"The governing bodies have looked into what happened and uniformly said stop what you’re doing, but you haven’t done anything wrong."

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I've intentionally ignored the stories of the gambling accusations leveled against Ted Forstmann since it sounded like a frivolous lawsuit and blackmail attempt. Yet in this interview with Darren Rovell, I couldn't help but find his answer strange.
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"So a golf company purchase is a long shot -- at best."

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Mike Stachura and E. Michael Johnson consider the possible options for an Acushnet sale or spin off and conclude that private equity or Asian sporting goods will be the likely suitors. There was this on the bottom line...

But more importantly, Titleist has real profits and real dominance in the marketplace. Its EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) is approximately $120 million and historically sporting goods transaction multiples are between six and eight times EBITDA. Acushnet being an industry leader would seem to command the high end of that so let's start the bidding at $1 billion. Or possibly beyond.

"The ability of a big hedge fund to get several hours alone with a corporate executive on a golf course reveals the great information disparity that exists between ordinary investors and the savviest of traders."

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Matthew Goldstein gives people more reason to love golf, profiling golf-pro-to-the-hedge-fund-stars Sam Evans, who brokers rounds at elite courses for hedge funders and other corporate tycoons. Warning, this is mildly painful reading.
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"That would eat away at any benefit many buyers would see if they bought just part of the company."

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Besides the potential anti-trust question that reader Del noted in the comments on a possible Fortune Brands breakup leading to the sale of Acushnet, Fortune's Jessica Hall and Martinnne Geller pointed out a few weeks ago that a massive capital gains tax tab--excuse me, "tax leakage" problem--facing Fortune might prove a deal killer.
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"Golf can deliver new technology as fast as any other business sector."

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In John Paul Newport's column on Callaway and Lamborgini using the same material to sucker more rich guys into overpaying for some privileged cocktail party banter, Taylor Made CEO Mark King reiterates his assertion that there is plenty of room for manufacturers to innovate. Something to remember should the governing bodies decide to enact real regulation and CEO's (or golf writers) start howling about the lack of room to innovate within the current rules.
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