The Sixth or So Annual ‘Greenspan Cup’ One-Club Open

JFK Class of 1987: Tim O’Brien, Joel Aro, me and Derek Orozco.

Today I hosted the Sixth or So Annual “Greenspan Cup” One-Club Open at Heron Links Golf Course in Redmond. Me and seventeen of my closest friends (not really) teed it up on the par 3 course at Willows Run with a single club and a putter. My Greenspan Cup teammates Jeff Benezra and Chris White won low gross honors and took home the big money. I won a KP good for $15. This was the sixth or so time I’ve held the event, the first time I’ve done it any time other than the Christmas season. (Click here for the 2010 version.) The change worked out well and I think most everyone who attended had a great time.

Jeff Benezra fired a gross 28 on the second nine.

As fun as the event was, it wasn’t without its disappointments — particularly the turnout. At one point twenty-eight players had committed to play, a solid six more than last year. After a reminder e-mail last week, however, the “committed” players started dropping like flies. The excuses ranged from “I cut my finger” to “something came up” (2) to “I’m playing in another tournament” (2) to — well, you get the idea. As disappointing was the turnout from Greenspan Cup players. Of the twenty-eight players scheduled to play Greenspan XVI, 21 of them live in or near Seattle. Of those, only five — myself, Joel Aro, Tim O’Brien, Chris White and newcomer Derek Orozco — played in the One Club. Hence the reason that Greenspan Cup is in quotation marks above. While a few players and longtime friends of mine can be excused because they were out of town (Mike Waldner, John Harrison), the absence of several others was, after sixteen years, a bit disappointing. Almost as bad — six of the 21 didn’t even bother to send a “thanks but no thanks” reply to several e-mail invitations.

Their loss. After all, the guys who weren’t there didn’t get to see my new bow tie.

I debuted my new bow tie from China by way of Ebay.

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The Spring Kickoff at SPCC

Today I braved the elements to play in the 2013 Spring Kickoff at Sand Point Country Club. I detailed the event on SandPointCup.com — the most relevant facts are (1) I chaired the event, and (2) my team didn’t win. I did, however, debut my azalea pink pants:

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A Perfect Father/Son Afternoon

This afternoon Finn and I had one of those perfect father/son afternoons. After my post-yoga shower we hit Sand Point. First stop was the driving range, where Finn continues to improve his game:

After a quick golf cart ride

we enjoyed bowls of tomato basil in SPCC’s dining room

where we were the only guests.

Not a bad afternoon for this son and dad.

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Golf in LA

I can’t say I love LA. But as a golf destination, it ain’t bad.

So I’ve concluded after spending the last three days on a guys golf trip in sunny So Cal. The other guys were Sand Point Country Club pro Craig Hunter and former SPCC GM Simon Spratley. The courses were — well, unbelievable.

On Day 1 we played the North and South courses at Los Angeles Country Club. LACC member Ken Baronsky was our host, and we had a blast. I shot 83 and 82 — both of which would have been sub 80′s had it not been for a sloppy blow-up hole in each round.

The gorgeous clubhouse at Los Angeles Country Club.

My tee shot to the par three no. 9.

On Day 2 we ventured up to Santa Barbara for a round at the ultra-exclusive Valley Club at Montecito. The view from (and of) the clubhouse was truly breathtaking. I shot 78 that day. After the round we (at least Craig and Simon) enjoyed a few cold ones on the Santa Barbara Pier.

The tie look I adopted for Old Tom Morris attire day didn’t last long in the 90+ degree heat.

On the driving range at The Valley Club.

On my way to a 38 on the front nine.

It wasn’t all golf.

On Day 3 we played Bel Air Country Club. I shot 77 that day and hit it about as well as I have in a while. Only a couple of poor club selections kept me out of the low to mid 70′s.

Craig, me and Simon in front of Katherine Hepburn’s former house at Bel-Air.

A self portrait at Venice Beach.

The only course we missed was Riviera.

Can you say “next trip”?

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The Can-Am Cup

Yesterday I joined thirteen other Americans to form Team USA in the fifteenth annual Can-Am GM Cup out at Overlake Golf and Country Club. The general gist: fourteen general managers of Canadian golf clubs against fourteen general managers of American golf clubs. Team USA had a few last-minute cancellations, so my Canadian buddy and former Sand Point CC GM Simon Spratley invited me in as a substitute.

I — and Team USA — are glad he did. I played reasonably well and shot 79 to win all three points in my match against Canadian Frank Asin. Team USA prevailed in the event 24.5 — 21.5, red, white and blue’s third straight win in the event.

The victorious American team. The guy third from the right in the front (stone-colored pants) is none other than famed golf course architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr.

Team Canada. The guy second from the left in the red hat is my buddy Simon Spratley.

The highlight of my day, however, wasn’t winning three points or even being on the winning team. It was meeting and speaking to famed golf course architect Robert Trent Jones, Jr. Mr. Jones’ resume is dazzling: the most recent addition to it — Chambers Bay, where I played last week. He shared with me his text conversation with USGA head Mike Davis about upcoming changes to Chambers for the 2015 U.S. Open. Not everyone can say they’ve had that experience.

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The Royal Oaks Member-Guest, 2012 Version

Last night I got home after spending three days in Vancouver, Washington. My business there was the 2012 Royal Oaks Member-Guest golf tournament, my fourth straight appearance there (see the ’11 entry) and something like my sixth overall. This year my regular partner Paul Sharkey was out of town so I played with fellow Greenspan Cup buddy Jon Gaston.

With my regular ROMG partner Paul Sharkey out of town, this year I paired with my good buddy Jon Gaston.

Different partner, same result.

We didn’t win.

It’s not like we didn’t have our chances. We jumped right out of the gate early with a 15-5 drubbing of our first-round opponents and followed it up with a 13-7 win in the second round. We were three up through three in our third match — and then something happened. Not sure what, exactly, but we lost five of the next six holes on our way to losing 13-7 to the eventual flight winners. Even still we were tied for first in our flight going in to the last day.

Saturday uniforms by Maybelline.

We just didn’t get it done.

We were up two after two and then proceeded to completely collapse and lose 13-7 in the fourth round. We needed a miracle to advance in the final round and a 10-10 tie wasn’t it. We ended up with 52 points, good for third in our six-team flight. Two wins, two losses and a tie. Not what either of us were shooting for.

As with other Royal Oaks Member-Guests, however, I’ll take fond memories from the trip. I stayed with Jon and Annette Gaston for the full three days and they could not have treated me better. We came in third in Thursday afternoon horse race, my highest finish in quite a while. In that horse race I hole a seemingly impossible flop shot in an eight-team playoff to advance to the finals — and took quite a few high fives thereafter. I followed that up on Friday afternoon with what had to be one of the shots of my life. I was only seventy yards from the green on no. 15 but I was in deep rough and the tree limbs in front of me precluded hitting one in the air. My solution: hit it into the bunker with enough speed that it would pop up and stop on the green. Magically it worked — and it stopped just six feet from the hole, a shot for the ages if ever there was one.

A barely adequate performance on Saturday morning had me bound for the train station on Saturday afternoon.

Unfortunately our opponent made his twenty footer for birdie and I missed mine on the high side. The story of our tournament.

And like the saying goes, until next year …

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Greenspan Cup XV

It’s getting old typing this, but it was another year and another loss for the Seattle Team in Greenspan Cup. We were a little closer this time — one loss turned into a win would have made our 19-17 loss an 18-18 tie — but unfortunately that’s not what happened. I shoulder some of the blame: my 2-3 record was my worst since 2007 — coincidentally, the last time we won.

A few pics:

Gaston, Whitaker, Stonesifer and me posing for a collective self portrait.

Suncadia’s Rope Rider course was a group favorite.

Our Saturday salmon shirts got my vote for best Greenspan shirts ever.

The Friday- and Saturday night barbecue deliveries were a big hit.

After four lousy rounds I finally played well in my singles match: I beat Rob Stonesifer 4&3.

Whitaker and Stonesifer (not shown) missed the team photo.

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Whipping It Out Again: Updating My Twenty-Five Favorite Courses List

Hitting my second tee ball at Cruden Bay, my favorite course in the world.

Last year, in a post of interest to virtually no one other than me, I listed my twenty-five favorite courses in the world. (Check it out.)  Now that I’ve played thirteen courses in Scotland (a few photos), I’m updating it:

1. Cruden Bay (Cruden Bay, Scotland). If there’s a more fun course on the planet I’d love to know what it is.
2. North Berwick (West)(North Berwick, Scotland). Back nine is the most enjoyable nine holes I’ve ever played.
T3. Royal Dornoch (Dornoch, Scotland.). Other-worldly.
T3. Prestwick (Prestwick, Scotland.) Very eccentric and about as historic as it gets.
5. Muirfield (East Lothian, Scotland) Probably the strongest course I’ve ever played.
6. Turnberry (Ayshire, Scotland.) Has the beauty and course quality, but lacks Cruden Bay and North Berwick’s fun factor.
7. Bandon Dunes (Bandon, OR). Probably not as great as its Pacific Dunes sibling, but considerably more enjoyable.
8. St. Andrews (Old)(St. Andrews, Scotland.) Makes my top ten because it is the Old Course, but truth be told its true greatness escaped me.
9. Chambers Bay (Tacoma, WA). Too bad I can only afford to play it once a year max.
10. Los Angeles CC (North) (Los Angeles, CA). Only played LACC once (in 1993), but I remember it to be incredible.
11. Pacific Dunes (Bandon, OR). The best course I’d ever played until I went to Scotland.
12. Royal Aberdeen (Aberdeen, Scotland.) Not as memorable as many of the other Scottish courses, but I remember it enough to know it was outstanding.
13. Royal Oaks CC (Vancouver, WA). Put the Oaks near a major East Coast city and it’s a top 100 in the U.S. for sure.
14. Musashigaoka (near Tokyo, Japan). Click here to see pics of me, Sharkey and Norman there in ’04.
15. Victoria CC (Victoria, BC). Holes 7-10 are among the best stretch around.
16. Bandon Trails (Bandon, OR). Would be 4-5 places higher on this list but for the fun factor.
17. Old MacDonald (Bandon, OR). Top 100 in the world, I’m sure Old Mac will wear on me in the years ahead.
18. Predator Ridge (Predator)(Kelowna, BC). Oft-times host of the Canadian Skins Game, Predator would have a much greater reputation but for its location.
19. Kingsbarns (Kingsbarns, Scotland.) Would rank it higher but it lacks the intangible vibe required of Scottish courses.
20. Gold Mountain (Olympic) (Bremerton, WA). Has to be one of the top 25 muni’s in the country.
21. Lancaster CC (Lancaster, PA). Site of the 2015 Women’s U.S. Open, I last played here in 1994 with my buddy and LCC member Tom Ix. As traditional as layouts get.
22. Bandon Crossings (Bandon, OR). Underrated because of its distant cousins at Bandon Dunes, Crossings is a far better track than, say, Oregon’s nationally-acclaimed Crosswater.
23. Bear Mountain GC (Victoria, BC). Unwalkable, but tee to green with a cart BM is pretty solid. Seventeenth hole is one of the best risk-reward par fours I’ve played.
24. Suncadia (Prospector) (Roslyn, WA.) Site of my 5&4 win over Tim O’Brien in 2009, one of the best rounds I’ve ever played.
25. Mauna Kea (Kohala Coast, HI). As a nationally-renowned course this should be considerably higher on my list, but I just don’t remember it very well.

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Back From Scotland

Two days ago I returned from Seattle to Scotland 2012. Two weeks, eight guys, sixteen rounds, from Turnberry:

to Muirfield:

the trip of a lifetime.

On that trip we took 2,500+ pics. I posted virtually all of them on the fly to the Seattle to Scotland 2012 Shutterfly site. I’ve also since pulled some of my favorites to Snapfish.

There will be enough pictures from the trip in Casa de Jenkins that I need not waste the disc space posting them here.

Up next: lessons learned.

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Callaway Nailed It

Couldn’t have said it better myself:

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