IV. Miscellaneous
After our big day yesterday, I now have a sore back and legs. In less than 48 hours, we have already played in sun, wind, rain, and fog. Welcome to Scotland! Hopefully my body will limber up after I get moving. The dorm that we are staying in (New Hall on the University of St. Andrews campus) is very nice, and conveniently located to everything, literally easy walking distance to The Old Course. And the cost is only about 40 pounds per person per night, not too shabby. And that INCLUDES breakfast. The security guard at the dorm, John Robertson, is a golf FIEND. He plays in all of these various competitions around the area, and basically rearranges his work schedule around these events. When he found out that we had some early tee times, he opened the cafeteria early for us so we could get something to eat prior to our golf!
Since it's Sunday, the Old Course is closed, so we decide to walk it, as we are playing it on Monday, and we want to see what it looks like beforehand. It's awesome to walk it when it is closed, and to think about all the famous golfers that have graced this course (basically every big-name golfer in history except Ben Hogan has played an Open here at least once). When we get to the Road Hole, #17, we hear bagpipes in the distance. Another good omen?
The next day, we play the New Course in the morning, and then the Old Course in the afternoon. I now have a blister forming on my right heel. I am quite a mess, with my sore back, sore legs, throbbing finger, and now blisters! But I muddle through. Roger gets a caddy for the Old Course, and it is none other than Oliver Horovitz, the American who wrote the caddy piece in Sports Illustrated! This whole trip has been a series of coincidences! Oliver is a great caddy and companion, giving invaluable advice to both Roger and me around the course (we both tip him well at the end!). Roger and I both play well, especially on the front nine with the wind at our backs. I shoot 39 on the front, and put together 8 pars in a row, from holes 3 through 10. I didn't start out so great. I was very nervous on the 1st tee, as they announce your name on the loudspeaker, and then you step up to hit your ball with quite a few tourists and onlookers observing your every move. I took a 3-wood in the hopes of keeping it in the fairway, and felt like I literally blacked out on my downswing. I honestly don't remember following through (I probably didn't!). I actually duck-hooked it into the 18th fairway. Thank goodness it's nice and wide. Then I proceed to dump my approach into the Swilcan Burn and end up with a double bogey. I bogey #2, and then finally settle down and put together my nice little run of pars. Then we turn into the wind, and I play bogey golf in and shoot 84 or so. All in all not too shabby. Roger takes away a nice memory by parring the Road Hole. He's just barely off the front edge of the green in two, and actually has a shot at birdie. He rolls it up the hill, but it's just not quite enough, and rolls all the way back down to his feet. He then rolls the next one into the hole!
Showing posts with label Golf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Golf. Show all posts
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Monday, December 28, 2009
Trip of a Lifetime (Part One, Chapter Three)
III. Good and Bad
We wake up on Saturday morning to an absolutely glorious day. Sunny and warm, 70 degrees, absolutely no wind. This is Scotland? We are playing the Eden Course at St. Andrews this morning, followed by the Championship Course at Carnoustie in the afternoon. What a day! We drive over to the Eden Course and check in. We are in buoyant spirits. Unfortunately the gentleman checking us in at the Eden Course has other ideas. He actually asks for our PROOF of a tee time. Luckily, I actually HAVE the email printed out with our little confirmation number on it. Yeah, like what are the chances that I'm just going to walk up to him and out of the blue say "I believe you have a 7:12 tee time for Whayne, party of two." Do I LOOK like the criminal type? Do I LOOK shady? Would a 46-year old man REALLY make a living out of driving around Scotland, stealing other people's tee times? And would I REALLY try to do this at the EDEN COURSE, of all courses? I just don't think he liked Americans. Either that or he was mad that he was stuck working at the Eden Course instead of the Old or New Course. Other than the Old Course, this is the only time on the trip where we are REQUIRED to provide PRINTED documentation of an existing tee time. It kind of ticks me off and takes the wind out of my sails. Thanks for the buzzkill, guv'nah!
He hands over our scorecard and pencils to us, and still kind of put off by him, I jam my hand into my pocket and promptly IMPALE IT on the needle-sharp pencil he just gave me! I'm bleeding all over myself as I stagger off to the first tee!
I manage to scrape up a bogey on the first hole, and then promptly hit my tee shot on #2 out of bounds. It lands in the Elysian Fields of the 14th Hole of the Old Course. I jump over the short stone wall, play my ball back into the Eden Course, and it goes right into a gorse bush: lost ball. That's karma justice, I guess, for jumping the wall onto the Old Course.
On the 4th hole, a short par four, I DRIVE the green, only to three-putt for par. Roger one-putts for birdie. As they say, drive for show, putt for dough. The rest of the round proceeds rather uneventfully.
Before we head up to Carnoustie, we wander over to the 1st tee at the Old Course, to watch a few groups tee off, and lo and behold, we run into the same guy we shared a table with the night before at the Dunvegan Hotel's Lounge Bar. Weird.
We drive up to Carnoustie and watch the gathering clouds. Looks rather ominous. So much for our glorious day. It's as if the Carnoustie Gods are conspiring against us. "You are NOT allowed to play MY course in benign conditions!" We are told that since the British Open is going to be played at Carnoustie in 3 weeks, we have to use rubber mats in the fairway. We check in, and they give us these little astroturf rectangles that we are required to carry along with us, and put down whenever we have a shot from the fairway. OK, whatever. Then, it starts to rain. Oh boy.
I get off to a good start, even in the rain: only 2 over par after four holes. But then the wheels start to come off. On the fifth hole, I end up taking an X on it (probably an 8 or 9 if I was counting). I lose my little green mat, forget it another time and have to go back for it, but manage to regroup and par #6, Hogan's Alley. I par #7 so now I'm 6 over after 7 in the rain with a quadruple bogey. Not too bad. Then it starts to rain so hard that I can't even grip my club anymore. It slips out of my hand twice on the 8th tee. Roger birdies #8 and shoots 39 on the front nine. He's playing in this monsoon like the priest from Caddyshack. I can't hold onto my clubs anymore and walk off the course after the 10th hole.
I am completely and utterly soaked to the bone. I walk in from the eleventh tee and change clothes in the car. I decide to drown my sorrows with a beer and wait for Roger. He finally gives up after #13. It's raining sideways. We drive back to St. Andrews, looking and smelling like two drowned rats.
My finger (remember the pencil incident from this morning?) is really starting to throb, so I buy some ointment for it and head back to my room. All of my clubs, grips and clothes are soaking wet. I dry them off as best I can, crank up the heat, and go to bed. The day went from totally glorious sunshine to typhoon-like conditions in about 8 hours.
We wake up on Saturday morning to an absolutely glorious day. Sunny and warm, 70 degrees, absolutely no wind. This is Scotland? We are playing the Eden Course at St. Andrews this morning, followed by the Championship Course at Carnoustie in the afternoon. What a day! We drive over to the Eden Course and check in. We are in buoyant spirits. Unfortunately the gentleman checking us in at the Eden Course has other ideas. He actually asks for our PROOF of a tee time. Luckily, I actually HAVE the email printed out with our little confirmation number on it. Yeah, like what are the chances that I'm just going to walk up to him and out of the blue say "I believe you have a 7:12 tee time for Whayne, party of two." Do I LOOK like the criminal type? Do I LOOK shady? Would a 46-year old man REALLY make a living out of driving around Scotland, stealing other people's tee times? And would I REALLY try to do this at the EDEN COURSE, of all courses? I just don't think he liked Americans. Either that or he was mad that he was stuck working at the Eden Course instead of the Old or New Course. Other than the Old Course, this is the only time on the trip where we are REQUIRED to provide PRINTED documentation of an existing tee time. It kind of ticks me off and takes the wind out of my sails. Thanks for the buzzkill, guv'nah!
He hands over our scorecard and pencils to us, and still kind of put off by him, I jam my hand into my pocket and promptly IMPALE IT on the needle-sharp pencil he just gave me! I'm bleeding all over myself as I stagger off to the first tee!
I manage to scrape up a bogey on the first hole, and then promptly hit my tee shot on #2 out of bounds. It lands in the Elysian Fields of the 14th Hole of the Old Course. I jump over the short stone wall, play my ball back into the Eden Course, and it goes right into a gorse bush: lost ball. That's karma justice, I guess, for jumping the wall onto the Old Course.
On the 4th hole, a short par four, I DRIVE the green, only to three-putt for par. Roger one-putts for birdie. As they say, drive for show, putt for dough. The rest of the round proceeds rather uneventfully.
Before we head up to Carnoustie, we wander over to the 1st tee at the Old Course, to watch a few groups tee off, and lo and behold, we run into the same guy we shared a table with the night before at the Dunvegan Hotel's Lounge Bar. Weird.
We drive up to Carnoustie and watch the gathering clouds. Looks rather ominous. So much for our glorious day. It's as if the Carnoustie Gods are conspiring against us. "You are NOT allowed to play MY course in benign conditions!" We are told that since the British Open is going to be played at Carnoustie in 3 weeks, we have to use rubber mats in the fairway. We check in, and they give us these little astroturf rectangles that we are required to carry along with us, and put down whenever we have a shot from the fairway. OK, whatever. Then, it starts to rain. Oh boy.
I get off to a good start, even in the rain: only 2 over par after four holes. But then the wheels start to come off. On the fifth hole, I end up taking an X on it (probably an 8 or 9 if I was counting). I lose my little green mat, forget it another time and have to go back for it, but manage to regroup and par #6, Hogan's Alley. I par #7 so now I'm 6 over after 7 in the rain with a quadruple bogey. Not too bad. Then it starts to rain so hard that I can't even grip my club anymore. It slips out of my hand twice on the 8th tee. Roger birdies #8 and shoots 39 on the front nine. He's playing in this monsoon like the priest from Caddyshack. I can't hold onto my clubs anymore and walk off the course after the 10th hole.
I am completely and utterly soaked to the bone. I walk in from the eleventh tee and change clothes in the car. I decide to drown my sorrows with a beer and wait for Roger. He finally gives up after #13. It's raining sideways. We drive back to St. Andrews, looking and smelling like two drowned rats.
My finger (remember the pencil incident from this morning?) is really starting to throb, so I buy some ointment for it and head back to my room. All of my clubs, grips and clothes are soaking wet. I dry them off as best I can, crank up the heat, and go to bed. The day went from totally glorious sunshine to typhoon-like conditions in about 8 hours.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The Aiken Golf Club, Aiken, South Carolina
The Aiken Golf Club was originally built in 1912. It was the first golf course in America to feature tees especially for women. Playing it is loads of fun. One of the greens is a double-green, sharing the 1st and the 17th hole. Many of your shots are played through a cathedral of pines, and the pine needle rough is divine. There are many large sand waste areas that you will be required to shoot over. It is all very picturesque, and reminds me of a Donald Ross or Alister MacKenzie design.
Otter Creek Golf Club, Columbus, Indiana
Although I don't remember a lot of specifics from my two rounds at Otter Creek, I do remember that the course was in great shape, and was a challenging layout, with an incredible number of bunkers!! I believe I remember hearing that there are around 100 bunkers (maybe more) on the golf course. Highlight of the day for me was my near-ace on the par-three 8th hole. Approximately six inches away. Unfortunately for me I didn't even win the hole, as my opponent chipped in for birdie!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
West Links at North Berwick, Scotland
The West Links at North Berwick are a perfect mix of fun and challenge on a golf course. It's a top-notch golfing experience, and after the round you don't feel like the course sapped all your strength.
Favorite holes on the course for me are #2 (Firth of Forth and beach directly on the right), #11 (par-5 reachable in two), #13 (par-4 called "Pit" where you have to hit your approach shot over a short wall to the green), #14 (par-4 called "Perfection" where your approach shot is blind, other than a tall pole that you take aim at), and #15 (the original "Redan" par-3 hole).
All the holes are great fun, and the course is kept in great shape, plus the clubhouse is very old-school-cool. I definitely plan to play this course again when I visit in July!!
Favorite holes on the course for me are #2 (Firth of Forth and beach directly on the right), #11 (par-5 reachable in two), #13 (par-4 called "Pit" where you have to hit your approach shot over a short wall to the green), #14 (par-4 called "Perfection" where your approach shot is blind, other than a tall pole that you take aim at), and #15 (the original "Redan" par-3 hole).
All the holes are great fun, and the course is kept in great shape, plus the clubhouse is very old-school-cool. I definitely plan to play this course again when I visit in July!!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Old Course, St. Andrews, Scotland
The Old Course starts innocently enough; a 355 yard par 4, with a fairway wide enough to land a small plane on. There's only one catch: you're on the 1st tee of the most famous golf course in the world, and the starter actually announces your name on the loudspeaker before you tee off. And then there are the inevitable numbers of people watching you tee off, golfers waiting their turn for their tee time to arrive, along with the general bystanders and tourists just curious to get a look at the old lady.
Needless to say, I cold-yanked my 3-wood into the 18th fairway, dumped my second shot into Swilken Burn, and exited the 1st hole with a nice, tidy double bogey. Luckily it was my last double bogey until the 15th hole.
Many folks who have only played the Old Course once or twice will tell you that it's kind of hard to remember the differences between Holes 2 through 6, as they all run in the same direction. I tend to agree with that assessment. All of the holes in this stretch are par 4s with the exception of #5, which is a par 5. They are all good holes, they are just hard to remember.
That all changes with the 7th hole. After your drive, you are faced with an approach shot to a double green sitting up on a hill. Miss this green and you may find yourself in one of the gaping bunkers surrounding it. This green is also the location of the next very memorable hole, #11. It is a par 3 of 164 yards, and once again you are faced with a challenging shot to a green perched up on a hill, and this time you have to go directly over the Strath Bunker. This bunker is so deep that you may very well have to hit out of it backwards just to get out!
Another famous hole is the 14th hole, a par 5 that contains the Beardies fairway bunkers, the Elysian Fields, as well as Hell Bunker and Grave Bunker. The 16th hole finishes right by the Old Course Hotel, and then of course the 17th hole, the famous "Road" Hole, requires you to hit your drive while the hotel sits a little too close for comfort on your right. And whatever you do, don't get into the Road Hole bunker sitting directly in front of the green!
The 18th hole provides a satisfying finish as you literally hit your way back into town. Don't go right as you could end up in the street. Again, you will probably find yourself being watched by curious onlookers, perhaps people playing the Old Course the next day, as you try to hole that 4-footer for par!
Needless to say, I cold-yanked my 3-wood into the 18th fairway, dumped my second shot into Swilken Burn, and exited the 1st hole with a nice, tidy double bogey. Luckily it was my last double bogey until the 15th hole.
Many folks who have only played the Old Course once or twice will tell you that it's kind of hard to remember the differences between Holes 2 through 6, as they all run in the same direction. I tend to agree with that assessment. All of the holes in this stretch are par 4s with the exception of #5, which is a par 5. They are all good holes, they are just hard to remember.
That all changes with the 7th hole. After your drive, you are faced with an approach shot to a double green sitting up on a hill. Miss this green and you may find yourself in one of the gaping bunkers surrounding it. This green is also the location of the next very memorable hole, #11. It is a par 3 of 164 yards, and once again you are faced with a challenging shot to a green perched up on a hill, and this time you have to go directly over the Strath Bunker. This bunker is so deep that you may very well have to hit out of it backwards just to get out!
Another famous hole is the 14th hole, a par 5 that contains the Beardies fairway bunkers, the Elysian Fields, as well as Hell Bunker and Grave Bunker. The 16th hole finishes right by the Old Course Hotel, and then of course the 17th hole, the famous "Road" Hole, requires you to hit your drive while the hotel sits a little too close for comfort on your right. And whatever you do, don't get into the Road Hole bunker sitting directly in front of the green!
The 18th hole provides a satisfying finish as you literally hit your way back into town. Don't go right as you could end up in the street. Again, you will probably find yourself being watched by curious onlookers, perhaps people playing the Old Course the next day, as you try to hole that 4-footer for par!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Eden Course, St. Andrews, Scotland
We played the Eden Course at St. Andrews on a glorious Saturday morning in July. We had one of the very first tee times, and we pretty much had the course to ourselves. My golf was a little bit suspect, as evidenced by the wayward drive on #2 that ended up on the Old Course! But the day was just too nice to care. My first chance for birdie came on #4, a 251-yard par 4 that I drove, but then proceeded to 3-putt for par! This hole runs right next to the Eden Estuary, and is a lovely view. The next hole is also a real charmer, a short par-3 nestled amongst the sandhills; very picturesque!
All in all just a lovely course at a very reasonable price. If you come to St. Andrews to play the Old Course, and you also just want to have some fun on a very nice course, the Eden Course is for you!
All in all just a lovely course at a very reasonable price. If you come to St. Andrews to play the Old Course, and you also just want to have some fun on a very nice course, the Eden Course is for you!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Burnside Golf Course, Carnoustie, Scotland
The first shot I ever struck in Scotland came at this course. We had just flown over from the United States, landed in Edinburgh, and drove straight up to Carnoustie. When we arrived at the course, a pipes and drums group was playing outside of the hotel. What a welcome to Scotland!! We walked down to the Burnside Course, checked in, and the starter even let us tee off a bit earlier than our appointed time. It was a glorious day, sunny and breezy. The course was in great shape. They were playing the Open on the Championship Course in about 3 weeks, so I suspect that the general care and feeding of the Championship Course probably carried over to the Burnside Course, seeing that the holes basically run over the same piece of land.
A good time was had by all. If you are ever in the area and want to play a perfectly lovely course at a very reasonable price, do not hesitate to tee it up on the Burnside Course.
A good time was had by all. If you are ever in the area and want to play a perfectly lovely course at a very reasonable price, do not hesitate to tee it up on the Burnside Course.
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