Katieshack

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.

Tour Caddie Dies in Del Mar

While PGA Tour golfers should have been amping up for the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in San Diego this week, they were instead mourning the loss of the industry’s most colorful and talented caddies.

Canadian native Steve Duplantis died in Del Mar very early Wednesday morning when he stepped off a center median curb and was struck by a taxi. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

While Duplantis was on the bag for Eric Axley for the Buick, the infamous “free spirit” (who was known in the industry for having a healthy but damaging nightlife) at his young age of 35 had previously won four times with Jim Furyk in the mid-1990s, as well as with Rich Beem at the Kemper Open and with Tommy Armour III when he set the tour's 72-hole scoring record at the 2003 Texas Open. His partying reputation was overshadowed by his ability to bring out the best in the players he worked with. See Golf.com’s complete story HERE.

Due to his caddieing success at an early age, “Furyk's success allowed Steve to dive headfirst into the hard-partying caddie culture,” writes Alan Shipnuck of Sports Illustrated, who also penned the book Bud, Sweat & Tees, a candid look at the Beem-Duplantis pair. “At the '95 Colonial, [Duplantis] met a stripper named Vicki with the gravity-defying proportions of Jessica Rabbit. After the first round, they spent the night together, and Steve crawled out of bed just in time to make it to Furyk's 8:17 a.m. tee time. He cut an unmistakable figure: bed-head, an inside-out polo shirt, leather dress shoes and no yardage guide to be found. It was a sign of things to come. Steve and Vicki were married after a whirlwind 19-day courtship, and the stormy relationship became only more complicated when a daughter, Sierra, was born in early 1996, two days after Furyk's victory at the Hawaiian Open.” Read Shipnuck’s recount of the caddie’s life HERE.

I suppose there are many obvious morals and lessons one could draw from this tragedy, but I’m not going to be the one to point them out. Instead, I suggest we try to live our lives to the fullest and enjoy the game to the best of our abilities as we all do.

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.

Pernice's British Open Travel Adventures

Bear Creek GC honorary member Tom Pernice, Jr., of Murrieta, hopped over the pond to play in the British Open last weekend, but not without a grueling travel itinerary, as Golfweek's Jeff Rude chronicled. In my own abridged interpretation of the article, here are the phases a professional player goes through to play in a tournament that Pernice says can "make a difference in your life." Preface: before leaving Los Angeles, Pernice is only a second alternate for the British Open, but books a flight to Scotland anyway.

Phase 1: Practical Optimism. Pernice takes a red-eye flight to Houston (arriving early Monday morning) to get in a quick practice session with instructor Jim Hardy before playing in the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. While in L.A., he checks his luggage through to Milwaukee.

Phase 2: Building Anticipation. Upon arriving for his lesson, he learns via text message that he is up to first alternate. To further build suspense, friend Vijay Singh calls from Scotland and tells him to come. Pernice obliges.

Phase 3: Personal SIG Alert. While one could normally continue his travels to Scotland from Houston, remember that Pernice's luggage is now in Milwaukee. Monday afternoon after his lesson, he flies to Milwaukee, practices at the U.S. Bank tournament site Tuesday morning, and early that afternoon, flies to New Jersey in order to catch that coveted flight to Edinburgh, Scotland, that night.

Phase 4: The Pay-off. Pernice arrives at Carnoustie at 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, and tees it up with Singh in a practice round only 25 minutes later. Upon arriving in the country, he learns that Jose Maria Olazabal, the one player standing in his way of playing, withdrew thanks to a hurt knee. Victory, in a sense, is his.

Phase 5: Pre-Tournament Panic. Still in the U.S....Realizing that his passport had expired, Pernice's caddie (and cousin) Brett Waldman frantically tries for two days (Monday and Tuesday) to secure one. He succeeds. Ironically, he and Pernice arrive in Scotland close to the same time.

Phase 6: The Second Wind and Letdown. Let the games begin. After opening with a 3-over 74 and literally not sleeping that night, Pernice shoots a 73 in the second round and misses the cut by one stroke. "It was worth the chance," he’s quoted in the Golfweek article.

If you lost count, Pernice endured a total of four flights (with two red-eyes) and 20 consecutive hours of travel. Raise your hand if you still want to be a professional golfer.

The (True) Spirit of the Game

The SCGA recently held its first Parent/Junior Championship at Marbella Country Club in San Juan Capistrano, which is not only our first SCGA junior tournament in recent years, but the first family event we’ve held as well.

I have been fortunate in my time at the SCGA to be privy to many tournaments and have been around many wonderful players (both personality- and talent-wise), but this particular tournament was different: with young players (both male and female) ranging from age 7 to 17, teaming up with their fathers, grandfathers and step-fathers in the modified foursomes format, it was perhaps one of the most inspirational and refreshing tournaments I have been exposed to.

In a nutshell, this tournament reflected the true spirit of the game of golf. Let me explain.

In general, most golf tournaments you go to these days or see on TV, both professional and amateur, feature someone (or a few people) who dampen the mood of the day by complaining about whatever it was affecting their round: “the greens were awful,” “the rough was dangerously thick,” and “that hole placement was unfair” are pretty much the standard lines no matter the level of golf being played (I won’t argue with validity of these statements, although they’re frequently said out of frustration). The term “sandbagger,” used both in jest and seriousness, is a popular one whether in a leisurely game or competitive match, as is, “that person shouldn’t be out here,” or “they aren’t good enough to be in the field.” They sink a putt for par and aren’t happy, or hit a drive offline and slam their club into the ground. Relaxing to watch, similar to a ticking time bomb.

This tournament was different, though. Most, if not all, of these talented kids are not jaded by competition (yet). To see the genuine excitement on the faces and in the voices of the players, both kids and parents, after making a long putt or hitting a great approach shot onto the green was, for lack of a better phrase, REALLY fun. The praise, high-fiving, pats on the back and motivation out there was nice. Although there were two flights, different ages of players were playing together. Many players could not stop talking about what a beautiful course it was and how much they enjoyed playing it. When 12-year-old Frank Cuccia, Jr. scored his first ace ever on the 117-yard 11th hole with his 5-iron, he was beaming the entire day. When 7-year-old Blake Keesey, the youngest and perhaps most talked-about player in the tournament (see the next issue of FORE), came to the scoring area with his father, Victor, and saw the table of silver winners’ plates, he gasped and said, “Wow, those plates are so beautiful.”

When he and his father ended up winning the Vice President Flight of the championship and Blake raised the oversized champions’ plate over his head, the entire field roared with applause and chanted his name.

All and all, it was good, clean golf fun.

This “true spirit” of the game may be different things to different people. To me, however, it’s about appreciation of the sport, enjoyment of the surroundings, camaraderie with both your playing partner and the players in the group, maybe even feeling some sort of pride or satisfaction in an aspect of your game, like a great shot (no matter how dire the round as a whole may have been). Does the true spirit embody competition? Of course it does. That doesn’t mean players have to be excited if they lose — disappointment’s a natural feeling, but is true negativity necessary? No. It doesn’t hurt anyone to be a little happy for the person that wins.

I overheard one of our SCGA committeemen volunteers ask a father if he enjoyed the day. The father smiled, nodded his head, and said something that we should all think about:

“I signed my son and I up for this tournament to spend time with him,” he said. “I work so much and thought this would be a great chance for us to take some time out of our day to be together. I need to do it with all my kids. It was so much more than golf, and we’ll sign up next year because of it.”

Next time you go out to play, think about what golf really is to you, beyond winning. Above anything else, it’s a great opportunity to spend a few hours of quality time with someone you care about and appreciate the activity, which, in the grand scheme of things, is really what’s important.