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The Quest to Play the Top 100 Public Golf Courses in the United States
2010 CONTINUED
(CONT'D) ... Even though they had aerated Bay Hill the week prior to our arrival, it was in better shape than most local courses that are in (alleged) pristine condition. Some in our group struggled to score low, even though we had implemented a two-putt rule prior to our arrival. Some consumed too much swing lubricant and had to dig deep to find the endurance to survive the first day 36-hole marathon. Jeffrey Adkins and Mike Rittner managed to post matching 86's to take low score honors.
Dinner was served on the back patio of the Bay Hill Lodge. In fact, we had the whole patio to ourselves on this beautiful night, which probably was a good idea since most of us were alcohol-enhanced. The food was excellent and there was no "choking incidents" to report. Mike Barbone and Kirk Dragmire would have been classified as intoxicated in all 50 states. Barbone sported a stagger worthy of a sailor who had just sailed rough seas. Did I mention we ran the cart girls out of vodka twice on the course today? Mike Rittner is looking a little rough around the edges with a five o-clock shadow that is 48-hours old.
The Golfest 2010 Florida Nerve Center was located in the room of Todd Baltzley and Jim Allen. With the Magic-Celtics game on in the background, the two were busy updating the daily leaderboard, plus posting updates on Facebook, Twitter and the Golfest website. By request, everybody at home was being kept up to date. Jeffrey's score vaulted him to the top of the Golfest Leaderboard.
5/27 - World Woods Golf Club - PIne Barrens Course - Brooksville, FL ... Some of us ate breakfast at the Lodge, while others opted for something that was served up via a drive-thru window. After checking out of Bay Hill, we headed Northwest 78 miles to a town called Brooksville, home of the World Woods Golf Club. Opened in 1993, the facility has two Tom Fazio designed courses; with Pine Barren's labeled as their crown jewel. It was voted the best new course in the 
United States when it opened and comes in at number 26 on the current Top 100 list in the U.S.
Everybody assumes this place has some tie-in to Tiger Woods, but that is not the case. It was originally designed as a huge golf destination, but it never gained enough momentum to make it a "World-renown" resort. But that might be a good thing, because when you play here, you are one with nature - hence you are in the "Woods." You can't hear a car or truck driving by, or a plane overhead - just birds and the breeze rustling the pines. In fact, if someone didn't tell you that you were in Florida, you might guess you were in Michigan or North Carolina. Pine trees, rolling hills, gullies, and lots of rugged looking waste bunkers accent a natural postcard setting. The greens are large, but extremely FAST-FAST-FAST! On top of that, they had subtle undulations that caused balls to ROLL-ROLL-ROLL! It wasn't uncommon to start with an eight-foot putt for par and end up with a 10-footer coming back for bogey ... then double-bogey.
Utah's Bob Potts lit up his scorecard with a 79 in a round that featured an eagle and a pair of birdies. That would turn out to be the best round of the week. Getting the best value per stroke was Mike Calahan who grinded out a 108.
Afterwards, we aimed our front bumpers for Ponte Vedra Beach in search of the Sawgrass-Marriott, a 175 mile jaunt from one side of Florida to the other. Depending on the vehicle, it was your classic road show with stops at ATM's and liquor stores to restock. Dinner came in a variety of forms ranging from not eating, to a $30 fly-by stop at Taco Bell, to a down-under stop at Outback. If you knew a bad joke, this was the time to tell it. Most of us arrived around 11:00 p.m. The rooms were spacious and had those super-comfortable mattresses that you can sink into and disappear for a couple of days. But that wasn't going to happen, because tomorrow ... we're playing the highly anticipated Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.
5/28 - TPC Sawgrass - Stadium Course - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL ...
Sometimes our sport gets lost in the actual act of hitting a little white sphere around a glorified park. While that is good in one regard, the spirit of the game may get lost in the shuffle. Today, we not only experienced golf at its finest, but we also experienced the history and traditions that the sport really stands for. That happened at TPC Sawgrass, the home of the annual (and very popular) Players Championship.
The staff at TPC Sawgrass rolled out the red carpet for us in an incredible way. Whether it was an engraved bag tag or personal locker, setting us up with fully-engaged and informative forecaddies, to filming every shot on the 17th island green, to taking us on a private tour of the entire clubhouse ... TPC Sawgrass had us covered! No loose ends, nothing left to question ... just the ultimate golf experience on a perfectly manicured golf course. Call it what you want ... two thumbs up ... a perfect 10 ... or golf excellence!
Our compliments go out to Assistant Golf Professional Jennifer Heinz who had all aspects of our perfect golf day dialed in. Unlike many golf courses that we have visited, the staff at this TPC venue doesn't just go through the motions and mail in their 8 to 5. There is a huge sense of pride for all of the associates who work here! We felt like we were celebrities for the day. Our compliments!
As far as the Stadium Course goes, it was perfect in a way normally reserved for a facility like Augusta. Every plant and seemingly, every blade of grass was perfectly maintained. It's one of those things you appreciate when playing, but had a deeper appreciation when perusing the photographs afterwards. Nothing is out of place - anywhere! It's definitely a shot-makers course. If you don't hit your shots where they need to be, you will find yourself recreating every sand shot you've ever played, or dropping more balls than a lottery drawing. This is not an easy course.
Now the million dollar question that all of you at home are dying to ask: How did we do on the most famous hole of golf - the 17th hole island green? We played it from the same tees as the PGA tour at a yardage of 137-yards. Sound pretty simple ..., eh?? Sure it is -- if you are playing it on PlayStation 3! There are a couple of things that make it more difficult than it is. First off, there is a certain adrenalin factor that comes into play. You've seen it, you're determined to master it, and before you know it, you're swinging your eight-iron like Albert Pujols at a home run derby. Secondly, the best way to describe this hole is to call it an optical illusion. Big green, but in a bigger lake, that from the tee box presents the appearance you're hitting onto something the size of a trampoline. However, once behind the hole, you can only wonder how in the heck you missed it. Only five of our 14 golfers stuck it on the island, while nine other balls were suicidal in nature, opting to go the drowning route. Bob Potts and Art Taylor stuck it within 13 feet of the pin. No matter how you slice it (or hook it) all of our Golfestians left TPC Sawgrass with a bounce in their step and a sense of pride in the sport we play. It was a great day in paradise.
The evening was spent at the hotel. Activities were varied. Some could be heard snoring through the walls, others cooled off in the pool, a few got comfortable at the bar, a handful searched out food options, and other enjoyed a Monte Cristo on the back patio - or a combination of all of the above. After 72-holes of golf in the past 72 hours, we slept very hard. Advil and Motrin were dispensed like Milk Duds.
5/29 - Cimarrone Golf Club - Jacksonville, FL ... The Memorial Day weekend started with what can best be described as a "change of pace" day. It was a good change-up from the weekly series of events. The plan was to get to the Cimarrone Golf Club early and enjoy some leisurely breakfast, but some GPS systems had ulterior motives, resulting in 30-mile detour that gave us a better chance of getting mugged than finding a clubhouse. We still had enough time to wolf down a breakfast burrito!
Cimarrone served up a decent challenge, featuring water hazards on 17 of the 18-holes. Or better put, only one hole didn't have water! However, a low-profile scramble took a lot of pressure off the "avoid the water" game. It was more about having fun, telling more bad jokes and hitting some PGA-quality shots every once in a while. The winning team was Bob Potts, Jim Allen, Pat Calahan, and Greg Haeussler, four strokes better than second place. Much of that was due to Calahan's iron play, which was hotter than a goats butt in a pepper patch. He stuck everything tight and all the rest of the group had to do was tap 'em in. An entertaining trash-talking putt off playoff broke the tie for second. That's another 18 holes down on this trip.
5/29 - World Golf Hall of Fame - St. Augustine, FL ... About 10 minutes up the road from Cimarrone in St. Augustine is the World Golf of Fame and the World Golf Village. It is also home of the PGA Tour headquarters. If 
UFO's landed here, they might come to the cnclusion that planet earth revolves around the game of golf. (For some of us, it does!) A "take me to your leader" request would have most of us pointing at Tim Finchem, the PGA Commissioner, who occupies an office here.
After some lunch, we enjoyed a 2 1/2 hour tour of the WGHoF. Call it a walk through golf history, beginning when a balata ball was beat around a field with a stick in the early 1800's, to the high-tech equipment and players of today --- and just about everything in between. It's amazing how much technology has changed, especially in the past 20 years. How the heroes of the past were able to accomplish what they did with the gardening tools they were given is truly remarkable. I wouldn't use half the stuff for a walking stick, much less a golf club.
Also on the agenda at the WGHoF was a chance to play the challenge hole, a clone of the 17th green at TPC Sawgrass. We also tested our putting skills in an 18-hole tournament on their putting course. Jim Dee mastered a gusty wind to claim the closest to the pin contest - something he really wanted to do on the authentic #17 yesterday! The tourney took about an hour to play and Jeffrey Adkins walked away smirking as the winner. Three aces pretty much clinched it.
Dinner was served up at Caddyshack, the Murray Brother's personal tribute to their hobby and movie exploits. If you ever get a chance to visit the World Golf Village, do so! It makes for a entertaining day! ... (MORE) ...
