Fantastic Opportunity to Challenge Myself

476 yard par-4 #10 at Northwest

Yesterday, I played Northwest Golf Course in Silver Spring, Maryland.  We usually get out here four or five times per year and on this beautiful Masters Sunday, we enjoyed crystal clear skies and comfortable 70 degree temperatures.  With perfect scoring conditions,  I shot a ho-hum 81 from the blue tees, which play one set up and measure 6,827 yards.  While I left the golf course a bit frustrated with my swing, I was tremendously excited because I learned that Northwest would be hosting 2017 U.S. Open qualifying on May 8th!

When this Ault & Clark design was built in 1964, it was actually constructed with the anticipation of hosting a U.S. Open.  But with Congressional Country Club located in the same market, the dream never materialized and Northwest became one of the strongest municipal tests, and a favorite for players who like to let the shaft out.

A couple years ago, I wrote a piece theorizing on how tour pros might fare at your local muni.  It’s no longer speculation.  I get to find out myself because I’m going to join them!  I know what you’re thinking, “Brian, you hack; you need a 1.4 USGA index to enter qualifying for the U.S. Open.”  Of course my handicap is not that low and I won’t be in the field, but I’ll be playing the day before on the same track and trying to test the heck out of myself; or the day after.  We’ll be teeing it up from the tips and at 7,376 yards, probably hitting driver 3WD into a lot of the par-4s and hoping to keep the ball on these undulating razor-fast greens.

My group never plays the back tees out here; it’s just too long.  In the decades I’ve been playing Northwest, I’ve only attempted the back tees a couple times.  Once, as a much younger player maybe 25 years ago, I played one of the best rounds of my life in the rain and shot a 5-over 77 from the tips.  Now, I’m happy with 77 from the regular tees.  What are my chances of breaking 90?  This is going to be humbling.

Have you ever had the opportunity to play a tour caliber competition course very close to the real event?  If so, how did it go?

Play well.

U.S. Open Report Card

from Golfdigest.com

The 2015 U.S. Open was all over the map as far as major tournaments go, so let’s make some sense of everything and grade out the main components.

Sunday Theater (Grade:  A minus).  I watched hours of action each day, but always look forward to the Sunday finishes of major tournaments, and this did not disappoint.  Unlike the snoozer at the last two Masters, the back nine on Sunday was awesome.  From Spieth and Johnson’s struggles with pressure, to the mini charges by McIlroy and Oosthuizen, and the courageous effort of Jason Day to stand upright and compete, the story lines were riveting.  Gets an A plus except for the balloon-popping 3-putt finish by Johnson.  Even Spieth seemed deflated, albeit momentarily.  What a horrible way to lose.

Holly Sonders
photo – awfulannouncing.com

Fox Broadcast Team (Grade: C).  Way too many four man talking head panels.  Reminiscent of their NFL pregame show and halftime updates.  Where was Terry and Jimmy?  Would have also preferred fewer human interest stories and more live golf.  Were they practicing for the Olympics?  Joe Buck was okay as the top guy and Greg Norman had some good insights, although the attempt to describe the details of Day’s medical condition didn’t go well.  The post game debrief sessions with Holly Sonders were short, to the point, and well done.

Chambers Bay Golf Course (Grade:  D plus).  Failed the standard of providing a full mental and physical test for the hardest tournament in the world.  Too quirky and too many bad bounces for good shots, but at the end of the day, even-par turned out to be a good score.  The greens, the greens, the greens. . .ad nauseam.  Thank goodness we’re going back to Oakmont next year.

U.S.G.A. (Grade:  C minus).  These guys took a risk with Chambers Bay and flopped.  That’s two years in a row of questionable layouts for our nation’s championship.  This was by far more controversial than the Pinehurst #2 redesign, but to their credit, they saved the Sunday round with accessible pin placements and didn’t make a mockery of the event.  Yes, it was an easier layout.  Look no further than Adam Scott’s final round 64 and Oosthuizen’s 29 on the inward half as proof.  The stuffed shirts WERE feeling the heat from the media and players, no matter what you hear/believe from Mike Davis, USGA Executive Director.

Player’s professionalism (Grade:  B minus).  A lot of whining about the greens, mostly from players who couldn’t putt them, like Sergio and Billy Horschel.  Joe Buck tried to set up Jordan Spieth,  at the trophy ceremony, to take a shot at the course but J.S. wouldn’t bite.  Great job praising the Seattle area fans and leaving the course out of it.  Spieth is truly an awesome champion and exemplifies everything that is right about the game today.

Billy Horschel
from Golfdigest.com

What’s your grade for the U.S. Open?

2015 U.S. Open Picks

Jordan Spieth from ABC news

In 2015, the U.S. Open golf course will be the big news.  The peculiarities and unknowns of Chambers Bay makes handicapping this field a little tricky, but with some reverse logic we can arrive with a solid pick to win.

We know the course is links style with a single tree standing out on the entire property.  It’s long, with four par-4 holes measuring over 500 yards, and the greens are huge.  There’s no shortage of consternation in anticipation of the USGA setting up a carnival ride, at least that’s what you hear from pros like Ian Poulter on social media.  I think it’s in the USGA’s best interest to set up as fair a test as possible because they took a good amount of criticism for the non-traditional setup at Pinehurst last year.  Folks want long, narrow, and slick for the U.S. Open and they’re not going to get it for the second year in a row, so expect the setup to be tough but reasonable.

Let’s look at the contenders.  World #1, Rory McIlroy is the betting favorite at 7:1 but is coming in with zero mojo and off two missed cuts in Europe.  When Rory is on his game, he is the best player in the world, no doubt.  But why is he slumping now?  Over the years, he’s had two recurring problems when he under-achieves:  1) Poor practice habits.  2) Distractions from a love interest.  #2 appears to be in play and I don’t like Rory this week because of it.  Jordan Spieth is next at 8:1 and I love his competitive “anywhere on any course” attitude.  He oozes winning and I would bet the house that he finishes ahead of McIlroy this week.  The rest of the field is way back.  Mickelson, Fowler, Rose, and Dustin Johnson are all at 18:1.  Chambers Bay is unique and will require an inordinate amount of imagination and patience to play well and Phil has the most of those attributes.  Over the years, he’s learned to be patient despite his gambler mentality, but when you picture him and his imagination, you envision high flopping lob shots to impossible pins, not the low running ground game that Chambers Bay will require.  For this reason, I’m feeling good about the defending champion, Martin Kaymer.  Chambers Bay is cutting the fringes to almost the same heights as the putting surfaces.  You may see guys putting from 50 yards off the green and Kaymer loves the putter from the fringe and essentially won at Pinehurst with that play.  He’s an excellent dark horse pick at 40:1.  Lastly, watch our rabble-rouser, Poulter.  He’s playing well on the American tour and the venue suits his hit it anywhere-work the chipping and putting.  If he comes in with a good attitude about the golf course, he could do some damage.

While I’d love to see Phil close the deal on the career slam, he’s got two main obstacles: his age and Jordan Spieth is in the field.  So your 2015 U.S. Open picks:

Winner:  Jordan Spieth

Runner up:  Phil Mickelson – again

Third:  Martin Kaymer

Countdown To GolfaPalooza!

I absolutely love this time of year.  Today is G-minus 30 days from the annual pilgrimage to Myrtle Beach and it’s time to start counting.  Maybe it’s the aha moment I discovered today with my golf swing, or maybe it’s the five sustained days of 80 degree temperatures we’ve got lined up, or maybe it’s the prospects of total immersion in the game I love (playing 216 holes the same week as the U.S. Open is contested at Pinehurst.)  Either way, the anticipation and lead-up to this trip is almost as good as the real thing.

Leopard’s Chase

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2014 MB lineup (36/day weather permitting).

June 9: Lion’ Paw

June 10: Panther’s Run

June 11: Tiger’s Eye

June 12:  Leopard’s Chase

June 13: True Blue

June 14: Surf Club

The best thing about playing Ocean Ridge Plantation (Four Big Cats) is an abundance of replay targets.  Often, you have the opportunity to play a different course in the morning and afternoon, and I’ll bet we come home with at least three rounds on Tiger’s Eye, which is one of my top five plays on the Grand Strand.

The best thing about playing True Blue is that it’s one of the finest public golf courses in the United States.  Everything about this Mike Strantz design is great.  We added it to the line-up and removed Tidewater after learning that the latter had lost their greens due to a fertilizing double bogey by the greenskeeper.  I’ll have three new course reviews coming for Lion’s Paw, Panther’s Run, and Surf Club.  Anyone with an early season report on course conditions for these six, please pass them along.

As readers of this space know, I’ve been in an early season ball striking slump.  It’s hard for the serious player not to let a slump affect the rest of his life, but we try (and usually fail), you know what I mean.  So today was huge.  I recalled Vet4golfing51‘s advice to review the fundamentals during my ball striking slump last year.  Darned if it wasn’t my grip again, and I validated with some swings on my patio driving range mat and then again with some PW shots off turf.  The fix feels great and it’s funny how the rest of your mood improves when you have better prospects with your golf game 🙂

I hope your season is off to a great start.  Mine is certainly looking up!

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Book Review: The Big Miss by Hank Haney

Just finished The Big Miss by Hank Haney (Crown Archetype Publishing – 2012) and readers who are looking for an inside look at the world of Tiger Woods need to get this book.  Haney has been criticized for writing a kiss and tell book but I found the insights into the inner workings of Tiger Woods profoundly interesting.  After the well reported sex scandal broke in 2009, Tiger has been so reclusive and withdrawn it’s almost maddening to watch an interview with him and try to learn anything of substance.  His guard is always up and the book digs into some very good detail behind the scenes.  Strangely enough, even Haney admitted that while Tiger often referred to him as his close friend, he often felt shut out as Tiger rarely opened up to him.  But for the casual golf fan, the insights go way beyond what we are fed by the mainstream media.

I had always thought the title of the book referred to the concept of what went wrong (Big Miss) with Tiger’s career after the scandal broke, but the term “Big Miss” is used by both Haney and Tiger to describe a golfer’s worst shot.  That Haney used the term for the book is interesting because it may be prophetic in the higher sense when Tiger’s career is eventually summed up.  Haney doesn’t actually focus much on the scandal and thankfully keeps golf as the subject.

Some of the content I found most interesting:  The work Haney and Tiger did to avoid the ‘Big Miss’ off the tee and how Tiger actually feared using his driver in clutch situations.  It was great to get inside the brain of one of the world’s best golf coaches.  I also found Tiger’s fascination with Navy Seal training interesting and how detrimental it may have been to his career and health at the time.  The section on how his team prepped him for play while on a broken leg at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in 2008 was fascinating.  A lot went on behind the scenes to make that victory possible that the general public is completely unaware of.  I also found it interesting that Tiger, and many other tour players work on their swing mechanics right up to tournament time, and then between tournament rounds as well.  This is diametrically opposed to the theories of Dr. Bob Rotella, where he espouses removal of as many mechanical thoughts the closer one gets to competition.  I’ve never found it beneficial to work on my swing, or think mechanics that close to playing on the course, but heck, I’m not a touring pro.  Still, you would think that as human beings, we’d be more effective without mechanical approaches at game time.

The only part I didn’t enjoy was the book’s ending where Haney compares his record to that of Butch Harmon as Tiger’s swing coach.  It seems he’s trying to justify the approach he took and the decision to quit when he did.  His analysis of Tiger’s “Big Miss” with his driving is way off too.  At the time the book was written, Tiger had just started working with Sean Foley in 2011 and Haney points to Tiger’s ranking of 186th in Total Driving in 2011 as proof that Foley’s swing changes will not work.  Now I’m no Sean Foley fan because I think his approach is too mechanical, but Tiger’s Total Driving stats were 5th in 2012 and 17th in 2013 which speaks for themselves.

Most of all, we learn in the Big Miss that Tiger has made many significant sacrifices in his life to achieve his level of greatness.  What will be interesting to see when his career is over is if those sacrifices are judged to be worth the ultimate record of accomplishment.  Get the book; it’s a good one.

2012 U.S. Open Picks

Olympic Club

The golfing gods and the USGA have left us with a truly tantalizing mix of events and pairings in advance of the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Club in San Francisco.  As in all U.S. Opens, the premium will be on driving accuracy and putting (specifically in the 5-10 foot range) so let’s get to the analysis:

On everyone’s mind is Tiger Woods.  Can the two-time winner in 2012 sustain his newly regained momentum on what arguably could be considered a home field advantage?  You’ll recall Tiger played his collegiate golf at Stanford and is a California native so this a home game.  Olympic will favor the straightest of hitters and Tiger has found the go-to stinger shot that will get him in the fairway.  He leads the tour in total driving and is incredibly 24^th in driving accuracy.  Ball striking consistency is becoming less of an issue, but on course adjustments seem to allude him because he’s still plagued by mechanical corrections and thinking issues when his swing is off.  Tiger’s putting is coming around as well, and he’s ranked 8^th from 5-10 feet.  He’s not all the way back but is a serious contender.

Phil “Check your cell phone” Mickelson is also a California native and is partial to west coast courses.  Is the mental fatigue over?  If the cell phones were a true distraction at Memorial they won’t be at Olympic because the USGA doesn’t allow them in.  I didn’t like the way that whole Memorial thing played out.

Does Bubba Watson have his mojo back?  We’ll give him a pass at Memorial to bang the rust off his layoff.  His record in the U.S. Open is spotty with his best finish being a tie for fifth in 2007 at Oakmont.  The key for Bubba is keeping it in the fairway and exhibiting enough coolness under fire.  Last year at Congressional, he lost his composure after some bad breaks.  Bubba, Tiger, and Phil are paired together in the first two rounds.  Clearly the USGA loves the Tiger-Phil matchup with the butt kicking Phil administered to Tiger at Pebble Beach creating a wonderful story line, but the throng that’s going to follow this threesome will be huge and the distractions aplenty.  This pairing will make for great theater but doesn’t help any of the three.

Luke Donald has the KPIs (18^th in putting from 5-10 feet and 8^th in driving accuracy) but he still hasn’t won a big one.  You need to meld killer instinct with the patience of Job to with this tournament and I’m not sure we can call Donald a killer.

Rory McIlroy is in good form in Memphis the week before and seems to have taken his issues with preparation more seriously.  If he can drive it straight enough, he’ll contend on talent alone.  Definitely has the guts and killer instinct.

Lee Westwood has half the package (driving ability) but just doesn’t putt well enough to win an Open.  Whether it’s nerve or touch, something has always been the issue with Lee’s flatstick and that’s a non-starter.  Lee, Rory, and Luke are also paired in the first two rounds and they’ve got to love this arrangement, as all the distractions and hoopla will be with the Big-3 American pairing.  Look for Luke and Rory to be in contention after Friday’s round.

Matt Kuchar mysteriously did not play Memorial this year.  I don’t like that trend because in the last two years he played Memorial two weeks before the U.S. Open and played well in both tournaments.  If you believe in trends, this is not a good one.

Dark horse contender:  Jim Furyk.  The cagey veteran is playing super consistent over his last eight events with a tie for 26^th at Wells Fargo being his worst finish.  He’s presently 3^rd in driving accuracy and 3^rd in scoring average.  With a past U.S. Open championship on his resume, Furyk knows how to get it done and will contend.

My final 2012 U.S. Open picks.  Who do you like?

1^st Place:  Rory McIlroy.

2^nd Place:  Tiger Woods.

3^rd Place:  Jim Furyk

Oh no, Bubba Watson is burned out!

Bad news from the Tour as Bubba has made it official and pulled out of next week’s PLAYERS Championship 😦  Sighting reasons that sound like burnout (need family time, need to take a month off from the game), it’s upsetting to hard core fans when the most popular players pull out of the best events.  Dustin Johnson pulled out as well sighting ongoing problems with his back.  But the trend of high profile post-major burnout continues, which makes you wonder, is anyone managing these guys?  Rory McIlroy won the U.S. Open last year and basked so long in his popularity that didn’t play until a month later at the British Open and was hopelessly out of form.

I suspect the pressure to respond to the media after a major win, and the self imposed social networking obligations are taking a heavy toll on these players, with mental downtime at a premium.  Call me nuts, but if I won the Masters, spending the next few weeks tweeting my every thought and responding to all the media inquiries would run me ragged.  Remember how many talk shows Bubba did?  Just incredible.

In the everyday course of life, don’t you get burned out from too much connectivity?  I do, and when I hit the golf course, I make sure to unplug, go dark, and enjoy some serious disconnect.  Now you or I will never have the”problem” of winning The Masters, but what would you have done different if you were Bubba?

My All Time Top Five

Let’s try a fun exercise.  Think of the top five lists for all the golf courses you’ve ever played.  Here’s mine, what are yours?

Top Five Courses:

1. Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton, Bermuda.  The most scenic, greatest ocean-side course I’ve ever played.
2. Congressional Country Club, Blue Course, Bethesda, Maryland.  Site of the 1964, 1997, and 2011 U.S. Open.  Also hosted the 1976 PGA Championship.  Just a great old-fashioned superb test of golf.
3. Carnousti Golf Links, Championship Course, Carnousti, Scotland.  Home to seven British Open Championships and 7,421 of the most brutal yards of links style golf.
4. Columbia Country Club, Chevy Chase, Maryland.  Quiet oasis inside a major metropolitan area.  Very challenging and has some great holes with significant changes in elevation.  Hosted the 1921 U.S. Open.
5. Burning Tree Country Club, Bethesda, Maryland.  Along with Augusta National, probably one of the one or two most exclusive old-style private clubs in the country.  Take a caddy and tee it up where all the big shot presidents were members.  Doesn’t even have a website!

#16 at Port Royal, Bermuda

Five Most Fun Holes

1. Par-3, #16 at Port Royal in Bermuda.  235 yards of the most breathtaking golf shot you will ever see.
2. Par-4, #18 at True Blue in Myrtle Beach, SC.  437 yards of dog leg left with a forced carry over water and water framing the entire hole down the left side.  Great finishing hole.
3. Par-5, #7 at Eagles Landing in Ocean City, MD.  Three shot par-5 measuring 528 yards that doglegs 90 degrees and finishes with a shot to the green set out in the marsh adjacent to the Sinepuxent Bay.
4. Par-5, #9 at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.  Measures 602 yards from the tips and the third shot has to carry a large ravine to an elevated green.  Super hole requiring three great shots to get home.
5. Par-4, #9 at The Legends, ParklandCourse in Myrtle Beach, SC.  At 311 yards this is a brutally tough risk-reward play with the green high on an unprotected hill.  When the wind blows you can put up some big numbers on this little daredevil.

   

   #18 True Blue, Myrtle Beach, SC

Top 5 Courses in Myrtle Beach

1. True Blue
2. Heritage
3. Leopards Chase
4. Tigers Eye
5. TPC Myrtle Beach

Top 5 Public Courses in the Mid-Atlantic

1. Eagles Landing, Ocean City, Maryland
2. Whiskey Creek, Ijamsville, Maryland
3. Rasberry Falls, Leesburg, Virginia
4. Blue Mash, Laytonsville, Maryland
5. Swan Point, Swan Point, Maryland

Top 5 Practice Facilities

1. Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, North Carolina
2. The Legends, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
3. Congressional Country Club, Bethesda, Maryland
4. Blue Mash, Laytonsville, Maryland
5. Little Bennett, Clarksburg, Maryland

Tiger Returns

Well put a nine-iron through the window, look who’s coming back to play golf.  If you ascribe to the Horses for Courses theory, this is the right move for the seven-time Firestone winner.  Despite his historical dominance, Tiger finished 78th out of 80 in last year’s Bridgestone and hit the ball just terribly.  Can we expect an improved performance next week?  Let’s compare his situation from a year ago.  Last year he had played every 2-3 weeks leading up to Bridgestone with appearances at Memorial, U.S. Open, AT&T, and British Open.  Now, Tiger is newly divorced (albeit 12 months further removed from the scandal), has fired his long-time caddy, has rehabbed a recent injury to leg and Achilles, has a new mechanical-minded genius (Sean Foley) counseling him on his game, and hasn’t played in 11 weeks since withdrawing at The Players Championship.   The fact is Tiger is now a middle of the road pro with a ton of mental and physical baggage.  The champion we once new is gone forever.

Celtic Tiger?

Whoa, not so fast, Karen McKevitt.  She’s a politician in Northern Ireland, and coined the phrase to describe Rory McIlroy fresh off his U.S. Open triumph.  While McIlroy’s performance was stellar and dominating, a run of majors similar to to Tiger’s isn’t in the cards.  The competition is too tough and young guns like Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, and Luke Donald are too hungry.  Resurgent old timers like Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia are showing good form and are also primed for runs now that Tiger is off the scene.  So congrats on a great tournament but don’t get a big head and get ready to feel the heat at Royal St. Georges!

Great Saturday at the U.S. Open

I’ve been to a lot of professional golf tournaments but this was my first major and what an eye opener.  The place was packed because of the delayed start (2nd round finish in the morning) and 3rd round play didn’t put any golfers on the back nine until after noon and all the fans went with them early.

Some differences with regular tour events:  It was difficult to see where players stood, since every scoreboard was manually operated.  Regular PGA Tour events are replete with automated scoreboards showing real time updates.  Also, the size of the massive tent city erected to support the event was impressive and made the regular tour events pale in comparison.  One pleasant surprise was the food and drink concessions.  Prices seemed reasonable and the staff from the Prom company manning the refreshment stations were fast, courteous, helpful, and above all, competent.  Lines moved very quickly.

Despite the packed conditions in the morning, we managed to find some excellent viewing spots with our favorite being on the hill to the right of #7 tee, where you can simultaneously take in the play on #6 green and the 7th hole.  Also caught Bubba Watson throwing a club in frustration after backing a wedge approach off #9 green.  Despite his disappointment, the crowd was showing the love to Bubba, as he was decked out in camouflage slacks to show support for the troops.

The golf course appeared to be playing softer than normal due to the overnight rains and several in the field took advantage with scores in the 60s.  We spent a good hour on the hill behind #10 green watching a usually tough par-3 hole play very benign with most players attacking the flag for close birdie attempts and routine pars.  Fan favorite Phil Mickelson was not as fortunate and chopped his way to a 77, going seven-over on the back nine alone.  Maybe next year Phil.

Finally, as of Saturday night this one looks like it’s in the bag for Rory McIlroy as he enjoys an 8-shot lead going into Sunday.  I think the time is now for him to exercise those demons and put the final round 80 at Augusta out of his mind.  We’ll see tomorrow!

Tiger Woods pulls out of the U.S. Open

So hobbling around in a walking boot apparently isn’t good preparation for a major.  This guy needs to be thinking about participation and making cuts before contemplating more major victories.  Tiger – Phase 1 is over and done.  Images of Tiger tooling around in a mini-cart like Casey Martin now come to mind and may come to fruition once the network suits figure out how much money they’re losing without Woods to anchor their telecasts.