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MELBOURNE, Australia — As meetings of the Five Families of golf goes, it doesn’t get much better than a gathering in the Australian Sandbelt. The leaders of golf’s governing bodies had one of their quarterly get togethers under the auspices of a board meeting of the International Golf Federation and while The Man Out Front’s invitation went missing once again, he heard all about the birdies and bogeys and offers a hearty golf clap to one and all.
Thanks, of course, go out to PGA Tour Commish Jay Monahan, who threw his own outing at Metropolitan Golf Club, not far from Royal Melbourne Golf Club, site of the Presidents Cup. The three people who have had the pleasure to suspend John Daly for conduct unbecoming—Monahan, Tim Finchem and Deane Beman—were scheduled to tee it up together on Friday. USGA CEO Mike Davis, PGA CEO Seth Waugh and the R&A’s big cheese Martin Slumbers were on the attendee list too.
Earlier in the week, TMOF bumped into Beman, who cracks that he only plays once a day, at Peninsula-Kingswood Golf Club, and he squeezed in a round at Victoria Golf Club, where he played with Junior Presidents Cup participant Jackson Van Paris during another outing.
Finchem, whose daughter Stephanie works on the Presidents Cup staff, had come over early and stopped in New Zealand to play Tom Doak’s Tara Iti, and couldn’t stop raving about that vaunted layout. He pledged that he’ll make a return trip someday.
Finchem wasn’t the only golf leader heading to New Zealand to play some of its beloved courses. TMOF hears that the USGA’s Davis and R&A’s Slumbers were headed on a buddies’ trip and will be hitting the links for some post-Presidents Cup golf of their own. Could they be ironing out the final details of the long-awaited Distance Insights Project Report, due to be release in February, at the 19th hole? TMOF approves of golf’s leaders losing their blue blazers and chasing the little white ball around some of golf’s great cathedrals. If any of them needs a fourth, The Forecaddie’s set is packed and always ready to play an emergency nine.
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