The USGA has committed $30 million over the next 15 years toward research that would reduce golf courses’ use of water amid a climate of increasing regulation, the association announced.
The initiative will focus on irrigation, conservation and water sourcing and storage.
In a statement, CEO Mike Whan called the initiative “critical work” that will help “ensure golf’s future.”
Earlier this year, Global Golf Post’s John Steinbreder and Matt Cooper profiled golf’s challenge with the industry’s need for a dwindling natural resource in the special report “Thirst for sustainability” on February 6. READ MORE
TAP-INS
Troon Golf fired Craig Robert Luckey from his position as general manager at Potomac Shores Golf Club in Dumfries, Virginia, after he was arrested and charged with five counts of unlawful filming at the club, according to news reports. Prince William County police said a phone belonging to Luckey, 55, of Woodbridge, was found by an employee to be recording in the women’s restroom stalls. A July 20 court date was set for Luckey. Potomac Shores ranks No. 14 in Virginia on Golfweek’s Best list of public courses. READ MORE
A western New York public course dropped its “corkage fee deposit” and Breathalyzer test after a social-media backlash against the policy, Stephen T. Watson reported for The Buffalo News. The Buffalo Tournament Club in Lancaster required a $5 fee for golfers to pack drinks from home during their rounds. Players who did not consume alcohol during a round could have the fee refunded after passing a Breathalyzer test. READ MORE
The inaugural World Champions Cup, an international team golf tournament sanctioned by PGA Tour Champions, will be played December 7-10 at The Concession Club in Bradenton, Florida. Major champions Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and Darren Clarke will serve as playing captains for the six-man International, U.S. and European teams of 50-and-older players, respectively. READ MORE
The Omni Homestead Resort’s Cascades Course in Hot Springs, Virginia, will be the site of two USGA senior championships this decade: the 2025 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur and the 2029 U.S. Senior Amateur. READ MORE
The Asian Tour’s International Series Singapore will return to Tanah Merah Country Club’s Tampines Course for the event’s second edition, the tour announced. The dates for the $2 million event, the sixth tournament of the series, will be October 5-8. READ MORE
The Indonesian Masters has been scheduled for November 16-19, the Asian Tour announced. A site for the $1.5 million tournament, the finale on the 10-event International Series, was not announced. READ MORE
The 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews’ Old Course generated a record £307 million (about $382 million or €349 million) of economic benefit for Scotland, according to a study commissioned by the R&A, VisitScotland and the Fife Council. READ MORE
Dartmouth College, which cited financial concerns in closing the university-owned Hanover Country Club in 2020, is locked in a 2½-year legal fight with the heirs of a multimillion-dollar donor whose estate claims that the late Robert T. Keeler’s wishes for spending on the golf course have not been met, Annmarie Timmins reported for the New Hampshire Bulletin. READ MORE
American Rose Zhang set a record for the most weeks at No. 1 in the women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking. Zhang, a 19-year-old Stanford sophomore from Irvine, California, was top-ranked for a 136th week, breaking the mark of 135 set by Ireland’s Leona Maguire in 2018. Zhang, the reigning NCAA champion, won the recent Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She has been No. 1 since September 2020. READ MORE
Six automatic qualifiers were finalized on each of the men’s and women’s U.S. and International teams for the Arnold Palmer Cup, to be played June 8-10 at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. The other six spots on each team will be selected by their respective committees (five picks) and coaches (one pick). READ MORE
For fans of college golf, Golf Channel’s Brentley Romine has compiled a composite look at the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s conference tournaments that will decide the automatic qualifiers to the NCAA tournaments in a few weeks. READ MORE
The Applied Underwriters Invitational, a yearlong amateur tournament that organizers hope will attract 11,000 players and raise $10 million for charity, will begin June 3 and, via a series of 75 tournaments, conclude May 1-5, 2024, with the national finals at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri. READ MORE
Compiled by Steve Harmon