The Starter no.6

We’d rather be golfing. We’d actually rather be heading to the College Football Playoff. I took a pause from fulfilling rewards for our referral program on Sunday afternoon to get kicked in the stomach by the realization that, for the first time, an undefeated major college football program was not going to have the opportunity to compete for a national championship. To make it worse, I would’ve preferred if today’s partner 1440 Media (check them out!) were broadcasting the selection show as the SEC bias from the majority of the talking heads at ESPN was more than I could handle. Now I sit here, struggling to believe that we were left out, rotating through a Spotify playlist of late 90’s emo hits, and asking myself “Is this how Keegan Bradley felt this summer?” - MM

Much Ado About Nothing?

The distance dilemma has taken center stage since news broke last Friday that the USGA and R&A were set to soon announce a revision to the way golf balls are tested with the intended goal of rolling back distance in golf for amateurs and professionals alike.

How did we get here?

Hitting distances and the lengths of golf courses have been increasing for more than a 100 years, but it wasn’t until the beginning of the 21st century that golf’s governing bodies began to address the concerns associated with increased length. The USGA and R&A first addressed the topic in 2002 via their Joint Statement of Principles. Sixteen years later, in May of 2018, they initiated the Distance Insights Project to provide a comprehensive review of hitting distance in golf. In February of 2020, the Distance Insights Report was released providing conclusions from the 20+ months of research and outlining nexts steps to curb a continuing cycle of distance increases that was deemed detrimental to the long-term future of the game.

To bifurcate, or not to bifurcate, that is the question.

At least that was the question posed to professionals upon the release of the Distance Insights Report. The report recommended that professional tournament sites, including major championships, implemented a local rule that would specify use of clubs and/or balls intended to result in shorter hitting. The concept of golf ball bifurcation was born as the implementation of this local rule would lead tour professionals to play different balls and/or equipment than the amateur or recreational player. This consideration was met with resistance by the numerous parties that had vested interest in golf ball manufacturers profiting off of the marketing ploy of every day hackers “playing what the pros play..”

What’s Next?

If you are interested in taking a deeper dive into what this might mean for your particular game, the folks at GolfDigest, who are much more knowledgable on the subject then this humble newsletter, recently outlined and explained 5 different golf ball rollback scenarios.

Ultimately, the rumored changes aren’t scheduled to take full effect until 2030. If that’s the case, what’s the big deal?! Won’t we all be playing the game on simulators in the Metaverse by then anyways?? 🙃 

Listen Up

📻️ Adam Hawk & Ryan Engle rap about the ball rollback at the 20:00 mark of their latest The Fellowship pod.

📻️ Jonathan Wall & Ryan Barath discuss rollback in a special edition of their Fully Equipped pod.

📻️ The Lucas Glover Show debuts tonight at 8pm EST on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio. Can imagine that rollback will be a topic amongst others.

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Team Ball at Tiburon

Thirty-two stars from the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour are set to compete together at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida in the inaugural Grant Thornton Invitational. The unique co-sanctioned team event will see the men and women pair up and vie for an equal share of the $4 million purse.

Teams set to compete

• Madelene Sagstrom & Ludvig Aberg

• Allison Corpuz & Cameron Champ

• Brooke Henderson & Corey Conners

• Lilia Vu & Joel Dahmen

• Lydia Ko & Jason Day

• Celine Boutier & Harris English

• Nelly Korda & Tony Finau

• Lexi Thompson & Rickie Fowler

• Leona Maguire & Lucas Glover

• Mel Reid & Russell Henley

• Cheyenne Knight & Tom Hoge

• Andrea Lee & Billy Horschel

• Megan Khang & Denny McCarthy

• Charley Hull & Justin Rose

• Ruoning Yin & Nick Taylor

• Rose Zhang & Sahith Theegala

Betting Favorite: Nelly Korda & Tony Finau (+600)

Can Dean Burmester of Stinger GC(LIV Golf) fame continue to dominate the South Africa leg of the DP World Tour schedule? Coming off back-to-back wins at the South African Open Championship and Joburg Open, Burmester looks to make it three straight at the Alfred Dunhill Championship played at Leopard Creek CC in Malelane, South Africa.

Betting Favorite: Christian Bezuidenhout (+900)

The inaugural World Champions Cup takes place at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida. Take a look at issue no. 5 for more detail on the event. Team USA announced a last minute adjustment to their roster as Vice Captain Billy Andrade will now play in place of injured Captain Jim Furyk.

Betting Favorite: Team USA (+140)

Around the Game

⛳️ Everybody has a Price. The Jon Rahm to LIV Golf rumors have hit overdrive. Early on Tuesday, he was noticeably absent from the announced field for next month’s American Express tournament where he is the defending champion. Then in the evening, chatter about him accepting a $565 million deal to join the rival league hit the wire.

⛳️ Just Don’t Do It. Rumors are swirling that the upcoming PNC Championship will mark the final time Tiger dawns the Nike swoosh.

⛳️ Major League Game. Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz is competing in the final stage of Champions Tour Q-School. The top 5 finishers will earn status for 2024.

⛳️ Throw the Flag. Collin Morikawa expresses his confusion after being docked a two stroke penalty at the Hero World Challenge.

⛳️ And we have a Trade. Fireballs GC and Torque GC complete the first trade in LIV Golf history. Carlos Ortiz heads to Torque in exchange for 21-year-old David Puig.

⛳️ Rookie of the Year. 21-year-old Ryo Hisatsune becomes the first Japanese player to win the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year on the DP World Tour. His stellar season also earned him a PGA Tour card for 2024.

Lessons from Lasso

Oh, Wyndham Clark…sandwiched in second to last place between two players who underwent the same exact back surgery and took nearly a year to return to golf. 🤷‍♂️ This one stung to watch, but I never looked away as I felt compelled to experience every second of regret and shame for my brutal pick. My hero Dolph Lundgren would’ve been disappointed if I hadn’t. 

But, in the awe-inspiring words of Ted Lasso: “Be a goldfish”

The Grant Thornton Invitational…one of one. Switching gears this week as the PGA and LPGA come together for a team event at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida. A Greg Norman design which delivers a taste of true Florida golf with a heavy dose of difficulty as a garnish. The field of 16 teams will play a Scramble on Friday, Alternate Shot on Saturday, and a Modified Four-Ball on Sunday. 

With the limited field this week, my hand has been forced to pick a winner which I know will be under a microscope following my missteps a week ago. The pressure cooker is ready to burst but here we go. At +1100 to win, I like a small play with a big return on Sahith Theegala & Rose Zhang. They are young but have superstar potential, and potential is always something I can work with! Sahith won the QBE Shootout (previous iteration of this event) last year alongside of Tom Hoge. I think Zhang will bring the right balance to this duo and help lead them to a victory.  

My sleeper lean for this week will be a top 5 finish at +210 from Tom Hoge & Cheyenne Knight. As previously mentioned, Hoge won this event last year with Theegala and has a history of going very low in competition, never a bad trait to have in your back pocket. Knight won the ladies team ball event, the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, back in July and went unbeaten in her Solheim Cup debut.

Always remember, sometimes it just takes a piece of “believe”. - BY

Draft Kings DFS 3-Putt Pot

Each week I will give my three strongest value buys for DFS play. I am only getting you started, finishing your line up will be up to you!

• Rose/Hull: $9,700

• English/Boutier: $8,700

• McCarthy/Khang: $7,400

As always, please remember to gamble responsibly

Worth the Follow: The Society of Golf Historians

Sure, The Starter is the newsletter for the modern golfer. But even the modern golfer should have an appreciation for the history of the game. Did you know Richard Peters used an actual pool cue to putt at the very first US Amateur in 1895? Didn’t think so. This is just one of the many interesting facts and stories shared by Connor Lewis who also hosts the popular TalkinGolf History podcast. Love newsletters as much as we do? Subscribe now to “The Society”, Connor’s free newsletter that will begin delivering the fun aspects of the game’s past to inboxes come January.

ICYMI

⛺️ He hit it from where? Joaquin Niemann makes an incredible save from behind a hospital structure in route to a victory at the Australian Open.

🧑‍🍳 Min Woo Tree. Although he surrendered a Sunday lead, the legend of Min Woo Lee continues to grow following this remarkable shot out of the trees in the final round of the Australian Open.

🔥 Hot Rory Take. In a rare social media post, Rory gives his two-cents on the golf ball rollback drama.

🇨🇦 Does it get any cooler than this? RBC Canadian Open updates the tournament logo to include an animation of Nick Taylor’s iconic putter toss on the 18th green of his 2023 win.

👀 Let’s not do this. FLAT doesn’t resonate as well as DMPL.

Whose Drink is it Anyway?

Can you correctly name this golf course favorite?

• 3 oz vodka

• 1.5 oz grape juice

• .25 oz lime juice

• Splash of ginger ale

• Lime wedge and/or frozen grapes for garnish

Name that Golfer

Three clues. Can you name this player?

• 1 career win on the PGA Tour.

• Graduated from the same California high school as Jim Edmonds, Alex Morgan, and Keith Van Horn.

• As a college senior, won all three national player of the year awards (Fred Haskins Award, Ben Hogan Award, and Jack Nicklaus Award).

Issue no. 5 Answers

Golf Scramble: 1. Fairway 2. Dogleg 3. Provisional 4. Stableford 5. Pitch

Name that Golfer: Danielle Kang