Iss. #298 | Like Shootin' Stingers In a Barrel

"Michael Jordan. Played with him one time. I went to the bank and got 15 grand... I had no idea what we were going to play for." - Mardy Fish (winner of the American Century aka the one in Tahoe) on the stakes of his match with MJ. Turns out, they played for $200/$200/$400 so Mardy had a bit left over in his bag afterwards.

DP World Tour continues their content reign

LIKE SHOOTIN' STINGERS IN A BARREL

While they have been a bit quiet over the past few months, the DP World Tour always brings the heat when it comes to gamified Tour player content.

This week, they dropped a piece in partnership with Buffalo Trace whiskey where Marco Penge and Alex Noren competed in the Buffalo Trace Golf Combine featuring three whiskey themed challenges.

The first was a series of flop barrels where they had to hit wedges into three stacks of barrels, each higher than the last. The second, seen above, was a stinger challenge where they had to fire a ball through a barrel down range. And the final was a blind barrel challenge where they had to hit balls over a house at barrels on the other side.

Spoiler alert... Alex Noren took it down and, of course, everyone shared a little whiskey tasting afterwards. But all this to say, give me more brand crossovers of golfers hitting Willy Wonka shots around their HQ. I'm picturing a vineyard partnership where golfers have to land a ball between each of the lines of grapes for the ultimate distance control challenge.

Hawaii gets a tournament back

LPGA MAKING MONEY MOVES

The LPGA announced a brand new tournament for next season called the Nanea Cup. Boasting a $4 million purse and featuring a mix of LPGA stars and top collegiate golfers, the event fills the hole left by the PGA as they announced the Sony would no longer be held in Hawaii.

To me, where the event really shines is the idea of placing golf tournaments at exclusive locales with an actual flavor to them. The screenshot above makes this place look like it's the resort course from Jurassic Park. While I imagine the concept is easier said than done, I always enjoy when a tournament has a feeling to it. More than just exceptional golf, there's a local culture and it reads as noticeably different. And this checks all the boxes.

Plus, the opportunity to storytell around the next generation of LPGA talent with all the collegiate players in attendance will be incredibly valuable. And the timing also works in their favor as it'll compete alongside The Players (sure) but with a decidedly different look and feel in Hawaii and the golf world getting frothy a few weeks out from the Masters... golf will very much be on the mind.

Golf course wildlife content incoming

AUDUBON SPONSORS GOLF??

Not to flex on you all here but every once in a while I get emails from PR companies or press releases about various goings-on in the world of golf. I know, I know... big time.

This week, I got one announcing that Solmar Golf Links in Cabo just renewed their Audobon certification and I about stopped in my tracks. As one of the more formative organizations I followed as a young kid obsessed with zoos and wildlife, I had PLENTY of calendars, puzzles, and magazines... Audobon definitely caught my eye here.

On further digging, I discovered that over 900 courses worldwide belong to the program dedicated to environmental stewardship and responsible use of resources. Which I'll admit is not exactly what I had hoped the program would be. Sure, overall it's a good thing but I definitely thought this was like a full on wildlife sanctuary status watching out for endangered species. Stops a little short of that...

Which got me thinking about how cool a National Geographic certification program would be for golf courses. Basically combine all the environmental stuff of Audobon, I guess, but layer on a whole Skukuza style animal layer. Photograph it all and drop a Nat Geo Golf issue... name your price, I'm in.

And on the Solmar Golf Links front, check it out as it actually looks like a pretty epic track. Views are insane and the topography looks equal parts sandy dunes and tropical paradise.