"The new trend--bundle the course in with the HOA"

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Mary Shanklin in an Orlando Sentinel front page story (thanks reader Steve) looks at Orlando's ChampionsGate finally finishing a third course after the real-estate collapse and the future of such home-driven developments for companies like Lennar Homes.

I'm not sure how this is cutting edge, in fact it sounds fairly doomed...

Punctuated with white-sand bunkers, Bermuda grass and rolling panoramas, the course will initially open to public play but is intended to become private under the ownership of the homeowner association. Homebuyers have no initiation fees, which can be as pricey as a luxury car at other country-club courses. Renters in the resort-style community can purchase annual passes for as much as $3,500. Upkeep will be part of the monthly association fees, which now run about $300 to $350.

And...

Standing at the 14th hole at the new ChampionsGate course, community manager Mick Toscano said other courses have failed because members have been able to opt out of their memberships, leaving a big upkeep tab and too few members to pay it.

"This is going to be the new trend — bundle the course in with the HOA," said Toscana, regional manager for ICON Management Services Inc.

Oh dear...

Three Golfers Land On Millennial's Favorite Athletes List

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Something called 120 Sports conducted research to determine who the most important people in the world view as their favorite jocks. Besides learning that the 18-34 year olds(ish) are sexist, ageist and likely to favor someone who attended college, they do like three golfers in their top 40.

From the press release, which notes the various predilictions of the precious, vital, and largely indebted demo.

The rankings provide additional insights including:
    •    8 out of the top 10 are 26 years of age or younger
    •    2 out of the top 5 are defending champions in their respective sports
    •    Jonathan Toews, NHL, was the most liked athlete among females
    •    1 female athlete in top 15
    •    70% of the top 10 attended college

The golfers are in italics:

2015 120 Sports Millennials' Athlete Index Top 10
1) Stephen Curry, 26, NBA
2) Mike Trout, 23, MLB
3) Russell Wilson, 26, NFL
4) Kevin Durant, 26, NBA
5) Madison Bumgarner, 25, MLB
6) Aaron Rodgers, 31, NFL
7) J.J. Watt, 25, NFL
8) Andrew Luck, 25, NFL
9) Lionel Messi, 27, La Liga
10) Odell Beckham Jr., 22, NFL
2015 120 Sports Millennials' Athlete Index Top 11-40
11. Alex Morgan, 25, USWNT
12. Damian Lillard, 24, NBA
13. Marcus Mariota, 21, NCAAF
14. Calvin Johnson, 29, NFL
15. Cristiano Ronaldo, 29, La Liga
16. Clayton Kershaw, 26, MLB
17. Jonathan Toews, 26, NHL
18. Patrick Kane, 26, NHL
19. Tom Brady, 37, NFL
20. Tim Howard, 35, USMNT
21. Anthony Davis, 21, NBA
22. LeBron James, 30, NBA
23. Rickie Fowler, 26, PGA TOUR
24. Tim Duncan, 38, NBA
25. Marshawn Lynch, 28, NFL
26. Rob Gronkowski, 25, NFL
27. Giancarlo Stanton, 25, MLB
28. Shaun White, 28, Action Sports
29. Steven Stamkos, 24, NHL      
30. Maria Sharapova, 27, WTA
31. Henrik Lundqvist, 32, NHL
32. Buster Posey, 27, MLB
33. Bubba Watson, 36, PGA TOUR
34. Felix Hernandez, 28, MLB
35. Sidney Crosby, 27, NHL
36. Alexander Ovechkin, 29, NHL
37. Klay Thompson, 24, NBA
38. Russell Westbrook, 26, NBA
39. Peyton Manning, 38, NFL
40. Tiger Woods, 39, PGA TOUR

As for our millennials, Jordan Spieth was left off the list but he doesn't care, he just signed with Under Armour for ten years in a no-brainer bit of loyalty since both sides took a shot when Spieth was an unproven commodity. Nice to see it work out for both sides.

And Rickie just reportedly re-upped with Puma for an unspecified number of years, with Cobra-Puma putting out a fun video featuring cameos both great (Greg Norman) and eye-roll worthy (Rickie's cranky agent Sam MacNaughton).

You have to stay with it to the end for Norman's fun cameo:

Telegraph's Corrigan: Roll Back The Ball!

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Add The Telegraph's James Corrigan to the list of subversives out to end capitalism as we know it by suggesting that it's time to end the mad chase for distance. No free golf balls for James!

Topping his list of five things he says need to happen in 2015...

1. Roll back the ball - The horse has probably bolted on this one, but it is never too late. All of golf’s ills can be traced back to the negligence of the authorities to rein in the turbo-charged golf ball. The courses are too long, the golf is too boring and the game is suffering. Do something now.

And just to show he's a dreamer...

2. Slow play - Let’s face it, golf takes too long. Five-hour rounds on Thursday and Friday are actually welcomed on some tracks, while four hours for two players is absurdly acceptable. The action takes too long to watch and is far too long to play. The only way to speed up the pros is with shot penalties. End of.