Caddying During the Pandemic—Yay or Nay?
Entering August, Tony Shuster had caddied for 20 days in a row at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. He totaled 847,000 steps during the month of June and another 789,000 in July—upward of 800 miles in all. Shuster is one of almost 350 caddies shepherding golfers around the six 18-hole courses at the remote, walking-only destination […]
Catching Up with Champion Golfer of the Year Shane Lowry
Champion Golfer of the Year. It’s one of the most prestigious titles in golf. For Irishman Shane Lowry, that title can now be rephrased as Champion Golfer of the YEARS, plural. With the 2020 Open Championship pushed back to 2021, the 2019 winner at Royal Portrush has been afforded the rare opportunity of enjoying two […]
I Was There: 2015 PGA Championship
Day One: Even though we knew it was bound to happen, Jason Day’s first major championship was still especially fulfilling There are times in professional golf when you could almost swear the outcome of a tournament is pre-ordained. That’s how it felt when Jason Day broke through and won his first major championship at the […]
Dormie Network Provides a Unique Approach to Private Club Membership
The golf might be the initial attraction of the Dormie Network’s unique model—full membership privileges to six (and counting) top-rated private clubs around the U.S.—but it’s the experiential component that truly sets it apart. I recently had the opportunity to visit the newest addition to the Dormie Network portfolio: Hidden Creek, a terrific design from […]
Ben Wright: Burning Desire
When the Walker Cup Match takes place at Royal County Down on September 8–9, Great Britain and Ireland will try to win the biennial competition for the fourth time in the last five attempts, which is truly unimaginable, given that our record for so long was one of utter futility, save for one glorious moment […]
Ben Wright: Frankly Speaking
My debut with the CBS golf team came at the 1972 U.S. Professional Match Play Championship. Despite the torrid August conditions at the Country Club of North Carolina that year, my reception was a frosty one. Producer-director Frank Chirkinian uttered not a word to me, except when it was my turn to speak, throughout the […]
Ben Wright: Slithery Slope
Of all my memories from broadcasting the Masters at the 15th hole of Augusta National, some of the fondest originated, oddly enough, during bathroom breaks. Invariably, whenever I shimmied down the ladder of the TV tower, I would run into old friends and take a few moments to chat, catching up on their lives and […]
Ben Wright: Oddly Matched
“British Captain Summoned before PGA Executive Committee, Fired for Lack of Effort in First-year Ryder Cup Debacle.” So screamed the fictitious tabloid headline I concocted at the conclusion of the 1976 “Real Ryder Cup Matches.” Let me explain. While covering golf for CBS that year, Jack Whitaker and I conceived the idea of an annual […]
Ben Wright: Uneasy Rider
A lot of golfers probably imagine that poor behavior at the Ryder Cup originated at The Country Club in 1999, when the infamous rush of Americans onto the 17th green followed Justin Leonard’s miraculous birdie putt against Jose Maria Olazabal. Or perhaps they point to the 1991 Ryder Cup, when gamesmanship, flag-waving and camouflage hats […]
Ben Wright: Cliffs Valley Days
Jim Anthony, the owner and developer of the Cliffs Communities, came into my life almost by accident. After completing a voice-over extolling the virtues of Jim’s first course, the Cliffs at Glassy, I was dragged off to lunch in the temporary clubhouse on the mountain top by the Collins brothers, Dan and Mike, who were […]