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I just spent the past week (20-26 Feb) focusing on the 2012 Accenture Match Play WGC. A friend and I went out on Monday the 20th to watch the guys during their practice rounds and driving range. While walking to Hole 4 back thru #9, we got to the Tee in time to see Mark Wilson and Caddie stroll up and discuss shots. After Mark put two straight shots in the middle of the fairway left of a bunker, I piped up and said, "Wouldn’t it be better to be on the right side of the fairway for a better approach to the Green? Because the green slopes to the right where many balls roll into a collection area.†Knowing the course and that that was Wilson’s first time at that venue, I was just giving a little local knowledge. Mark just responded with, "It’s better to be in the fairway than in the desert.†Then he was joshing me and said, "So what happened to you? You didn’t make the cut?†We just laughed and said, "Not this year. See you on Sunday!†Later that day we saw Mark Wilson strolling up to #14 Tee, and I said, "I’ve got no advice for this hole.†He said, "Thanks. Oh, and you were right about that big collection area.†He struck another great drive up the middle, and we said, "Play well Mark.†He waived and walked on. That’s when I should have made him my pick, thou I was routing for him the entire week. I wish I could drive it ‘as short as’ Mark Wilson. He's played well and finished 3rd beating Lee Westwood 1 UP in the Consolation Round. That was the only competition round that week Mark Wilson played #18.
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Keith Lawrence
3/2/2012 10:50:33 AM I sometimes volunteer as a walking scorer for the Justin Timberlake Shriners tourny here in vegas. 2 years ago I was scoring for Spencer Levin, Chris DiMarco and Charlie Hoffman, it was a thursday or Friday round and the mood was pretty loose. Kevin Na was in the group ahead of us and DiMarco kept taunting him to speed up play. On a par three when Kevin took 10 minutes to line up a putt and sunk it DiMarco encouraged everybody on the tee box to clap and cheer, in a condescending manner of course. It was a slow round but it was cool to be inside the ropes and feel like part of the group. had some interesting conversations and laughs with those guys. Also spent time with Webb Simpson that week, he was a class act, he got a hole in one but from the box we couldn't see it go in, it was about 226 and he holed it with a hybrid. I called in to the PGA van and confirmed it was in and he ended up signing and giving me the ball. It was a Thusday and we maybe had 3 spectators with us and nobody near the green. All in all, if you ever get a chance to volunteer at a PGA event, I highly recommend being a walking scorer. Most guys are classy and enjoy chatting it up between holes. |
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BUCKNUT
3/2/2012 8:31:33 AM Have chatted with Sonny Skinner the 2011 Senior PGA professional of the year, I see him all the time at the course's around here. Once he left his laser on a par 3 tee box and we were the group behind him. We picked it up and shortly after he came looking for it. Bought us all drinks after the round. Nice guy (like anyone that buys me a drink is). |
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Racer888
3/1/2012 9:49:50 AM Have chatted with a few. Late 90's I got to play a round with Tommy Tolles who was playing then. We played a round at the Cliffs in NC, I was building a house for his caddie at the time. Got to meet quite a few of the senior tour guys when I was building in Naples, Fl. I was building on the Bay Colony course and that was where the tour played so we got free invites to pre tournament stuff, met Trevino, Irwin, Palmer and several others at a dinner. I also get to chat quite often with Cristie Kerr as she lives in my building and I deal with her and her husband a lot. She is pretty nice and sometimes the conversation goes to golf. She has invited me to play sometime when she is in the states and playing in the area, so I hope that happens this year. |
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LindseyM
3/1/2012 9:20:56 AM Chatted with a pro but not at a tourney, yet. Allison Walsh and Anna Nordqvist have both been to my golf course. Allison didn't say much, not that I'm calling her rude but I was just trying to have a causal conversation with her about my course and how she was playing and she was like i've got my caddie for that. Well ok...have fun. Anna, on the other hand, was very nice down to earth and well kinda shy. I asked her several questions and offered a few tips and she said thanks tell him "her caddie" too so he can remind me. Afterwards i asked how it went; 74 from the blues on a course she had never played nor seen, I'm happy with it and thanks again. Oh and she was in the morning blitz, LOL, she took some skins. |
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Mark Simmons
3/1/2012 3:04:57 AM First off, you had the right idea. You aren't going to get any chit chat (nor should you seek any) during a tournament round. Your best opportunity during play is a practice round. Sometimes certain guys are chatty during a pro-am. Your interchange is about as long as I've heard under those conditions. I saw another guy have a similar length exchange with Tom Lehman who was with Glen Campbell at the Phoenix Open Pro-am several years ago. I've had longer conversations with a couple of pros: Arron Oberholser and Julie Inkster. Arron, because we have a mutual friend in the golf business who used to be his boss at an offsite pro shop when Arron was in college. Arron and I have done a couple of golf events together. So we've had some conversations, though I'd still call us 'acquaintances'. Julie is local and her hubby has been the head pro at the country club in Palo Alto forever, so we've chatted a few times. I also got to chat with David Ledbetter once at a Cadillac Golf event. I think that's about it. O, I forgot about Peter Jacobsen. He was helping out a young phenom that lived down on the Monterey Peninsula and so was I (with marketing, not as a golf instructor)! Peter is as approachable and as regular a guy as they come. |
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Duckhunter
2/29/2012 4:17:44 PM I was at the range one day and this long Drive guy was there hitting some balls. was talking to people. He was one or 2 boxes from me. In his bag was only Drivers. I went in to get some more balls and a call came in, it was the guys on 11th tee box saying they had balls hitting all around them. The starter told them to take cover because more will going that way soon. |
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Goynes42
2/29/2012 2:46:20 PM Haven't chatted with any PGA Tour pros, but a good friend of mine is Rick Karbowski, who used to play on the Champions Tour. Awesome player and nice guy...used to play with him about twice a month and even caddied for him in a qualifier. Great to watch him work his way around a course. |
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cogolfer1
2/29/2012 1:32:31 PM That's awesome. When I volunteered at the 2010 Senior PGA Championship which was 15 minutes from my house, I got to meet the 6 players I followed over the course of 2 days which was awesome. I didn't follow anyone extremely well known, the most famous being Bruce Vaughn who won the Senior British Open in 2008. I talked to 5 of the 6 players, the only one I didn't was a Japanese player who doesn't speak any English. The caddies were extremely awesome, 1 of them from Australia cracked me up several times throughout the round and we joked around. Didn't meet him, but the coolest thing was walking past the putting green, and the only player there was Tom Watson, with no one around. Stood there and watched him practice for 2 minutes (should have stayed longer) which is by far the coolest thing I've ever seen on a golf course. |
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Duckhunter
2/29/2012 1:22:20 PM Did Mark go up the right side of that fairway when he was in a Match? |
