Erin Hills is open...again, again

Once more Erin Hills has been re-opened, again. Let's hope that this time it is way better than it was when we visited last year. At that time it was an absolute disaster with slow greens, dirt everywhere except where it should have been and a routing that made walking similar to treking to Everest basecamp. The fact that the USGA has already announced the 2017 U.S Open there is amazing to me - although you can do alot in 7 years - hopefully that includes building somewhere for people to stay - it is along way to the nearest hotel!

Oosthuizen withdraws from Scandinavian Masters

That was the headline you would have expected to read the week after his historic win at The Open at St. Andrews. But it was not to be as Louis, Louis honored his commitment to the Swedish event and a grateful crowd and tournament promoter, Jesper Parnevik. A great decision by Louis and excellent player management by Chubby Chandler.

MacDuff July Newsletter

It's that time of the month again. Here is the July News from MacDuff.

Bethpage Black: The Pre-Game Show

Thanks to Tom Dunne at Out-and-Back.net for publishing my piece about our experience at Bethpage Black. You can read it here.

The 150th Most Boring Open Championship

All credit to Louis Oosthuizen. Great swing, great play, great win. But, in the words of the legendary film director, Martin Scorsese, "Where's the drama, Who's the Protagonist, Who's the Antagonist?" I had high hopes of a great Open Championship, but just like the U.S. Open it didn't transpire. The weather blew away the field and Oosthuizen is no Dustin Johnson and there was scant chance of him folding. His fundamentals are solid and he looked at ease as he walked to the first tee. Even those who did switch on ABC in the morning in the US were unlikely to stay the course, especially after the 4 shot swing on 12. If the lack of drama wasn't enough those cheesy Scottish vignettes were enough to make the viewer reach for the remote and find a Baywatch re-run. When will the US networks stop making these cliche ridden pieces and simply focus on the golf. I know, never, but I still needed to say it. Well done Louis, the deserved Champion Golfer of the Year.

The best photo of The Open

This is priceless. The looks on these faces says it all. Harrington gets the joke, Woods standing behind Watson, the old Stanford Alum who positively despise one another, Trevino mad, Vicenzo looking bewildered, and Daly as always looking like a slob. The R & A must have been thrilled with this...not

The Open Championship Perpetual Spirit Issue by Rolex

The beautiful, new Rolex Perpetual Spirit Collectors Issue about The Open Championship has just been released. The Open is 150 years old this year and the magazine contains wonderful stories and photographs that celebrate this achievement.

ANNIKA e-News launch

`We launched ANNIKA's e-Newsletter today. Thanks to Mike and his team for all of their help. You can see it here.

We won another award!

There was a great surprise in the mail today. MacDuff, for its work on the Callaway iMAG, won an Apex Award. These awards are presented annually to companies to recognize excellence in print and online publications. This is the 3rd such award for the Callaway iMAG and you can see the great work of Paula Story and Jim Wise here.