Perspective, presidents and Panama
+ How a tournament executive director survived cancer to rise up; U.S., PGA of America presidents get to work; RTJ II still going strong.
THE STARTER
🏌️ “Golf civil war is over,” declared a headline in a British tabloid, The Sun about a week ago. In an unsourced story, the newspaper said PIF will take 11 percent ownership in the PGA Tour for an investment of $1 billion. The principals deny the story’s veracity but could there be more truth than fiction here?
🏌️ President-elect Donald Trump says he could broker a PIF-PGA Tour deal in “the better part of 15 minutes.” Would he ask for a percentage?
🏌️ Rory McIlroy declared Elon Musk “the smartest man in the world” and suggested Musk get involved in the professional golf deal. Should he be careful what he wishes for?
🏌️ McIlroy changed his swing by spending three weeks in a studio hitting balls into a simulator without seeing the ball flight. Wait, what?
🏌️ Nelly Korda is the LPGA Tour’s Player of the Year and will appear in Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue next May. Which do most people think is more important?
🏌️ The Golf Channel broadcast team will call PGA Tour Champions and Korn Ferry Tour events next year from a studio in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, instead of in-person at the tournament sites. Will the viewers know the difference?
🏌️ Wentworth Club officials categorically denied a report that the fabled English club would be sold to the PIF. Doesn’t the denial usually happen right before the sale?
🏌️ Eli Manning is reported to be one of the new members at Augusta National Golf Club. His brother, Peyton, became a member in 2016. What took so long for Eli?
🏌️ Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is honoring a verbal agreement with team owner Jeffrey Lurie that he not play golf during the season because Lurie is afraid Hurts will become obsessed with golf. So?
:: Mike Purkey
FEATURES
A woman's will to survive, but to also succeed
Charles Schwab Cup executive director Tiffany Nelson-Thorne was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017. It was at point an intense competitive drive helped her not only beat the disease, but rise to the ranks of being one of the best in her profession.
:: Tom Mackin | Read
Q&A: Ken Morton Jr. | VP, Haggin Oaks Golf Super Shop / Morton Golf
The retail and marketing executive shares his thoughts on the challenges within the golf merchandising industry, how retail is art and science rolled into one package and what advice he has for employees just getting into the field.
:: The First Call | Read
BOOKMARKED
Good reads — and listens — that are sometimes about golf, but not always.
📖 How Las Vegas became the weirdest, wildest, and most futuristic city in America
No place in America is more prone to reinvention—and Las Vegas has new food, new art, new sports, new heat, and, yes, a new Sphere. We sent Brett Martin to take stock of the great American city of the future—and find out whether this Vegas is the best version yet.
:: Brett Martin | GQ | 10.24.2024
📖 What do animals understand about death?
The question isn’t whether other creatures share our concept of mortality; it’s whether any living being truly grasps what it means to die.
:: Kathryn Schulz | The New Yorker | 10.28.2024
🎧 Is the golden age of podcasts over?
And why is podcast advertising so weird.
:: Anne Helen Petersen | Culture Study Podcast | 10.23.2024
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 the latest.
🎧 Propelling the PGA of America into a new era
New association president Don Rea Jr. joins co-hosts Jon Last and David Klein to discuss his enthused and energetic vision for the PGA of America.
:: Driver$: Inside the Golf Industry | 11.06.2024
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: Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday
Industry press releases | Read
Industry press release videos | Watch
TFC / PR Newswire feed | Read
PERFECT PUTT
The PGA of America and the Ryder Cup
A look at the $750 ticket into the Ryder Cup.
:: Jared Doerfler | Read
Publisher Jared Doerfler analyzes the business of golf. Subscribe to Perfect Putt.
LIFESTYLE
THE STYLE LINKS
Flag and Anthem has all the layers we need for cold-season style.
:: 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.
Elijah Miller, a golf content creator also known as the “Crete King”: “I'll go with a slice of pizza, and water is the way for me — I drink about a gallon a day as often as I can.”
:: Alex Lauzon | Co-host of “Course of Life” podcast
HOME FRONT
Caye Chapel | Belize
Listing: Four Seasons Private Residence 19.
Stats: 4,807 square feet (3,825 interior, 982 covered exterior) | 4 bedrooms | 5 bathrooms.
Price: $8,500,000.
About: Located off the coast of Belize, Caye Chapel is a private island club community situated on the edge of the Bacalar Chico National Park and Marine Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site and home to the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere. Exclusively accessible through island-coordinated air and water charters, Caye Chapel opens a world of exploration with Four Seasons Resort and Residences Caye Chapel, the brand’s first ever private island offering in the Americas. The resort will include 24 private beach and oceanfront residences, alongside a 104-key hotel with 18 luxurious overwater bungalows. Caye Chapel also includes a collection of custom estates, where ownership coincides with membership in the Caye Chapel Golf and Ocean Club. The club includes a Greg Norman-designed 10-hole reversible, championship course; the Union Harbor and Marina Village; curated bucket list water excursions and a private beach club offering world-class culinary, holistic wellness and varied entertainment experiences. Scheduled to open in late 2025, one of the largest residences available, Private Residence 19 is situated on the sunset side of the island, lending to optimal views of the surrounding open ocean, and also has the potential for a private dock. The residence’s fully turn-key design includes a lock-off suite, owner’s closet, private plunge pools, outdoor kitchen, outdoor shower, firepits, laundry rooms and more.
RELATED: Home Front archive
TFC EVENTS
The Friars Golf Club: Best of Spain
November 10-17, 2025 | Andalusia, Spain
:: Event and registration information
ARCHITECTURE
DESIGN NOTES
Robert Trent Jones II sets sail on a 2nd Panama course
On Nov. 11, Robert Trent Jones Jr. is slated to receive the Donald Ross Award, which is the highest honor bestowed by the American Society of Golf Course Architects.
At 85 years old, Jones shows no sign of slowing down. His firm, Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course Architects (RTJII) has been awarded the contract to design a second course at the Buenaventura Resort in Panama. Already recognized as Central America’s premier golf destination, the layout for the new course — called Course No. 2 — was recently unveiled.
Set within a sprawling resort of 800 acres of gently rolling terrain along Panama’s Pacific coast, the 6,810-yard, par-72 layout will blend the site’s natural beauty, including magnificent specimen Corotu amd Panama trees, with a thoughtful design that emphasizes enjoyment for all skill levels. The ever-changing landscape — a lush jungle, expansive meadows and stunning beachfront — will be an integral part of the golf experience. The use of meandering “ribbon tees” will allow players to choose a course length that best suits their ability.
Built as a traditional continuous 18-hole loop, the course will feature a halfway house as well as a member-only gathering spot between holes Nos. 9 and 10.
While designed to be a distinctly different experience from Course No. 1, the shorter Course No. 2 will place an emphasis on fun and playability. However, No. 2 at Buenaventura will also place a premium on strategic play commensurate to each golfer’s level of skill and confidence. Natural streams, twisting barrancas and water features will provide multiple options and angles on every hole. Better golfers will face numerous risk/reward options; higher handicappers will find bail-out areas and opportunities to play safe. Tightly mown chipping areas near the green complexes will give all golfers the chance to demonstrate finesse and creativity with a variety of short-game shots.
Reinforcing RTJII’s commitment to respecting the environment, many areas of rough will be irrigated only by natural rainfall, enhancing the unique atmosphere of the Riviera Pacifica. Eschewing land-moving, existing elevation changes will be incorporated to produce stunning sightlines, ocean views and the thrill of playing from elevated portions of the ribbon tees and to a few uphill greens.
Buenaventura is a vibrant luxury beach community situated just 90 miles from Panama City. The first 18-hole championship course was designed by Jack Nicklaus. A late 2025 opening is expected for the new Jones course.
RELATED: Design Notes archive
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