From the editor
Pull up a chair.
Despite being more than 550 years old, the game of golf has never been bigger. The National Golf Foundation reports another record year for rounds played, the fourth record in five years, and anyone who has waited in line at a muni range lately has seen the new faces. It is still hard to get into, and even harder to get good at.
Some of that is the game itself. Some of it is who has always had access to the best teachers, equipment and courses. We have nothing against the clubs that do it beautifully, and plenty of us like the nice things too. Some of us hope to belong to one someday. Until then, the muni has a patio and a cold beer, and we will take it.
Patrons & Pros is for the rest of us. The name comes from the two kinds of people at every tournament: the pros who play it and the patrons who love it. Most of us are somewhere in between, more than fans and nowhere near pros. We work nine to five, we play whenever the tee sheet allows, and we own a trunk full of golf balls we keep meaning to organize. Call us the silent army of the muni.
The idea came from three buddies at a 19th hole in Central Florida one hot summer afternoon, ice-cold beers in hand. “How do we take this feeling with us everywhere?” I thought. Work and real life don’t exist at a moment like that. There’s just the post-round beer after round with good friends. For us nine-to-five muni warriors, that’s the feeling we keep chasing, and Patrons & Pros is for the days in between.
Here is what to expect: golf news worth your time, the best instruction out there translated into plain English, honest gear reviews from golfers just like you, a survival kit for brand new players, and reviews of the best 19th holes to cool off after a round. We will also cover the good life around the game: style, food and drink, cars, recipes, and the kind of long features magazines used to run. An exclusive membership without the exclusive access.
We are just getting started, so tell me what you want to see. Write to hello@patronsandpros.com, and join the list to hear first. Every Thursday, it’s The Weekly Loop.
Daniel
Editor, Patrons & Pros
