ON THE TEE
🏌️ Tiger Woods said he withdrew from the Masters because of plantar fasciitis but he had surgery on his ankle to fuse two bones to alleviate the pain caused by “post traumatic arthritis.” How many surgeries are too many?
🏌️ Did the fact that three LIV players finished in the top four at the Masters prove that major championships are better when all the best players are in the field?
🏌️ Nine LIV players are currently exempt into next month’s PGA Championship. Should the PGA of America grant some special exemptions?
🏌️ CBS was accused of hiding Phil Mickelson during the telecast of the final round of the Masters while he was shooting 65 to finish tied for second with Brooks Koepka. Guilty or not?
🏌️ For the first time since 1972, the LPGA Tour’s first major championship is not being played at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. Should the LPGA commissioner have fought harder to keep it there?
🏌️ Now called the Chevron Championship, the 18th hole at Carlton Woods has water next to the 18th green but it’s uncertain if the winner will take the traditional jump in the pond. “I think there might be snakes in the water,” said reigning champion Jennifer Kupcho. What are the chances the winner will take the plunge?
🏌️ Jordan Spieth narrowly missed two putts that would have won the playoff at the RBC Heritage. Instead, Matt Fitzpatrick walked away with the title after hitting it to a foot on the third playoff hole. Is Spieth getting closer to returning to the top or farther away?
🏌️ Major League Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz says that when he has another hip surgically repaired, he will pursue the PGA Tour Champions. He is one of the best players not a pro but does he really have a chance?
🏌️ Which is more important: solving slow play for pros or for amateurs?
:: Mike Purkey
FEATURES
Why does pace of play continue to be an issue?
Brooks Koepka calling Patrick Cantlay out for slow play at the Masters renewed discussion of the issue — and The First Call readers have some strong opinions
:: The First Call Readers | Read
PERFECT PUTT
TMRW Sports will be a winner
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy joined forces to launch a technology sports businessAs Jon Rahm is finding out, a Masters victory is worth millions in off-course earnings
:: Jared Doerfler | Read
Each Monday, Jared Doerfler breaks down the business of golf. Subscribe to Perfect Putt here.
BOOKMARKED
Good reads that are mainly about golf, but not always.
📖 “We will finish the race”: The making of Boston’s iconic marathon shoes cover
:: Jacob Feldman | Boston Magazine | 03.21.2023
📖 The gambler who beat roulette
For decades, casinos scoffed as mathematicians and physicists devised elaborate systems to take down the house. Then an unassuming Croatian’s winning strategy forever changed the game.
:: Kit Chellel | Bloomberg | 04.06.2023
📖 The owners of Bandon Dunes are creating a new resort outside Denver
Dream Golf's newest resort near Denver may have as many as six courses
:: Derek Duncan | Golf Digest | 04.18.2023
19TH HOLE
Each episode of the “Course of Life” podcast closes with the guest sharing a favorite 19th hole experience.
Cailyn Henderson, professional golfer and co-owner of Fore the Girls Golf: “Anyone that knows me well knows this order — I do a chicken caesar salad, sweet potato fries with barbecue and ranch, and a root beer.”
:: Alex Lauzon | Co-host | “Course of Life” podcast
HOME FRONT
Metairie Country Club | Metairie, Louisiana
Listing: 343 Vincent Avenue.
Stats: 4 bedrooms | 4 bathrooms | 1 half bath | 4,019 square feet.
Price: $2,000,000.
About: The PGA Tour is in Louisiana this week for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, and the bayou is home to not only Bourbon Street, but also several standout courses — from public access to country clubs. For prospective buyers looking for a home with the best of both worlds, this home is located next to Metairie Country Club (the state's top course according to Golf.com) and just 20 minutes from TPC Lousiana (where a round will run you about $300). But for those looking to join a private club, it's just a stone's throw away from Metairie Country Club, which was founded in 1922, and opened exclusively as a golf club. The course achieved instant fame due to its innovative course design, which took a unique approach with every hole being a replica of a Scottish or American course. This home sits on a beautifully landscaped property and has a large covered back porch overlooking the pool. It's perfect for casual living and provides endless entertainment. As a bonus, all the bedrooms have en suite baths.
DESIGN NOTES
Tom Fazio eyes new Reynolds Lake Oconee course
⛳️ Tom Fazio is returning to Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Georgia, to combine and create nine-hole tracts. The acclaimed designer has completed plans for nine holes that will join his existing Bluff nine on The National course to create an entirely new 18-hole layout.
The original, Fazio-designed 18-hole National course opened in 1997. In 2000, its two nines — The Ridge and The Bluff — were joined by an additional nine holes called The Cove to allow for various combinations of play.
The existing 27 holes make use of the natural rolling terrain, highlighted by hardwood forests, streams, ponds and views of Lake Oconee. The combined nines also provide plenty of challenge, with any of the pairings boasting more bunkers than any of the five other courses at Reynolds Lake Oconee. For these and many other reasons, The National course has consistently been cited by Golfweek as one of America’s Top Residential Courses.
The future 18-hole course will utilize the current Bluff course along with adjacent land distinguished by a creek, large natural boulders and an existing pond. The land slopes gradually down toward a cove of Lake Oconee with more than 100 feet of elevation change. This will be the only course at Reynolds Lake Oconee to traverse both sides of the peninsula and touch the lake from both Richland Creek and the Oconee River.
"My goal is always to create distinctive, one-of-a-kind golf courses,” Fazio said. “There’s a lot of terrain variation — lots of ups and downs, ins and outs, twists and turns — which is great for golf. That’s what makes this such a fine natural setting.”
The first five holes will be from the Bluff routing, followed by nine all-new holes, including a new ninth green that will sit along Lake Oconee. The final four holes will connect back to The Bluff.
“Members will enjoy this golf course because it will have character and never play the same," Fazio said. "This new course will provide a challenge and have endless possibilities of capturing your emotions and feelings.”
The new 18-hole experience is projected to open in late 2024 and be private, accessible only to Reynolds Lake Oconee members. With the addition of the new course, Reynolds Lake Oconee will now have seven golf courses with two private 18-hole courses — including this new course and Creek Club — as well as another 90 holes available for member and resort guest play — The National, The Landing (Bob Cupp), Great Waters (Jack Nicklaus), The Preserve (Cupp), and The Oconee (Rees Jones).
⛳️ Ian Andrew is returning to the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley to oversee a course renovation. Andrew worked under original architect Doug Carrick in creating the Osprey Valley layout that opened in 2001.
The club came under the TPC umbrella and was rebranded in 2018. With a goal of elevating its status as a championship test, but also keeping it player-friendly, Andrew intends to renovate and expand green complexes, rebuild and relocate bunkers, and bump up greenside recovery options via closely mown collection and runoff areas.
"This property, and the North course in particular, is a special place for me, having worked with Doug on the original design of this bold and truly fun golf course," Andrew said. "With TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley at the forefront of so much excitement in Canadian golf, I’m thrilled to play a part in this project and look forward to continued collaboration with the Osprey Valley team."
One significant change Andrew plans to make is to remove bunkers from the front-left of the green at the par-5 13th and replace them with a large mound that will partially obscure the green for those playing down the left side. That design feature was in the original plans, but the bunkers were built instead.
An enhanced practice facility, including the construction of a new short-game area will take place under Andrew’s stewardship. An additional 400 yards will bring the renovated layout to 7,500 yards as well.
This is part of the improvements stemming from a partnership announced in 2022 between the TPC Toronto and Golf Canada. Golf Canada’s headquarters will move to the TPC Toronto, along with the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, Golf Ontario’s headquarters, the Club Management Association of Canada’s headquarters and the First Tee’s Canadian home.
Work will commence in August 2023, with the expected reopening in 2024.
⛳️ Edwin Roald, Iceland’s only member of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects, is creating another nine holes in his homeland, at Selfoss Golf Course.
The consulting architect at the nine-hole course since 2018, Roald has already taken three existing holes out of play due to a road realignment. He's substituted three others ahead of the nine new coming aboard. Located just under an hour’s drive from the country’s capital of Reykjavik, the new golf holes are being financed by the Town of Selfoss.
“It is a very interesting and attractive piece of property along the banks of the Olfusa River,” Roald told GolfCourseArchitecture.net. “The site for the new holes is on the waterfront and one of the main objectives has been to use the additional land so that golfers arrive at the water at least twice in a round. Some new holes will be on the front nine and some will be on the back to create a figure-eight routing.
"We’re designing a course and providing a playing experience that everybody can enjoy. The emphasis is on our largest core customer group — the high-handicap players. However, for the better players, there will be plenty of strategic interest in terms of angles, firmness of the ground and pin positions."
A true student of classic, Golden Age architecture, Roald is bringing the concept of template holes to Iceland. The par-3 sixth hole, for example, will be a replica of St. Andrews' Eden hole. The 15th is a riverfront par 5 with a reverse Road Hole green entrance, and the 16th is a Redan.
Roald anticipates the full 18 holes to be completed by 2026, with a 14-hole loop to open by late 2024. A new short course, also designed by Roald, will debut in 2025.
RELATED: Design Notes archive
THE STYLE LINKS
U.S. Open is less than two months away …
:: Janice Ferguson | IG: @janiceferguson_thestylelinks
SCORECARD
1️⃣8️⃣ The golf industry’s week in review — the names, news and notables that are making the headlines. :: Read
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