Finally, Some Golf
Yesterday, I played my first round of golf in over a month at Stonebriar on the Fazio course. I was worried that the muscle spasms in my back would keep me from playing; instead, the heat seemed to be good for my back and I had no problem at all. We played a two best ball shamble (everyone tees off, then plays their own ball from the best drive). Our team finished out of the money at +9, but I was pleased how well I played considering I’ve barely practiced at all. My driving was pretty good; I hit 9 of 14 fairways and didn’t have any penalties with the driver. I did put two balls in the water on par-3 holes, though. I hit 5 GIR, all on the front nine and got up-and-down 4 times for par. My putting wasn’t great, as I had 34 putts, which is better than I’ve had in a while (I have put the Odyssey 3-ball putter away and went back to my TWGT S2R putter). On the scorecard, I had a 92 (45 on the front and 47 on the back). Of course, since this was a shamble, not all the drives I played from were mine. Also, since we were counting only two balls and no scores over double by the rules of the tournament, my actual score would have been about 94. Anyway, I was pretty happy.
This morning, I went to the Byron Nelson tournament. I arrived around 11AM, got some lunch in our suite, and then went to the driving range, where I watched players warm up. I watched John Huston hit quite a few balls. I really like his syrupy smooth swing. I spent about 45 minutes watching a wide range of players. Jeev Milkha Singh had all sorts of gadgets on the range. The most interesting was some sort of swing aid that made sounds like beads in a shaft when he swung the club. He had some other gadget attached to a wedge. I saw Justin Leonard warm up; he was hitting 30 yard pitches and making the ball stop on the second bounce. Really, watching these guys warm up was really cool. I don’t know why I’ve never done that before, as this is the fourth or fifth time I’ve been to the Byron.
After that, I stopped back by the suite to get a bottle of water and went to the first tee. I watched John Huston tee off on #1; his ball flew over my head and ended up behind a tent. He took relief from the immovable obstruction; I was pleased that I determined before he arrived at the ball exactly the place he would end up taking a drop. He hit a nice shot onto the green from there.
I then watched another group (I’ve forgotten who was in that group) play #2, then skipped ahead to #3, a very long par-4 hole. The tee was up, and the wind was behind the players, so they weren’t even hitting driver on this hole. I walked #4, catching up with the group on that hole as they were playing their approach shots. I didn’t recognize any of the players on that hole, though one was possibly Bobby Hutcherson. He hit a nice long drive on this hole (one of his playing partners put one left into the water on the left), and then hit a wedge that struck the flag stick and spun back down the hill onto the front fringe. I found myself next on the bridge beside hole #5 and the tees for #10 and #16. I watched the group of John Sendon, Stuart Appleby and Chris DiMarco tee off on #10, then watched a group tee off on #16 consisting of Jarrod Lyle, Aron Price and Chris Wilson (these guys were really far behind the group in front of them). Next up on #10 was Michael Bradley, Will MacKinsey, and Brad Faxon.
The reason I was waiting here was I wanted to follow the young teenager, Jordan Spieth, for a few holes and see how the 16-year-old from Jesuit High School could play. I’d heard on PGA Tour Radio, while driving to the tournament, that he was at -2 and might make the cut.
And yes, this kid can play. I was right behind the tee on #16, an absolutely perfect spot to watch the players tee off on that hole. His group was right behind the group in front, and there was a massive crowd following that group, easily as big as those I’ve seen before at the Byron following Tiger Woods. All three players hit fine tee shots into the fairway; Jordan’s shot was maybe 5 yards behind the other two players. By the time they were to hit their approach shots into the green, I was already up by the green. Jordan hit first and put his into the deep bunker to the right of the hole. Next, David Lutterus hit a spectacular shot about 12 feet behind the pin, giving him an easy putt for eagle. Finally, Blake Adams (at the time -9 for the tournament) hit a shot into the same bunker as Jordan. Both of them hit excellent bunker shots and were able to make birdie on the par-5 16th.
Next, I positioned myself behind the tee box on #17 to watch the players hit their shots into that tricky little par-3 hole. The kid played safe and hit the ball into the right side of the green, away from the water on the left. He two-putted for par.
Next, on #18, Jordan hit a fine drive onto the left side of the fairway on this dogleg left hole with water lurking. He hit a nice shot from there and two-putted for par to finish at -3 and make the cut.
And that was my day at the Byron.