Katieshack

Last warning.

People, people...have we not learned yet?

After the last time I wrote about a golfer being attacked by an alligator, I really thought that would be the last I'd hear of such an event for at least a little while. BUT, to my dismay, we haven't all caught on. Read the story about the mauled Florida golf ball diver HERE. Good thing he was wearing a wet suit.

As I said less than a year ago (HERE), I'm all for a good deal, which a free golf ball might fall into. I can appreciate the passion of the game of golf (or the tantalizing idea of making money off golf balls), which could, oh, I don't know, drive someone into gator-filled waters I suppose. But isn't it easier to just keep you and your body parts safe? I guess my hesitancy to "test the waters," per se, against a gator is proof that I don't truly love the game. Or something.

P.S.: The gator's still on the loose. Watch your appendages.

It was almost amazing

Two weeks ago I shot my career low round. Contrary to popular belief, not all of us SCGA employees are scratch golfers (please, please...contain your guffaws). In fact, some of us (ahem, me), are not even bogey golfers...although my career round put me pretty close. It's the true, sad case of working in golf...but not having the time to play.

But oh yes, friends, on April 5, I took advantage of a rare free weekend and shot a 91 at The SCGA Golf Course from the gold combo tees (5,900 yards). My prior low was a 94 at Ka'anapali Golf Resort in Maui after having played four days in a row.

I don't know how you're supposed to feel when you shoot your career. I wasn't feeling particularly great that day...I didn't warm up at the range, I took one practice swing on the first tee, and I went for it (I'm a firm believer that when I practice swing, I'm wasting the few potentially good swings I have in me...so I just don't do it). When I was on the course though, I simply happened to make some good mistakes ("yes, I meant to bump and run the ball 150 yards onto the green...") or got favorable bounces off trees and a house that I may or may not have have sliced the ball toward. I wasn't hitting my driver as far as I am able and my short game (chipping) wasn't spot-on (although has it ever been spot-on? No.). But my putting was decent for once--I was the "boss of the moss," if you will, my tee shots were pretty straight and somehow, I made the 91 happen. All I had to do to shoot an 88 was par the last two holes, but the pressure got to me and left me with a double and a bogey.

Part of me feels a little disappointed that I'm not more excited. I'm a perfectionist and see that I could have broke 90, which I hope will not eat away at me for eternity. Another part has turned into a golf addict, wanting to play all the time because now that I've done it once, with some avoidable mistakes, I know it's in me to shoot lower. That being said, I played two days ago and followed that 91 up with a 100 (ouch to the 53 on the front). Back at square one again.

Want to play like me? Here's a few secrets to my success:

1. Don't warm up on range. It's more fun not knowing how that first tee shot's going to work out for you.

2. Hit your putts on the green, and when (not if, but when) you miss, tell your playing partners that you're just looking for the subtle breaks.

3. When you duff your chips or advance the ball a mere couple inches, reiterate to skeptics that laying up is never a bad decision. It's playing safe.

I hold countless more secrets in my bag o' tricks, but it's not my place to disclose them all, as I'm sure you all have some of your own as well. They're bound to work on my quest to break 90 though, and I'll write about that magical day when I do.

Get it while it's hot: Torrey Pines

Let the countdown begin: golfers still have until May 21 to play Torrey Pines Golf Course before it closes to prepare for the U.S. Open Championship on June 12-15.

To the envy of many of my peers (golf industry and non), I had the opportunity to play the venerable South Course recently, on a whirlwind San Diego trip sponsored by the San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau with a handful of media members from around the country and Canada (teamed with a Winnepegan general assignment newspaper reporter who had never crafted a golf story, it was an enlightening, laughter-filled day to say the least). I was the only one from California; born and raised by the water, I'm a little jaded with the many miles of ocean we have, but the others were mesmerized by the coastal views many of the holes allow. Home to the Buick Invitational each February, the 1957 William P. Bell layout, redesigned by Rees Jones in 2001, hosted the 2003 SCGA Amateur Championship. Read more about the course and what goes into running a U.S. Open championship in the next issue of FORE Magazine.

So here's the thing with championship-prepped Torrey Pines: don't expect to play well. Already at 90 percent tournament conditions, the course is rough. Literally. Unless you hit the ball straight every shot, you're in the thick and sticky kikuyu rough, and with no first cut in the fairways, a ball even an inch off proves to be a nightmare to get out, or even to find. I didn't lose a ball until the 11th hole, a feat I was, quite honestly, shocked at (we had an eagle-eye in our group, our saving grace, who had a fantasmo ability and really a seventh sense to locate our golf balls). A player in another group, however, lost 14 balls, which is not as surprising in person as it may sound. So bring a couple extra sleeves. Let's simplify this even further: to make life easier, just go in with no expectations (or equally thrilling, without the faintest idea of how you'll play, like I do every round...it's my mantra: not only does the element of surprise make things exciting when you have no idea where the ball will go, but if you break 100, you're pumped!); no expectations equal minimized disappointment in your game. You're prepping the wound before it's actually wounded. This course is a humbling experience to say the least.

All that being said, be a part of history and play Torrey Pines while you can (the course will re-open a week after the championship if you can't make it before). Tournament conditions also equal cart path only, therefore beautiful, flawless fairways, vivid colors and a taste of where the pros will be walking and what the'll be looking at in a couple of months. Hitting a good shot out there is exciting and gives an entirely different and newfound appreciation for your game. Players are restricted from playing the back tees, a major hike at more than 7,600 yards, meaning that ego golfers won't slow down pace of play as they try in vain to channel their professional side from way back in the boonies (I can say this because I witnessed it twice, and if there was any inkling of doubt before as to why mortal golfers shouldn't try a tee shot from say, the 614-yard par-5 ninth hole, I can attest that the tees are restricted for good reason). This course is about the experience, the scenery, the stories and memories you'll make. And when you're watching the U.S. Open on television—or in person—in June, you can say, "Yeah, I've played there."

Off the course: great lunches in The Grill at Torrey Pines, challenging croquet matches on the lawn at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, and primo (aka $$$) merchandise in the 4,000-square-foot golf shop, consistenly ranked one of Golf Shop Operations' 100 Best Golf Shops in America.

Don't have too much fun.

Timberlake to host PGA Tour event

For those of you who don’t know me that well, I have a secret that will likely make many people lose a lot of respect for me (as well as have those that do know me roll their eyes, stifle a laugh and nod): I used to be in love with a boy band member.

Before you judge (since we all have our own idiosyncrasies), hear me out. And yes, this is golf related.

I was a young girl when I first laid eyes on Justin Timberlake, dancing and singing his little blond curly head off on Disney’s The New Mickey Mouse Club back in '93. Sigh, those were the days. A few years later, during my freshman year of high school, he resurfaced with four other chaps in the Orlando-based boy band *NSYNC (I had every album. And book. And poster. And even the Valentine’s Day official *NSYNC conversation hearts.). Despite the fact that our relationship was unrequited, I moved on, watched his solo career take off into another stratosphere, and worked on my own career path as well, being the independent woman I am.

And now, turnabout. He has followed me into the golf world.

Timberlake, 26, who recently obtained membership at Los Angeles’ MountainGate Country Club, will become only the 14th celebrity to host an official PGA tournament, when the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open embarks on Las Vegas next year (click here for more). Formerly known as the Frys.com Open from 2006-07 (George McNeill is the defending champion), Timberlake’s involvement in the five-year agreement will include playing in the event’s pro-am, as well as hosting a concert during the tournament week.

That’s my guy.

The avid golfer, who plays to a 6-handicap and is rumored to have been taking lessons to get down to scratch, joins a list of some of the most well-known (and well-liked) celebrities of their times, including Bob Hope (the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, now hosted by Lakeside member and comedian George Lopez), Sammy Davis, Jr. (the Sammy Davis Jr. Greater Hartford Open, now known as the Travelers Championship), and my personal favorite, Ed McMahon(!) (The Ed McMahon-Jaycees Quad Cities Open, now known as the John Deere Classic). See the full list here. He's also participated in the celebrity portions of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

Ahh, golf. Rekindling long-lost relationships and bringing people together for the good of life and the game.

Aloha...FORE goes Hawaiian (part 1)

In preparation for FORE Magazine’s annual Spotlight on Hawaii Golf, I was given the task to head west—over 2,100 miles west—to the great island of Maui. There are three resorts on the itinerary, compiled by the Maui Visitors Bureau, including Kapalua (or as my dad likes to refer to it, the place with the genius butterfly and pineapple logo), Kaanapali, and wrapping things up at Wailea. My burning question was immediately answered by the first Hawaiian resident I ran into: yes, Dog the Bounty Hunter is as cool in person as on television. I was happy to hear that.

Currently at Kapalua, I’m sitting in bed looking out the window of my villa…that faces the ocean. It’s rained every morning, only to break for golf (for the most part), which I’m told is not unusual. We’re in the villas because of the six-month, $110 million renovation that the property’s hotel, the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, is going under (set to open at the end of this year). It's perfect for families or groups of travel buddies...bring all your own food if you want to stock the full kitchen each unit comes with, head down to the beach, or take a crack at the Plantation or Bay courses. It's good.

To just touch on the golf (more in the spring issue of FORE), my media group played the Plantation Course yesterday. The course is host to the Mercedes-Benz Championship (kicking off on New Year’s Eve this year) and I’ve never seen a course or an island for that matter more excited about a championship. Some random notes: Jim Furyk’s ocean-view home overlooks the third green on the course, and Joe Torre has a fort in the gated section of the Plantation. I hit a 275-yard drive on the par-5 17th hole (yay me). Hawaiian greens are amazingly different than mainland greens (grain growth is EVERYTHING). The ball rolls a LOT in the wide fairways. To be continued…

Kapalua is part of a 23,000-acre plantation (I harvested a pineapple with my bare hands from the Honolua Plantation across the street from the property) and has an immense and interesting history it is working to preserve. Visit the Kukui Room, which is the resort’s new cultural center, to learn all about it; it’s fascinating. Perhaps the highlight thusfar, however, was the ancient burial ground we toured, just steps from the hotel.

In 1982, when the Ritz-Carlton broke ground, they uncovered sets of ancient remains; remains, they say that are dated back to 850 A.D. They relocated the hotel property and began to excavate, and in the end found upwards of 2,500 sets of remains of native people as well as their artifacts. They were all reburied in Kapalua’s burial ground. Hawaii native and cultural expert Clifford escorted us onto the burial property—it’s off-limits unless escorted by a native person with certain qualifications. He had to chant to the spirits to ask permission for us to enter and to give our good intentions, and chanted as we left to “close the spiritual door,” he said, and to ask for protection of our spirits. The manicured area is amazing, on a cliff overlooking the Pacific and “Dragon’s Teeth,” a popular Maui destination. Clifford says that he brings people interviewing for managerial positions at Kapalua to part of the burial ground to put the heat on them…no pressure.

Today we’re off to stop No. 2: Kaanapali Golf Resort. Update coming Friday. Aloha…

The many forms of course camaraderie

I was recently on a business golf outing with an East Coast colleague at Saddle Creek Resort in Copperopolis, a 6,800-yard Carter Morrish design two hours southeast of Sacramento. With a course starter named Mac McCool (greatest name ever and the topic of a whole other blog) and a restaurant menu to die for, read in a future issue of FORE Magazine more about this stunning layout in Northern California’s copper country and how the first stage of Copperopolis Town Square is nearly complete, as purveyors Castle & Cooke are building a new “country town” from the ground up.

However, I digress.

While riding around the course, my playing partner Scott began telling me a rather entertaining story about a group of guys he plays golf with in Texas each year. Every time they go out, he tells me, they try to choose one phrase — lacking any directness or substance — that can be used to respond to any comment or rhetorical question thrown their way. Among these phrases, “Ain’t that the truth,” “You got that right,” the Scottish-influenced “Aye,” and my Los Angeles contribution, “No doubt,” had all been successfully used in the past, and, as shocking as it was to hear for a person like me in the communications industry, they worked.

A little skeptical, I asked to see this social experiment first hand, to which Scott obliged. For his victim, he chose another sports writer on the trip who not only immensely enjoyed talking to, instructing and critiquing everyone’s games that were on the trip, but enjoyed talking to himself as well. Scott went to work.

“Hey Scott, what a day out here, huh?”

“You got that right.”

“Wow, did you see that? Heck of a shot.”

[Insert chuckle] “You got that right.”

“Wow, I didn’t even see that break in the green, the ball just hi-tailed it left.”

“Hmmm, you got that right.”

I shook my head in disbelief (and immense amusement) at this spectacle and began to think of the things I say to people on the golf course…could this tactic really be used on me as well?

Scott and I recapped. “I can’t believe this,” I told him. “I’m amazed it worked. What happens if someone asks you what you do for a living or where you’re from? Something specific you have to answer?”

He smiled. “Think back on all of the times you’ve played with a group of people you don’t know. Direct questions may come up within the first five, maybe 10 minutes that you meet the people and possibly before you tee off. After that, though, you are, for the most part, done.”

In remembering my own experiences, the interesting thing was that he was right. My curious tendencies teamed with my aversion to awkward silences in a golf cart lead me to chit-chat and ask people a lot of specific questions requiring more than a yes or no answer. People are interesting to me; you never know who you might meet. But aside from the occasional remark asking me if I was the next Annika and telling me I need to tee off from the back with the boys, I could count the number of times people asked me specific a question during a round on two hands. And I realized that not only was I okay with that, I always had been.

As one of the staples of the game of golf, camaraderie can come in many different forms; it doesn’t always mean that a full-fledged, eye-opening conversation needs to occur. For many it’s about the company of another or watching the way someone else plays the game. For others, it’s a change of scenery at a new golf course with a new person. If you like running commentary, a good laugh, and want to feel better about your game by watching mine, I’m your gal.

Like Scott told me, think back on the times you’ve golfed with a new person and you’ll be surprised at how little you may have verbally communicated but how much of an enjoyable time (hopefully) you had. Whatever your camaraderie goal is, have a good time out there, because really, if you’re not, there’s no point in playing the game.

Fallen Golfer and Golf Cart Safety

In a very tragic incident yesterday (May 22) at Pala Mesa Golf Resort in Fallbrook, a 65-year-old Irvine golfer died after his golf cart went over a cliff on the second hole and plunged 75 feet down to the road below. Read the Associated Press story HERE.

The cause of the accident is still unknown and investigators will look at the cart for mechanical failures; this gentleman very well could have been doing everything right, which makes this incident unfair. That being said, cart safety is important and we should take this opportunity to remind ourselves of that.

We need to think of golf carts as cars, which requires us to pay attention to the surroundings around us. Beautiful scenery, a great shot, or a rousing conversation can take our attention off the real task at hand: DRIVING. Too many times I have seen a golf cart rolled over out of careless driving, a cart steered into a pond, ditch or bunker, even a person rolling out of the cart because of a turn made too sharply by the driver. An SCGA committeeman’s ankle was broken after his playing partner accidentally hit him with their golf cart. Adding alcohol into the mix, as golfers sometimes partake in, clearly increases the chances for poor cart-driving decisions. PLEASE BE CAREFUL: RECKLESS CART DRIVING IS NOT FUNNY. Be aware of the conditions of the course; wet grass will cause carts to slide and skid, whether it be forward, backward or sideways. Keep the cart speed low. Check the mechanics of the cart before you head onto the course; if you notice a problem like faulty brakes (scary to discover on the course, such as when I found the parking brake on my cart wouldn’t work and there were hills coming up), inform golf course personnel. This all seems obvious, but some people need a reminder.

Have fun out there, be safe and use both caution and common sense. Our thoughts go out to our lost golfer.

Welcome to the Katieshack

As a person who could easily take five pages to answer a question requiring a one-word response, imagine my excitement when I was told that, yes, I would be given (mostly) unlimited Web space to share some of my golf world discoveries with my SCGA friends!

A perk of working in communications and magazines, especially in the golf industry, is that I am often informed of equipment, apparel, books, products, courses, instruction, specials, etc. (i.e. anything and everything golf-related) that the general golf public many times is not. In other words, I hold many consumer golf secrets in the palms of my little hands, and I’m now ready to spill to you all. It’s my duty as a golf communications professional.

Through this SCGA blog, I’ll have the opportunity to share many things I come across in my golf travels, whether it be a product I’m excited about, incidences I run across on the golf course, a humorous golf story that a member may share with me, or quirky, under-the-table golf news. Luckily for everyone I enjoy typing, so look forward to frequent and timely entries. Golf is a fun and intriguing sport as well as a fascinating lifestyle, and I hope that Katieshack, Bob’s Blog and Know the Rules will reflect that.

The Katieshack is open 24 hours a day, so stop by and let me know what interests you as a golfer, what you want to read about and what you want to see. Tell me a golf story or share a golf memory. I look forward to hearing from you!

--Katie Denbo