The Mecca of Golf: Augusta National Golf Club (photo: Getty).
It is probably the dream of every amateur golfer to play at Augusta National Golf Club once in their life. An American study has now found out what people would be willing to do to be able to tee it up on the “holy” turf. The survey also shows how much people would be willing to pay and who they would play the round with if the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity presented itself.
“Shave my head” is the undisputed number 1
In less than a week, the 86th Masters starts in Augusta. Reason enough to think about how far you would go to complete a round on the “holy” turf. The website time2play.com has dealt with precisely this question as part of a study and asked around 1,000 people this question and more.
By far the most common answer to the question “What would you do to play a round at Augusta National?” was “Shave my head.” 43.2% of all respondents would say goodbye to their hair in order to experience the 18 holes on what is probably the most famous golf course in the world. Also on the winner’s podium is “Stop drinking for a year” with 35.8%, closely followed by “Give up video games for three years” with 35.1%.
Other curious responses such as “Get a visible tattoo” or even “Put my kids up for adoption” can also be found among the answers. Somewhat surprisingly, one in 20 people would even be willing to give up their job just to be able to tee it off in Augusta. Giving away one’s own car, by the way, landed only on rank 14. Atleast a few people still have a little sense for clever decision because only 0.7% would be ready to give up their house for the 18-hole round. That would probably also be a bit too much of a good thing…
$1,165 for a round of golf at Augusta National with friends
The study also looked at how much people would be willing to pay instead of shaving their heads. The answers here ranged from $388 to well over $3,000. Of course, the sums differ depending on income, but on average, with an annual income of around $71,000, respondents are willing to pay a sum of $1,165 for an 18-hole round at Augusta. For the same money, you could book yourself a week’s vacation, but of course it’s up to each person to decide what they’d like to spend their money on.
If the opportunity to play on the “holy” turf should actually arise, the only question that remains is: Who should actually accompany me? The survey also found answers to this question. The top answer was: “With a friend. In second place was “Dad,” while third place went to the living legend of golf: Tiger Woods.
Other popular answers included spouses, siblings or other family members. But other famous names such as Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Jack Nicklaus, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson also received more than 2% of the votes each.
In the end, it will probably remain just a dream for the majority anyway, because the venue of the Masters is probably the most exclusive golf course of its kind.
For more information on the study check out https://time2play.com/blog/what-golfers-would-do-to-play-augusta/
Brooks Koepka shocked his fans twice on Twitter. Koepka profile picture captured all the attention, but just if that was not enough, the American golf star surprised everyone with his new hair colour. The responsible of such a news is Philly “BarberKing” Garcia, the barber who gave Brooks a chic new fringe in the 2000s Eminem look. White blonde from roots to tips, Brooks Koepka hairstyle is on everyone’s lips now, and how he presents himself to his fans. “Blondes have more fun” is his credo for the new hairstyle.
Koepka himself underlay the video for the new hairstyle with The Eminem classic “The Real Slim Shady”, so it’s no surprise that his fans are providing the comparisons to arguably one of the most famous rappers of the 2000s.
Of course, there is also wild speculation as to why Koepka has gone among the blondes, at the forefront of which is, of course, a lost bet. Could it be that his colour change is not going down well with the fashionistas of the golf course?
Apart from various speculations on how Brooks Koepka hairstyle came about, fans did not miss the opportunity to compare Koepka’s new look with the fashion icons and faux pas of the past decades. In addition to Miley Cyrus and P!nk, there are numerous boy band members and sitcom actors who were fodder for comparisons.
I wonder if Brooks would have survived long in Game of Thrones. In any case, the hair colour fits in perfectly with House Tagaryen, the white-blond dragon lovers from Westeros.
While we’re on the subject of fantasy epics, the comparison with Harry Potter’s teenage nemesis is not far off. Brooks Koepka as Draco Malfoy’s older cousin? Koepka, with his new hair colour, would fit in really well with the family of the spoilt blond creep from the wizarding saga.
Brooks Koepka out here lookin like Draco Malfoy yet somehow I’m still into it
Some (former) fans must have been very upset by the new hair colour and resorted to harsh words. There are only few things worse than the words of this Twitter user:
Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland are hitting the DP World Tour school bag. (Photo: Twitter/ DP World Tour
Last weekend was a throwback to school for Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland at the DP World Tour. The two golf stars competed against each other in a quiz. They were not left alone in the face of danger. Two junior golfers supported these two top DP World Tour players, helping them in this “child’s play” quiz.
What colour is a giraffe’s tongue?
The questions in this somewhat different quiz could be thematically classified as general knowledge. But do the golfers really know which is the longest river in the world? Or how many years ago did the dinosaurs become extinct? Good thing Fleetwood and Hovland counted with the two junior golfers Maya and Daniel to help them get through the exam.
The final challenge was not about general knowledge, but rather about something in what the two golfers are experts at, a putting contest. For the points they had previously earned, they had to move ten feet (3 metres) closer to the flag for each point. In this way, a 30-metre putt can be quizzed into a feasible chance of winning for the better team.
Full video of the DP World Tour and HSBC challenge
Wilco Nienaber, Sean Crocker, Min Woo Lee and Nicolai Højgaard at the Real Club Valderrama. (European Tour Images)
Sean Crocker, Nicolai Højgaard, Min Woo Lee and Wilco Nienaber broke a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the ‘Fastest hole of golf by a team of four’
Second Hero Challenge of 2021 saw previous record broken by over three seconds, the record stood at 27,88 seconds. New record was set at Real Club Valderrama, Spain ahead of the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters. In this case, hole 4 was the lucky one to witness these players facing the speed challenge. It is a par 5 of 501 yards that receives the name of “waterfall”.
The hole consisted on a fairly straight hole with a narrow fairway. However, there seems not to be much danger off the fairway, specially on the right side where the field opens a little more. Closer to the hole, there is a bunker on the right, just before the water that side-hugs the green. They planned out the entire strategy to play fast and safe. The key was to keep the eye on the pin and to hit the ball “bounce and stop” in order to reduce the timing from any slow back-spin.
Ready, set, go!
Wilco Nienaber was on the tee box to hit the first shot with his driver, aiming towards Sean Crocker. Nienaber hit an enormous 361-yard drive off the tee which gave Sean Crocker, positioned on the fairway and prepared with his two irons on his hands, 140 yards for his second shot which he hit to four feet. Crocker had to think fast to calculate the distance and pick the right club to get it into the green. There, both Min Woo Lee and Nicolai Højgaard were at the flag waiting to tap it in and become the new Guinness World Record winners.
At 5:55pm, two hours later, they set the New Guinness World Record at 24,75 seconds.
Ian Poulter of England
(Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
English professional golfer, Ian Poulter celebrates it finally being the weekend on his Instagram. Although entertaining, we think Poulter should stick to golfing… However, it is not surprising seeing this kind of behavior from Poulter as he known for having an extroverted sense of humor. He is very active on social media and portrays his outgoing personality regularly.
When he isn’t trying to make it as the next TikTok influencer, Poulter leads in the golf world with career highlights such as 3 PGA Tour victories and 12 International victories. He just finished T10 at the FedEx St. Jude Invitational 2021. He currently ranks 50th on the World Golf Ranking.
Macklemore will be making his second appearance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am this weekend. (Image: Getty)
Read the Press Conference transcript below:
JACK RYAN (HOST): We would like to welcome Grammy Award winning rapper and song writer Macklemore at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Macklemore, thank you for joining us.
First off, could you just recap your experience playing in the pro-am last year at this tournament.
MACKLEMORE: It was incredible. It was a phenomenal experience, bucket list, completely terrifying. I had no idea how to hit an iron all of a sudden. Shooting in the high 80s at home with some mild cheating with friends. Get down here, can’t improve your lie, you got to play it how it lands, man. That’s just a whole different sport. All of a sudden I’m coming over the top. I’m slicing the ball. Jason Day’s trying to give me lessons on how to come from the inside. I don’t even speak that language. It was crazy. But it was literally Disneyland for a golfer like myself. I felt like I was a child and this was the oasis and that’s exactly how it feels this year.
JACK RYAN: So we won’t have that pro-am format this year, obviously, but you’ll be playing in tomorrow’s AT&T Every Shot Counts Charity Challenge alongside a number of other celebrities. How much are you looking forward to that in light of the tournament format change this year.
MACKLEMORE: I’m excited. Last year I think I was on TV three or four times. Every shot counting and being televised is slightly nerve wracking. But we’re playing for some great causes and that’s what it’s all about, so we’re going to have fun. A great group of celebrities to be out there with, some really good golfers. I’m not putting myself even close to that category and we’re just going to have fun.
JACK RYAN: Last question before we open it up to media. Could you provide us with a little bit of background on your history in the sport? We understand you’ve only started playing relatively recently.
MACKLEMORE: Yeah, I’ve been playing for just over two years now and randomly played one day after Thanksgiving in 2018 and hit a 5-iron out of the sand and I hit it pure and I have been very addicted ever since. I just want that feeling. I play as much as I possibly can, which with two kids is not that often, but that often is at least two to three times a week. So I’ll take it.
JACK RYAN: We’ll take our first question here.
Q.Just curious, what do you like most about it and what has caused you to get addicted?
MACKLEMORE: I love that feeling of hitting a great shot. I love hitting a green in regular, piping a drive. I love even just the ups and downs, the humility that the game brings, the swing of emotion, the mental fortitude that it takes, the patience, the spiritual practice of accepting whatever you just did and letting it go, the exercise, the camaraderie. I truly love everything about the sport.
Q.Did you have — how much experience with golf or exposure did you have before that round after Thanksgiving that you talked about?
MACKLEMORE: After Thanksgiving?
Q.How much had you been around the game before that?
MACKLEMORE: When Tiger — I think when I was in about 8th grade and Tiger was, I don’t know, it was ’97, ’98 or whatever it was and Tiger was having his moment, as a sports fan I was absolutely paying attention to what Tiger was doing. But that was really about it. But I always really liked the old school golf fashion. That was something that I always really respected. Besides that, I didn’t really follow the sport at all. Every once in a while we would like go to a pitch-and-putt and I would hit a couple cars and we would go home, but besides that very limited.
Q. What do you tell people who might not be into golf of that appeal that you found? Do you turn other people onto the game? How do you do that?
MACKLEMORE: I think that the game is amazing. It’s not one of those sports that you can just pick up right away. It takes a little bit before you get that first dopamine hit of a great shot. But I think that in general we need more people playing this sport. We need more accessibility. We need to really just open up the floodgates of kind of the old guard of what golf is and the exclusivity and make sure that all people can play, that courses are affordable, that equipment is readily available to those that need it, and we get youth out there enjoying this amazing sport.
JACK RYAN: One last one before we let you go. You mentioned you are into the golf fashion. Is there anything we can expect from you tomorrow in the Every Shot Counts Charity Challenge? You got something special planned for that?
MACKLEMORE: You know, I don’t normally lay my clothes out before I get dressed. I don’t normally put them out the night before. But tomorrow I’ll wake up to a freshly pressed outfit laid out in front of me that I will do tonight. The reveal will be tomorrow.
JACK RYAN: Perfect. We look forward to seeing that and thank you for joining us today and best of luck tomorrow.
Christmas is coming. As a passionate golfer, we see a bunch of gifts coming, for which we still have to thank somehow: the small pen golf bag for the desk (which will never make it there), the ugly lamp made from an old 7 iron (hidden somewhere in a dark corner) and if you are really lucky, you’ll get at least a dozen balls of a brand that you’d actually play. And even if it’s the new driver you wanted so badly for months, we still have to wait all winter for the golfing season to come. And golf travels aren’t a smart idea either in these pandemic times. We have a few nice last-minute ideas with which you can make the winter a beautiful one by yourselves (because those giving presents will hardly read here) and transform your home discreetly and tastefully into a stylish understatement clubhouse. Whether all of this will arrive before Christmas is an open question, but winter is (unfortunately) still long – that’s why you should make yourself nice at home.
The Golfer’s Journal
In my honest opinion this is the world’s best golf magazine. You won’t find any product tests of the 30 best drivers of 2021, home stories with a DJ and tips for better putting here. Instead, there are stories about interesting places and people you’ve most likely never heard of (a 97-year-old pro, slum golfer in Mumbai or a man who for almost 20 years has built a full 18-hole course with his son every day after work on his property etc.), Trivia, entertaining and really readable articles in short and long form, rich and well illustrated with great photographs in a good layout and with very little advertising. I devour every issue from cover to cover. Single issue for $ 20 or subscription from $ 60 via golfersjournal.com
Evan Schiller – Photo Prints
Evan Schiller not only seems to have traveled to pretty much all the relevant courses on earth, he also took impressive photos of them. Almost every photo by him creates the desire to be there immediately. You can order each of your photos as art prints in various sizes on photo paper or metal from $ 95 in his shop – as seen here the 15 in Tralee. Of course, everyone should have our Golf Post calendar, but there is nothing against ordering Evan Schiller’s one as there is also a calendar with his best pics on evanschillerphotography.com
Evalu18 – Old Course Fine Art Print
A good selection of photos by various photographers, but also many graphic art prints, colored course maps and views of individual world-famous tracks are available at Evalu18. Playing the course is certainly more desirable for most, but hanging the Old Course on Hahnemühle museum paper over the couch or behind the desk, as in this example, also has something and is after all for less than the price of one To get green fees. Various designs and sizes from € 83.95 (including shipping) on shop.evalu18.com
Good Boy Originals – Match Play Poster
This idea is almost more charming for wall hanging: the Match Play poster from Good Boy Originals. The signature match boxes of the Top 10 (Golf Digest) courses, i.e. Pine Valley, Cypress Point, Sand Hills and others, combined on a fine art print on approx. A3 size, so it looks good in a 40 x 50 cm frame. Fits great in the smoking area. But actually on every wall. In addition to many other beautiful motifs available for $ 100 via goodboyoriginals.com
Hazard Golf – Mullet Poster
A bit for the funnier ones: John “Long John” a.k.a. “Wild Thing” Daly, the chain-smoking, game-addict and beer-drinking white trash version of the pro golfer who, despite all his trashy appearnce, somehow amiable mullet wearer, here abstracted to the essentials, on a poster of approx x 30 cm. Something for the true fans. Available for $ 25 on hazardgolf.co
Sweetens Cove – Stash Box
Sweetens Cove, the pearl of the Appalachians. After a unique renovation, this run-down and almost bankrupt goat track became a must-play destination for many within a few years, a course that made it into the bucket list of the very big ones with only nine (!) holes (ranked 21st place in the Best Courses You Can Play in the US, Golfweek). Now the very sympathetic owners also have a small line of really nice shirts, caps, prints and other accessories in their shop. And since we have already presented a lot of art for the wall, we go for the wooden stash box. It comes with an engraving and 100 logo tees. We’ll use the tees out in the fields upcoming season and then we use it for the love letters, keys, smoke wear, souvenirs, the scorecard collection, whatever. Pretty. For $ 120 from sweetenscovegolfclub.com
Caddie Magazine – Lofted „Remarkable & Farflung Adventures for the Modern Golfer“
Unfortunately I couldn’t grab a copy of this 1.5kg hardcover tome from Caddie Magazine called “Lofted”. But since the Australian Caddie Magazine is my personal No. 2 of the best golf magazines and the best articles from the first eight issues are collected here and displayed on more than 260 pages, it should be worth every penny. The photos in the magazine, which is more specialized in travel destinations, have always been unique and make you wanna crawl into the mag. € 24.99 on amazon
Tight Lies – Kingsbarns Golf Links Poster
Back to the walls: Tight Lies has a great collection of beautiful and graphically fine crafted course maps as prints. Reduced to the essence, in minimalist colors, these maps of the great courses of the world are real eye-catchers. Carnoustie, Machrihanish, Bandon Dunes or, as here, Kingsbarns Golf Links as A3 posters for £ 25 (unframed) available from tightlies.club
Course Maps – Tobacco Road Poster
Similarly reduced, but different, based more on classic monochrome course maps, there is a large selection of well-known course classics with a greater focus on the states. Kiawah, TPC Sawgrass, Oakmont, Erin Hills, Royal Dornoch or here Mike Strantz’masterpiece in North Carolina, Tobacco Road. All with course information and selectable basic colors. Without frame for $ 45, with frame for $ 94 via course-maps.com
Lie + Loft – Quiet Pennant
Also cool: not only on the wall, but you can also hang it on your bag or cart if that one flight partner really annoys – the Quiet Please pennant. Of course, it fits just as well on the desk if you really have to concentrate in a shared office space. Or on the coffee table during the next tournament broadcast. Understatement for golf fanatics, available for $ 24.99 at lieandloft.com
