Welcome to GHIN & Tonic: Volume 11! This is my first go-round, and I am quite nervous about it. I was “voluntold” this assignment by our Editorial Director, which is cool because I wouldn't have raised my hand to do it without his push. (Note: KVV also told me via his Twitter this week that I won a used MacBook and new’ish iPad Air. Who knows what to believe anymore?)
Writing scares me. Which is wild to say for a person who used to write Intelligence Reports for a living. The last time I sat down to write with this much struggle was in Spring 2020. Now, this edition of G&T is not the Afghanistan withdrawal plan (which was clearly scrapped), but it is still a mess for someone with ADHD. It makes me even more grateful for the written word and those who sit down and wrestle with it for a living. And most importantly, their editors.
GHIN
Glass Half Full: I would like to start by saying how damn proud I (we) are of Lauren Coughlin.
If you are unaware, our Young Hitter finished solo fourth at The Amundi Evian Championship this week. Her third-round 65 put her in a prime position for a chance to win her first major. And on Sunday, she was there! LC was so calm and in control of her golf ball, turning with a 4-under 31 before opening her back nine with six straight pars.
There were multiple moments where she was tied for the lead with Steph Kyriacou and others where she sat alone. I cannot remember the last time I was that excited at 6:30 a.m. Texas time.
I was glued to the TV when my three girls finally woke up. They made their way downstairs for some quality snuggle time, right as a tough three-putt bogey struck on the 16th hole. By the time LC’s group arrived at the 17th tee, I was visibly nervous. The girls asked me if everything was OK.
Why did Dad have so much energy this early in the morning? Well, because it felt like it was slipping away. Not even because of LC’s bogey but because of everything else happening. Patty T made an eagle on 18 to get into the clubhouse at 17 under. Kyriacou, playing in the final group with LC and Ayaka Furue, made back-to-back birdies. Ayaka had made three birdies in a row and was very much in it. Guided by caddie/husband John Pond, LC’s tee shot on 17 found the right side of the dogleg right fairway. With a tree in her line of sight, she took dead aim. And it looked great. Unfortunately, the greenside bunker short right that seemed to be the front right pin’s only defense got in the way. She missed her number by a foot. Two at max.
As she and John walked up the 17th fairway (for all of half a second that Golf Channel aired) you could see the momentum leaving her body. Her shoulders hung a bit lower.
And back in Texas, there was a sinking feeling in my stomach. I felt for my friend. John did a great job talking her through the bunker shot, trying to keep her locked in. The same thing he did down 18. Ayaka made a great eagle putt on 18, claiming her first major championship. LC and John, standing side by side as the putt was rolling towards the hole, turned and laughed to each other. They quickly turned to give their customary hugs before the champagne and water celebration engulfed the 18th green.
Lauren has been on the professional grind for a long time (turning pro in 2016) but it feels like she is growing into her own. This solo fourth finish and her T3 earlier in the year at the Chevron Championship are all coming during the first year she is automatically into all five majors. Rightfully disappointed about a couple of bad holes, she is quick to point out how great the week – and year – has been overall.
She is in serious contention for an automatic Solheim Cup pick. Simply awesome stuff.
So when the girls asked me, “What is the matter, Dad?” I used the moment to talk about LC, someone they already know, and how things sometimes do not go how we want. The result doesn't define who we are or what we are capable of. We also talked about what defeat is and how it makes us better in the long run.
And I was really into the speech, talking to them in the eyes and everything. I paused in between points, making sure they were taking it all in.
And when I was done, the littlest one, with a look of confusion, asked “Can we watch Bluey now…?”
Growing It: Last week was the conclusion of the 3rd U.S. Adaptive Open held at Sand Creek Station in Newton, KS.
Kipp Popert claimed his second U.S. Adaptive Open trophy with rounds of 65-66-71 to finish -14 total. This is Kipp’s second U.S. Adaptive Open win, making him the first overall winner to go back-to-back.
After opening with a 3-under -69, Bailey Bish did her part to hold onto an eventual 4-stroke victory in the Women’s Overall Championship. Her second-round 78 brought ‘22 Champion Kim Moore and ‘23 Champion Ryanne Jackson into the fold heading into the final day. But a final round 77 was enough for Bish as Moore and Jackson struggled to mount a final round charge. Outside of Overall Champions, the USGA also awards medals to each of the 15 category winners. Congratulations to Kipp and Bailey, category winners and all who qualified.
Speaking of qualifying, I was lucky enough to attend the first edition of this Championship held at Pinehurst No. 6 in 2022. For the first two years of the Championship, some competitors and outsiders grew disgruntled by the qualification/selection criteria used by the USGA to fill the Championship field. Like most things at the USGA, they listened and made changes.
For the first time in the history of the Championship, six qualifiers were held across the United States. Exemptions were expanded to include the male and female Champions from the Canadian All Abilities Championship, male and female winners of the G4D Open, and the top 10 men’s and top 5 female points leaders of the WR4GD rankings. These changes not only make the championship the best field in adaptive golf, but prove that it is open to all.
Next step for adaptive golf? Inclusion into the Paralympics. It is silly that this is where we are at in 2024. The International Golf Federation has been working with the International Paralympic Committee since before Golf was added to the Olympic Program in 2016 and there is still no change. In fact, the IGF has been told no four times already, with the latest denial leaving golf off of the LA2028 program of sport.
Thankfully, the IGF has not waivered in its support of adaptive golf, and with the success of the U.S. Adaptive Open (USGA) and the G4D Open (R&A), it will continue to make strides to promote the sport for potential inclusion by the time we get to Australia in 2032.
Big Bob! Scottish golf! Both the Scottish followed by The Open come at the perfect time each summer.
For me, we are right at the tipping point of crazy hot to stupid hot in the Texas yearly calendar. Maybe it is just having live golf in the morning, but it makes me feel physically cooler. Sure, there are plenty of things that could be said about the state of professional men’s golf in 2024 (Why is the Irish Open not in this run?). But this morning I have no time for that.
What I do have is a confession: It’s a yearly reminder that I have never played golf in Scotland…
That last sentence was painful to type, especially when you work for the company that I do. I have watched Season 2 of Tourist Sauce close to a dozen times. I have seen the crew take Nest members over for an NLU event and another trip to play TOC in reverse. I have made my way through every One the Road with Iona/Cookie Jar/EAL/you name it Scottish video series. I love it all.
The craziest thing about it all is that I have been to the vast majority of courses in the Open rota!
Yari and I spent 21 days traveling across the British Isles for our honeymoon. Starting in London armed only with my LG Chocolate and a road atlas for directions, we set off. Starting north to St Andrews, across to Muirfield and Troon, down to Birkdale, Liverpool, Lytham & St. Annes before we hopped a ferry to Ireland.
Bed & Breakfasts each night with golf clubs in tow, I simply never played. At the time I had some regrets, but I consciously chose to spend time with the person I love most doing whatever she wanted. I think over time, the history of the places or the sights in front of her left an imprint. She realized that golf was not something I just played, but something that was a deep passion burning inside of me.
The playing of it will change next month when Randy and I make our way over to St Andrews for the AIG Women’s Open. But the void of it over the last 15 years is something I am grateful for.
Why is this coming up now? Because my game is in shambles!
I know I am not the only one who has had this feeling before. The pending golf trip that you think about way too much is immediately followed by a rush of anxiety because you know your game is shit.
I am caught between major changes to my swing and my body. I get to the range about three times a week to grind on the changes Corey Lundberg and Al Higgs have me working on. For the first time in my adult life, I feel more confident in my putting than I do my full swing. If you have watched my game at all, that is saying something.
I have worked really hard on my body this year, which has resulted in losing some weight and most importantly, gaining muscle. The reason here was two parts: not getting kicked out of bed for snoring anymore and to increase my swing speed.
I have accomplished the first but am struggling with the latter. To fix this D.J., Casey and I went and saw Dr. Greg Rose and had our evaluations done at TPI. I do not want to spoil the pending content, but it is working. I get excited just from seeing the physical changes daily. And I know it takes time for all of this to result in lower scores. I guess the one saving grace as I blade ball after ball on the range, trying to get my swing plane lower is the low ball will work in Scotland.
I will just need to invest some time in my bunker game to make up for it.
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TONIC
Hand up, you are catching me on a very difficult week in the world of parenting. We had a blast over the 4th of July and apparently, so did everyone else at my kids’ summer camp. The issue with long holiday weekends is that while everyone gets out and about, the kids pick up every germ known to man.
We started Monday off on a high note, with everyone excited to be back in camp and seeing their friends. That night, while Momma and I were settled into the previous night's House of Dragon episode, the stomach bug appeared. I hope (pray) we are on the other side of it now, but you never know.
I spent the rest of what little free time I had doing our graphics package for the following week’s live shows. I would never claim to be the artistic type, but it is something that I have learned to really love.
Maybe it is the process of it all, but it has turned into something therapeutic for me. I am very much a “learn from your mistakes” type. And even though our graphics are as low stakes as can be, the short feedback loop has taught me a lot of new skills. Different programs and different looks for each major. I know immediately when something looks like crap, and am quick to dump it and start over. Bottom line: keep learning new stuff, it’s good for the brain.
Reading:
I purchased The MacKenzie Reader: Writings on Golf Architecture and More a few months ago but never got around to reading it. I am not an architecture guy, mostly because I struggle to define what I am looking at or for. But I have always been fascinated by The Good Doctor, and there is no better place to start than with his lost writings and illustrations. I will report back when I wrap it up.
Watching:
During some downtime last week, I went to the movie theatre to watch Horizon: An America Sage—Chapter One. I am a big Kevin Costner fan, and I feel like almost everything he does has some soul left in it. I guess my hopes for his big passion project were a bit too high because this movie stunk. If I could ask for my money back, I would. We would be better off seeing him back in the Governor's Mansion fighting land developers and crooked tribal leaders in Yellowstone.
Not to leave you on a negative: I highly recommend Receiver on Netflix. Last year the combo of NFL Films, Omaha Productions and Patrick Mahomes’s 2PM Productions brought Quarterback to the streaming platform.
Unfortunately for all involved, it is reported that no Quarterback wanted to do season 2. So instead, the pivot to Receiver was made. It is a mix of youth and veterans, successes and massive defeats. They somehow convinced five of the best pass catchers to film on and off the field: Davante Adams (Las Vegas Raiders), Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings), George Kittle (San Francisco 49ers), Deebo Samuel (San Francisco 49ers), and Amon-Ra St. Brown (Detroit Lions).
It made me a fan of Amon-Ra St. Brown, ride even harder for Davante Adams, and question some of Justin/Jets Jefferson’s decisions. I have already forgotten about how good the 49ers were/are. Deebo and Kittle are rockstars, and are the highlights of the show. My lasting thought? I want so much more for Davante Adams. I hope the rumor mill of his going to the Jets is true and we get a Rodgers reunion. But if it doesn't, I just want him out of Vegas. He deserves so much better.
(Writer’s note: NLU worked the 2023 & 2024 PGA Championship in partnership with Omaha Productions)
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