Golf Meets the Jetsons
+ New feature: Music fit for the golf course.
ON THE TEE
🏌️ The completely outmanned International team briefly threatened to make the Presidents Cup watchable. Apart from Justin Thomas, did the Americans look largely disinterested on Sunday?
🏌️ Speaking of Thomas, was his anger at Si Woo Kim in the Presidents Cup singles really genuine or was he just looking for a Michael Jordan-esque way to motivate him?
🏌️ Patrick Reed withdraws his defamation suit against Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee and files another similar suit against three Golf Channel on-air personalities. What does he really want here?
🏌️ People are reacting to Max Homa like he’s a brand-new emerging star. He’s 31 but now has five wins on the PGA Tour. Didn’t it used to be that Tour players started to blossom in their 30s?
🏌️ Rory McIlroy says golf’s fractured landscape is “ripping the game apart” and wants all parties to sit down and find a solution. If this had happened six months ago, where would we be now?
🏌️ Johan Rupert, a major South African and DP World Tour sponsor, is the first man with big money to suggest golf peace talks. Will other sponsors soon follow suit?
🏌️ Wesley Bryan discovered two 7-irons in his bag during the Monday qualifier for the Sanderson Farms Championship, one of which brought his total to 15 clubs. “You can go add four shots to my score, boys,” he laughingly told his fellow competitors. How many other Tour players would handle this the same way?
🏌️ Titleist and FootJoy announced their return to the 2023 PGA Merchandise Show, along with Cleveland, Srixon and XXIO. Are other major golf equipment companies making similar plans?
🏌️ How many times do we have to say it? Repair ball marks and rake bunkers. How hard is it?
:: Mike Purkey
FEATURES
Why robots (yes, robots) have a future in golf
From picking up balls to mowing fairways to delivering food at the turn, automated machinery is making golf course operations more efficient
:: Gary Van Sickle | Read
LIV Golf: Should league receive OWGR points?
The league's credibility — and possible success — may rest on being awarded world ranking points. The First Call readers present their opinions on why or why not this should occur
:: The First Call readers | Read
HOME FRONT
Clear Creek Tahoe | Carson City, Nevada
Listing: 200 Overlook Drive
Stats: 5,387 square feet | 6 bedrooms | 5.5 bathrooms | 4-plus-car garage | 1,800-square-foot guesthouse.
Price: $10,000,000.
About: A mountain contemporary home featuring an open floor plan with towering walls of windows that allows in the majestic outdoor scenery. Designed with principles of feng shui in mind, the home impresses with clean lines and open spaces. Situated upon a knoll, high above the Carson Valley, the home enjoys panoramic vistas in almost every direction. … Clear Creek Tahoe is a real estate development on the Carson Range, conveniently located just 20 minutes from South Lake Tahoe and Incline Village, and 35 minutes from Reno/Tahoe airport. … The community is home to Nevada’s No. 1 course, Clear Creek Tahoe, a Coore & Crenshaw design; the Twin Pines Lake & Ski House; and the new 20,000-square-foot Clear Creek Clubhouse, featuring indoor and outdoor space for dining and social gatherings, and approximately 5,000 square feet dedicated to fitness and wellness.
BOOKMARKED
Good reads that are mainly about golf, but not always.
📖 The dead are real
Hilary Mantel’s imagination.
:: Larissa MacFarquhar | The New Yorker | 10.08.2012
📖 All rise
At 6'7" and 282 pounds, the key to the Yankees' success is hard to miss. But despite the most powerful start ever to a rookie season, Aaron Judge just wants to blend into the crowd
:: Stephanie Apstein | Sports Illustrated | 05.15.2017
📖 Chasing (and building) authenticity: Mike Keiser’s approach to good golf and good business
Across more than three decades in the golf industry, Keiser has stayed true to one guiding principle. It’s a lesson he learned almost 50 years ago, long before he dreamt of building even a single golf course
:: Shaun Tolson | Sports Illustrated | 09.26.2022
OFF THE PLAYLIST
One golfer’s song of choice for the course. Hey, and if you don’t like it? Share your choice. Seriously.
🎶 Turmoil & Tinfoil :: Billy Strings
DESIGN NOTES
Davis Love III returns to renovate UNC Finley
The latest news and notes in golf course architecture.
⛳️ The University of North Carolina’s golf course in Chapel Hill, a layout known as UNC Finley, has started work on a major course and facility renovation. Handling the project is the team at Love Golf Design, whose members include victorious U.S. Presidents Cup Captain Davis Love III, his brother Mark Love — both UNC graduates — and lead architect Scot Sherman. UNC Finley might be best known as the venue where Love III, an All-American Tar Heel, showed classmate Michael Jordan how to grip a golf club.
The Love Design team will update the layout, flipping the front nine and back nine and will create two new holes on the future front nine. Additionally, they will add a new short course and range. A new team building and training facility will complete the offerings.
Finley, named for Raleigh-based construction magnate A.E. Finley, was originally a 1950 George Cobb design. In 1999, it underwent a radical transformation, with Tom Fazio essentially creating a new course on the old site. Love’s efforts won’t be quite that drastic, but the end results should be every bit as dramatic. Bentgrass greens that typically wilted in the summer will be replaced by heat-tolerant Bermuda. In addition, Love is designing two new holes to replace the current 10th and 11th. That parcel will now be occupied by a practice area for the Tar Heel men’s and women’s teams.
The revamped layout will incorporate the two new holes within the front nine (the old back nine), which means several of the old holes won’t fall in their usual order. The first of these will be the new fourth hole, that will follow the par-3 third (old 14th). Brand new 5 will be a potentially drivable par-4, featuring a fairway that tilts left to right and a green well-guarded by bunkers. The other brand new hole will be Number 6, an uphill par 3 that sits near the current 15th green and finishes near the green of the current 17th hole. What many consider the best, and certainly toughest hole on the old course, the 490-yard, par-4 15th will remain just as it is, only it will appear in the round as the fifth hole. UNC Finley closes in October to accommodate the renovations and is expected to reopen in late summer 2023.
⛳️ Oregon’s venerable Portland Golf Club is a few weeks away from completing course renovations under the direction of architect Dan Hixson. Best known for his original designs at Oregon’s Silvies Valley Ranch, Hixson’s renovation skills were utilized this time, at the club that played host to Ben Hogan’s first major championship win at the 1946 PGA Championship and for the U.S. romp at the 1947 Ryder Cup.
Originally designed by George Turnbull in 1914 and renovated by Robert Trent Jones in 1964, Portland turned to Hixson to tweak the greens, bunkers and irrigation system.
Hixson expanded 12 greens, some of which were restorations and others that were intended to increase pinnable areas. He also relined bunkers with the Better Billy Bunker system. In addition, he reconstructed tees, yanked out trees, altered mowing patters and created a new green complex at the par-5 15th.
⛳️ Now 104 years young, the 36-hole Community Golf Club in Dayton, Ohio, is basking in a recently completed bunker renovation from architect Chris Wilczynski. Working on construction in tandem with Topp Shape Enterprises, Wilczynski rebuilt a select number of bunkers, added others and converted others from sand to grass.
Housed on land donated by National Cash Register John H. Patterson, Community Golf Club played host to the 1924 U.S. Public Links Championship, so there’s a nice slice of history to preserve and enhance.
⛳️ Dormie Network’s Briggs Ranch is reopening in October following a summer-long comprehensive greens renovation. Designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 2001, Briggs Ranch is located 20 miles west of downtown San Antonio. The greens project involved restoring the putting surfaces to their original dimensions and contours. The greens were sprigged with TifEagle Bermuda for better year-round maintainability.
RELATED: Design Notes archive
NAMES | NEWS | NUMBERS
BUSINESS
▪️ Titleist, FootJoy: Renew their respective support of the 2023 PGA Show and will showcase complete product lines in new anchor exhibits on the PGA Show floor. They will also host a series of educational workshops and offer product testing during Demo & Fitting Day. … Golf Datatech: August turns out to be a boom month for apparel sales, which are up 8.8% YTD. … College Golf Experience: Sets its fall and winter camp dates, and the company projects three times growth in 2023. … The Arena Group: Sports Illustrated’s publisher acquires Morning Read, and will rebrand its name to SI Golf. … Landscapes Golf Management: To provide best practices advisory services to Riverside GC in Private Grand Island, Nebraska. … deWiz: Adds the Southern California PGA Section to its coach partnership program. … SHI International, LPGA: Agree to a multiyear deal that makes SHI, an IT solutions provider, an official technology partner of the Tour. … International Network of Golf: Entry deadline for its 29th ING Media Awards program is Oct. 11.
COMPETITION / COURSES
▪️ Korn Ferry Tour: Announces the inaugural Magnit Championship, which will be held Aug. 17-20, 2023 at Metedeconk National GC in Jackson Township, New Jersey. … Arcis Golf: Renovates the facilities and golf course at The Golf Club at Fossil Creek, a daily fee club in Fort Worth, Texas. … LPGA Mediheal Championship: Nearly 20 LPGA Tour professionals with Southern California roots are entered into the Oct. 6-9 tournament, including UCLA, USC and Pepperdine alums. … The Preserve GC: Carmel, California, club prepares to host a pair of top amateur events — the 30th Stocker Cup and the Cal Poly Invitational. … Rancho San Lucas GC: Los Cabos, Mexico, course is renamed Solmar Golf Links as part of a rebranding initiative. … Hidden Links, Golfpac Travel, Sqairz: To support Spectrum360’s 11th Fore the Kids Tournament on Oct. 3 at Mountain Ridge CC in West Caldwell, New Jersey. The tournament benefits autism awareness and research initiatives. … Discover Puerto Rico: Reports that the island’s 18 courses, along with area hotels and resorts, are welcoming guests and are fully operational after Hurricane Fiona. … LIV Golf: Releases details for the LIV Golf Invitational Series Team Championship, Oct. 28-30 at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami. The event will feature a seeded three-day, knock-out tournament featuring both match play and stroke play, while the 12 teams will compete head-to-head for a $50 million purse.
GEAR
▪️ PXG: Releases its 0317 ST Blades, which are engineered for precision and control. … Malcolm DeMille: Handcrafts customized Prestige Series money clips for the Rocky Mountain Section PGA. … Puma Golf, Palm Tree Crew: Collaborate on their latest apparel collection, which will be available at the Puma NYC flagship store starting Oct. 3 to celebrate Kygo’s show at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 6.
PEOPLE
▪️GCSAA: Kayla Kipp, Nemacolin’s equipment manager in the Turfgrass Management Department, becomes the association’s first female certified turf equipment manager, and just one of 15 in the world. … Rolex: Ambassador Davis Love III captains the U.S. to a 17.5-12.5 Presidents Cup win at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina. … GCSAA: Mark Williams, equipment manager at Nicklaus GC at LionsGate in Overland Park, Kansas, wins the 2022 Most Valuable Technician Award. … GCSAA: Elliott Pope earns the top award in the association’s Scholars Competition. Twenty-three students will receive scholarships for golf/turf management or related fields. … Academy of Golf Art: Names Craig Snyder, a golf landscapes artist, as its newest member. … Avon Fields GC: Teaching pro Ron Dumas receives the NAACP Cincinnati Chapter’s President’s Award for his impact on the community. … Solheim Cup: U.S. Captain Stacy Lewis selects Angela Stanford as an assistant captain for the 2023 team. Stanford, the 2018 Amundi Evian Championship winner and a six-time member of the U.S. Team, joins Morgan Pressel and Natalie Gulbis as assistant captains. … Bonita National GCC: Private Bonita Springs, Florida, club welcomes JP Shepherd as its new head golf professional.
THE STYLE LINKS
Adidas has re-engineered fleece so it’s more comfy/cozy wearable — perfect for fall golf rounds with its Cold.Rdy performance features, and ideal for tossing on when going everywhere else.
:: Janice Ferguson | IG: @janiceferguson_thestylelinks
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