanded a different approach from just ripping drivers with impunity.
- Scottie Scheffler is a great player, but his putter is an issue that may be remedied by Phil Kenyon, but him going winless in his last two team competitions is borderline implausible.
- The environment at a Ryder Cup is a departure for golf and most of it is great but there were some imbeciles in Rome and there will be more at Bethpage. The level of security and the explicit language on each ticket that will be grounds for removal MUST be a top priority. The place is a time bomb and I’m not exaggerating.
- Comcast/NBC needs to sell a redzone version of the Ryder Cup. There is an appetite for “featured groups” as a sellable piece to their coverage. People who invest in the Ryder Cup want all the shots and I mean all of them.
- Team Europe always treats the Ryder Cup like a complete and total privilege, and while the US team absolutely cares a great deal there is a mild undercurrent of obligation. Little things matter when everyone is pulling the sled, it has to be all privilege and zero obligation.
- Europe earned the win, USA golf has to own this loss starting with odd opening pairings on Friday morning, complete ineptitude in foursomes play and abject failure from the captains’ picks. Always a great show, the Ryder Cup is now on a five straight blowout result streak. Let’s hope that ends in two years, because Medinah is now a long, long time ago.
by Gary Williams | Sep 25, 2023 | The Card
18 thoughts, observations and predictions…
- Europe was gritty and resilient and earned the Cup back with a tie, but we are past these team events ending in ties. This is a compelling TV show, resolve the event with a winner determined.
- Caroline Hedwall paved the way for Carlota Ciganda getting the moment. Hedwall’s stroke play year has been very ordinary, didn’t matter, she’s a match play savant.
- Stacy Lewis played her cards and her insistence on trotting Lexi Thompson back out there the morning after the shank was gutsy and worked and to put her in the anchor match was the greatest show of belief in a player you’ll ever see.
- As for the Lexi and Stacy presser after the shank on the final hole. The question was asked clumsily but it was the only question. Anyone suggesting because writers aren’t elite players should disqualify them from asking the tough questions all need to remove themselves from all conversations on the role of the media.
- The Solheim Cup golf course, Finca Cortesin, looked pretty from afar but it was a dreadful design with way too much pitch and tilt throughout. Goofy seems about right.
- The reliance on world feeds for international competitions with a lot of attention on the event puts the host network in an impossible situation. The broadcast team for Golf Channel did their best, they were dealt an awful hand.
- In 2019 Norman Xiong had 21 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour and missed 15 cuts. He has looked into the abyss over the past three years, and he has come out the other side now a winner on Sunday. He was the “IT” kid and now at 24 he’s headed to the PGA Tour.
- Thongchai Jaidee won the Pure Insurance on the Champions Tour. I played a round with him at Carnoustie in 2012. A prince of a guy and a credit to the professional game for the past 30 years.
- Stewart Hagestad backed up his Mid Am win by winning the Crump Cup at Pine Valley. It included a hole in one on his first hole of the event on #10. The season of Stewart rolls on.
- Grant Boone who became ill midway through the Solheim Cup is a fantastic host and voice for women’s golf.
- Judy Rankin and Juli Inkster together in a booth should happen a couple times each year.
- Sensing a Rory McIlroy/Shane Lowry pairing on day one of the Ryder cup.
- Expect Koepka and Harmon top play foursomes on Friday.
- If Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth come up empty on Friday in two sessions, will he break them up? Absolutely not.
- Viktor Hovland will be the best player in Rome for Team Europe.
- Expect a very good performance from Max Homa. I think he was built for this stuff because he appreciates things at a superior level.
- Ludvig Aberg will get a marquee partner for his first match of his Ryder Cup career. I’m leaning Hovland.
- Europe will keep the streak alive. They have a formidable front end will get a massive week from Hovland, Rory and Hatton. This will be a gut wrenching, enthralling and scintillating Ryder Cup in the shadows of one of the world’s greatest cities.
by Gary Williams | Sep 18, 2023 | The Card
18 thoughts, observations and predictions…
- Sahith Theegala winning on tour early was as inevitable as almost anyone being a sure thing winner. He’s also a true prince of a guy.
- Eric Cole continues to be the best 35-year old story in professional golf in 2023.
- Seven members of the European Ryder Cup team finished in the top 10 at Wentworth. I repeat, Europe is not an underdog.
- The BMW PGA and the Players need more opportunity for the two tours members to play in the respective flagship events.
- Justin Thomas finishing 5th in Napa will not ease the consternation of those who think he shouldn’t be in Rome. They are dug in. He’s dug in as well.
- Highway 97 between Mullen and Valentine Nebraska is the most fertile 75 miles for golf holes to be constructed in America.
- The collection of society of golfers who have banned together to play golf, network and enjoy the best clubs in America is why the game will always be about the time and not the score.
- I met Grayson Murray when he was 16 years old and he’s seen some darkness in his young life. I hope him winning today on the Korn Ferry Tour means he’s seeing a lot of light again.
- Steve Stricker has six wins and five seconds in 15 Champions starts. As a part time player, he could finish in the top 5 all time win leaders on that tour, easily.
- Old Sandwich is as good a golf club as has been built in decades. It’s an example of touching all the bases.
- I am biased because I worked there but The Misquamicut Club and the tony town of Watch Hill, Rhode Island is incomparable as a summer haunt.
- The news that Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner will re-do Spanish Bay is incredibly good news for high-end retail golf.
- CapRock Ranch is the site of the first in a new docuseries coming from 5 Clubs Golf. We picked it for many reasons, and when you see it, you’ll understand why.
- The European Solheim Cup team is going to be 1 point better than the United States and it will get just enough from the back end of the line up to hold the Cup.
- The cutthroat nature of concessions in the Solheim Cup is much harsher than the Ryder Cup.
- Dave Kindred’s new book “My Home Team” will make you cry, more than once.
- Stewart Hagestad is the best career amateur since Jay Sigel, until he wasn’t a career amateur. Tremendous run from the Walker Cup to a win at the Mid-am.
- Brendan Walsh, the head professional at the Country Club, Brookline is a model for every young professional in the industry.
by Gary Williams | Sep 4, 2023 | The Card
18 thoughts, observations and predictions…
- Ludvig Aberg is that guy. Tron Carter hitched his wagon to the right star. He’s an easy pairing for Luke Donald since guys will fall over each other to play with him.
- It can be argued that Europe has the current best player in the world in Hovland, the biggest global star in Rory, the biggest alpha in Rahm, and the most exciting rookie in the Ryder Cup in Aberg. Let me repeat, Europe is not an underdog.
- For 48 hours professional golf felt like the big four sports. Loaded phone lines on the PGA Tour radio network and animated discussion of team selections and captain’s decisions.
- The USA team is Zach Johnson’s team as it should be. Six players chosen on performance over a season and the construction of the balance of the team on partnership and chemistry. The team helped pick the team, now they need to win or the boys club will be barbequed.
- The Walker Cup at St. Andrews is the purest and finest golf competition the sport can offer the world.
- Gordon Sargent went 4-0 and flexed as the guy amongst a group of wildly talented American players. He’s marketable and easily likable. He’s going to get real sponsorship money with exempt status waiting for him after another year at Vanderbilt.
- The four best events to arrange playing some golf while also viewing some golf are the U.S. Am and the Women’s Am, plus the Curtis Cup and the Walker Cup. Amazing venues and you can actually see golf shots and terrific golf nearby each to play.
- Stewart Hagestad defeated Connor Graham in Sunday singles at the Walker Cup. The oldest participant playing the youngest participant. The essence of the finest competition jointly conducted by the governing bodies.
- I grew up in New Jersey, which has great depth of tremendous golf courses. I had never played Somerset Hills until this past week. The two nines are distinctly different. The second hole is a fabulous redan, the 13th a wonderful Biarritz. Great land with real movement, an understated elegance and grass tennis courts. So good.
- The land of Bucks County Pennsylvania may be the fertile and pristine real estate to build a 175 acre masterpiece. I submit Gil Hanse to do the work on my dream course.
- I played Pine Valley for the first time in 1984 as a junior in high school. Every time since I feel the same way, as I did this past Friday, very grateful. I learn something about at least one hole I didn’t know before.
- The alternate 8th green, the right green is only used, according to the caddies, about 5 to 7% of the time.
- The 13th hole is arguably the sternest test of the 18 holes. The second shot plays down to a green that offers more pin locations than any green on the course and has more subtle slope from the top of the green to the bottom of any of the 18.
- Sean McDonough is a generational talent as a broadcaster having called big events in all sports for 30 years. Sunday, I watched and listened to him call his own 40-foot putt for birdie on 18 at Charlotte CC to help us smash our match with a disgruntled Jay Bilas and his litigious partner Mark Thigpen.
- Pinehurst #10 designed by Tom Doak will allow some preview play this fall before opening to the public early in 2024. Having walked it this past spring, X as it will be branded will be a MASSIVE hit and it will go next level after the world sees it U.S. Open week in June of 24.
- This fall The Tree Farm will officially open for play for its members and their guests and all the attention they will receive will be justly deserved, it’s fantastic in every way.
- Kira K. Dixon has turned into a very good broadcaster in a short period of time. Comfortable, exceedingly likable, and showing true versatility. She is amplifying what I’ve always believed about the job. Either you can or you can’t. You can always get better but you have to have the chops from the jump.
- The best book I’ve read on how the mind operates and the best way to improve your mental approach to playing better golf at all levels is, “Golf Beneath the Surface” by Raymond Prior. He will be my guest this week on the 5 Clubs Conversation.
