Life in the Crosshairs

Sometimes you stumble on things that really catch your eye and aren’t what you expect. Over the past few days I was in the process of setting up an interview with a senior fitting representative with Titleist to get a little insight on what life is like fitting the world’s best players, and I literally stumbled upon this two part blog post that was penned last fall.

The piece is an interview of Acushnet Company CEO Wally Uihlein by the Golf Observer’s John Huggan and took place when the controversial USGA groove rule was about to take effect.

I wasn’t surprised that the piece makes for even more interesting reading today, given that the “groove rule” is the biggest conversation piece in 2010. What surprised me was the tone of the conversation.

Uihlein has long been seen as one of the most powerful men in golf and, as a longtime Acushnet employee myself, I know that this fact has placed him in the center of any discussion or controversy that has developed in regards to the legislation of the game of golf.

Huggan puts Uihlein squarely in the crosshairs in this hard hitting discussion. This conversation touches on seemingly all “hot button” issues that face golf both today and tomorrow and is a must read for anyone that carries an interest in the technological side of the game. 

 Uihlein Interview Part 1

In the second half of the discussion, Huggan continues with the revealing questions then switches gears to address some more personal issues with Uilhein, then finishes where he started with pointed questions about the game’s future.

 Uihlein Interview Part 2

Greg

A Course For Every Club In Your Bag

Blogger’s Note: From time to time I will be showcasing a different course and my personal experiences there. This week I am discussing my recent round at Reidy Creek in Escondido. Reidy has always been a favorite of mine and a little inside info, there will be a Reidy Creek specific incentive added to the JC Players Card coming this summer, so stay posted for that!

This past Friday I eagerly shot out of the office to take advantage of a nice afternoon of golf. (We arrived at 3:30 and it was a bit windy, but I have to admit that I enjoy playing shorter courses in the wind, it really allows for a player’s creativity to kick in.)

Knowing that I was going to use the round as the backbone for this post I took an extra special look over the scorecard when I was on the first tee and was surprised that the distance of the two 9’s was pretty evenly distributed. I had played Reidy a handful of times in the past and had often described it as “a lot of 9 irons and wedges on the front a lot more mid-long irons on the back” and now looking at the card I see there is only about a 12 yard average distance between the holes on the front and those on the back. Essentially only a one club difference. Intriguing.

In my mind this sharpened my focus from simply tracking which clubs I “pulled” on each tee, to seeing if there really was a different and distinct feel to the two nines.  

  

A well spent afternoon!

Front Nine

1st Hole – I hit a 6 iron and not very well, thin and to the right. As with many of the greens at Reidy, there are two almost distinct greens and the pin was all the way down and to the left.

2nd Hole – Great downhill hole with water on the short right which is where the pin was and wind was blowing left to right. I hit 8 iron to the left side of the green and breathed a sigh of relief when it hit land.

3rd Hole – Uphill with a strong wind and I hit a 21 degree hybrid, so much for a 9 iron. The record of where my tee ball landed will remain unspoken.

4th Hole – This was a 9 iron with the pin all the way back and the win swirling. Trouble left, right, and behind this green. I loved my tee shot when I hit it, but was worried until the ball came to rest on the green.

5th Hole – Another 9 iron on this uphill hole. I hit a great shot and made birdie! Only one unfortunately.

6th Hole – This is another green with two distinct levels and the pin was on the top level. I hit a pitching wedge well clear of the bottom tier which is where a 3 putt would have been a safe bet.

7th Hole – A huge green from left to right, which is tough to hit given its lack of depth. I hit a great pitching wedge but missed a makeable birdie putt.

8th Hole – This won a tough one. The hole requires -at least for me- a longish iron and the hazard on the right side comes right up to the collar. It took a solid 5 iron to knock it hole high on this one.

9th Hole – I managed an 8 iron here onto the green and was thankful there was no wind at the moment.The finishing hole on this side has the same hazard hugging the right side and a huge bunker on the left.    

 

 

The only hole I birdied? Of course there's a photo.

Back Nine

10th Hole – The pin was all the way back on this huge green. Two bunkers on the right and hazard all down the left, a 6 iron got me to the middle of the green. No way I was attacking the pin with a mid-iron.

11th Hole – The wind picked up and I hit 5 iron to this huge green, just don’t hit it way right here.

12th Hole – The wind continued into our face and I hit a 6 iron trying to get the ball on the right level of this 3-tiered green. I overswung and pulled it into the left bunker, hitting none of the 3 tiers.

13th Hole – I was glad the gust didn’t die down and hit a 9 iron to a blind pin. This is an example of a hole that really gets interesting depending on wind and its direction.

14th Hole – Longest hole on the track and I needed a 4 iron to knock it on the green.

15th Hole – Shortest hole on the track which challenges your 1/2 or 3/4 swing and will penalize you if you stick your club into the ground. Thankfully, I didn’t and knocked my wedge on.

16th Hole – The pin was a “green light” special in the middle back and I hit an aggressive 7 iron.

17th Hole – This uphill, well bunkered hole is dangerous if you short side yourself. The day we played the pin was all the way to the left, and I hit my 8 iron to the right. Right in a greenside bunker, unfortunately.

18th Hole – GREAT finishing hole with trouble all around the green. With my group’s match on the line I hit a nerve-racking 5 iron onto the green. 1/2 the guys in my group donated golf balls.

The scorecard proved to be correct, as the six holes that I hit a 9-iron or wedge, seven holes that I hit 6 thru 8 iron, and five holes that I hit 5 iron or stronger were spread throughout the course. A great balance of shot variety on both nines.

We had a great match on a great golf course and we drove away from the golf course at 6:30 with plenty of daylight left. Wait why didn’t we play more holes???

Greg

Props for JC Golf – Good News for All Golfers!

Recently, JC Golf has been popping up in the golf publications that I read and the articles really bring home the variety that JC’s golf properties have to offer.

I have taken the opportunity to share a couple of them below:

Rancho Bernardo Inn takes its rightful place along the Golden State’s heavyweights!!! 

If it’s true that the company you keep says a lot about you, an article that I came across in a recent edition of Links Magazine confirms that a golf getaway at Rancho Bernardo Inn is as heady an experience as any in the state.

This is a memorable Par 3...

From Half Moon Bay and Pebble Beach to Sandpiper and Torrey Pines, check out this list of the 20 best resorts in California from the authority on golf property listings/rankings, Links Magazine. (And I can tell you from experience, that the value you get at RBI is what seperates the property from even this glitzy listing…)

This really is quite a list!

www.linksmagazine.com

The perfect place for a summer stroll around the links!!

As a reminder that JC Golf has something to offer all golfers, Reidy Creek headlines this list of executive and par-3 courses for those short on time looking for a quicker, less expensive stroll around the golf course.  

(I love playing Reidy, and will be profiling it exclusively in an upcoming post.)

...as is this one!

It seems that since it’s opening, you can’t find a listing on either a statewide or national basis that doesn’t include Reidy Creek amongst the elite in Par-3 layouts and with summer upon us I can’t think of a better outlet for enjoying the game than a summer afternoon at Reidy!

www.scga.org

The bottom line that if whether it’s a golf weekend with the guys or enjoying a quick 9 with your family, JC Golf has what you are looking for!

Greg

Mike’s Intro2Golf

 

Blogger’s Note: With the spring Intro2Golf free clinic coming up this Saturday the 10th, this is a good time to check in with Mike Harpole who we profiled last fall following the no charge clinic day that kicked off the program.

 

To date the “Intro” program has helped literally hundreds of Southern Californians pick up this great game.  

Here’s some of what Mike has found:

Late last year I signed up for the Intro2Golf program in hopes of learning a few things and what I found is that I had lots of fun and learned way more than I ever thought I would! I loved the variety in what was taught and found that there are lots of tricks you can use to better gauge your shot. 

Each of the clinics that I attended began with a theme that worked a specific part of the game and our time was spent gaining knowledge and developing techniques to help with consistency. With each ensuing drill I saw improvement and during one of the sessions there was a night and day difference in my accuracy after just 30 minutes of coaching! 

It was one of my first drills, when we were working on chipping exercises to help us get the ball “up & down” for when we miss the green. (I expect to miss the green a lot) With a few pointers from the instructors I went from 5 shots that didn’t even look like they were aimed at the same hole to a relatively tight group around the pin! 
 
The classes are nice because you really get some great personalized advice about your game.  They were never over crowded -I think the most people I had in my class was 7- and we all had plenty of time to ask all sorts of questions. The combination of the size of the class and the attentiveness of the instructors really made the program for me. There were people that had attended a different number of classes than I had, but the overall communication and one-to-one time that I was allotted really helped crystallize the lessons being taught.  

I did the bulk of my classes at Encinitas Ranch, and although I did do one class at a different location, there was absolutely no problem at all.  Being a business owner and having a busy schedule, I really enjoyed how it’s ok if you miss a week or two of classes and you can jump right in and take advantage of what is being taught on any given week. 

Even a new Golfer like Mike can make the putt from here…

The course was a real eye opener to the game of golf with the instructors taking the time to touch on some of the finer points of the game -or as some would say “etiquette of the game”- which was huge for me given that I had hardly ever played. 

As for getting out on the golf course, the instruction really makes you wanna go out there and buy some new clubs and start sharpening you new found skills!
 
Thanks a lot JC,
Mike

This weekend’s free clinics will take place this coming Saturday the 10th from 10AM-11AM and from 3PM-4PM at Encinitas Ranch, Oaks North, Reidy Creek, Temecula Creek Inn, and Twin Oaks.

To learn more about the details of JC Golf’s brilliantly simple Intro2Golf program, click on the “Intro” link on the jcgolf.com homepage.

Greg

A Week In The Life

“I don’t have a return flight home scheduled.”

“If we top 10 then we play in the desert.”

“She’s hitting it great and I’m optimistic.”

So the week began.

During this past week’s LPGA tournament at La Costa I got a first hand look at the mindset and preparation that is part of golf at its highest level when I hosted professional caddie, John Bouker for tournament week. John has recently become the full time caddie for LPGA member, Liz Janangelo and the KIA Classic marked their first LPGA tournament of the 2010 season.

Janangelo is a promising twenty-something who has had a stellar collegiate career (All American at Duke) and is a proven winner on the Duramed Futures Tour having won 3 tournaments at what amounts to the #1 proving ground for aspiring LPGA players.

That’s an impressive resume, but as I pointed out a few weeks ago the Tour’s limited schedule makes each event ultra-important and she and Bouker needed a top-10 finish (out of a field of over 150) just to be able to play in the LPGA’s first major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship in the desert this coming weekend.

For his part, Bouker has caddied for a variety of players on multiple tours and was with Liz last fall when she needed to birdie the final hole of Q School to avoid a playoff in order to get her Card. 

(Janangelo is considered to have full-time status on the LPGA Tour but that does not mean she gets into every event including the Tour’s majors and many of the internationally played events. I know, I’m confused too.)

Entering the week I hadn’t met either Bouker or Janangelo, but I had connections to both. Bouker is based out of a club in Florida where a good friend of mine is on their professional staff and Janangelo is a long time acquaintance of a buddy of mine who I have worked with for years here in SoCal. 

I didn’t know them, they didn’t know the area and I was curious to see how a full week of “inside the rope” access looked during tournament week…

Monday – While Janangelo took advantage of having Titleist’s Performance Institute nearby by to have her wedges dialed in in the morning, Bouker went to LaCosta and got a first look at the course marking out yardages while paying particular attention to what might play to Liz’s strengths/weaknesses.

They meet in the afternoon to play nine, with John noting afterward that “she is hitting it so pure I can’t wait for Thursday to get here!”

Tuesday – They meet at the course at 9:00 AM, and for the first time they play the full tournament 18. (LaCosta has 36 holes on the complex, with the LPGA tournament following the lead of the old PGA Tour format of playing 9 holes from each of the two courses)

Bouker notes that Liz’s ball striking is still phenomenal saying, “There was no question that she had the most control in her group today -which included LPGA veteran Laura Diaz- I can’t wait for Thursday!”

Wednesday – Only a practice day (Bouker refers to it as “watching divots”) as the LPGA holds its Pro-am that day. Janangelo’s status as a fledgling tour member means that there is not enough Pro-am groups for her to participate. When she does reach the point where she gets high enough on the points/money list, Janangelo’s outgoing personality will make her a memorable (read: great!) Pro-am partner. When I mentioned this to her later in the week, she nodded in agreement but added, “I always need to watch my language.” Well then.

Liz is continuing to stripe it at the range, and after a couple of hours practice she ends the session remarking to Bouker “Why should I continue to hit balls, I’m ready.” Have I mentioned that her caddie is ready for Thursday too?

Thursday – Janangelo’s tee time is one of the last of the day (1:35PM) leaving Bouker with a full morning of passing time before the round. He tells me that he went to the beach, something he did quite often during the week. Actually, he spent all of his down time during daylight hours going to the beach telling me that he had to take advantage of the beautiful weather. Coming from a guy who resides in South Florida, I think this is a strong testament of how nice our weather is here.

Liz’s round doesn’t go so well (5 over, 77) and it appears to be tougher on caddie than player. Bouker isn’t much for chatting after the round and heads straight home, while a few of us have dinner with Liz and her Mom. Liz takes the attitude that the greens fooled her more often than not and that if one of her birdie putts had fallen early, the entire tone of the round would have been different. File this under: “Professional Golfers, they’re just like us.”

John for his part is nowhere to be found.

Friday – As is standard, a late Thursday time means an early Friday tee time (8:00AM) and as my friends and I drive to the course at 10:00AM I was thinking of what Liz had said the night before guesstimating that the cut would be about +3 (the number ended up being +5) so a round of at least two under was needed. When we reached her at the turn she was 9 over for the event and missing the cut was inevitable. Liz finally got her birdie on #10 and stayed upbeat the whole time.

John seemed to be in better spirits but noted afterward that staying positive when you know you are missing the cut is probably the toughest part of his job..

From here Liz goes back east and works on her game and to augment the light LPGA schedule, she plans on taking advantage of the fact that she can play 3 Futures’ tour events. At the moment, she is considering playing at a Futures event in Houston in mid-April before her next LPGA event in Mexico. Her resume says that her time will come, and being young and marketable -she’s got a healthy dose of sponsors- she is not anywhere near panic mode.

For John, a week with a missed cut does mean a paid week -though not a handsomely paid one- and the fact that there will be no work with Janangelo for a few weeks means time back “looping” at his club in Florida.

Talking with Bouker after the round, he remained optimistic based on Liz’s game -despite her score- but with so few events to play in this year he was leery of the year to come.

“She was hitting it soooo good leading up to the tournament, and I don’t know what happened. Now its another month before we get out there.”

His tone was a mix of what I would call grimly optimistic.

The life of a tour caddie.

Greg