Preparing for Golf Travel

With my wife outside the Doral clubhouse

What do you wish for most on a golf trip?  The simple pleasures are important like good weather, comfortable accommodations and delicious food, but what I want most is to play my best.  When I travel it’s usually for a week to Myrtle Beach and the trip consists of 10-12 rounds in the heat and humidity of the southeastern United States.

We’ve been going to Myrtle for the last 15-20 years and I can honestly say that I haven’t swam in a pool once, or taken a dip in the ocean.  People are incredulous when they ask, “How was the beach?” and I tell them I never saw it.  For me it’s a pure immersion in golf.  Not sure how healthy or sane that is, but when it’s done, I’ve had my fill.  These trips include a lot of physical exertion when you factor in the rounds and warm-up balls, and I am usually exhausted by the end.

With Arnold Palmer and my son at Bay Hill

As luck would have it, I’ve visited Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines, Doral, and even met Arnold Palmer at Bay Hill, but never played any of these world class tracks.  Why?  The visits were always without clubs and on a family vacation.

This year we are going to Boyne Highlands in Michigan, which will be an entirely new experience.  All the courses are supposedly pure with beautiful fast Bentgrass putting surfaces.  I can’t wait to test myself, and we are on an all-inclusive package that includes accommodations, 18 holes per day, replays, and a full breakfast and dinner daily.  We’re expecting cooler weather because it is way up north, almost to the upper peninsula, and I’m hoping to be able to play later with the added daylight and longer because of the lower humidity.

Physical Prep:

There are a couple things that could hold me back.  My elbow tendonitis is about 85% healed.  I still feel it a little when I play and practice and am wondering how it will hold up under the prospective load.  I’ve been doing my rehab exercises from physical therapy every day since February, and oddly enough, I’m seeing some muscle development in my forearms, but the damaged tendon is still there.  Second is my age.  I work out and stretch for golf every morning, and I know it’s just a number, but at 58, should I be attempting to play this much?  It was a lot at 38.  We’ll see how serviceable my big bottle of Advil is.

Game Prep:

The first mistake most serious players make is to try and bring a perfect swing to the trip.  They get too mechanical in pre-week practice.  I’ve done it numerous times and it only makes things worse.  When you play upwards of 200 holes, your swing will come and go and there’s only so much you can control.  You are much better off thinking “target” than mechanics.  So, I’ll try and play a few 9-hole rounds after work next week in-lieu of hitting balls.

When I do practice it will be short game and it will be simulating game conditions, not raking ball after ball for chipping or putting.  A good game is to take nine balls and throw them around the green.  Put three in easy lies, three in medium, and three in difficult.  Try to get each up and down.  If you can get 5 for 9, you’re doing well.  This helps steel you for pressure in new and unfamiliar conditions.

Lastly, I’ll double down on my morning workouts.  The one year I went to Myrtle after exercising daily for three months prior, I felt pretty refreshed coming off the trip.  Hoping for the same.

There you have it.  Expect a few select course reviews upon my return.  Play well!

 

 

Long Live The King

I was very saddened at the passing of Arnold Palmer yesterday.  His humbleness, kindness, and unassuming personality towards regular folks made him truly a man of the people.  He was one of my heroes and will be missed.  I’d like to share a couple of Arnie stories.

At 19 years old, I was attending the Kemper Open at Congressional Country Club.  Even at age 51, Arnie was a fierce competitor and it was true that he could burn hot at times.  On this day, I was in his gallery surrounding the par-4 12th green.  Arnie hit his approach on in regulation and proceeded to three-putt for bogey.   After holing out, Arnie sent the blade into orbit with a two-hand jaw-dropping reverse tomahawk straight over his head.  I was half shocked and half amazed that I just saw one of the greatest players on earth wing metal in earnest.  I thought, how cool was that!  And Arnie had the wherewithal to aim this rocket towards the next tee box and away from any curious onlookers.  The image has remained with me to this day and in 1985 it turned into a lesson on club throwing.  I was playing the uphill par-5 17th at Kenwood Country Club in Bethesda, MD and badly missed my second shot with a 4-iron.  I sent my own missile helicoptering off into the left rough and spent the next 15 minutes searching for my golf club in knee-high fescue.  I have never thrown a club since.

In 2010, I was on a family vacation during spring break in Orlando.  On the last day of the trip, my son Elliot and I ventured out to Bay Hill to visit the course and collect souvenirs.  Our last stop was the 18th green, the scene of so many memorable Bay Hill Classic finishes.  A work crew was taking down the last of the bleachers from the recently completed tournament, and I noticed out of the corner of my eye way down in the fairway a very familiar golf swing.  Yes, the King was out playing golf and we were there watching with nobody else around!  Must have been my fight or flight mechanism kicking in but I don’t ever remember being as excited on a golf course, and I yelled for Elliot to “get the camera out!”

Arnie had always been a club tinkerer and was always looking for a way to improve his golf, even late in life.  What struck me first was how many clubs were in his bag.  There must have been about 40 in the two Arnold Palmer Callaway tour bags.   We watched Arnie and his foursome putt out and he came strolling over to his cart.  We walked up and introduced ourselves.  It was a hot day and Arnie was looking tired but he was so gracious and accommodating when we asked him to pose for a couple pictures.  Not wanting to keep him for long, we got our photos and chatted for a couple minutes.  I asked him how he played and he said he’d shot an 81 (not bad for an 80-year old) and had, “taken a couple bucks off his friends.”  I thought, not bad for a man with seven major championships and millions in the bank.

Truly a man of the people.  RIP King.

 

What is your Gold Medal golf moment?

In my 35 years of playing, spectating, and working in the golf business, here are my top three memories.  What are yours?

Gold Medal Moment:

In April 2010, my family and I were vacationing in Orlando, Florida and on the last day of our trip, my son Elliot and I decided to visit the Bay Hill club to view the course and purchase souvenirs.  Our final stop was the 18th green to see where all the storied finishes of the Bay Hill Classic had taken place and as we approached from the cart path I noticed a very familiar figure swinging down in the fairway – Arnold Palmer.  I said, “Elliot, get the camera!” and we hurried over to watch him finish.  After Arnie putted out we walked up to him and introduced ourselves and shook his hand.  He was tired from a hot day in the sun and a little perturbed about the bogey he just carded but was very gracious when I asked to take a few pictures with Elliot and myself.  We briefly chatted and I learned that he had shot 81 and still took his playing partners for a few bucks.  I told him I was a huge lifelong fan and congratulated him on hosting such an excellent event year after year.  Arnie thanked us and went back to wrap up with his group.  Man, was I juiced for the rest of the day!  As I reflected on my long association with the game, could not think of a finer moment.

With Arnold Palmer at Bay Hill Club. April 2010

Silver Medal Moment:

My greatest hot streak ever was during the summer in the early 1990’s (actual year escapes me.)  I shot even-par 70 in a warm up round on a Friday at my local muni and then followed with  rounds of 69-70 on the weekend to win the 36-hole stroke play club championship.  I’ve since carded a couple of random scores of 68 on the same course, but have never enjoyed back to back to back successes in the same regard.  It was a bit surreal, as if a strange calmness had taken over my body.  While I was nervous in the club championship rounds, it never affected my play and I have never been able to duplicate that momentum in two consecutive rounds, much less three.

Bronze Medal Moment:

The first time I broke 80.  Actually shot a six-over 76 at Kenwood Golf and Country Club while working a summer job at the course in the early 1980s.  You work and play for so long and wonder when it will happen, and then you clear the magic number by four shots.  Funny how that works.

Honorable Mention: 

My first and only hole-in-one was in March of 1983.  Jarred a 7-iron on #7 at Needwood in Rockville, MD.  Several years ago, I actually made another on a third shot at #11 on Whitetail Golf Club in Bath, PA.  After sucking my first shot with a 7-iron back off the green and down into a ravine for a lost ball, I holed the provisional with a 6-iron.  A thrill but with a silver lining.