Joey's Golf Bag

Yesterday, my wife and I went to the EDS Byron Nelson tournament. We arrived around noon on a cold, cloudy, blustery day, had some lunch and huddled in the stands above the 18th hole for most of the day. Some thoughts:

• Course changes. I only got a close look at the first and eighteenth holes, and the course conditions were absolutely stunning, perfect in every way. The rough height was perfect; not high enough to keep players from going at the hole, but high enough to keep the players from putting a lot of spin on the ball. Excellent! The USGA could learn a thing or two from the course setup here at the Nelson.
• The four-tiered lake in front of the 18th hole was a little over the top for Texas. The flowers didn’t really look natural, though I liked the reeds and if they lose the flowers and allow the reeds to grow naturally, the hole will look nice.
• These guys are slow. Jeez, I thought muni courses around town were slow, but these guys were pathetic. There was a 20 minute gap between the 4th group (Luke Donald, Ken Duke, Kenny Perry) and the third group (Dudley Hart, Jesper Parnevik, Brian Gay). It was so slow my wife took a nap. Of the 15 groups I saw come into 18, only 2 or 3 groups were on the tee when the group before them was on the green. C’mon, guys, keep up.
• The longest drive I saw on 18 was by Charlie Hoffman, who also had the best approach shot I saw. Unfortunately, he missed the short birdie putt. That cost him about $80k.
• The 18th hole played very well for a finishing hole. At least six shots were in the water while I watched. One group had all three players in the water, two off the tee and one on the approach. Kenny Perry, though, got lucky: his tee shot was left of the ponds, in the rough. Yikes!
• I was a little disappointed with Sergio’s black outfit. It’s Sunday, you’re in the next to last group, how about a little color, eh, Sergio? His putting stroke is looking a lot better, though it didn’t show up on Sunday.
• The loudest roar I heard, other than Adam Scott’s two putts for birdie on the 18th, was when Luke Donald holed his ball from the drop circle for par on the 17th. I didn’t see it live, but did see it on the TIVO afterward.
• Some drunk somewhere behind me yelled “You suck!” when Kevin Sutherland missed his birdie putt. I hope they escorted that drunk off the course.
• Around 4PM, the clouds parted, the wind eased, and the sun came out, setting the stage for the first PGA Tour playoff I’ve witnessed live. What a show!

This was the first time I’ve picked a winner not named Tiger in a PGA Tour event and had that pick win. Congratulations to Adam Scott for a fine clutch performance at the Nelson.