This week at TPC Southwind, the fairways are comprised of zoysia grass. As Andy noted this week in his weekly course preview, zoysia grass plays like a “carpet”. Other courses that consist of these type of fairways on the PGA Tour are East Lake and TPC Craig Ranch.

On the Rabbit Hole, you can specifically filter for the best players on different fairway grass types. Over the last 3 years, here are the top 12 players in the field on zoysia grass fairways:

2025 got off to a slow start for Xander Schauffele following his two-major season the prior year. While there was always going to be some form of regression, it’s hard to believe that Schauffele has gone winless this point, but I believe that changes this week at a course he has slowly warmed up to over the years. Schauffele finished runner-up here last year on the heels of winning the Open Championship. This was a spot he had no business contending in, but Schauffele’s continued success on water-heavy, positional golf courses cannot be understated. The two-time major winner also boasts multiple runner-up finishes at TPC Sawgrass, and he has continued to dominate at East Lake as well. Schauffele’s run of form in the Southeast will continue this week in Memphis.

Tommy Fleetwood’s stellar 2025 year will be overshadowed by his final round collapse at the Travelers Championship, where he blew a four shot lead to Keegan Bradley. He has quite the resume this year, finishing inside the top 25 in 11 starts. Over the last 6 months, Tommy Fleetwood ranks 2nd in strokes gained total per round at 1.22 (obviously behind Scottie Scheffler).

He fits what we are looking for this week at TPC Southwind: accuracy off-the-tee and elite middle iron play. Over the last 50 rounds, Fleetwood ranks inside the top 25 in the field in strokes gained off-the-tee and approach play. He has great course history as he ranks 9th in the field in strokes gained at TPC Southwind.

Tommy is known for his runner-up finishes on the PGA Tour as he is still looking for his signature win, hence why I chose the picture of Tommy with his silver medal. I believe he will be in contention on Sunday afternoon to give himself another solid chance at breaking through.

Course Review: Country Club of Buffalo

Architect: Donald Ross (1926)

Rating: 7 

I had the pleasure this past weekend of checking out an incredibly cool, old school Donald Ross design, the Country Club of Buffalo. The original Country Club was founded in 1894 and played host to the 1912 U.S. Open before relocating to a new property in the 1920s. The course we see today was laid out by Donald Ross in 1926, although multiple architects, including Robert Trent Jones (1954), Geoffrey Cornish (1965 and 1983), and William Schreiner (1996) have made enhancements/changes to the property.

How much of the original Ross design remains today? I’m not entirely sure, but this immediately stood out to me as an incredible restoration candidate. There are a number of holes that feel inherently Ross, particularly on the front nine, and also a few holes that don’t totally fit with the rest of the golf course. I’m largely thinking of 17, a long par four that wraps around a very unnatural looking collection pond. I am not sure whether or not this was a Robert Trent Jones contribution, but it certainly feels like one. 

The charm of this golf course falls in the middle of the round, and the fifth hole, a short par four that is drivable for the longer player, kicks off an indelible five hole stretch of golf in the middle section of the property, culminating with the long par four 11th that features a dramatic approach shot over a quarry. Within that six hole stretch also includes the “Volcano” 6th, a par three that is truly unlike any hole I have ever played before.

I have played a lot of second tier Donald Ross courses that fail to resonate months and years after the visit via a lack of memorability that fades over time. I always remember second tier Ross courses fondly, and the greens always resonate, but I am rarely up against something I’ve never seen before. Even in comparison to Oak Hill’s West Course, another Donald Ross course that feels of an era (the West Course at Oak Hill has not been restored- and while tree removal would be recommended, I do not hope that it gets the full and total Andrew Green treatment.)

There is something entirely charming and quirky about a non-restored Golden Age golf course that a Country Club of Buffalo maintains. I played the Country Club of Buffalo after three days on Oak Hill’s famed East Course, another Western New York Donald Ross, which has of course been restored by Andrew Green, and as tremendous of a championship golf course that Oak Hill East is- it does not really feel as much like a Golden Age golf course as much as it feels like a modern, championship test, where every aspect of the course was perfectly deliberated over to optimally challenge the modern professional golfer and stand up to modern technology.

The Country Club of Buffalo, on the other hand, still feels of 1926, and the clubhouse at least feels largely untouched. My favorite touchstone/memory of the club was an old trolley that takes members directly from the 18th green (which sits at the bottom of a rock wall/limestone formation) directly to the bar. The trolley is non-operational, but this would be high on my list (along with multiple clusters of trees on the back nine that obscure a player’s view) of the first aspects of the club to receive some attention. 

In conclusion, this is the place to be in Buffalo, and I would not get the least bit bored if this was my every day course. The short, par four 10th hole stands out as some of the coolest bunkering I have seen on a Ross course, and actually reminds me of the 14th at Garden City, one of my favorite short par fours in golf. With a proper restoration that clears up some of the clunkiness of the trees on the back nine, and reimagines the 17th hole, this golf course would shine as one of my favorites in New York.

Ever since the formation of LIV, television ratings have been a hot discussion topic in the golf universe. Fans continue to complain that the PGA Tour is dying because the ratings are severely down.

Yesterday morning, CBS Sports PR posted its golf television ratings for the season. CBS and the PGA Tour posted impressive results for the 2025 golf year, as they averaged nearly 3 million viewers per tournament, up 17% from the previous year. 

It surely helped CBS that they had a thrilling finish with Rory McIlroy achieving the career grand slam in a playoff against Justin Rose, Keegan Bradley’s walk off win at the Travelers Championship, and Scottie Scheffler winning the PGA Championship. 

The PGA Tour and CBS have invested a lot of time and energy into figuring out the best way to present the product to fans. Going back to the Masters, CBS and Augusta National agreed to add five more hours of air time after fans begged after the 2024 Masters that there wasn’t enough golf shown on TV. CBS saw good results with this so they added additional air time coverage for the PGA Championship. 

CBS added more walk and talks with players and more unique camera angles to enhance their production. I disagree with Justin Thomas on his desire for more walk and talks, because at the end of the day, fans just want to see more golf shots, and it does give fans a live perspective on how players are strategizing. 

Television ratings aren’t the end all be all. The PGA Tour and the television networks need to optimize the experience for the younger generation who are sweating outright bets and playing daily fantasy every week. Our demographic at ISN are the ones that watch week in and week out. It would be great if they could incorporate some sort of stream on Friday so that we can watch the golfers who are on the cutline.

All in all, the PGA Tour still has so many areas that they need to improve like a better schedule and course selection, but it’s a good sign that they are trending in the right direction.

Best Ball Cheat Sheet & Rankings are LIVE

Last week, we announced in this newsletter that ISN will be diving into best ball content this month to help prepare you for your drafts.

Kyle Hewett, who came in 27th in DK’s millionaire contest, taking home 10k last year, released his highly anticipated best ball cheat sheet. Kyle didn’t just supply our subscribers with his top 200 players and ranked them by position, he also added additional information:

• Underdog and Draftkings ADP

• Projected Points

• Vegas Team Win Total

• 2024 Ranking

• Vegas Player Prop Lines

• Strength of Schedule

• and much more!

Here is a little sneak peak:

Our best ball cheat sheet does not require an additional cost if you are already a subscriber to ISN. We will continue to talk best ball in our discord for the rest of the month, as we get closer to week 1 of football.

Make sure to subscribe to ISN to get our best cheat sheet, ability to engage in our discord, and access to our golf and tennis products!