Golfdom, December 2011

w w w g o l f d o m c o m Golfdom 21 degree commercially prejudiced Uihlein said its up to the R A and the USGA to not only set the rules but to assume greater responsibility in the games future If not who does he said Mark King the CEO of Taylor Made was even more blunt I think its time said King of bifurcating the rules for pros and amateurs in light of the precedent setting groove rule change King notes that in the past he has not been a proponent of such a change because we use Tour professionals as the main reason aspirational golfers will buy our products King says the game needs to do something pretty quick to make golf a little easier a little more fun Golf course design In the nearly extinct world of course design and development Tiger Woods saw his Dubai project halted after six holes were completed Those six will now be allowed to return to the desert landscape while his project at The Cliffs is also stalled indefinitely Even China where most architects and workers have gone to keep busy has stalled But according to some the slowdown is happening under the weight of government crackdowns over the illegal building of courses China for example is shut down right now golf wise Jack Nicklaus said in October We were over there about a month ago with a course two weeks from being finished that was shut down They put a satellite up to monitor it to see that nobody was working As for things at home I havent been to a country in the last year where the outlook is as bad economically as it is here for us Nicklaus said confirming he has not been to Darfur Nicklaus was speaking just months after the scrapping of a controversial plan proposed by Florida State Representative Patrick Rooney to build a Jack Nicklaus Trail of sorts opening up several parks in the state to be converted to new Nicklaus courses And who was one of the main opponents of the bill besides other lawmakers and an enraged public Arnold Palmer While Arnold Palmer Design Company is a fan of golf as a tool for tourism we do feel that there are alternative options than using our state parks for new golf course development the company stated That big ego battle will pale compared to one of the most intriguing course design stories of all time the decision to hire an architect for the 2016 Rio Olympic course Expected to be announced in early 2012 after the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee launched an international design contest participants have been asked to design a project that meets International Golf Federation IGF specifications The course must be capable of becoming an international centre of excellence for the sport of golf for professional and community use as a legacy to Rios population It also must respect the environmental law in force and the local ecosystem help promote Rio around the world and constitute an important tool for youth transformation through sport Oh and also host the first Olympic golf competition in over 100 years Because of the projects high profile nature most major firms are bidding on a project that will pay a mere 300000 to the winner Thats a small fee in the world of course design But in this economy even the biggest names in the business will take the money Geoff Shackelford is a contributing editor for Golfdom The RG3 robotic greensmower was just the latest in high tech maintenance unveiled to the golf industry this year Golf course architect Rees Jones addresses the crew at Atlanta Athletic Club before the start of the PGA Championship while director of grounds Ken Mangum CGCS listens