Welcome to 2012: Weir, Dunning, Quagmire and other New Year tidbits

Welcome back to work!

For me, most of January means getting through the writing of a coffee table book on Copper Creek, the Doug Carrick-designed golf course near Kleinberg, Ont. Like the project I completed for Eagles Nest in 2010, the Copper Creek book details how the property was found, the battle to get appropriate zoning approval and the nuances of each hole of the course with hundreds of accompanying photos. Like the Eagles Nest book, this has been a lot of fun to work on and should be complete by the end of January.

As for the blog, I’m planning on doing a course review per week upcoming, including some good ones I never got around to (Shinnecock Hills, National Golf Links of America, Shaughnessy, Fishers Island), and some Canadian courses (Beverly, Shaughnessy, Dundas Valley, Vancouver GC) that I meant to write up. Hoping to get through all of them before the snow disappears and it is time to write about whatever else I’ve witnessed in the meantime.

I’ll also be heading to the PGA Merchandise show in Orlando at the end of the month — a first for me. I’ll be reporting for a couple of outlets there and trying to pick up the most interesting info I can from a show that sounds overwhelming. I’ll also get a chance to play some golf, including a round or two with my longtime teacher, Bruce McCarrol, and friend and colleague Lorne Rubenstein.

Finally, some news of note:

• Talk is that Mike Weir might appear in Abu Dhabi at the end of the month for his first event back since surgery on his elbow. Yep, that’s the event Tiger Woods is also playing in and would be the first of Weir’s events since taking up European Tour status. That said, he’ll have to play plenty of events over there — which would also include majors and World Golf Events that he currently doesn’t qualify for — to keep his Euro Tour status.
• Did anyone else notice that the holding company that runs Greg Norman’s clothing line bought Canadian clothing maker Dunning Golf? I didn’t. Anyone know whether they kept their stores in Toronto open?
• Speaking of Canadian clothing companies, Quagmire, the little golf clothing company that could, is now launching its new line in connection with Arnold Palmer’s brand. In Canada this is complicated by the fact Sears still has some rights to the brand for 2012, but Geoff and Bobby, the two gents who created Quagmire, will be pushing the line hard in the U.S. and at green grass in this country. They should have some significant news in coming weeks. Can they rework a tired brand like Palmer, which was known for cheap shirts worn by aged golfers? It’ll be interesting to see.
• Bandon Dunes owner Mike Keiser talks up Cabot Links in an interview at Fairways and Greens. Interesting that he says he basically shut down the site in 2008 after the stock market meltdown. Keiser says: “Josh and I were worried that it would immediately be “Bandon East,” and could it live up to that? We weren’t so sure. In the year that followed the stock market crash, I really got cold feet, so I told Rod, “We’re not going to build it next year, but rather than shut it down, I’m going to give you a small amount of money to rent a bulldozer and just move dirt around.” He transformed a somewhat industrial looking site into a dunescape. Before there were any holes planted, he moved it from somewhat angular shapes — which you’d expect from a coal mine and a railroad yard — and he rounded it out.”