John Holmes's blog

More courses will close than open over next few years

Dye Course at PGA Golf Club
Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America
Many new buyers of American golf courses are foreign, according to sales data.
By John Holmes

Series: Golf Buzz

Golf course openings in the United States remain at historically low levels, according to a new report by the National Golf Foundation. Measured in 18-hole equivalents, the NGF said that only 13.5 courses opened in 2012, while 154.5 courses closed. A total of 68 percent of those closures came among lower-priced public facilities, which continues a trend that has run throughout the economic downturn.


Try this ...

top notch

Players drive Ferraris to warm up for Honda Classic

Ferraris at Palm Beach International Speedway
Stuart Appleby via Twitter
Stuart Appleby took this photo of some of the Ferraris that he and other PGA Tour players tested.
By John Holmes

Series: Golf Buzz

How do you get your motor running for a big golf tournament? Well, this week some PGA Tour players did it by, literally, getting their motors running.

On Tuesday, Ian Poulter – well known as one of golf's greatest motorheads – hosted several of his colleagues at the Palm Beach International Raceway. At the small track near West Palm Beach, Poulter arranged for Ferrari USA to provide a stable of ''prancing horses'' for the players to test out.


Try this ...

top notch

Serena Williams busted for photo of Tiger

Tiger Woods at the Honda Classic
Serena Williams via Twitter
Serena Williams took this photo of Tiger Woods on her cell phone Friday even as a marshal attempted to stop her.
By John Holmes

Series: Golf Buzz

Serena Williams spent part of her Friday at the Honda Classic, where she followed Tiger Woods for a little bit. The tennis superstar – who lives near PGA National, where the tournament is being played – wanted to take a photo of Woods with her cell phone, but an ever-vigilant marshal caught her in the act.

Amazingly, someone caught the incident on video, and you can see it here.

Williams admitted her infraction later on Twitter:


Try this ...

top notch

British Open pioneer's grave rediscovered and refurbished

Arnaud Massy
Arnaud Massy, by winning the 1906 British Open, became the first player from continental Europe to win a major – and was the only one until Seve Ballesteros won the 1979 British Open.
By John Holmes

Series: Golf Buzz

A new discovery of an old grave could become the latest tourist attraction at the home of golf.

That's what several golfing groups in Scotland hope, anyway.

Arnaud Massy – who made history as the first non-Briton to win the British Open back in 1906 – was buried in the Newington Cemetery in Edinburgh, Scotland, after his death in 1950. But no one seemed to remember that fact for 63 years, until his unkempt grave was recently rediscovered.


Try this ...

top notch

Restorations rampant at DFW-area golf clubs

Woodhaven Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas
Woodhaven Country Club is one of several golf clubs in the Dallas-Forth Worth area actively improving and growing.
By John Holmes

Series: Golf Buzz

The recovery of the golf economy, like the recovery of the economy in general, is happening in fits and starts, and accelerating in some places more than others. One area where golf seems to be bouncing back better than most is Dallas-Fort Worth.

A recent story in The Fort Worth Star-Telegram highlighted how several golf facilities are starting to step on the gas for the first time in several seasons.


Try this ...

top notch

Monty warns PGA Tour to think twice about anchor ban opposition

Colin Montgomerie
Getty Images
Colin Montgomerie was "positively aghast" at the idea that the PGA Tour might ignore the proposed anchor ban, according to PA Sport.
By John Holmes

Series: Golf Buzz

PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem provoked quite a bit of reaction on Sunday when he announced that the tour might not go along with the ban on anchored putting strokes being advocated by the USGA and R&A.

European Tour stalwart Colin Montgomerie was "positively aghast" at the idea that the PGA Tour might ignore the proposed anchor ban, according to the PA Sport newswire in England.


Try this ...

top notch

Cleveland 588 TT irons produce piercing trajectory

Cleveland 588 TT iron
Courtesy of Cleveland Golf
The heads of the Cleveland 588 TT irons include a modest cavity back with an engineered undercut to improve ball speed and accuracy on off-center hits.
By John Holmes

Series: Golf Buzz

Of the three new sets of 588 Cleveland irons, the 588 Tour Trajectory (TT) irons are the most ambitious. Like the MT (Mid Trajectory) models, the TT irons are named after the flight pattern they produce – a lower, more piercing trajectory preferred by better players.

The 588 TT irons feature a constant clubface height throughout the set, but have a progressive face length to promote more forgiveness in the long irons and a more penetrating, controlled trajectory in the short irons. The 588 TTs also have forged clubfaces to enhance feel and ball speed.


Try this ...

top notch

TaylorMade pushes envelope on adjustability in new R1 driver

TaylorMade R1 driver
Courtesy of TaylorMade
By John Holmes

Series: Golf Buzz

Adjustability is the dominant trend in drivers these days, and the new R1 driver continues TaylorMade's mastery of this current generation of custom-tunable drivers.


Try this ...

top notch

LPGA Tour players rooting for Danica Patrick at Daytona

Juli Inkster and Paula Creamer
courtesy of the LPGA Tour
There's no mistaking who Juli Inkster and Paula Creamer will be cheering for at the Daytona 500.
By John Holmes

Series: Golf Buzz

Who says golfers can't multi-task? Despite being halfway around the world for the Honda LPGA Thailand, several of the LPGA Tour's finest have been keeping up with the happenings leading up to the Daytona 500.


Try this ...

top notch

Cobra AMP Cell irons share color and technology with drivers

Cobra AMP Cell iron
Courtesy of Cobra Golf
Red is just one of the accent colors available to help golfers create a personalized set of Cobra AMP Cell irons.
By John Holmes

Series: Golf Buzz

When it came to creating a set of irons to round out its new line of AMP Cell drivers, fairway clubs and hybrids, Cobra didn't hesitate to go bold. So, when choosing a set of AMP Cell irons, golfers can pick from four different accent shades, allowing them to color-match them with other AMP Cell clubs or create a personally mixed set. For traditionalists, silver irons are the stock option, while the other choices are the Vibrant Orange, Directoire Blue and Barbados Red that are also available in the AMP Cell drivers, fairways and hybrids.


Try this ...

top notch
Syndicate content