Anyone who has been privileged to play such courses as Prestwick, St.Andrews, Dornoch or North Berwick in Scotland cannot forget the joys of tantalizing little hummocks and the golfing appearance they give those courses. Over and over again, my American friends who have played those British courses remark to me on the charming variation one gets in lies on fairways and the shots up to the hole where hummocks exist.
TOM SIMPSON
The rare combination of head and heart is why no one in golf can reach more people more quickly and with more cooperation than Tim Rosaforte. Along with having the cellphone numbers of hundreds of pros on the men’s and women’s world rankings, Tim has the numbers of their agents, swing coaches, caddies, trainers, parents, spouses, siblings, best friends, college coaches and teammates, etc. Watching Tim work his cell on a Sunday night against a hard deadline would have had Hildy Johnson in awe. JAIME DIAZ
The rare combination of head and heart is why no one in golf can reach more people more quickly and with more cooperation than Tim Rosaforte. Along with having the cellphone numbers of hundreds of pros on the men’s and women’s world rankings, Tim has the numbers of their agents, swing coaches, caddies, trainers, parents, spouses, siblings, best friends, college coaches and teammates, etc. Watching Tim work his cell on a Sunday night against a hard deadline would have had Hildy Johnson in awe. JAIME DIAZ
Dylan Dethier of Golf.com had the most details on Wednesday’s news surrounding golf’s Drive To Success clone green lit by Netflix.
While it’ll get the PGA Tour headlines, production has barely begun. So as I noted in The Quadrilateral, there are several surprises, including the buy-in from the Five Families. Or that so many players committed and so much information is being shared with so little “in the can”.
Dethier said the first interviews just occurred and we probably can’t expect the docuseries for a year. And there was this on editorial control:
“We do not have editorial control,” a Tour spokesperson said. “We will be involved to the extent that Netflix and the producers have the access they need to film at our events. We want them to make a great show, and we all agree the documentary needs to be as authentic as possible.”
The enthusiasm of Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has been crucial in getting to this point. People familiar with the process were impressed with his open-mindedness and that he became a crucial voice in bringing the project to market.
The rare combination of head and heart is why no one in golf can reach more people more quickly and with more cooperation than Tim Rosaforte. Along with having the cellphone numbers of hundreds of pros on the men’s and women’s world rankings, Tim has the numbers of their agents, swing coaches, caddies, trainers, parents, spouses, siblings, best friends, college coaches and teammates, etc. Watching Tim work his cell on a Sunday night against a hard deadline would have had Hildy Johnson in awe. JAIME DIAZ
The rare combination of head and heart is why no one in golf can reach more people more quickly and with more cooperation than Tim Rosaforte. Along with having the cellphone numbers of hundreds of pros on the men’s and women’s world rankings, Tim has the numbers of their agents, swing coaches, caddies, trainers, parents, spouses, siblings, best friends, college coaches and teammates, etc. Watching Tim work his cell on a Sunday night against a hard deadline would have had Hildy Johnson in awe. JAIME DIAZ
In the locker room last Sunday at Heron Bay, a reporter approached Fuzzy Zoeller with some advice. No tape recorder was running. The notepad was in the back pocket. “It would have been better,” I said, “if you just told them you made a mistake, you apologized for it and said it was time to move on.” Fuzzy didn’t like the advice. He didn’t like being told he should apologize for something he already had apologized for. He didn’t like being told he should suck it up, swallow his pride, play the game, kill them with kindness. He had his own ideas on media awareness, and his view was different than mine. TIM ROSAFORTE
In the locker room last Sunday at Heron Bay, a reporter approached Fuzzy Zoeller with some advice. No tape recorder was running. The notepad was in the back pocket. “It would have been better,” I said, “if you just told them you made a mistake, you apologized for it and said it was time to move on.” Fuzzy didn’t like the advice. He didn’t like being told he should apologize for something he already had apologized for. He didn’t like being told he should suck it up, swallow his pride, play the game, kill them with kindness. He had his own ideas on media awareness, and his view was different than mine. TIM ROSAFORTE
The next logical starter based on his history with the Masters has been invited by Chairman Fred Ridley to participate starting in 2022. The full statement from Augusta National Golf Club:
Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament, announced today that two-time Masters champion Tom Watson will join Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player as an Honorary Starter beginning Thursday, April 7, 2022, at the 86th Masters Tournament.
“I am honored that Tom has accepted our invitation,” said Ridley. “I look forward to commemorating his love for the game and impact on the Masters with his millions of fans across the globe as he hits a tee shot alongside two of the Tournament’s other all-time greats, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.”
Watson won the 1977 and 1981 Masters Tournaments and finished runner-up three times in his 15 top-10 showings at Augusta National. He is one of 17 players to win multiple Masters Tournaments, and his 72.74 scoring average ranks fifth in Tournament history.
After competing in the Masters as an amateur in 1970, Watson made 42 consecutive starts from 1975-2016, the fifth-longest streak in Tournament history. His 58 subpar rounds are second all-time behind Nicklaus (71), and he holds the record for most consecutive years with at least one subpar round (21, 1975-1995).
The men who operate massive machines that contour the landscape into features suitable for golf are known as shapers. In reality, they are sculptors, artists of the earth, the very best of whom are capable of taking the most sketchy of plans from an architect and transforming them into an artistic and functioning reality. BILL COORE
The men who operate massive machines that contour the landscape into features suitable for golf are known as shapers. In reality, they are sculptors, artists of the earth, the very best of whom are capable of taking the most sketchy of plans from an architect and transforming them into an artistic and functioning reality. BILL COORE
Tony Webeck with a remembrance of the former Australian Open champion Bob Shearer, who passed away at age 73 Saturday.
Born and raised in Melbourne, Shearer shot to prominence by winning the 1969 Australian Amateur and then joined the professional ranks the following year.
In his playing career that stretched across four decades, Shearer amassed 27 professional wins including the 1983 Australian PGA Championship at Royal Melbourne Golf Club and the 1982 Australian Open at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney, defeating Americans Jack Nicklaus and Payne Stewart by four strokes.
Shearer won twice on the European Tour in the 1975 season (Madrid Open and Piccadilly Medal) and in 1982 won the Tallahassee Open on the PGA Tour and lost in a playoff to Ed Sneed at the Houston Open that same year.
And his friend Mike Clayton filed a wonderful collection of memories about Bob’s life. A teaser:
The men who operate massive machines that contour the landscape into features suitable for golf are known as shapers. In reality, they are sculptors, artists of the earth, the very best of whom are capable of taking the most sketchy of plans from an architect and transforming them into an artistic and functioning reality. BILL COORE
The men who operate massive machines that contour the landscape into features suitable for golf are known as shapers. In reality, they are sculptors, artists of the earth, the very best of whom are capable of taking the most sketchy of plans from an architect and transforming them into an artistic and functioning reality. BILL COORE
The USGA billed it as a major championship announcement and the hyperbole matched the depth of the news announced Friday.
The U.S. Women’s Open purse goes to $10 million, world class venues like Riviera and Interlachen were added, Pinehurst will host another back-to-back men’s/women’s Open, and a presenting sponsor (ProMedica) is announced.
I cover it all and analyze at The Quadrilateral. Everyone can read a preview here. (More here on The Quad and plans for 2002, including increased women’s major coverage.)
Here is the official press release:
USGA Significantly Elevates U.S. Women’s Open with Addition of its First-Ever Presenting Partner – ProMedica
I do not mean to imply that short par-3’s do not exist anymore, though its type is not frequently attempted by many architects today. But quite selfishly, I would enjoy seeing more of them, for it's one of the many ways to check unbridled power, and occasionally, make those long hitters' knees tremble.
BEN CRENSHAW
The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga takes pro golfers to task for taking Saudi Arabia’s money at the PIFSIFSIA/Bonesaw/Saudi Golf League group get together next month. Full disclosure: Svrluga’s former colleague at the Post, Jamal Khashoggi, was lured to his death and reportedly sliced into pieces and disposed of by a squad working for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. At least in the CIA’s assessment.
Thanks to all who shared this and who wondered if the players will see it—or care—but this about LIV Golf Investments’ Greg Norman and the Public Investment Fund will put Svrluga on the Shark’s bad list:
Here’s Norman, in a November interview with Golf Digest within days of his announcement, immediately trying to distance the PIF from the brutalities inflicted by bin Salman.
“[The PIF is] obviously a commercial operation,” Norman said. “They’re very autonomous. They make investment decisions all around the world. They’ve invested in major U.S. corporations because of commercial reasons. They invested in LIV Golf Investments for a commercial opportunity. They’re passionate about the game of golf.”
He’s a self-serving snake-oil salesman but worse. Don’t trust him.
Just as their strategic partners have done, the Tour Formerly Known As European will be granting releases to the Asian Tour’s PIFSIPSIA next month, reports The Guardian’s Ewan Murray.
Filling the field of the Saudi-backed event, formerly a European Tour event that was the brainchild of Chief Keith Pelley and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, appears to be quite easy. Especially when tours are rolling over so easily. There was a Telegraph report of possible repercussions after players tee it up.
Murray writes:
By the Monday deadline, between 30 and 40 members of the tour had requested releases to play in the Asian Tour-run event near Jeddah, from 3 February. It is sponsored by the Saudi public investment fund and carries huge appearance fees.
Despite speculation of potential bans for European players who compete in the Saudi International, dismissed by some as little more than a cash grab, it is understood they should be informed this week that releases will be granted with conditions relating to future commitments to DP World Tour tournaments. Should those conditions not be met there is scope for disciplinary action, but player power has seemingly won the day.
© 2025 GolfLynk.com, a division of Outdoorsmen.com, Inc. Contact Us: 1 (888) 838-3396
