Fifth Rant: Porter Cup Qualifier	Sixth Rant:  Having A Head For Golf		Seventh Rant:  Glen Oak Review
Third Rant: Tiger	Fourth Rant: Why Golf?		First Rant	Second Rant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seventh Rant:  Glen Oaks Review

Located on Smith Road in East Amherst, NY, Glen Oak Golf Course sits in the middle of a cluster of single family homes, townhouses, condos and patio homes.  A Robert Trent Jones design, Glen Oak was opened in 1969.  A common misconception is that the course was designed to be part of a ‘golfing community.’  The course, which was private until 1985, was always designed to be a standalone entity.  The only concession to local residents was access to a bike path that meanders through the course.  To this day, the path is still open to area residents.
 

The course has undergone very little changes over the years.  According to head pro Mike Zuppa, a few bunkers have been reworked and tee box reconstruction has taken place recently.  Otherwise, the course looks the same as the way it was designed.

Part of the course is dissected by Smith Road.  Holes 1-10 and 14-18 sit on the right half of the road with the remaining holes on the other side of the road.  With four tee boxes, Glen Oak offers a fair yet challenging experience for golfers of all levels.  When played from the ‘tips’, it offers an extreme challenge for even the most experienced golfers.  Played from the one of the up boxes, the course becomes much more playable yet still is demanding in its own right.

While not heavily bunkered, there are enough sand traps on the course to require most approach shots to be hit with proper distance and accuracy.  Water comes into play on 10 of the holes, but, it is a major concern on holes 2, 5, 7, 8, 12 and 18.The fairways are spacious enough that slightly offline hits will not result in severe penalty situations.  The greens are for the most part large with some undulations, but, the breaks in the greens are fairly straight forward. 

While the course has a number of memorable holes, one of the best is #5, a long par 5 with potential trouble from start to finish.  Too far left on the tee shot can result in an out of bounds (possibly landing on the deck of
someone’s patio!).  A tee shot too far right brings a large strand of trees into play and can result in a dicey 2^nd shot.  The layup shot requires both distance and direction since water can come into play on shots hit either too far right or left.  The third, or approach, shot must be accurate as there is water on the immediate right side of the green and a sizeable sand trap on the left.  Some may find this hole a bit daunting, but, if played correctly, this hole can provide a real sense of golfing accomplishment.

Probably the most vexing hole on the course is the par 3 15^th.  This hole plays around 175-190 from the middle tees to an elevated green and requires a well struck mid-iron or even some sort of hybrid club depending on the wind direction.  Two huge bunkers front the right side of a green that slopes from right to left.  Another bunker sits behind the green.  Tee shots hit short and right usually find there way into one of the front bunkers.  Shots that are either hit too long or hit without the proper loft will land in the back bunker.  Shots that are short and left will run off of the green due to the severe front sloping.  If your tee shot does not land on the green, your 2^nd shot is difficult at best and making par becomes an iffy proposition. 

While none of the holes was truly awful, I was the least impressed by the 14^th hole.  This short par 4 is both visually and strategically unappealing.  While it is a hole that can help one’s scoring, I found that it lacked the dynamism that many of the other holes possess.  The layout of the hole is fairly straight forward and requires no more than a mediocre tee shot to end up with a short iron to the green (which is directly in front of Smith Rd.). 

For some reason this hole almost seems like an afterthought in the grand scheme of things.  But, the abundance of truly fine holes does mitigate this hole.  Mo’ Golf, my erstwhile and opinionated colleague, notes that Robert Trent Jones, Senior, was never a fan of centerline hazards, preferring parallel bunkering to a diagonal series of sand pits.  In Mo’s opinion, #14 would benefit from just such a diagonal hazard…carry the short right bunker for a longer approach in; risk the longer, lefter carry and have a shorter club in.  Mo’ also suggested that RTJ, Sr. was perhaps planning a breather hole before the final, nearly-impregnable quadrilateral of holes 15-18.

 Glen Oak has a men’s club and offers both men’s and women’s leagues Monday-Thursday.  There is also a large clubhouse with a bar for casual drinks or snacks and a full service restaurant for dinners or banquets.

 All in all, Glen Oak is a challenging yet fair golfing experience.  For a public course it has the feel of private course.

Sixth Rant:  Having a Head for Golf

OK, I’ve played golf for more years than I care to admit to, yet, there are times on the course when I really
question whether I have any mental aptitude for the game at all.  What I am referring to is what most people
call course management, but, what I really think of is ‘having a head for golf’.

I’m sure we have all at one time or other muttered to ourselves or often to anyone in earshot, ‘What was I
thinking?’ after hitting a shot that makes no sense whatsoever; like trying to hit a lob wedge off of hard pan
from in front of a greenside bunker with out-of-bounds or some other hazard behind the green.  As soon as
the ball begins its wayward journey, we begin to feel the pit in our stomach and the searing pain rushing
through our brain. “What WAS I thinking?”

I know that we all do this and it goes with the territory, but, it seems like I may be the king of the dumb shot. 
And what makes it worse is that I have really been playing long enough to know better.

 Years ago, I was playing behind a local teaching pro and I was amazed at how this person always seemed to
have their ball in the proper position to execute the next shot.  At that time, I thought that it had to do with
their teaching status, but, over the years I have really come to believe that you are either born with this ability
or not.

I guess one can become more proficient at course management as the years go by, but, I am quite sure I will
never ‘play smart’ naturally and effortlessly.

Nowadays, when I go to the course I usually have some ‘game plan’ in mind or at least a somewhat vague idea
of what I would like to accomplish that day.  My strategy usually holds up for number of holes (the exact number seems to vary), but, sure enough, at some the brain cramp comes and it seems like it is generally downhill from
that point on.

So, you can call it focus or course management or concentration, but, whatever it is, is seems to come naturally
to some golfers and not so much to the rest of us.  So, onward I trek envious of those who play the game so
naturally, but, I do take some comfort in the fact that I can’t remember the last time I attempted to hit a lob
wedge off of hard pan. 

Things may be looking up.

 

Fifth Rant:  Porter Cup Qualifier

You can't blame the Niagara Falls Country Club nor the Porter Cup committee.  Eight spots were available to local amateurs to qualify into the 2010 Porter Cup.  Illustrious local names like Ken Riter (2009 NYSGA Mid-Am champion), Jake Katz (2010 BDGA Match Play champion), John Edwards, Chris Covelli, and Peter Creighton (former qualifiers), and Joey Vogl, Mike Carrig, Billy Hanes (collegiate players) and James Blackwell and Matt Petrosian (high school standouts) blanketed the tee sheet for the 2010 Porter Cup qualifying 18.  When the final putts had tumbled low, only Katz among local aspirants had turned in the necessary score (68 outright, 69 in a playoff) to move into the tournament proper.  The Binghamton University golfer went around in 33-34 for 67 blows, good for 3rd place among the 8 survivors.  Other conquerors of the Lewiston course were a Bolivian (Sebastian Maclean), an Ohioan (Zachary Bates) four Canadians (Mackenzie Hughes, Garrett Rank, Nicholas Powell and Braeden Cryderman), joined by a gent from Fairport, NY (Andrew Lane.)  Matthew DeJohn of Geneva, NY and Michael Carrig, former Bishop Timon-St. Jude stalwart, were eliminated in the five-for-three playoff at 69.

So, what happened to the local boys?  After Carrig, one score of 70, three at 71 and five of 72 were turned in by residents of Erie and Niagara counties.  Our best area players seem to be quite capable of shooting par or thereabouts, but only a select few are able to make it around in the necessary-for-qualification, 2-3 strokes below.  Is it frustrating?  Sure.  We'd love to have a few more regional representatives to cheer on come July, but the answer to the question of "how well would they do?" is, not very.  Probably bottom third.  Is that a triumph in itself?  Absolutely.  Just getting in is a feat of renown.   When Justin Regier of Clarence challenged for the title a few years back, something unique had taken place.  Until our local suitors get comfortable shooting scores in the mid-sixties in tournament play, they will not graduate to the national amateur stage.

For all results from the qualifier, Click Here.  For information on the Porter Cup, visit http://www.portercup.com.

 

Fourth Rant:  Why Golf

I have always viewed golf as a fairly benign activity.  It is played on lush, manicured fields.  The competitors,
for the most part, conduct themselves in a very proper manner. Sportsmanship is maybe the most
fundamental aspect of the game.  Yet, golf always seems to illicit a fair amount of negative comments
from people who don’t play the sport

Let’s start with clothes.  Yes, golfers in the 70’s and 80’s wore outrageous, often polyester clothes, but, hey,
so did most of the population back then.  Golfers were merely mimicking the rest of the folks.  Yet, to this
day, the perception exists that golfers still dress like disco dudes.  I would be willing to bet that golfers of today,
just as those before, pretty much dress in a style that mimics the fashions of the day.  Even further, I might
be willing to bet that those on the golf course dress better than those off the course.  If you’re not convinced,
I suggest that you look at the way people are dressed the next time you go to the grocery store.

Another comment I often hear is that golfers are not athletes. While I cannot vouch for the athletic ability or
lack of athletic ability of everyone who plays golf, I can only offer my personal observations.  Most of the
really good golfers I know often excelled at a sport other than golf on either a high school or college level. 
Yes, it is true that golf does not take brute strength or blinding speed, but,  it sure takes a great deal of hand-eye coordination and flexibility and body control.  If I am not mistaken, these are all signs of an athletic person.

Finally, golf is boring.  I think this perception comes from the fact that golf is played at a mostly leisurely pace. 
Unlike non-stop sports like hockey or basketball or explosive type sports such as football or baseball, it can
feel like not much is happening during a round of golf.  Yet, in reality there are probably more spontaneous happenings in a golf round both mentally and physically than perhaps other sports which rely more on instinctual reactions honed through repetitive practicing.  In golf, every shot has its own unique circumstances that require
precise physical and mental preparation and execution.  In addition, these are often shots which we have not
really had the opportunity to practice at any length or even practice at all.  Try hitting a baseball without hours
and hours of practice.  

Golf is surely not everyone’s cup of tea, but, I feel fairly certain that once one starts playing golf, many of the stereotypes very quickly fade off into the distance.

 

 

 

Third Rant:

There is an old saying that a tiger can’t change its stripes.  Judging from this week’s Masters’ tournament, it looked to me like the same old Tiger Woods with the same old stripes.  Yes, Tiger vowed to change his demeanor and his respect for the game, but, what I saw was closer to lip service than real action.

In any tournament that Tiger enters, the viewer is sure to get almost non-stop, wall-to-wall coverage of everything Tiger so it was fairly easy to judge how Tiger went about his business this week.  What we were able to witness was the same old petulant, arrogant, ego-centric player of old.  Yes, Tiger toned down his act a bit, but, in the end, he really hadn’t changed enough to make a real difference.

It seems painfully obvious that whatever drives Tiger is so deeply ingrained that it is almost beyond his or anyone else’s ability to change his behavior.  The low point may have been his post final round interview.  As Bill McAtee tried to get Tiger to reveal some emotion about his return to golf amidst  all that he has gone through, Tiger quite curtly replied that he came to win and since he didn’t he was not happy.  Now, please go away.

I am quite certain that I was not alone in wanting Tiger to show some emotion; maybe a passing remark on how it was great to be back doing what he loves or how emotional the week was for him.  Instead Tiger reverted to his ability to dole out only what he wants and to always keep the walls around him securely in place.

Through Tiger’s entire sordid affair and the media maelstrom and the tabloid stories and the late night joke fests that followed, I never was able to summon up much sympathy for Tiger.  Yesterday, I actually felt sorry for him.  Sorry that he is either incapable of showing any emotional weakness or that he feels so compelled to keep everyone at bay that he never lets his guard down. In the end, Tiger’s only humanity may be his inability to act like a normal human being.

Second Rant:

Ernie Els won his 2^nd tournament of the year.  It looks like the Big easy is going to be a force to be reckoned with this year on the PGA Tour.  Freddy Couples is quickly making the Champions Tour his own personal ATM machine.  Kudos, Freddy.  I’m guessing some woman won an LPGA tournament this week; if there was one.  And, finally, three more of Tiger’s tramps have come out in a Vanity Fair article this week to add their two cents worth to the whole sordid affair.  Take a quick guess as to which news story is getting the most run. 

Since the Tiger buzz just doesn’t seem to want to go away, I’ll add my 2c worth. According to these estimable Vanity Fair sources, it seems the ol’ Tiger was a voracious sex addict, a compulsive gambler and a notorious cheapskate.  Is anyone really surprised at these latest allegations?  It doesn’t take a psychology degree to see that Tiger is the penultimate Type A personality.  It makes perfect sense that anything he does, it’s all or nothing; probably impossible for him to do anything in moderation. 

I can unequivocally state that I have had enough with all of the sordid details, the XXX rated text messages and the constant parade of bimbos seeking their 15 minutes of fame and fortune.  I know way more than I care to know about Tiger’s transgressions and at this point all I really want to do is to see him back on the golf course.  Without insulting Mr. Els and his fellow pros, the tour without Tiger is a pretty dull scene.  With the exception of a player or two, the tour players are pretty much interchangeable with little or no pizzazz.  No matter how your opinion of Tiger has changed, he is the best thing that has happened to golf in the last 15 years or so and will remain so until someone with his dynamism comes along.

Rico

 

First Rant:

Now that spring has sprung and the days are getting longer and warmer and the trees are beginning to bud, it is only natural that our thoughts begin to meander towards another season of golf in Western New York.  Yes, our winters are long and they are harsh, but, oh our summers!  With temperatures that are warm but usually not too oppressive, humidity that seldom gets to the unbearable range and an abundance of sunshine filling our long summer days, the golfing season in WNY is truly an enjoyable experience.

I would be willing to bet that when people in the rest of the country think of golfing destinations, the WNY area is rarely high on the list; yet, we may be one of the best kept secrets in the country.  We have a large number of older, established courses from private public to municipal tracks that can fit the ability level of almost any golfer.  And, as most of us golfers know, the number of new courses in WNY and southern Ontario has virtually exploded in the past few years.  Many of these courses range from a mild uptick in quality from some of the older area courses to some that are very close to country club status in their level of playability and amenities.  Add to the mix, golf rates still fall into the reasonable category and we have ourselves a proven winner.  To those of you who have not played some of these newer tracks, I highly recommend venturing out beyond your normal range of courses and give some of them a try.  I think you will be quite surprised at what is out there.

Winter is in our rear view mirrors and as we begin to get our clubs out of the basement or the garage and start to think of the new season, we should reflect a bit on how good we have it in this area. 

Here’s to another great season on the links.

Rico