Has the Ryder Cup reached a tipping point?
+ The Starter has nine things to consider; ticket prices for the biennial Ryder Cup matches have skyrocketed; Davis Love III to leave his imprint on Harbour Town.
THE STARTER
🏌️ If you have plans to attend the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, a general admission ticket will set you back $750 — per day for the three days of competition. REALLY??!!
🏌️ LIV Golf, according to reports, is looking for CEO to replace Greg Norman, who is expected to remain commissioner of the LIV Golf League. Will this help move negotiations between PIF and the PGA Tour?
🏌️ Billy Horschel says Rory McIlroy is the best player of his generation. How long does a generation last? Tiger, did you see this?
🏌️ Jordan Speith, who was No. 1 in the world for 26 weeks, has now fallen out of the top 50 in the rankings. He’s had surgery to repair a long-injured wrist but does he have a comeback in him?
🏌️ Matt McCarty won the PGA Tour’s Black Desert Championship in Utah and will also get an invitation to next year’s Masters. No offense to Matt, but have you ever heard of him?
🏌️ Joel Dahmen was issued a four-stroke penalty at the Shriners Children’s Open for mistakenly carrying 15 clubs in his bag. How does this even happen anymore?
🏌️ Frenchman Ugo Coussaud made a hole-in-one at the Estrella Damm Andalucia Open on the DP World Tour and prize won his weight in sponsor Estrella Damm beer, estimated to be about 190 pounds. Couldn’t they throw a few pounds of pretzels?
🏌️ According to some drone footage, Augusta National Golf Club suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Helene. What do you bet that by the time gates open for next spring’s Masters, you won’t be able to tell that even a single tree fell?
🏌️ Scottie Scheffler will be the guest picker on ESPN’s College Game Day on the campus of the University of Texas, the No. 1 team in the nation. Will he wear his green jacket?
:: Mike Purkey
FEATURES
The Ryder Cup says 'Show me the money'
Are the ticket prices for the 2025 matches a rip-off? Not if people are willing to pay the exorbitant prices.
:: Gary Van Sickle | Read
Winning formula: How Herb Kohler succeeded in hospitality
The First Call opens its vault for this profile on the man who built Kohler Co., but also The American Club resort hotel in Kohler, Wisconsin., which hosted guests attending the Ryder Cup in 2021 and is operating proof that the third-time-is-a-charm mantra can be true.
:: Shaun Tolson | Read
BOOKMARKED
Good reads that are mainly about golf, but not always.
📖 The 100 best horror movies of all time
It’s Halloween season, so what better time to settle in for a fright night.
:: Variety | 10.09.2024
📖 How ‘shoe doping’ changed marathon times forever – in ways we still don’t fully understand
Technology is enabling increasingly fast times, but how fair is it?
:: Liam Thomas | The Athletic | 10.12.2024
📖 This photo on the National Mall captivated the country decades ago
The real story behind it remained a mystery — until now.
:: Marissa J. Lang | The Washington Post | 09.29.2024
A late arrival on the Texas high school football circuit kept Boise State’s star running back, Ashton Jeanty, off the major schools’ radars.
:: Jeff Miller | Texas Monthly | 10.18.2024
THE LIBRARY
In addition to its existing podcast collection, The First Call has started building a videos section that will range from courses to travel. Each week TFC will highlight a few of its latest.
🎧 How the Stand Up and Play Foundation is connecting the dots
Board member Karen Atkinson joins host Ann Liguori to tell her story and share how the organization is giving disabled veterans opportunities to participate in a variety of sports.
:: Ann Liguori | ‘Golf Interview with Ann Liguori’ | 10.10.2024
▶️ The realities of recruiting
Fiona Clancy, a senior at Beachside High in St. Johns, Florida, and a member of the school's 2023 state championship team, joins host Mo Gesualdi to talk junior golf and college recruitment.
:: Mo Gesualdi | 10.17.2024
TFC Libraries: 🎧 Podcasts | ▶️ Videos
BUSINESS
THE FIRST CALL
Week in Review: The industry’s names, news and notables making headlines. | Read
This week’s editions: Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday
Industry press releases | Read
Industry press release videos | Watch
TFC / PR Newswire feed | Read
PERFECT PUTT
Remember Sacks Parente? A follow up
The company was the hottest IPO in 2023. Here is how they are doing now.
:: Jared Doerfler | Read
Publisher Jared Doerfler analyzes the business of golf. Subscribe to Perfect Putt.
LIFESTYLE
THE STYLE LINKS
It’s that “get ghosted” time of year. Callaway golf balls help get your “Boo” on.
:: 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.
David Erdy, mini tour professional: “There's a lot of bad golf course hot dogs out there, but if you can get a really good one, then it becomes great. A hot dog and an ice cold Yuengling is perfect for me.”
:: Alex Lauzon | Co-host of “Course of Life” podcast
TFC EVENTS
The Friars Golf Club: Best of Napa '25
July 23-27, 2025 | Napa, California
:: Event and registration information
ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN NOTES
Davis Love III is perfect for Harbour Town restoration
Harbour Town Golf Links is readying for an extensive restoration project. The course will close on May 5, 2025, and will reopen in November.
Originally designed by Pete Dye, who was assisted by Jack Nicklaus, Harbour Town has been the home of the PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage event since it opened in 1969. The Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, course is currently ranked No. 27 among Golf Digest’s Top 100 Public Courses and is No. 5 on its list of Best Courses in South Carolina.
The iconic Dye creation will be restored to ensure championship-level conditions while preserving classic shot values and design. The restoration will thoughtfully consider Dye’s innovative layout but will make improvements to agronomy and maintenance of the course, rebuilding all greens, bunkers and bulkheads.
The different turfs currently in use — TifEagle on the greens; Celebration Bermuda on the fairways, tees and rough — will remain the same. Work has already begun by replacing railroad ties on some of the bulkheads.
"Everyone at the Sea Pines Resort is committed to honoring the legacy of Pete Dye’s design," said John Farrell, director of sports operations. "We will protect the shot values, both long and short, that have come to define Harbour Town Golf Links for nearly six decades."
Davis Love III, a five-time RBC Heritage champion and respected course designer, and his company Love Golf Design will serve as consultants for the restoration. Love also designed Atlantic Dunes at The Sea Pines Resort.
"I’m both honored and excited to be working with the Sea Pines Resort’s Harbour Town Golf Links team on the restoration of Harbour Town," Love said. "Given my success on the course over the years, it is a layout I know and love. We’ve already begun a thoughtful process for protecting the integrity of this Pete Dye masterpiece."
RELATED: This week’s complete Design Notes
RELATED: Design Notes archive
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You people are shit!
He wins the Tourny 5 times, lives in the neighborhood & is one of class acts in recent PGA history. If not Pete Dye hisself, who else but Davis??? As far as the Ryder Cup, they could charge whatever they want & it would be sold out, why would anyone be surprised. The Ryder Cup has become one of the events where people who don't care about money can congregate. The price of attending is simply a means to designate who belongs. For the rest of us, George Carlin once said, "It's a big effen club, and you ain't invited".