Olympic golf gains momentum
LE OLYMPIC ISSUE
I've been shocked at the amount of golf content coming out of Paris. Rio suffered from a bunch of top players refusing to compete and the newness of the competition. Tokyo obviously suffered from the post-COVID Olympics and lack of significant fan presence.
But in their wake comes Paris. By all accounts, the atmosphere is electric.
And quotes from players are universally positive. I was perusing my usual podcast rotation this week and on Fairway Rollin' - The Ringer's golf podcast hosted by Joe House - they talked about the dangers of gambling on the Olympics because without the financial incentives who could guess whether players would stay locked in.
Turns out that playing for your country holds quite a bit of weight.
Jason Day, one of the players who sat out of Rio, had this to say:
"We’re not playing for money this week. We are playing for a medal and you’re here for kind of playing for free. But my point is that it feels totally different. This is the most I’ve felt nervous standing on a tee box."
And hometown hero Matthieu Pavon shared something similar as he recounted the roars from the crowd as he teed off.
To me this is yet another data point to support a unified and truly international tour. These crowds abroad are ravenous for competitive golf. LIV numbers are continuing to skyrocket attendance-wise with their recent UK event apparently selling out.
And, anecdotally, my primary care physician Dr. Ko and I were chatting at length about how great an international tour would be during my "annual" exam this week. ("Annual" because it's actually been three years since my last one and I finally realized I'm of an age where it might behoove me to get my cholesterol and blood pressure checked occasionally.)
But Dr. Ko was loving the idea of some European, Asian and Australian stops to bring some variety to the game and harness the excitement of other major golf markets outside the US.
He also loved the idea of me cutting back on my "treat meal" McDonald's habit. So you can never over index TOO hard on any one person's judgment.
LA 2028 Golf Updates
REVVIN' IT UP AT RIV
Hearing the enthusiasm for golf on the ground at Paris only makes me more excited for when the summer games come to Los Angeles in 2028. The venue for golf? Riviera Country Club—site of the Genesis Open and still my favorite on-course tournament experience to date.
The stadium style slope on 18 produces epic shots like the above and I was a huge fan of how the entire course is nestled into a canyon in the Pacific Palisades. Strolling the grounds feels like you're in your own little world.
The news to share however is that the International Golf Federation confirmed reports that LA 2028 proposed a new mixed event for the games.
In addition to the 72 hole stroke play for men and women, the proposal was for a format featuring one man and one woman from 16 different nations—36-holes, one round of foursomes and one round of four-ball better ball.
100% in for that.
And I also loved the idea thrown out by a few sports writers for scrapping the 72 hole stroke play all together and forming 2-person match play teams. Start with a round robin group phase before a single elim bracket for the finalists.
THE DRAMA!
We're going to Augusta
PHELPS DREAM PHOURSOME
NBC has thrown literally every single person imaginable at their Olympics broadcast this year.
I remember when it was fun seeing Leslie Jones doing her commentary on Twitter with a few guest spots on the broadcast. And now, they've got Kevin Hart and Snoop Dogg weighing in on equestrian events. With class act and 'Cuse alum Mike Tirico trying to keep the train on the tracks.
I mention this because Phelps, for some reason, has had a heavy early presence in the golf coverage on social and I caught this clip of him sharing his dream golfing foursome.
His picks?
1) Tiger (duh)
2) Freddy Couples (interesting...)
3) Michael Jordan (alright now!)
They'd play Augusta and his rationale was to have Tiger and Freddy for course knowledge and MJ for the elite level trash talk. I don't hate it.
It actually brings up an interesting question I've been pondering for a few weeks now.
What would be the three questions you'd ask someone to figure out whether or not you'd enjoy golfing with them?
So far, the best ones I've thought of would be:
1) What is your opinion on eating sunflower seeds on the course? (I LOVE course seeds, it helps me focus. But the key piece is the responsible spitting of said seeds. NEVER on the green and always into hazards/rough/non-fairway whenever possible.)
2) Do you play ready golf? (I could care less what someone's handicap is. And I could care less about proper order of play. It's about playing reasonably on pace.)
3) How many drinks makes an ideal round of golf? (These days, I'm about 1.5 beers per nine to keep me at a cruising altitude. Any more and I lose focus. I'd want to meet my playing partners at the same level—the party FOMO would get too intense for me.)
Speaking of MJ...
GOAT GOLF FIT
I will be 100 years old and STILL learning new and insane stories about Michael Jordan. A guy that's the definition of "built different."
Came across this post on the No Laying Up feed and had to appreciate the fact that despite MJ clearly having the desire to compete for Team USA and show out on the world stage...
He STILL made sure he'd have enough time for golf—and was so petty that he made sure Isiah Thomas wasn't on the team. To which they said; anything you wish, sir.
What I would give to be able to pull off this fit.
Forever and always my GOAT.
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