“The course is in the best shape it has been in since I’ve been here,” said Jim Hosley, the general manager of Baywood Golf and Country Club in Arcata, Calif. Hosley is the former head pro and has been at Baywood for 30 years. I’ve been coming to the Baywood Pro Am for 20 years and I would agree with Hosley--from tee to green this short course, 6,149 yards, with long teeth in the form of narrow fairways lined by redwood trees, severe doglegs and slick greens, is in perfect shape.For more background on my buddies trip read the two previous posts below.
After a few rough practice rounds over the weekend, Monday was the first of two competitive rounds. My Uncle Tony’s team played in the morning and struggled to a score of 12-under. They gave three shots back, which is never good. Uncle Tony’s team won the whole thing two years ago, but in a one low gross and one low net per hole format, on Monday they were several shots off their normal first round pace. A quick glance at the scoreboard before my team teed off in the afternoon and we could tell that playing conditions were tough. Greens were faster than normal, the air was heavy and fairways were soft, so there wasn’t a lot of roll.
My team is pictured above. From left to right: Tim Hetrick, my roommate from college; Glen Stubblefield, our pro from Spring Creek C.C. in Ripon, Calif.; Mike Clark, my former boss when I’d come home from college and mow greens as a summer job at Oakmont Golf Course in Santa Rosa, Calif.; and Ed Bello, one of Uncle Tony’s good friends, also from Santa Rosa.Don’t worry; you won’t need a cart because I’m not going to take all 18, but my team was 15-under today for a score of 129, which is our best first round score by three shots. We have them, the field that is, right where we want 'em. We’re four strokes off the lead and sit in sixth place out of 41 teams. Eddie, with his 17 handicap, and Tim, with his 16 handicap, were the stars of the squad. I shot 84 with two birdies and six pars but I was out of too many holes off the tee to feel good about my game. To win any tournament it's always about getting some putts to drop, and today just enough putts dropped for us that we had a blast out there. There were plenty of knuckle-bumps, high-fives and we chanted “Eddie! Eddie Eddie!” or “Team! Team! Team!” throughout the round.
Our pro, Glen Stubblefield, who shot 75 with four birdies and missed a few short putts, has played in a Senior U.S. Open and two Senior PGA Championships, so you can get a sense of how hard Baywood can be, even for guys who have played at the highest level. Of the 41 pros who played today at Baywood, 17 of them didn’t break 80 and 25 of them shot higher than a 75. The low pro so far is Charlie Gibson, a four-time champ, who shot a 67. There aren’t any big name pros but Rodney Wilson, the head pro at Harding Park (venue of the Presidents Cup next month) shot a 74.
So the stage is set for Tuesday. We tee off early and we start on the only hole where we gave a shot back on Monday--the 267-yard 17th hole--Bello and I were in the trees off the tee; Clark, Hetrick and Stubby had 80 yards in with sand wedges in their hand for their second shots and yet we all managed to make a bogey. The 17th green is shaped like a peanut shell and it’s about the size of a nut. But I agree with what Hetrick said, “It’s good to face our demons right out of the box.”
Tomorrow Tim and I are driving five hours back to San Francisco immediately following our final round so that I can catch a flight back to New York on Wednesday morning. I’ll post final results from my Baywood buddies trip on Wednesday afternoon. I know, I bet the suspense is killing you. But I will say, after ambushing and writing about so many of your trips for the magazine, it has been fun to share some of the characters and the details of one of mine. Thank you for your patience.
--Matty G.
Rating
Comments
Post A Comment