Troon’s Post

In the U.S. Women’s Open Golf Championship, five Japanese players finished in the top ten, with Yuka Saso claiming victory and Hinako Shibuno securing second place. We spoke to Hitoshi Takakuwa of the golf media outlet ALBA Net to uncover the secrets behind this impressive performance. - https://lnkd.in/gfpFzZPf TOKYO, Jun 04 (News On Japan) - In the U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship, five Japanese players finished in the top ten, with Yuka Saso claiming victory and Hinako Shibuno securing second place. We spoke to Hitoshi Takakuwa of the golf media outlet ALBA Net to uncover the secrets behind this impressive performance. The first secret lies in the 'Three Brilliant Generations.' This concept refers to three distinct generations of Japanese golfers. The 'Golden Generation' includes players like Shibuno, who were inspired by the achievements of Ai Miyazato. Following them is the 'Platinum Generation,' featuring players like Ayaka Furue, motivated by the successes of the Golden Generation. The youngest, the 'Diamond Generation,' includes players such as Reo Takeda, who are striving to excel in the sport. The five players who made it into the top ten at the U.S. Women's Open belong to these generations, showcasing the depth of talent across these age groups. The second secret is found in 'Domestic Tournament Reforms.' Historically, domestic tournaments in Japan were three-day events. However, they have recently been extended to four days, aligning with international standards. Additionally, more challenging courses are now being used to help players enhance their skills, preparing them better for international competitions. Source: ANN https://lnkd.in/gaKTeVyT Source

In the U.S. Women’s Open Golf Championship, five Japanese players finished in the top ten, with Yuka Saso claiming victory and Hinako Shibuno securing second place. We spoke to Hitoshi Takakuwa of the golf media outlet ALBA Net to uncover the secrets behind this impressive performance. - https://lnkd.in/gfpFzZPf TOKYO, Jun 04 (News On Japan) - In the U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship, five Japanese players finished in the top ten, with Yuka Saso claiming victory and Hinako Shibuno securing second place. We spoke to Hitoshi Takakuwa of the golf media outlet ALBA Net to uncover the secrets behind this impressive performance. The first secret lies in the 'Three Brilliant Generations.' This concept refers to three distinct generations of Japanese golfers. The 'Golden Generation' includes players like Shibuno, who were inspired by the achievements of Ai Miyazato. Following them is the 'Platinum Generation,' featuring players like Ayaka Furue, motivated by the successes of the Golden Generation. The youngest, the 'Diamond Generation,' includes players such as Reo Takeda, who are striving to excel in the sport. The five players who made it into the top ten at the U.S. Women's Open belong to these generations, showcasing the depth of talent across these age groups. The second secret is found in 'Domestic Tournament Reforms.' Historically, domestic tournaments in Japan were three-day events. However, they have recently been extended to four days, aligning with international standards. Additionally, more challenging courses are now being used to help players enhance their skills, preparing them better for international competitions. Source: ANN https://lnkd.in/gaKTeVyT Source

🏉 There's no 2024 AFL Grand Final 🎾 There's no Tennis at Melbourne Park next January ⛳️ That's what golf in Australia is currently staring down the barrel of. As the echoes of Joaquin Niemann's triumphant wizardry at the 2023 Australian Open fade away (alongside the awesome fortnight local Min Woo Lee provided fans), the golfing community is left hanging in suspense. The Stonehaven trophy has found its home, yet the future of Australian golf's premier event remains uncertain, casting a shadow over the anticipation that typically surrounds the sport's calendar. In a year that saw golf's resurgence capture the nation's attention, with record-breaking TV viewership and electrifying fan engagement, the absence of a confirmed 2024 Australian Open is a glaring void in an otherwise thriving landscape. Behind the scenes, a confluence of challenges looms large, hindering the swift resolution golf enthusiasts eagerly await: 🏛️ State Government Funding: With budgets stretched thin, securing financial backing from state governments has become a daunting hurdle. Who will step up to the tee and invest in the future of Australian golf? ⛳️ Golf Course Accessibility: The search for a prestigious host venue continues, yet the dilemma of course accessibility and availability persists. Which elite golfing haven will open its gates to the nation's top players, while grappling with the logistical demands of hosting a professional tournament? 🏌️ Golf Club Hierarchy: As discussions unfold to unite the men's and women's events, navigating the delicate dance of golf club hierarchy proves challenging. Will clubs set aside their differences and join forces to deliver a seamless championship experience, or will egos clash, leaving the event in limbo? Amidst these uncertainties, the Australian golfing community remains steadfast in its hope for a swift resolution. The legacy of past championships, coupled with the anticipation of future triumphs, fuels the collective desire to see the Australian Open return to its rightful place on the golfing calendar. As golf enthusiasts and industry stakeholders alike await news of the event's fate, one thing is certain: the spirit of Australian golf perseveres, ready to rise above any challenge and reclaim its rightful spotlight on the world stage. ⛳️ Want more golfing content: https://bit.ly/GTC-Signup 🇦🇺

⛳ Masters week is finally upon us! The atmosphere of golf's most important tournament is always very special (it is one of a kind, isn't it? ), however this time for me it feels like the Ryder Cup a bit too, why? As it was one year ago, we will witness another battle between golf’s two worlds, tours that present two different approaches towards the game of golf as the product - #PGATour and #LIVGolf. On one side, traditional, meritocratic, and recently supplied by the provision of talents from DP World Tour as a part of a strategic partnership between organizations; on the other a newly-formed league with a sort of against-the-system, more young-fan-oriented product including a constant field of players, team rivalry element alongside individual competition, shorter tournaments (that are not rewarding players with OWGR points), more action-packed broadcasts (all players on the course at the same time) and accompanied by music played on the course, and finally - reinforced by several big-time signings. The newly-formed tour brings fewer players than a year ago (13 in 2024, 5 less than a year ago), however their contribution to the field will include defending champion Jon Rahm, whose move to LIV was arguably the biggest story of the off-season, and last year’s joint runner-ups in Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson. Up against them from the PGA Tour side, Masters will be graced by current World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, several global stars, talents developed through development tours (like Ludvig Aberg, alumni of PGA Tour U) or promoted through the strategic cooperation between tours (e.g.: Matthieu Pavon, previously at DP World Tour, already a winner at PGA Tour) and of course - Tiger Woods. Each difference, back-stories of top players that switched tours, and lack of a reliable comparison of players' current performance makes 2024 Masters even more interesting - it is curious to find out how players’ performances will look against one another, whose idea for a golf tour presents better opportunities for players to perform at their best? Who will get the bragging rights for the next 12 months? It resembles a USA-Europe rivarly, doesn't it? Finally, the winner’s green jacket, through its importance in the world of golf and the current context of the world of golf being divided, rises to the ranks of soft-power-building tool for one tour and its stakeholders over the other. It might be also a very powerful argument during the well-awaited negotiations on the merger of the PGA Tour and LIV. Alan Shipnuck ended his book about the rise of LIV Golf like this - “it was a simple idea: to make professional golf slightly different, a tad more fun” - taking the perspective of this week’s tournament, having players from two leagues competing together again for the holy grail of golf is going to be enjoyable for fans, and surely beneficial for the viewership ratings! #SportsMarketing #SportsBusiness #Golf 📸 instagram.com/themasters

We are about to have another shake up in pro golf with the upcoming announcement of the Strategic Sports Group investing in the newly created PGA Tour Enterprises. Looking back, it looks like we are potentially at the exact middle point in the disruption timeline with certainly better days ahead 2009 - European Tour has to cut down Race To Dubai Prize Fund Two years after announcing a break through newly created end of the year super tournament, Prize had to be cut down due to the economic downturn 2011 - LPGA hit by a hard downturn The LPGA staged 27 events in 2011 with total purses of $44.2 million, compared with 37 events in 2008 that offered a total $63.2 million in purses. 2014 Golf World stops its printed publication 2016 Nike stops manufacturing golf clubs 2017 - LET is on the brink of collapsing That year The Ladies European Masters, scheduled to take place in Germany in September with a prize fund of €500,000, became the latest event to be cancelled following the Turkish Ladies Open, Czech Open, Buick Championship and another event due to be held in Italy. 2017 Golf Magazine is sold by Times Inc. 2019 Golf Digest is sold by Conde Nast 2020 - Golf Channel moves out of Orlando 2021 - LIV Golf Investment is created 2022 - Discovery shuts down GolfTV After a breakthrough deal with the PGA Tour, another one with Tiger Woods and finally the acquisition of Golf Digest, Discovery is giving up on its Golf Platform dreams. It's not just the Pro Golf tours that were disrupted, the entire pro golf value chain has been under pressure for more than a decade. That's why I'm so excited about the SSG/PGA Tour deal. SSG is an incredible club of some of the best financial minds in sports, you have to believe new ideas and better models will emerge. In a way, pro golf has been put in a position where suddenly it's much easier to be bold and innovative, unlike many other and less disrupted sports and media properties.

New Post: Season-Ending Switch for Saudi Showpiece - https://lnkd.in/g52VEuiR, Saudi Arabia: The US$5 million PIF Saudi International will move into the season-ending position for both the Asian Tour and The International Series.  Riyadh Golf Club will stage the season-ending PIF Saudi International, powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, in December. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: The US$5 million PIF Saudi International, powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, will move into the coveted season-ending position for both the Asian Tour and The International Series.  To take place from December 4-7, the tournament will make its debut at Riyadh Golf Club after five successful years at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City. “We are delighted to be taking this prestigious event to Riyadh Golf Club. Securing this key date and being positioned as the finale to the Asian Tour and The International Series adds to the significance of the PIF Saudi International, powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, as we see it grow in stature with each edition,” said Noah Alireza, CEO at Golf Saudi, an Executive Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation. Opened in 2005, Riyadh Golf Club is the capital’s premier golf course. Its par-72 layout is set across 7,434-yards of undulating fairways and has played host to many of the Kingdom’s leading tournaments, including the Saudi Open presented by PIF, the Aramco Team Series Riyadh, and the Aramco Saudi Ladies International. The first players to be confirmed for the December event are defending champion Abraham Ancer, 2022 champion Harold Varner III, winner in 2019 and 2021 Dustin Johnson, and 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith. Smith, who finished runner up to Mexican Ancer in 2023, said: “I am really looking forward to visiting Riyadh for the first time. From what I have read, there is so much going on there with some great sports facilities for grass-roots and professionals being put in place. “We have also heard lots of good things about the championship course at Riyadh Golf Club. Looking at the design and reputation of the course, I reckon it is going to provide us with a real test as we try to stay both out of the water and out in front of what will be another world-class field at the PIF Saudi International.” For the first time this year, the PIF Saudi International will finish on the Saturday in order to align with the final two days with the weekend in the Kingdom as players take aim at the US$1 million first prize and what is considered the most prestigious title on the Asian Tour. The tournament is the last of 10 elevated events on the Asian Tour calendar that offer a direct pathway for players from all over the world onto the LIV Golf League. The champion of the season-ending International Series Rankings will secure a spot on the 2025 LIV Golf League roster. In 2

New Post: Season-Ending Switch for Saudi Showpiece - https://lnkd.in/gKFnvFip, Saudi Arabia: The US$5 million PIF Saudi International will move into the season-ending position for both the Asian Tour and The International Series.  Riyadh Golf Club will stage the season-ending PIF Saudi International, powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, in December. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: The US$5 million PIF Saudi International, powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, will move into the coveted season-ending position for both the Asian Tour and The International Series.  To take place from December 4-7, the tournament will make its debut at Riyadh Golf Club after five successful years at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City. “We are delighted to be taking this prestigious event to Riyadh Golf Club. Securing this key date and being positioned as the finale to the Asian Tour and The International Series adds to the significance of the PIF Saudi International, powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers, as we see it grow in stature with each edition,” said Noah Alireza, CEO at Golf Saudi, an Executive Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation. Opened in 2005, Riyadh Golf Club is the capital’s premier golf course. Its par-72 layout is set across 7,434-yards of undulating fairways and has played host to many of the Kingdom’s leading tournaments, including the Saudi Open presented by PIF, the Aramco Team Series Riyadh, and the Aramco Saudi Ladies International. The first players to be confirmed for the December event are defending champion Abraham Ancer, 2022 champion Harold Varner III, winner in 2019 and 2021 Dustin Johnson, and 2022 Open champion Cameron Smith. Smith, who finished runner up to Mexican Ancer in 2023, said: “I am really looking forward to visiting Riyadh for the first time. From what I have read, there is so much going on there with some great sports facilities for grass-roots and professionals being put in place. “We have also heard lots of good things about the championship course at Riyadh Golf Club. Looking at the design and reputation of the course, I reckon it is going to provide us with a real test as we try to stay both out of the water and out in front of what will be another world-class field at the PIF Saudi International.” For the first time this year, the PIF Saudi International will finish on the Saturday in order to align with the final two days with the weekend in the Kingdom as players take aim at the US$1 million first prize and what is considered the most prestigious title on the Asian Tour. The tournament is the last of 10 elevated events on the Asian Tour calendar that offer a direct pathway for players from all over the world onto the LIV Golf League. The champion of the season-ending International Series Rankings will secure a spot on the 2025 LIV Golf League roster. In 2

Valderrama, a tournament for strategy | Sports The fans who are already hanging out at Valderrama waiting for the starting gun, from this Friday to Sunday, are chasing Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau – among others, because the cast of stars per square metre is fabulous – as far as the limits allow them, excited to see two of the best golfers in the world up close, just a few metres away, some swings that open mouths in unison and make anyone snort with envy. Both know, in any case, that this course is not for hitters, but for players with talent and skill, very technical, capable of improvising shots pulled out of a hat. “You can hit three shots and be in front of a tree,” Rahm summed up, happy to play on a course with tradition and history, heraldic because since 1988 the famous Volvo Masters was played there and then it became part of the heritage of the European Tour, also the venue of the historic Ryder Cup of 1997 because Seve Ballesteros, then captain of the European team against the North American team, managed to export it from the British Isles. Now, it is one of the 14 venues of the LIV, the circuit that coexists with the PGA Tour until they shake hands, a peace treaty announced but not sealed. Valderrama is an oasis of nature, surrounded by more than 2,000 cork oaks, 360 different species of flora and 167 species of fauna, including 105 birds. But golfers suffer from the trees. “It is a unique and special course that has been created among these trees,” says Phil Mickelson, winner of six tournaments. majors“You have to be careful because it’s a strategic course,” adds Open winner Henrik Stenson. “Even though most people think it’s not for me, I think it’s a great course to play strategically,” adds DeChambeau, last year’s runner-up. “There will be shots that go to strange places and shots that you have to hit through trees. You have to have your irons ready here and you have to be careful.” puttear “very good.” Abraham Ancer, Sergio García’s teammate, says: “I would love to play courses like Valderrama every week. You have to be precise from the start tee and meticulous to achieve green” With the grass in top condition – “I have never seen it this good, it is perfect,” Rahm concluded – Valderrama is the 29th course on the list of the 100 best venues in the world, according to the magazine’s latest ranking. Golf Digestwhich puts Royal County Down of Northern Ireland at number one – the birthplace of Saint Andrews in Scotland – in ninth place. The LIV Andalucía, a world tournament for skilled players, is underway. You can follow EL PAÍS Sports on Facebook and Xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter. The post Valderrama, a tournament for strategy | Sports appeared first on The USA Print.

Jon Rahm's Move to LIV Golf League : a Game Changer in the Sport The golfing world finds itself at a crossroads with Jon Rahm's groundbreaking decision to pivot from the PGA TOUR to the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf League. This seismic shift has reverberated across fairways and greens, heralding a paradigm shift and marking a transformative chapter in the sport's history. With Rahm's addition, the scales tip decisively in favor of LIV Golf, promising a league teeming with the crème de la crème of golfing talent and a future brimming with potential. Reports stemming from insider sources shed light on the monumental deal Rahm has struck, eclipsing the staggering figure of $300 million, coupled with an ownership stake in the LIV Golf League team. This colossal agreement signifies a watershed moment, a departure from convention, and a redefining of golf's competitive landscape. As golf aficionados cast their gaze upon this unfolding narrative, the need for strategic cohesion surfaces. Visionaries spearheading the PGA Tour, under the astute stewardship of Jay Monahan, must engage in collaborative discussions with Greg Norman of the LIV Golf League. Much like the tapestry of football tournaments, from the FIFA World Cup to the UEFA Champions League, the golfing domain craves a harmonious yet fiercely competitive series of events. From the vantage point of an ambitious African golfer, the question looms large: Why not nurture a more inclusive golfing community? Africa, alongside other overlooked corners of the globe, beckons with untapped potential, echoing the legacies of revered icons – The Old and Young Tom Morris, Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Annika Sörenstam, and an illustrious pantheon of golfing greats. It's a collective endeavor to democratize golf, expanding its boundaries and embracing diversity. As Africa stands poised and ready, eager to carve its imprint onto golf's global narrative, the rallying cry echoes louder. It's an invitation to golf's stalwarts to seize this juncture, crafting a future where golf transcends boundaries, flourishing in new territories while honoring its rich heritage. Golf's luminaries must unite. Together, they can shepherd the sport toward an inclusive and vibrant future, a future where tradition intertwines with innovation across continents. Africa awaits, ready to etch its story into the fabric of golf's evolution. It's time for the sport's custodians to forge a legacy that resonates through the ages, crafting an enduring tale that celebrates golf's heritage while embracing the boundless potential of tomorrow. Together, let's shape a future where the echoes of a tee shot resonate harmoniously across the globe, forging unity, diversity, and excellence in the game we cherish.

Golfers in the 17th and 18th centuries used a split golf grip primarily due to the golf clubs' design and the game's evolution. Early golf clubs had wooden shafts, and hickory was commonly used. These clubs were less flexible and less consistent in manufacturing than modern clubs. The split grip, where hands are spaced apart on the club, offered better control and stability, helping golfers manage the less consistent performance of their equipment. Additionally, the split grip allowed for greater precision and control in the shorter swings used with these early clubs. This grip style was particularly useful for the type of shots and the playing conditions of the time, which often involved playing on rough and uneven terrain. As golf clubs evolved with better materials and more uniform designs, the split grip became less necessary, leading to the more unified grips we see in modern golf. Harry Vardon, a prominent golfer from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is credited with popularizing the Vardon grip, also known as the overlap grip. This grip involves placing the little finger of the trailing hand (right hand for right-handed golfers) between the index and middle fingers of the lead hand (left hand for right-handed golfers). This grip provided better control and stability, contributing to more consistent and powerful swings. The Vardon grip became widely adopted due to its advantages in controlling the club and the success Vardon achieved using it, including winning six Open Championships. This grip remains the most common among professional and amateur golfers today. #golf #pga #pgacoach #usga #scpga #scga #lpga #ricmooregolf #thxpgapro #wearethesocalpga #welovethisgame #pgamoderncoach