Finally a truly bipartisan issue
CONGRESS TAKES ON THE BIRDIE BILL
Leading with politics this week—risky, I know, but hear me out.
Not to be confused with Bad Birdie Bill, the BIRDIE Bill was introduced to Congress earlier this month by U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA).
In true eye-roll fashion BIRDIE is an acronym standing for “Bolstering Intellectual Rights against Digital Infringement Enhancement”. Cool.
So what are we talking about here?
Essentially, this bill gives golf course architects copyright protection against the digital recreation of their golf courses on simulators or in digital form. As written, this could even extend to "irrigation systems; landscaping; paths; golf greens; tees; practice facilities; bunkers; lakes; and topographic features." Which is kind of wild that anyone would rip off the sprinkler system at Pebble for PGA 2k27 or whatever... but I guess you have to cover your bases.
The catch? The bill would only apply to courses created or amended after 1990 for reasons too complicated (and boring) to explain.
Why should you care? Well, for starters, this means massive payouts would be in store for any course featured on simulators—likely leading to them removing them completely in favor of user-designed courses like you see on PGA 2k24 TikTok.
Why you shouldn't care? It's Congress. So I'm sure the exact wording of this bill will also somehow leave open the possibility for an insane unintended outcome like gophers being listed as terrorists. And the bill never sees the light of day.
But until then, look ma, golf made Congress!
Speaking of digital golf courses
THE KING OF AI GOLF IS BACK
Will Watt, founder of Contours and an absolutely insane AI golf maestro, produced a brand new set of images inspired by the first golf courses of Japan.
As part of a collab with Manors, the series hits the vintage vibe to a tee and imagines what the early 1900's courses could have looked like.
The story is that a group of British expats established the first Japanese golf club in 1903 called the Kobe Golf Club. However, in the run-up to WWII, sentiments for "western culture" were, uh... less than ideal. So most early courses were either abandoned or re-purposed—leaving us to imagine what they must've looked like—until today.
Dropping a bunch of my favorites below, but I've got say that my enthusiasm for these AI pieces is now entering surprise album drop territory. It completely shuts down my day. Keep 'em coming, Will.
A medium bucket is all it took
JERSEY JERRY GOT NOTHIN' ON SI WOO
Jersey Jerry swept golf social back in January when, after 37 hours, he finally made a hole in one at the famed 7th at Pebble on a simulator.
Our guy Si Woo? 69 attempts... in socks.
Yes, it took roughly a medium-sized range bucket for Si Woo to sink a hole in one.
And I'm left yearning for the day when I can have a simulator in my house to be able to chase these kinds of milestones.
Until then, I'm left using Jack's plastic clubs in the living room, chipping a foam ball into an empty sippy cup. Same... but different. Oh so different.
The most extreme desert golf course
NOW THIS IS A MATCH!
This is the kind of YouTube golf I like to watch.
In what appears to be some sort of collab content piece between Monster energy and Ford Bronco—the Fun-Haver Invitational featured golf influencers Tisha Alyn, Bradford Wilson, Aaron Chewning and Karol Priscilla playing a one of a kind course set up in the middle of the California desert.
They paired up with two Ultra4 champions which I am to assume is some sort of off-roading style driving circuit—who drove them around the rocks and assorted terrain in souped up Broncos.
The concept was a super clean, simple, 3-hole setup over the course of a day. Edited tightly in a 24 minute episode. The banter was light. The personalities shined. And it didn't take itself too seriously.
Basically, this is what I wished The Match would become. And it's already giving me ideas for what a sequel to the Breakfast Balls Invitational could look like...
THERE WILL BE GLOW BALL
Hey, what's LIV up to?
LET'S RIP SOME WAX
Every once in a while I'll get an EXTREMELY strong worded email from someone just aghast that I don't make LIV the headline story every week.
Truly appalling, I know.
On one hand, it could be because I'm actually a paid shill for Jay Monahan, pushing the mainstream PGA agenda. On the other hand, it could be because the TV product is still pretty poor and I couldn't find CW if my life depended on it.
All that said, money talks. And if you could see my Majors betting cards this year—my money will be doing plenty of talkin' about LIV.
Anywho, the big LIV news this week (besides speculation that Rory was offered nearly a billion dollars to join—and his old agent is openly speculating that he still may...) was a new deal LIV signed with trading card company Panini.
They'll be releasing the typical fare like "jersey" cards, on-card autographs, etc. But, as a sports card TikTok fan who watched countless hours in the early months of COVID lockdown of people opening packs and a basketball card FREAK when I was a kid... golf cards just don't do it for me. But I actually think golf tends to have some of the coolest memorabilia (clubs, gloves, signed flags, etc.)—so I wish they could figure out some way to bridge the two.
Imagine you could get an actual piece of their clubs in the card. Just a heavy AF card with a face of a driver in it—maybe you even see the little white tee marks on the face. That would be sick. And for what it's worth, if any league were to do something over the top like that? It ain't the PGA Tour...
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