Southern California's No. 1 Golf Source
SITE
SEARCH
GOLF RESOURCE GUIDE:
Real Golf
|
||||
 Greg’s elite corps of instructors helped him enjoy his tournament experience. Photo by Eddie Meeks With the help of PGA professionals Dale Abraham, Dr. David Wright and Jamie Mulligan, I felt confident and had no reason to think what we had been working on would unravel under the pressure of tournament golf. Final Tune-Up The event opened with a practice round and shootout, and there was pomp and circumstance accompanied by bagpipers. There were 350 players competing over two amazing layouts. The Old Course, which will be the site of the 2012 U.S. Senior Open, was absolutely stunning: It’s a links layout with rolling fairways, greens accentuated with subtle mounding and fields of tall fescue grass. The New Course, which was equally beautiful, plays through tall trees and around and across natural lakes and marshes. Mulligan, who works with tour professionals John Merrick, John Mallinger and John Cook, shared a tip for getting visually prepared to play. “Our players walk the course,” he said. “They look for big picture topography and get a feel for the terrain and how it will influence the ball. They will also look at sight lines on certain shots so they can develop a game plan and build confidence.” So I did that during my practice round. I hit different clubs off the tee to see how aggressive I could be, then played approaches from each shot to see how the greens accepted those shots. I felt good, but my partner was losing an alarming amount of balls. The Shootout The real fun started during the afternoon with a shootout that featured the holes on the front nine of the Old Course transformed into par 3s. It was alternate shot, and my partner led off with a 6-iron that landed 40 yards right of the green. Four shots later we were in the hole and looking like short-timers, because the team with the highest score after two holes was eliminated. The second hole played 183 yards, and it was my turn to play. There’s nothing like hitting a shot with 50 strangers judging. My arms felt like noodles, but I focused on Wright’s breathing techniques and hit the ball five feet past the hole. Sweet relief. A two-putt par allowed us to continue, but we were eliminated on the next hole. Day 1 — The Scramble My partner was nervous, which made me nervous. He’s a 10 handicap, but I’d seen tournament conditions make good players look like beginners. We parred our first hole but were spinning our wheels until we reached No. 7, where I hit a 4-iron approach to within three feet of the cup. But neither of us touched the hole with our putts, and we settled for par. We shot a bland round of 70, six shots behind the leaders. I hoped we’d do better tomorrow. Day 2 — Four-Ball on the Old Course We walked past the 18th hole of the Old Course at 6:48 a.m. It could’ve been the best finishing hole I’d ever seen. The green looked awesome in the morning light, and the heather swayed in the gentle breeze. Half asleep, I told my partner that I’d birdie the hole. At 11:15, I rolled in a 25-foot putt for birdie, just as I had called, and the skin stood up. We managed a 68 that included a quadruple bogey on a short par 3. Teamwork at its finest. Day 3 — Four-Ball on the New Course I couldn’t remember the last time my partner hit a tee ball in play. His swing looked like Quasimodo trying to ring the bell. He launched his opening shot into a lake, and that was the closest he got to hitting a fairway all day. I compensated by hitting my tee ball into the fairway to the left. I salvaged a par, but that was the last highlight of the day. DAY 4 — Alternate Shot on the New Course My partner seemed capable of hitting two shots: a high slice and a 100-yard snap hook. I had my best ball-striking day of the tournament, and we somehow managed a final round of 70, allowing us to pass a few teams and stay out of last place. Wrap-Up As a team, we weren’t competitive, but I had accomplished what I’d set out to do. I hit a lot of nice shots and felt good after playing more than 18 holes for five consecutive days. There were a few times when I didn’t think straight or tightened up over a tough shot, and I’d like to fix that. The one thing I didn’t account for was my partner’s total collapse. It’s a good thing he’s a nice guy. We also came to the realization that we would have to improve by about five shots a round to be competitive. Either that or become better manipulators of our handicaps. I’d prefer to continue working on becoming a better player. SG |
||||
RSS Subscribe
