Category: Owners/Architects

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:

Golf News for March 6, 2017

April 9, 2017
Curtains remain hanging inside, however, vandals have degraded the property, breaking windows and tagging the walls with graffiti.

These eerie photos of deserted golf courses reveal a new normal in America — Business Insider recently explored two closed golf courses in northern New Jersey, both of which are being turned into housing developments, to see firsthand what courses across the country look like as they become abandoned.

Ken Bowden, Influential Golf Writer and Noted Jack Nicklaus Collaborator, Dies at 86 — The highlight of Bowden’s career was collaborating on 12 books with Nicklaus, including “Golf My Way”, which has sold more than 2.5 million copies since 1974, and, in 1997, the Golden Bear’s second autobiography, “Jack Nicklaus: My Story”.

Dustin Johnson wins WGC-Mexico Championship for second straight victory — Johnson became the fifth player to win in his first tournament as No. 1 in the world. His fourth World Golf Championship title is second on the career list behind Tiger Woods at 18.

Old Game, New Rules. What Impact? — The words “change” and “golf” are not joined at the hip. But last year’s U.S. Open provided a clear illustration on how the sport functions, and doesn’t function, through its rules-making apparatus.

Welcome!

March 23, 2017

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If you’ve found your way here, you either love golf, or Maine, or, as we do, you love playing golf in Maine.

We Take Dead Aim, providing an informative site for golfers who play, plan to play, or dream of playing golf, and especially in Maine. We also provide timely news and opinion for those who work in the golf industry. Whether you’re an owner, marketing director, pro shop manager, teaching pro, architect, vendor, player, or the all-important Golf Course Superintendent (whom we believe to be the most important component of the entire industry), The Golf of Maine combs the internet daily, sharing information that will make your golf experience more enjoyable.

Please add to the conversation by commenting, sharing your own course reviews and experiences, videos and photos, stories, or brags about holes-in-one. Send us news tips, and if you represent a golf course in Maine, please add The Golf of Maine to your circulation list, we will share your latest news with our readers in a timely manner.

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