Mark’s Kaddy Korner

The Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic was added to the schedule last December, nobody knew much about the area or the course we would be playing, Fallen Oak. All we knew was the course was about twenty miles north of the Gulf Coast in the middle of nowhere plus the local casinos were offering players and caddies special room deals. That’s usually not a good omen for some caddies but there were no reports of anyone reporting M.I.A and only a couple reported late for duty.

The five year old Tom Fazio designed course, cut right out of the pine-oak forest, is used to entertain the Beau Rivage high-rollers, special guests, and celebrities. Steve Wynn, who developed Shadow Creek in Las Vegas, was behind the initial vision and after hearing the horror stories about the course difficulty I decided I’d better get there Monday.

Parking in our reserved lot eight miles from the course I bumped into the Dewsweepers, a local golf talk show aired on XM Radio Golf Channel, and after a little conversation they approached me about doing a weekly segment, “On The Bag”.  We taped the first piece Monday while I was sitting in a rest area north of Atlanta. Sounds like it’s going to be instructional in nature with a few stories thrown in, I’m looking forward to it.

I strolled the front nine Monday afternoon, checked into the Imperial Palace and got my bearings. My first trip to the Biloxi-Gulfport area was 1974, my how things have changed. Now there are high-rise casinos replacing the lazy mom and pop motels. The antebellum homes have been wiped out by a few hurricanes and replaced with condos. The drive along Highway 90 isn’t the same and they even moved my favorite burger joint, The Project Lounge. It’s still dark and dingy serving the best sandwiches on the coast. The only thing missing is the large collection of hats dangling from the ceiling and walls, removed for health and fire hazard reasons.

Jim wanted to meet about noon Tuesday so I walked the back nine early and joined the tour officials as they were setting up the course. Every Tuesday morning the gang rides the course discussing certain aspects of every hole, pin position, hazard markings, proper tee placements, and it’s nice to ride along, give a little input and get a heads up on what they’re thinking. As we stood on each tee box, to a man, everyone expressed how beautiful each hole was. This course is a real gem, every hole is unique and challenging, and when we come back next year the superintendant promised it would be in Augusta condition.

We hit a few balls and headed for the first tee, a challenging dogleg right par five with water down the left, bunkers everywhere, and swirling headwinds. If the wind is right it’s an easy birdie hole. Our practice round was cut short by an erratic driver and we decided to call it a day after six holes. Jim was tired and had already played the course Sunday so rest was more important than practice.

Our late afternoon Wednesday pro-am provided a lot of fun and plenty of practice. Jim has a way of loosening everyone up and by the fourth hole we’re all like long lost friends. In my twenty years I don’t think I’ve seen a more engaging pro than Jim. His amateur partners may have no clue who he is prior to the round but they walk off the eighteenth with a new friend. Behind the sixth tee box the local boys were cooking up catfish, jambalaya, deep fried turkey, and bar-b-que making it difficult to leave. We ate, chatted, and washed the great vittles down with a swallow of beer.

We were the first group off Friday morning, birdied one for the first birdie in tournament history but made an eight on the par three third for the tournament’s first “quint”, I guess that’s what you call it. There’s not much to say after a hole like that but we kept plugging, made a few birdies and then struggled coming in on the difficult finishing holes. Our 78 gave us the second tee time Saturday morning behind Doug Tewell and Bob Murphy, my old bosses.

The weekend was extremely windy and Sunday the tee times were set early to avoid the storms. The erratic driver surfaced again and boy can that mess with your mind. We managed a respectable 73 Saturday with a birdie on the third, revenging our eight, but we struggled Sunday. Paired with rookie Jodie Mudd and cagy veteran Jim Colbert it was just one of those days when nothing goes right. It was interesting watching the two. I guess, Jim was somewhat of a mentor for Jodie when he first came out on the PGA Tour. They shared stories and Jodie was continually thanking Jim for all he did for him over the years.

The parking lot was very somber and packing up wasn’t fun. At the moment it’s frustrating and we talked about the ups and downs of the game. A few days away from the course is the antidote and he’ll be ready for Birmingham next week. Golf goes in streaks. I’ve seen golfers play their worst one week and come back the next week challenging for the lead.