When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
This week’s open-to-all newsletter seems to have urged the flacks of the world to lecture me and of course, plenty of “grow the game” declarations and just all out meltdowns from the influencer set.
Oddly none of the USGA’s paid promoters seem bothered by the $160 U.S. Open ticket price reported on in the newsletter along with several PGA Championship notes.
The Quadrilateral covers the majors and while this is not major majors news, Rickie Fowler getting a PGA Championship spot does not look great.
But the staff worked hard today to round up the deep sleeper theories. For my loyal paying subscribers’ eyes only as there might be some upset executives if this was available to their scions.
Subscribers already have today’s edition in their inbox covering a nice mix this week involving three majors and the Ryder Cup. Though a couple of stories aren’t so nice. Edgy, we’ll call them.
The weekly edition is free but commenting and other exclusive editions are for subscribers. All of that is explained here at The Quadrilateral.golf.
Kiawah is going to provide some good preview content in the coming weeks so join the Quad for the ride.
This week we learned Augusta National’s tax bill, major concerns for two major favorites, horrifying Masters radio news and a progressive maintenance plan for the U.S. Women's Open.
The Quadrilateral’s weekly news and notes editon goes to all subscribers and while you can read it here, what fun is that when you can have it delivered free in a mobile-friendly edition for safe keeping. Or reading in line at Trader Joes.
You can read more on how The Quad will work as we near the first major, or at the Substack landing page where you can see past editions. I’ve got a few fun Q&A’s lined up for the coming weeks, some looks at Augusta National’s architecture and more as we near the season’s first major.
Also, if you’re enjoying Substack as much as I am, consider downloading their reader beta where you can read all of your favorite Substacks in one spot.
I wasn’t just inspired by reading Alistair Tait’s pleasurable rant on green reading books or the positive reaction to Jon Rahm’s comments.
Nor was I that taken by the coincidence in the news yesterday, as documented in today’s Quadrilateral for paying friends of the newsletter.
No, I just sense more golf fans have had enough with pros getting too much assistance that dumbs down the game. Whether this shift is an offshoot of the distance debate, the ugly sight of green reading books, or rangefinders at the upcoming PGA Championship, more folks are getting the whole “skill” debate in golf. Or they at least are open to the topic and the possibility that elite golf could be more interesting with less outside assistance.
Check it out here if you’re a subscriber and if not, well, you’ll have to ask around about that coincidence.
The week-long wait is over and paying Quadrilateral subscribers have received The (Current) Major Pecking Order, Part II.
For more on The Quadrilateral go here or sign up now!
A new edition of The Quadrilateral is out to subscribers.
A wrap-up of majors news, including the historic pivot from Donald Trump plus other random notes, heavily tilted toward The Masters just 84 days from now.
Learn more here or just go ahead and subscribe here. The options; Free, $5 a month, $49 a year or a $150 founding membership that includes a free subscription for a friend.
After the calendar mercifully flipped I mentioned a pivot in coverage in addition to GeoffShackelford.com.
So I present to you, The Quadrilateral.
I started posting random internet items in 2003 on a clunky website before “blog” was a word. There weren’t many others in golf then and fast forward to 2021, even fewer golf newsletters today by one writer. (The Fried Egg started that way but they’ve grown and aren’t we grateful for that?)
As explained on the The Quadrilateral’s About page, I’ve come to love the format after growing attached to the missives from trusted scribes. I’ve been struck by how unencumbered they sounded thanks to a more direct, semi-private connection to readers. Also helping: the visual cleanliness, clickbait-free burden lift, a lack of cookie requests and conflict-free analysis.
I expect to bring the same with a focus on my favorite part of golf tournament coverage: the four men’s majors (and 2021 Ryder Cup).
The newsletter name is from a 1930 reference to Bobby Jones’ grand slam and to kick things off in the inaugural missive, explains why majors will be this decade’s superstars. It’s my explanation why the big four will only get more interesting as the week-to-week pro golf product falls flat.
Subscribing is free and easy thanks to Substack’s design. You’ll get a good sampling of the format and tone over the next month. But as we move closer to the majors expect fewer newsletters available unless you join.
The Quadrilateral is $5 monthly or $49 a year). I’ve also added a Founders option for $150 that will include a one-year subscription for you and a friend.
If you just want a simpler explanation of The Quadrilateral with pretty pictures, I’ve built this standalone website. There you’ll find my explanation for jumping to this format, a FAQ page and the original reference to the quadrilateral.
No questions and you’re ready to start enjoying the majors even more: just go here to subscribe and read the kick-off letter.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
