WaPo Headline: “Business sags at Trump’s New York golf course as players stay away”

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Thanks to all who sent this story and apologies in advance for questioning what I think is a poor bit of headline writing.

Our late, great friend Frank Hannigan always pointed out to me that the New York Times seemed spectacular until they covered a topic near and dear to your heart by exposing their weaknesses or all-out knowledge blind spots.

So while I’d respect the Times and Washington Post’s efforts to scrutinize the goings-on in Washington, the WaPo’s story on sagging business at Trump Ferry Point seemed like a headline reach (“Business sags at Trump’s New York golf course as players stay away"), which didn’t reflect a mostly-balanced piece of reporting from a small sample-size.

After checking with a few folks, it seems the headline overreached in the effort to see if President Donald Trump’s style, stances and overall forceful nature would impact his businesses.

This is certainly something to watch with his overseas properties and more importantly, with corporate sales at tournaments hosted by his courses. And while the story by Drew Harwell and David Fahrenthold presents signs of reduced play, the copy never matches the headline suggesting golfers are withdrawing in mass numbers from Trump Ferry Point rounds.

In reporting a 12% decrease in revenue over the last year, they write:

These records provide an unusual glimpse inside a business unit of the Trump Organization, during the period when Trump was seeking, then winning and then assuming the presidency. Nearly all of Trump’s other business interests are privately held and offer little transparency regarding their revenue and profits.

The reports show that, in the period between April 2016 and March 2017, golfers played 26,127 rounds at the Bronx course. That was a decline of 2,164 rounds — or about 7 percent — from the previous 12-month period.

As the writers concede, “From the records alone, it is impossible to tell whether politics played a role in the business decline at the Trump course.” And credit to them for citing Tom Stine’s assertion that a one-year 12% drop isn’t alarming enough in such a fickle weather market.

The rough summer of 2016 saw a 15% uptick in inclement weather days for Ferry Point according to The Trump Organization when contacted by this website. Also, private outings were limited to free up the tee sheet for residents, also cutting into rounds recorded.

Most interesting, the story does not cite whether play was up, down or flat at other New York City courses where similar weather or other trends could have impacted rounds played.

Nicklaus Blames WD's On Entourages, Money

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AP's Doug Ferguson reports on Jack Nicklaus's pre-Memorial remarks on player withdrawals due to injuries.

Asked about Rory McIlroy's entry into the 2017 Memorial only to WD to rest an injured rib, Nicklaus said...

“You think I had any injuries when I played? Do you think Arnold had any injuries when he played? Do you think Gary had any injuries when he played? How many tournaments do you think that we entered that we withdrew from during the course of our career?” Nicklaus said.

He put his forefinger to his thumb to signal zero.

“Never entered if I wasn’t going to play,” Nicklaus said.

After mentioning the money in the game, there was this gem about entourages.

“Would they withdraw back 30 years ago? Probably not, because that wasn’t the norm,” Nicklaus said. “We played through it. We had a ton of injuries and I played through it. But that’s sort of the norm today. And the guys … I made my own decisions. I didn’t have an entourage. I didn’t have a fitness trainer. I didn’t have a nutritionist, whatever you all have, somebody to cut my toenails in the morning.

Zing!

"I didn’t have any of that. I did that myself.

“I think that entourage helps make that decision for the player, telling them, ‘We think physically this is probably not right for you to play.’ And that’s what their job is,” Nicklaus said.

Video: The Turf Chopper (New Age Golf Cart)

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I'm normally not one to advocate anything but walking, however the Turf Chopper looks pretty fun (and stable?).  While I get the surf/skater appeal of golf boards, this looks like much less work and even exudes a cool, futuristic vibe.

To be determined? Their impact on turfgrass. But they have to be better than a much heavier golf cart.

H/T Golfballed...

I need one now. Please. Thank you. 🏍⛳️😝👍 via: @jbeeeeeeeeee @turf_chopper

A post shared by GolfBalled.com (@golfballed) on May 20, 2017 at 5:40pm PDT

 

Distance Constrictions And Compelling Tournament Golf

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Because Brandel Chamblee can be a divisive figure, discussion based off of his post-2017 Players commentary seems like a kneejerk reaction to the person making the remarks instead of the substance of his point.

There is also the precariousness of making your case off the back of someone like Si Woo Kim who won the tournament fair and square, with clutch scrambling and little choking. But Brandel's "distance constrictions" commentary should not be thrown out simply because you don't care for Brandel's style or views on other topics.

I happen to agree with him that the TPC Sawgrass still needs to encourage the use of the big stick more to be a more complete modern test. A great deal of money and effort has been put into improving the course as the ultimate tournament venue. That effort this year was mostly a huge success, but it was disappointing that in moving the course forward, a decision was made to not go back with new tees at holes like 1, 5, 6, 9, 10 and 14. (The 7th and 15th had new tees this year.)

Golf can point to a long list of famous tournaments where driver and aggressive play at select times gets taken out of player hands. More often than not, those events have produced awkward finishes with the best scrambler winning. While scrambling is an art that has been mastered by some of the greats, the best courses and setups do the least amount of discriminating against playing styles.

Throughout much of the game's tournament history, the ability to use driver to great effect has differentiated the elite players (stars) from the merely great. Tournaments where players can attack at key moments deliver a different energy. But when there is the sense that constrictions are in place--either accidentally or intentionally--the audience and the actors sense something is amiss.

Before the 2017 Players, I wrote about the sense that less severe rough, more short grass around the greens and the inclusion of a new drivable 12th would reduce some of the course's tendency to constrict and stifle talent. But the brutal, varied winds conspired with the firm, fast and immaculate conditions to present the fastest TPC Sawgrass imaginable. With that speed, the corridors played narrower and the distance advantage was lost. Without the option to extend some holes, the constrictions played more of a role than is ideal.

Again, this does not take away from Si Woo Kim's win. He posted the lowest score and perhaps played TPC Sawgrass more fearlessly because he wasn't saddled by baggage that those with longer histories there cope with. But given that this is one of golf's most significant championships with significant investments made in making it the best venue possible, a little lengthening would go a long way towards ensuring that The Players is constriction-free.

NY Times: "Chicago’s South Side Golf Courses in Line for a Tiger Woods Upgrade"

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Julie Bosman of the New York Times went to Chicago to check out the proposed public-private partnership with the Chicago Park District that would see Jackson Park Golf Course and South Shore merged into a Tiger Woods redesign capable of hosting the BMW Championship. The alliance headed by Mark Rolfing needs to raise around $30 million to fund the Woods redo and operation once completed.

As usual and as should be expected (and understandable), the debaters seem pro-redevelopment, but not at the cost to affordability for those currently enjoying the facilities now.

On a recent morning at the 18-hole Jackson Park Golf Course, two employees lingered in the building near the first tee, where golfers could buy a $1 cup of coffee and a $6 Polish sausage at the snack bar.

Keith McGrue, 60, a South Side resident, said he had heard chatter from regulars who wonder what a Tiger Woods-designed course could bring.

“A lot of people have been playing here for 25, 30 years,” Mr. McGrue said. “The question becomes, Who benefits from the change? Who loses out and who wins? Most people that play here, especially the black folks, live in the neighborhood. This is our golf course.”

Alan Brothers, 71, who was playing at the South Shore course, said that he was hoping for the sort of growth that a new facility could bring to the South Side.

“This neighborhood has been in need of economic development for a very long time,” he said, pointing to the south, where several blocks away, four people were shot dead in a restaurant in March in an apparent act of gang retribution.

"Caddies aren't just for private clubs anymore."

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Jason Scott Deegan at GolfAdvisor.com posts a pair of stories on signs of caddie programs popping up at more than just country clubs. While it's too early to say there is a renaissance taking place, the likely inclusion of caddies at Bandon Dunes as well as new caddie businesses like CaddieMaster, Looper and Premier Caddie, may keep the "upswing" going.

A couple of Deegan's numbers stood out:

•    Nearly 100 public/resort facilities and/or private clubs with some public access offer caddies in America. Since many of the 97 facilities I found feature multiple courses, that adds up to slightly more than 150 courses around the country where public golfers can hire caddies.
   
    •    21 states don't offer caddies at any public-accessible facility: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia.
  
    •    17 states offer caddies at more than one public-accessible facility: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, Wisconsin       

He also files a companion piece on the ten best destinations for caddies worth checking out.

Not Many Stepping Forward To Support Green Reading Books

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The rules community may have the backing of top players should they target the new green-reading books.

Rex Hoggard reports from the Wells Fargo Championship on comments from Adam Scott and Lucas Glover.

“I think probably we should ban the book,” Adam Scott said. “If they feel that reading the green needs to be more of an art and it's an advantage to a player who's a creative, great green reader, then I wouldn't have a problem with that.”

Glover also took the position that putting artistry is being undermined.

“It’s more the powers that be see it as a possibility of losing the art of the game. It’s just like judging the wind or reading a lie, there’s got to be art to it. Science has already taken over enough.”

I'm still not understanding the passion for protecting artistry as the proposed new rules usher in rangefinders suggest the rules community is targeting these books selectively.

As I wrote for Golfweek, this screams of a pace issue more than a skill issue.

If you haven't seen the materials in question, Tripp Isenhour did a nice job showing what they look like and the benefits some players seen in them. Note the portion where he explains the specialized data that incorporates that days' hole location.


In advance of the Players, Justin Leonard shared this story on the Golf Channel conference call in support of banning the books.

JUSTIN LEONARD: I played last week at the Texas Open, and Steve Hulka was caddying for me, and he had one of those books with, you know, the arrows and everything. I looked at it twice and I couldn't -- it was too much information for me.

I think the reason they are looking at it -- and I'll tell you that I had a putt on Friday on No. 9 to make the cut, about a 25-footer. And Steve told me what the book said, and it did exactly what it said.

Q. Did you make it?

JUSTIN LEONARD: I made the putt. Absolutely I made it. Of course I did. I made the cut and played on the weekend.

But that being said, I think to me, it's a slow-play issue. It takes too much time. It takes the feel away from the game. I know we're in a time where technology plays such a role in all sports, and it's certainly playing a role in golf with TrackMan and everything.

But I think that there's also a – there needs to be a feel and guys using instincts and using past experience, charting putts and things like that from years past. Practice rounds are important.

I'm not a fan of these greens books. I think they slow down play and they take away a player's natural ability and need to feel and see what's going on on the golf course.

"Could Legalized Gambling Save Us From the Insufferability of Fantasy Sports?"

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Jay Caspian King in the New York Times magazine explained where we stand on sports betting in the United States--legalized and non-legal--and suggests we are moving closer to legalization.

While the main point of his piece was to suggest the overall effect of legalization may cut down on some of the silly stat and fantasy obsessing by fans in favor of merely rooting for a team win, some of the noteworthy insights into where things are headed may be worth your reading time.

Especially given the PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan hasn't been as close-minded on the topic as his predecessor.

Plus, given the interest FanDuel and DraftKings have been seeing, golf will need to be ready for the inevitable.

State Of The Game 72: Mathew Goggin

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His woods were just decapitated by United Airlines, he just missed out as first alternate at the Web.com Tour event in Mexico, but because he's a gentleman, Mat Goggin was our State of The Game guest to talk the Lexi situation, the player's perspective on rules issues and the state of his beloved four-wood.

Permalink here.

MP3 download here.

And of course iTunes has it too or you can listen here;

Friedman: "So a Hindu, a Muslim and a Jew are playing golf together in Dubai"

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Thomas Friedman is in Dubai and files a New York Times dispatch on his round of golf with "Indian mystic, poet and yogi Jaggi Vasudev, who goes by his reverential name, Sadhguru." (Thanks Ellen and TZ for sending in.)

While Friedman pledges he's not writing a Trump column on this day, and did mention he had to give more strokes to the mystic mid-round, it does end with a less than subtle message for our golf-loving president.

There was this from Sadhguru on golf...

Sadhguru got addicted to golf while visiting followers in America. With about a 15 handicap now, he can hit a drive 220 yards.

As a yogi, it was not surprising that he had probed the deeper meaning of the game: “The simplicity of it makes everyone attempt it, but the subtlety of it makes almost everybody get frustrated with it,” he once observed in an interview with Isha’s magazine. Golf was also just like life (and yoga), he added: People mess up at both when their “interior is not settled.”

Post Katrina: NOLA's City Park Reopens As Bayou Oaks

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Erik Matuszewski of Forbes fills us in on the long anticipated return of City Park, destroyed by Hurricane Katrina twelve years ago and reopened after a $24 million renovation.

He writes:

The championship-caliber course about 10 minutes from downtown is the centerpiece of a $24 million project in New Orleans City Park, with aspirations it will be on par with prominent public venues such as Bethpage State Park’s Black Course in New York or Torrey Pines outside San Diego. They picked the right man for the job, as Bayou Oaks architect Rees Jones also overhauled both of those U.S. Open sites.

“Torrey Pines plays 65,000 rounds on the South Course a year. With Bethpage Black, you basically have to wait in line to get on it,” says Jones. “I think that’s going to be the same situation here at City Park because it’s going to be the premier golf course in the region.”

Don Ames's story includes a mention of the championship course as a possible Zurich Classic host some day and this on the fees:

"If you're a Louisiana resident, the fees are between $59 and $99, depending on the day, time of year, twilight...all that good stuff," Hopper says. "And, it includes the cart and a bucket of balls. You can still play the park's north course for about 25 dollars."

He says out-of-state golfers will pay as much as $179 to play the new course.

There is also this drone flyover:

 

 

NGF: "Overall involvement in the game is actually up"

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With the addition of Topgolf and other off-course experiences added to their overall counts, the National Golf Foundation's annual study of golf participation reveals a few interesting things.

First, the bad news:

While the latest research indicates a modest 1.2% decline in on-course participation – dipping to 23.8 million (age 6+ who played at least once) in 2016 from 24.1 million in 2015, commitment to the sport in many respects is more evident than ever before.

Now the positives...starting with the committed.

The number of committed golfers – a group that accounts for approximately 95% of all rounds-played and overall spending – rose for the first time in five years, from 19.5 million to 20.1 million.

An 11% increase in "off-course participation" was largely attributable to Topgolf's inclusion in counts...

Driven primarily by the popularity and growth of Topgolf, a non-traditional form of golf entertainment, there were an estimated 20 million off-course participants in 2016. Of those, 8.2 million didn’t play on a golf course.

And the next dreaded but, the conversion factor...

The number of people who say they are “very interested” in taking up golf has doubled over the past five years, growing at an annual rate of nearly 15%. In addition to the 12.8 million non-golfers who said they’re very interested in playing golf, there are another 27.8 million who responded they’re “somewhat interested” in taking up the game. That increase has driven growth in the number of beginning golfers, with those who played on a golf course for the first time jumping to 2.5 million in 2016 from 1.5 million in 2011.

Topgolf is doing its part, with free lessons April 24th as part of National Golf Day. Eric Matuszewski reports in a Forbes roundup of business stories, including the new Seamus golf shoes and other notes.

It's the economy, stupid:

Recent increases in interest (latent demand) and beginning golfers appear to be correlated with increases in consumer confidence, spending and other favorable economic indicators. Just as these measures trended downward along with golf during and following the recession, they are now increasing as interest in traditional green-grass golf builds, and participation in non-traditional golf activity, such as Topgolf, rises.

This is a big number:

Golf’s overall reach remains extensive, and steady. An estimated 95 million people (or one out of every three Americans age 6+) played, watched or read about golf in 2016, the same number as in 2015.

And the big conclusion, which probably has been written, oh, annually...

The game’s challenge remains the same: getting more of those who express interest to actually give golf a try, and converting more beginners into committed participants. The encouraging sign for the industry is that the committed participant group now appears to be stabilized, while the number of players picking up a club at off-course facilities continues to build.

Market Watch: "How much longer can golf survive?"

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It's been a while since we've had a golf-is-dead piece to consider and as much as it pains me to say it, this one from Jason Notte at Market Watch scores a few points. Thanks to reader Blake for sending and sharing some thoughts on how, unfortunately this resonates with him as a 30-year-old golfer.

Looking at The Masters and other recent data Notte notes the many issues golf faces are related to demographics and a change in what people want to watch.

In 2014, Nielsen noted that 63% of the PGA’s television audience was over the age of 55. Some 87% of that audience was white, while only 12% was younger than 35. By comparison, only 25% of the National Basketball Association’s audience is 55 or older, 47% is younger than 35, and 57% is nonwhite.

The LPGA’s key demographic isn’t all that different from that of its male counterparts. Both the PGA and LPGA have a viewership that’s about 63% male. Roughly 64% of the LPGA’s audience is 30 or older, and 84% is white.

Golf’s core audience is literally dying, and it’s affecting golf far beyond its television broadcasts.

This conclusion will sting for many of us, and while an exaggeration, serves as a good wake-up call to keep up the current dialogue about livening up the game and how it is presented on television.

There is no second coming of Tiger Woods. There is no burgeoning generation of children longing to play a four-hour game filled with nitpicky, self-policing rules. There is no city in the U.S. willing to trade density and tax ratables for divots and rough. If golf has little to offer this country but televised shots of manicured greens and galleries and living rooms of cranky, aging diehards, then it should prepare to take a seat beside horse racing among U.S. sports antiques.

My main quibble with these types of stories and all other stories: golf has been around for centuries and will continue to be because it's a sound, interesting and unusual sport that can be enjoyed by all age groups.

The current cycle we are in is certainly not a positive one given that millennials, obsessed with their phones or other activities that do not extend their stay by more than ninety minutes, are the center of the business world's attention. So even though the folks with the buying power haven't cooled to the sport, the young but small audience is given too much weight in evaluating the viability of golf as a pastime.

Golf has been slow to keep its facilities up-to-date and this generation, which has high standards when it comes to food, beverage and experience, is understandably not enthused by golf's experience. There has been a shocking lack of imagination in offering promotions, incorporating technology or simply adjusting to basic societal shifts by golf facilities.

Golf's various tours and governing bodies are increasingly aware of these issues and making strides. Yet remain stubborn about addressing issues that will return the sport's ideal scale and pacing. Worse, there is often an air of desperation around initiatives that is noticed by those on the outside looking in.

And while golf on television has never been a young person's game or one that will attract mass audiences,  the right amount of broadcast modernization and incorporation of technology can at least keep viewers more engaged while serving players and sponsors better.

The question, however, remains: are all of these efforts just a bit too late?

Superintendent Headache Files: USGA Promoting Stimpmeters

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A few years ago a post here noted the USGA Stimpmeter offer at USGA.org and while it was surreal then, to see the organization pushing the $110 devices in emails to their members. Including "For The Good Of The Game" branding on the devices seems almost April Fools worthy.

Especially given how we know green speed is dangerous to turf health, pace of play and architectural character, all things we know because of USGA research and experience!

Some in the superintendent community, who will have to deal with members perhaps buying the devices, were not pleased. 

Texas Senate Votes To Transfer Lions Away Muny From UT

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Ralph K.M. Haurwitz of the Austin American-Statesman on news that the Texas state Senate voted 21-10 to transfer Lions Municipal Golf Course ownership from the University of Texas to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The bill now goes to the House.

This part made me chuckle given university plans for years to develop the course. What beacons of the community!

UT-Austin President Gregory L. Fenves offered in January to extend the city of Austin’s lease for Muny after it expires in May 2019 — provided that the city is willing to pony up lease payments that are closer to market value. Fenves testified before a Senate panel that the market value would be around $6 million a year, about 12 times the current rate paid by the city, which has operated the course for decades.

The Save Muny folks are understandably pleased: