Yes, one of the stalwarts of the old Silly Season is
going away forever. The Grand Slam of Golf, a 36 hole event that ostensibly featured the major winners of the previous year, had been around since 1979, outdating even the Skins Game. Like all of the other Silly Season events, it was a decidedly unserious affair, so I won't pretend this is a great loss. Ever since the PGA Tour started doing the Fed-Ex Cup and the emergence of late season, big money European Tour events in China and the Middle East, the Silly Season has become, well, silly. It just isn't necessary anymore, not when a bunch of rich international tycoons are willing to pay out millions for the big names.
In 2013, the PGA Tour decided that the seasons, rather than being contained within a calendar year, would be wrapped around in a similar fashion to the European Tour, which I'm not sure ever takes a break. This, the Tour hoped, would add some relevance to the often ignored Fall Series, a group of official events that often felt more like Nationwide Tour events (is that what it's called now? It's been through so many names). But it also made Silly Season events that much more unnecessary. Still, the Grand Slam continued through 2014. Then it was decided that in 2015, the Grand Slam would move to Trump National LA. Now, if you've been paying attention to the news, or have been a resident of planet Earth, you might realize why it might not be a great idea for the PGA Tour to hold an event on a Donald Trump course. So, the Tour announced after Trump made disparaging remarks about (insert minority here) that they would move the Grand Slam to a new location. Well, plans fell through, and the 2015 event was called off. The Grand Slam was missed by precisely no one, and so, it was cancelled permanently.
Despite all that, judging from the Grand Slams that I saw, it was a nice little event. I don't think I ever remember it having the 4 most recent major winners, but I think it usually did at least have major winners. People you might have heard of, unlike the Golf World Cup, where the U.S representatives seem to get more and more obscure every year. I first remember watching it at the amusingly named Poipu Bay, but I most distinctly remember the 2 years it was at Mid Ocean, in Bermuda. At that time, other than a few modified holes at Waialae Country Club, I don't think the PGA Tour visited a course designed by C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor, 2 of the Golden Age's finest architects. Of course, now there's the Greenbrier Classic at the Old White, but when the Grand Slam was at Mid Ocean, that tournament didn't exist. Also, the Old White, while an excellent course, hardly has the reputation that Mid Ocean has. The fifth hole at Mid Ocean, the premier example of the Cape, one of the Macdonald/Raynor staple template holes, is especially notable, but the entire course is beautiful. Also unlike the Old White, Mid Ocean is very private, and basically the only way an ordinary golfer like me would ever get to see it is to see it on TV.
So, here's to the Grand Slam of Golf. You weren't the flashiest tournament, or the best, but for a little while, you gave us all a tour of a golf course with interesting architecture, lots of great scenery, and for that, it's a tournament worth missing.
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