Mark Blackburn might not have the ubiquitous name recognition of Butch Harmon, his immediate predecessor as Golf Digest’s No. 1 teacher and headliner of the new class of Golf Digest Legends of Golf Instruction. But among his peers—and the PGA Tour’s best players—the Alabama-based Blackburn has built a formidable reputation. The 2020 PGA Teacher & Read more…
There’s a new face at the top of Golf Digest’s biennial 50 Best Teachers rankings, but if you’ve been watching any PGA Tour golf the last few years, it’s probably one you recognize. Mark Blackburn is the new No. 1 and recipient of the first-ever Butch Harmon Award, named for the longtime No. 1 who Read more…
Michael Baxter, Baxter Imaging LLC The “off-course” part of the golf business—think Topgolf, Popstroke and the like—is exploding, and that’s not even a joke at the expense of the TGL and its season-cancelling dome deflation. Topgolf is a billion-dollar business, and its revenue has increased by more than 15 percent so far this year. It’s Read more…
Assessments are a fact of life for many private-club members, but a new one coming to those who belong to famed Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., might stick in the collective craw. The iconic Detroit-area club is about to break ground on the replacement for its clubhouse—which burned down in a spectacular Read more…
If you’ve ever been annoyed about having to wait in line for a parking shuttle or walk across four fairways to get a $15 bratwurst, here’s your chance to do something about it. The USGA has posted an opening for a job helping run U.S. Open logistics. The director of U.S. Open Championships is responsible Read more…
How exactly would an interested investor evaluate a LIV franchise for potential investment? How would that potential investment compare to investing in other professional sports teams?
If joining the PGA Tour’s network of TPC courses isn’t enough for you, now you have the chance to be an owner. The super-plush TPC Jasna Polana in Princeton, N.J., is for sale, and the owners are taking bids on the 222-acre former estate of a Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical heir. Gary Player was commissioned Read more…
If Rory McIlroy can’t address slow play on the course, he’ll be able to get some satisfaction with his latest investment. McIlroy is one of a star-studded set of new investors in the Alpine Formula One team, joining athletes and pop star boyfriends like NFL players Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and champion boxer Anthony Read more…
The “retro” swings Michael Jacobs captured on his sophisticated motion-analysis software reinforce the notion that those of us who play today have it pretty good compared to our golf-playing ancestors.
Not many people have mixed allegiances in an event as partisan as the Ryder Cup, but Golf Digest 50 Best Teacher Mark Blackburn considers himself true “Switzerland”—in the neutral sense, not the European sense—this week. It’s more than just the fact that he’s from England but is married to an American and lives in Birmingham, Read more…
In golf, nobody creates a collectible feeding frenzy like Tiger Woods. The latest sale from The Golf Auction just reinforces that point. Up for bid? The official competitor scorecard from Woods’ first-ever round at the U.S. Open—the 74 he signed for at Shinnecock in 1995. Woods’ scrawl might be the second most familiar autograph in Read more…
If you judge solely on the ubiquity of suburban mini-golf courses in America, it’s not complicated to slap some synthetic turf on a concrete pad and get a durable surface that handles foot traffic and offers a predictable roll. But comparing that $12-and-a-clown’s-mouth experience to the synthetic golf landscapes Weston Weber builds for clients is Read more…
Calling a certain property a “lifestyle” is usually marketing lingo for an amenity like a community pool. This investment property in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., is the real deal for the golf enthusiast. Included in the $1.3 million asking price is a driving-range business, a miniature golf course and a golf-ball-shaped four-bedroom house. The range and Read more…
In golf (and most other sports), when the tournament is over so is your opportunity to get the results changed because of a potential rules violation. If Felipe Massa has his way, that won’t be the case in Formula 1 racing. The Brazilian driver was caught up in the famous “Crashgate” scandal of 2008 when Read more…
Whatever growing pains the new Tiger Woods/Rory McIlroy conceived TGL indoor golf league has during its startup phase, they won’t come from lack of resources. New York Mets owner Steve Cohen has made a deal to buy the New York franchise, joining Serena Williams and Alex Ohanian (Los Angeles), Fenway Sports Group (Boston) and Atlanta Read more…
Hit it 10 yards farther (driver), half a club longer (irons), three feet tighter (wedge game) and 12 inches closer (putts). That’s your winning formula
No, the winner of this week’s Open Championship and its $US3 million first-place check won’t be a hardship case who will have to hitchhike home. However, competing in a UK tournament as an American-based player can be shockingly expensive—and not just because of the cost of flying private across the Atlantic.
Australian Golf Digest
