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| Hackler Clubhouse |
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| T. A. & Chuck Johns |
He promised that just about every dogleg there was would be right, and sure nuff, all but one dogleg was to the right (I used 3-metal on the dogleg left, which I believe was the par-5 11th and made par).
Chuck said the course would be in good shape and it was. After all the rain they’ve had, the fairways were in good shape and so were the greens. From where I stood,
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| Tough to do these greens justice! |
mostly too far away from the pin, the greens were the best defense the course had…that and the doglegs with monster trees guarding the corners. I was reminded a few times of the greens at Verandah’s Whispering Oaks in Fort Myers. Rollercoaster rides beckoned to shots that landed on the wrong portion on the green.
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| Mmmm! Hackler player breakfast |
As usual the staff were on top of their game, making sure that the tourney players were well taken care of, and Hackler had the best breakfast of any of the clubs we have been to thus far.
I’m guessing that Oyster Bay tomorrow won’t be topping the wake-up grub we had at Hackler this morning. Hackler’s design didn’t do much for the imagination, but it was great for hackers, most of whom slice to the right. Frank, that was a good course for us huh :)? Hackler’s hackers, that’s what we are LOL.
So, how about some good news? After all the bad news the past few days you’re probably ready for some good. Bottom line? I shot 82, which was the third best score shot today. The lowest round was a 78, shot by one of my playing partners (more below), an 80, shot by the new flight leader, Phillip Guerriero, and four others shot 82. Not bad for a guy who couldn’t break 90 the past few days. I’m now tied for 21st, just barely in the top half of my flight (43 players). Think I can make up 19 shots on the leaders? No? Me neither :). Just hoping for another good round tomorrow.
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| Don, Lewis, T. A. & Jon |
In any event, playing Hackler was good for me, and playing with me appears to be a good luck charm for some, and not so much for others. Today I played with Lewis Montgomery, my cart partner, Don Taylor, and Jon Wilke.
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| Lewis Montgomery |
Lewis, came into today tied for 4th, five shots off the lead, after shooting 85, 88 the first two days. Today, Lewis carded an 82 with one double bogey on his card. And, he was definitely a cool dude. His 82 moved him up a slot into 3rd, just four shots off the lead. Don came into today’s round tied for 17th with an 88 and 93 to his credit after the first two rounds.
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| Don Taylor |
Playing in my group today, Don shot a spiffy 78, with seven bogeys and one birdie (the only one in the group) on his card. Don went quietly about his business, hitting just about every fairway on the course, with a Gary-Player-like walk through style on most shots from the tee and fairway. With that score (low net for our flight), you know his short game was pretty special as well. His outstanding play bumped him up the leaderboard into a tie for 12th.
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| Jeff Rader |
Yesterday, I played with Jeff Rader, who shot an 84 on the difficult Willbrook Plantation layout, after having shot a 92 on Day 1. Jeff’s play yesterday in my group tied him for second best net score of the day and elevated him from 22nd to 7th. Today Jeff shot a respectable 87, but still not as low as when he played with his good luck charm, yours truly. However, he still sits in 8th. I’d like to say that Jeff and Don, both of whom putted lights out, must have stolen my putting mojo, because that surely hasn’t been my strong suit so far this week However, it seldom is, so can’t blame it on them.
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| Frank Gates |
I seem to have had the opposite effect on a couple of my other playing partners. Frank Gates, whom I rode with on Monday shot a 96, then turned around yesterday and shot an 86 without my disturbing influence. Frank also shot an 84 today, and seemed quite happy not to have played in my group. Actually, he just may have been happy to shoot 84, and to have climbed into a tie for 15th.
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| Jon Wilke |
Jon Wilke, my other playing partner today, who happens to be the General Manager of Boca Woods in Boca Raton, Florida, turned out to be as fun-loving a guy as you’d want to play with, abundant with witty commentary and good counsel. I know Jon’s a player, because he shot an 84 on Day 1 (good for 3rd), and hit some stellar shots today, but the old Niles influence got him today, and he carded a 96 (now 24th). It didn’t seem to bother Jon one whit though.
Perhaps his positive influence rubbed off on me today, allowing me to card the best round and finish of the last few rounds I’ve played. Here’s an example: On Hole No.2, a short (323 yards) dogleg right over water, I hit a beautiful drive, and am sitting less than 100 yards from the pin. With wind in the face, I thought I was clubbing up with my 52-degree wedge, but apparently not enough. I was about 10 feet short of the green.
Meanwhile, Jon was having his struggles on the hole, and had to take two penalty strokes. I copied Martin Kaymer’s Players technique, used my putter from off the green, and my ball came to rest about 12 inches from the cup. After everyone finished the hole, I finally got up there and whiffed the one-footer to post a bogey. Now you know I am really not a happy camper given what I did yesterday coming down the stretch. Jon carded a nine, and I suspected he wasn’t a happy camper either.
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| I told him it's just golf man |
We made our way to the third tee box, and Jon looks a bit dejected to me (at least not his usual jovial self), so I say to him, “I don’t blame you for being mad,” or something to that effect. He looks at me and says, “I’m not mad. When you lose people younger than you, you can’t get mad about stuff like this; it’s just golf,” or something to that effect (sounds like our friend Sandi). He went on to tell me about loved ones he’d lost.
Now, there’s no way to confirm that what Jon said had anything to do with the rest of my round, but instead of the meltdown I had yesterday after missing a putt I should have made, I bogeyed No.3 (no one got par there) and finished the last five holes with a par on each. Those holes included two relatively long par-3s (170, 182 yards), a par-5 (535 yards), and two par-4s (378, 381 yards). Confirmation or no, I’ll just say, “Thanks for the perspective Jon!”
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| Chip Verrette |
As I’ve noted numerous times, in addition to the great venues we play, the people we meet and/or run into at the World Am really enhance the experience. Meeting Mike Thompson and Calvin Cross (both of whom attended my high school) last year, keeping in touch with Chip Verrette, Tim Lutz, and Prasad Kotagiri of India, all have been enriching experiences. This year the enhancer is running into Jon Wilke, who is a buddy of Chuck Gill’s, one of the mellowest guys you ever want to meet. It’s no wonder there are players here who have come every year for three decades!
Oh, my round today, with the exception of some mediocre chips, failing to get putts to the hole, and missing the one-footer, was a pretty good round for me. I’ll just tell you about the one hole that epitomizes ecstasy for this golfer. Hole No.7 was our second to last hole of the day (we started on No.9). It reads 175 yards on the card, but they have the tees back, so it’s playing about 182, with the wind at our backs.
I’ve held the honor (means the player who goes first because he/she won a hole and hasn’t yet lost that honor to someone else) since No.4, and I step up to the tee box with one of my favorite clubs, my 24-degree 4-hybrid iron (yes, I’m a short-knocker :)). I’ve only been hitting this club in the 170s lately, but with wind at my back, I figure it’s the right club.
I settle in over the ball, visualize the shot, and tune into the right moment to swing. I take the club back, bring it through, full turn finish, and exclaim, “Perfect! Now that’s how a golf shot is supposed to feel!” or something to that effect. An unusual occurrence for me: The timing was right, the motion was right, AND I hit the ball dead center on the clubface. The ball was heading right at the pin, just as envisioned, and perhaps without the wind, it would have been my second hole in one. It settled on the green about 30 feet past the pin.
I rolled the putt down the hill to less than a foot left of the cup, and this time I didn’t miss it. Regardless of my finish, unless I do something spectacular tomorrow, that tee shot on No.7 at Hackler is the shot that I will remember from this week of golf. Those of you who play or have played the game can probably relate. For those who don’t or haven’t, just imagine something that you have tried really hard to do well with relatively little success, and then doing that something just as you have imagined. No other feeling like it.
Okay, time is flying and there’s still much to do, so I’m gonna put a pause on this post. Thanks for staying tuned and we’ll be back at you tomorrow. As always, thanks to those who comment on Steph’s fine work! She did some more of it today and you can check it out here. Until next, drive for show, put for dough… T & Steph
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| Steph- Photographer & sometime caddy |
good looking shirt, and nice on the 82
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