⛳ Tiger's 1,000 Contacts, Netflix Cup Complaints, and more.
⛳ Tiger's 1,000 Contacts, Netflix Cup Complaints, and more.
Tiger explains his 1,000 ball contacts method and I provide my thoughts on the Netflix cup production, plus Brooks Koepka gets a Major winner team mate and how you can be a TopGolf landlord.
The Netflix Cup went live on November 14th in preparation for the Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix. In this newsletter, I share my thoughts about the negative production sentiment I’ve read about, along with Tiger Wood’s pre-tournament preparations and more.
We’ll be launching a premium section to this platform in the future, those who sign up today will receive it free for life. Thanks in advance!
In this week’s newsletter 👇
Feature: Netflix Cup: My thoughts on the negativity
News from the week:
Tiger explains his 1,000 contacts before a tournament.
How to become a Topgolf landlord, if you have deep pockets.
Brooks Koepka getting a major winner as a new Smash teammate?
From the socials: Just for fun 😀
Feature
Netflix Cup: My thoughts on the negativity
It took me a little time to get the Netflix Cup show as I’ve been travelling but I Sat down with it this week after seeing a lot of discussion on social media, some positive and also plenty of negative.
Much of the negative commentary I saw was directed at the production quality, and this is what I want to share some thoughts on.
I can see why some people thought what they thought. I also had some of the same thoughts myself but I think it’s important to align our judgement with more context.
The expectation for TV is high quality, however, live TV is a huge challenge, and when it’s a first-time concept like the Netflix Cup, it’s even more challenging. I’m sure they practised plenty of test runs but this was a new format and when it comes to the live environment it’s a whole different game, especially as the participants (the golfers and drivers) likely had little to do with the test runs. So I think it’s fair to lower the expectations a little from the off on a project like this.
That said, the elements of production that I feel could have easily been mitigated were in the live interviews (on course). I’m a huge fan of Marshawn Lynch but he wasn’t the right choice for this gig due to lack of experience. He was a great personality to have involved but maybe they should have kept him to the flyover voiceovers and not the live interviews on the course. His inexperience in how to think on his feet and drive a conversation that would be appealing to viewers was clear.
Interviews in a studio environment where you can have multiple takes are an art, live is incredibly difficult unless someone has real experience. Even more so in a live fast-moving environment.
Formula 1 fans are a little more familiar with chaotic interviews. If you’ve ever watched an F1 pre-race, you’ll have likely seen former driver Martin Brundle conducting unplanned interviews in a hectic environment and often told he can’t speak to people because they’re setting up, but he remains unphased and moves on to the next. You don’t see this in golf, it’s a lot calmer, so I can imagine golf fans who don’t watch F1 will feel this is all a bit messy.
There were a couple of other things like the referee not knowing who won on the opening speed hole, both golfers and drivers not being clear on what was going on with nobody beside them giving them clear direction, some audio issues (that’s live TV for you), and although I liked the interviews in the studio set-up, some of them were dominating the screen and we couldn’t see the golf that was happening at the time. That seemed odd to me.
With all that said, in my opinion, it was a fun show to watch, it was different, it was entertaining, and that is how I feel this type of format needs to be viewed. It likely helps that I have watched, and was once involved in F1, so I have an interest in the sport, I know the drivers well (not personally), and of course, I’m a huge golf fan, so for me, it was just fun to watch these guys come together, enjoy themselves and play some golf.
I actually, very much liked watching pros and amateurs side by side to analyze the differences in their shots and listen to the conversations about how to approach those shots.
I think we can also tip our hats to comedian Bert Kreischer who held his own as one of the live hosts. I don’t know if this was his first hosting gig, but if it was, with a little polish, he could have another revenue stream.
News from the week
Tiger explains his 1,000 contacts before a tournament
This week, Tiger surprised some college golfers during a Bridgestone Golf shoot and offered insight into how he prepares for a tournament, including 1,000 golf shots EVERY day.
"One of the things that I enforce all juniors, all kids, all pros, is that when I'm getting ready for tournaments, I make sure that each and every day I make 1,000 contacts with a club," Woods said.
He continued, that doesn't mean just bashing balls at the range for hours on end. That can certainly help, and a former version of Woods probably did have thousand-ball range sessions. But "contacts" with a club come in many different forms.
"That means possibly hitting 100 balls on the range," he says. "300 chip shots. 600 putts. Okay. Break it up however you want to break it up to. That develops feel and sensation that never goes away."
This is a great example for aspiring golfers to understand what goes into being a professional, and why it’s crazy that we amateurs (if I can even claim that title) get frustrated when we hit some bad shots when all we did was arrive at the course and walk straight onto the first tee box after 9 practice puts and a couple of stretches 😅
We’ve all heard the 10,000 hours theory to truly master a skill, this is an example of that. Repetition is always necessary to progress any skill we want to develop.
You can watch the video here PGA Twitter
How to become a Topgolf landlord, if you have deep pockets.
Topgolf, as I’m sure you’re aware, is a billion-dollar business, and its revenue has increased by more than 15 percent so far this year. The off-course golf brand that’s part of the TopGolf Callaway Brands company remains on schedule to open 11 new venues in the U.S. this year, with 7 venues open year-to-date.
A brand new location on prime real estate is up for grabs close to downtown Baltimore and the Ravens' M&T Bank Stadium. The original developer is selling the land and the corporate-guaranteed lease for $59 million, Topgolf has a 20-year lease in place with 10 per cent rent increases every five years.
As the new owner, you can sit back and relax as the day-to-day operations are handled by Topgolf, and the triple-net lease means the tenant (Topgolf) pays all taxes, maintenance and other expenses.
Sadly, even as the landlord, you won’t get free games with your buddies any time you wish and you can’t redecorate, however, you'll secure a six-per cent annual return on your investment, assorted tax benefits, and some peace of mind knowing that you’ll be receiving what experienced real estate investors call WUM—wake-up money.
Brooks Koepka Set to Welcome Major Winner
Brooks Koepka is set to welcome a new addition to his team in the upcoming season.
Smash GC, the LIV Golf franchise captained by Koepka, hinted at a team announcement for Tuesday morning. According to information from The Telegraph's James Corrigan, it has been revealed that Graeme McDowell will be joining Koepka's squad.
McDowell, aged 44, competed for Cleeks GC in the previous season, where the team secured the 10th position out of 12 teams in points. Individually, McDowell ranked 42nd in points, just behind his former teammate Bernd Wiesberger, who has opted to rejoin the DP World Tour.
The report from The Telegraph highlighted a contractual difference between Wiesberger and McDowell. While LIV was obligated to cover Wiesberger's £1.5 million DPWT fines as per his contract, no such clause existed in McDowell's initial two-year deal. Consequently, when Cleeks captain Martin Kaymer chose not to retain McDowell, the 2010 U.S. Open champion would have been relegated to the Asian Tour. However, Koepka stepped in to pick him up, replacing his younger brother, Chase Koepka, who faced relegation.
A source within LIV, as cited by Corrigan, expressed,
"I'm not sure McDowell can believe his luck. Obviously, all was not rosy on the Cleeks and with G-Mac and Kaymer. [McDowell] thought he was out of LIV and would have to be participating on the Asian Tour next year. Playing alongside Koepka, probably the best player on LIV, is a massive result for him."
From the Socials
Extreme Flopping 🔥
A different type of road driving 😎
Play it where it lies 😅
Thanks for exploring the world of golf with me, David Skilling.
This was a free article. We’ll be launching a premium section to this platform in the future, those who sign up today will receive it free for life. Thanks in advance!
Baller Golf Socials: Instagram | TikTok | Youtube | Facebook
David Skilling Socials: Instagram | LinkedIn Sports Agent & Sports Model Agent
Shanked a few balls in the pond last weekend? Shop Amazon
