Chapter Five - And then disaster hits

Chapter 5 – And then disaster hits.

Saturday morning we have an 8:40 tee time. At the Futures event they re-shuffle the players each day, unlike the LPGA events where you stay paired with the same players for both of the first two days. Likewise during LPGA events your first day starts on either the 1st or the 10th tee and the next day you switch to the opposite tee while your tee time usually alternates between either an early or late tee time for the first two days. Because of the reshuffle each day at the Futures events, we start mid-morning both days on the first tee.

A good warm-up is rewarded with birdie on the first hole again and this round already has a much better feeling that Friday’s. Ball striking is good and there is a good feel to the day. Today we are going to go low.

The second hole is a par three. It is interesting how precise the conversation gets about yardages on the par threes. Not only how far to the front and to the pin from the tee location, but then there is discussion about where you want the shot to land, how much it will roll out and is there slope to be considered. It seems like we discuss the same topics on the approach to each hole, but at the par threes it seems to be more intense. During the practice round the laser measuring device was used to get the yardages by standing on the front of the green and measuring back to a permanent item (such as the rock tee sign) and we have marked the yardage books accordingly.

Today we have 158 to the front with a 182 to the pin. The pin is tucked only 4 from the right edge and the way the green is shaped this shot needs to carry a full 170 yards. The 25 degree hybrid is chosen and is hit a bit left of target (that 25 degree is the replacement for the broken club and tends to fly with a bit more draw than it should – the lie might be off slightly). Tee shot ends up in the center of the green and two putts for a good par.

The third hole is a long distance from the second green so carts are used to transport the players, caddies and scorers. This course has 4 or 5 places where everyone uses a cart to get from green to tee. The third hole is a mid-length par four that seems to play very long. It has a slight dogleg left around a big tree so the tee shot needs to be to the right side of the fairway so as to ensure a good look at the green for the second shot. The shape of the green also requires attention to the pin location and the associated carry on the line to the pin.

Our tee shot goes right and we end up at the base of a tree. No real option other than to play a safe shot out to the fairway towards the green. We end up 69 from the front and 74 to the pin. The 54 degree wedge carries a little long and the putt just misses so we fall back to even for the day.


The fourth hole is a long par 5 with bunkers down the left. The tee shot is hit a bit left and catches the second bunker on the left. Unfortunately the ball ends up close to the front lip and the best solution is a nine iron back into play. Angela walks into the bunker and sets up to play the shot while I have picked up the rake when disaster hits.

My biggest fear in working with Angela as her caddie is that I never want to make a mistake that would cost her a penalty. Keep in mind that the player’s caddie is considered the same as the player. If the caddie causes the ball to more it is a penalty (as noted in earlier chapter). If the ball was to hit the caddie it is just as if the ball had hit the player, etc. Well in a moment of total lack of concentration as I am standing at the side of the bunker I notice a foot print in the sand left by someone and casually rake it smooth.

Now while this is a nice thing to do during our casual weekend rounds, today it is disaster. Angela has not hit her shot yet and as soon as I pull the rake through the sand, she hears it and stops. Yes I realized what I had done immediately. While I was no where near the location she is playing from it is still a penalty according the rules. It is considered testing the sand and is not allowed. I can’t believe how stupid and bad I feel at this moment.

Angela advises her playing partners of the infraction and then proceeds to take the shot. Now rest assured there is nothing anyone can say that will make me feel any worse and I surely understand that Angela has every right to be upset, but then I find out why I respect and like this young lady so much. As she steps out of the bunker she turns to me and tells me to forget it. It is over and done. An honest mistake and nothing either of us can do about it. Her ability to proceed with the hole is remarkable.

After getting the ball out of the bunker and back into play we still have almost 200 yards up hill and into the wind to get to the green. Angela hit a good three wood that just drifted into the greenside bunker from where a sand wedge and two putts completes the hole. Angela was unsure whether the penalty was one or two shots so we either have a seven or an eight for the hole. Standing by the greenside bunker there is a little good natured ribbing about not even picking up the rake until she has hit her shot, but I don’t think this is a mistake I will ever make again.

The round continues and a couple of birdies helps us get back to a respectable round ending up with a score of two over for the day. We actually decided that one of the two strokes I caused was given back to us by the golf gods. We were on the 18th hole when the tee shot drifted right into what looked from the tee box to be a hazard. As we approached the area a marshal told us that the tee shot had come down and hit a red stake directly on top and bounced about 20 yards forward back into play. The large red paint mark on the ball proved what we were being told. It is a very strange game.

After the round we have some lunch and I then drop Angela at her host family’s home. I am still feeling really low and concerned that I have probably caused her to miss the cut, so I went by the course to see what the morning scores were like and then headed to the hotel to relax before dinner. (We were invited to dinner with Angela’s host family to a restaurant that specializes in ribs.) I spent the afternoon doing some work on the computer and keeping an eye on the real time scoring that the Futures Tour provides on the internet. The afternoon scores started coming in and with the wind picking up and the greens getting harder to hold, the cut line kept moving up. By dinner time I can relax since the cut line is set at 6 over and we are in at plus 5. Dinner will surely taste better than if we had missed the cut.



Sunday morning we tee off on the 10th hole towards the end of the tee times. The first nine was a steady nine but then we had a good run starting with a birdie on the 4th hole (same hole that I messed up the day before). A four shot difference between the two days on that one hole. Ended up even par and in 44th place. Each day the scores improved and while not where we had hoped to be not a bad week.

Interestingly after the final results were posted I looked to see how much the 2 strokes hurt over all. The difference between being 5 over for the week which was tied for 44th and 3 over for the week which would have been tied for 36th turned out to be a total of $71. Just points out how hard it is for the players to make a living on tour. (see my earlier blog – They call this a living?)

We headed to the airport later that afternoon and I flew to Chicago to see the grandkids. As we drove into town we talked about a variety of things and as well as about seeing each other later in the year in Maui for the Kapalua LPGA Classic and the Aloha team Classic – 2009. (Unfortunately it was just announced last week that the Kapalua LPGA Classic has just been canceled, but the Aloha Team Classic – 2009 will be held.) Sitting at the airport waiting for my flight I am reflecting on the 10 days and how fortunate I am to be friends with this wonderful young lady. I have sincerely enjoyed the experience of sharing the good shots and the bad, but she always reminds me of what is really important. She is truly inspiring. I look forward to playing with Angela in the years to come and who knows maybe we will even do a few more tournaments together. Thanks Angela!

I hope you have enjoyed sharing this experience and would only ask one favor. When you have the chance support the players on the LPGA and Futures tours. Support them by going to their events and cheering them on. Support them by volunteering to be a host family if you have an event in your town and if you know some young players encourage them to keep working at it. Who knows you may be encouraging the next generation of tour professionals.

If you would like to experience playing with some of these fine players give us a call at Beyond the Rainbow Foundation (800-541-7357) and plan to come to Maui in October. The Aloha Team Classic – 2009 will be a great golf vacation/tournament and you will have a chance to meet some of the LPGA players as well as playing either 1,2 or 3 rounds with them. World class golf in paradise and you can even feel good about doing it since you will be helping the Foundation “Helping Maui’s youth realize the promise of their future!”.

Aloha and Mahalo for following along and sharing your thoughts and comments.

Stuart

Chapter Four - Duramed Championship

Chapter 4 – The Duramed Championship – Mason, Ohio



Tuesday morning I arrived in Cincinnati around noon, picked up the rental car and sat down to work on this blog while waiting for Angela’s flight to arrive from Washington DC.


First I need to take a moment to extend congrats to some players; Meredith Duncan for making her first Open as a professional and Anna Grzebien for also making it thru the sectionals at Rockville. (Both of them played in the Aloha Team Classic – 2009“Play with the Pro” day.) Likewise congrats to Carin Koch (see chapter one for comment about one of our volunteers caddying for Carin), Stacy Lewis who my wife and I played with at the Kapalua LPGA Classic Pro/Am the week before the Aloha Team Classic and Morgan Pressel winner of the inaugural Kapalua LPGA Classic last year. We wish you all much success at the Open. Considering the competition and effort required it is no small accomplishment to make it into the Women’s Open. Play well.


Likewise, since I am completing this chapter just after watching last night’s last episode of Big Break Prince Edwards Island congrats to Blair O’Neal for a great job. We all know you must be disappointed not winning the final match but you played great though out the show and it would have been tough for anyone to beat Derek in that final match. It was neat being able to watch you play the last couple of shows having just spent the day at Rockville with you. One question I had wanted to ask you when we were at Rockville was whether it was more stressful playing in the Open qualifier or on the Big Break?


Back to the story. It sure feels good to be able to wear a regular pair of shoes after spending the last three days in sneakers for 8 to 12 hours each day. On the course caddies are required to wear flat (no heal) shoes, preferably sneakers, so as not to mark up the greens. Angela arrives on time and we gather her bag and clubs. Before we leave the terminal we check her clubs.


I may have forgotten to share with you that one week before the Open Qualifier in Rockville, Angela was returning from a Pro/Am and Delta decided to run over her golf bag with a luggage cart. They busted her driver, two rescue clubs and her Rife putter. Not a good thing to happen before the Open Qualifier. Unfortunately she was not able to find a replacement driver with the right shaft so she went back to using an older driver and the two replacement rescue clubs had a slightly different lie to them. Rife was able to send her a replacement putter and it had a new a new grip that was a little larger.


I found it interesting that rather than lament about the clubs being different Angela just made the appropriate adjustments. If the 25% rescue had a bit more of a draw, then just aim a bit right. The only difficult area is being comfortable with the yardages. As amateurs we think we know the yardage we hit clubs, but for most of us we have a significant variance in how we hit our clubs. Watching the tour professionals it is amazing how consistently they hit clubs. Five yards can make a big difference. Just another “note to self”, hitting the ball consistently and knowing how far the ball will go each time you hit the club is more important than how far you hit the ball. Seeing Angela hit these clubs just reinforces the old saying that “it is not the bow or the arrows, it is the Indian”.


From the airport we head over to the golf course to let Angela check in and get the lay of the land. No golf today. After spending some time at the course and getting some lunch we head over to her host family’s house. This week she will be staying with Joe, Michele and their two daughters. (see the earlier section in this blog about “They call this a living”) After she gets settled we headed off to see a movie and get an early dinner . Tomorrow’s (Wednesday) practice round is scheduled for 2:00pm so I get to sleep in a bit.


I spend Wednesday morning catching up on phone calls and email from my hotel. We headed to the golf course around noon for some practice time before the practice round. This is a Duramed event so things are a bit more lay back than at Turtle Bay. The practice round is on carts which is a good thing since there are some really long walks between the greens and tees. The practice round is also a shotgun start so as to get as many players out as possible. (2:00 start to the practice round since there was a Pro/Am that morning.)


The practice round is the first chance to see the course. We are checking yardages from key spots and find that some of the yardages in the yardage book are off. I also verify every green for the depth. Angela spends time chipping and putting to different areas on the green in anticipation of possible pin positions. We are particularly careful in getting yardages on the par threes and for the approaches to the greens.


This practice round is played as a foursome. Angela knows one of the players that we ride with, but not the other two. During the practice round Angela is focused on her practice while staying relaxed and loose. There is some light hearted banter back and forth between the two of us (we both can give and receive pretty well) which gives us a chance to relax a bit.


The course looks to be very playable and is in good shape. It is interesting that while there are some areas roped off around the first and 18th holes for the most part the course is wide open. Unfortunately there are not big crowds during the week so there is no need to rope off all the fairways. From the spectators view another great opportunity to see some great golf, up front and close to the action. We finished up the day with some time on the practice green.


It is interesting to see the course for the first time. I find riding the course actually more difficult than walking. Walking the course allows you to see the hole in front of you. When you are on the cart you are always approaching the shot from the side. I enjoy being able to try to anticipate how Angela will play the hole; what line she will take and what clubs she will hit.


Thursday is the Pro/Am with an 8:30 shotgun start. Again everyone is on carts so rather than carrying the bag I am hanging off of the back of the cart between holes. While Angela is focused on the amateurs in the group this is also a good opportunity to practice. We get to see the course again as well as continuing to check yardages and determine how to attach the course. As I did during the previous day ‘s practice round I am keeping track of each shot we play with distances and clubs hit. During the Pro/Am it is a little more difficult since they are playing a scramble so we are not always playing Angela’s ball. Therefore I am trying to keep track of her shot results and then also get to where they will play from to calculate appropriate distances.

Prior to the round while Angela is on the practice green she says hello to the Rife Putter representative Danny Day. What a great job he has. He gets to attend most of the Futures and LPGA events to show the Rife Putters to the players. He sets up shop on the practice green and players are able to come over to try out different putters. He is also there to help any of the players that are using Rife Putters with any questions or problems. Angela thanks him for the quick response to replacing her broken putter a couple of weeks earlier, but indicates she is not sure she likes the grip. Danny takes a look and offers to replace the grip if she would like. They talk about the specifics and he runs off to change out the grip for her. The round starts in 10 minutes and she has her putter back in 5. Great service by a great representative of one of the hottest putters on tour.


Funny situation arises on the 2nd hole we play when Sutee Nitakorn, the head professional from the Kaanapali Golf Resort comes walking up the cart path. We both see each other at the same time and both expressed surprise at running into each other 5,000 miles away from home. Turns out he is vacationing in the area and he came by to see Kim Welch the winner of the Big Break Kaanapali. Nice to see a friend that far from home. Angela is bewildered. How can run I know someone out here in the middle of Ohio?


The amateurs we are playing with include one lady and two men. She is the owner of a local spa that is a sponsor and the two men are husbands of clients of the spa that won the day in a drawing at the spa. The team played okay, but not well enough to place. Most importantly everyone had a great time. It was another opportunity to see how well Angela makes sure everyone enjoys themselves.


The only hiccup in the day was a short weather delay. Fortunately we were at the 10th tee and right by the club house when the horn went off. Turned out it was about a 40 minute delay and there was food available for the players as they waited for the all clear. I enjoyed the day and was glad to be able to help the group around the course by chasing down shots, providing yardages, cleaning balls and just trying to be helpful. All in all it is another good day on the course.


Friday morning is the first round of the tournament. We have an 8:00 tee time starting on the first hole. We played with two players who were both very nice. Dana Bates is an older player who is a teaching professional from the Palm Springs California area. She had a great day and seemed to make putts from everywhere. Angela started off well with a birdie on the first hole, but then seemed to settle into a frustrating round. Had a few wayward tee shots and a number of putts that lipped out. Also a number of what I would call bad breaks which included finding a wayward drive to only see that it ended up in a depression and not have a shot.


Tough part is knowing what to say or not say. I can see the frustration building, but not sure how best to help, if I can. Again this is a great example of where having a long term relationship between player and caddie would really help. I try to reinforce the good shots and keep quiet about the bad ones. There were a number of shots pushed right during the round as well as a number of shots that found bunkers. On the positive side there were a number a great recovery shots, but overall this first day was a tough round. The best part was finishing the round with another birdie on number 18; bookend birdies.



After the round we went straight to the practice range where Angela worked on her game. She figured out that maybe her setup was faulty so she took out a simple setup aid that she uses (two yard sticks that have markings to help her check her distance from the ball and width) and she hits some balls to verify that this was the problem. With a good positive attitude she moves over to the practice green and works on her putting.


We call it a day around 3:00, grab a quick lunch and drop Angela off at her host family’s house. She enjoys a nice dinner prepared by her host (Joe is a professional chef) and I find my way back to the hotel to relax for the evening.

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Hope you will continue to follow my experience. The next chapter which will be published in a couple of days will share the completion of the tournament in Mason and share with you the worse possible situation that could have arisen.