The First Call 08-04-23

FIRST THOUGHT

Of the 117 respondents to The First Call poll question "Should PGA Tour players be required to play with a rolled back golf ball?" 54% replied "No."

IN THIS ISSUE

> Design Notes: Martin Ebert plan beefs up Hankley Common | Read
> 'Behind the Golf Brand' podcast: Sqairz CEO Robert | Read
> Tom Lehman's touch elevates Cragun’s Resort's status | Read

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Imagine you're the 2023 United States Ryder Cup captain, which 12 players do you want making the trip to Italy in late September?

Send replies on this question or other topics and questions you would like to have asked to shall@buffalogroupe.com. For a response to be published, you must include your first and last name, along with city and state of residence. Read responses to last week's question.

Design Notes: Martin Ebert plan beefs up Hankley Common

Ron Garl sweetens Florida’s Sugar Mill Country Club, Tom Lehman opens his namesake layout at Minnesota’s Cragun’s Resort

TFC PODCAST NETWORK

BEHIND THE GOLF BRAND
How Robert Winskowicz continues to evolve Sqairz
The footwear company's founder and CEO joins host Paul Liberatore to discuss how and why Sqairz was created, and what's in its future
[Listen | More 'Behind the Golf Brand' episodes]

BEHIND THE GOLF BRAND
A look at how far True Linkswear has come
Footwear brand kicked off the podcast series, so CEO Jason Moore and Brandon Wallach, VP of marketing, join host Paul Liberatore to celebrate 100 episodes and discuss the company's journey
[Listen | More 'Behind the Golf Brand' episodes]

THE MODGOLF PODCAST
The quest to amplify fan engagement
Preston Philips, a venture partner with Cerro Capital, joins host Colin Weston to share his quest to leverage technology that enhances the fan and player experience
[Listen | More 'The ModGolf Podcast' episodes]

INDUSTRY NEWS

Club Champion, Tour Experience Golf: Merge branding

Social media accounts, brand messaging and more will now be under one brand name with TXG physical stores represented as Club Champion Canada

True Spec Golf: Recognized by Golf Digest as one of Amerca's top clubfitters

Premium brand-agnostic clubfitter has made Golf Digest’s list every year since the company’s founding

Audubon International: Reports strong member enrollment growth in 2023

Added nearly 20 new members to its Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary for Golf Certification and Green Lodging Certification tracks

PGA Buying & Education Summit: Debuts at PGA Frisco

The 2023 Summit doubled in size since last year’s edition in Las Vegas, welcoming more than 1,000 golf industry professionals from 44 states and eight countries to preview and source Spring 2024 apparel collections, and the latest accessories, equipment and technology

READ, WATCH, LISTEN

> First look at 2024 PGA Tour schedule; 4 designated events to keep 36-hole cut
[Eamon Lynch | Golfweek | Read]

> This rarely-seen video of Ben Hogan showcases one of his golf swing 'secrets'
[Luke Kerr-Dineen | Golf Digest | Read]

> Legal wrangling continues in PGA Tour-LIV antitrust case despite settlement
[Rex Hoggard | Golf Channel | Read]

#QOTD

"A man who trusts nobody is apt to be the kind of man nobody trusts."

— Harold Macmillan

ICYMI

Tom Lehman's touch elevates Cragun’s Resort's status

Former British Open champion renovated Minnesota destination's two courses — one of which will host a PGA Tour Canada event — in hopes of expanding resort's brand beyond state lines

ROUNDS AND WEATHER

> Rounds played finished down 4% last week vs. 2022 due to the heat wave impacting some regions and other regions experiencing elevated levels of precipitation.

The Mountain Pacific region continued to experience record-level temperatures with Phoenix, one of the highest revenue-generating market, experiencing temperatures upwards of 121 degrees, resulting in the region finishing down 8% in rounds vs. 2022.

The North, on the other hand, experienced some of the wettest weather in years. Quebec beat the previous rain record set in 2006, culminating in the region finishing down 5% in rounds vs. prior year.

> Pacing over the next seven days is currently up 28% with all eight regions projected to finish ahead of 2022.

The North currently outpaces prior year by 55%. This is due to the region being forecasted to experience less than half of prior year’s precipitation.

> Days-out booking continues to be slightly further out than last year, suggesting that demand post-COVID-19 is normalizing, but remains elevated as golfers are planning for play well ahead of the time.

TUNING IN

PGA Tour: Wyndham Championship
Site: Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina.
Television [ET]: Today, 2-6 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS).
Leaderboard | GCSAA Fact Sheet

LPGA / Ladies European Tour: Women's Scottish Open
Site: Dundonald Links, Irvine, Scotland.
Television [ET]: Today, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel).
Leaderboard

LIV Golf League: LIV Golf-Greenbrier
Site: The Greenbrier Resort (Old White), White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
Television [ET]: Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (The CW Network).

Korn Ferry Tour: Utah Championship
Site: Oakridge Country Club, Farmington, Utah.
Television [ET]: Today, 6-9 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Leaderboard | GCSAA Fact Sheet

Make Golf Your Career

> Part-Time Head Women's Golf Coach
Indiana University Kokomo
Kokomo, Indiana | Info

> Software Engineer
LPGA
Daytona Beach, Florida | Info

> Director of Business Operations
Seattle Golf Fitness
Mercer Island, Washington | Info

> View a complete listing of jobs

Make Golf Your Career is a golf industry DE&I initiative launched by Make Golf Your Thing that allows job seekers to search, find and apply for opportunities throughout the industry in one place.

CALENDAR

AUGUST
19-22: African American Golf Expo and Forum, Louisville, Ky. | Info

> View complete calendar

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