Reliving the glory days of hickory clubs

+ PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is on the hot seat, but has any commish been that effective?; Mike Purkey's The Starter raises some questions; An interview with NGCOA CEO Jay Karen.

Mar 14, 2025

THE STARTER

🏌️ Tiger Woods has had yet another surgery, this time for a torn Achilles tendon suffered from training. Some experts think he’s done for 2025. Is he done, period?

🏌️ PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said of the ongoing negotiations with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, “We’re doing everything that we can to bring the two sides together.” Was he throwing shade to PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan?

🏌️ Monahan said penalty strokes would be issued for slow play on the Korn Ferry Tour. What, do we really need a test run?

🏌️ Rangefinders will be tested on the PGA Tour at the six events between the Masters and the PGA Championship. Will that make any difference in pace of play?

🏌️ The Tour will also publish individual speed-of-play statistics. Is public shaming enough to speed up the chronic abusers?

🏌️ Russell Henley chipped in for eagle at the par-5 16th in the final round to clip Collin Morikawa at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. How far past the hole would the chip have rolled had it not hit the flagstick?

🏌️ Morikawa said, “Like I don’t owe anyone anything,” after he stiffed the media following his loss at Bay Hill. Rocco Mediate said, “That is the dumbest, most selfish garbage you could ever say.” Who’s right?

🏌️ Sergio Garcia won LIV Golf Hong Kong with a final-round 63. Does he have a chance to make the European Ryder Cup team?

🏌️ Paul McGinley says on Golf Channel, “You have to get on the front foot.” What does that even mean? Why does he say it all the time? If he has such a limited vocabulary, why is he on television?

:: Mike Purkey

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FEATURES

Taking a step back in time

Have you wondered what playing hickory golf is like? Learn from Tad Moore, the world's largest manufacturer of replica hickory golf clubs. Playing hickories is about feel, strategy and mental fortitude. It is an art form.

:: Up River Film Company | Watch

The Players' Gold Man strikes a pose, but is it enough?

The First Call reaches back into its archive to dust off one of contributor Gary Van Sickle’s more popular columns, which was about The Players Championship’s Gold Man logo, that appeared in 2022.

:: Gary Van Sickle | Read

Has the magical 59 score lost some of its luster?

Equipment and course length are two reasons why readers of The First Call don't view sub-60 in the same light as in the past.

:: TFC Inbox | Read

Follow Gary Van Sickle on TFC | Extra

BOOKMARKED

Good reads — and listens — that are sometimes about golf, but not always.

📖 Basketball referees dream of making it to the Final Four, too

Tommy Johnson started off calling junior high games. Last year he worked his first March Madness.

:: Joe Levin | Texas Monthly | 03.25 | Read

📖 The best of John Feinstein’s Washington Post sportswriting

From college basketball to the NFL to the Olympics, John Feinstein, who died March 13 at age 69, covered nearly everything in sports.

:: John Feinstein | Washington Post | 03.13.25 | Read

📖 Actors on Actors: Jodie Foster and Robert Downey Jr.

Jodie Foster and Robert Downey Jr. have a long history. Their careers have intersected over time, starting when Foster directed Downey in her 1995 Thanksgiving comedy “Home for the Holidays.”

:: Daniel D'Addario | Variety | 03.25 | Read / Watch

📖 How Bill Burr became a voice of the people

“There’s no Beatlemania for a 56-year-old bald ginger,” says Burr. And yet his new stand-up special and a starring role in “Glengarry Glen Ross” on Broadway arrive at a moment when, whether he’s praising Luigi Mangione or eviscerating the likes of Elon Musk, he can’t stop going viral for saying what many Americans are thinking.

:: Anna Peele | GQ | 03.14.25 | Read

THE LIBRARY

Recent drops to The First Call’s video and podcast section.

▶️ Fun is the leading message for golf

Guest: Jay Karen, CEO, NGCOA.

:: The ModGolf Podcast | 03.10.25 | Watch

ARCHIVES: 🎧 Podcasts | ▶️ Videos

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BUSINESS

THE FIRST CALL

Golf Industry Job / Internship Board

LIFESTYLE

19TH HOLE

“Course of Life” podcast co-host Alex Lauzon closes each episode with the guest sharing a favorite 19th hole food and beverage experience.

Jason Epstein, head golf professional, Congressional Country Club: “I'll go with a club soda plus lime. Our club does great blackened mahi tacos and since it is Maryland, we do a crab cake really well.”

A PICTURE TELLS …

“The course gradually draws us towards the dunes, which is where our gaze naturally drifts. The first few holes look simple, but are clever. We learn where to put our ball and where not to, and our hearts sing that golf which looks this plain on the surface can be this good, for this is the sort of golf we love.”

:: Words: Richard Pennell / Pitchmarks | Photography: Simon Pope
Image: Hole No. 11, Hoylake, Royal Liverpool, England.

HOME FRONT

374 Walnut Valley Parkway, Arden, North Carolina | Photo: The Cliffs

The Cliffs at Walnut Cove | Arden, North Carolina

Listing: 374 Walnut Valley Parkway.
Stats: 5,999 square feet | 4 bedrooms | 4 bathrooms.
Price: $8,800,000.

About: This sustainable contemporary architectural masterpiece — built from regionally harvested oak, sassafras and stone — is located at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove outside Asheville, North Carolina, and was crafted by Jade Mountain Builders. Designed by the team at Harding Huebner Architects, an award-winning North Carolina architecture firm specializing in projects that endeavors to shape how the inhabitant sees, perceives and relates to the world, this home is nestled in the far northwestern end of the valley before it turns up to meet the famed Blue Ridge Parkway. The Cliffs at Walnut Cove is a scene of unparalleled natural beauty inspired by the ageless villages of Europe, nestled in a lush valley, bordered by the Pisgah National Forest and Blue Ridge Parkway and just minutes from downtown Asheville. The Cliffs at Walnut Cove claims the only championship course to have debuted with a PGA Tour event. A par-71 Jack Nicklaus Signature Design, the course plays over rolling hills of former farmland and is ranked among America’s Best Residential Courses by Golfweek and one of the best courses in North Carolina by Golf Digest.

ARCHITECTURE

DESIGN NOTES

Hole No. 3, Toftrees Golf Resort, State College, Pennsylvania. | Photo: Toftrees Golf Resort

Jim Nagle turns the pruning shears on Toftrees

Toftrees Golf Resort, located in State College, Pennsylvania, will undergo a major renovation by Jim Nagle, of Nagle Design Works. And the architect believes the property has the potential to become one of the best public courses in the state.

Located three-and-a-half miles west of Penn State University, Toftrees dates back to 1969, when it was originally designed by architect Ed Ault. The resort is managed by Shaner Hotel Group and the golf course project is part of a substantial upgrading for the entire resort.

"Shaner senior vice president George Wolfe — who I have known for twenty years, since he was greens chair at the Sunnehanna Club — called me a few months ago to talk about a bunker problem they were having on the course," Nagle said. "I visited the course and, from a quick fix, the conversation soon moved to potentially developing a comprehensive renovation plan for Toftrees."

"Toward the end of the original owner’s life, capital investment was in short supply, and the golf course suffered," Wolfe said. "Since we came in, we have slowly been fixing that. We brought Marriott Golf in to manage the golf operation, and now we’re taking the next steps. Although we have owned the resort for a number of years, it is only recently that we have started redeveloping it. Our vision is to create a first-class hotel with excellent banqueting and convention facilities. With that, it was obvious that upgrading the golf course would be important.

"Toftrees was originally a semi-private club with a hotel attached — it had a resort feature, but it always felt like a private club. There has always been a tie between the golf course and Penn State University, which is local. Ault did a lot of work in the region in the '60s, but I think this must have been quite a big project for him, as there was a masterplan for the whole community involved. I’ve played a number of Ed Ault’s courses, and there’s no doubt in my mind that this is some of his best work. He had a great piece of land to work with."

It was the site on which Toftrees sits that made Nagle sit up and take notice.

"It was the property that made this a great opportunity for me," Nagle said. "It has great undulation and some really nice features, such as a wash running through it that could be opened up. The routing is very good. The only hole that stands out as being especially challenging is the 13th, which has a blind tee shot with the hillside on the left and a tight corridor. The rest of the course flows nicely, with wonderful contrast and elevation change.

"The course needs improvement, but it doesn’t need blowing up. Today, golfers have higher 'design IQs' than in decades past. With the advent of social media and the many golf design-related podcasts, golfers now demand more thoughtful, engaging design. Toftrees can provide just that. The greens, routing, setting and natural topography lend themselves to creating a dynamic golf course that engages players and challenges them appropriately — something any resort or public facility needs to guarantee return play."

Trees play a significant role in the golf experience — as evidenced by the course name — but not all the arboreal presence is welcome.

"There is an abundance of inferior tree types on the property," Nagle said, "but at the same time there are substantial mature stands of trees. The 15th, 16th and 17th have too many undesirable evergreens that are hiding the beauty of the land. Tree work is only one part of the plan, but it really stands out. The bunkering could be more creative, which would give better aesthetics and playability. At the moment, the course features '60s-'70s bunker styling, and lots of them are elevated above natural grade. Most are at the sides and don’t create much interesting strategy. We will try to fix that."

Wolfe believe Nagle's vision will heightened the Toftrees experience.

"I have played pretty much all of the best courses in Pennsylvania, and I’m quite convinced that Jim will give us something that matches up very well with the top public venues in the state," he said. "To the right of the par-3 sixth is a former quarry that could be a beautiful feature, but it is inundated by foliage. I’m certain Jim has his eye on opening this area up. The course has great rhythm to its routing and great contour to the land. The course is solid, but some past tinkering needs attention, and, with Jim’s eye, I’m convinced that Toftrees will emerge from this project as a world-class track."

Design work is starting immediately, but no date has yet been set for construction to begin.

RELATED: Design Notes archive

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