Perhaps you’ve read my thoughts on My favorite ten assignments of 2020. If so, you know how fortunate I was to receive those opportunities. If the waning days of 2020 have taught nothing more, gratitude and taking nothing for granted are tops on my list, and should be on everyone’s hierarchy of needs. Celebrations with family, virtual as they are, beget time spent reminiscing. Equally important is time spent looking ahead, projecting potential story lines. Fortunately for me, the editorial board of GolfWRX has offered great latitude in selecting topics. This does not suggest that I have total freedom; in honesty, some of my ideas are quite daft.

Putting aside my bouts of whimsy, here are ten topics I feel safe in proposing to the powers that be. I expect that they will receive the green light for go-ahead. Some are one-off pieces, while others take place weekly, and others still, monthly. No matter the task, it shall be a welcome one, and I shall be grateful. Thanks to you for reading.

1. New golf courses

There aren’t many new ones these days. Available land isn’t as common, and what is out there, is coveted for other reasons. On the Golf Club Atlas discussion board, where architecture specialists like me gather to discuss and debate design features, there is frequent reference to the new courses of 2021. Unlike the 1990s and the 2000s, when a multitude of layouts were opened each year, these days we talk about ten courses across the world. Let that sink in. What used to be 15 course a year in the USA along, has diminished to much less. Who has the opportunity to build these courses? Recognized architectural names like Doak, Coore, Kidd, Hanse usually get first consideration, but younger architects also enter the mix. After 20+ years for the aforementioned quadrilateral, developers need to ask Do I want another course by so-and-so, or should I take a risk and have such-and-such make a name for her/himself on my land?

Courses that will open in 2021 include non-traditional layouts. Cycling back to the aforementioned land problem, what you will see moving forward are more par-three layouts, that complement existing courses, allowing golfers a less-strenuous second round of the day, or a quicker, after-work experience. You also might see a few full-length, 12- and 14-hole builds, with loops that allow for a full 18, with diverse teeing grounds that turn a par five into, say, a par three on the second go-round. Daunting but creative times these are, for the new golf course openings of 2021 and beyond.

2. Old golf courses

With the truncation of scope for new builds, what’s a golf course architect to do, retrain? Naw, they go for the restorations. If you were unaware, the 1950s and 1960s saw the rise of tougher, longer, wetter, sandier in golf course architecture. Who was to blame for this direction? Touring pros, the Space Race, developers, self-promoting architects, and a general movement toward technological innovation, and away from handicraft.

Push the time-machine dial forward to 2021, and those architects mentioned in point #1, plus others, have a specialization in restoration and renovation. The former is a move back to the specific plans of the original architect, while the later (often accompanied by the adjective sympathetic) preserves the tenets and philosophies of the original architect, while retrofitting the course for modern golfers (cough, we want a pro event, cough) and modern equipment (cough, pro event, cough.) I have one trip planned, to Pittsburgh in June, to see a Seth Raynor restoration come to life. There’s another one, much closer to home, that I hope to see. Fingers crossed. Now, in addition to the names mentioned in #1, you’ll get to know Prichard, Green, Forse, Andrew, and Marzolf, among others, as great restorers of golf courses.

3. My search for a three metal

I remember 16, smashing a three-word (yes, it was a wood head back then) out of a fairway bunker, on the par-five, 13th hole at the Whirlpool Golf Course, in Canada. My playing partners chuckled when I entered the sand with that club, then responded with astonishment as I ripped it out of trouble, into the fairway. Part of that success had to do with the youthful timing and the confidence that borders on arrogance. Another part had to do with the wand, and I’ve been searching for that wand ever since. I went so far as to purchase a Sub 70 three metal in October, but quarantine has kept me from testing it in the domes. I’ll look to 2021 as the year that the three metal returns to my arsenal of weapons. If you have suggestions for my salvation, leave them in the comments section below.

4. New golf books

2020 brought a number of worthy additions to my collection of books. As for 2021, who knows what is coming down the publishing pike. Gone are the days of Sleeping Bear Press, a Michigan company that printed and reprinted many of today’s classic books. I’m not on any lists for promotional materials, so any books that I read and review, arrive first by word of mouth. The fortunate thing about humanity is, we love to tell stories. As long as there are stories to tell, there will be books to print.

5. Tour Rundown

That old saw? You bet! Nothing keeps me and you dialed in like Tour Rundown. Each Monday, I review the coming week’s events and determine which will make it into the seven-day summary the following Sunday. Some weeks, we have an excess of events, and we have to forego reporting on smaller tours. Other weeks, we barely have three tour events across the globe. Learning the names of the up-and-comers on the Ladies European Tour, the Asian Tour, and the European Tour, is as enjoyable as discussing the here-they-ares of the PGA and LPGA Tours, and the used-to-bes of the Champions Tour. Toss in the Korn Ferry, Canadian, and Latinoamerica circuits, and you understand better the culling process. One thing is for certain: January 7th and Kapalua cannot arrive soon enough.

6. Five Things We Learned

Five Things replaces Tour Rundown the week of a major championship. We typically focus on the Masters, the US women and men open championships, the British women and men open championships, and the USPGA women and men open championships. Ergo, seven times in 2021, we plan to do a daily rehash of who did what, on what hole, when, and how (and also, who didn’t.) Restricted to five important elements of the day’s unfolding, our task is to sift through the myriad moments, and pluck the fundamentals from the cast-offs.

7. Interviews

Much like #4, Interviews fall into my lap. I stumble onto golf peeps who deserved notice and acclaim long ago, and do my best to right that wrong (or is it write that wrong, right? Not certain…) Search “Montesano” and “Interview” and you’ll bask in the light of the subjects I’ve had the fortune to interrogate. As old-fashioned a conversation as can be had, with a tendency toward the brief. I’m always elated when a subject agrees, and then holds court. As they used to say (and still could) about the internet, text is light; it’s the images and video that weigh it down. If you have thoughts on interview subjects for 2021, leave them in the comment section below.

8. The Olympics

Some might suggest that this particular event falls under point number six, but the Olympic golf tournament is more a unicorn than a major. After five years of hearing Justin Rose and Inbee Park announced as Olympic champions, the uber-competitive elite of world golf are aware of how regal and singular a tribute it is. First and foremost, you need to be one of the top four (at most) in your country, to be selected for the team. Next, you realize that you get to march into Olympic stadium in Japan, with all of your fellow country representatives, waving your flag, wearing your colors. Finally, you have a chance to win a medal (no trophy, no loving cup, no plaque), an opportunity that comes around 4-5 times in a typical, 20-year pro career. Major championships are the culmination within the golf world; Olympic competition is recognized beyond individual sport. Can’t wait for Kasumigaseki.

9. Golf In America

There’s a lot going on in America, as we enter a time marked by affordability and accessibility. No doubt, the elite and private golf courses will continue, albeit not as many as in the past. Clubs will merge as land is sold off for development or preservation. Public-access courses will seek a niche in which to position themselves, to continue to earn a profit and prove viability.

Who will define herself or himself in these times? Who will figure out a way to bring the impoverished, the specially-able, the ethnically diverse, into the world of golf? Who will provide access? Who will break down barriers? These are the stories that offer fulfillment, hope, and anticipation. I look forward to sharing them, when I learn of them.

10. The Unexpected

Exactly what you might expect it to mean. I subscribe to the stumble-upon theory of topics. While watching a show, listening to a cast, or reading a take, I stumble upon someone, something, someplace worthy of attention. Always, always, always, the hunch plays out and the resulting piece is worth your time. That’s not me being arrogant (although I have been known to tilt the scale toward hubris); it’s simply that anything golf is worth reading.

That’s it for this bit. I hope that you look forward to 2021 as much as I do. Together, we’ll have golf, and that’s always enough.