Katieshack

For amateurs, Pebble proves to be a major pain in the grass

Four golfers has a quest today at Pebble Beach Golf Links. A quest to look good on camera, hit some solid shots and, perhaps the main objective, break 100.

Yes, today was the day that Golf Digest's U.S. Open Challenge teed off, as elected winner Peggy Ference of New Jersey took to the course with three big names and some big goals in mind. Wayne Gretzky (Sherwood CC member), Mark Wahlberg (Wilshire CC member) and Drew Brees (not a SoCal guy but a Super Bowl MVP and nice to look at) joined Ference in the U.S. Open conditions, back tees and all.

Even more fun? The celebrity caddies each player had. Rickie Fowler was on the bag for Wahlberg, Bubba Watson for Brees, Ricky Barnes for Gretzky and 2010 Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin for Ference. What a group.

The U.S. Open Challenge was somewhat inspired when Tiger Woods off-handly said a few years ago that a 10-handicap player couldn't break 100 in U.S. Open conditions. True that. Having tried this in the past myself at two U.S. Open courses, from the front tees even, I can attest. And as Woods said, the average player has no idea the difficulty of the course the pros are playing. People, trust me: It's truly on another level, and what you see on TV is superior golf by superior players, playing in tremendously gnarly conditions.

For those now intrigued and tempted to give it your own go, to count every stroke and abide by every rule (yeah, put that hand wedge away) and play every lie? Only attempt this if you want to torture yourself while you're out there, then replay in your mind afterward all the ways you could've played better. Friendly warning.

So. Did this gaggle of golfers end in double digits? Spoiler alert! One of them did. The others? Oh, so close. Marky Mark carded a 97, which is plenty respectable. Gretzky, who I'm sure had FORE Magazine cover girl (and wife) Janet in tow, crept up to 100. Brees finished two strokes back at 102, and Ference ended at a whopping 118. At more than 7,000 yards, not so bad.

But talk about not living up to past competition. In 2008 at Torrey Pines, Tony Romo shot an 84! Justin Timberlake a 98! Even Matt Lauer, who I didn't know played golf until the contest, shot an even 100. Or how about last year at Bethpage? Ben Roethlisberger shot 81, Michael Jordan an 86 and Timberlake an 88.

Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle, a great supporter of golf and, importantly, amateur golf, wrote a great story that captures the true spirit of the day. Here's some snippets:

After birdieing the signature seventh hole, Gretzky "topped his drive on No. 8 and watched in embarrassment as the ball sailed low and left, nailing a female spectator in the rear end."

Oops. But really, who hasn't done that? Nail a person with their ball, that is. Then there was this little gem from Wahlberg:

"I'll never watch the Open the same way again. And this is not even Open-ready yet - the rough is going to be longer and the fairways are going to be harder. ... Hey, I love the game, and I'll always enjoy it. But if I had to do it for a living, I'd slit my wrists."

Yikes, graphic and vidid. Point taken. But what about the low-index of the group, Brees?

"Brees, ostensibly the best player in the bunch with a 3-handicap, struggled all day. He opened triple bogey/double bogey/triple bogey and grew increasingly disgusted as the round unfolded."

Must be hard to be such a winner on the field, but not on the links. As for Ference?

"It's just hard," she said.

All points well taken, I'd say. This golf spectacle should be pretty fun to watch when it airs June 20 on NBC, just before the Open's final round. And a spectacle it will be.

San Diego teen scores 6-under-par in three holes at Barona

In the category of "all teenagers are apparently better golfers than me," 16-year-old Xander Schauffele of Scripps Ranch scored a double eagle, a birdie and an eagle on consecutive holes at Barona Creek Golf Club, shooting 6-under par for three holes. Wow.

As reported by Tod Leonard, FORE Magazine contributer and golf writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune, the feat this kid accomplished is so rare, the PGA Tour doesn't even have a record of it happening. The odds of shooting a double-eagle are actually much higher than a hole-in-one also (12,000-to-1 for an ace compared to anywhere from 1-million- to 6-million-to-1 for an albatross), making Xander's hotstreak even more impressive.

Playing with dad Stefan and with PGA teaching professionals Ross Marcano (of Barona) and Paul Marchewka, Xander told the Union-Tribune that “I was so happy I couldn’t stop smiling. I had a face cramp from smiling...It’ll be a good story for my kids. This will never wear off.”

If you want to be depressed about your game, read the entire story in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Playing by The Rules of Golf can save friendships.

Before I begin, a golf clap for the Dallas Coyboys' Tony Romo, who qualified for U.S. Open Sectionals yesterday in his third attempt. He was one of seven players to move on at The Honors Golf Club in Dallas, birdieing three of his last four holes to shoot a 69 and surviving a four-for-three playoff for the coveted spot. On June 6, he'll attempt to qualify in the U.S. Open Local, the qualifiers of which get a one-way ticket to the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. 

Let's all cross our fingers that Romo's go at golf fares a bit better than former baller Jerry Rice. I love Jerry, I really do. Classy guy and such a pleasure to chat with. But yikes on the recent Nationwide Tour try.

Had a great convo last night with my dad, an avid golfer who plays with a set foursome twice a week. Well, they're actually down to three now -- the democracy of the group (excluding my dad) recently voted one guy out. Survival of the fittest. Anyway, the topic of our discussion? How pissed he was at his golf group for their disregard, then denial of disregard, of The Rules of Golf. 

I felt a little twinge of pride that my dad would hold to strongly to the ethics of the game. The Rules, after all, are what sets golf apart from other sports. I mean, sure, we've all fudged a bit in a round or two. Maybe we thought we were doing something correctly and weren't. Maybe we took a mulligan or improved a lie. Whatever. In golf related to the Rules, players are held accountable for their own actions, and must sometimes make a call against themselves. I think it's noble.

So to make a long story short, there was some drama on the golf course in yesterday's round: Some rulings regarding provisional balls, as well as one club- or two club-lengths drops, were questioned, some penalty strokes were recorded incorrectly and final results were compromised. And when final results are compromised...so are the beer hole results. Most importantly, of course. 

Things got a little heated out there. 

"It's the way we've always played it!" proclaimed the Aussie during one offense ("No it's not," was my dad's response). 

"I'm positive I can drop over here and take two club-lengths," argued the one with the moustache on another ("I don't think that's right," replied Dad - afterward asking and receiving confirmation of a breach in the golf shop).

As the debates and debauchery continued into the grill afterward, the festivities ended by my dad packing up his stuff hitting the pavement, ignoring the cries of his friends in the background. No words, no swearing, no middle fingers. Just a calm exit.

"I just don't know what they were talking about," he tried to sort out in the aftermath. "One of them actually said we were playing by group rules, but we've never played THOSE rules in all the year's we've been golfing together. They were defensive over silly things. It was crazy."

"You know what they say, Dad," I interject. "If you're not playing by the Rules, you're not playing golf. You tell them that."

"Hmmpf," he says.

Conversation over. But it made me come to a realization: A lot of groups, probably most, develop their own set of special rules. Maybe it's a lift-clean-replace rule. Maybe it's the distance of gimmies (my radius is 12 feet; I'm fun to play golf with). Maybe it's using a foot or hand wedge out of a bunker instead of a sand wedge -- oh wait, that's my own rule. Regardless, it happens, and it's fine, as long as everyone is having fun and knows what's going on.

But for consistency sake, how much easier would it be if everyone just played by the Rules as the way they were written? Then people don't have to remember all the exceptions and hey, there is that nifty little Rules book too.

In closing, will my dad play with these guys again? Yes. Will he on Sunday, their next scheduled outing? Probably not. But maybe, just maybe, his exit of silence will speak volumes amongst his cohorts, and The Rules will be honored once again.

Or not. We'll see.

The pain, the torture: I almost went down in (my own) history

Wednesday was almost IT, people. The round of my life. My lowest score ever.

But it wasn't.

A work outing took me to Rancho Mirage's Thunderbird Country Club, Coachella Valley's first 18-hole golf course and first host site to what would be the Bob Hope Classic. Aside from its star-studded history, this course has immaculately manicured fairways, clean greens nearly free of ball marks and a parkland feel that makes for a really enjoyable round.

When you're manhandling the course like I was, though, of course it makes for an enjoyable round.

I didn't expect anything crazy coming into the day. I always play fairly consistently, hitting long-ball, drawing tee shots, solid approach shots, then a bit sporadic from about 80 yards in. Sometimes my short game's great, or sometimes I'll chip it dead right into a bunker, then take another five shots to get to the green. No rhyme, no reason. Just happens. 

I always like to say that I'm just trying to see all of the course.

Not on this day though. Although I doubled the first hole, I was OK with that. I'm normally easy on myself for the first couple, still "warming up." Followed it up with a bogey, then a par, then pure magic of parring the first two par 3s. Other good holes ensued. 

"Woah," I remember thinking to myself upon realizing that if I could keep this fluke up, I was not just going to break 90 for the first time, but by a lot, also.

So what do I do? I got nervous, but cocky. "If I can par all those holes on the front, the back will be easy," I thought as I ordered a (really great) sandwich at the turn (against my MO normally; as a true performance athlete I've always executed better on an empty stomach). Alas, the food and desert heat made me tired and lethargic. I four-putted the next two holes for doubles and made an all-world par before dunking the same ball I had played with for 13 consecutive holes, the new TaylorMade Penta TP (great five-layer ball), one yard short into the pond from 40 yards out. I tripled the last two par-3s. "Land sakes," I say.

The rest of the round I've blocked out. Thank goodness for scorecards, because I was reminded after that I'd shot a 54 on the back. Devastation.

I learned a lot about my game and myself from that round. I have the potential to be a really good golfer, if I didn't have to work all the time. I need a short-game boot camp. I shouldn't have lunch in the middle of a round. I need to play golf one hole at a time, instead of dwelling on the consequences or successes of a particular hole. 

Most importantly, I prefer an ice-cold pale ale to a margarita at the 19th hole. 

The fun part of the round though? The two single-digit handicaps I played with gave a great show out there, and despite my score, the company was great and the experience was a blast. And it proved to me that using what I learned at Thunderbird, I'm still going to shoot the round of my life at Pebble Beach on Monday. 

Stay tuned.

I get to play Pebble Beach.

In 10 short, short days friends, yet another bucket list item will be checked off. I will be teeing it up at Pebble Beach Golf Links. For the first time ever. And probably for the last time ever if my putting doesn't start to improve pretty quickly one of these days. Nevertheless, insert your jealousy here.

The memories, stories and photos that will result from this round will be worth their weight in gold. But also, on this one May day I'll have on the course amongst my fellow golf friends and colleagues, I will finally conquer the most frequently asked question I'm asked when one finds out what I do for a living. "Ooh, have you played Pebble Beach before?" 

It seems like a reasonable enough question. I mean, of course sometime in the last five years I would have played Pebble, right? I've been to Hawaii, Canada, and the greater part of the western United States for golf, why not a six-hour drive north of L.A. for a piece of golf's history? But I'd never had (or took) the chance. The question always made me feel like the only kid that wasn't invited to the party. 

"No, no," I respond, modest yet slightly dejected inside. "I've been to Pebble several times, though. I've walked the course, seen a couple tournaments there. Beautiful property."

Inquisitive looks, cocked heads. 

"Well wait, I've played several of the courses around it," I offer, feeling a little defensive. "Like Spanish Bay and Monterey Peninsula; that one's super private. And exclusive..."

Glancing at watches, "looking" at BlackBerrys. I'm losing them.

"But no," I finally confess. "I've never played Pebble. Crazy, I know."

Oftentimes they gasp in horror like it's sacrilege. Other times, they might roll their eyes or become "distracted." Is it such a travesty that, not even at the ripe age of 28 yet, I haven't experienced this 1919 Jack Neville and Douglas Grant design? No, not so much. In my opinion.

"Why? Why have you never played it?" comes next. Normally I say I don't know why, then turn the tables on them. But I do know why. The reason? I've never really felt like I was worthy of it. 

Aside from being a pricey little venture of which my game does not currently justify, Pebble Beach is a bucket list locale. It's a destination that golfers take their parents, best friends or that special someone with whom they want to share the mystique of the links. It's chock full of history, remarkable beauty and an amazing collection of dining, shops and activities. To be honest, I feel a little guilty about playing it. I'll be the first to say how lucky I am to have this opportunity, and while it's a long time coming, it never comes for some. I hope it does. I hope that every golfer has the chance to play Pebble like I do.

But wait. That doesn't mean I'm not going to go out there and completely and totally manhandle the course. I am, that's the plan. Because Pebble Beach is one of those magical places where the truly average-but-single-digit-potential-with-practice handicappers like me get a hole in one, or shoot their career best round (please please please break 90!), or strike the ball purely with every swing. It's kismet.

I'm going to make something happen out there. And when I do, the answer to my Frequently Asked Question will proudly change to, "Yes, yes I have played Pebble. And it was the experience of a lifetime."

Barona Million Dollar Hole-In-One winner welcomes new baby hours before victory

A new daughter in one arm, a cruise in another. What a great way to spend a day.

The finals of the Barona Million Dollar Hole-in-One Shootout were held yesterday at Barona Creek Golf Club in Lakeside (San Diego), and Oscar Lopez, 32, of San Diego took home the coveted first-place prize of a seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise. He was awarded something a little more special before that magical shot, though.

At 12:16 a.m. that morning, Oscar's wife, Diann, gave birth to the couple's first child: Mia Maria Lopez.

After 10 days of qualifying and 29,077 shots earlier this month at Stadium Golf Center, 17 golfers advanced to the final at Barona, where Oscar landed his ball 16 feet, 10.5 inches from the hole to take home the cruise. If Oscar, or any of the finalists, had aced 170-yard hole, $1 million would have been theirs. The event is sponsored by Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, a beneficiary of several San Diego City and County entities with a football game to be held December 30. In its 31-year history, the Holiday Bowl has generated an impressive $486 million in economic impact, with the 2008 game bringing in 36,052 visitors to San Diego, filling 40,481 San Diego hotel room nights and contributing $34.7 million to the local economy.

Defending champion and SCGA member Matt Sparks of San Diego took second at 20 feet, 9.5 inches, while San Diego's Hien rounded out third at 23 feet, 8.5 inches short of the hole.

The Lopez family's going to need a cruise after all the excitement, congratulations!

Els, Poulter and other random thoughts for Labor Day

Come on in to the Katieshack for some random thoughts this Labor Day holiday:

1) SORRY: An apology to Ernie Els for jinxing him in my Team Ernie blog. After playing so well in his last three events, Ernie missed the cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship this weekend. Not only that, but he was tied for 95th place...out of 97. Oh well. In missing the cut, though, he was in good company with some big names like Stewart Cink, Ian Poulter, Rory Sabbatini, Fred Couples (my fave) and our very own Long Beach crew of Paul Goydos, John Merrick and John Mallinger. Kick your feet up and have some swing oil, boys. Final round's on now.

And because my father (a rapidly improving 13-handicap golfer -- keep it up, Dad!) gave me a hard time for "ripping the world's best golfer" in the aforementioned blog, let me clarify that I think Tiger Woods is an awesome athlete. He's a phenomenal golfer and a great ambassador of the game. He dresses really sharp also, which I think is important (you look good, you play good...my motto and perhaps my own golf problem). That doesn't mean he had to criticize Ernie's knee rehab though. It's not personal!
 
2) SURFING THE WEB: Speaking of Ian Poulter, he must have one of the most awesome websites around (see exhibit A at right). Not just in the golf world, but anywhere. It's loud, it's flashy, it's pink! And surprisingly easy to navigate, also. Is it a little over-the-top? Perhaps. But I have more knowledge on the guy than I could ever want now, and it's pretty cool how Ian comes to life and walks around on the screen. I feel like I know the guy.

3) PERSONAL MORTIFICATION: I played golf at Weddington Golf and Tennis a couple days ago, to start off my holiday weekend with a bang. It's this great, quirky little nine-hole par-3 course and driving range in Studio City where all the celebrities (Sylvester Stallone, George Lopez, soap opera stars) come out and practice. Totally old-school, and a fun place to boot.

Anyway, so I'm playing with someone I'd never played with before, and when that happens, I become self-conscious. I am a textbook definition on how golf is an almost entirely mental game. Fundamentals literally go out the window with me. Before we play, he says, "I'm really not that good, so don't make too much fun of me." I say, "I'm not that bad, but anything can happen."

Anything did happen, because the last time I played so sporadically, scattered, and downright embarrassing was the first day I picked up a golf club years ago. And even then I think I made better contact. Surely I jest, right? No no, friends, I'm not talking about chunking the ball a couple times or missing a green. Getting the ball somewhat airborne was a huge accomplishment that day. I was dead right, dead right, dead right. I hit trees where the ball ricocheted back 20 yards behind me. Balls went over fences into the street. The marshal actually rode by, laughed at me, and tossed me another ball, saying, "Here, sweetheart, you hit that one out of the park."

Keep in mind, the longest hole on the course is only 135 yards.

How did my playing partner do, on the other hand? Um, he played really well. Must be nice. GOLF IS ALL MENTAL.

That's all from here -- tee it up on this last big holiday of the summer season and play well. Although in saying that, I'm sure I just jinxed everyone like I did to poor Ernie Els.

It was almost amazing

Two weeks ago I shot my career low round. Contrary to popular belief, not all of us SCGA employees are scratch golfers (please, please...contain your guffaws). In fact, some of us (ahem, me), are not even bogey golfers...although my career round put me pretty close. It's the true, sad case of working in golf...but not having the time to play.

But oh yes, friends, on April 5, I took advantage of a rare free weekend and shot a 91 at The SCGA Golf Course from the gold combo tees (5,900 yards). My prior low was a 94 at Ka'anapali Golf Resort in Maui after having played four days in a row.

I don't know how you're supposed to feel when you shoot your career. I wasn't feeling particularly great that day...I didn't warm up at the range, I took one practice swing on the first tee, and I went for it (I'm a firm believer that when I practice swing, I'm wasting the few potentially good swings I have in me...so I just don't do it). When I was on the course though, I simply happened to make some good mistakes ("yes, I meant to bump and run the ball 150 yards onto the green...") or got favorable bounces off trees and a house that I may or may not have have sliced the ball toward. I wasn't hitting my driver as far as I am able and my short game (chipping) wasn't spot-on (although has it ever been spot-on? No.). But my putting was decent for once--I was the "boss of the moss," if you will, my tee shots were pretty straight and somehow, I made the 91 happen. All I had to do to shoot an 88 was par the last two holes, but the pressure got to me and left me with a double and a bogey.

Part of me feels a little disappointed that I'm not more excited. I'm a perfectionist and see that I could have broke 90, which I hope will not eat away at me for eternity. Another part has turned into a golf addict, wanting to play all the time because now that I've done it once, with some avoidable mistakes, I know it's in me to shoot lower. That being said, I played two days ago and followed that 91 up with a 100 (ouch to the 53 on the front). Back at square one again.

Want to play like me? Here's a few secrets to my success:

1. Don't warm up on range. It's more fun not knowing how that first tee shot's going to work out for you.

2. Hit your putts on the green, and when (not if, but when) you miss, tell your playing partners that you're just looking for the subtle breaks.

3. When you duff your chips or advance the ball a mere couple inches, reiterate to skeptics that laying up is never a bad decision. It's playing safe.

I hold countless more secrets in my bag o' tricks, but it's not my place to disclose them all, as I'm sure you all have some of your own as well. They're bound to work on my quest to break 90 though, and I'll write about that magical day when I do.