Troon Selected to Manage Turtleback Mountain Golf & Resort in Landmark Move for Sierra County, New Mexico Tourism

Troon, the leader in providing golf and club-related leisure and hospitality services, has been selected to manage Turtleback Mountain Golf & Resort in Elephant Butte, New Mexico. Under the agreement with resort owner PreReal Investments, Troon will oversee all aspects of the golf experience at Turtleback Mountain, including daily operations, agronomy practices, golf sales/marketing, retail, food and beverage integration, and digital marketing initiatives. The company’s involvement is expected to accelerate the resort’s growth trajectory and support its broader development plans.

Home of the New Mexico Open and one of the most scenic desert golf destinations in the Southwest, Turtleback Mountain Golf & Resort features an 18-hole 7,306-yard, par-72 layout designed by Dick Phelps with picturesque desert mountain views. The property recently added a practice facility and pickleball courts. Future plans include a full-service hotel, a spa, fitness facilities, tennis courts, outdoor amenities, and more than 1,300 residential home sites, all designed to support a lifestyle destination.

The agreement marks a significant milestone for Sierra County’s growth as a tourism and recreation destination in southern New Mexico.

“Troon sets the global standard for golf and hospitality operations,” said James Prendamano, Co-Founder and CEO of PreReal Investments. “Their expertise and service standards will elevate the guest experience and expand Turtleback Mountain’s appeal as a golf and lifestyle destination.”

As a Troon-affiliated facility, Turtleback Mountain will participate in the industry-leading Access rewards program, as well as the popular Access Premium / Premium+, Troon Advantage and Troon Golf Vacations programs. The collaboration is expected to strengthen the resort’s brand presence and expand its reach to golfers across the region and beyond.

“The addition of Troon places Turtleback Mountain Golf & Resort alongside many of the golf resorts and private clubs people admire around the world,” said David Berman, Co-Founder of PreReal Investments. “For us, this is about raising the standard here at home and helping Sierra County grow into a destination people are proud to live and visit.”

The partnership is expected to increase tournament activity, visitor traffic, and regional visibility for Elephant Butte and surrounding communities while positioning Turtleback Mountain among recognized golf destinations nationwide.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Turtleback Mountain Golf & Resort and contribute to the next chapter of this remarkable property,” said Troon Chief Operating Officer Mike Ryan. “The landscape, the community, and the potential here are extraordinary. Our team is committed to delivering exceptional playing conditions, memorable guest experiences, and a strategic approach that positions the resort and the community for long‑term success.”

For more information on Turtleback Mountain Golf & Resort, visit www.turtlebackmountaingolfandresort.com.

LPGA owned its messy call at the season opener — but the questions won’t go away

 The LPGA made a mistake. Its commissioner admitted as much. And yet, days later, the debate over how the tour handled its season opener still hasn’t cooled.

Craig Kessler has been on the job barely six months, but the 40-year-old LPGA commissioner already has pushed through significant change: a new broadcast deal, new commercial partnerships that promise more money for players, and a high-profile alignment with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s TGL venture.

Last Sunday, though, Kessler faced a very different test — one that played out in real time, under a microscope, and without the benefit of being on site.

As unseasonably cold temperatures gripped the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona, Kessler was 1,000 miles away at his home in Dallas, trying to determine whether the tournament could — or should — be completed.

“On the phone, reading materials from sunup until sundown,” Kessler told GOLF.com this week. “Constantly trying to source as much information as possible in order to make an informed decision.”

That information came from everywhere: tournament and rules officials, LPGA executives, players, caddies, grounds crew members and partners. Ultimately, though, the responsibility landed squarely with Kessler. He had to decide whether to shorten the event to 54 holes and declare Nelly Korda the winner without a single shot being struck Sunday.

“One of the tougher calls I’ve had to make in my six months with the LPGA,” he said. “No matter what we decided, there were going to be people who disagreed.”

They did.

Much of the criticism centered on whether Lake Nona was actually unplayable — or simply unpleasant.

Below-freezing temperatures greeted players Sunday morning. Amy Yang, one of eight players who hadn’t completed her third round Saturday, described the greens as “frozen” and “unplayable” when she arrived for the scheduled 10 a.m. restart.

Ricki Lasky, the LPGA’s chief tour business and operations officer, said the early feedback from players raised concerns.

“The grounds were really hard and it was changing the trajectory of their shots,” Lasky said. “The balls were releasing when they weren’t supposed to.”

The tour pushed back tee times repeatedly — from 10 a.m. to 11, then noon, then 1 p.m. — before finally settling on a 2:15 p.m. start. By then, there wasn’t enough daylight left to complete both the third and fourth rounds.

That decision raised eyebrows, particularly because the celebrity portion of the event had gone off at 10 a.m. Among those in the field was Annika Sorenstam, who told Golfweek she was surprised play hadn’t resumed for the LPGA.

“It’s difficult, it’s cold, but it’s as fair as anything,” Sorenstam said.

Yang, after finishing her third round with a 69 and securing solo second, echoed that sentiment. “It got much better,” she said. “Still very cold, but much better than the morning.”

What wasn’t communicated publicly on Sunday — but surfaced later in a memo from Kessler to players — was his concern about player safety. In that note, Kessler acknowledged that the decision ran counter to earlier statements and admitted his worry that hardened turf could lead to injuries.

“Hand on heart, based on the information I had available when the call needed to be made, I had real concern about the potential for player injury,” Kessler said.

There is precedent for tournaments being shortened after 54 holes, but almost always because weather makes play impossible not only Sunday but Monday as well. Ending an event over the risk of wrist injuries or stingers is virtually unheard of at the professional level.

Still, Kessler believed the circumstances were exceptional — especially in Week 1 of the season.

The other unresolved question: why not finish on Monday?

“We weren’t fully prepared,” Kessler said.

That preparation gap spanned everything from staffing and volunteers to broadcast and sponsor obligations. The LPGA simply wasn’t equipped to host a fifth day of competition for 39 players.

“In hindsight, I wish we had spent a little bit more time thinking about solutions that would have allowed us to get all 72 holes in,” Kessler said.

He declined to detail what those solutions might look like, though future options could include more aggressive scheduling ahead of poor forecasts. What he did concede was that the tour’s communication fell short.

In his memo to players, Kessler apologized directly: “Our communication around the decision wasn’t clear or timely enough. Your frustration is valid — I own that, and I’m sorry.”

Korda, the beneficiary of the decision after her brilliant third-round 63, largely backed the tour.

“At the end of the day, the LPGA made the decision to look after their players,” she said.

Kessler insists he has no regrets about the call itself — only about the preparation and the messaging that followed.

“The two themes are preparation and communication,” he said. “Plan A, B and C — and explaining our decisions in plain English so people understand why we made them.”

The LPGA now has time to reset. Its next event doesn’t begin until Feb. 18 in Thailand, launching a three-week swing in Asia.

“I know I made a tough call from a very good place,” Kessler said. “There’s been fallout. But I’m proud of the momentum we’re building, and I hope we can get back to that quickly.”

The apology was necessary. The questions, though, aren’t going away — and next time, the LPGA will be judged not just on the decision it makes, but on whether it’s truly ready for it.

LIV Golf Finally Gets World Ranking Points — But on the OWGR’s Terms

LIV Golf players will begin earning Official World Golf Ranking points this season, though the long-awaited approval arrives with significant limitations.

The OWGR announced Tuesday that its governing board unanimously voted to award ranking points to LIV events beginning with this week’s season opener in Saudi Arabia. The decision, however, comes with caveats that place LIV events closer to opposite-field PGA Tour tournaments than full-strength global competitions.

Only the top 10 finishers in each LIV event will receive ranking points, and each tournament’s field rating will be modest. Winners are projected to earn approximately 23 OWGR points this week — roughly in line with opposite-field PGA Tour events.

For context, William Mouw earned 24 points for winning last year’s ISCO Championship, played opposite the Genesis Scottish Open. By comparison, Justin Rose received 56 points for winning last week’s Farmers Insurance Open, while DP World Tour winner Frederik Schott earned 20 points at the Bahrain Championship.

The move represents a compromise after nearly two years of negotiations. LIV first applied for OWGR recognition in 2023 but withdrew its application in March 2024 amid concerns about the league’s competitive structure, specifically its lack of meaningful promotion and relegation.

“In order to obtain inclusion in the OWGR system, it is necessary for you to develop a structure that invites new players based on objective, recent performance and relegates under-performing players more quickly and equitably,” then-chairman Peter Dawson wrote to LIV in an October 2023 letter.

At the time, LIV offered four total pathways into the league — three via a promotions event and one through a season-long International Series points list. That number has since increased to five, with three spots now awarded through the promotions event and two via the International Series.

Current OWGR chairman Trevor Immelman indicated in December that discussions were ongoing and suggested a resolution could be reached before LIV’s 2026 season began.

“This has been an incredibly complex and challenging process,” Immelman said. “We fully recognized the need to rank the top men’s players in the world, while also ensuring fairness to the thousands of players competing on tours with established meritocratic pathways.”

The OWGR governing board includes PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings, and representatives from the PGA of America, the R&A, Augusta National Golf Club, the USGA, and participating eligible tours. Immelman does not hold a vote.

“We respect today’s decision by the Official World Golf Ranking governing board and the considerable time the board and chairman Immelman committed to this process,” the PGA Tour said in a statement.

Promotion and relegation remain the central concern — and likely the reason ranking points will be awarded only through 10th place at LIV events. Among the other 24 professional tours recognized by OWGR, all players who make the cut earn points.

LIV, while welcoming the decision, made clear it views the system as flawed.

“We acknowledge this long-overdue moment of recognition, which affirms the fundamental principle that performance on the course should matter, regardless of where the competition takes place,” LIV said in a statement. “However, this outcome is unprecedented. Under these rules, a player finishing 11th in a LIV Golf event is treated the same as a player finishing 57th.

“We entered this process in good faith and will continue to advocate for a ranking system that reflects performance over affiliation. The game deserves transparency. The fans deserve credibility. And the players deserve a system that treats them equally.”

“We Didn’t Sign Up for 72”: Bryson DeChambeau’s LIV Criticism Raises New Questions About His Future

Bryson DeChambeau has long been LIV Golf’s most visible and vocal star — its standard-bearer, salesman and marquee attraction rolled into one.

That’s why his latest comments should make LIV executives uneasy.

DeChambeau remains under contract and has committed to playing the 2026 LIV season. But with his current deal set to expire later this year — and with Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed already headed back toward the PGA Tour — DeChambeau’s future is increasingly central to LIV’s long-term stability.

And in a new interview with Today’s Golfer, the two-time U.S. Open champion delivered his clearest signal yet that his loyalty to the league has limits.

A lukewarm response to Koepka’s exit

Koepka officially departed LIV in late December, then became the first high-profile player to rejoin the PGA Tour under its new Returning Member Program. That pathway was extended only to Koepka, Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith and DeChambeau — instantly igniting speculation about who might follow next.

At a LIV Media Day the following week, all three remaining stars publicly rejected the offer. DeChambeau’s answer, however, stood out for how little enthusiasm it conveyed.

“I’m contracted through 2026, so I’m excited about this year,” he said.

It was a technically clear answer — and an emotionally hollow one. DeChambeau didn’t mount a full-throated defense of LIV, and he notably avoided committing beyond his current deal.

‘We didn’t sign up to play for 72’

In his Today’s Golfer interview, DeChambeau went further, openly questioning one of LIV’s most significant recent changes.

Beginning in 2026, LIV tournaments will expand from 54 holes to 72 — a move widely viewed as an attempt to gain Official World Golf Ranking points. The shift also eliminates one of the league’s defining differentiators.

While DeChambeau previously voiced public support for the change, his tone has now shifted.

“It’s definitely changed away from what we had initially been told it was going to be,” DeChambeau said. “So there is some movement that we’ve all been… going, ‘Why that movement?’ Because we were told it was going to be this.”

Then came the bluntest line of all.

“Is it what we ultimately signed up for? No,” he said. “We didn’t sign up to play for 72.”

Though DeChambeau reiterated that he will play out his contract, he again stopped short of pledging anything beyond it.

“I’ve got a contract for this year, and we’ll go through it there and see what happens after that,” he said.

Even as he tried to strike a conciliatory tone — calling the new format “great for our team” and expressing hope it might grow on him — the uncertainty lingered.

“Hopefully it weighs positively on me over the course of time,” DeChambeau said. “But you never know.”

Not an isolated view

DeChambeau isn’t alone in his skepticism. Paul Casey told Today’s Golfer the change “wouldn’t have been the thing I would have changed,” while Louis Oosthuizen said the 54-hole format “was a bit more unique.”

Together, the comments underscore a growing tension inside LIV: a league built on being different now reshaping itself to look more traditional — and risking the buy-in of its biggest stars in the process.

The 2026 LIV Golf season begins Wednesday, February 4, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Whether DeChambeau will be part of LIV beyond it remains very much an open question.

Inside Megalodome: The Ambitious Plan to Build a Full-Scale Indoor Golf Course Outside Chicago

Montreal winters are not kind to golf handicaps.

Just ask Bertrand Quentin. By the time October rolls around, he’s usually battled his way into single-digit territory. Then winter hits, courses close, and six months later he’s starting over.

“It’s a cycle,” Quentin told GOLF by email. “I’ll fight my way down to a single-digit handicap by October, only to wake up as a 12-handicap when the season finally opens in May. That six-month layoff is a real momentum killer.”

For golfers in cold climates, the options are familiar: install a simulator, book a winter golf trip, or simply wait it out. Quentin chose a more radical path.

His solution is called Megalodome Golf — a massive indoor golf complex unlike anything currently in existence. Plans call for it to open outside Chicago in late 2027.

The concept went viral this week after images and details began circulating on social media. The renderings looked futuristic: a sprawling, Arizona-style golf environment complete with palm trees, cacti, water features and sandy waste areas — all under a series of interconnected domes. The site is in Oswego, about an hour west of downtown Chicago, though Quentin said he can’t yet disclose the exact location.

Despite the name, Megalodome has nothing to do with prehistoric sharks. It’s about scale.

Indoor golf, of course, isn’t new. Facilities like the SoFi Center in Florida, home of the TGL league backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, have pushed the concept forward through simulator-based competition. But Quentin insists Megalodome is fundamentally different.

“Put simply, there is nothing else like this in the world,” he said.

The plan features four massive domes. Three will house a nine-hole executive course — six par-3s and three par-4s, playing to a par of 30 — designed by Montreal-based Huxham Golf Design. The course will be built on artificial turf engineered to bounce, roll and react like real grass. A fourth dome will be dedicated to a full practice facility.

The scale is hard to miss. The practice area will include a short-game complex and 50 hitting stalls, with a range stretching more than 275 yards. A clubhouse will sit between the course and practice facility, offering sightlines Quentin said will extend roughly 900 feet in each direction.

“The scale is truly unprecedented,” Quentin said.

Quentin, a 65-year-old forest engineer, traces the idea back seven years, when a friend first planted the seed. What followed, he said, has been an “intense journey” from concept to concrete planning.

Ambitious ideas require ambitious funding. Quentin said he and his partner, Alain Desrochers, are preparing to launch a $50 million investment fund and are already in advanced discussions with major financial groups. He believes the project is on track to meet its 2027 opening target.

Chicago was a deliberate choice. It’s a massive golf market with a long offseason — exactly the problem Megalodome is designed to solve. And if the first location succeeds, Quentin sees no reason it couldn’t expand to other cold-weather cities.

For now, though, the focus remains on bringing a slice of desert golf to the Midwest — inspired by a style of golf Quentin knows mostly by reputation.

“I would like to play there,” he said of Arizona, “but it’s very expensive, I’ve heard.”

12 Troon-Affiliated Golf Retail Shops Named 2026 AGM Platinum Awards - Top 100 Golf Shops

Kapalua Golf’s Plantation Course Golf Shop Named Among Best of the Best

Twelve Troon-affiliated golf retail shops were recently named 2026 Platinum Award recipients by the Association of Golf Merchandisers (AGM) recognizing the Top 100 golf shops across the world. The AGM Platinum Awards are celebrated globally, spotlighting the top 100 golf retail outlets, including public, private, resort, and off-course locations, recognized for their superior skills and innovative approaches in the golf retail sector.

Troon-affiliated facilities named 2026 AGM Platinum Award – Top 100 Golf Shop winners include:

Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Kapalua - The Bay Course in Lahaina, Hawaii

Kapalua - The Plantation Course in Lahaina, Hawaii

Kapolei Golf Club in Kapolei, Hawaii

La Cantera Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas

Maderas Golf Club in Poway, California

Monarch Beach Golf Links in Dana Point, California

Princeville Makai Golf Club in Princeville, Hawaii

Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California

Terravita Golf & Country Club in Scottsdale, Arizona

Troon North Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona

Westin Kierland Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona

Additionally, Kapalua Golf’s Plantation Course Golf Shop was honored as one of the ten “Best of the Best” among the AGM’s Platinum Award winners. This elite recognition is reserved for the top ten golf retail operations that exemplify innovation, creativity, and excellence in golf merchandising.

“We are honored and grateful to the AGM for recognizing 12 Troon-affiliated retail stores in this year's Platinum Awards,” said Kristen Goulet, Vice President, Retail, Troon. “This acknowledgment reflects the dedication of our teams and continued commitment to delivering outstanding retail experiences for members and guests, as well as profitable shops for clients.”

The AGM’s Top 100 Golf Shop competition provides participants an opportunity to demonstrate their accomplishments in various domains, including merchandising, marketing, and management. The awards also place a significant emphasis on creative visual merchandising.

In addition to golf course retail operations, Troon also operates tennis, fitness, resort and marina retail outlets across the globe. Troon’s national purchasing programs enable owners to receive the benefit of group buying power on hundreds of retail items.

Brooks Koepka Is Back — and the PGA Tour Is Playing Offense Again

The last time Brooks Koepka stalked the tight corridors of Torrey Pines at the 2021 U.S. Open, professional golf still felt intact.

Koepka arrived that week ranked 10th in the world, fresh off a runner-up finish at the PGA Championship and owning 10 top-10s in his previous 15 major starts. He carried the fourth-best odds to win, four major trophies in his bag, and an unmistakable edge — a cool detachment paired with supreme confidence that surfaced most often when the stakes were highest.

“I think sometimes the majors are the easiest ones to win,” Koepka said in 2019. “Half the people shoot themselves out of it, and mentally I know I can beat most of them.”

Nearly five years later, Koepka is back at Torrey Pines — but in a far different place.

Still dressed in Nike, but once again under the PGA Tour banner rather than LIV Golf’s, Koepka returned this week as a player no longer defined by dominance, but by reinvention. At his pre-tournament press conference, he was subdued and almost self-conscious, acknowledging both the unfamiliarity of the locker room and the weight of the moment.

“I’m definitely a little bit more nervous this week,” Koepka admitted. “There’s a lot of guys I don’t know.”

That tone mirrors where his game currently stands. Koepka entered the week ranked 255th in the Official World Golf Ranking — a byproduct of LIV’s lack of OWGR points — and 162nd in Data Golf. He has missed five cuts in his last eight non-LIV starts, including three missed cuts in majors last year. The bravado that once defined him may still exist, but it’s no longer front and center.

And yet, Koepka still matters.

Few players, even now, can command attention the way he does. The PGA Tour’s handling of his return made that abundantly clear. Koepka wasn’t simply added to the Farmers Insurance Open field — his comeback was loudly promoted across tour platforms. This season’s slogan, “Where the Best Belong,” was quickly repurposed into a promotional video featuring Koepka. He was placed in a featured group, and ESPN elevated coverage of his opening rounds to the main network.

“It’s always good to feel wanted and accepted,” Koepka said. “I’m excited — maybe a little antsy — to get to Thursday, because that’s where I feel most comfortable. Playing golf.”

Away from the microphones, Koepka appeared relieved to focus solely on his game. He spent long sessions grinding on the range, exchanging hugs and greetings with former peers while working closely with his caddie and coach. On Tuesday, he played Torrey Pines’ North Course alongside Fred Couples, who had publicly suggested months earlier that Koepka wanted back on the PGA Tour.

This week, Koepka’s scorecard almost feels secondary. His presence alone is a victory for a PGA Tour that is clearly recalibrating under CEO Brian Rolapp — a point underscored even further by Wednesday’s announcement that Patrick Reed will also return to the tour later this year.

“I think people want to be on the PGA Tour,” J.J. Spaun said. “It’s the best tour in the world, the most competitive. I think it speaks volumes about where the tour’s headed.”

If Koepka’s fast-tracked return felt like the PGA Tour bending its rules to reclaim star power, Reed’s pathway back carries even greater symbolism. Koepka was welcomed immediately. Reed, by contrast, will serve a suspension and return through an established process — a reminder that while the door is open, it isn’t consequence-free.

“After winning [in Dubai], I realized how much I missed the grind,” Reed told ESPN. “That dogfight — that’s who I am. I always saw myself coming back. I know I have to earn it, and I’m OK with that.”

Under Rolapp, the PGA Tour’s mandate is unmistakable: strengthen the product, even if it means setting aside old resentments. Reintegrating elite players matters more now than holding grudges from the sport’s fractured past.

By facilitating Koepka’s immediate return and establishing a clear framework for players like Reed, the tour has shifted the narrative. The question is no longer whether the PGA Tour and LIV Golf will coexist — it’s who might be next to come back.

“As you’re seeing, the dominoes are starting to fall,” Harris English said. “Maybe those guys aren’t as happy over there. They’re seeing the PGA Tour get stronger. Money’s not the end-all, be-all. They’re competitors. They want to play the biggest events against the best players — and that’s here.”

The tour is also leveraging LIV’s own structure. With players tied to contracts, some become de facto free agents once deals expire. The PGA Tour has created a return pathway that includes suspensions and restrictions — including no player equity eligibility through 2030 — ensuring reentry comes at a cost.

Whether that balance satisfies players who stayed loyal remains to be seen.

“For players, it’s sensitive,” said Adam Scott, a PGA Tour policy board member. “We’re conscious of the membership, but also of what fans want to see. Not everything can stay firm forever. We have to be open-minded.”

Scott said the decision to create the returning member program — and allow Koepka back immediately — was unanimous. Maverick McNealy added that while the player advisory council wasn’t involved directly, Rolapp personally briefed members to ensure transparency.

As news of Reed’s return rippled through Torrey Pines, Rolapp could be found on the range and putting green, speaking directly with players. Publicly, at least, the response was overwhelmingly positive.

“That’s one of Brian’s strengths — clear communication,” McNealy said. “Go back a couple years and think how uncertain everything felt. Now this really feels like the place to play the highest level of golf. And that’s what’s happened over the last couple of weeks.”

Koepka’s return may not restore the aura he once carried, but it does reinforce something just as important: the PGA Tour is no longer reacting. It’s attacking — and bringing its stars home.