The Tournament Experience

I loved my first tournament immediately. I love being outside in the sun, I love walking, and I love being able to walk around in the sunshine with a drink. Easy. Even the rules are easy to follow, I'm more than happy to leave my cell phone in the car and usually I remember not to talk or walk or breathe loudly when someone is teeing off or putting or just being tense in general. During the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic I nearly sneezed once when Elky was putting... it was terrifying. I couldn't decide if it was better or worse that I knew him. I just imagined myself ruining his shot and then him not making the cut by one point or something. Luckily I held it off until the ball was in the hole, but still, terrifying. But after my first tournament, the Shriner's in Vegas in October, I was dying to go to another one, so Jessica and I schemed and plotted and I begged the director of the musical I'm currently in to let me miss a week of rehearsals the week before opening night, and we made it to the BHCC.


Here's the breakdown of the spectators based on the two tournaments I've been to. On the first few days, before the big crowds come for the final day, I'd say it's about 80% men, 10% golfer's wives, 5% women over 50 and 5% women under 50. Jessica had told me that during her first tournament people kept asking if she was a golfer's wife, and I got why right away. You can spot out a wife or girlfriend a mile away. First of all, they are all gorgeous, every single one of them, and they look very... expensive. And I mean that in the best possible way. Big sunglasses, big purse, BIG bling. Lowery's wife was particularly striking, Jessica and I saw her several times over the course of the weekend at the BHCC and noted how beautiful she was. I was asked a few times if I was some one's girlfriend. In fact, here's how most of our conversations with male spectators and volunteers went:


Them: So you ladies following around someone special?
Us: Well we have a few favorites. But no, we're watching everyone.
Them: Oh. So you actually like golf?
Us: Yep.
Them: Like... you actually follow it and stuff?
Us: Um...yeah...

I have to clarify that this was usually not as patronizing as it may sound, it's just that Jessica and I were a bit of an anomaly on the course. Everyone was completely gentlemanly, it's a much different sporting event than say, a football game. There's no swearing or yelling, no chest painting, no cheerleaders dancing around and the men are still mostly respectful even after sipping scotch all day, but it is a men's world nonetheless. I've long been a girl in a men's world. I grew up surrounded by boys until my two beautiful little sisters were born, and besides a handful of close girl friends, most of my friends are guys, so I fit well into the ratio. I love any live event. I've gone to too many concerts to count, I'm involved with community theatre and Mariner's games are one of my favorite things about summer. I love watching people do something they love and that they're good at, on any level. Every day of the tournament Jessica and I got there early and stayed until the last players were done.

I'm struggling to fully convey the tournament experience here, if you haven't been to one you just have to go. I'm completely obsessed now. I have some other travel commitments coming up in the next months (Oregon Coast, Mexico with a bunch of high school kids to build a house with Amor [amor.org, check it], camping and fishing in Wyoming) so the next tournament I'm going to get to is the Legends Reno Tahoe Open in August. I can't wait.

A few things I've decided about tournaments:

• I love the smaller ones, it's nice to be able to be right at the rope and not have to deal with a ton of other spectators.
• Unless someone I really like is in contention, the last day is not as cool. There are too many people.
• I prefer tournaments with one course. The BHCC had 4, and we ended up missing a lot of people.
• I like when the first day is a celeb/Pro-Am day, and the rest of the weekend Pro only.
• We always have Clubhouse passes, but we haven't used them once. We're there to watch the golfers!

Readers, if you are there, what tournaments have you been to? What do you think about them? Let me know!

Northern Trust, Rounds 1&2

Everyone loves a good sports victory. Even if you don't like sports you love to get caught up in a good, honest victory a la Inspirational Movie. I really hope McCarron takes it this weekend. It's his hood, 50 frat bros are coming out tomorrow to follow him around (which would be either really funny or really annoying to watch, you can never tell with frat bros), and he is a really nice guy. And you may not know, he is a groovy dancer. His birdie on the 3rd hole was beautiful. So it's cool to see him do well and I'd be excited to see one of my guys win a tournament.

Nothing particularly insightful to say tonight, I just have been thinking about this day, and all of my friend's eyes get glazed over when I start chattering golf. Also I feel obligated to say something Tiger coming back, and what sticks out to me most is how excited the other golfers seem about it. Like I said, everyone loves a good sports victory.

I've officially become someone who yells at their tv during a sportscast! Thoughts on the Northern Trust coming tonight, I've got to get my show.

In non-golf but still sports news, Griffey is coming back to the Mariners!

My Favorite Golfers

Subject to change at any time, and I make no excuse for my reasons.

Steve Elkington

First of all, he's my friend and he gave me Justin Timberlake tickets in Vegas, so he's pretty cemented as my favorite, but the more I learn about golf the more I like him as a golfer. I can spot him a mile away on a course from his stride. He's fun to watch, at the BHCC we met a guy who comes every year just to follow Elky from hole to hole. He has his own clothing line (elksworld.com) that's verrrry swanky and sports it on the course. He's been off to a rough start this season, and I'm hoping he'll turn it around, which he is certainly capable of.

Charley Hoffman

I get a kick out of Hoffman, he just cracks me up. He's always lumbering around with this huge grin on his face and his hair sticking out, I liked him immediately when I saw him at the Shriner's. I've never talked to him but I have a feeling he would be incredibly cool. He's having a killer year, he's been in 4 tournaments so far and has been in the top 25 each time. Hoffman is just one of the athletes you can get behind, you know? I mean, look at this picture. How can you not want to see him do well?

Ryan Moore

Just like with Hoffman I liked Ryan as soon as I saw him. It was his headband, a la Richie Tenenbaum, that did it for me. He also happens to be from a town about 30 minutes from where I live, so he has the home town thing going for him. He has a cool vibe about him and seems pretty down to earth. I get the sense, from interviews with him and watching him play in person, that he plays as hard as he can on the course but doesn't beat himself up too badly for not winning every single time. I dig his style, too. I like the vests, ties and hats and his sneaker-cleats. It's a little bit hipster, a little bit golfer and yet doesn't come off as contrived (take a hint, Jesper). This season a big deal is being made about him forgoing sponsors with his attire and bag which I think is cool, he's said he wants to get back to just focusing on the game and playing golf. It's a cool thing to see someone choose integrity over money. I talked to him for a couple minutes at the BHCC (despite being tied for 5th place in 2008 he didn't make the cut this year) and he just seems like a very cool guy. He did well at the FBR open, coming in 6th place, and I hope to see him win a tournament this year.

Some more of my favorites are Scott McCarron, Bill Haas, Daniel Chopra and Brett Quigley; all because they're golfers I've talked to/watched on the course and I liked them, that's pretty much all it takes with me. I freely admit that I'm new to golf and don't know everyone yet, but I'll learn. I'm sure this list will change too, but these are the guys on my radar.

Golf.

Golf has always been my dad's thing. For as long as I can remember he's played it, watched it, read about it, spent time and money on it. Growing up I knew all about life with golf in the background, if I called his office during the day and he wasn't in, I knew he was at the golf course and it would be pointless to try his cell. I knew the sounds of a tournament from television, the silence behind the announcer's voice (as oppose to other sports where there is always, always noise) and silence up until the ball went in the hole, then the smattering of applause. My mom was always mad because he would leave his golf clubs in the trunk, taking up too much space. But I never really considered taking an actual interest in the sport. Like I said, it was my dad and his friend's thing. Besides, the aesthetic of the game always seemed like something that would go against my soul. Golf seemed deliberate, thoughtful, meticulous... I am none of these things. I never thought of golf as boring, I never really thought anything of it. It was just a sport that flew under my radar. If six months ago you told me that now I would be obsessed with the game I wouldn't have believed you. So how did I get here?

About a year ago I was looking for a job. I'd just quit my high stress job and moved home from the city broken spirited. I was looking for something that would be easy and fun, where I could walk away from work and leave my stress at the door. I started working at a little cafe in town owned by Jessica. Jessica is going to be a recurring character here, so I'll explain her. First of all, she is beautiful. I say this first because it's what you notice right off the bat, she literally looks like Barbie. But after you get to know her you forget that she is intimidatingly blond, thin and tan because she has the most awesome personality. She is a mom, wife, life-liver and business owner, I believe in that order, and we became fast friends. Last August she invited me to come with her to Vegas in October for a golf tournament. Her cousin lived in Vegas and we would stay with her, so all I would need to purchase was my plane ticket. I'd never been to Vegas and I tend to be down for anything, so I said yes. It was only a few weeks before we left I found out it was a Justin Timberlake celebrity tournament! I figured I'd go for sure on the first day, stalk JT a bit (I love him. Love him love him love him), check out the other celebs and maybe go back to the regular tournament a few of the days.

Well, Vegas hooked me. It was the Justin Timberlake Shriner's Hospital for Children Open and at some point that weekend I got a crush on golf. I knew nothing about the game, nothing. I recognized a few names, I grasped the basic concept, but when Luke Wilson asked me if I thought a hole was a Par 3 or 4 I smiled and said "oh 4 for sure" without having a clue what I was saying, which I'm pretty sure he was well aware of. We made some friends with a couple golfers on the first day, and when I called my dad to tell him I'd met This Golfer or That Golfer he knew all about them. "Oh sure, he won the blah blah blah in 1998 and his blah blah blah", etc. I'm a pretty fast learner and by the end of the weekend I could make heads and tails of the game. At one point Jessica asked me where a ball had gone, and I shocked us both by (accurately) replying "it rolled off the back of the green." My first tournament and first time in Vegas was a whirlwind, we didn't sleep or eat enough, we drank too much, we spent days walking around in the sun and nights dancing. And in this public forum, my lips are sealed. After all, say it with me, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. And this blog is about the golf.

The whole tournament experience is a topic unto itself, to be delved into later. That weekend though, I was hooked. In between the friends we made, the closeness to nature, Ryan Moore's headband and being a part of the collective gasp and polite applause, I became a fan. It's only intensified sense then. PGATour.com is visited daily, I've started stealing my Dad's golf magazines and Jessica and I went to another tournament, the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in January, where I would say my little crush on golf turned into a flow blown love affair. I can't get enough of it and I can't stop talking about it, which is why I'm starting this blog. I've found myself starting sentences with "I know you don't care about this but I'm going to tell you anyway" and then rambling on about who scored what, how much of a kick I get out of Charlie Hoffman, whatever. I'm a compulsive journal keeper anyway, and I want to chronicle my foray into trying to actually play this game. I honestly don't know if I'm mentally up to the challenge. We shall see.

Meeting Luke Wilson at the Shriner's in October. I had a broken hand from an ATV accident a few weeks before and this picture is right after he signed my cast.

Coming Up: The Tournament Experience From a Girl's Perspective, My Favorite Golfers, Hitting Balls for the First Time, and My Thoughts on the Season Thus Far.