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