Golfing News & Blog Articles

The L.A. Times editorial board weighted in on the latest attempt by assemblymember Cristina Garcia to help fast track conversion of some California golf courses into affordable housing and in doing so, inadvertently highlighted how bizarre the proposal is.

It’s a sign of how desperate our housing shortage is that lawmakers and some cities are even considering converting golf courses to housing. This should be a last resort given the paucity of open space in many communities. Empty shopping malls and other unused commercial space should be the first places to look.

Yes they should.

Then there is this:

There are 960 golf courses in California, according to the National Golf Foundation, a trade association for the golf industry, but only about 200 are owned by local cities and counties.

Steph Curry is expanding his “Underrated” outreach program to golf where a lucky 24 boys and girls play in regional events. They’ll ultimately compete for the Curry Cup as part of our season-ending UNDERRATED Tour Championship.

From the release:

Golf is one of the most inaccessible sports for underrepresented individuals across the globe, which is why Stephen and his team are expanding the brand beyond basketball. UNDERRATED Golf is a purpose-driven business endeavor with the overarching commitment to provide equity, access and opportunity to student-athletes from every community by balancing participation in the sport to truly reflect our society. With a mission to increase the participation numbers amongst competitive golfers from diverse communities, UNDERRATED Golf will have players compete hand-in-hand with their peers who currently represent the vast majority of today's golfers.

"I created UNDERRATED back in 2019 with the goal of celebrating the underdog," said Stephen Curry. "UNDERRATED is a mindset, a motivation, a calling, a compliment. With this inspiration, I am excited to expand the brand into UNDERRATED Golf, which happens to be one of the most inaccessible sports for underrepresented individuals across the globe. UNDERRATED Golf will provide equity, access and opportunity, recognizing the instrumental role the sport plays as one of the greatest vehicles and connectors for life successes."

UNDERRATED Golf's vision of the sport better reflects and balances the diversity of our society and most of all provides access to the countless opportunities that the game brings both on and off the course. This new venture will also allow young golfers to play on courses that they would never have access to, all the while addressing the gender inequity within the sport of golf and beyond, ensuring young female players are given the same opportunities as their male counterparts. Furthermore, UNDERRATED Golf will prioritize workforce development, bringing greater awareness, training opportunities and programming to individuals, while fostering an understanding of the many career paths made possible by way of the sport.

They just keep on locking up venues without still confirming 2028 at Winged Foot or 2031 that’ll be coming to a bit of a surprise course already pretty booked up with big time events in the next six years. No one ever said the USGA was original.

Whether this increased use of familiar places on a more regular basis takes some bite out of U.S. Open excitement, remains to be seen.

Of course, locking in these venues years from now mostly seems to remind us of our mortality instead of serving as causes for celebration.

For Immediate Release:

LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. (April 20, 2022) – Building upon a nearly century-long relationship, the United States Golf Association and Pebble Beach have forged a landmark partnership that seeks to benefit the game of golf for generations to come.

The sixth version of The Match is back featuring four of the NFL’s very best but minus Phil Mickelson or Fivesport as tournament partners.

Mickelson played the first four editions then served as a broadcaster in 2021. Fivesport was a co-partner in the event with Excel.

Mickelson famously complained about the PGA Tour’s obnoxious greed and insinuated that he personally paid $1 million each time he played in The Match.

For Immediate Release:

Turner Sports Assembles Iconic NFL Foursome for Capital One’s The Match – Tom Brady & Aaron Rodgers vs. Patrick Mahomes & Josh Allen – Held at Wynn Las Vegas on Wednesday, June 1

TNT to Televise Premier Live Golf Event Featuring Four of Past Five NFL MVPs with Coverage Beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET

Neither of these instances are particularly relatable to the average golfer. Nonetheless they’re unusual ones and if you had money on these players.

Nick Piastowski documents the bizarre scene involving Harold Varner in the 2022 RBC Heritage Classic second round. Varner contends that his ball was moved by a resident who picked up his ball from the original position to identify it and placed it out of bounds. The person denied this and the official agreed with the off-course spectator, though announcers on PGA Tour Live thought the man’s movements were questionable at the time.

“Without a doubt,” Varner said. “The biggest thing for me that I could sleep on is that there was out of bounds right of the creek, and the TV said it’s in the creek. There’s a golf ball right there. I’m not going to be naive and be like my ball couldn’t go there. So I did the right thing, and I said, hey, can you see if that’s my ball? At the time, we couldn’t find a bridge to get across the creek.

“It’s great. I won’t stop talking about it until I talk to Coxy. At some point, the players should have — if I wouldn’t have been there and didn’t see the guy move the ball, I don’t — cool, I’ll go back to the tee. But I’m looking there, and I’m like that’s not right. The rules are there to protect the players, I thought.”

When reached for comment by GOLF.com, a PGA Tour spokesman said, “Stephen is not going to comment on it until he has a chance to talk to Harold about it.” 

The Australian golfing great died at aged 72 due to health complications.

Adrian Proszenko and Sam Phillips filed the Sydney Morning Herald’s tribute.

From the Australian AP:

Newton’s Australian Open victory was one of three triumphs on the Australian tour – he also won once on the PGA Tour and was a three-time winner on the European Tour. Having turned professional in 1971 and won the Dutch Open the following year, the Cessnock-born Newton’s stellar career went on to include runner-up finishes at the British Open in 1975 and the US Masters in 1980.

“I always felt that if I came into a major with some good form, then I could be dangerous,” Newton said of his career. “That’s the way I played golf. Once I got my tail up I wasn’t afraid of anybody.”

Just another week in the messy disruption effort by the Living Brand.

According to The Telegraph’s James Corrigan, four players of note have committed to the first LIV Golf event in London, including a "two-time major winner” that’s “in talks” with the group. Details have not been confirmed but Corrigan says the names are thought to “include Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Kevin Na."

Soon after, Watson randomly shared his schedule this week on Twitter for those looking to make summer plans. It did not include any Saudi events, suggesting Watson was refuting the story.

Corrigan quotes Norman as saying the Saudi-backed “League” is going forward with full purses no matter who shows up and hopes this creates a domino effect where top players see guys they can beat winning silly money. Interesting strategy!

Corrigan also quotes sources saying the Saudis and the charming Crown Prince are "willing to up the ante if needs be and lose” $3 billion over three years.