Gil Hanse turns back time on Donald Ross classic
+ Golf ball manufacturer seeks place at the table; TFC's Gary Van Sickle finds a distance difference-making shaft
Editor’s note: Last weekend, we experienced technical difficulties that kept us from publishing the Saturday edition of The First Call | Extra. We know how much you enjoy this publication and we extend our apologies. Thank you for your continued readership.
THE STARTER
🏌️ Charlie Woods, Tiger’s 15-year-old son, entered a pre-qualifier for the Cognizant (formerly Honda) Classic and shot 86, which included a 12 on a par-4 and 50 rowdy spectators in his gallery. It’s hard to feel sorry for Charlie, but don’t you kind of?
🏌️ Hideki Matsuyama torched Riviera Country Club with 62 on Sunday to win the Genesis Invitational. But host Tiger Woods didn’t stick around after withdrawing with illness on Friday. Matsuyama was disappointed that he didn’t get a picture with Tiger. Do you blame him?
🏌️ After winning LIV Golf Mayakoba and lamenting about not qualifying for the majors, Joaquin Niemann received a special invitation to Masters. Shouldn’t the majors want all the best players?
🏌️ LIV Golf players — 21, in fact — have populated the Asian Tour’s International Series Oman, with hopes of world ranking points. In fact, LIV’s David Puig won the Malaysian Open on the Asian Tour and qualified for the British Open? What will it take for the Official World Golf Ranking to come to its senses?
🏌️ Just when the PGA Tour needed some juice, the Genesis had a marquis final pairing with leader Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele. But Cantlay was ill and Schauffele didn’t play well. Isn’t that a snapshot of the malaise the Tour is in currently?
🏌️ Rory McIlroy gave Scottie Scheffler some putting advice on the air at Riviera, suggesting the World No. 1 should try a mallet putter, instead of the traditional blade he’s using. Rory’s has plenty. Should he give Scheffler one of his?
🏌️ Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund — which financed LIV Golf — teed it up in the pro-am of the Trophy Hassan II in Morocco, a PGA Tour Champions event. Does that say anything about the state of the negotiations with the PGA Tour?
🏌️ Former Rolex No. 1 Jin Young Ko returned to the LPGA Tour in Thailand after suffering from knee issues at the CME Group Tour Championship. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone noticed?
🏌️ Rafael Nadal warmed up for his 2024 tennis kickoff at Indian Wells by winning the Balearic Mid-Amateur Golf Championship in his native Mallorca by seven shots. Is he stealthily planning for life after tennis?
:: Mike Purkey
FEATURES
Gil Hanse restores Worcester CC course's historic character
A $3.7 million project that started in August 2023 brings back the luster to course architect Donald Ross's original 1913 design
:: Bradley S. Klein | Read
Renegade Golf seeks its niche in crowded ball space
CEO Kenneth Duncan is deftly steering the first wholly Black-owned company to manufacture a golf ball approved for competition by the USGA to the retail marketplace
:: Gary Van Sickle | Read
Sir Isaac Newton and the quest for distance
The Newton Motion carbon fiber shaft is adding considerable yardage for the fraction of what a new driver would cost — and that has the author's undivided attention
:: Gary Van Sickle | Read
BOOKMARKED
Good reads that are mainly about golf, but not always.
📖 Cillian Murphy is the man of the moment
For nearly 30 years, Cillian Murphy has built an unimpeachable body of work as one of our most versatile actors — while somehow also staying cleverly out of sight. Now, as an Oscar front-runner, the Oppenheimer star pulls back the curtain (just a bit).
:: Daniel Riley | GQ | 02.13.2024
📖 Chip by chip, this ice cream flavor is melting away
Chocolate chip ice cream, once a year-round staple, has fallen out of favor
:: Matt Richtel | New York Times | 02.15.2024
BUSINESS
WEEK IN REVIEW
1️⃣8️⃣ The industry’s names, news and notables that are making the headlines. | Read
PERFECT PUTT
When every slot counts: The multimillion dollar impact of tee time cancellations
Golf has an interesting problem — tee time cancellations. And it is a seven-figure issue for some golf courses. Publisher Jared Doerfler examines how the topic is being addressed
:: Jared Doerfler | Read
Each Monday, Jared Doerfler breaks down the business of golf. Subscribe to Perfect Putt here.
ICYMI
This week’s editions of The First Call:
Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday
TRAVEL
The First Call has partnered with SportGo Travel, an online booking service, to give you up to 50% off or more on hotel accommodations worldwide.
Whether you’re planning your next trip to a tournament, a buddies or girls golf getaway, or a family vacation, book your stay through SportGo Travel and save. Simply create your account and start planning.
LIFESTYLE
THE STYLE LINKS
If you need a sure sign spring is coming, check out all the new golf shoes heading our way — like these new Puma Slipstring Gs.
:: Janice Ferguson | IG: @janiceferguson_thestylelinks
19TH HOLE
Each episode of the “Course of Life” podcast closes with the guest sharing a favorite 19th hole experience.
Maja Stark, LPGA winner and European Solheim Cup Team member: “I usually like a club sandwich after a round, and we have stacked fridges on the LPGA Tour so I go with a Diet Coke."
:: Alex Lauzon | Co-host of “Course of Life” podcast
HOME FRONT
Clear Creek Tahoe | Carson City, Nevada
Listing: 3532 Knob Point Trail | Unit 108.
Stats: 7,142 square feet | 5 bedrooms | 5.5 bathrooms | 6-car subterranean garage | Tesla solar roof.
Price: $12,750,000.
About: The heart of Clear Creek Tahoe is an impressive amenity suite. This includes the Coore & Crenshaw-designed golf course, ranked as the No. 1 private course in the state; Summit Camp, with pools, sport courts and game room; a Pro Shop & Provisions outlet; the Grille and Pub; elegant fairway cabins; the Julia Morgan-designed Twin Pines Lake & Ski House; and the new, 20,000-square-foot Clear Creek Clubhouse. This home in Clear Creek Tahoe features more than 7,000 square feet of living space, five bedroom suites, a six-car subterranean garage, golf simulator/game room, and is one of the very few homes in Nevada to include a Tesla solar roof, Tesla Powerwalls and a fully integrated solar and energy storage system. Owners will have an ideal indoor-outdoor lifestyle with their private oasis boasting 1,700-plus square feet of patio space made for entertaining. Amenities include a fireplace, built-in barbecue, and a spacious jacuzzi that accommodates over a dozen people. This is Clear Creek Tahoe’s first property offered for sale with an inground swimming pool and, additionally, the developers have included a Tesla Cybertruck — as noted by Tesla as “the most powerful tool we have built” — as part of the purchase price.
ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN NOTES
Coore-Crenshaw’s Point Hardy at Cabot St. Lucia dazzles
After all the hype, anticipation and pandemic-related delays, the Point Hardy Golf Club at Cabot St. Lucia opened on Dec. 7.
Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw for The Cabot Collection, a Toronto-based developer and operator of luxury resort and residential golf destinations, Point Hardy is the centerpiece of Cabot St. Lucia, a 375-acre golf and residential estate that occupies one-and-a-half miles of coastline overlooking the Caribbean Sea on the northern tip of St. Lucia.
“When I first saw the land that would become Cabot Saint Lucia, I knew it was the perfect canvas to create something truly awe-inspiring," said Ben Cowan-Dewar, CEO and co-founder of Cabot. "Opening Cabot Saint Lucia and Point Hardy Golf Club has been a dream come true."
Perched above the Atlantic Ocean and designed to blend seamlessly with the unique topography of the Saint Lucian landscape, Point Hardy is the crown jewel of the site. Coore's and Crenshaw’s first Caribbean course winds through lush terrain, over rocky cliffs jutting into the ocean and along meandering valleys and sandy beaches.
With nine holes (six through nine and 14 through 18) playing along the ocean and every hole showcasing mesmerizing views, the 6,650-yard, par-71 course capitalizes on natural beauty and playability at every turn. The four-hole closing stretch at Point Hardy features forced carries, jagged rocks and crashing waves. Those holes include the 307-yard, par-4 15th; the 156-yard, par-3 16th; the 187-yard, par-3 17th; and the 502-yard, par-5 18th.
"It’s very possible that Cabot Saint Lucia is the most visually stunning piece of land we have ever worked with," said Coore, co-principal of Coore & Crenshaw. "It was a privilege to work with the Cabot team on this one-of-a-kind site, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished. This project was truly a labor of love."
READ: This week’s complete Design Notes
RELATED: Design Notes archive
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