Tag: golf course

LIV Golf Going Away (After 2026?)

In the words of LIV CEO Scott O’Neil:  Even though the 2026 season for LIV Golf continues as planned, “the long-term viability beyond this year is in question.” That’s a short answer for the potential uncertainty that lies ahead for golf’s hot sensation with hefty payouts and all kinds of seasonal flexibility designed with pro players in mind.

Designed to be wild ride like the Phoenix Open on steroids, LIV Golf came in with a bang. They swooped up some key players and made some big promises about what they were going do (and what they were definitely not going to do). That made it a big deal for guys like Lefty and Brooks, even some guys who had lingered on the lower end of the PGA Tour.

Nowadays, I’m just as mixed up about who’s who and what’s what in LIV Golf as the roster of players lined up to tee off in Mexico City this past weekend.

What we do know is that if top-ranked pros like John Rahm return to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf suspensions might be placed upon them. Imagine the impact of a one-year suspension from the PGA Tour for pro golfers. Loss of endorsement deals and sponsorships? How do you plan to pay for coaching and training, even that wellness coach and nutritionist, who have contributed to your recent success? It could hurt a few careers which do not have opportunities in the broadcast booth or with any type of Golf Channel specials or Netflix golf documentary series in mind.

In the meantime, as I tried to watch the final round of LIV Golf from Mexico City, I somehow lost interest before John Rahm had a chance to tee off. There was some great golf being played. Bubba Watson made an impressive reading of the green with a roundabout putt on his first hole of the day, while some of the approach shots to the greens opened doors to potential birdies and even eagles.

And I think that might be it. . .

While I do not care for the PGA’s tendency to overdo its restructuring of holes and fairways as if they’re seeking to make par near-impossible, I can see where the LIV Golf course seemed almost “too easy” for some of these pros to navigate. The mystery of the challenge seemed lost as I observed guys master holes that they might have conquered after their initial rounds and some decent practice rounds.

It didn’t seem like they were really facing the pinnacle of pro challenges in the form of course design. In fact, I watched on golfer almost mirror his performance on a single hole from the prior day (same club, same shot, similar hole placement, etc.).

We just finished witnessing a historic PGA Masters Tournament as golf fans. We don’t see that Rory 100% of the time. We got a glimpse of him last week. We won’t get that type of story on the LIV Golf broadcasts. LIV Golf doesn’t have the attachment of a storied legacy like Augusta to compete with the PGA.

So is LIV Golf going away after 2026?

We don’t have any real answers to that yet. We’re still having too much fun with the 2026 tour in play. Right now, as far as we all know, it is a lot of talk with very little substance to go with it. No decisions have been made. No changes have been implemented. It’s just the buzz of the business right now.

Read the April 15th ESPN article from Mark Schlabach available online.

Also, check out Joel Beall’s article on LIV Golf’s finances and future for www.golfdigest.com.

Getting Fit for the Fairway

Let’s not lie to ourselves. Aging and fitness do not always align themselves with our personal aspirations.

I’m being serious, y’all!

Regular Exercise

Regular exercise is more like some form of geriatric preventive care equivalent to morning breakfast shakes of Ensure. I hit the gym for a workout at least 4 days per week, adding in 2 days of deep stretching, yoga and cardio.

And, at times, I feel like that doesn’t cut it. It is as if there needs to be an additional workout for making up for the kinks and the aches and pains that the regular exercise create for me. I just don’t think such a thing truly exists for us who are undergoing aging.

Extended Recovery Time

Recovering from an injury seems to take forever nowadays. It doesn’t matter if it’s a twisted ankle or a busted knee, the amount of time to properly recover seems to drag on for ages. To truly recover from an injury these days, you have to spend some time working on your own rebound.

To recover from an injury today, you need the right liquids and supplements to digest along with the proper pain medications in moderation. You cannot simply pop a few Advil and keep it pushing. Recovery does not work like that. You need braces or KT Tape, even the proper medicated sports tape for wrapping areas of soreness for conditioning and rehab during recovery.

No room for softies who cannot take the bountiful scent of Icy Hot after a simple workout.

Finding My Way Back to the Fairway

Due to the recent barrage of injuries, I haven’t jumped back on the course immediately. However, I train with golf in mind. I train with walking at least 9 holes with a lightweight golf bag slung across my back as my goal for summertime this year. I train with golf on my brain.

By the time I make it back onto the fairway, I expect my scores to be regulated by week #3 if I go out there consistently. I plan to play a full round of 18 holes at least 2x’s per month. By this time next year, I will play twice as much. However, for right now, I am suited for increasing my weekly workouts and adding some more cardio with running and hiking. Let’s see where that gets us.

San Diego’s Torrey Pines Hosts the Kickoff of Another Golf Season

It usually comes right after the NFL playoff games have settled down into the 2 opposing teams set for the Super Bowl showdown. It’s like the first weekend in February. It usually takes place on the West Coast. It happens right in Southern California. It takes place in San Diego, and it symbolizes the initiation of another golf season with the famous Farmers Insurance Open as part of the West Coast Swing.

Justin Rose tackled Torrey Pines like man on a mission. He set a course and tournament record on Day 2, marking a stellar 36-hole lead. He fought throughout the tournament to hold onto his lead and keep his opponents at a safe distance.

It happened at Torrey Pines and you barely caught a whiff of it . . .

  • PGA Tour rookie Michael Brennan found himself disqualified from the 2026 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines following his first round after “non-permitted green-reading materials” were discovered in his caddie’s possession.
  • PGA Tour legend Brooks Koepka returned after his stint with Liv Golf. Koepka made the cut for the tourney, but hung around the lower end of the leaderboard all weekend.

Now that Torrey Pines has since some pro action this golf season, let’s see what else is in store for these pros on tour.

Super Bowl Showdown: Pats vs Seahawks

Super Bowl Sunday is going down with the Patriots taking on the Seahawks. Have a safe and enjoy the game and good times, maybe even a round of golf if you can sneak it in before you have to fire up the grill for the day.

Practice for Playing the Conditions

Two things that I’m certain of no matter how golf I play is that you have to play the course and the conditions as they are. The course has its own particular design and layout. The conditions are just what they are for that given day and even at that moment.

I tend to practice early mornings, especially on Sundays. In many cases, the greens are soaked and my poor little Callaway balls are rolling and splashing around while I’m chipping and pitching onto the surface.

This helps me accomplish a few goals. One of the main goals that I accomplish with this type of practice is that I can get a feel for what effect different conditions have on the ball upon approach to the putting surface. That helps a lot once we start to play on any course.

Presidents’ Day Practice

I awoke early. I did some dynamic stretches and came close to emulating a few yoga poses that have helped with my back and hips. I was ready.

Once on the road, I would stop for a large coffee at a convenience store on the way. No donuts on the menu for today.

By the time I arrived at the golf course, I was ready.

My mindset was focused on the selection of clubs and the Callaway Chrome Super Soft golf balls that I had laid out in the trunk. My stretching had my body ready for taking the club back slowly and swinging through effectively for my desired results.

Everything seemed in place.

Early mornings aren’t my best time to play. I think the earliest I ever played was at 6 AM with a 5:45 AM check-in. Even for Southern California, that was too chilly to be swinging any type of club for recreation.

This Monday morning was not chilly like that, but it did have residue from the early morning overcast and fog. Dew covered the practice green and surrounding areas. The dew on the green was so thick that the golf balls would make tiny streaks that laced their own trails towards the target holes during the practice session.

I focused upon my wedges. Short game skills can always provide you with a safety net if you can’t pull the rest of the game together. And, as one who doesn’t always have it together, I tend to rely on my short game to serve as almost like an equalizer for my recovery from some bad choices on the fairway and at the tee box. That’s not perfect, but that’s definitely something I have to keep in mind every single time I tee it up these days.

In all honesty, the sand wedge and lob wedge delivered the best results. One contributing factor could be the fact that the greens were soaking wet. Additionally, I used the pitching wedge first and followed that up with the gap wedge. Therefore, by the time I got to the lob wedge and sand wedge, the surface might have lost some of its morning dew and was pretty slick with melted moisture.

I took note of the conditions causing different responses to various clubs and I tried out some trickery around the target hole on the putting surface. Technically, I’m more experienced with the lob wedge than the sand wedge. Yet, I have a greater sense of touch and feel with the sand wedge.

By the time I play a full 18 holes on a par 3 course, I think I might just go out with an 8 iron and a sand wedge. I think that would get the job done and get me ready for another test of my short game skills.

A Storied Ending of the West Coast Swing

The Genesis Invitational was set to provide a thrilling storyline for pro golf. In fact, this pro golf tournament tournament hosted by Tiger Woods on behalf of TGR Foundation is held at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California. It serves as a befitting end to the West Coast Swing portion of the annual golf season.

What we got from the Genesis Invitational was way more than any of us bargained for along with most probably less Tiger Woods than we originally expected to see. The lineups and foursomes were great pairings for viewers of the event. The struggles on the course called for some sensational news like Cantlay fighting to maintain an early lead or Jordan Spieth getting disqualified for signing the wrong score on his scorecard. That all came around the same time that we heard about Tiger having back spasms and other issues on the course. It wasn’t long before we got word of Tiger pulling out of the tournament altogether.

All of that made for great fodder, but the true story was being etched out day by day on the course. Hideki Matsuyama was delivering sub-70 golf scores daily at Riviera starting with an opening round of 69 and ending with a final round 62. Matsuyama finished the tournament with a 6 stroke lead at the end. Matsuyama took home a $4 million dollar prize and an additional 700 Fedexcup Points.

Watching the final round of the tournament had me looking for who might catch up to Matsuyama and provide another playoff weekend. But that never happened here. Masuyama maintained his lead at a safe distance from his competitors and won this tournament free and clear.

After watching a post-game interview with Hideki Matsuyama sharing about overcoming back issues and his closing in on the course record during this final round, I was motivated. I was motivated to pick up my irons and chip and putt for some more practice around the green. According to Matsuyama, everything was not working for him during the entire final round, but he was able to remain consistent with his short game and his putting. That told me that we all can tee it up high and let it fly, but if we’re going to keep winging we better do it strategically to stay the course.

North County Golf Outing

The tee time was pushing it close, but we knew that when we started. Daylight would rush our play towards the end of the day. Nevertheless, we made our way to Rancho Bernardo Inn in North County San Diego just under 30 miles from central San Diego proper.

From the first tee, I felt good swinging in the tee box. I drove it across a waterway and followed that up with an approach shot onto the green. I putted for par on the green, and then played it too safe on a par 3 that cost me some strokes. Then, I made my second par on a par 5 hole and saw my potential for breaking 90 light up.

Unfortunately, not many highlights pop up after that.

One memorable hole had me trying to work some magic by overplaying a dogleg that got me caught up with some dogwoods and eucalyptus trees. That move had me right along with my foursome who all sat in the fairway, while I wrestled with the tall grass amid the trees. I overworked for that double bogey on that hole.

I never went beyond making a bogey on the back 9. In fact, I stacked up enough double bogeys to keep me focused on fixes for my next outing.

I was too conservative on my putts, leaving myself too much ground to cover on the second putt. Also, I was overplaying a few holes when I was left with under 100 yards to the flag. Playing a 9 iron instead of a pitching wedge under such conditions makes the difference between being on the green or just beyond the green.

I learned one lesson clearly and it has been on my mind since this round. I need to manage my shot selection and choice of clubs in order to set up the next shot. If I don’t do that well, then I’m bound to still struggle breaking 90.