After last week’s spin around Torrey Pines, the Tour hits another iconic locale this week with the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale. This is undoubtedly the season’s most popular event both anecdotally (Google “loudest hole in golf”) and statistically (last year’s Saturday attendance of 201,003 (!!!) was a one-day PGA Tour record).

The vibe will be less golf tournament and more Spring Break this week. Arizona St. students make the drive over from nearby Tempe, bringing their penchant for partying and perma-ready Spring Break bodies with them (UA students will be there too, but their national reputation is sorely lacking). Off the course, there’s a four-day 

going down in the evening at the Bird’s Nest, a perfect way to parlay a day full of drinking into a night full of drinking. This year’s lineup features the diverse stylings of Toby Keith, Flo Rida, and Blink-182, among others. On the course, there’s a general buzz (literally and figuratively) which permeates the telecast, a result of hundreds of thousands of people standing around, drinking, and having a good time. Nowhere will this be more apparent than the famous 16th hole (pictured above). The epicenter of action features a staggering amount of people who really couldn’t care less about the golf beyond whether they collect on their side-action with buddies. And even then, honestly, a good amount of people still don’t care. They’re there for the booze and scenery. God bless them.

Up until a couple years ago players used to be able to chuck stuff into the stands along the 16th hole, caddies would race the 150 yards or so from the tee to green, and poor standard bearers would try with all their might to be invisible for some 15 minutes or so. While these first two sources of fun have been stripped away thanks to the infinite wisdom of some Suit somewhere, the overarching energy at the Phoenix Open remains firmly debaucherous.

The Phoenix Open is a lot like the city of New Orleans.

On the surface it’s a week-long kegger in the desert. The antithesis of your average Tour stop. In a similar vein, when the possibility of visiting New Orleans comes up, most thoughts immediately turn to Bourbon Street, Hurricanes at Pat O’Brien’s, and further poor decisions. The tournament, and the city, are synonymous with tying one on.

But apart from their well-deserved reputations, both also have long, distinguished histories. In the case of New Orleans, characteristics like the city’s deep French-creole heritage, stunning architecture, centuries-old traditions (Mardi Gras anyone?), and claim to fame as the birthplace of American jazz lend an aura of unmistakable historic significance to the town, even if the perception of most revelers doesn’t extend beyond the rim of their plastic cup.

So while many golf fans might think of the Phoenix Open as simply the biggest party in golf, the place Tiger made 

, the history of professional golf in Phoenix actually extends back to the earliest years of the PGA Tour.

The first iteration of the Phoenix Open took place in 1932 and was promptly dumped from the schedule after 1935. In 1939, the tournament was resuscitated and has been running along smoothly ever since. What happened between ’35 and ’39?

In 1937 Phoenix’s Chamber of Commerce created a special events committee of five guys called the Thunderbirds, whose job was to boost the city’s stock as an entertainment destination. These five captains were tasked with picking two full basketball starting lineups to create a 55-person “official” group of Phoenix promotional professionals. Triple Ps, if you will.

Bob Goldwater was one of the original Thunderbirds, and ol’ Bob had the golf bug. He suggested the Thunderbirds sponsor a professional golf tournament, and when he was met with near unanimous disapproval, Bob pressed on and basically did the whole damn thing on his own. From the T-Birds’ official website:

That first year [in 1937], Goldwater sold the tickets, recruited volunteers and set up the golf course at the Phoenix Country Club. The Phoenix Open caught on, and in 70 years, has developed into one of the leading stops on the PGA TOUR. Goldwater was Tournament Chairman from 1934 through 1951 and is affectionately called the “Father of The Phoenix Open.”

Two things about this little anecdote. One, good on Bob Goldwater for sticking to his guns, committing to something he was passionate about, and seeing it through to success. As far as golf nicknames go, Father of The Phoenix Open is not half bad.

And two, how cool would it be for something like this to happen in this day and age? I know there are dozens of professional golf tours worldwide, and every week of the year is now double-stuffed with pro tournaments, but imagine if a city’s chamber of commerce (or more likely, a lone billionaire) moseyed in and said they were starting a new golf tournament? I’m thinking something like Kerry Packer’s estate finally opening the doors to 

 and televising a $15 million exhibition event. That would be wild.

Anyway, the Thunderbirds have prospered since the advent of the Phoenix Open, and proudly support some of Arizona’s most visible charities and causes, including the Special Olympics, Boys and Girls Clubs, and United Way. On the golf front, the T-Birds sponsor the Thunderbird Collegiate Invitational, with proceeds going to ASU’s golf teams; the Thunderbird Junior and Senior Golf Classics; and the Thunderbird International Junior, which brings together junior golf champions from all over the world.

The setup and governance of the Thunderbirds might be the most interesting part of the organization. Much like a college fraternity (or an acapella group, since my school didn’t have Greek life), the Thunderbirds have a set number of active members, all of whom have demonstrated “a sincere interest in sports and a dedication to community affairs.” In a nod to the original committee, the set number of members is always 55, with active members past the age of 45 graduating to Life Member status.

This is where things get a little secret society-ish. The Thunderbirds roll around in purple velvet looking tops with large, menacing chains. The identities of the 55 active members are not published, members wear silver pendants on leather necklaces, and each year the “Bead Committee awards silver beads to those members who have performed their respective duties with quality and efficiency.”

The president of the Thunderbirds (not pictured) is referred to as ‘Big Chief.’ Note here, though, the purple velvet-ish top and menacing chain worn by all.

What exactly these “respective duties” consist of, I can only guess. I’m picturing these guys as some combination of SEC football booster, rich philanthropic uncle, concert promoter, PR/marketing exec, benevolent Mafia don, and 

 who stand behind the endzone at Gillette with the muskets.

Four players have won the event three times. Gene Littler (1955, ’59, and ’69 (nice)), Arnold Palmer (1961-’63), Mark Calcavecchia (1989, ’92, and 2001), and local boy Phil Mickelson (1996, 2005, 2013). Mickelson’s first win was in a playoff over Justin Leonard, and his victory in three different decades at the same tournament speaks to his crazy longevity on tour. Some highlights of that first victory are below.

J.B. Holmes has two dubyas here, as do Vijay Singh, Bob Gilder, Johnny Miller, Lloyd Mangrum, Jimmy Demaret, and Ben Hogan.

Last year, both Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama birdied the 72nd hole to set up a sudden death playoff. Rickie took out the driver on the fourth playoff hole, the short par-4 17th, and things went south from there.

 in the old MVP Baseball ’05 hitting game and rocketed all the way through the long, narrow green and into the drink. Hideki walked away with his second PGA Tour win, and comes into the tournament this week with the second best odds to win (per Bovada). Sean Martin put together a 

 to the top of world golf, on which he took a radically different path than his hero Jumbo Okazaki.

This is as good a place as any to discuss how the Phoenix Open usually falls on Super Bowl weekend (go Pats). In ’09, Kenny Perry and 

 Charley Hoffman went to a playoff, which continued through the kickoff and first quarter of Super Bowl XLIII, featuring the hometown Arizona Cardinals. I can’t imagine that playoff had too many viewers.

Mark Calcavecchia absolutely decimated the field in ’01, racking up tournament records for final score (256, -28), lowest round (11-under 60), and most total birdies (32). The Calculator won by 8 strokes over perennial Phoenix contender, and 

. The man with perhaps the most normal name in the United States actually has a very unusual backstory: he struggled early in his career, then won four times in a two-year stretch from 1988-89. In ’91, he suffered multiple injuries in a dirt bike accident and missed almost three seasons. He started his comeback in 1995, and won the biggest prize of his career at the 1996 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills. Jones won three more times on Tour, including defeating Jesper Parnevik and Nick Price in the 1997 Phoenix Open.

In ’96, the tournament was played from Wednesday to Saturday to accommodate the Super Bowl being held in nearby Tempe. Frankly, this is a brilliant idea and should be implemented every year. That, and the day after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday. President Trump, any help here could only boost that approval rating.

Johnny Miller was unconscious during the mid-70s, and won the Phoenix Open in 1975 by 14 shots, which is still a tournament record. His 24-under final score was the lowest on Tour in 20 years. He would go on to win again that year in Tucson (by nine shots). Let’s check in with the always-humble Miller for some insight on this part of his career.

“When I won at Tucson by nine shots in 1975, I would say the average iron shot I hit that week was no more than two feet off line. It was unbelievable. When I was at my peak, I would go into streaks where I felt that I could knock down the pin from anywhere with my irons. I played some golf that I think is unequaled.”

*Tiger Woods hasn’t played the Phoenix much during his career. Whether that’s because of his commitments in Dubai, his aversion to Phil’s hometown, or some PAC-10 ASU rivalry, I’m not sure. But back when he did play it, this happened:

 on the par-4 17th in 2001. It is the first, and still only, hole in one on a par 4 in the Tour’s history, and he made it with a little help from his friend.

*Five hundred new general admission seats 

 to the grandstands at the 16th, bringing the hole’s capacity to over 16,000. This is more than half the size of the LA Chargers’ new home.

*Perusing the list of past winners, I was surprised, and a bit saddened that John Huston never won in Phoenix. It’s a sanctuary befitting a true ornithologist.

Thunderbirds, Rock Concerts, and Caddie Races: the History of the Phoenix Open

A few notes regarding the telecast. Have we settled the debate on who unleashed the F-bomb on the telecast on the final hole of Hadwin’s 59 last Saturday? People are convinced it was Johnny, but that just doesn’t add up for me. Had to be Hadwin (discounting the fact that he’s Canadian and thus aggressively polite), I just can’t come up with a good reason why Johnny would’ve done that, much less that soon after contact on a drive that ended up in the fairway. Definitely not complaining – hopefully Golf Channel keeps the mics this hot all year and avoid the wrath of the FCC (an agency which certainly thinks (of the) young and plays hard). Speaking of coverage, CBS is back in action for the first time this year for weekend coverage, which naturally means more shots of paragliders set to cloying Beach Boys outros than of actual golf set to player-caddie convos. I particularly enjoyed this take from “1954 stud” in the comments section of Kyle Porter’s dutiful 

“CBS needs to start its own golf only network. The Golf Channel is almost unwatchable as ti inserts NBC politics and the pc culture into golf. Sports channels should be about sports only… leave the social engineering to the political networks.

Strong. Even stronger is this bit from the 

“CBS Sports continues an unprecedented level of production and technical enhancements for its golf coverage, including its Emmy Award-winning technical innovation SwingVision and the return of Smartcart. Last year CBS was the first U.S. network to debut Smartcart on select tournaments and will continue in 2017 on every PGA TOUR event. Smartcart technology allows announcers to analyze and telestrate a myriad of data including golf swings and shots, difficulty of holes, scorecards and compelling content from action on the course. In addition, CBS Sports continues to use Trackman on more holes than ever before and with enhanced statistical shot information.

They’re overcomplicating it. Show more golf shots, get rid of anything Faldo-related and save money on the other fluffy technology and just buy more trackman equipment. Hell at this point just let the PGATOUR 2LIVE Crew handle the whole thing more skillfully at a fraction of the cost. Could even fold Nobilo and Kostis into that mix along with the SiriusXM guys. Simulcast it on CBS, collect some ad revenue for the trouble, provide your affiliates with a lead-in to the local news and call it a day. Hopefully that’s the plan for weekend coverage once the TOUR ejects from the current contracts. Need you to do this for us, Jay. Huge. Quickly.

As promised in the Sony Notes, I once again reached out to Andy Johnson aka “The Fried Egg” for his take on this week’s venue:

The South Course is certainly a stout test, made stouter by the 2001 Rees Jones redesign. In keeping with the Jones family tradition, Rees managed to wipe most of the character out of the course and create a needlessly grueling death march with deep bunkers and tight fairways…a great recipe for a course played by the general public 51 weeks a year.”

Been on the grind this week at work so I’m backlogged as far as reading recommendations, but here’s what else I’m keen on this week

Intriguing pairings outside of the obvious ones: Matsuyama/Berger/Grillo; Swafford (I’m coming around on him – definitely enjoyed Swantek’s Talk of the Tour podcast with him this week – surprisingly candid and thoughtful)/Perez/CH3 (who is en fuego); Hoffman/Harrington/Sabo (eclectic ball striking fiesta).

Was scrolling through the leaderboards for the PGA LatinoAmerica Qualifying Tournaments down in Argentina and Colombia. Aside from one dude shooting a 99 (featuring a back nine 54 with three pars and a birdie!), I saw friend of NLU Tee-K Kelly fired a tidy 66 and is currently T11. Keep it up and we’ll have someone to track on the #NarcosTour this year.

Taking my usual fliers on Kizzire (170/1!!!) and List (80/1). Gonna happen one of these weeks.

The bizarrely sporadic Web Tour just finished up in the Bahamas and is onto South America for two tournaments in February, before a single event in late March in Louisiana, then to Vic National in Indiana and Mexico in April, and then the Dominican before finally settling onto the mainland for a couple events. Sadistic scheduling.

As my wife and I are expecting our first child any day now, I will likely be watching copious amounts of overnight European Tour coverage, with Qatar and Dubai upcoming. Sergio opted for the appearance money in Singapore last week in lieu of playing in Qatar, an event he’s had some success at. Ceding to the #Csuite, sad!

Hopefully it’s been a productive #GrowThe Game circle-jerk down in Orlando this week at the merch show and everyone gets home safely! I may be in and out on Friday but will be posted on Twitter during coverage Sat/Sun.

Farmers Notes

While technically the festivities began in the Coachella Valley last weekend, Torrey Pines always signals the true beginning of the West Coast Swing at NLU headquarters. A big boy track, a respectable field, and a dramatic setting on the Pacific embody the true nature and spirit of the best coast.

? You bet. But it’s true, and there’s too much good material in past previews dating back to 2014 to let it all go to waste. The Tour shifted to the mainland with the CareerBuilder Challenge last week, a mostly forgettable tournament that advanced the careers of Adam Hadwin (who dropped a 59) and Hudson Swafford (who won the thing). This week, the drama and the scenery both ramp up at one of the best municipal golf facilities in the country, San Diego’s Torrey Pines.

Torrey’s two courses, the North and the South, were originally designed by William F. Bell and opened in 1957, and both take full advantage of their Pacific setting. This is now particularly true of the the North in light of its recent renovation by Tom Weiskopf (which Jonathan Wall 

), as the back 9 now culminates along the shore with a string of picturesque coastal holes. The South is already a beast, tipping out at over 7,600 yards to make it the longest track on the annual Tour slate (with the exception of Erin Hills). The players have Rees Jones to thank for the length (more on that towards the bottom), as he redesigned the South in 2001with the stated goal of beefing it up for the 2008 U.S. Open. This just serves to make Tiger’s 91-hole, one-legged, one-ACL’d vanquishing of Rocco Mediate in ’08 even more impressive.

San Diego has been a staple on the PGA Tour since the early days of the circuit, which makes complete sense given its location and idyllic weather. The San Diego Open has existed in some form since 1952, well before the Tour split from the PGA of America in 1968. Before finding a home at Torrey Pines, the tournament bounced around to five different courses in the San Diego area, all of which seemingly changed names at random. Honestly, it’s not super interesting and somewhat confusing. Sample Wikipedia passage: “The tournament returned to Mission Valley C.C. in 1957 where it stayed through 1963. Mission Valley changed its name to Stardust Country Club in 1962 (and now is known as Riverwalk Golf Club).”

If you fancy a good croon from time to time, you’re most likely aware that Andy Williams was the face of the tournament for two decades starting in 1968, the same year that the Tour moved the tournament to Torrey for the first time. Williams’s 

on PGA.com put it in no uncertain terms – the combination of the move to Torrey, the celebrity golf culture associated with Southern California (think Bob Hope and Bing Crosby), and the star power of Andy Williams made the San Diego Open into one of the stalwart events on the PGA Tour. The tournament took on a number of corporate sponsors over the years, and has been most recently brought to our television sets by Buick (1992-2009) and Farmers Insurance (BumBaDumBumBumBumBum).

Tiger Woods won his 7th and most recent Farmers in 2013; it was the first win of his latest Player of the Year season. The only other player to win the tournament more than twice is Phil Mickelson, as he rang in the new millennium with his second and third wins at Torrey. Brandt Snedeker, Steve Pate, Tom Watson, J.C. Snead, Arnold Palmer, and Tommy Bolt have all captured multiple titles in the 

, and other big names who have won here include JDay (2015), Bubba (2011), John Daly (2004), Jose Maria Olazabal (2002), Mark O’Meara (1997), and DLIII (1996). The aforementioned Weiskopf picked up the win in the tournament’s first iteration at Torrey, and Jack Nicklaus took the title the following year.

Clean up time …



It's rough out here at Torrey Pines. ? 

Last year, Brandt Snedeker won his second Farmers Insurance Open from the comfort of the clubhouse. The tournament was pushed to a Monday finish because of a hellacious wind- and rainstorm that forced play to be suspended three times on Sunday before it was finally postponed. Seriously, look at this garbage:

Out of the 1,397 birdies made during last year’s Farmers, 

After just making the cut on the number, Sneds finished with rounds of 70 and 69; in his final round alone he gained 8.9 strokes on the field.

Monday dawned clear and windless, and leader Jimmy Walker had only to play his final 8 holes in even par to beat Snedeker. K.J. Choi was also in the mix, tied with Snedeker in 2nd place. But the 8 a.m. start time was pushed back two hours to allow personnel to clear damaged trees, and by the time Walker and Choi started at 10:00am the wind was whipping. K.J. Choi, formerly an actual weightlifter, couldn’t reach the 437-yard 14th in two. Neither Walker nor Choi had a fighting chance against the elements, with Walker bogeying four of his final eight holes and handing the title to Snedeker.

BigCat at the height of his powers. Tiger demoralized San Diego more thoroughly than Dean Spanos, winning his fourth consecutive Buick Invitational (and fifth in six years) with an 8-shot victory over Ryuji Imada. His -19 final tally was only three shots off his tournament record pace of -22 set in 1999. Like all criminal masterminds, Tiger returned to the scene of the carnage several months later to capture his most recent (don’t say final) major championship.

John Daly won in a playoff over Luke Donald and Chris Riley (RIP). If anyone has video footage of any tee shots from this playoff, I would dearly like to see it. When I picture Daly and Donald shaking hands on the tee box, I can’t get this image out of my head:

Tiger matched George Burns’s scoring record here in ’99 with a blistering 266 (-22). It was his first of eight 1999 victories, including the PGA Championship, and set him on his way towards winning 

Old pal Johnny Miller held off Jack Nicklaus to win by one stroke in the Wickes-Andy Williams San Diego Open. Because the internet is a magical place, the 

 of this event is just hanging out online, begging to be read. Since you can read, I won’t break it down here, but one thing worth mentioning is the charge Jack Nicklaus put up on Sunday. This is just classic Jack:

“Nicklaus, playing his first tournament of the four-week-old season, came from seven strokes behind with a record 64, eight under par for the south course of Torrey Pines. His card included two eagles, five birdies and one bogey.



Toward the end of the afternoon, Miller said, ”I was aware of Jack, yeah.”” ‘I felt last night that if I shot 64 or 65 I’d have a chance of winning the tournament,” Nicklaus said. He wound up breaking the course record of 65 set in 1973 by Tommy Jacobs and equaled in 1980 by D.A. Weibring.”

I know players do it all the time, but it seems like every time Nicklaus went out in the morning with a number in mind, he did whatever it took to get there. Two eagles and five birdies on Sunday is crazy.

This is too good, so I’ll just do the heavy lifting and fully quote 

: “Hall of Famer and San Diego native Gene Littler is the only amateur winner, achieving the feat in 1954, and awarded a five-piece tea set. Subsequently as a professional, Littler was a runner-up three times (1969, 1974, 1978).” Classic “Would you rather” – take a PGA Tour victory as an am and a five-piece tea set, or three runner-up finishes and the associated cash? One of the great grillroom debates of our age.

In which I basically just copy and paste a bunch of Justin Ray’s tweets.

Over the last 10 years, the only player with a better scoring average than Snedeker here (min. 10 rounds played) is Tiger. 

 playing 4 events the next 5 wks. In 11 out of 13 years between 1997-2009 he had at least 1 win in the 1st 4 events of the year.



— Nosferatu (@VC606) 

 since 2010



Score to par – 1st
Scoring avg – T1
Rds in 60s – T1
Birdies/eagles – 1st



— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) 

On Torrey Pines, Firestone & Bay Hill combined, Tiger has win percentage of .511 as a pro (24-for-47). Win pct of .500 or better on each.



— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) 

A Storied Affair: San Diego's PGA Tour History

Editor’s note: This was written prior to the Sony Open, but this past week turned into a slog for me and I was #LPCP (Lacked Productivity, Couldn’t Publish). I say that just to give some context to the picks, which offered some fantastic value for Sony and now for the CareerBuilder. Tron Carter regrets the delay. )

), welcome back. This is the fun part – where we provide you with the tools and strategies you’ll need to succeed in PGA DFS.

All of the “work” necessary to play PGA DFS is complete before the tournament even begins. Once balls are in the air on Thursday off you are locked in with your picks and left to your own devices while you sweat it out. DraftKings updates scoring in real time so your score, finish position, and winnings are dynamic until the completion of the tournament. The PGATour app with ShotLink provides another way to sweat it out, should you so desire. This can be maddening: imagine seeing every time Lucas Glover stands over a 5’ birdie putt, only to see the par update on the app moments later.

Easily, one of the best parts of PGA DFS is the “Friday Cut Sweat.” We mentioned previously that getting all six players, or 

 five, through the 36 hole cut is critical. It never fails that a couple of your guys will linger right around the cut line deep into the afternoon on Friday. Those few hours of tracking each shot while projecting the cut line will have you on the edge of your chair (and can serve as the perfect antidote to the often interminable Friday workday. By design the salary cap setup and corresponding player pricing force you to have to play lower priced guys. Week after week of doing this, and you learn about guys like Cameron Smith (ed. note: “Scam” Smith), Tim “Silky” Wilkinson, and Luke “Sir Double L” List. TV coverage of the TOUR tends to focus primarily on the same ten to fifteen guys week in week out, so it’s refreshing to get familiar with the other players through playing DFS every week (PGA TOUR LIVE has also helped in offering more variety).

On DraftKings, your players will earn points in three ways: per hole, streaks, and finish bonuses. Golfers are given finish bonuses all the way up to 50th place with 1st place taking 30 extra points at the conclusion of the event. Pars earn half a point, birdies earn three points, eagles net eight points, and rare birds/aces yield ten points. Conversely players lose half a point for bogeys and one full point for anything worse than bogey. Now it becomes easier to understand why pin seekers are rewarded in this format, especially if you can get them through the cut for the weekend.

Beyond the basics we discuss specific strategy concepts on 

. As a free gift, here are some groups of players we want to bring to your attention as the 2017 season arrives. Being on these guys early may help you gain your edge on DraftKings, sports books, Calcutta’s, One & Done leagues, or whatever flavor you play. Enjoy the season!

The “Fresh Meat” – WebTour guys sure to see success their 1st year out.

Dominic Bozzelli (Honorable Mention for a PURE swing)

The Euros – Europeans ready to make household names for themselves on the PGATour.

“Mid-Market Money Makers” – These guys are always undervalued on DraftKings, but are consistent cut makers to help fill in your lineups.

Roberto Castro “The Chamberlains” starring these scoring studs!

The “Chamberlains” – These guys score more than Wilt the Stilt in his prime, and they’re sure to make you some cash on DraftKings throughout the year.

The Breakouts – These are some lesser known guys that we think will get their 1st PGATour victory and/or be regular contenders this season.

Roberto Castro & Byeong Hun An (Honorable Mentions)

Henrik Norlander (Doesn’t have full status, but we have some inside info on Henrik that his putting and short game are finally clicking. This is bad news for everyone else on Tour as he’s already one of the best ball strikers on the planet.)

2017 PGA Fantasy Primer

Realizing full-well that there is a certain stigma attached to Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS for short), we are here to dispel those notions and persuade you to give Daily Fantasy Golf a try. We are the Tour Junkies – a duo comprised of two guys, David and Pat, who have been deep in the DFS game since the beginning and decided to share that passion with others via our 

. We connected with the guys at No Laying Up a couple years ago and have stayed in touch. DFS is certainly not for everyone (read on to see if you fall into that group). The following is an intro to PGA DFS and why you should play, followed tomorrow by a look at some tips on how to play and who to look out for this season (also applicable to regular fantasy golf).

We’re firm believers in the great hipster millennial-mind of Simon Sinek, who says “start with why.” So, why would anyone choose to invest time & money in playing DFS? Naturally this answer varies to some degree depending upon the person, as does the veracity with which people play DFS. It’s a wide spectrum, which is great. You do you, man. Here’s why we play:

As I’m sure holds true with anyone visiting this site, we LOVE golf. Playing golf, reading golf, going to golf tournaments, indoctrinating our kids in golf, etc. Simple enough.

When it comes to watching golf on TV, we used to only watch the majors, Ryder Cup, and then a few random events with passing interest. We tried to go deeper, but just couldn’t get excited about the actual golfers. It wasn’t the act of watching golf that was less than stimulating. It was the act of watching #LPCP poster boy, Matt Kuchar, headline an event with Shawn Stefani and Cameron Tringale right on the heels of his Sketchers on moving day. We just couldn’t do it. But now that we’ve got some skin in the game and know the players it’s a whole different ballgame. Watching the Sanderson Farms Championship is now akin to watching a Thursday night Jaguars/Rams game with the sole intent of seeing if Bortles feeds in garbage time for my fantasy squad or if the Rams can protect the under. Tour Junkies NOT pictured.

We’re competitive. Aside from church league basketball (I’m from Georgia, it’s a big thing here) and actually playing golf, this is where we can let our competitive juices run wild. We play in a couple of DFS leagues with only friends. Who doesn’t love taking his friends’ $5 week in and week out? Winning is fun. Doesn’t matter what. Hell, one of us won a Potty Putter at the office party this past Christmas. The feeling I get when I win in DFS is especially rewarding, regardless of if the payout is $3 or $30K – just want to see the screen turn green (which happens when you’re winning)!

We like the numbers, stats, and research. The process of digging in to the course, the key stats for success, and the players that either line up or don’t each week is the best part. It’s the same reason people enjoy tracking the stock market. We dig deep every week before we record our podcast, and you can do the same or just rely on experts that you are keen to trust.

One of the things we didn’t mention above: “I like winning millions of dollars while seeing my handsome mug on the side of a DraftKings bus in downtown BeanTown.” Of course we enjoy winning. But, we’re not doing this to quit our day jobs and neither should you. We only spend what we can afford to lose – think of it as an entertainment expense. Hell, you’re more likely to lose $29 and 2 hours of your life going to see some dumpster fire movie with your wife. Is DFS gambling? Yes, unequivocally. As is playing fantasy football for free on Yahoo! while having a side pot with your homies. However, there’s nothing wrong with responsible gambling. As humans, we gamble on various and sundry things all the time. Golfers gamble. Gambling is as much a part of golf as #TourSauce and Johnny Miller’s ego.

In the intro we mentioned we’d tell you if you should stop reading this. Here you go…If you have a problem with gambling, spending too much money, or an addictive personality, then don’t play. If you literally don’t have 15 minutes a week, a positive balance in your checking account, or any friends, then don’t play.

Okay, you’re still reading? Currently, if you want to play PGA DFS, you will only be able to play through the DraftKings website or app. However, FanDuel will likely be adding PGA to its offerings in the very near future, as both companies have now merged and DraftKings continues to see tremendous growth in the number of people playing PGA DFS. Every Monday afternoon before a PGATour event, DraftKings will release the player prices for that event based on odds. Each player is given a dollar amount typically ranging from $5K to $13K.

Ostensibly your job is simple: fill six roster spots without spending more than $50K in salary cap. Points are earned or lost on a hole-by-hole basis, with players earn points for pars, birdies, eagles, an albatross, an ace, and conversely lose points for bogeys, etc. Players also earn points for where they stand on the leaderboard at the end of the week. If one (or more) of your players don’t make the cut then they don’t earn your team any points over the weekend. This point structure greatly rewards players who tend to make birdies and play aggressively (think modified Stableford scoring). But keep in mind that they need to hang around and play the weekend. Roll into the weekend with your full compliment of six players having made the cut and you enjoy a tremendous advantage. Amazingly, picking six golfers out of a field of 140+ is much harder in practice than it is in theory.

If PGA DFS sounds like something that you’d enjoy then get started by signing up for DraftKings and wait with bated breath for our follow-up article where we’ll outline viable strategies and highlight some guys you NEED to know to get that “Green Screen Disease” in 2017…

The Case for Daily Fantasy Golf

Previews are back and here to stay for the ’17 season. Last year was super hectic from the jump: newly married, new city, new real-life job, all of which forced the previews to the back burner for most of the season. While some material will carry over from year to year I pledge to always provide a fresh spin.

One area that was lacking in previous years’ previews was the course section, and while I’ve ventured deep down the golf course architecture wormhole over the past year, I’m still just scratching the surface. Thus I’ve asked advisor and confidante Andy Johnson (

) to contribute his thoughts each week. Holler on Twitter, via email or in the comments below with suggestions or feedback. Look forward to live tweeting this event all weekend – coverage is 7-10:30 on Thursday and Friday, which is absolutely ideal.

This will be the 52nd iteration of the Sony Open, all of ’em at Waialae. It’s a pretty stalwart event on tour at this point as the real beginning of the season despite all the wraparound nonsense. I do wonder how much longer Sony has interest in being the title sponsor. I remember 15 years ago Sony was doing everything and at the top of the game. These days they’re basically just sending playstations, laying people off, and getting hacked by Lil Kimmy up in North Korea.

It’s always interesting to see who plays in this tournament and who takes a few weeks off before the West Coast Swing kicks into gear. This is one of the stronger fields in recent memory, with Spieth using this tourney to break up his trip to Japan next week release his new shoe (he keeps saying that they’re dialing back on travel this season?). He’s appeared just once before, an MC his rookie year. The course should suit his game to a tee. JS is playing in a featured group with JT and DBstraitvibin. That’s must-watch. Some notes on other featured pairings and the field:

Defending champ Fabian Gomez (he’s won an event two seasons in a row, that blows my mind), Jimmy Walker, and Justin Rose. ///unsubscribe

Matsuyama, DubP, Zach Johnson. Not sure what three are gonna talk about.

Beyond the guys listed above, Ryan Palmer, Russell Knox, William McGirt, HV3, CH3 (crazy consistent here), and Kevin Kisner are all ballstrikers who should show well.

Also like Leishman a lot. I’m also keen to see Steve Marino, Luke List and Spencer Levin start the year. Will be keeping a close eye on them.

Fred Funk in the field – that guy #megafuqs. Hero of mine.

Can’t wait to see Harris English in Nike gear – that’s a rough adjustment from Peter Millar to Nike. If Nike makes him wear the really aggressive stuff he’s going to look like a clown. At least give him a collar!

Interesting to see Bob Estes in the field – I guess I’ll have to find another source for neo-conservative twitter takes this week.

Zac Blair grabbed his cojones on this shot LY and caught my eye. The Top five shot of 2016 for me, no doubt. “Oh my gosh that is sooooo good!” I was so amped after he hit that shot.

We shift gears this week from Kapalua’s modern Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw design to an old classic, Waialae Country Club, designed by one of the greatest golden age architects, 

, in 1927. While Kapalua features a 7,500+ yard setup with heavily sloped topography and massive fairways, Waialae Country Club sits on a flattish piece of land east of the hubbub of Waikiki and is one of the shortest courses on Tour. Playing to a par 70 at 7,044 yards, and requiring precise play, shotmaking and strategy in order to score well.

So what type of player plays well at Raynor’s Waialae? Much to Tron’s chagrin, Waialae is somewhat susceptible to producing an #LPCP leaderboard, but that also suggests that virtually anyone in the field can win (a more endearing quality than ever on a tour slate that favors indiscriminate pop). Owing to the short layout and paucity of par 5’s (just two) #LPCP luminaries such as Zach Johnson, Mark Wilson and Johnson Wagner have triumphed here.

To sate the architecture geeks, here are a few tidbits about the club. Founded and commissioned by the Territorial Hotel Company to bring more luxury travel to Hawaii, the development of WCC brought the illustrious Seth Raynor and his partner, Charles Banks, each at the height of his career, to Honolulu in 1925 (they also designed the nine-hole Mid Pacific Golf Club on the same trip). Raynor (like his mentor, 

) employed template holes at each of his designs. The template holes were renditions of holes that Macdonald believed to be the best of the British Isles. At Waialae, some notable template holes you will see are The Biarritz 4th hole modeled after the Chasm hole at Biarritz Golf Club and 

 par-3 16th modeled after the 4th hole at Royal West Norfolk Golf Club.

Here’s a look at the course from the eyes of PGA Tour player and golf course architecture nut Zac Blair (given his predilection for classic design it’s not surprising that ZB finished 3rd last year):

It’s funny I always hear people say Waialae has no Raynor left in it and I always laugh. The course has most of the bones left, just needs a minor tweak on a few holes. Much of the original routing is intact, it’s missing some bunkers and the hotel changed a few holes but it still is very much a Raynor design.” (the club offloaded three oceanfront holes to build the still well-regarded Kahala Hotel back in the sixties)

Little known fact: The 1998 United Airlines Hawaiian Open was won by John Huston. Dude went 28 deep, causing uproar among environmentalists and local homeowners to the point where PETA came to protest the mass slaughter of birds. The negative publicity caused United to pull out and Sony signed on, but with a caveat: the membership redesigned the course during the off-season, bringing in Robert Trent Jones Jr. to continue his family’s long legacy of stripping the soul out of classic golf courses. The next year Jeff Sluman emerged as champion with a heavily toned-down winning score of -9 and collected paychex. And a word on John Huston – that guy #fuqd. Took it so deep so often, such an underrated career. And did it while playing FAST.

There’s a distinct lineage of nebbish dudes who have won this event: the aforementioned Sluman, Paul Goydos, Mark Wilson, Corey Pavin, Brad Faxon, David Toms, and Russell Henley among others. I’m surprised that Mike Weir hasn’t been in the sponsor’s ear about an exemption.

I wrote the following in 2014 and it is more true than ever: “Finally, and really most importantly, shame on the organizers for refusing to extend a sponsor’s exemption to Tadd Fujikawa. What the hell is that about? If you’re not going to give this guy a spot then don’t have exemptions. I thought it was written into the by-laws that he gets a spot. In ’12 he even rose above mascot status and nabbed a top-20.” 

This has since been memorialized in t-shirt form

. While Tadd deserves a lifetime exemption to the event, we are graced with his presence again this year. He will be the center of attention during the Friday broadcast window. On a serious note, I respect Tadd for staying out there and grinding. He can’t be more than 5’1″ and yet he’s out there on the Canadian Tour and trying to Monday into PGA Tour Events. I’m told he’s about as nice a guy as you’ll meet and that his mom loops for him at most events and brings her dog on course in a little carrier. Picture evidence:

Receiving a lot of questions regarding #LPCP lately, including some misconceptions. For the uninitiated, #LPCP stands for “Lacks Pop, Can’t Play” and you can listen to 

 to learn the backstory. The quintessential #LPCP prototype is someone like Matt Kuchar. Big, athletic frame who just babies the ball around the course and manages his ball, disappears in majors and on weekends when the chips are down. A bad example of #LPCP is not someone like Jon Curran, Fred Funk, Zac Blair, all of whom are relatively small and don’t beat on the ball. They don’t necessarily lack pop, they were simply blessed with varying degrees of pop due to their smaller frame. Pop is relative.

What happened to Carlos Ortiz? That dude was playing a consistently high level for awhile and then just lost it. Any intel floating around out there?

Hole 9 this week is a perfect example of par being irrelevant. It is a 500 yard stock hole, that says 5 on the card. If you make par you’re losing a shot to the field. 18 is a great finishing hole and the sight of ZB’s big time second shot in there last year.

Fantastic ProTracer compilation video from last year.:

With regard to the broadcast I am looking forward to seeing GC and NBC’s coverage this week. They seemed to show more shots in rapid succession last week, and did it without being cluttered or choppy. Look for Rolfing to shift from his whales/surfers schtick to more of a volcano/windsurfing vibe.

Tom Doak offered the following on WCC in his Confidential Guide: “It’s hard to see some f the Raynor templates on TV through the monotony of the bermudagrass, and the club did sell out three oceanfront holes on the front nine in the 1960’s to make room for housing and the Kahala Hotel. But the bones of a good course are there, and I’m consulting with the club to remove the buildup of dust so its charm can shine through.” He then proceeded to give it a 5 on the Doak Scale, which is a mix of pretty good and “meh. Interesting that he didn’t skewer RTJ by name.

Little bit of trivia here – there are currently 11 guys from Japan and South Korea in the OWGR Top 100, 3 of whom I’ve never heard of, and 1 of whom I forgot about. Only guessed 7 of 11. Kind of amazing that there are guys in the top 100 that are virtually unknown even to people who follow golf very closely.

WCC is enveloped by the posh Kahala neighborhood, basically Honolulu’s version of Beverly Hills, except closer to the beach. Why do I bring this up? My favorite book I read in 2016, William Finnegan’s 

 is partially set in the fringes of Kahala in the 1960’s. The whole thing was enchanting, no part more than the early days set in Kahala. Enchanting book, probably even more so during the winter months. Highly recommend.

Last, Honolulu’s an interesting place if you can get out of the Waikiki bubble. I was lucky to spend a week visiting my aunt and uncle, Tom and Kathleen, while they were stationed at Fort Shafter. Having only spent time on Maui and the Big Island prior, I didn’t have a sense of Oahu when I arrived. That quickly changed as we vibed on the North Shore, tied one on at La Mariana Sailing Club, ate poke tuna nonstop, and experienced first-hand the insane traffic that Honolulu has and the staggering number of homeless. Which is a natural segue into playinga bunch of golf on the military courses on the island, which are spectacular. We played Mamala Bay, which is on the backside of the airport. Course was fantastic but the planes-potting was the real show on the runways basically surrounding the course on three sides with both commercial and military jets taking off, the harbor on another and then mountains in the background. Then we played Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course, which is the Marine Corps. course on the Northeast side of the island and features some of the gnarliest, narrowest ocean front holes I’ve ever played. Believe Obama’s played this course a lot, and I can’t imagine he fared too well. Firm and fast too. Highly recommend both if you are military or have an in. Sure beat the resort spots on Oahu, and the guys we played with were true heroes. There’s some military golf courses out there with good bones, just need some TLC and/or some creative touch. This would be a very worthwhile project for someone like Tiger to spearhead, just an idea.

Mamala Bay: featured thoughtful bunkering and surpisingly strategic design

Kaneohe Klipper: “The Poor Man’s Pebble Beach”

Sony Open Notes

The ambassador of #TourSauce himself, Justin Thomas, unleashed an legendary barrage of the sauce on Friday at Kapalua. The best part was, he ended the day tied for the lead. He was striping the ball all over the yard, hitting driver off every tee, and reaching for the tee before the sound of the impact with the ball had even reached the marshalls down the fairway:

If you're gonna flight one down, you gotta be quicker than that to get a pre apex tee grab JT 

Then he began to leak a little bit of oil coming home, and unleashed a streak of sauce that only few legends of the game have ever reached. Oh, and he played this four hole stretch in -1. It started with this tee ball off the 15th:

The point was just instincts, as there wasn’t even a gallery to warn, or a marshall to track the ball.

The awkward follow through, then even a bit of a twirl mixed in. He practically imitated the logo:

And finally, my favorite, on the 18th. He waits for the green to clear from 329 YARDS OUT, you know, just in case he murders one.

(Thankfully he didn’t go driver off the deck, because we’ve seen how that works out:)

The biggest threat to our nation's security is 

He ended up only a 102 yards short of the green. If there is anything I can relate to on the PGA Tour, it’s waiting for the green to clear, then missing it by 100 yards.

He of course went on to birdie the hole, and finish the day tied for the lead with Ryan Moore at -12. On a serious note, it’s great to see JT come out of the gate strong in 2017 (

read about his preparation for the event here

), and firing at every pin in sight. Besides those last few holes, he had the ball on a string, and was swinging it with a bit of an extra swagger that I’m not quite used to seeing out of him. My only request is that he start balling out at tournaments that aren’t located in the Pacific Ocean, and don’t require me to get up in the middle of the night if I actually want to see them live.

That was a fun round of golf! There may not be much of an offseason anymore, but there’s enough of one to make us crave meaningful golf again. Partner that with incredible scenery, a primetime TV slot, and a studded leaderboard, and you’ve got yourself some pretty good television. To top it off, the Golf Channel coverage was fantastic (willing to look past how they somehow missed JT’s birdie putt on 17 to tie the lead when there were only about 8 players left on the course). They showed a LOT of shots, got quiet when the players and caddies were talking, and seem to be making a conscious effort to bring us even closer to the game.

Gonna be a hell of a lot of fun this year if 

 keeps their mics this ???!!



— Big Randy (@BigRandyNLU) 

We’re critical of coverage often, but if you do it well, we’ll recognize it.

Golf Channel delivering the goods thus far. Showing a ton of golf. Cutting quickly between shots w/o feeling rushed. Lots of protracer. ??



— Tron Carter (@TronCarterNLU) 

Starting the year hot, and with another fantastic quintessential Reed quote:

P. Reed hit 18/18 GIR Friday in Maui. “Would have hit all 14 f’ways as well, but my tee shot @ No 1 was too good & rolled through,” he said.



— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) 

He was fantastic on his way to a 65, and played so well that Jason Day basically got dropped from coverage, despite playing alongside Reed and shooting 69. He had the patented Reed follow through pose in full flex, and softly bobbed his head up and down as he tracked the ball in the air towards the flag. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us this year.

Follow us on twitter for more during live coverage:

Justin Thomas Put On An Epic Display Of #TourSauce At Kapalua

I try to do a mailbag each of the “offseason” months, but I missed December due to an extended trip to the motherland. But let’s roll…

 how was africa?



— Zack (@zkupper_bsg) 

). Great sightseeing, animal spotting, partying, and vibes. Incredible life experience, and highly recommended to anyone that has the chance to go. It was a rejuvenation for my soul, and a much needed break from dreary European winter.

To tie it back to golf, I met a recently retired 20-something South African pro at a bar in Cape Town. We had a fascinating conversation about the ups and downs of trying to make it as a professional golfer, and I’m trying to get him on the podcast to tell his story. I think it will be a refreshing change to go from some of the top players of the game, to the perspective of a guy who tried his hardest, but just ultimately failed. Hoping to get this arranged this month.

Most importantly, stepping away from golf for a few weeks has really gotten me amped for this season. Let’s get hyped for this next question!

 2016 was a big year for golf… Ryder Cup, great majors, Olympics… is 2017 going to feel boring?



— Jason Barefoot (@barefoot_jason) 

Alright Jason not the enthusiasm I was looking for to start the year but we’re just gonna shake that off and roll with it. For God’s sake, it’s a Presidents Cup year!!!

2016 was phenomenal in a lot of ways, in particular the two middle majors and the Ryder Cup. But, perhaps this is just me, the “regular season” events caught my eye less and less as the year went on. The Olympics were boring (sorry, but that’s just a fact). And were there really 

 many memorable moments from regular events in 2016? Sure, it finished with a bang with Rory, DJ, and Reed sweeping the playoff events, but just look at the names at this week’s Tournament of Champions and ask yourself if 2016 was really that epic. I’m not saying this to dump on what was a really, really fun year, but I think the 2017 season is going to do a much better job of keeping our attention throughout the calendar, rather than just the big events. It also helps that we don’t have an insane 100-ish day stretch where we have three majors, the Olympics, and the FedExCup. For as much as people around the world complained about how terrible 2016 was, let’s give 2017 a chance to breathe before we bury it!

A Rory that looks poised to return to number one.

A healthy(?) Tiger playing a somewhat regular slate of events.

A Jordan Spieth that isn’t dealing with the pressure and unrealistic expectations of a record setting season.

A reinvented DJ that finally seems ready to start fracking into that bottomless well of potential.

Brooks Koepka making the leap to a major champion.

Justin Thomas becoming a top-10 player in the world.

Patrick Reed just continuing to be Patrick Reed.

A slew of young, exciting players like Brandon Hagy, Trey Mullinax, Ollie Schneiderjans, etc.

And that’s really just scratching the surface on what gets me jacked for this year. I’m as excited for a non-Ryder Cup year as I can be.

I think we’re going on year three of me writing this exact thing, but I really do think we’re going to see The Leap from Koepka this year. The guy I saw at the Ryder Cup (

) and at Vegas a few months has zero flaws in his game, zero fear, and flat out does not lay up. For as far and as pure as he strikes it, he rolls it even better. 2016 was a transition year with equipment, and although he didn’t win, it’s hard to not call it the best year of his young career. I know I’ve hyped him relentlessly, and 

, but you can’t argue with what he’s given us so far. I’m taking him to win the Open this year.

 How much did you underestimate the reaction to your equipment reporting.



— Jim Anderson (@JamesTAnderson) 

I was a few cocktails deep, still on a huge high coming off the huge U.S. Ryder Cup win, somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean en route to Amsterdam from Minnesota 

). I had a really good source on it, and hadn’t seen it reported anywhere else, and thought our followers would like to hear that information. What I did not expect to happen was a 20+ page thread on Golf WRX, twitter scorn, and people to run with it saying that I was “reporting” this. I worded it as carefully as I could while throwing back Jack Daniels trying to knock myself out on this red eye. As someone who has never really had a foot in the equipment game, I didn’t realize how seriously people took this stuff, and didn’t realize how big this Tiger news was.

Writing

Thunderbirds, Rock Concerts, and Caddie Races: the History of the Phoenix Open

Farmers Notes

A Storied Affair: San Diego's PGA Tour History

2017 PGA Fantasy Primer

The Case for Daily Fantasy Golf

Sony Open Notes

Justin Thomas Put On An Epic Display Of #TourSauce At Kapalua

January 2017 Mailbag

Fore Left: The Story of No Laying Up

The Best Golf Tweets of 2016

Rory McIlroy To Use Callaway Woods and Irons, Odyssey Putter, Titleist Ball And Wedges At BMW South African Open

2016 Equipment Changes: What Worked and What Didn't

November Mailbag

Western Ireland Golf Trip, Part V: Carne

Fitzpatrick and Hull Prove English Golf is in Safe Hands

The 2016 Saucies: The Finals

The Saucies, Round 3: The Final Four

The 2016 Saucies: Round 2