Surviving Hurricane Ian's Gut Punch
+ Poll: Is LIV Golf validated with MENA Tour alliance?
ON THE TEE
🏌️ International captain Trevor Immelman was insulted by the suggestion that the Presidents Cup add LPGA Tour players to make the event more competitive. Shouldn’t the LPGA players be the ones insulted?
🏌️ The Hero World Challenge field was announced with one glaring omission – host Tiger Woods. What’s Tiger trying to tell us?
🏌️ U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson said Woods would be a part of the 2023 team while not specifically defining his role. What’s Johnson trying to tell us?
🏌️ Alex Noren owes the Rusacks Hotel at St. Andrews a debt of gratitude after his tee shot on the 18th hole on Sunday at the Dunhill Cup bounced off the building and onto the green, for a final birdie that might put Noren in the 2023 Masters. Lucky break of the year?
🏌️ Bryson DeChambeau finished second at the World Long Drive Championship with a bomb of 406 yards. Then, he wrote a long message to his haters on Twitter. Which was more surprising?
🏌️ At $950 a pop, season tickets for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy sold out in seven hours and 90 percent of them went to people who don’t live in Italy. What does that say about what the Ryder Cup has become?
🏌️ Dan Rapaport of Barstool Sports says Charlie Woods, Tiger’s 12-year-old son, has a “PGA Tour quality swing.” Has Rapaport been spending too much time on the Barstool?
🏌️ LPGA Tour player Maja Stark was DQ’d from the Ascendant LPGA because her Ping G430 driver hadn’t yet appeared on the USGA Conforming List, which it did a few days later. Isn’t it a good thing she’s already locked up her card for next year?
🏌️ Which is the sadder day: When Daylight Savings Time is over or when you have to put up your shorts for the year?
:: Mike Purkey
FEATURES
In Ian’s wake, golf on Sanibel Island will take time
Aftermath leaves Florida region's residents and courses looking at a long road to recovery, though hope and resilience buoy spirits
:: Ward Clayton | Read
Amateur tour offers a taste of pro-style experience
Three-year-old Amateur Players Tour has grown to more than 4,000 members in 41 chapters nationwide by creating top-tier tournament opportunities for players wanting to compete against similar skill levels
:: Mike Purkey | Read
Simple philosophy remains core to Troon's mission
The ‘country club for a day’ concept that started in 1990 has grown the Arizona-based company into one of the world's finest for course and club management
:: Mike Purkey | Read
HOME FRONT
Punta Mita | Nayarit, Mexico
Listing: Casa Mia Kupuri 12
Stats: 9,200 interior square feet | 6 bedrooms | 9 bathrooms.
View: Gallery.
Price: $6,800,000.
About: Set within the gates of Punta Mita, an ultra-luxurious, 1,500-acre resort and residential community, Casa Mia Kupuri 12 offers stunning ocean and mountain views alongside unparalleled amenities. Located on over an acre within Punta Mita’s Kupuri Estates, Casa Mia is a private, six-suite oasis perfect for taking in the breathtaking tropical gardens just steps from the many amenities the resort has to offer. In addition to the home itself, residents of Punta Mita enjoy access to two renowned Jack Nicklaus Signature golf courses — including the famous "The Tale of the Whale” hole, the world's only natural ocean island green — watersport offerings such as surfing, sea kayaking and scuba diving, five residential beach clubs and a new surf club, destination dining and more. Out of the water, residents can ride horseback through lush, unspoiled Sierra Madre forest or explore Punta Mita’s diverse landscape along several of the community’s recreational trails.
RELATED: Home Front archive
BOOKMARKED
Good reads that are mainly about golf, but not always.
📖 The ideal 18
From the nation's top golf course architect, Robert Trent Jones
:: Time | 06.21.1954
📖 Inside the Blue Jays social media machine: How a small team built trust in the clubhouse and brought fans along for the ride
Wherever the Blue Jays go, the social media team follows. It’s allowed fans to stay connected through behind-the-scenes photos and videos — no matter where the team is playing.
:: Alex Wong | Toronto Star | 09.25.2022
📖 The 100 greatest TV shows of all time
A ranking of the most game-changing, side-splitting, tear-jerking, mind-blowing, world-building, genre-busting programs in television history, from the medium’s inception in the early 20th century through the ever-metastasizing era of Peak TV
:: Alan Sepinwall | Rolling Stone | 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.
🎶 The Gold :: Manchester Orchestra
DESIGN NOTES
Finca Cortesin spices up Solheim Cup
The latest news and notes in golf course architecture.
⛳️ Finca Cortesin in Malaga, Spain, venue for the Solheim Cup in September 2023, has unveiled a brand new first hole that is intended to inject instant excitement to the match-play competition.
Architect Cabell Robinson, who toiled for a generation for Robert Trent Jones Sr. before venturing out on his own, designed the original par-4 hole, which measured 431 yards from the back tee. The redesigned hole now measures 280 yards and will serve as a drivable par-4 for the bold player. Led by Finca Cortesin managing director Vicente Rubio, in consultation with the Ladies European Tour and tournament organizer Deporte & Business, the hole features a slender fairway and a large lake on the left-hand side that extends to the front of the "large but lively" green.
"This new first hole is very much a risk-and-reward hole," Rubio said. "Players can either try to reach the green with one shot or play more conservatively. The design of the hole and the great difference in height between the tee and the green will make it a spectacle, and I have no doubt that it will be a success. The characteristics of the new hole will also allow us to accommodate more than 1,000 people around the first tee, which will make for a great atmosphere and the perfect hole to start a Solheim Cup."
⛳️ Heritage Golf Club in Mauritius is in the process of adding a second 18-hole course, La Reserve Golf Links, that will complement the resort’s existing course, Le Chateau. Designed by top South African architect Peter Matkovich, with countryman and former Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen consulting, La Reserve will wow with ocean vistas from every hole.
"It’s a challenging course and not for the faint-hearted," Oosthuizen said. "We’ve worked with the land to create a strategic, undulating course that plays in the traditional links style, with running fairways, pot bunkers and long grasses. The location is breathtakingly beautiful with incredible views of the Indian Ocean."
Scheduled for a December 2023 opening, La Reserve will be exclusive for members and Heritage residents only and the club plans to host a DP World Tour event soon after the course opens.
⛳️ Jim Lipe is continuing his renovation project at Punta Mita, a resort and residential community near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Jack Nicklaus designed both courses at Punta Mita — the Pacifico, which opened in 1999, and the Bahia, which debuted in 2009. Lipe was formerly a Nicklaus associate.
"Jim has a foundational understanding of the original design elements for both the Pacifico and Bahia golf courses and will deliver a new energy to the area," said John McIntyre, Punta Mita's director of golf .
Phase I, which Lipe completed in November 2021, involved Pacifico’s greens, greenside bunkers, green surrounds and tees. Greens were regrassed with TifEagle Bermudagrass and enlarged and recontoured, and the surrounds were regrassed with Trinity Zoysia. Phase II, which began in April 2022, revolves around Bahia’s tees, greens and green surrounds.
⛳️ Ombria Resort in Portugal’s Algarve region is anticipating a spring 2023 opening for its hotel and golf course. The development will incorporate a five-star hotel and residences, spa, apartments, townhouses, villas and restaurants, in addition to the golf course.
Situated in the hilly Barrocal region north of Loule, approximately a 20-minute drive from Faro Airport, the resort is inland, though just a few miles from the beaches. The 18-hole signature course, designed by Portuguese architect Jorge Santana da Silva, has been thoughtfully integrated into the countryside and plays around and among ancient rivers and mature trees, already earning the GEO Foundation’s prestigious ecolabel certification.
The first nine holes are set into hillsides along a winding water course that originates in the nearby Fonte da Benemola natural reserve. The back nine twists through the idyllic valley of the Ribeira de Algibre, providing an overall experience that emphasizes beauty and variety.
RELATED: Design Notes archive
NAMES | NEWS | NUMBERS
BUSINESS
▪️ Buffalo Groupe: Acquires Sports Marketing Surveys USA to expand the company’s research capabilities, which began with the acquisition of Longitudes Group in January 2021. … Majors Challenge, Heart of a Lion Foundation: Strategic partnership makes the Major Ed Pulido- and John Daly-led foundation the charitable partner of Majors Challenge. … Greg Norman Collection: Golf lifestyle brand to exhibit at the 2023 PGA Show, making its 32nd appearance. … Troon: Launches its 2023 Troon Card program and proceeds from October sales will assist with Hurricane Ian relief efforts. … Malcolm DeMille: Mackenzie Hughes wins a handcrafted trophy for winning the Sanderson Farms Championship. … TaylorMade Golf Company: Ranks No. 70 on Newsweek’s 2022 Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces list. … TrackMan: To hold its first TrackMan Indoor Golf Day event on Oct. 22 at select TrackMan-powered facilities in the U.S., U.K. and Nordics. Each location will plan and promote its own event. … GolfForever, Invited: Launch strategic partnership in which the golf fitness brand will provide education, tools and training products to a network of golf clubs nationwide. … Dan Shepherd Public Relations: To promote Apes Hill, a Barbados golf resort and community, in North America. … Galvin Green: Celebrates the inaugural Sustainable Golf Week by announcing that almost 3 million PET plastic bottles have been recycled and transformed into its high-performance eco-generation Insula sweater range over the past three years.
COMPETITION / COURSES
▪️ Hero World Challenge: Tiger Woods announces the initial field for the tournament, scheduled to return to Albany, Bahamas, Nov. 28 – Dec. 4. … Troon Events: Announces its 2023/2024 Pro-Am Series, a collection of golf events that offer premier competition with hospitality at iconic venues. … Lantana Golf Club: Private Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex club completes multimillion-dollar transformation, which features a new design concept and amenities. … Circling Raven Golf Club: Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel amenity in Worley, Idaho, caps successful 18th season. It hosted an Epson Tour event and bucked poor spring weather forecasts. … The American Express: Gwen Stefani and Darius Rucker will headline the PGA Tour tournament’s concert series following play on Jan. 20-21 at PGA West Stadium Course. … The Stanwich Club: Greenwich, Connecticut, club unveils scary new trophy and awards for its The Witch tournament. … PGA Tour Latinoamerica: Announces its 2022-23 schedule, a 12-tournament slate that will take players to seven different countries. There are three tournaments remaining in 2022 and the rest will be played between March and June 2023. … McConnell Golf: To manage the Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech in Radford, Virginia. … Thompson Golf Group: Acquires Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona. … The Club at ArrowCreek: Reno, Nevada, club's 42,000-square-foot clubhouse is chosen as the Clubhouse of the Year in the Private Clubhouse Renovation category by Golf Inc. magazine. … Giants Ridge: Biwabik, Minnesota, golf resort will close its The Legend and The Quarry resort courses for the season on Oct. 9 and 11, respectively. The resort is offering the rate of $82 for golf throughout the week until the courses close. … PGA National Resort: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, resort offering "Gold Golf" stay-and-play packages for the fall, starting at $719.
GEAR
▪️Wilson: Introduces its Staff Model collection of putters that are available in four different styles and retail for $349.99. … Radmor: Introduces its fall line of men’s and women’s golf apparel in sepia, earth, and powerful blue and red tones. … Galway Bay: Releases its 2023 rainwear collection. Four early-release pieces are available for pre-order. … Nippon Shaft: Charley Hull played the N.S.Pro Modus3 Tour 125 and 120 steel shafts in her irons and wedges, respectively, to win The Ascendant LPGA. … Titleist: Debuts its 2023 Pro V1 and Pro V1x golf balls for tour seeding and validation at the Sanderson Farms Championship. The 2023 versions had been scheduled to begin this week at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. … Kinona: Introduces its late fall collection, featuring a chic neutral color palette that mixes with vibrant colors and patterns. Also, during Breast Cancer Awareness in October, the company will donate a percentage of sales of its pink apparel to the fundraising organization Play for P.I.N.K. … Fujikura: Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner plays Ventus shaft, while Fujikura is the most played driver and wood shaft at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
PEOPLE
▪️American Society of Golf Course Architects: Elects Brit Stenson, of Shaker Heights, Ohio, as the organization’s new president at the recent 76 Annual Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island. Stenson will serve as ASGCA President through fall of 2023. … Zero Friction: Hires Tom Cismoski in the newly created role of senior vice president, U.S. sales. … Trump Turnberry: Hires Paul Geica as account director, whose focus will be to build strategic partnerships and business development. … PGA REACH: Charitable foundation of the PGA of America announces its 2022 class for the PGA WORKS Fellowship, which provides the opportunity for a one-year, paid immersion in a PGA Section’s Foundation operations. The 2022 class includes Karena Ballard, Gateway PGA Section; Harrison Bruns, South Central PGA Section; Davyon Collins, Colorado PGA Section; Ximena Davila, Southern Texas PGA Section; Amelia DeCeanne, Wisconsin PGA Section; Jacob Fagan, Northern California PGA Section; Shannon Gilbert, Metropolitan PGA Section; Haleigh Gray, Northern Ohio PGA Section; Madi Guilmette, Michigan PGA Section; Destany Hall, Georgia PGA Section; Mia Hayasaki, Carolinas PGA Section; Cristina Hidalgo, Southern Ohio PGA Section; Natalie Holl, Middle Atlantic PGA Section; Taylor Hunter, Western New York PGA Section; Rosa Jones, Advocates Pro Golf Association Tour; Alivia Mattiace, Northern Florida PGA Section; Erin Martin, Philadelphia PGA Section; James Thomas (JT) Moore, South Florida PGA Section; Hannah Randolph, Kentucky PGA Section; Torry Rees, Northern Texas PGA Section; Baylee Russell, Indiana PGA Section; Bryce Waker, New Jersey PGA Section. … Academy of Golf Art: Names Jennipher Satterly as president. … GCSAA: Christian Sain earns the GCSAA Grassroots Ambassador Leadership Award.
PHILANTHROPY
▪️Troon: Affiliated facilities are raising awareness and funds throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October. Golf properties will fly pink-checkered flags on their 18th greens to drive awareness and will have various fundraising events to support PLAY for P.I.N.K. … Whiskers: Supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month by establishing a 'Pretty in Pink' philanthropic program. Profits from October sales of its pink shoelaces will be donated to charities engaged in breast cancer research and education. … Rory McIlroy, NBC Sports Next: Donate $1 million to Youth on Course. … Berenberg: Raises over $750,000 for pancreatic cancer research through its Berenberg Invitational at GlenArbor Golf Club in New York. … Television Academy Foundation: Raised over $436,000 at the 22nd Emmys Golf Classic on Oct. 3 at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. Proceeds from the event benefit the nonprofit’s Internship and College Television Awards programs.
THE STYLE LINKS
Crafted with recycled coffee? If it smells like coffee, I’m all in.
:: Janice Ferguson | IG: @janiceferguson_thestylelinks
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