Posted on
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Trials And Tribulations Of Playing In A Pro-Am
In a desperate search to describe my golf game, I came across a few cliches.
Glutton for punishment.
Up a creek without a paddle.
All over the map.
At the end of my rope.
Back to the drawing board.
Yep, golf will drive the average man plum crazy.
That was me during Tuesday's Pro-Am for the Texas State Open, in over my head at The Cascades Golf Club.
My apologies to playing partners Todd Rossetti (our pro), and fellow amateurs Andy Bergfeld of Tyler and Art Stricklin, a freelance golf writer based in the Metroplex.
And many thanks to the Northern Texas PGA and The Cascades for the invite. They ran a first-class pro-am, from the valet parking to all the food, beverages and snacks you could ever want. The prizes were outstanding.
I really enjoyed my first pro-am, despite losing my swing by the end of a marathon round that lasted 5 1/2 hours. Had a feeling something was amiss at the driving range with all those mis-hits - like the clock had been turned back four years.
Our team didn't finish high enough to win anything, but we had a good time trying. We only received one warning from the pace-of-play police after making the turn, but it's tough to play fast when so many ball searches are going on around the course. They kind of resembled hunts for missing persons - just without the bloodhounds.
Golf is just a devilish game.
How else to explain my opening tee shot as we started our day on the ninth hole - a high-arcing shot from an elevated tee box to the back fringe of the green down below, followed by two putts and a legit par. Even better, it counted as a net birdie for our team in the low gross-low net format - probably my only contribution of the day.
Took out the driver on No. 10 and pulled it into the rough. "That's more like it," I told them. And the struggle was on. Routinely in trouble, either in tricky spots around the greens, or in the U.S. Open-style rough, The Cascades beat me down the way Oakmont Country Club beat down the field at this year's U.S. Open.
My last drive of the day was a pop-up hook, into a sand trap. Too far from the fairway, I punched out into some rough and then couldn't get out. So I just picked up my ball, got into the cart, and became merely a spectator.
---
Speaking of the U.S. Open, Rossetti made it as a qualifier this year and says Oakmont is the toughest course in the world. Says hitting out of the formidable Cascades rough is easy compared to trying to hack it out at Oakmont.
He wasn't that far out of contention to make the cut after opening with an 8-over 78 - beating Sergio Garcia, former British Open champion Todd Hamilton and also Steve Elkington - but says he "blew up" on the second day. He didn't offer up his score, but I looked it up - an 87.
The Texas State Open will be Rossetti's first tournament since the U.S. Open. He received an exemption to play in the Tyler event through his status on the Nationwide Tour.
Rossetti, who shot 71 at the pro-am, was playing The Cascades for the first time after numerous rounds at the old Briarwood. The eight-year pro was impressed, saying rarely does a golf course measure up to the hype, but The Cascades does. He called it a good track.
A graduate of South Garland High School, Rossetti has ties to East Texas.
One of his best friends is fellow pro golfer Brad Weesner, who graduated from Lindale and plays out of Hideaway. Growing up, Rossetti spent many summers visiting his grandmother in Hideaway, playing the Hide-A-Way Lake course where he forged a friendship with Weesner.
Yep, golf will drive the average man plum crazy.
That was me during Tuesday's Pro-Am for the Texas State Open, in over my head at The Cascades Golf Club.
My apologies to playing partners Todd Rossetti (our pro), and fellow amateurs Andy Bergfeld of Tyler and Art Stricklin, a freelance golf writer based in the Metroplex.
And many thanks to the Northern Texas PGA and The Cascades for the invite. They ran a first-class pro-am, from the valet parking to all the food, beverages and snacks you could ever want. The prizes were outstanding.
I really enjoyed my first pro-am, despite losing my swing by the end of a marathon round that lasted 5 1/2 hours. Had a feeling something was amiss at the driving range with all those mis-hits - like the clock had been turned back four years.
Our team didn't finish high enough to win anything, but we had a good time trying. We only received one warning from the pace-of-play police after making the turn, but it's tough to play fast when so many ball searches are going on around the course. They kind of resembled hunts for missing persons - just without the bloodhounds.
Golf is just a devilish game.
How else to explain my opening tee shot as we started our day on the ninth hole - a high-arcing shot from an elevated tee box to the back fringe of the green down below, followed by two putts and a legit par. Even better, it counted as a net birdie for our team in the low gross-low net format - probably my only contribution of the day.
Took out the driver on No. 10 and pulled it into the rough. "That's more like it," I told them. And the struggle was on. Routinely in trouble, either in tricky spots around the greens, or in the U.S. Open-style rough, The Cascades beat me down the way Oakmont Country Club beat down the field at this year's U.S. Open.
My last drive of the day was a pop-up hook, into a sand trap. Too far from the fairway, I punched out into some rough and then couldn't get out. So I just picked up my ball, got into the cart, and became merely a spectator.
---
Speaking of the U.S. Open, Rossetti made it as a qualifier this year and says Oakmont is the toughest course in the world. Says hitting out of the formidable Cascades rough is easy compared to trying to hack it out at Oakmont.
He wasn't that far out of contention to make the cut after opening with an 8-over 78 - beating Sergio Garcia, former British Open champion Todd Hamilton and also Steve Elkington - but says he "blew up" on the second day. He didn't offer up his score, but I looked it up - an 87.
The Texas State Open will be Rossetti's first tournament since the U.S. Open. He received an exemption to play in the Tyler event through his status on the Nationwide Tour.
Rossetti, who shot 71 at the pro-am, was playing The Cascades for the first time after numerous rounds at the old Briarwood. The eight-year pro was impressed, saying rarely does a golf course measure up to the hype, but The Cascades does. He called it a good track.
A graduate of South Garland High School, Rossetti has ties to East Texas.
One of his best friends is fellow pro golfer Brad Weesner, who graduated from Lindale and plays out of Hideaway. Growing up, Rossetti spent many summers visiting his grandmother in Hideaway, playing the Hide-A-Way Lake course where he forged a friendship with Weesner.
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