⛳️ LinkUps Launch Event & The 150th Open Preview

Keeping up with LinksDAO 24/7 so you don't have to.

Welcome to the Mulligan, the official publication of LinksDAO!

Make sure to subscribe so you can stay up to date with everything that's going on over at the world's greatest community-governed golf and leisure club.

194 Days Since Launch

Good morning and welcome to a special The Open edition of The Mulligan.

LinkUps Launch Event at Five Iron

We're extremely excited to launch the first version of our member-initiated event programming, LinkUps, alongside one of the more captivating majors of the last several years, The 150th Open at St. Andrews in Scotland. To celebrate, LinksDAO is hosting a multi-city launch party for members at select Five Iron locations in Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York City on Friday, July 15th.

Three free bays will be set aside at each location for Links members to tee it up on the simulator at St. Andrews. For more information and to signup, click here! There are still spots available in Philadelphia and Chicago.

What are LinkUps?

LinkUps are member-initiated, golf-related events focused on bringing the vibes and values of LinksDAO to local towns and cities across the country.

Have you been looking to put together a Monday skins game? What about organizing an event for a local charity or hosting a viewing party for a PGA Tour event? LinkUps allows for members to tap into the special community we're building here, further bridging the gap between IRL and URL.

Head over to the #LinkUps channel in the Discord to fill out the in-take form. From there you'll be connected to a member of the Events pod who will review, approve, and guide you through the LinkUps organization and execution process. This program will eventually be housed in our completely revamped clubhouse that's launching in the next couple of months.

In addition to our launch event, next week on Tuesday, July 19th, join fellow members at our New Jersey LinkUp to play one of the state's top-rated courses, Ballyowen, for a discounted rate. Sign up here.

Thanks to Event Pod members JenS, Gabbie, Trevor, Ryan P, and Joe for putting this program together.

P.S. We launched our member-facing updates column on Wednesday, ensuring that a bright light is continuously shined on the progress being made by both the core and community teams.

To view The Weekly, follow the below link to our Clarity page and login with your NFT. Once you've logged in, click on LinksDAO Community Team on the left side and a The Weekly button should appear at the top of the page.

Live From St. Andrews... CEO Jim Daily and Co-Founder Mike Dudas

Jim and Mike flew out to Scotland earlier this week to further the LinksDAO mission. Recap below from Jim!

Incredible reception for LinksDAO, further proof of how engaged the world of golf is becoming in web3. Attending big events and forging relationships with the main folks across the golf world is critical to our project. We met and strategized with and shared a few pints with a lot of people that can be very helpful to our mission. Sharing a few:

• PGA Tour - Specific discussions around we can help them improve their NFT strategy. We're in early exploration around a PGA "membership" or unique benefits for our community

• USGA - Great meeting and discussion around an NFT collection for the 2023 U.S. Open at LACC

• IMG - Potential access to their course network, which is 50 courses spread throughout the world

• Callaway - Relationship building with Chip, their CEO. He gave us a tour of their Tour truck while we discussed player engagement with their head of the United States

• Golf Digest - Spoke with the Editorial Director about the project

• Chairman of Arnold and Whitney Palmer Foundation - Discussions on unique access to Bay Hill and Latrobe CC

• Agents - Spoke with Spieth, Cantlay, Bryson, and a number of other player's agents

We also watched some incredible golf and had the chance to walk inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth for a few holes. The vibe in St. Andrews is immaculate this week and I am looking forward to a true celebration of the Home of Golf this weekend.

The 150th Open Preview

The Course

Scotland. St. Andrews. The Home of Golf. There is simply no better time of year than The Open week, and there is simply no better track than The Old Course at St. Andrews.

Tucked in between the town of Fife and the eastern shores of Scotland, St. Andrews is considered to be one of the oldest golf courses in the world. Players have been teeing it up here since 1552, when Archbishop John Hamilton opened the course up to the residents of the small town. Up until that point the course was only accessible to James III and James IV, who served as Kings of Scotland from 1460 to 1488 and 1488 to 1513.

In addition to being the "home of golf", the course is also known as being one of the forefathers of competitive golf. That 18 hole layout you're so familiar with? It originated here at The Old Course thanks to the influence of William St. Clair in 1764. The track has also hosted 29 majors dating back to 1873, more than any other course in the world.

The historic site serves as an exquisite example of golf's staying power. It has has held up to the ever-evolving game for more than 600 years, and has produced the greatest of major champions including Bobby Jones, Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, and Tiger Woods.

Nicklaus, 19-time major winner, is quoted as saying "a professional golfer's resume is not complete without a victory at St. Andrews." When Tiger Woods was asked about the upcoming 2022 major season back in April, he said that the host of this year's Open is "his favorite golf course in the world."

The 150th Open Championship

Golf's oldest major championship, The Open was first held at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland in 1860. The trophy that winners so famously kiss is known as the Claret Jug, which was developed shortly after in 1872 by members of Prestwick, the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, or the R&A. The R&A, headquartered behind the 1st tee and 18th green at St. Andrews, still manages the tournament today.

1872 was a critical year for The Open. In addition to the development of the esteemed trophy, the championship began rotating between courses up and down the coasts of the United Kingdom. It now returns to St. Andrews every 5 years after jumping between two other Scottish courses and two English courses, most recently Royal St George's in 2021 where Collin Morikawa hoisted the Claret Jug after his 2 shot victory over Jordan Spieth.

Storylines

Tiger Woods: After nearly having his leg amputated due to a car crash in the early parts of 2021, Tiger makes his triumphant return to the site of two of his three Open victories looking to ascend to the top of the professional golf mountain once again.

Jack Nicklaus: Also a winner of two Open championships at The Old Course, Nicklaus was made an honorary citizen of St. Andrews this past Tuesday during the leadup to 2022's last major.

Will Zalatoris: Will has had an incredible run in majors this year, finishing in second at both the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship. He will look to capture his first PGA tour victory in his second Open start. Given how short the course is going to play due to the firm, fast fairways, iron play will almost surely determine the winner, and Will is considered one of the best in the game.

Collin Morikawa: Speaking of fantastic iron players, Morikawa looks to go back-to-back for the first time since 2007-2008, when Padraig Harrington won at Carnoustie and Royal Birkdale.

Rory McIlroy: It has been eight years since McIlroy last won a major, despite being considered one of the most prolific golfers of the past two decades. He looks to capitalize on his recent form and add to his four major championships captured between 2011-2014.

Justin Thomas: Winner of this year's PGA Championship, where he beat out Will Zalatoris in a playoff at Southern Hills, J.T. looks to continue on his quest to become one of the all-time greats. Bringing on Jim "Bones" Mackay as his caddie after last season seems to have made all the difference. Bones caddied for Phil Mickelson during five of his six major championships, and his experience in these pressure-filled moments will surely help Thomas as we approach the trophy ceremony on Sunday afternoon.

Jordan Spieth: 3-time major winner and the heartbeat of professional golf alongside Rory, Spieth looks to capitalize on his incredible talents and capture his fourth major victory and second Open championship. Spieth is an artist on the course... brilliantly creative yet ever-so-calculated. His game matches up perfectly to the rigorous test of golf that is St. Andrews.

The Mulligan was created by Nick B (barbs#7712). Have any feedback? Reach out in the Discord. Thanks for reading!