The First Call 04-15-2022

FIRST THOUGHT

Short has been chic lately in golf course design -- as in short courses. According to the National Golf Foundation, six of the 19 new courses opening last year were short courses, including headliners like the Tiger Woods-redesigned Hay Course at Pebble Beach and The Baths at Blackwolf Run in Wisconsin. Other high-profile par-3 course openings in recent years have been at Bandon Dunes, Big Cedar Lodge and Sand Valley. In the overall picture of U.S. golf course inventory, par-3 and executive (defined as par 60 to 66, generally on smaller tracts of land) golf facilities comprise about 10 percent of all courses.

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> Question of the Week: What are your thoughts of this year's Masters — likes, dislikes, favorite moment?
Send replies on this question or other topics to shall@morningread.com. For your response to be published, you must include first and last name, along with city and state of residence. Read last week's responses.

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READ, WATCH, LISTEN

> Jack Nicklaus influenced young golfers long before Tiger Woods came along [Rob Oller | Columbus Dispatch | Read]

> What it's like to play Augusta National the Monday after the Masters [Colin McDonald | Morning Read | Read]

> 'I was a drug addict with a PGA Tour card' [Mark Baldwin | Fire Pit Collective | Read]

Q&A: Bob Parsons | PXG founder / CEO

The 71-year-old billionaire-entrepreneur discusses PXG's latest line of Gen5 clubs and the unorthodox approach to creating golf clubs and doing business

FACT OF THE DAY

DID YOU KNOW?

Scheduled for Oct. 6-9, the Epson Tour Championship, previously known as the Symetra Tour Championship, has a purse set at $250,000. In 2013, the purse was set at $125,000, marking a 100% increase in purse size over nine years.

Source: Longitudes Group

THE INDUSTRY

PXG launches Gen5 lineup of drivers, fairways, hybrids and irons

All-new golf clubs are ready to ship

Hurricane Junior Golf Tour, Sqairz launch Junior Long Drive Series

Golfers who play in Tour events can participate in the Series; each first-place winner per division will be qualified for national championship in December

Announced: By the PGA Tour, a long-term commitment to staging the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia, with the global team competition returning in 2028 and 2040 at venues to be named later.

ICYMI

How a $3 bet launched a company

In a new episode of the ModGolf Podcast, how a 'Buddy Bet' became a big business

Listen

#QOTD

"If you set your goals ridiculously high and it's a failure, you will fail above everyone else's success."

— James Cameron

ROUNDS AND WEATHER

> It was another low demand week for golf, mostly due to increased precipitation, with rounds played finishing down -22% vs last year.

> Despite better playing temperatures across the country, many regions were hit with heavy rainfall this week. The Mountain Pacific and California regions, specifically, were up by over 150% for precipitation vs 2021.

> Florida finished as the top performing region vs 2021 this past week, due to decreased rainfall and cooler temperatures.

> Positive performance expected to continue from the Florida region, with the area on pace to finish up vs 2021 by over 36% for rounds played for the next 5 days.

TUNING IN

PGA Tour: RBC Heritage
Site: Harbour Town Golf Links, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina | GCSAA Fact Sheet
Television: Today, 3-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).

LPGA Tour: Lotte Championship
Site: Hoakalei Golf Club, Honolulu, Hawaii | GCSAA Fact Sheet
Television: Today-Saturday, 7-11 p.m. (Golf Channel).

CALENDAR

JUNE
7: Women's Golf Day | Info
22-23: LPGA Leadership Academy, Saginaw, Mich. | Info

JULY
13-14: LPGA Leadership Academy, Liberty Corner, N.J. | Info
19-20: LPGA Leadership Academy, Gainesville, Va. | Info
26-27: Multi-Course and Resort Operators Retreat, Charleston, S.C.

AUGUST
1-2: LPGA Leadership Academy, Newcastle, Wash. | Info

JANUARY 2023
24-27: PGA Show, Orlando, Fla. | Info

To submit events for the calendar, please include the event name, date, location and informational link to info@firstcallgolf.com.

LAST CALL

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