TOP FIVE GOLF TRIPS
#5 Turning Stone Resort in Verona, New York:
I have been on hundreds of golf trips maybe even thousands. One loses count after twenty-five years
in the golf business. This trip however was a little bit different from all the rest. Can you imagine going
on a nine day golf trip to the opposite coast and never hitting a golf shot? Well I did roll a few putts,
maybe ten, and hit six or seven sand wedges around the greens to get a good feel for the rough.
See, I have this good friend Brian Glosser and he is a teaching professional in Northern, California.
Brian is an exceptional player along with along with an understanding of the importance of growing the
game of golf. He spends time being a “club pro” by teaching junior golf camps and even going out into
the local schools to introduce the game to elementary school students. Brian and I met during his first
stent at Auburn Valley CC. We both share a passion for the game of golf and snowboarding so we hit it
off immediately. Brian and I also attended level three of the PGA PGM together and where fortunate
enough to play 5 rounds in Florida while there but as they say that is another story for another time.
Brian, through his great play, qualified at the PGA Section Level to play in the PGA Club Professional
Championship which took place in New York June, 26 th -29 th of 2016. This tournament is the pinnacle of
the season for the top 300 PGA Club Professionals in the United States. Ten months prior to the event
he asked me to caddy for him and make sure his swing stayed in check during the event I of course said
yes. Brian has been that younger brother to me and I do what I can when I can for he and his wonderful
wife and child who also attended this trip (they do a ton for me too). They along with Brian’s mom and
his wife’s parents rented us a large beach house in Sylvan Beach which is about 20 minutes away from
the golf courses at Turning Stone Resort.
This was not my first time caddying in a PGA event as my daughter Josie had me on her bag at 10
years of age when she won the NCPGA Junior Tour Championships and I have caddied for BG at local
section events. This was however my and Brian’s biggest event to date and I was prepared by using the
past ten months to get in physical shape by playing speed golf and mental shape by studying the layout
of the two golf courses we would face, Kalyuhyat, pronounced Galuya and Atunyote which is
pronounced, well I still don’t have that one quite figured out.
Brian also prepared himself by getting his game in top shape with countless hours of practice on and
around the putting green. Brian has always been blessed with power off the tee and solid ball striking
with his irons but still he worked on that too. It showed when we arrived as Brian showcased his talents
during our three practice rounds in perfect Up State New York Summer Weather. Temperature was mid
80’s and the humidity was low. Walking the 9 mile course was a breeze since Brian was “nice” and
brought a small carry bag rather than a tour staff bag. I say 9 miles because that is what a caddy walks as
he/she runs back and forth to replace divots and such duties during the round as well as gather and
return balls on and around the practice greens.
The pairings were picked up and our first round tee times started at 1:35pm and the second round
was at 8:05am. We woke up to a glorious morning with the sun shining over the lake and the ducks
swimming in the glassy waters. We had a few hours to kill so Brian and his wife taught me how to
Kayak. I have to tell you Kayaking for the first time is a whole lot easier than moving a little white ball
around a golf course the first time; I still managed to tip it once. After a quick sandwich for lunch it was
time to hit the links.
On the way over to Turning Stone we noticed that the winds were picking up. As we pulled into the
parking lot there was a steady one club wind which is not tough to judge as long as it stays steady. We
spent an hour warming up between the range and the practice greens and as that time passed the winds
began to gust and switch directions almost constantly. As Brian’s tee time approached we headed over
to the first tee and as BG introduced himself to everyone I got my caddy bib on and loaded the range
finder, tees, and a few waters in the pockets. Brian was second to hit in his threesome and just like in
the practice round he cracked that driver down the middle of the 397 yard, par 4 and we were off.
We started with a par and as the day went on the winds continued to grow and swirl and make the
most difficult game on earth even more difficult. Brian did great to keep his frustrations low as we had
shot after shot in which the wind either stopped, changed directions or gusted straight at us as BG
reached the beginning of his downswing. He did well to hold it to 2 over on the front as we now
ventured to the back in a wind that made the golf bag heavy. We did not fare so well on the back at
Atunyote as we turned in a 40 and it was hard earned at that as I saw countless players lose balls in both
water and tall grass.
The scorer said, “Well done” and pointed out that the majority of low scores had been shot in the
morning and that the difference between morning and afternoon rounds was 4 strokes. I feel that Brian
played great and remember this is his first time playing in such an event and my first time caddying in
which I had to say, “See that television tower?, Aim right at the “O” in golf”.
Day two was that 8:05 tee time on the Kaluhyat and we teed off of hole #9 do to the layout of the
golf course and the flight we were in. The skies were darker today but the wind was just the same as
yesterday afternoon’s round. We made sure to put our raingear in and pack a couple extra towels. It
turned out that was a great idea because the skies opened with showers as soon as the first tee shot
was hit. Umbrella up and raingear out we all suited up. Brian parred the 432 yard par 4 and off we went.
The rains continued on and off the entire round and the winds did the same. Brian squeezed out a great
74 after receiving a tough double bogey with one of his two three putts during this round.
As soon as we got in the shuttle van to ride from hole #8 green back to the clubhouse the sun peaked
it’s head through and the winds calmed. Once again we had been at the wrong end of the tee times as
the weather continued to improve over the rest of the day. Despite Brian’s valiant effort we missed the
cut line and now had a few days of nothing but vacation left in this pristine area of the Empire State.
Between fireworks on the beach, kayaking, mini golf, countless Lego building competitions with BG’s
7 year old son, and a ton of laughs with his father in law, the days flew by and it was time to say
goodbye to Sylvan Beach. This will go down as one of my top 5 golf trips and I never even played, other
than two rounds of mini golf.
There are many ways to enjoy the game of golf and if I may make a suggestion to you, I would tell you
to try them all.
No comments:
Post a Comment