Golfing News & Blog Articles

They weren’t bluffing down there at the Global Home regarding February’s Saudi International and preventing as many as thirty top players from playing the same week as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Nobody messes with Jay Monahan! He is the Sheriff of all…wait, what?

The potential defectors get to abandon one of the biggest events on the PGA Tour calendar and their punishment will to play Pebble Beach-Spyglass-MPCC over the next two years? All while collecting huge appearance fees and possibly laying the groundwork for fundamentally disrupting the PGA Tour’s business?

Tony Soprano, he is not. Guess Jay’s in the holiday spirit?

Back in July Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch reported that players would be denied releases to play the event believed to be a precursor to a Saudi Golf League. But now Lynch is first to report the releases will be granted for the February 3rd-6th event but with “strings attached.” Some really, really thin strings.

The game has grown! And America barely added to the increase of 5.5 million or so people who identify as golfer.

For Immediate Release:

14 December 2021, St Andrews, Scotland: New research figures revealed by The R&A and Sports Marketing Surveys (SMS) show golf has enjoyed a significant increase in popularity worldwide since 2016 with over five-and-a-half million additional golfers taking up the sport.

The number of total golfers globally has increased from 61 million to 66.6 million in a five-year growth period, surpassing the previous high mark of 61.6 million set in 2012. The measure includes club members and non-member independent golfers playing nine or 18 holes and users of driving ranges in markets where course availability is limited.

The new figure reflects a positive trend in golf in which participation levels are now rising worldwide after a period of decline. This was recently highlighted in the 2021 European Golf Participation Report, which highlighted that over 10.6 million golfers now enjoy playing full-length courses on the continent – a healthy increase from the 7.9 million last monitored in 2016.

After the relentless attention the Associated Press’ Stephen Wade gave the Olympic golf course project in Rio—none of it positive—it’s nice to see the same news organization covering a golf-related game grower in Rio who has created the “City of Golf” training ground.

From Diarlei Rodrigues' and Mauricio Savarese’s story about Marcelo Modesto.

A caddie for four decades, the 54-year-old Modesto has opened a golf training center in the most violent area of the favela. Without public or private funding, from just a sheer passion for the sport, Modesto has attracted 100 kids to the ground in hope of starting some on the path to becoming professionals, or doing something to get off the favela streets.

The City of God golf training ground is part of a program that hopes to develop children from one of Brazil’s most violent favelas into budding golfers who are invited to use the course from the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.

Their introduction to golf is rudimentary, at best.

Links editor George Peper filed “A Rant Against Golden Age Golf Architects” in the latest issue and while I suppose a backlash was inevitable, he also makes a few points that warrant a Golden Age defense.

The old architects are certainly getting a lot of ink these days and no matter how many old photos we turn up showing their courses were just better, there will be a subset that just wants to be living in a better time. And another subset that needs to be living in a better time for their self worth.

But in making his case, Peper ignores when key trait of the restoration movement results and deification of the old architects. First, this attempt at suggesting they are overrated:

If, as one of today’s leading designers Tom Doak has astutely observed, “the best architects are the ones who get the best clients,” then maybe the individuals we should be venerating are not the Golden Age designers but the Golden Age owner/developers, the gentlemen golfers with deep pockets and a simple, steadfast vision that began and ended with the creation of an outstanding golf course: Dick Tufts (Pinehurst No. 2) rather than Ross; Clifford Roberts (Augusta National) rather than MacKenzie; George Crump (Pine Valley) rather than Colt; Robert Moses (Bethpage Black) rather than Tillinghast.

With the exception of Crump, the architects were the difference between having a nice development and a masterpiece. Though Crump famously relied on many opinions besides Colt’s and the overall collaborative nature ended up spawning several successful design careers.

Greg Hardwig reports from this week’s QBE Shootout on the latest related to Saudi Arabia’s attempted takeover of the pro game after Greg Norman spoke to assembled media. The LIV Golf Investments operation running the potential Saudi Golf League had named a new COO Thursday: Atul Khosla, who has bee the chief corporate development and brand officer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This gave the Shirtless Shark a chance to ride “C-suite” as only he could.

“Our C-suite (or major executive team) has been very, very special to say the least, and it’s a testament to our business model, it’s a testament to our commitment to the game of golf and our C-suite, which is deep and very experienced not only in sport, team sport, not only in business, but right across the board,” Norman said. “Our C-suite starting in London to where we’re going to be in West Palm Beach is solid. Really, it is a commitment by them of, like I said, believing in the product, believing in the business model and believing in the players.”

Three C-suites in so little time. Oh but why quit there?

“‘I’m very, very passionate about that,” he said. “I’m not going to lose focus on that at all. I stay finely tuned with my C-suite people on the same thing about our future and about how we want to get to certain milestones in our life and obviously for our investor.

As the new year and new TV deal are close, the PGA Tour and ESPN+ are rolling out more details of their ambitious coverage plans.

Standout elements of this figure to be Featured Hole coverage (assuming the right holes are selected), the early “Main Feed” essentially providing a traditional broadcast prior to Golf Channel’s coverage, the Marquee Group and the continuation of Featured Groups (depending on the groups) when the Golf Channel, NBC and CBS take over.

Whether ESPN influences any of this or some experimental efforts ala Peyton and Eli, remains to be seen. But at $6.99 a month, plus access to ESPN+’s Masters and PGA Championship feeds, along with +’s other offerings, it’s a steal for fans.

TOUR, ESPN+ Announce Details of Expanded and Extended Coverage Beginning in January 

PGA TOUR LIVE on ESPN+ set to launch January 2022