There’s growing outrage among Los Angeles golfers about a black market for tee times at the city’s municipal courses, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Brokers have been buying up tee times and then charging booking fees up to $40 for golfers to secure a game. The activity is happening across Southern California but is especially problematic at the city’s Griffith Park, Rancho Park and Hansen Dam courses, the Times’ Matt Hamilton and Ashley Ahn reported.
After the actions were exposed by local teaching pro Dave Fink, the L.A. Department of Recreation enlisted the City Attorney’s Office and GolfNow, the online booking service, to launch an investigation. READ MORE
For all the good that golf in the great outdoors can do for our physical and emotional health, there might be a downside, according to a recent medical study.
Michigan Medicine, the University of Michigan’s health system, found male golfers may face a higher risk of developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, possibly because of an increased exposure to pesticides. The study was published recently in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences.
The study involved 400 participants who are living with ALS and 300 who do not have the progressive neurodegenerative disease to assess their hobbies and activities. Those who played golf were found to be three times more likely to develop ALS among men. Women were not disproportionately affected.
“We know that occupational risk factors, like working in manufacturing and trade industries, are linked to an increased risk for ALS, and this adds to a growing literature that recreational activities may also represent important and possibly modifiable risk factors for this season,” said first author Dr. Stephen Goutman, director of the Pranger ALS clinic and associate director of the ALS Center of Excellence at the University of Michigan. READ MORE
TAP-INS
England’s Maurice Bembridge, a six-time winner on the European Tour who played in four Ryder Cups, died March 2 at his home in Switzerland, according to media reports. He was 79. READ MORE
Actor Owen Wilson will play a washed-up touring pro who mentors a troubled teen golf phenom in a new series on Apple+ TV, according to The Hollywood Reporter. READ MORE
A lawsuit filed by a Michigan golfer who crashed his cart while descending a steep hill at the Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Michigan, has been dismissed in an opinion released Friday by the state Court of Appeals, the Detroit Free Press’ Paul Egan reported. Matthew Burchard alleged gross negligence after he was ejected from the cart and it landed on top of him while he was playing the course with 15 others during a bachelor party. READ MORE
Danny Meyer, who founded the Shake Shack restaurant chain, was so impressed with his first experience in simulator golf that he made a $20 million stake via his investment firm in Five Iron Golf, an indoor golf and entertainment company, CNBC reported. READ MORE
Jason Day has acquired an equity stake in Payntr Golf and will collaborate on a line of footwear with the company, Forbes magazine’s Erik Matuszewski reported. Day, 36, whose 13 PGA Tour titles include the 2015 PGA Championship, competes in Payntr’s X 006 RS model and is expected to develop the X1 Proto line. READ MORE
Compiled by Steve Harmon