Carnoustie - stands for Senior British Open
On 1st tee box looking back into clubhouse
Hitting out of the Spectacles Bunker on the 14th
Par 3, Hole #16 - prepared for Senior Open
Barry Burn on the 18thThursday, July 15th
Carnoustie (or Car-nasty as it's sometimes referred) is arguably the toughest golf course in the world. Today, my buddy and I played this course.
"Fear causes hesitation, hesitation causes your worst of fears to come true. So, it's simple. You project strength to avoid conflict, if you project weakness, you draw aggression, and that's how people get hurt". This quote from the movie 'Point Break' was in my mind today.
Now, what I'm about to say is staggering but true considering today's events. ----- I have not played golf for 7 years. Not once. And, one step further, I have not even swung a golf club in the last 7 years. Zero. Zilch. Nothing. Why? My time in Minnesota, where the ground was snow covered 6 months out of the year, was very busy and I rarely had enough time to devote to golf.
When I decided to come to Europe this year, golfing in Scotland was high on my priority list. I would figure a way to get it done. Am I nuts? Maybe. But, I'm just really passionate about the game. I'm not a good golfer - even when I played. I just enjoy doing it. I will have attended all 4 major golf championships (Masters - 2002, US Open - 2003 Olympia Fields, British Open - 2010 St. Andrews, PGA Championship - 2009 Hazeltine) in a couple days. I've played in a golf fantasy league for several years with my buddies. I volunteered at the 2001 Amex Championship at Bellreve in St. Louis until it was cancelled because of 9-11. I know the players, I know the lingo -- generally speaking - I love the game.
This brief intro brings me to today. We left Edinburgh via train for Carnoustie at 7:30am - arriving at 9:15am. Our tee time was 1:30pm. We walked to the Carnoustie Hotel from the train - by the 1st tee box - this is where we were staying for tonight. In order to get a teetime, we had to stay a night at the hotel as well. We checked in and had our bags stored as our room was not ready. We walked around the clubhouse. Pictures of all the former Open Champions from this venue were displayed (with Padraig Harrington (2007), and Paul Lawrie (1999) being the most recent). Amazing! Am I really here? You could look out the window and see the 18th green. Did Jean Van de Velde really get a triple bogey here in '99' to lose the Championship to Paul Lawrie? Good stuff.
We sat in the clubhouse, ate some lunch, and watched the British Open on the big screen as we waited for our tee time. We then dumped our bags into our room and prepared ourselves. I had to rent clubs, as Randy had brought his own. About 45 minutes before our tee time, I went over to the driving range (just a couple nets) to hit balls for the first time in 7 years. It's probably best that I couldn't see where the balls were going. I was able to get them off the ground - I was happy with this.
We walked over to the 1st tee. We met our playing pair for the day - a couple from Toronto, Canada (Lori and Bill). Randy, as well as these two, got a caddie for the day. I chose to go it alone as I didn't think a caddie could aid my game too much today. We got a yardage book, a few tees, and a scorecard. Pretty cool stuff - I'll keep these as souvenoirs.
Now, playing golf may be the exact opposite of the saying "it's like riding a bike". If professionals go a month without playing, they will be rusty and could score high. Going 7 years without playing - not so good. There were about 10 people standing on the 1st tee box. Golf can be a mentally challenging and nerve-racking game on an average day. Today, as I strolled up to place my ball on the tee, nervous wasn't quite the word for it. I went last. Luckily, a few of the shots before me were shanked. I went through a preshot routine - trying to make it look as if I knew what I was doing. Then - club back - I addressed the ball. Wow - there it goes. I had hit it about 180-200 yards, skirting the right side of the fairway, coming to rest in the short rough. Do you believe in miracles?
My second shot brought me back to reality very quickly. I topped the ball - it rolled about 20 yards in front of me into a huge fairway bunker. These bunkers were enormous. You could get lost in them. This could be interesting. I jumped down into the sand and swung at the ball. It went 2 foot - still in the bunker. I hit it again, 1 foot this time - still in the bunker. I swung again, this time the ball comes to a stop under the bunker lip. 3 swings later - after all these people were looking at me fall apart - I pick up the ball and walk it out of the bunker. I would not complete the first hole. I walked to the green and watched the others finish.
A million things were going through my mind. It's embarrassing what just happened. That's OK. I need to shake it off. How can I expect to hit out of a huge bunker with zero sand experience. Let me just say that the reason I enjoy golf so much is the fact that it's such a mentally challenging game. Your focus and sheer determination can make all the difference. I can do this -- just stick in there.
The second hole - I hit a pretty good drive once again. I rolled my second shot somewhere up near the green and then hit a couple wedges to get on the green. I putted out - I think I scored something like an 8. Third hole - this is when it happened. I pulled my 3 wood (using clubs I had never played with in my entire life). It was a par 3 - playing about 190-200 yards. I swung. There goes the ball. It's perfect. A long, high shot - heading straight for the pin. The ball bounces on the green and comes to a stop about 20 feet from the hole. This was the shot. The shot that will keep me coming back. Easily my best of the day. Not just the result, it felt perfect. It was like Rocky had just cut the Russian. I swelled with confidence - I can do this. I had gone last again. The others all stared at me for a second - doing a double take. Really - did you just hit that shot? It was awesome. I missed the putt and ended up making par - but I'll take it.
The rest of the round was filled with ups and downs. The course is brutally hard. Danger everywhere. I think I ended up with a 140+. Randy had shot about 25 shots better than me. He is a really good golfer. Even those who normally would be a single digit handicap, scoring under 100 here is an accomplishment. I didn't care about my score. I was able to play Carnoustie and complete the course. I had to throw my ball out of another bunker later in the round - but was able to complete the other holes. I lost 4 balls - which was good in my mind. We expereinced the full Scottish weather cycle during the round. It started out overcast, warm, with little wind. It turned colder and the wind started to blow. It downpoured for about 4 holes in the middle of the round. We all had on our rain gear and were just getting through it.
I enjoyed it immensely. The last couple holes, I could remember the 2007 and 1999 Opens. It was really cool to be playing here. On the 18th hole, the Barry Burn (a serpentine water channel passing through the fairway) brought back the memories of Van de Velde taking off his shoes - thinking about hitting his shot from the water. Carnoustie lived up to its billing. The fairways are extremely narrow and there are bunkers everywhere. If you hit it into the rough, you're lucky just to get it out.
After the round, we went into the clubohouse and had a couple beers and watched the Open from St. Andrews. This was my favoitie time of the day. The stress and nerves were gone. I felt great. Sitting down at a bar with buddies after a tough day of snow-skiing or 18 holes of golf - it doesn't get much better than this.
We had a great dinner - making our reservation at 8:15pm. A couple more adult frosties - we ended a great day.
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