130 replies to this topic

[avrag]

Golfwrx's own fore-life is easily the best player I have ever played with, and chances are it will stay this way until I have an opportunity to play in a pro-am with somebody who plays at least on the European Challenge Tour.
I know that there are many on this forum who are scratch or plus handicaps, but to see your playing parner play to that level was special. Mark played a completely different game compared to the guys with handicaps of 2 or 3 I had played with before, and it was extremely impressive.

[the_matt5]

yuck, on 31 August 2012 - 05:15 PM, said:

Keep in mind based on my age, My golf was with an older crew.  I grew up in Florida, so we got to play with lots of folks "before they were famous".

Believe it or not, Andy Bean was the most impressive I played with.  He was very long in the late 70's, great ball striker, great talent.  I have played other tour players prior to their PGA Tour Careers, including Paul Azinger, Lee Janzen, Rocco Mediate,, Marco Dawson,   (Florida Southern had the team to beat in Div 2 NCAA back then).  Also Nolen Henke, Calc & Rick Smith.   Janzen was one I played with many times but he was several years younger than me.  At that stage of his development, he was a great putter, but the rest of the game was not "amazing". I would not have guessed that Azinger and Janzen would be the Major winners of the folks I had played with.  Some people you have never heard of were more impressive when they were young.  (Nobody remembers Eddie Pearce, but he was quite a player in the mid 70's)

I love the Florida Southern reference. I'm currently going to school there and in 09-10 they won the national championship again. GO MOCS!

[silliwilli]

Played with Stuart Little back in 2003 in a Pro Am for the Challenge Tour. Stuart has played a fair bit on the European Tour and was pretty impressive in his own right but there was another young kid paired with us that day who absolutely striped the ball. If I remember correctly Stuart Little shot 70 (-1) and the kid shot 67 (-4). For such a small chap he could really move the ball out there and his irons just fizzed off the blade. I was nervous as hell to be in the company of a pro golfer but I think it just spurred this boy on to play at his best. Pretty impressive seeing a young lad comfortably beat an accomplished pro golfer. I've always wondered what exactly that curly haired fellow went on to achieve  in the world of golf but I never got his full name. All I remember is that he asked that we call him Rors

[BallPincher]

silliwilli, on 31 August 2012 - 06:42 PM, said:

Played with Stuart Little back in 2003 in a Pro Am for the Challenge Tour. Stuart has played a fair bit on the European Tour and was pretty impressive in his own right but there was another young kid paired with us that day who absolutely striped the ball. If I remember correctly Stuart Little shot 70 (-1) and the kid shot 67 (-4). For such a small chap he could really move the ball out there and his irons just fizzed off the blade. I was nervous as hell to be in the company of a pro golfer but I think it just spurred this boy on to play at his best. Pretty impressive seeing a young lad comfortably beat an accomplished pro golfer. I've always wondered what exactly that curly haired fellow went on to achieve  in the world of golf but I never got his full name. All I remember is that he asked that we call him Rors

AWESOME. I know what you mean about the irons. Were you pretty confident he was gonna be the next big name? Must be a great story to pull out on the course.

Edited by BallPincher, 31 August 2012 - 06:46 PM.

[silliwilli]

Haha I knew who he was right from the start. Rory was talked about as a possible major winner from the age of 10 around these parts.

I grew up playing with guys who received scholarships to American colleges and another who played on the European Tour. None of them were even close to being as impressive as Rory.

[ProjectX]

Played with middle aged woman that shot a 68. I played from the tips, I average close to 300 yards off the tees and she was damn near even with me off every tee box. So she had to be hitting the ball 250+ from the Ladies tees on an absolute string. It was impressive to watch. I don't think she missed a fairway or green and was probably 30 feet and in all day. I shot an 82 and felt emasculated.

Middle of the round I find out from her other friend that is playing with us that her husband and his friends are in the group behind us and they all refuse to play with her because she destroys them lol. I always wondered if she was a pro that I just didn't recognize.

[poizster]

I played with Nick Flanagan in the 2003 pacific coast amateur, at the time he was playing some great golf. He ended up winning that tournament and then a month or so later won the U.S. Amateur. Pretty cool to play competitively with a guy and then see him 6 months later walking the fairways of Augusta.

[BrianL99]

yuck, on 31 August 2012 - 05:15 PM, said:

Keep in mind based on my age, My golf was with an older crew.  I grew up in Florida, so we got to play with lots of folks "before they were famous".

Believe it or not, Andy Bean was the most impressive I played with.  

.  (Nobody remembers Eddie Pearce, but he was quite a player in the mid 70's)

Eddie Pearce should have won a U.S. Amateur, but got beat by a lucky shot ... by I think, Gary Cowens?

Andy Bean is still a great player ... not the best course manager & sometimes a little ... out there?

[Tmiller72]

I hate to say it, but probably Bubba Watson (I'm not a fan). He hit the most impressive drive I've ever seen.  I've played with a bunch of tour winners, but Bubba works the ball like no other.  A good friend of mine won the NCAA championship in the 90s and he's still very impressive.  He wins multiple local am events each year despite being a very part time player.

[crapula]

Brother in law. Hits his tee shots all over the place. One round he hit one fairway, and missed almost the rest of them in the trees. He scrambled around and shot -1. I hit 10 fairways and shot an 80, it was BS.

[tatertot]

Best guy i ever played with is a member here, but i forgot his screen name. Played college golf and still hits some mini tour stops when not teaching at a local high school. Dude drove a 415 par 4. Made every putt he looked at inside 10 feet. Had 8 birdies and no bogeys. Longest par putt was maybe 4 feet. Shot a 63 with 2 pars on the front-nine par 5s. It was that day I realized I would never be a good golfer, just a good recreational golfer.

Edited by tatertot, 31 August 2012 - 08:34 PM.

[Titleist 670]

Sliceapotomus, on 31 August 2012 - 09:12 AM, said:

I was invited with to go as a guest with a good friend of mine that was a member at Meadowbrook Country Club in Richmond, VA.

We get to the pro shop and I am fairly new to golf and wasnt quite a hack, but I wasnt gonna be confused for Tiger Woods. The pro shop tells us we will be paired with two members.

So of course, me being new, I was nervous and not liking that idea. We get to the tee box and a guy comes out decked to the 9's and has a nice bag and shakes my hand like a grown man and introduces himself as John.

We go on to tee off, I actually hit a great ball... but he absolutely MASHES the ball and it just seemed like a different sound and look than anything I had ever seen. Long story short, he goes on to shoot 7 under that day. I had never witnessed an under par round in person, let alone 7 under.

We hop in the car and my buddy is grinning from ear to ear and we start chatting about that John guy and how good he was. My buddy chuckles and says, that was John Rollins. PGA Tour player John Rollins. I was shocked and stunned and mad I didnt get him to sign my hat.

I find it funny you were mad you didn't get an autograph from someone you didn't even recognize!

[Kevie Ray]

Vince Howell..........ReMax Long Drive Champion.
I have played with Vince several times and he absolutley mashes it. Never seen anything like it. Played softball with him for a few years and he hits the softball a ton also. Great athlete!!

[fore_life]

avrag, on 31 August 2012 - 06:13 PM, said:

Golfwrx's own fore-life is easily the best player I have ever played with, and chances are it will stay this way until I have an opportunity to play in a pro-am with somebody who plays at least on the European Challenge Tour.
I know that there are many on this forum who are scratch or plus handicaps, but to see your playing parner play to that level was special. Mark played a completely different game compared to the guys with handicaps of 2 or 3 I had played with before, and it was extremely impressive.

Wow, thank you so much! I don't know what to say other than thank you!

Hope all is well, and you can make it back to the states soon!

[DJY]

scratchswinger, on 30 August 2012 - 11:33 AM, said:

A few years ago I was playing as a single mid week at a local So Cal course. On the 14th hole I caught up to these two kids with Servite High School team bags. They asked if I would like to join them, I knew that they must be pretty good as Servite is one of the better golf programs in California. One of the kids was heads and shoulders above the other, bombing drives and striping his irons. I think he birdied 3 of the final 5 holes from the tips. We were chatting the entire time and I honestly had no clue who either were, except that one was really good. After the round I went in the Pro shop to post and I was talking to the gentleman working there. He told me that it was Patrick Cantlay and that he was one of the best AM's in the country. I Googled him that evening and the rest is history.

As good as a player Patrick is, I can say that he is truly a nicer person. He was well mannered, polite and very humble for the short time that I spent with him. He has been a player that I root for ever since.

Awesome story! Cantlay seems like a really nice guy and I always pull for him.

[Shipwreck]

I did go to High School with Michael Thompson but I wasn't playing golf back then so I could have cared even less than I care now (which is none) about who he is.

[BSkip]

I have played a couple rounds with DJ and as far as the sound of the impact and the fact that his drives flew mine by 30-50 yards that was impressive.  

The most impressive round however would go to a gentleman that I can't even recall his name.  He was with an buddy of mine at the range and they asked me to join them in a round.  My buddy and I outdrove the guy by 30+ yards all day but he hit all but 2 GIRs and the thing that really sticks out was he was always pin high.  He had a Heavy putter and was average at best with it, had at least four 3 putts, at the end of the day I figure his score up and he shot a 66!  That was the most impressive ball striking I have ever seen.  It was also the day I realized the importance of distance control on approach shots!

[lumberman2462]

Kenny Perry back in the mid 90s.  He was incredibly long.  Putted horribly.
JB Holmes.  7-8 years ago (he was still John Holmes then) - He was longer than Kenny Perry.
Kirk Triplett - again back in the 90s.  He did nothing spectacular...other than shoot 8 under.
Laura Davis in an LPGA Pro-am.  She was the most fun of all.
Brand Snedecker when he was about 15.  You could just tell that he was going to be a player.  (his dad and brother were nice guys, too)

[Redpro]

Friday at Memorial Park in Houston. They're getting it ready for an amateur tournament; fairways narrowed, Bermuda rough very springy and deep, greens at 11-12. The guy had old RAC musclebacks with a golf-ball sized brown circle on each one, 3 Vokey wedges and no head covers on his TM R9 SuperTri driver and 3-wood, but white, worn circle spots on the center of the faces. He had three-day old stubble and worn shoes, smoked a cigarette each hole. He had 12 birdie putts, lipped out 10, made two, chipped in for a birdie on 10, lagged an eagle putt on one par 5 on the back nine. On the green at 18, he took his cap off to shake hands.

Memorial is a walk in a park, yes . . . but it is brutal from the blues and, of course, it was a tad humid that morning. Grin.

I've played golf for a very long time [50 years], and you run into these guys all over the country . . . natural, serious, but so much fun to play with because they respect the game, take it seriously . . . but are self-deprecating and aw-shucks and want you to do well also.

[jeffreyl]

Played many rounds with a Michigan State Scholarship golfer through high school and College, was a  +5 and could get it up and down from anywhere and everywhere, played with him when he shot 63 (several times). (Now is in the insurance business and has 3 children). Played with a  Purdue scholarship golfer that I have known since he was a young boy and is now in law school. Played with a former LPGA player. Have played with many club pros and have been fortunate to see many sub par rounds and excellent shots!

Was a walking scorer (didn't play, obviously!) at the recent JR PGA and saw some great golf from 16 and 17 year olds (amazing).

[Mcgeeno]

I was lucky enough to have a beast of a head pro for a few years at my home town. Dean Claggett won the BC club pro 3+ times, the Canadian Club Pro championship, the BC high school indivdual medal. He shot a 63 with me at my home course and had room for a couple more birdies with some better luck.

A couple other guys on the CPGA tour I played junior against were great players.

[Iplaxidentlyshotmyself]

Redpro, on 02 September 2012 - 08:18 AM, said:

Friday at Memorial Park in Houston. They're getting it ready for an amateur tournament; fairways narrowed, Bermuda rough very springy and deep, greens at 11-12. The guy had old RAC musclebacks with a golf-ball sized brown circle on each one, 3 Vokey wedges and no head covers on his TM R9 SuperTri driver and 3-wood, but white, worn circle spots on the center of the faces. He had three-day old stubble and worn shoes, smoked a cigarette each hole. He had 12 birdie putts, lipped out 10, made two, chipped in for a birdie on 10, lagged an eagle putt on one par 5 on the back nine. On the green at 18, he took his cap off to shake hands.

Memorial is a walk in a park, yes . . . but it is brutal from the blues and, of course, it was a tad humid that morning. Grin.

I've played golf for a very long time [50 years], and you run into these guys all over the country . . . natural, serious, but so much fun to play with because they respect the game, take it seriously . . . but are self-deprecating and aw-shucks and want you to do well also.

I used to play there a bunch, really is a walk in the park.

Edited by Iplaxidentlyshotmyself, 02 September 2012 - 03:05 PM.

[Redpro]

Iplaxidentlyshotmyself, on 02 September 2012 - 03:05 PM, said:

Redpro, on 02 September 2012 - 08:18 AM, said:

Friday at Memorial Park in Houston. They're getting it ready for an amateur tournament; fairways narrowed, Bermuda rough very springy and deep, greens at 11-12. The guy had old RAC musclebacks with a golf-ball sized brown circle on each one, 3 Vokey wedges and no head covers on his TM R9 SuperTri driver and 3-wood, but white, worn circle spots on the center of the faces. He had three-day old stubble and worn shoes, smoked a cigarette each hole. He had 12 birdie putts, lipped out 10, made two, chipped in for a birdie on 10, lagged an eagle putt on one par 5 on the back nine. On the green at 18, he took his cap off to shake hands.

Memorial is a walk in a park, yes . . . but it is brutal from the blues and, of course, it was a tad humid that morning. Grin.

I've played golf for a very long time [50 years], and you run into these guys all over the country . . . natural, serious, but so much fun to play with because they respect the game, take it seriously . . . but are self-deprecating and aw-shucks and want you to do well also.

I used to play there a bunch, really is a walk in the park.

I first played it in the very early 70's when it was a piece of dirt and a very tough walk in the park because of that. Now, since the $5M renovation, it's an even tougher walk, but so pleasant and enjoyable. Lots of trees lost because of the drought. We were the first group off the tee at 6:40 a.m. and finished in under 4 hours . . . haven't been the first off the tee since I was a kid!

Can't wait to get there again!

[BuckeyePaul01]

tembolo1284, on 31 August 2012 - 09:18 AM, said:

I played with lee janzen at bay hill 3 years ago. I pretended I didn't know who he was.

Hahaha........I did that once when  I paired up with Neal Smith..........a famous football player. I pretended not to know who he was, and I think it bothered him.   hahaha.....he's a terrible golfer....BTW.   It was a random pairing in the KC area, and there is no way he cannot be recognized.   I am an ohio native..................and played that card.  To me..........he was just Neil....crappy golfer.  LOL

[bunter101]

I play with a few good low single figure guys, but I have played with the British tri service number one. He plays a totally different ball game to what I play and am used to seeing. Everything just looks so simple. Hits it miles and with ease. He is off +2 /+3 as an active serviceman. Sure he would be much lower than that if he was on civvy street.

Quite funny to hear him being in awe of people like Coltsaerts after watching them up close. Isn't one of these guys with their head up their ring.
Nicer guy you couldn't meet either.

Edited by bunter101, 04 September 2012 - 06:42 AM.

[Sliceapotomus]

Titleist 670, on 31 August 2012 - 08:51 PM, said:

Sliceapotomus, on 31 August 2012 - 09:12 AM, said:

I was invited with to go as a guest with a good friend of mine that was a member at Meadowbrook Country Club in Richmond, VA.

We get to the pro shop and I am fairly new to golf and wasnt quite a hack, but I wasnt gonna be confused for Tiger Woods. The pro shop tells us we will be paired with two members.

So of course, me being new, I was nervous and not liking that idea. We get to the tee box and a guy comes out decked to the 9's and has a nice bag and shakes my hand like a grown man and introduces himself as John.

We go on to tee off, I actually hit a great ball... but he absolutely MASHES the ball and it just seemed like a different sound and look than anything I had ever seen. Long story short, he goes on to shoot 7 under that day. I had never witnessed an under par round in person, let alone 7 under.

We hop in the car and my buddy is grinning from ear to ear and we start chatting about that John guy and how good he was. My buddy chuckles and says, that was John Rollins. PGA Tour player John Rollins. I was shocked and stunned and mad I didnt get him to sign my hat.

I find it funny you were mad you didn't get an autograph from someone you didn't even recognize!

I am mad now that I actually legit follow golf! At that moment I didnt know him from Adam and Eve.

[DevilDog]

I got to play in a pro-am years ago with Ben Crenshaw and when he was in college still got to play with Brandt Snedeker.

[eagles1]

Kim Jong-il - nuff said.

[ben w]

eagles1, on 05 September 2012 - 08:31 AM, said:

Kim Jong-il - nuff said.

I heard he shot 41 and left a few out there.

[Rdjr]

I have to ask.. Did he have the band-aid on his nose? Lol. Loved that Chiefs defense with Derrick Thomas. Rip

BuckeyePaul01, on 03 September 2012 - 11:57 PM, said:

tembolo1284, on 31 August 2012 - 09:18 AM, said:

I played with lee janzen at bay hill 3 years ago. I pretended I didn't know who he was.

Hahaha........I did that once when  I paired up with Neal Smith..........a famous football player. I pretended not to know who he was, and I think it bothered him.   hahaha.....he's a terrible golfer....BTW.   It was a random pairing in the KC area, and there is no way he cannot be recognized.   I am an ohio native..................and played that card.  To me..........he was just Neil....crappy golfer.  LOL