Opinion & Analysis

Military and Golf: Rich History, Challenging Future

Published

6 years ago

Mar 30, 2018

It’s my turn to tee off in the match I’ve got going with my buddy on the course at Fort Bragg, N.C., where we’re stationed with the 82nd Airborne Division. And since I don’t have an ice pick handy, I grab some of the fallen pine needles to make a little “bed” for my ball to lay on. No way a tee is going in the ground. It’s freezing outside and the ground is rock hard, but we’re playing golf anyway. Because we love it, the course is open, and it keeps us out of trouble.

Fort Bragg is in the Sand Hills region near Pinehurst and Southern Pines, otherwise known as The Home of American Golf. And while our modest little military base track pales compared to the sprawling, iconic Pinehurst courses, it’s as good as Augusta National to us. It’s our course, we can play it at a bargain-basement rate, and it provides almost everything the elite courses do – fun, competition, camaraderie, tradition, the great outdoors, and a place to make birdies.

And it’s responsible for one of my favorite and most enduring golf memories – watching Jack’s back-nine charge to his last green jacket with a clubhouse full of fellow service members. The roars emanating from our little building raised the roof. Nothing like sharing a special moment with kindred spirits. That’s one of golf’s great charms. But I digress…

Golf and the military have a long, rich history in this country. For as long as the game has flourished in America, military members have embraced the game, perhaps none more so than our Commander-in-Chiefs. Ike was an Augusta National member, and Gerald Ford skulled more than one spectator while playing (poorly yet avidly). Donald Trump owns courses and reportedly mixes rounds with running America, as did Obama, Clinton and the Bushes before him. When was the last time the POTUS didn’t avidly play golf? Jimmy Carter? Ronald Reagan?

Leave that to the fact-checkers, and it doesn’t matter. The point is that golf and the U.S. Military are deeply interwoven – from the highest level to the rank-and-file troops who comprise the vast majority. There are 145 American base golf facilities globally (111 in the U.S.). That portfolio makes it one of the largest collections of courses in the world. Add that there are tens of millions of past and present service members who golf, and countless generations to come, and it’s clear that military golf is, pardon the pun, a force to be reckoned with – good and bad.

The Good

The spectrum of courses ranges from modest, municipal-type tracks to top-notch layouts combining outstanding design with spectacular locations and views. Think Hawaii, California and Colorado, Virginia, Texas and South Carolina. As an Army vet who has worked in the golf industry for the past 20 years, I’ve experienced both first-hand, and I can honestly say that I got as much benefit from playing the military courses as from the swankiest resort or private club course.

Benefit is the key word when it comes to judging or evaluating military golf, which falls under the military’s department of Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR). Those three words perfectly describe the benefits that base golf facilities provide service members past and present, as well as their families.

Many service members – former and current – suffer from significant stress and physical disability. It is well-documented that they experience relief and enjoyment while they’re on the golf course, practice range or putting green. It helps them cope, heal and recover — to experience life as fun, hopeful and free from mental anguish again, even if for a short period of time. In many cases, these golf experiences serve as springboards to enhanced wellness. That’s good for their mental health and physical well-being and that of their families, as well as our military readiness overall.

The Bad

Since 2011, there have been zero funds appropriated for stateside golf courses. Most income base golf courses receive comes from green and cart fees. This creates annual revenue shortfalls as many base courses provide very low rates for service members past and present. Hence, many are falling into disrepair – both on and off course (practice facilities, on-course accessories, restrooms, additional accessibility, cart barns, maintenance equipment/facilities, clubhouses, etc.).

Left unchecked, this scenario spells, if not doom for military courses, certainly a slow, steady decline, and along with it the benefits afforded our selfless, patriotic soldiers.

The Solution

Operation Support Military Golf (OSMG) is a non-profit organization that was formed to address this challenge. To understand OSMG is to understand Founder Jennifer Poth and her father, Lt. Col. John E. Poth. USAF Ret. Jennifer was born with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, a condition that prevented her from following her father into military service, which was her dream.

After playing junior golf four years in high school, she signed with Texas A&M University. Its strong academics, athletic standards, and military presence inspired her. Jennifer left competitive golf after college and focused on using her Sports Management degree. Her goal was to work for the PGA Tour, so she packed her truck and drove from College Station, TX, to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. She spent her first six months in Florida scrubbing clubs, working the bag drop, and in the pro shop at TPC Sawgrass, ultimately earning a position traveling 26 weeks per year as a Shotlink Producer for the Tour. After seven years with the Tour, she parted ways, earned her master’s degree in Sports Management, then founded JP Golf Consulting and Design.

While working for herself was rewarding, bettering Florida golf courses did not fulfill her lifetime desire of serving her country. Shortly after the Boston Marathon terrorist bombings in 2013, Jennifer realized a way to serve our military through the game she loves. Since then, she has devoted her professional career to combining her love and passion for our United States Military and golf through OSMG.

OSMG is dedicated to “Reviving the Golf Courses that Revitalize our Heroes.” They are green-space havens that at some overseas bases are the only safe and/or affordable recreational space for service members and their families. Who does OSMG serve?

Active Duty & Reserve Personnel – as a means of R&R and unit bonding
Medically Retired, aka Wounded Warriors – in their life adjustment recovery process
Retired Veterans after an honorable career – as a well-earned perk for their service
Future Generations of service members – investing in our future and our people
Families of all the above – providing service members the knowledge that their dependents have a safe environment to learn and play a game that teaches positive, lifelong lessons, such as the values of integrity and tradition. This is especially important during deployments or as a means of reintegration upon their return.

With $1 million targeted per course for renovations and many facilities falling into disrepair, the Poths need many people and groups to rally together.

After five years traveling the country, putting countless pieces together (and using their personal savings to do so) – from navigating the protocol required to get military approval at the highest levels, to recruiting leading golf organizations to pledge their support – Jennifer and Lt. Col. Poth have built the runway. Now it’s time to fly. Work on OSMG’s inaugural project – at Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville, FL – is scheduled to begin this spring.

Arnold Palmer Design Company has made the in-kind contribution of providing the architectural drawing for a practice facility, and MacCurrach Golf Construction is scheduled to implement it this year. And several leading industry organizations have answered the call and pledged support though in-kind services to OSMG, including Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, American Society of Golf Course Architects and the Golf Course Builders Association of America.

There are not enough funds to replace the cart barn and two on-course restrooms at Mayport, but OSMG is striving to secure them. The second upgrade project will occur at MacDill Air Force Base, assuming funds are secured to complement the generous in-kind services already donated.

With the support of individual and corporate donors, Military Golf will have a solid future. That’s good for everyone.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again

Published

4 days ago

Apr 30, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

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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Opinion & Analysis

Ryan: Lessons from the worst golf instructor in America

Published

4 days ago

Apr 30, 2024

Brendan Ryan

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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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

Published

2 weeks ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

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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