The First Call 11-12-2021

FIRST THOUGHT

Think of all the premier non-major courses the PGA Tour played on throughout 2020-21. To name a few, Pebble Beach, Riviera, TPC Sawgrass, Muirfield Village and Quail Hollow. Yet, two of the most difficult courses last year happened to be munis. Torrey Pines’ South and Memorial Park, site of this week’s Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open, ranked as the first and fourth most difficult courses, respectively. The scoring average at Torrey Pines was 1.340 strokes above par, while Memorial Park was 1.025 strokes above par.

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READ, WATCH, LISTEN

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FACT OF THE DAY

DID YOU KNOW?

Dallas has the nation's largest off-course golf stores, exceeding 15,000 square feet in average size. The average size for off-course golf stores in the U.S. is 7,600 square feet.

Source: Longitudes Group Off Course database

INDUSTRY NEWS

Reunion GCC golf marathon raises funds for Folds of Honor

Madison, Miss., club general manager Casey Smith and director of golf Ronny Ross recently completed a 100-hole marathon and raised more than $7,000 for the nonprofit organization

Sea Pines Resort taps Patrick O’Keefe for tennis

O'Keefe replaces Job de Boer as director of tennis for the Hilton Head Island, S.C., resort

KemperSports properties donate over $1 million to Folds of Honor

Since 2013, the KemperSports has worked closely with the organization and has funded more than 200 Folds of Honor scholarships

NEWS AND FEATURES

How golf is bringing veterans together

Nonprofits like Patriot Golf Foundation and Folds of Honor are among many that are connecting, assisting America's soldiers and their families

#QOTD

"If they're laughing, they're listening."

— Sir Ken Robinson

ROUNDS AND WEATHER

> Less than ideal playing conditions this past week contributed to total rounds played being down -33% vs. 2020, but still up +64% vs. 2019.

> Increased rainfall and colder temperatures nationwide impacted play early in the week, specifically in the North and Central Valley regions.

> Florida finished as the top performing region for the past seven days. Though it had cooler temperatures than last year, total rounds played were up +30% vs. 2020.

> Positive performance is expected to continue in the Mountain Pacific and Florida regions. Over the next five days, both areas are on pace to finish up by over 50% for total rounds played.

TUNING IN

PGA Tour: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Houston Open
Site: Memorial Park Golf Club, Houston.
Television: Today-Sunday, 1-4 p.m. (Golf Channel).

European Tour: Aviv Dubai Championship
Site: Jumeirah Golf Estates (Fire Course), Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Television: Today, 3-8 a.m. (Golf Channel), Saturday-Sunday, 3-7:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).

LPGA: Pelican Women’s Championship
Site: Pelican Golf Club, Belleair, Fla.
Television: Today, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 7:30-10:30 p.m. (Golf Channel-tape delay).

PGA Tour Champions: Charles Schwab Cup Championship
Site: Phoenix Country Club, Phoenix.
Television: Today-Sunday, 4-6:30 p.m. (Golf Channel).

CALENDAR

NOVEMBER
21-24: World Golf Expo 2021, Hainan, China | Info

JANUARY
25-28: PGA Merchandise Show, Orlando, Fla. | Info

FEBRUARY
5-10: GCSAA Conference and Trade Show, San Diego, Calif. | Info
19-23: CMAA World Conference and Club Business Expo, San Diego, Calif. | Info

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

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