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Thirteenth Rant: A Bad Day of Golf I can’t positively remember his name, although I am fairly certain that it was Fred or Frank. My certainty comes from the fact that after my one and only golf encounter with this guy, I attached an unflattering (although, I must admit, quite accurate) adjective to his name: Fat. So it was either Fat Fred or Fat Frank. Either one will do, I suppose, but, for some reason Fat Frank sound more right. So Fat Frank it is. It had to be at least 10-15 years ago and our usual foursome was scheduled for a weekday morning at Chestnut Hills Golf Course. It was raining as I pulled into the parking lot, but, the weather experts were predicting clearing skies by mid-morning. Bill soon showed up and then Roger. With Roger was an extremely large man named Frank. Roger informed us that Tommy (our usual fourth) couldn’t make it so he had recruited a co-worker to join us. Now, please don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against large people. I’m merely trying to set the stage for what is to follow. Since it was still raining, we decided (on Frank’s suggestion) to grab a bite to eat at the dinner up the road. Myself, Bill and Roger ordered standard breakfast fare. Frank ordered two whole steak, egg, cheese, onion and pepper subs. I’ll never forget the image of the waitress delivering TWO gigantic subs to one person at 9:30 in the morning. The rain, as predicted, stopped and we were on the course by 10:30. If you looked at Frank, you may have very well thought that this dude is definitely not a golfer, but, I’m sure we have all been around long enough to not judge someone’s golfing ability by their looks. Well, Frank was definitely not a bad golfer. No, he was so far beyond a bad golfer that it almost defies belief. Frank was without a doubt the worse golfer I have ever seen on a course and to make matters worse he was annoyingly slow (even for a large, ponderous man), he completely lacked any sense of course etiquette and he seemed to lack even basic social skills. But, all this pales when compared to his worst trait. Frank had the worst case of rabbit-ears that I have ever been subjected to in my entire life. During the round (amidst a never ending cavalcade of flubbed tee shots, shanked irons, skulled wedges and putts that defied human description), he complained about the birds flying overhead, the flag flapping too loudly on the green, the freight trains rumbling by the perimeter of the course, carts on the next fairway and basically anything that one person can lay claim to as a golfing distraction. However, all of this was a mere warm-up for what occurred on the 15ht hole. We had all teed off and were waiting for Frank to hit his tee shot. After another, dribbled 25 yarder, he turned to us and said, in all sincerity, ‘Do you guys have to breathe so effin’ loud?’. We finished the round in silence, settled up our bets and got in our cars and left. The only time Frank’s name was ever mentioned was when Roger said to us the next time we played golf, ‘Sorry ‘bout that’. No more was ever said about Frank and no more was needed to be said. To this day, I cannot remember a single shot that I took that day or any shot that Bill or Roger took, but, Fat Frank will live on in my mind, I suppose, until the day I die.
I'm occupying this space since my holiday preview just came out and I don't want to relegate it to second station just yet. I'm Mo' Golf and I'm grateful to Rico for his secession of a few lines for me to inflict a rant of my own. This year-ender is me sounding off on the state of golf in western New York, the world and the space between my ears. As always, send comments our way if you like or dislike. **Returning to competition makes a man humble! I played two events this year, in the hope that feeling the heat would make me a better high school coach. The first was a NYSGA state days event in Ithaca. Got to finally play their heralded RTJ, sr.course and it was worth the wait. Loved the land, loved the rhythm, hated the ocho I made on a par five to fall from contention. Later, played the NYSGA mid-am qualifier at Transit Valley. TV never sets up well for me and my swing/faith were not up to snuff that day. Despite these shortcomings, I ground it out until a less-than-stellar double-single finish left me three shots shy of the cut line. Food for thought for 2011. Memo to NYSGA: Please don't have any qualifiers at TV in 2011! **New courses in 2010 were equal to the anticipation. Hickory Stick has it all and is a lesson to golfers everywhere on how to make a rolling course out of dead-flat land. RTJ, jr. didn't give us a heaving, hoeing, fake-Ireland course on a farm in Niagara County. Instead, he brought forth a gently yet deceptively moving parcel of 18 holes that meander around a kindly-wooded, somewhat-watered property. Most of the time, you are worried about angles, bounces and elevation around the greens. To the east, in Baldwinsville (near Syracuse) Timber Banks opened without much fanfare in western New York. TB is a fine effort from one of Jack Nicklaus' design team members. It deals with even more wetland issues than HS and negotiates them with the aplomb of a courtroom lawyer. Without a doubt, TB is worth the drive east...make a mini-tour out of it and play a few more of the fine Syracuse-area courses, like Erie Downs and Lafayette CC. Memo to golfers at new courses: Don't expect a course to be completely settled at any point in the first five years, nor completely grown in, nor to have a thick root structure that reveals thick and consistent putting and fairway surfaces. It takes time! **I have played in some of the greatest weather extremes of my lifetime this year. In July, we headed to Virginia and played in scorcing, melting heat in Williamsburg. As I type this, I am preparing to head to Concord Crest for 18 holes, three days prior to Thanksgiving. I expect mid-50s temperatures and rain, but nothing will stop this delivery man from his rounds! Stolen rounds in the late Fall and early Winter are the stuff of memories, all snowy season long. Note to local golf course operators: Keep your courses open late...we're still playing! **Why people buy the latest and greatest piece of equipment is beyond me. The Scrambler went to a local golf outlet the other day and bought a new set of irons and three (not one, not two!) drivers for under $750. Understand that new means two years ago...has technology really come that far in the past 730 days? You KNOW it hasn't. If anything, the governing bodies of the game are trying to rein in the advances, so don't anticipate greater proclamations of distance in the coming years. Note to equipment companies: price it properly from the start and you won't have to encourage fire sales two years hence.
Eleventh Rant: Buffalo Tournament Club
It is often said that it takes quite a few years for a golf course to ‘settle in’ to its full potential. The Buffalo Tournament Club (BTC) in Lancaster, NY certainly fits that description. If you played BTC in its early years, it was easy to be less than impressed by the course conditions. The fairways were patchy and sparse and the roughs seemed to be more weeds than anything else. Well, I’m happy to say, BTC has come a long way since then. The initial thing that stood out to me was how nicely the fairways are coming in. For the most part they now have the proper amount of lushness without the feeling of being overgrown. The roughs still have a ways to go, but, happily, the weeds are slowly giving way to actual rough. The greens at BTC are generally quite large with a fair amount of undulation and above average speed. While the size of the greens does make it easier to hit them, the size can often leave you with lengthy, breaking putts. For example, the green on the 6th hole is a somewhat narrow two tiered green that is well over 30 yards from front to back with a fairly decent hump about two-thirds of the way back. If you land your ball on the wrong side of the ridge, you might find yourself begging for a two putt. The course does not have a large amount of bunkers and the ones on the course are by no means unfair. There is some water on the course , but, accept for number 9 and number 17 the water hazards shouldn’t be much of a problem. Overall, I really like the layout of the course. One of the things I liked was that the holes are laid out in varying directions. Unlike some courses which I call ‘up and back’ courses, BTC does a good job of changing the orientation of the holes which ends up giving he course a more memorable feel.
Unfortunately, the two weakest holes on the course (I think) are number 1 and number 10. Both are straightaway par fours that are pretty much mirror images of each other. Both holes lack any real visual impact which is too bad because after these holes there were a lot of holes I really liked. Hole #2 is a nice longer par 4 that slopes down to a small valley and then back up to a devilishly tricky green. This is a good test of your golfing skills.
The 4th hole is probably the most difficult hole on the course. It is average length par 5 that requires an accurate tee shot and a very precise 2nd shot that needs to be landed on the flat part of the fairway. If your lay up shot is left or right you will find trees and brush; if it is too long you will be left with a downhill approach shot to a steep uphill green or a penalty stroke as you fish your ball out of the small stream that dissects the fairway. Standing on the tee of the 7th hole (a short par 5) your view is up the hill to a narrow landing area with dense trees and foliage on both sides of the fairway and a rather large tree around 250 yards off the tee. If you are able to put the ball into play, you will have a straight forward second shot that should put you into very realistic birdie territory.
The 9th hole is probably the signature hole on the course and the most fun to play. The elevated tee shot must be hit fairly long to leave a reasonable approach shot, yet, longer tee shots can bring water into play on the right and a strand of trees on the left. A large pond juts out from the left and comes into play on any shots that are at the right side of the green. On the back
side, number 12 is a medium length par 3 with a wide, sloping green.
With trees and brush behind the green, it is paramount that you do not
go long. The pond to the left of this hole should only come into play
with a really errant tee shot. I think a bunker somewhere in front of
this green would make this a truly spectacular hole.
The course finishes with a short par 4 (#17) that requires both a precise tee shot to avoid trees on the right and an accurate approach shot to avoid water on the left and a medium length par 4 (#18) that requires a well placed uphill tee shot that lands to the right of a gaping sand trap at around 150 yards from the green; this will leave you with a medium length approach shot to a green that sits literally at the bottom of the hill. Both these holes are so well designed that you really can appreciate the thought that went into the design. Some of the
amenities include a driving range and a massive putting green. A club
house is still under construction.
Tenth Rant: Batavia Country Club If you are anything like me, I think your impression of Batavia Country Club may well be one of surprise. After getting off of the NYS Thruway and traveling a short distance through the Village of Batavia, you will soon find yourself on Batavia-Byron Road which is smack dab in the middle of farm country. As you head down the road, almost out of nowhere the course appears on a slight rise with the two nines neatly bisected by this road.
The biggest surprise is just how hilly this course is, especially the back nine. With only a handful of relatively flat holes, this is definitely not a walkers-only course. One could accurately call this a hill-and-valley course.
For a public course with very reasonable rates, this course is in average to above average condition. The fairways are generally wide although there are quite a few trees that come into play. The greens are mostly on the medium size (with a few larger greens on some holes) and are firm but not overly fast. There are subtle undulations on most of the greens, but very few of the severe variety. The course is not heavily bunkered and most greenside bunker placements leave a generous amount of room to get on the green. There are some water hazards on the course, but only a handful actually come into play.
Aesthetically, I quite enjoyed this layout. There are some really nice vantage points around the course that afford one a great panoramic view of the surrounding country side. Throw in the trees, marshes, ponds and abundant flower beds and it is easy to feel like you are at a much higher-end course than you really are. One has to give kudos to the management who have obviously made course aesthetics a priority.
The course has the standard hole distribution of four par 5’s, four par 3’s and ten par 4’s with quite a bit of variety in each grouping. The first two holes on the front side are par 5’s. A bit unusual, I guess, but, it does get the round off on a bang. The first par 5 is a gently, up-sloped long hole with a wide fairway and a smattering of trees; its length makes up for any lack of hazards. The 2nd par five is a very short down hill hole with OB on the left and a sizable pond in front of the green. Two decent shots will put you in position for a short wedge to the green with a reasonable chance to make birdie. On the back, the two par 5’s are both on the longish side. Number 12 goes straight up the hill and requires three well-struck shots. Unless you have exceptional length, a par is just fine on this hole. The final par 5 (#16) is another long hole that sweeps off the top of the hill down to a green tucked near the edge of the tree line. This was my favorite hole on the back side. The wonderful view from the top of the hill can easily be tempered by OB on the left or a severe side-hill lie on your approach shot yet the scenic nature of this hole somehow easily mitigates these impending obstacles.
The par 3s are also quite varied. The best of the lot is the first one on the front (#3). This hole plays in the 165 yd range; with a pond in play on the right and a rather large bunker hugging the left side of the hole, it requires both accuracy and the correct club selection. The 2nd par 3 on the front (#7) is a straight away, mid-distance hole that lacks any visual oomph and almost feels like an afterthought to me. This was definitely my least favorite hole on the course and probably needs the most improvement.
The two pars 3s on the back are average holes. While they certainly aren’t awful, they are just OK holes. The par 4 holes run the gamut from average to really good. Holes 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11 and 14 are all fairly straight away holes of average length. The best par fours are 8, 15 and 18.
Number 8 is my favorite hole on the front side. It plays 400 yards from the white tees and has a pond in front (this shouldn’t come into play), ample trees and a meandering, small creek on the left that requires you to make the most of a blind tee shot. Once you have cleared the approach area, there is a large bell that announces to the next group that they are free to tee off. I have to admit, I am a sucker for little idiosyncrasies like this on a course.
Hole #15 is probably the hardest hole on the course. It is a relatively long par 4 with plenty of trees to stymie errant tee shots. Hole #18 is another hole that I enjoyed as much for its visuals as its playability. Tumbling down the hill, this short par 4 requires an accurate tee shot and a well placed approach shot. The course has a driving range, putting green, a pro shop and a bar/restaurant. They have both men’s and women’s leagues and have facilities for golf outings.
If you decide to make the drive down the NYS Thruway to Batavia CC, I think you will come away as pleasantly surprised as I was.
Ninth Rant: Chestnut Hill Country Club
Are you looking for a well maintained course with reasonable rates? A course that is well within the playability level of the average golfer yet offers enough challenges and hole diversity to keep you from being bored? Then I suggest you check out Chestnut Hills Country Club in Darien Center, NY.
Recently I took the 30-40 minute drive from Buffalo to play a round of golf at Chestnut Hills CC. As you make your way down Route 20 through Lancaster and then Alden, you soon find yourself in Darien Center. As you pass Darien Lake State Park, the course is a mile or so up the road on the right hand side.
Pulling into the parking lot, you will see what almost appears to be a maintenance shed. This is actually the back of the club house. Once you trek up the slight hill to the front of the building you will be welcomed by a spacious, handicapped accessible deck filled with tables (I’m guessing more than a few beverages are hoisted on the deck during the warmer times of the year).
There is a putting green just in front of the first tee box and a driving range to the right of the club house. In addition, there is a bar and restaurant. Throughout the year, the course is home to many golf outings and league play. As you approach the first hole, the course appears relatively flat. This is very deceiving. Once you have played holes one and two, the course spills down some extremely sloped terrain until is bottoms out at the back end of the course. Interestingly enough, the back end of the course butts up against railroad tracks. Twice during our round a really long cargo train came rumbling through. While some may find this a bit disconcerting, I thought it added a bit of local flavor to the course.
The first hole (as is the 10th hole) is a par 5. This hole is not overly long, but a small pond around 150 yards from the green requires a fairly accurate approach shot. While this hole is no gimme, it does afford one a nice chance to ease into the round. Hole number two is a non-descript par 3. It is fairly dull and not very interesting in my opinion. It could easily use some bunkering or other type of hazard to enhance its appeal. This hole in retrospect, is a bit of a let down since it sits between the nicely shaped first hole and a really neat third hole.
The third hole is a relatively short par 4 that is almost straight down a very steep hill. Unless you can unleash a tremendous tee shot, you will have a severe down hill lie to a smallish green. This is definitely a fun hole to play. Holes four and five are straight away par fours that are very fair holes. Hole 6 is short, elevated par 3 with a pond in front and trees on the left side. If you miss the green to the right or short (provided you are not in the pond) you will have an uphill shot to the green. Any shots long or left will leave you with a difficult down hill shot to try and save par.
The 7th hole is a relatively long par 5 that cascades down the side of the course from left to right. The tee shot is blind and needs to be hit in the correct position for best results. Without local knowledge, it is very hard to tell where you need to hit this shot. Once you are down the hill, the hole flattens out and then it becomes a very mundane hole with very little visual appeal. I have to say, that it is a toss-up between this hole and number two as my least favorite holes. The next hole (#8) is my own personal favorite hole. At 430 + yards and tree problems on both sides of the fairway, this hole is not for the faint of heart. But, if played well, it is a hole that a gives one a real sense of golfing accomplishment.
The ninth hole requires another blind tee shot that needs to be on the left side of the fairway to avoid what appears to be a cluster of fruit trees. A good tee shot should lead to a short approach shot. Sandwiched around another medium length par 3 (#11) are holes 10 (par 5) and 12 (par 4). Both holes are interesting only because they have small ponds that can come into play with poorly hit shots while number 12 also has out-of-bonds to the left. Holes 13 through 16 are all very playable holes for the average golfer although each one has a unique feature. Number 13 has an elevated green which requires a well struck approach shot. Anything left or long can easily be out-of-bounds. Number 14 has a ‘moat’ surrounding the green so distance control is the challenge on this hole. Number 15 has another pond on the left that can easily come into play on your tee shot while the 16th hole requires a blind tee shot that can result in trees coming into play if not hit in the right direction. The 17th hole is a short par three that has a pond in front of the tee box that should never be an issue while the 18th hole is back on the upper, flat part of the course with a good view of which direction you need to be hitting. All-in-all, I would highly recommend Chestnut Hills if you keep your expectations at a reasonable level. This is certainly not in the class of many of the newer, more upscale public area courses that have popped up in recent years, but, neither is it an un-enjoyable experience. A number of the holes are ‘fun’ to play; a few are quite challenging and a couple could use a bit of work. If I had to sum up this course in one word, I think unpretentious would do just fine.
Well, I did something recently that I haven’t done in a long time. No, not that! I played four days of golf at four different courses under four fairly different weather conditions. At the end of this stretch, I christened this mini-golf trek my ‘elemental’ golf adventure. The funny thing is that this all kind of fell together in a haphazard almost serendipitous manner. Not quite spur of the moment, but, surely not the result of any grand plan or scheme. The adventure all began on Friday the 24th of September. A group of co-workers and myself got together to play our ‘annual’ golf outing at Shelridge Country Club in Medina. Another fellow employee is a member there and he graciously gets us out to the course once a year; usually late summer or early fall. As anyone who lives in WNY knows, the weather this time of year can be iffy at best. Well, this day turned out to be a pleasant and interesting surprise. Temps hit the upper 80’s and the winds were a steady 20-30mph with gusts hovering in the 40mph range. It was actually funny to see your ball start rolling off of a green after it had been marked, lifted, cleaned and replaced. Ya’ gotta’ love it! On Saturday, it was early morning tee times at The Links at Ivy Ridge in Akron for the Audubon board of directors outing. The temps were in the mid 50’s when we arrived and never got much above that. Add a consistent 15-20 mph wind and it was, shall we say, rather brisk. After a nice long, hot summer; we were rudely re-introduced to playing golf with layers and layers of clothes. All during the round, the sun kept threatening to break through, but, alas the stubborn clouds were the order of the day. On Sunday, I had a 9:00 tee time at Audubon Golf Course (my home course) and it could not have been a more pleasant day. With a breeze that barely got above the freshening stage (a rarity at this the usually wind swept part of Amherst) and a brilliant slowly warming sun, it reminded me of how wonderful a crisp fall day can be in Buffalo. And by the back nine, I was able to shed some of the layers of clothes that I had started off the day with. On Monday, myself and a fellow golfer traveled down Rt. 20a (Broadway) to do a course review of Chestnut Hill County Club. While not as cold or windy as Saturday we did encounter some rain at points during the round. This did not surprise me and in fact it felt like it added a bit of closure to my extended weekend. So, my ‘elemental’ golf adventure has come to a close. As I sit writing this piece, I am reminded of that saying we’ve all heard countless times: “If you don’t like the weather in Buffalo, just wait a minute, it’s bound to change”.
Seventh Rant: Glen Oaks Review Located on Smith Road in East Amherst, NY, Glen Oak Golf Course sits
in the middle of a cluster of single family homes, townhouses, condos
and patio homes. A Robert Trent Jones design, Glen Oak was opened in
1969. A common misconception is that the course was designed to be
part of a ‘golfing community.’ The course, which was private until
1985, was always designed to be a standalone entity. The only
concession to local residents was access to a bike path that meanders
through the course. To this day, the path is still open to area
residents.
The course has undergone very little changes over the years. According to head pro Mike Zuppa, a few bunkers have been reworked and tee box reconstruction has taken place recently. Otherwise, the course looks the same as the way it was designed. Part of the course is dissected by Smith Road. Holes 1-10 and 14-18 sit on the right half of the road with the remaining holes on the other side of the road. With four tee boxes, Glen Oak offers a fair yet challenging experience for golfers of all levels. When played from the ‘tips’, it offers an extreme challenge for even the most experienced golfers. Played from the one of the up boxes, the course becomes much more playable yet still is demanding in its own right. While not heavily bunkered, there are enough sand traps on the course to require most approach shots to be hit with proper distance and accuracy. Water comes into play on 10 of the holes, but, it is a major concern on holes 2, 5, 7, 8, 12 and 18.The fairways are spacious enough that slightly offline hits will not result in severe penalty situations. The greens are for the most part large with some undulations, but, the breaks in the greens are fairly straight forward.
While
the course has a number of memorable holes, one of the best is #5, a
long par 5 with potential trouble from start to finish. Too far left
on the tee shot can result in an out of bounds (possibly landing on
the deck of Probably the most vexing hole on the course is the par 3 15th. This hole plays around 175-190 from the middle tees to an elevated green and requires a well struck mid-iron or even some sort of hybrid club depending on the wind direction. Two huge bunkers front the right side of a green that slopes from right to left. Another bunker sits behind the green. Tee shots hit short and right usually find there way into one of the front bunkers. Shots that are either hit too long or hit without the proper loft will land in the back bunker. Shots that are short and left will run off of the green due to the severe front sloping. If your tee shot does not land on the green, your 2nd shot is difficult at best and making par becomes an iffy proposition. While none of the holes was truly awful, I was the least impressed by the 14th hole. This short par 4 is both visually and strategically unappealing. While it is a hole that can help one’s scoring, I found that it lacked the dynamism that many of the other holes possess. The layout of the hole is fairly straight forward and requires no more than a mediocre tee shot to end up with a short iron to the green (which is directly in front of Smith Rd.).
For some reason this hole almost seems like an afterthought in the grand scheme of things. But, the abundance of truly fine holes does mitigate this hole. Mo’ Golf, my erstwhile and opinionated colleague, notes that Robert Trent Jones, Senior, was never a fan of centerline hazards, preferring parallel bunkering to a diagonal series of sand pits. In Mo’s opinion, #14 would benefit from just such a diagonal hazard…carry the short right bunker for a longer approach in; risk the longer, lefter carry and have a shorter club in. Mo’ also suggested that RTJ, Sr. was perhaps planning a breather hole before the final, nearly-impregnable quadrilateral of holes 15-18. Glen Oak has a men’s club and offers both men’s and women’s leagues Monday-Thursday. There is also a large clubhouse with a bar for casual drinks or snacks and a full service restaurant for dinners or banquets. All in all, Glen Oak is a challenging yet fair golfing experience. For a public course it has the feel of private course.
Sixth Rant: Having a Head for Golf
OK, I’ve played golf for more years
than I care to admit to, yet, there are times on the course when I
really
I’m sure we have all at one time or
other muttered to ourselves or often to anyone in earshot, ‘What was I
I know that we all do this and it goes
with the territory, but, it seems like I may be the king of the dumb
shot.
Years ago, I was playing behind a
local teaching pro and I was amazed at how this person always seemed
to
I guess one can become more proficient
at course management as the years go by, but, I am quite sure I will
Nowadays, when I go to the course I
usually have some ‘game plan’ in mind or at least a somewhat vague
idea
So, you can call it focus or course
management or concentration, but, whatever it is, is seems to come
naturally Things may be looking up.
Fifth Rant: Porter Cup Qualifier You can't blame the Niagara Falls Country Club nor the Porter Cup committee. Eight spots were available to local amateurs to qualify into the 2010 Porter Cup. Illustrious local names like Ken Riter (2009 NYSGA Mid-Am champion), Jake Katz (2010 BDGA Match Play champion), John Edwards, Chris Covelli, and Peter Creighton (former qualifiers), and Joey Vogl, Mike Carrig, Billy Hanes (collegiate players) and James Blackwell and Matt Petrosian (high school standouts) blanketed the tee sheet for the 2010 Porter Cup qualifying 18. When the final putts had tumbled low, only Katz among local aspirants had turned in the necessary score (68 outright, 69 in a playoff) to move into the tournament proper. The Binghamton University golfer went around in 33-34 for 67 blows, good for 3rd place among the 8 survivors. Other conquerors of the Lewiston course were a Bolivian (Sebastian Maclean), an Ohioan (Zachary Bates) four Canadians (Mackenzie Hughes, Garrett Rank, Nicholas Powell and Braeden Cryderman), joined by a gent from Fairport, NY (Andrew Lane.) Matthew DeJohn of Geneva, NY and Michael Carrig, former Bishop Timon-St. Jude stalwart, were eliminated in the five-for-three playoff at 69. So, what happened to the local boys? After Carrig, one score of 70, three at 71 and five of 72 were turned in by residents of Erie and Niagara counties. Our best area players seem to be quite capable of shooting par or thereabouts, but only a select few are able to make it around in the necessary-for-qualification, 2-3 strokes below. Is it frustrating? Sure. We'd love to have a few more regional representatives to cheer on come July, but the answer to the question of "how well would they do?" is, not very. Probably bottom third. Is that a triumph in itself? Absolutely. Just getting in is a feat of renown. When Justin Regier of Clarence challenged for the title a few years back, something unique had taken place. Until our local suitors get comfortable shooting scores in the mid-sixties in tournament play, they will not graduate to the national amateur stage. For all results from the qualifier, Click Here. For information on the Porter Cup, visit http://www.portercup.com.
I have always viewed golf as a fairly benign activity. It is played
on lush, manicured fields. The competitors,
Let’s start with clothes. Yes, golfers in the 70’s and 80’s wore
outrageous, often polyester clothes, but, hey,
Another comment I often hear is that golfers are not athletes. While I
cannot vouch for the athletic ability or
Finally, golf is boring. I think this perception comes from the fact
that golf is played at a mostly leisurely pace. Golf is surely not everyone’s cup of tea, but, I feel fairly certain that once one starts playing golf, many of the stereotypes very quickly fade off into the distance.
There is an old saying that a tiger can’t change its stripes. Judging from this week’s Masters’ tournament, it looked to me like the same old Tiger Woods with the same old stripes. Yes, Tiger vowed to change his demeanor and his respect for the game, but, what I saw was closer to lip service than real action. In any tournament that Tiger enters, the viewer is sure to get almost non-stop, wall-to-wall coverage of everything Tiger so it was fairly easy to judge how Tiger went about his business this week. What we were able to witness was the same old petulant, arrogant, ego-centric player of old. Yes, Tiger toned down his act a bit, but, in the end, he really hadn’t changed enough to make a real difference. It seems painfully obvious that whatever drives Tiger is so deeply ingrained that it is almost beyond his or anyone else’s ability to change his behavior. The low point may have been his post final round interview. As Bill McAtee tried to get Tiger to reveal some emotion about his return to golf amidst all that he has gone through, Tiger quite curtly replied that he came to win and since he didn’t he was not happy. Now, please go away. I am quite certain that I was not alone in wanting Tiger to show some emotion; maybe a passing remark on how it was great to be back doing what he loves or how emotional the week was for him. Instead Tiger reverted to his ability to dole out only what he wants and to always keep the walls around him securely in place. Through Tiger’s entire sordid affair and the media maelstrom and the tabloid stories and the late night joke fests that followed, I never was able to summon up much sympathy for Tiger. Yesterday, I actually felt sorry for him. Sorry that he is either incapable of showing any emotional weakness or that he feels so compelled to keep everyone at bay that he never lets his guard down. In the end, Tiger’s only humanity may be his inability to act like a normal human being. Ernie Els won his 2nd tournament of the year. It looks like the Big easy is going to be a force to be reckoned with this year on the PGA Tour. Freddy Couples is quickly making the Champions Tour his own personal ATM machine. Kudos, Freddy. I’m guessing some woman won an LPGA tournament this week; if there was one. And, finally, three more of Tiger’s tramps have come out in a Vanity Fair article this week to add their two cents worth to the whole sordid affair. Take a quick guess as to which news story is getting the most run. Since the Tiger buzz just doesn’t seem to want to go away, I’ll add my 2c worth. According to these estimable Vanity Fair sources, it seems the ol’ Tiger was a voracious sex addict, a compulsive gambler and a notorious cheapskate. Is anyone really surprised at these latest allegations? It doesn’t take a psychology degree to see that Tiger is the penultimate Type A personality. It makes perfect sense that anything he does, it’s all or nothing; probably impossible for him to do anything in moderation. I can unequivocally state that I have had enough with all of the sordid details, the XXX rated text messages and the constant parade of bimbos seeking their 15 minutes of fame and fortune. I know way more than I care to know about Tiger’s transgressions and at this point all I really want to do is to see him back on the golf course. Without insulting Mr. Els and his fellow pros, the tour without Tiger is a pretty dull scene. With the exception of a player or two, the tour players are pretty much interchangeable with little or no pizzazz. No matter how your opinion of Tiger has changed, he is the best thing that has happened to golf in the last 15 years or so and will remain so until someone with his dynamism comes along. Rico
Now that spring has sprung and the days are getting longer and warmer and the trees are beginning to bud, it is only natural that our thoughts begin to meander towards another season of golf in Western New York. Yes, our winters are long and they are harsh, but, oh our summers! With temperatures that are warm but usually not too oppressive, humidity that seldom gets to the unbearable range and an abundance of sunshine filling our long summer days, the golfing season in WNY is truly an enjoyable experience. I would be willing to bet that when people in the rest of the country think of golfing destinations, the WNY area is rarely high on the list; yet, we may be one of the best kept secrets in the country. We have a large number of older, established courses from private public to municipal tracks that can fit the ability level of almost any golfer. And, as most of us golfers know, the number of new courses in WNY and southern Ontario has virtually exploded in the past few years. Many of these courses range from a mild uptick in quality from some of the older area courses to some that are very close to country club status in their level of playability and amenities. Add to the mix, golf rates still fall into the reasonable category and we have ourselves a proven winner. To those of you who have not played some of these newer tracks, I highly recommend venturing out beyond your normal range of courses and give some of them a try. I think you will be quite surprised at what is out there. Winter is in our rear view mirrors and as we begin to get our clubs out of the basement or the garage and start to think of the new season, we should reflect a bit on how good we have it in this area. Here’s to another great season on the links. Rico
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