July 24, 2011; Somewhere over Michigan.
Its 12:50 eastern and I think I'm 30 minutes from the gate in Detroit. After that I will meet the driver and make my way to Toledo. Hunter says the hotel leaves something to be desired as well and there is nowhere I'd rather be!!
My two favorite sports are college football and golf. The biggest difference in the two is that you can't go compete at the highest level in football at 58 years old. Our brother Hunter is doing just that (competing at the highest level that is) in the Senior US Open this week at Inverness. I hope to give everyone a little daily update this week on Hunter's progress and our trip in general. This is installment one...
Playing in one of our National Championships is amazing no matter where and when you do it. That said, I thought I'd give everyone a little glimpse into the storied past of Inverness.
Inverness has hosted many major events, including one previous SR US Open. Here's a little breakdown on some of the other's.
The 1920 U.S. Open
Champion: Edward (Ted) Ray 74-73-73-75 295 $500
Date: 10/13/1920
Purse: $1,745
Winner: $500+Gold metal
Cut: 64 best scores and ties.
Some of you may remember Ted Ray. A storied British pro. He was a big hitting bruiser that made a historic trip to the United States with Harry Vardon that was chronicled in the book and movie titled " The Greatest Game Ever Played". In the 1913 US Open Ray and Vardon were bested by Francis Quimet, a young American Amateur, for the US Open title at The Country Club at Brookline Massachusetts. Ray also happened to be the long time pro at Walton Heath, where Hunter played in the Sr. British Amateur last year.
Ray won Inverness' first major by a single stroke over a foursome of runners-up that included Harry Vardon, Jock Hutchison, Jack Burke and Leo Diegel. At the 1920 Open Inverness invited the professional golfers into the clubhouse—the first such gesture by the members of a private club. This was a huge step for professional golf as the stigma at the time was that being a golf professional was not an honorable pursuit.
1920 U.S. Open Results
Edward (Ted) Ray 74-73-73-75 295 $500
Jack Burke, Sr. 75-77-72-72 296 $188
Leo Diegel 72-74-73-77 296 $188
The 1957 U.S. Open was won by Dick Mayer with a score of 70-68-74-70 282. This open also marked Jack Nicklaus' first appearance at the Open. Nicklaus recalled that he birdied the first hole and pared the second before shooting 80 - 80 and missing the cut.
1957 U.S. Open Results
Dick Mayer 70-68-74-70 282 $7,200
Cary Middlecoff 71-75-68-68 282 $4,200
Dick Mayer beat Carey Middlecoff in a playoff
In 1979 Hale Irwin won the US Open at Inverness.
1979 U.S. Open
Champion: Hale Irwin 74-68-67-75 284 $50,000
Date: 7/14- 7/17, 1979
Purse: $340,000
Winner: $50,000
Cut: lowest 60 + ties
1979 U.S. Open Results
Hale Irwin 74-68-67-75 284 $50,000
Jerry Pate 71-74-69-72 286 $22,250
Gary Player 73-73-72-68 286 $2
In 1973 the future " Walrus", Craig Stadler won the '73 U.S. Amateur Championship at Inverness.
All that history notwithstanding, the two most memorable Championships at Inverness in my mind were the 1986 PGA Championship and the '93 PGA. These were two of the famous Greg Norman jinx tournaments. Bob Tway sinking a bunker shot on 18 to beat Norman in '86 and Paul Azinger beating Norman in a playoff in '93, making Norman the second player in history to lose all 4 major Championships in playoffs.
1986 Results
Champion: Bob Tway, Edmond, Okla.
Date: Aug. 7-10
Purse: $801,100
Cut: 146 (73 players advanced)
1986 PGA Championship Results
Bob Tway 72-70-64-70 276 $140,000
Greg Norman 65-68-69-76 278 $80,000
1993 PGA Championship
Champion: Paul Azinger, Bradenton, Fla.
Date: Aug. 12-15
Purse: $1,700,000
Cut: 143 (74 players advanced)
1993 PGA Championship Results
Paul Azinger 68-66-69-68 273 $300,000
Greg Norman 68-68-67-69 272 $155,000
Paul Azinger beat Greg Norman in a playoff
Needless to say, Inverness is a storied place. As I finish this, it is 7AM and I'm meeting Hunter downstairs in 30 minutes. I will write again later tonight. However, before I go I thought I would share the welcome text I got from Hunter this morning. He is evidently in the room next door and I arrived at 2:45 AM. I didn't see the text until this morning...
"Welcome to Toledo. Now turn off your fucking tv. Thank you ."
Go low!
William
7-25. Paw Paw's 91st birthday.
Hunter and I just got back to the hotel after his first practice round. Beautiful, hard golf course. A few firsts today. Primarily Hunter signed his first autographs. About 25 of them, maybe more. Pretty fun to see. We did a lot of laughing. A few of the tee boxes had about 25 people around them. I told Hunter I couldn't imagine what it would be like Thursday and there was a brief conversation about a no show, like Paw Paw for the Golden Gloves match. Of course he meant it all in gist. Hunter hit the ball well on the back 9 and had even par. As long as he hits it in the fairway, he will play real well. The course is long and hard. He's long enough to give himself some advantage out here. I know he'll play well.
The other first was his Lexus courtesy car. I took a picture for posterity.
Saw Hale Irwin, Keith Fergus, Crenshaw and a few others. Visited with Gary Players' son, who seemed to be selling a stretching contraption. Most of the big shots get in this afternoon. The guys like Leitzke, O'mera, John Cook, Sluman, Lehman and others. Couples pulled out because of a bad back and Watson had another commitment. The field should still be star studded.
Hunter is going to play great. We are off to chip and hit balls in an hour or so. In the meantime the volume on my TV is very low...
Short grass only please.
Will
Volume 3- Room 318 single bed on the right- TV volume so low I can't hear it.
Well its 6:14 and I am contemplating getting up. I have caddied for Hunter in a few of these events and we always wonder how the guys that do this full time don't lose it. Oh wait, some of them do...
If you play a practice round early you have all day to fill in after lunch. If you play late you wake up early and think, what should I do now?? There comes a point at which your arms might fall off if you hit any more golf balls. There is a possibility that you might poke your eyes out if you hit any more 3 footers. That said, you get up early, go workout, go to the range, go play a practice round, go eat, go hit some more balls, go putt, go to the short game area and on and on. I don't think I could do it full time.
Now those of you that know me might think I'm lying about that last statement. Technically I'm not... I'm NOT good enough, so I couldn't do it full time. If I was good enough, hell yes! I would do it in a heartbeat.
Seriously, it is amazing how hard these guys work on their games. When Hunter and I showed up to practice yesterday afternoon, the first guy we met on the range was Russ Cochran. Russ had just jumped back over the pond yesterday after winning the Senior British Open on Sunday! ( Don't you love how I act like I know these guys... Ole' Russ was banging some balls and tellin' stories about the Brits while we had a cold one and then... Obviously not the scenario, but I'm the one typing this on a blackberry so leave me alone.. And by the way somebody buy me an IPad).
Back to Cochran, do you think he really needs to hit it better than he did on Sunday?? Rhetorical question, but the golf course is where these guys live.
Scott Simpson, Ben Crenshaw, Keith Fergus and Brad Bryant along with a host of cigarette smoking, weather beaten old men adorned the rest of the range. There is a certain look of a journeymen pro; about as tall as Ben Hogan, brown wrinkled leather skin, usually good eighties hair- wavy and long-, gold chain, upturned collar, loose hanging thick gold link bracelet. It’s a good look... No really it is... I swear.
The stars sit out there, hit a ball every couple of minutes and shoot the breeze with their caddy or some hanger on. The journeymen bang balls, talk to reps from Adams, Taylor and Cleveland and have people looking at their swing. All of the characters add to the fun.
I'm way off track here. Theresa help!!:)
Last night Hunter and I had dinner with Alan Fadel, Tim Jackson, Tim's caddy JH and Jim Nugent the Publisher of Global Golf Post. It's the dinners like this that make these events so much fun.
Alan is a great guy and good friend of Hunter's. Hunter and I spent a good deal of time with he and his wife Karen in England last year. Alan is a former pro who has played in 3 SR Opens as an amateur. Alan's home course is Inverness and you can imagine how disappointed he is that he didn't qualify to play this year. Still, he is graciously hosting a party for the players, staff, tour reps and basically everyone involved with the Open tonight.
Tim Jackson is an amateur from Tennessee. He is as nice as he can be and has an amazing golf resume. Tim is 52 so it is likely that you will see him dominating the amateur ranks as a senior in another 3 years. Years ago, he lost to Tiger Woods in the quarterfinals of the US Amateur. He won the US Mid-Amateur twice and 2 years ago led the SR Open for 2 rounds. He was 1 back after the 3rd round and eventually finished a few shots back of Fred Funk who fired a final round 64. Tim has also played on 3 Walker cup teams. It seems likely that he will be considered to Captain a Walker cup squad in the near future. I know I am leaving out some of his accomplishments, but needless to say his stories were awesome.
I could sit around and listen to these guys all night. The history they know and talk about is wonderful. The most fun is the fact that the majority of it is about amateur golf, the past and present. You don't get enough of that.
One final comment on dinner. It's true that we sat around and talked about golf for the majority of the time. As a matter of fact, the conversation for a good part of the night hinged on different golf videos that Hunter, Tim, Jim and Alan watch all the time ( A little concerning, but I think it's just a small problem). Eventually though the conversation turned to Alan, Tim and Hunter's wives. It was truly great to hear the respect and honor with which these guys talked about the women they love. Very cool to hear guys you look up to so much give proper respect to the most important people in their lives. Cheers to Betsy!
Hunter and I retired to the bar at the Hilton Toledo before hitting the rack. Crenshaw was in the bar with us. A place I believe he enjoys. Gentle Ben was still holding court with a bunch of guys from the greater Toledo area when we left. I'm sure he was enjoying their banter about the hundred and seventy three yard 4-iron the guy once hit that rolled right over the hole... I do believe they were buying.
Until next time... Hit 'em straight pards!"
Will
11:25 Tuesday July 26th: Family Dining Room Inverness:
Hunter and I just visited with fellow Beaumont native Bruce Lietzke. Bruce remembered Scott Wise and others from his days in Beaumont. True to the stories, when Hunter and I walked up, Bruce was telling Bob Tway how to take care of his bass lake. We talked a little about when Bruce left Beaumont and he explained that he moved from Beaumont to Oklahoma, ironically, to stay close to his golf teacher in 1974. His teacher was his brother Brian. The irony comes from the fact that all Brian and Bruce did for 10 years in Oklahoma was fish. He has never taken another golf lesson. Said his swing just never got bad. Not many people can say that...
Practice round at 1:45 today with Tom Jenkins. Austin native professional that made 233 cuts on the PGA tour. Not a household name by any stretch, Tom found a way to make a living at it. Tom may only play 9 holes. He told Hunter that at their age well rested is much more important than well prepared.
As I write this, Hunter and I are standing in front of the entrance to the clubhouse. I must look very official because people keep asking me if they can go in. I have told them all yes. I figure, why be rude...
9:29pm ; Toledo Hilton
Back in the room getting some rest for an early start tomorrow. We have a practice round with Phil Blackmar in the morning. Chances are good that it will be a 9 hole affair. There are some pretty good hills at Inverness and the Nelson knees on both player and caddy might need a bit of a break before the tournament starts in earnest on Thursday.
Today was a fantastic day. The magnitude of it all showed it itself rather quickly when we walked on the range as we approached our 1:45 start time. Hunter grabbed a 7 iron and I looked up and down the range. The line up from left to right read: Corey Pavin, Larry Nelson, Bob Tway, John Huston, Fuzzy Zoeller, Tommy Armour III., Hunter Nelson, Craig Stadler, Keith Fergus and Ben Crenshaw. What a line u… , wait a minute, did I just say Hunter Nelson? Yes, I think I did. I can’t be positive, but yes now I’m sure of it, I did. Come on!! How fine is that? At that point I just kind of sat back and watched.
The first thing I saw Stadler do was a mock Miguel Angel Jimenez dance. For those of you who didn’t see Jimenez at the British Open, the dance / stretch looked like a bad Elvis impersonation by a pony tailed, fat bellied, cigar smoking Spaniard. Now imagine a 385 pound (I’m trying to give the boy a break, 400 has its possibilities) Craig Stadler mimicking that.. Pretty durn funny. Then I watched Stadler’s little half swing pure about 50 balls. In the day of the modern golf swing and the practiced mechanical motion, you don’t see very many Stadler moves. Stadler bends as far over as his massive” Walrus” body style will let him (in case you haven’t seen it or gathered here, that isn’t too far), pulls the club back about mid-section high and his tree stump forearms lead a violent, perfectly timed assault on the golf ball. Because of his arm strength, that little stab creates some great results.
Then you look down the range and watch Larry Nelson put the old classic swing on the ball. Tall lean Bob Tway put the long languid motion on it and guys like John Huston, likely the longest player on the Champions tour at the moment, just take a rip at it.
Fuzzy Zoeller, Mark Calcavechia and 2 others had the 1:30 tee time, the time immediately preceding ours. As Hunter and I walked toward the tee, I noticed that ben Crenshaw was also standing on the 1st tee box. The issue was that this gave Zoeller’s group 5 players. The volunteer starter pointed out that Ben would need to find another game, at which time Fuzzy over ruled with a simple “ oh bullshit, announce him”. Before there could possibly be a conversation and anyone could be announced, Fuzzy had already hit and was walking down 1 fairway. I’m sure it won’t surprise anyone to find out that Mr. Crenshaw did not need to find another game. By the way, none of that was said with any ire. Zoeller was laughing, the starter was laughing and the gallery was smiling. These kind of antics are just what Fuzzy brings to the game.
Soon the next time was announced. Hunter Nelson and Tom Jenkins. As Tom stood over his tee ball a little boy of about 5 started in with “excuse me can I have your autogra…” he was shushed by a parent for the moment, but as soon as both Tom and Hunter had hit, he was back at it. The new celebrity Nelson, quite the crowd pleaser, walked over to sign the boys hat. Hunter took the hat and using a little self-deprecation stated “ I don’t know how to do this”. The little boy thought that made no sense and was happy to tell Hunter how to do it. He simply pointed out, “ you just spell your name on it”. He was kind enough not to add any color. He just let the silly old man sign and move on… It was great stuff.
John Huston joined us on number 2 green as we were moving slow due to Fuzzy’s clear disregard for the rules and Huston’s lack of companionship. He was playing by himself. Having him join us was a huge treat. Huston was one of my favorite players in his prime. He always hit it so good (still does) and I always felt like he might get hot and win every week. He had a number of years where he contended at the Masters and was just good in general. Quiet, seemingly by nature, it took Huston a few holes to warm up. That said, when he did he was as nice as he could be. It was obvious by the banter on the course that he is well liked by his peers. During the round, every player that walked an adjacent fairway made it a point to call out to him. The best of the day was the shout out from Fred Funk. It seems Huston had a little trouble reading the greens at Walton Heath last week and he made that known. Funk repeated a line that Huston used while in England. Apparently, Huston had been asked by another player struggling with the greens, if he could read them. Huston remarked, “ Yeah I have them figured out. All the putts break away from the hole”. After repeating this, Funk suggested Huston compile a book of one liners. Peter Jacobsen razed Huston on 10 tee after watching John’s tee ball. Jacobsen remarked, “ That’s the way you do it folks. A chunk and roll . Perfection.”
As we reached 3 green, Gary Koch caught up with us and followed us through 8 tee. He bantered back and forth with Huston and his caddy about Paul Azinger. Azinger withdrew. By the humor found in this revelation, it seems this was no surprise. Seems Zinger ( that’s what we call him out here J) doesn’t really care about playing anymore. You will see Koch on TV this week. He was a successful PGA player and now works with the Golf channel. Nice guy. I asked for his odds on pick for the Champion and he told me if he knew that he’d be in Vegas, not talking to me. I told him I thought this was rude because I consider myself a lovely fellow. I believe this is when he went and found another group to follow…
On 10 we were joined by Jim Rutledge. Rutledge has been on the Champions tour for 2 years and has won $480,000. A pleasant guy from Canada, Rutledge played the Canadian tour after turning pro in 1978. He spent a few years on the Nationwide tour and played 1 PGA event before joining the Champions tour. Jim’s wife is on the bag this week. He is extremely long, as is Huston. That length should help both these guys immensely, especially if the USGA doesn’t shorten the course a bit.
We have been playing practice rounds at a length of 7,130 yds. and playing the course to par 71. My guess is that they shorten the course to 6, 850 to 6,900 yds. That would bring the rest of the field into the tournament. Even at 7130, the course is playable from the fairway. However, I am saying that on Tuesday ( actually Wednesday morning now, I fell asleep before I could finish writing last night…). The greens haven’t sped up yet. They may not scalp them, but I would expect them to speed up toward the weekend. The golf course is wonderful. The only oddity is that they re-routed the course quite a bit. The players play the traditional number 1 and 2 before moving to what is normally the 12th hole, then playing 12 through 16 before going back to the usual numbers 8 and 9. The back starts off with what Inverness members play as 10 and 11 before moving to the 3rd hole and playing through number 7. They then take a little jaunt across an adjacent hole (should be fun in the tournament) to play the actual 17th and 18th. Anybody confused yet?? Just go with it. The round about routing makes the course play to a 37-34 configuration. It also makes for 2 par 5s on the front and none on the back. If played from the back tee (again I believe they will shorten it a bit) the back nine is brutal. 4 par 4’s over 445 and a 228 yd. par 3. Holes 14 and then 16 and 17 back to back just don’t let up. The 228 yard par 3 is not the hardest par 3. Number 12 is. 12 measures 194 and will play shorter at least one day. It is guarded by water on the right that hugs the green and is flanked by a big bunker on the left. Expect to see many shots in that bunker from the back tee. That said, hit it in the left bunker and hold on to your hat, or throat as the situation might dictate. That bunker shot is to a downhill green feeding into the water.
Hunter hit the ball great yesterday. In fact, better than any of the guys we played with. We can also read these greens. It hasn’t bothered him playing in front of a hundred people a hole. Thursday it will be a few thousand. The tournament expects 128,000 for the week. No worries though. He told me he doesn’t care about playing in front of a bunch of people or what they think about him. He would just prefer not to kill anyone. I told him I’d prefer that too… 12:55 Thursday might build a few butterflies, but I expect a perfect 3 wood and a patented hunter “shewww” as soon as we are out of ear shot. By the way, I think he birdies number 1 on Thursday. Any takers?
We ended the day with a barbeque at Alan and Karen Fadel’s home. Crenshaw, Jay Haas, Jeff Sluman and other lesser known pros were there. Alan is a golf history nut and he and Crenshaw got stuck in the golf mausoleum for a bit. Crenshaw is a golf historian himself. Paul Simson, who won the Sr. British Amateur last year was there as well. He made the cut at the Sr. British Open last week and it was fun speaking with him about the differences in Walton Heath from how it played while Hunter and I were there for the Senior British Am last year. Hunter is headed to Royal Portrush Monday ( I repeat Monday…) for this year’s Sr. British Am. I was slated to go, but the Open trumped that trip. I could still go, but someone out there in TV land would have to give me a job as I am fairly certain a few people would like me to show up at mine sometime soon…
It’s 6:45 now so I’m going to get going for the day now. Positive thoughts. Hunter loves all the well wishes. Keep them coming. He doesn’t get to read any of this BS until we are done…
Fairways and Greens,
William
7-27 3:49 pm, 12:39 am: Hilton Toledo Twin Bed on the right
The combined Advil intake today is only up to 7. Hunter 5 will 2, but I’m minutes from catching up. The weather was cooler today so we played a full round as opposed to calling it quits after 9. Our playing partners today were Phil Blackmar who played his college golf at The University of Texas , John Adams currently of Paris, Texas and Kevin Marion the head pro at Old Elm in Highland Park, Illinois.
Blackmar won 3 times on the regular tour and has won once on the senior circuit. His son Mark was drafted and signed with the Baltimore Orioles as a pitcher this year after forgoing an offer from the Kansas City Royals in 2010.
John Adams has won over $2,000,000 in his professional career. His swing makes you realize that there are a million ways to get the club back to square at the ball. With a big looping swing and a left arm that bends in an arc about halfway back, John then drops the club way inside. From the looks of things he doesn’t hit it like he once did, but watch his short game and you realize why he can score.
Kevin Marion made the cut at the 2009 Sr. Open. He is here with his wife, 20 year old son and 18 year old daughter. His Open this year has already been full of adventure. Kevin arrived Sunday and after checking his clubs in, walked the course a bit to mark some yardages. He returned to the clubhouse to discover that the bag room was locked up tight along with his car keys and wallet. Five security guards and one bag room attendant through a window later, Kevin and his family left Inverness with alarms blaring. He may not be well known to the spectators, but the staff won’t ever forget him.
Blackmar and Adams were great to play with. Phil seems to enjoy a bit of fun and just made it to the tee box in time for our 9:30 start time. John, Phil and Phil’s son and caddy Philip attended the Toledo Mud hens game last night and Phil seemed a little foggy. Hunter, John and Kevin all hit balls down the middle and then Mr. Blackmar the most well-known of all present on the tenth tee, was announced. Ten is either 3 wood or hybrid depending on what yardage you want to leave yourself. Phil pulled 3 wood and the 4 time pro tour winner proceeded to hit a 100 yd., fat pop up. Adams provided the color commentary with the quick, if not obvious quip of, “more solid than I thought you’d hit it”. The great thing about Wednesdays (practice round days) is that Phil just dropped a ball up with the rest of the guys and sauntered on. Now Thursdays…
Hunter was recognized three times today. One spectator called him John, one said good shot Dan and the third asked for an autograph and told him he had been a big fan for a long time. Hunter did what you should tell your young kids to do when they make it to the end zone for the first time, he acted like he had been there before. A little while later a youngster of about 8 asked me who’s caddy I was. Hunter Nelson I answered. “Oh” , he replied. After staring at me with more than a bit of confusion in his eyes, he got around to his real question. “ Have you seen jack Nicklaus?”
Now Mr. Harvey, the rest of the story…
The forecast for tomorrow and Friday calls for a 50% chance of rain. The primary difference that rain will make to the playability of the course will be how it effects the rough. The second cut is thick and wiry. Add wet to that and you end up with NNNASTY. There is already a premium on hitting it in the fairway, but rain will triple the importance. We saw a couple of different tees today that could be how the USGA shortens the course. Those tees will likely only be used if it rains and or the wind starts to blow.
No matter the conditions, what a day tomorrow will be. I can only liken the anticipation to the feeling I have on those early October Friday nights before Texas /OU. I don’t think Hunter would disagree that his son’s own description fits the feeling best. In the timeless and situation ally appropriate words of jack Nelson, “it’s a little bit good, a little bit bad and a little bit weird”. It’s 11:51 and I know on the other side of this hotel room wall Hunter is doing a crossword puzzle, small panic attacks coming and going. I will let him have them all tonight and I’ll have my own. We will both try to sleep and will likely both have those golf nightmares that any of us that have played this game enough have had. They usually involve a tee box with a wall or rock behind you that makes it impossible to take the club back. Another version and one of my favorites is the hole that is situated on top of a table. How the hell am I supposed to get the ball there? There’s the fairway that happens to be in an incredibly tight hallway and many other variations. All of these dreams, by the by, include other players in your foursome who have already successfully negotiated the impossible situation. The good news is that you wake up and realize nothing can be as bad as the dream you just had.
At 12:55 eastern on July 28th, Hunter will tee it up with the likes of Kite, Langer, Jacobsen, Sutton, Graham, Crenshaw, Frost, Tway, Larry Nelson, Stadler, Mize, and Zoeller. He will walk the fairways with Huston, Olin Browne, Jim Thorpe, Leitzke, and Pate. He and 27 other accomplished amateurs will compete in the 2011 Senior US Open. Rain or shine, Hunter and I will laugh our way to the course. We will laugh at the absurdity of the situation, just as we have for the last 3 days. We will joke about the autographs, we will watch our golf heroes like Crenshaw and talk about how we lived and died with every shot he hit and every putt he made in his Masters’ victories. We will talk about Fuzzy waving the white flag. We will analyze every move there is and compare them all right back to Ben Hogan. Again, we will do the same things we have been doing for the last 3 days. We will enjoy the experience and give all of the pros out here their due. Then we’ll start to prepare. At 11:45 eastern the US Open staff will put the H. Nelson placard in its slot on the range and chills will run up and down my spine. I’ll allow myself one more chill tomorrow and that will be when the 1st tee announcer introduces my brother. At that point we go to work. My job is easy, I’m on a good bag.
Get your Horns up baby! ( I’d say it the other way, but that would just be wrong…).
Until tomorrow night. Put a good swing on it.
Will
7-28 10:41; Hilton Toledo: room 318 -twin bed on the right
What a day... It is so hard to know where to start. That said, I guess I will start with the golf. The first golf tournament I ever played in was in the 8th grade. I was so nervous on the first tee that I almost hit my left leg with my tee shot. In front of 6 parents and 3 other boys ages 14 to 16 I hit the front door of the Bayou Din pro shop. Anyone who has played a little bit of golf has a similar first tee story. Yes mine is particularly embarrassing I know…
Can any of us imagine the pressure of your first US Open? It isn’t just the first tee. It is every single shot. It is TV cameras, it is huge galleries, it is 6 par 4s over 460 yards. I have never seen a guy hit so many perfect 280 yard drives and have to hit 3 or 4 iron in. It is just brutal. By the way if you miss any of the greens (and I mean by 2 feet) your ball settles into rough with what can only be described as teeth. Yes… it goes well beyond the first tee.
I plan to recount both rounds in great detail after the tournament is over. For now I will just say that Hunter played well. Not as well as he wanted, but well. 77 might not seem great when compared to Olin Browne firing 64 ( you might want to Google Olin’s record), but it looked pretty damn good from where I was sitting. All I will say is that if 2 shots have different results and a couple of putts drop, you are looking at 71 instead. We will go tee it up again tomorrow and see what the golf gods have in store.
12:19; Toledo Hilton-room 318- left side of the twin bed on the right- on top of the covers- lawzy it’s hot…
This week started on Paw Paw’s birthday. Well Paw Paw’s genes made it to the driving range this morning ( now yesterday morning). The first thing I did when I got to the golf course was get Hunter’s bag and my caddy bib. The stylish attire you saw in the picture. Hunter and I hit a few putts and then went to have some lunch. Caddies are second class citizens most of the time, but if you happen to be a caddy and a relative you get to go into the clubhouse now and then. Be that as it may, I took off my caddy bib so as not to offend any sensibilities when I entered family dining. Hunter and I had a nice lunch with john Grace and his wife before heading back out to the range.
I got some balls and the attendant followed us out with Hunter’s placard. I visited with John Grace’s caddy and a few other folks ( I’m real comfortable out here now… just chat it up with the gang you know). Hunter then pointed out that David Frost was on the range. Well I told Ken McDonald ,aka Kenny Mac, aka the Big Toe that I would tell Frosty hello for him when I saw him, so I sauntered over and acted like I knew what I was doing ( Frosty says hello by the way Kenny). I heard Frost’s caddy say something to me and saw a few other players and caddies looking at me, so I gathered I had done something wrong, but I didn’t know what. It was then that the kid next to me pointed out that I had my bib on backwards. Name in front, pockets in back. Not only was it on backwards, I think half of it was inside out. How you lookin’ Leldon? And so the day began…
I shed my first tear this morning in the bathroom. Not because of anything unpleasant ( I know I have added some childish types to this email list… you know who you are), just because that was where I was when I let the first wave of emotion hit me. I thought about what today meant and what an accomplishment this is for Hunter. I thought about how lucky I am to be here with him. I thought about how amazing it is for anyone to get to experience this with their brother. I thought about how proud I am of him and in my mind I put my horns up. The universal symbol for; you are such a stud. Ok, I admit it. I think I actually put my horns up… Just the way it goes.
I cried for a minute, said a few silent prayers of thanks and yes I prayed for Hunter to play well. Absent mindedly I got dressed, filled my pockets with the yardage book, extra pencils, tees etc…, dropped a few things a few dozen times ( did I mention this is the US open and Hunter is playing in it? I was a little nervous… ) and finally started to walk towards the front door. I turned around when I realized I didn’t have my phone and as I reached to get it I noticed the bedside clock. It was 5:30 in the morning. Our tee time was at 12:55. So I took the tees out of my pocket, put the yardage book on the bedside table,.. well you get the picture.
Besides the fact that I put on my caddy gear backwards, which actually provided a well-timed stress reliever for Hunter, I didn’t let Hunter see any of my emotions before the first tee. We walked to the first tee 10 minutes before our time, met our playing partners and the officials, TV personnel, score keeper, standard bearer, the first tee announcer and a host of other folks and waited for the call to the tee. I put on my shades to cover the tears I knew were seconds away. Hunter shook my hand and thanked me for being there and I told him I couldn’t think of anywhere in the world I’d rather be and the call was made. Our playing partners hit lead off and second before the announcer called Hunter Nelson from Houston Texas to the tee. The second chill I allotted myself reverberated down my spine right before Hunter ripped his 3 wood down the middle. Man was that cool…
We go at 7:40 tomorrow so I have to go to bed. Until tomorrow, keep your head down.
Will
July 29- 8:15am; Inverness Family Dining room- no backwards caddy bib
Rain continues to fall. A USGA representative just walked in and announced an update is expected at 8:30. Enough water has been deposited on the course that it seems 9:30 would be the earliest possible first tee time. We have the 2nd starting time of the day.
Hunter has departed to stretch his old bones in preparation for the eventual start. I am doing the Doppler dance: Websters' Definition; Doppler Dance - a gaggle of frustrated men, usually golfers, sometimes fishermen, standing around a radar screen pointing at the predicted path of a weather cell. The time of the passing is predicted as is the likelihood of ever being able to complete the desired activity. Used in a sentence one might say: Robby and I did the Doppler Dance at the Canyon Creek member guest before deciding to have a bloody Mary.
It is evident that the nerves of the first day have subsided. Before departing for the stretching rack, Hunter had a suggestion for my update. "Make sure you tell everybody how loud you are in the Family Dining area. That would be in my update." All is back to normal...
What he doesn't know is how close I came to really embarrassing him. There weren't any tables when we got here so we joined a foreign player (possibly Japanese) and his tomodachi. I had just received some well wishes from Father Johnny Stacer and I recalled a letter from the "Love and Prayers David" compilation. In Johnny's letter circa 1942 or 3, he expressed his opinion that "those dirty Japs would rue the day they met cousin David". I was halfway through telling Hunter my story when I realized what I was about to repeat. ( Sorry Johnny. I know you wouldn't say that now, but you have been forgiven, you were about 11. ). I am relatively sure I would have been relieved of my caddy duties. You can take the boy out of the barn as the saying goes.
Hunter is back so I will say until next time, when it's breezy swing it easy.
Will
7-30: 7:18am ; Hilton Toledo Bed on the Right- I feel like it needs its own address
Woke up this morning in a panic because I thought I slept through a tee time. Damn it Hunter!
I had half a mind to go show up and look for another loop. Then I tried to stand up and realized Hunter has the rest of the advil… So I laid back down and contemplated the life of the not for profit caddy business. Let’s review shall we.
Pluses: You get to stay in luxurious accommodations in thriving metropolises like Toledo. You get to catch hell from a 58 year old with bad knees, shoulders, trigger finger, an Achilles problem and several variations of possible heart attack ( you never know when one of these may hit and whether or not it is just advil burn, has been brought on by a self- induced bad distance or it really is the Fred Sanford “Elizabeth I’m coming to see you” Big One). And the pay is, well, there isn’t any. Is this the time to refer to the pluses as” friends” and use the old adage that starts out- with friends like these?
A caddy is much like a pitcher. Specifically a college pitcher with a hard ass for a coach. Someone else calls every pitch. You better damn well be right if you shake the call off and even then the final authority is in the coaches hands. This is where it starts to get delicate. The easy route is the path of least resistance. Throw the pitch called (i.e. give your player the 6 iron if he asks for it. Go with his read ). That said, sometimes you have more information than your coach ( player). Maybe in high school you threw this guy the fastball coach just called and he hit it over the lights and off the property like Keith Kunetka did to me in Little league ( I still want that pitch back...). If you have that knowledge, you want to throw the guy curve balls that drop off the table before they get to the plate. Send the guy to first base (make a par and get out of here) . So depending on your conviction you might decide to shake the call off once. The question is, what if coach gives you that all too familiar scowl and puts up one finger again. In most cases you throw the fastball (or give your player 6 iron when 7 iron short is the play). Now the fun starts. If the batter hits a grounder to short and you get the cleanup hitter 6-3, no problem. If on the other hand he hits a 3 run shot that looks like a Lidge- Pujols reenactment it’s a different story. You get a mound visit or in Lidge’s case a locker room visit… that goes something like this; “ You think you could have thrown that thing a little closer to his wheelhouse? Cause I don’t think he really caught that one square. You wanted to throw the curve ball, why didn’t you go with your gut moron?” Now I don’t really care what Lidge said, or Dave Smith for that matter when Dykstra did the same thing ( Why by the way did the Astros always have closers that got everybody out all year and when the pennant was on the line they thought waste high and 90 to the best hitter on the team was the right pitch? Hunter please ask Jim to ensure this never happens again). What I do know is the proper caddy response. Put the club in the bag, walk toward the hole, find the ball in the trash can behind the green and hope like hell your player doesn’t make a 10. It doesn’t matter if you were right because it is your job to take the blame. That’s just part of the bargain you struck when you picked up the bag that day. Yep. You have to have the short term memory of a pitcher as well. You have other things to take care of immediately. The next time your player has the same shot, you get to the ball before him, hand him the 7 iron when he arrives and walk off before he has the chance to have a brain cramp and think about a little cut 6. This is where the next bear trap rears its ugly head. If your guy chunks the 7 iron into the lake in the front, you get to hear about how he knew the lie was funny and he needed to hit 6. Again, get the yardage from the drop area and tell him to put a good swing on it. In the pitcher scenario this would be like the hitter bouncing to short just like it was planned only to have it booted into left field. I could go on with this analogy for a while but I will get to the most troubling similarity. As we have discussed, in either scenario If things go wrong, it is always your fault. Both a pitcher and a no good caddy can get benched. If your player is anything like Augie Gariddo, he’s got an itchy trigger finger ( no pun intended Hunter).
Now Hunter didn’t fire me for the trip to Ireland. As I mentioned, I must show up at my day job. That said we did have our differences. Some of which were shear “ bad brain” on my part. Some of which were Big Brother, Little Brother at 58 and 42… really?? An example of the Paw Paw gene of temporary insanity; It’s hard to admit, but at one point on a difficult par 3 that Hunter and I argued about every practice round and tournament day, I actually argued that because the pin was back the front of the green was farther away. That is a simplistic explanation of a confusing moment and of course I didn’t know that’s what I was arguing until we walked off the tee box. I was staring at the yardage book which when you have said “bad brain” can look like hieroglyphics ( picture attached). As Hunter and I laughed about that last night, he said he had a hard time having any confidence in my yardages from that point forward. So much so that later he got a yardage on his own and missed the green 10 yards short, thus leading to the self-inflicted bad yardage heart attack and a bogey…
An example of the big brother / little brother mumbo jumbo: Hunter hit it in a fairway bunker. As he watched me rake the trap he commented, “ I have never seen anyone rake a bunker with one hand. That is the worst bunker raking I have ever seen”. A spectator was nearby and asked why he said that to me. As Hunter walked off, I told the confused onlooker, “ I don’t know, but I’m gonna’ tell him not to hit it in the damn bunker and rake job quality will never be at issue”. Now that I think about it, that might not have been an occurrence of big Brother / little brother, but more likely, “I’m pissed I hit in that bunker and you are close to me so I’m going to yell at you”. No matter it was quite funny…
Just a couple of factoids from the trip:
Things you might find in a caddy vest; 4 half full water bottles, I half full Gatorade, 6 candy wrappers, 3 pin sheets (hopefully the correct days…), 14 tees, 1 divot ( old caddy trick Phil Blackmar taught me) a banana peel and an apple core. That’s if you threw anything away.
Advil Consumption: I plead the 5th for the reason that somebody might tell both of us to quit taking it.
Funny one liners- I will just give you a couple of my favorites, both provided by the professional card player and pro golfer who played with us Wednesday and Thursday- Warren Jurkowitz (well-known I realize)
After Curtis Skinner, our other playing partner, knocked in a 50 footer for eagle. Had the ball not hit the hole it might have gone in the sand trap… “ That was like calling with middle pair and drawing trips.”
Commenting on Skinner again after he made another bomb: “ That guy’s got a horseshoe in his ass.”
Man it was fun and yes I thought about getting on a plane and going to Ireland with Hunter today. Mainly just as a public service to keep all of you well informed. Alas, I’m going to Dallas after one more trip to the Inverness pro shop. My kids need shirts ( don’t worry Robby I got your double x… because you’re tall). Hunter you played well man. 77-76 in the Sr. US open. There are many of us on this email chain that think we have a little game, not really me , but some of you out there. I promise we would have all had a 7 and 6 somewhere on our card. Likely on 1 and 2 had we been able to draw it back.
Thanks for letting me loop Hunter and in all seriousness as you know, I’ll play on this team anytime.
Now I can say it without any karma induced no hitter like repercussions.
Hook ‘Em
William
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