This week in golf course innovations
WELCOME TO THE MERRY-GO-ROUND
You all KNOW I love a good golf course innovation and this week's entry comes from Watchung Valley Golf Club in New Jersey.
Introducing The Merry-Go-Round.
A short course built smack in the middle of Watchung's club. It's a six hole track of 25-40 yard holes with rolling hills and a putt-putt meets links golf feel. Meant to appeal to the club's members, families, casual golfers, and non-golfers alike, it represents a refreshingly lighthearted take on golf. Plus, since it sits on a meager acre of land, it also demonstrates just how little space you need for an engaging golf experience.
The most adorable part? The routing is in color order. ROYGBV. I mean, come on!
Need some new art for the pad?
THE JACKSON POLLOCK OF GOLF
I don't often engage with the For You page on IG but when I do, it's for stuff like this.
This is Ryan Rustand aka @coach_rusty on Instagram. And he's making some pretty cool lookin' golf paintings that look like an absolute blast to make.
Basically, Rusty takes a bunch of swings with multi-colored paint against a blank canvas for a Jackson Pollock-like splatter pattern. Then he throws some golf themed paintings on top like the one below.
Pretty sweet if you ask me, though sadly doesn't seem like he sells 'em just yet. So I guess I'm left to throw a tarp up myself and completely ruin my garage and irons... he's left me no choice. This is on you, Rusty.
Speaking of colorful characters
A PGA BLOCK PARTY
I try not to repeat TOO MUCH of what you've read throughout the week but this Michael Block stuff was just too big to ignore.
For the dozen or so of you who read this column because, I don't know, you're a personal friend of mine and don't actually follow golf... Michael Block is a club pro who absolutely stormed into people's hearts this past week at the PGA Championship after finishing T15.
Needless to say, Michael had himself a week. He was all anyone could talk about, he hit a hole in one during play on Sunday, he's a SoCal legend as he is the club pro at Arroyo Trabuco in Mission Viejo, he earned an exemption to play in this weekend's PGA event, and his T15 finish means he's already earned his spot in next year's PGA Championship.
While there were a million stories that came out of the week, I'll drop a power ranking of my top 3 Block moments to give you a TL;DR if you hadn't caught up.
3) His Arroyo Trabuco commercial.
Re-post factory Zire Golf dropped this one on my feed and it's a classic. Lo-fi in the best possible way! I can't even do it justice so click through the image below to watch. There's bunny costumes and plenty of walk and talking.
2) Shots fired at Rory... kinda.
The story here is that Michael was on Bob Menery's Ripper Magoo podcast and said that if he had Rory's length off the tee, he'd be a world-class player.
A bold statement. No doubt. But I've been seeing some people up in arms that he's gotten too big or let it get to his head. And to those people I say, let him say whatever he wants. If I were riding the wave he's riding, I would say some wild $#&^ too.
Side note, should I start a podcast? Jk jk. But also, maybe not.
) MJ texts Michael.
Easily my favorite story of the week was news that the GOAT Michael Jordan texted Block to congratulate him. Which, on its own, is an incredible story.
But it was made so much better by the fact that Block had no idea and had to learn of it through his Nike rep who asked him if he had even gotten it. Block said he had thousands of texts and so it was lost in the mix. But truly lol at the idea of MJ just being like, dang, Block left me on read? Cold.
"I don’t know how he got [my number]" - Block
"I don’t know how he got [my number]" - Block
Korn Ferry Kwirks
A PAIR OF PUTTERS?
Inspired by Michael Block's rise to fame this week, I decided to start poking around the Korn Ferry and lower tier Tours to see what other oddballs and future stars we could find.
This week, we dig into the bag of Longhorn alum Cole Hammer. Cole is still a young gun on the Korn Ferry, and former #1 amateur, so it's likely we'll see this guy on the PGA Tour some day soon.
This week, we dig into the bag of Longhorn alum Cole Hammer. Cole is still a young gun on the Korn Ferry, and former #1 amateur, so it's likely we'll see this guy on the PGA Tour some day soon.
Besides having a dynamite name, offering options on both Cole (Ice Cole, Cole Blooded) and Hammer (Hammer Time, Lay Down the Hammer)—Cole also has quite the Korn Ferry Kwirk.
Cole carries two putters! One being his normal length blade putter for "98% of his putts." But his second is a mallet head long putter for shorter putts when he isn't feeling super confident with the flat stick.
And I honestly can't decide if this is the sign of some DEEP insecurity that will rear its head later in his career, or the kind of outside the box thinking that will launch him into stardom and have people throwing out their 5 woods or 3 irons in favor of a second putter.
Time will tell.
We dropped absolute fire this week.
OUR WOMEN'S CAPSULE HAS LANDED!
EASILY the most requested items I get emailed about from y'all is to drop some certified heat for the Bad Birdie ladies. And this week, I am so f@#%&^ thrilled to be able to share our latest capsule.
Designed by the ladies of Bad Birdie, FORE the ladies of Bad Birdie—this custom collection has polos, mock necks, skirts, shorts, biker shorts, tunics, dresses, rompers, quarter zips and truly everything you need to fill your closet with that Never Lay Up energy.
Long story short, it's absolute fire. And it's all for you, ladies.
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