Iss. #230 | Sam's Club Comes for Kirkland's Korner

Iss. #230 | Sam's Club Comes for Kirkland's Korner

"I don't train for golf. I have 0 interest in training for golf. I think training for golf is a load of rubbish." - Charley Hull on the reasoning behind her physical fitness... or me on the first tee at Coronado Golf Course this weekend as I attempt my first golf round and/or golf swings since October of last year.

 

A little something for my equipment nerds out there

IF YOU COME AT COSTCO, YOU BEST NOT MISS
News from MyGolfSpy this week is that Sam's Club has followed up the launch of their in-house brand Member's Mark golf glove with a Member's Mark golf ball.
 
Selling for only $14/dozen, they're clearly going for the lower market offering and to compete with the Kirkland Signature diehards. To which I ask, who could possibly compete with Costco on anything? Legitimate question for those who shop Sam's Club, is it a regional thing where there are no Costcos available by you? Do they serve better hot dogs? Is the selection of at-home solar panels next to sets of all-weather 4x4 tires next to all-inclusive Sandals Jamaica trips better?
 
Regardless, MyGolfSpy are the people who dig WAY too deep into golf tech and report that the ball is a 338 dimple cover and 3-piece construction. (A bit disappointed that they didn't go for the 342 or 346 dimple instead, but hey...) And in my attempt to sleuth out what white labeled brand name they likely are using, I found the following two candidates.
 
Bridgestone Tour B RXS and Srixon Soft Feel. Neither of which I've played but file this under "The More You Know" next time your local Costco is shut down for maintenance or the line for gas is too insane... visit Sam's Club and grab a couple dozen!

 

Apple TV+ show Stick is taking shape

CAMEOS ON CAMEOS
Tour players are really having their Hollywood moment these days between the Full Swing treatment, Happy Gilmore 2 and now appearances on Apple TV+ upcoming golf comedy.
 
AppleTV released some new details on Stick which is scheduled to premiere with three episodes on June 4th.
 
The latest logline reads:
In “Stick,” Owen Wilson stars as Pryce Cahill, an over-the-hill, ex-pro golfer whose career was derailed prematurely 20 years ago. After the collapse of his marriage and getting fired from his job at an Indiana sporting goods store, Pryce hedges his bets, and future, entirely on a troubled 17-year-old golf phenom named Santi (Peter Dager). “Stick” is a heartfelt, feel-good comedy about a found family and their relationships set within the world of golf as it has never been shown before.
 
And the cast list and cameo list is shaping up to be quite something;
Marc Maron (perfect grizzly vet), Judy Greer ("Say goodbye to these!") and Timothy Olyphant (devilishly handsome and excellent in Justified and Deadwood).

Plus guest appearances from Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley, Max Homa, Wyndham Clark, Jim Nantz, Trevor Immelman, Good Good’s Matt Scharff, Brad Dalke and Garrett Clark, and golf reporter Dan Rapaport.
 
Cash in fellas while the water's warm!

 

Plenty of news nuggets from the big cat

THIS WEEK IN TIGER WOODS
A couple fun Tiger Woods nuggets this week worth calling out, starting with the TGL onslaught that began with the triple header on Monday and continued Tuesday with Jupiter Links getting routed by New York GC.
 
I will note, I was able to catch about one and a half matches throughout the day on Monday and TGL is ideal lazy day TV. I tuned in and out as various children drifted in and out of sleep around the house. And it was delightful! Enough little moments of entertainment each time I checked in and pacing allowed me to keep up with the action without feeling like I had to stay glued to TV.
 
The Tiger news here was a "they're just like us" moment where Tiger stepped up for an approach shot only to land it about 100 yards short of the hole. A situation many beginner golfers found ourselves in when say we grabbed our 9 iron instead of our 6 iron, hitting a shockingly great feeling shot, only to see it land woefully short and look down at our club in disbelief.
 
For Tiger, he apparently heard his team say 99 yards instead of 199 yards and didn't bother to check their work. I can see why sloppiness like this enrages golf diehards, but when you only get one or two sloppy moments per broadcast it is reading to me as more endearing than a shortfall—except in this case where it literally fell short.
 
I'm left thinking; "Aw, look how hard they're trying with this new golf league. You'll get 'em next time!"
The other fun Tiger nugget I found this week was the above story from Brandel Chamblee.
 
A nice reminder that while TGL Tiger confuses distances and embarrasses himself in the friendly confines of Palm Beach... the other Tiger is lurking at all times. Specifically, 4 AM.

 

Alex Myers found another gem

THE MOST NICHE OF NICHE GOLF MAGS
For longtime readers, you'll know that it takes quite a lot for me to admit that my Golf Digest nemesis Alex Myers does great work. For newer readers, Alex Myers is a columnist that does a similar-in-tone column to Breakfast Balls. Am I funnier? I'd say so. Do I have better, more discerning taste in content? I'd say so. Does Alex know who I am? I can't say so. And that should be evidence enough that I am really punching up or shouting into a void or whatever sad metaphor you'd use to describe me picking a "fight" with someone who is far more successful.
 
Completely imagined feuds aside, Alex wrote about this golf magazine he receives each year from a dude named John Minnium. The publication is titled Year in Review and it's exactly what you think it is. A mini summary of this random guy's year in golf. It includes in depth stats, course reviews, notes on who he played with, and more.
 
Apparently he printed around 350 copies this year mailed out to his friends, family, and random people who asked to join the list.
 
He has been doing this for 22 years after his buddy didn't believe he played 100 rounds in a year. So out of spite he created this digest and sent a dozen or so copies to his close friends. Each year it grew to the point where complete strangers are reading about his annual exploits.
 
Beyond wanting to get my hands on a copy, I surface this out of sheer respect. It's an idea I wish I could pull off from both a time and public interest perspective. I would have a blast filling this thing with the random musings and artifacts of the year. 
 
I do wonder "aloud"—could I convince BBHQ to print a limited run Breakfast Balls Annual Digest? How many polos would the sales team ask me to move in order to justify the postage? Would I get closer to 150 or 15 people who might actually want said Digest?
— Scott Fluhler
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