"Project Woodpecker": North Carolina Politicians, USGA Joining Forces To Move Testing, Museum Operations Into Pinehurst?

One identifying characteristic of woodpeckers: they repeatedly slam their heads against a hard surface, often with little discernible progress.

Given how this mirrors the USGA’s approach to distance gains in the game over the last 20 years, maybe it’s fitting that North Carolina’s “Project Woodpecker” is rolling out the red carpet for a United States Golf Association move.

As Richard Craver reported for the Winston Salem Journal, the North Carolina state Senate—and subsequently the state House on Thursday—approved a bill offering up to $42.4 million in performance-based incentives to an unidentified group.

The nonprofit would have to create at least 35 new jobs and have an overall workforce of 50. The average annual salary could be $80,000. The project is projected to produce an $800 million economic benefit over 10 years.

Bill sponsors said during Wednesday's Senate Commerce and Insurance Committee that an announcement on the project could be made as soon as next week.

The Pilot of Southern Pines reported Friday that Pinehurst and Moore County elected officials will discuss in separate hearings Tuesday a $25 million business development project in Pinehurst that is expected to generate 50 jobs.

Both groups will vote on providing performance-based incentives to an unidentified organization that intends to build a new facility within Pinehurst’s village limits.

The Pilot said local officials have been tight-lipped about “Project Woodpecker” since early March.

The most recent version of House Bill 807 provides an obvious clue about the sports organization in question:

According to the bill, the group "is responsible for staging and holding championship events and agrees to hold championship events in the state with an aggregate economic benefit of $500 million."

The events must include one men's major professional championship event every five to seven years, with an economic benefit of $90 million per event, and at least one women's major professional championship event every 10 years.

There's also a commitment to conduct at least 13 additional championship events at state venues.

And here I thought venue selection was all about the architecture.

The business would have to invest at least $5 million in the project by Dec. 31, 2023. It would be required to have built at least two buildings of at least 30,000-square-foot of space.

The project would include an equipment training center for research, a museum and visitor center, and business departments. It must provide services for at least 10 continuous years.

Obviously this is surprising news given the incredible investment the USGA has made in its Far Hills campus in recent years. And the bill seems even more shocking when coupled with last 2019’s news of a very significant staff reduction through buyouts and early retirements to “evolve its organizational structure in an effort to drive greater impact and sustain a strong financial future.”

Or, maybe we now know: to clear out employees for new hires mandated by a new North Carolina law.

If the bill is indeed centered around the USGA, they will join other recent moves by the PGA of America, the PGA Tour and NBC’s Golf Channel to capitalize on tax breaks, government incentives and, sadly, to cull experienced staff.

In this case, the bill has been in the works for some time. To say it’s changed a bit, well, you tell me:

“expand groups of professionals qualified for appointment as medical examiners to include retired physicians, certified medicolegal death investigators, and pathologists assistants; defining when a body is claimed for the purpose of determining the method of disposal after the completion of a death investigation; and protecting the confidentiality of certain information and records obtained by the chief medical examiner concerning death investigations.”

Yes I know, hard to see the sports component there. But as Craver’s Journal story notes, the bill was “gutted and replaced”—YOU DON”T SAY! The updated language approved by North Carolina’s state senate and house on September 2nd and 3rd.

”An act to provide economic incentives for the purpose of bringing a sports championship employer to the state, increasing the number of jobs and research opportunities in the state, and increasing the number of jobs and research opportunities in the state, and increasing the number of championship-level events occurring in the state.”

Oh yeah, I see the overlap there. Both graph’s start with capital letters and end with a period.

Now, I know this is going to come as a shocker, fat cats wanted to make sure to have their very own USGA hospitality tent. From the bill, screen captured because I know you won’t hit the link or believe they’d be so transparent:

At least the fat cats are responsible for their bar tab.

With the bill’s language crafted pre-COVID, there is currently no mention of extra ventilation, temperature checks or even who will pay for those 2024 U.S. Open rapid saliva tests.

Until this is announced, the move or partial move remains all rather confusing when juxtaposed with recent USGA buyouts, a big Golf House restoration and last year’s expansion, healthy executive compensation, and now a southern operation required to hire 35 people along with a $5 million minimum commitment from the USGA’s significant coffers.

There may be a totally reasonable explanation and logic behind the move, we’ll have to see. Maybe more consistent exposure to pines will open up breathing channels and encourage the USGA to stop procrastinating and actually protect the game? It’s a theory, that’s all I’ve got since I reached out to a USGA spokesman this morning regarding the bill and have yet to receive a reply.