No. 26: Hold Your Horses
Dear Pards,
It’s all black coffee and Icy Hot for me this morning after a weekend of yard work, throwing kids in the pool, and an unexpected E9. My back hurts.
Speaking of backs, boy does it hurt to watch some of the positions this Koivun gets in! Holy torque, Batman. Congrats to Jackson, but the question has to be asked… is the American youth golf system built for short-term success?
See Wolff, Dunlap, Wise, Zalatoris, Clanton, Theegala, and more… all these guys are a product of the U.S. Kids and AJGA system, where they got BIG at-bats from an early age, which has to be part of their ability to win on the PGA Tour before they can legally drink. But is that the problem? The mileage on their bodies (see Zalatoris/Theegala), and their mind (see Dunlap/Wise), and their focus (see Wolff/Clanton) seems to be taking a toll.
I want to be wrong, but as a youth sports parent myself who hates the broader American system, give me some hope that Koivun and those coming behind him will be different.
-Dad Back in Birmingham
Dear Dad Back,
I, too, woke up Monday with a sore back from shoveling crushed gravel into a hardscape border around my wife’s garden. Anyone got a skidsteer?
While I do not have children quite yet old enough to play sports, I do still have scars from getting boat-raced by Jordan Spieth at AJGA events some fifteenish years ago as a junior.
It's easy to play Mel Kiper Jr. with these young guys out of college. The problem is we often end up sounding like my 7th-grade self on the back of the bus, talking to my buddy about my fifth different crush that semester. "No, but this one's different."
Or was that just me?
As a recovering middle-school romantic, I’ll never say no to a good love story. Koivun is special. It IS different this time.
Kyle Porter dove a little into the theology Data Golf numbers on Monday. The gist is that, as an amateur, Koivun is better than any other amateur since 2010. Yes, that’s Rahm, Spieth, Hovland, Wolff, Collin, etc.
Will it last? Who knows and who cares. He’s a star.
I won’t go full psycho this early and start talking kids, but I’m buying the ring, locking down a venue, and putting down my deposit for the band.
Until Miles Russell, that is.
P╞r╠℮P.S. The stamp at the top of the newsletter is St. Andrews, by Dave Baysden, in honor of No. 04 | Dear St. Andrews, that dropped in the mail earlier this month for members of the Postage Club.
What is usually a slow weeklong hangover from The Open turned into a fun watch at the 3M.
I referenced Kyle Porter above. He asked me to guest-write his Normal Sport newsletter this week, and I was excited and honored to do so. When this was all just an idea early this year, Kyle’s business was always a star I used as a reference when I started building whatever this is. So it’s surreal to get to contribute a few words under his brand. If you don’t already, go subscribe to his work. I think you’ll dig it. My piece should drop sometime tomorrow.
August is almost here. Which means those taxes you filed an extension for are running out of places to hide. On the flip side, another edition of my monthly mail club will be in your mailbox in the coming weeks. If you don’t subscribe, you should. If you don’t like it after the first month, I’ll send you a hat. And you can cancel it.
Thankful you’re here.
