NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
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The Range Rat was on site last week during the 123rd U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills in suburban Denver, so it only felt right to bring home a smattering of equipment observations.
Can we start with the obvious? Among the 312 players in the field, there was a jarring lack of collegiate logos on display. Group after group came through with Titleist, Callaway, TaylorMade, Nike, Ping and other golf brands adorning their hats and shirts. In some cases, players were supporting local companies, a la 2022 U.S. Amateur winner Sam Bennett, who had the logo of an outdoor patio furniture company on his hat last year. (Bennett is now sponsored by Ping and recently visited the “Gold Putter Vault,” where he received a gold putter to commemorate his victory.)
Finding a player decked out in his team apparel – the way Megan Schofill repped Auburn in winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur one week earlier – was like finding a tee in a haystack. The only consistent sign of college loyalty was on golf bags, but even many Callaway-sponsored amateurs were given specialty stand bags decorated with the Colorado state flag amongst a graphic of the Rocky Mountains. Callaway did something similar for the women two weeks ago for the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air in Los Angeles.
Other brands showed their involvement as well. Before the tournament, Titleist released a 10-minute video in which a handful of its prominent amateurs were mic’d up during practice rounds. World’s top amateur Gordon Sargent, who was featured on that video, is now wearing Nike logos after having been in Titleist apparel at the Masters and U.S. Open.
The free-market world of relaxed amateur-status rules has been covered extensively in this magazine and others, but it’s worth repeating just how much of a shift there has been in the past few years. There is definitely a heightened presence of OEMs and other brands involved in elite amateur golf, and it doesn’t stop with only the top players. Even Shane Bacon, the 47-year-old golf broadcaster who caused a social-media stir by qualifying for the tournament, recorded a what’s-in-the-bag segment sponsored by Ping.
And speaking of Bacon, a southpaw, there seems to be more lefties in the U.S. Am field with each passing year. In the span of an hour or so standing on the 10th tee, the Range Rat saw five lefties come through, and two others were hitting balls on the range. There used to be a substantial barrier to entry for lefties because better equipment was limited. Although the world’s population is somewhere around 10 percent left-handed, estimates are that only about 5 percent of professional golfers play left-handed. That number is even lower in women’s golf, given the particular lack of lefty women’s clubs over the years.
As gear has changed, we expect the amount of left-handers to increase. David Ford (No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking) and Bryce Lewis (No. 38) are prominent lefties on the men’s side. No. 5 Anna Davis and Erica Shepherd, who recently turned pro, are among those leading the lefty charge on the women’s side.
Another note that may or may not surprise you: players who use training aids on the practice green significantly outnumber those who don’t.
During one afternoon, the Rat witnessed four players on the putting green with four different tools. Caleb Surratt had two pieces of wood to groove his putting arc; Coloradoan Connor Jones had a gateway alignment device; and Owen Stamper had what looked like exercise bands draped around his shoulders and down to the grip of his putter. Each tool promotes proper alignment but does so in different ways.
And one last note: on a course nearly 7,400 yards long – Cherry Hills has been lengthened multiple times over the years, including during an Eric Iverson-led restoration in 2022 for the course’s 100th anniversary – players were hitting, at most, just a handful of drivers throughout their rounds. Some barely pulled out the big dog.
The ball goes farther in mile-high Colorado because of the thinner air, but these kids never cease to amaze with the power they can generate.
Sean Fairholm