by Gary Williams | Jan 8, 2024 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…
- I’m totally OK with the additional players in the field for the Sentry. With the challenges that exist already to get all members starts, let alone getting the very best together as often as possible, a field of roughly 60 works. Kapalua has been, and remains, the very best place to start the new season. Superior optics and a golf course that produces angles, and height and flight on shots that are uncommon for most tour events. May it always be Maui to start.
- Mark Rolfing is a friend, but beyond that he’s a genuine friend of golf. His involvement with players, projects and initiatives in the game are boundless. His expert voice on all things Hawaii is as reliable as any person associated with a town, tournament or region anywhere in professional golf. His love for his home is admirable.
- Received the “Mackenzie Reader” as a Christmas gift and it’s a must keepsake for all thoughts and writings from Dr. Mackenzie. Available through the Mackenzie Institute it is a compilation of his writing and so many holes in addition to a collection of essays from various historians. The opening chapter on is background in the construction of entrenchments is worth the purchase by itself.
- The ambition of King/Collins for their new project The 21 Golf Club outside Aiken, South Carolina is next level. The creation of the 9 double green concept never actually executed by Alistair Mackenzie is as interesting a project currently being funded. I’m determined to get down there throughout the build process of the two courses. Aiken is blazing with top projects.
- Jason Day’s new apparel deal with Malbon got plenty of attention this week. Going away from just being another Nike guy is good for him and us. Way too many guys look too much like each other and that’s why Keith Mitchell gets the appreciation he deserves from his commitment to celebrating the styles of Sid Mashburn. Its invaluable to look different in one of the few sports that allows it.
- I’m determined to play the following for the first time this year. Royal Dornoch, Nairn, Skibo Castle, Camargo, Rock Creek Cattle Company, Myopia Hunt Club, High Pointe, Shoreacres, Lido, Eastward Ho, and The Creek. Ambitious and determined. A good combination.
- Not surprisingly Kevin Kisner was glib, insightful and comfortable on his first broadcast. Two reasons why he’s going to be considered great at this as we predicted, one, you can either do it or you can’t. It doesn’t mean you can’t get better if you start off poorly it’s just that your ceiling is going to be low. Secondly, Kevin is exceedingly well-liked by the young influencers and content creators. He will get great reviews because consciously or not people have agendas. Kevin won’t need the excessive positive feedback because he’s going to be excellent at his new job but he’s going to get it and that will only enhance his standing and foster even greatly validation of the hire by NBC.
- Watched Paul Giamatti’s new movie “The Holdovers” about a prep school in the early 70’s. Great writing, funny, poignant and Giamatti is outstanding. Highly recommend.
- Rory McIlroy validated again the weightiness to his words this past week with his reflections on his evolving position on LIV golf. He certainly didn’t toss bouquets in the direction of all LIV players but his willingness to express a more pragmatic position had Phil Mickelson and Greg Norman immediately commending Rory. Only Tiger would illicit such response. Heady company.
- Viktor Hovland turned a glaring weakness, his chipping, into a bonafide asset with the assistance of Joe Mayo this past year. Hovland disclosed this past week they are no longer working together. Only those involved know the true nature of relationships but the instability of instructors and caddies at the top of the professional game would be an unnerving existence.
- Dylan Dethier of Golf Magazine has gotten much more attention over the last year from his inclusion on “Full Swing” but he has taken his already excellent writing to another level. His work is fantastic and must-read stuff for all things pro golf related.
- The “half pars” on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, especially on the inward nine make the final two hours of coverage among the most entertaining in televised golf. Half par holes are the most fun for the recreational golfer and they are easily the most compelling for the broadcast product. Coore/Crenshaw and Gil Hanse have mastered a design concept used by the likes of George Thomas, Alistair Mackenzie and C.B. MacDonald a hundred years ago.
- Akshay Bhatia is a star in the making. It was always his journey, and I was simply hoping he’d get past the challenge of teenage transition to his professional career without any collateral and what he is now is dynamic and a sheer delight. Supremely interesting to listen to and his golf swing is wildly electric. He’s easily one of the most entertaining players in the game.
- Eric Cole was just announced as the Rookie of the Year this past week and proceeded to start the year with another quality result. At 35, Cole didn’t get the meter running on the PGA Tour until very late and that’s why I will celebrate every top 10 and another big check after spending a dozen years just keeping the dream alive on countless minor league tours. Plow that field EC.
- Jacob Modleski was an alternate to start the week of the Jones Cup Invitational at Ocean Forest and emerged the winner of the first and one of the very best amateur events in golf. The freshman from Notre Dame shot a final round 69 to finish 1 under and win by one. The field and the venue are elite and the win is a massive way to start his year.
- Jordan Spieth is going to have a big year. The best he’s had since his last major win season in 2017. I expect him to win on the west coast and be one of the three betting favorites when we get to Masters week.
- Chris Kirk is not a good story, he’s a continual story of inspiration. As one also leading a journey of recovery his willingness to speak on his gratitude and hope helps so many people. I promise it does.
- A final reminder that we will be releasing episode 1 of “America’s Guest” this week. We want to celebrate truly special places and we promise you will be blown away by CapRock Ranch.
by Gary Williams | Dec 29, 2023 | The Card
18 observations, thoughts and predictions for the week in golf…
- Rose Zhang repeated as the NCAA individual champion, and with her U.S. Women’s Amateur and Augusta National Women’s Amateur titles on her list of accomplishments, she left amateur golf with a historic resume and then abruptly won her first start as a professional in the shadows of lower Manhattan. Poised and possessive of easy charm, Zhang is a delight and a massive new marketing chip for the LPGA.
- The public sector and retail golf platform continue to rise and inspire. If Bandon Dunes or Sand Valley hasn’t added an asset then Streamsong will, as they have with the short course called the Chain. Jay Blasi’s renovation of Sharp Park in San Francisco, Gil Hanse’s “The Park” in West Palm highlight community assets. Landmand Golf Club in Homer, NE from King/Collins opened to rave reviews and their reversable course at Palmetto Bluff will open in ‘24. Pinehurst opens course #10 in the spring and having played it recently, Doak’s first original for the resort will be a homerun. Cabot Citrus Farms opens as well in ‘24 on the old-World Woods property. And although 2026 is the likely completion date for Cobbs Creek in Philadelphia, the groundbreaking this year for the Gil Hanse rebuild plus the Tiger Woods short course and TGR learning center is a future boom for golfers in the Northeast.
- Lee Trevino is a treasure and although he has never professed any vigilant wellness lifestyle he is as vibrant and enthused as Gary Player who is a couple years older than him. This past year he conducted a couple fantastic longform interviews with “No Laying Up and The SubPar podcast. Storytelling and reflections on people and his experiences in the game are timeless.
- The performance of the United States Walker Cup team at St. Andrews was merely a culmination of enormous achievement among the group assembled by captain Mike McCoy. There have a been a number of decorated teams from the U.S. in the last 25 years but the collective of Nick Dunlap, Caleb Surratt, Ben James, Preston Summerhays and Gordon Sargent have a chance to make the ‘23 team one to look back on as one the truly great squads.
- Steph Curry will receive the Charlie Sifford award at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on the Monday of U.S. Open week primarily for what he’s created with the Underrated Golf Tour. Being involved with it from the beginning it’s been a gift for me to see talented junior golfers travel the country free of the stress of any costs playing and bonding with each other. The 2024 schedule will be released fairly soon, and the tour stops are fantastic. Being close to it, Steph’s next chapter is already started. His impact on golf has just begun.
- Lilia Vu’s 2023 was historic. An American winning two majors in one season had not happened since Juli Inkster in 1999. It was not long ago that Vu was struggling to find her footing on the LPGA. A chance encounter with John Ply, a very successful retired businessman, author, and a true friend of golf helped Vu recalibrate her goals and her belief system. Her ascendency this year came from the depths. Wildly impressive.
- 2023 saw a group of younger voices given precious positions calling golf on television. Trevor Immelman has been refining his craft for several years but the seat next to Jim Nantz feels like it opens as often as a membership drive at Seminole. E xceedingly well prepared, Immelman talks to players, communicates with the media and showed he belongs. Colt Knost is not new in 2023 but his role at CBS is rising and his connection to the present players puts him in rare company. Smylie Kaufman walked and talked his first Ryder Cup and is of the age of many of the stars in the game. Johnson Wagner, our 5 Clubs teammate has quickly distinguished himself at Golf Channel filling any role asked of him and expect much more live golf analysis from him in 2024. Which will also give us the debut of Kevin Kisner as the lead analyst for NBC for a few events starting at the Sentry. I expect Kevin to not be good, but great at talking tv golf.
- 2023 saw Rickie Fowler, Jason Day, Justin Rose, and Lucas Glover wake up the echoes of former glory by winning again on the PGA Tour. Tons of money made and in the case of Rose and Glover the percentage of winners in their 40’s presently on tour is slim. All four are universally liked and respected and people have discovered how damn interesting Lucas Glover is, as evidenced by our May interview with him that tripled its viewership on our 5 Clubs YouTube channel in the month of August.
- Camilo Villegas gets his own category of renewal because what he and his wife Maria endured with the passing of their young daughter Mia in 2020 is simply unimaginable. Poor form is certainly challenging but the true human tragedy makes his first win since 2014 one of the better stories in years.
- Chris Kirk’s win back in March is an altogether different type of comeback. Having experienced the depths of alcoholism, and all that it can rob you of, his triumph and continued willingness to talk about his journey helps others. I promise you, it does.
- I don’t think the golf IQ of the viewing public has ever been higher. When we started Morning Drive on Golf Channel in January of 2011, Fried Egg and No Laying Up did not exist. More than a dozen years later their audience is robust and for good reason. They are content workhorses. It’s a good time to want to hear long form discussion on all things tour life, rollback, design developments and they have both become essential outlets for serious golfers.
- The continued unrest between LIV and the PGA Tour, they now have an extension for negotiation on an agreement, has been disruptive to the sport of men’s professional golf. Oddly, one of the early disruptions has turned into an extraordinary win for Ryder Cup Europe. If all the legendary European Ryder Cup players of the past 20 years didn’t go to LIV it’s not unreasonable to suggest Luke Donald MIGHT never have become the captain. Donald handled the awkward transition from Henrik Stenson’s removal as captain with aplomb and then he proceeded to execute a masterclass in decision making. He hit all the right chords publicly and privately and goes for the encore at Bethpage in 2025.
- Member for a Day is a nonprofit organization that helps raise dollars through the auctioning of pristine golf experiences for a plethora of charitable causes. Started in 2020 almost on a lark by Eric Sedransk, Member for a Day has now topped seven million in charitable dollars raised through the game of golf. Go to the website www.memberforaday.com to find out the great experiences they are auctioning for 2024. Along with the National Links Trust the opportunities to play the greatest courses in America for charitable causes has never been better.
- As the year closes and you look at the combination of new courses and restored courses that debuted in 2023 the design industry is flying. There are not enough architects in the World Golf Hall of Fame to begin with, but I think we are witnessing a glorious time of inspiration. Gil Hanse and Tom Doak will get entry into the hall of fame. I stated last year Coore/Crenshaw should be in (Ben’s in as a player). Rob Collins, Tad King, Tyler Rae, Kyle Franz, Kyle Phillips. Brian Schneider, Blake Conant, Mike Devries, Mike Clayton, Andrew Green, Dave Axland, Rod Whitman, Keith Cutten, Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking, Ashley Mead and so many more I could name are producing thoughtful, detailed and full of fun designs that will stand the test of time.
- Padraig Harrington was a beacon of humorous and introspective light in 2023. The height of Harrington’s playing days offered the profile of a taciturn yet sometimes quirky tinkerer. Padraig has always been approachable but with the advent of media and content outlets that populate the ether with more than soundbites Harrington is a must listen. Pragmatic, witty, unorthodox and unfailingly authentic, Harrington is a vital voice on all subjects.
- Tiger Woods looked compromised beyond repair after his WD at the Masters in April. The next time we saw him in December his walk was improved, his pain abated and the speed he has displayed on the few occasions he’s played was present at the Hero World Challenge. He suggested a tournament a month in 2024 as possible. As he celebrates his 48th birthday he’s kept the door of dreaming ajar.
- In a year that saw different players have historic stretches we at 5 Clubs are making Bernard Langer our golfer of the year. We are not suggesting the tournaments he won are the equivalent of those won by the younger set, but Langer did something I thought was virtually impossible. He passed Hale Irwin for most wins all time on PGA Tour Champions. He’s won twice as many times in his 60’s than the other Top 5 winners in Champions Tour history did combined. More importantly, he represents the lifelong pursuit we all hope to have about the game and that is the pursuit of better. He’s awe-inspiring to his peer group on PGA Tour Champions and his dedication is a model for all walks of life.
- Playing golf has never been more enjoyable for me. It’s not accidental that a clear mind and a heart full of gratitude, two things I robbed myself of for years, is a better state of mind on the golf course. What I found this year traveling and playing the game of golf, more than I have in a decade, is the intellectual, physical and emotional investment people are making in playing the game is ascending. Golfing Societies are thriving, retail golf is cresting, and clubs are building waitlists all over the country. The game is giving something again that was the driving force for interest in it from the outset. It was about time with my dad. In his passing I have found the joyful experiences of being with new friends and cherishing the rounds with those who know me best. Our motto embodies my sentiments about golf in 2023. It’s about the time, not the score.
