An interesting addition to the original LPGA core has a deeper meaning

HOUSTON – Traditions take years, sometimes decades, to take hold but are an important part of professional golf. They help tell the story of the game’s most important tournaments. Think green jacket at the Masters, or the US Open on Father’s Day Sunday.

When LPGA great Amy Alcott jumped into the pool in a moment of joy after winning the 1988 Nabisco Dinah Shore (now the Chevron Championship), she didn’t expect the jump to become a tradition that spanned 40 years and moved courses and regions.

But it has been so. In 2023, when the Chevron moved from Mission Hills in California to The Club at Carlton Woods in Houston, players told tournament organizers they wanted to keep the pool jump alive. So the organizers dug a pool and lined it with gator netting to keep the players quiet.

The tradition appears to be in jeopardy this year, as the tournament moves to Memorial Park, Houston’s waterless 18th hole. But the LPGA and tournament organizers have heard from many players about the importance of the pond jump’s legacy and are making short- and long-term plans to keep it alive. In the 2026 plan, planners built a temporary swimming pool to the right of the 18th green, measuring 15 by 10 feet and 4 1/2 feet deep. If the ball goes into the pool during tournament play, players will receive a free throw in the same manner as they would if they reached the grandstand.

The LPGA knows that a temporary pool is not a perfect solution and has already drawn a few balls on social media, but given the time constraints, it is the most feasible solution. After the 2026 tournament, course architect Tom Doak will redesign the finishing hole with a permanent pond.

“When tradition is important, you find a way to honor it – and bring fans closer to it,” the LPGA said in a statement to GOLF. “The winner’s jump has become one of the most exciting and unique traditions of the Chevron Championship, and what makes it especially meaningful is that it was created by the players themselves.

“It’s an acknowledgment of the tournament’s history, a bridge to the future and part of creating an engaging fan experience by giving the audience a place to connect and experience this culture up close. And, as always, it’s entirely up to the winning player whether they want to take this opportunity.”

Stacy Lewis jumped into Pond’s Pond after winning the 2011 Chevron at Mission Hills. Lewis said the sinker, not his performance on the Dinah Shore Tournament Course, is what many have stuck with him about his first major win.

“There’s been a lot of debate about the pool and the jump,” Lewis said Tuesday at Memorial Park. “I’ve told a lot of people that I don’t remember getting the trophy. There’s a lot I don’t remember about that festival. But I do remember jumping and how it felt and how cold that water was in California.”

As the LPGA and women’s golf seek to grow in popularity, the importance of culture building is critical. Women’s golf has not been good at that. The number of majors went from three to four to five. The LPGA Championship was the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Things get lost.

But Lewis and other past champions are adamant that pool diving must continue. You know that a temporary pool is not a suitable solution but in years past this forehead will not be remembered – only a jump will do.

“What did it take, almost 20 years to develop lake jumping?” Lewis said. “Cultures don’t just happen overnight. I just think it’s very important that we keep it and that – is it a little bit different this year? Yes. Does it look good? I mean, it’s controversial, right? But somebody’s still going to jump in there, and it’s still going to be – if we look back in 10 years, we’ll be looking at all these things together, so I think all these things are the same. We have to finish this year, but it has to continue.”

Lewis thought the temporary pool was “going to be huge,” but he was happy with the LPGA and Chevron’s decision to keep the tradition in play. Lewis, 41 and retiring later this week, believes the course will benefit from the 2027 addition.

“They did a great job of doing the best they could given the situation,” Lewis said. “It’s going to be a lot better when we come back next year, and frankly, the 18th green is going to be a lot better, and it’s going to be a lot more like a golf course, and now, the last four holes are all going to have water on them.”

Given the depth of the pool, there will be no cannonballs this year, and the number of team members entering and winning will be limited. It is also possible that the winner can waive entry into the temporary pool.

But the LPGA star won’t even have to think about it.

Nelly Korda jumped into the pool at Carlton Woods in 2024. If she has to be the last woman this week at Memorial Park, no question, she’ll be in.

“I think when it comes to what people think about it, you’re always going to be in a losing position,” Korda said Tuesday. “Once you kill a culture, it is killed forever. If you look at it, maybe some people don’t like that it is in a different golf course, a different place. I still give things to Chevron and the LPGA for wanting to keep that culture alive.

“I know there’s a bigger plan for me to jump better in Poppie’s pool. But in the end, when I lift the trophy it’s like I’m going to jump.”

And when the winner comes out and wears the tournament dress, work will begin to ensure that the tradition remains intact.