Personalities

Robert Trent Jones II and Affordable Public Golf

Few golf course architecture firms have as much global presence and notoriety as that of Robert Trent Jones II, whose most famous works include Spanish Bay at Pebble Beach, Washington’s upcoming US Open venue Chambers Bay, and several hundred others in more than 40 countries.

Jones, Jr. has never been anything less than brutally outspoken, and three years ago he issued his company’s Green Proclamation, a commitment to design golf courses in an environmentally responsible manner. At the same time he called on his peers to likewise dedicate themselves to these environmental tenets.

For 2012, Jones is back at the podium, and just has released a “Public Golf Proclamation,” comprised of ten tenets to support accessible and affordable public golf and bring our beloved game to more people in more places worldwide.

This proclamation follows on the heels of a recent letter to the New York Times, in which Jones, Jr. wrote, “Golf architects are often called upon to design courses that support upscale real estate developments.  But the game’s roots reach down into the Earth, not up into trophy homes.  Golf first developed 500 years ago as an accessible and affordable sport that brought people together outdoors, rather than separating them.  Many great golf courses serve the public and the environment. The future of our sport lies in embracing the Scottish tradition in which all people are equal as they stand over a white...

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Everybody Into The Pool Circa 2012

I have received all the recommendations. I have processed all the data. I have built the Matrix, and my fantasy world is complete. I am ready to play.

My team in 2011 was strong because I had the 2011 Fantasy Player of the Year. Webb Simpson easily earned the most money above his salary cost. Simpson cashed over $6 million at a cost of $1 million. A 6:1 return still didn’t allow me to finish better than 5th place, and didn’t get any honors in the pool. This was because we had three players, Mike Weir, Jamie Lovemark and Michael Sim, who carried an aggregate cost of $3 million and barely cleared $100,000 combined! That was just a killer.

But we won all our side bets in 2011, because all our side bets were designed to fade Tiger Woods. Woods cost his investors $4 million in 2011, and returned a little over $600,000....

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Personalities

  • Golf Magazine's Tumblr site is vivid 1/30/2012

    Jack Nicklaus by Andy Warhol    (Credit: The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.) Golf Magazine, SI Golf + Golf.com have set up a Tumblr site, SI Golf Photos,  filled with fantastic golf photography new and old. To me, golf is a very visual sport and so much of the story is told in images.  The Golf Magazine franchise was smart to set up a Tumblr microblog to capture pictures, quotes, and small tidbits that make the game so interesting. Have you tried Tumblr yet?  What do you think?  What are some other good sources for golf imagery? (Credit: David ...

  • Bill Clinton stamps his imprint on Humana Challenge 1/30/2012

    If Bill Clinton ever tires of having the best job in the world, he might want to consider running for office. The avid golfer and uber-popular former denizen of the Oval Office, who teed it up Saturday as Greg Norman’s amateur partner in the third round of the Humana Challenge, has charmed players, wives, celebrities, fans, and media types all week in his dual roles as savior of the tournament formerly known as the Bob Hope Classic and one-man PR machine for healthy living. The PGA Tour announced last April that it had inked an eight-year deal with new title sponsor Humana ...

  • Move Over, Tiger Woods; Tim Tebow Mania is Out of Control 1/30/2012

    Tim Tebow Mania has reached such epic proportions that the head of CBS Sports believes the emergence of the Denver quarterback as a cultural icon rivals that of Tiger Woods’ explosion onto the worldwide golf stage. And as far as Sean McManus is concerned, he’s hoping for a major upset when the Broncos play the New England Patriots in Saturday night’s AFC divisional playoff game. The only sort of comparison I could make is when Tiger burst onto the scene, he brought in people who had never watched a golf tournament before, who had maybe watched one golf tournament a year, ...

  • Respected golf writer embarks on new career phase 1/30/2012

    In a distinguished career that’s still a work in progress, award-winning sports journalist and golf writer Greg Johnson filed his final stories this past week for The Grand Rapids Press. As the case with many of his colleagues over the past few years, Johnson’s position was eliminated as the 120-year-old newspaper drastically downsized its operations in the new digital age. Although the ending was both sobering and bittersweet, Johnson harbored no regrets and remained upbeat about his future. “I loved my job and loved being a sportswriter,” said Johnson in a phone interview from Tampa where he covered Michigan State’s dramatic ...

  • Miracle of Crystal Downs 1/23/2012

    One of the most highly favored golf invitations comes from off the bluffs near the sleepy town of Frankfort, Michigan.  Nestled peacefully in the hills and valleys near Lake Michigan, I am not speaking of Arcadia Bluffs, certainly a noted course which merits national attention and the desire to play it.    Instead, the journey heads a little farther north on M-22 to an obscure entrance you'll probably bypass the first time.  Find that entrance, keep driving higher and higher through residential trees and glimpses of sapphire waters, and you are well on your way to a place coming closest to ...

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