A special day at Cypress

I have been absolutely spoiled this year for golf. There’s no other way of putting it. So I’ve been struggling with how to describe playing at Cypress Point last weekend because it was so incredibly special, yet so different from the other amazing courses I’ve been lucky enough to play this year. I guess to understand how special it is to play Cypress, you first have to know a bit more about it…

Cypress Point is a private golf course on the Monterey Peninsula designed by Alister MacKenzie. Heard of him? Well, he’s designed a few other courses you may have heard of… Royal Troon in Scotland for example… or there’s that little course in Georgia where the Masters is played every year, Augusta National. Cypress has only 250 members, and the only way to play it is with an invite from one of its members. Cypress is considered the second most difficult course in the country to have the opportunity to play, next only to Augusta. Since women aren’t even allowed to play Augusta, Cypress is the toughest place in the country to have the opportunity to play! Before you play, you’re sent a list of guidelines regarding where to change your shoes, where to leave your cellphone, and what to tip your caddy. You’re warned that there are no yardage markers, no beverage carts and even no bathrooms available on the course, and by the way, be ready for the first tee when you arrive because guests are not allowed to use the practice range. Starting to get the idea of how exclusive a course it is to play? I have to admit that when we were driving to the course yesterday, I was skeptical that it could possibly live up to its hype…

Our tee time was 8:15am and we had to arrive by 7:30am, so we started the morning hitting balls in the dark at the practice range at Spyglass. We arrived at the very small parking lot of Cypress at 7:30 to my surprise what was a bit of a whirlwind of activity. There were at least 3 groups of 4 in front of us, and caddies, so the practice green was full of grown men whose collective nervous excitement transformed the practice putting surface to a second grade class about to partake in the best field trip ever! My initial skepticism was quickly replaced with nerves; which soon after were replaced by pure joy.

I feel like I’ve made this statement too many times before, but really, seriously… this time… the first tee at Cypress was the most nervous I’ve ever been on a tee box. I thought I was shaking at St. Andrews, but this time I’m sure I was physically trembling… and the shaking lasted the entire hole. Your first shot is over a hedge and over 17 mile drive! Oh – and its in front of your playing partners, your caddies, and all of the other players waiting to tee off behind you. I didn’t duff it thankfully; but I did pull my shot well left. It was playable, but I hit a second at the encouragement of my foursome and ended up in the middle of the fairway and on my way to a mulligan par on the first hole. We were off…

The first couple of holes were beautiful; the fog hadn’t lifted yet which gave the course a mystical feel. You couldn’t see any of your shots because the fog was so thick, so we relied 100% on our skilled caddies, Paul and Laurent (known locally as “Frenchie”). I think the fact that you couldn’t see the ball over the first few holes actually helped my swing. I kept my head down because I couldn’t see where the ball was going anyway! On the second hole, I experienced my first sand dune of the day. It took 3 shots before I could finally get my drive back onto the fairway. From then on though, something magical happened… my game actually started to come together!

I savored every one of the next 16 holes. I walked them recognizing this may be the only time I get to play them; and if I thought time flew at Pebble, then it was at mach speed at Cypress. Over the course of 18 holes, I had countless opportunities at making shots that I’ve never had the chance to try before. Some worked; like my putt out of a bunker on 11 that ended up within 2ft of the cup. Others didn’t; like my 9 iron out of the plant on the sand dune on number 8 that travelled about 10 ft further in the sand. There was also a 5 wood chip on the 14th that sailed 70 ft past the hole, but stayed on the green… just long enough for me to sink the longest putt of my life.

The greens had to have been the greatest source of entertaining shots from our entire group. On the 5th hole Frenchie told me to hit my chip past the cup. I did and watched with the same awe as the rest of our group as the ball flew past the cup, and then slowly but surely started to catch the swail in the green back towards the pin until it stopped about 3 inches from the cup. On the 13th hole after a disastrous start, I chipped right in from off the green to save a double bogey. There were interesting chips and putts all day long, but the coolest of them all had to have been Jim’s putt on the 8th hole. You have to see it to believe it so just look at the photo below. Jim is putting toward the caddy on the right, Paul. Frenchie is holding the pin in the center. His putt ended up about a 6 inches from the cup on this line. The round was so much fun and it felt so good to have confidence in my game again.

One golfer commented to me before our round that, “once you reach the 15th hole at Cypress Point, there’s nothing else like it in all of golf.” That really sums it up. The 15th hole is a short par 3 over the ocean. It’s impossible not to be distracted by the massive waves crashing up against the rocks lying below while preparing for your tee shot. You leave the 15th feeling like there’s no hole quite so beautiful anywhere in the world. And then you reach the 16th hole; which holds the distinguished reputation of one of the world’s greatest golf holes. It’s a par 3 for the gents and a par 4 for the ladies and you can hardly even remember the beauty of the 15th when you arrive at the tee box. Just have a look…

The 17th hole doesn’t disappoint either with your third consecutive tee shot that has to cross a massive chasm over the ocean to safely reach the fairway. Even once you’re safely over the ocean, you’re far from finished, with a massive cypress tree sitting protecting the green from the middle of the fairway. It’s a challenge to say the least.

The 18th hole plays quite differently from the previous three. The hole takes you away from the ocean and back toward the clubhouse, which is of course disappointing! By the time you play it though, you’re mentally drained. I think its disappointing more than anything though because it marks the end of your round at Cypress.

So if you’ve read this far, you might be wondering how it was that I even got to play on Cypress!?! Well… it was pure luck… someone else who was supposed to play cancelled, so I was the lucky 4th to join Bob, Jim and Scott on the course yesterday. I owe the greatest thanks to Bob for hosting us, and to Jim for suggesting I join when their 4th dropped out. And of course I owe so much thanks to Scott for taking me out west for one of our best anniversary weekends ever! Chances are I will never get to play Cypress Point again, but I’m OK with that, because I gave it everything I had… and for at least a few minutes during the round Cypress Point golf course knew it.

Below from left to right, Scott, Lisa, Bob, Jim

How to celebrate Halloween on the golf course

Start with the right costume - I recommend dressing up like a professional golfer...

Add: Some spooky morning fog

Add: A scary shot or two

Mix the above with ghoulish blood-looking beverage while watching other groups also dressed up like golfers trying to tackle the 18th at Pebble.

Boo! Have fun!

Time flies when you're playing Pebble Beach...

7am - Out the door to hit the range before the round... who really needs sunlight to practice, right?

8am - Tee off
Don't let the starter's speech add any pressure to your tee shot. "Welcome to Pebble Beach. We do not take mulligans on the first tee at Pebble Beach."

9am - 4th hole.
Hopefully your nerves are settled by now. You wouldn't notice it from the tee box, but you're about to get your first glances of the ocean on your right... beautiful!

9:30am - 6th hole
Just stand there and take a look at what's ahead of you... that's a heck of a hill you have to climb on your second shot! Oh - and don't forget about the risk of hitting your drive into the ocean!

9:45am - 7th hole
Its only 90 yards down the hill... but it may as well be an island green with all of the bunkers protecting the green! Try not to hit it into the front bunker, then across the green into the back bunker. I hear its hard to make par that way.

Oh - and while you're there - don't forget to have a look out into the bay to see what the kayakers are catching!

10am - 8th hole
Better hit a nice drive... so that you can experience what Jack Nicklaus calls the, "greatest approach shot in all of golf." Just don't get too close to the edge and stress out your playing partner!

Don't forget to look back from the green to fully appreciate the shot you just made!

10:30am - 11th hole
At this point, you've gone far enough along the ocean away from the clubhouse, and you make the turn to start coming back.

11:15am - 13th hole
Check out Bing Crosby's former home on your right - recently sold for a cool $22M

11:30am - 14th hole
Try to keep your putt on the green on this one... Paul Goydos took a 9 on this tough par 5 in competition, and that was it for him! I putt it off the green... woops!

Noon - 17th hole
Email your family and friends to let them know you'll be at the 18th green by 12:30 in case they want to watch you on the live webcam of the 18th!

12:15pm - 18th hole
Grab a second ball in case you put your first drive in the ocean... this is a mulligan-worthy driving hole (and the starter can't catch you for taking one!)

12:30pm
Sink your mulligan par putt and leave the course bewildered about how 4 1/2 hours could possibly fly by so quickly.

The West Coast Swing Begins... at Spyglass

(Above: Sunset on the 17th hole at Spyglass)

Well, its our 7th Wedding Anniversary - so where better to spend it than Pebble Beach?!? I can't think of anywhere else I would rather be! We arrived today and hit the links at Spyglass this afternoon. Spyglass Hill Golf Course is rated one of the toughest courses in the world and it lives up to its reputation! We were paired with Bill, who is here celebrating his 60th birthday, and Justin from Dallas who is playing here for the first time (and ended up shooting an 80 which totally contradicts my earlier comment that Spyglass lives up to its reputation as tough)! But hey - it was tough for me!

I really thought my entire game would come together today... my driver is finally working and my irons have been good all season, so it was about time! I stepped up to the first tee and smoked a drive down the middle of the fairway. My second shot was a smoked 3 wood down the middle of the fairway. My confidence was high; it was finally my time... WRONG! My irons and my short game left me. I duffed my next shot into the bunker; duffed my bunker shot into the next bunker, and then skulled my second bunker shot over the green. To make a long story short - I ended up taking an 8 on the first hole... and it didn't get much better after that! The next 15 holes were all about trying to find my iron swing, and trying to stay out of bunkers (because my bunker shots were disastrous!!)

So how do you get through a round of golf when your swing is off without getting too frustrated? Well - its difficult that's for sure. What made it easier today though was our caddy, Michael Jordan (yeah - that's really his name!), and the other players in our foursome. Every time Bill hit a good shot - every time - he celebrated with a vocal, "Woohoo". Justin scrambled from behind trees and tee boxes and somehow pulled pars out of thin air. Long putts by anyone in our foursome resulted in full-on rounds of applause by everyone else. And of course "Wedding Anniversary gimmes" got longer and longer as the round wore on. Everyone in our group had a great attitude, loved the game, and felt lucky to be out playing at Spyglass today.

On the 17th hole, I hit a great drive, and then finally hit a crisp 8 iron to about 8ft from the pin. I gave my birdie putt a chance but missed it and tapped in for my par. It the only par I had all day... but I had found my iron swing!! I made a bogey on the 18th after another decent drive and then a really good iron shot. It took 16 holes... 16 holes to find my iron swing today... talk about painful... but here are the lessons I took away from today:

1. There's not point getting upset over a bad drive!
My driver was finally working, but my short game wasn't so I was making triple and quadruple bogeys after driving the ball 200+ yards. Conversely - there have been plenty of rounds where I drove the ball terribly and walked away with pars and bogeys. So there really isn't any point stressing out about a bad drive

2. At some point keeping score is pointless - so just stop if you want!
I was scoring so badly that by about the 13th hole - I wasn't paying any attention to my scorecard because it really just didn't matter. Instead, I focused my energy on trying to find my swing. Who does your score really matter to anyway other than yourself?? There's no point wasting your energy beating yourself up over a bad round!

3. Attitude is everything - take time to enjoy the good shots and the good company
I walked away from today's round honestly not even knowing what my final score was. I enjoyed myself though, and I really enjoyed the company of our foursome. Their positive attitudes and enjoyment of the game was infectious... so remember the next time you're playing that your attitude and behavior could be making a big difference in someone else's round!

Below: Justin, Bill, Lisa, Scott

Practice breeds confidence: Getting the most from the driving range

I’ve mentioned already that before you hit the links for the first time as a beginner, you should spend a lot of time at the driving range to gain confidence in your swing. Your goal should be at minimum to make sure you can hit one club consistently about 100 yards before you hit the links. I stand by this advice, but it occurred to me the other day when I was at the driving range that it too can be a bit of an intimidating place to go for the first time, so here are some tips for hitting the range with confidence…

1. Choose a stall at one end of the range or the other
This may sound silly, but seriously – if you’re not confident, go to a place on the range where fewer people can see your swing!! Be assured – you will duff a few balls… and there’s a chance you might even hit a ball or two off the metal divider that separates the stalls. You will not be the first to do this, nor will you be the last!! (That being said though – people do notice when they hear the “clang”)

2. Start with your pitching wedge NOT your driver!
This is the biggest mistake people make at the range… the first thing they do is pull their driver out of the bag and start rifling through balls. It’s the most difficult club in your bag to hit, and your body is still stiff and your swing isn’t ready for it. Trust me – as tempting as your driver is - start with your wedge to get warmed up.

3. Create a routine that works for you
My normal routine is to hit my pitting wedge until I feel comfortable, then I move to my 7, then my 4 iron hybrid, and then my driver to warm up. Once I’m warmed up, I have two different routines. Some days I want to simulate a round, so I hit driver, then 4 iron, then wedge (to simulate the clubs I might hit on the course in that order on a given hole). Other days, I work through every club in my bag and I tell myself that I’m not allowed to move on to the next club until I hit 3 pure shots with the club I’m holding. If I fail with any club I have to start over. (I stole this one from Phil Mickelson who forces himself to hit 100 putts in a row during his practice sessions and has to start at 0 if he misses any – it simulates the pressure of putting during a round) This routine forces me to really focus on what I’m trying to work on

4. Shhhh….
Yeah, much like the course, people don’t want to hear people talking in their backswings… even at the range, so keep it quiet (even when you hit a few pure shots and want to celebrate)

5. Take breaks and practice swings
It is so tempting when you’re at the range to just hit ball after ball after ball after ball… without breaking and without even practicing your swing… but guess what – that isn’t anything like what it will be like on the course! Use your time on the range to practice for being on the course. This is your time to nail down what feels comfortable in terms of a pre-shot routine, and to really focus on practicing your swing… so just take your time and enjoy yourself!

Eat your heart out NKOTB

My 14 year old self would have loved this... it just has to be shared: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM2NocuEihw

Whoever said golfers are too serious??

The power of grey goose

I was reminded this past weekend of just how stressful the game of golf can be. We were playing a nice club and my swing was off. We were paired with another twosome that clearly had some serious game. I had zero confidence in my swing, and to make matters worse – I had switched golf bags and so I only had 4 balls in my bag!! Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t worry about having only 4 balls in my bag, but between that and my overall lack of confidence in my swing, it was a recipe for disaster! Stepping up to every single shot was nerve-racking! And sure enough – the disaster started to unfold on the second hole…

My drive landed in the middle of the fairway…. The fairway of the third hole that is!!! Walking to the fairway next to yours to hit a ball is like the walk of shame in golf. The only thing worse might be when you hit a putt so badly that you’re still further away from the hole than everyone else and you hear the two worst words in golf – “still away.” At any rate, I made my walk of shame to my ball, and after waiting for the group on the third hole to make their tee shots, I finally got the chance to hit my ball and proceeded to shank it into fescue. I was down to 3 balls in my bag.

On the third hole (which you could argue I should play better since I had already had a sneak preview of the fairway), my drive was decent. My second shot was another story though… this time I hit a duff… right into the fescue again! 2 balls down, 2 left in my bag.

On the fourth hole I stepped up to the tee and thought to myself, “oh boy, where is this drive going to go??” On the far right of this hole were train tracks and all I could think was that I was going to lose my 3rd ball on train tracks. “Why on earth do I play this game,” I was thinking! This is supposed to be a fun way to spend your day!!

On the fifth hole – everything started to turn around for the better. The beer cart arrived, complete with grey goose and Arnold Palmer mix. Let’s be clear – I am not going to say that alcohol solves all problems on the golf course… but sometimes I think you just need some way to step back for a second and realize you’re out there for fun…. You’re spending time with people you love (or at least like a lot usually!) The sun is shining, and you’re just lucky to be out in the fresh air living your life.

The rest of the round was entirely different. I hit some bad shots; I hit some good shots… and I even managed to keep my cool when I lost my third ball. I finished the round with the last ball in my bag, and a smile on my face.