TREVISO BAY THOROUGHLY THRILLS ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON

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The merits of fine golf courses will always be debated, and I recently read a comparison between Arthur Hills and Hal Sutton's TPC Treviso Bay in Naples and Jack Nicklaus' Old Corkscrew in Estero. But that debate was about which course was tougher. Although it has been a while since I played Old Corkscrew, I haven’t forgotten how tough it is, and it has been my favorite course to play in the Fort Myers area, despite the stiff test it presents for a hacker of my caliber (14 handicap) playing from the blue tees (6617 yards).

Treviso Bay landscape

In the two rounds I have played from the blues at Old Corkscrew (both over two years ago), I averaged 101. In the four rounds I have played at Old Corkscrew from the white tees, the most recent in August of 2013, I averaged 97. After playing TPC Treviso Bay this past Sunday (July 13, 2014), and yes, she ate my lunch, I may have to reconsider. 

Between 11 & 12- We are suckers for a wooden bridge

You see, in addition to a terrific test of golf without the dilution, distraction, and detraction of condos, single or multi-family homes, which both courses provide, Treviso’s layout and landscaping offer aesthetic pleasures that surpass Old Corkscrew’s offerings.

In-progress club house from 9th tee

And here’s what’s really fascinating: Treviso Bay currently boasts a mere fraction of the allure and beauty it will hold once the clubhouse has been completed. From a number of perspectives, particularly from the 8^th and 9^th greens, the great gray structure of the clubhouse in progress looms with promise of pleasantries to come. 

Putting on No. 8

As Steph (my life partner and camera woman) said multiple times as we traversed the terrain, “This is already something, but I can’t wait until they finish the project,” or words to that effect. I, too, anticipate the views to and from the completed castle of a clubhouse.

View from No. 8 tee box

Yeah, yeah, but what about the golf? Perhaps you think I am leaning toward Treviso Bay instead of my beloved Old Corkscrew because Treviso is easier. Well let me clarify that before going any further. I shot 104 at Treviso from the championship tees (6792 yards, the equivalent of Old Corkscrew’s blue tees), and the worst I shot at Old Corkscrew was 103. 

No. 7 view

Basically, Treviso Bay is longer from the equivalent tees, and has far more liquid with which to contend! As you probably know, games that are apparently solid on dry land can turn to jello when there’s wetness in play.

Chris teeing off on No. 3

Aside from the sheer beauty of the entire venue, which captures your attention from the entrance to the community, through the practice area and the course itself, each hole at Treviso gave me the sense that it was an entity onto itself. It was unlike some tracks where you get to a particular hole, and you have the sense that you played the same hole a few holes ago.

Tee box view of No.1

Upon receiving the royal treatment upon arrival at the bag drop and in the pro shop, Chris, Steph and I were immediately inspired as we rounded the corner and came upon Hole No.1. Verdant, Lush fairway with bunkers left and right, made me happy to be a short knocker on this 380-yard par-4. 

Nice tee ball on No.1

Encased in a cocoon of trees, it presented a vista that coaxed from me one of the few good tee shots I delivered that afternoon. I stroked the driver about a measly 230 yards down the middle, hit a 6-iron to about 12 feet, and lipped out the birdie putt to card the smoothest and only four I had on the par-4 holes that afternoon.

Don't wanna be left on No. 9 with water all down the left side

There is much shame in this admission, but in fact, I was 22 over on the other nine par-4 holes! True, I was playing pretty horribly, but I have played horribly before and managed to scratch out a decent score…for a 14-handicapper that is. I suppose the presence of all that agua might have influenced the quality of my game…if it wasn’t the 18 I had already played in The Hideaway’s Sunday Morning Quota/Skins Game.

No. 14- 185-yard par-3 over water

The wet stuff has a way of exerting undue influence if you aren’t confident with your swing, and Treviso has plenty of wet stuff. As for confidence? It hasn’t been over abundant in my golf swing the past couple of weeks, so the combination was diabolical. 

Chris beached on No. 14

Fortunately, golf is one of two things I am told you don’t have to do well to enjoy, and the beauty of golf at Treviso definitely mitigated the frustration of my poor play, and I enjoyed it enough to want to go back. In fact, my golf buddy Chris Capps (who is far better than I and shot an 86) quipped, “If it wasn’t so pretty, I’d have shot myself.”

For example, take No.5, the short, 325-yard par-4 that I tripled after hitting in the water twice. 

View from No. 5 tee- only 325 yards

Did that triple hurt? You’re bleeping right it did. But when you take in the rolling mounds, the bunkers punctuating the fairway and accenting the perfectly manicured green, you can surely revel in where you are even if you are stewing in shame because you cannot play a reasonable facsimile of the game called golf.

On the tee on the par-5 fourth

Oh, and by the way, that triple I mentioned? It followed a quadruple on the 566-yard, par-5 fourth, another lovely hole that made me pay the price for, uh, drinking in its beauty.

I did have my moments at Treviso, few as they were, and oddly enough they came primarily on the three longest of the four par-3 three holes. 

Can you see that pin 216 yards away?

After going plus-13 on holes two-through-six, including a double-bogey on the 167-yard par-3 third, I notched just my second par of the day on the 216-yard par-3 seventh. I’m sure it was purely coincidence, but that happened to be the only hole since I yanked my tee shot in the drink on the par-5 second that didn’t have H2O in play.

Don't wanna miss right on No. 17

My only other pars came on No.14 and No.17, par-3s of 185 and 182 yards respectively. Maybe I can claim that I was just getting warmed up as we neared the finish, as I played the final five holes just three over. That was positively shooting lights out for me the way things had gone over the previous 13! 

Among those finishing holes was the brute of a 462-yard par-4 16^th, and the picturesque, boomerang-shaped, 530-yard par-5 18^th with water from tee to green along the right side. 

I really could go on ad nauseam, because in writing about Treviso Bay, we get to relive the experience, and it was one worth reliving. But rather than “listen” to me drone on about the merits of Treviso Bay, you might prefer to take a gander at Steph’s photographic perspective (click here for additional photos). You can draw your own conclusions. If you have the good fortune to get out there, I suspect you will find the above confirmed. 

Ever seen cooler cart staff
than Luke & Josh

We would be remiss if we didn’t thank Wes Miller of ICON Management and Mark Wilhelmi and J. D. Murray, Director of Golf and Head Pro respectively at Treviso Bay for the opportunity to experience one of the loveliest Arthur Hill tracks in Southwest Florida…and there are quite a few. Too bad it isn’t so more often, but at Treviso Bay courtesy cascaded downhill and the cart staff was every bit as pleasant to deal with as the folks in the shop! Way to go ICON! Nice work Lennar! We're out! 

T. A. & Steph

“The ups and downs of a game of golf top any Disney rollercoaster I’ve ever ridden!” (T. A.)

MEDITERRA HOSTS TENNIS PRO GOLF TOUR

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Ok, so the title is misleading, but it makes these Sunday outings a bit more fun for me. I can call a friendly game of golf every week or two at a different venue a "Tour" can't I? Heck, if I want to, I can call it the "Shankapotomus Cup" or maybe the "Yips Trophy" or some such thing...

Prototype SadExCup Trophy

Oh, I got it! How about the "SadExCup" because it's so sad that we are all wanna be golfers, but are stuck playing just a few months in the summer, because tennis season is from October through April...Heck I could even keep score unofficially and crown the SadExCup Champion at the end of the summer. Ah but I digress...

If you like sports talk radio, then I’m sure you are familiar 

Mike & Mike

with the Mike & Mike show. Well how about Mike, and Mike, and Mike, and Mike, and…well, you get my drift. This past Sunday (6/22), Mike Baldwin organized five groups for a golf outing at The Club at Mediterra and I think there must have

Mike Baldwin strikes a pose

been at least one Mike in each group…Ok, ok, so it was actually just four of five groups…and that’s only because one group had two Mikes.

The interesting thing is that it really was all about the Mikes as far as the competition went. Mike Curran claimed the top prize, Mike Lawver took second, and Mike Barnes was third! Nobody, including Mike Baldwin, told me it was gonna be “Mike Day,” or I might have stayed home!

Mike "Curr Dawg" Curran flexing his winning  muscles

Nah, the day was far too much fun and the venue was spectacular, so despite my meltdown on Hole No.17, had I known it was “Mike Day” I still would have made it. Fortunately, the loot was distributed to the top five finishers, so John Ramsey (4^th) and Pete Minarich (5^th) sneaked in there to break up the Mike thing.

Mike Lawver's hip-saving swing

Somebody must have forgotten to inform Mike Stevens of the special occasion, because he didn’t finish in the money…and he usually strokes a pretty nice ball. What happened Mike? I guess host Mike Baldwin, being the gracious guy that he is, decided that enough was enough, and he stayed out of the money.

Mike Barnes out-driving me with his 3-metal

Now I could offer up the story of how Mike Barnes (How many birdies was that Mike?) and Fernando Maynetto toyed with Chris Capps and me, draining 50 footers, and saving pars after scratchy tee shots and from ridiculous lies.

Chris tries to figure things out while Fernando watches

 I could tell the tale of our pathetic putting, and my psychotic swoon on the tee box of the par-5 17^th, only to bounce back with a bird on 18…but who cares about all that?

The bottom line is that the Tom Fazio-designed North Course at The Club at Mediterra was a snazzy track to play for a group of tennis pros who love the game of golf. We played the white tees, 

Dave Townsley, John Ramsey, Hernan Nunez,
& Mike Baldwin

and I think they tried to make it as easy as they could for us (after all we’re just tennis pros), because the par-4s seemed to be driver or 3-wood off the tee, then a choice of 8-iron or pitching wedge…at least for me. I’m sure the big hitters were probably hitting something like 4-iron, then wedge.

Mike Barnes showing his skilz

Be that as it may, the course was in excellent shape. The greens rolled smooth and true, but slower than the practice green. Maybe I can blame my poor putting on that? Nah, it’s been at least three consecutive rounds or so of poor putting for me, and Barnes and Maynetto lit up the greens, so it couldn’t be that!

Regardless, the beauty of Mediterra, the graciousness of the staff, and the fact that Steph was there to digitally record it (yes, even my meltdown) 

Steph the photographer

far outweighed my back-9 woes (41 on the front ain’t bad for me). Thanks for putting the show together Mike, uh, Baldwin that is, and share the gratitude with the Mediterra staff for us as well.

Don the starter

And so, the second stop of the “Summer Tennis Pro Golf Tour,” (AKA the "SadExCup") at Mediterra concluded with everyone being “Miked up” for the occasion. Shoot! From what I hear, the next stop on tour will be on Curran’s (yeah, Mike) home turf. I think we need Dekeersmaker (uh that’s “Dave” winner of the first tour stop at Miromar) back in the game! Whadda ya say Dave? 

FORE! I’m out. T. A.

CAPPS FIT FOR SUNDAY GAME AT THE HIDEAWAY

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Scott Get'n paid

Twenty-three players teed it up for the most recent edition of The Hideaway’s Sunday Morning Quota Skins Game (QSG), including three women, and five first-timers. 

Betty Portor drives for show

Of those 23, just eight were in the money (made their point quota) when the green was exchanging hands, and quite a few more pocketed some moola for skins. I’m sad to say that I was among neither group.

It was very cool to see Jeff Ashby back at the helm. Jeff does a fantastic job of running both the Thursday and Sunday games. 

Jeff Ashby

If you haven’t played the Sunday or Thursday QSG at The Hideaway, it is a come-one-come-all proposition for anyone who loves to play the game and would like to opportunity to get some cash back for playing. On Sunday you pay $35 for 18 holes, and on Thursday you pay $20 for nine holes.

We play a modified Stableford format, and to get paid you have to exceed your points’ quota, which is determined by your handicap, or the score you shot the previous week. 

Mo money

If you play bogey golf or better, and/or can make a birdie every now and then, you have a good chance of slipping something back in your wallet at the end of the game.

Gordy showing his short game prowess

This past Sunday, Gordon Byrd proved to be the top points earner, posting nine points above his quota, and pocketing $27 ($3 per point) for his efforts. I’m guessing Gordon’s quota should be considerably higher next time out. Scott Lovecchio, who has been a solid performer thus far this summer, had a nice day as well, posting seven points above his quota.

Gotta work on my technique

I thought I would be doing some collecting myself after a decent start. I posted two points with a par on the not-so-easy (4^th hardest for men, 15^th for women), par -3, 15^th, but started having some vision issues, over and above my normal blindness, by our third hole. Even though I posted another par on our third hole, that left eye bugged me for the next several holes. I still managed to get at least one point on eight of the first nine holes.

Elaine knocking in the par while
Hideaway pro Dave Bartoe looks on 

I finally ripped the contact out of my left eye after trying to hit my second shot from the middle of the fairway with one eye and carding a double bogey on No.7, our 11^th hole. It stung a little when I replaced it, but I felt that I could actually see what I was trying to do out there from that point forward. I didn’t do a whole lot better, posting just 10 points in the final seven holes, but hey, I felt better.

I think that one just missed

The real story of the day, however, was Chris Capps, who, after failing to post any significant points on the first few holes, ended up cashing in on five birdies, each of which resulted in a skin, and notching two points above his quota. 

Chris & Elaine Capps

I’m going to chalk-up Chris’ uncharacteristic start on the presence of his wife Elaine, who joined us for the first time, and the pressure of performing with his brand new set of Wilson Staff FG Tour V2, with Fujikura Rombax 9E05 TM-27 X shafts.

Josh Musselman of Josh Musselman's Golf Express

You see, Chris had just been fitted by Josh Musselman, of Josh Musselman’s Golf Express about a week prior (a birthday present from his lovely bride Elaine), his brother Courtney had sent him the club heads, and Musselman’s had installed the new shafts this past Friday. 

Josh's Club Fitter of the year awards

Josh has been listed as a “World’s Top 100 Clubfitter” for a half-dozen years, and after being fitted, Chris wrote, “Josh really knows his stuff…Never in a million years would I have 

thought I would play with what he recommended but I can see big improvement in my ball flight and consistency. Never again will I buy without a proper fitting. Thanks Josh." You think Chris was excited to unveil those clubs on Sunday?

Elaine's replacement?

I’ll just tell you that I got a text on Saturday, totally in jest of course that said, “”Looks like Elaine has to find a new place to sleep,” along with photos of his new sweethearts lying on the bed, I presume, on Elaine’s side. You have to make birdies and score points after all that don’t you?

Well, Chris’ birdie barrage didn’t begin until Hole No.2 (our sixth of the day) the uphill, par-3 with a stiff right-to-left breeze.

Chris sinking another

Once he got going though, he dropped another on the challenging No.4 (a par-4 rated the 2^nd hardest for men, 4^th for women), another on the par-5 No.8 (despite missing the fairway long), yet another the par-3 11^th, with the final tweeter coming on our last hole, the par-4 14^th (the 6^th hardest for men, 3^rd for women).

T. A. missing another

I did have a chance to drop one in on top of him on the final hole, but typical of my day, my putt lipped out. 

Given my exercise in futility for most of the round (although 8 pars isn’t too bad for me, despite falling one short of my quota), I was happy to close out the Sunday morning fun with a par.

Thank you very much. Champions Tour next

As for Chris, those five birdies at $10 per, plus the $6 for the two points over his quota took care of his and Elaine’s rounds. Elaine was Considering Elaine’s Bloody Marys and Chris’ celebratory brew, I think they may have just broken even. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning.

World Am Day 2 Leader Board

As for me, I’m thinking it may be time for another fitting session with Josh. It has been three years since I last saw him for my fitting, and it might just be time to fine-tune for our next run at the World Amateur Handicap Championships in Myrtle Beach later this summer. Being atop the leaderboard on Day 2 is just not enough. May as well shoot for the whole enchilada I say.

Steph & Elaine celebrating with Chris

Meanwhile, congrats to Chris, Gordy, and Scott for their Sunday morning performances. Kudos to Curt Conrad and Jeff Shiggy, both of whom posted positive points and claimed skins as well. Thanks to Steph for wielding the camera better than I wielded the clubs, and see ya’ll Thursday…

Definition of Golf: “A passion, an obsession, a romance, a nice acquaintanceship with trees, sand, and water.” ~Bob Ryan

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