A Reason to Whoop it Up
+ Mental mindset playing a larger role in a player's game.
ON THE TEE
🏌️ Tiger Woods made an appearance at the JP McManus Pro-Am in Ireland on Monday and Tuesday. Didn’t he appear to be hurting?
🏌️ Woods is playing the British Open next week at the Old Course at St. Andrews after withdrawing from the PGA Championship and not entering the U.S. Open. What’s the over/under on his score for 36 holes?
🏌️ Now, Rory McIlroy says the PGA Tour and DP World Tour need to hold peace talks with LIV Golf. If that had happened from the beginning, would we be in this mess?
🏌️ Talor Gooch was roasted for comparing the LIV Golf team aspect with a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup. Did he deserve it?
🏌️ Four LIV players were granted an injunction to play in the Genesis Scottish Open. Is this a sign of things to come?
🏌️ The LIV Golf Invitational in Portland claimed a ticket sellout but tournament organizers said weeks ago they were budgeting for 10,000 fans per day. Isn’t that a bit misleading?
🏌️ Jerry Foltz, formerly a well-respected ground reporter at Golf Channel, is the lead announcer and head cheerleader for LIV Golf, seen on YouTube. Isn’t fake enthusiasm obvious?
🏌️ Speaking of LIV on YouTube, peak viewership on each day from Portland appeared to be short of 100,000. Does that seem like a small number?
🏌️ You can learn to do almost anything on YouTube from chopping a cabbage to recharging your car’s air conditioning system. Be honest, how many times have you sought golf instruction on YouTube?
:: Mike Purkey
FEATURES
Downtime data key to Whoop's performance
Wearable fitness band enhances performance by 'measuring the quieter periods of life,' such as recovery and sleep
:: Mike Purkey | Read
Past, present and future of mental coaching in golf
As professional golf grows more lucrative, the sport’s elite players are left searching for an advantage. That edge is coming in the form of sports psychology
:: Shaun Tolson | Read
Q&A: John Simpson | On Course Foundation
Simpson never let a polio diagnosis at age 2 alter his ascent to a successful business career. Today, through golf, his On Course Foundation is helping disabled veterans and military personnel
:: Stuart Hall | Read
BOOKMARKED
Good reads that are mainly about golf, but not always …
📖 The mountain that helps power Britain
:: Mike MacEacheran | BBC | 07.01.2022
📖 Old Course: The best one-liners
:: Geoff Shackelford | The Quadrilateral | 07.05.2022
📖 A braw brawl for Tom and Jack
:: Dan Jenkins | Sports Illustrated | 07.18.1977
📖 The Maldives is building the world’s first floating city
:: Saumya Ancheri | Condé Nast Traveller | 07.05.2022
DESIGN NOTES
Streamsong short course gets name, routing
The latest news and notes in golf course architecture.
⛳️ Following the announcement in January 2022 that Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw would design a fourth layout for Streamsong Resort — an 18-hole short course — the course's name, The Chain, was revealed in late June.
Hewn from land that was once used for phosphate ore mining, The Chain was named for the remnants of a piece of mining equipment that was used to hold a dragline bucket in place. The piece was discovered on site during the routing process.
The new course will measure approximately 3,000 yards, with holes ranging from 90 to 275 yards and will feature flexible 6- and 12-hole loops. The six-hole loop is designed for all levels, with no hole longer than 148 yards. The 12-hole loop embraces more challenge as it unfolds across old mining cuts and along the banks of Little Payne Creek. Chain links will mark the teeing grounds front and back, but traditional tee markers and any sort of par for each hole will be absent. In addition to The Chain, Coore and Crenshaw will craft a sprawling two-acre putting course called The Bucket, which will be double the size of the existing Gauntlet putting course at Streamsong Black.
RELATED: Coore & Crenshaw: The cornerstone of success
"Ben and I have wonderful memories of working with our talented associates and the Mosiac Company to create Streamsong Red, and we appreciate the opportunity to return to one of America’s most sought-out golfing destinations," Coore said. "Routed on a highly interesting site, The Chain will feature a variety of holes laid upon a landscape of parkland, live oaks, sand and lakes. Although diminutive in size, we believe The Chain, when combined with the anything-but-diminutive Bucket putting course, has the potential to complement, perhaps even enhance, Streamsong’s reputation for must-be-experienced golf.”
⛳️ A long-delayed new course project along Lake Michigan for the Kohler Company is back on track. Designed by then 88-year-old Pete Dye in 2014, the new course was slated to unfold across a 247-acre, Kohler-owned piece of property along the lake, which would feature four holes at water’s edge.
Located near the town of Wilson, adjacent to Kohler-Andrae State Park, the proposed design has been tied up in legal challenges since then. In late June, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held in a 4-3 decision that the Friends of the Black River Forest can’t challenge the Department of Natural Resources policy board’s 2018 decision that resulted in a land swap, giving Kohler Co. 4.6 park acres and a 1.8-acre easement in exchange for about 10 acres of land west of the park. Kohler received property that featured dense woods, sand dunes and wetlands. There are several other legal potholes to negotiate, including obtaining wetlands permits, but the Kohler brass is optimistic.
“We look forward to developing our public golf course in the City of Sheboygan on property owned by Kohler Co. for more than 75 years,” said Dirk Willis, vice president, golf, landscape and retail for Kohler Co. Hospitality. “We are committed to creating a world-class golf course that respects the property’s natural character and opens up private land to the public for the first time. Kohler has an established track record of good environmental stewardship with a commitment to following all applicable municipal, state and federal regulations.”
⛳️ The venerable Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, Arizona, will undergo a four-month bunker enhancement project this summer on its Red Course. The project will begin on July 5 and will focus on refreshing all 44 fairway and greenside bunkers. Pro Turf International, in collaboration with The Wigwam’s ownership group JDM Partners, are handling the work, which is expected to be completed by October. With work taking place during the slower summer months, the Red Course will remain open for play.
As part of the Red Course bunker enhancement project, all bunkers will be excavated and rebuilt incorporating a technically advanced drainage and liner system featuring Capillary Concrete. This new generation lining method increases the speed at which water flows through the bunker, minimizing washouts, reducing maintenance and producing superior playability. In addition, tan sand will be replaced with new, higher-quality white sand in all bunkers.
The Wigwam’s Red Course, originally called the West Course when it opened in 1974, was renamed in the late 1980s in honor of the club’s head professional of 42 years, V.O. “Red” Allen and the course’s architect, Robert “Red” Lawrence. Robert Trent Jones designed the other two courses at The Wigwam, the Gold and the Blue, in the mid-1960s.
⛳️ The iconic Gleneagles Hotel in the Scottish Highlands has renovated back tees at five holes on its King’s course, ahead of its hosting the Senior Open Championship, July 21-24. James Braid designed the King’s in 1924 and the course underwent a successful restoration in 2016. The current work focused on adding length, challenge and better views of the greens.
A new back tee on the par-4 seventh hole, built behind the sixth green, stretches the yardage from 444 to 468. It also alters the angle of the tee shot, creating a sharper dogleg, which makes it tougher to cut the corner. At the 178-yard, par-3 eighth, Gleneagles extended the tee and moved it further left to reveal the right side of the green. The drivable par-4 14th has bumped its back tee yardage from 309 to 341, while at the petite, 158-yard, par-3 16th, the back tee has been lowered and shifted to the left to provide a view of the entire green.
Additional changes ahead of the tournament include the introduction of closely mown surfaces around the greens and fairway bunkers, which helps to better incorporate the site’s natural contours into the playing experience.
RELATED: Design Notes archive
HOME FRONT
Panther National | Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Listing: Zermatt
Stats: 7,300 square feet. 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms.
Price: $5,900,000.
About: Panther National is the first modern golf and lifestyle community to debut in Palm Beach County in nearly two decades. Founded by Dominik Senn, the development will feature a host of premium amenities and bring together some of the world’s top brands, such as Tesla, to provide an unparalleled living experience from world-renowned architect Max Strang. The community features 218 modern estate homesites across a 400-acre master-planned community bordered by a 2,400-acre conservation area. Situated on .5 acres, the Zermatt represents one of the largest floor plans available with more than 7,300 square feet of living space. This two-story home has a private office and two dens and is ideal for entertaining as the Zermatt's great room opens to a graciously covered terrace complete with a summer kitchen and full bath. The three-car garage comes equipped with a Tesla EV charging station and enough room for a golf cart. As for golf, Panther National will a feature an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus and Justin Thomas, training facilities with a 9-hole par-3 practice course, short game area, hitting bays and indoor hitting simulator.
NAMES | NEWS | NUMBERS
BUSINESS
▪️PGA Buying and Education Summit: Top brands, buyers coming together July 11-12 in Las Vegas for the mid-season Summit that offers business, education, career and social networking programs. … Matt Fitzpatrick, Troon: Partner for Ukraine humanitarian relief by offering an autographed golf bag to be used at 150th British Open. … Rolex: Returns to St. Andrews as a patron for the 150th British Open. The brand’s relationship with the year's final major dates back to its first appearance at Royal St George’s in 1981. … Club Champion: Opens a new 4,400-square-foot flagship studio in New York City that features four hitting bays and five master fitters. … Stewart Golf: Named by The Sunday Times of London to its list of the 100 fastest growing companies in the U.K. … Landscapes Golf Management: Selected to provide advisory services for Lincoln Hills GC [Ludington, Michigan] and Scotts Bluff CC [Scottsbluff, Nebraska]. … Duca del Cosma: Italian brand seeks experienced golf sales representatives in North America. … Golftec: Reports the opening of 12 training centers — six new and six relocations — during Q2 2022.
COMPETITION
▪️Georgia PGA, East Coast Women’s Pro Golf Tour: Georgia Women’s Open becomes an official event on the ECWPGT’s schedule. Points won will go toward the Tour’s end-of-season $5,000 bonus. … LPGA, PGA Tour: Announce that the respective Buick LPGA Shanghai and World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions have been cancelled due to ongoing COVID-19-related restrictions in China. The decisions were made in conjunction with the China Golf Association.
COURSES
▪️Gamble Sands: Brewster, Washington, resort announces a second David McLay Kidd-designed course. Construction will begin in the fall, along with additional rooms at the Inn at Gamble Sands. … Boulders Resort: Scottsdale, Arizona, club begins bunker renovation and refinement project on its South Course.
GEAR
▪️Lohla Sport: Introduces Winter Wonderlands apparel collection.
THE STYLE LINKS
Vessel has released a limited edition set of golf bags — the 150th Open Collection — to commemorate the playing of the oldest and one of the most prestigious championships in golf.
:: Janice Ferguson | IG: @janiceferguson_thestylelinks
THE GOOD LIFE
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