Opinion & Analysis
Municipal golf matters
With another golf season quickly approaching, it’s time for many to consider the options for how and where they plan to play. Some have already started paying dues towards their club memberships, others are waiting to buy prepaid passes for their local course, and like many, I’m eagerly awaiting the opening of my local municipal golf course – my muni.
The gateway
Growing up, my friends and I were what you would call course rats: kids who would be there when the sun came up and there on the putting green as the sun went down. We would spend hours on the range, often times picking our own balls to avoid paying for another bucket since that meant an extra burger after we were burnt out from hitting balls. The golf course was the best “babysitter” our parents could have asked for – endless hours spent outside day after day and for the low price of just $350 for the season — plus $5 a day for that burger I was talking about. We all ended up loving the game and becoming pretty decent players along the way without much instruction, based on the simple truth that we were given the opportunity to play.
Living outside of the city in a smaller town, this was a “mom and pop” course that is still around today and busy, but I often wonder now as an adult if other kids that loved golf got to share in the same experience. Looking back, I don’t think I could have gotten a better education in being polite, responsible, honest, and confident, this was The First Tee before The First Tee even existed.
The memories from those summers are some of the fondest I have from growing up, and with so many young families living in cities, along with the high cost of organized sports, and the closing of golf courses, government-subsidized municipal golf is one of the last places where this type of opportunity is available to juniors and adults alike at an affordable price.
The modern muni dilemma
Municipal golf has been around for a long time, and recently for some cities, has become a lightning rod for budget cuts along with concerns about tax dollars being spent to fund an “elite” sport. The issue I have is cities spend a huge amount of money to subsidize other sports fields and recreation facilities including swimming pools, ice ricks, soccer and baseball fields yet none of these sports have the “elite” tag attached to them like golf.
This will sound like a blasphemous statement from a Canadian, but hockey, has become a much more elite and expensive sport as far as access and barrier to entry when you factor in equipment and cost of ice-time, yet a lot of non-hockey playing citizens would chain themselves to an arena to prevent it from closing its doors.
When recently, speaking to one of the golf professionals at a city-owned course near me, I was informed they are one of the few city recreational facilities that actually turn a profit thanks to the high traffic the course sees, along with the efficient use of the clubhouse facilities for events during the season, and in the offseason.
Municipal golf through history
What I love about “muni” golf is that it’s for the people. The Old Course along with the others in and around St Andrews Scotland, for example, are by definition public golf courses. The courses themselves and the “R & A Club” are separate entities, and if you can show a handicap card you can book a tee time to play one of the many courses located in the town.
The municipal courses I play the most are Kings Forest Golf Course and the Chedoke Civic Golf Courses in the city of Hamilton Ontario. The Chedoke courses are in no way a “Championship Test” with the shorter Martin Course topping out at just over 5,700 yards, but much like the Old Course at St. Andrews, it’s home to more than just golfers. Early morning and late afternoon you will find people strolling the paths, walking their dogs, and simply enjoying the green space — something that as cities continue to grow will be needed even more. It’s not closed on Sundays and doesn’t become a park like St Andrews, but even during winter, you will find dog walkers, cross country skiers, and people sledding down hills. That seems pretty multipurpose if you ask me.
As much as I pick on, and use my local Chedoke as my example, I do it out of love. The Martin course is an untouched Stanley Thompson design packed with interesting holes built into the Niagara Escarpment. It’s endless fun to play.
It’s about access
Municipal golf is accessible because it is affordable.
Understandably, the conditions might leave something to be desired on a day-to-day basis, but when a course only has 5-6 staff members on the grounds crew compared to more than a dozen like at high-end facilities, only so much can be done. At the end of the day, it’s 18 tees with 18 greens and the company you are with that makes a round of golf, not the height of the fairways or rough or the occasional bunker in need of a good raking.
For myself locally, junior memberships are priced around $500, allowing access to unlimited golf with no tee time restrictions. It’s a pretty nice deal if you ask me. What makes golf different from other individual activities and team sports is it can be played at any time, and you can be paired up with three other random people to play, regardless of gender, age, or skill. When you add in the fact that at the recreational level, there is no scheduled practice or game days like other sports, golf offers seven days a week access, which can’t be said for other activities.
If we look at the bigger picture and data from the National Golf Foundation (2017), there are just over 11,000 PUBLIC golf facilities in the United States with the average price paid for an 18 hole round of golf averaging out to only $34. If the “average” golfer plays 10 times a year, that’s only $340, and with the buyers’ market in the used equipment space, even if you need a full set up of clubs to get started it can easily be had for less than $400.
I may be an outlier but if given the opportunity to volunteer at my course for a few hours once a week to help fix a bunker, clean up fallen branches, or just help with general course maintenance in exchange for the ability to golf I would be first to sign up.
It’s a program like this that could also work for juniors (within a reasonable age obviously) to not only help grant more access to golf but teach about agronomy and respect for the course itself. I can only imagine this type of “education” and team environment would help foster more life-long golfers. **Please remember this would be 100 percent voluntary and open to both kids and adults alike. I’m not asking or suggesting free hard labor.**
Looking towards the future
With so much worry around the future, there are recent examples of municipal and small privately-owned golf courses making big comebacks thanks to passionate individuals and cities willing to appreciate the value a golf course has to the community.
The best two examples are Goat Hill Park and the Winter Park 9 – I’ll let Andy Johnson from The Fried Egg give you the rundown: The Fried Egg Profiles Winter Park. Two courses on opposite sides of the country achieving success by offering affordably priced, fun golf to boot. It’s the sense of community these places created that make them beacons in the landscape.
At this point, I think it’s important to state that I am NOT anti-country club; I love private courses too! Conditions are top-notch, the architecture is in most cases interesting, the pace of play is quick, I could go on and on. I have friends that are members at clubs, and thanks to working in golf, I know a lot of pros that are happy to grant the occasional access on slower days to “friends in the industry”.
I love playing golf one way or the other, but at heart, I’m a muni kid that has a huge amount of respect for the game on both sides of the fence. Regardless of where someone started, or where you choose to play now, we’re all playing golf, and that’s the most important thing.
Sure the pros on T.V. play at high-end and expensive private courses, which is great for entertainment and corporate hospitality, but municipal golf where you are going to find the golfers who are the real heart and soul of the game. If we want to #GrowTheGame – an overused hollow phrase, and maintain some semblance of accessibility for the next generation of golfers, having municipal golf is a critical part of that.
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19th Hole
Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again
After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.
Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.
Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”
Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.
“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.
Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.
“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”
“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”
As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.
In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.
“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”
Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.
Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:
Fairways Hit
1.) Louis Oosthuizen
2.) Anirban Lahiri
3.) Jon Rahm
4.) Brendan Steele
5.) Cameron Tringale
Greens in Regulation
1.) Brooks Koepka
2.) Brendan Steele
3.) Dean Burmester
4.) Cameron Tringale
5.) Anirban Lahiri
Birdies Made
1.) Brendan Steele
2.) Dean Burmester
3.) Thomas Pieters
4.) Patrick Reed
5.) Carlos Ortiz
LIV Golf Individual Standings:
1.) Joaquin Niemann
2.) Jon Rahm
3.) Dean Burmester
4.) Louis Oosthuizen
5.) Abraham Ancer
LIV Golf Team Standings:
1.) Crushers
2.) Legion XIII
3.) Torque
4.) Stinger GC
5.) Ripper GC
LIV Golf Singapore Picks
Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)
Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.
This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.
Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)
Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.
This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.
It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.
Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)
Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.
Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.
Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.
Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)
Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.
Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.
If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.
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In Tampa, there is a golf course that boasts carts that do not work, a water range, and a group of players none of which have any chance to break 80. The course is overseen by a staff of crusty men who have succeeded at nothing in life but ending up at the worst-run course in America. However, this place is no failure. With several other local courses going out of business — and boasting outstanding greens — the place is booked full.
While I came for the great greens, I stayed to watch our resident instructor; a poor-tempered, method teacher who caters to the hopeless. At first, it was simply hilarious. However, after months of listening and watching, something clicked. I realized I had a front-row seat to the worst golf instructor in America.
Here are some of my key takeaways.
Method Teacher
It is widely accepted that there are three types of golf instructors: system teachers, non-system teachers, and method teachers. Method teachers prescribe the same antidote for each student based on a preamble which teachers can learn in a couple day certification.
Method teaching allows anyone to be certified. This process caters to the lowest caliber instructor, creating the illusion of competency. This empowers these underqualified instructors with the moniker of “certified” to prey on the innocent and uninformed.
The Cult of Stack and Jilt
The Stack and Tilt website proudly boasts, “A golfer swings his hands inward in the backswing as opposed to straight back to 1) create power, similar to a field goal kicker moving his leg in an arc and 2) to promote a swing that is in-to-out, which produces a draw (and eliminates a slice).”
Now, let me tell you something, there is this law of the universe which says “energy can either be created or destroyed,” so either these guys are defying physics or they have no idea what they are taking about. Further, the idea that the first move of the backswing determines impact is conjecture with a splash of utter fantasy.
These are the pontifications of a method — a set of prescriptions applied to everyone with the hope of some success through the placebo effect. It is one thing for a naive student to believe, for a golf instructor to drink and then dispel this Kool-Aid is malpractice.
Fooled by Randomness
In flipping a coin, or even a March Madness bet, there is a 50-50 chance of success. In golf, especially for new players, results are asymmetric. Simply put: Anything can happen. The problem is that when bad instructors work with high handicappers, each and every shot gets its own diagnosis and prescription. Soon the student is overwhelmed.
Now here’s the sinister thing: The overwhelming information is by design. In this case, the coach is not trying to make you better, they are trying to make you reliant on them for information. A quasi Stockholm syndrome of codependency.
Practice
One of the most important scientists of the 20th century was Ivan Pavlov. As you might recall, he found that animals, including humans, could be conditioned into biological responses. In golf, the idea of practice has made millions of hackers salivate that they are one lesson or practice session from “the secret.”
Sunk Cost
The idea for the worst golf instructor is to create control and dependency so that clients ignore the sunk cost of not getting better. Instead, they are held hostage by the idea that they are one lesson or tip away from unlocking their potential.
Cliches
Cliches have the effect of terminating thoughts. However, they are the weapon of choice for this instructor. Add some hyperbole and students actually get no information. As a result, these players couldn’t play golf. When they did, they had no real scheme. With no idea what they are doing, they would descend into a spiral of no idea what to do, bad results, lower confidence, and running back to the lesson tee from more cliches.
The fact is that poor instruction is about conditioning players to become reliant members of your cult. To take away autonomy. To use practice as a form of control. To sell more golf lessons not by making people better but through the guise that without the teacher, the student can never reach their full potential. All under the umbrella of being “certified” (in a 2-day course!) and a melee of cliches.
This of course is not just happening at my muni but is a systemic problem around the country and around the world, the consequences of which are giving people a great reason to stop playing golf. But hey, at least it’s selling a lot of golf balls…
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The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.
TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.
Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.
However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.
Past Winners at TPC Louisiana
- 2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
- 2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
- 2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
- 2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
- 2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
- 2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)
2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks
Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)
Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.
This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.
McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.
Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)
Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.
Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.
Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)
Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.
NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.
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Terry morris
Apr 19, 2019 at 4:31 pm
This article is spot on I play at a local course and through the years I have gotten to see kids grow up to be young men and women with great attitudes and respect for one another you hit it out the park it’s all true.these ourthe kind of kids we want to carry on through this world
Carol
Apr 19, 2019 at 1:29 pm
I love this article, we are blessed in Nashville, TN. to have 8 great, well maintained Metro Parks Courses, overseen by our city. We loved the article, well said and well written.
It is great to see all of the comments, seems all of us love and appreciate our muni courses./
Dave
Apr 18, 2019 at 2:44 pm
Most of the public and municipal courses around my area seem to have a “chosen few” mentality. Very few seem to encourage the kind of trade the author speaks, namely the lone golfer, whether young or old, or anyone who does not fit into the foursome mold,
Prime tee times are tough to get, other than the ones in the know. This was always the case to some degree, even when I started golf, 50 years ago.
Even the almost bankrupt course I frequent, has a base of 18-25 guys who “own” the course prime time. The general public has to work around it. Not good for business. The public player will just go elsewhere.
For the most part, the public course has evolved into something private. Long gone are the days when someone could put a ball in a starters rack, and play accordingly.
This is what is helping to kill golf in general.
Anthony Parham
Apr 18, 2019 at 10:05 am
My father taught me golf ? at our local muni and many friendships were formed there. The golf was fun and I learned many lessons on life at our 18 holes that carried on today. Public golf courses are as important as any public recreation facility towns and cities have. Forever a muni.
Jason Farrelly
Apr 18, 2019 at 9:57 am
Great article. Well written and needs to be celebrated/talked about more often. I grew up with a similar experience at Cambridge Golf course and will always appreciate what it/they did for me.
hank church
Apr 18, 2019 at 9:07 am
OK BEEN AROUND PLAYING GOLF 50 YRS BEEN A MEMBER AT PRIVATE CLUBS AND BACK TO MY LOCAL MUNI WHERE I STARTED
public GOLF COURSES the players friendship that goes with being with regular guys just does NOT get the respect in the golf industry eyes I know it and have seen it.
watch the golf channel and they do very little talking about the PUBLIC GOLF COURSE PLAYER they actually act surprise when somebody comes from that background
Hammer
Apr 18, 2019 at 8:35 am
Grew up playing Chedoke. Could not imagine growing up without a place like that to play everyday during the summer from morning to night.
Simms
Apr 17, 2019 at 11:36 pm
The muni in California is on its last 18…any course that can be re-zoned for Housing is on the block or soon will be…we lost two public courses within 3 months of each other less then 10 miles apart last year alone, leaving a 3rd that is running under the gun to make money or close as I type. Even the best Public course in our Area is only open because it is run by a Tribe of Indians with a huge Casino, hotel just down the road…always roomers they would like to cut the 36 holes to 18 and build houses on the other 18. No need for junior golf out here unless it is at the Country Club level and in California even the Private Clubs are hurting big…after some 80 years one of the two local Country clubs sold and went public in my area….
Robert Brombacher
Apr 17, 2019 at 9:50 pm
I’m completely on board with your story. Played Muni golf in my earlier years, played junior golf, high school and college golf. I’ve been playing for over 50 years. Lucky enough to to play country club golf and enjoy the the re-birth of Goat Hill in Oceanside, CA. (Such a cool place)
Robert Flanders
Apr 17, 2019 at 7:57 pm
Would love to buy a season pass to a muni if there were any near me (inside 30 miles). Maybe in 10 years when a lot of these Fat Ass borderline/private clubs in north east start folding, the cities will buy and control them ????????
Johnny Mike
Apr 17, 2019 at 7:29 pm
Well written, and I couldn’t agree more. I initially learned to play golf at Haines Point, East Potomac Golf Course in Washington, DC, which looks more like an artillery range than a golf course. It was maybe $6 to play 9 holes then, and there was standing water on every hole every day. Golf at munis is an everyman and everywoman’s sport. It is a diverse and camraderie filled community; we will lose a great deal if we let these courses wither away from lack of funding.
Mike Cleland
Apr 17, 2019 at 7:35 pm
Completely agree.
Tony Lynam
Apr 22, 2019 at 12:39 pm
Use to play East Potomac’s 9 hole at lunch when I was stationed at Headquarters Marine Corps in the old Navy Annex building that is now part of Arlington National Cemetery. Was able to get the 9 in about an hour and change at lunch time and drive back to the Annex, after shooting par most times out there. Fun course to play. Never played the 18 hole course there.
A. Commoner
Apr 17, 2019 at 3:35 pm
Where,s the meat?
James
Apr 17, 2019 at 7:35 pm
Where’s the apostrophe?
A. Commoner
Apr 18, 2019 at 4:13 pm
Good call! ‘