The Week That Was, october 9, 2016

     Just when you start thinking that Mike Keiser would never work with anyone except a certified naturalist, along comes Tiger Woods. The disgraced professional golfer and pitchman is reportedly being considered as the architect for the 27-hole golf complex -- an 18-hole course capable of hosting the BMW Championship and an easy-to-play nine-hole layout -- that Keiser and Mark Rolfing want to build along the Windy City’s lakefront, on property currently occupied by a pair of municipal tracks and just a chip shot from Barack Obama’s planned presidential library. Rolfing, a commentator for the Golf Channel, told the Chicago Tribune that a commission for Woods is “not a done deal,” but Keiser thinks the chance of it happening are “two in three.” One related issue to consider: Ben Crenshaw, half of Keiser’s favorite design team, has reportedly made a site visit.

     Gannett Company has placed a bet on golf’s future. For an undisclosed price, Gannett’s USA Today Network has acquired Golfweek, the magazine that once famously promoted a story about Tiger Woods with a picture of a noose. In a press release, the new owner says it believes that Golfweek’s assets -- in particular, its “industry-leading editorial team” and “events business” -- will bring “significant value to Gannett’s suite of audience-focused, content-driven sports business” and give it “an unmatched relationship with golf’s core demographic community.” In other words, Gannett views the transaction as an opportunity to make more money, not to break new ground in golf journalism. The seller was an entity linked to Crain Communications, the publisher of Advertising Age, Autoweek, a group of namesake business publications, and other periodicals. The transaction has been described as “a distress sale,” and Geoff Shackelford says that Golfweek has made “multiple layoffs on the sales and production side,” though without providing any details.

     Gifts of Gab: When it comes to determining the health of the golf business, would it be prudent to take the game by the balls? “The game is healthy,” Robert Trent Jones, Jr. told Crave. “I think the stat to watch is the number of golf balls sold. There’s been little decline there. That means there may be fewer players, but those still with the game are playing more often.”