The Golf Channel pundits filled the airwaves with predictions about how meek little Merion, at less than 7000 yards, could not stand up to the swift kicks of the best players in the world armed with the technology of the day.  This was going to be a major with scores in the low sixties, maybe 20-under as a winning score.  Tiger, Rory, Adam, and others were going to have their way with it and this was going to be a U.S. Open in Greenbrier Classic clothing.

Visiting the grounds of Merion on Friday it was obvious to me that the golf gods were not going to have any of this.  With the help of the Mike Davis and the USGA set-up operatives, the intrinsic defenses of this classic design have stood sturdy and challenged the patience of these competitors.  Any of them that believed this would be a short stroll in the park have been rudely awakened by the Merion reality.

The landing area on the blind tee shot on 11 looked like you could not parallel park four VWs in the allotted space.  Deep confining bunkers like on the short 350-yard 8th forced players to play long iron-sand wedge into a green the size of a quarter set on it’s side.  This hilly piece of real estate gave players awkward side hill billy goat stances even in the middle of the fairway.  The green complexes provided the real teeth-steep fall offs shoulders, savage furry bunkering, and serious pitch and yaw to augment the streaking green speeds.

In the final chapter the bulldog at Merion left some torn cuffs and a few open sores on the ankles of those competing for the U.S. Open crown.

The array of holes and their sequencing made building a scorecard an existential experience.  Two opportunity par fives, the only par fives of the day, come in the first four holes.  The second one was over 600 yards and has a fortress green ringed by deep bunkering fronted by a crossing brook.  The front pin was particularly difficult to negotiate, even with a sand wedge in hand, so birdies would be dear there on Sunday.

Steve Stricker fell victim to the Open pressure on the par five 2nd with two balky swings leading to a double OB experience and a triple bogie that dashed his chances for the day.

At 504 and 487 yards respectively, the two par fours at 5 and 6 played a cumulative 9 strokes for the average player, so this is where the wheels could come off early in the round.  The side slant on the 5th green toward the creek front left can generate a 12-foot break on a par saving putt.

The tee boxes at the par threes at 3 and 9 were pushed back to 256 and 236 yards-pros were hitting three woods and drivers at the back pins on the 3rd.  Again, a tight proximity of Cobb’s Creek to the front pin position on 9 made it into a risk reward par three on the final day.

Luke Donald and Charl Schwartzel butchered the front nine in 42 strokes each to end their Open dreams.  Charl would not have beat a Pro-Am partner playing 3 thru 10 with six bogies and a double on 6.  All the “Loooooook” cheers were stifled with his five bogies and a double on 6 in the same stretch.

The crowd noise opportunities were in the middle of the round.  Short holes at 7, 8, 10, and 11 all seem to be scoring chances but these holes have serious technical difficulties that require impeccable execution to set off any fan bedlam.  The ribbon thin 11th is where Bobby Jones closed out the last match of the U.S. Amateur to finish his historic Grand Slam at Merion in 1930.

Jason Day managed to capture the attention of crowd with a couple of birdies on 8 and 10.   But he rinsed his approach into the narrow opening on 11 and two more bogies down the stretch left him two strokes too far to seriously contend.

Maybe the testimony to the quirky character of Merion was to be the 115 yard pitch and putt par three 13th.  An on-level pitch to a green the size of your big toe nail, the players cannot see the surface of the green because it is obscured by a Groucho Marx brow on the top of the front bunker.  It should be a certain birdie hole to anyone with their name stenciled on the side of their bag, but miscues into any of the green side bunkers makes par an elusive score.

Champagne Phil had successfully walked the leader tight rope with doubles on 3 and 5, a birdie on 4, and, in a pure Phil moment, holing out for eagle two from the fairway on 10.  But the enigmatic 13^th took it’s toll as Phil air mailed a wedge into the high grass behind the green and it was all he could do to make a bogie and stay in touch.

The final leg at Merion, starting at number 14, can break down the sternest competitor and those able to avoid the train wrecks through the quarry holes would be the ones with a chance to hoist this piece of silver.

The harrowing OB on the left of 15 haunted Sergio three times on Saturday on his way to a 10 on this par four taking him from one under to five over for the day and putting a fork into any hopes he might have of contending on Sunday.  Hunter Mahan was hovering around the lead Sunday with a steady hand on the tiller until he made double on 15 with two shots wayward right, followed by bogies on the two difficult closing holes.

Phil made one more costly unforced error on 15.  He took the bold driving line up the right and had a stock gap wedge from about 130 for a birdie chance that would have given him a chance to tie for the lead.  It came up 10% air and the severe slope of this green sucked his approach all the way back to the front edge leaving him a pitch off the green surface and two putts for the bogie that was the final nail in his Open coffin this year.

Justin Rose kept the feisty dog at bay showing unperturbed patience through the roller coaster experience of the first sixteen holes.  Successfully playing the Kitzbuhel drop to a long, narrow undulating tongue of a green on the par three 17^th and negotiating two text book Hogan-esque shots into the impossible finishing hole, Rose came out with his trousers in tact to wrap his arms around his first coveted major trophy.

Dash the prognostications of those Golf Channel pundits.  As we all saw today….it is the size of the fight in the dog.

June, 2013

The entire crew…including Tucker and Gunner….

Getting to know you…getting to know something about you….

Old SMGA friends reunite……….

On the way to the range……

Anchored, belly, or conventional putters…the debate goes on….

Some professional attention…….

Letting it rip……

Long drive competition

Pre-game chillin…….

Now that is dedicated service………

It is all about extension……..

Some pre-game conversation

On course reaction………

Keeper and Warrior buds…….

Apparently they could not agree on the putting line……

And then it all came down to eating and carousing with friends…..

With the help of the Salute Military Golfers Association our members have an opportunity to spend the day getting to know these men and women who have given so much to protect the freedoms we enjoy.  Their courage and perseverance in facing the challenges their service has presented is something special indeed.  Playing a little golf, sharing some personal time,  and getting to know these American heroes was an honor and a pleasure for all who participated.

(All photos courtesy of Rita Mhley)

June, 2013

Tyler and Moe under the Woodmont Timex..rounds 35 and 36

As you can see in the photo below of Tyler made it all the way to the finish line, still standing up, for his 50th round with Miguel Angel Carballo at the Web.com  Mid-Atlantic Championships Pro-Am at Avenel Farm just after Memorial Day.

The End.. #50 with Miguel Angel Carballo at Avenel Farm

You can read Tyler’s description of his exploits, all 50 rounds, at his blog site below. He played em all from the tips, he is a glutton for punishment, taking in public courses, fee courses, and some of the best private courses in the Washington-Metro area along the way.  As you can see from his writings this was way more than just about golf, it was about meeting people, enjoying the special surroundings only golf can provide, and raising money for a good cause.

(Click here to read Tyler’s full accounting of 50 in 50 in his Blog postings)

The main beneficiary of Tyler’s gargantuan effort was his charity of choice Junior Achievement.  If you would like to contribute a little something in support of his effort click the link below for the Mid-Atlantic/Junior Achievement donation page for Tyler.

(Click to donate any amount through the “Donation” button at the bottom of the screen)

This goes to prove that we should not doubt youth.  When youthful exuberance is coupled with some mature ambition it can result in unprecedented achievement.

June, 2013

Shigeki first blipped on the international golf radar screen in the 1998 President’s Cup when he went 5 and 0 in that year’s matches.  Springboarding off of nine wins on the Japanese Tour he had a couple of high finishes in WGC events the next year that helped him earn access to the PGA Tour.  Playing full time in America after that he won three times-Greater Milwaukee in 2001 in a playoff with Charles Howell, Byron Nelson in 2002, and the Chrysler Classic in Greensboro in 2003.

Splitting the uprights with a seismic 58 ( Allsport)

That grey morning at Woodmont, with rain showers threatening his afternoon round on the more difficult North Course, Shigeki was determined to go low and put something in reserve before the afternoon lap.

What he did was simply astonishing.  Two pars on the opening holes and then he put his foot to the floor making 11 birdies and an eagle over the next sixteen.  Guess the course fit his eye.  It included holing his wedge from 96 yards on the par four ninth for an eagle and the exclamation point of hitting the long par five eighteenth in two (remember this was 2000 before the techno geeks got to the maximum COR on the fairway metals making this routine) setting up a two-putt birdie and his second 29 of the day.

Worth a thousand words……… (photo by Zowl Productions)

He cruised home with a two-over 74 on the North after lunch and easily qualified at 132 two shots behind David Berganio the medalist for the day.

We have staged the U.S. Open Regional at Woodmont for decades with PGA Tour pros of all calibers participating and no one else has come close to doing what “the Smiling Assassin” did that June morning.  The notoriety is a bit infamous from the standpoint of our members but it was great theater for those who witnessed his folkloric round.

June, 2013

“Hey, you’re going to wake up tomorrow and you’re still going to be Tiger Woods”.

Robert Lusetich

June, 2013

We all know of David Feherty’s love for America and the men and women of the military who protect the freedoms of the country that has so graciously taken in his huddled mass.

Lesser known to some of us is the good work of Major Dan Rooney and the Folds of Honor Foundation who have raised serious money to support the families of brave service men and women who have died serving our country through providing post secondary scholarships for their spouses and children.

Putting the two of these guys together, in the cockpit of a F-16 at 20,000 feet and mach-who-knows-what is a marriage made in heaven. The attached article by Feherty from the Folds of Honor Foundation’s Patriot Magazine recounts this experience in rib rattling detail.

In true Feherty form he describes the take-off as “Just like a rocket, the F-16’s violent vertical acceleration is impossible to describe, especially when you’re squealing like a Girl Scout in a pillow fight and wondering if your ass….is ever going to rejoin your lower intestines”.

Two great patriots, one new, one old, out for a joy ride in the friendly skies.

(Click to read Feherty’s “Reaching Great Heights” from Patriot Magazine)

Patriot Magazine

Folds of Honor Foundation

May, 2013

Colt Knost flew in some rarified air for an amateur in 2007 when he won three USGA titles in the same year- the U.S. Amateur, the U.S. Public Links, and was a member of the victorious Walker Cup Team.  Only the immortal Bobby Jones and the great Jay Sigel had done this before him.

Jason Sobel of the Golf Channel reports that to commemorate this accomplishment the USGA asked Knost to donate one of his clubs that helped him win those three titles.  Maybe with his sardonic tongue planted firmly against his cheek Colt volunteered to donate his Scotty Cameron belly putter to put on display in the USGA Golf House.

A live shot. …..this puppy looks like it can still do some damage.

Now you cynics out there will say Colt is taking a shot at the recent USGA and R & A ruling that bans the use of these formerly legal putting implements.  But from where I sit this is just a reverse case of Paying Forward…..it is called Paying Backward…..just a man with a philanthropic heart and a point to make.

Personally I can’t wait to read the inscription the USGA puts on the plaque under this piece of memorabilia.

May, 2013

Weekley’s loveable namesake

Chants of “Boooooooooooo” were cascading through the tree lined alcoves of Colonial Country Club all day Sunday as Boo Weekley put on a shot making clinic on his way to winning his third PGA tour event at the Crowne Plaza Invitational.  If there are horses for courses than Boo looks looks good in a tartan horse blanket because his previous two wins at Harbour Town and this one at Colonial have been on courses requiring driving accuracy, precise iron play, and a taste for a little something in a tartan plaid sports jacket.

It was a bit of a roller coaster for Boo who made two birdies and two bogies in the first seven holes.  He then went on a tear with birdies at 8, 9, and 10 and buried a 22-footer at 14 to take the lead for good at 14-under.  His iron play all day was so precise he was knocking down flags sticks coming down the stretch like star high school quarterback takes out stacks of milk bottles at a Midway.

But as Feherty and McCord were saying all day Boo is one of the best ball strikers out there.  Other pros stop behind his slot on the driving range to just listen to the pure sound of the ball coming off the center of the club face time after time.  He showed this in full flourish with umpteen opportunities for birdie on the back nine today.  If he could putt a lick he would have won by six.  Unfortunately for Boo he has a bit of Roberto Duran’s “hands of stone” when it comes to plying the flat stick.

The affable Boo has been a crowd favorite since his popular appearance in the Ryder Cup in 2008 but he has not won in five years.  Finally moving past a number of injuries that have hampered him the last few years he has been on a mini-tear this year making 12 of 14 cuts and finishing top ten three times on his way to winning over $900,000.  The $1.1 million he raked in for today’s win and moved him into 6th place in the FedEx Cup Standings.

Matt Kuchar, the leader going into the final round, was Boo’s stiffest competition but his game was a bit out of round in a number of areas today and he wobbled home with a 68, never really threatening the lead, to lose by one.  He must have gotten a bit tired of the droning of Boooooooooos that he was hearing  in front of him all day.

May, 2013

Now pay attention this is serious business!!!!

As only a gifted writer can do, Jenkins captures the pure voice of P.G.’s Oldest Member  describing the absurd heightened sense of importance of this latest ruling to the quash the imminent threat this method presents to the sacred game of golf.

“He would no doubt regard Ernie Els, Webb Simpson, and Adam Scott with their elbows splayed, and wonder how on earth adopting a position that looks like a man standing over a floor mirror admiring himself as he ties a bow tie while also buttoning his overcoat….could be a help rather than a hindrance”.

“The anchored putter would seem less of an illegal tool…than simply a farcical and unsightly expression of desperation, a cry for help from those too unsteady to take a free swing.”

She then takes on the comic rhetorical antics of Sergio and Tiger accusing each other of who-knows-what antics for who-knows-why reason.

“But we are finding out what Garcia is really like: ignorant, and dagger mean.”

“In response, Woods strove to restore a tone of golf gentility, all punctilious decorum on Twitter”.

Great stuff……..P.G. is rolling and chortling in his grave.

(Click to read Sally Jenkins Wash Post entertaining piece on anchored putting)

Sally Jenkins

Washington Post

May, 2013

Rocco Mediate was the second fiddle in one of the most epic major championship playoffs in history in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines-the maestro was Mr. Redshirt himself playing on one leg.  As Feherty mentions during his interview with Rocco, this is one of those iconic events that every serious golf addict seems to remember where they were at that moment (probably playing hooky from work to watch it on NBC that Monday morning).

In the attached Golf Channel internet piece by Will Gray you can see the 4-minute clip of Feherty’s interview with Rocco where he talks about the experience and some anecdotal moments that followed.

One in particular, Rocco’s request that Tiger personalize a couple of pieces of memorabilia from the historic day they shared together kind of captures Tiger’s frame of mind when it comes to major championships.  Simply stated, it is all about Tiger and all other participants are discardable accessories to the act.

The man seriously lacks the warm and fuzzy gene.

(Click to read the Golf Channel article on Feherty’s Interview with Rocco Mediate)

Feherty

May, 2013