The Daily Valet. - 5/23/22, Monday

✔️ This Is Suddenly Cool?

Monday, May 23rd Edition

Cory Ohlendorf, Editor in Chief of Valet.

Am I gonna have to start golfing now?

Cory Ohlendorf , Editor ⋯ @coryohlendorf

Today’s edition is presented by

Today’s Big Story

Golf Is Suddenly Cool

And the game is more fun and accessible than ever

I’ll be honest, I don’t spend a lot of time at country clubs. And I’d watch anything on TV before watching a full game of televised golf. So if this renaissance was brewing, I certainly didn't see it coming. But this otherwise staid sport is suddenly experiencing a much-needed injection of cool.

Some of the most stylish fashion bros I know are fully obsessed with the sport. Brands like Whim (out of Chicago) and Malbon Golf (based in California) are making a name for themselves by making cool clothes ... that happen to be for golf. In fact, Malbon just teamed up with Dockers for a capsule collection that aims to inspire the next generation of golfers.

Then there’s Todd Snyder’s new collaboration with Foot Joy, which imagines how the top PGA pros from the ’60s and ’70s would look if they stepped onto the Tour today. These are not the usual baggy polos or boring windbreakers you’re used to seeing on your average 15 handicapper (whatever that means).

But the fact is, there are a lot more people playing these days. The sport was in bad shape before COVID—country clubs were bleeding money, courses were shuttering, and the number of rounds played had dropped significantly. Then we started working from home and, perhaps seeking a relaxing outdoor experience, we started booking tee times.

According to Men’s Journal, golf courses in America saw 50 million more rounds played in 2020 than 2019. Why? Because the sport evolved. Even mini-golf, the gateway drug to spending way too much on proper clubs, has found a way to modernize. “Forget the windmills. No volcanoes, either. The greens at PopStroke—an 18-hole putting course—have more in common with TPC Sawgrass than the Putt-Putt you grew up playing.”

Also golf carts are on the way out. Walking the course is now a scientifically proven way to improve your score and burn calories. But beer is still intimately connected to the game. In fact, several craft breweries now operate their own golf courses. And Pinehurst Resort, one of the most storied destinations in golf, started brewing its own beer in 2018.

↦ Modern Courses: Washington’s new par-3, QuickSands, has wild-shaped greens and a course-wide sound system that plays classic rock.

Ukraine Rules Out a Ceasefire

Here’s what happened this weekend

Ukraine will not agree to a ceasefire or any territorial concessions to Russia because doing so would only embolden the latter to ramp up its attacks, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters.

While Russia initially struggled to make gains in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, Podolyak's remarks come as Russia has launched a major offensive in Luhansk, one of two provinces in the Donbas. Russian troops destroyed a bridge on Saturday, making it harder to evacuate people and bring supplies in.

And amid speculation that Russia will try to annex parts of southern Ukraine, residents of the southern city of Kherson told NPR the new Russian-backed government there has disbanded many public services, and that the Russian roadblocks have worsened shortages of food and medicine.

But Polish President Andrzej Duda visited Kyiv—becoming the first foreign leader to address Ukraine's parliament since the invasion began. According to CNBC, the two counties have agreed to work on joint border controls as well as a shared railway company to speed up the movement of people and grow Ukraine's export potential.

↦ FYI: Ukraine’s culture minister said Russian forces have destroyed or damaged more than 350 cultural and historic sites since invading.

Partner

What if you got paid to save money? Because that's basically what this new program is offering.

Baby Formula Arrives Stateside

78,000 pounds were just flown in from Germany on American military aircraft

I'm sure by now you've heard about the critical nationwide shortage of baby formula—even if you're not a parent. Well, the first emergency shipment of Nestlé baby formula arrived in Indiana yesterday from Germany on a U.S. military C-17 aircraft.

The 35-ton shipment contains enough specialty infant formula for more than half a million baby bottles. The flights are intended to provide “some incremental relief in the coming days” as the government works on a more lasting response to the shortage, Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, told the Associated Press.

The imports from Europe, dubbed “Operation Fly Formula” are the latest effort to ease a shortage that has caused panic among millions of parents and caregivers. The Biden administration official told CNN that the product contained in the first shipment will be distributed to hospitals, doctors, home health care facilities and pharmacies in regions “where the needs are most acute.”

Later Sunday, the White House announced the first two Defense Production Act authorizations to kickstart production of more formula here in the States—particularly hypoallergenic varieties. If you're wondering how this whole debacle started, it was when the nation's largest domestic manufacturing plant closed in February due to safety issues.

↦ FYI: The CEO of Abbott, the company whose voluntary recall helped trigger a nationwide formula shortage, apologized for the crisis in an op-ed this weekend.

Beware Power Emergencies

Extreme weather may stress out electric grids in dozens of states this summer

In less than stellar news, a large chunk of the U.S., from California to Texas to the Midwest, is at risk of blackouts and unreliable power supply this summer as extreme heat and drought impact the electric grid.

A lot of the most serious trouble is going to be in the middle region of the country that gets their power delivered from one system that operates the grid in 15 states (and parts of Canada). Demand in this region is back up since the pandemic, and regulators fear that extreme temperatures could jack up that demand even further, creating “high risk of energy emergencies during peak summer conditions.”

And in an annual assessment of grid conditions, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a nonprofit organization that monitors the nation's electric grids, said that the several grids are at “high risk” for energy emergencies this summer, reports Gizmodo.

“It's a pretty sobering report, and it's clear the risks are spreading,” John Moura, a director at NERC, told Bloomberg. Climate change is partly to blame. A historic drought is covering much of the West, limiting supplies of hydroelectric power. And forecasts call for a hotter-than-average summer. But the fight against global warming poses its own risks as older coal-fired plants close faster than wind farms, solar facilities and batteries can replace them. “The pace of our grid transformation is out of sync” with the physical realities of the existing power network, Moura said.

↦ Meanwhile: Tesla is asking owners to limit charging during a Texas heatwave, which isn’t exactly a good sign.

In Other News

↦ Election Deniers Who Say Trump Won in 2020 Are Running to Be Top Cop in 4 Battleground States

↦ Why Are Sexually Transmitted Infections Surging?

↦ New York Man Accosted by ‘Central Park Karen’ Gets His Own Birding TV Series

Other Things We’re Talking About Today

Kate McKinnon’s ‘SNL’ send-off

TikTok’s hanger reflex

Your secret cocktail source

Partner

Saving Can Be a Drag

But Yotta’s prize-linked accounts and debit cards make it fun and seriously rewarding

The lack of savings in the U.S. has become a crisis. Our confidence that we've got enough saved for retirement is at historically low levels. Nearly half of all Americans don't have an extra $400 for emergencies. But that doesn't mean we don't want to do better. At the same time, more than 50% of adults play the lottery at least once a year. Saving is a drag, but gambling and games are exciting and promise the rush of a windfall.

Yotta took these two seemingly different concepts and combined them to motivate people to make better financial decisions using random rewards. Their prize-linked savings account offers up a recurring “ticket” for every $25 you deposit. What could you win? It's anywhere from ten cents to $10,000, a brand new Tesla or even the $10 million grand prize. Swiping your debit card can also win you reimbursements of your purchases or bonus tickets in the next contest.

According to the company, over 40% of users win a prize every week, on average. And win or not, you never lose your FDIC-insured deposits, plus you'll always earn more interest than most banks with 0.20% APY guaranteed (compared to the 0.03% APY of say, Bank of America). Freakonomics praised prize-linked savings accounts, describing them as a “no-lose lottery” in a recent podcast. Think of it this way, Yotta found a way to turn boring financial products like savings accounts and debit cards into something like a game that delivers real world rewards.

↦ Get Saving: Create your free account and get a $5 credit to kick-off your savings when you use code VALET

What We’re Eyeing

Quality sunglasses don't have to be offensively expensive. One of the best buys for summer are a pair of Huckberry's Cruiser shades ($35). They've got everything you want in sunglasses. They're lightweight yet durable, and offer full coverage with scratch-resistant, polarized lenses. Plus, the temples guard the exterior of the hinge for added protection in case they take a tumble. Oh and the microfiber carrying pouch doubles as a lens cleaner. All for just 35 bucks.

↦ Want more? 5 stylish items to buy this week