Well the journey ended today, but the memories will last forever. Absolutely one of the best times of my life, a true bucket list item to check off. The winds were blowing 40+ mph at some points which made it almost impossible to hit greens in regulation. we had abiggie on the fourth hole to make us +1 for the day but 2 net birdies and on 6 and 7 to moved us to -10. I crush a drive on 9 (the 18th at Monterey as we started on the back) and hit a beautiful 8 iron 15 feet away, putting for net eagle as the horn sounded to get us off the course due to high winds (and rain). A quick glance and the score board shows that many teams are "backing up" due to the weather conditions so all of a sudden i am thinking that a day of -6 or -7 will get us to the cut. We resumed 2 hours later and I two putted to get us to -11. We par 10 and 11 and on the downhill par 3 12th I make an 8 footer for net birdie and all of a sudden we are at -12. Game on! We now are within 3 of making the cut as the teams in the 20-25th position continue to slide sideways or down the leader board. The 13th creates a problem for us as we go net bogie when my man three putts and then the dagger is put into us in 14 when he doubles and I double for net bogie again. His birdie on the 15th is kind of a kick in the gut as we realize what could have been.
In the end we finish a very respectable -11 and tied for 62nd, beating 94 teams. Will Wilcox finishes +1 and misses the cut by 1! That stings. He takes it all in stride and says, "I'm going to head for Miami and play on the Florida swing in 2 weeks. Let's have a beer in Buckhead soon". Yes, it's time for a beer.....
P.s. you will hear about this kid winning an event in the next year. He is that good.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Friday, February 7, 2014
What a day, what a day, what a crazy, fun, outstanding day. We start off at 7:45 on #6 to complete the first round at pebble. My boy bombs a driver + 3 iron to get up in 2 on the 516 uphill par 5. He two putts for birdie and we quickly get to -4. Nothing real exciting on 7-8-9 and we finish round one at -4. We head to spy glass and play the majority of the round in a steady drizzle and wind gusts. Some holes are almost unplayable into the wind as I'm busting driver and still have 220 in on some ar 4's due to the windy and wet conditions. I par #2 for net birdie and then find a way to three putt 4, 5 and 7 to get bogie (net par). Horrendous. We could have made a big move on the front. My man birdies #8 but we bogie 9 to stay at -5. The conditions worsen but we stay determined. I make an "up and down" for the ages on #10 for net birdie and Will birdies 11 for -7. I again hit a par 3 in one and three jack it for a net par on 12, that was crushing. My man birdies 16 by knocking a 180 yard shot into the wind stiff to 3 feet on a 476 yard par 4! and then rolls one in on 17 from 25 feet! Bingo! Now -9. We net par 18 to finish at -9. We are in something like 57th place (top 25 make the cut). The team "cut line" is around -12 now but should go to -18 by the end of tomorrow. Will is -3 and is T19th. Headed to Monterey for the final at 8:33am. We need to shot -9. Hard but not impossible as its been the "easiest" course of the 3. Desperate but determined!
The bad part about blogging and being tired is that you wake up in the middle of the night and remember some things that you wanted to write.....so here goes. The golf channel analysts are saying that the players who didn't finish yesterday (yours truly included) are at a big disadvantage because they have to get up early, play holes and then bus to the next course. I think analysts over analyze things. They pushed the tee times of round 2 back an hour to accommodate us so we will be fine. ....the other pro in my group (rod) and his partner (jack) had one of the great "ham and egg" rounds of all time and sit at like -7 already so very much in the hunt....pebble beach played the hardest of the 3 courses for the pros yesterday so I look forward to my boy Will to get on the birdie train soon today at Spy glass but first starting with 2 "easy" holes for him at pebble, a par 5 followed by the 105 yard par 4 seventh.....btw: I was right when I said in yesterday's blog that he saw pebble beach for the first time on Tuesday. I thought about giving him some course knowledge before I realized that my best round in my life was 20 worse than his, so I think he can figure it out on his own....Will missed 8 putts yesterday and every single one was "on the low side" of the hole, meaning he is not reading enough break in the putt....that's all I got
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Another amazing day. The event was delayed this am due to rain. So our 10:12 tee time became a 1:15pm tee time. I met my partner, Will Wilcox only 10 minutes before we teed it up. What a nice young kid, as is the other pro that is in our group (rod perry). Rod is a two time defending PGA club pro of the year working out of a country club in Florida. Due to winning the club pro championship he gets to play 7 events on the tour this year. So they make the introduction of the pros who are first to tee off (from the back tees) as the 2 amateurs (yours truly and a guy named jack who works for Morgan Stanley in nyc) nervously await their turn. As the pros line up their tee shots I tell jack that I want him to go before me as I am hyperventilating so badly I'm about to pass out. Well the pros stripe their drives 290 down broadway as jack and I move towards the "white tees". As we approach the tee the announcer says, "next on the tee is Greg buonocore"! I look at him as to say "that wasn't the plan, I'm not ready" and he looks back at me as to say "too damn bad, put the tee in the ground". I swallow hard, put the tee in the ground, grip it and proceed to rip it 250 right down the middle (into the wind) Man, what a relief. The big drive down the middle was the standard for the day for me. In fact, I may never have driven the ball in my life as good as I did today....just bombed it.
So Will makes par on the first hole (#10 on pebble), but bogies #11(when I double) so we go +1. Not good. He dead pulls his iron on the par 3 #12 and I finally decide to help the team by launching a 5 iron onto the green from 185, about 20 feet for birdie. I lag for a 2 putt par (team birdie). So we get back to even. Will goes par-par on 13 and 14 as my drives consistantly equal or pass the pros (note: we have about a 30 yard advantage per hole) but I cannot put together effective irons to compliment the drives.
On 15, I bomb a drive down the left side and have a gap wedge in from 110 into the wind. I nut the wedge and it flies over the pin and into the back trap. I knock the sand shot out and it just won't stop on this green, rolling it 35 feet by. I line up the 35 footer, thinking its right to left, I erroneously hit it left and it actually breaks right and into the center of the cup for par #2 (net birdie)! We go to back to -1.
On 16 I bomb a drive 290 down the middle (did I mention I drove the all insanely today?). Fred and I get to the ball. Its 135 into the wind. He likes 9 iron, I like 8 iron. The player wins the argument. I absolutely crush the 8 and it's headed right at it. The ball disappears and I say "where the hell did it go". Fred responds "in the back bunker, I told you it was a 9 iron". Nice. I bogie for a team par. On 17 Will is comfortably on the green while I lay 2 off the back. I decide to "blade" a 9 iron. I hit it perfect and it's headed right at it. I think "should I do that Tom Watson U.S. open dance he did when he chipped in on 17?". The ball just slides by and we get a net par. On 18, I absolutely drill a drive past the famous big tree in the fairway, lay up with a beautiful 7 iron. I have 110 in and go gap wedge again. It's hit perfect, a dart right at it and....over the top again, one bounce off the green and into a dead lie. I mean impossible, won't be able to stop it if I got it on the green. I need to now hit one of those cute little pro sand wedge chips and just tap it....yeah right. I try that and I "double hit" the ball with the wedge as I decel through it. Into the pocket. Will makes an amazing up and down for par. Will pars #1 (our 11th) and misses an eagle putt on 2. We are now -2.
I BOMB a drive over the top of the trees on #3 and have only 90 yards in. I hit the green, two putt and we get net birdie....-3. I absolutely kill my drive on 4 and wind up in the fairway bunker with a dead lie. We make net bogie and drop to -2.
On 5, Will makes a wonderful 20 footer for birdie and we get to -3. The horn blows due to darkness and we call it a day. I understand that Johnson/Gretzky lead at -10 so we are 7 back with 4 still to play. Tomorrow will be nuts with 4 holes at 7:45am and a full round at spy glass immediately afterwards.....can't wait,
So Will makes par on the first hole (#10 on pebble), but bogies #11(when I double) so we go +1. Not good. He dead pulls his iron on the par 3 #12 and I finally decide to help the team by launching a 5 iron onto the green from 185, about 20 feet for birdie. I lag for a 2 putt par (team birdie). So we get back to even. Will goes par-par on 13 and 14 as my drives consistantly equal or pass the pros (note: we have about a 30 yard advantage per hole) but I cannot put together effective irons to compliment the drives.
On 15, I bomb a drive down the left side and have a gap wedge in from 110 into the wind. I nut the wedge and it flies over the pin and into the back trap. I knock the sand shot out and it just won't stop on this green, rolling it 35 feet by. I line up the 35 footer, thinking its right to left, I erroneously hit it left and it actually breaks right and into the center of the cup for par #2 (net birdie)! We go to back to -1.
On 16 I bomb a drive 290 down the middle (did I mention I drove the all insanely today?). Fred and I get to the ball. Its 135 into the wind. He likes 9 iron, I like 8 iron. The player wins the argument. I absolutely crush the 8 and it's headed right at it. The ball disappears and I say "where the hell did it go". Fred responds "in the back bunker, I told you it was a 9 iron". Nice. I bogie for a team par. On 17 Will is comfortably on the green while I lay 2 off the back. I decide to "blade" a 9 iron. I hit it perfect and it's headed right at it. I think "should I do that Tom Watson U.S. open dance he did when he chipped in on 17?". The ball just slides by and we get a net par. On 18, I absolutely drill a drive past the famous big tree in the fairway, lay up with a beautiful 7 iron. I have 110 in and go gap wedge again. It's hit perfect, a dart right at it and....over the top again, one bounce off the green and into a dead lie. I mean impossible, won't be able to stop it if I got it on the green. I need to now hit one of those cute little pro sand wedge chips and just tap it....yeah right. I try that and I "double hit" the ball with the wedge as I decel through it. Into the pocket. Will makes an amazing up and down for par. Will pars #1 (our 11th) and misses an eagle putt on 2. We are now -2.
I BOMB a drive over the top of the trees on #3 and have only 90 yards in. I hit the green, two putt and we get net birdie....-3. I absolutely kill my drive on 4 and wind up in the fairway bunker with a dead lie. We make net bogie and drop to -2.
On 5, Will makes a wonderful 20 footer for birdie and we get to -3. The horn blows due to darkness and we call it a day. I understand that Johnson/Gretzky lead at -10 so we are 7 back with 4 still to play. Tomorrow will be nuts with 4 holes at 7:45am and a full round at spy glass immediately afterwards.....can't wait,
A perfect night last night. Started with a glass of silver oak at the fire pit at "the inn @ Spanish bay", followed by dinner at Roy's. At dinner we set the strategy for the week. With 18 shots being given to us, The goal of every hole is simply to make par. When it's obvious that will not happen, goal 2 is to make bogie. Either of those scores will be good for the team. Double bogies will hurt playing with a pro who as erratic as mr 59. we also agreed that before every shot Fred will say "good tempo", because saying "keep your head down, swing through the ball and don't sway" is just too long to repeat 70 times. This strategy seemed to make more sense as the waiter poured more silver oak into our glasses.
Upon arriving back at the lodge we decided to "have 1 more" at the "tap room". The taproom is a bar/restaurant where you seem to find the same people congregate each night, just like what happens every time you are on a cruise....you just can't get away from the same people. Well that's the tap room. Anyway we are met at the door by a big meathead looking dude who gives us the once over and decides that we pose no threat. As I get into the bar area I notice 2 state troopers at the other door, firearms very visible. Now I think, "does condi rice have secret service" or who the heck is in here. I quickly look around and it seems like the cruise ship crowd until I see this guy standing 3 feet away dressed like he is at a frat party (jeans, gray sweat shirt) and its Mark Cuban! I have now officially lost track of the billionaires present at this event. (speaking of billionaires, Jerry yang, founder of yahoo is here as well. Fred makes the observation that if Jerry's playing partner was the Chinese golfer C.A. Ying, their group would be Ying and Yang. I thought that was historical). Staying on the billionaire theme, it also occurs to me the irony of the AT&T being about rich and famous people (present company excluded) playing golf and raising money, yet my partner is a young kid who grinded for 6 years on the mini tours to finally make it to "the show". This is by far the biggest golf moment of his life. He finished 8th in his very first event in Hawaii (but the Sony is nothing compared to this) and then he missed 2 straight cuts. THIS IS the biggest stage the kid has ever been in and it's very very likely he has never even played pebble beach (other than 1 practice round). Not sure, but he may be more nervous in this round than me!
Weather report has changed (as it always does here). The heavier rain should stop at around 11am. Big advantage for team buonocore/Wilcox. Gotta go stretch, follow on the PGA website for scoring updates until tonight!
Upon arriving back at the lodge we decided to "have 1 more" at the "tap room". The taproom is a bar/restaurant where you seem to find the same people congregate each night, just like what happens every time you are on a cruise....you just can't get away from the same people. Well that's the tap room. Anyway we are met at the door by a big meathead looking dude who gives us the once over and decides that we pose no threat. As I get into the bar area I notice 2 state troopers at the other door, firearms very visible. Now I think, "does condi rice have secret service" or who the heck is in here. I quickly look around and it seems like the cruise ship crowd until I see this guy standing 3 feet away dressed like he is at a frat party (jeans, gray sweat shirt) and its Mark Cuban! I have now officially lost track of the billionaires present at this event. (speaking of billionaires, Jerry yang, founder of yahoo is here as well. Fred makes the observation that if Jerry's playing partner was the Chinese golfer C.A. Ying, their group would be Ying and Yang. I thought that was historical). Staying on the billionaire theme, it also occurs to me the irony of the AT&T being about rich and famous people (present company excluded) playing golf and raising money, yet my partner is a young kid who grinded for 6 years on the mini tours to finally make it to "the show". This is by far the biggest golf moment of his life. He finished 8th in his very first event in Hawaii (but the Sony is nothing compared to this) and then he missed 2 straight cuts. THIS IS the biggest stage the kid has ever been in and it's very very likely he has never even played pebble beach (other than 1 practice round). Not sure, but he may be more nervous in this round than me!
Weather report has changed (as it always does here). The heavier rain should stop at around 11am. Big advantage for team buonocore/Wilcox. Gotta go stretch, follow on the PGA website for scoring updates until tonight!
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Exactly 17 hours until the tee goes in the ground on number 10 at pebble tomorrow. They set tee times utilizing both the front and the back nine tees. The 10:12 pst start is the very last start time of the day. I think that's an advantage as early morning in Monterey is typically at least 10 degrees cooler than mid morning. Will get up to 56 degrees tomorrow but the real weather news is the threat of rain which might begin tonight at 8pm with an 80% chance it rains until 3pm tomorrow. Steady rain and wet conditions change this event dramatically. Pros can deal with conditions, amateurs typically not so much. Personally, I hate playing in the rain. However, remember I just need 4-6 good holes each round and I am a big contributor. I calculated that I am only +2 on the 7 "par 3's" I have played in the practice rounds. so as I anticipated coming in, me getting a shot on the par 3's is a huge advantage for my team in this event.
Today's practice round was pretty brutal. One par in the 10 holes I played isn't exactly going to set records come Thursday. Howeever, my entire foursome only had about a total of 10 pars in 10 holes and I played with golfers who had handicapps of 3, 8 and 11. That should have generated twice the number of pars. In other words, Monterey is a crazy tough golf course. The tee boxes don't line up with the fairways, the drives are mostly "target landings", the fairways are cut somthat they all have thin lies and the greens are lightning. Hopefully "mr 59" shows up the day we play Monterey (Saturday) as my confidence was shaken trying to get around that joint. Otherwise, I am really excited to get started.
Saw condi rice out there today (that was pretty cool).
Headed to Roy's at Spanish bay for some dinner and celeb sightings. Hopefully will get some sleep and wake up to better weather than they are predicting. Thanks for following the blog as I can see I'm getting dozens of "views" each day...if you blog and nobody reads it did you really blog?
Today's practice round was pretty brutal. One par in the 10 holes I played isn't exactly going to set records come Thursday. Howeever, my entire foursome only had about a total of 10 pars in 10 holes and I played with golfers who had handicapps of 3, 8 and 11. That should have generated twice the number of pars. In other words, Monterey is a crazy tough golf course. The tee boxes don't line up with the fairways, the drives are mostly "target landings", the fairways are cut somthat they all have thin lies and the greens are lightning. Hopefully "mr 59" shows up the day we play Monterey (Saturday) as my confidence was shaken trying to get around that joint. Otherwise, I am really excited to get started.
Saw condi rice out there today (that was pretty cool).
Headed to Roy's at Spanish bay for some dinner and celeb sightings. Hopefully will get some sleep and wake up to better weather than they are predicting. Thanks for following the blog as I can see I'm getting dozens of "views" each day...if you blog and nobody reads it did you really blog?
What a day! I have a feeling I might say that every day I am here but yesterday was a special one. After getting a good warm up in at the new driving range complex we wandered over to the first tee at pebble beach. Whether you have played it 10 times (like I have) or if it's your first time, the adrenaline rush standing on #1 at pebble is just amazing. After struggling with nerves on #1, I came back and parred #2 (missed a 4 foot birdie putt), made bogie on 3 (after driving into the traps), parred #4, missed a 4 footer for par on #5 and hit #6 in regulation. Got a little messy in the middle (holes 8-11...1 bogey, 2 doubles and a triple) and then hit the tough par 3 green on #12 and made a two putt par from 40 feet. Hit a laser 7 iron on #17 and missed the 12 foot birdie putt. Couldn't finish 18 as the sf giants and sf 49ers were playing a "shoot out" event and were occupying the 18the green. So, overall I think I struck the ball really well, a little erratic (by hey I am an 18 handicap) and probably would have scored a 94 if I kept score. More importantly, I would have contributed 4 "points" (-4) to the team if this was a tournament round (i get 1 shot each hole as an 18 handicap), and would have helped with numerous bogies (which equate to "net pars"). For the first time ever I really believe that I can score at pebble. The course is relatively short (note: the greens are the smallest on the tour) and I was really long off the tee. The greens are really slick...there were a few where I tried the same putt 3 times trying to be short of the hole and literally could not stop it. The take away is you HAVE TO be below the hole on several of the greens here.
After the round we went straight to the pairings party. Surprisingly many of the celebs and pros actually show up for it. More surprisingly, the first person I see is Payton manning, not even 48 hours removed from the super bowl. I can't let this Kodak moment get away so Fred and I ask him for a pic (note: he is the nicest, most cordial guy you will ever meet), he obliges, We chat for 30 seconds, shake hands and wish each other well. Payton manning. Wow. After a few beers and speeches they give out the pairings packets. My pro is a 28 year old kid from Alabama (attended UAB). I do my homework on him (including calling my boy and mini touring pro, Ryan Willis) who advises that Will is a really good player that is "crazy streaky". You mean like the time he shot 59 on the web.com tour. 50 f'n 9. Four guys in the history of golf have shot 59 in a PGA event. He also finished 8th in Hawaii this year in the Sony open earning a cool $120,000. If you read his scorecard it looks like a weather map with all the bogies, birdies, eagles and "others". This guys middle name is "streaky". So, the question isn't will we be able to make enough birdies to make the cut, the question is how many will we give back when I make my standard double and triple bogies. I have a feeling we are not only going low, we are going really low. So, the schedule is as follows: thurs is pebble beach course at 10:12am, Friday at spyglass at 9:28am and Saturday at Monterey peninsula at 8:33am. I couldn't ask for a better rotation. If you finish in top 25 (out of 156) you play Sunday at pebble again. I hope to be there.
So last night, Fred and I are eating at the tap room at pebble. In comes a very attractive blond and Fred says "look at her at the bar" (hey, I didn't say this was intellectual conversation...and my apologies to my kids who are reading this, mr buck said that, not dad). Anyway, I can't see who he is referring to until she goes to be seated 2 tables from us. It's Paulina Gretzky (daughter of the "great one", Wayne, and wife of Dustin Johnson, who she is sitting between). Good stuff. Anyway, we finish our Dumol (btw: the Pinot noir is off the hook) and proceed back to the room. My back was scary stiff last night but feels goos now. Off to Monterey in 3 hours for a practice 9 holes. My childhood buddy (Joe D) arrives from his home in Scottsdale and will be THE entourage for now. He is like most new Yorkers - loud enough that he sounds like he is 10 people so the gallery will be loud.
That's all I got!
All I got.
After the round we went straight to the pairings party. Surprisingly many of the celebs and pros actually show up for it. More surprisingly, the first person I see is Payton manning, not even 48 hours removed from the super bowl. I can't let this Kodak moment get away so Fred and I ask him for a pic (note: he is the nicest, most cordial guy you will ever meet), he obliges, We chat for 30 seconds, shake hands and wish each other well. Payton manning. Wow. After a few beers and speeches they give out the pairings packets. My pro is a 28 year old kid from Alabama (attended UAB). I do my homework on him (including calling my boy and mini touring pro, Ryan Willis) who advises that Will is a really good player that is "crazy streaky". You mean like the time he shot 59 on the web.com tour. 50 f'n 9. Four guys in the history of golf have shot 59 in a PGA event. He also finished 8th in Hawaii this year in the Sony open earning a cool $120,000. If you read his scorecard it looks like a weather map with all the bogies, birdies, eagles and "others". This guys middle name is "streaky". So, the question isn't will we be able to make enough birdies to make the cut, the question is how many will we give back when I make my standard double and triple bogies. I have a feeling we are not only going low, we are going really low. So, the schedule is as follows: thurs is pebble beach course at 10:12am, Friday at spyglass at 9:28am and Saturday at Monterey peninsula at 8:33am. I couldn't ask for a better rotation. If you finish in top 25 (out of 156) you play Sunday at pebble again. I hope to be there.
So last night, Fred and I are eating at the tap room at pebble. In comes a very attractive blond and Fred says "look at her at the bar" (hey, I didn't say this was intellectual conversation...and my apologies to my kids who are reading this, mr buck said that, not dad). Anyway, I can't see who he is referring to until she goes to be seated 2 tables from us. It's Paulina Gretzky (daughter of the "great one", Wayne, and wife of Dustin Johnson, who she is sitting between). Good stuff. Anyway, we finish our Dumol (btw: the Pinot noir is off the hook) and proceed back to the room. My back was scary stiff last night but feels goos now. Off to Monterey in 3 hours for a practice 9 holes. My childhood buddy (Joe D) arrives from his home in Scottsdale and will be THE entourage for now. He is like most new Yorkers - loud enough that he sounds like he is 10 people so the gallery will be loud.
That's all I got!
All I got.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Big night last night....Clint was a great host. I walked up to him and he said to me in that unmistakable voice "how are you doing"? I said "great, you made my day". Not sure he got the humor. Anyway, today is credentialling of my caddy (my great friend fred buck who arrived last night) practice round at pebble beach, and then the event we all are anxiously waiting for....the "pairings party". This is where you find out who your pro will be. Some guy I met yesterday told me its a really funny sight to see "a bunch of billionaires running into this hospitality tent to rip open an envelope to see who they are playing with". He wasn't kidding about billionaires either (present company excluded, of course), as the list of players include the "who's who" of business and one of the main sponsors here is "gulfstream" who are walking around literally trying to sell you a private jet. I told the very attractive blond salesperson that I would think about it and get back to her. I saw the updated list of celebrities that are here. New to the list is Tom Brady. That is only relevant to the extent that where Tom is, Giselle is and his name is alphabetically right on top of mine so if they pair you alphabetically then Giselle and i will walk 3 rounds together.......just sayin. Getting psyched up, back a bit sore.
Monday, February 3, 2014
I didn't think it would be possible to exceed expectations on something that I knew would be an amazing experience, however, so far it has. Even the arrival at the lodge was an expereince like no other. After going through 6 differant layers of security and driving by the course which is decked out by hospitality tents, visitor stands and huge electronic score boards, i Checked into the lodge at pebble beach and was given a suite on fairway number 1. Was then whisked away to the brand new driving range facility where I was going to loosen up and hit some balls. Upon arriving they bring you into this enormous hospitality tent where you at told breakfast and lunch will be served each day (complimentary of course). After picking up my credentials for the week, You are then walked around to various sponsors tables to pick pick up your "arrival gifts". I lost track of everything given to me but it was at least 3 pairs of new golf shoes, 2 hats with my name on the back, 3 dozen balls with my name on them, a waterford crystal vase, a Samsung galaxy "note pad", water proof rain jacket and rain pants, and a yardage GPS electronic device. I then head over to the driving range to hit balls. The first available spot is next to KJ Choi. I figure the best way to get rid of the nerves is to hit balls next to one of the elite players in the world so i drop my bag and start wacking away. Within 20 minutes someone shows up on my right....oh it's Grahame McDowell, how cool. Followed next by Retief Goosen. So there I am...me, KJ, Retief and Grahame hitting balls in a line together. I quickly observe that their shots go longer and straighter every time. That gets intimadating at first But then i think "what do they know about insurance" and get back to business. Incredible experience. Gotta go, headed to a party hosted by clint Eastwood tonight.
Waiting on flight to SFO right now, getting fired up. Not exactly sure what the correct preparation is for this event but pretty sure that not swinging a club for 3 months and then spending 3 nights in Vegas for the super bowl isn't what most golfers would be. Not big into practice anyway, should be able to get to range today for two hours and work out the winter kinks. First goal is not to throw my back out as that is always an issue for me. Back to the Vegas....what a crappy game, especially if you bet Denver like my entire group did. That first play set the tone for the game. Vegas had a "prop bet" that a "safety" would be the first score...60-1. My buddy Ralph said "let's bet it for $100". My response was "a safety will never happen". Oh well, That's $6,000 down the drain. The casinos were rooting in Seattle big as all the money was on Denver and as usual the casinos won. All was not lost however as the 5 of us there were in one of those "office box pools"....$400/box. We took 5 boxes and split the cost ($2,000 split 5 ways or $400/man for those non mathematicians). One of our numbers was "Denver 8, Seattle 3" and I'll be damned if the final wasn't 43-8! Yes, we won $20,000 on that game.
So I'm leaving the hotel at 5:30am this morning with 3 bags in hand trying to get into the elevator.i can't quite manage my way in because the golf bags and the luggages are getting stuck. There is some dude in there wearing a tee shirt and jeans - looks like a homeless person. he says "let me help you with that" and grabs my golf bag and he starts talking about golf. After 10 seconds I recognize him and say "are you Ed reed?" (current ny jet, 2 time super bowl champion, super bowl MVP and future lock to enter the football hall of fame when he retires) and he says "yes sir, I am". Pretty cool. Good guy.
Speaking of celebrities, there will be a ton of them at the AT&T this week including other super bowl MVP's like Aaron Rodgers and one of my idols growing up, 5 time stanley cup champion, wayne Gretzky. Is it weird that the celebrity I most want to meet is Kid Rock?
So I'm leaving the hotel at 5:30am this morning with 3 bags in hand trying to get into the elevator.i can't quite manage my way in because the golf bags and the luggages are getting stuck. There is some dude in there wearing a tee shirt and jeans - looks like a homeless person. he says "let me help you with that" and grabs my golf bag and he starts talking about golf. After 10 seconds I recognize him and say "are you Ed reed?" (current ny jet, 2 time super bowl champion, super bowl MVP and future lock to enter the football hall of fame when he retires) and he says "yes sir, I am". Pretty cool. Good guy.
Speaking of celebrities, there will be a ton of them at the AT&T this week including other super bowl MVP's like Aaron Rodgers and one of my idols growing up, 5 time stanley cup champion, wayne Gretzky. Is it weird that the celebrity I most want to meet is Kid Rock?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)