“I love my cheese, and I heard it's cheddar cheese. I love my cheddar cheese.” - Nelly Korda on realizing Erin Hills aka Wisconsin is in "Dairyland." I tend to agree but it's a tougher melt on a panini than maybe a provolone. Plus, I'm an Illinois guy so there's some built-in Cheesehead resentment at play, too.

Making A Murderer: Golf Edition

GET ON THIS, NETFLIX

This week, the US Women's Open visits Erin Hills in Wisconsin. And if you know me, you'll know that I couldn't just rattle off stats on how long the rough is playing or give you another rundown of the 140 yard par 3 9th with such a punishing green complex that local caddies nicknamed it "world's shortest par 5." You've read that already—and also, what do I know?

 

No, instead I give you golf-themed true crime!

 

Found this article from GOLF.com telling the story of Steve Trattner. Trattner apparently found the land that would become Erin Hills and was an instrumental partner in bringing it to life with Erin Hill's main investor Bob Lang.

 

The article begins by ominously calling out that the course is only one hour away from the maximum security correctional institution where Making A Murderer subject Steven Avery was held.

Definitely give it a read (though spoiler alert for those with short attention spans, it's <gasp> LONG FORM!) as it's well-written and more story-like than your typical golf media article.

The opener describes a scene from the visiting area of the jail and left me fiending for more—

"The outlier in the room, a soft-spoken man in a green prisoner’s jumpsuit, leaned forward in a chair with his hands clasped in his lap. “Oh, I’m going to be watching every minute of the tournament,” he said. “For so many years that place was my home away from home.”

At 55, slightly built and balding, eyes peering out from behind round wire-framed glasses, Steve Trattner cuts the profile of a guy you’d ring for help with your computer — which is precisely the type of work he did before setting off on his improbable path to WCI."

 

Long story shorter, Steve was convicted of murder and therefore his contributions to Erin Hills have been lost in time—and for, we'll guess, some significant PR reasons.

Charlie Woods Watch

COULD THIS BE IT??

After years of golf media falling over themselves trying to proclaim that Charlie Woods is officially a "thing"—Charlie Woods may actually be a "thing."

This past week, Charlie won the AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) TaylorMade Invitational at Streamsong Black in Bowling Green, Florida. And not only did he win, he won by three strokes over the likes of Luke Colton (ranked 5th in nation) and Miles Russell (ranked 1st in the nation).

Look, I can't honestly say that one three-day golf tournament will now rocket him into the upper echelons of junior golf. He was ranked 600+ coming into this event...

BUT—I do like the idea of him going full Great White on us, tasting blood in the water, and starting to climb leaderboards because he's experienced a high profile victory.

There was also an unintentionally funny clip posted by the AJGA on X captioned "A moment to remember" where Charlies completes his round and wins the tournament—only the clip is him missing the 6 footer before tapping in the final shot... iconic.

This is genius.

A TRUE BOXED LUNCH

Captured on Skratch's X feed was a video of Rickie Fowler's caddie pulling out a box of golf balls, only to reveal that inside the box was a neatly wrapped sandwich.

And I can't tell you how much I appreciate this level of "duh" innovations.

One of my biggest pet peeves about bringing any homemade foods to the golf course is a lack of vessel to hold said food in my bag without getting mashed or being too bulky. This solves all of that in an unobtrusive way.

Further more—talk about an incredible merchandising opportunity or charity tournament gimmick to pack everyone's snacks for the day in an empty branded box of golf balls.

<Adds to list of ideas for a future Breakfast Balls Invitational...>

Bad Birdie High

READY ON THE TEE—AND TO SERVE

Dropping on our YouTube channel this week is the latest episode of Bad Birdie High.

In it we meet the cadets of Hargrave Military Academy in  Chatham, Virginia.

Check out the full episode through the link above. I love this project for so many reasons—primarily because ensuring that golf is in a healthy spot for generations to come starts with showing love to the next class of golfers (and Bad Birdie enthusiasts).

While you're perusing, definitely go back in the archives and see all the other BB-approved teams across the country. The team did an incredible job on this and we still have a few more to reveal in the weeks ahead!