La Quinta

Not the hotel chain

“In order to conquer an animal, I have to think like an animal, and whenever possible, look like one.” - Carl Spackler (Caddyshack)

News Slice

The American Express PGA tournament was this past weekend.

  • 💰 Purse: $8M

  • 🏆 Winner: Jon Rahm 🇪🇸 | $1.4M prize 💰

  • 📍 Location: Pete Dye Stadium Course in La Quinta, California

The tourney was at the Pete Dye Stadium Course in La Quinta, California, which is home to the La Quinta Resort & Club and is owned by Hilton… this is not the same as La Quinta hotel chain owned by Wyndham (in case you were wondering). There’s gotta be a lawsuit that occurred because of this at some point 🤔

Jon Rahm and Davis Thompson battled it out during the last two days of the tournament with Jon Rahm ultimately taking first with by one stroke, finishing with -27 and winning $1.4M.

While most of us have given up on our News Year's Resolutions, Rahm has not. He took first in the Sentry Tournament of Champions just two weeks ago, which now brings his 2023 earnings to $3,162,000 and positioning him at the top of the FedExCup standings. Don’t be taking any siestas on this Spaniard 💤 

Thompson turned pro in 2021 and is looking like a future star as he still seeking his first PGA title win. On the second day of the tourney he made three eagles for a total of five through 36 holes to tie the PGA TOUR record for the most in a 72-hole tournament since 1983. This was still not enough to put distance between himself and Rahm.

🍿 Netflix’s Full Swing:

DJ Khaled Popcorn

Have you seen the 🎬 trailer for Netflix’s new golf docuseries, 'Full Swing'? It’s created by the same minds behind 'Formula 1: Drive to Survive' and golf is hoping to get the same increase in fans that F1 attracted.

Here’s some quick stats from Nielsen on the impact of Netflix’s Drive to Survive had on F1 viewership:

Expanded Demographics:

  • More Hispanic (23% vs. 12% who watched F1 content and not the docuseries)

  • Younger (46% are 34 and younger vs. 16% who watched F1 content and not the docuseries)

  • Affluent (69% earn $100k+ vs 49% who watched F1 content and not the docuseries)

  • White collar (70% vs 42% who watched F1 content and not the docuseries)

  • Have homes with kids (49% vs. 21% who watched F1 content and not the docuseries)

Increased Viewership

  • 34% became a fan after watching

  • 30% say they understood the sport more

  • 29% felt more engaged with the sport

Full Swing is released Feb 15th on Netflix and we can’t wait to tune in and see what it does for golf.

Swing for the Fences

Sand-Trapped

If you’re like me, hitting a ball out of a green side bunker can feel deflating. After piping a drive down the middle, you flush a mid-iron towards the green… but it’s a little off target and into the sand trap (insert your favorite expletive here). Your confidence is down as soon as you set foot back into the cart. No worries, we have you covered with some no-bullshit advice that is simple and to the point.

This video provides a basic, yet very effective way of hitting simple bunker shots.

This next video goes into a little more detail depending on the type of sand you are in. Let’s be honest, we know that the sand traps from our local courses are just a tad different than the traps you find when planning golf trips.

Course of the Day

Bahle Farms - Suttons Bay, MI

The land that is now Bahle Farms Golf Course was once a plot of land full of cherry farms 🍒 and rolling hills.

The Bahle (pronounced like Bailey) family has had roots in the Suttons Bay area since the 1800’s, including their signature Bahle’s Department Store located in Downtown Suttons Bay since 1876. It wasn’t until the 1920’s that this land, mostly farmland, was purchased by the family. In fact, the land that makes up the back of the course was purchased sight unseen by Owen Bahle during WWII.

When it was turned into a golf course in 1998 most of the work was clearing trees and not a lot of earth was moved. The goal was to play into the natural curves and contours of the land as best as possible. This has resulted in a majority of the tee boxes being elevated... which really boosts the ego when you take out the driver. 🙌

19th Hole

Pay up homie

For some of us, the simple game of golf just isn’t enough… we need a little action to go along with it. I get it, not everyone likes to bet while playing. Sometimes you just want to enjoy your one day away from the kids and play a pressure-free game of golf. But for those of us who can’t resist the urge to slap some cash down on the table, here are some unique ways to gamble on the course:

Snake Game:  In the simplest form of Snake, the player with the last three putt owes each of the remaining players an agreed upon wager. For example, in a $1 Snake game with four players, the loser would owe the remaining players $1 each losing a total of $3. The most common variation of Snake is for the bet to double each time a player three putts. For example, if your group has ten three putts during a round, the losing player would owe 512x the bet to each other player. Yeah, you read that correctly – 512x the wager. If you are doing this, we suggest starting at 10 cents.

Bingo Bango Bongo: This is a game in which three points are up for grabs on every hole. Each point corresponds to the completion of a different activity. The first golfer to complete each activity earns a point, and at the end of the round, points are added up and cash is divided based on point totals (groups will generally play $1 per point).

Bingo - The “bingo” point is given to the first golfer in the group who lands their ball on the green.

Bango - Once all balls are on the green, the golfer with the ball closest to the pin earns the “bango” point.

Bongo - The “bongo” point is awarded to the player whose ball lands in the cup first.

Etiquette is everything in Bingo Bango Bongo, largely because two-thirds of the points awarded in a given game are dependent upon being the first golfer to achieve them. If a player goes out of turn to win the “bingo” or “bongo” point, the point on the hole is awarded to the second person to achieve either. In short, don't be a cheater.