"currently battling with my dear friend, the Silverstripe CMS" - 18 hours ago
"is thoroughly relaxed at another Irish farmhouse B&B, this time one run by a character and a half, Sharon Moore.... http://fb.me/Fd1zVe5z" - 1 day ago
"Is this the Nellie bunker you were talking about mate? Safely avoided I'm pleased to report http://fb.me/EHAvCmyU" - 2 days ago
Golf on Day 147 was always going to be a low key affair. At 3pm on Day 146 we rolled out of Phoenix and onto the 10 Freeway heading east...towards Dallas. Google Maps clocks the journey at 1068 miles. It felt longer.
Add to the mixer a hint of uncertainty - over Dodgy's long haul capabilities - and you have an interesting episode in the saga that is puregolf2010. Against all the odds it was quite an enjoyable 22 hours. Travelling in Dodgy is like travelling business class on a long haul flight, in some ways. There's plenty room; a bed to lay your head on; a built in chilly bin (in this case stocked full of Starbucks espresso cans, red bulls, powerades and anything else that might keep us awake); and a quality stereo. The engine purred gracefully too, masking Dodgy's true...longevity.
Outside the tinted windows were cacti rising 30 feet into the air, boulders the size of shopping malls and wide open expanses of Not Much. Everything's huge in these parts (including the trucks that do their best to block every road sign from view).
Anyway we arrived in Dallas early afternoon, and did a brief interview (scroll to "Norm Golfer" segment, on Thursday) with the local radio kingpin, Norm Hitzges (who by fortunate coincidence loves all things Kiwi and is pals with Phil T). A good yarn it was too, even though I nearly keeled over half way through from the suffocating heat within a parked Dodgy oven.
Relief was the overwhelming emotion when we reached Phil’s place – after getting lost in the labyrinth that is the golf complex he lives in (we were looking for “eagle street”; found “par street”; assumed the next street would be “birdie street” so drove straight on and missed the turn (there was no "birdie street" - no logic to the street naming system here). Both of us were pretty delirious, and probably not much chop on the conversation front when we arrived – but after years on the road Phil and wife Mel could relate to our plight and so were very understanding. And welcoming.
We met son Kahu (9 years old) and daughter Talia (a few years his younger). Lovely kids. Kahu’s going to be a real ladies man, and he’s got a bit of sporting prowess about him too (not surprising when you look at mum and dad). As soon as the bags were unloaded from Dodgy we got out into the yard and shot some hoops with Kahu. With a 180 dunk (to an 8 foot rim) in my arsenal, I may as well have been Michael Jordan (at 5 foot 10 inches Phil can't reach the basket unless he uses a stepladder...). Then there was a bit of table tennis on the back patio; then a few putts struck on Phil’s practice putting green. This would’ve been my dream house as a kid.
Golf was the last thing I felt like doing – in 40 degree heat – but...well, you know...we sort of have to! Phil tentatively hopped in the driver’s seat of Dodgy and zipped us down to Lake Park Executive, a little 9 hole municipal course in Dallas proper. The course wasn’t much to write home about, but it was perfect for our needs. Because it was a par 3 course it was also great for Kahu to showcase his dynamite short game (which ended up being the decisive factor in bringing victory honours upon him and yours truly). The wee fella had his best 9 hole round ever, with 41 (previous PB 46) – despite a disappointing 8 on the final hole, which he was visibly gutted with. He’s got his father’s competitive streak.
Father and son took turns at caddying for the other on each hole. Father gave son a few tips. Son wasn’t particularly receptive, but desperately wanted to impress Father. The episode reminded me a lot of my early playing days with my dad out at Lundin Links in Fife, Scotland. I never listened to a word he said, and got hopelessly frustrated if things weren’t going my way. All part of growing up.
Back at Tataurangi base camp we fired up the BBQ and grilled a few steaks – well, Phil did, and he did it like a seasoned chef too. More than just a pretty face. One beer; one steak; and a couple of veges was bliss and enough to send me to sleep. It was gutting, initially, to learn there was only one bed (it was Goldy’s turn), but the sofa proved to be more comfortable than a King Size at The Ritz – and being as shattered as I was, I would’ve slept like a log on a bed of nails.
A long day. And a very warm welcome by a Kiwi family. Day 147...
JP
We were sitting in Starbucks in Scottsdale Arizona at 9pm with nowhere to park Dodgy.
And then a random act of kindness, one that epitomizes our year to date occurred when Tod, who was working at Starbucks, invited us to park up for the night in his driveway. Unprompted. He just saw we were looking for somewhere to stay and said come on down. Tod was a great guy who had worked in the media industry on the West Coast but shifted to Arizona to enjoy the weather here. And from our short experience it is pretty good weather… warm and sunny about 8-9 months of the year so they say, with a couple of months where it is just too hot, and the occasional dust storm hits. Check one out on youtube – a remarkable natural phenomenon.
At 520am Tod knocked on the window of Dodgy to wake us. He had cooked breakfast and we sat in his house chatting and enjoying the most amazingly fresh breakfast of eggs and fruit. Pinching ourselves at the generosity of this chap from Starbucks who did not take much to golf but was just a beautifully kind human. It is moments like these that we’ll look back on in years to come and say wow, how amazing is that…
So after realizing that Arizona is not all guns and immigration problems, we took to TPC Scottsdale in the most positive frame of mind, and with a few decent hours sleep in dodgy under our belts.
Joining us for the day was kiwi pro, Steve Alker who plys his trade on the Nationwide Tour. Steve was shifting into a new place that afternoon but still snuck out for our 650am tee time to join us for 9. Which became 11 when he realized we had clear sailing and were making great time.
We started on the 10th hole at the TPC Scottsdale and the back nine here is quality tournament style stadium golf. The course is long, there is no place for 2 irons here, unless you want to have a 4 iron in for your second. And the features are large. For example the huge waste bunkers in the middle of the fairway on the par five 13th where if you take the aggressive line between it and the water you can reach the green but if you bail out left of it the fairway is much wider and the hole is unreachable.
The greens and conditioning of this track were pure. You could see how the pro’s go around it in about 20 under over four days. Maybe more some years.
The course is famous for a few holes towards the end of the back nine. The 15th is a par five with water all down the left, and then the green sits out in the water, surrounded from all sides except the back. An island green for your approach from 250 yards is one of those challenges we strive for. I tried to crack it with my 2 iron, which was do-able but my duff 150 yards down the fairway ended up being a perfect lay-up. You’ve got to have a crack but the percentage play on 15 is to lay up where any chump with a decent wedge game would make birdie. Not Jamie and I though on this occasion.
Then the 16th – the famous par three which is completely surrounded by grandstands which the locals fill up for the entire tournament, drink far too much and heckle the players like they are the away team at a local derby football match. This is the most electric hole in tournament golf – and you should watch this video of Tiger playing it a few years back. Jamie and I both hit to the fat of the land on the green from only 160 yards out. This would have been greeted with an almighty boo from the crowd and comments that cannot be repeated on this blog but would be along the lines of ‘girls blouse’. Steve was trying to re-enact some of this atmosphere when we played… No actually he was a real gentleman and great company. We heard about his career playing over here and how he has tried his fortunes at the European Tour and Nationwide tour over the last few years. He also won the PGA Championship at Clearwater a few years back, which got him a bit of mileage in the Nationwide tour standings.
Before I forget – the 17th hole is another good’ie a short par four which you just have to have a crack at. And it’s not too long either so a good drive should give you a decent return, unless you 3 putt for par as I learnt.
Jamie played some good golf with a few birdies and a round somewhere in the mid to late 70’s. Not bad going considering the course had a slope rating of about 140 odd and a course rating of about 76. But I can see how the pro’s shoot 20 under here with the greens rolling pure and conditions still. I think if we played our golf here for a couple of weeks and the Course Rating of 76, our handicap index’s would quickly move to around 0 – so long story short it’s a long course with heaps of hazards but if you can give it a whack (and the fairways are wide) it’s great fun to score around.
After golf, we drove. And drove, and drove. In Dodgy. Please meet Dodgy by watching the video below.
Hey y'all. We're in Dallas, and have decided it would be a good idea to revisit our first couple of days on US soil - because the first video we put up was a bit crap, and didn't capture just how magic our initial reception was up in San Fran. So below is a jazzed up revision of that first video blog, with some tunes more befitting of the excitement we experienced. God they were a good few days.
We also want to take this opportunity to say a few thank yous. First, to Rob Kaufman, who organised a few games of golf for us, and who had the constitution strong enough to withstand several days of Us. Second, to Fred Greene, who produces the Golf Smarter podcast - the highest rated golf podcast in the the world, no less. Fred joined us at Harding Park and did an interview with us for his show. He was a gentleman and we were glad to have met him.
Third, to the wonderful Carol Kaufman - who very kindly hosted us as her guests at The Olympic Club (and for a very fine steak dinner in the evening afterwards). Carol is a tremendously generous soul; does a lot for golf, including through The First Tee in San Fran; and we're looking forward to catching her in Scotland. Finally to Bob Tatemishi, Carol's friend who had the patience to endure me as a playing partner for 4 hours 'round Olympic. What a gentleman. Really that day at Olympic was something else - the memory still glows brightly, over 2 weeks on.
Enjoy people.
A word or two about The Olympic Club, for it deserves special mention. First - and I probably mentioned this last time round - the burger. You've got to have the burger. By the practice range is a little snack hut, where said burgers are prepared by Michelin star chefs. They're rectangular (not round like your average burger) and quite simply AMAZING. But I digress. Carol's cousin, Rob, was in town for The Olympic Invitational - a pretty phenomenal shindig the Club puts on every year, drawing members and their guests from all over the world. Rob had flown in from New Jersey on the redeye flight (and was just as jaded as us); others we met had come from afar as Hong Kong. So this event is kind of a big deal... (The chap who made up a 4 with us is a Chicago-based member, and flew in for a few days of golfing heaven...and the rest!).
Carol & Rob had organised to play a practice round together - on the more renowned Lake Course - but had kindly arranged for her friend Bob to take us onto The Ocean Course for a hit shortly after she was to tee off. Truth be told we were hoping to get ourselves on The Lake - it'd be like going to St. Andrews and playing the New Course without playing The Old - and as fate would have it we got our way. When the opportunity arose we jumped at it and braced ourselves for US Open course #1 (we've heard they're pretty tough...).
What a pleasure. The big green Rolex clock by the 1st tee sets the tone - you feel like you're somewhere special (this is a feeling that has returned to us at places like Riviera and Spyglass). The 1st tee is right behind the window of the pro shop, and takes you down a pretty tight chute. I can't emphasise enough how relieved I was to get one down there without careering into the branches. Chris, an investment banker from Chicago, was by himself and so joined us - the more the merrier! I drew Bob in the ball toss - a pairing that turned out to be less than successful (we came second - out of two, that is). But Bob's wry Canadian humour kept me going, even if the birdies I'd had at Harding Park in the morning couldn't be found in the afternoon.
The course is tough, by the way. Greens are small, hard and fast; and they run invariably straight into rough. Chipping it close is a fine art here, and something that's to be commended with the highest praise. 3 putts are common also. The huge Cypress trees I found to be more visually daunting than genuinely menacing - but they add a tremendous atmosphere to the place. In fact the atmosphere at Olympic is what I'll remember most - both on the course and off.
I may never have experienced craic (of the Irish kind) in a golf club bar as I did at Olympic - and may never again. Granted the Invitational was on, and so there were more folk in town than usual - but everyone was having a blast, and openly welcoming to strangers like us. It feels like a Golf Club, more than a Country Club, if you get my drift. People are there to have a great time; enjoy golf; enjoy each other's company; etc - rather than, as is the case with some places (not necessarily ones we have visited this year), going there to be seen. A purist's place, really. The sort of place I'd love to belong to; the sort of place I'd love to visit once a year to catch up with old friends and play some golf. You could see everyone was just stoked.
I won't do a 'review' of the course, because right now I've got to drive to New Orleans. But let me say it was a memorable experience playing at Olympic - and we might even get the chance to show Carol & Bob some Kiwi hospitality of our own, as they've expressed interest about coming down for Day 365 in Aotearoa!!!
bye for now
JP
P.S. i almost forgot to mention... the par 3 short course at Olympic... out of this world...looked like a mini Pebble Beach. Didn't get the chance to play it, but it looked incredible. What a place!
And so our desert leg begins. From LA to New Orleans apparently there’s nothing much but sand, and a few rocks. Vast, vast countryside – the next few days are certainly gonna be an eye opener. And hot.
Last night we zipped down the 10 from LA to Palm Springs, which was more of a climb than I’d expected. By some fortunate coincidence a chap called Gary – from the Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa – contacted me in the afternoon, before we set sail, offering his help. (He’d run into a mate of ours down in Florida last week, and heard about what we were doing). With no accom arranged for last night, the plan was to spend it in Dodgy – no worries. Gary had a better idea though, and instead put us up in a plush pad overlooking one of the 26908 golf courses in this area. What a treat. Trading the back seat of Dodgy for a bed the size of a small nation was like trading muskets and salt for large tracts of land – a sweet deal!
This morning we boosted 17 miles or so down the road to PGA West, a phenomenal golf facility. There are 7 courses or so here, and a whole bunch of condos lining each. Almost entirely a golf town (La Quinta). Because we don’t yet have a GPS for the car, before we left I scribbled some directions on my forearm taken from the ever mercurial Google Maps. Not for the first time, we were misled. It was a happy coincidence, therefore, that the chief staff writer for the USPGA Tour called Mike for a yarn while we were en route – she was able to give us (proper) directions in between questions! Dodgy rolled into the carpark 5 minutes late for our tee time, but thankfully there was a pretty open tee this morning, so all was not lost.
The Americans really do golf well. As soon as my left foot hit the tarmac a gentleman rolled up in a cart to take our sticks, and usher us to the pro shop. The pro told us there was no rush, and that we could hit some balls if we’d like (which we did). Given the Stadium Course at PGA West had been built up as a monster, we thought we better sharpen up and be ready. The starter then cautioned us against playing the tips (circa 7000 yards), which turned out to be a shame. We accepted his counsel and played blues – too short at 6500. The ball flies further up here too, with the heat and altitude.
Neither of us got off to a flier, but after a few holes birdies began to trickle onto our scorecards. With receptive greens and generous fairways, you can really score here. That’s if you stay away from the water (something we each failed to do on several occasions). Dye has built a balanced course, with water running along left and right; with long par 5s and short par 4s; and tough par 3s. He’s renowned for designing tough tracks – but going solely on PGA West, you’d be far more worried by Greg Norman or even Nicklaus. I’ll reserve judgment until we’ve played a few more of his designs.
One of the nicest things about this morning was that there was hardly anyone out there. A sign of the times perhaps? Maybe just a reflection that there are a ton of courses around here, so competition is hot. The offshoot for us was that we got round in 3 hours, including a couple of “comfort stops” (I love American euphemisms). You can drive carts on the fairways, which means you don’t have 55 walks to and from the cart as you do when it’s “cart paths only”. Nice.
The scenery was pretty dramatic, too. Real Lone Ranger stuff. On the horizon all around you are scraggy peaks, creating a (hot, dry) cauldron effect – framed by piercing blue sky, of course. Might have to pick myself up a pair of sunglasses, David Duval styles...or not. They must use a boatload of water out here for irrigation, ‘cos there ain’t much rain. We did see snow on a couple of peaks though; snow that looks really enticing when you’re being toasted alive by the California sun. (Note to self: avoid playing in the middle of the day in the desert).
Mick and me played a best ball today, in the hope of having a combined under par score. I weighed in with 4 birdies, but Mike’s putts weren’t dropping. And after a careless bogey on the last for each of us, 1 under disappeared from reach – giving us a disappointing 72. Rubbish. Today was one of those few days that I should’ve shot under par, but instead bottled it and shot 76 (thanks to a 3 putt par on 16 and some sloppy chips coming down the final stretch). Life goes on.
On the way ‘round we bumped into a 6 strong crew of lads – probably a couple of years older than us – up here on a golf vacation. We got chatting as they let us through. Their warmth and positivity was indicative of the enthusiastic reception we’ve been lucky to receive here in the US. Everyone seems to ‘get’ puregolf2010, which helps keep us ‘up’ 24/7. I can see why people love this place.
Mike’s going to put up a video blog showcasing the golf course and the surrounding scenery. And our swish LoudMouth pants! Enjoy.
JP
Monday the 24th of May signaled the last day of our second week in the States. But today was all about kiwiana and the boys from down under taking on the Mountain Gate Golf Course.
Arranged at the 11th hour by Paul Parlane after we learnt that the course we thought we were booked on was actually closed on Mondays. Bugger. Paul saved our bacon and also had the initiative to arrange for us to play with a mate of his called John Mataira and one of his students, Greg Moss.
John is a kiwi guy from the proud town of Raglan in the Waikato. He now lives in LA near Mountain Gate Golf course and has the lofty role of Consul General for New Zealand in Los Angeles. John is tasked with overseeing the NZ consulate for the whole of the western states of the US. Now we know that John is the man to call if anything untoward happens to us during the first part of our road trip!
So we were very fortunate to tee it up with John today, and he started his golf in formidable style calmly slotting a short birdie putt on the first. He had been given a driver by Paul Parlane that resembled an unsightly brick. A blue brick that made an almighty ting when it struck the ball. But this brick featured the revered Nike tick and probably sells for hundreds of dollars. Traditionalists would turn in their graves if they knew this was how golf was played these days..
Making up the four-ball was a young aspiring (local) golfer called Greg who has been trying to crack it as a golfer for a number of years. Greg is a southpaw and the boy could play. Despite being slighter than me he could whack it a fair distance and he had a controlled draw that always seemed to be zero-ing in on the flagstick, a bit like JP’s on a good day. I’m not one of those golfers that has a consistent draw or fade, which makes life difficult on days where you don’t know which way it’s turning. With the new blades I’m finding that its generally going much straighter, so you know within split seconds whether it has started on a decent line or not.
Mountain Gate GC has 27 holes. Some describe it as the poor cousin to Riviera, Bel Air, Wilshire and LACC. Playing our first nine, named “the Lake” after said feature coming into play on two or three holes, I ‘d say they weren’t wrong. Three each of the par fives, fours and threes gave it a funny complexion (like Ocean Shores on day 107).
The course sits right atop a hill on land that was once a landfill. So the fairways aren’t flat and there are some strange undulations. It also looks out over the 405 Motorway, which at any one time has half the population of LA traveling along it (seriously it probably has more people driving along it than there are living in Wellington). It’s quite a sight to look down upon.
Let me get back to Greg who we uncovered, has quite a story to tell. This skinny chap, has stumbled on a new career – eating. How he unearthed this talent I’ll never know. But last week he was in a dumpling eating contest - how many could the contestants eat in 2 minutes? Well Greg managed to pack all 50 dumplings away with 30 seconds to go and the contest was declared over. How he did this I’ll never know, it must have doubled his body weight. Check out his feats on his new facebook fan page – there are many stories to tell about his efforts with a 6 pound burger and so on.. He might be a bit perturbed by me writing this, he’s been playing golf for years and years and within a few months of his ‘eating’ career, he is already nearing top of the game. He said he wouldn’t be the Tiger or Phil of ‘eating’ yet, (some little beggar from Japan can eat about 1000 hamburgers in 2 minutes) but he’d be a pretty handy PGA Tour player. If you follow..
Back to the golf… The back nine at Mountain Gate is really good. It winds around the Mountain with a few cracking holes such as the par four 11th which doglegs left about 60 degrees around a ravine. Of course bunkers are on the far corner off the tee. Good design, great views and a quality hole. Reminded me of the inverse version of 7 at the Cal Club. The 12th is also a stunning hole with the green perched on the cliffs with a view of the city in the backdrop – well what you can see of it through the haze..
On the 12th we were joined by Paul and his 2 year old daughter, Molly. At this stage the kiwi’s really were taking over at Mountain Gate! Molly was knocking it around the greens, and I’d say with Paul’s tutelage she’ll be something of a child prodigy in a couple of years.
As if to show off to his mate, John then pitched in from about 25 meters on the 12th. Class. And it was always going to happen sooner or later as he’d lipped out on chips on the two prior holes. This consul general could chip.
So we knocked it around the back nine and finished with respectable but not outstanding scores in the high 70’s. It could have been much better, due to the pristine nature of the greens here. You could pick your line and be confident that it would roll smoothly. They do take a lot of borrow up here on the hill and fortunately a couple of locals giving a few reads towards the end of the day helped!
After golf we headed back for an Admin Session to End All Admin Sessions. I think we both sent about 50 odd emails. If you were fortunate enough to get one of these (or even if you just feel like getting in touch with us), feel free to drop us a line! PS Photos to follow
Shinnecock
auckland dodgy donald ross links mackenzie melbourne mornington mornington peninsula new york queensland rain royal sandbelt scotland sunshine coast sydney the first tee tpc us open wow
