And the North Carolina city is having a grand old time with its return. Local businesses are going all out, notably the Biltmore Shop winery, which created The Caddie Red Wine (in limited quantities) for the first-ever Biltmore Championship Asheville. It’s an “easy-drinking blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Zinfandel” and sounds like a great first sip after a victory.

The Biltmore Shop is far from alone, as Poppy Hand-Crafted Popcorn asked Asheville High School students for help with artwork for a limited-edition tournament bag, and The Hop Ice Cream is bringing its “Hole-in-One” flavor to the course. For those wondering, that’s chocolate ice cream with marshmallow golf balls and caramel swirls. Yes, please.

But that hasn’t stopped many of my playing partners from trying out a look they can’t pull off. What they should’ve done was stop by the Bad Pants Open, a golf outing at Rush Creek Golf Club (celebrating its 20th year), and raise money for Special Olympics Minnesota and PGA REACH Foundation Minnesota.

The slogan is "bad pants for a great cause," and it features PGA pros and Special Olympics athletes teaming up for a best ball tournament, followed by a foursome scramble for everyone else. Last year, the event raised more than $100k. Plus, everyone got a chance to wear their hideous pants before throwing them back in the closet for (hopefully) another calendar year.

Especially if you’re teeing off in the inaugural Live Más Open, presented by (who else but) Taco Bell. Hosted by Kevin Hart, the November event will combine celebrities, athletes, creators … and maybe you?

To participate, you can compete at a participating Topgolf venue in a special Shot Shuffle game, with nine fans making the cut for the 36-golfer tournament at The Ranch at Laguna Beach. The grand prize is as big as these things get: “the power to bring back a Taco Bell menu item for a limited time.” Who cares about the FedEx Cup $10 million grand prize when you can resurrect the Flamin' Hot Grilled Cheese Burrito?

But one has been constructed at Trump International Doonbeg in anticipation of a possible landing of Marine One (and President Donald Trump) this week as the course hosts the DP World Tour’s Irish Open. Like at last year’s Ryder Cup, the president’s appearance might lead to a “different” atmosphere, at least according to Rory McIlroy.

"He's a big fan of golf; he's a wonderful supporter of golf,” McIlroy said. “He's got a beautiful property here in Doonbeg. I wouldn't say it's a true links golf course; it's a bit of an Americanized version of a links course, but it's still a great golf course.

“I think the weekend, especially when he’s here, crowds will be limited. Obviously, there’s a lot that goes on. So, logistically, it provides some challenges, absolutely. But at the same time, if he wants to come and watch the Irish Open, who are we to say no?”

This dark satirical comedy from director Rafael Manuel tells the story of a 17-year-old "tee girl" on a prestigious course in the Philippines. It's both a gorgeously shot thriller and a scathing criticism of wealth. The movie premiered worldwide earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival—with a New York premiere at the New York Asian Film Festival—and is opening this week at the Film Forum in New York (and across the U.S. in the coming months). It’s certainly not the uproarious golf comedy we’re used to, but you can’t do better if you’re looking to be transported and find out more about the ebbs and flows of the sport internationally.

And the two-time DP World Tour winner told bunkered.co.uk that he’s “feeling better” than he thought he would post-injury. After falling down a lift shaft near Stellenbosch Golf Club when the car didn’t appear, Pavan has been doing PT three times a week and has even started hitting golf balls again. He’s targeting a return early on in the upcoming DP World Tour season. Plus, Pavan's already been assured that he’ll have around 20 medical exemption starts when he comes back.

It also doesn’t hurt when you’re earning your caddie a dang good paycheck seemingly every week. And still, it probably didn’t feel great for Ted Scott when Scottie Scheffler ridiculed his looper’s mustache at TPC Southwind. It doesn’t get harsher (and more to the point) than this: “I feel like he always does something like that this time of year, but yeah, he looks stupid.”

A win obviously helps. But a handful of strong finishes (maybe with a few top fives thrown in) should be more than enough to get you there. Somehow, Jordan Spieth is No. 54 heading into this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship without a single top-10 finish this season.

How exactly? Well, he’s Jordan Spieth, of course. His best finishes this season are a pair of T-11s at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Valspar. And those almost-top-10s, along with seven other top 25s, will have him teeing off at TPC Southwind. He truly is golf’s enigma.