Confessions of a lifelong sports fan

Plus, how to lose your belly fat [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hey there! [Jim Gaddy]( here. I’m one of the deputy editors here at Pursuits responsible for covering sports, and I have a confession to make: I’ve never played golf. Not a single round. Nary a solitary hole. The closest I’ve ever come to even swinging a club is, ironically enough, during a fly-fishing trip on the Smith River in Montana. About halfway down the float is the Heaven on Earth Ranch, where the operators have built a picturesque 9-hole, par-3 course along the bank. Our guides took us up to the highest point—I believe it was the 6th hole—where the tee sits on the precipice of a 100-foot-tall cliff and pointed down to a tiny little yellow flag 145 yards away. I gave it my best thwack and watched the ball go sailing … somewhere off to the right, where it landed in a bunch of overgrown bushes. By the time I found it, I’d decided it would be more fun to keep casting, and mending, for rainbow trout. Tara Iti north of Auckland. Photographer: Robinson Studios And yet somehow, over the course of my golf-deprived life, even I knew that the game’s courses were a toxic stew of chemicals, an environmental wasteland. The thinking behind that certainty was that you can’t get that green, green grass without bad, bad pesticides, fungicides, and other pollutants that seep into the ground and run off in our water supply. Well, I have another confession: I was wrong. A study published last year in the academic journal Science of the Natural Environment found that golf courses aren’t as irresponsible as we’ve heard. In fact, apple orchards and vineyards are much worse on average. The forthcoming Point Hardy Golf Club at Cabot Saint Lucia. Source: Harris Kalinka [And as our golf contributor Michael Croley details in the new issue of Bloomberg Businessweek](, golf course designers and superintendents at some of the best courses in the world—Bandon Dunes, Pinehurst, Tara Iti—are finding some pretty cool ways to be better stewards of not just the greens themselves, but also the surrounding land nearby. Richard Hywel Evans, the architect for the [Cabot properties in Saint Lucia](, where the forthcoming Point Hardy Golf Club is set to open, put it succintly: “If sustainability isn’t at the top of your mind as a resort or community, you’re already behind.” [Get the full story here](. Elsewhere in recent Pursuits history ... - I’ve also never been to one of those “immersive” Van Gogh exhibitions, but given the attendance numbers it’s likely that you—or your parents—have in the last year. These money-minting shows aren’t going anywhere: [Monet is the next dead artist coming to a city near you](.  - Did you know that there’s one simple trick to change your outlook on home decor? [We found seven of the most interesting-looking]( ways to think about it. Inspired and unconventional designs will shape up any wall you’ve been reflecting on. Photographer: Hannah Whitaker for Bloomberg Businessweek - A new book shatters that stereotype that the Rocky Mountains are just home to log cabins, making a case that the region is a hotbed for modern architecture. [Check out the pictures for yourself here](.  - Our car critic Hannah Elliott took Harley-Davidson’s new [LiveWire One electric motorcycle for a spin](and left the Camaro bros in the dust.  - How did the gay bar become an endangered species? [We investigated](.  - And because everything is terrible, your grandchildren may never know the pleasure, and awe, of [seeing a giraffe in real life](.  - Oh wait, not everything is terrible. Have you heard? [Beyoncé has a new song out](. While I’m Confessing ... I’ll admit I’m a sucker for nice knives. [We have]( [certainly]( [covered]( [our share]( [of them](. So when reader Oliver Mendl wrote us to say that the market for mechanical watches ([which is going insane right now]() was nothing compared to the one for custom pocketknives, I had to dig around to see if it was true. [And wow, is it ever](. Our contributor Mark Ellwood got in touch with the folks behind the Blade Show in Atlanta and talked to several of the most in-demand knife makers in the business and found that the market for these collectibles is, indeed, bonkers. “It’s the most dedicated consumer subgroup I’ve ever seen,” said Henry Wu, who runs the show. “A true community.” From left to right: A $600 Wharncliffe knife by JW Smith, a $3,400 SMF by Mick Strider, and a $775 Sebenza by Chris Reeve. All are available at Monkey Edge in Mesa, Ariz. Photographer: Stephen Lewis for Bloomberg Businessweek Some are so beautiful they’ll make you want to go out and catch some fish just so you can gut them. [Get the full story here](. Which reminds me: Got a scoop for us? Or just something interesting catch your eye? [Hit us up](, you never know, it might turn into a feature in Businessweek. What else I’m reading ... - I’ll confess I LOL’d hard reading [this utterly hysterical story]( about some professional baseball players and their love of women’s perfume. The trading-card photo-illustrations are perfection.  - I also have never been to a hockey game, but at least I have the excuse of growing up in Louisiana, where the only place to see a stack of ice is the freezer. So we asked our marvelously-named colleague Joe Deaux to write up a [finance guy’s guide to cheering for the Rangers](. Of course, it immediately jinxed them and they didn’t win another game after it was published. Sorry Joe! But the Blueshirts stock looks to be trending up for next year.  - Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors, a historically great team led by an all-time top-10 player and a coach who has won more than just about anyone. Celtics fans are down, but I guarantee they don’t feel as bad as Kent [“I’m sick bruh”]( Bazemore, who turned down more money from the Warriors last offseason to chase a ring with ... the Lakers.  - It could be worse, Kent! You could play for the Knicks, who apparently feel so good about last year’s 37-45 record that [they decided not to pick anyone]( in first round of the NBA draft on Thursday.  So, you had some questions ... What are the best / most exclusive bars in New York City? Personally, “best” is anywhere with a cold beverage and a familiar face. But I suspect by “exclusive,” you mean the hardest to get into because of the quality of their shaker-shaking. I’ll throw out two: If you want a real leather-seat-and-mood-lighting martini experience, make a reservation at [Temple Bar](, where even Monday nights at 10 p.m. are packed. If it’s a ‘wow’ moment you’re after, book a seat at [Overstory](, where you get a 360-degree panoramic view of the city from the 64th floor. Manhatta vies with Overstory (that’s it there on the building with the spire) for best drinking with a view in the Financial District. Photographer: Giada Paoloni But don’t take my word for it: It’s my colleague Kate Krader’s actual job to go out and see all the best places in the city and lucky for you, [she made a list of the 11 bars that are worth the effort to get into](, which is where I cribbed for the two recommendations above. And for those in London, [we have a list for you, too](. What’s the best fitness routine to lose stomach fat? Ah, stomach fat, the trickiest fat of all. Honestly—and I’m not being cute here—the best way to lose stomach fat is to eat a healthy diet and expend more calories than you take in. Go for lots of leafy greens, whole grains, and lean meat while cutting out as much sugar, alcohol, and carbs as possible. You could also try TruSculpt iD, one of eight non-gym, non-diet ways we recommended to jumpstart summer bodies. Courtesy truBody But if you’d like to pair a workout with better nutrition, try Pilates. The regimen’s focus on your core is specifically designed to give you that toned ballerina tummy. It’s also low-impact and, depending on the studio, can be very restorative while still giving you a burn. We have a round-up of a dozen of the best Pilates studios in New York coming next week, but here’s a preview: If you’re ok with being in a dark room with 25 other sweating, gasping, panting humans, sign up for a Solidcore class. Any routine is better than none though. [Here’s a separate list of some of the best muscle-building in the city right now](. Fun fact: the pandemic led to a big rise in butt implant procedures. Illustration by Tomi Um What’s the best gift for a geeky husband who doesn’t like gifts on his birthday? Wait, who doesn’t like gifts? I mean, who is the person on Planet Earth who doesn’t like getting something free, that the person you love picked out just for you? Some guys don’t like to be the center of attention, which is understandable, and birthdays can be awkward in that respect. They don’t want to be fussed over. They don’t want the pressure of having to fake excitement over a day that’s just reminding them that they’re getting older. And they definitely don’t want the waitstaff at Chili’s to sing “Happy Birthday” over their plate of babyback-babyback ribs.   A choose-your-geek affair. Illustrator: Tomi Um A couple of weeks ago, [we interviewed 22 dads about what they wanted for Father’s Day](, and it’s instructive for birthdays, too. Because here’s a little secret: Most guys are geeks in some way or another. Some geek out on electronic equipment, others geek out on their favorite sports team or old cars or vintage watches. The geekiest of all are the ones who geek out over their beards. Any gift that helps them channel their inner geek, in my experience, is foolproof.  But if your man really, truly, doesn’t want anything, at all, then you don’t have to give him anything beyond the pleasure of his own company. “Six hours by myself” is how one dad put it. So let him play video games all day or take a nap at 2 p.m. and you can go out and give yourself a day off, too. Nothing wrong with that. Maybe all he wants is to hear you tell him you love him, to listen to you say all the reasons you love him, to be reminded about the good things in his life. It costs nothing and sounds like the start of a great birthday to me. Thanks for the questions! Keep them coming for next week and give those icons below a click to keep up with us. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? 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