In honor of National Golf Day (April 16), and despite the fact that golf is temporarily on hold pending a change in Mother Nature’s current stance on spring, we are extolling a few of the economic, health and environmental benefits of the game: Economic: Golf is a nearly $70 billion industry, providing nearly 2 million jobs and total wage income of $55.6 billion. In Minnesota, the golf industry accounts for 34,653 jobs and $776.7 million … Continue reading
This past Saturday morning, the worlds of golf and sport came to a collective standstill as the Rules Committee at the Masters decided the fate of Tiger Woods. Would they? Could they? Did they dare disqualify him for violating a Rule that resulted in his signing an incorrect score card? There was a media frenzy with everyone having an opinion. Social media was alive with theories. Even the participants in the Rules Workshop I was … Continue reading
By Guy Green “One can survive everything nowadays, except death, and live down anything except a good reputation.” … Continue reading
In assessing Tiger Woods a two-stroke penalty (for breach of Rule 26-1) rather than a DQ for signing an incorrect score card, did Masters tournament officials correctly invoke their right to waive a DQ penalty on the four-time Masters champion? Read the text of the official statement delivered by Fred Ridley, the chair of the competition committee: “Yesterday afternoon, the Rules Committee was made aware of a possible Rules violation that involved a drop by … Continue reading
As our snowbirds begin returning from Florida this month and next, some may have an extra gleam in their eye, if they were lucky enough to play the golf courses at the new Streamsong Resort. Streamsong is a new 36-hole complex in central Florida, owned and developed by the Mosaic phosphate mining company, a Cargill subsidiary. The Red course, designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, and the Blue course, designed by Tom Doak, sit … Continue reading
It’s always a bit sad and sweet when figures important to golf in Minnesota pass from the world of the living. The sadness, beyond the obvious loss for the families and friends involved, comes with the realization that the ranks of an important generation are being culled on an almost daily basis. The sweetness comes with recognizing the significance of the lives they lived, celebrating their noteworthy successes, and acknowledging the indelible mark they leave … Continue reading
The newest and loudest buzz in the golf course world is Streamsong, the central Florida resort that features two potentially world-class golf courses, one designed by the team of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, the other by Tom Doak. Streamsong held a “soft opening” the week before Christmas, with its official Grand Opening scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 26, during the weekend of the PGA merchandise show in Orlando. Streamsong was the brainchild of Richard Mack, … Continue reading
The Royal & Ancient — the institution that oversees golf in all countries worldwide except the United States and Mexico — is not typically a lightning rod for controversy, but recent announcements have changed all that. Perhaps for many months. The news that continues to make the biggest ripples through the golf world is that the R&A and USGA has made a joint proposal to ban anchored putting. But as this hot potato dominates golf … Continue reading
The R&A and the USGA (the game’s governing bodies) today announced a proposed rules change that prohibits anchoring the club in making a stroke. In a global news conference televised by the Golf Channel, the R&A’s Peter Dawson and the USGA’s Mike Davis explained that the rules-makers were seeing an increase in “the advocacy” of the anchored stroke at the elite amateur and junior levels, and that “in the best interests of the game moving forward,” it … Continue reading
With the season in Minnesota coming to a close, options for continuing to play in the U.S. seem limited to the Southeast, the Southwest or California. Fortunately, a visionary named Mike Keiser created another alternative for those who don’t necessarily need suntan lotion with their golf: Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. There are now five golf courses at Bandon Dunes on Oregon’s southern coast, with the recent opening of the 13-hole par-3 Preserve course, designed by … Continue reading