Post by philknj on Jun 14, 2018 11:54:47 GMT
I originally planned to hit the Wednesday pro-ams, but unexpected personal business cut into that time, so all I did was play 18 holes at Pomona Golf & CC. It’s a cheap 9-holer of about 2,500 yards, seven miles NW of the Seaview Resort. It was quiet enough to get in a lot of practice with several balls in play.
Now for Thursday...the plan was to hit the Seaview in the AM and then go up to Galloway National GC for the PM. This is the opposite of what I have done before on pro-am Thursday.
I passed through the Seaview gates at 8:45 AM, just in time for Lydia Ko to tee off at #1 at 8:50 AM. Most of the morning groups were playing, including Mi Hyang Lee, who I planned to rendezvous with on the back nine later.
I crossed Route 9 and paid a brief visit to the practice green, which didn’t have many players. Leticia Ras-Anderica was one of them...she had a Ryoma Golf bag, which is a brand for woods, but not irons. I couldn’t get a good look at her irons, but I’m guessing she still has Epons. A tall Asian showed up, who I didn’t recognize. I figured out it was Harang Lee and she plays Titleist MB irons. I had a brief glimpse of Victoria Elizabeth and her Volvik visor as she exited the green for her Pines course pro-am.
Lisa Maguire started her day at the par-4 10th hole at 9:10 AM, so I tagged along. She had a Ping bag, wore Puma attire (navy long-sleeve top and charcoal pants) and a cap with the KPMG logo. Of course, I knew about superstar amateur Leona Maguire, but I didn’t know until this week that she had a twin sister who also played at Duke U. I lost sight of Lisa’s opening drive, which ended up in the fescue to the left of the left side fairway bunker. She made a protracted search for it...I don’t know why since two ams hit drives that were long and in the short grass.
At the long par-3 11th hole, she started her FW or hybrid far right and it hooked back very little. I can’t recall if she was off the green or in the bunker...didn’t matter as the ams hit better balls. The 12th is the short dogleg-right par-4...with FW or hybrid, Lisa hit a good one.
The par-4 13th hole has a straight generous fairway, which is also one of the drive measuring holes. But, there was no point in measuring a ball that ballooned and fell out of the sky in the right rough. I had seen enough...she has no chance of making it on the LPGA tour.
I returned to the 12th tee where MHL showed up and greeted me. Daddy was following inside the ropes and Cheeseburger Chad Payne was on the bag. I don’t know if her group started with four amateurs, but she had only two now (they would take two swings for each shot). After Mi Hyang experimented with two tee shots from different areas of the box, I went down to the green where the flag was on the left and maybe eight feet from the back collar. Mi Hyang landed her approach over the flag and it spun back, leaving about a ten-foot uphill putt, which one of the amateurs made. Before leaving for the par-4 13th hole, MHL dropped one ball on the back collar and chipped it into the hole with a wedge.
The Alison Walshe grouped was walking to the 9th tee while I was near the 12th green. I heard this interesting exchange:
Amateur: What part of Massachusetts are you from?
Walshe: Charlestown
Amateur: I’m sorry, but what cities is that near?
Walshe: North End
Maybe there’s an amateur sociologist out there who can explain why Walshe just didn’t say “Boston”.
With the blocks set at the 401 marker at #13, MHL hit a drive down the left-center, which was the best ball for her team. It lined up with the hashmarks on the right side of the fairway at 245. I don’t know exactly where the hashmarks are measured from. I could hear Chad say they had 133 to the pin, which was on the front-right. Mi Hyang stuffed it close for a two-foot kick in...the scoreboard nearby said her team was -7, but now they were -8.
At the 14th tee Mr. Lee offered me a chilled 100% coconut water from Brazil and MHL invited me into the snack area where I grabbed an energy bar. Regarding the coconut juice, that was the first time...not crazy about it.
I walked ahead to the area left of the par-3 15th green. This is where the broadcasting trailer was set up...it had a Utah license plate. On the outside, it’s the same type of trailer I’ve seen used for golf gear maintenance. The door was open and you could see a lighted mirror with makeup jars at the top of the steps. If you looked from the side, you could see two chairs behind a desk with lights shining down on that area. “Would you like to take the tour?”, said a familiar voice behind me. It was Grant Boone, so I said okay, thanks.
Sarah Jane Smith’s group was ahead of MHL. While they putted out at #15, Karen Stupples showed up and I greeted her, asked if she played in the pro-ams this week. “No, I was too busy”, was the reply. I said I once saw her at the Atlantic City CC pro-am and she said she likes that course. After Smith teed off at the par-4 16th hole, Boone and Stupples joined this group...Boone talked to the caddy and Stupples talked to Smith. No doubt, this attention was due to SJS leading the U.S. Women’s Open last week after two rounds. It wouldn’t surprise me if the TV viewers of the Shop-Rite later received a data dump of everything you ever wanted to know about Sarah Jane Smith.
While Team MHL waited to play the par-3 17th hole, one of the ams talked about shopping for clubs only during the off-season clearance time. Chad said he got his clubs from his former players, saying “when they don’t want ‘em anymore, they give ‘em to me.”
Mi Hyang easily reached the par-5 18th hole in two. While walking the fairway a photographer stationed on the left cart path asked for a wave and she complied (I haven’t found that photo online). She ran in a 25-footer for eagle to complete her day at -10. Normally, I wouldn’t pay attention to a pro-am score, but -10 was quite encouraging as she had only two ams who were erratic and looking tired by the end of the round...from what I saw, she was carrying the team. I complemented her play and asked when she was playing on Friday. She was guessing around 12:50 PM and Chad interjected, “One o’clock.”
MHL went to the practice green across Route 9 while Chad carried the bag to the fence surrounding the green and sat down on a chair. Standing next to him was Jerry Foltz, who was holding court with several loopers on a variety of subjects, the main one being the Tuesday broadcast he did of the World Long Drive contest at ACCC. In case you missed it, the unusually narrow (45 yards) grid was set up using the course’s par-5 10th hole. With a 20 MPH cross wind, the grid was almost impossible to hit.
A few of Foltzy’s comments, paraphrased:
About one player: “His grip is so bad that he has to swing that way to have any chance at all.”
About the competitors: “I’m shocked when they hit the grid...I’m convinced that winning Long Drive is all about controlling your spin rate...only about ten of these guys make a living from Long Drive...they do a lot of corporate outings and golf events and have endorsements...most of the rest have full-time jobs...the winner of the two previous events is a paramedic.”
About the temporary driving range set up for the event: “They had no plans to recover the balls. They sacrificed about 2,000 balls to the marshes.”
About women’s champ Sandra Carlborg: “Her swing speed is 127 and Bubba is at 126.”
About the Volvik-only balls used for the event: “There’s a conspiracy theory among some players that the ball’s center breaks apart. But, they are using brand new balls.”
Comparing a long drive competitor to the “average” golfer: “They did a compilation of every person who has ever been measured on Trackman and determined the average swing speed was 98, which would make the ball speed around 150, along with a certain amount of dispersion...that’s your typical 12-handicapper. Now project out the dispersion for a Long Drive player with his swing speed, who’s trying to hit a grid 45 yards wide. It would be like asking the 12-handicapper to hit a fairway the width of two cart paths.”
He recounted stories from his playing days on the Hogan tour or other mini tours...he spoke too softly to pick up the details, but I heard the word “arrested” two or three times...he was probably talking about loopers.
Then Foltz turned to one of the caddies and asked, “Were you in City of Industry when Sandra Gal won? I was following the last group with Gal and Jiyai Shin. They say 30,000 people were there. It was my first broadcast doing the LPGA and I thought, ‘so this is what the LPGA is about’.”
I returned to the course to see how Leona Maguire compared to Lisa...caught up with her as she was putting out at #14. Her bag and clothing were identical to Lisa’s, except that Leona had white pants.
While flipping through the free media guide, I heard a loud bang over my head and behind me. One of the ams in Leona’s group hit a dead pull at the par-3 15th tee and struck the TV camera broadside overlooking the 14th green. I looked up at it and thought I saw a faint ball mark.
I followed Leona thru the 18th tee shot. I noticed her weak grip at the 2017 USWO. That hasn’t changed...even from behind her back, the back of her left hand was turned towards the target. Leona has more oomph through the hitting zone than Lisa, but it would have been nice to see them play together to notice the difference. Leona’s drive at #18 was high, straight and probably long...no way Lisa can hit it like that. Leona is the Real Maguire.
I made one brief visit to the driving range. On the way, I stopped by the 1st tee of the Pines course. Many groups were waiting to start...the players there were unknowns to me. One of them was Kylee Duede...nice to look at and was bagging Edel irons and wedges.
Mi Hyang showed up at the range with a couple of baskets to practice her pitch shots to a target green...her entourage included Volvik Tour rep Kevin Deal. Hee Young Park was at the range hitting balls with a wrap around her right elbow.
Nanette Hill’s “range process” caught my attention. She has been on the LPGA periphery for years, although the last cut she made was in July 2016. Yet, she was able to qualify for the 2018 USWO...before being predictably crushed at Shoal Creek. At the range, she takes the club back a little short of parallel, hits the ball, has a short helicopter finish, and then recoils the club so that the shaft is parallel in front of her shoulders and the back of her left hand is pointing to the sky. Some players can make golf look easy...for Nannette Hill, it looks hard.
It was after 2:15 PM and time to visit Galloway National GC. The goal was to see two of the past LET/Dubai sheikh favorites, Chelsea Pezzola (left) and Paige Spirinac (center), and then improvise from there. The third player below is Tisha Alyn Abrea.
I parked in the vacant lot across from the course on Rte. 9 and dropped by the 11th tee box, where Brittany Lang’s group had already teed off. Holes 11 thru 15 are on the west side of Route 9. I decided not to explore that part of the course and would concentrate my visit on holes 16 thru 18. Unlike past pro-ams here, this one had everyone teeing off from the 1st hole only, instead of shotgun from 1 & 10.
First, I paid a visit to the clubhouse. There was a TV screen in the lobby flashing the pro-am scores. Then I took a look inside the pro shop. I recalled reading recent JLPGA winner Shiho Oyama had bought her TaylorMade spider putter at Golf 5 in Japan...I don’t know what she was charged, but Galloway had them priced at $330.
The par-5 16th hole has a generous fairway, but Pezzola’s drive was pushed straight right...it may have been the team’s best tee ball anyway. The par-3 17th hole has the bay in the background with several casino towers in the distance. It was about 175 to the pin, but into a light breeze. Pezzolo, a PXG staffer, took out a FW with a pretty large head and hit the green with a good shot...she later said, “that’s my 185-190 club.”
Not much to report on Paige Spirinac as she played 16 thru 18 (hit a good drive at #18). I assume the pros are required not to violate the club’s apparel standards and Paige complied. That reminds me...saw LPGA clothing czar Vicki Geotze-Ackerman at the 17th green.
Ran into a player I wanted to see at the 16th fairway, Maddie Sheils. Her right shoe heel says MADDOG (there is NOTHING “dog” about her). The pros have their own carts and usually don’t have a caddie with them, but a young lady was in the passenger seat carrying a yardage book with a cover that said B HAM. Upon further research, I think it was Britney Hamilton, a Symetra tour washout turned caddy.
One of the ams was a middle-to-upper middle age woman who had a respectable swing. As she got out of her cart at the 16th green, she said to her husband, “this is such a beautiful golf course.” The team was short of the green after two shots and B HAM made a nice pitch to the flag...she was hitting iron shots for fun (borrowed Sheils’ clubs). She hit a better iron approach than her boss at the par-4 18th hole.
While waiting to play #17, the woman am had a conversation with Maddie regarding a situation and somebody’s children...P.U., yecch, I don’t want to hear “woman talk” at a golf pro-am! At least she can play a little golf...from the women’s tee (160 yards) she hit driver and reached the green on the fly and it didn’t roll off the back (the green is about 40 yards deep). It was a better result than what the guys in her group did here.
The final highlight of the afternoon was the arrival of Brittany Lang’s group at #18. The four guys with her ranged from very good to extremely good to crazy good. While waiting to hit, a couple of the guys were practicing flop shots on the tee box. I think one of them could have been a teaching pro...he had that look and he demonstrated to Lang how he gripped the club to do a flop shot.
The par-4 18th bends slightly to the right with a forest running down the right side and the marshes further right of that. They played from the next-to-last elevated tee box and I stood above them on the back tee. The last am to hit was a big character with an Irish accent. He set up with a closed Billy Casper stance and was aimed along the seam of the right rough and the forest...that’s the line his ball started, but it drew back nicely to the fairway...and it was long. Nice ball...but that was just the warm-up act! He teed up another one, but aimed farther to the right. Holy moly, when he mashed that ball it was headed straight for Brigantine, but then it took a violent left turn, cleared the tree tops and somehow found the playing area. That was just SICK. Oh yeah, Bethany hit her stock fade down the right-center of the fairway. Incredibly, her group finished “only” in second place at -17. This might be the rare case where the pro got more out of a pro-am than the amateurs.
Now for Thursday...the plan was to hit the Seaview in the AM and then go up to Galloway National GC for the PM. This is the opposite of what I have done before on pro-am Thursday.
I passed through the Seaview gates at 8:45 AM, just in time for Lydia Ko to tee off at #1 at 8:50 AM. Most of the morning groups were playing, including Mi Hyang Lee, who I planned to rendezvous with on the back nine later.
I crossed Route 9 and paid a brief visit to the practice green, which didn’t have many players. Leticia Ras-Anderica was one of them...she had a Ryoma Golf bag, which is a brand for woods, but not irons. I couldn’t get a good look at her irons, but I’m guessing she still has Epons. A tall Asian showed up, who I didn’t recognize. I figured out it was Harang Lee and she plays Titleist MB irons. I had a brief glimpse of Victoria Elizabeth and her Volvik visor as she exited the green for her Pines course pro-am.
Lisa Maguire started her day at the par-4 10th hole at 9:10 AM, so I tagged along. She had a Ping bag, wore Puma attire (navy long-sleeve top and charcoal pants) and a cap with the KPMG logo. Of course, I knew about superstar amateur Leona Maguire, but I didn’t know until this week that she had a twin sister who also played at Duke U. I lost sight of Lisa’s opening drive, which ended up in the fescue to the left of the left side fairway bunker. She made a protracted search for it...I don’t know why since two ams hit drives that were long and in the short grass.
At the long par-3 11th hole, she started her FW or hybrid far right and it hooked back very little. I can’t recall if she was off the green or in the bunker...didn’t matter as the ams hit better balls. The 12th is the short dogleg-right par-4...with FW or hybrid, Lisa hit a good one.
The par-4 13th hole has a straight generous fairway, which is also one of the drive measuring holes. But, there was no point in measuring a ball that ballooned and fell out of the sky in the right rough. I had seen enough...she has no chance of making it on the LPGA tour.
I returned to the 12th tee where MHL showed up and greeted me. Daddy was following inside the ropes and Cheeseburger Chad Payne was on the bag. I don’t know if her group started with four amateurs, but she had only two now (they would take two swings for each shot). After Mi Hyang experimented with two tee shots from different areas of the box, I went down to the green where the flag was on the left and maybe eight feet from the back collar. Mi Hyang landed her approach over the flag and it spun back, leaving about a ten-foot uphill putt, which one of the amateurs made. Before leaving for the par-4 13th hole, MHL dropped one ball on the back collar and chipped it into the hole with a wedge.
The Alison Walshe grouped was walking to the 9th tee while I was near the 12th green. I heard this interesting exchange:
Amateur: What part of Massachusetts are you from?
Walshe: Charlestown
Amateur: I’m sorry, but what cities is that near?
Walshe: North End
Maybe there’s an amateur sociologist out there who can explain why Walshe just didn’t say “Boston”.
With the blocks set at the 401 marker at #13, MHL hit a drive down the left-center, which was the best ball for her team. It lined up with the hashmarks on the right side of the fairway at 245. I don’t know exactly where the hashmarks are measured from. I could hear Chad say they had 133 to the pin, which was on the front-right. Mi Hyang stuffed it close for a two-foot kick in...the scoreboard nearby said her team was -7, but now they were -8.
At the 14th tee Mr. Lee offered me a chilled 100% coconut water from Brazil and MHL invited me into the snack area where I grabbed an energy bar. Regarding the coconut juice, that was the first time...not crazy about it.
I walked ahead to the area left of the par-3 15th green. This is where the broadcasting trailer was set up...it had a Utah license plate. On the outside, it’s the same type of trailer I’ve seen used for golf gear maintenance. The door was open and you could see a lighted mirror with makeup jars at the top of the steps. If you looked from the side, you could see two chairs behind a desk with lights shining down on that area. “Would you like to take the tour?”, said a familiar voice behind me. It was Grant Boone, so I said okay, thanks.
Sarah Jane Smith’s group was ahead of MHL. While they putted out at #15, Karen Stupples showed up and I greeted her, asked if she played in the pro-ams this week. “No, I was too busy”, was the reply. I said I once saw her at the Atlantic City CC pro-am and she said she likes that course. After Smith teed off at the par-4 16th hole, Boone and Stupples joined this group...Boone talked to the caddy and Stupples talked to Smith. No doubt, this attention was due to SJS leading the U.S. Women’s Open last week after two rounds. It wouldn’t surprise me if the TV viewers of the Shop-Rite later received a data dump of everything you ever wanted to know about Sarah Jane Smith.
While Team MHL waited to play the par-3 17th hole, one of the ams talked about shopping for clubs only during the off-season clearance time. Chad said he got his clubs from his former players, saying “when they don’t want ‘em anymore, they give ‘em to me.”
Mi Hyang easily reached the par-5 18th hole in two. While walking the fairway a photographer stationed on the left cart path asked for a wave and she complied (I haven’t found that photo online). She ran in a 25-footer for eagle to complete her day at -10. Normally, I wouldn’t pay attention to a pro-am score, but -10 was quite encouraging as she had only two ams who were erratic and looking tired by the end of the round...from what I saw, she was carrying the team. I complemented her play and asked when she was playing on Friday. She was guessing around 12:50 PM and Chad interjected, “One o’clock.”
MHL went to the practice green across Route 9 while Chad carried the bag to the fence surrounding the green and sat down on a chair. Standing next to him was Jerry Foltz, who was holding court with several loopers on a variety of subjects, the main one being the Tuesday broadcast he did of the World Long Drive contest at ACCC. In case you missed it, the unusually narrow (45 yards) grid was set up using the course’s par-5 10th hole. With a 20 MPH cross wind, the grid was almost impossible to hit.
A few of Foltzy’s comments, paraphrased:
About one player: “His grip is so bad that he has to swing that way to have any chance at all.”
About the competitors: “I’m shocked when they hit the grid...I’m convinced that winning Long Drive is all about controlling your spin rate...only about ten of these guys make a living from Long Drive...they do a lot of corporate outings and golf events and have endorsements...most of the rest have full-time jobs...the winner of the two previous events is a paramedic.”
About the temporary driving range set up for the event: “They had no plans to recover the balls. They sacrificed about 2,000 balls to the marshes.”
About women’s champ Sandra Carlborg: “Her swing speed is 127 and Bubba is at 126.”
About the Volvik-only balls used for the event: “There’s a conspiracy theory among some players that the ball’s center breaks apart. But, they are using brand new balls.”
Comparing a long drive competitor to the “average” golfer: “They did a compilation of every person who has ever been measured on Trackman and determined the average swing speed was 98, which would make the ball speed around 150, along with a certain amount of dispersion...that’s your typical 12-handicapper. Now project out the dispersion for a Long Drive player with his swing speed, who’s trying to hit a grid 45 yards wide. It would be like asking the 12-handicapper to hit a fairway the width of two cart paths.”
He recounted stories from his playing days on the Hogan tour or other mini tours...he spoke too softly to pick up the details, but I heard the word “arrested” two or three times...he was probably talking about loopers.
Then Foltz turned to one of the caddies and asked, “Were you in City of Industry when Sandra Gal won? I was following the last group with Gal and Jiyai Shin. They say 30,000 people were there. It was my first broadcast doing the LPGA and I thought, ‘so this is what the LPGA is about’.”
I don’t remember this, but upon further research he is right...from March 2011...looked like a JLPGA turnout...and Shin had her back turned during the winning putt.
I returned to the course to see how Leona Maguire compared to Lisa...caught up with her as she was putting out at #14. Her bag and clothing were identical to Lisa’s, except that Leona had white pants.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjvIAMCA-KO
While flipping through the free media guide, I heard a loud bang over my head and behind me. One of the ams in Leona’s group hit a dead pull at the par-3 15th tee and struck the TV camera broadside overlooking the 14th green. I looked up at it and thought I saw a faint ball mark.
I followed Leona thru the 18th tee shot. I noticed her weak grip at the 2017 USWO. That hasn’t changed...even from behind her back, the back of her left hand was turned towards the target. Leona has more oomph through the hitting zone than Lisa, but it would have been nice to see them play together to notice the difference. Leona’s drive at #18 was high, straight and probably long...no way Lisa can hit it like that. Leona is the Real Maguire.
I made one brief visit to the driving range. On the way, I stopped by the 1st tee of the Pines course. Many groups were waiting to start...the players there were unknowns to me. One of them was Kylee Duede...nice to look at and was bagging Edel irons and wedges.
Mi Hyang showed up at the range with a couple of baskets to practice her pitch shots to a target green...her entourage included Volvik Tour rep Kevin Deal. Hee Young Park was at the range hitting balls with a wrap around her right elbow.
Nanette Hill’s “range process” caught my attention. She has been on the LPGA periphery for years, although the last cut she made was in July 2016. Yet, she was able to qualify for the 2018 USWO...before being predictably crushed at Shoal Creek. At the range, she takes the club back a little short of parallel, hits the ball, has a short helicopter finish, and then recoils the club so that the shaft is parallel in front of her shoulders and the back of her left hand is pointing to the sky. Some players can make golf look easy...for Nannette Hill, it looks hard.
It was after 2:15 PM and time to visit Galloway National GC. The goal was to see two of the past LET/Dubai sheikh favorites, Chelsea Pezzola (left) and Paige Spirinac (center), and then improvise from there. The third player below is Tisha Alyn Abrea.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjvmPVBhhT_
I parked in the vacant lot across from the course on Rte. 9 and dropped by the 11th tee box, where Brittany Lang’s group had already teed off. Holes 11 thru 15 are on the west side of Route 9. I decided not to explore that part of the course and would concentrate my visit on holes 16 thru 18. Unlike past pro-ams here, this one had everyone teeing off from the 1st hole only, instead of shotgun from 1 & 10.
First, I paid a visit to the clubhouse. There was a TV screen in the lobby flashing the pro-am scores. Then I took a look inside the pro shop. I recalled reading recent JLPGA winner Shiho Oyama had bought her TaylorMade spider putter at Golf 5 in Japan...I don’t know what she was charged, but Galloway had them priced at $330.
The par-5 16th hole has a generous fairway, but Pezzola’s drive was pushed straight right...it may have been the team’s best tee ball anyway. The par-3 17th hole has the bay in the background with several casino towers in the distance. It was about 175 to the pin, but into a light breeze. Pezzolo, a PXG staffer, took out a FW with a pretty large head and hit the green with a good shot...she later said, “that’s my 185-190 club.”
Not much to report on Paige Spirinac as she played 16 thru 18 (hit a good drive at #18). I assume the pros are required not to violate the club’s apparel standards and Paige complied. That reminds me...saw LPGA clothing czar Vicki Geotze-Ackerman at the 17th green.
Ran into a player I wanted to see at the 16th fairway, Maddie Sheils. Her right shoe heel says MADDOG (there is NOTHING “dog” about her). The pros have their own carts and usually don’t have a caddie with them, but a young lady was in the passenger seat carrying a yardage book with a cover that said B HAM. Upon further research, I think it was Britney Hamilton, a Symetra tour washout turned caddy.
One of the ams was a middle-to-upper middle age woman who had a respectable swing. As she got out of her cart at the 16th green, she said to her husband, “this is such a beautiful golf course.” The team was short of the green after two shots and B HAM made a nice pitch to the flag...she was hitting iron shots for fun (borrowed Sheils’ clubs). She hit a better iron approach than her boss at the par-4 18th hole.
While waiting to play #17, the woman am had a conversation with Maddie regarding a situation and somebody’s children...P.U., yecch, I don’t want to hear “woman talk” at a golf pro-am! At least she can play a little golf...from the women’s tee (160 yards) she hit driver and reached the green on the fly and it didn’t roll off the back (the green is about 40 yards deep). It was a better result than what the guys in her group did here.
The final highlight of the afternoon was the arrival of Brittany Lang’s group at #18. The four guys with her ranged from very good to extremely good to crazy good. While waiting to hit, a couple of the guys were practicing flop shots on the tee box. I think one of them could have been a teaching pro...he had that look and he demonstrated to Lang how he gripped the club to do a flop shot.
The par-4 18th bends slightly to the right with a forest running down the right side and the marshes further right of that. They played from the next-to-last elevated tee box and I stood above them on the back tee. The last am to hit was a big character with an Irish accent. He set up with a closed Billy Casper stance and was aimed along the seam of the right rough and the forest...that’s the line his ball started, but it drew back nicely to the fairway...and it was long. Nice ball...but that was just the warm-up act! He teed up another one, but aimed farther to the right. Holy moly, when he mashed that ball it was headed straight for Brigantine, but then it took a violent left turn, cleared the tree tops and somehow found the playing area. That was just SICK. Oh yeah, Bethany hit her stock fade down the right-center of the fairway. Incredibly, her group finished “only” in second place at -17. This might be the rare case where the pro got more out of a pro-am than the amateurs.