Did Ryder Cup wake America's Sleeping Giant?
+ Poll: Do we finally have ourselves a match?
ON THE TEE
🏌️ Martin Slumbers, the chief executive of the R&A, says LIV Golf players will be welcome at the British Open. “We’re not banning anyone. We are not going to betray 150 years of history and have the Open not be open.” Which major championship will speak next?
🏌️ Dustin Johnson won $35.6 million on the course in eight LIV Golf events, including $18 million for the individual points title. “My season, I played good,” he said. “I didn't play my best." Did someone say LIV players would just become complacent?
🏌️ Pat Perez made more than $7 million by being a part of the 4 Aces, who won the LIV Golf team championship last week. That’s more than he made in his last four seasons on the PGA Tour — combined. Wonder why he’s so happy?
🏌️ Just like other team sports, LIV players are already on the move. Talor Gooch leaves the champion 4 Aces to join the Niblicks, captained by Bubba Watson, who said the team name will change. Peter Uihlein joins the 4 Aces. Do we need a scorecard already?
🏌️ The deadline for feedback among stakeholders in the great distance debate was due to the USGA and R&A was Sept. 2. Will anything meaningful come of this?
🏌️ Nineteen-year-old Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand becomes the second-youngest No. 1 women’s player in the world. Have you ever seen her play?
🏌️ Australian Harrison Crowe won the Asia-Pacific Amateur and earned an invitation to the Masters in April. Next year, will the space amateurs traditionally stay become the “Crowe’s Nest?”
🏌️ A woman faces charges for hitting a golf ball and throwing the club into the Grand Canyon. Did she realize she hit it in jail?
🏌️ If you’re playing golf in shorts in November, do you realize how fortunate you are?
:: Mike Purkey
FEATURES
How American sport finally shed its insularity
Author of “Generation Zero: Founding Fathers, Hidden Histories and The Making of Soccer in America" explains how Europe’s Ryder Cup rise played a role in soccer's growth in the U.S.
:: Hal Phillips | Read
Sun Mountain has yet to reach its peak
CEO Ed Kowachek is a company fixture, having been with the Montana-based firm for 37 years, and he still strives for innovation among its offering of bags, carts and outerwear
:: Mike Purkey | Read
Takomo Golf cracking code on premium clubs
Takomo Golf CEO Sebastian Haapahovi talks with The First Call's Gary Van Sickle about the impetus for his company's D2C model and why it is so appealing
:: Gary Van Sickle | Read
HOME FRONT
GlenArbor Golf Club | Bedford Hills, New York
Listing: 62 Succabone Road
Stats: 5,437 square feet | 8 bedrooms | 7 baths, 2 half baths.
Price: $2,395,000.
About: The updated 1875 estate known as "Broadlawns" is located in the heart of Bedford on a 8.5-acre corner lot. The home has direct dirt-road access to the BRLA Horse Riding trails and the possibilities to reimagine the historic eight-bedroom period main house are endless. Inside, there are four fireplaces and flowing great rooms that lead outdoors to a formal veranda, covered porch and patio. With two horse stalls, a tack room and birthing area still intact, the massive High-Frame Antique Barn could easily be restored to its equestrian roots or create a car collectors dream garage or party barn. A centrally located in-ground heated pool and pool house with changing rooms and a kitchenette anchor the property. There is also a three-bedroom guest cottage, which has its own private driveway. Nearby is the Gary Player-designed GlenArbor GC. The course is blessed with terrain features that golf architects prize — unspoiled wetlands, natural grades and abundant wildlife.
BOOKMARKED
Good reads that are mainly about golf, but not always.
📖 Breeder goes the distance
Hanging around horses, says 100-year-old Fred Hooper, is the secret to a long, full life
:: Frank Lidz | Sports Illustrated | 12.01.1997
📖 The ride of Sam Snead’s life
Hanging around horses, says 100-year-old Fred Hooper, is the secret to a long, full life
:: Guy Yocum | Golf Digest | 04.07.2020
📖 A unified field theory of Bob Dylan
He’s in his eighties. How does he keep it fresh?
:: David Remnick | The New Yorker | 10.24.2022
📖 Ranking Sergio Garcia’s wild tantrums, epic meltdowns and controversial moments
Sergio Garcia’s Ryder Cup career appears to be over, and he seems fine with it. Gary Van Sickle says Sergio is about to fade into irrelevancy, so it’s time to look back at the tantrums, meltdowns and controversies that marked his career
:: Gary Van Sickle | Sports Illustrated | 10.31.2022
OFF THE PLAYLIST
One golfer’s song of choice for the course. Hey, and if you don’t like it? Share your choice. Seriously. .
🎶 Take Me Home | Phil Collins [Spotify | iTunes]
DESIGN NOTES
Cape Club of Palm City gets a reboot
⛳️ The Cape Club of Palm City, formerly the Fox Club Florida, is set to open on Nov. 18 following an extensive renovation to both the golf course and the clubhouse.
Acquired by The Cape Club in May 2022, the 18-hole golf course and 16,500 square-foot clubhouse have undergone significant improvements since closing on July 1.
Located on the Treasure Coast in Palm City, Florida, Cape Club of Palm City’s layout offers quintessential Florida golf, serving as a connection between tamed and untamed nature. Originally designed by Roy Case in 1989 and redesigned in 2004 by British Open champion Darren Clarke and former Walker Cup star Eoghan O’Connell, the course has been refreshed and redesigned once again in 2022 by The Cape Club Collection.
The golf experience at Cape Club of Palm City is highlighted by strategic water features, risk/reward tee shots (tempting one with angles), creative mounding and slick, tour-quality greens often protected by signature Cape Club "Augusta White" sand. The meandering layout flanked with wetlands and preserves makes for a back-to-nature experience. Located 30 minutes north of the West Palm Beach airport, the renovated and rebranded facility will open as a premier private club.
"The golf course will serve up one of the most memorable golf experiences in the region for Cape Club members and guests," said Brett Melton, Cape Club’s director of golf.
⛳️ Globetrotting architect Ron Garl is continuing renovation efforts on the Mohegan Sun Golf Club in Baltic, Connecticut. Opened in 1960 as the Geoffrey Cornish-designed Pautipaug CC, the course was purchased by the Mohegan Sun Casino in 2008 and renovated by Robert McNeill in 2011.
Garl, who has left his design imprint on nearly 300 courses in ten countries, including more than 100 courses in Florida, began renovations last winter. He has removed or relocated fairway bunkers that overly penalized less skilled golfers and did the same for fronting greenside bunkers to make the greens more accessible to a wider variety of players. Garl will eventually renovate every bunker on the course, including shallowing out some bunkers that were too deep for the clientele that use the course.
In the winters of 2022-23, Garl intends to build new, softer sloping greens at the par-4 third and 12th holes. Work is expected to be completed by spring 2024.
⛳️ Benjamin Warren of Artisan Golf Design will begin remodeling Classic Golf Club in Fukuoka, Japan, in January 2023.
Warren, who was raised in North Berwick and who has worked on projects for Gil Hanse and Tom Doak’s Renaissance Design, will spearhead the transition from the traditional two-green concept common in Japan — a different grass for winter and summer play — to a single green per hole, plus effect a redesign from tee to green.
Originally designed by Shoichi Suzuki and Yuzo Tanimizu in 1990, the 27-hole layout (King, Queen and Prince nines) of the Classic Golf Club has played host to many significant professional tournaments, most recently the 2020 Japan Women’s Open Championship. Most major events are contested on a layout comprised of the King and Queen nines, which will be the first two nines to be altered according to Warren’s plan.
Among the classic accents to come in the redesign are a boomerang green at the sixth, a Cape-style hole at the 14th, a Road Hole inspiration at the 15th and a new risk/reward opportunity at the watery 18th.
NAMES | NEWS | NUMBERS
BUSINESS
▪️TMRW Sports: Stephen Curry, Lewis Hamilton, Justin Timberlake, Serena Williams and others headline a strategic investor group co-led by Connect Ventures and 25madison Ventures. … Swing Control: Appoints Read the Greens, Golf Media to promote its new fall apparel and 2023 spring collection. … Tagmarshal: Honors a select group of courses with its Diamond Awards that recognize course performance, on-course service and continuous improvement. … Greenwood Golf: Golf apparel brand receives free exhibit space at the 2023 PGA Show for winning the “Share Your Story” contest at the African American Golf Expo and Forum. … PGA Show: The 70th edition will host golf’s top brands, Jan. 24-27 in Orlando, Florida. Companies plan to showcase innovations in equipment, technology, and golf-related services. … Duca del Cosma: Appoints sales executives for west coast and Ohio territories. … True Spec: Launches an outdoor facility at Fairmont Grand Del Mar in San Diego, California. … Malcolm DeMille: Handcrafts the 100th anniversary tournament prizes and gifts for Oakmont CC in Glendale, California.
COMPETITION / COURSES
▪️Ascendant LPGA benefiting Volunteers of America: Tournament will return to The Colony and Old American GC, in The Colony, Texas, Oct. 2-8, 2023, and offer a $1.7 million purse. … USGA: Selects Oklahoma City G&CC, in Nichols Hills, Oklahoma, as the host site of the 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. and Chicago GC, in Wheaton, Illinois, to host the 2033 U.S. Women’s Open and 2036 Walker Cup Match. … Pelican Women’s Championship: Announces that Aline Krauter, Azahara Munoz and Avery Zweig will receive exemptions for the LPGA tournament, Nov. 7-13 in Tampa Bay, Florida. … Phoenix CC: To host the PGA Tour Champions' Charles Schwab Cup Championship, Nov. 10-13 in Phoenix, Arizona. … U.S. Disabled Golf Association: Announces that the 2023 United States Disabled Open Championship will be held at PGA Golf Club’s Ryder Course in Port St. Lucie, Florida, May 8-10. … KemperSports: Company grows 15-year partnership with the City of Portland, Oregon, by adding Eastmoreland GC and Rose City GC to its management portfolio. … PXG Women’s Match Play Championship: East Coast Women’s Professional Golf Tour event, featuring a field of rising professionals, amateurs and top NCAA players continues through Sunday at the Slammer & Squire GC at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida.
GEAR
▪️Me and My Golf: Online golf coaching platform to showcase new range of training aids, including the Breaking Ball Putting Mat, at the 2023 PGA Show. … Galvin Green: Launches limited edition Cool Collection for autumn and winter wardrobes and includes a water-resistant jacket, full-zip sweatshirt and four breathable, patterned shirts. … Ace Indoor Golf: Installs the simulator for the new 6,000-square-foot Five Iron Golf facility in Shelby Township, Michigan. … Lohla Sport: Introduces the fall colors blueberry, crimson, coral and lapis to its The Very Pant line. … Whiskers: Unveils its Veteran’s Day collection of golf shoelaces, which are available in solid and pattern designs, and in single, three and five packs. … Kinona: Adds women’s golf outerwear items to its Apres 18 Collection, including a quilted golf skort and golf jacket, a hoodie dress, a sport skirt and wide-leg pants. … Whiskers: PGA Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship winner wore the brand’s green-white ticked, golf-specific shoelaces.
PEOPLE
▪️Torreon GC: Show Low, Arizona, club hires Jeffrey Jacobson as its new executive chef. … Club Benchmarking: Hires James Burns, who is based in Ireland and will focus on the European club market for the provider of benchmarking and business intelligence services to private clubs. … Metropolitan Golf Association: Brad Tilley, 39, of Sleepy Hollow, New York, wins 2022 MGA Jerry Courville Senior Player of the Year honors, while Tyler Lee, 18, of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, is the 2022 MGA Junior Player of the Year. … NBC Sports: Names Rick Cordella as president of programming for NBC Sports and Peacock Sports. Cordella rejoins NBC Sports after three years on Peacock’s executive leadership team. Also, Tom Knapp has been named executive vice president of golf. … Golf Magazine: Announces the inductees for the 2022 World Golf Teachers Hall of Fame. They will be honored at the Top 100 Teachers Retreat, Nov. 13-16 in Scottsdale, Arizona. … Princeville Makai GC: Assistant superintendent Damian Baptiste is selected as a winner of the National Weather Service’s 2022 John Companius Holm Award for his outstanding service in the field of weather observations since 1985. … PGA of America: Honors 12 PGA members during its National Awards on Nov. 1 in Phoenix, Arizona. The recipients were Tom Wildenhaus, PGA Golf Professional of the Year; Jamie Mulligan, PGA Teacher and Coach of the Year; Joe Assell, PGA Golf Executive of the Year; Tim Beckwith, Bill Strausbaugh Award (posthumously); Dr. Rich Ballinger, PGA Professional Development Award; Bryan DeMarco, Deacon Palmer Award; Joe Grohman, Patriot Award; Thomas Yost, PGA Player Development Award; Andrew Miller, PGA Youth Player Development Award; Caroline Basarab, PGA Merchandiser of the Year, Resort Category; Brian Tolnar, PGA Merchandiser of the Year, Public Category; and Ian Brown, PGA Merchandiser of the Year, Private Category.
PHILANTHROPY
▪️NBC Sports Next: November fundraising initiative with the NFL encourages golfers booking tee times on GolfNow and TeeOff to round-up to benefit the league’s Salute to Service and military communities.
THE STYLE LINKS
One way a vest can be even more versatile … make it reversible.
:: Janice Ferguson | IG: @janiceferguson_thestylelinks
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