Sport 4 Life has had two very successful golf camps this summer. More details and maybe a video to follow soon.
Be in prayer for the last group of the year which left for Sweden this weekend to staff a basketball camp in southern Sweden.
Sport 4 Life is the equivalent of FCA in America.
See my blog about Sport 4 Life a few months back.
Showing posts with label golf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label golf. Show all posts
Sunday, July 27, 2008
How I fared in our club championship?
For those who haven't played Midland Trail before, it's a rather long course about 7000 yards from the black tees and the course is tough because of the greens are slower than most. The greens have lots of humps and ridges and the fairways are narrow and angled. It hard to shoot a high score but hard to shoot a low score in my opinion. Last year with a relatively easy course set up, club pros and mini tour players from around the area played in the Pro Member tournament. The low pro shot 69 and there were only a handful at par or better.
I shoot 78 on day 1. Play terribly and make one putt over 4 feet. My lone birdie of the round. My putter typically carries me. If I don't have the putter going it can be a long day. Sometimes I'm asked which club I want working and I always say the putter. I can hit it badly and make up for it my rolling the flat stick well. I end up in the second to last group of six groups. I was 5 shots behind the eventual winner and the previous years champ, Tom Kelley.
The second round I shoot 75. I had a much better score because the putter was really working on the backside. I made everything. I had 3 birdies and avoided any doubles. I bogeyed the last hole y missing a 4 footer. It was the only putt I missed on the backside.
The second round 75 helped me make the cut but I was a long way back. The leader Chris Stout shot a fantastic 71 to go along with his first round 73. My 75 put me into the last group on Sunday. I was nine back on the leader, 3 back of second place and tied for 3rd. I was happy with my position after the bad opening round.
The third round was a bit of a joke. We were warned on the fourth hole for slow play even though there were no groups behind us waiting. The course was set up like a putt putt course. Windmills and clowns guarding the cups. The pins were put in the absolute worst position on each green. The tees were all one pace from the back of the boxes so the course played well over 7000 yards. Oh and the carts were on the path even though it was pretty darn dry. Our goal was to play in four hours. I literally felt like I couldn't check my yardage and I definitely couldn't back away from a shot. For what reason I have no idea. After our warning I went 6 over on the next four holes. I played on of turn- chipped without the flag stick in- putted out from 4 feet- and didn't bother to check yardage or wind on my iron shots. But we caught back up to the group in front of us.
I shot 85 but it wasn't all that bad since our club champ closed with a smooth 82 and the two time defending champ shot 80. The only bright spot in our group was the ultimate grinder Jay Kelly. Jay is a great player and he managed to shoot 78 through all the trials.
My takeaway is that I'll skip this event in the future and play a local event or a golf network tour event. If we can't take 4 and a half hours to decide the champion golfer of the year at our club, then pick it up it's good.
I finished 7th I believe. Mark Aarvig, Paul Janette and Dan Wharton all closed nicely on the final day.
I shoot 78 on day 1. Play terribly and make one putt over 4 feet. My lone birdie of the round. My putter typically carries me. If I don't have the putter going it can be a long day. Sometimes I'm asked which club I want working and I always say the putter. I can hit it badly and make up for it my rolling the flat stick well. I end up in the second to last group of six groups. I was 5 shots behind the eventual winner and the previous years champ, Tom Kelley.
The second round I shoot 75. I had a much better score because the putter was really working on the backside. I made everything. I had 3 birdies and avoided any doubles. I bogeyed the last hole y missing a 4 footer. It was the only putt I missed on the backside.
The second round 75 helped me make the cut but I was a long way back. The leader Chris Stout shot a fantastic 71 to go along with his first round 73. My 75 put me into the last group on Sunday. I was nine back on the leader, 3 back of second place and tied for 3rd. I was happy with my position after the bad opening round.
The third round was a bit of a joke. We were warned on the fourth hole for slow play even though there were no groups behind us waiting. The course was set up like a putt putt course. Windmills and clowns guarding the cups. The pins were put in the absolute worst position on each green. The tees were all one pace from the back of the boxes so the course played well over 7000 yards. Oh and the carts were on the path even though it was pretty darn dry. Our goal was to play in four hours. I literally felt like I couldn't check my yardage and I definitely couldn't back away from a shot. For what reason I have no idea. After our warning I went 6 over on the next four holes. I played on of turn- chipped without the flag stick in- putted out from 4 feet- and didn't bother to check yardage or wind on my iron shots. But we caught back up to the group in front of us.
I shot 85 but it wasn't all that bad since our club champ closed with a smooth 82 and the two time defending champ shot 80. The only bright spot in our group was the ultimate grinder Jay Kelly. Jay is a great player and he managed to shoot 78 through all the trials.
My takeaway is that I'll skip this event in the future and play a local event or a golf network tour event. If we can't take 4 and a half hours to decide the champion golfer of the year at our club, then pick it up it's good.
I finished 7th I believe. Mark Aarvig, Paul Janette and Dan Wharton all closed nicely on the final day.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Under par twice- finally
Over the weekend of June 14 and 15, I finally got it under par this year. I shot 71 at Midland Trail from the back tees on Saturday, and I turned around and did it again on Sunday. My best round of the year was a 73 in a our Member Guest tournament. I had not shot par or below since last fall. It always my goal when I got out and tee it up , but it had eluded me all year. I have been under par several times in the last 3 or 4 years. My next goal is to get into the 60's. This one is tough because it requires so much focus. I'll keep you posted. Golf is quite humbling, so it may be a while and my next score could easily be 78 or 79.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Kenny Perry wins Memorial opts out of US Open
Well, even though this post is way past due. I figured I would give it some attention. Much was made about Kenny Perry winning the Memorial and opting out of the US Open. He made a committment and schedule earlier this year- he stuck to it. Now we second guess him? To me it seems like his plan is working quite nicely. He has jumped into the top 5 or 6 on the Ryder Cup list, depending on whether you count Tiger. Instead of second guessing him, I think I'll encourage him to stick with his plan.
Last week he had another great showing at the Travelers. Go Kenny!
Keep the sights set on Valhalla.
Last week he had another great showing at the Travelers. Go Kenny!
Keep the sights set on Valhalla.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
The Masters
Where to start?
The Masters practice round last year was a dream come true. It happened as a dream probably should. I dreamed it, thought about it and knew that someday it could happen. I left it alone but never forgot it. Perry, my father in law, called and said our good friend Terry had some tickets to the Monday practice round; apparently someone in his family was ill and couldn't use the 3 tickets. At the time I didn't even know it was possible to see a practice round. I had been to the PGA practice rounds in Louisville at Vahallla but the Masters seemed untouchable to me.
We got the phone call and invitation about two weeks prior to the event last year. It went something like this. Bryce, you wouldn't be interested in going to a practice round at Augusta would you? To which I said, don't ask me stupid questions. Of course I'll go. For those who know me there aren't many spontaneous bones in my body. We made the arrangements and the rest is a magical memory. I drift there often.
It started with the drive into Augusta- I believe it was Washington Street. I'm terrible with details like streets or anything minor for that matter. We sat bumper to bumper while people bought and sold tickets. The weather for the day was around 70 but the forecast for the tournament was one of the coldest on record.
We found a spot, parked and entered the grounds at Augusta. I had seen similar crowds from my days growing up around the corner from Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby. We entered the gates and took a moment to see some of the souvenir booths. You couldn't take cell phones or PDA's inside the gates which touched my heart strings. Once inside we made our way to the restrooms and the large pro shop/gift shop. I was amazed at how reasonable the prices were. I bought gifts for 15-20 people and two nice shirts for my wife and I for around $300. I had a very large UPS box filled and they actually shipped them home from the gift shop for a small shipping fee. It beats toting them around the course all day.
After the gift shop I lost my two companions because with a crowd of people and no cell phones it's tough to stay together. This was fine by me. I was in my own little world of wonder. I noticed several things immediately once we made our way to the actual course. The front side is very hilly much like people say. The grass is like the tightest carpet. Everything that isn't blooming or pine straws is bright green. You can see golf balls from 4 holes away just laying there waiting to be struck. The first players we saw were Davis Love, Scott Verplank and Lucas Glover. I was amazed at the first 7 holes. I am terrible at recounting the layout of a new course I've recently played. I have friends who can tell you hole by hole the layouts of courses they played once 10 years ago. Not me! With Augusta it was different. I can walk through it all. It was very interesting to see the combinations of players during the practice rounds. Some odd combinations as well as some that made perfect sense. During the round I noticed that some players would play a multitude of shots from different areas around and into the green. Other players were very casual and would just play a round of golf.
I didn't worry with a camera to get unbelievable pictures, because the pictures would be the same to me as watching vicariously on TV. Nothing could recreate the impression on my mind. The photos would pale in comparison to the mental imagery I can still draw upon a year later.
I met some interesting people on the course. I met a business guy with a golf apparel company. I met a guy from my hometown. I also met Bob Russell, the retired pastor of my church Southeast Christian. In my seven years at Southeast I never had an opportunity to speak to Bob. I have met Dave Stone our current pastor on several occasions- most notably my baptism. As for Bob, I always wanted just a few minutes to chat or listen really. I ran into him on the back of 7 green, which is to me the most unbelievable spot on the course. Sure Amen corner was great, as well as the par 3's 16 and 6. The special thing about # 7 green, other than my short memorable conversation with Bob, is that you can see several holes from one vantage point. I saw Nick O'Hern playing with his caddy on #15. Tiger Woods and JJ Henry were coming up 17 fairway. Chris D'Marco and Zach Johnson (last years winner) were hitting approaches into # 7. I believe that Steve Stricker was with them of just ahead of them. There was a group teeing off on # 3 that included several foreign stars. There was an all Spanish crew coming down #2 that included Olazabal, Villegas, Garcia and Jimenez. David Howell was teeing off #1 and another group made their approaches from # 8. Last but not least Vijay and John Rollins hit tee shots off #18. What a glimpse!
The last two things that amazed me were the lack of corporate sponsors and fluff inside the gates. In was a family friendly place with a focus on the golfers and the tournament. Secondly, I got a couple famous pimento cheese sandwiches, a snickers and a lemonade for around $5. Beat that at any sporting event in the world!
If you ever get a chance to go, say yes. It will change the way you watch the Masters forever.
The Masters practice round last year was a dream come true. It happened as a dream probably should. I dreamed it, thought about it and knew that someday it could happen. I left it alone but never forgot it. Perry, my father in law, called and said our good friend Terry had some tickets to the Monday practice round; apparently someone in his family was ill and couldn't use the 3 tickets. At the time I didn't even know it was possible to see a practice round. I had been to the PGA practice rounds in Louisville at Vahallla but the Masters seemed untouchable to me.
We got the phone call and invitation about two weeks prior to the event last year. It went something like this. Bryce, you wouldn't be interested in going to a practice round at Augusta would you? To which I said, don't ask me stupid questions. Of course I'll go. For those who know me there aren't many spontaneous bones in my body. We made the arrangements and the rest is a magical memory. I drift there often.
It started with the drive into Augusta- I believe it was Washington Street. I'm terrible with details like streets or anything minor for that matter. We sat bumper to bumper while people bought and sold tickets. The weather for the day was around 70 but the forecast for the tournament was one of the coldest on record.
We found a spot, parked and entered the grounds at Augusta. I had seen similar crowds from my days growing up around the corner from Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby. We entered the gates and took a moment to see some of the souvenir booths. You couldn't take cell phones or PDA's inside the gates which touched my heart strings. Once inside we made our way to the restrooms and the large pro shop/gift shop. I was amazed at how reasonable the prices were. I bought gifts for 15-20 people and two nice shirts for my wife and I for around $300. I had a very large UPS box filled and they actually shipped them home from the gift shop for a small shipping fee. It beats toting them around the course all day.
After the gift shop I lost my two companions because with a crowd of people and no cell phones it's tough to stay together. This was fine by me. I was in my own little world of wonder. I noticed several things immediately once we made our way to the actual course. The front side is very hilly much like people say. The grass is like the tightest carpet. Everything that isn't blooming or pine straws is bright green. You can see golf balls from 4 holes away just laying there waiting to be struck. The first players we saw were Davis Love, Scott Verplank and Lucas Glover. I was amazed at the first 7 holes. I am terrible at recounting the layout of a new course I've recently played. I have friends who can tell you hole by hole the layouts of courses they played once 10 years ago. Not me! With Augusta it was different. I can walk through it all. It was very interesting to see the combinations of players during the practice rounds. Some odd combinations as well as some that made perfect sense. During the round I noticed that some players would play a multitude of shots from different areas around and into the green. Other players were very casual and would just play a round of golf.
I didn't worry with a camera to get unbelievable pictures, because the pictures would be the same to me as watching vicariously on TV. Nothing could recreate the impression on my mind. The photos would pale in comparison to the mental imagery I can still draw upon a year later.
I met some interesting people on the course. I met a business guy with a golf apparel company. I met a guy from my hometown. I also met Bob Russell, the retired pastor of my church Southeast Christian. In my seven years at Southeast I never had an opportunity to speak to Bob. I have met Dave Stone our current pastor on several occasions- most notably my baptism. As for Bob, I always wanted just a few minutes to chat or listen really. I ran into him on the back of 7 green, which is to me the most unbelievable spot on the course. Sure Amen corner was great, as well as the par 3's 16 and 6. The special thing about # 7 green, other than my short memorable conversation with Bob, is that you can see several holes from one vantage point. I saw Nick O'Hern playing with his caddy on #15. Tiger Woods and JJ Henry were coming up 17 fairway. Chris D'Marco and Zach Johnson (last years winner) were hitting approaches into # 7. I believe that Steve Stricker was with them of just ahead of them. There was a group teeing off on # 3 that included several foreign stars. There was an all Spanish crew coming down #2 that included Olazabal, Villegas, Garcia and Jimenez. David Howell was teeing off #1 and another group made their approaches from # 8. Last but not least Vijay and John Rollins hit tee shots off #18. What a glimpse!
The last two things that amazed me were the lack of corporate sponsors and fluff inside the gates. In was a family friendly place with a focus on the golfers and the tournament. Secondly, I got a couple famous pimento cheese sandwiches, a snickers and a lemonade for around $5. Beat that at any sporting event in the world!
If you ever get a chance to go, say yes. It will change the way you watch the Masters forever.
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