Welcome to the fourth installment of GHIN & Tonic. Our hope is that this space serves as a callback to the spirit of the original writing that appeared on No Laying Up dot com: unvarnished, wide-ranging, and somewhat random, but with golf as the loose thread. Some will be more golf-heavy, some golf-light - think TrapDraw Podcast plus some golf sprinkled in. We’ll pass the ball around on these on a weekly basis and all will be personal in nature, with KVV up next week. And if you can’t figure out which sections are “GHIN” and “Tonic”, that’s on you!

Here’s what I’m monitoring in competitive golf right now:

We’ve got you covered on the PGA Championship front - if you’re yearning for predictions or discussion around Valhalla, please head to our 

 and eat your heart out. And then catch up on ESPN2 on Thursday and Friday from 11am-1pm eastern, and ESPN+ on Saturday and Sunday from 9am-11am eastern). My primary focus will be on not cussing on live tv, which takes way more willpower than it should and is probably a sign that I should clean things up across our productions. More than anything, I’m excited to talk golf and watch the best players compete in a meaningful tournament - a fleeting thing these days.

Jimmy Dunne’s letter announcing his resignation from the board

As you are aware, I have not been asked to take part in negotiations with the PIF since June 2023. During my testimony at the Senate hearing, I said it was my intention to cast my vote alongside the Player Directors if a final agreement was reached with the PIF. Since the players now outnumber the Independent Directors on the Board, and no meaningful progress has been made towards a transaction with the PIF, I feel like my vote and my role is utterly superfluous.

"With these foundational elements in place and – more specifically – with an active, focused and engaged Transaction Subcommittee, we continue to make meaningful progress behind the scenes in our negotiations toward a potential agreement with the PIF. Our goal remains to deliver the best possible outcome for the PGA TOUR, our players, partners, tournaments and fans."

Pretty interesting to see Jay continue to gaslight everyone and frame his close ally’s departure from the board as a coherent step in meaningful progress. Reading between the lines, it appears we’re approaching a true Mexican standoff and there are no good guys.

In one corner we’ve got the subset of Cantlay/Tiger/Spieth, who seem 1) intent on a domestic tour that moves forward independent of PIF deadset on barring LIV defectors; 2) appalled at what they’re seeing as they continue to look behind the curtains and get a close-up of how the tour is run (welcome to the party, guys!); 3) naively hoping that they can wait this thing out with the SSG investment in-hand and keep going with current purse sizes despite more 

, the prospect of additional defections, ratings cratering, and golf fans realizing that nothing matters outside of the majors. While I dig the distrust and hatred of Monahan and Co., it’s hard to envision a scenario where their intransigence yields a positive outcome. Rather, the most likely scenario is the tour continuing to whither away and everyone involved being poorer for it.

In the middle, you’ve got Rory (and presumably SSG/Fenway) who wants a more global tour, a way to fold things back together even if it means amnesty for guys who left and are tired of the divide in the game. But Rory is also still aligned with Jay’s cronies, which makes me distrust him to an extent. Continued support of Jay is a non-starter and the one thing that makes it feel like it could get everyone at least somewhat realigned is ridding the tour of his malignant presence and getting fresh, competent blood in there.

, but at some point, they have stakeholders and will need to side with competence and strategy over the blind Boston loyalty that has thus far superseded everything else.

In another corner, Big Jay continues to hunker down with independent directors Herlihy and Flaherty (will they follow Dunne out the door?) and Webb, Malnati, Rory’s other foot and Jay’s lieutenants and deep roster of VPs inside the Global Home. Amazing that we’re four years into this and dozens of muffed decisions into this thing and Jay’s still holding on. There are only three explanations for the series of decisions that have been made and the lack of turnover in leadership: 1) gross incompetence + a completely broken governance structure; 2) Tour leadership, with complicity from golf’s ruling class, is hiding malfeasance and a wide variety of skeletons in the closet, whether collusion with the majors, anti-competitive behavior fighting all of this off, some sort of financial fraud or sketchy tax moves, a regime that’s covered up a variety of scandals, etc. ; 3) some combination of the two. In any case, THESE are not the people who should be charged with fixing things and being creative and coming up with solutions.

My armchair analysis (read: hope) is that newly minted DP World Tour Guy Kinnings. My hope is that he and DPWT member Rory can link up, throw the “Strategic Alliance” and the various things underpinning that (PGAT investment into European Tour Productions, etc.) out the window, and partner with PIF on setting up some sort of big money events series in July/August/September that guys from any tour can play and DARE the PGA Tour to block players from playing in that. Rory and others could still play the PGA Tour (particularly from February to June) but this would provide a way forward and show how myopic and self-sabotaging the PGAT is being right now. You’re telling me that other European-based players like Hovland, Fleetwood, the Hojgaards and Ludvig wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to play those events? It’s insane that we’ve gotten to a point in this whole thing where I’m actively rooting for PIF to have a coherent stake in things, but the reality is they’re going to have a stake one way or another and if that investment yields solutions for making the game more global, less dependent upon title sponsors, more creative and nimble, and provides a path forward for reunification, then bring it on. I’m not going to sit here and lament the PGA Tour schedule potentially being trimmed to 25-30 events or for a super league sitting atop a rank-and-file Tour schedule that increasingly feels like a souped-up version of the Korn Ferry Tour, abandons wide swaths of the United States (and works aggressively to diminish the sport globally!) and hosts way too many events in Florida, Texas and California.

Burn it all down. Everyone involved deserves to get thrown out on their asses and given a scarlet letter within the golf world. This entire four year fiasco has been an embarrassment and the sports washing worked. Fly the banner, Yasir.

Speaking of burning stuff down, I’ve gotta call out this ghoulish lack of self-awareness and cynicism from NBC Sports to send this email out midway through a tournament that they were not televising on linear TV until a two-hour block of final round coverage on CNBC that the LPGA paid for. Good on Damon and Eamon’s sentiment and no issue there, it’s the jarring contrast between that sentiment and NBC/Golf Channel’s week-to-week actions, and then the lack of tact it takes to send that email out.

Continuing the NBC/GC vent session, there are some telltale events that will yield a window into their strategy over the next 6-7 weeks. Much has been made of NBC Exec Producer 

 last week at US Open Media Day at Pinehurst, but nobody pressed him on the trajectory of USWO coverage and how that will look this year. I felt last year’s efforts from Pebble were actually worthwhile and a rare #dub for our friends at the Peacock. Can they keep that up? Meanwhile, their effort on the KPMG Women’s PGA was perhaps the most abysmal I’ve seen in the last decade of covering golf: pitiful coverage windows, a lack of physical cameras, zero energy on display, a complete lack of graphics, etc. Can they work with the PGA of America to get that broadcast on track?

Additionally, Golf Channel has coverage of the men’s and women’s NCAA Championships the next few weeks from Carlsbad - will they choose to invest in what is a compelling, primetime product, or mail it in and continue to show us the breadth and depth of their cost-cutting maneuvers. We’ll see!

As you probably saw on our socials or heard on the podcast, I was fortunate to make the trip out with some of the crew to Bandon’s 25th Anniversary Celebration to reconnect with industry friends, see some of the new offerings (Shorty’s, the new 19-hole short course is a welcome addition, and I preferred it to Preserve - more to come on that front; Ghost Tree Grill is a good addition to the resort’s dining options - will highlight one offering down below). Most of the time, I’d feel sheepish digging into specific elements of a stay at a single resort, but Bandon’s become somewhat singular in the world of golf - Mike Keiser took what Sand Hills started in Nebraska and brought it to the coast and to the public, and 25 years on it sets the tone for golf travel at large. Here’s some quick hits from the trip:

Each time out there I gain a new appreciation for a different element of the resort. This time, it was Old Mac. We played that day in some truly bad weather and Old Mac is one of the rare courses that seems to shine in wind and rain, much more so than the other courses at Bandon. The width of the tee, the way it sits down in a bowl a bit detached from views of the ocean, and the windswept openness all combine for a quintessentially linked feeling. A big part of the newfound appreciation for Old Mac was the Poa Annua greens coming into their own. During previous trips, I felt the fescue greens on Old Mac were a layer of mud with small whisps of fescue interspersed. This time they were lush and gorgeous and added so much visual depth to each green site, but still firm and linksy. I love the idea of fescue, but it’s tricky in certain settings and the Poa Annua just wants to creep in. Poa isn’t without its faults, which were evident on the other courses.

As soon as we arrived at Bandon, I was inundated with messages about the state of the greens. Candidly, I’m tired of answering. It was an extraordinarily wet winter on the Oregon Coast, resulting in standing water on greens and damage to the Poa, particularly on Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes. Much has been made of a social media post showing No. 2 green at Bandon, but outside of that one and spots on three or four other greens, the greens at Bandon were fine. Pacific Dunes’ greens were bumpier and more inconsistent. Trails was fine and everyone said Sheep was running nicely (we didn’t play that one this trip.) Going to Bandon in late April/early May comes with the expectation that things aren’t going to be pristine, even in a normal year. Does the resort need to limit play more during the winter and early spring months? Probably. Now quit asking me about the greens.

I continue to love shoulder season at Bandon (and elsewhere.) I’ve now taken two shoulder season trips to Scotland (all March/April), three to Bandon (all April/May) and one to Ireland (April/May) and have had a variety of conditions for each that have added to my enjoyment of the trip. Sunny, warm weather is fun. But so is variety and getting a taste of different seasons on the same trip.

I went to the range for the first time in four trips to Bandon, and what a range it is!

Bill Coore, David McLay Kidd, Jim Urbina, Dave Axland, Rod Whitman and Keith Cutten, who have all worked on the various courses at Bandon throughout the years did a chat one of the evenings, and I remain in awe of Coore’s wisdom, humility and class. Each gentleman provided fun anecdotes about their experiences and work on the property, but Coore’s clarity and self-awareness shined bright. He had stories about Tony Russell (who is probably the only person to work on each course at Bandon with his work clearing each site), Howard McKee (the land planner who helped Mike Keiser bring the totality of the resort to reality), and Keiser himself (“Mike, I know this site <for Bandon Trails> is not going to be on the ocean, and that’s fine, we’re ok to do something different”) all belied a lack of ego combined with an immense amount of self-belief. A rare combination!

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I still can’t believe the Falcons drafted Michael Penix. It’s so nonsensical that I think I’ve come around on it and dig it. If having a quarterback is a prerequisite to actually mattering as a franchise, then perhaps it’s not the worst thing in the world to have two (especially if both are oft-injured!)

Meanwhile, checking in on one of my other favorite franchises (among the half-dozen or so):

Conversely, here are a few football things I thought were extremely thoughtful:

 (excited for him to get into commentary/NFL Today)

Remembering Chris Mortensen by Zak Keefer

 (huge Mort guy - similar to the stuff with Bill Coore above, just secure in himself and does right by others.)

Been in kind of a slump with cooking - messed up a few dishes/tried some new stuff that just didn’t pan out and ingredients have been meh here in Jax, with the exception of seafood. I did taco night a couple weeks ago with some fresh Golden Tile and Mayport Shrimp from a local seafood market that gets stuff from right off the coast.

You’ll see a couple of #ExcitingWhites in that picture above. It’s officially white wine season here in Florida, but that doesn’t mean they have to be boring.

The fish and chips at McKee’s Pub still slaps.

Grant, the Beverage Director at Ghost Tree Grill, led us on a fun journey through a few different Pinot Noirs. Got two opposite expressions from the Willamette Valley and then something that embodied the best of both from Burgundy.

The “Mary’s Chicken” entree at Pacific Grill is possibly the best chicken dish I’ve ever had. Stuffed with prosciutto and fontina, served atop tomato leek risotto, and with a fried artichoke, I was astonished. It takes a lot for me to order the chicken, and I was not disappointed. This and some lobster arancini paired well with a callback from G&Tv1, the Envinate Benje Tinto, which I was stoked to see on the list. Poosh, D.J. and Soly were blown away by it!

Poosh and I drank a bottle of sake during our round on Bandon Trails and it continues to be my favorite on-course beverage. Clean, refreshing, distinctive. I’m getting deeper and deeper into the sake game.

Poosh’s continued efforts to get me deep into DC were not successful. It tastes like chemicals.

GHIN and Tonic: Vol. 4 (TC)

Welcome to GHIN & Tonic: Volume 3. I have two golf-related threads I’d like to pull, and a mish-mash of “Tonic” topics as I adjust to the newfound perspective of being a father.

I recommend listening to Patrick O’Shaughnessy’s interview with Marc Lasry on last week’s 

 podcast. It’s the first time I’ve heard a Strategic Sports Group investor (aka the PGA Tour’s new sugar daddy) 

 discuss professional sports investing. Though he doesn’t go into any detail about his current SSG investment in professional golf, the entire podcast is worth a listen if you are interested in the business of sports.

I found his comments about exploring new ventures in sports at the 55:30 mark of the podcast especially interesting. Lasry says, “

If I were starting out today, I’d look to invest in women’s sports

.” He goes on to highlight why (lower costs, more room for growth, etc.), which made me consider his investment in golf. Outside of big payouts for PGA Tour fealty, there has been little guidance on how the SSG’s $3 billion dollar investment will be used to increase the $12.3 billion valuation of the PGA Tour. Perhaps some of that money will go toward investing in or outright acquiring the LPGA as an area of growth. We could call it a more strategic 

With men’s professional golf overvalued and fragmented, I’m surprised more sponsors are not exploring the LPGA as an alternative or supplement to their marketing spend in professional golf. The top tier of the women’s game is still united under the LPGA (for now), often plays more interesting venues, has a superstar on a historic run, and doesn’t raise the price on title sponsorships by tens of millions of dollars year over year just for new “Signature Event” branding. Of course, NBC is not making the opportunity obvious or growth easy with its apathetic coverage of the women’s game. Regardless, non-endemic golf sponsors are just as guilty of missing this opportunity while simultaneously getting fleeced by the PGA Tour. I think NBC and other networks would follow the money if sponsors lead the way, and it’s refreshing to see a savvy investor like Lasry call it out.

In contrast to Lasry’s interview, I want to call out his fellow SSG investor 

Steve Cohen's professional golf investment thesis

, which I don’t think received enough attention: 

The US workforce isn’t productive on Friday, so it will be moving to a four-day workweek, leading to more interest in leisure activities like golf, and that will lead to more people playing golf.

First, I would love to have enough money to make a billion-dollar investment based on a half-baked investment thesis. But, what I really wish to see are truly 

 investors; in Cohen’s case, he’s missing an opportunity in his backyard. Steve should renovate the Flushing Meadow Pitch ‘n Putt (something I still intend on doing if 

 redevelopment of the 50 acres surrounding Citi Field. I think night golf at short courses has massive growth potential with the best example being the 

 short course in Arizona. The Flushing Meadow Pitch ‘n Putt is an 18-hole short course (with lights) perfectly positioned across the subway and LIRR tracks from Citi Field and next to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. What a strategic opportunity to find some #synergies in today’s investment portfolio and bring golf into NYC in a fresh and meaningful way, Steve! Instead, we are waiting on four-day workweeks and Tomorrow’s Golf Leagues.

Between Cohen’s callow golf investment ideas (and general mismanagement of The Mets), Arthur Blank allowing the Falcons to draft a 24-year-old QB with two torn ACLs (after guaranteeing a 35-year-old Kirk Cousins $100 million coming off a torn Achilles), and John Henry’s languid management of the Boston Red Sox, I’d love to see some strategy from our new golf overlords at “Strategic Sports Group.” I appreciate Lasry giving me a glimmer of hope.

After LIV Adelaide and The Zurich Classic, I’ve been mulling over the concept of team golf for a few days, and I’ve come to this conclusion: LIV has fumbled a huge opportunity to fill a void in the professional golf landscape by not focusing exclusively on a simplified team golf format. I’ll suspend my other qualms with LIV golf and make the case in a vacuum.

If I were running things for Andrew Waterman, I’d completely do away with the individual competition and stop trying to be a replacement for the PGA Tour. Knowing that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can still guarantee the star players big money up front, I’d make any competitive prize money heavily weighted toward team golf. This would incentivize LIV players to care about the team component, and it also opens up the ability to test out multiple formats (team match play, alt-shot, best ball, and more), which is additive to the golf landscape vs. redundant.

A singular focus on team golf is the only way you get the players and consequently, the fans to care about the Cleeks or Crushers in any meaningful way. If the financial windfall for players comes from team success, you will start to see teams be thoughtful about roster construction and align around commonalities (i.e., nationality, friendship, or a team-specific sponsor), which would drive authentic fan engagement. Once the team golf matters to the players, golf fans could actually start analyzing and discussing team dynamics and strategy the way we endlessly debate Ryder Cup selections every two years. And why does the Ryder Cup work? Yes, history, tradition, and nationalism are huge factors, but it’s also because it’s focused. It’s exclusively a team event that celebrates individual excellence the way a triple-double is celebrated in the NBA.

As an aside, I find it fascinating that with all the LIV golf enthusiasts Elon keeps serving me on X, I don’t think any of them have a favorite team (except for Cleeks super fan Tron Carter). I literally can’t think of one video, tweet, or post I’ve come across that shows someone genuinely rooting for a LIV team or sincerely discussing a LIV team's performance or strategy. From what I can see, they support the league itself and ride for the league's legitimacy as a replacement for the PGA Tour and the legitimacy of specific LIV player performances. In contrast, several YouTube channels are dedicated to legitimate analysis of YouTube’s amateur golf ecosystem. Whether it’s LIV or some influencer golf league, there is an audience for team golf, but it needs to be the foundation and focal point of the competition for anyone to care. Right now, it’s a distracting appendage.

My own golf game is a bit of a mystery, and if you are reading this on the day it’s published, it means I’m in the middle of my first round since early February: A match vs. Ben at Pinehurst no. 2. Good or bad, we will let that content speak for itself (look for it the week or two before the US Open)!

My trip to Pinehurst is also my first trip away from home since Peter was born. I’m six weeks into fatherhood, and it has been an exercise in load management. To help with the lack of sleep and added responsibility, I made the very (anti-kid) mature decision to have a sober month in April. I HATE to admit it, but no booze made a big difference in fighting off a lack of sleep (I hate it because no one loves a col’ beer more than me). I also now understand the appeal of non-alcoholic beer because you do get tired of drinking water all day long and just want a little hoppy goodness. Damn, I sound old.

In the absence of alcohol, I filled the void with daily workouts. I am up to 174 of 500 miles on my 2024 cardio goal, and I have my weight back down to 190, which is exciting. I’d highly recommend this Instagram account 

 for golf-specific exercises that I’ve been adding to my workouts (my thoracic spine is #NotMobile). Side note: my Instagram feed has turned into dogs, parenting hacks, and golf fitness instructors…fatherhood really does come at you fast. Moving forward, I like the stoic idea of eliminating something from my life for a month to see what fills that void. I need a little time to figure out what’s next (maybe coffee, no email before noon, or eliminating a specific social platform), and target a June 1st start date.

I recently subscribed to Ed Zitron’s email newsletter after this epic takedown of my former employer: 

In my last six months at Google, I was struck by how many new executives and big promotion announcements were former McKinsey, Bain, or BCG management consultants. It felt like Google was becoming more and more like IBM every month, and Zitron reinforced that my feelings were valid in 2018 and 2019. He also gives a play-by-play of influential internal politics on the Google search and engineering team, beginning on February 1st, 2019. My last day at Google was January 31st, 2019!

The Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler, The Marines, and The Making and Breaking of America’s Empire

by Jonathan Katz. Of course, I’m a sucker for narrative history, and I’ve enjoyed the deep dive into our history manipulating Central American and Caribbean politics, and how the Marines served as a private security force for Wall Street throughout much of the early 1900s. It’s also been a good historical context for the current issues in Haiti.

Goose concerts on YouTube continue to be my WFH soundtrack. They have a new drummer, Cotter Ellis, who brings more dynamic energy and power to the music (vs. former drummer Ben Atkind’s metronomic discipline). I’m not sure if it’s better, and I don’t really care. I vibe with these guys and highly recommend their new shows at the Capitol Theater (

especially night 4 when Vampire Weekend joins them halfway through the concert

I’ve enjoyed rewatching House of Cards on paternity leave. It feels like a show that launched 10 years of streaming content, and it sucks Kevin Spacey is a creep because he’s excellent as Frank Underwood.

I took a big step toward solving one of my biggest issues this week. I signed up and implemented 

 to solve my rampant issues with typos. My ego prevented me from doing this sooner, but I’m here to say it’s making writing much more enjoyable and efficient. If Grammarly had a solution to my issues around pronunciation, I would pay for that, too.

Nest

GHIN and Tonic: Vol. 3 (Neil)

I was walking through the airport in Chicago this morning and was thinking about Growing The Game.

What sparked this was seeing a 70-something man pass the other direction wearing a golf hat that simply said “THE NETFLIX CUP.” (I know this guy was not evangelizing for this one-off golf streaming event. Older guys love free hats, a fact and feeling I’m empathizing with and embracing more with each passing day.) But, for whatever reason, the hat just laid bare to me how silly, disposable and hollow each harebrained GTG initiative ends up feeling when Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda are doing what they’re doing.

The two may seem unrelated (and I’m sure they mostly are), but to me it speaks to the massive gulf between an industry trying desperately to attract new viewers and the things that those of us who eat, sleep and breathe the game actually love most about it.


Golf is exploding for all kinds of different reasons and it’s sincerely great that there are people trying new things and creating all kinds of different pathways to try to make the game more modern and approachable. But for those of us who have been on the couch every Sunday of the post-Tiger era – who, sadly, appreciate and love golf 

 of its pace and rules and nuance and dorkiness instead of 

 of them – Scottie and Nelly are exactly what we’ve been waiting 15 years for.

I’m more excited to watch week-to-week pro golf now than I have been since Jordan Spieth’s ascension in 2015. And what I personally think is so funny and refreshing about this phenomenon is that it doesn’t involve any tricks. There are no gimmicks or #collabs or press releases or limited product drops doing the heavy lifting. It’s nothing more than generational excellence at the stupid thing I love watching and thinking about. Ass kickings. It’s the highest possible expression of something we all consider an art form for reasons we can’t really explain to our significant others.

Of course, The Product needs to improve. But the last two months have been a reminder to me of just how great watching pro golf can be when the game is blessed with a center of gravity. (And in this case, two.) For the first time in far too long, what happens on the course is markedly more interesting than what’s going on in Ponte Vedra board rooms.


I don’t know if this will result in more people tuning in to pro golf. I hope so, but I’m too excited to really care. I know I’ll be watching more. And I suspect everyone who treats golf like a high-level competitive sport instead of the world’s most boring reality show probably will, too.


After years of non-stop discussion about whether changing the product was necessary (my own hand WAY up here), there’s some cosmic humor in watching the product throw it back in our faces. 

And with the golf world having these centers of gravity on the men’s and women’s side, it might even take pressure off the networks who are likely feeling like they are drinking from the firehose and trying to make 200 players into stars. Maybe that makes progress on the rest of the product even easier.

By the way, this whole take makes me feel so old. If you have any free hats, please send them to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

This past weekend, I officially kicked off my Wisconsin golf season by joining 60ish NLU listeners and Roost members at the fourth annual “Burban” at Spring Valley “Country Club.” The event is a battle between the Langford Lancers and the Moreau Marauders that is held in honor of a dead horse that was buried behind the 14th tee sometime in the 50s.

Speaking of the 50s…we never even came close temperature-wise. Compared to past years, which have featured all types of different precipitation, this year’s cold, dry, slate gray weather was declared a resounding victory. (It was also a resounding victory for my Marauders.)

When we decided to move from Florida back to the Midwest, I got many (very justified) questions about sabotaging my access to year-round golf. But in a way, these muddy season kick-off walks were some of the rounds I missed the most. They’re just the right balance of promise and excuses and always leave you grateful for the opportunity to get outside.

In Florida, there was never a real end to the season; no chance to put the clubs away and reflect. As irrational as it sometimes is, the offseason gives you the chance to turn the page and leave behind the silly mistakes and recurring misses that 

 wouldn’t follow you into the next season.

, maybe this year will be better than the last.

Speaking of Spring Valley: Man, I can’t say enough about how much I love going down there. The golf course is a Langford and Moreau from 1926, about 45 minutes south of downtown Milwaukee, right near the Illinois border.

There are no bunkers on the golf course, but there are all kinds of remnants of horse and plow shaping and little quirks that just make the excellent land that much better to chase your ball around. The greens are almost all laughably pitched from back to front and (especially when it gets baked out in the summer), I can’t imagine how satisfying it would be to really learn the place and hang up a number one day. Even if you don’t have your game, you likely won’t lose a ball and will play quickly.

There is a red mobile home across the street with giant yellow FRIDAY FISH FRY block letters across the side. The patent leather seating inside the clubhouse is the only clue that the “Country Club” descriptor in the name used to be true.

A lot of people rightly talk about how good the golf course could be with relatively minimal investment. But, man, I love it exactly how it is now and I’m sure the people who play there every weekday feel the same way.

The architecture geeks have plenty of restored and renovated playgrounds. I like that this one is $25.

Cody, Casey, Justine and I just got back from Southern California, an amazing trip on which we harvested a great deal of content. 

There’s a lot of video stuff to come, but a few quick takeaways:

• We had the unbelievable fortune to spend a day at the Titleist Performance Institute with Dr. Greg Rose, who put us through a full body and golf swing assessment. I’ve never experienced anything like it. Greg starts the day by saying “Pretend I’m a genie and give me your three wishes for your golf game.” He then spends the rest of the day breaking down what in your swing and body is causing the issues and how to fix them. Having him address my own problems was great, but watching him address and fix the immobility in Cody’s left side and Casey’s reverse spine angle was worth the trip alone. I cannot wait for those videos to come out and I'm so thankful for that day.

One fun thing: The first hour or so is spent doing physical assessment stuff (“What’s your range of motion in your shoulder?” “How long can you hold this squat” and so on.) After the assessment, Greg puts the information into his A.I. software, which spits out a prediction on what golf ailments your body is likely causing (and what exercises would help fix them). I have never been more nailed to the wall than I was by this computer.


After TPI, we also got to see the new Omni La Costa North Course, which was recently re-done by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner. La Costa is getting ready to host both the men’s and women’s NCAA championships and it seems like it will be a fantastic fit for the next three years (and hopefully beyond). We’ll have more thoughts on the golf course (and a video with Cameron Young!) in the next few weeks. But one overarching takeaway is how hard I’m rooting for NCAAs to be a smashing success this year. I think the course has a ton of great viewing vistas, a passionate base of golf sickos nearby, and a lot of fun do-or-die holes down the stretch that will be great for match play. With the ideal weather and a revamped property, it would be really fun to establish San Diego as a long-term home for college golf the same way people think of Omaha for college baseball.

Last month, I got the chance to fill in for my friend Dominic Cotroneo doing stats for a TV broadcast for my (newly) beloved Brewers. This all started with me asking him whether the Brewers would have enough of a sense of humor to give me a season-long credential on behalf of the TrapDraw, which I can confidently say is the No. 1 baseball podcast in the golf space. He said, “Why don’t you just become my backup stats guy instead?” which is a much better, more fun idea.


For those wondering what this job entails, the first task is to keep those in the truck (score bug operators, etc.) up to speed on what’s going on when things start moving quickly (“Turang stole second, pitch was called a strike, 2-2, man on second”). The second job is to try to predict what the commentators are going to want to say on air and arm them with the stats they want before they need them.

Julio Rodriguez is off to a slow start? Scramble around Baseball Reference, grab a post-it note and let the play-by-play man know that in 2022 he also didn’t hit a home run until May 1. It’s the best. My friend Brian Anderson humored me by using most of my notes and giving me a big cartoonish thumbs up each time he did.


The highlight of the night was in the final inning. The Mariners scored two runs off Abner Uribe to tie the game and as the Brewers ran off the field to come hit for the final time, BA asked me to “start getting walk-off stats ready to go,” something I had absolutely no idea how to do.


Panic set in with each Brewers base runner, until eventually the bases were loaded and I realized I had been given the ultimate stroke of luck. The date was April 5th, which I remembered because it was my mom’s birthday... And then I remembered we had also spent her previous birthday at the ballpark... And then I remembered that game ended in dramatic fashion with a walk-off Garrett Mitchell home run.

I double-checked the game log and passed the note to BA, who used it as the crux of his call as Seattle walked in the winning run for a true “walk off.”


Eat shit, Statcast. The Eye Test wins again.

• I’m having some real survivor’s guilt about abandoning the White Sox in these most trying times (at press time they are 3-22 and despite only playing 25 games, they are 15 back in the division). But even I had no idea it could possibly get this bad. Attending The Burban with some real bonafide South Siders who are committed to going down with the ship was not the best feeling. But I will continue to roll out the barrel and trust that going all-in on the hometown team is the right call long-term.


• I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that My Brewers took an important early lead in the season series with Soly/Randy’s Reds after some real ass-kickings in Cincy. Same for KVV’s Orioles and Neil’s Mets. Everyone is on notice. Just something to monitor.

• Justine and I got to visit Petco Park while we were in San Diego, which, unfortunately for any Padres haters, was an unbelievable atmosphere. It was a perfectly sunny Sunday sell-out and I was nearly overwhelmed by the sheer amount and variety of food and beverage offerings. We tried to pace ourselves and try a bunch of different things and the clear winner was the birria tacos. I also thought the Friar Frank was a solid 7.8/10.


Any ballpark that feels like it’s right in the middle of a downtown setting immediately flies up the rankings, but the way Petco mixed all kinds of design styles made for a fun walk before the game. Parts of it had big exposed beams and brick facades like Wrigley or Fenway. Parts of it felt ultra-modern and brand new. But it still felt like it all worked together and made for a unique feel. Beyond the centerfield seats, they had a festival-style lawn with a giant screen and music stage where standing-room-only ticket holders could watch the game picnic-style on a jumbotron and enjoy the sunshine and atmosphere of the ballpark. It ruled.

In true San Diego fashion, I’m not sure anyone there was really living or dying with each pitch, but there were a lot of them and they all seemed to be incredibly nice and having a positively delightful time. Can’t wait to return.


It’s been a while since I read a baseball book, but with the continuing obliteration of most of the league’s elbows, it seemed like a good time to read Jeff Passan’s 2016 book on the subject: “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports.” The book goes into great detail about the people trying to solve pitching injury problems, as well as what specialization in youth sports has done to exacerbate the issue and turn big leaguers into ticking time bombs. It’s been great so far.

With the Tourist Sauce editing crunch upon us, I feel like I have listened to very little music, watched exactly zero (0) movies, and helped with very little cooking in the past few months (massive thank you to Justine). In future G&Ts, this will likely be a much more robust section. I’m hoping to make up for lost time with stuff I’ve missed the past few months, but with the weather improving, that seems unlikely.

One movie note that caught my eye was Quentin Tarantino’s decision to abandon “The Movie Critic,” which was slated to be his 10th and final film. (For those that don’t know, he’s been talking about this idea of “making 10 perfect films” and “going out on top” for the past decade or so.)

I’ve been just fascinated by this decision for years, starting with the idea of whether or not to even believe whether it’s true.

GHIN and Tonic: Vol. 2 (D.J.)

Good tidings, sir! I’m writing you today in a sort of shock. I find myself more enthused about the game of professional golf than I have felt in quite some time, which you know for an old skeptic such as myself is no small statement. What we’ve witnessed Scottie Scheffler and Nelly Korda accomplish, respectively, on the golf course over the last month-plus has been simply incredible, and quite honestly, not something I was sure was even 

 in this post-Tiger, post-Annika era of optimization and modern technology. But here we are! We’ve watched two young, American stars clearly, 

, separate themselves from their peers. And it has stirred something in me, damnit. I have thoughts I need to share, and several questions for you.

Let’s start here–I can’t get over the parallels running between what Scottie and Nelly are doing. Nelly has won her last five starts, Scottie four of his last five starts (the one non-win resulting in a runner-up). Within their runs, both have captured their second major championship. Their games are similar too— both are supreme ball-strikers, elite around the green, and emerging from public (and painful at times) putting struggles. Personality-wise, both come across as reluctant superstars, not necessarily seeking or relishing the spotlight in which their games have thrust them. But both also seem to be extremely comfortable in their own skin, having built-up support systems of friends, family and coaches to help them block out the noise and concentrate on the one thing each desperately loves: winning golf tournaments. Can you remember two athletes within the same sport, on opposite sides of the gender divide, with so many similarities intertwining in real-time? It’s amazing.

I also want to get your thoughts on what a second major championship portends for both Scottie and Nelly. It feels like more often than not once that second major hits—we saw it with Tiger, we saw it with Inbee Park—the generationally great golfers win more majors quite quickly. So how fun is it that Scottie and Nelly have reached the entryway to generational greatness, and we, as fans, get to see if they’ll burst through or not? If they’re meant to, the next couple of years are going to be a hell of a lot of fun.

Kevin, I wonder: Is it okay to allow myself to feel giddy as a golf fan right now? Or am I setting myself up for disappointment? Is there anything more fulfilling as a fan, though, at least when it comes to individual sports, than witnessing the minting of the next legend of the game? Can you imagine if we get two at the same time?! I don’t know, KVV, spring is in the air, flowers are blooming, and I’m carrying on like a sappy romantic. That’s what these two have done to me. What have they done to you?

Seeing your big, cynical heart melt like a spring glacier brings me — a hopeless sports romantic — no small amount of joy.

You’re right, there is something energizing about watching a star athlete leave the atmosphere in real-time. Somehow, we’re lucky enough to witness two people do it at the same time. The second major always feels a bit like validating a skin. A lot of professional golfers can flash their way into ONE big win, on a week where everything clicks and the stars align. But a second major carries so much more significance. It’s proof that you are part of the game’s history. It also reminds me a little of this Steve Martin quote that I love, about the craft of standup:

It was easy to be great. Every entertainer has a night when everything is clicking. These nights are accidental and statistical: Like lucky cards in poker, you can count on them occurring over time. What was hard was to be good, consistently good, night after night, no matter what the abominable circumstances.

I think that taps into what I love about watching Scottie and Nelly in this current moment. They seem to have embraced the idea that volatility would be easy, and it suits their personalities more to reject complacency and say “I don’t have my best, but the hell with it, I’m winning anyway with what I’ve got today.” That’s the special sauce when it comes to the molding of an all-time great, and I think that’s why this feels different (at least to me) than when Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka won a handful of majors. Inbee Park’s major run in 2013, where she won three straight and six majors in a three year stretch might actually be the bar that both Scheffler and Korda are chasing.

I think disappointment is inevitable, but you also have to leave room for what’s possible. That, to me, is the actual fun part of being a fan. I’ve always disliked the kind of fans who are so married to negativity, and the idea that nothing in the present can ever live up to how good someone was in the past, they refuse to enjoy what was right in front of their face.

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are good examples of this phenomenon. There are certain fans who are so invested in Michael Jordan’s legacy that they spent the entirety of Kobe’s and LeBron’s careers arguing until their last breath that they’ll never measure up to their Basketball God. And it’s not that I disagree as much as I just don’t care. Wouldn’t it just be nice to enjoy what we’re watching without being mad, like we have to defend a maiden’s honor? What is this, feudal England? I just want to watch sports and be entertained, man. I don’t want to be an online knight taking up arms on behalf of Michael Jordan’s legacy.

That said, you’re about to see a lot of this unfold with Scheffler as it relates to Tiger Woods. If he wins the PGA Championship next month, it will be the victory that launches 1000 takes, many of them insisting that a Scottie Slam could never live up to the Tiger Slam for reasons X, Y, Z. There will also be a lot of people who refuse to enjoy it for made up reasons like “Scottie is boring” which is very funny to me as someone who lived through Tiger’s prime and watched him treat even the most banal interview obligations like a deposition.

Here is a question I want to volley back to you: Is one of Nelly’s and Scottie’s superpowers the fact that neither of them appear to be (for lack of a better term) extremely online? I’m so impressed (and envious) of the way they’ve essentially decided that golf is all that matters to them, and all the branding and discourse is kind of pointless. They will answer questions, fulfill their sponsor obligations, and occasionally hop onto a podcast (which we are grateful for) but for the most part, they are just interested in playing golf. Scheffler doesn’t even have a Twitter account, which rules. (If Elon cared about golf, I bet that would enrage him. He would just create a Fake Scottie and slap a blue checkmark on it.) I find them to be old souls in a way that’s refreshing, and wonder if some of their peers might benefit from unplugging.

Speaking of peers, do either of them need rivals to make this year interesting?

with more fun tidbits about Scottie and Nelly, if you didn’t see it yet. A particular nugget I really enjoyed, courtesy of Justin Ray, is the only other time we’ve seen World Number Ones win majors in back-to-back weeks was in 2007 when Tiger and Lorena Ochoa pulled off the feat. Not bad company to keep there.

Anyway, thank you for that Steve Martin quote! I had not seen or heard it, but he captures the banality of greatness perfectly. And it’s funny you brought up Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, because those two have been on my mind a lot lately thinking about the lineage of greatness. Roland Lazenby, in his book, “Michael Jordan: The Life,” said Michael only ever blessed Kobe as a comparison to himself–”he (Michael) said Kobe had done that work to deserve the comparison. He says Kobe’s the only one to have done the work.” I can’t help but wonder if Scottie and/or Nelly are truly worthy of comparison to a Tiger or Annika. It’s one thing to compare results, as we are doing, but the only thing that matters is the work, right? And maybe only Tiger or Annika can tell us who is worthy if anybody is worthy. I’ll tell you what, that each is unconcerned with social media, and the trappings of our online culture, only bodes well in my book that they at least have a chance to ultimately prove worthy comps.

You know, your thoughts on letting personal allegiances blind us to greatness really hit home. As the hardest of hardcore Mickelson fans, I didn’t truly appreciate Tiger’s greatness as it was happening. I never derived an ounce of happiness or satisfaction from it, and while that’s a shame on a certain level, I believe allegiances and rivalries and staking yourself to a side, is really what makes being a fan so much damn fun. So I hear you on the Jordan v Kobe v LeBron arguments and how people will blind themselves from appreciating what’s before them, but I can’t quit those people. Is there anything better than having a drink and passionately debating who is better than whom? I don’t think so. If Scheffler wins the PGA and Nelly gets it done in the USWO, bring on the debates! Let’s hear the hot takes! God knows that’ll be more enjoyable than figuring out where the next source of investment in PGA Tour Enterprises is coming from!

And that brings me to your question on the need for rivals to push Scottie and Nelly this year. We certainly don’t have to have ‘em this year–go out and stack majors you crazy kids–but we’re absolutely going to need them eventually. I mean, come on, rivalries are fun as hell. If work ethic provides the path to greatness, rivals are the weigh stations along the way. I realize golf isn’t as conducive to rivalries as other sports, but I think we’re due a couple, no? And I guess the natural question for you, Kevin, is who would make the best, most interesting foils for Scottie and Nelly?

Before I throw out some fantasy scenarios, can we agree that golf rivalries in general are weirdly unsatisfying?

People loved to claim that Tiger and Phil were rivals (and as huge Mickelson fans during his prime, I think you and I both wanted to believe they were) but how many times did they truly duel when it mattered? I believe the 2001 Masters is the only time they were paired together in the final round of a major where one of them emerged as the winner. I could point to a couple of majors, like the 2010 Masters or 2013 Open, where Phil left Tiger in the dust, but it never felt like they had their Duel in the Sun moment, where everyone else was playing for third place.

I remember writing a piece for ESPN that threw a little cold water on the idea of a Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth rivalry in 2015, suggesting it would never feel like Magic and Bird because the game was too deep, and they wouldn’t face each other often enough for it to feel meaningful. Little did I realize they would win one major between the two of them over the next decade, making any rivalry talk meaningless.

The rare times that golf does give us a clear rivalry that’s compelling, it usually has something to do with a difference in age, nationality or personality. So in the case of Scheffler, we need someone who can serve as a stark contrast to his humility and politeness. We need someone cocky and brash, someone who doesn’t play it safe and likes to pop off to the media. Does that character exist? I think the ideal scenario would be a mixture of Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, particularly since the LIV vs. PGA Tour divide would help fuel some of the tension there. Bryson is showing some promise, but it’s hard to tell sometimes if he wants to chase social media fame or majors.

I suspect Rahm is already annoyed that Scheffler has been anointed as the heir to Tiger because just a year ago, it felt like he was that guy. Hopefully, that provides the motivation needed to get back to Scheffler’s level because, just being blunt, his Masters title defense was incredibly soft. I hope he shakes off the malaise in time for the PGA Championship.

Finding a rival for Nelly might be a harder question. Lilia Vu has the game, and the same number of majors, but what if her back injury lingers throughout the year? They’re both such polite, soft-spoken women, they don’t offer much of a contrast in terms of personality. I do like that they each represent their own aspect of the American dream: first-generation Americans with the broad worldview that comes from your parents growing up somewhere else. Lilia seems unafraid of the big moment, which bodes well for her as soon as she gets healthy. Nelly is going to intimidate a lot of players with her length and steely demeanor, but I doubt Lilia will be one of them.

In summary, Randy, we have an embarrassment of riches in the game right now. Even if Scottie’s and Nelly’s rivals don’t emerge, their pursuit of greatness might be all the framing that we need. It’s not so much that I believe Scottie can catch Tiger (or Jack), or that I believe Nelly can run down Annika Sörenstam, it’s that I love the idea of watching two athletes who are burning with the motivation to try.

I know plenty of people will still long for something that’s already come and gone. I don’t want to take that from them. Tiger and Annika were a lot of fun. But I’m like you, I didn’t appreciate it enough as it was happening. I’m not making the same mistake if one — or both of them — offers us a second chance.

Pen Pals: Scottie Scheffler & Nelly Korda

Getting everyone down there on the same schedule was a heavy lift. Neil and Kevin flew in from JFK (via LAX), Soly and I flew in from JAX (via IAH, where we rendezvoused with Cody and DJ), and Randy flew in from DEN (via LAX, but a different airline from Neil and Kevin). We all departed the US at various times on Sunday and arrived in Sydney on Tuesday morning after 14-17 hour flights from LAX and IAH.

At SYD, customs and immigration were a breeze. The only snag was a few of us getting pulled aside for grass on our golf shoes. We scooped rental cars and headed out to our rental house in Bondi Beach and recharged for a bit (worked out, napped, ate, coffee, etc.) then headed over to Angus & Grace to meet up with some of our local sherpas, before setting off for golf at Bondi up the street.

The weather in Sydney had been uncharacteristically humid and wet in the weeks prior to our visit, and that remained the case while we were there. We were lucky to get some sunshine for both golf and bowls, and the low passing clouds and wind kept the rain away until the next day after we finished up at New South Wales. The goal for day 1 was to knock a little bit of golf off and force everyone to stay up until at least 8 pm that night to help adjust to the time difference. The bowls were a PERFECT thing to do and kept everyone upright and engaged.


The next day was a smooth one at New South Wales. Our hosts were wonderful and Scott Warren did such a great job of coordinating the visit. I cannot wait to see what they come up with for the course’s upcoming renovation/restoration work - the sky is the limit. It definitely came through on the episode, but physically speaking, the combination of our second day on the ground and a massive, hilly, windy routing took a toll on us. I have so much respect for the members who play there daily. When we got to the 15th hole, I truly didn’t know where to hit it. Between the crosswind, the uphill, the native areas lining each side of the hole, and the mental tricks being played hitting between a narrow saddle, I haven’t felt that helpless over a tee shot in years. Here’s a good course tour courtesy of the club, and this 

link will take you specifically to the time stamp on that tee shot

. The aforementioned rain rolled in after we finished, and we drove back to Bondi in the midst of some wet conditions. We rested, dumped footage, and cleaned up prior to hitting the North Bondi RSL and then walked down the street to Sean’s for one of the best meals of the trip, which closes out the season premiere. You’ll be left with a little surprise at the start of 

 before the group splits up, with some of us exploring the city and others playing additional golf.


We referenced it in the episode, but it felt like we were partly in a Lululemon catalog and partly in a massive 

 set in Huntington Beach, CA, but one where everyone just does yoga and looks beautiful all the time and resists the urge to wear many clothes. Bondi worked well for us as a base for this trip since it was between most of the golf we wanted to play, the airport, and downtown. I also prefer getting us in walkable areas, especially if people are fighting jetlag and need some time to recharge and nearby coffee shops and restaurants to fuel up. It’s really tough to get around Sydney with bad traffic, hills, curvy roads, and driving on the left side of the road after over 24 hours of travel, so having a central location was key.

The sewage vent at Bondi Golf & Diggers Club was such a weird, fascinating feature. 

Never seen anything like it! And Randy loves vertical hazards.

 is somewhere I would REALLY like to get back and see. Pacific Northwest surf vibes, sort of set in this valley with the beach right at the center of town, and framed by massive Norfolk Pines. Drove through there on the way down to NSWGC and back. 

, on the north side of the harbor, is another place I’d love to get back and get out to. Exploring the different suburbs via ferries from Circular Quay would be catnip for me, and most of the locals we met recommended it. In episode two, we explore a few other parts of the city.

Jetlag, not really having our bearings, not having seen one another in a while and the general excitement of the trip all add up to being both frayed and saying some dumb shit, which always makes me laugh when I watch them. Whether it’s our first episode of the entire series, Portland, LA, Stockholm, Detroit, or Doolin Pitch & Putt/Doonbeg, we’re all slap-happy and not exactly on-point, which makes for a fun, breezy retrospective.

Neil temporarily losing the Osmo Pocket would’ve been devastating.

 Most of our footage from our travels down to Australia was on there, in addition to a bunch of fun stuff from earlier that day after we landed. If you’re interested in seeing more of that footage, consider joining the Nest and getting access to 

our accompanying “Behind the Scenes” pieces

 that come out on the heels of each full episode. The best part of the whole fiasco was him being mic’d up while he was walking around the property looking for the thing, so some of the audio that’s laid in is just him muttering to himself or talking to random strangers along the way. I love it so much.

When planning this season out, it was a balance of trying to return to the world-class courses in Melbourne that we wanted to showcase correctly, explore parts of Australia that we hadn’t been to previously (since we only did Melbourne and Barnbougle for the first season), and showcase other parts of Australian culture. We also had 10-12 days to accomplish all this and didn’t want to stretch ourselves too thin. We decided Sydney and Adelaide were a must, as well as King Island. I look forward to returning to Australia and getting out to Perth, up to Brisbane and Byron Bay, down to Hobart (saving that for when Seven Mile Beach opens up!), and even to places like Narooma and Port Fairy. Whether due to logistics and time constraints, a lack of great golf (shoutout Queensland), or just other stuff taking precedence, we weren’t able to get a representative sampling of the country, but I’m confident we’re chipping away, while keeping that balance and focus on the best Australian golf courses, at least for what we value.

Additionally, Australia is a really really big country with an inordinate amount of great golf. There’s a standard of golf that’s getting better with each passing year as renovations, restorations, and new builds come online. Setting off to cover the whole thing in a single season is akin to doing one season on all of Canada or the western half of the United States.

Sydney is tricky to pin down as it relates to golf. Given the land it occupies, the brilliant coastline in virtually every direction, and the climate, you would think it would be a golf haven, but that’s just not the case. The area probably punches below its weight when it comes to golf courses (due to a variety of factors that are probably beyond the purview of this blurb.) As things currently stand, it seems like it’s New South Wales at the top of the heap and then everyone else battling for a distant second. Gil Hanse and his associates are currently working on Royal Sydney, which will be a huge boon to the city and hopefully primed for hosting professional events. The Lakes was a consideration due to its pedigree of hosting big events, while The Australian (dubbed “The American” by some, thanks to its Jack Nicklaus design) was not, as it didn’t pique our curiosity or allow the opportunity to see stuff we couldn’t see at home. I wish we could’ve made time for Moore Park to lend some support to the 

ongoing battle over the future of a thriving public course

 in a city without enough public courses. We walked past Woollahra while spending some time in Rose Bay in episode 2, and it looked like a brilliant nine-holer next to Royal Sydney. We considered St. Michael’s, The Coast, and Randwick, as well. Lastly, I tried hard to carve out some time to get up to 

, a couple hours north of Sydney on the coast, but it ultimately made traveling down to Adelaide too complicated. I have it saved for the next trip down. Ultimately, Bonnie Doon and Bondi Golf and Diggers won out over the others, and we’ll have more to say regarding Bonnie Doon in the next episode before we head onward to Adelaide. Too much good stuff to see! More to come on this push-pull in these notes in the coming weeks.

 When planning these things, we use a combination of local friends, various websites (I love

 for context and giving a full picture of the various options), scouring various areas and coastlines via Google Earth, and the various volumes of Tom Doak’s Confidential Guide. The goal is always to seek out best-in-class stuff, while also mixing in some distinctive lesser-known/highly accessible places, and then mix in off-course activities and restaurants that feel at least somewhat representative of the area (often this takes a bit more of a back seat to the golf when we’re pressed for time, but hopefully it still feels proportional.)

 - Wandered into this place down the street from our spot and what a great little find.

 - Our Australian stockist. Matt’s a legend. Great brick-and-mortar shop in the Paddington neighborhood (high-end shopping district.)

 - Could’ve spent another 8 hours there. /will return

 - aspirational bar setup and wildly inexpensive for what the views were. That it’s basically the Aussie version of a VFW lodge blew my mind.

 - A Bondi institution! Blackboard menu that changes daily. Enjoyed some *excellent* bottles of wine courtesy of our Aussie hosts and a small corkage fee.

Tourist Sauce Season 9, Episode 1 Travel Guide

Welcome to the first installment of GHIN & Tonic. Our hope is that this space serves as a callback to the spirit of the original writing that appeared on No Laying Up dot com: unvarnished, wide-ranging, and somewhat random, but with golf as the loose thread. Some will be more golf-heavy, some golf-light - think TrapDraw Podcast plus some golf sprinkled in. We’ll pass the ball around on these on a weekly basis and all will be personal in nature. And if you can’t figure out which sections are “GHIN” and “Tonic”, that’s on you!

We did our usual major hand-outs and have probably awarded at least 200 majors over the next 30 years. HOWEVA, I want to make note: After what we just witnessed at Augusta, the other guys pegged Ludvig’s career major total at TWO VICTORIES. TWO! Meanwhile, Scottie was awarded three future Masters wins and a lot of talk about a calendar year grand slam. I had Ludvig pegged at six or more major wins, which I think is achievable and likely with his mindset, skillset and fitness level. I can’t believe the disconnect. And then to see both of them validate the performance this week at Harbour Town (as if they needed, to) is invigorating. With Scottie playing at this level the margins are so thin for any challengers, so Ludvig can evaluate these performances with absolute clarity on what he needs to work on.

For the record: Ludvig was the #3 ranked amateur in the world when I called his name out during the Ryder Cup, not #1, as was suggested on the pod. Keita Nakajima (#1 at the time) wasn’t mentioned for future Presidents Cup stardom, nor was Pierceson Coody (#2) for even future Ryder Cup appearances. Ludvig is special!

Another note from the pod I think is worth calling out: I gained a much deeper appreciation for the 14th hole at ANGC. The combination of the firmness, the hole locations they chose, the slopes on that green, the width, slope and various angles of that fairway, and the limited depth available to land a shot made for really engaging viewing and a distinct difference between good and great. On the flip side, the opposite seemed true with the par fives, most acutely the 15th hole. The firmness, downhill slope from the fairway and wind combined to suck some of the art and suspense out of that hole to the point that most guys played conservatively, and the ones who did go for it and executed good shots ended up in the same general area just long. It was a cool thing to see how the course ebbed and flowed from a few soggy years into the conditions we were blessed with this year, but on 15 it really called attention to how little those trees down the left side of the fairway make sense. If it’s going to be tough then you’d almost rather encourage guys to go for it if they’re brave enough, regardless of which side of the hole they’re on. Or if you want to add a variable, do so with mounding or something more thoughtful than trees. It will be very interesting to see what “The Riddler” does over the next 3-5 years as far as the course goes. The man seems like a genuine golf nut who values the stuff that us sickos value and will try to bring back some of the MacKenzie spirit to the golf course (on that note, bring back more of the boomerang on 9 green!) One promising note this year was what seemed like a retreat for the second cut. Hopefully, we see that continue so that the fairway height is mowed all the way up to the pine straw, thus reducing the friction on wayward balls that are currently keeping them in the grass!

We made it a point to cast aspersions upon the Pimento and Skip It hats on offer in the Masters Pro Shop (which, Augusta doesn’t need to be doing that stuff - you don’t need to be all things to all people. You’re the Masters! I think there’s a bit of a correction coming on that front with a few things they’re doing that are a little too cute, but we’ll leave that for another day) only to see news of 

this atrocity emerging from the upcoming PGA in Louisville.

 I shudder to think of what the PGA has in store for us next month, between the one-year anniversary of Blockie and all of their social media thirst and their continued post-haste social promotion of ZJ’s tragic captaincy (would link, but they deleted the tweets.)

 I think the Augusta merch situation is out of hand. When I was growing up, or in the 2000s, all through the mid-2010s, and even as recently as 2022 at ANWA, you didn’t wait in lines and you went in, snooped around, bought a few things for friends and one or two impulse items that caught your eye and then you checked out, stored it and got to the golf. It was a quick deal. At ANWA on Saturday, I witnessed lines that stretched for hundreds of yards all the way down to the entrance gates and just didn’t make any sense. It was evident there was a subset of people (I won’t even call them patrons, because that’s not the correct term in this instance) who purchased tickets that day just to get first crack at items in the pro shop. On one hand, it was truly a bummer, because it’s such an intimate experience getting a first look at the course for the week in a more intimate setting and real competition going on. On the other hand, it seemed like they sold quite a few more tickets for ANWA this year, so anything to soak up the crowds a bit. I’m not sure what the solution is: dollar amounts for each transaction? Limited selection on SKUs and variety that day? I know they want to sell things to people in return for money, but the over-commercialization reminds me of the Billy Payne Olympics in 1996! And there may be some 

I was excited to hear about The Patch getting some love and resources courtesy of Augusta National. That said, let’s take it a couple of steps further and get Forest Hills some love, too. That place could be so good, and I know it’s not as simple due to Augusta University running the show over there, but it seems like they’d welcome some support. Augusta can and should be a public-access golf mecca via two different avenues: true best-in-class public courses that already exist (see: Aiken Golf Club) and hopefully those supported by the generosity of Augusta National to get to a certain level, and then private courses opening their doors to the public each April to subsidize the membership costs and bring a taste of the UK or Australia to the States. Palmetto’s perfected this and some of the new national membership clubs around the area are leaning in early. On Forest Hills: Our state championship was there in my sophomore year of high school. It’s a Donald Ross on good land, but I think there are four or five holes that were sold off or used for university development, and then they brought Arnold Palmer Design in to refashion and reroute some things, and I remember thinking even as a 15 year-old who barely knew what golf course architecture was “damn, these holes are different, and actually they stink!”

The ninth hole at Harbour Town has supplanted the tenth at Riviera as the best short par four on tour. I just love it. And last week marked the true ten year anniversary of NLU, as we recorded that first podcast at Harbour Town before Matt Kuchar won in illustrious fashion, holing a bunker shot on the 72nd hole. Somehow, perhaps fittingly, this is the only picture I have from that weekend: the hibachi chef fanning the flames of what would be, while Tim Clark sits nearby:

Speaking of the Lowcountry: I was blessed to get an invite from my friend Rob Collins down to the opening of the new reversible course that he and his partner Tad King built at Palmetto Bluff. I captured a bunch of drone stuff and got to hang with Rob and a few other friends and get a couple of spins around it. We’ll get a couple of reels out on it soon. I described it to my colleagues as “Sweetens Cove with millions of dollars of private equity money and a lot more available dirt.” It’ll be the perfect place for us to film a match at some point. So happy for and proud of Rob. And much like Landmand and Sweetens, there’s a bunch of big, wild stuff that’ll catch your eye, but the detail work and shaping on some of the greens is what really sticks with you. The existing May River Golf Club down there is a personal favorite (best Nicklaus I’ve ever played - he did it right after Sebonack and it seems Doak rubbed off on him) and there’s a new Coore & Crenshaw in the early stages of being built. It’s an extremely private setup, both literally and figuratively, so I take that into account when sharing this stuff, but I think it’s instructive to know what Rob is working on. As you can see below, it’s a giant playground and there are probably 50-60 hole combinations out there. I’m really proud of Rob and Tad and their continued success and creativity. More to come from this excursion:

I’m blessed to take a lot of great trips, both professionally with my colleagues and personally, with my family. Travel and experiences are something that I treasure above all else. The only risk/downside is having a lack of time to properly reflect on them - often it’s onward to the next shoot or the next adventure, directly or with just a few days at home. This happened last year after Scotland when I took one of the better trips of my life with my good friend Jim Hartsell, Paddy Neill, Matt Golden and then flew to London and then LA and then Pebble Beach afterward, and to an extent it happened after our Australia trip earlier this year, after which we flew directly to California for the tour event at Pebble.

Right now I’m trying to do two things: 1) Relive that Australia trip while we piece together the footage to make the episodes and all the accompanying content, and outtakes and social stuff. It’s so fun to see it through the camera on the back end and with talented guys like Cody, Kevin Jackson and Ross Flannigan drawing different things out. Makes you notice different details and makes you want to do it all over again.

2) Catalog and journal everything I’ve been feeling during and after our recent trip to Scotland. A day at Troon has me excited for this summer’s Open Championship, the opportunity to make a quick spur-of-the-moment return trip back over to the Isle of Arran and introduce DJ to people like Ewan and Greg and experience first-hand places like Corrie and Shiskine that he’d only seen through the lens of what we’d shot on the Hartsell project. It meant a lot to go back and see Ewan and Greg and I hadn't expected to get back so soon. Those guys mean a lot to me and I didn’t realize how deeply it would resonate to see Arran in sunshine this time and to be able to introduce someone else to it, much less DJ who had been gobsmacked by the footage of the place. I look forward to taking my family there in the coming years. Then, we were onward to Fife and stopped at some cool under-the-radar spots I’d bookmarked, and we droned and just explored. Pics of the journey below:

And then the main event: five days in St Andrews with the centerpiece being two loops around the Old Course, one in each direction. I’ll leave it there for now, but it was one of the best experiences of my life. I’m confident we’ll flesh it out properly in the videos, and I’m working hard to translate it into some writing. Came back feeling more grateful and introspective than I have in a long time…

…and knocked out my GlobalEntry interview upon arrival in Newark!

On that note, I promise I’m trying to get the annual Airports TrapDraw Pod recorded, I just need things to slow down for a bit!

All sorts of stuff Randy and I are monitoring on the air travel and logistics front. Will make one of these dispatches air travel and logistics-focused as we lead up to Airports pod. I will say, that the AirTrain at EWR continues to be the single-weirdest piece of transportation or infrastructure I’ve ever encountered.

I couldn't resist snapping this photo to show Randy:

On the food and beverage front, the process of putting together my Champions Dinner menu was such an unexpected delight, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t lead to a fair bit of anxiety, consternation and paralysis over the sheer number of directions to go and the balance between picking stuff you love and creating something more than just a list of those dishes and wines. I loved it. And I loved that everyone else ran with it, too. Randy’s Cincinnati Chili, Casey’s Little Italy rendition, DJ’s ode to Milwaukee, Neil’s yearning to go back to growing up and our ever-talented Mom, Peggy, cooking up delicious, varied stuff every night and not knowing how good we had it, KVV’s bizarro Montana/Baltimore Surf & Turf that I dig, all of it. Just fun!

No Laying Up

Writing

GHIN and Tonic: Vol. 4 (TC)

GHIN and Tonic: Vol. 3 (Neil)

GHIN and Tonic: Vol. 2 (D.J.)

Pen Pals: Scottie Scheffler & Nelly Korda

Tourist Sauce Season 9, Episode 1 Travel Guide

GHIN and Tonic: Vol. 1 (TC)

On Nelly Korda's Time

Neil's Favorite Scenes From Australia

Serenity and security: Scenes from a memorable Masters

Max Homa Winning is No Longer a Fantasy

Jordan Spieth Is Increasingly Unrecognizable

Admit It: You Missed Bryson, Too

The Real Cost

Bailey Shoemaker Will Be Back

ANWA 2024: Sights and Scenes Heading into the Final Round

ANWA 2024: The Future Is Here

Allow Amari Avery to Reintroduce Herself

Let's Stay Together