Olympic course in Rio needs players....

[Kalen Braley]

Apparently the new Course is Rio has a "hangover" and needs real playas to come out for a thumbs up event before the Olympics...

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/olympic-golf-test-event-players-rio-36378157

[Ronald Montesano]

Nothing proclaims legitimacy like pulling it together at the last minute. I get the idea that the IGF could use some full-time, committed people, instead of the potpourri of executives from other agencies who moonlight as IGF guys.

[Tom_Doak]

Who is the major domi at the IGF now that my man Mr. Dawson has retired?  Or has he retired to go to the Olympics as the major domi? 

[Ruediger Meyer]

It is still Dawson in 2016

[Kalen Braley]

I would have thought a guy like Gil would have thought thru these things when designing and putting it in the ground...

I wasn't sure if he should take this as a slap in the face or not...

[Ronald Montesano]

It's not Hanse's fault. The delays due to ownership of the land and environmental protests delayed the test event from 2015 to who knows when.

[Tom_Doak]

Who is the major domi at the IGF now that my man Mr. Dawson has retired?  Or has he retired to go to the Olympics as the major domi?

Not sure why my iPhone changed "domo" to "domi".  Maybe it recognized Mr. Dawson's name and was halfway to correcting me.

[Mike_Trenham]

It's not Hanse's fault. The delays due to ownership of the land and environmental protests delayed the test event from 2015 to who knows when.

Apparently this is a standard policy for all Olympic events to run a test event.  Probably about lots of elements beyond the playing field, like fan experience, logistics, ingress egress, first aid etc.

[MClutterbuck]

The IGF should have set up a tournament for Latin American players. It would be inexpensive and with small prize money they would get excellent players to attend, more than enough for a good test. Include Canada and Latinoamerica tour players.

[RJ_Daley]

I can't think of any major televised venue in the last 40-50 years that hasn't hosted a large event multiple times and have the advantage of several trial and error runs to perfect logistics, TV angles and broadcast infrastructure location, fan spectator logistics, etc.   As it is now, after these televised events, particularly Majors, post mortem debriefings always lead to suggestions for changes the next time.

To get this right with no trial runs seems like a cluster*&^&.  And, at the least, I would expect longer rounds in time to complete rounds.  I hope that is wrong and it all works out.

[Ronald Montesano]

Here's a question: what's the second date for the Olympic Course? After it has a whirlwind romance with the 2016 women's and men's games, does an WGC event arrive? Doubtful. How about a President's Cup? Less doubtful, but still doubtful. A PGA Tour LA event? Possible to probable, with no chance of blizzard.


I doubt that there will be errors in televising the event, unless they hire camera people with no golf experience, announcers with no golf experience, and drone operators with no golf experience.


I suspect they want to see fan movement around the course, player reactions to firm and fast (presuming the course is set to play fast and firm.)


I believe that the conditions at Chambers Bay were great for golf notoriety: whether viewers loved or hated them, they were talking about them (kinda like Palin and Trump) and they were tuned in just so they could applaud/deride the reaction of the ball and the players to the conditions.


Two-pronged fork here: the IGF has to worry about keeping golf as an Olympic sport beyond 2020 (so it needs to show well in Brasil and Japan) and the course has to worry about maintaining relevance as more than just a place for Rio residents to play.

[Kalen Braley]

Given all the lawsuits and protests over this course and its location, I wouldn't be surprised if this course turns into a one trick pony and goes the way of some Olympic venues in places like China and Greece.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/gallery/2014/aug/13/abandoned-athens-olympic-2004-venues-10-years-on-in-pictures

[Mike_Young]

Who is the major domi at the IGF now that my man Mr. Dawson has retired?  Or has he retired to go to the Olympics as the major domi?

Not sure why my iPhone changed "domo" to "domi".  Maybe it recognized Mr. Dawson's name and was halfway to correcting me.

Many things seem to be cropping up which could affect the Olympics.  The CDC put a warning in place for pregnant women due to the zifa virus and it could expand into anyone with health issues.  The water problems may end up being the biggest deal.....as one Brazilian dude says: "Brazil is the country of the future but the future will never arrive"

[Kalen Braley]

Who is the major domi at the IGF now that my man Mr. Dawson has retired?  Or has he retired to go to the Olympics as the major domi?

Not sure why my iPhone changed "domo" to "domi".  Maybe it recognized Mr. Dawson's name and was halfway to correcting me.

Many things seem to be cropping up which could affect the Olympics.  The CDC put a warning in place for pregnant women due to the zifa virus and it could expand into anyone with health issues.  The water problems may end up being the biggest deal.....as one Brazilian dude says: "Brazil is the country of the future but the future will never arrive"

Mike,

Interesting you mentioned the water....it is in fact going to be a major issue.  Its beyond filthy and they suspect will have a major impact on the games.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/07/30/

[MClutterbuck]

Given all the lawsuits and protests over this course and its location, I wouldn't be surprised if this course turns into a one trick pony and goes the way of some Olympic venues in places like China and Greece.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/gallery/2014/aug/13/abandoned-athens-olympic-2004-venues-10-years-on-in-pictures

If well managed, this course should get plenty of local traffic and tourism. Rio is a huge city with a large middle/upper class that is learning golf. And Rio needs a good course, as many golfers go to Argentina with clubs and want to stop in Brazil and play.

[MClutterbuck]

Here's a question: what's the second date for the Olympic Course? After it has a whirlwind romance with the 2016 women's and men's games, does an WGC event arrive? Doubtful. How about a President's Cup? Less doubtful, but still doubtful. A PGA Tour LA event? Possible to probable, with no chance of blizzard.

PGA Tour LA event is a no brainer. With more and more Latam players on the PGA Tour, the Latam tour will continue to get more visibility, getting good, recognizable courses such as Teeth of the Dog and the Olympic course on the schedule should be important.