19th Hole

The Things I Do to Play Golf

Published

6 years ago

Dec 9, 2017

It’s 9:00 p.m. on a random Thursday evening in November. It’s dark, cold, and I’m exhausted. I’ve seen a deer, a frog, and I’ve had two neighbors asked me what I was doing. Technically, one asked me what I was doing; the other asked me if I was nuts. Either way, for the past 3 hours I’ve been outside cleaning up leaves… in the dark. My feet are numb, my nose is running, and I can barely feel my fingertips.

How did I get to this point? It all started back on Tuesday when I checked the forecast and saw that it was going to be sunny and in the mid 60s. For a guy in the Midwest, this is like finding a unicorn or seeing Sasquatch. To have this kind of weather in mid-to-late November — and on a weekend no less! It’s what we dream about. I knew I had a lot going on the rest of the week, but nonetheless I followed my standard operating procedure of booking a tee time and asking questions later.

This is where things got a little dicey. I had put off a few things last weekend to play 18 holes on Sunday, so I was going to have an uphill battle. It also may have slipped my mind that my wife and I were going to dinner on Friday evening with some friends. So I basically had two days to get two weeks worth of errands and chores done.

I started off Wednesday morning by picking up a few things at Walgreens on my way to the office. Then, in what turned out to be a brilliant move, I went to the grocery store at lunch. Why was this so brilliant you ask? Well, in addition to needing groceries, my wife needed a whole list full of items for several upcoming events we (she) was hosting. Since I was heading back to the office, I picked up every item on the list that didn’t need to be kept cold, which was the majority of the list. Then on my way back, I picked up my dry cleaning and some Chick-Fil-A.

After work, I had to pick up my daughter from dance practice. This is where I made a do-or-die decision to go to a second grocery store in the same day. I managed to pick up the remaining items on the list and pulled up to the pickup line at the dance studio just as the girls were walking out. BOOM! That’s what I’m talking about! As we drove home, I was feeling pretty good about myself, but I knew I wasn’t out of the woods yet.

Thursday was just as productive as the day before. I managed to get to my doctor’s appointment, pick up a prescription and make a quick run to Target. I was starting to get cocky. All I had to do was get the leaves taken care of after work and I was home free. Unfortunately, that feeling of cockiness ended as soon as soon as I pulled up to my house. I expected that there was going to be a decent number of leaves since I hadn’t picked any up the previous weekend. What I didn’t expect was for the wind to have picked up in the afternoon and blown all of my neighbors leaves into my yard as well. I sat in my car for a second to pump myself up.

I envisioned myself on the course on Saturday (sunny, 65 degrees, and sitting at even par with three holes to play). Then I got out of my car and was slapped across the face with a 20 mph gust of wind. I may have let out a squeal before I scurried inside like an 8-year-old who had been playing in the snow too long. After changing out of my suit, I put on enough layers to make me look like the Michelin Man. I trudged outside like a man on a mission.

This brings us back to where we started. I was cold and miserable, but there wasn’t a leaf in sight by the time I was done. After a glass of scotch by the fireplace, I went to bed. I woke up a little sore, embarrassingly.

“I can’t believe you really did that last night,” my wife said. My response: “Totally worth it!”

Saturday was absolutely perfect. The weather was great. To my surprise the course was fairly wide open, and I played pretty well. I enjoyed a great cigar afterward at the outdoor bar and my wife met me for dinner later. I really can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon in November.

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19th Hole

Jason Dufner among well-known names teeing it up in LIV Golf Promotions event

Published

23 hours ago

Dec 1, 2023

Matt Vincenzi

The field for the LIV Golf Promotions event has been released.

Full 70-man field for the LIV Golf Promotions event at Abu Dhabi Golf Club 12/8-12/10 pic.twitter.com/ObXDJ23lvt

— Matt Vincenzi (@MattVincenziPGA) November 30, 2023

Some notable players in the field include Jason Dufner, who has five PGA Tour wins including a major championship, Kevin Chappell (one Tour win and Arnold Palmer Award winner in college), Martin Trainer (one Tour win), former Ryder Cup players Victor Dubuisson and Jeff Overton, as well as Lucas Bjerregard, who famously took down Tiger Woods in the 2019 Dell Matchplay.

The event will take place from December 8-10 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club with the top three finishers earning a spot with LIV for the 2024 season.

Players who are eligible to participate in round one include: Players who ranked #6-#32 on the Asian Tour’s International Series’ Order of Merit, the U.S. Amateur Champion, the British Amateur Champion, the Latin-American Amateur Champion, the Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion, the European Amateur Champion, the Top-200 from the OWGR and the Top-20 from the WAGR.

In round two, the top 20 and ties from round one will advance, as well as the relegated LIV Golf players from 2023, the DPWT and PGA Tour 2023 winners, any major champion since 2018, any Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup participants, and #1-#5 of the Asian Tour International Series Order of Merit.

The top 16 players remaining on the leaderboard will advance to the 36-hole shootout on Sunday, with the top 3 earning a spot-on LIV in 2024.

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19th Hole

Caddie opens up on surprise firing following multiple-win season

Published

24 hours ago

Dec 1, 2023

Matt Vincenzi

Kip Henley, who’s been caddying for Grayson Murray since May, took to X this week to reveal that Murray “decided to ‘go another direction'” for the upcoming season.

Pretty tough news today. Grayson decided to “go another direction” this coming year. I don’t think it was easy for him to tell me but it doesn’t change it for me. I’m back out on the curb looking for a bag for next year. One door closes another one will open like always.

— KIP HENLEY (@KipHenley) November 29, 2023

The news is a bit surprising, considering Murray won twice (May and September) on the Korn Ferry Tour in a short span with Henley on his bag.

Murray’s career has been a bit of a rollercoaster. He was a highly decorated youth player and rose to the professional ranks quickly but has ran into multiple controversies over the years.

Most recently, he told Rory McIlroy to “f*** off” during a players-only meeting at the RBC Canadian Open. He also got into an altercation with Kevin Na at the driving range prior to the Mexico Open at Vidanta.

Henley added he’s not upset at Grayson following the split, but “disappointed and sad it worked out this way.”

I’m disappointed and sad it worked out this way but believe it or not I’m not really mad a Grayson. He’s not a bad person. It’s just a tough relationship out there at times. I spent the better part of 10 years with one dude and we are still dear friends. I’m still buds with most…

— KIP HENLEY (@KipHenley) November 30, 2023

Murray will be back on the PGA Tour in 2024 after earning his card back following a strong season on the Korn Ferry Tour.

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19th Hole

Golf analyst tears into ‘disgraceful’ U.S. Ryder Cup side

Published

24 hours ago

Dec 1, 2023

Matt Vincenzi

While appearing on Claude Harmon’s Son of a Butch podcast, former PGA Tour player Andrew Coltart ripped the United States Ryder Cup team for the 16.5-11.5 drubbing they received at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.

Related: ‘It has to be the right fit’ – Notah Begay explains the factors Tiger may need to win 83rd title

During the event, reports emerged that there were players on the U.S. team, specifically Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, that wanted compensation for their Ryder Cup efforts. Coltart argued that in order to win, the players needed to want to play for the “red, white and blue” and found it “disgraceful”.

Related: Tiger or Jack? Brandel Chamblee has his say on the GOAT debate

“Before we talk about the captains, you’ve got to take 12 players who want to play for your red, white and blue.”

“Because what I see is that’s not the case. There might be 10 of them, that might’ve been the case this year, there might be nine.

“I’m not seeing 12 players that want to play – you guys had a team two years ago at Whistling Straits that was meant to dominate for 10 years.”

“I know you were arguably more depleted because of LIV than the DP World Tour, but the DP World Tour this year had guys in form.

“At Whistling Straits, we didn’t. But you need to get 12 players who want to play.

“I can’t stand listening to some of these multi-millionaires bitching – pitching up to a Ryder Cup and – ‘Somebody’s not paying me any money for it’.

“There’s something wrong with your psyche and personally, I wouldn’t have anybody in my team, even if they qualified, that didn’t want to play for the red, white and blue.

“I find it disgraceful. You go to the DP World Tour – every single man will bleed for that team.”

“They will pay to play a Ryder Cup, not the other way around. Until you sort that out, you’re always going to be up against it.”

Coltart also referenced the fact that the vast majority of the United States team took a month or more off in the lead up to the Ryder Cup, whereas the entire European team played at Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship the week before.

“Where’s the respect for Zach Johnson and that task force that you can’t be bothered playing for five weeks prior to a Ryder Cup?

“It’s not just you you’re letting down, what about the American fans?

“What about the people who paid for the trip to get over there to Rome to support you? And you’re only going to give it a half-baked opportunity?

“And it was no surprise that guess what, you started to play more like you could play at the end of the week when it was basically all but lost? I just don’t understand.

“There is no sport I know that any professional athlete would conceivably take that much time off before what is the Olympics – and expect to perform anywhere near their optimum level? I thought it was really, really poor.”

With Luke Donald having just been named the captain for the 2025 Ryder Cup, the United States will need to rethink their strategy as we get closer to Bethpage Black in 2025.