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Bounty Club, a new private retreat near Nashville, Tennessee, posted some footage of its nearly complete King Collins Dormer design. The course is looking good! KCD's stylistic signatures are in evidence — huge, undulating greens, along with even bigger and more intricate bunkers — but in slightly toned-down form. Since this is probably the most golf-ready land KCD has ever worked on, I wouldn't be surprised if the firm consciously decided to take a more restrained approach.

The Bounty Club project was announced back in early 2023, and the course is expected to open next year. The developers are 8AM Golf, owner of Golf Magazine and other well-known golf properties, and Justin Timberlake, avid golfer and seemingly-past-his-prime pop star. Naturally, Golf Magazine has provided regular coverage of the construction process.

As you may imagine, this time of year, when our team isn't researching for 4-hour Year in Review podcasts we are doing a lot of planning for next season. We're pretty excited about some internal projects we're plotting, we're monitoring architecture news, and professional golf continues to be annoyingly complex so yes, we'll be covering all of that.

And while we have a ton of ideas and plans already, I'm curious what FEGC members are hoping to see/want to see out of our team in the new year? I can't promise that we'll go out of our way to cover something we aren't planning to already, but if there is something you have top of mind please let us know! Maybe we'll already have something in the works or will be able to incorporate it in our schedule. We want FEGC members to enjoy what we're putting out, after all!

I'm in Fort Worth visiting my in-laws for the holidays and my father-in-law is a collector/hoarder of vintage clubs. With no real agenda I figure it would be fun to share a few of my favorites.

The Ben Hogan sand wedge was a gift from Ben Hogan himself! Enjoy!

My home course, Forest Hills Golf Course (www.golfforesthills.com), takes a group of 52 players to Bandon each January and we have two spots available. This will be our 17th year and we have a wonderful group of players ranging from low single digits to some high teens all with great personas. Here's the deal:

Cost: $1045 - includes 3 rounds, 2 nights, 1 dinner + $20 each day for payouts

January 9th - Bandon Trails - 10am start times

January 10th - Bandon Dunes - 9am start times

January 11th - Pacific Dunes - 8:30am start times

Lodging: Chrome Lake Lofts (https://bandondunesgolf.com/lodging/chrome-lake/)

Please let me know ASAP if interested. Marcus@golfforesthills.com

I didn’t lose power, but we will rebuild.

Awesome podcast.

I am starting a thread on it and the courses we would add to the list.

I'll start with Lofoten Links. I've never been, and I'm not sure if it counts (it was 9 holes before 2010 but only extended to 18 in 2025). But I think if I'm going outside the US and Australia-New Zealand, it would probably be the top course to mention.

The other would be Mach Dunes for showing how one can do environmentally sensitive work in GB&I. If Coul Links gets built, its because of the trail Mach Dunes blazed. I think it's technically 2009, but close enough.

Few notes

1. How are these not just “The Eggies?”

2. Rory has to be the Player of the Year. Winning the Grand Slam in an all-time Masters. Winning an away Ryder Cup after saying he was going to. Winning at Pebble, Sawgrass, and his home open. The Data Boys can go pound sand.

3. Collin didn’t really create any jobs. It was just one job with a cast of characters filling it. This job existed before the year. So zero jobs created. One man did create some jobs. Xander Schauffle. Zero webmasters before this year. At least one now. Hopefully more!

Is it too soon to start asking which courses will be featured in volume 2? Volume 1 was just delivered this week but slid it under the tree for a Christmas gift. Really excited to get into it. Here's a list of courses I'd love to see (warmer weather places as I'm already over winter).

Cal Club

Abaco Club

The Park

WP9

Tree Farm

Chechessee

Austin Golf Club

SFGC

Streamsong Blue

Pinehurst 2

28, no kids, and consequently a reasonable amount of free time on my hands. As we’re rapidly approaching the second tgl season I thought I’d share some of my thoughts with a brief team-by-team preview following a hectic offseason.

The Drive - the defending champs have a lot of questions to answer going into season 2. JT is out for the season and Billy Ho is coming off injury (which may have been caused by doing the dirty bird too much), but rumor is his surgery was planned so his recovery would peak just as season 2 begins. Lucas Glover is splitting time between his golf game and increasingly popular radio show, and the Pat in the hat had a year so bad he fell from 11th in the world this time last year to his current standing at 24th (somewhere he hasn’t been since the SGS was only a few months old).

NYGC - Rickie is still Rickie, but aside from that the team is on the rise. After a heartbreaking defeat in the championship last year, Cam Young (Mr. ~746) has caught fire, Chicago’s son is back playing well, and Xander has a new app and ended the year looking not that bad I guess.

LAGC - The Brits on this team are playing great, with Rosey sitting at 10th in the OWGR and YouTuber/Fedex cup champ ( listed in order of importance) Tommy Fleetwood ending the year as the hottest player on the planet(?). How will that translate to an indoor sim league with horribly inaccurate launch monitors? Not sure. The Americans on this team are another story. Sahith was out for most of this year injured, and Colin might holdout because this will be too much media interaction. Maybe he and Marty can bond over what product they use to coif their hair.

The Bay - Honestly I don’t have much on these guys. Thank god the Chef didn’t go to Liv or else Matt Berry wouldn’t know what to talk about. Wyndham is probably still doing community service on the grounds of Oakmont so who knows if he’s even eligible to play.

Jupiter Links - Did I miss something or do we still not know what’s going on here? Tiger certainly can’t play but he still could probably crutch out there and be better than Kis. Max and TK both aren’t playing great to my knowledge. I’m not a gambling man but the line for holes won for the year with this lineup has to be O/U 6.5.

B Frogs - I think Rory announced on the SGS that Michael Thorbjornsen was joining the team, so does that mean someone is leaving? Do they just get another player since they didn’t win a game last year? Or is it a prize for Rory winning the grand slam? No matter, things have to be looking up for the Frogs as they can’t do worse than last year and the “players” have them first in the preseason polls.

Pre Season Power rankings: 1. NYGC 2. The Bay 3. LAGC 4. Frogs 5. Drive 6. Jup Stinks

Maybe this will be a weekly power rankings (probably not) with inspiration taken from the WOWgr, which left us far too soon.

Thoughts on the golf games? Feeling a lot of the fatigue Brendan referenced on SGS with these “the match” style tv events. Seems like the main focus is to pack as many sponsorships and gambling promos as possible. The idea of a golf skills competition is fun, but when Rory was on the pod and said the idea was just brought to them and there wasn’t much input into the events it didn’t sound good.

Hey all,

I'm organizing a trip to Southern Pines this spring and hoping to get some thoughts on staying on property at Pine Needles. I've stayed at Mid-Pines before and that was a rustic experience. Wondering what I can expect across the street.

While I have greatly enjoyed your All Grass is Local series, TFE's latest showing how Bandon has had to move into poa putting surfaces to keep up with golfer expectations was super interesting. Then in the newsletter today, you discuss the decline of student attendance in the turf program. I can't help but think how these two things are connected.

Golfer expectations in the private and public sector have never been higher. I am a public golfer. I primarly play at a very busy and popular spot that 95% of people find great value in. But 5% are disappointed, angry, and very loud that the conditions are not same as the private clubs in the area, or the club they spend 2X-3X more at. I also play 50% of my golf at private clubs. And whether they are top 100 or not, I would have to talk to a lot of members before I find one who doesn't start a conversation with "this is awful" or "they are way better down at club ABC", not realizing if they want something, they just need to pay for it as a membership. They rather just blame the superintendent and managmet. There 5% are primarly what the GM and Superintendent hear from. I think this is a micorcosm of most clubs. Loud, vocal minorities who drive change. Whehter that be to the course, or in the management team.

In the past two years, I have watched two of my closest friends be releived of their duties due to "poor course conditions" and as someone who knows turf, turf was certainly not the issue. I belive the issues at Bandon, while golfer driven become a non-issue (firings of turf staff) due to the strong ownership structure and culture aroud Dream Golf. I would think in most cases, these turf conditions would have resulted in a superitedent losing their jobs......which is wrong.

As of this moment, our regional assosciations job board has the following listed:

Assistant Superintendents positions - 14

Superintendent - 4

These are big numbers for us, and many of the jobs have been listed for months. We have 1 school offering turf in our region and they are producing roughly 20 students from their 2 year program and 30 from their 6 week short course program a year. But when you see the person who hired you get fired, you find somehting else to do as you do not see Golf Course Maintenance as a career.

I thought your Bandon video and todays newsletter encapsulates our industry right now. But not everone has the Keiser family to back you. I likely have not fleshed this out well, but I think my point is in here.

Rory on the Year in Review????? No…. No. No way.

I will be traveling to Naples area in February and curious to get opinions on courses in that area. It seems the public scene is pricey and mediocre. I watched a bit of the Grant Thornton last week to see some of Tiburon, which looked good, just expensive.

Thanks for any input!

Talk about a Friday news dump.

At 8:21 p.m. on December 12, the Wall Street Journal published a major report about U.S. President Donald Trump's apparent efforts to wrest control of East Potomac Golf Links from the National Links Trust.

In 2020, the NLT signed a 50-year lease to operate and improve the three municipal golf facilities in Washington, D.C. The nonprofit group partnered with architect Tom Doak to explore the possibility of restoring certain elements of Walter Travis's original design at East Potomac. Also, as I noted last month, the NLT recently started the first phase of its ambitious, Gil Hanse-led renovation of Rock Creek Park Golf Course.

A few months ago, however, rumors began circulating that higher-ups at the Department of the Interior — including secretary Doug Burgum and solicitor general William Doffermyre — were encouraging President Trump to take a more active role in the management of the courses. Official news trickled out slowly. First, the Independent revealed that the President was "weighing" a potential "refurbishment and rebranding" of East Potomac Golf Links. Then, in early November, the Washington Post reported that White House was transporting excess dirt from the East Wing renovation project to East Potomac.

Now, the Wall Street Journal is telling the full story. Here’s what you need to know:

• In a meeting with President Trump and a handful of advisers on August 1, interior secretary Doug Burgum first pitched the idea of turning East Potomac into a "professional-level course" named "Washington National Golf Club." Trump has since expressed interest in hiring Tom Fazio to carry out the work.
• In an interview with the WSJ in the oval office on Friday, President Trump did not rule out playing a direct role in renovating D.C.'s municipal courses. "If we do them, he said, "we'll do them beautifully."
• Trump added that if his administration were to take over management of the courses, D.C. residents would still, in the WSJ's words, "pay a lower rate than other golfers." It's not clear which "other golfers" are being referred to here, or how the administration could make such a guarantee, given the apparent ambition of Burgum's East Potomac proposal.
• The conflict between the Trump administration and the NLT is beginning to revolve around details of the nonprofit's lease with the National Park Service. According to the WSJ, administration officials have claimed that the NLT "is in breach of its lease because it hasn't made enough progress on the renovations." In a statement posted on social media, the NLT said, "We respectfully disagree with the characterization that we are in default of our lease. In the five years since signing the lease, National Links Trust has worked hand in hand with the National Park Service through the extensive permitting and compliance processes required for these comprehensive renovation projects."
• The WSJ claims that the Trump administration told the NLT that if East Potomac Golf Links did not accept the dirt from the East Wing demolition, the group would risk defaulting on its lease. The NLT acquiesced, but in recent weeks, the administration has moved toward a finding of default anyway. "The Interior Department informed the group that it had violated a lease provision," the WSJ reports. "Interior then issued a formal default notice, a move that could lead to the termination of the group's lease, according to the people. Trump told the Journal that if the nonprofit doesn't address the alleged violations of its lease by the end of the month, then the courses will revert to the Trump administration's control."
• The WSJ article notes several times that East Potomac Golf Links occupies a valuable stretch of Washington real estate.

I'm not sure where to start with all of this. Feel free to discuss below.

Note: there were technical issues with the first version of this post, which we put up on Friday night. We decided to repost here and will attempt to regenerate the comments.