David Forgan: Golf "promotes not only physical health by moral force"

Thanks to Sean Tully of the Meadow Club for digging up David Forgan’s golfer’s creed and posting on Twitter (below). I’ve been asked by a few folks to post research or quotes related to the health and safety of golf when I come across them.

While this doesn’t quite qualify as an empirical work, it’s a keeper for those looking for a little inspiration or maybe fending off golf haters. Or maybe just a certain kind of reassurance that when safe and not disrespectful to times, there is a great reason to love the game and to maintain your pursuit of the royal and ancient.

Incidentally, I only knew Forgan was a descendant of the the St. Andrews Forgan family of clubmakers. It turns out, David decided to go into banking and moved to America where he was buried. Jim Craig, who blogs about various gravesites and the people under them, profiled David Forgan here.

Hard pressed to define golf better than was done here by Mr. Forgan. A gentle reminder of what joys the game can bring in so many ways! What are you doing to enjoy the game and share a golf experience with others? @gwatersgolf @erikanderslang @the_fried_egg @TheChristinaKim pic.twitter.com/xGJmRsG5SU

— Tully (@tullfescue) May 3, 2020

And just because I wanted an excuse to look at some St Andrews photos, a couple shots from 2015 of the Forgan shop location and plaque commemorating its location (now the Old Course shop).

Morning Read: Beginning To Ponder The Golf Experience Beyond A Time Of Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing tragedy—nearing 70,000 Americans dead—with accelerate emerging trends or radically alter ways of life we’ve come to know. MorningRead.com deserves plaudits for being one of the only golf publications to look past Brooks Koepka’s birthday or Rory v. Billy on Peloton to ponder the fate of of golf’s substantial industry.

Besides contributions from Dan O’Neill and Tom Coyne, an excellent three part-series has been filed by Brad Klein on various elements of the “business: and “experience” that will change.

Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here, and note this from Part 3 about the likely changes in turf management influenced by forces like staff or budget reductions, among other reasons.

From the modern makeover piece posted as part 3:

For course management and setup:
* Delayed starting times as reduced crews attend to necessary daily setup.

Warning, on the golf values reset I plan to make a case for this at a later date. But go on Klein:

* Varied conditions of presentation, with less emphasis upon flawless, TV-style lush-green setups and more tolerance for less maintenance of roughs, native areas and areas around tees. This ecologically sustainable approach will entail less water, fewer chemicals, less-frequent applications and reliance more upon scientific principles of agronomic management such as ”degree growing days” and moisture-level monitoring.

* In an effort to reduce turf stress and heavy reliance upon chemical inputs, courses will adopt marginally raised mowing heights of fairways (say, from 0.40-inch to 0.55-inch) to reduce mowing demands and make the playing experience more fun and enjoyable for mid-to-high-handicappers and newcomers. This trend will vary from facility to facility, depending upon client and member expectations. These setup conditions also can vary depending upon the occasion.

* Superintendents will be relying on smaller, more efficient crews, which means more interaction among golfers and workers. These reduced crews will devote more of their workday, especially at the start, to sanitizing equipment, keeping safe distance in the workplace and attending to safety conditions among golfers.

While so many questions still remain, Klein still dares to consider the food and beverage side of golf operations where the change figures to be more extreme and surprising.

For club operations:
* Reconfigured food-and-beverage facilities, with greater spacing among serving tables, if necessary, and any unused banquet halls converted to regular dining.

* More emphasis upon takeout of casual meals, which has proved to be popular during the recent social-distancing measures. As we rebound to a semblance of normalcy, the practice might well become habit-forming for consumers; it certainly is more efficient for clubs to provide – less labor, less waste of food and easier to prepare and serve. This will require additional supplies of disposable serving supplies, such as bags, plastic plates and Styrofoam containers, and less emphasis upon conventional flatware and glassware.

Anyway, lots to ponder and worth reading if you are in the industry. The facilities that get out in front of innovation and adopt changes either inspired by trends pre-virus or the new world order, should be able to take advantage of the newfound appreciation for golf.

DeVries: A Golf Architect's Perspective On Post-Pandemic Effects

Golf architect Mike DeVries considers the long-term effects of COVID-19 on golf in the United States and while I found it calming because I agree with what he writes, I think even those eager to see a return to everything we knew in golf will enjoy DeVries’ calming, sensible tone.

Writing for Golf Course Architecture, DeVries highlights how it might be time for golf in the U.S. to focus even more on how a course plays and less how it looks. And after making several strong points, concludes:

We can emerge from the Covid-19 era with a better idea of what is really important about our favourite pastime. We’ll walk, play, and exercise while engaging with others, and still pursue that little white ball. By simplifying its ‘touches’ and carefully limiting the potential for exposure to the virus, golf maintenance might just deliver us a more sustainable model. Golf may become more affordable and, therefore, more popular to a wider demographic. The ‘grow the game’ initiatives of the last few years have been searching for new ways to interest more people. Perhaps the restrictions and related impacts of this challenging period will point the game back towards its humbler roots and make it more popular than ever.

“Hey golfers, let’s not screw this up”

Incidents of golfers defiantly resisting distancing rules and other behaviors are on the upswing (Tim Gavrich with the GolfAdvisor roundup of incidents in Connecticut, Massachusetts and England) and the sight of Presidio Golf Course being turned into a park won’t do much for pulse rates (Tessa McLean with that report, and Jason Deegan with an excellent analysis of this growing par/golf debate at GolfAdvisor).

Still, the signs are positive for golfers itching to play. Course openings are up and in the United States, are projected to be in the 77% neighborhood by early May according to this week’s NGF report. It remains clear that golf is one of the safest and best things you can do.

Yet, as expected when the pandemic broke out and golf courses were closed despite the benefits, there is a sense the sport will subject itself to backlash by pushing too fast to open courses or convene large scale tournaments.

Sam Weinman addressed this in an excellent GolfDigest.com piece after a recent round with his son, suggesting golf is a litmus test of sorts.

We all want to play, and a cursory glance at courses in my area suggests most are trying to make it work—tee times spaced out, practice facilities and clubhouses closed, carts banned or limited to those who really need them. When my course sends out weekly emails outlining or emphasizing these restrictions, the subtext is always, “We’ve got a decent thing going here. Don’t screw this up.”

Yet there are reports out of different parts of the country and abroad where golfers are holding firm to the game they’ve always played. Big groups, two players to a cart. Beers flowing post-round. At a time when deep sacrifices are being made all around, there is great danger, both symbolic and otherwise, in assuming the asks being made of society don’t apply to golf. The game fights a bad rap as it is.

And this was well stated by Joe Beditz, CEO of the NGF:

“Golf now has an incredible opportunity to lead, not to mention an obligation to set a safe, responsible example for other sports and activities,” Joe Beditz, CEO of the National Golf Foundation, said recently. “Done right, this is a chance to show how golf as an industry, and community, can not only weather this crisis but come out of it in a positive light.”

Golf Reset: Goodbye To The Almighty, Overprimped, Must-Be-Raked Daily Bunker?

Ad from Golf Architecture magazine suggesting Old Tom Morris would have approved of Better Billy Bunker.

I realize that jumping from the large scale topic of what really matters in golf—recreational vs. pro game—is a bit like jumping from talk of vaccines to multi-vitamins. Worse, doing so as we have as so much suffering is taking place in hospitals feels inconsiderate.

But the COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate trends in so many sectors, and as I noted in the introductory post to this occasional series, golf is not immune. So we march on with those caveats in mind and consider how this will change the bunker maintenance industry. And an industry, it has become.

Just a quick reminder here in case you skipped early Gaelic 101, “bunker” is derived from Old Scottish “bonker” and meant a chest or box, and became secondarily defined as a “small, deep sandpit in linksland”.

Since these bunkers appeared naturally on linksland, no one thought to arm them with a rake or liners to keep the shells out. That nonsense came later.

The first known reference in golf’s literature came in 1812, used in Regulations for the Game of Golf according to Peter Davies in the Dictionary of Golfing Terms.

Over the ensuing centuries golfers changed from accepting bunkers as accidental pits scraped out by divots or sheep, to demanding more maintenance. The shift was caused by two factors: the move from a match play mentality to a card-and-pencil, handicap-based game where tallying up a score could be disrupted by an unraked sand pit.

As golf courses moved inland, bunkers become very clearly man-made. The shift from natural to artificial changed expectations. Throw in the whining of golf professionals who were making their living on the links, and you have today’s irrational and expensive focus on perfect hazards. Even the Old Course rebuilds theirs every five years or so, which is why you get this kind of visual and psychological contrast from the old days to the present.

Hell Bunker on the Old Course a long time ago.

Hell at the 2015 Open Championship.

Besides the obvious changes in symmetry, artistry and beauty, the more “functional” Hell has been rigged with a flat floor to send balls closer to the face. Such artificiality goes against everything that makes the Old Course incredible. It could also be easily countered by raking the bunker once a week and letting whatever happens over those days leave the golfer wondering what they will find if unsuccessfully taking on Hell.

Not to pick on the Old Course, but the bunkers there used to look like this:

Despite the horrible looking lies to be found, golf somehow spread beyond the Old Course and became popular! All in spite of unfair bunkers that today would be seen as antithetical to growing the game.

Still, there were hopeful signs before the pandemic that the minimalist, scruffy, less-defined bunker was becoming more acceptable than the maintained bunker. The look of age, erosion and imperfection has become attractive again in part because of the thrill golfers find in overcoming such a bunker compared to carrying an overprimped hazard.

Here is a modern bunker, maintained for a tournament round, but otherwise looking ancient and imposing in an appetizing way:

Increasingly American superintendents have mimicked the Sandbelt concept of Claude Crockford’s day (and today) only raking bunker floors.

Here’s what a Kingston Heath bunker looked like in 2011:

With good intentions, this is an Americanized take on less raking. Though it’s mostly born out of a desire to prevent buried lies while ensuring clean, colorful, sanitary sand conditions:

In times of societal or economic trouble, bunkers have been filled in by courses. Even a master bunker creator like A.W. TIllinghast set out on his mid-1930s “PGA tour” of American courses looking for ways to save money. Bunkers topped his list.

However, filling these sandy things falls into the baby-with-the-bathwater class of overreactions. Especially these days where so much time and discussion is put into bunkers.

Which brings us to the rake.

Even though the chances of the coronavirus lingering on the surface of a rake seems extraordinarily slim, the removal of them from most golf courses allows us to think about a version of golf where hazard perfection is both antithetical to the role of a bunker and unnecessarily expensive.

The height of insanity might be seen as the time when courses spent bundles on various liners to keep sand in place and loose impediments out to prevent damaging nicks to clubs. Maybe having a chip or dent on the wedge will be scene as a bad of honor while bringing back genuine fear factor of landing in a bunker.

An entire cottage industry centered around selling bunker products reached a zenith when a golf architect, consultubg with a governmental agency to craft proposal specs, emphasized a costly bunker renovation using one particular liner product.

Turns out, the architect was president (at the time) of the bunker liner company that was recommended.

Concerns about making a course better and highlight its special heritage? Non-existent. Thankfully the scam was outed and he lost the design job. Now even the American Society of Golf Course Architects, of which he is a member, says the lifespan of an American bunker is twenty to twenty-five years, a big improvement from not long ago when ten years was the number.

Some of this bunker maintenance mania stems from the issues presented in the first golf reset post: making the professional golf bigger than the sport. But as easy as it seems to blame televised pro golf for many expensive trends, the bunker neuroses is mostly on average golfers fussing about their scorecard. Then again, there are you Scott Stallings’ of the world declaring unraked bunkers as a line-crossing that would make precious pros reconsider sending in their entry form to the first post-COVID-19 tournaments.

Think of bunkers and the all-mighty raking that was so cherished: imagine if footprints on beaches were deemed unsafe, and only the beaches raked and filtered daily were allowed to be open? The cost of such maintenance would be astronomical. Plus, the wait for beaches to be open after the maintenance teams had been through would drive everyone mad. A less extreme version of such nonsense occurs with golf course bunkers.

No one expects us to return to the days of yesteryear (above). Maintenance crews will still maintain bunkers and courses will leave rakes out, but golf without rakes (for the time being) should be seen as an opportunity to highlight the waste of resources and energy spilled to prevent the indignity of a bad lie in a place you’re not supposed be.

Tour Player Warns: “Guys are not going to play for their livelihood with no rakes in the bunker"

I had not seen the stern warning from Scott Stallings in this James Colgan Golf.com piece, but it sent laughter down my spine and I hope, in these difficult times, you get similar joy from this Grade A, Bobby Joe Grooves level point missing.

Colgan writes:

These changes could see players putting with the flagstick in, playing without rakes in bunkers and pulling their own clubs to minimize contact with caddies, among other adjustments. While the proposed guidelines could allow golf to be played in the near future, Stallings doubts players would get on board with the changes.

“I just don’t think there’s any way guys are going to do that,” he said. “Guys are not going to play for their livelihood with no rakes in the bunker and no caddies. That’s just not going to happen.

“I’m fully confident that there are going to be guys who choose not to play.”

The Golf.com Monday morning roundtable feasted on the Tour player and fitness fanatic’s declaration.

Sean Zak, senior editor (@Sean_Zak): Some probably will, but they’ll really look like sore thumbs. Are you really going to complain about an imperfect bunker when you could just be at home spending your money and not making any? Anyone who complains will not be embraced by fans, but then again, this is the Groupthink Tour. Their opinions tend to all be the same by the end of a tournament.

Josh Sens, senior writer (@JoshSens): Playing for “their livelihood with no rakes in the bunker and no caddies.” Egad. The horrors! Not even Dickens could have dreamed up such hardship. I’m sure Stallings is right. Some players will push back, and they’ll look as ridiculous as the above sounds.

Alan Shipnuck, senior writer (@Alan_Shipnuck): The bunker thing is getting a lot of play, but there could be an easy solution: Why not have one designated raker per hole who cleans up after every player? But the larger point is that sports is going to be different for all of us when it returns, and the players would be wise to get on board.

Michael Bamberger, senior writer: I think the game would be improved at every level without rakes in bunkers. Return to them their dignity. They are traps. They are to be avoided. The players will have to conform, or there won’t be a tournament in which to play.

Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): I don’t see this being an issue, at least from the Tour’s bigger names. Ever since they officially canceled the Players, it’s been mostly sunshine and roses when it comes to Tour players and the rulesmakers. I would say the far bigger issue would be if players felt there was no effort being made to bring golf back, but that’s clearly not the case. I’m sure Stallings will come around.

Bunker rakes were down my list of golf reset values topics, but I think the topic just moved up the list.

Scotland's Durness Golf Club Needs Help Surviving The Pandemic

Membership Appeal! Please Direct Message us with your Name & Email- to send you information PDF explaining our phlight 🙏 Aerial view looking down the 6th Par 5 with Balnakeil Bay and the famous 9th Par 3 hole behind it ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/azHWyOZdTs

— Durness Golf Club (@DurnessGolfClub) April 20, 2020

I’m sad to say I have not found time when in the Highlands to get to Durness but the repeated posts on social media have me hoping I someday get the chance to see one of Scotland’s newer gems.

Unfortunately, as Craig Berktram reports for National Club Golfer, a 9-holer that gets half its necessary revenue to survive from guest play needs help. They are offering some nice membership options to get needed funds if you message them on Twitter.

From Bertram’s story:

Head greenkeeper Alistair Morrison said the club had been contacted by people who had played the course and wanted to help and others who had never set foot on the links but wanted to make sure they’d still have the chance.

“I put the post on twitter and within a couple of minutes someone messaged me from India,” he explained. “He had played last April and fell in love with the place and wanted to come and visit again. You wouldn’t imagine it would get around the world so quickly.

“Some (of those who responded) had been here and some hadn’t. Some of their friends had been and they had seen the photos. Anything would be a huge help at the moment.”

Full membership, which offers unlimited golf when the course is open and reciprocals at the likes of Tain, Brora and Golspie, is £185 for 12 months starting from May 1.

Ru Macdonald’s Vlog on the course from two years ago.

And more pics…

The view Inland as your approach the 3rd par 4 with the beautiful Beinn Spionnaidh, Cranstackie and Foinaven mountains as a backdrop here at Durness 📸 @kevinmarkham pic.twitter.com/rZ3lTMUNMj

— Durness Golf Club (@DurnessGolfClub) April 26, 2020

"Guerrilla Golfers Sneak Onto Greens Closed by Pandemic"

I’m not sure how to characterize David Segal’s NY Times story on golfers getting their links fix in Florida counties where the sport is considered non-essential.

Segal may not be sure either, but instead he’s mostly documenting these strange times and in particular the confusing notion of Florida having different golf rules for different counties. (Thanks to reader John for sending this in.)

This from the NGF’s Jay Karens was a tad excessive in a time of pandemic…

The public perception of the industry is reflected in its inclusion on what is informally known as the Internal Revenue Service “sin list,” a group of enterprises that are blocked from all sorts of government initiatives, including disaster relief. Others on the list include massage parlors, racetracks and hot tub facilities.

So far, there’s been no reference to the sin list in any of the coronavirus programs passed in Washington. But Jay Karen, the chief executive of the National Golf Course Owners Association, says he and his colleagues are on alert.

“There’s a bias against the game and the business of golf, and it’s patently unfair,” said Mr. Karen. “The feeling is that golf courses are owned by a bunch of rich guys, which is a very old narrative that no longer holds true.”

Podcast: The Shack Show Episode 6 With Guest Nick Faldo

We covered a nice gamut in this chat, including the times, the world of travel, the recent Masters replay, radical game transformations, the driver head, Pringle sweaters, par-3 courses and dogs in a time of pandemics. Among other topics.

As always thanks to all who made this possible, starting with Sir Nick, show producer Tim Parotchka, everyone on the iHeart Golf team.

The iHeart show page. The Apple podcast page for episode six. And to subscribe or review the show.

Show notes:

A preview of Faldo’s new CBS Sports Network’s shows debuting Monday at 7:30 pm ET.

If you’re looking for lessons and swing tips, @NickFaldo006’s new show on @CBSSportsNet is just for you. FALDO FORMULA – MIND. BODY. SWING debuts on Monday at 8 PM ET pic.twitter.com/c9M4i2ELOG

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) April 23, 2020

If you’re looking for lessons and swing tips, @NickFaldo006’s new show on @CBSSportsNet is just for you. FALDO FORMULA – MIND. BODY. SWING debuts on Monday at 8 PM ET pic.twitter.com/c9M4i2ELOG

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) April 23, 2020

Sir Nick and Saxon on Medterra:

Take1 Morning SNAX. @medterracbd tell us which one you like best? @FWeims @SnickLindz pic.twitter.com/XVCOViTvxN

— Sir Nick Faldo (@NickFaldo006) April 11, 2020

Podcasts this week considering Faldo’s career and 1990 Masters win, starting with The Shotgun Start’s two deep effort featuring guest Sean Martin. (Really great discussions for those who’ve forgotte how incredible Faldo’s post-game remake run turned out to be.)

A Pod Unlike Any Other’s look back at the 1989 Masters.

"Gleneagles’ “Go Fund Me” Campaign Needs You!"

The wokesters and non-top 100 collectors would be descending on San Francisco’s Gleneagles next month when the PGA Championship hits San Francisco. But with that event postponed and rescheduled for August, the “speakeasy of golf courses” needs help, as does another San Francisco brand, State Apparel.

The Save Sharp Park crowd has posted this unbylined story on the efforts to help Gleneagles and show support for the area’s golf brand.

This Spring, the 1-2 punch of the COVID-19 pandemic combined with high City water bills and maintenance costs that did not go away when the City ordered golfers to keep away, has the City’s lessee Tom Hsieh with his back against the wall. So he is conducting a fundraising campaign on “Go Fund Me”, where Tom explains his plight in a heartfealt letter – which we urge you to read in full. An excerpt:

"It appears that without financial assistance, I will not be able to continue operating Gleneagles nor will I be able to maintain it, even minimally in the coming weeks or months. So if you have a soft spot for public golf like no other,  and hope to one day play another round at a community based golf course,  please help. I know there are many more urgent causes out there and I urge you to support them first.  If you have any more capacity then please point it towards Gleneagles.”

Podcast: The Shack Show Episode 5 With Guest Cliff Drysdale

If you’ve been watching tennis on ESPN for the last forty years you’ve listened to Cliff Drysdale.

The former grand slam doubles champion, a U.S. Open finalist and International Tennis Hall of Fame member has also served as the first ATP President and popularized the two-handed backhand. Oh and he loves golf.

Knowing how he sprinkles in golf comments, has worked the The Open and played a lot of golf and tennis with Jack Nicklaus, I’ve long wanted to hear from Drysdale on what similarities he sees between golf and tennis. Namely, what he thinks of the shifts to power emphasis, tennis’ effort to dial in a one-dimensional approach, and even the emergence (again) of a team concept as golf considers the Premier Golf League’s dreams of a team competition. We even talked a bit of golf TV vs. tennis TV coverage.

Oh, and I just figured we could all enjoy listening to the 78-year-old’s ageless, calming voice that has made him ESPN’s longest serving on-air presence.

Here’s the iHeart show page, the Apple podcast link and the embed below are good starting places. Or, check out The Shack Show wherever you get your podcasts.

Roundup: Home Practice And Play Is Now A Golf Industry Sector

The National Golf Foundation’s COVID-19 infograph page has been updated for the week of April 2020 and shows older golfers less supportive of stay-at-home golf course closures, while younger types are increasingly in support. The NGF has the number of courses open for play at 49%, up 1% from last week.

They also expanded their surveying of golfers to ask about home practice, which, no one likes, is now a sector of the industry. There are all sort of interesting things going on with home practice, rich guy simulators, possible simulator tournaments and even an app I’ve started testing that aims to for home practice what Calm does for meditation, ish. (More when it’s released.)

I’m also pleased to see in-home netting is a bit more attractive and pragmatic than the clunky contraptions of yesteryear.

MyGolfSpy has their “Best Golf Nets of 2020” now live, in case you’re in the market.

Brittany Romano and Courtney Kyritz at GolfDigest.com reviewed putting mats. Not much appears to have changed in that world with an exception or two.

Romano also highlighted a few affordably priced nets.

It’s taken me a while to share this one from reader Glenn who sent this Michael Croley Bloomberg story on in-home simulators. Which, warning, will probably make you feel very bad about yourself, unless you have the means to match one of those featured.

Golf Reset: The Professional Game Is Not The Game

Pick any costly, suboptimal golf trend and the origins inevitably can be traced to professional golf.

Certainly, the ties between the recreational and the professional games give those who identify as golfers plenty to enjoy. And those ties also explain how a couple million people can stay awake watching some telecasts that would induce sleep in an Adderall addict.

Naturally, there is some connection between the recreational and the professional game to be valued, maintained and respected. That tie is mutually beneficial. But to let the professional game dictate the direction of the sport is problematic at best.

Consider this: after the worst of this pandemic has passed, what are you most excited about? Taking out the clubs and playing golf, or watching a professional event? I can run a poll just to see if sitting inside and watching more golf on TV over getting outside and playing reaches 10%.

From an economic perspective, what generates more jobs, stability and community accord? The recreational side could lay up on all the par-5’s and still win that one 9&8.

Nearly every unsustainable trend in golf history has been fueled by attempts to replicate professional characteristics (green speed, bunker primping, 7000 yards) or to shape rules around the needs of the pro game (see the lack of bifurcation or rules simplicity). While the contradictory needs of the daily and pro games have long presented issues, something seems different these days. A shift toward prioritizing elite level golf feels like it’s never been more profound or oddly desperate.

The very best certainly deserve our admiration. They sometimes inspire people to take up the sport. As golfers, we know there are few skills in all of sport more remarkable than the ability to play golf at a high level. We know this after seeing how foolish the sport has made some of the world’s greatest athletes look, even after they make valiant efforts to play competitively. Yet those superbly coordinated folks never quite master the sport or even look quite right swinging the club.

But the ability to play the game at a high level does not guarantee supreme privileges or wisdom. Appeasing a consortium of a few thousand at the (literal) expense of 25 million golfers, should not ever happen.

Notice how during this awful pandemic, it has been small golf companies that made efforts to give back along with governing organizations like the PGA of America, USGA and R&A who stepped up with funds assisting those losing work in the golf industry. The professional tours, however, have been noticeably quiet. Several players have stepped up on their own. Many others inevitably will because the game still produces above-average citizens who take pride in giving back. But in general, the Tours and those who run them have focused on themselves. These are member organizations with different priorities than the greater good.

From the early replies, I do not believe I’m alone in feeling this way. Reader Allen sent in this thought when learning of the game reset topic:

“Probably mentioned by others, but in the realm of economically (and by extension, environmentally) sustainable recreational golf facilities, I would hope that existing golf facilities and developers of them would lead the golfing public to realize that the elite competitive golf is not what is best for 99.99% of golfers or facilities. Clubs and public courses SHOULD NOT be 7K yards long, have 100 bunkers with pure white sand, greens running at 11+ on the Stimpmeter, and lush green grass wall-to-wall.”

I’d include equipment rules that are outsmarted by manufacturers to help elite players while reaping price point benefits. If only the companies also increased efforts to create more forgiving or affordable equipment to serve the regular game? Remember, no law prevents manufacturers from making lower cost or more forgiving non-conforming equipment to “grow the game”. But they expect the rulemakers to grow their customer bases while battling the efforts to do what they deem best best for the game.)

The sport’s future health depends on shaking loose from the notion that everyday golf is an offshoot of the pro game. Take away the 25 million or so recreational players, and the pro game’s niche TV audience would disappear. But if every professional golfer retired tomorrow, the recreational game would march on unharmed and maybe even see more sustainable values take hold.

Professional golf, as great as it can be, is not Golf.  

Bryson Hopes To Get His Muscle-Driven Weight Up To 270 Pounds

Nothing that a 100cc’s off the driver head size couldn’t make someone reconsider!

While I know most of you are watching his Twitch streams—at least he’s doling out tips and not subjecting us to his Peloton plight—but just in case, Zephyr Melton does the Twitching for us and says this very large person is, really, Bryson DeChambeau, world No. 13 and very promising young player.

On a recent Twitch stream from his indoor simulator, DeChambeau shared that he’s gotten even bigger since the fall. Last night he weighed in at 239 pounds. And his “base weight” is now a whopping 235 pounds.

“I’ve upped my size tremendously,” DeChambeau said. “Forearms strength, shoulder strength has gotten crazy strong. I’ve been working hard on that. Leg strength is still there.”

Later on, he defended the decision to get bigger and said players shouldn’t worry about putting on too much weight. He also said he isn’t done trying to bulk up — and 270(!) isn’t even a stretch.

239? That weight sounds familiar.

Naturally, Bryson’s pursuit is his choice and we will all salute him if the speed helps him win tournaments and grow the game.

But is this really what we want golf to turn into? Or for young kids to mimic?

From The Met: "The golf industry has to re-imagine old practices before the recovery can begin"

The Journal News’s Mike Dougherty files a lengthy and informative piece on the state of golf in the “Met”.

Given that the area is home to this year’s U.S. Open, some America’s most famous clubs and a huge number of others who influence the golf world, the overall Met golf region is still uncertain how things will play out.

Dougherty covers many aspects of the business, but this was of note:

The demographic is generally secure financially. While most respondents expect to curtail spending due to the corresponding economic crisis, their outlook is not yet considered grim.

“We think predictions about mass resignations of members are overblown,” said Frank Vain, the president of McMahon Group during an NCA webinar.

An online campaign has resulted in more than 10,000 form letters being sent to members of congress seeking inclusion when the next round of aid is finalized.

“Some clubs are well capitalized and can withstand a little more,” Trauger added. “Others will be significantly impacted by a downturn. It’s too early to say how many clubs might close, but right now they are figuring out the best way to hang on and take care of their employees the best way they can.”