For the Golfers – 2022 PGA American Express Tourney – January 19-23rd

[Mb-MBR]

Love the WITB pics. Looks absolutely picturesque, especially as I sit here in the prairies under a cold weather warning.....

[Zip-in-Z]

Day 2 …. Up early, no issues getting to PGA West, got my gear & was on the Nicklaus 1st T early. Got another volunteer to take my pic, for the scrap book. Today I accompanied Christiaan Bezuidenhout for South Africa, who had a tough day and ended up shooting even, 72. The other pro was Nick Watney, he hit more than one drive 315-320 yds, his irons & wedges were solid, but missed too many putts and ended up -1 or 71. The two amateurs today were a lot of fun, Andrew Macdonald a Canadian from Toronto, 12 HC, he was invited by AMEX to attend, because he was an executive at Uber who paid for everything, including his caddie. Patrick Cantlay the sole leader shot 4 under today on Nicklaus he’s -14. The wind started to blow around 2:30 had to be 10-15mph, Saturday they say 10 -20 mph gusts, that will make for tough course conditions, luck for these guys they’re not playing at the Classic Club on I10.

I used my Garmin G8 to record the pro’s scores, when I ended the round it said we walked 6.5 miles, in 5:20 today, my legs/feet sure were burning, the hot tub & cold beer helped.

Saturday’s my third & final round, same time, same track accompanying Kelly Kraft & Scott Stallings.

Edit: That's the sign board I carry around all day in a sling, it weighs about the same as a 10-12 lb Walleye.

Cheers

D.



Looking dazed this morning .....

[RandyBoBandy]

This might be a difficult question to answer BUT...I've been to the US Open for tennis 3 times. The shots you see LIVE are AMAZING. TV doesn't catch it. Since you are front row and RIGHT there, what have seen that is mind blowing and TV will never show us?? TIA

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by RandyBoBandy

This might be a difficult question to answer BUT...I've been to the US Open for tennis 3 times. The shots you see LIVE are AMAZING. TV doesn't catch it. Since you are front row and RIGHT there, what have seen that is mind blowing and TV will never show us?? TIA

The TV guys were only out on Hole 9 & 18 in towers, none on the Nicklaus course the last 2 days. The Golf Channel should be out on the Stadium Course on Sunday with lots of cameras. These guys can hit a big ball, 300 yd plus drives & 270 yd plus 3 wood shots. I've seen 2 Eagles on the Par 5's that were kick in putts. The Pro's drop the F-Bomb more often than you would expect. I was really surprised to see some of the terrible shots or putts the Amateurs hit until I found out today they can be accepted by AMEX if they have a 15 handicap or less. It's all about the money if your business does big business with AMEX, everything is paid for or provided.

D.

[Zip]

Keep the pictures coming brother Zip…I am so envious of you, that’s a lot of fun for a golf guy to be doing what your doing..those guys are amazing to watch up close..the sound their driver makes when they spank one 320…is a noise my driver has never heard yet, and I’ve had it for 8 years already..all around the sweet spot is used on my driver..the sweet spot I haven’t found yet..
Zip

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by Zip

Keep the pictures coming brother Zip…I am so envious of you, that’s a lot of fun for a golf guy to be doing what your doing..those guys are amazing to watch up close..the sound their driver makes when they spank one 320…is a noise my driver has never heard yet, and I’ve had it for 8 years already..all around the sweet spot is used on my driver..the sweet spot I haven’t found yet..
Zip

R ... good one, you made me smile.

D.

[Zip-in-Z]

Day 3 …. out again at 8:40 on the Nicklaus course with Scott Stallings who shot 4 under 68 today & Kelly Kraft shot 2 over for a 74, both didn’t make the cut. The wind came up around the 6-7 hole which made low scoring tough. The two amateurs caused a number of delays today, a course Captain advised we were behind and had to pick up the pace. On #7 a 530 yd Par 5, Kelly Kraft hit driver, 2 iron and was in dried up dead grass area about 10 ft below the green, his wedge shot hit the top of the bank & rolled back down to his feet, he chunked the next shot with the same result rolled back down to his feet, his 3 wedge shot hit back of green with no spin and stopped on fringe, two putts later he was in for a double from about 15 feet from the flag, Pro’s do it, too ... including a number of F-Bombs .

On #17 a Par 3, we caught up to the last group who started off on the back 9 & stood around for 8-10 minutes. Same on #18, pulled out my phone and took a few pic’s while waiting. Finished up in 5:25 min, walked another 6.5 miles, my feet/legs were now real tired/sore, my blisters had blisters.

These were the final scores of the pros I accompanied, the cut was -6, two guys are tied for the lead at -18, Phil the tourney host, ended up at +7.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout -10
Doug Ghim -8
JJ Spaun -7
Scott Stallings -4
Kelly Kraft -2
Nick Watney -1

Tomorrow, I plan to sleep in a bit, then take the Mrs out for B.fast and head over to the Stadium track to walk with the leaders, we both have free passes and I got a bunch of booze tickets for volunteering that need to get used up.

I was surprised to see the number of Cdn’s that volunteer at this tournament, it was obvious, we all had blue bands on our access pass lanyards. The snowbirds were working in almost every area either on the course or behind the scenes, including the announcer who introduces the players on the first T, he was from Brampton, Ont.

A few pic’s ….

Cheers

David


View on Nicklaus Tournament #18 from the tips ....










I stopped in the Lounge & grand stands for a beer overlooking the 18 green on the Stadium course, this is were all the action will be tomorrow.




The view is Priceless ..... you should be here.





Leader Board ....





Hope you enjoyed the pic's ....

.

[Bushmaster]

Thanks for keeping us apprised of your journey! Both interesting and enjoyable.

[johnnyringo]

Great to see you were able to get down to PS this winter...I'm ****ed we just couldn't make it work this Christmas.
I actually played the Stadium course a few years back (when it was the careerbuilder)
Here are some pics of a couple great holes at that course.

p.s. I was KP on 17

Keep up the pics & make sure the ringer is off...lol

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by johnnyringo

Great to see you were able to get down to PS this winter...I'm ****ed we just couldn't make it work this Christmas.
I actually played the Stadium course a few years back (when it was the careerbuilder)
Here are some pics of a couple great holes at that course.

p.s. I was KP on 17

Keep up the pics & make sure the ringer is off...lol

Great pic's .... it's an amazing track.

D.

[Zip-in-Z]

My favorite hole on the Stadium course, looks like it won't be too windy today, should make for some low scoring today.

D.

[Phil McCracken]

Wow...

I envy you!...

[Zip-in-Z]

Sunday … final round, got out to watch the final group T-off at 10:55, followed them to the green then went over to #17 and parked for a while. Enjoyed watching a few groups come in seen 4 birdies, the crowd was loud. Then went back to #18 and was able to get 2 seats in the upper grand stands overlooking the green. Watched Jon Rahm mess up his approach shot came up short & it looked like he was going to toss his wedge into the pond, he still made par was -14 for the day. Stayed until Patrick Cantlay came in, he over shot the green his wedge saved him then made a short putt for par.

There was a line up to get on the bus, waited for 2 buses to load before it was our turn, getting out of the parking lot wasn’t too bad, but still a lot of traffic headed down Jefferson to i10.

The Mrs took a pic or two of the new arena that’s under construction next to the Classic Club, not sure of the capacity, it looked huge. Got home & hit the hot tub with a rum/coke, my back & feet thanked me.

Hudson Swafford came from behind & shot a 64 to win by 2 strokes & took home 1.3M, this was his second win out here, his last was in 2017.

My four days have come to an end, I still have a ½ price certificate to play 1 of the PGA West courses, most likely it will be the Stadium course, but not from the tips.

I enjoyed my volunteer opportunity, walking with the pros inside the ropes was a unique experience, not sure I would do it again, perhaps something different next year like working out on the range.

A few random pic’s …

Cheers

D.

[Zip-in-Z]

See Post 43 for Sunday, final round info.

Went over to #18 ....





















New arena under construction, off i10 ...

[skain11]

Thanks for the great report and pics Z. I was able to volunteer inside the ropes back in '03 and '05 when our company was the name sponsor of the Byron Nelson tourney in Dallas. It is amazing to see live the way their drives just soar upward until they run out of energy and come back to earth. Sure seems to be a lack of clouds in the sky down there. So that arena will be the home of the Kraken AHL team? Going to a game will be a great way to cool down after your hot golf round....thanks again, time to go scrap up some ice again after our rain yesterday.

[Zip-in-Z]

Originally Posted by skain11

Thanks for the great report and pics Z. I was able to volunteer inside the ropes back in '03 and '05 when our company was the name sponsor of the Byron Nelson tourney in Dallas. It is amazing to see live the way their drives just soar upward until they run out of energy and come back to earth. Sure seems to be a lack of clouds in the sky down there. So that arena will be the home of the Kraken AHL team? Going to a game will be a great way to cool down after your hot golf round....thanks again, time to go scrap up some ice again after our rain yesterday.

They called them the ...

Link .... https://cvfirebirds.com/

[Zip-in-Z]

PGA Tour: The American Express Monday Morning Caddie

Hudson Swafford had experience with closing the deal in the California desert. He won his first PGA Tour event over these courses, five years back. He escaped Adam Hadwin by one stroke that year. Now a more seasoned competitor, Swafford lit up the back nine of Pete Dye’s Stadium Course. In fact, he didn’t make a par until the 18th hole. Fortunately for Big Hud, the first eight holes of the inward half included five birdies and an eagle. Two bogeys served to make the finish closer than it was this year.



WITB.



Driver: TaylorMade Stealth (9 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke

3-wood: Ping i25 (14 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 125 MSI 80 TX

5-wood: Ping i25 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Aldila Tour Blue 85

Irons: PXG 0311 ST Gen3 (4, 5) 0311 ST Gen4 (6-9)
Shaft: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy (46-10, 50, 56-13), Vokey Design SM8 WedgeWorks (60-T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom X 7.5 tour prototype

Ball: Titleist Pro V1



.