🍑 Does Quail Hollow Lack Soul?
Plus are golfers hitting balls too far?
Crazy week here for Michigan Golf Review, we’re catching up.
We’ll have a look ahead at the last three rounds of the PGA Championship on Friday — we wanted to get a look at the first round to see how it starts. In the meantime, we have a goofy look at the course they’re playing at, Quail Hollow, and a check in on a few other newsworthy golf items.
Kardashian of golf courses
The PGA Championship is camping out at Quail Hollow, a club in North Carolina.
Well, the reaction from fans and golfers alike hasn’t been hot. In 2003, it hosted an annual PGA Tour event, the Truist Championship (formerly Wells Fargo, formerly Wachovia). That regular action apparently makes it less special and less like a Major championship.
So much so that six-time PGA event winner Hunter Mahan compared it to the Kardashian family.
“I guess I would say Quail Hollow is like a Kardashian,” Mahan said. “It’s very modern, beautiful and well-kept. But it lacks a soul or character.”
Hopefully, somebody finds some magic this weekend.
Why go shorter?
The PGA of America has come out against a “golf rollback plan” from the USGA and The R&A to reduce driving distances. Apparently, golf balls help players hit too far.
Longest hitters might see their drives drop by up to 15 yards, with more recreational golfers dropping 5 yards or less. Pros will start using new balls in 2028, with recreational coming in 2030.
Well, PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague came out “vehemently against the ball rollback.”
The MGR crew understands where he’s Sprague is coming from with this quote:
“I don’t know one recreational golfer that wants to hit I shorter.”
If everyone can use the same equipment, what’s the problem? Are you upset that a ball can help you hit it farther?
Are golf courses a health problem?
A new study has linked an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease with living near a golf course.
The study sources aren’t minor either: the Mayo Clinic and the Barrow Neurological Institute.
According to the study, living within two miles of a golf course was associated with a 198% higher odds of Parkinson’s. Between two miles and three miles, the risk remained approximately 121%. The risk dropped 13% with every mile further.
That could have something to do with the pesticides and fertilizer.
It’s not just Parkinson’s, but ALS, which a University of Michigan Medicine study connected to golf courses last year.
Golfing risks
When a golfer walks onto a course, there is generally a “reasonable assumption of risk.”
Well, that was an issue in a case against the Cazenovia Golf Club near Syracuse, New York.
In 2020, during the club’s member-member tournament, a tee shot from the 3rd hole struck a player in the eye as they went up the 7th fairway. The golfer lost vision in the eye and sued the player who hit the ball and the playing partner, and the course.
The argument was that a new tee added to the third hole approximately 15 years ago made the playing conditions more risky.
Ultimately, the case against the golfers was dropped, but the suit against the course remained — but ultimately, the court ruled in favor of Cazenovia.
While the Cazenovia case was a victory in liability issues for courses, another case popped up in Connecticut shortly after when a player filed a complaint against another player for not saying “fore” for a ball that struck him.
No matter the legal outcomes, stay aware on the course and definitely yell “fore” if you shoot an errant shot.
the peach emoji in the headline dear god