The First Call 10-06-2022

FIRST THOUGHT

The term birdie-fest aptly applies to TPC Summerlin, host venue for this week's Shriners Children's Open. The course has yielded the most birdies (21,409) than any course on the PGA Tour since 2010. Sedgefield Country Club (21,147, Wyndham Championship) and TPC Deere Run (20,173, John Deere Classic) are second and third, respectively.

> Question of the Week: What statistics — if any — do you track each golf round? And have you noticed improvement over time?

Send replies on this question or other topics to shall@buffalogroupe.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.

READ, WATCH, LISTEN

> LIV Golf believes it has found a route to Official World Golf Ranking points
[Bob Harig | Sports Illustrated | Read]

> Judge orders LIV, plaintiffs to disclose key communications in lawsuit against PGA Tour
[Rex Hoggard | Golf Channel | Read]

> LIV Bangkok has just one Japanese golfer, confused but ready to compete
[Bob Harig | Sports Illustrated | Read]

> An awakening to quality architecture? Ran Morrissett might have set the alarm
[Jim McCabe | Power Fades | Read]

> Notah Begay III: Tiger Woods might surprise everyone and play this fall
[Max Schreiber | Golf Channel | Read]

> The gambler who conquered Vegas golf
[David Hill | The Ringer | Listen]

Amateur Players Tour offers a taste of pro-style experience

Three-year-old tour has grown to more than 4,000 members in 41 chapters nationwide by creating top-tier tournament opportunities for players wanting to compete against similar skill levels

FACT OF THE DAY

DID YOU KNOW ...

Average home values at three Arthur Jack Snyder-designed golf courses in Arizona are between 10% and 20% higher than the average home values in their respective zip codes.

Source: Longitudes green grass database, Zillow average home values

THE INDUSTRY

Buffalo Groupe acquires Sports Marketing Surveys USA

Deal expands Buffalo Groupe's research capabilities, which began when Longitudes Group joined the portfolio in January 2021

GolfForever, Invited launch strategic partnership

Golf fitness brand to provide education, tools and training products to an network of golf clubs nationwide

Galway Bay releases 2023 rainwear collection

Four early-release pieces available for pre-orders this fall

Dan Shepherd Public Relations to promote Apes Hill in North America

Barbados golf resort and community charting a new course in sustainable living

Christian Sain earns GCSAA Grassroots Ambassador Leadership Award

Golf course superintendent honored for advocacy efforts, advancement of association priority issues and congressional outreach

The Club at ArrowCreek receives clubhouse honor

Reno, Nevada, club's 42,000-square-foot clubhouse is chosen as Clubhouse of the Year in the Private Clubhouse Renovation category by Golf Inc. magazine

Rory McIlroy, NBC Sports Next donate $1 million to Youth on Course

NBC Sports Next’s Better Together initiative continues to create more access for underserved groups, diverse start-ups

Berenberg raises over $750,000 for pancreatic cancer research

Berenberg Invitational at GlenArbor Golf Club in New York brings together professionals and bank clients to raise funds for the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine

Fujikura enjoys success on DP World, PGA tours

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner plays Ventus shaft, while Fujikura is the most played driver and wood shaft at the Sanderson Farms Championship

Hired: By Trump Turnberry, Paul Geica as account director, whose focus will be to build strategic partnerships and business development. Geica arrives from LGH Hotels Management.

Announced: By Galvin Green, in celebration of the inaugural Sustainable Golf Week, that almost 3 million PET plastic bottles have been recycled and transformed into its high-performance eco-generation Insula sweater range over the past three years.

Announced: By Giants Ridge, that the Biwabik, Minnesota, golf resort will close its The Legend and The Quarry resort courses for the season on Oct. 9 and 11, respectively. The resort is offering the rate of $82 for golf throughout the week until the courses close.

Offered: By PGA National Resort, "Gold Golf" stay-and-play packages for the fall, starting at $719 (per person, per day, double occupancy) and including one round of golf daily on The Fazio, The Match, The Estate courses and The Champion or The Palmer courses with surcharges.

Announced: By "Golf Greatest Holes," that a second six-part season of its popular series will focus on courses in Portugal and air in early 2023. Hosts Paul McGinley, a former European Ryder Cup captain, and Chris Hollins will showcase 25 of the country's most challenging holes and relate stories about the history associated with the courses and other local attractions.

Announced: By the Television Academy Foundation, that it raised over $436,000 at the 22nd Emmys Golf Classic on Oct. 3 at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. Proceeds from the event benefit the nonprofit’s Internship and College Television Awards programs. The tournament was won by a CBS team that featured Cedric The Entertainer as its celebrity.

#QOTD

"Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel."

— Socrates

ICYMI

'Country club for a day' philosophy remains core to Troon's mission

A simple concept that started in 1990 has grown the Arizona-based company into one of the world's finest for course and club management

TUNING IN

PGA Tour: Shriners Children's Open
Site: TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nevada.
Television: Today-Sunday, 5-8 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Leaderboard | GCSAA Fact Sheet

LIV Golf: LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok
Site: Stonehill Golf Club, Bangkok, Thailand.
Streaming: Friday-Sunday (LivGolf.com).

LPGA Tour: LPGA Mediheal Championship
Site: The Saticoy Club, Camarillo, California.
Television: Today-Sunday, 9 p.m. to midnight (Golf Channel-Tape Delay).
Leaderboard | GCSAA Fact Sheet

DP World Tour: Spanish Open
Site: Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Television: Today-Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel).
Leaderboard

PGA Tour Champions: Constellation Furyk & Friends
Site: Timuquana Country Club, Jacksonville, Florida.
Television: Friday-Sunday, 2-5 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Leaderboard | GCSAA Fact Sheet

CALENDAR

OCTOBER
11-13: Golf Inc. Strategies Summit, Kiawah Island, S.C. | Info
26: Fore Hire Virtual Job Fair | Info

NOVEMBER
6-9: International Association of Golf Administrators, Point Clear, Ala. | Info

JANUARY
23-25: Golf Business Conference, Orlando, Fla.
24-27: PGA Show, Orlando, Fla. | Info

FEBRUARY
6-9: GCSAA Conference and Trade Show, Orlando, Fla. | Info
10-12: West Michigan Golf Show, Grand Rapids, Mich. | Info

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

THE LAST CALL

Ancient. Iconic. Epic.
All roads lead to Rome and eternal glory.@ParcoColosseo | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/1QnPKwMP2a
— Ryder Cup (@rydercup) October 5, 2022