Mark’s Kaddy Korner

Newport Beach Country Club is one of my favorite courses on tour, too bad I have to fly to get there and it’s close to the Los Angeles area. Flying these days is no fun and the congestion in southern California creates claustrophobia, luckily I get to spend about eight hours a day on a quaint little course nestled in the foothills overlooking the Pacific Ocean. NBCC was built in 1953 and the most drastic changes are the buildings that have grown up around the course. You still have views of the ocean and snow capped mountains, and once you’re behind the clubhouse the frantic California lifestyle can’t reach you.

The CA Championship has only been coming to Doral since 2007; my first trip here was 1988. Back then the Blue Monster was probably one of the toughest courses on tour, now it ranks eighth easiest among the par 72 tracks on tour. If the wind doesn’t blow the top players in the world eat this course alive.

In the late 90’s the Doral Resort and Spa owners brought in Ray Floyd to toughen up the layout and put some teeth in the Blue Monster. He followed their orders, added some bunkers, tee boxes, and created some doglegs to challenge the tour players. After some sniveling and whining the course was softened again and Raymond took some unnecessary criticism for ruining the Blue Monster. He was only following orders and the pampered PGA Tour players couldn’t handle the challenge.

Over the years a few unknown golfers have left their mark on the Champions Tour. Some have come from overseas; Stewart Ginn and Simon Hobday won a couple of Senior majors while they were in the states. Quite a few PGA club pros did some damage and created some excitement after they qualified for the tour. Jim Albus, Lairy Laroetti, and Tom Wargo all won their share of tournaments and appealed to the underdog rooters. Recently Lonnie Nielson has picked up the slack for the aging club pros.

Driving across Alligator Alley early Tuesday morning I was staring directly into the sun and wondering what the week held. Sunday I’d hooked up with Jim Roy, some amateur who played a fabulous final round 66 at the Q-school to get his card. Could he really play? Was this going to be only a job for the week or maybe the year? What kind of guy is he? Is the pay going to be any good? All these questions were running through my head as I cruised into Boca Raton and the Old Course at Broken Sound.

In the late 80’s dirt roads surrounded the small party at TPC. Back then you could hear the coyotes yipping and roadrunners skittered across the fairways. The wildlife has changed, the golf has almost become secondary to the party, and the attendance rose drastically. The tournament the Thunderbirds reluctantly took over in 1939 under Bob Goldwater’s tutelage now claims bragging rights as the PGA Tour’s largest party and has contributed $65,000,000 to local charities.

(Just after I published this article rumors from Australia surfaced Tiger would play Accenture Match Play in Tucson, and it was also reported on local Phoenix news stations. We’ll see what happens, I’m still sticking to my guns)

Tiger is tucked away in Hattiesburg, MS trying to get his shaft under control. Over the years we’ve watched him trying to control many wayward drives. The flex in your driver shaft often determines how well you control your tee shots. Tiger’s recent flex point control issue has more serious implications on his life, children, and marriage. Who knew two months ago we would be waiting his return while he regained flex point control at Pine Grove Institute instead of a golf testing center in Carlsbad, CA?

Hey all,

The crew is cruising the West Coast without me but I’ve been trying to keep in touch with a few of my buddies. Without El Tigre the tour has had to create some more excitement and they aren’t doing it on the course.

Coming down the stretch the last three weeks with a chance to win the tournament three non-winners Bubba Watson, Tim Clark, and Michael Sim all chose to lay up on par fives essentially playing for second and the money, not the win. Phil or Tiger wouldn’t have given a thought to the lay up area. Thanks for some boring golf and yesterday’s winner Ben Crane didn’t even know he won the tournament, his caddy had to tell him. Don’t know about you guys but I love that spontaneous celebration when the putt drops.

Our Buddy Steve

San Diego may be a top tourist destination with Torrey Pines perched high on the public course list but it’s not a favorite stop for caddies. Over the years it’s been a tough walk in sloppy conditions and the temperature can be 40 degrees with howling winds along the South course coast while sunny and warm on the North course. It’s a tough place to pull a club and find a sprinkler head, they never bothered putting numbers on the heads and the circling winds, heavy air, and subtle elevation changes leave many Titleists great distances from the target.

A Round of Golf with Brett Favre

Boers and Bernstein, or as my college educated daughter calls them “Boring and Beefcakes”, were bad mouthing Brett Favre earlier this week. Listening for ten or fifteen minutes because that’s all I can handle, I realized their opinion was probably based on media hype, anti-Packer/Viking  sentiment, a tinge of jealousy, and the jaded view from their soapbox because they never step down among us. Their opinion is all that matters, they love to hear themselves talk.

He's Even Skinnier Now

John Daly is back: Lean & Mean Outside, Big Heart Inside

They wouldn’t let him in the Hawaiian Open pro-am party Tuesday night because nobody recognized him. He’s lost over a hundred pounds and rededicated himself, hopefully John sticks to it. He’s on his last leg, and at 44 years old his competitive years are not many. Watching the Hawaiian Open’s first two rounds made me realize what a draw JD is.