Golfing News & Blog Articles

Thanks to reader for Cara Lombardo’s Wall Street Journal story breaking the shocking news: Callaway is buying the remainder of Topgolf after owning 14%. The all-stock deal marks a stunning turn of events after Topgolf had long eyed an IPO. However the company has seen its business decline during the pandemic with struggles ahead due to issues with public gathering places.

“Topgolf is the best thing that happened to golf since Tiger Woods,” Callaway Chief Executive Chip Brewer said in an interview. “It’s going to be the largest source of new golfers for our industry.”

That was certainly a 2019 view of Topgolf but I’m not sure that’s still the case.

This statement from Lombardo is also strange:

Topgolf’s outdoor driving ranges have been a big draw during the coronavirus pandemic as people look for ways to safely socialize out of the home.

College GameDay will originate from Augusta National Golf Club during the Masters on Nov. 14.

The Masters will use a two-tee start to accommodate shorter days in November for the delayed tournament.

Kamaiu Johnson, who won the APGA Tour Championship last month, is being awarded an exemption into the Farmers Insurance Open in January. This will be his first start on the PGA Tour.

There is much to unpack here so naturally we kick off with the 2020 Masters news you needed the least: ESPN’s College Gameday will broadcast from the Par 3 course.

Can’t wait for Herbstreit’s take on Ike’s Pond, a Rinaldi tearjerker on where Clifford Roberts called it a career, Geno on the MacKenzie par-3 course never built and of course, Coach Corso making his Masters pick by in caddie coveralls.

Anyway, the important stuff comes after the Gameday news.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Fred Ridley, Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, announced today the 2020 Masters Tournament, scheduled for November 9-15, will provide an expansive slate of content across multiple platforms, including ESPN’s College GameDay airing live from Augusta National on Saturday, November 14.

“Given the circumstances brought about by the pandemic, the delivery of quality content is as important as ever to the storytelling of the Masters Tournament,” said Ridley. “While we will dearly miss our patrons at Augusta National this fall, we are excited to showcase what promises to be a truly memorable Masters in a variety of ways for viewers around the world.”

One such way is the addition of College GameDay, which is scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. – Noon before the live CBS broadcast of the third round. The studio will be staged overlooking Ike’s Pond and the 9th green of the Par 3 course.

“When exploring ways to showcase a fall Masters, we were drawn to the concept of hosting College GameDay at Augusta National to introduce the Tournament to a new audience and provide even more anticipation and excitement to the event,” Ridley continued. “We appreciate the collaboration with ESPN, our longtime broadcast partner, for this first-of-its-kind opportunity.”

And hopefully last of its kind. Now that we’ve made up for the Par-3 Contest cancellation…

In a world where one-year product cycles are the norm, two-year product cycles can seem refreshingly old fashioned. But the new Wilson Staff Model CB irons represent an update to the – wait for it – four-year-old FG Tour V6s.

A four-year product cycle? What in the name of Sam Snead is going on here?

Admittedly, the FG Tour V6 is a pretty solid better player’s iron. It was our Most Wanted Player’s Iron in 2017. It slipped to the middle of the pack in 2018 and finished near the bottom in 2019 and 2020.

With that as a backdrop, has it really taken Wilson four full years to develop something better? Or has it been a matter of other priorities in potentially larger – and more profitable – market segments?

Probably a little of both.

The Return To Golf needs to start thinking about a Return to Sound.

After taking in this week’s ZOZO Championship at Sherwood Country Club and watching how other sports have adapted to the times, it’s clear professional golf needs to keep adapting to the bizarre times. Quickly.

The PGA Tour has kept their business going but it’s begun to feel like just that: doing enough to keep the doors open and cash flowing. And I realize this will be a big ask while the main focus is on keeping things safe. But as an entertainment “product” (gulp), it’s losing ground. Broadcast enhancements are needed. Immediately.

With the ongoing pandemic likely meaning 2021 golf will be played, at best, with very limited galleries, the natural melatonin that is a golf broadcast requires immediate rethinking to retain fans and sponsor interest.

To review: pro golf was the first major sport back and without fans, managed to make a broadcast work. That was thanks primarily to CBS going all in on extras, particularly in the sound department. Credit also goes to the players who were willing to wear a microphone. Since only the last nine holes felt like golf in the time of a contagious virus without crowds, the “Return to Golf” worked.

While reading how this week’s PGA Tour stop in Bermuda will earn the winner a 2021 Masters invite—even though the headliners couldn’t get in the ZOZO Championship or don’t hold a Tour card or can’t get in Champions Tour events or were not known to be playing golf still—this seemed like a good time to revisit this year’s Masters daylight issues.

Daylight and field size pose some issues for the committee. That’s where Craig Dolch has done the work for us and all I can say is: play fast robust field of 96, you have over two hours less of daylight and the potential for some chilly mornings. And please, no rain delays.

But, with spring turning to fall and Daylight Savings Time ending on Nov. 1, that number shrinks to a daily average of 10 hours, 27½ minutes from Nov. 12-15.

That will be the only day of a traditional first-hole start of twosomes. CBS will be off the air by 6 to prepare for its Alabama-Auburn telecast.

Sunday’s final round becomes even more problematic because of the possibility of a sudden-death playoff and CBS is committed to televising an NFL game at 4:05 p.m. The Masters would likely shoot for a 3 p.m. regulation finish, but there’s not enough daylight in the morning to move the tee times as earlier as needed.

The Masters thus would have to go back to a double-tee start of threesomes for the final round, a single wave, with the first group likely at 8:40 a.m. and the last group at 10:20 a.m.

Two tees and threesomes and the guy who could fix this is a member!

 

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Sherwood’s slightly uphill range is dreamy

The ZOZO Championship’s move from Japan to Sherwood gave players a prime opportunity to prepare for the upcoming Masters. It also offered a chance to see how the whole golf-in-a-pandemic thing is working. This and that from Sherwood:

--The PGA Tour gets an A-. They’ve gotten the whole precautionary steps and protocol thing down at this point in impressive fashion. The attention to safety detail is mighty impressive. The “bubble” largely works and players are more diligent about mask-wearing compared to when I last saw them in action at August’s PGA at Harding Park. The report card is not showing an “A” for just one reason: the peculiar sight of six-or-so men at a time cramming in a fitness trailer to huff, puff and stretch before their rounds. I just don’t get it.

—One other quibble. Caddies and face coverings? Still not a thing. With branded gaiters and other ways to print logos on masks, you’d think some might make a little extra money working as billboards. Or, just want to show up, keep up and mask up in the name of job security.

--Thank heavens for the pro-am. I small-talked with a few Wednesday pro-am participants on the way to their cars. They used regular or electric push carts and appeared to have the time of their lives. Of course was 80 and sunny with a great field, too. But without caddies and galleries, the experience seemed no less enjoyable and maybe more intimate? Players also seemed chipper: the nine-hole format was in use. With the infusion of excited amateurs under sunny skies, Wednesday was easily the most upbeat day of the week.

Some fitters will put you in a full set based off hitting just a 6-iron. Is this effective, or simply a waste of money?

0:37 – Can you fit a full set by just hitting a 6-iron?9:03 – Love It or Leave It:9:25 – New Leven Irons10:44 – Shot Tracking Devices12:25 – CBD14:56 – MIM Tech17:13 – Spikeless Shoes20:50 – Candy Corn21:51 – Mental Health Week/Golf Burnout

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