Ivettea and the HSBC

What a great weekend at HSBC!

Love’em or hate’em? – by Taf

I am oftentimes curious as to why sports fans love a certain athlete yet others do not.  Take Tiger Woods for example.  What do the admirers see that the detractors do not?  Or maybe the detractors see it but have a different set of values.  The admirers see the nearly unparalleled skill, the desire, the passion.  They see a once-in-a-lifetime talent and savor every moment, knowing, or fearing, that it may not pass their way again.  Some absolutely love the fist-pumping and emotion he brings to a sport known for it’s ho-hum and even stuffy etiquette.  Others dislike him for that very reason.  “Hey!  You aren’t supposed to do that!  This is a gentleman’s sport and you are not adhering to the rules.  Your behavior is tantamount to smack-talking.  Show some class!”  Or, maybe they see what they interpret as arrogance.  Personally, I can appreciate the skill, but that doesn’t necessarily make me like the guy.  Which brings me back to the original question: what criteria do you use when determining who you like or who you dislike when following a sporting event?

 Most Slingers are, first and foremost, golf fans.  I, on the other hand, do not quite fall into that category.  Don’t get me wrong.  I have always enjoyed golf and followed it very closely.  But I am (or was) a T&F nut first.  I also consider myself a jack of all trades, master of none.  I probably followed tennis as closely as golf, until I joined the TreeHouse.  I like the Björn Borgs and Pete Samprases, and disliked the John McEnroes, Jimmy Conners and Ilie Nastases.  In boxing, Muhammed Ali would publicly humiliate his opponents, mock them, and make fun of them.  I not only dislike that behavior, I cannot understand how others admire that – rewarding the ridiculing of other athletes.

The same holds true to a certain extent with John McEnroe.  Although not necessarily directed towards his opponents, his outbursts, nonetheless, were deplorable.  I cannot imagine how I would feel if I watched my son or daughter behave like that in front of millions of viewers.

A few years back, I was not a huge Novak Djokovic fan.  I didn’t dislike him (although his shirt-ripping stunt grew thin).  I was neutral.  I was, however, a huge Roger Federer fan.  But some things happened over time that have changed my opinion, not against Federer, but definitely in favor of Djokovic.  I even wanted the Joker to beat Roger this past summer at Wimbledon.  Why?  Because of what I have seen both on TV and in person.  He always gives praise to his opponents, especially in defeat.  He does not make excuses, and gives credit where it is due.  But there are other reasons for my change.  When players sit on the bench for a few minutes during court change-overs between serves, he will sometimes let the ball boys and girls sit next to him and chat with them.  Last year, at the Western-Southern Open, he had a practice session scheduled.  Here he comes, through the crowd, jogging slowly, with several dozen children chasing him, screaming and cheering.  He was all smiles, interacting with the kids, and they were all having a blast, eating it up.  Let’s see Tiger Woods do that!

The bottom line, for me, anyway, is this.  I think if I had to narrow what determines my approval or disapproval of an athlete down to a single word, it would be “class.”  Sure, there are other contributing factors.  I often cheer for the underdog.  Geography and nationalities sometimes come into play, but not as often as you might think, and usually with team sports, not individual sports.  I hate to say it, but appearance sometimes affects my opinion.  Other considerations include composure, humility and sportsmanship.  But the overriding factor is class.

Now, if anyone is interested, here are athletes that, in my humble opinion, are on opposite ends of the spectrum.  A few names might not be recognized by our overseas friends.  Regardless, here they are.

Walter Peyton.  Tim Duncan.  Björn Borg.  Pete Sampras.  Tom Watson.  I.K. Kim.  Derek Jeter (yes, a Yankee makes my list).  Ken Griffey, Jr. (not a single suspicion of PEDs during the steroid era, and, when he played in Cincinnati and was forever injured it seemed, he always handled the media gracefully).  Wayne Gretzky.  Steve Scott (former American record-holder in the mile).  Evelyn Ashford.  Roberto Clemente.

Serena Williams.  Christie Kerr.  Usain Bolt.  John Daly.  John McEnroe.  The NBA.  And yes, here it comes.  Drum roll please….. Tiger Woods.

Obviously, I would like other Slingers’ thoughts and opinions.

One final note about Muhammed Ali.  He was drafted by the US Army during the Viet Nam War years but objected on grounds that it was against his religious principles and beliefs.  The ironic thing is that he publicly humiliated people and made a living beating people up.

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The Welsh Incident – by Scrums, Wendy and Easy

Scrums…

Thoroughly enjoyed meeting up Wendy and Easy at Celtic Manor. Loved the Ryder Cup there and have been to watch the Welsh Open on the European Tour a few times,which led me to cajole Easy and Wendy into playing the course. Wendy eventually decided to come along and watch not play due to a combination of hip issues and  “water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink”.

Easy and myself had a brief tour of the Championship locker rooms, lounges etc and got allocated lockers bearing the names of Ross Fisher and Monty. Next we were ferried to the practice ground,where we honed our skills just like the pros…..well….sort of. I looked up when a Jordan Speith lookalike bounced up and said ” Hello my name is Alex, my mate Greg and I have been paired with you and your mate……our handicaps are 6 and 8″.
My thoughts……” Oh joy of joys, two young gunslingers, Sheriff Muscles (Easy) has been working out and looks trim…..or could it be Peds….:-) and me Deputy Duffer”

The weather was cold and windy( 15- 20 m.p.h and gusting.) with intermittent drizzle, good call by Easy not to wear his white pants.!!! There had been heavy rain the previous day which made the course pretty wet so there would be very little roll on the fairways. We all decided to play from the yellow tees (6570 yards Par 73) which was almost 600 yards longer than my local course….. I had a feeling it was going to be a long day at the coalface.
Easy and I decided to use a buggy and the ‘twentysomethings’ carried……..yep not even a trolley between them. The girls decided to follow us for more than a few holes(9 in all,thanks 8ed you planted the seed in Wendy’s mind) and hijacked the buggy….it made little difference as buggies had to keep off the fairways and stay on the path.

I don’t want to bore anyone with all the gory details but with such tough playing conditions the course was BRUTAL.!!! My Srixons turned into sand seeking missiles. I spent more time in the sand than Lawrence Of Arabia…… but you have to look for the positives in such situations…… got out of each and every deep, wet bunker in one shot….. so what if it didn’t do anything for my score… I was the Bunker King.!!! There should be a limit on the amount of bunkers allowed on these courses, darn things where everywhere. Wendy’s quip ‘you could play this course with three clubs…driver, sand wedge and putter, I took with good grace….. ok goodish grace. Besides you meet a nice crowd in bunkers… I met a guy who had hit his shot into MY bunker from another fairway… we bonded.!!
The girls took to applauding good shots but boy were they mean…..the young guys kept muttering ‘tough crowd’. My worst hole was the par 4 5th (399 yards left to right dog leg,bunkers either side of the fairway…. I found one, got the ball out ,hit a nice shot and got ready to hit a nice wedge to the green over a
stream….. shot looked nice, strong gust of wind, ball held up, dropped into stream filled with bullrushes. Walked over, knew that I would have more chance of finding Moses than my ball, made a drop, pitched sloppily onto a green sloping towards me, ball rolled back……….Girls shouted ‘Shall we mark the scorecard with an X’…….’Yes please’……. in my defence it is the toughest hole on the course.  Now to my best hole the Par 3 7th (175 yards). Nice drive which somehow managed to miss the two bunkers guarding the green on either side. Ball was on the left side off the green, tricky ridge running through the green, chipped like a pro to about 8 feet and made the putt.!!!! Girls applauded and I tipped my cap………..the young guns and Easy all made 4’s………. I may have smiled for quite some time….
Overall Easy handled the conditions much better than me, he made some great pars on the back 9 ( he has the scorecard so he can go into more detail.) He also handled the time it took to get around 5 AND A HALF HOURS better than me….I’m used to playing in 4 hours max. Really tough to keep your rhythm in such a long round and your concentration. I think Easy said it was the longest round he’s ever played and the young guys concurred. They had played numerous Championship courses and said that in the conditions the TwentyTen was one of the toughest. The girls abandoned us on the 10th hole and walked back to the TwentyTen bar……. nice for some… I guess they didn’t want to see grown men cry.
We started the round at 1.40 and walked off the 18th at around 7.15. Wendy and Sue were waiting with their wine…..they’d had a few by then.!!! My ice cold Guinness tasted good. Easy had to go back to Torquay after dinner which was a shame and that left the three of us……. My wife and I got upgraded to a suite (pretty swanky it was too.) We grabbed Wendy from the bar and hit the suite mini bar….a perfect end to a long day.

Meeting up with Wendy and Easy again was great, good people and fine company. We may even do it again on the Old Course.!!! The TwentyTen was a brute but opens your eyes to how good the pros are. I took 110 strokes to get around, factor in my handicap…..net 92. Easy’s score was mucho better. Could I have scored better??  Well yes, on a warm sunny day with running fairways, light wind, quicker play and sand averse balls. Still you have to play what you get and it was an experience I won’t forget. Met’s advice of ” forget the scoring just enjoy the day” was spot on.
All in all a great day with wonderful company… the young guns were nice guys too and even they lost their balls on some holes.!!! It was good to hear them shout ” we are not looking for THAT”.

The NATO Conference is there this week…..let them try and par the 7th…..I’ll remember that more than the nasty, tricky 5th……

Wendy…

Not a good start; raining cats & dogs, (well it was a Bank Holiday Monday after all), missed train by a mile, cup of coffee went through the bottom of the paper bag as I boarded the next train from Portsmouth to Newport, South Wales, a journey of some 3 hours.  Arrived at Newport planning  to buy some wine to supplement the glass I was intending to order with dinner.  Gone 6pm on a Bank Holiday – no chance!  Taxi to Celtic Manor.

It’s a resort situated in the beautiful Usk Valley.  Very, very swanky hotel.  The friendly receptionist suggested “Le Patio” for dinner for the following evening & I duly booked.  Fabulous room, marble bathroom, natch

Did a recce for “Le Patio”.  Hadn’t realised it wasn’t one of the several restaurants in the Celtic Manor Hotel itself but was in the adjoining Manor House.  When I say “adjoining” it was actually a helluva trek down corridors, down stairs, down lifts, more corridors.  A very nice menu but as we only wanted a meal and not shares in the bloody place at $100 per head w/o booze I cancelled the booking & hot-footed it back in search of somewhere more reasonable.  Settled for the buffet dining room, where seeing that I was “Norma No Mates, I was seated well away from the buzz.  A rip-off at $60 food (+$40 cheapest bottle of wine) which was no better than a chain hotel buffet.  Consoled myself with the rest of the wine in my lovely room.

Woke early on the Tuesday (well, my “early” as opposed to Keith’s).  Threw open the curtains.  It was raining.  Never mind, they’re not due to tee off until the afternoon.  Keith called to tell me to get my arse down to reception smartish as no parking o/s the hotel itself.  Off to find the 2010 Clubhouse where Sue & Dave would be waiting.  There they are, looking exactly the same as last year!  No idea where the time went but the lads had to be at the 1^st half an hour before tee time & we were driven there in a courtesy car.  Sue & I took photos of the lads on the driving range & driving off on the 1^st tee.  The ones I took of them on the course (because the cart paths were so far away) could have been of anybody.  Sue & I purloined the buggy intending to follow for a couple of holes (did I mention it was windy & drizzling?) but ended up covering 9 holes although even that left us with a 25 min. walk back to the clubhouse.  Dave looked relieved to get the buggy backJ  I did eye up a couple of the water holes & thought I could have carried them but in that weather & the slowness of play no regrets at not taking the sticks.  Dave is now known as “Bunker King”.  There are an awful lot of bunkers on the 2010.  Can’t answer for the back 9, but he made it out first time on EVERY bunker on the frontJ  A hug & a terse “I’ve got to shoot 43 or better on the back” from Keith & Sue & I hot-footed it back to the clubhouse for a glass or two to await their victorious march down the 18^th.  They were presented with 2010 mementos which must have felt like gallantry medals after a gruelling 6 hr. round.  Dinner in the clubhouse then Keith was off on the long drive back to Torquay whilst we 3 returned to the hotel for Sue & Dave to check in.  A nice surprise awaited them.

A nice lie-in on Wednesday morning, a leisurely breakfast, watched Sir Ian Botham putting his clubs in his swanky merc  whilst waiting for Sue & Dave in reception, then they very kindly dropped me off at Newport Station for the trip home.

Maybe St. Andrews next year?  One never knows.  I’d go just for their great company.

Easy….

Celtic Manor 2010 course. Built specifically for the Ryder Cup, scene of Monty’s winning team 4 years ago against the Americans. Often, when I play a famous venue, thoughts like these are in the forefront of my mind. Because of these thoughts, it is more than a golf course I am about to play. Remembering shots the greats have played there are usually etched in my mind. When it’s my turn, the excitement is so much more than teeing it up at my local course. I remembered some shots 4 years ago, plus the Welsh Open played there, but not as many as I would have wished. They are playing there very soon and I’ll be watching it with renewed interest.

When Scrums asked if we could meet there, I had the chance whilst staying down south for 2 weeks, being just 113 miles away, instead of much futher from home up north. Wendy made the trip by train, choosing not to play, because of the difficulty of the course. That maybe turned out to be the right decision and the weather was awful for August, 16 c with a cold wind making it feel colder. And the rain. Driving up the M5, I had to slow down to 40 mph at one point, I couldn’t see 100 yards with the rain. I knew we would still play, the course drains very well.

Arriving there, the hotel dominates the area up to the entrance. What really got me was the maze to get to the 2010 clubhouse. Picking up Wendy from the lobby, the clubhouse was half a mile away. Security people everywhere, this week Nato are having a conference there. We met up with Dave and Sue and got organised. Quite a bit for me to take in, after driving up, little sleep the night before, etc. Had a coffee and before I knew it, we were taken on a tour of the Ryder Cup locker rooms ( I had Ross Fisher’s ) then  down to the starter. We had balls provided. Dave and I warmed up and were paired with Greg and Alex. Greg was a fine player hitting great iron shots, Alex, great potential.

The course is tough, built to punish shots a little offline. Great greens and roll off areas, huge bunkers. We played off yellows, 6,570 SSS 73. Playing off the back tees, SSS was 77 ! One big problem, the pace of play. There were no marshals and we were put out in 4 balls. Buggies were retricted to the cart paths, sometimes your ball was 80 yards from the path. Sp it took us 6 hours. I could see it affected Dave more than me, it was hard to get that nice flow when we play at a good pace. I’m perhaps a little more used to these longer rounds on these courses. But, they should have had the marshals pushing slower groups ahead. We waited on most of the holes. Dave played some great shots, but because his concentration was affected,understandably he played some loose shots too. He still got a par before I did though 🙂

  The finish is spectacular with a par 5 us mortals simply had to lay up, with the water short of the green. The clubhouse high above. Wendy and Sue standing above, watching up come in, having rode the buggie on the front 9. They were cold, understandably and went in for a warming glass of wine.  After the round, Dave and I changed and we had dinner. I had the drive back to Torquay and had to leave, regrettably. I got back at 10:30 and was shattered, had a beer ( thanks Sue 🙂 ) and slept well.

Dave, I can’t thank you enough for having me partner you there, Wendy and Sue, many thanks too for supporting us. I’ll never forget Celtic Manor and the great company I was lucky enough to have there. Each year the Welsh Open is played, I will re live the moments I had there, my heartfelt thanks to you.

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Valhalla and the PGA – by 8’ed

The 96^th PGA Championship

Saturday August 9, 2014: As payment in kind for all the work I put into the Kid’s new gigantic home last Spring, changing a perfectly fine color of a freshly painted house a couple of shades (for his wife). My son ordered us tickets so he could get to see up close and personal to the only golfer he’s known in his life: Tiger Woods. He didn’t need to do anything, those of you with kids know what I’m talking about…if your kid asks for help, you’re there. I was just happy to see him grab some tools & use his hands for once. We arrive at the tournament (OK, the parking lot of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium some 19.3 miles from the course to board a shuttle bus for the 35 minute transport to the course) by 11:00 am. Since there are no longer open spaces within reasonable proximity to the course, the PGA utilized the Football Stadium’s lot as the main spur for Public Parking

They constructed several acres of welcoming buildings, with Samsung, & Omega being major sponsors. Of course Mercedes does a lot with the PGA, they provided several hundred (nearly 1000 Official Vehicles) and those vehicles were parked across the road from the Entrance to the Clubhouse in the grass.

After picking up hats (in the 45000 sf air conditioned gift shop) to shield our heads from the surprisingly HOT sun we head over to the practice area. I’ve been told, it’s great to watch them on the range so we find a spot at the end of the range on a hillside & who is the first player I see on the range? Of course….Vijay Singh. He’d built him a station at the end of the range with 3 alignment rods and was banging balls from the tip of a perfectly straight 6 foot long divot he had already excavated (been there a while already, huh) Taking a look at the Tee sheet, hmmmm he’s got another 2 hours before he starts? Must have got a double dose of Deer Antler Spray this morning, it’s hot & muggy after the morning showers, & he’s going to go thru at least 15 bags of balls (Vijay really is a machine on the range) .

I see Sean Foley a couple spots over working with “someone”. TIGER?! Nope, he hobbled home last night with that striped tail between his legs, pondering his future now that he’s not qualified to play any Tour events the rest of the year. OMG, NO!!! Foley is grabbing Edorado Molinari’s arms & putting them into position. Scratch that young Italian off your lists.

Nicklaus was given 496 acres to construct a “golf only” tournament quality course in the early 1980s. There’s no swimming pool or tennis court on the property, & no Houses to circumvent as you wind your way through the rolling terrain from green to tee like seemingly EVER other golf course built the last half of the 20th Century.  The modest clubhouse includes a grill room, a Bar, a locker room, & a pro shop. No dining room, no meeting rooms, no great hall for your daughter to hold her Wedding Reception, this place was made for serious golfers & to hopefully host Golf Tournaments. The range is huge, it could hold 80 competitors with normal spacing simultaneously. The practice green is generous, not huge, & is only a cart path’s distance from the back edge of the range. There’s a single sand bunker that sits between it & the chipping green. While watching them start on TV you’ll see them going over bridges to and from the Range and over to Number 1 tee. It’s NOT a long walk, 20 yards from the range to the green, & 50 yards to that new pro tee…way back there. The bridges as seen on TV somehow make it seem that they’re traveling a great distance to move around, they’re not. Everything is right there.

We take up a spot on a hillside behind the practice green where we’ve also got a view of the range, & #1 tee. So many lean (OK, skinny-assed) tall boys. Quite a few put down a device to put from. Many mirrors so they get their eyes over the balls. Several just build a gate to put from with half a dozen tees. I see one guy doing Metro’s gate with a couple tees 3 feet from impact halfway to the hole. Somebody was putting between two long irons. Stenson had a 2 foot long contraption that included a small gate at the end of it, where he was putting 5 footers & hit the right side of that gate 3 times for every time he got it through. (Are you SURE he was leading in strokes gained putting Sunday afternoon?)

So many of the earlier starters had a coach, or caddy (or, both) working with them on the practice green. Nearly laying on the green behind the ball, they’d squint at that putting stroke, looking for anything that might get half a millimeter out of sorts. These guys looked serious, as if they were going to play for $100/hole or something. You could feel the concentration in the air. Billy Haas drops a bag of balls 20 yards from the pitching green on the closely mowed grass, and hits 30 pitches, to 3 different holes with varying flight, none ending up outside 18”, with several finding the cup. BY FAR the best display by any we see (including Steve Stricker). From there, they all hit the same type shot. 2 hops & stop. They vary the flight, not the spin. Very cool.

However, the most impressive demonstration I witnessed the entire weekend (OK, so I wasn’t there when the boys got hot Sunday, more on that later) was Billy Horschel in the practice bunker alternating shots to the short sided hole 15 feet, nearly straight downhill, the 35 footer, & the 60 foot flag. Every ball ended within 5 foot. He did it left handed. I mean he was hitting high, low, & medium flight bunker shots with serious spinnage WITH ONLY HIS LEFT HAND ON THE CLUB. After 10 or 15 he added the right hand to the shot (he was better without it) I think I could do that, although my “alternating” would be between whiff & chunk, swinging away until dark without ever getting a ball out.

PHIL PHIL PHIL. Without a doubt, Phil Mickelson was the favorite of the day. As he charged down the hill from the clubhouse (they double fence that path; they come down like matadors readying to slay the bull, or in Phil’s case like a God descending from the heavens) the 1000 or so standing around the green go nuts. He puts on the silly grin, grabs the brim of the visor & nods several times as he takes those giant strides all the way across the green to the bridge to the range. Steve Stricker gets a nice welcoming from the fans as well, & like Phil…he acknowledges with grace. And, finally here comes Vijay all lathered up from his 3? Hour warm up on the end of the range. He hits a few short chips, 4 from the bunker…hey Vijay, you tee in 10 minutes. Oh, he finally pulls out that stupid putter & hits 1,2,3,4 putts & walks to the first tee. REALLY VIJAY?!?! No wonder you need some tricked out putter with a weird grip…what an idiot.

It’s going on 2:00 where’s Rory, he tees in an hour. I take up position at the corner of the entry gate to get an up close look at our newest Nicklaus….that’s our measure, isn’t it? Here comes Jason Day. Eyes straight ahead, chest out, shoulders back….the boy could be a soldier marching for inspection in front of his commanders. Nice applause as he hits the green, he continues with his cadence, marching forward to that bridge to the range. I even gave him a little Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, as he walked by…nothing. As if he were the only person there. And, finally here comes Rory. 5’-10”, 160lb? At the MOST. Boy that kid has skinny hips. Hips the size of a 9 year old. No wonder he can spin them so fast. (Hey, I wasn’t checking out his ass, now that his mop is trimmed up, it’s his most noticeable trait) A roar comes up for Rors nearly as large as for Phil…I’d say just over Stricker’s reception. He, like Jason Day….continues on his quest to that bridge to the range (except Rory doesn’t really march, he’s bouncy, like an excited little kid, gotta love that). Of every golfer who was received by the fans as they made their way into view (& many received applause & had their names called out, only Phil, Stricks & Furyk acknowledged. I guess Pros don’t appreciate how they’re appreciated until they get old. I mean, how fecking hard is it to nod your head?

We hang around for Furyk, Stricks, & Phil to make it to the putting green. They each just drop 2 balls and work on speed. Casually hitting 30 footers. No caddie, not coach. Just lagging them. (OK, Tabitha walked up to Jim with her phone in her hand…maybe a nanny issue) Then they moved to 20, & 10 footers, & were actually doing a little work from there & in. Finishing with 3 or 4 footers. No contraptions, no tees in the ground to make sure their stroke is perfect, no caddie or coach’s eyes required. I need to thank Jerrod the next time I see him for suggesting the range as the place to watch. Although, I moved over a little. This couple hours on the practice green, seeing them all arrive & prepare was fantastic.

We look up #1, knowing how far of a walk it is around that front side. It’s like the abyiss, once you start in that direction, there’s no turning back. There’s no down & back on this course until the backside. So, we jump into the mass of humanity, & work against them. It’s instantly 10* hotter huddled into that herd on the walking path. We make our way against the grain around the top of the 18^th green down the path to 13 retracing our steps to find a spot to camp out. WAY too many people following the “good golfers”.

We find a hill along the left side of 14 green that provides a great view of the 13^th green, the 14^th tee some 220 yards away, of course the 14^th green just to our left, the 15^th tee & the 16^th green. A very nice spot to sit for a while & see some golf. Of the 100 or so spectators around us, I seem to be the only one who can see the ball come off the club on the tee shot & follow it in the air all the way to the green. They ALL hit 220 yard shots EXTREMELY high. It’s maybe 25 feet downhill, I suppose they’re using between a 5 & 7i, but I remember the days when that would have been a 3i, or even a 5w, & only a handful of the elite could keep the ball in the air that long.

After 5 or 6 groups we realize that there won’t be many birdies on 14. We see everyone leaving putts from the fat side of the green short & low. And everyone behind the hole misses high. These guys are consistent. Same results from each of them. We promised Ella’s mama that we’d be home to take them to dinner, as we were going to stay to see a trophy hoisted Sunday evening, so a quick run through the Gift shop, a couple hundred bucks lighter, with a small clear plastic bag of goodies in tow, we head back up the hill to the entrance to hop a bus for the 90 minute quest to return to his house. (It’s a 30 minute drive from his house to the course if you could circumvent the trip downtown to the Stadium parking lot)

Sunday: (or what should forever be known As Mud-day?): Since we’re staying to the end, we arrive a little later. We had noticed that despite the ban on chairs with wide arm rests…smart people had them Saturday. The son had one in his garage with Norton Health Care silkscreened on the back (we saw no fewer than 10 of the same out there Saturday) an employee gift that he thought he’d never use. So, we make a stop at Bass Pro shop where I find a camping chair on the cheap. The boy didn’t have a proper umbrella (all those I handed down were no longer in proper working order) so a stop at Dick’s for another. After a stop for lunch with Ella & her mama, off to the Bus.

The Football stadium holds 55,000 & they really didn’t have much land available around it, so the parking lot is this ½ mile long strip that holds maybe 80 cars in each row…the buses picked up at the very end, on Sunday we parked up against the player entrance to the stadium…so start walking.

At 12:57 I get a push notification from the PGA app, “Play has been suspended”. We’re a mile south, 5 miles West in a bus on the Interstate & wonder why they stopped play? It’s not raining, there CAN’T be lightning…so we figure the weather gurus figure lightning must be imminent. We head North & HOLY CRAP…the heavens opened up. Can’t see for all the rain. Plenty of offers from the patrons on the bus to pay the Driver a couple hundred bucks to find a Sports Bar. He claims gps forces him to make his scheduled route…technology….gheesh. So we disembark, pop up the umbrellas & make our way to….wait a minute, we’re against the grain again? Half an hour to walk 600 yards as thousands are heading towards the buses. Oi, this is a mess. Raging Rivers running off 17 fairway. Here comes a Mercedes van UP the path toward us, oh, hi Pat Perez, are you playing in this? To get back to 14 you walk over a bridge to Fords Fork creek 50 feet below the tee, halfway to the green. The creek is running like rapids…how much rain fell? It quits by the time we arrive at our hill. The camping chairs setup, umbrella in one hand, cold drinks in the arm rests, now we wait.

After an hour or so, we them put tee times up for the leaders on the old-school leaderboard that they put on each hole. Rory McIlroy: 4:19. The buzz on course is now, “will they get this in”? Finally we see Matsuyama & his caddie making their way to 14 green, Vijay up on the tee…& after another 20 minutes or so (obviously for the rest of the players to get back into position) we hear about 50 hand held air horns. Really? That’s how we notify starts & stops at our $20 events. PGA of America is CHEAP!!

Our plan is to hang right there, watch them all come through, jump to 16 green & walk in with the leaders up 17, then bolt to 18 green (like that could have happened with all those people on the cramped paths) After that rain, it got muggy. I mean Ungodly uncomfortable. I’ve NEVER put up an umbrella to shade the sun. But, sitting on that hillside, down in that valley with all that water on the ground, & still in the air…I popped up that sucker when the sun tried a little harder to break through all the clouds. You could never see the sun, but I’m here to tell you, you could feel when the clouds lost some of their thickness. Absolutely….miserable to just sit there in the sauna (& people pay to sit in those?)

We decide that, a) they’re probably not going to make it before dark, b) if they do, the kid would get home around 11:00, 12:30 am for me IF the buses can extract as fast as we were told they did Saturday (took over an hour for the guys in our aisle on the bus ride there)…so, we wait until Ernie Els plays the hole, hit a good shot but…like EVERYONE couldn’t convert. Another stop to purchase trinkets with the logo on them, and we’re out of there.

I listen to the excitement on an AM radio station I found on my long ride home, Fowler & Phil making their runs taking over the lead headed to the back 9, & KNOW that it won’t be enough,

Rory’s owned the Back 9. I make it home in time to see the finish on TV. Exactly where I’d prefer to watch the Final Round of any tournament. Truth be told, I’d much rather he bought tickets for Wednesday & Thursday. Attending an event is a great experience, but….you don’t get to see much golf.

Oh, and by the way. The main path for the spectators to get on the course crossed 14, down deep…at creek level. The herds of people just couldn’t stay on that wide path, for 5 yards either side of it, they made a nasty mud puddle as cattle would, for the players to navigate. Zach Johnson is GAY. He lifted up his trousers a few inches from the knee & tried to tip toe, like a woman wearing a long dress would do. I think maybe he even had his pinkies sticking up.

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 The Wild West – By EMC

Old news, I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. By the time I was 13 my parents built a house in the ‘burbs where I kicked rocks, stepped in cow shit and swatted mosquitoes. For kicks I rode my bike everywhere.

If only because to walk it would have taken me hours to get ‘wherever’! Yep… became a man with all the milk, cheese and corn anyone would ever need to grow up?   Fast forward to 1996/7 and I moved to the promised land.  Las Vegas, NV, …..and then I moved to Hell. Phoenix, 3 + years ago. Moved from Wisconsin grass, humidity, mosquitoes and snow…..to MARS!      Few trees out here, except up in the mountains; worse, less water, and then, heat ! 7 months of the year the heat here is 10 – 40 points higher than good ol’ Milwaukee. Yes, we have dry lakes.     Look up ‘dry (baked) lake’. The good news of course, aside from making a fair buck in Vegas and playing golf year ’round, is the landscape.

Deserts, foothills, valleys and mountains. All with enough land/space to cater to whatever the pioneers wanted to do. So, let’s talk ranches, horses, and Tonto.  Yep. The wild west was, and still is to some degree, ingrained in the culture of States like UT, NV, AZ, NM, CO and CA.  All these mentioned States have the luxury of immense area and few cities (Guess that means less stress and violence…..eh) ?

Cowboys and Indians. They existed 130 years ago. Still do. At least a hybrid variety?  Ranches and ranchettes abound all over the West.     Most of these properties have a history…family run. Some stock (cattle and/or horses). Sorry, few sheep and goats!!!  Few of these properties are thousands of acres, unlike TX and OK.  That’s what makes this region of the USA so appealing to the average Joe. Few ranches like South Fork.     Mostly a quick drive by and you see a stable or 3 with stock munching on hay or watering up.      In my neck of the woods (?) here in Phoenix, the properties are smallish.  Money seems to be free and easy (so to speak) and the cowboy flavor is strong and true. Rodeos. Fairs. Markets. And hats – jeans – and boots…..Wrangler and Levis rule!!  Yep. Life is good.

The best thing about living out here is, you don’t have to take a bus to a museum. Sorry, NYC and Philly have nothing close.

Hell, I can jump in my truck and within 2 hours max find the very best of the best. Ranches, canyons, rivers and mining. Walking these areas and stepping into ‘time past’ is the wildest trip anyone could take. Tunnels, shafts, headframes, tailings and ores abound. It’s hard to imagine NOT living out here. All I have to do is win the lottery (big lottery) and find that stake in the Sierra Nevadas…

Which leads me to IRON ART. Western welded art, where a few ‘craftsman’ take usable metal and fabricate the past! Yes, like looking at a picture of the past. You see it everywhere. Some of these people just don’t want to let go of the good old days. Maybe the good old days are, well, not gone?  In Chicago or Miami…probably.
In hardcore Phoenix and Las Vegas….probably. But not in the ‘burbs and further out.

Look at the detail in these fabrications. The work involved. The imagination. There !
I rest my case. Look and just imagine.  But, remember, it still exists here in the American West.

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Great courses and movie stars – by Easy

Hi Slingers,

It’s the Open time once again and watching the best golfers playing Royal Birkdale and Royal Aberdeen is what it’s all about for me. Only Augusta comes close in April. Then the Ryder Cup every two years. I’ve played Birkdale, but not Royal Aberdeen. I’ve decided to play it next March, birthday treat and it’s half price then. Watching it on telly, with the North Sea in the background, I’m drawn to it. Can’t wait. There is a former European tour player based in Scotland who has told me the front 9 is as good as anywhere in the world. Looks it too.

Then I’ll play Cruden Bay nearby, a great looking links course on my bucket list. Great holes right by the sea. Only Pebble Beach gives me that feeling when I see it on telly. I’ll play that one day in my retirement. I plan to play the Old Course one more time before I pop it. I played it twice already. Go up there many times, but there are so many great courses to play, there isn’t enough time.

For me, playing great courses is a privilege. I can enjoy as a golfer, expensive as they are. Kingbarnes was £215.00, but worth it for me. Other sports don’t allow you to do that, you can’t play on the Centre Court for example. Golf is unique. It’s hard to explain this to some golfers who play their local course and that is all. Nothing wrong with that. Golf can be expensive, costing the member a few thousand quid a year. Can’t blame him/her if a few hundred quid for 4 hours hitting a white ball around makes them laugh out loud. For me though, it is so much more than that. It’s almost spiritual.

I have a pretty good memory, I remember great shots played by the best. I remember Phil Mickleson, at the 17th in the Ryder Cup at the Belfry. He got on this par 5 in two, eagled it. When I played this dogleg, I was in awe how he managed this, I hit a good drive (70 yards less than Phil ) knew I had to lay up. No brainer. 4 iron , 7 iron, the way that hole is made. But I can play the holes the greats have. I hit driver wedge to the 16th, Seve’s “carpark hole” in ’79 at Lytham. But I missed the putt 🙂

Links is different. Some days, I have hit a 4 iron 250 yards. Another day, that same hole would be 180 yards with the driver. Makes you think like no other type of golf. I might want to bounce it in, 30 yards short of the green, to get it close ( 30 feet might be close ) but I need to come in from the right, there is a pot bunker 30 yards short left. So on the tee, I know I have to aim down the right. The Old Course plays that way. But it’s easier driving down the left. Links is like that woman who entices you in, but after you had the dance, bought her a drink, she says thanks and goodbye. (Happened to me when I was 17, I didn’t know much in those days, forgot some of what I learned along the way )

Great courses I have played in Britain

Links;                                                                   Clifftop/parkland/heathland;

Royal Lytham and St Annes                         Belry Brabazon
Royal Birkdale                                                    Forest Of Arden
Royal Liverpool (Hoylake)                             St Mellion
Carnoustie                                                           Moortown
The Old Course                                                  Sandmoor
Turnberry                                                             Woodhall Spa
Princes                                                                  Alnmouth
Royal St Georges                                              Aberystwyth
The West Course ( North Berwick )          Stoke Park
Crail                                                                        Slayley Hall
Kingsbarns                                                          Royal Cromer
Dunstaburgh Castle                                        Little Aston
Dawlish Warren                                                 Fulford

Most of these have hosted Tour events as well as Opens, of course. 2 Ryder Cup venues. I have a few more yet on my bucket list. I look at the old courses v the new ones a bit like actors in Hollywood. Think of Jimmy Stewart, Marlon Brando, Clark Gable, John Wayne,Betty Davis, Audry Hepbun.

Think of those classic films that are timeless. It’s a bit like that when you arrive at a great course that is steeped in history. You realise you are in a very special place right away.  You think of all the greats who have golfed there and you are about to. The West course at North Berwick was where Young Tommy Morris got that fatefull telegram about his wife;

It was at the North Berwick West Links where Young Tom Morris was playing a match with his father against the Park brothers when he received telegram that his wife was having trouble giving birth to their child. Young Tom finished the match (only two holes remained when he received word) and took a ship across the Firth of Forth to St. Andrews only to learn both his wife and child had died during the childbirth. Young Tom died almost 4 months later of what many say was a broken heart. He was 24 years old.
Being a nut on golf history, it was surreal playing the West Course, knowing that about young Tommy.

Stoke Park was the venue for the classic scene where James Bond threw down the gold bar to tempt Goldfinger into a wager for the golf match they were having in 1964. 34 years later, this then 10 handicapper was playing that same course !

Playing the newer modern courses like the Belfy and the Arden, I remember more recent events. The Ryder Cups, the tour events. Only 30 years ago or less. They have a certain atmosphere about them, but it is very modern. Not like the old clubhouses, that were built to last. These are renovated avery now and then. The Belfry has just had another makeover. Not just the course either. The hotel is big business. It would maker a great Slingers meeting place, Americans v the rest of the world in a Slinger Ryder Cup match. I would hope I draw Chevy or 8ed :-) ( Chevy, win the lottery please ! ) The trouble with these modern courses, they is only one way to play them. And the atmosphere, you begin to realise, is almost too modern, too clean. Like today’s remakes in modern films like Ocean 11,12, 13 etc

Think of actors like Brad Pitt, George Clooney. Loads of special effects. Think of all the modern films that rely on effects, more than the acting. That is what some of the modern courses feel like when you roll up to them. Still very good, but some of the soul is missing.

I know if I ever get to Pebble Beach, I won’t be able to not think of Tom Watson’s chip in in 1982 at the 17th that snatched the US Open from Jack’s grasp. That soul I am talking about, is what I feel when I go to a classic course steeped in history. I book it, find out all about it. When I get there, I have this sense of well being and that I am about to tee it up in a special place. I always play well at these places, so inspired I am to enjoy them.

Incidentally, I think that might be Rory’s main problem right now, he doesn’t look like he is enjoying himself when things go wrong on the course, he is having trouble putting a bad shot behind him. He sulks too much, needs to grow up a little. But that is just my opinion. My favourite golfer today by a long way.

Enjoy the links golf these few weeks if you can. There is so much more to playing these courses that it seems, even on telly. I just wished it happened more often. Later this year, I will be watching the Dunhill pro ams at Kingsbarns, St Andrews and Carnoustie with added interest, having played the great place a few months ago. So I have that to look forward to. My best aggregate on those 3 is 262 (92,84,86 ) so I don’t think I’ll enter , lol. But I’d love to play in the Pro am!

Enjoy the golf ,
Cheers,
Easy

“Easingwold”

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Top 100 greatest – by TAF

Well fellow Slingers, I finally found it.  “It” is Sports Illustrated’s list of the Top 100 athletes of all time.  This list came out at the turn of this century so there is no Tiger Woods, Annika Sorenstam Barry Bonds, etc.  I am bringing you this list for several reasons.  Metro initiated this with her observation about Babe Didrickson Zaharias, and how she has been overshadowed.  According to SI, she ranks as the best female athlete of all time, ranking ahead of Jackie Joyner Kersee, Martina Navratilova and others.  The other reason I bring this to you is, of course, I want others’ opinions of this and your insight.  The list is definitely slanted towards the US.  As far as I can see, there is not a single soccer player on the list.  No Pele.  No Franz Beckenbauer.  No Kyle Rote Jr. (ha!).  Not much in the way of open wheel racing either, with the exception of AJ Foyt and Mario Andretti.  No Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna or Jackie Stewart.  So much for the 2 most popular sports in the world.  Having said this, in all fairness, Sports Illustrated IS an American publication, and, to a large extent, the sporting world does revolve around the US.  Foreign athletes come here to play basketball, baseball and ice hockey, not the other way around.  That pretty much holds true for our beloved sport, too.

So, what do you guys and gals think?  It is hard to argue with the Top 3.  I can see any of them being at the Top.  Of course, all this depends upon what “the greatest” means.  Ali isn’t even the best boxer of all time, let alone the best athlete, but he was once the most recognized person in the world.  Babe Ruth saved baseball and more than anyone, is responsible for the sport being what it is today.  And Michael Jordan is, imho, the most talented of these three, and made basketball what it is (or, at least was).  But some will say that Oscar Robertson was just as good, if not better, than MJ.  I could even see Wayne Gretzky topping this list.  His records far exceed the runners-up in his sport more so than the records held in other sports.

  A few of my observations.  Edwin Moses comes in on this list at #47.  He went 107 finals (122 races in all counting heats) without losing, nearly 10 years.  If that is so special, then where is Iolando Balas on this list?  The Romanian went 10 years without losing a single high jump competition.  She won 140 consecutive meets and set 14 world records and 2 Olympic titles.  And East German long jumper Heike Drechsler was every bit the athlete that JJK was.  But Drechsler is also omitted from this list.  So obviously, talent and skill aren’t the only criteria for “greatness.”  Popularity is a big factor, which would explain Joe Namath’s inclusion here.

Okay, ‘nuff said.  I present to you  “The List.”

 If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.

Michael Jordan

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Scotland, home of golf. Kingsbarns and Dalmahoy East – by Easy

Birthdays come and go, but I usually play somewhere special as a treat most years. 56 came in March ( have I been playing 23 years ?? ) and the wife asked where would I like to golf ?

Ruling out Augusta, I pondered a little. As some of you know, I have played a few of the great Open courses here, 8 so far. There was no time to book Royal Troon. Muirfield, one of the others I haven’t played, was a no go either this year. So I enquired about Kingsbarns, just down the road from the Old Course in Fife. You might know it is only 14 years old, but it looks like it’s been here hundreds of years. It’s played each year in the Dunhill pro am tournament along with the Old Course and Carnoustie, much like the Pebble Beach pro am in February.
I was going to wait for 8ed to do a post on his trip before I was going to post this, but he has more chance of holing a 15 footer, so here goes…..

We went up on Friday from York, the drive is 250 miles, over the Firth of forth bridge to Fife, past Edinburgh. Arriving in the Craws Nest hotel in Anstruher, just south of Kingsbarns, had a nice meal and Scottish real ale. Great start. Tee time 9:10 Saturday morning, duly arrived 8:00.

It’s always a special feeling when golfing at these places. Got free balls, planner, pitch fork etc. Warmed up on the range then reported to the starter. I was with an American 3 ball, Tony with his caddie Mal, John and “Druggie” as he was known ( works in the pharmaceutical business). All good lads, Druggie in the flat cap reminded me of Tom Lehman.

The course is spectacular, for those of you who love links golf. It was 16 c but cloudy, unfortunately. The pictures would have been so much better. Played pretty good, as my back was killing me along with my knee. Magic spray got me through it. Took 3 to get out of 2 bunkers that really annoyed me, I was careless. But it was a fantastic day. Only Turnberry on the rota can match it for sheer beauty.

The clubhouse is ordinary for such a great course, but the ale was great. I Said goodbye to my American friends, who were straight off to Troon. They played 13 courses in 14 days, their bucket list in Scotland complete.

Then I drove a few miles north to St Andrews. Had a pint, looked again at people teeing it off on the first, putting out on the 18th.

Been there a dozen times, never went to the graves of Old and Young Tom Morris, so off I went. Here they are and found Alan Robertson too. He was the feather ball maker, who died the year before the first Open Championship in 1859. Old Tom won it in 1861,’62,’64 and ’67. Young Tom won it in 1868,’69,’70 and ’71 before he died at the young age of 25.

Next, Sunday morning, after a great Scottish breakfast with haggis and black pudding too! I went to Edinburgh, back across the Firth of Forth to Dalmahoy, scene of Europe’s first Solheim cup win against the Americans in ’92. The East course is fairly forgiving on the drives, but the greens are well bunkered and below the hole is a good idea on some of them. Beautiful parkland course, after shelling out £215.00 for Kingsbarns, I booked a round for £30.00 Monday morning at 7:30 and the sun was out!

I played well, going out in 39, 3 over. I did an 8ed on the 9th, missing a 6 footer for birdie. I had a great up and down from a greenside bunker, holing a 15 footer for par. I even punched the air on that one and it caught on camera! See 8ed, it is possible  Coming back, I was on a great score, then, made a mess of the last 2 holes, finishing with an 85. I dropped 6 on those last 2! Weekend caught up with me by then.

We had lunch, then the drive home. Next time I go up there, next year I hope, I’m planning to play Royal Aberdeen and Cruden Bay. Look out for Royal Aberdeen this year at the Scottish Open, just before the Open. I know I go on about it enough, but there is nothing like golf in Scotland.

Thanks for reading
Easy

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Sue and Wendy – Spain part 2…. by Wendy

ISLANTILLA – SPAIN  – Take 2

Practice Range

We knew this was going to be a competitive golfing holiday. Whilst Susie was hacking her way round Royal Winchester in the pouring rain a few weeks back, I visited the pro shop. Tops, pants, shoes, belt, you name it, I bought it.  Poor Susie had forgotten her credit card so couldn’t buy any of the lovely stuff.  However, she ordered a jaguar (no, NOT cougar) paw-print snazzy top and was mightily pleased with it.  I felt SO bad telling her that I had already bought it too J  She snuck back there and bought a while cardigan just to spite me.  I pictured it with red wine stains on it.  This is why you had 3 photos of us – nothing to do with the golf course, just showing you the gear.  I won the coin toss to wear the snazzy top first.  Susie pointed that her “attributes” would make it look better on her anyway.  You were lucky not to get a 4^th outfit photo on the last day.  We were too hung over to bother.

DAY 1  Susie did a magnificent job driving from Faro airport in Portugal to Islantilla in Spain driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road and with the gears on the ‘wrong’ side of the car.  I drank  her bottle of wine on the plane as well as my own and she sat next to  the screaming kid.  Good practice for a grandmother to be.   It  was wonderful pulling up to the hotel/club again, knowing what awaited us.  The nice guy who loaded our bags into the car at the airport forgot to put Susie’s jacket in, but that was the only hiccup.  A quick visit to the bar, dinner and a relatively early night.

DAY2 Not too early a tee-time as it was still dark when we got up and the morning winds are chilly.  The pro shop informed a couple they were playing with us and the poor lady looked absolutely crestfallen; the chap impassive, although we later learnt he was even more put out with the news.  They were completely & utterly hopeless golfers! He scudded his first tee-shot into the trees just ahead of the tee, she whiffed it completely. Susie & I whispered to each other “Long Day Ahead!” On the second hole we decided we were not such bad golfers after all,

By the time we reached the 4^th tee, however, we became best buddies with our Dutch friends – Cees & Wil.  They were hilarious. The ball is in the trees? Throw it out. Don’t like the lie? Choose another.  Lost ball/ ob? Who cares , we’re not scoring.  There was the small incident when we were level with Cees and he managed to hit a fairway shot straight past our noses – thru the buggy.  Every hole was greeted with cries of “In die tree, in die bunker”.  Honestly all 4 of us had a “ball” & were on hugging terms by the end of the round. Cees bought drinks on the terrace afterwards  and we spent the evening after dinner with them in the bar.  It was a live music night & Susie insisted on dancing the night away.  As the evening progressed (and the alcoholic intake increased) she started insisting that EVERYBODY join her on the dance floor. There was another Dutch couple sitting nearby (Trendy, Rich, No Kids according to Cees).  He wore red shoes.  Susie fell in love with them & insisted on trying them on – and his wife’s high heels, although not together thank goodness.  I’ll draw a veil over how the evening ended; let Susie get her version in – I shall be happy to provide any detail she can’t remember, (blood, bruises?)  but suffice it to say that our roles were reversed from the previous holiday.  Oh btw did I mention we played Stableford and Susie won by 1 point?  Oh, she’s already mentioned that, hasn’t she J

DAY3  “Sympathetic”  smiles as we entered the dining room for breakfast. Susie:  “Who are THEY, Do I know them?”.  Wendy: “Yup, they were in the bar last night” .  Paired with another couple who declined to play with us – their loss (I don’t think they were in the bar though, Susie).  Their loss.  Rather a quiet round with just the 2 of us.     Plus the food wasn’t as good as last time, except when I spotted the Iberico ham with tomato bruschetta.   A somewhat less raucous night – as far as I remember. Medal Play today.  Not surprisingly I won by , let’s see, xx shots.

DAY4 Not paired with anyone which was a pity as we could have done with a good laugh. Came up behind 4 British blokes from Manchester area who invited us to play through.  Sue declined, saying we were in no hurry, and there were people ahead of them anyway. On the next hole, however, one hit into the trees so we did play through.  We both hit lovely drives and fairway shots all the way in front of them and thought we were the bees knees!  We came up behind a couple from Iceland (as we found out later) who were possibly even worse golfers than Cees & Wil,  mainly because they were slower as they played (and played and played) the ball as it lay.  The Brits behind us  caught up with us on every tee of course and moaned(well, one of them mainly) and  moaned  about how beginners should not be allowed on these courses.  On the terrace afterwards, the chap from Iceland introduced himself and said he hoped they hadn’t held us up.  “Oh no”, said Sue “we had all day”.  She tactfully pointed out that the course seemed somewhat difficult for beginners.  “Is it?” he said.  When the couple left, the voluble Brit. yelled across to us “Traitors” (in a friendly way) and went off to complain to the pro shop about minimum handicaps.   It was karaoke evening in the bar  but I threatened to sit on Susie’s head if she so much as looked in the direction of the mic.  We joined the Brits in the bar & they were very good company.  I remember going back to our room with a large glass of unfinished brandy in my hand.  It was still there in the morning.   It was Matchplay and I won 3& 2, although we played on and Susie won the last 2 holes.

DAY5.  Hangover.  Susie drove  the cart.  Found as many bumps as she could.  Plus dodgy brakes/accelerator (she said).  Many bunkers, deep sand.  We both had a couple of good pars, but unmentionable scores on some others.  I drove the lake & the ravine (the latter for the first time on both holidays).  Great happiness.  We didn’t play a particular format & didn’t add up the scores.   Last lunch, said goodbye to the Brits on the terrace, who remarked smilingly that we looked a bit “tired”.   Hung around the hotel for a while, then a farewell glance at the course and off to Faro Airport, where she recovered her jacket.  Fortunately Portugal was well indicated on the signposts J  A modest glass of wine and a bite to eat at the airport (British Airport sandwiches are the pits) before our flight at 9.30 pm. Arrived a bit early at London Gatwick at 11.20 pm and then spent an hour, an hour! sitting on the plane (with screaming babies all around) waiting for some steps to arrive to offload us.  Susie’s lovely husband loaded the luggage and dropped me off at home around 1.30 and then he & Susie carried on home.

Would we go back again – you betcha!  Thanks, Susie for sharing a fantastic 5 days – you were great company as ever.

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The Four Amigo’s ride again.. from Radar and Billy

Radar

A short little burp about the reunion of the 3 Amigos. Well…..sort of. The Original three Amigos were  Billy, Mikey and myself but the Coyote thought he needed practice and injured himself at the driving range the day before and couldn’t go.

So it was Billy, his buddy Daniel who was a Slinger for a little bit and myself as the fearsome threesome.

The course was not the famous 500 club where the US team was victorious  in the 2013 Ride’m cup .A tee time of 11:30 didn’t seem like a good idea in Phoenix in May. It does get stinking hot, close to 100 today. I know for sure because yesterday in Lake Havasu , another one of those earthly ovens my A/C in my car broke down. Let’s just say I needed a shower the second I made it back to Kingman after the game.

We played kinda on Billy’s home course, Villa de Paz ,just a mile from his house. Home field advantage Billy.
However it was Daniel that stole the show.  First time I have played with Danny and he’s a pretty decent player all around. He ended up winning this thing with a score of 87. The course was in decent shape, some pretty tricky holes and fast greens with  quite a bit of undulation on most of them.
Billy was his usually steady self with the putter and his approach shots but got himself into trouble with his driver a few times both left and right. He ended up with a 91.

I was pretty happy with my game as the few times I’ve played this year I played horrible all around but the SLDR was working today ( you should try to win it this year Chevy, it really IS a good club !!) I think I missed only 2 fairways the whole game with the driver. I don’t think I got that much more distance but the drives are absolutely straighter. Despite skanking a fair amount of  blades and a fatal attraction to water and the beach I ended up with a 95 because I sank a few long putts and I made all my 3 foot testers!!

Hollis joined us on the back nine. He’s a great kid and he put his little putter to work ! He’s got the moves like Jagger on the green carpet !
By the time we got to 18 it was really getting hot so the timing for a cold beer was really good. And guess who’s waiting for us in the parking lot ?

The one and only Coyote!!! Great that Mikey came out and we parted ways with the following pledge. From now on we’re the FOUR Amigos and we WILL ride again !!!!

Billy

It was great getting to golf with Fons again. Laura and I really miss him and Mary. When they lived near Tucson, Fons and I would play golf and then the four of us usually went out for dinner or to the “Last Laugh” comedy club in Tucson. They are really good friends of ours. Mikey and I have been talking about beers and a road trip to Cali to play golf with Fons in his new world.

Daniel is the new addition to the Amigos. Everyone likes Daniel! And as Fons points out, he plays decent golf. He and Matt have been my best friends for the past 20 years. I have a lot of loyalty to Daniel. He has always been there for me through good and bad times. He is one of those very few people that you meet in life..that you really can count on as your friend. I’m very lucky that he is my best friend.

I had promised Hollis he could go with us today. I woke late this morning and he was sleeping, so I told Laura to bring him to us at the turn (the golf course is about a mile and a half from my house). He woke up and thought I had forgotten him. He was very upset. I got a 911 phone call from Laura. But she brought him to us and all was good. We all felt bad that Mikey wasn’t able to play golf with us today. The 3 Amigos are special and I know Mikey would not have missed golf today if he wasn’t in serious pain. it was a special treat when EMC showed up at the 19th hole for beers! That was great! Nice ending to a great day.

I’ve been fortunate and have played golf with several of our Slinger brothers. Every one of them the “salt of the earth”. I’ve never met a Slinger I didn’t like. But Mikey, Fons and Daniel are special. We always have a fantastic time together and they truly are my brothers! Best 3 guys you could ever tee it up with.

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There’s no place like home… By Taf

It has been a while since we had a topic of discussion.  Well, here is one.

Last week we played the LPGA and the Swinging Skirts event.  On the final day, the final group consisted of LPGA standouts Stacy Lewis and Lydia Ko, currently #3 and 2 respectively in the Rolex Rankings. Also in that group was relative unknown Jenny Shin.  She has played decently throughout her brief career.  I have chosen her several times with decent results.  She has yet to win an LPGA event, her best finish being 2nd, losing in a playoff to Angela Stanford.  This year she has 2 Top 10 and 5 Top 20 finishes.  She is also my avi, mainly because the green color stands out and I can easily find any comments I have posted if needed.  The reason I bring all this up is this; she flies the Korean flag next to her name even though she has lived in the US since she was 12 years old.  She attended high school in the states and still resides in California.  Yet she has the Korean flag next to her name?  Which brings up my bigger issue.  Why do athletes live for years in one country (usually the US) yet retain citizenship to their native country?  And, what do you think about this?  Acceptable? Unforgivable?  Irrelevant?

In no way am I singling out Jenny Shin.  She is not the only professional golfer residing in one country yet hailing from another.  In fact, there are countless foreign-born athletes doing what she is doing.  When do we say, “enough is enough”?  When do we say “Hey! You have lived here for years and years.  How about flying the US flag next to your name“?  Or do we ignore it and let the status quo continue?  These athlete are, after all, doing nothing illegal or even unethical or amoral.  They pay taxes on the money earned here.  And in many respects, they are standout citizens, just not US citizens.  A few years back, Mi Hyun Kim won a tournament in Arkansas, I believe.  Her winnings were around $210,000 if memory serves me correctly.  She immediately gave half of her paycheck to relief organizations to help people in Oklahoma devastated by tornadoes just a few weeks before.  When asked about it, she simply replied that she makes a decent living playing golf, mainly in the states, and she felt obligated to help out those people suffering from the storms.

I.K. Kim won the Lorena Ochoa tournament a few years ago, and gave away her entire paycheck to charity, somewhere around $2000,000.  She also heads up a charity helping mentally handicapped children.  Golfers, in general, I think are some of the most generous athletes around today.  There are numerous stories of PGA and LPGA members giving back to the community.  I point out these two because they are foreign born yet helping out citizens in the US.  Which brings me back to my original question; does it matter if they live in one country, oftentimes for years (and permanently), yet represent another country when it matters, like the Ryder Cup, the President’s Cup or the Solheim Cup?  Or is this a non-issue?

This post is mainly about golfers, and to some extent, tennis players and T&F.  Team sports are a whole different kettle of fish.  There was a time when nearly every single hockey player in the NHL was Canadian.  Not so much now.  In fact, the NHL All-Star Game doesn’t pit East Conference vs West Conference anymore.  No.  It is North American players vs European players.  There are guys who are teammates in the regular season that are opposing each other in the All-Star game.  Pretty cool.  But hockey is a team sport and nationality really doesn’t come into play.  The same with baseball.  So, we will leave that discussion for a different day (if at all).

The other issue that this post is NOT about is foreign-born athletes taking up roster spots in collegiate athletics.  That has been going on for decades.  Furthermore, you cannot fault the athlete anyway.  Our coaches here in the states recruit these athletes.  If you want to find fault somewhere, look at the universities. No, this is about the individual professional athlete.

I think it is great that Lydia Ko represents New Zealand, even though she was born in South Korea, of Korean parents.  Not a drop of Kiwi blood in her, yet she calls New Zealand her home.  Kudos to her and her parents.  Yet, I will admit that part of me could care less about what country an athlete represents.  I try to discern an athlete’s demeanor and temperament.  Is he or she a jerk?  Or someone who I think would be nice to have a drink with?  Having said that, still another part of me thinks it is an affront to the US and borders on the ridiculous that athletes continue to represent their home country even though they have resided here for years.  Jenny Shin has been here since high school.  But she has nothing on Maria Sharapova.  The Ice Queen has lived in Florida since she was six years old.  Six years old!  Yet she continues to represent Russia, both on the WTA and in the Olympics.  German-born Sabine Lisicki also lives in Florida, but since she is about the hottest-looking player on the tour, I won’t complain.  The list of foreign-born tennis players living in the US is much shorter than I thought it would be.  In fact, the overwhelming majority of top-ranked players still reside in the countries they represent.  You would think weather would draw them to Florida and California, but it doesn’t.

In golf circles, the story is quite different, and the list is long.  Obviously, weather is a major contributing factor.  Why it affects golfers and not tennis players is uncertain.  It could also be the venues.  Tennis courts, other than surfaces, are all pretty much the same.  Not so with golf courses.  Regardless, golfers are drawn to our shores.  Let’s see, we have Luke Donald, Rory McIlroy, Jonas Blixt, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, Ernie Els, Graham McDowell to name just a few, all living in Florida.  Jason Day lives in Columbus OH, Martin Laird in Scottsdale, AZ and Graham DeLaet somehow ended up in Idaho.  Maybe Idaho seems like Florida when you come from Canada.  On the ladies’ side we have Inbee Park and I.K. Kim calling on Jenny Shin as their California neighbor.  And Suzann Pettersen, Karrie Webb, Anna Nordqvist, Na Yeon Choi, Amy Yang, Beatriz Recari and Yani Tseng can all tee it up with Tiger and all those Brits from the PGA down in the Sunshine State.  In all fairness, a few names on this list still have homes in the native country.  And, again, part of me dismisses this and thinks it silly to post a flag next to an athlete’s name anyway.  But, as long as we have the Ryder Cup and the Solheim Cup, I suppose an athlete has to represent some country.  But – if they all represent the US, then what?  Is Luke Donald going to wear the stars and stripes at the next Ryder Cup.  Is Suzann Pettersen teeing it up alongside her teammates Paula Creamer or Michelle Wie?

I guess my thought is this; it is great that Lydia Ko, Meb Keflezighi, the Eritrean-born marathoner who just won in Boston, Bernard Lagat (Kenya) and Lopez Lomong, the Sudanese-born middle-distance runner, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, who ended up being the flag-bearer for the US at the 2008 Olympics, all call their adopted countries as their home.  You can add Martina Navrotilova to that list, too.  I truly think that is wonderful and I wish more athletes felt that way.  At the same time, I know blood ties, family and cultural roots run very deep and are hard to break.  So, I won’t bash Jenny Shin too much.  Besides, she is damn cute, too!

So, what do other Slingers think?

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Chinese New Year Goodluck style and Sentosa

Every year for Chinese New Year, we have a Dragon and Lion dance at Goodluck Garden (my condo). It’s a Chinese tradition and is done to welcome in the Lunar New Year.

Goodluck does it very well. We have the traditional banging of drums, the Lions and Dragon, but the best part is the get together.
This place has around 270 apartments in told – that makes for around 800 to 1000 inhabitants. A small town in a lot of other parts of this world. But….Singapore is a big city -. one of the most densely populated places on this earth, so it can be a bit of an urban jungle and all that goes with it.

Thankfully, there are places like Goodluck where we are “neighbours” and most of all – friends.
Enjoy the video. It’s rough and amateur, but I hope it conveys just a little of my home.

Sentosa – Tanjong 10 Feb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlVrdJxU

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EMC has friends and Spain OR How smoking can damage your health

EMC has friends – Really!

Can’t say I wasn’t looking forward to the past weekend.     Yep, it was on my mind for weeks.   I would be involved in wall to wall eating, drinking, music and golf.    Oh….and ‘buffoonery’.

 

The 4 of us just never grew up.   Or wanted too!     However, we were free, white and 21 so, the gods were with us.      Tom, Dick, Dennis and Mike.     The 4 stooges! How any of us made it through school, made it through the military, made it through marriage/children, is beyond me?

‘They’ arrived  from Orlando, FL and Austin, TX.      They stayed at a Holiday Inn Express……HA !Really, they did.     The weekend was planned to the max.      Not only 2 rounds of golf but, Phoenix had the WM Tourney, and the bars had the Super Bowl.    Man, it was stuffing 5 pounds of shit ina 3 pound bag !      Heck, sometimes life is flat-out good.     And that is said without ‘women’ !!

Thursday night we hit Scottsdale Old Town.    Look it up.    Cowboy atmosphere and 500 bars/restaurants and shops. Just a great area to make believe you are more than you ‘were’, or take a walk back on memory lane.    We did both.   I don’t remember my drive home.    Fast forward to Saturday

 

Feb 1st.     11:36 tee time at Orange Tree Resort.   Radar, you missed it !   Lindy, our ‘Queen of all wanton blonde beverage girls’ was alive and well….lookin’ good.    OH, golf ?      You bet.    The 4 of us played decent.    Some mighty fine shots, both from, in and around the water.     Mikey took low gross and Dennis picked up the dinner tab.     Did I mention, life is good.     Sunday was the 500 Club.    Man, it was in great shape.    Just a visual masterpiece.     The guys loved it.    Huge difference in courses.

Orange Tree is relatively flat and plush – green grass everywhere.     500 Club is remote, dirt, sand, cactus and coyotes/ground squirrels.    Just cool as hell.    WAIT.     Cool as hell ?    Makes no sense.Tom cleaned our collective clocks.    Bastard !!    However, Tom and I had the only 2 birdies.

The round ended at the 19th, where Carrie, the resident wanton blonde bar bitch, was doing bloodys.  And then, beers.    And then she left the room to empty her breasts.    She recently had a child and was doing ‘pumping’ in the back room.    Really, she told us.   While leaning over the bar and causing Dick to drool in my beer.

Later we watched the Wamo Seahawks destroy the Broncos.    Excellent !!     What could be better ? Wendy, you said it all in your write up.    These are times to remember.       Until next year ?

 

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Islantilla – Spain OR How smoking can damage your health

SUNDAY:  Planned to start this thread with a photo of us all at Gatwick London airport with the golf travel bags/cases all laid out but everyone was in such a hurry to get through passport control/security that I’ve settled for this one of half the team o/s Sue’s house waiting for the mini-bus to the airport.  Good journey out, no delays, arrived Islantilla early evening with a short stop at a supermarket to pick up “refreshments” for room parties.

 

MONDAY: Very impressed with hotel and golf club/course, 3 very different combinations of 9 holes.  The first hole, a par 5,  was a bit of a nightmare as we were first out & didn’t know where we were going.  Came to a wooded ravine & looked everywhere for the green. Eventually found it the other side of the ravine (natch) & it was also guarded by a lateral ditch & bunkers.  What a bitch of a hole!  This was a 3 mulligan round, but no-one dared use one of their mulligans on it in case the other holes were even more difficult.   Played OK, came 3^rd behind Di & Janet, two good players.  Sue enjoyed this mulligan round but not for obvious reason!

 

TUESDAY:  I played well, felt pretty relaxed, or maybe I hadn’t woken up.  I whinged as this round had 6 hidden holes where one’s score got wiped out and I lost 13 pts.  How bloody unfair – until I found out I had won anyway!  I’m in the money. Ha! Walked down into the town with Sue after the round, but it was an absolute ghost town – not a shop, cafe, or living soul in sight.  Eeerie with thousands of apartments there.

 

Had a large G&T in the room, another “one” in the bar BEFORE dinner.  Went out to have a cigarette on the hotel steps with Di.  It started pouring  with rain, so we ran to put our cigarettes out in the sand bucket, I turned  on my heel  to go back into the hotel & slipped on the wet marble, putting my hand down to break my fall, as one does.  Felt very shaken & Di  took me back to my room to lie down.  Obviously that “one” (looked like a triple, went down nicely) in the bar may have been a contributing factor to my being shaken, but at least it anaesthetised the pain – for a while.  Spent a sleepless night in pain, convinced I had broken my wrist, worrying how/where I was going to get medical treatment & dreading  breaking the news that I had messed up the team play for the rest of the week. Sue came in at 12.35 – just saying J.

WEDNESDAY:  Pam, you remember Pam? The one I moan about playing with in qualifying rounds ‘cos she never stops moaning?  She offered to come with me to the Emergency Medical Centre  in a nearby town.  Nightmare of bureaucracy as they didn’t appear to recognise a European Health Insurance card.  Hours later actually managed to see  a dishy doctor, had xrays, inconclusive, come back in 2 days for more xrays when the swelling may have gone down.  Warned by someone in the group that if they put my wrist in plaster on Friday I might not be able to fly home with the group on Sunday.  Decided not to take the risk but to visit my local hospital on Monday.   Remind me to tell you why certain people think I should have reconsidered this decision.  Lots of hugs & sympathy from team, lots of stories to tell, but PAM WAS A STAR!

THURSDAY:  Trip to Seville.  Shops a big disappointment, flamenco dresses & gross shoes.  Had a good day though with  Sue & Janet, tapas & wine in beautiful sunshine.

 

FRIDAY/SATURDAY:  Went round on buggy both days.  Great to be included in the play.  Yellow Ball Day on Friday where it was worth double points, but when you lost it, it was gorn forever!  Not many made it past that 1^st par 5 hole with the ravine, and I think only 2 people finished with their yellow ball, 1 of them being one of my playing partners, albeit on a different team.  I was glad to be her spotter/marker anyway.  I was awarded the average score of my team for that round to be added into the total.  Matchplay on Friday.  I was given average of my Monday/Tuesday  pts.  Each time my 3 playing partners had finished the hole I drew my score out of a hat & broke 2 of their hearts!  That’s matchplay folks.  Team A  won all 8 matches, & obviously ended up the winning team overall.  More money!

 

SUNDAY:  Done & dusted.  Long day back with airport delays, alleviated by wine.  I cannot express my appreciation for the company (we never stopped laughing with & at each other) of this group, including the care they gave me, especially my chief carer, Sue, who did up my bra every morning, cut  my breakfast bacon up, (counted my wine intake), carted my bags on/off coaches, baggage trolleys, in/out airports. I do hope she will add to this thread, whilst always remembering that what happened in Spain says in Spain.

I can’t wait for the next trip, um, I mean vacation with the Wickham Park Ladies|Golf Section.

A few additions to Wendy’s Spanish tale

Tuesday evening. We did have two G and Ts before dinner and pretty large ones at that BUT what she has omitted to tell you is that before the cigarette break we also had one or two glasses of red wine. As I am a reformed smoker and therefore holier than thou, I did not go outside with Wendy and Di. I was told by Di, at dinner that Wendy had gone to bed after a fall, so having eaten my dinner I returned to our room to check up on my pal. I swear that I did not know she had hurt her wrist at that time otherwise I would have stayed with her, attending to her every need, and not returned to the bar where there was for me, a far more interesting attraction.

Wednesday. I did offer to accompany Wendy the emergency centre, but as we were both on Team A and I felt it was in the greater interest of the team for me to play golf and
I was grateful for Pam’s offer to go with her. In the event they were both seriously attracted to the doctor who attended her there.

After that week my heart goes out to those who care for older folks on a daily basis and I hope that when the time comes there will be someone there for me, to tie my trainers, cut my food and dress me. I wish she had just gone back and had the plaster put on so we could have stayed a few extra days – no gratitude!

As for my golf during the week, the less said the better. It started as c**p but did improve. The final day was a matchplay which I love playing because I seem to be able to keep more focussed. The A team ( which Wendy and I were both a part of) won by a wide margin over the week in spite of her letting us down!

As a final note, while we were waiting to board the plane, we sat with some younger men who had been playing golf and apparently seriously enjoying themselves in Vilamoura, Portugal. When they noticed Wendy’s arm they were very sympathetic. I hastily pointed out that this was not a golfing injury. They then asked if she had incurred the injury “beating off young Spanish men”. As we are both polite and well brought up English ladies it took us a while to understand exactly what this meant. But in answer to their question – what happened in Spain, stays in Spain!!!!

Sue

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