THE STARTER SHACK
So many stories from the weekend! Harris goes the extra mile, actually his WHOOP said 2.34 miles in extra holes to claim the Travelers.
🤷♂️ The NCAA has made how much from amateur sports talent? Not ours personally but someones.
🚀 Nelly Korda is on a rocket ship blasting through her competition
🎰 Michael Douglas gives Jack Nicholson 80 foot gimmes and Michael Jordan a run for his money
🥩 Do you know how to grill?
PGA TOUR

NIL...What the NCAA Pays Its Athletes
The NCAA is a money making-machine. And the athletes are the little cogs that make it run print money.
College athletes cannot be compensated for use of their name, image and/or likeness (NIL) without losing their eligibility.
The NCAA, uses student-athlete’s NIL to promote events (including the NCAA golf tournaments), and makes piles of cash:
- NCAA basketball tournament annually generate $1 billion+
- College football playoffs generates $500M+ annually (future projections of ~$2B!)
- none of this dough is passed directly to players, even though they are the product
The US Supreme Court recently struck down the NCAAs bid to keep this ruse going:
- July 1st deadline to produce realistic NIL legislation and rules of engagement
- Seven states already have NIL legislation, independent of the NCAA
- Twenty-four states are also close to having their own NIL legislation
- Take Home #1: schools/boosters can’t directly pay student-athletes
- Take home #2: NIL compensation cannot be used as a recruiting incentive
The NCAA tried to keep a gravy train permanently parked at their headquarters right near their chain of Brinks trucks all on the backs of its student-athletes.
College golf doesn’t generate anywhere near the revenues its basketball and football cohorts do, but its athletes can partake in the NIL compensation.
The only no-no’s for an amateur golfer looking to maintain their status:
- accepting more than $750 in prizes in tee-to-hole competitions
- receiving payment for face-to-face golf instruction
- accepting employment as a club pro and/or joining a pro tour
So I guess it’s back to college we go to cash in on those...what? You still need talent? Interesting.
GIMME
- How does a green get made: in 9 easy (you’ll never be able to do it) steps. So let's get this straight, when we drop the lawn mower to the floor and mow a circle in our yard and put a red solo cup in the ground...is that not a green? Is that not a green?!
- Michael Douglas gambles with Michael Jordan: for the record, no, they’re not brothers, they just share the same name. Jordan apparently likes to toy with his prey playing partners, especially when they have thousands on the line.
- Knock off its horns and wipe its ass: is apparently NOT how you grill a cow. So, we have nothing more to say here and we'll leave a link on how to actually, properly, humanely grill a steak.
- Oh, what's that, Augusta's not your fav: Abraham Ancer gets to play all the pretty courses. Yes, including Augusta, but it's not his number one. Here's the world travellers Top 10.
- Do you need the most expensive: here is a list of the top performing hybrids.
- They earn how much?: the LPGA just played their Major PGA Championship and here is what it paid out. Here is what the men get paid out for some tournament that follows a major. That is a major spread. Can we say major one more time? We majorly just did.
- Robots are taking over: Callaway has robots to help them consistently manufacture their golf balls. Couldn't have anything to do with the MyGolfSpy report that found Callaway balls with off-centre cores, could it. Mwahahahahaha! Probably doesn't.
- Budget Van for a Budget Tour: Korn Ferry Tour player, Dominic Bozzelli, showed up to the Maine Open in his rental van/accommodations/tenement on wheels/living in a van down by the river. This guy knows how to bootstrap.
PIC OF THE DAY

Harris English finished his 8 hole playoff just in the "Nic" of time to deliver presents to all the girls and boys across the world in one magical night. That was a long playoff. The PGA Tour might even call it historic.
INSIDE THE ROPES

Nelly's heart rate was a 129bpm mere seconds before this screen grab. That's the difference between pros and us...when our ball is heading towards a water hazard, we're calm as cucumbers...why, because we're already teeing up a new ball before the first one even reaches it's apex. WATER BAAAAAALLLL!
OUTSIDE THE ROPES (we had to include this)

This poor chap's heart rate was probably pumping for an all together different reason. No, they're not plumb-bobbing new cart paths...they're trying to determine whether his ball is in bounds.
GOLF GEAR

Miller Time: it doesn't get more patriotic than a case a beer and a matching putter and putter cover. Unless you're drinking that beer while night putting with the Dean's daughter.
Ooo-ooh say can you seeeee, oo-uur fan-cy new gear! Miller teamed up with Bettinardi for some Fourth of July fireworks. Now, if the gear just lit up our putting like the beer lights up our personality.
There is an entire collection from putters to ball markers, hats, beer, golf bag...it's all there.
*not a sponsored post
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