ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES OPEN

This professional golf tournament is a part of the PGA Tour in Southern California. It was first played in 1926 and is now named at the Genesis Open, previous names include Northern Trust Open and the Nissan Open. The tournament is and annual event and is played each February at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. Most often, the tournament is the final event of the PGA Tour’s “West Coast Swing,” taking place early in the calendar year, before the tour moves east to Florida.

Sifford in 1961

In 2009, the tournament created a player exemption, called the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption, for a player who represents the advancement of diversity in golf. The exemption is in honor of pioneering black golfer and 1969 tournament winner Charlie Sifford. While most of the exemption recipients have been of African American descent, the 2015 exemption went to PGA Tour rookie Carlos Sainz, Jr., of Filipino and Bolivian descent; and the 2016 recipient, J. J. Spaun, is also of Filipino descent. Thus, these players met the exemption criteria for “advancing diversity in golf.

Read more at ReadTiger.com

ABOUT CHARLIE SIFFORD

Charles Luther Sifford (June 2, 1922 – February 3, 2015) was a professional golfer who was the first African American to play on the PGA Tour. He won the Greater Hartford Open in 1967 and the Los Angeles Open in 1969. He also won the United Golf Association’s National Negro Open six times, and the PGA Seniors’ Championship in 1975.

For his contributions to golf, Sifford was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004. He was awarded the Old Tom Morris Award in 2007, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014, and an honorary doctorate from the University of St Andrews. Lee Trevino referred to Sifford as the “Jackie Robinson” of golf, and Tiger Woods acknowledged that Sifford paved the way for his career.

Two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw speaks with General Marshall, a former caddy at Lions Municipal Golf Course, during a 2016 ceremony recognizing the course’s addition to the National Register of Historic Places. On Wednesday, Crenshaw proposed a renovation of the course that would alter the layout and restore some of the original routing used from 1951-74. CREDIT: Stephen Spillman/For American-Statesman

(February 15, 2017) He unveils plans for renovations to historic golf course that would restore routing used from 1951-74.

To keep Lions Municipal Golf Course open into the future, Ben Crenshaw looked into the past.
It was with that in mind that the former NCAA golf champion who grew up playing there has proposed renovations to the West Austin golf course, changes that would harken back to its 1950 days, as he and others work to preserve what has been recognized as a civil rights landmark.

Crenshaw and Austin land planner Corey Hoffpauir want to alter the layout of the historic golf course and restore some of the original routing that was used from 1951-74.

RELATED STORY: Bill Passes Out of the Senate in Hopes of Saving the First Desegregated Golf Course in the South

“The landmarks that have made Austin special for so long are being continually threatened, and we simply can’t stand back and let this precious asset slip away,” Crenshaw said in a statement. “Just as it is hard to imagine New York without Central Park, New Orleans without City Park, Houston without Memorial Park and San Antonio without Brackenridge Park, it is impossible to consider Austin without Lions Muny.”

MAKING THE PLAN WORK

To make their plan work, Crenshaw and Hoffpauir propose shifting the entrance to the course from Enfield Road to Lake Austin Boulevard and adding an expanded driving range, teaching area and a new short-game area. A new clubhouse would be constructed and include more parking. The existing structure, meanwhile, would be converted into a space for educational and historical exhibits.

Estimates for the cost of the restoration range from $10 million to $12 million, and Crenshaw and Hoffpauir laid out their plans Wednesday morning during a news conference at the course.

Crenshaw and others involved with the Save Muny project say they are confident the money needed for the renovation can be raised privately. Crenshaw, who won three NCAA individual golf championships as a Longhorn from 1971-73, will donate his course-design services.

“Lions Municipal is among the handful of iconic recreational greenspaces in Austin, along with Zilker Park, the hike and bike trail and Pease Park,” said Scotty Sayers, Crenshaw’s long-time friend and business manager. “I only hope that we have the opportunity to realize Ben’s vision for the restoration and renovation of Muny for future generations of Austinites.”

Read more Kirk Bohis at MyStatesman.com

By Adam Schupak @morningread.com

The U.S. Golf Association is disbanding its membership program and creating a development initiative aimed at raising $100 million, Morning Read has learned from multiple sources.

In its 40-plus years, the USGA Members Program had become the association’s third-largest profit center, behind only the lucrative broadcast-rights contract with Fox Sports and the Open championships. According to the 2016 USGA annual report available at USGA.org, revenue from memberships and member clubs totaled $17,576,000 of the USGA’s $202.2 million in total operating revenue.

USGA Member Kit

Members paid a $10 annual subscription and received a personalized bag tag, a copy of the Rules of Golf, a U.S. Open-logoed hat and an e-newsletter, among other benefits. (The USGA Journal was shuttered 12 years ago.) For many, the bag tag was a proudly worn badge that identified them as golfers.

When reached for comment, USGA spokeswoman Janeen Driscoll said, “The USGA has no intention of eliminating the members program,” and noted that renewals are out and hats are being mailed to members.

This wouldn’t be the first time that the USGA tried to rebut a media report about one of its championships or programs before announcing the news on its own terms. When Golfweek reported in 2015 that the USGA would establish a U.S. Senior Women’s Open, officials declined to acknowledge the event before making an announcement one month later.

A USGA switchboard operator confirmed Tuesday that Fiona Dolan, the USGA’s senior director of member programs since 2003, no longer was employed. Sources said another part-time membership position had been eliminated. When contacted by Morning Read, Dolan would not respond to questions.

From the Members Program’s inception in the mid-1970s until his death in September, Arnold Palmer served as the national volunteer chairman. On Dec. 18, 1975, Palmer delivered a USGA bag tag to the program’s first “associate” member: President Gerald Ford. The program’s sliding membership during the past 10 years has mirrored the game’s falling participation rates. Last year, 650,000 members were enrolled, down from more than 900,000 reported in a Golfweek story in 2008. That’s fewer than 3 percent of the 26 million U.S. golfers counted by the National Golf Foundation.

The USGA program never could hit its goal of 1 million members. More than one outside consultant was contracted to help jumpstart the initiative. Seemingly with every new president, the association changed its strategy on whether it wanted to grow or maintain its current figures, and whether it should increase or lower dues.

Recognizing that its direct-mail model had become dated, the USGA attempted to use its website to communicate with a younger audience, but it failed to make a smooth transition into the digital space. Efforts to marry the program with handicapping failed to achieve the desired results.

“Try as they might, the USGA hasn’t been able to grow it in any meaningful way for at least 20 years,” said a former USGA executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It is unclear whether the USGA will serve up a new incarnation of a consumer-engagement program for the average golfer.

“Given what you’ve told me, I have to think they have some other form of reaching the individual member in mind,” said David Fay, the USGA’s former executive director.

In an end-of-year video that still was playing on the USGA website, executive director Mike Davis called the members “our most passionate supporters.” It’s all the more reason why this is another head-scratching move by the USGA that seems likely to create a greater disconnect between the recreational golfer and its national governing body and in contrast with the USGA’s stated goal to “grow the game.”

(by James F. Peltz, LA Times)

The U.S. golf equipment market last year totaled $2.55 billion, a 3% drop from $2.62 billion three years earlier, according to the research firm Golf Datatech. Those figures mainly reflect sales at golf course pro shops and golf specialty stores, and they exclude sales at sporting goods stores and mass merchants such as Wal-Mart.

There are roughly 15,000 golf courses in the United States, and about 11,400 are open to the public. But getting more people to play on those courses, where a traditional round of 18 holes often can take four or five hours, is proving difficult.

Steve Mona is chief executive of the World Golf Foundation, which works to promote the sport’s growth. The Los Angeles Times asked Mona to explain the challenges facing the game and its equipment makers. Here’s an edited excerpt:

How many Americans play golf on a regular basis?

Steve Mona

If you’re talking about a traditional green-grass golf course, it’s 24.1 million participants. That means they played at least one round on a regulation golf course.

How does that compare with a decade ago?

It’s relatively flat. It’s been right about 25 million for the last five years or so.

What’s a committed golfer?

These are people who say they plan to be part of golf in the next three to five years, and 90% of the spending in golf and 90% of the rounds played in golf are done by committed golfers.

But that figure isn’t growing, either, so how will the sport expand?

People are engaging in golf differently than on the traditional green-grass golf course. For instance, there is Topgolf, which is a form of entertainment but you’re striking a golf ball. There were 5 million people last year that participated at a TopGolf [facility]. Another way is on a driving range. There are about 15 million people who used a driving range last year and 4 million of them were non-golfers.

Most people get interested in the game first, trial is second and participation on an ongoing basis is third. We as an industry have to be smart and reactive to what’s going on in the world to ensure people progress from one stage to the other.

Are people more or less interested in taking up the game?

The interest in golf is at an all-time high. We had 37.4 million people last year say they’re either very or somewhat interested in playing golf right now. We view that as a positive. But the trick is getting people from interest to trial to participation.

We had 2.2 million people try golf for the first time last year, and that’s second-highest of all time. The all-time high was in 2000 — 2.4 million — and you’ll remember that as the height of the Tiger Woods era.

But that hasn’t obviously translated into the core participation numbers. Therein lies the challenge for us as an industry. Are we flexible enough to accommodate the changing lifestyles that are prevalent in our society? And is our product relevant to today’s consumers?

A set of golf clubs can cost several hundred dollars or more. Are golf prices — for equipment, greens fees and the like — holding back growth?

Golf is more affordable today. Golf has been moving at a pretty steady clip to become more of a public game than it ever has. Today, 76% of golf facilities are open to the public, and the median green fee is $37. If you want to find affordable golf in most markets, you can find it.

The $500 drivers and the $1,000 set of irons are really appealing to the very serious, very committed golfer who has the resources. That is not at all what the beginner is electing.

You don’t have to buy new equipment. The PGA of America has a trade-in program [for used clubs]. Most of the big manufacturers have a pre-owned program. If you’re the least bit savvy, you can get yourself outfitted pretty reasonably.

Until you know you’re committed to the game, I don’t advise you invest in high-end, brand-new equipment.

How is golf trying to promote growth?

For a lot of people who are traditional golfers, they’ve got it in their head that golf isn’t golf unless you pay 18 holes. Not everybody can do that. Some people just don’t have that luxury of time anymore.

We’re trying to respond to the short periods of time that people have to consume anything really, especially in their leisure time.

Here are some things that have been tried: Creating a one- or two-hour golf experience. Maybe it’s a little three-hole loop. It’s packaging up these bite-size pieces, if you will.

The U.S. Golf Assn. also has the Play9 initiative, and that’s encouraging golfers to take the nine holes as a legitimate golf experience.

Why is interest so high even without Tiger Woods being as prominent these days?

Despite the fact that he’s not at the top of his game and highly visible, there are a lot of compelling young players now who are creating tremendous interest, whether it be Jordan Spieth or Rickie Fowler or Jason Day or Rory McIlory, or on the women’s side, Lydia Ko or Lexi Thompson or Michelle Wie.

The PGA [or Professional Golfers Assn. of America] is on television now more than ever, and the same for the LPGA [or Ladies Professional Golf Assn.] tour. That has created more interest in the game too.

Fans have been waiting for Tiger to finally make his return to the PGA tour and it seemed as though it was finally happening this year. After several false starts in 2016, the living legend reentered the professional arena at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego, Calif.

Things were looking good following his December performance at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, but it quickly became apparent that he wasn’t back at 100 percent just yet. Tiger withdrew early from the Dubai Desert Classic due to back spasms after putting up his highest European Tour score in a non-major with 77. Unfortunately, the back pain forced Woods to pull out of the next two tournaments. It had been a decade since Woods had last competed in the Genesis Open (the only PGA Tour event in Los Angeles) and will miss it once again. The injury has also forced him to withdraw from the Honda Classic in Palm Beach, Fla., and has raised serious questions concerning his participation in this year’s Masters Tournament.

The break is probably for the best given Tiger’s recent performances. He wasn’t hitting well off the tee and had more than a few putts that would make most amateur golfers cringe. Despite his troubles, he managed to hit a respectable 72 at Torrey Pines, but it wasn’t enough to make the cut. While few people expected Tiger to immediately return to his usually dominant form, seeing him struggle on courses he traditionally does well on has been tough to watch.

It has been eight years since Tiger last won a major, but at this point it looks as though the 14-time major champion would be content with simply making the cut at most tournaments. The Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship, and PGA Championships are arguably the most sought-after prizes in the sport and Tiger has the second-most wins all-time. Woods only trails Jack Nicklaus, who holds the record for most majors with 18. While at one point it wasn’t a matter of if, but when Woods would surpass Nicklaus, the question has now become if we’ll ever see him win a major again.

At 41 years old, Tiger should still have plenty of competitive play left in him; it’s really a matter of him being able to recover from his back injuries. If he can get healthy and get his mind right, he could prove that he’s still one of the best golfers in the world. While everyone wants to see Tiger compete again, what they really want is for him to be competitive.

There’s currently no projection on when Tiger will be back, but many have their fingers crossed he’ll return in time for the Masters Tournament. Woods has missed two of the last three Masters, and many expected this to be his comeback year. Ultimately, if he rushes back in order to play at Augusta, he won’t be doing himself or anyone else any favors. Tiger needs to take his time to be 100 percent. Anything else is unfair to both him and the fans.

Once a year, Punxsutawny Phil brings focus on a hamlet northeast of Pittsburgh, where, the legend goes, if the groundhog sees his shadow, winter will last six more weeks.

That’s exactly what happened to Phil…. on Groundhog day, Thursday, February 2, 2017.

Some 7,000 miles away, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tiger Woods seemed to see his shadow, too. Instead of six more weeks of winter, Woods might not ever see the spring of his game. He stumbled to a 5-over 77 in the first round of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

It was his first birdie-free round since his final round at Doral in 2014, ironically, that was Woods last round before leaving the tour for back surgery.

Only two weeks into his return to professional golf after a 17-month hiatus, the 41-year-old looks every bit of a much older player, no doubt because of several surgeries on his back and left knee.

Although looks can be deceiving, in this case they weren’t.

In three rounds since his return – two last week at the Farmers Insurance Open and Round 1 at Dubai – Woods is 9 over, with five birdies, 12 bogeys and a double bogey.

Was all of this expected?

Woods had talked a good game before his return, taking his time with the comeback and skipping the Safeway Open in October when he decided that his game was not where it needed to be.

When he played in the Hero World Challenge, an exhibition in December, Woods showed glimpses of his former play but finished 15th in the 18-man field.

Now Woods is back in full-field events and spending his time looking up from the bottom, just trying to find the cut line.

Intimidation, fitness, power and speed proved to be the hallmarks of a player who won 79 PGA Tour titles, including 14 major championships. Now none of those attributes is visible as Woods seems unsure, with little fuel in the tank.

Woods reportedly walked gingerly at times in Dubai, which Woods disputed. However, back pain has been prevalent for Woods in recent years, and he talked about it Wednesday in Dubai.

“Whether my swing looks classical, rhythmical or it may look unorthodox, I don’t care, Woods said. “As long as I don’t feel that nerve pain. Anyone in here who has ever had nerve pain in their back or anywhere in their spine, it’s like hitting your funny bone a thousand times a day; it’s just not fun. And I would much rather not have to go through that again.”

The Woods of today is a shell of the Woods of yesteryear. The idea that he will come back as good as new seems as unlikely as the fax machine supplanting email.

The best days are behind Woods, and he is smart enough to understand that. Yet, Woods still thinks he can win again, and it seems too early in his return to logically judge whether a victory might be in his future.

To win, Woods first must play his way into contention. After the past two weeks, that seems difficult to foresee.

Still, Woods merits the benefit of the doubt based on his past accomplishments. But if he doesn’t turn his game around soon, the golfing public will have to concede that Woods is done and move on, leaving Woods stuck in the winter of his career.

For more by By Alex Miceli visit MorningRead.com