It Could Have Been Much Worse Files...Mickelson National Edition

Longtime readers know of my affinity for peculiar golf course names and, in particular, the grabbing of any old title and slapping National on its backside, as if that'll class the joint up. So the recent news of a Mickelson National sounded like another doozy until you heard what the developers were originally going to call the to-be-built course west of Calgary.

From John Strege's report:

The course originally was going to be known as Copithorne Club, named for the original landowners of the property. But people had trouble spelling Copithorne, Ehlert said, which made it problematic on the branding front.

“We thought it would be much easier having a name that people could find,” Ehlert said. “We were talking to Phil’s team and said, ‘what if he was Phil’s name associated with it?’ They contemplated it and agreed to it. We believe there will only be one Mickelson National in Canada.” Or likely anywhere else, for that matter.

And there was this quote, for your roll-back-the-ball clipping files.

“We’re not set on 8,000 yards,” Ehlert said. “When Phil gets on site, it ould end up being 7,600 yards. The original routing ended up being almost 8,000 yards. But whether it’s 7,600, 7,700 or 7.800 yards, whatever it is, first and foremost it will be a course that the members play every day.”