Congressional CC Lands Ryder Cup, PGA Championship, Six Other Events
The Bethesda, Md. club will host the new schedule of championships for the PGA of America on its Blue Course over the next two decades, to add to its storied history that has already included a trio of U.S. Opens, the 1976 PGA Championship, and many other Tour events. The Blue Course will receive a…
Transformative Turf at Trinity Forest Golf Club
A signature zoysia grass and an inspired golf and grounds staff have come together at Trinity Forest Golf Club to convert a landfill in a disadvantaged section of Dallas into a new source of civic pride—and prosperity. Convert a landfill into a beautiful green space for recreation: check. Revive one of the most endangered ecosystems…
TPC Network Expands to Canada
The newly named TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, the 33rd property in the TPC Network and fifth outside the U.S., will host the annual Mackenzie Tour–PGA TOUR Canada event. The property just north of Toronto features a collection of three courses designed by Doug Carrick. Osprey Valley, a collection of three courses just north of Toronto…
Seth Waugh Named New CEO of PGA of America
The former CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas will succeed Pete Bevacqua, recently named President of the NBC Sports Group, to guide the business and overall strategy of the association that serves nearly 29,000 PGA professionals. Seth Waugh, a former CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas CEO, has been named Chief Executive Officer of the PGA of…
James R. (Jim) Verdin, 1936-2018
The President and CEO of The Verdin Company—the 176-year-old, family-owned, Cincinnati, Ohio-based manufacturer of bell towers, clock towers and carillons—died August 8 after a short illness. A funeral service will be held Thursday, August 16, at the Cincinnati church where the company installed its first clock tower in 1842. Life is in the stories, and…
Detroit GC Gets PGA Tour Stop
The club will host an event sponsored by Quicken Loans in June 2019, with the parties signing a four-year deal to bring professional golf to the Motor City as the PGA released its 2018-2019 schedule. The Detroit Golf Club will be the host for the first PGA Tour tournament to be played inside the Motor…
Philadelphia Cricket Club to Host 2019 Big Ten Men’s Championships
The competition will be held on the storied club’s Wissahickon course in April 2019. The conference now has 14 schools in 11 states, and prior to Rutgers University and the University of Maryland joining in 2014, the eastern-most school in the conference was Penn State University, 200 miles west of Philadelphia. The Big Ten…
Greenbrier Classic Renamed; Houston Open Gets Another Five Years
The July 2-8 tournament, held on the historic Old White TPC Course at the White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., resort, has been rebranded as A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier, and will now include a Military Appreciation Day, flyover and week-long benefits for active military and veterans. The PGA Tour also announced that the Houston…
Michigan, Arizona Clubs Vie for PGA Events
Detroit (Mich.) Golf Club intends to ask members to “reaffirm support” to bring a major event to the club, as The PGA Tour and Quicken Loans are expected to finalize an agreement to bring a tournament to the city starting in June 2019. In Tucson, Ariz., a plan to remake the two 18-hole golf courses…
CC of Bristol (Tenn.) Selects KOVA Golf
The semi-private property has undergone a series of closings and management and ownership changes in recent years, but will now be under the direction of the Naples, Fla.-based management firm, which plans a series of property-wide enhancements, including a golf course restoration, a new restaurant that will be open to the public, and expansion of the casual outdoor seating area.
Report Finds 22% Rise in Golf’s Economic Activity
The U.S. Golf Economy Report, a five-year study by GOLF 20/20 and TEConomy Partners, found that $84.1 billion of economic activity was generated by golf, an increase from the previous study conducted in 2011. The study was delivered as part of the 11th annual National Golf Day on April 25. The findings of the new U.S. Golf…
PGA Tour Unveils Plans for New $81M Headquarters
The 187,000-sq. ft. facility in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. will consolidate the organization’s 800 employees inside one building, on property the Tour owns near TPC Sawgrass. It is scheduled for completion by 2020 and in exchange for $2.8 million in incentives provided by St. Johns County (Fla.), the Tour has promised to create over 300 new jobs by 2030.
NGF Survey Finds Positive Impact from Topgolf
The National Golf Foundation studied guests at the entertainment facilities who play traditional on-course golf as well as those who don’t, and found that overall, nearly a third said that playing Topgolf leads them to play more traditional golf. Among non-golfers, more than half said that playing at the venues had positively influenced their interest in playing green-grass rounds.
Viewer Call-ins On Golf Rules Violations to be Banned Starting Jan. 1
Golf’s governing bodies will now assign one or more officials to monitor video broadcasts of competitions to help identify possible rules issues. The additional two-stroke penalty for failing to include a penalty on a scorecard when a player was unaware of the infraction will also be eliminated.