![\"\"](\"https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/70986425007-old-bridge-rose-gold.jpg\")
Old Bridge Golf Club at Rose-Lambertson, called \u201cThe Rose,” (Photo: Alexander Lewis/myCentralJersey.com)
The deadliest wildfire in recent U.S. history displaced thousands of residents in Maui back in August, killing more than 100, swallowing the historic Lahaina town in flames and closing many of the area’s golf courses.
\nOfficials are unsure what started the blazes that prompted some locals to bolt into the ocean to escape marauding flames, but some experts said they suspect human development on the island is at least partly to blame for the destruction.
\nWildfires have quadrupled in Hawaii in recent decades, and many scientists say the culprit is unmanaged, nonnative grasslands planted by plantations and ranchers and others unfamiliar with the island’s native ecosystems. The grass is dry and prone to fires.
\nKapalua Golf’s Bay Course re-opened on Sept. 20, and its Plantation Course is set to do so on Oct. 18. Both golf courses had been closed since the Maui wildfires on Aug. 8. Located in West Maui, the golf courses and facilities at Kapalua Golf were spared from the fires, which devastated Lahaina, about 10 miles away.
\nAccording to a story on mauinow.com, another major resort on the island is also nearly back up to full speed.
\n\nK\u0101\u2018anapali reopened its driving range and Royal K\u0101\u2018anapali Golf Course on Sept. 18 and will reopen the K\u0101\u2018anapali Kai Golf Course on Nov. 20.
\nKapalua Golf ‘s Bay Course\u2019s practice range reopened on Aug. 28. Wailea Golf Club remained open after the fires with Wailea\u2019s Gold, Blue and Emerald Courses continuing to welcome guests.
\nThe fires impacted associates at all three golf resort properties with many losing their homes and possessions. As the Maui community heals, the properties continue to welcome back team members to work as they are ready to return.
\nAll three properties have focused efforts to support team members who lost their homes or loved ones, while also continuing to help the larger Maui community recover through donations and fundraisers.
\n\u201cAs part of Maui\u02bbs recovery process, we need our visitors to help keep our community employed,\u201d said Sherry Duong, executive director of the Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau. \u201cWe welcome respectful, responsible and compassionate travel to all accessible parts of Maui. We encourage our visitors to buy local, dine at local restaurants, enjoy Maui\u02bbs incredible activities and attractions including our beautiful golf courses, and most of all visit our island with patience and grace.\u201d
\u201cOur team truly appreciates the outpouring of support from around the globe over the past six weeks,\u201d said Kapalua Golf & Tennis General Manager Alex Nakajima. \u201cOur staff was deeply impacted by the fires, with nearly a third losing their homes and possessions. As associates and the community work to heal, we continue to support them; welcoming back team members to work as they are ready. As we continue the recovery process, we are reopening our two golf courses for Kama\u02bb\u0101ina (local residents) on island and for those planning their return to Maui. As millions discovered during the pandemic, a round of golf can be good medicine for the mind, body and soul.\u201d
\nKapalua Golf\u2019s Plantation Course and Bay Course are open to resort guests and daily-fee play. Arnold Palmer designed The Bay Course first, in 1975, which is more forgiving than the Plantation, a Coore-Crenshaw design that the duo built in 1991 and renovated in 2019. The Sentry is played annually at the Plantation Course, which ranks No. 17 in Golfweek\u2019s Best Resort Courses list.
\n\n\n\n", "content_text": "The deadliest wildfire in recent U.S. history displaced thousands of residents in Maui back in August, killing more than 100, swallowing the historic Lahaina town in flames and closing many of the area’s golf courses.\nOfficials are unsure what started the blazes that prompted some locals to bolt into the ocean to escape marauding flames, but some experts said they suspect human development on the island is at least partly to blame for the destruction.\nWildfires have quadrupled in Hawaii in recent decades, and many scientists say the culprit is unmanaged, nonnative grasslands planted by plantations and ranchers and others unfamiliar with the island’s native ecosystems. The grass is dry and prone to fires.\nKapalua Golf’s Bay Course re-opened on Sept. 20, and its Plantation Course is set to do so on Oct. 18. Both golf courses had been closed since the Maui wildfires on Aug. 8. Located in West Maui, the golf courses and facilities at Kapalua Golf were spared from the fires, which devastated Lahaina, about 10 miles away.\nAccording to a story on mauinow.com, another major resort on the island is also nearly back up to full speed.\nK\u0101\u2018anapali reopened its driving range and Royal K\u0101\u2018anapali Golf Course on Sept. 18 and will reopen the K\u0101\u2018anapali Kai Golf Course on Nov. 20.\nKapalua Golf ‘s Bay Course\u2019s practice range reopened on Aug. 28. Wailea Golf Club remained open after the fires with Wailea\u2019s Gold, Blue and Emerald Courses continuing to welcome guests.\nThe fires impacted associates at all three golf resort properties with many losing their homes and possessions. As the Maui community heals, the properties continue to welcome back team members to work as they are ready to return.\nAll three properties have focused efforts to support team members who lost their homes or loved ones, while also continuing to help the larger Maui community recover through donations and fundraisers.\n\u201cAs part of Maui\u02bbs recovery process, we need our visitors to help keep our community employed,\u201d said Sherry Duong, executive director of the Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau. \u201cWe welcome respectful, responsible and compassionate travel to all accessible parts of Maui. We encourage our visitors to buy local, dine at local restaurants, enjoy Maui\u02bbs incredible activities and attractions including our beautiful golf courses, and most of all visit our island with patience and grace.\u201d\n\u201cOur team truly appreciates the outpouring of support from around the globe over the past six weeks,\u201d said Kapalua Golf & Tennis General Manager Alex Nakajima. \u201cOur staff was deeply impacted by the fires, with nearly a third losing their homes and possessions. As associates and the community work to heal, we continue to support them; welcoming back team members to work as they are ready. As we continue the recovery process, we are reopening our two golf courses for Kama\u02bb\u0101ina (local residents) on island and for those planning their return to Maui. As millions discovered during the pandemic, a round of golf can be good medicine for the mind, body and soul.\u201d\nKapalua Golf\u2019s Plantation Course and Bay Course are open to resort guests and daily-fee play. Arnold Palmer designed The Bay Course first, in 1975, which is more forgiving than the Plantation, a Coore-Crenshaw design that the duo built in 1991 and renovated in 2019. The Sentry is played annually at the Plantation Course, which ranks No. 17 in Golfweek\u2019s Best Resort Courses list.\n\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRelated\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\tCollin Morikawa pledges $1,000 for every birdie to help fire victims in Hawaii\n\n\t\t\t\n\tLPGA: Dani Holmqvist didn't just take a tour around Hawaii this week, she flew the helicopter", "date_published": "2023-10-02T14:00:17-04:00", "date_modified": "2023-10-02T14:00:17-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Tim Schmitt", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/timothymschmitt/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f99e682f8eab472ec4b7e31df8247bce?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "Tim Schmitt", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/timothymschmitt/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f99e682f8eab472ec4b7e31df8247bce?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" }, "image": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/01/USATSI_19731505.jpg", "tags": [ "2023 Sentry Tournament of Champions", "Fire", "Maui golf", "The Plantation Course at Kapalua", "Courses" ], "summary": "Here's an update on the island's major resort courses. " }, { "id": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/?p=778399177", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/09/29/new-jerseys-first-new-municipal-golf-course-old-bridge/", "title": "New Jersey's first new municipal golf course in a decade has its soft opening", "content_html": "It had been more than a decade since a new municipal golf course has been built in the state of New Jersey, but the soft opening of the Old Bridge Golf Club at Rose-Lambertson, nicknamed \u201cThe Rose,” put an end to that drought on Thursday.
\nOld Bridge’s mayor, Owen Henry, was part of a contingent on hand this week for a ceremonial opening.
\n“This is a jewel, and this is going to be here for the current and the future residents and generations of Old Bridge,” Henry told our network partner, the Courier News.
\nAlthough a soft opening for the driving range, putting green and miniature golf course took place on Thursday, the 18-hole course won’t open until mid-October.
\nOld Bridge Golf Club at Rose-Lambertson, called \u201cThe Rose,” (Photo: Alexander Lewis/myCentralJersey.com)
Here’s more from MyCentralJersey.com.
\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\n", "content_text": "It had been more than a decade since a new municipal golf course has been built in the state of New Jersey, but the soft opening of the Old Bridge Golf Club at Rose-Lambertson, nicknamed \u201cThe Rose,” put an end to that drought on Thursday.\nOld Bridge’s mayor, Owen Henry, was part of a contingent on hand this week for a ceremonial opening.\n“This is a jewel, and this is going to be here for the current and the future residents and generations of Old Bridge,” Henry told our network partner, the Courier News.\nAlthough a soft opening for the driving range, putting green and miniature golf course took place on Thursday, the 18-hole course won’t open until mid-October.\nOld Bridge Golf Club at Rose-Lambertson, called \u201cThe Rose,” (Photo: Alexander Lewis/myCentralJersey.com)\nHere’s more from MyCentralJersey.com.\nThe project is located on about 218 acres of township-owned property \u2013 the Rose and Lambertson Tract area \u2013 on the north and south side of Lambertson Road. In a series of transactions, the township used state Green Acres funds to purchase the property to maintain it as open space.\nDesigned by New Jersey golf architect Stephen Kay, the complex includes a par-71, 18-hole course, an illuminated 30-bay driving range and a miniature golf course with lighting, water features and rolling terrain.\nThere’s also a 6,000-square foot clubhouse with a pro shop, concession area, cart barn and restrooms, as well as a 5,000-square-foot maintenance building and 110 parking spaces. The rental electric carts will be equipped with GPS screens.\nThe routing of the 18-hole layout was driven by wetlands and the natural topography. Unlike most American golf courses, the 9th hole does not return to the clubhouse because of the property’s unique features.\nThe Rose is the centerpiece of a more than $35 million public-private partnership between 2020 Acquisitions and the township.\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRelated\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\tTiger Woods, Mike Trout announce routing for Trout National in New Jersey\n\n\t\t\t\n\tGolfweek's Best 2022: Top public and private courses in New Jersey", "date_published": "2023-09-29T10:00:38-04:00", "date_modified": "2023-10-01T09:40:31-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Tim Schmitt", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/timothymschmitt/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f99e682f8eab472ec4b7e31df8247bce?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "Tim Schmitt", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/timothymschmitt/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f99e682f8eab472ec4b7e31df8247bce?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" }, "image": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/70986402007-old-bridge-rose-gold.jpg", "tags": [ "Municipal Courses", "New Jersey", "Public golf", "Courses" ], "summary": "A soft opening for the driving range, putting green and miniature golf course took place on Thursday. " }, { "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/09/29/tom-weiskopf-last-design-opens-utah-first-hosting-usga-event-troon-arizona/", "title": "As Tom Weiskopf's last design opens in Utah, his first is hosting USGA event in Arizona", "content_html": "The project is located on about 218 acres of township-owned property \u2013 the Rose and Lambertson Tract area \u2013 on the north and south side of Lambertson Road. In a series of transactions, the township used state Green Acres funds to purchase the property to maintain it as open space.
\nDesigned by New Jersey golf architect Stephen Kay, the complex includes a par-71, 18-hole course, an illuminated 30-bay driving range and a miniature golf course with lighting, water features and rolling terrain.
\nThere’s also a 6,000-square foot clubhouse with a pro shop, concession area, cart barn and restrooms, as well as a 5,000-square-foot maintenance building and 110 parking spaces. The rental electric carts will be equipped with GPS screens.
\nThe routing of the 18-hole layout was driven by wetlands and the natural topography. Unlike most American golf courses, the 9th hole does not return to the clubhouse because of the property’s unique features.
\nThe Rose is the centerpiece of a more than $35 million public-private partnership between 2020 Acquisitions and the township.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. \u2014 In a way, it’s all come full circle.
\nTom Weiskopf’s final golf course design, Black Desert, just opened in May in St. George, Utah, a burgeoning golf community. This gem has already landed a PGA Tour stop, coming fall of 2024. The LPGA is also going to stage an event there, starting in 2025.
\nBlack Desert, a venue he did with partner Phil Smith, is the 73rd golf course in Weiskopf’s portfolio, which features layouts located around the world. There are dozens of courses in the U.S., of course, but also Scotland, Italy and China.
\nHis very first design, though, was built in Arizona in a then-remote part of north Scottsdale, at Troon Country Club, the name serving as a tip of the cap to Royal Troon in Scotland, where Weiskopf won his lone major, the 1973 Open Championship.
\n“It’s funny because we did count them up and it’s 73,” said Smith. “Can you believe that? Between design and renovation we came up with 73 and that just seems to be his lucky number.”
\nThe private layout at Troon CC, which Weiskopf did with Jay Morrish, is set to host the 2023 U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur Championship, Sept. 30 to Oct. 5. It’ll be the second U.S. Golf Association event played there (1990 U.S. Mid-Amateur) and the 17th USGA tournament in all held in Arizona.
\n![\"Troon](\"https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/PXL_20230918_231325102.jpg\")
A mural at Troon Country Club includes a photo of golf course designers Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish. (Photo: Golfweek)
“The thing about Weiskopf courses is they can be played anybody or they can be set up to be played by the best in the world,” Smith said. “We based our design philosophy on that always. You think about TPC Scottsdale, where 95 percent of the time it has to be played by the municipal player and then one week out of the year you gotta be able to challenge the best players in the world [for the PGA Tour’s WM Phoenix Open] so that’s sort of been our philosophy and Tom’s philosophy from Day 1, so I think it’ll be great.”
\nRanking 12th on Golfweek’s Best list of private golf courses in Arizona, Troon CC’s best stretch is on the back nine:
\n![\"Troon](\"https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/16-troon.jpg\")
The par-4 16th hole called “Gunsight” at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo: USGA)
Like many Weiskopf designs, Troon CC features a driveable par 4, and the fourth will play 244 yards for the senior amateurs.
\nThe USGA first did a site visit for the Senior Women’s Am in 2019. Troon CC was officially awarded the event 2021 and Weiskopf, who passed away in August of 2022, was an active participant in the course’s tournament preparations.
\n“It’s ironic. Troon is where he started and it’s where he found out he was sick, that’s where we were the day he found out he had cancer,” said Smith.
\nThe USGA received a record 594 applications for the tournament, which was first played in 1962. There are 132 golfers in the field, including defending champion Shelly Stouffer. Three-time tournament winner Laura Tennant is also playing. She won it in 2021, 2019 and 2018. There was no event in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
\nThe entire field will play two rounds of stroke play Sept. 39 and Oct. 1. The top 64 golfers will then play five rounds of match play, with the 18-hole championship set for Thursday, Oct. 5.
\n![\"Troon](\"https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/PXL_20230918_231442254.jpg\")
A mural at Troon Country Club includes a photo of golf course designers Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish. (Photo: Golfweek)
“The most important thing about Troon is it’s where Tom started and he won best new course right out of the gate. Who does that, right?,” marveled Smith. “I think that just shows the fact that even in the beginnings of Tom’s career he had the talent and the chops to produce a world-class golf course and that’s where it all began.
\n“I think it’s just great they’re hosting this event. It’s a real showcase for Tom and the club.”
\n\n\n\n", "content_text": "SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. \u2014 In a way, it’s all come full circle.\nTom Weiskopf’s final golf course design, Black Desert, just opened in May in St. George, Utah, a burgeoning golf community. This gem has already landed a PGA Tour stop, coming fall of 2024. The LPGA is also going to stage an event there, starting in 2025.\nBlack Desert, a venue he did with partner Phil Smith, is the 73rd golf course in Weiskopf’s portfolio, which features layouts located around the world. There are dozens of courses in the U.S., of course, but also Scotland, Italy and China.\nHis very first design, though, was built in Arizona in a then-remote part of north Scottsdale, at Troon Country Club, the name serving as a tip of the cap to Royal Troon in Scotland, where Weiskopf won his lone major, the 1973 Open Championship.\n“It’s funny because we did count them up and it’s 73,” said Smith. “Can you believe that? Between design and renovation we came up with 73 and that just seems to be his lucky number.”\nThe private layout at Troon CC, which Weiskopf did with Jay Morrish, is set to host the 2023 U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur Championship, Sept. 30 to Oct. 5. It’ll be the second U.S. Golf Association event played there (1990 U.S. Mid-Amateur) and the 17th USGA tournament in all held in Arizona.\nA mural at Troon Country Club includes a photo of golf course designers Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish. (Photo: Golfweek)\n“The thing about Weiskopf courses is they can be played anybody or they can be set up to be played by the best in the world,” Smith said. “We based our design philosophy on that always. You think about TPC Scottsdale, where 95 percent of the time it has to be played by the municipal player and then one week out of the year you gotta be able to challenge the best players in the world [for the PGA Tour’s WM Phoenix Open] so that’s sort of been our philosophy and Tom’s philosophy from Day 1, so I think it’ll be great.”\nRanking 12th on Golfweek’s Best list of private golf courses in Arizona, Troon CC’s best stretch is on the back nine:\n\nThe par-4 14th, dubbed “The Cliff”, which features a dramatic, elevated second shot down over a desert transition to a large green\nThe par-3 15th, called “Troon Mountain”, which may be the most picturesque point on the property, with the iconic Pinnacle Peak seemingly towering over the green\nThe par-4 16th hole, known as “The Gunsight”, featuring a pair of large boudlers that you hit your tee shot through while aiming at what many say is a gunsight-shaped formation on the distance landscape.\n\nThe par-4 16th hole called “Gunsight” at Troon Country Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo: USGA)\nLike many Weiskopf designs, Troon CC features a driveable par 4, and the fourth will play 244 yards for the senior amateurs.\nThe USGA first did a site visit for the Senior Women’s Am in 2019. Troon CC was officially awarded the event 2021 and Weiskopf, who passed away in August of 2022, was an active participant in the course’s tournament preparations.\n“It’s ironic. Troon is where he started and it’s where he found out he was sick, that’s where we were the day he found out he had cancer,” said Smith.\nThe USGA received a record 594 applications for the tournament, which was first played in 1962. There are 132 golfers in the field, including defending champion Shelly Stouffer. Three-time tournament winner Laura Tennant is also playing. She won it in 2021, 2019 and 2018. There was no event in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.\nThe entire field will play two rounds of stroke play Sept. 39 and Oct. 1. The top 64 golfers will then play five rounds of match play, with the 18-hole championship set for Thursday, Oct. 5.\nA mural at Troon Country Club includes a photo of golf course designers Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish. (Photo: Golfweek)\n“The most important thing about Troon is it’s where Tom started and he won best new course right out of the gate. Who does that, right?,” marveled Smith. “I think that just shows the fact that even in the beginnings of Tom’s career he had the talent and the chops to produce a world-class golf course and that’s where it all began.\n“I think it’s just great they’re hosting this event. It’s a real showcase for Tom and the club.”\n\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMore\t\t\tArizona golf\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\tWith husband Steve at the Ryder Cup, Nicki Stricker competes in first USGA event in 31 years\n\n\t\t\t\n\tPhotos: Arena already under construction at famed 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale\n\n\t\t\t\n\tPGA Tour golfers, PXG founder headline First Tee Phoenix fundraiser 'green' carpet event", "date_published": "2023-09-29T08:00:08-04:00", "date_modified": "2023-09-29T13:00:47-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Todd Kelly", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/kellyt2019/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6d34543c2c8b62ab550f4bd55c0440ea?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "Todd Kelly", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/kellyt2019/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6d34543c2c8b62ab550f4bd55c0440ea?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" }, "image": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/troon-cc-15.jpg", "tags": [ "Arizona golf", "Tom Weiskopf", "Troon Country Club", "U.S. Senior Women's Amateur", "USGA", "Architecture", "Courses", "Courses" ], "summary": "\"It's a real showcase for Tom and the club.\" " }, { "id": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/?post_type=fishburn_gallery&p=778399260", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/gallery/photos-tpc-scottsdale-16th-hole-arena-under-construction-for-2024/", "title": "Photos: Arena already under construction at famed 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale", "content_html": "SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. \u2014 All eyes in the golf world for the next few days will be trained on Marco Simone Golf Club in Italy, specifically the rowdy first hole at the Ryder Cup.
\nMeanwhile, construction has begun on another golf arena halfway around the world from Rome.
\nCrews have started the buildout on the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale ahead of the 2024 WM Phoenix Open, set for Feb. 8-11.
\nThe famous par-3 hole has become a bucket-list place for pro golfers and fans alike. The 150-yard hole is almost unrecognizable in its normal state.
\nCrews at the Stadium Course are also already building out the suites and grandstands along the par-4 17th hole as well.
\n \n", "content_text": "SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. \u2014 All eyes in the golf world for the next few days will be trained on Marco Simone Golf Club in Italy, specifically the rowdy first hole at the Ryder Cup.\nMeanwhile, construction has begun on another golf arena halfway around the world from Rome.\nCrews have started the buildout on the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale ahead of the 2024 WM Phoenix Open, set for Feb. 8-11.\nThe famous par-3 hole has become a bucket-list place for pro golfers and fans alike. The 150-yard hole is almost unrecognizable in its normal state.\nCrews at the Stadium Course are also already building out the suites and grandstands along the par-4 17th hole as well.", "date_published": "2023-09-28T19:30:00-04:00", "date_modified": "2023-10-01T13:46:34-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Todd Kelly", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/kellyt2019/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6d34543c2c8b62ab550f4bd55c0440ea?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "Todd Kelly", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/kellyt2019/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6d34543c2c8b62ab550f4bd55c0440ea?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" }, "image": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/IMG_1264.jpg", "tags": [ "16th hole", "16th hole TPC Scottsdale", "2024 WM Phoenix Open", "Arizona golf", "TPC Scottsdale", "WM Phoenix Open", "Courses", "PGA Tour" ], "summary": "The 2024 WM Phoenix Open isn't for another three and a half months. " }, { "id": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/?p=778398438", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/09/28/2023-ryder-cup-marco-simone-rome-16th-short-par-4s/", "title": "Marco Simone serves up a drivable par 4 where Ryder Cup dreams might go to die", "content_html": "\nDrivable par 4s are the most interesting holes in the pro game. Measuring somewhere south of 350 yards, the best of them entice the game\u2019s top players to grab driver \u2013\u00a0 or sometimes 3-wood, and in a few cases with the longest hitters, even a driving iron \u2013 and smash the ball onto the green in pursuit of an eagle, birdie at worst.
\nThere is, of course, a flip side: bogeys, double bogeys, humiliation and a tumble down the scoreboard when things don\u2019t work out as planned.
\nThese short par 4s are sometimes called half-par holes, but even pros who only halfway commit or halfway execute are prone to full-blown scorecard disasters. And with so many options and strategies available \u2013 especially when factoring in match play \u2013 the short par 4s are where the fun will begin at this week\u2019s Ryder Cup in Rome.
\nIt\u2019s a whole different galaxy of distance and options than encountered by most amateur players, who are far more likely to experience the thrill or despair of a somewhat drivable par 3 than a reachable par 4. Tour players are a different kind of animal, with the advantage typically tilted to the biggest guns in what used to be a knife fight.
\nEach year we see several drivable par 4s send PGA Tour pros into fits. Always in the spotlight is No. 10 at Riviera and its almost unhittable green. It\u2019s the same story at No. 17 at TPC Scottsdale\u2019s Stadium Course, with water in play left and a tucked Sunday pin location \u2013 undoubtably a better strategic hole than the amphitheater par-3 16th that has gained so much fame in recent decades. These holes and dozens of others have oversized effects on eventual prize payouts.
\n\n\n\nEdoardo Molinari gets the European fans going for Viktor Hovland\u2019s tee shot down 16 at Marco Simone #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/b7aghPyEg4
\n— Andy Roberts (@AndyRobertsGolf) September 27, 2023
In recent years, even the major championships have embraced their drivable par 4s. No. 6 at Los Angeles Country Club thrilled and confused in this year\u2019s U.S. Open \u2013 Wyndham Clark just missed the green with a driving iron in the final round but produced a brilliant up-and-down from the gunch for birdie en route to victory. Likewise, Justin Thomas grabbed control of the playoff at the 2022 PGA Championship with a 3-wood blast that carried a creek to bound onto the putting surface of No. 17 at Southern Hills. Glory beckons on these short holes.
\nThis week\u2019s Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome promises such fireworks with several drivable par 4s. The fifth measures just 302 yards, but a pond guards the approach. No. 11 clocks in at 329 yards with a deep depression to the right of the green to gobble up wayward aggression. Both of these holes are within range for these Ryder Cuppers, but at what risk?
\nBut 5 and 11 are mere warmups for No. 16, where plenty of high-pressure matches are likely to end and some Ryder Cup dreams are apt to crater. Just 303 yards long, the 16th has a small pond guarding the right side of the green. The hole is within reach, but so is the water. It\u2019s do or die with the world watching.
\nRyder Cup: Check out Nos. 5 and 11 in the yardage book
\nA bunker plopped into the center of the fairway some 235 yards off the tee only complicates things, as does the water crossing 60 yards short of the putting green. Wary or wise players can lay up short of the center bunker and still hit a wedge into the green, or they can try the more unlikely path of carrying the bunker yet remaining short of the creek to set up an even shorter wedge approach \u2013 don\u2019t count on too many players attempting that route.
\nOr \u2026 they can fire away at the green. It\u2019s just right there, within reach, tucked between three bunkers and the acqua. Coming so late in the matches, it could be the one decision and one swing that decides who is the GOAT and who is the scapegoat.
\n![\"Marco](\"https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/16f-S.S.-Golf-Marco-Simone-Championship-_Fairway16.jpg?w=295\")
The StrackaLine yardage map for No. 16 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, site of the 2023 Ryder Cup (Courtesy of StrackaLine)
No. 16 has seen its share of splashdowns in the Italian Open since the course was redesigned by Dave Sampson and European Golf Design, with American architect Tom Fazio involved as a consultant hired by the club. Most notably, Rory McIlroy pushed his tee ball into the drink while in contention at last year\u2019s Italian and eventually finished fourth. Will that memory provide motivation or scar tissue for Europe\u2019s highest-ranked player and arguably the best driver of the golf ball of his generation?
\nOf course, not all tee shots that miss the 16th green will find the water. Some might land in a bunker, or tall rough on a downhill slope with the pond beyond, or even the closely cropped fairway approach. The players and their stats masters have to factor if playing a shorter second shot from any of those areas is more advantageous than playing a full wedge from 120 yards back in the fairway. Yes, the goal is to drive the green, but most players who try won\u2019t find the putting surface, instead relying on a spot of luck and their elite short games.
\nRyder Cup format matters, too. In the fourball matches \u2013 two-man teams with each man playing his own ball, and the lowest score for each team counts \u2013 plan to see at least one player on each side swinging for the green on the short par 4s, perhaps after his partner lays up safely. Things are more interesting in foursomes, in which the alternate-shot format often focuses on not leaving your partner in a bad spot. Then the gloves come off in singles, each man (and his team of advisors) having to choose the best route to birdie or better by considering his strengths versus those of his opponent as well as his own bravado versus his own demons.
\nThere are so many options, so many possible outcomes. The realistic scores range from 2 to 6. Expectations are high, as are demands on length plus precision multiplied by some unknown confidence factor.
\n![\"Ryder](\"https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/1689611258.jpg\")
Brian Harman plays from a greenside bunker on No. 16 during a practice round at Marco Simone before the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome. Players who try to drive the green but miss might find themselves in such a spot, with a long sand shot to a green backed by water. (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)
Both team captains were titans of the precision and confidence parts. European captain Luke Donald was never known for his distance off the tee but he climbed to No. 1 in the world, and American captain Zach Johnson proved to be the master of the layup by never going for a par-5 green in two en route to his 2007 green jacket. What will be their marching orders? Bet that reams of data will be analyzed figuring out go versus no-go.
\nThere\u2019s no doubt today\u2019s professionals can reach the green of any of the short par 4s at Marco Simone, even guys such as American Brian Harman, who dominated this year\u2019s British Open with a mix of precision iron play and gutsy putting. Short in comparison to Ryder Cup bombers such as McIlroy or European rookie Ludvig Aberg, Harman is still more than capable of driving the ball 300 yards downhill. But will he try? Better question: Should he?
\nOn No. 16 in particular with the hopes of two continents on the line, it\u2019s distance versus control, carpet bombing versus a sniper sneaking up on you. Expect to see eagle putts that knock opponents onto their heels, and also know there might be watery crashes. Hang on to your headcovers.
\n\n\n\n", "content_text": "Drivable par 4s are the most interesting holes in the pro game. Measuring somewhere south of 350 yards, the best of them entice the game\u2019s top players to grab driver \u2013\u00a0 or sometimes 3-wood, and in a few cases with the longest hitters, even a driving iron \u2013 and smash the ball onto the green in pursuit of an eagle, birdie at worst.\nThere is, of course, a flip side: bogeys, double bogeys, humiliation and a tumble down the scoreboard when things don\u2019t work out as planned.\nThese short par 4s are sometimes called half-par holes, but even pros who only halfway commit or halfway execute are prone to full-blown scorecard disasters. And with so many options and strategies available \u2013 especially when factoring in match play \u2013 the short par 4s are where the fun will begin at this week\u2019s Ryder Cup in Rome.\nIt\u2019s a whole different galaxy of distance and options than encountered by most amateur players, who are far more likely to experience the thrill or despair of a somewhat drivable par 3 than a reachable par 4. Tour players are a different kind of animal, with the advantage typically tilted to the biggest guns in what used to be a knife fight.\nEach year we see several drivable par 4s send PGA Tour pros into fits. Always in the spotlight is No. 10 at Riviera and its almost unhittable green. It\u2019s the same story at No. 17 at TPC Scottsdale\u2019s Stadium Course, with water in play left and a tucked Sunday pin location \u2013 undoubtably a better strategic hole than the amphitheater par-3 16th that has gained so much fame in recent decades. These holes and dozens of others have oversized effects on eventual prize payouts.\n\nEdoardo Molinari gets the European fans going for Viktor Hovland\u2019s tee shot down 16 at Marco Simone #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/b7aghPyEg4\n— Andy Roberts (@AndyRobertsGolf) September 27, 2023\n\nIn recent years, even the major championships have embraced their drivable par 4s. No. 6 at Los Angeles Country Club thrilled and confused in this year\u2019s U.S. Open \u2013 Wyndham Clark just missed the green with a driving iron in the final round but produced a brilliant up-and-down from the gunch for birdie en route to victory. Likewise, Justin Thomas grabbed control of the playoff at the 2022 PGA Championship with a 3-wood blast that carried a creek to bound onto the putting surface of No. 17 at Southern Hills. Glory beckons on these short holes.\nThis week\u2019s Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome promises such fireworks with several drivable par 4s. The fifth measures just 302 yards, but a pond guards the approach. No. 11 clocks in at 329 yards with a deep depression to the right of the green to gobble up wayward aggression. Both of these holes are within range for these Ryder Cuppers, but at what risk?\nBut 5 and 11 are mere warmups for No. 16, where plenty of high-pressure matches are likely to end and some Ryder Cup dreams are apt to crater. Just 303 yards long, the 16th has a small pond guarding the right side of the green. The hole is within reach, but so is the water. It\u2019s do or die with the world watching.\nRyder Cup: Check out Nos. 5 and 11 in the yardage book\nA bunker plopped into the center of the fairway some 235 yards off the tee only complicates things, as does the water crossing 60 yards short of the putting green. Wary or wise players can lay up short of the center bunker and still hit a wedge into the green, or they can try the more unlikely path of carrying the bunker yet remaining short of the creek to set up an even shorter wedge approach \u2013 don\u2019t count on too many players attempting that route.\nOr \u2026 they can fire away at the green. It\u2019s just right there, within reach, tucked between three bunkers and the acqua. Coming so late in the matches, it could be the one decision and one swing that decides who is the GOAT and who is the scapegoat.\nThe StrackaLine yardage map for No. 16 at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, site of the 2023 Ryder Cup (Courtesy of StrackaLine)\nNo. 16 has seen its share of splashdowns in the Italian Open since the course was redesigned by Dave Sampson and European Golf Design, with American architect Tom Fazio involved as a consultant hired by the club. Most notably, Rory McIlroy pushed his tee ball into the drink while in contention at last year\u2019s Italian and eventually finished fourth. Will that memory provide motivation or scar tissue for Europe\u2019s highest-ranked player and arguably the best driver of the golf ball of his generation?\nOf course, not all tee shots that miss the 16th green will find the water. Some might land in a bunker, or tall rough on a downhill slope with the pond beyond, or even the closely cropped fairway approach. The players and their stats masters have to factor if playing a shorter second shot from any of those areas is more advantageous than playing a full wedge from 120 yards back in the fairway. Yes, the goal is to drive the green, but most players who try won\u2019t find the putting surface, instead relying on a spot of luck and their elite short games.\nRyder Cup format matters, too. In the fourball matches \u2013 two-man teams with each man playing his own ball, and the lowest score for each team counts \u2013 plan to see at least one player on each side swinging for the green on the short par 4s, perhaps after his partner lays up safely. Things are more interesting in foursomes, in which the alternate-shot format often focuses on not leaving your partner in a bad spot. Then the gloves come off in singles, each man (and his team of advisors) having to choose the best route to birdie or better by considering his strengths versus those of his opponent as well as his own bravado versus his own demons.\nThere are so many options, so many possible outcomes. The realistic scores range from 2 to 6. Expectations are high, as are demands on length plus precision multiplied by some unknown confidence factor.\nBrian Harman plays from a greenside bunker on No. 16 during a practice round at Marco Simone before the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome. Players who try to drive the green but miss might find themselves in such a spot, with a long sand shot to a green backed by water. (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)\nBoth team captains were titans of the precision and confidence parts. European captain Luke Donald was never known for his distance off the tee but he climbed to No. 1 in the world, and American captain Zach Johnson proved to be the master of the layup by never going for a par-5 green in two en route to his 2007 green jacket. What will be their marching orders? Bet that reams of data will be analyzed figuring out go versus no-go.\nThere\u2019s no doubt today\u2019s professionals can reach the green of any of the short par 4s at Marco Simone, even guys such as American Brian Harman, who dominated this year\u2019s British Open with a mix of precision iron play and gutsy putting. Short in comparison to Ryder Cup bombers such as McIlroy or European rookie Ludvig Aberg, Harman is still more than capable of driving the ball 300 yards downhill. But will he try? Better question: Should he?\nOn No. 16 in particular with the hopes of two continents on the line, it\u2019s distance versus control, carpet bombing versus a sniper sneaking up on you. Expect to see eagle putts that knock opponents onto their heels, and also know there might be watery crashes. Hang on to your headcovers.\n\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tMore\t\t\t2023 Ryder Cup\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\tStefan Schauffele says Xander's Ryder Cup place was in jeopardy, sounds off on player payment\n\n\t\t\t\n\tHighlights from Team Europe's epic 2023 Ryder Cup celebration in Italy\n\n\t\t\t\n\tFresh off Ryder Cup, Patrick Cantlay to marry Nikki Guidish on Monday in Rome\n\n\t\t\t\n\tRory McIlroy gets philosophical during Ryder Cup controversy, leads Europeans to victory\n\n\t\t\t\n\tRory McIlroy says Ryder Cup incident with caddie Joe LaCava still hurts, but time heals", "date_published": "2023-09-28T07:00:42-04:00", "date_modified": "2023-09-27T16:20:42-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Jason Lusk", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/jllusk/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/0ef9fa589fc62892cabe2c57919bc689?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "Jason Lusk", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/jllusk/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/0ef9fa589fc62892cabe2c57919bc689?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" }, "image": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/1704105840.jpg", "tags": [ "Brian Harman", "Italy", "Luke Donald", "Marco Simone", "Marco Simone Golf and Country Club", "Rome", "Rory McIlroy", "Ryder Cup", "Short par 4s", "Strategy", "Zach Johnson", "2023 Ryder Cup", "Architecture", "Courses", "Courses" ], "summary": "No. 16 is one of a trio of short par 4s that will test strategy, skill and nerves in the Ryder Cup. " }, { "id": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/?p=778398361", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/09/27/coral-investment-group-misty-creek-country-club-purchase-florida-golf/", "title": "Florida-based company purchases another golf course, raising total to nine", "content_html": "A Florida-based company that purchased three golf courses on the state’s west coast in the spring is at it again, this time with the purchase of a country club in Sarasota.
\nAccording to a story from our network partner the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Coral Investment Group, along with its partner ITG Group, bought the Misty Creek Country Club for an undisclosed amount, which brings the number of golf courses owned by the company to nine, with 13 total courses under management by Coral’s hospitality management portfolio.
\n\u201cOur strategy is to continue growing our golf business along the I-75 corridor between Naples and Tampa,” Lee Weeks, chief operating officer at Coral Hospitality, said in a release. “Of course, if other sites become available, we will certainly consider those opportunities as well.”
\n\n\nThe purchase of Misty Creek Country Club followed the April announcement that Coral investments Group had purchased Calusa Lakes Golf Club, Waterford Golf Club and Capri Isles Golf Club in the Venice area.
\nKnown for its hotel and resort management, Coral\u2019s other golf properties in Florida and Georgia include Arrowhead Golf Club, Eagle Ridge Golf Club, Misty Creek Country Club, Jacaranda West Country Club, Riverwood Golf Club, Rosedale Golf and Country Club, Brasstown Valley Golf Course, Georgia Veteran\u2019s Golf Course and Wallace Adams Golf Course.
\nMisty Creek Country Club is the only golf course in Southwest Florida that is “entirely in a 350-acre wildlife preserve,” according to the company.
The course was designed by Ted McAnlis in 1985 and is open to the public and offers several levels of membership.
\n\n\n\n", "content_text": "A Florida-based company that purchased three golf courses on the state’s west coast in the spring is at it again, this time with the purchase of a country club in Sarasota.\nAccording to a story from our network partner the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Coral Investment Group, along with its partner ITG Group, bought the Misty Creek Country Club for an undisclosed amount, which brings the number of golf courses owned by the company to nine, with 13 total courses under management by Coral’s hospitality management portfolio.\n\u201cOur strategy is to continue growing our golf business along the I-75 corridor between Naples and Tampa,” Lee Weeks, chief operating officer at Coral Hospitality, said in a release. “Of course, if other sites become available, we will certainly consider those opportunities as well.”\nHere’s more from the story:\nThe purchase of Misty Creek Country Club followed the April announcement that Coral investments Group had purchased Calusa Lakes Golf Club, Waterford Golf Club and Capri Isles Golf Club in the Venice area.\nKnown for its hotel and resort management, Coral\u2019s other golf properties in Florida and Georgia include Arrowhead Golf Club, Eagle Ridge Golf Club, Misty Creek Country Club, Jacaranda West Country Club, Riverwood Golf Club, Rosedale Golf and Country Club, Brasstown Valley Golf Course, Georgia Veteran\u2019s Golf Course and Wallace Adams Golf Course.\nMisty Creek Country Club is the only golf course in Southwest Florida that is “entirely in a 350-acre wildlife preserve,” according to the company.\nThe course was designed by Ted McAnlis in 1985 and is open to the public and offers several levels of membership.\n\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRelated\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\tGolfweek's Best 2023: Top 40 par-3, short and non-traditional courses in the U.S.\n\n\t\t\t\n\tGolfweek's Best Courses You Can Play 2023: Top 100 U.S. public-access courses ranked\n\n\t\t\t\n\tGolfweek's Best: Ranking the courses on the PGA Tour's Florida Swing\n\n\t\t\t\n\tGolfweek's Best 2022: Top public and private courses in Florida", "date_published": "2023-09-27T16:00:32-04:00", "date_modified": "2023-09-27T14:50:31-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Tim Schmitt", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/timothymschmitt/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f99e682f8eab472ec4b7e31df8247bce?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "Tim Schmitt", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/timothymschmitt/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f99e682f8eab472ec4b7e31df8247bce?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" }, "image": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/70965422007-misty-creek-wflag.jpg", "tags": [ "course sold", "Florida Golf", "Courses" ], "summary": "A Florida-based company owns nine courses, with 13 total courses under its management portfolio. " }, { "id": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/?p=778398134", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/09/26/eamon-lynch-european-ryder-cup-venues-marco-simone/", "title": "Lynch: At European Ryder Cups, the cash rolls in as design nerds roll their eyes", "content_html": "GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy \u2014 Short of news that Rees Jones is gassing up his bulldozer, nothing makes golf course architecture aficionados reach for the Pepto Bismol quite like a Ryder Cup, or more specifically, a Ryder Cup in Europe. While editions held in America still occasionally visit sublime course designs \u2014 The Country Club, Oakland Hills, Bethpage Black in two years \u2014 those staged in the old world offer a quadrennial reminder to purists that the Ryder Cup, like a presidential election, is now essentially a commercial enterprise.
\nAs the economic importance and global stature of the event has grown, there\u2019s been a commensurate dilution in the caliber of host courses on the eastern shore of the Atlantic. You have to scroll back more than 40 years to find one that earns near-unanimous praise for its design merit: Walton Heath, in 1981. In the years prior, the biennial battle visited Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Muirfield and Royal Birkdale, all Open Championship hosts of indisputable stature. Then, starting in the late \u201880s, Europe began to dominate, fans began to pay attention, broadcasters began to pay significant rights fees, and corporations began requesting ever-more extensive hospitality suites.
\nSo for 30 years, Ryder Cups in Europe have illustrated the difference between a great golf course and a great venue. They\u2019ve had plenty of the latter, none of the former. Marco Simone Golf and Country Club continues that tradition.
\n![\"\"](\"https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2021/10/1041575650.jpg\")
Early morning preparations are made prior to the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National on September 27, 2018, in Paris, France. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
The DP World Tour owns a sizable chunk of the Ryder Cup, and proven loyalty to the circuit is a factor when it comes time to award its most prized asset. The Belfry (\u201985, \u201989\u2019 \u201993) held its first European tour event in 1979. Valderrama (\u201997) had been a regular tour stop for almost a decade. So too for the K Club (\u201906), Celtic Manor (\u201910) and Gleneagles (\u201914). Le Golf National (\u201918) paid its dues even longer.
\nAn alert, ambitious developer will spot a sure-fire, if long-term strategy for securing golf\u2019s premier team event: build a course with ample room for infrastructure, offer terms favorable to the suits at HQ in Wentworth, then wait a decade. The Ryder Cup is a prize earned, not an honor bestowed.
\nTalk to enough people who play golf for a living and you\u2019ll learn that most see the course merely as a stage upon which great actors perform. For idealistic design nerds, however, courses are a central character in the drama, of such nuance and intricacy that they make even great actors forget their lines. Marco Simone may discombobulate the cast of 24 actors this week, but not with nuance or intricacy.
\nThe Ryder Cup is match play, and an ideal match play course encourages short-term risk-taking. There are enough holes here to encourage that, or sufficient flexibility with the set-up to manufacture it. Sure, the design is uninspiring and the aesthetics limited \u2014 save for a few ruins scattered around the property and a distant view of the dome of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica \u2014 but functionally Marco Simone is up to the ask. It\u2019s not a great course, but it might be declared a great venue when the circus pulls out of town.
\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\nThis being Italy, logistics could prove troublesome, though perhaps not as dire as at the Solheim Cup last week in Spain. Rush hours and the national nonchalance about timekeeping could see travel to the course take long enough for a couple of governments to form and collapse. And players will not be immune if such issues arise.
\nMost European venues in the last four decades have been resorts with accommodations on-site, meaning that teams, administrators and hangers-on didn\u2019t need to leave the grounds for the entire week. Whatever happened beyond the wall was not their concern. In Rome, both teams are staying at the Cavalieri hotel, 10 miles from Marco Simone. That journey might take 30 minutes, or it might be a multiple of that. Since their hotel is within earshot of the Vatican, they might have to whisper the lord\u2019s name in vain during delays. That began on Tuesday. One coach griped that his ride took well over an hour. His driver had no idea where the venue is located.
\nThat\u2019s a gentle reminder that golf doesn\u2019t rank among the dozen most popular sports in Italy, but also emphasizes a reality unsettling to design devotees: if the Ryder Cup is to be used as a platform to grow golf in new territories, then the odds of there existing a must-play course is almost zero.
\nThe boxes that purists most want to see checked are wholly optional for Ryder Cup organizers here. A great course is a bonus, not a baseline. If you want elite team competition on elite designs, the Walker Cup has you covered.
\n\n\n\n", "content_text": "GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy \u2014 Short of news that Rees Jones is gassing up his bulldozer, nothing makes golf course architecture aficionados reach for the Pepto Bismol quite like a Ryder Cup, or more specifically, a Ryder Cup in Europe. While editions held in America still occasionally visit sublime course designs \u2014 The Country Club, Oakland Hills, Bethpage Black in two years \u2014 those staged in the old world offer a quadrennial reminder to purists that the Ryder Cup, like a presidential election, is now essentially a commercial enterprise.\nAs the economic importance and global stature of the event has grown, there\u2019s been a commensurate dilution in the caliber of host courses on the eastern shore of the Atlantic. You have to scroll back more than 40 years to find one that earns near-unanimous praise for its design merit: Walton Heath, in 1981. In the years prior, the biennial battle visited Royal Lytham & St. Annes, Muirfield and Royal Birkdale, all Open Championship hosts of indisputable stature. Then, starting in the late \u201880s, Europe began to dominate, fans began to pay attention, broadcasters began to pay significant rights fees, and corporations began requesting ever-more extensive hospitality suites.\nSo for 30 years, Ryder Cups in Europe have illustrated the difference between a great golf course and a great venue. They\u2019ve had plenty of the latter, none of the former. Marco Simone Golf and Country Club continues that tradition.\nEarly morning preparations are made prior to the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National on September 27, 2018, in Paris, France. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)\nThe DP World Tour owns a sizable chunk of the Ryder Cup, and proven loyalty to the circuit is a factor when it comes time to award its most prized asset. The Belfry (\u201985, \u201989\u2019 \u201993) held its first European tour event in 1979. Valderrama (\u201997) had been a regular tour stop for almost a decade. So too for the K Club (\u201906), Celtic Manor (\u201910) and Gleneagles (\u201914). Le Golf National (\u201918) paid its dues even longer.\nAn alert, ambitious developer will spot a sure-fire, if long-term strategy for securing golf\u2019s premier team event: build a course with ample room for infrastructure, offer terms favorable to the suits at HQ in Wentworth, then wait a decade. The Ryder Cup is a prize earned, not an honor bestowed.\nTalk to enough people who play golf for a living and you\u2019ll learn that most see the course merely as a stage upon which great actors perform. For idealistic design nerds, however, courses are a central character in the drama, of such nuance and intricacy that they make even great actors forget their lines. Marco Simone may discombobulate the cast of 24 actors this week, but not with nuance or intricacy.\nThe Ryder Cup is match play, and an ideal match play course encourages short-term risk-taking. There are enough holes here to encourage that, or sufficient flexibility with the set-up to manufacture it. Sure, the design is uninspiring and the aesthetics limited \u2014 save for a few ruins scattered around the property and a distant view of the dome of St. Peter\u2019s Basilica \u2014 but functionally Marco Simone is up to the ask. It\u2019s not a great course, but it might be declared a great venue when the circus pulls out of town.\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\nThis being Italy, logistics could prove troublesome, though perhaps not as dire as at the Solheim Cup last week in Spain. Rush hours and the national nonchalance about timekeeping could see travel to the course take long enough for a couple of governments to form and collapse. And players will not be immune if such issues arise.\nMost European venues in the last four decades have been resorts with accommodations on-site, meaning that teams, administrators and hangers-on didn\u2019t need to leave the grounds for the entire week. Whatever happened beyond the wall was not their concern. In Rome, both teams are staying at the Cavalieri hotel, 10 miles from Marco Simone. That journey might take 30 minutes, or it might be a multiple of that. Since their hotel is within earshot of the Vatican, they might have to whisper the lord\u2019s name in vain during delays. That began on Tuesday. One coach griped that his ride took well over an hour. His driver had no idea where the venue is located.\nThat\u2019s a gentle reminder that golf doesn\u2019t rank among the dozen most popular sports in Italy, but also emphasizes a reality unsettling to design devotees: if the Ryder Cup is to be used as a platform to grow golf in new territories, then the odds of there existing a must-play course is almost zero.\nThe boxes that purists most want to see checked are wholly optional for Ryder Cup organizers here. A great course is a bonus, not a baseline. If you want elite team competition on elite designs, the Walker Cup has you covered.\n\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRelated\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\tPhotos: Best (and worst) of the 2023 Ryder Cup merchandise shop\n\n\t\t\t\n\tRyder Cup 2023: Photos of every hole at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome\n\n\t\t\t\n\tU.S. hasn't won Ryder Cup on foreign soil since 1993. Does this year's squad have what it takes?", "date_published": "2023-09-26T10:30:08-04:00", "date_modified": "2023-09-26T14:30:44-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Tim Schmitt", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/timothymschmitt/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f99e682f8eab472ec4b7e31df8247bce?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "Tim Schmitt", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/timothymschmitt/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f99e682f8eab472ec4b7e31df8247bce?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" }, "image": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/GettyImages-1700347039.jpg", "tags": [ "2023 Ryder Cup", "44th Ryder Cup", "DP World Tour", "Eamon Lynch", "Marco Simone", "Marco Simone Golf and Country Club", "Architecture", "Courses" ], "summary": "Marco Simone may discombobulate the cast of 24 actors this week, but not with nuance or intricacy. " }, { "id": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/?post_type=listicle&p=778397190", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/lists/2023-ryder-cup-yardage-book-marco-simone-italy-course-guide/", "title": "Check the yardage book: Marco Simone for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy", "content_html": "Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome \u2013 site of the 2023 Ryder Cup between teams from the U.S. and Europe \u2013 originally was designed by David Mezzacane and Jim Fazio and opened in 1989.
\nThe layout was completely renovated in 2018-2020 by a team of European Golf Design led by Dave Sampson in conjunction with Tom Fazio II, a leading American architect and the son of Jim Fazio \u2013 Tom Fazio worked for his dad on the original layout. The renovation included a complete rerouting of the hilly layout with the Ryder Cup in mind. With 155 feet of elevation change across the course, the holes were laid out to favor match play, with several drivable par 4s.
\nMarco Simone \u2013 a public-access layout with tee times available on the course’s website \u2013 will play to a par of 71 with the scorecard showing 7,181 yards. It\u2019s likely the host European team will adjust yardages in attempt to benefit itself. The rough has been reported to be deep and thick heading into the Ryder Cup, putting an emphasis on accurate tee shots to relatively tight fairways.
\nThanks to a yardage book\u00a0provided by StrackaLine\u00a0\u2013 the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world \u2013 we can see exactly the challenges the players face at the Ryder Cup. Check out the maps of each hole below.
\n", "content_text": "Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome \u2013 site of the 2023 Ryder Cup between teams from the U.S. and Europe \u2013 originally was designed by David Mezzacane and Jim Fazio and opened in 1989.\nThe layout was completely renovated in 2018-2020 by a team of European Golf Design led by Dave Sampson in conjunction with Tom Fazio II, a leading American architect and the son of Jim Fazio \u2013 Tom Fazio worked for his dad on the original layout. The renovation included a complete rerouting of the hilly layout with the Ryder Cup in mind. With 155 feet of elevation change across the course, the holes were laid out to favor match play, with several drivable par 4s.\nMarco Simone \u2013 a public-access layout with tee times available on the course’s website \u2013 will play to a par of 71 with the scorecard showing 7,181 yards. It\u2019s likely the host European team will adjust yardages in attempt to benefit itself. The rough has been reported to be deep and thick heading into the Ryder Cup, putting an emphasis on accurate tee shots to relatively tight fairways.\nThanks to a yardage book\u00a0provided by StrackaLine\u00a0\u2013 the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world \u2013 we can see exactly the challenges the players face at the Ryder Cup. Check out the maps of each hole below.", "date_published": "2023-09-25T07:00:36-04:00", "date_modified": "2023-09-25T17:34:26-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Jason Lusk", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/jllusk/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/0ef9fa589fc62892cabe2c57919bc689?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "Jason Lusk", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/jllusk/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/0ef9fa589fc62892cabe2c57919bc689?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" }, "image": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/lede-S.S.-Golf-Marco-Simone-Championship-_Fairway07.jpg", "tags": [ "Italy", "Marco Simone", "Marco Simone Golf and Country Club", "Rome", "Ryder Cup", "StrackaLine", "Tom Fazio", "Yardage Book", "2023 Ryder Cup", "Architecture", "Courses", "Courses", "Euro Tour", "PGA Tour", "Professional" ], "summary": "Marco Simone, a par 72 that will play 7,268 yards for the Ryder Cup. is a public-access layout with tee times available. " }, { "id": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/?p=778397240", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2023/09/22/jim-nantz-mark-haugejorde-tepetonka/", "title": "Jim Nantz is helping his college teammate create a golf destination in Minnesota", "content_html": "NEW LONDON, Minn. \u2013 Even before Jim Nantz stepped foot on property at Tepetonka Club, he dubbed it “Minnesota’s masterpiece.”
\nThose words had a nice alliterative ring to them but now that he had toured the grounds for the first time, including what will become The Prox, a short course to be designed there by the team of Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking and Ashley Meade, in the western corner of the Land of 10,000 Lakes, he smiled and doubled down, declaring in his familiar voice, \u201cThis land will become world-renowned.\u201d
\nNantz, the 64-year-old voice of CBS whom sports fans have welcomed into their living rooms and mancaves for more than three decades, may have a thing or two to do with that. He\u2019s serving as design consultant on The Prox but as he so elegantly put it, \u201cThis is like centuries ago telling Michelangelo as he painted the Sistine Chapel, ‘Why don\u2019t you do this?'”
\nNantz’s only golf architecture credit to his name consists of a backyard hole, a miniaturized replica of the seventh at Pebble Beach Golf Links, that he created not far from the real thing. So, why is he being allowed in the sandbox to draw up holes? In a word, friendship, but stick around for the full story.
\nMark Haugejorde\u2019s special bond with Nantz dates 46 years back to their college days. They were teammates on the University of Houston men\u2019s golf team and famed coach Dave Williams assigned Haugejorde, a senior at the time, to befriend the freshmen, which included Nantz, Fred Couples and another future PGA Tour winner, Blaine McCallister.
\n\u201cHe was this scrawny kid and all he wanted to be was a sportscaster,\u201d Haugejorde said of Nantz.
\n![\"Tepetonka](\"https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/20.jpeg\")
Blue-tipped flags mark tees, red-tipped flags the center lines and green-tipped stakes for the greens at Tepetonka Club in Minnesota. (Courtesy Tepetonka Club)
Houston\u2019s golf team was a juggernaut, winning 16 NCAA titles in a span of 30 years, though Nantz is quick to point out he contributed nothing to the cause.
\n\u201cI was without question \u2013 I\u2019m not trying to be humble about it \u2013 the worst player in the history of the program,\u201d he said.
\nBut Williams didn’t become a legendary coach without learning to build a team where every player had a role and he carved out a special one for Nantz.
\n“I was kind of the den mother,” Nantz recalled. \u201cI think he saw in me as someone who was a real goal-minded individual because the first time I met him I told him I didn\u2019t want to be a professional golfer, I wanted to talk about professional golfers. I wanted to work for CBS since I was 11 years old. I wanted to call and host the Masters. That was what the dream was that was in my heart. So, he found a role for me. He put me in a room with the three best incoming freshmen. At the time, I was working hard to crack the top 10 and try to get close to the top 5 that would play the tournament. But I made sure every day that my roommates got up, ate breakfast, went off to school and did their homework.”
\n\n\n\nGeoff Ogilvy speaking about Tepetonka Club, a private destination club that OCM is building two hours west of Minneapolis. Check out my story here: https://t.co/wucZy79EVM pic.twitter.com/391ol3kVYD
\n— Adam Schupak (@AdamSchupak) September 22, 2023
Nantz recalled Haugejorde as \u201ca towering presence for us incoming freshmen and generous to us too as young kids.\u201d They stayed in touch and a few years ago Haugejorde visited Nantz in California and they played a round at Cypress Point Club and had dinner at Pebble Beach. Haugejorde shared his dream to build a golf course, much like his father, who during a stint in the military was asked to build a golf course for the officer\u2019s club in Japan in 1947. Later, his father spearheaded efforts to build Little Crow Country Club (now a 27-hole facility known as Little Crow Resort), a public course, two hours west of Minneapolis. Haugejorde picked up the game there and won the 1973 high school state championship. He was convinced that he had found land for a course and a motivated seller but when his business partner walked the site, he had to level with Haugejorde: \u201cMark, it\u2019s just not special,\u201d he said. Back to the drawing board.
\nAny sports fan worth his salt knows how the dreams of those young Houston golfers that Haugejorde looked after during his senior year panned out.
\n\u201cFred said he\u2019s going to win the Masters. That\u2019s all we ever talked about. That it was going to happen,\u201d said Nantz, of what came to fruition in 1992. \u201cAnd they all looked at me like naturally I was going to work for CBS one day. Not that I was entitled to it, but they were living the dream with me and they\u2019ve lived it every step of the way for 38 years. They\u2019ve been with me and I\u2019m grateful for that. We were this amazing group of believers. I believed in them, they believed in me and our lives turned out the way we wanted them to be.\u201d
\n![\"Tepetonka](\"https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/IMG_5240.jpg\")
A clearing for a future tee box at Tepetonka Club. (Photo: Adam Schupak/Golfweek)
On May 22, 2021, just a few months after dinner with Nantz at Pebble, Haugejorde was driving his 94-year-old mother to Little Crow to play nine holes. Coasting past land where he used to pheasant hunt as a kid, he took a left turn and was struck by the expanse of farmland, the beautiful cedars and a ravine and slowed his roll as he continued half a mile down a gravel road. He looked out the window and said, \u201cThat\u2019s it.\u201d
\nHe stopped the car and used onX, an app used by hunters with GPS tracker, waypoints, property lines and accurate land ownership names, to mark the spot and took a picture at 8:21 a.m.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s going to be framed,\u201d Haugejorde said.
\nThe land, which has plenty of movement, reminded the architectural team of Ogilvy, Cocking and Meade of the sand hills of St. Andrews Beach back home in their native Melbourne, Australia. There\u2019s Shakopee Creek, a tributary of the Chippewa River, which cuts through a quarter of Tepetonka’s property. Visiting the property for the first time over Easter weekend, the Aussies had to borrow jackets from Haugejorde when snow fell. Inside the warmth of Haugejorde’s mother’s lake home, Cocking and Meade sat with laptops facing each other as if they were playing Battleship as Ogilvy looked over their shoulders at the topography of the land.
\n\u201cI was just doing laps around the table as we went back and forth saying, \u2018What if we did this? What if we did that?\u2019 \u201d said Ogilvy, the former U.S. Open winner.
\n![\"\"](\"https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/IMG_5238.jpg\")
The future site of “The Dead End,” one of the comfort and refreshment stands to be built at Tepetonka Club. (Adam Schupak/Golfweek)
OCM figured they could get a hole or two along Shakopee Creek but it turns out the water will weave in and out of play and should be visually or strategically involved in the layout on seven or eight occasions. Some cut lines, paths and tree removal are underway with blue-tipped flags marking tees, red-tipped flags for the center lines and green-tipped stakes for the greens. Construction will commence in 2024 with a course opening scheduled for 2025.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty well-worn marketing spiel that was used a lot on sites like this that God intended this to be a golf course. But it\u2019s quite amazing how suited the land is to golf,\u201d Cocking said. “It\u2019s on coastal sand dunes. The spacing of the dunes and size of the dunes, the contours and scale of the dunes basically play through the valleys or the tops of the dunes, from dune to dune.\u201d
\nWhen Haugejorde let Nantz know he had found his property, Nantz agreed to join as a founding member and tabbed the project his pal\u2019s \u201ctrue calling.\u201d
\n\u201cHe\u2019s finishing that script,\u201d Nantz said. \u201cHis father brought golf to this area. Now he’s going to bring this part of the world and golf to the whole nation to see something this state has never seen before. He has these three genius guys to shape this land to make this an iconic place. He could not have chosen a better team, and it is a team, which is another thing I really admire about them.\u201d
\nTepetonka is Minnesota\u2019s first entry into the private golf destinations category. The whole notion of destination golf began with Nebraska\u2019s Sand Hills in 1994 and the model of excellence was defined by Oregon\u2019s Bandon Dunes, which serves resort play, in 1999. If Bandon Dunes\u2019 owner Mike Keiser had asked the National Golf Foundation to conduct a feasibility study, NGF president and CEO Joe Beditz said the answer would have been, why bother? In short, no metrics would have advised building one course let alone five that have each become bucket-list destinations. But what was once bold and audacious now is becoming commonplace.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s where most of the industry is moving right now,” Beditz said. “In a survey we did just last week, 5 million golfers, 1 out of 4, are highly interested in visiting destination golf. The demand is there. Baby boomers are 59-77 years old with 10,000 a day reaching the retirement age of 65. The demand for a product like this especially in the vacuum of Minnesota is brilliant and I think it will become part of a very important Midwest rota as it pertains to golf.\u201d
\nAnd so just last month Nantz flew in to West Central Minnesota ahead of broadcasting the BMW Championship in suburban Chicago and walked The Prox and broke bread with Haugejorde, several of his fellow founding members and \u201cthe three geniuses\u201dwho will integrate the short course into Tepetonka\u2019s practice facility.
\n\u201cI\u2019m in awe of these three,\u201d Nantz said of OCM. \u201cI don\u2019t know what I can impart at all because they\u2019re on top of it. I\u2019ve been lucky enough that I\u2019ve spent a lot of my life around the greatest golf courses in the world. I\u2019ve been a member at some of the finest golf courses in the world. I need golf like I need oxygen. And I know when I see things that are done the right way. If there is anything that I see that can make the club a little better, I will talk to my buddy Mark or Haugie.\u201d
\nNantz could have his pick of the litter of golf courses to associate his brand with if he wanted to. Make no mistake, he is here because of his fellowship with his fellow Cougar.
\n\u201cWhen a brother comes over and says I\u2019d like you to be a part of this, it\u2019s all coming back full circle for me. I believe in him. I believe what\u2019s inside that heart and inside that head. I believe he has great judgment,\u201d Nantz said. \u201cI plan on spending some time here. I\u2019m at a point in my life where I want to do the things that make me happy. I think I always have but early in your career you\u2019re trying to make sure you do all the right steps and your career is growing and you\u2019re trying to manage a family at the same time, which is more important than anything. I\u2019ve been able to do all that. The things that I want to hitch my wagon to these days are the two most important things: with people I want to be with and as a father.”
\nNantz continued: \u201cI want to bring my son here. I want to bring my friends here. It\u2019s going to be great. This is just early stages, lots to do but it\u2019s amazing to see where they\u2019ve already gotten with the routing, the plan, the vision. It\u2019s an incredible team. I can promise you one thing: Haugie\u2019s going to make you proud, he\u2019s going to make Minnesota proud. And I\u2019m going to sit back and cheer him on every step of the way, just like we did for one another 46 years ago at the University of Houston.\u201d
\n\n\n\n", "content_text": "NEW LONDON, Minn. \u2013 Even before Jim Nantz stepped foot on property at Tepetonka Club, he dubbed it “Minnesota’s masterpiece.”\nThose words had a nice alliterative ring to them but now that he had toured the grounds for the first time, including what will become The Prox, a short course to be designed there by the team of Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Cocking and Ashley Meade, in the western corner of the Land of 10,000 Lakes, he smiled and doubled down, declaring in his familiar voice, \u201cThis land will become world-renowned.\u201d\nNantz, the 64-year-old voice of CBS whom sports fans have welcomed into their living rooms and mancaves for more than three decades, may have a thing or two to do with that. He\u2019s serving as design consultant on The Prox but as he so elegantly put it, \u201cThis is like centuries ago telling Michelangelo as he painted the Sistine Chapel, ‘Why don\u2019t you do this?'”\nNantz’s only golf architecture credit to his name consists of a backyard hole, a miniaturized replica of the seventh at Pebble Beach Golf Links, that he created not far from the real thing. So, why is he being allowed in the sandbox to draw up holes? In a word, friendship, but stick around for the full story.\nMark Haugejorde\u2019s special bond with Nantz dates 46 years back to their college days. They were teammates on the University of Houston men\u2019s golf team and famed coach Dave Williams assigned Haugejorde, a senior at the time, to befriend the freshmen, which included Nantz, Fred Couples and another future PGA Tour winner, Blaine McCallister.\n\u201cHe was this scrawny kid and all he wanted to be was a sportscaster,\u201d Haugejorde said of Nantz.\nBlue-tipped flags mark tees, red-tipped flags the center lines and green-tipped stakes for the greens at Tepetonka Club in Minnesota. (Courtesy Tepetonka Club)\nHouston\u2019s golf team was a juggernaut, winning 16 NCAA titles in a span of 30 years, though Nantz is quick to point out he contributed nothing to the cause.\n\u201cI was without question \u2013 I\u2019m not trying to be humble about it \u2013 the worst player in the history of the program,\u201d he said.\nBut Williams didn’t become a legendary coach without learning to build a team where every player had a role and he carved out a special one for Nantz.\n“I was kind of the den mother,” Nantz recalled. \u201cI think he saw in me as someone who was a real goal-minded individual because the first time I met him I told him I didn\u2019t want to be a professional golfer, I wanted to talk about professional golfers. I wanted to work for CBS since I was 11 years old. I wanted to call and host the Masters. That was what the dream was that was in my heart. So, he found a role for me. He put me in a room with the three best incoming freshmen. At the time, I was working hard to crack the top 10 and try to get close to the top 5 that would play the tournament. But I made sure every day that my roommates got up, ate breakfast, went off to school and did their homework.”\n\nGeoff Ogilvy speaking about Tepetonka Club, a private destination club that OCM is building two hours west of Minneapolis. Check out my story here: https://t.co/wucZy79EVM pic.twitter.com/391ol3kVYD\n— Adam Schupak (@AdamSchupak) September 22, 2023\n\nNantz recalled Haugejorde as \u201ca towering presence for us incoming freshmen and generous to us too as young kids.\u201d They stayed in touch and a few years ago Haugejorde visited Nantz in California and they played a round at Cypress Point Club and had dinner at Pebble Beach. Haugejorde shared his dream to build a golf course, much like his father, who during a stint in the military was asked to build a golf course for the officer\u2019s club in Japan in 1947. Later, his father spearheaded efforts to build Little Crow Country Club (now a 27-hole facility known as Little Crow Resort), a public course, two hours west of Minneapolis. Haugejorde picked up the game there and won the 1973 high school state championship. He was convinced that he had found land for a course and a motivated seller but when his business partner walked the site, he had to level with Haugejorde: \u201cMark, it\u2019s just not special,\u201d he said. Back to the drawing board.\nAny sports fan worth his salt knows how the dreams of those young Houston golfers that Haugejorde looked after during his senior year panned out.\n\u201cFred said he\u2019s going to win the Masters. That\u2019s all we ever talked about. That it was going to happen,\u201d said Nantz, of what came to fruition in 1992. \u201cAnd they all looked at me like naturally I was going to work for CBS one day. Not that I was entitled to it, but they were living the dream with me and they\u2019ve lived it every step of the way for 38 years. They\u2019ve been with me and I\u2019m grateful for that. We were this amazing group of believers. I believed in them, they believed in me and our lives turned out the way we wanted them to be.\u201d\nA clearing for a future tee box at Tepetonka Club. (Photo: Adam Schupak/Golfweek)\nOn May 22, 2021, just a few months after dinner with Nantz at Pebble, Haugejorde was driving his 94-year-old mother to Little Crow to play nine holes. Coasting past land where he used to pheasant hunt as a kid, he took a left turn and was struck by the expanse of farmland, the beautiful cedars and a ravine and slowed his roll as he continued half a mile down a gravel road. He looked out the window and said, \u201cThat\u2019s it.\u201d\nHe stopped the car and used onX, an app used by hunters with GPS tracker, waypoints, property lines and accurate land ownership names, to mark the spot and took a picture at 8:21 a.m.\n\u201cIt\u2019s going to be framed,\u201d Haugejorde said.\nThe land, which has plenty of movement, reminded the architectural team of Ogilvy, Cocking and Meade of the sand hills of St. Andrews Beach back home in their native Melbourne, Australia. There\u2019s Shakopee Creek, a tributary of the Chippewa River, which cuts through a quarter of Tepetonka’s property. Visiting the property for the first time over Easter weekend, the Aussies had to borrow jackets from Haugejorde when snow fell. Inside the warmth of Haugejorde’s mother’s lake home, Cocking and Meade sat with laptops facing each other as if they were playing Battleship as Ogilvy looked over their shoulders at the topography of the land.\n\u201cI was just doing laps around the table as we went back and forth saying, \u2018What if we did this? What if we did that?\u2019 \u201d said Ogilvy, the former U.S. Open winner.\nThe future site of “The Dead End,” one of the comfort and refreshment stands to be built at Tepetonka Club. (Adam Schupak/Golfweek)\nOCM figured they could get a hole or two along Shakopee Creek but it turns out the water will weave in and out of play and should be visually or strategically involved in the layout on seven or eight occasions. Some cut lines, paths and tree removal are underway with blue-tipped flags marking tees, red-tipped flags for the center lines and green-tipped stakes for the greens. Construction will commence in 2024 with a course opening scheduled for 2025.\n\u201cIt\u2019s a pretty well-worn marketing spiel that was used a lot on sites like this that God intended this to be a golf course. But it\u2019s quite amazing how suited the land is to golf,\u201d Cocking said. “It\u2019s on coastal sand dunes. The spacing of the dunes and size of the dunes, the contours and scale of the dunes basically play through the valleys or the tops of the dunes, from dune to dune.\u201d\nWhen Haugejorde let Nantz know he had found his property, Nantz agreed to join as a founding member and tabbed the project his pal\u2019s \u201ctrue calling.\u201d\n\u201cHe\u2019s finishing that script,\u201d Nantz said. \u201cHis father brought golf to this area. Now he’s going to bring this part of the world and golf to the whole nation to see something this state has never seen before. He has these three genius guys to shape this land to make this an iconic place. He could not have chosen a better team, and it is a team, which is another thing I really admire about them.\u201d\nTepetonka is Minnesota\u2019s first entry into the private golf destinations category. The whole notion of destination golf began with Nebraska\u2019s Sand Hills in 1994 and the model of excellence was defined by Oregon\u2019s Bandon Dunes, which serves resort play, in 1999. If Bandon Dunes\u2019 owner Mike Keiser had asked the National Golf Foundation to conduct a feasibility study, NGF president and CEO Joe Beditz said the answer would have been, why bother? In short, no metrics would have advised building one course let alone five that have each become bucket-list destinations. But what was once bold and audacious now is becoming commonplace.\n\u201cThat\u2019s where most of the industry is moving right now,” Beditz said. “In a survey we did just last week, 5 million golfers, 1 out of 4, are highly interested in visiting destination golf. The demand is there. Baby boomers are 59-77 years old with 10,000 a day reaching the retirement age of 65. The demand for a product like this especially in the vacuum of Minnesota is brilliant and I think it will become part of a very important Midwest rota as it pertains to golf.\u201d\nAnd so just last month Nantz flew in to West Central Minnesota ahead of broadcasting the BMW Championship in suburban Chicago and walked The Prox and broke bread with Haugejorde, several of his fellow founding members and \u201cthe three geniuses\u201dwho will integrate the short course into Tepetonka\u2019s practice facility.\n\u201cI\u2019m in awe of these three,\u201d Nantz said of OCM. \u201cI don\u2019t know what I can impart at all because they\u2019re on top of it. I\u2019ve been lucky enough that I\u2019ve spent a lot of my life around the greatest golf courses in the world. I\u2019ve been a member at some of the finest golf courses in the world. I need golf like I need oxygen. And I know when I see things that are done the right way. If there is anything that I see that can make the club a little better, I will talk to my buddy Mark or Haugie.\u201d\nNantz could have his pick of the litter of golf courses to associate his brand with if he wanted to. Make no mistake, he is here because of his fellowship with his fellow Cougar.\n\u201cWhen a brother comes over and says I\u2019d like you to be a part of this, it\u2019s all coming back full circle for me. I believe in him. I believe what\u2019s inside that heart and inside that head. I believe he has great judgment,\u201d Nantz said. \u201cI plan on spending some time here. I\u2019m at a point in my life where I want to do the things that make me happy. I think I always have but early in your career you\u2019re trying to make sure you do all the right steps and your career is growing and you\u2019re trying to manage a family at the same time, which is more important than anything. I\u2019ve been able to do all that. The things that I want to hitch my wagon to these days are the two most important things: with people I want to be with and as a father.”\nNantz continued: \u201cI want to bring my son here. I want to bring my friends here. It\u2019s going to be great. This is just early stages, lots to do but it\u2019s amazing to see where they\u2019ve already gotten with the routing, the plan, the vision. It\u2019s an incredible team. I can promise you one thing: Haugie\u2019s going to make you proud, he\u2019s going to make Minnesota proud. And I\u2019m going to sit back and cheer him on every step of the way, just like we did for one another 46 years ago at the University of Houston.\u201d\n\n\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\tRelated\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\tPGA of America's 2023 Hall of Fame class includes Kathy Whitworth, Jim Nantz\n\n\t\t\t\n\tWatch: Jim Nantz surprises Minnesota high school football team at practice\n\n\t\t\t\n\tJim Nantz named design consultant on short course at club being designed by Geoff Ogilvy and his partners at OCM\n\n\t\t\t\n\tDid Jim Nantz throw another zinger at LIV Golf during the PGA Championship? It appears so", "date_published": "2023-09-22T07:00:45-04:00", "date_modified": "2023-09-24T21:00:42-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Adam Schupak", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/shoop007/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c770dcffbdb4a77bab2df2cc7e89690f?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" } ], "author": { "name": "Adam Schupak", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/author/shoop007/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/c770dcffbdb4a77bab2df2cc7e89690f?s=512&d=identicon&r=g" }, "image": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/87/2023/09/10.jpeg", "tags": [ "Jim Nantz", "Mark Haugejorde", "Tepetonka", "Architecture", "Courses" ], "summary": "\"He's going to bring this part of the world and golf to the whole nation to see something this state has never seen before.\" " }, { "id": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/?post_type=listicle&p=778395497", "url": "https://golfweek.usatoday.com/lists/tom-doak-partners-with-enthusiastic-investor-to-revive-high-pointe-in-michigan/", "title": "Tom Doak partners with enthusiastic investor to revive High Pointe in Michigan", "content_html": "WILLIAMSBURG, Mich. \u2013 Tom Doak was a newcomer as a solo golf architect when he planted his first flags in the ground near Traverse City at High Pointe Golf Club, which opened in 1989. Now he\u2019s finding help from another industry newcomer in bringing much of the course back from the dead.
\nJust 26 years old when he built High Pointe, Doak spent 60-plus hours a week shaping the layout that climbed a hill through dense trees. To this day \u2013 after dozens of courses built, several of them among the most highly regarded in the world \u2013 High Pointe\u2019s greens were the only of his putting surfaces he shaped entirely by himself.
\nThe following decades weren\u2019t kind to High Pointe, which despite having achieved a relatively high level of acclaim was shuttered by its former owners after the 2008 season. It was less a statement on the design and more a sign of troubled financial times and a lack of interest by the owners. Doak had moved on to bigger and better projects, establishing himself as one of the best modern golf architects. But the Michigan resident always maintained a soft spot for his first layout, the front nine of which was converted into a hop farm.
\n\nAnd while High Pointe failed as a daily-fee business, interest in the layout never ceased. Fans of architecture often speculated on a resurrection of Doak\u2019s first course. There were still holes on the ground.
\nEnter Rod Trump \u2013 no relation to the former President, a question asked so frequently that Rod clears things up early in conversation. An investor who has found success largely in tech sectors, Trump wanted to buy a golf course and get into a new business he believes he will love. Aside from working capital, he has provided a seemingly boundless reservoir of enthusiasm after partnering with Doak to revive High Pointe as an elite national private club.
\n\u201cAnybody that\u2019s a fan of golf architecture who\u2019s heard of this story, becomes instantly captivated by it,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI think Tom has \u2026 I don\u2019t want to call it a cult-like following, but people who like Tom, they love Tom. He is exceptionally authentic, and he is who he is.
\n\u201cI guess we\u2019re all dreamers in a way. The more I got into it, the deeper I went. It has proved to be an even more compelling story than I believed it would be.\u201d
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