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Results for May 2011
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Tiger. Vegas. Against all odds.
Remember when Tiger was essentially even money to win a major championship?
It wasn't that long ago when he was the master at exceeding our excessive expectations. We all climbed that never-ending beanstalk into the sky together, ignoring what turned out to be a weak root system.
Yes, Tiger has a bad leg, and some will say his putting is suspect, but it's that sprained tissue between the ears that continues to trouble me.
Golf my way: a buddies trip
The golf world is fixated on what’s wrong with the sport. Sending that conversation to the bottom of our travel bags for a second, let’s focus on what golf is doing right: the annual buddies trip.
I could be sentenced to a life of nine holes in the hallway of this office, and if I got to tee it up with the right buddies, I’d be happy. Whether it’s Bandon Dunes, Pinehurst, Pebble Beach or playing through the community snacks in the production department, I depend on my buddies trips for banter, bets and belly laughs.
After surprising more than 40 buddies trips with the Golf Digest Ambush--the most recent story will appear in the July issue--I’m fascinated by the camaraderie that’s taking place across the country.
It’s trophies made of toilet seats, it’s guys being forced to wear skirts for not hitting it past the ladies’ tees, it’s tributes to fallen friends--no wonder your buddies trip is more important than anniversaries, birthdays or bar mitzvahs.
On any given buddies golf getaway, it’s not uncommon for a 40-handicap who sets aside his five annual rounds for one trip a year to earn the coveted honors of MVP. And it has nothing to do with his net 59, although that might earn a line in the history book. It has everything to do with his refreshing attitude, his homemade moonshine, and his willingness to man the grill in a snowstorm.
On Oct. 21-23, I’ll be cooking up a buddies golf jamboree at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, which includes three nights of lodging, three rounds of golf at the Waldorf Astoria Golf Club, food, a buddies golf roundtable, gifts, prizes and more.
Sign up now, and bring some buddies. What’s better than late-night hallway golf in a swanky new Hilton?
--Matty G.
(You can follow me and my travels on Twitter: @Matt_Ginella.)
Portrait of slow play
We've all played with one of these hard shells. They get out of the cart, walk to their ball without clubs, assess the situation and yardage, walk back to the cart, toggle between wedges, and then they start their lengthy pre-shot routine. And when you add it all up, it's a 95 in five hours.
But we've never played with them twice.
What's golf's greatest anchor?
A) It takes too much time.
B) It's too hard.
C) It's too expensive.
You can comment in the box below, or tweet me @Matt_Ginella.
--Matty G.
(Thanks to Hoff for sharing the photo.)
Tips on playing a course for the first time
There were some who thought I was crazy to be traveling on Masters' Sunday. Considering my trip was to the Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, I say I would've been crazy not to. Besides, I was able to watch Tiger's front-nine 31 on the plane and the finish in the lobby bar of the hotel.
Safe to say I've never seen anything like this resort. It's best described as a significant slice of the Strip of Vegas, toss in some steroids of style, A-list celebrities, sea creatures and sandy beaches. I was in town for less than 24 hours, shooting a segment for NBC's Global Golf Adventure, which meant I wasn't able to experience all Paradise has to offer. My minor contributions to this show, produced and hosted by golf commentator Mark Rolfing, were tips on playing a course for the first time.
Tune in tomorrow (Saturday, May 14) at 1:30 p.m. EST on NBC to watch me prepare for a round at the Ocean Club, designed by Dick Wilson in 1961, redesigned by Tom Weiskopf in 2000:
You can follow me and more of my travels on Twitter: @Matt_Ginella.
--Matty G.
Bandon Dunes or Blackwolf Run?
The other day I was walking around a Brooklyn flea market and I sampled bacon on a cupcake. Then I bought a box and I thought, this ambush of my taste buds is a lot like Bethpage Black, my favorite public course in the country, which is the perfect combination of salt and sweet.
I don’t need to go any further on why I liked the cupcake, but here’s what I love about Bethpage Black (pictured above):
Bandon Dunes has another fan
Mike Stachura, Senior Equipment Editor at Golf Digest, is currently an authority on sticks and stones, but among his previous responsibilities were courses and resorts. Until last week, Stachura hadn't been to Bandon Dunes in ten years. Based on his blog post below, it's safe to say Stachura was impressed.
--Matty G.
A friend who knows Bandon Dunes well told me before I left this week for my first return visit in nearly a decade, “Don’t forget about the Labyrinth.” I didn’t exactly ask what he was talking about. I figured maybe it might have been a particularly notorious stretch of holes on the remarkable Old MacDonald, the golf mecca’s newest course courtesy Tom Doak and Jim Urbina that wasn’t even a twinkle in Bandon Dunes’ founder Mike Keiser’s always-electric eyes the last time I’d found myself at The Happiest Place on Earth. To me, Old MacDonald (pictured above) stands like a freak of nature, some sort of superhero love child between what the game was at its birth and what it might be post-apocalypse. Here, even the straight holes have angles. Wandering around it in five-alarm wind shear, I quickly reached the conclusion that at worst it’s in a first-place tie for best layout on the property.
Buddies trip? Kiawah has a sweet offer
As you know by know, I have my issues with the Ocean Course at Kiawah, pictured above. Yes, it’s beautiful, and yes, I can see why some people say it’s the greatest match play course in the world. But as Pete Dye told me, “People say that about courses that are hard.” Not to mention, it’s expensive.
I’ve just filed my story about a recent trip to Kiawah for the July issue of Golf Digest.
During my round at the Ocean Course I hit several shots off the sandy cart paths, which are used by more than just me and carts . . .
A golf father reflects on bin Laden's death
When the news broke of Osama bin Laden’s death, I thought of the same two people I think of with any reference to 9/11: my friend Ward Haynes, who died that day; and Davis Sezna, who lost his son. I called Sezna on Monday morning, and through the broken heart of a father, he provided clarity and perspective on a wide range of emotions.
This is the column I wrote for the May 9, 2011 issue of Golf World:
To know Davis Sezna is to know a man who plays the greatest golf courses in the world, hosts some of the best parties, drinks top-shelf liquor, smokes hand-rolled cigars and tells the funniest jokes.
But to really know Davis Sezna, 57, is to know a man who lays a lot of sod over the type of pain that can be covered up but never goes away. To know Sezna is to know a man who has chosen to live a life of good times and laughter because it’s easier than a life of crying.
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