Author: Administrator

Golf News for March 28, 2017

April 11, 2017
Golf Archeology?

Golf tip of the week: Club fitting 101 — The fact is, very few golfers own a real set of custom clubs. Buying a set of golf clubs from a box store and referring to them as being custom fit is like baking a birthday cake from a box and saying you made it from scratch.

“Inc.” magazine: “Why Golf’s Future is Brighter than Media Portrays” — “When you talk to golfers, many will tell you that they “only wish they’d started playing earlier.” This is happening. In 2015, over 2M new golfers took up the game, many of whom were junior-age.”

Oregon superintendents use tee time donations to help fund research assistant position at Oregon State — Oregon superintendents donated tee times at 19 courses throughout the state in 2016, including a highly regarded stay-and-play package at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort and rounds at Bend Golf and Country Club.

Has Gene Sarazen’s 1950 Masters medallion turned up on Reddit? — Although it’s impossible to verify from a photograph, the medallion looks remarkably like the other medals that were given out that year to each of the players in the tournament, some of which have gone up for auction.

United Airlines says leggings aren’t appropriate for travel, but are they OK for golf? — Several women on the LPGA Tour are taking a stand when it comes to sporting a more athletic look while teeing it up.

Tom Brady plays golf with Jordan Spieth at Augusta before Masters — In Jordan Spieth’s world, figuring it out means teeing it up with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank and Augusta National member Jimmy Dunne for 18 holes.

Golf News for March 25, 2017

April 10, 2017
“I guess the beaver got the short end of the stick.”

Titleist maker teed off over Costco’s cheap golf balls — As golf product makers scramble to avoid new hazards, Costco is not conceding anything. In fact, the dispute raises the question of whether publicity about Costco’s ball will only send more golfers on a long, straight drive to its warehouse stores.

Only serious golf nerds will score 10/10 on this impossible golf course quiz — We scored 7 of 10, plus the bonus round!

WATCH: LPGA launches clever new ad campaign to attract more girls to the game — Currently, fewer girls than boys play golf, but as the new LPGA’s new advertisement points out, girls are now the sport’s fastest growing segment. The biggest factor behind that growth is Girls Golf, which now has more than 400 program sites at golf courses across the U.S. and 60,000 participants between the ages 5-18.

Limited-edition shoe from Adidas Golf is pimento-cheese inspired — A shoe that even Charlie Chaplin could eat.

Trump National Golf Club offers $10,000 reward to find vandals — How many golf courses does Trump Own? We predict this sort of destructive behavior to continue throughout Trump’s four eight years in office.

Under Par: How Golf Courses Are Fighting for Survival — Rounds are down, water’s a wild variable. What can course owners do to cope?

5 Gadgets to Improve Your Golf Game — After spending the $1,500 or more for these five gadgets, we hit our first drive of the season into the pond to the left of the first fairway anyway.

Birmingham golf course beaver kill a dystopian Caddyshack — You thought life served you a raw deal? Think again. The beavers out at Roebuck got it the worst. Consider this life calculus: The beavers naturally create the environment for the watercress darter to live, and then get blamed for also destroying that environment, at which point the beavers have to die so the watercress darter can live. “I guess the beavers caught the short end of the sticks, so to speak,” Howell said. “It’s the beavers that have broken the law, and not man.”

Golf News for March 22, 2017

April 10, 2017

Bangor Municipal Golf Course re-certified as ‘Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary’ — Bangor Muni is one of three courses in Maine and 892 courses in the world to be so recognized. To reach certification, a course must demonstrate that it is maintaining a high degree of environmental quality in a number of areas, including: Environmental Planning, Wildlife and Habitat Management, Outreach and Education, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation and Water Quality Management.

Rumor mill: Will Tiger Woods play at a high level again? — Will he, or won’t he? Part IX

The fight over Sharp Park isn’t just about saving one golf course, but muni golf overall — We’ve long been aware of the tensions between municipal golf courses and anti-golf forces. Good piece on the topic using a San Fran course as a study of how environmental activists can threaten a classic golf treasure. “Trying to preserve municipal golf courses against the forces of commerce, culture and ideological agendas is hard work. The enemy is everywhere. Realtors, recreation minded community leaders and adherents of open space all covet the land. And the special interests know there is blood in the water as golf continues yearly to lose more courses than it is building.”

Tip the Scales: Change your shafts to add 10 yards instantly — Odds are, you’ve tinkered with your driver shafts to help squeeze every last yard out of your swing, while paying little attention to your iron shafts. Big mistake. You hit more iron shots than drives in a typical round.

Golf Equipment Market and Golf Apparel Industry 2017-2021 with Key Manufacturers Analysis — According to this report, the global golf equipment and apparel market is supported by various growth drivers such as rising number of high net worth individuals in emerging economies, growing participation of golfers, development of new golf courses, rising numbers of rounds played and launch of online booking portals.

MGM’s new Golfstream attraction to host skill-based indoor golf gaming events — With Maine’s long winters, this concept could take off at clubs around the state. “Golfstream, billed as the world’s first indoor laser golf course and private lounge, tests different types of skills — putting, long drives and accuracy.

Tiger’s new Masters book lacks one crucial element: What Tiger was really thinking — A critical look at TIger’s new book: “I believe the ideal audience for this book is middle-school readers, young people interested to learn about the sacrifice it takes to become excellent at a difficult thing, young readers who do not already know Tiger’s story from the 1997 Masters.”

Golf News for March 19, 2017

April 9, 2017

Party in Sunday River golf dispute buys club’s assets at auction for $700,000 — Newry Holdings held an auction Wednesday for all of the equipment and other assets associated with the golf club, including the domain name sundayrivergolfclub.com. The company’s attorney, George Marcus, said that Newry Holdings was the sole bidder.

Assistant Golf Professional Wanted — Biddeford Saco is looking for an energetic golf professional to assist in the management of the overall golf operation. Our priority will be to deliver a high level of customer service to the members and public guests.

USA TODAY Sports Media Group Hires Acclaimed Golf Writer Geoff Shackelford — Shackelford’s critically acclaimed website, GeoffShackelford.com, covers the state of the game, players, organizations and course architecture, and will also be added to the USA Today Sports Media Group.

Undercover Tour Pro: What We Really Talk About Inside The Ropes — “Most fans would be very surprised by the conversations that go on during tournaments. And obviously, if there’s a TV microphone in sight, we keep it clean. No sense getting fined for telling a story.”

Some Of Our Favorite Offbeat Local Rules — What to do… “If a raven or fox steals the ball…”; “A ball which lies in or touches heaped or liquid manure…”; “any shot striking an elk or other animal may be replayed without penalty.” We’re surprised they didn’t mention our favorite local rule, “The Faldo”.

America’s largest charity golf event raises $8 million, reminds us why this game is great — Of all the golf charity tournaments held in this country every year, the Liberty Mutual Invitational is the largest, raising $8.3 million in 2016 alone.

Golf News for March 16, 2017

April 9, 2017

Robbins, ASGCA, looks to adjust the rules on “wayward shots” — The recent updates to the Rules of Golf from the USGA and R&A have gotten ASGCA Past President Rick Robbins to thinking. He shared his thoughts on “one of the least understood, most severe and most ignored penalties in golf” with Golf Course Industry.

GCSAA Investigating Political Action Committee — GCSAA Board of Directors are seeking feedback from the general membership on a GCSAA PAC. Before April 15, please: 1) Watch the GCSAA PAC videos; 2) Read the PAC brochure; 3) Complete the short feedback form.

Maine GCSA Holds Annual Online Auction — The 2017 auction will be open at 6pm Monday, April 10th.  Bidding will continue until 6pm on April 17th.  Good Luck! Click the link to participate.

You’re Invited to the 10th Annual National Golf Day — On April 25th, the NGCOA and other industry partners will converge on Capitol Hill for the 10th Annual National Golf Day. This is your opportunity to join us in showing key legislators the importance of golf in communities across the nation. We need you – the owners and operators – to help us increase our visibility and influence.

WATCH: Trump golf course vandalized by activists, course offers $10k reward for arrest — File this under headlines we are sick and tired of seeing. Repulsive video made by the vandals is in the article. These characters have neither the courage to join a real military operation, nor the couth to play golf.

Golf News for March 12, 2017

April 9, 2017

Playbooks for Golf releases “Conditions” — The product is intended for golf course superintendents to communicate with golfers in real-time about the daily status of the golf course.

Servicemembers get chance to watch golf’s elite at 2017 Senior PGA Championship — Military servicemembers will get a rare opportunity this Memorial Day weekend to visit a golf course that could be described as presidential. The 2017 Senior PGA Championships will be played May 25-28 at the Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, Virginia, a scant 20-minute drive from the heart of the nation’s capital.

Nothing glamorous about trying to scrape by on golf’s low-level tours — “Just imagine gambling every day of your life. You gamble on yourself, and you hope to win. You have to spend $3,000, maybe $3,500, in a week just coming out of your pocket before you even tee it up. Then you have to play with that hanging over you.”

Lawbeat: Golf club swing ruled way out of bounds — We always carry a pair of balls in our pocket in case we lose one in the rough.

Adult beverages behind 18-hole golf courses? — “In 1858, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, golf’s governing body, issued an official decree that a round consisted of 18 holes. Rule 1 stated “one round of the Links or 18 holes is reckoned a match unless otherwise stipulated.” We’ll drink to that!

Bunker mentality; Quitno, ASGCA & Andrew, ASGCA, add insight to “GCI” feature — Golf Course Industry magazine’s cover story features a detailed look at the hazards that consume much of a superintendents’ time. ASGCA members provide perspective on the design – and elimination of – bunkers.

Golf News for March 9, 2017

April 9, 2017
Will the Women’s U.S. Open Join “The Resistance”?

Former owner of Sunday River golf course still selling memberships, lawsuit says — In an ongoing ownership dispute, Harris Golf and Newry Holdings both lay claim to the highly rated golf course, raising the possibility that golfers who have paid for the coming season won’t be able to play.

We asked for your reactions to the new rules of golf. Here are the results — We anticipate sharing many stories and opinion pieces on the new rules for the foreseeable future. We also invite your own comments in the comment box below.

Niall Horan Gets Golf Digest Arnie Award And Helps Guide The Game’s Talent — “I wanted to get into supporting the next generation of golfers, and obviously I feel myself and my management company, who have a long history of looking after clients and all their needs from schedule planning to corporate deals, are very well placed to do this,” he says.

Yahoo! founder says golf innovation will one day let everybody swing like Dustin Johnson — and cure the yips — He suggested that the kind of “haptic suits” designed to help the disabled walk could “be the same suit that can make you become a super person where you can literally swing like Dustin Johnson if you wanted to.” So, we’ve all got THAT to look forward to, right?

As golf struggles, clubs turn to sport, drive-in theaters and fitness for members — Golf has seen a drop in participation numbered from about 30 million players to around 23 million players in the last decade, according to National Golf Foundation numbers. A drop in rounds got revenues down? Creative, outside the tee box thinking brings them to the club for other activities.

A petition to boycott Trump’s golf course for the U.S. Women’s Open is gaining steam — The 2017 U.S. Women’s Open is due to be held at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. A group of Democrat Senators issued a joint statement last year calling for the event to boycott the course. This year, they’ve stepped up their effort as part of The Resistance.

And now, the number one pastime of golfers when not golfing — Fishing: