This is the first opportunity that I've had to post all weekend...we started a home improvement project bright and early Saturday morning...7AM and the work commenced...
We ripped out the blue/grey hi/lo carpeting that we installed about five years ago that NEVER looked quite right, and put in Armstrong/Exotics/Tiger Maple laminate hardwood floors from PriceFloor.com...
The living room is about 90% completed, but I just decorated our Charlie Brown Christmas tree at about 10PM on Christmas Eve...we only bought it two nights ago from the Conejo Valley YMCA Christmas tree lot on the corner of Agoura Road and Kanan Road, and it's been in the kitchenette ever since....
The flooring is BEAUTIFUL, and makes the house look SO much larger, cleaner and more attractive...
One of the cool parts about living in Southern California is that it was 80 degrees today...we worked on the flooring with Wayne, our handyman from 7AM til noon, and then ran out to finish up some Christmas shopping...the malls were WAY less busy than we expected, but the day was AMAZING...it was SO warm and pleasant - I LOVE living in Southern California, even though it doesn't feel like the "traditional" Christmas, but it's SO awesome being able to finish your Christmas shopping in t-shirts and shorts!!!
Merry Christmas, and best wishes for a Happy New Year to all!
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Day 3 and 4 - Target World Challenge
OK, without further ado, I've procrastinated enough, and it's time to let the story be told - Saturday was a WILD day at the Target World Challenge, and it wasn't just the WEATHER that was wild...
First of all, the weather forecast was for rain to move in after 3PM, so all of the volunteers figured that we had it made...we'd get our day in by 2PM-ish, and be outta there and safely home to watch the day's action on TiVo by the time the liquid sunshine started falling.....WRONGGGGG!!!
We were chomping on our doughnuts (The KrispyKreme's were SORELY missed this year, by the way...the master developer for Southern California and KrispyKreme Korporate are both having difficulties, and many of the KrispyKreme outlets are now vacant...and therefore, we had "traditional" doughnuts this year...hmphhhh....) at about 9AM when the first exploratory raindrops began to dance on the roof of the big white volunteer tent...
By 9:15, they weren't just dancing, they were doing the CHARLESTON, and the bulky, yellow 'Target' ponchos were being distributed...
Fortunately, I had gotten to Sherwood Country Club EARLY that day (to beat the weekend traffic), and had time enough to catch the shuttle DOWN to the parking lot, grab my large MicroStrategy umbrella, and make it back to the volunteer base of operations by splashdown time...
By the time we got out to #6, the rain was coming down quite steadily, the wind was picking up, and it was turning into a raw, cold morning...
All the players were significantly shorter off the tee on Saturday morning, and Colin Montgomerie was the one player who corkscrewed his drive left into the base of the hill that I was working past the crossover...
Now it's important to mention that I and my partner on the left fairway had agreed that we were going to run a tight ship on the spectators that use the cart path above the sixth fairway, while they make their way down to the large viewing area at the green...ESPECIALLY for Colin Montgomerie, who prefers the quiet of a library when taking his shot...even though birds chirp, dogs bark, people shuffle and the wind blows outside on a golf course...nevertheless, we were bound and determined to provide him with the peace and tranquility of a diamond-cutter's studio to the best of our abilities...at least that was our INTENT...
People don't realize that the noise from their footsteps and casual conversations TOTALLY funnel down the hills into the fairways, and the players can hear it all...trust me, I've been down on the course with the players as a standard bearer and walking scorer, and YOU HEAR IT down there!!!
So here we are...the wind is blowing hard...people want to get out of the open areas and under the trees where there's a bit more shelter, and people want to leapfrog the pairings ahead of Tiger so they can see Tiger play through...and Colin's group was ahead of Tiger's on Saturday, and so were Tiger's fans...and Colin's ball was BURIED in the deep-shtuff at the bottom of the hill alongside the left side of fairway #6...
You could barely see the top of the ball, and the grass was long, wild and WET from the rain...as I watched the ball settle comfortably into its little grass nest at the bottom of the hill, I scampered down the wet hillside, umbrella in hand - pointed into the wind, which was howling up the fairway from the tee to the green.
When I got to the ball, I looked for Roy, my partner to coordinate our crowd control efforts. He had stayed up by the cart path to direct traffic, while I scampered down to the ball to point it out to Mr. Montgomerie. When I got down there, I looked up the fairway to check his line into the green...not a prayer, as he hadn't hit it far enough to clear a crown in the fairway, and his line to the pin was blocked by an overhanging oak tree that guards the left side of the green...I assessed the situation, and determined that he had to take his medicine, and lay up to within 100 yards on the right side of the fairway and improve his shot into the pin to take a par and move on...to make matters WORSE, the ball was a good 4-6 inches below where his feet would be on the hillside, making a blocked shot to the right quite possible, given that lie....
"Monty" purposefully strode up to where I was standing, that ever-present pained expression on his face. I had been tempted to offer a pleasant comment about the weather being a taste of "home" (Scotland), but when I saw his dour expression, I simply pointed out the position of ball in the salad, and started to scamper back up the hill, to my position near the crossover.
To my HORROR, "Monty" evidently made a quick assessment of the situation, and possibly out of frustration with the outcome of his drive, waited for his caddy to appear with the bag, extracted his weapon of choice, and with one swift, smooth, fluid move went RIGHT INTO HIS STANCE and TOOK HIS SWING!!! (He DOES have a BEAUTIFUL swing, by the way...)
No practice swing to gauge the depth of the shtuff, no deliberations with his caddy, NOTHING - just STRAIGHT INTO HIS SWING!!!!
Roy's view of the goings-on was blocked by his umbrella and the natural vegetation on the hillside between the cart path and the ball's location at the base of the hillside. Worse, a large group of spectators was moving towards him, many talking loudly about the weather and all moving quickly to get to the next stand of trees that would provide them with protection from the rain and wind, which was growing in intensity by the moment.
At the VERY instant of the beginning of "Monty's" hatily executed downswing, the crowd surged forward on the cart path and Roy LOUDLY called out "Stand, please!", in an effort to create a quiet environment for "Monty" to work his magic...the ball squirted out of the salad, to the right, but probably to within 125 yards into the flagstick...altogether NOT a bad shot, given the lousy weather conditions, and that the ball was just a fleck of white surrounded by a tangle of long, swirly grass stalks that OBVIOUSLY hadn't been mowed in a week and a half...maybe more...
"Monty" was VISIBLY upset at the sound that had been uttered right at the start of his downswing, and he WHEELED to stare at the SCOUNDREL who had DARED utter that SOUND during his swing...
Realizing that he had just inadvertently done EXACTLY the opposite of what we had agreed to do for Mr. Montgomerie, Roy started down the hill, visibly shaken, stuttering an apology for his inadvertent transgression. At THAT exact moment, a large gust of wind WRENCHED Roy's umbrella from his grasp, and it cartwheeled crazily down the hillside, headed RIGHT for Mr. Montgomerie, who continued to stand at the bottom of the hill, GLARING up the hill, his gaze BURNING holes into Roy with laser-like intensity...incinerating his victim with his visual death-rays (death-Roys???). FORTUNATELY, the golf tiki prevented the wayward umbrella from careening down the hill INTO Mr. Montgomerie, but it stopped close enough to him that it fueled his fire for ANOTHER five to ten seconds, which felt like minutes for me AND Roy...
"Monty" finally exacted his punishment on his victim, and stalked off, muttering under his breath, and angrily swinging his club at the damp earth, while he walked to his ball, now resting safely on the right side of the fairway, about 125-135 yards out from the pin...
I don't know for sure, because I had to talk Roy out of committing Hara-kiri right there on the hillside, but he was distraught for the remainder of the day...heck, he was still self-flaggelating on SUNDAY morning...but I THINK that, to his credit, "Monty" salvaged par on the hole.
I told him that if this had been baseball, "Monty" would have committed a "quick-pitch", and Roy's action was well-intentioned, and he had not committed an intentional action intended to interfere with "Monty's" shot...his view was impeded by the natural hillside vegetation, and the crowd surged upon him in an attempt to get out of the deteriorating weather conditions...and "Monty" had taken his shot MUCH more quickly than one would expect, especially given his lousy lie...
Needless to say, "Monty" reported Roy through whatever channels exist to report such matters, and the volunteer chairman approached me when we were working #15 in the afternoon to get my report on what transpired. After hearing my explanation, the complaint was basically dismissed as one of "Monty's" hissy-fits...it's kind of sad, but "Monty's" proclivity to complain about EVERY little noise, motion or perceived slight on the course works against him, and REAL complaints get lost in all the noise from the perceived slights....
That was it for the on-course fireworks for us for the weekend...everything else was pretty routine. I got on television from a distance on #15 on Saturday, and I'm the bright white spot on the back hillside because I was wearing a long-sleeved white turtleneck under my black volunteer polo shirt...
The other big news was that I shared the Heinz ketchup bottle with Wayne Gretzky at the snack stand outside #15 on Sunday afternoon. I put the bottle down, and Wayne reached out to intercept it from me as I was putting it down...he was wearing a free Grey Goose Vodka baseball hat and I immediately recognized him from seeing him around town....
One of the volunteers that I've worked with for the last five years or so used to work at the same CPA firm that I started my career with, and he's now a VP with Countrywide Financial Corporation. Dave and I requested the early January volunteer "play date", and we're playing with Jan from 21st Century Insurance.
I'll take pictures next week during our round, and post our day's experience at that time....my goal THIS year is to play the round with the same SLEEVE of balls that I start with, and hopefully to break 100... Sherwood is a beautiful, UNFORGIVING course with smallish, potato-chip greens that have roller-coaster breaks that make it difficult to score well on...it REALLY makes you appreciate the pros ability when they end up SO far below par, and they play from the TIPS, while we mere mortals play from the WHITE tees...
First of all, the weather forecast was for rain to move in after 3PM, so all of the volunteers figured that we had it made...we'd get our day in by 2PM-ish, and be outta there and safely home to watch the day's action on TiVo by the time the liquid sunshine started falling.....WRONGGGGG!!!
We were chomping on our doughnuts (The KrispyKreme's were SORELY missed this year, by the way...the master developer for Southern California and KrispyKreme Korporate are both having difficulties, and many of the KrispyKreme outlets are now vacant...and therefore, we had "traditional" doughnuts this year...hmphhhh....) at about 9AM when the first exploratory raindrops began to dance on the roof of the big white volunteer tent...
By 9:15, they weren't just dancing, they were doing the CHARLESTON, and the bulky, yellow 'Target' ponchos were being distributed...
Fortunately, I had gotten to Sherwood Country Club EARLY that day (to beat the weekend traffic), and had time enough to catch the shuttle DOWN to the parking lot, grab my large MicroStrategy umbrella, and make it back to the volunteer base of operations by splashdown time...
By the time we got out to #6, the rain was coming down quite steadily, the wind was picking up, and it was turning into a raw, cold morning...
All the players were significantly shorter off the tee on Saturday morning, and Colin Montgomerie was the one player who corkscrewed his drive left into the base of the hill that I was working past the crossover...
Now it's important to mention that I and my partner on the left fairway had agreed that we were going to run a tight ship on the spectators that use the cart path above the sixth fairway, while they make their way down to the large viewing area at the green...ESPECIALLY for Colin Montgomerie, who prefers the quiet of a library when taking his shot...even though birds chirp, dogs bark, people shuffle and the wind blows outside on a golf course...nevertheless, we were bound and determined to provide him with the peace and tranquility of a diamond-cutter's studio to the best of our abilities...at least that was our INTENT...
People don't realize that the noise from their footsteps and casual conversations TOTALLY funnel down the hills into the fairways, and the players can hear it all...trust me, I've been down on the course with the players as a standard bearer and walking scorer, and YOU HEAR IT down there!!!
So here we are...the wind is blowing hard...people want to get out of the open areas and under the trees where there's a bit more shelter, and people want to leapfrog the pairings ahead of Tiger so they can see Tiger play through...and Colin's group was ahead of Tiger's on Saturday, and so were Tiger's fans...and Colin's ball was BURIED in the deep-shtuff at the bottom of the hill alongside the left side of fairway #6...
You could barely see the top of the ball, and the grass was long, wild and WET from the rain...as I watched the ball settle comfortably into its little grass nest at the bottom of the hill, I scampered down the wet hillside, umbrella in hand - pointed into the wind, which was howling up the fairway from the tee to the green.
When I got to the ball, I looked for Roy, my partner to coordinate our crowd control efforts. He had stayed up by the cart path to direct traffic, while I scampered down to the ball to point it out to Mr. Montgomerie. When I got down there, I looked up the fairway to check his line into the green...not a prayer, as he hadn't hit it far enough to clear a crown in the fairway, and his line to the pin was blocked by an overhanging oak tree that guards the left side of the green...I assessed the situation, and determined that he had to take his medicine, and lay up to within 100 yards on the right side of the fairway and improve his shot into the pin to take a par and move on...to make matters WORSE, the ball was a good 4-6 inches below where his feet would be on the hillside, making a blocked shot to the right quite possible, given that lie....
"Monty" purposefully strode up to where I was standing, that ever-present pained expression on his face. I had been tempted to offer a pleasant comment about the weather being a taste of "home" (Scotland), but when I saw his dour expression, I simply pointed out the position of ball in the salad, and started to scamper back up the hill, to my position near the crossover.
To my HORROR, "Monty" evidently made a quick assessment of the situation, and possibly out of frustration with the outcome of his drive, waited for his caddy to appear with the bag, extracted his weapon of choice, and with one swift, smooth, fluid move went RIGHT INTO HIS STANCE and TOOK HIS SWING!!! (He DOES have a BEAUTIFUL swing, by the way...)
No practice swing to gauge the depth of the shtuff, no deliberations with his caddy, NOTHING - just STRAIGHT INTO HIS SWING!!!!
Roy's view of the goings-on was blocked by his umbrella and the natural vegetation on the hillside between the cart path and the ball's location at the base of the hillside. Worse, a large group of spectators was moving towards him, many talking loudly about the weather and all moving quickly to get to the next stand of trees that would provide them with protection from the rain and wind, which was growing in intensity by the moment.
At the VERY instant of the beginning of "Monty's" hatily executed downswing, the crowd surged forward on the cart path and Roy LOUDLY called out "Stand, please!", in an effort to create a quiet environment for "Monty" to work his magic...the ball squirted out of the salad, to the right, but probably to within 125 yards into the flagstick...altogether NOT a bad shot, given the lousy weather conditions, and that the ball was just a fleck of white surrounded by a tangle of long, swirly grass stalks that OBVIOUSLY hadn't been mowed in a week and a half...maybe more...
"Monty" was VISIBLY upset at the sound that had been uttered right at the start of his downswing, and he WHEELED to stare at the SCOUNDREL who had DARED utter that SOUND during his swing...
Realizing that he had just inadvertently done EXACTLY the opposite of what we had agreed to do for Mr. Montgomerie, Roy started down the hill, visibly shaken, stuttering an apology for his inadvertent transgression. At THAT exact moment, a large gust of wind WRENCHED Roy's umbrella from his grasp, and it cartwheeled crazily down the hillside, headed RIGHT for Mr. Montgomerie, who continued to stand at the bottom of the hill, GLARING up the hill, his gaze BURNING holes into Roy with laser-like intensity...incinerating his victim with his visual death-rays (death-Roys???). FORTUNATELY, the golf tiki prevented the wayward umbrella from careening down the hill INTO Mr. Montgomerie, but it stopped close enough to him that it fueled his fire for ANOTHER five to ten seconds, which felt like minutes for me AND Roy...
"Monty" finally exacted his punishment on his victim, and stalked off, muttering under his breath, and angrily swinging his club at the damp earth, while he walked to his ball, now resting safely on the right side of the fairway, about 125-135 yards out from the pin...
I don't know for sure, because I had to talk Roy out of committing Hara-kiri right there on the hillside, but he was distraught for the remainder of the day...heck, he was still self-flaggelating on SUNDAY morning...but I THINK that, to his credit, "Monty" salvaged par on the hole.
I told him that if this had been baseball, "Monty" would have committed a "quick-pitch", and Roy's action was well-intentioned, and he had not committed an intentional action intended to interfere with "Monty's" shot...his view was impeded by the natural hillside vegetation, and the crowd surged upon him in an attempt to get out of the deteriorating weather conditions...and "Monty" had taken his shot MUCH more quickly than one would expect, especially given his lousy lie...
Needless to say, "Monty" reported Roy through whatever channels exist to report such matters, and the volunteer chairman approached me when we were working #15 in the afternoon to get my report on what transpired. After hearing my explanation, the complaint was basically dismissed as one of "Monty's" hissy-fits...it's kind of sad, but "Monty's" proclivity to complain about EVERY little noise, motion or perceived slight on the course works against him, and REAL complaints get lost in all the noise from the perceived slights....
That was it for the on-course fireworks for us for the weekend...everything else was pretty routine. I got on television from a distance on #15 on Saturday, and I'm the bright white spot on the back hillside because I was wearing a long-sleeved white turtleneck under my black volunteer polo shirt...
The other big news was that I shared the Heinz ketchup bottle with Wayne Gretzky at the snack stand outside #15 on Sunday afternoon. I put the bottle down, and Wayne reached out to intercept it from me as I was putting it down...he was wearing a free Grey Goose Vodka baseball hat and I immediately recognized him from seeing him around town....
One of the volunteers that I've worked with for the last five years or so used to work at the same CPA firm that I started my career with, and he's now a VP with Countrywide Financial Corporation. Dave and I requested the early January volunteer "play date", and we're playing with Jan from 21st Century Insurance.
I'll take pictures next week during our round, and post our day's experience at that time....my goal THIS year is to play the round with the same SLEEVE of balls that I start with, and hopefully to break 100... Sherwood is a beautiful, UNFORGIVING course with smallish, potato-chip greens that have roller-coaster breaks that make it difficult to score well on...it REALLY makes you appreciate the pros ability when they end up SO far below par, and they play from the TIPS, while we mere mortals play from the WHITE tees...
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Day 2 - 2006 Target World Challenge
It was only 74 degrees with high clouds out on the course Friday at the Target World Challenge.
Hey, you know what? Tiger Woods is a REALLY good golfer!!! And you know what else??? Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a GOLF TOURNAMENT on our hands here...almost half the 16 player field is within four strokes of guess who...
So is Padraig Harrington - today was Padraig's day as he was 5 under for the round, and Chris DiMarco and Tiger were 4 under for the day...
It was about 54 degrees when I got to the course at about 8:30 AM, and the amount of traffic was significantly higher than yesterday, which was surprising for a Friday. Many of the volunteers said that today FELT like a Saturday, but that was probably because there was so much movement on the board. What started as the Henrik Stenson show is now much more interesting, as Tiger currently holds the lead, and almost half the field of 16 is within striking distance of #1...
TODAY'S totally cool thing that happened to me was a couple of Tiger's inner circle sightings...
I was working the sixth hole crossover, which is a major shortcut from the major traffic pattern alongside #6. We allow the spectators to cut over the fairway on six to get to the middle of the fairway on seven, which is a HUGE timesaver, and allows them to see the approach into #6, the drive landing area on #7 and the approach into the green on 7, too.
Well, Tiger's pairing ALWAYS has a huge crowd, and it grows day by day...on Sunday it's literally about ten people deep...
I had put the rope back up and Tiger had put a three wood out about 310 yards, and Henrik Stenson had driven his about 300 yards. The two golfers passed below us, and I turned to make a comment to whoever was to my left on the other side of the ropes, and as I turned to see who was there, I first noticed a broad-brimmed visor.....
Then I looked more closely to see who was wearing the visor, because it looked familiar...
It was Tiger's MOM, Kultida Woods!!! I was in the midst of golf ROYALTY...
I hope I didn't actually make the recoiling sensation that I FELT, but I immediately forgot whatever stupid comment I was GOING to make, and instead greeted her warmly with something like "Mrs. Woods!!! How nice to see you!!! How are you today?"
Realizing that THIS probably was a once-in-a-lifetime moment, I reached for my black Sharpie pen that I keep clipped to my button placket and asked, "Mrs. Woods, would you please autograph the back of my volunteer badge?"
Her response was precious - she replied "I'll go one BETTER - I'll give you one of these - I'll give you a Tiger Woods PIN!" and she proceeded to reach into her handbag and procure a small, gold lapel pin. It has an image of a Tiger's eye and stripes on the left side, and the interlocked "TW" logo like on the Nike golf apparel on the right side in a tiny little Ziploc bag.
I thanked her profusely, and by that time the guys had hit their approach shots into #6, and it was OK to take down the ropes and open up the crossover to #7. Mrs. Woods and her entourage made their way down the slope and across the fairway and up the hill on the other side to #7 along with about 150 other spectators...it was probably 30 seconds, but it was a MEMORABLE 30 seconds...
THANK YOU again, Mrs. Woods! The pin is a keeper!!!
After we finish up crowd management on six, we cross over to the street behind the #7 green, and grab a Chevy Yukon SUV for a ride over to #15, which is probably close to a mile away...today we had to wait for the rest of the crew, so our shuttle driver (Andrew) and I went through the concession line and grabbed a hotdog and a Diet Coke for the ride over...since I'm one of the more LIMBER team members, I usually grab the spot in the very back of the Yukon...and while I'm back there applying my relish to the hotdog, who ELSE should happen by???
The OTHER woman in Tiger's life, ELIN!!! HOLY SMOKES - in the span of five minutes, I talked to Tiger's Mom, and had Tiger's WIFE walk right past where I was having my lunch!!! How cool is THAT???
I saw the younger Mrs. Woods AGAIN, with her entourage as they bypassed #15 to go on ahead to #16 - that's twice in one day...I've worked this event for at least the last seven years, and this is the first day that I've actually seen Elin in person....Tiger IS a lucky man...
Since I worked the green yesterday, today I was assigned to work the player chute, which is a special roped off area that leads to the teebox on #15...it wasn't as much fun as yesterday, because I only got to see a couple of shots land, and no putts, so I didn't get as involved who did what at the hole...
The weather's supposed to deteriorate Saturday afternoon, so I'm going to try to get assigned down to the green for the weekend, because the wind's supposed to be running 15-25 mph on Saturday afternoon, and it swirls alongside the canyon walls that delineate the hole, frequently altering the flight of the ball and making for some interesting shot outcomes...
The GOOD news is that Weather.com says that the rain is supposed to hold off until 3PM, and we've been wrapping up our days about 2-2:15PM, so we might avoid getting damp tomorrow...I hope so...I've done it before, and it's not much fun to get soaked out on the course...
We get our "play dates" signups tomorrow...the volunteers get to PLAY a free round at Sherwood in January, and we get to request our dates tomorrow...I'm probably going to request the first available date, because the second date is late in the month, and I don't want to be rained out...I'm gonna play the odds and hope that the nice weather that we usually get right around New Years will go on for about ten days...it's a gamble either way, but remembering all the rainy days at the Nissan Open in late Jan/early Feb, I'm thinking that early Jan. is the way to go...
Hey, you know what? Tiger Woods is a REALLY good golfer!!! And you know what else??? Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a GOLF TOURNAMENT on our hands here...almost half the 16 player field is within four strokes of guess who...
So is Padraig Harrington - today was Padraig's day as he was 5 under for the round, and Chris DiMarco and Tiger were 4 under for the day...
It was about 54 degrees when I got to the course at about 8:30 AM, and the amount of traffic was significantly higher than yesterday, which was surprising for a Friday. Many of the volunteers said that today FELT like a Saturday, but that was probably because there was so much movement on the board. What started as the Henrik Stenson show is now much more interesting, as Tiger currently holds the lead, and almost half the field of 16 is within striking distance of #1...
TODAY'S totally cool thing that happened to me was a couple of Tiger's inner circle sightings...
I was working the sixth hole crossover, which is a major shortcut from the major traffic pattern alongside #6. We allow the spectators to cut over the fairway on six to get to the middle of the fairway on seven, which is a HUGE timesaver, and allows them to see the approach into #6, the drive landing area on #7 and the approach into the green on 7, too.
Well, Tiger's pairing ALWAYS has a huge crowd, and it grows day by day...on Sunday it's literally about ten people deep...
I had put the rope back up and Tiger had put a three wood out about 310 yards, and Henrik Stenson had driven his about 300 yards. The two golfers passed below us, and I turned to make a comment to whoever was to my left on the other side of the ropes, and as I turned to see who was there, I first noticed a broad-brimmed visor.....
Then I looked more closely to see who was wearing the visor, because it looked familiar...
It was Tiger's MOM, Kultida Woods!!! I was in the midst of golf ROYALTY...
I hope I didn't actually make the recoiling sensation that I FELT, but I immediately forgot whatever stupid comment I was GOING to make, and instead greeted her warmly with something like "Mrs. Woods!!! How nice to see you!!! How are you today?"
Realizing that THIS probably was a once-in-a-lifetime moment, I reached for my black Sharpie pen that I keep clipped to my button placket and asked, "Mrs. Woods, would you please autograph the back of my volunteer badge?"
Her response was precious - she replied "I'll go one BETTER - I'll give you one of these - I'll give you a Tiger Woods PIN!" and she proceeded to reach into her handbag and procure a small, gold lapel pin. It has an image of a Tiger's eye and stripes on the left side, and the interlocked "TW" logo like on the Nike golf apparel on the right side in a tiny little Ziploc bag.
I thanked her profusely, and by that time the guys had hit their approach shots into #6, and it was OK to take down the ropes and open up the crossover to #7. Mrs. Woods and her entourage made their way down the slope and across the fairway and up the hill on the other side to #7 along with about 150 other spectators...it was probably 30 seconds, but it was a MEMORABLE 30 seconds...
THANK YOU again, Mrs. Woods! The pin is a keeper!!!
After we finish up crowd management on six, we cross over to the street behind the #7 green, and grab a Chevy Yukon SUV for a ride over to #15, which is probably close to a mile away...today we had to wait for the rest of the crew, so our shuttle driver (Andrew) and I went through the concession line and grabbed a hotdog and a Diet Coke for the ride over...since I'm one of the more LIMBER team members, I usually grab the spot in the very back of the Yukon...and while I'm back there applying my relish to the hotdog, who ELSE should happen by???
The OTHER woman in Tiger's life, ELIN!!! HOLY SMOKES - in the span of five minutes, I talked to Tiger's Mom, and had Tiger's WIFE walk right past where I was having my lunch!!! How cool is THAT???
I saw the younger Mrs. Woods AGAIN, with her entourage as they bypassed #15 to go on ahead to #16 - that's twice in one day...I've worked this event for at least the last seven years, and this is the first day that I've actually seen Elin in person....Tiger IS a lucky man...
Since I worked the green yesterday, today I was assigned to work the player chute, which is a special roped off area that leads to the teebox on #15...it wasn't as much fun as yesterday, because I only got to see a couple of shots land, and no putts, so I didn't get as involved who did what at the hole...
The weather's supposed to deteriorate Saturday afternoon, so I'm going to try to get assigned down to the green for the weekend, because the wind's supposed to be running 15-25 mph on Saturday afternoon, and it swirls alongside the canyon walls that delineate the hole, frequently altering the flight of the ball and making for some interesting shot outcomes...
The GOOD news is that Weather.com says that the rain is supposed to hold off until 3PM, and we've been wrapping up our days about 2-2:15PM, so we might avoid getting damp tomorrow...I hope so...I've done it before, and it's not much fun to get soaked out on the course...
We get our "play dates" signups tomorrow...the volunteers get to PLAY a free round at Sherwood in January, and we get to request our dates tomorrow...I'm probably going to request the first available date, because the second date is late in the month, and I don't want to be rained out...I'm gonna play the odds and hope that the nice weather that we usually get right around New Years will go on for about ten days...it's a gamble either way, but remembering all the rainy days at the Nissan Open in late Jan/early Feb, I'm thinking that early Jan. is the way to go...
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Day 1 - 2006 Target World Challenge
Greetings from sunny Southern California, where the temperature out on the golf course at Sherwood Country Club was 82 degrees today (did you see the perspiration marks on the players shirts on the USA feed?). 82 degrees in mid-December...is this a great place to live or WHAT??? (Oh sure, it's way too expensive to live here, and there's way too many people, and way too much traffic, but on a sun-kissed day with a touch of a breeze, spectacular foliage and some awesome golf being played, all that other stuff melts away...)
Today's assignment was marshaling holes #6 and #15 (the signature waterfall hole that they use the boom camera on during the 'bumper shots' into commercial breaks), and out on the course, it was pretty quiet all things considered...
Adam Scott won the long-drive championship on hole #6 with a blast that we estimated at 325 yards or so, and John Daly was second at ~315 yards...
The "Hey, I can do THAT" award went to Jose Maria Olazabal who topped one off the tee into the salad about 150 yards out on the left....
The subsequent "Hey, I CAN'T do THAT" award ALSO went to Jose Maria Olazabal who managed to dig his drive OUT of the salad with an approach shot that flew about 200 yards, setting him up for a 125ish yard approach shot into the green that he converted for par...amazing stuff...
That's the difference between the pros and us mere mortals...THEY make mistakes and then follow them up with brilliant recovery shots that salvage par or better...WE make mistakes, have an emotional breakdown, or a physical chokage and end up with a snowman or worse...
Oh, I forgot to mention, before I headed out to work with Tracy and the guys on #6, I headed out to the oak tree grove at the dogleg bend left on hole #1 to check out a few pairings...in EACH of the first three pairings, one of the guys dorked their drive...Davis Love III unfortunately found an oak tree squarely with his second shot, but proceeded to follow up with a dug-out approach shot that was about six feet from the pin...missed the putt for an opening bogey, but still...nice recovery, Davis!
Later on, David Toms pushed HIS drive into the oak grove, and had SERIOUS tree problems, but HE punched out and rolled it out onto the fringe for a par...HOWEVER, yours truly was on the SPECTATOR side of the ropes, and took the initiative to remove the rebar that the ropes are attached to, and lower the rope so David had a clear shot into the green...
After David worked his magic, I was replacing the rebar into its upright position (by jumping up and down on the "t"), and my left hand slipped off the rebar "t". There was a burr on the top of the rebar...holy smokes, I friggin' OPENED up my palm, RIGHT along my life-line...it was one of those gashy wounds that freak you out because it HURTS when the air hits it, but there's not much blood flow there, so you can see the flesh opened up, but it's not bleeding...creepazoid-city!
I actually had to FORCE it to bleed, so I could get it clotted up and glued back together...I stopped by those Porta-Sinks to wash my hand (PRAYING that they didn't fill it with recycled water), which was a religious experience when the water and soap hit my new self-mutilation...i finally got it calmed down, but I've now got a mini-stigmata in my left palm to show for my dedication to being Rent-A-Marshal on the spot...
Hole #15 was even QUIETER, as all the guys hit the green (yawn) with their drives...#15 is actually #6 (they reverse the hole order for this tournament) and it's the "signature hole" at Sherwood Country Club. It's a very scenic par-3 186 yard launching pad from an elevated tee, over a canyon with a lake and waterfalls and rocks and stuff in front of the green, with a big amphitheater behind the hole...
On a calm day, it's actually a pretty easy for the guys to hit the green, and today was one of those days...I was watching the USA feed when I got home this afternoon, and they said the guys were hitting 7 and 8 irons...OK, so you take 10 yards off for the elevated tees, and these guys are hitting 7 IRONS??? Geez - I'd be hitting an easy 7 WOOD 175 yards....
The National Weather Service says the wind is supposed to kick up to 15-20 mph tomorrow as a cold front begins to push southward from Oregon, so it'll probably be a BIT more exciting tomorrow, because the wind SWIRLS inside the amphitheater and makes that benign 186 yards turn into a snarling, angry cauldron of potential frustration where balls plop harmlessly into the lake guarding the green, or fly long and hit the big boulders that line the amphitheater and careen crazily all over the putting area...
They've lined the front edge of the putting service with a yellow line, so we're not going to be able to relive the magic of a few years ago when Davis Love's drive ended up on a small grassy ledge on the front of the rockpile that reinforces the green from the lake...Davis took a mighty swing with his lob wedge cranked FULLY open, and SOMEHOW managed to hit the ball basically VERTICALLY with enough forward momentum to land on the putting surface...sure, he bogeyed the hole, but if it were ME, we'd be posting Mr. Snowman, or Ms. Lollipop, or WORSE!!!
Now, onto the FUN part of the day, the time AFTER the round...I headed back to the putting green and driving range area to see who was out there, and attempt to deliver the "artans" and grips that I designed for the guys...
Davis Love was out on the driving range, languidly hitting low irons...joined by David Toms and Jose Maria Olazabal...Davis was looking quite serious and unapproachable today, so I headed over to the putting green to see who was there...
JACKPOT - Michael Campbell was out on the practice green, just DRAINING putts one after another...so I joined the line of seven year old kids waiting for an autograph on their hats, flags, programs and anything else their parents could jam into their hands to resell on eBay when the kids forget about the autograph...
Let's put it this way - my volunteer hat's brim is now RESPLENDENT with a silver-ink Sharpie autograph, and one professional golfer from New Zealand now has two REALLY beautiful golf grips, one with the New Zealand National tartan, and the other one that has "The Pride of New Zealand" tartan, shown at right. I customized the text for Michael's nickname, and incorporated his logo into the 'artan' design...I HOPE it was well-received...it appeared to be...
Even MORE interesting was a chance meeting with a prominent Hollywood personality (of Scottish heritage), who was spotted walking alone... we approached said celebrity, introduced ourselves and proffered a business card, and enjoyed a very brief, but very enthusiastic response to our products and designs.
THAT was fun...
More tomorrow - the Weather Service is continually refining their weekend forecast, and the rain seems to be getting pushed into a Saturday night/Sunday early morning event, so we might be able to dodge the dreaded winter rainstorm scenario...keep your fingers crossed....
Today's assignment was marshaling holes #6 and #15 (the signature waterfall hole that they use the boom camera on during the 'bumper shots' into commercial breaks), and out on the course, it was pretty quiet all things considered...
Adam Scott won the long-drive championship on hole #6 with a blast that we estimated at 325 yards or so, and John Daly was second at ~315 yards...
The "Hey, I can do THAT" award went to Jose Maria Olazabal who topped one off the tee into the salad about 150 yards out on the left....
The subsequent "Hey, I CAN'T do THAT" award ALSO went to Jose Maria Olazabal who managed to dig his drive OUT of the salad with an approach shot that flew about 200 yards, setting him up for a 125ish yard approach shot into the green that he converted for par...amazing stuff...
That's the difference between the pros and us mere mortals...THEY make mistakes and then follow them up with brilliant recovery shots that salvage par or better...WE make mistakes, have an emotional breakdown, or a physical chokage and end up with a snowman or worse...
Oh, I forgot to mention, before I headed out to work with Tracy and the guys on #6, I headed out to the oak tree grove at the dogleg bend left on hole #1 to check out a few pairings...in EACH of the first three pairings, one of the guys dorked their drive...Davis Love III unfortunately found an oak tree squarely with his second shot, but proceeded to follow up with a dug-out approach shot that was about six feet from the pin...missed the putt for an opening bogey, but still...nice recovery, Davis!
Later on, David Toms pushed HIS drive into the oak grove, and had SERIOUS tree problems, but HE punched out and rolled it out onto the fringe for a par...HOWEVER, yours truly was on the SPECTATOR side of the ropes, and took the initiative to remove the rebar that the ropes are attached to, and lower the rope so David had a clear shot into the green...
After David worked his magic, I was replacing the rebar into its upright position (by jumping up and down on the "t"), and my left hand slipped off the rebar "t". There was a burr on the top of the rebar...holy smokes, I friggin' OPENED up my palm, RIGHT along my life-line...it was one of those gashy wounds that freak you out because it HURTS when the air hits it, but there's not much blood flow there, so you can see the flesh opened up, but it's not bleeding...creepazoid-city!
I actually had to FORCE it to bleed, so I could get it clotted up and glued back together...I stopped by those Porta-Sinks to wash my hand (PRAYING that they didn't fill it with recycled water), which was a religious experience when the water and soap hit my new self-mutilation...i finally got it calmed down, but I've now got a mini-stigmata in my left palm to show for my dedication to being Rent-A-Marshal on the spot...
Hole #15 was even QUIETER, as all the guys hit the green (yawn) with their drives...#15 is actually #6 (they reverse the hole order for this tournament) and it's the "signature hole" at Sherwood Country Club. It's a very scenic par-3 186 yard launching pad from an elevated tee, over a canyon with a lake and waterfalls and rocks and stuff in front of the green, with a big amphitheater behind the hole...
On a calm day, it's actually a pretty easy for the guys to hit the green, and today was one of those days...I was watching the USA feed when I got home this afternoon, and they said the guys were hitting 7 and 8 irons...OK, so you take 10 yards off for the elevated tees, and these guys are hitting 7 IRONS??? Geez - I'd be hitting an easy 7 WOOD 175 yards....
The National Weather Service says the wind is supposed to kick up to 15-20 mph tomorrow as a cold front begins to push southward from Oregon, so it'll probably be a BIT more exciting tomorrow, because the wind SWIRLS inside the amphitheater and makes that benign 186 yards turn into a snarling, angry cauldron of potential frustration where balls plop harmlessly into the lake guarding the green, or fly long and hit the big boulders that line the amphitheater and careen crazily all over the putting area...
They've lined the front edge of the putting service with a yellow line, so we're not going to be able to relive the magic of a few years ago when Davis Love's drive ended up on a small grassy ledge on the front of the rockpile that reinforces the green from the lake...Davis took a mighty swing with his lob wedge cranked FULLY open, and SOMEHOW managed to hit the ball basically VERTICALLY with enough forward momentum to land on the putting surface...sure, he bogeyed the hole, but if it were ME, we'd be posting Mr. Snowman, or Ms. Lollipop, or WORSE!!!
Now, onto the FUN part of the day, the time AFTER the round...I headed back to the putting green and driving range area to see who was out there, and attempt to deliver the "artans" and grips that I designed for the guys...
Davis Love was out on the driving range, languidly hitting low irons...joined by David Toms and Jose Maria Olazabal...Davis was looking quite serious and unapproachable today, so I headed over to the putting green to see who was there...
JACKPOT - Michael Campbell was out on the practice green, just DRAINING putts one after another...so I joined the line of seven year old kids waiting for an autograph on their hats, flags, programs and anything else their parents could jam into their hands to resell on eBay when the kids forget about the autograph...
Let's put it this way - my volunteer hat's brim is now RESPLENDENT with a silver-ink Sharpie autograph, and one professional golfer from New Zealand now has two REALLY beautiful golf grips, one with the New Zealand National tartan, and the other one that has "The Pride of New Zealand" tartan, shown at right. I customized the text for Michael's nickname, and incorporated his logo into the 'artan' design...I HOPE it was well-received...it appeared to be...
Even MORE interesting was a chance meeting with a prominent Hollywood personality (of Scottish heritage), who was spotted walking alone... we approached said celebrity, introduced ourselves and proffered a business card, and enjoyed a very brief, but very enthusiastic response to our products and designs.
THAT was fun...
More tomorrow - the Weather Service is continually refining their weekend forecast, and the rain seems to be getting pushed into a Saturday night/Sunday early morning event, so we might be able to dodge the dreaded winter rainstorm scenario...keep your fingers crossed....
Monday, December 04, 2006
LPGA '07
Congratulations to Pepperdine alum and LPGA '07 player Katherine Hull, and also to 2007 LPGA Tour player, Erica Blasberg.
Both players finished in the top fifteen at the recent LPGA Qualifying School in Florida, where Katherine tied for seventh, and Erica tied for fifteenth.
I had the good fortune to be a walking scorer for both players at the recent Longs Drugs Challenge in Danville, CA, and it will great to have both of them back on the 2007 LPGA Tour with exempt status.
Congratulations to both of you, and best wishes for the 2007 LPGA Tour campaign - I hope to see you again at Blackhawk Country Club, and in the winner's circle before that!
Both players finished in the top fifteen at the recent LPGA Qualifying School in Florida, where Katherine tied for seventh, and Erica tied for fifteenth.
I had the good fortune to be a walking scorer for both players at the recent Longs Drugs Challenge in Danville, CA, and it will great to have both of them back on the 2007 LPGA Tour with exempt status.
Congratulations to both of you, and best wishes for the 2007 LPGA Tour campaign - I hope to see you again at Blackhawk Country Club, and in the winner's circle before that!
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Tiger's Tournament Field - Welcome "Cambo"!
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Here is the field for the upcoming Target World Challenge, presented by Countrywide (and some of the "Artans" that I've designed for this capstone of the 2006 PGA Tour season):
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*Players that I'm developing "Artans" for....
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