An escape, a shot in the dark, a legacy: Here is Olympian Lilia Vu (July 1), Brendan Quinn, The Athletic – When Brendan Quinn writes something, you should read it. Exhibit A: he spent 10 months on telling the story of Lilia Vu and her family who fled Vietnam in a handmade boat built by her grandfather, and it shows.
The misunderstood life of Grayson Murray (November 26), Joel Beall, Golf Digest – Few writers in the golf space are able to tell a story like Joel Beall, who might’ve just done his best work to date on the aftermath of Grayson Murray’s tragic suicide.
Remembering Grayson Murray (May 27), Will Bardwell, Lying Four – “And though Murray’s life was cut short, I choose to believe that the measure of all our days is whether we helped someone along the way who wouldn’t have been helped but for our life. Murray undoubtedly did that: at the risk of great embarrassment, he helped normalize a terrible disease by speaking openly about his struggle. If that helped one person take the difficult step of asking for help, then Murray led a good life. That, too, should be good enough.”
How the U.S. election could shape the future of the PGA Tour, PIF deal (October 24), Gabby Herzig, The Athletic – The potential deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is a difficult topic to understand, but Gabby Herzig did a phenomenal job explaining how the recent U.S. election could impact the professional golf’s future.
At what feels like a tipping point for the LPGA, a closer look at the rocky tenure of commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan (November 14), Beth Ann Nichols, Golfweek – Nobody covers the LPGA as closely as Beth Ann Nichols, so her recent report card look at commissioner Mollie Marcoux Samaan’s rocky tenure particularly stood out.
The true gift of the Solheim Cup (September 16), Kevin Van Valkenburg, No Laying Up – There’s a lot to love about Kevin Van Valkenburg’s style, but he’s on a whole different level when he writes about his daughter, Keegan, and their connection to the game.
Finding the farmer (May 28), Sean Martin, PGA Tour – I don’t think this story got nearly enough credit. Sean Martin did a fantastic job chasing down the man who almost crashed his tractor after Nick Taylor’s RBC Canadian Open win, and the work paid off.
Normal Sport, Kyle Porter – What started off as a running bit on Twitter has turned into a book and newsletter that just keeps on growing. Due to his impressive work ethic and passion for the game, Kyle Porter has continued to develop his brand over the last few years and has bagged Q&A’s with the likes of Rory McIlroy and other strong voices in the game. Keep an eye on Normal Sports.
Podcasts and Videos
LA’s public tee time scandal (October 22), No Laying Up Podcast – The NLU Special Project looked at the state of public golf and dove into why tee times stopped being available at public courses in Los Angeles (and what a group of fed-up hackers did about it).
Feed the Ball Salon Vol. 27 (December 25, 2023), Feed The Ball – We’re reaching back into 2023 for this one, but it’s only by a week. Ben Crenshaw joined Jim Urbina and Derek Duncan to discuss his partnership with Bill Coore and the beliefs and impulses that define the many courses they’ve built. Architecture lovers will enjoy this one.
Bryson DeChambeau’s YouTube channel – Love him or hate him, Bryson DeChambeau has fully embraced his role as golf’s top showman, and the game is better for it. He’s made majors all the more interesting, and while his current attempt to make a hole-in-one over his house has royally flopped, many of his YouTube videos have been pretty interesting (so much so that he’s amassed 1.6 million subscribers.
