Golfing News & Blog Articles

Golf organizers fixed an oversight Wednesday by agreeing to move the pandemic-postponed Curtis Cup so that it doesn't conflict with the Solheim Cup.

Tiger Woods is in the field as the PGA Tour remains in Dublin, Ohio, this time for the Memorial Tournament at Jack's place. Here are our experts' best bets.

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

That grand old saying has been credited to everyone from Seneca the Younger (4 BC-65 AD) to Oprah Winfrey and, as sayings go, it’s as axiomatic as they come. It’s also an accurate descriptor of Birdieball, its award-winning Birdieball putting mat and the company’s 17-year journey to overnight success.

The Colorado-based Birdieball copped top honors in MyGolfSpy’s Putting Mat Buyer’s Guide for 2020. In this article, we’re going to share with you the story of Birdieball and its two signature products: the odd-looking but surprisingly fun-to-hit Birdieball and the award-winning Birdieball putting mat.

But to really understand this 11-person family business, let’s jump into the WABAC Machine and set the dial for April 1999.

Running Down a Dream

“What I’ve learned in life is nobody buys your dreams,” says Birdieball founder, president, owner and inventor John Breaker. “You have to show them the dream in concrete.”

It’s been about 1.5 years since we first told you that Arccos Caddie Link was coming. We’ll forgive you if you’ve forgotten about it or simply assumed it was vaporware. The Link wearable wouldn’t be the first bit of promising technology that never went anywhere.

Here we are, 18 months or so later, and Arccos is finally launching its Link device.

If you’re just hearing about Arccos Caddie Link, all you really need to know is that it eliminates the need to either own and wear an Apple Watch or keep your phone in your pocket during your round.

I’ve been firmly “in the pocket is no big deal” camp from the earliest days of Arccos. I didn’t understand the complaints about keeping your phone in your pocket. However, when women chimed in with “at least you have pockets,” I realized why Arccos’s phone problem was such a deal breaker.

The focus across sports -- around the world -- is the coronavirus. But with athletes, there is another health factor: Avoiding injury. So how is the PGA Tour juggling that in a social distance world?

Tiger Woods returned to Muirfield Village for a practice round with Justin Thomas and spoke to media soon after. The session didn’t reveal much, though the big buried lede came when discussion last week’s Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village when Collin Morikawa and Thomas went to a playoff.

Tiger revealed that he was watching on his computer like most after CBS successfully produced excellent live early round coverage for Golf Channel, then sent viewers to its app and website to watch continuing live coverage all so the final round could be shown on tape in its regularly scheduled time slot.

Q. You've been in this situation before, too, but I'm sure you saw on Sunday J.T. holes a 50-footer. If there's a crowd around like Memorial usually gets and they react to it, how much harder is it for Collin to make his putt?

TIGER WOODS: A lot more difficult. I just think that the energy -- even it felt weird as I was watching on my computer at home, like 14, when Collin hit the ball on the green there, and granted, they've never had the tees up there during the Memorial event, but if they were and had that same situation during a Memorial event, to have someone drive the ball on the green that close to the hole, I mean, that whole hillside would have been going nuts.

Now, I’m speculating here, but work with me: Tiger Woods went to Stanford, he has a big yacht, he loves sports, and watches a lot of those sports on TV in the comfort of his home. I’m thinking he has a pretty nice TV setup, maybe even a “guy” who set up a sweet system complete with surround sound, Sonos through the estate and every channel known to man.

ESPN.com’s Bob Harig reports on Jack Nicklaus’ most intriguing pre-Memorial Tournament press conference comment: the 80-year-oldlegend intends to maintain the tradition of greeting the likely winner with a handshake after they’ve completed 72 holes.

"I'm going to shake their hand. I going to walk right out there and shake your hand," Nicklaus said during a virtual news conference at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. "If they don't want to shake my hand, that's fine. I'll give them a fist bump or an elbow bump, but I'm not going to give them COVID-19, so that's -- I wouldn't put anybody in that position. I wouldn't do that, and if I was in any danger of doing that, I wouldn't shake their hands.

"And incidentally, I like shaking their hand, too. I think that's a great tradition, but it was as much fun for me as I hope it is for them."

The PGA Tour has repeatedly asked players, caddies and officials not to shake hands or even fist bump, though Commissioner Jay Monahan and Rory McIlroy couldn’t help themselves at Harbour Town. But the view of Nicklaus stands out because he had recorded a PSA back in March imploring younger generations to protect those of his age group.

"Many of you kids, you're going to a lot of places that may bring that home to a senior citizen. I don't think that's what you want to do," Nicklaus said. "Let's all make sure we wash our hands. Let's make sure we're very smart about where we go, and when we go, let's try to stay away from public places. Let's just be smart. Americans have always been smart, and Americans have always gotten through these things, and we'll get through this one."

The PSA:

There is a key detail missing in Doug Ferguson’s AP report saying the PGA Tour is exploring a move of its fall Asia swing to the west coast of the United States.

Naturally, there will be no creativity shown with field size and format but some fall west coast golf is a nice alternative. Tough conversations will have to take place with sponsors whose primary sponsorship interest lies in bringing top players to their part of the world.

So no, those aren’t the details missing. It’s something else.

Wait, I’ve got it!

The rest of the world, flattening the curve, will want no part of a mostly-American group of golfers, their luggage handlers, and a tour featuring COVID-19 positive-testing-but-not-negative groupings (going off in two twosomes with GMac quietly added to that dubious division).

Jack Nicklaus said he will continue the tradition of shaking the hand of the Memorial Tournament's winner at the 18th green.

Tiger Woods said he put safety first in deciding not to play much during the coronavirus pandemic.

It may be 2020, but the new Bettinardi BB1-Wide Totally ’80s Limited Run putter will take you on a DeLorean ride right back to 1985. Ah, the much-romanticized 1980s. The decade dominated by big hair, bold clothing, and the naive view that trickle-down economics was a sound fiscal strategy.

Those of us a bit more advanced in age actually lived through and remember the ’80s. As such, perhaps our collective nostalgia for the decade requires some suspension of disbelief. The vibrantly hued ’80s had it’s dark tones as well. We had the Challenger disaster, Iran-Contra, and the super-effective Just Say No campaign. Really though, as we slog through the shitshow that is 2020, pondering days past can be a refreshing escape. Just ignore the dark spots of the ’80s, and instead reminisce about the neon simplicity that was Miami Vice, the two Coreys, and the Truffle Shuffle dance craze.

Hey youngsters, feel free to search #truffleshuffle on TikTok. You’re welcome.

The Bettinardi BB1-Wide Totally ’80s Limited Run putter may not be a time machine, but it has all of the elements necessary to take us back to that decade of dayglow decadence.

Robert B. is on the Cut

For weeks, one sporting event after another was canceled or postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Here is when we can expect a return to action.

It's been five months since he last played on the PGA Tour. For the first time post-shutdown, he's back. How will he adjust to no fans? Will he break Sam Snead's all-time record? What does the rest of his year look like?

🚨Stat of the week:

The 2020 @MemorialGolf SoF is set to break many #OWGR era records. As it looks now, this will be:

- strongest regular @PGATOUR event ever
- 1st regular PGA Tour event with SoF > 800
- stronger than any Playoff event ever
- stronger than the last 8 Masters pic.twitter.com/btBDoZrPsX

With the world’s top nine players and Tiger Woods turning up in Dublin, Ohio for the rescheduled Memorial Tournament, the strength of the 133-player field appears set to be historic (see above embed).

That said, as a few pointed out on Twitter today (below), the field features several sponsor invites of former champions from long ago who haven’t shown signs of relevance in a some time. Namely, Carl Pettersson and Vijay Singh.

Singh, 57, has yet to make a cut in 2020 in seven starts, has on top ten the last four years on the PGA Tour, and has made just 12 cuts in 42 starts during that time.

Petterson, 42, has made one PGA Tour start the last two years and since 2016, has made eleven made cuts in 60 starts with three WD’s and one top-25.

Photo by Matthew Harris

One of the world’s greatest golf courses looks improved with a revised 7th. Gorse is gone, contours exposed and a hole that always felt oddly out of place now provides an aesthetic high point.

Golf Architecture’s Richard Humphreys details the work by Mackenzie & Ebert that is still to include new tees for the 8th hole.

The work was first proposed after a course review in 2013 and approved by the club in 2015. “I very nearly did not include this concept because it felt almost inconceivable that the members would agree to alter the hole,” said Tom Mackenzie. “It was resoundingly approved – lesson learnt.”
 
“The view from the seventh tee is one of the most famous in the world of golf. Is there a first-time visitor to Dornoch who has not taken that photo down over the course? It seemed frustrating that once down off the tee, the sea disappeared until the green on the highest part of the course. There was plenty of room to the right, so logically, it made sense to rotate the hole that way so that the entire hole enjoyed the same view with a new sea vista behind the green.

You can see the location of the new hole corridor in this Google Earth screen capture:

With major championships now in site, there are the inevitable complications.

California is hosting the PGA Championship in San Francisco County, on Governor Gavin Newsom’s monitoring list of counties seeing restrictions on essentially any indoor gathering. How this will impact operations at the Harding Park, remains to be seen. CNBC’s Noah Higgins-Dunn reports.

Meanwhile in New York, the Wall Street Journal’s Melanie Grayce West reports on the state installing new safeguards against travelers entering the state with COVID-19. Major forms to be filled out and a summons for non-compliance. There is also the quarantining for visitors from several states.

More than a dozen states, including Texas, California and Arizona, are on the state’s quarantine list. Travelers from those states are required to voluntarily quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in New York. Mr. Cuomo has repeatedly said that the spread of Covid-19 in New York was caused by travelers arriving from Europe at New York’s airports.

Scheduled for September 17th-20th, the U.S. Open in Mamaroneck, New York is to be preceded by the PGA Tour’s 2020-21 season opener in Napa, California.

Before you vote, here is why I’m asking.

R&A Chief Martin Slumbers said in a new interview with the MailOnline that his organization is as focused as ever on implementing some sort of equipment rules changes. However, the current pandemic has caused the governing bodies to be “conscious of the golf industry having the time to recover.” He goes on to say the topic of distance will be back, “because it does need to be discussed.”

While the world does have more important things to focus on, we know now that the pandemic has already accelerated trends and expedited disruptions. If rulemaker minds have been made up, why not act sooner than later, he asks rhetorically?

That’s the point golf architect Tom Doak makes in this Golf Club Atlas thread.

If they wanted to make changes, what better time to make them than when everything is in upheaval?  That's exactly when capitalists pounce on the opportunity to do things they want to do.

But when you DON'T want to make changes, that's when politicians say "it's too soon" to consider new policies and that "we don't want to be reactive," or "people need time to grieve."  So we might as well start grieving, because it sounds like this report is going to limit the options for change.

One other point: the game has seen a surge in popularity and rounds as courses reopened and golfers fled to safe places to exercise. Getting to get back and search (or buy) ten more yards has not fueled this newfound golf popularity, so what better time than now?

SBJ’s John Ourand explains the new partnership between CBS and SRX, a NASCAR disrupter led by hall of famers Tony Stewart and Ray Evenham.

The parallels with the Premier Golf League are hard to ignore, from claims of wanting star drivers and to not threaten NASCAR (right!). There are also short-track races, tighter TV windows

wo of the biggest names in auto racing — NASCAR hall of famers Ray Evernham and Tony Stewart — will launch an auto racing circuit that has the potential to be the biggest disrupter to the auto racing business in decades.
 
With top agent Sandy Montag and former NASCAR COO George Pyne rounding out the four-person board, Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) will feature six short-track races starting next summer.
SRX already has a TV deal in place with CBS, which has committed to carry the Saturday night races in prime time next year. The CBS deal runs for multiple years.
SRX has no outside investors; it is being underwritten by the four board members. Startup costs currently run in the low seven-figure range. Those costs will ramp up next summer when the races start, but SRX expects to have sponsors on board to defray those costs.
During interviews last week, SRX’s board members took pains to say the new group had no plans on competing with NASCAR. But it’s clear that they see openings where they believe NASCAR has fallen short. That includes:
■ A television strategy that will fit races into two-hour prime-time windows, presenting a contrast to NASCAR’s races that can run twice that long.
■ A focus on driver performance, rather than auto technology. Evernham will design the cars so that everyone races with the same equipment.
■ It will include racers and crew chiefs who are well known. Each race will have 12 drivers randomly matched with a crew chief.
■ It will feature racing under the lights at short tracks in the American heartland.
■ It is being positioned as an easier sale for sponsors that want to buy time on TV and at the event. “They make one phone call to be integrated in all aspects of the broadcast and the event,” Pyne said.
When it came to finding a media partner, Montag said his first and only call went to CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus, who was instantly drawn to the project based on the amount of experience each had in racing.
“If you look at all the elements that you want in a new venture in the world of sports television, it’s pretty much got everything you would want,” McManus said. “It’s got a great television schedule, it’s got a great track record of people working on it. It’s got high-profile names, it’s got really attractive live action that is unpredictable, it’s got an opportunity to tell a lot of stories.
“Let’s face it, with prime-time television being what it is, all the networks are looking for new, attractive and hopefully live content,” he said. “I can’t think of anything better than this for six Saturday nights in the summer on CBS.”
McManus has dabbled with startup sports ventures before, having signed a deal with the Alliance of American Football last year. He said this deal is different.
“Since we are partners, I’ve looked really carefully at the financial projections and the estimates for sponsorships and partners,” McManus said. “This works really well from a financial standpoint. I was not that involved at all in the finances for the AAF, and in the end, the finances are what brought that league down.”
Racing
SRX is most excited about the way drivers will compete on those short tracks. Evernham will design, prepare and build traditional stock cars that are capable of running on different surfaces and different types of tracks, such as paved or dirt.

“We want to make that machine be a big part of it, but it’s got to be the driver, crew chief, the human being controlling the machine, not the machine controlling the outcome of the competition,” Evernham said. “That combination of driver, crew chief and machine, no computers telling you what to do, no simulation. It’s really about the competition, how well that driver and crew chief can make that machine go against one another.”

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Tiger Woods will be accompanied by two of golf's biggest names when he returns to the PGA Tour at this week's Memorial.