Post by philknj on Jun 12, 2019 18:37:03 GMT
I arrived at Galloway National GC around 8:30 AM. The plan was to hang out there for a while, then hit the Seaview and then finish the day at the World Long Drive event at Atlantic City CC.
Two players I wanted to see had already teed off at #1 in consecutive groups, Victoria Elizabeth and Esther Choe...not a problem as I could intercept them later by backtracking from the 9th hole.
After taking a trip through the comfortable men’s locker room and pro shop (nothing really new in either), I walked over to the 1st tee to check out Sara (No ‘H’) Brown hit at 9 AM. Don’t expect her back on Golf Channel any time soon, as she is expecting another child (advanced stage). It didn’t prevent her from hitting a perfectly straight drive that hugged the right tree line and cut the corner of the dog leg. She had the latest XXXIO woods and utilities (with Michigan St. headcovers), the latest XXIO forged irons, the latest Cleveland Rotex wedges and a Srixon ball.
The third pic in the collection below shows Sara's tee shot at the par-3 17th hole with the AC casino hotels in the background:
I passed a few teaching pros starting backward on #9...never heard of Shannon McKew (she hit a grounder out of the rough)...Joanna Coe and Karen Noble are NJ products (couldn’t make it in the Major Leagues)...saw old-timer Laurie Rinker (2-time LPGA winner...didn’t know she beat Lorena Ochoa in 1st round of 2005 Sybase Matchplay – I was there, but didn’t follow this match).
Caught up with V.E. around the 5th hole and followed her to the 8th, a par-3 with a 179-yard sign, although a caddie said it was playing 163. With an iron, she hit a moonball draw that started right of the pin and landed left of it. Victoria was bagging a current TaylorMade driver and I think the TM 790 irons. She wore a Volvik visor, probably a nostalgic leftover from her tour days for Chairman Moon, especially since she had a couple of Titleist balls on the dashboard of her cart.
I waited at #8 for the next group with Esther Choe...I had seen her once before at Round Two of the 2009 USWO at Saucon Valley...my notes say she was outdriven by JLPGAer Miki Saiki at the 14th hole by 10 yards and by high schooler Allie White by 45 yards.
Esther hit a hybrid at #8, a medium-height bullet that did not deviate from the flag. Like V.E., she is with TaylorMade, but her gear is older...TM Tour Preferred MC irons and the maligned TM SLDR driver. Sei Young Kim plays that driver...does anyone else on the LPGA?
I followed V.E. and Esther to the next few holes on the back nine. Victoria is now an instructor, but if the touring bug bit her again, she would not look out of place in a comeback. She hits effortless high sweeping draws with her driver...there is WIDE airspace between the tops of the old-growth pines flanking some of Galloway’s holes and her ball covers a lot of it. She might have a problem on a narrow golf course, but it’s impressive anyway.
I don’t know what Esther is doing these days...her Twitter account has been dormant for four years and I can’t find her on Instagram. Maybe she has done the ShopRite/Acer pro-ams in recent years, but I don’t remember seeing her name at all. Regarding a potential return to big-time golf, forget about it. She doesn’t have the horsepower, period...it’s possible that she never had it considering her crash-and-burn LPGA foray in 2013. At least she is cute and friendly.
I made a final visit to the 1st tee to check out the drives of Kim Welch, Tiffany Joh and Louise Stahle. Ashlan Ramsey was warming up on the range nearby...she was with a guy wearing an AJGA cap and shirt who had the look of a coach. Also on the range was ancient Kim Williams, who was bagging the cool Fourteen Golf FH 900 irons.
Next stop was the Seaview. Pajaree Anannarukarn was really styling on the practice green in front of the hotel...red flowery shirt on a navy background, black slacks with a big JL belt buckle and black Footjoy shoes with white accents. Still has the same exotic gear: Fourteen Golf FH 900 irons & RM-22 wedges and RomaRo woods. She has daddy on the bag.
Took a quick trip through the pro shop where Karen Chung was standing in line for the register...I think she was trying to exchange cash for smaller bills.
Walked towards the range and stopped at the repair van where the bags of Chung and Brooke Pancake were outside of it. Karen had her grips changed...maybe that’s why she was in the shop...is the repair guy paid in cash per job by the players? That would make sense.
I arrived at the range which is two ranges...the one on the right is for the pros only, while the one on the left is for the amateurs, although a pro will tee it up over there sometimes. As usual, Callaway had a tent sent up on the left side to display its latest stuff for the ams...Cally is the house brand here, while Titleist is still top dog at Galloway.
Tiffany Chan had completed her swings on the range, but Na Yeon Choi was with her. NYC was demonstrating a grip and stroke with Chan’s putter, then Tiff took hold of the putter as NYC adjusted her hands on it. When the lesson was done, Tiff, her caddie and NYC walked up towards the Marriott villas behind the range.
I was not aware that it was Women’s Golf Day...around 2 PM the left range was reserved for giving lessons to ladies...Laurie Rinker showed up from Galloway to be one of the instructors. I think I saw Troy Mullins walking around there, which I thought was weird...shouldn’t she be at the World Long Drive competition?
I took a walk to the Bay course to check out a player here and there. Lauren Stephenson was one of them and she had Michelle Wie’s looper on her bag...I’m guessing this is temporary and not permanent. Her attire was functional but boring...she looks better in person than in photographs.
Jenny Shin arrived at the 9th tee box and talked with the ams about residing in the Las Vegas area:
Am: So, you like it in Las Vegas?
JS: No, I’m in Summerlin
Am: Have you played (TPC) Summerlin?
JS: I’m a member there. But, the crime rate is so high in Las Vegas. Danielle Kang is ten minutes away from me and they took her car, just towed it right out of her driveway.
Am: Did they strip it?
JS: No, they found it later, it was okay. But, the crime rate is so high. There are guys walking around barefoot in downtown Vegas at 4 AM completely out of their minds.
Yu Liu’s group teed off at par-4 4th hole. They were left with only 68 yards to a front pin position. The green is angled diagonally from left to right...the ams hit some nice high floating shots just left of the flag, but they all rolled off the green on the left. Liu took a different approach, hitting a long pitch that landed short of the green, but scampered up to the pin before turning right and rolling to the collar. I wanted to continue with Liu, but it was around 4:30 PM and I needed to get moving to ACCC for the World Long Drive contest.
Apparently, I was misled or misunderstood the WLD website saying there would a “live” Golf Channel broadcast at 6 PM. I parked on a side street around 5:40 PM, walked on to the course and the place seemed awfully quiet. A worker among the TV trucks was wrapping super wide packing tape around a bunch of equipment boxes...that wasn’t a good sign.
It was grey and windy...rain was coming in this evening, so I thought maybe they cancelled it for safety reasons. I didn’t talk to anyone as I walked around and visited the grandstand...it has 13 rows with at least 36 seats in each row. Most of the carpet had been pulled up from the hitting platform, revealing a plywood deck. On each side of the grandstand were mini “luxury” pavilions that were being disassembled.
I walked into the clubhouse and there was a lot of activity in the bar/restaurant. I asked for directions to the pro shop...a door in the bar lead directly into the men’s locker room, followed by another door to the pro shop. Two guys were working there with a TV on behind the register. When it hit 6 PM, one of guys said, “Okay, here it is.” Did they announce a cancellation? Of course not, the entire event was completed earlier in the day! The good news is that I told no one there of my stupidity! I walked back into the locker room, perched myself in an overstuffed recliner in front of a TV screen and watched the first match between Phyllis Meti and Sandra Carlborg. I could have done this (and later did it again) at my dumpy motel room. The only bad part was that I didn’t see Cassandra Meyer (aka Cassandra Blaney) in person...what a stunning knockout!!! I don’t expect her to reach the LPGA...shoots 70s and 80s on the Florida mini-tour.
Two players I wanted to see had already teed off at #1 in consecutive groups, Victoria Elizabeth and Esther Choe...not a problem as I could intercept them later by backtracking from the 9th hole.
After taking a trip through the comfortable men’s locker room and pro shop (nothing really new in either), I walked over to the 1st tee to check out Sara (No ‘H’) Brown hit at 9 AM. Don’t expect her back on Golf Channel any time soon, as she is expecting another child (advanced stage). It didn’t prevent her from hitting a perfectly straight drive that hugged the right tree line and cut the corner of the dog leg. She had the latest XXXIO woods and utilities (with Michigan St. headcovers), the latest XXIO forged irons, the latest Cleveland Rotex wedges and a Srixon ball.
The third pic in the collection below shows Sara's tee shot at the par-3 17th hole with the AC casino hotels in the background:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BybqCNxlh_h
I passed a few teaching pros starting backward on #9...never heard of Shannon McKew (she hit a grounder out of the rough)...Joanna Coe and Karen Noble are NJ products (couldn’t make it in the Major Leagues)...saw old-timer Laurie Rinker (2-time LPGA winner...didn’t know she beat Lorena Ochoa in 1st round of 2005 Sybase Matchplay – I was there, but didn’t follow this match).
Caught up with V.E. around the 5th hole and followed her to the 8th, a par-3 with a 179-yard sign, although a caddie said it was playing 163. With an iron, she hit a moonball draw that started right of the pin and landed left of it. Victoria was bagging a current TaylorMade driver and I think the TM 790 irons. She wore a Volvik visor, probably a nostalgic leftover from her tour days for Chairman Moon, especially since she had a couple of Titleist balls on the dashboard of her cart.
I waited at #8 for the next group with Esther Choe...I had seen her once before at Round Two of the 2009 USWO at Saucon Valley...my notes say she was outdriven by JLPGAer Miki Saiki at the 14th hole by 10 yards and by high schooler Allie White by 45 yards.
Esther hit a hybrid at #8, a medium-height bullet that did not deviate from the flag. Like V.E., she is with TaylorMade, but her gear is older...TM Tour Preferred MC irons and the maligned TM SLDR driver. Sei Young Kim plays that driver...does anyone else on the LPGA?
I followed V.E. and Esther to the next few holes on the back nine. Victoria is now an instructor, but if the touring bug bit her again, she would not look out of place in a comeback. She hits effortless high sweeping draws with her driver...there is WIDE airspace between the tops of the old-growth pines flanking some of Galloway’s holes and her ball covers a lot of it. She might have a problem on a narrow golf course, but it’s impressive anyway.
I don’t know what Esther is doing these days...her Twitter account has been dormant for four years and I can’t find her on Instagram. Maybe she has done the ShopRite/Acer pro-ams in recent years, but I don’t remember seeing her name at all. Regarding a potential return to big-time golf, forget about it. She doesn’t have the horsepower, period...it’s possible that she never had it considering her crash-and-burn LPGA foray in 2013. At least she is cute and friendly.
I made a final visit to the 1st tee to check out the drives of Kim Welch, Tiffany Joh and Louise Stahle. Ashlan Ramsey was warming up on the range nearby...she was with a guy wearing an AJGA cap and shirt who had the look of a coach. Also on the range was ancient Kim Williams, who was bagging the cool Fourteen Golf FH 900 irons.
Next stop was the Seaview. Pajaree Anannarukarn was really styling on the practice green in front of the hotel...red flowery shirt on a navy background, black slacks with a big JL belt buckle and black Footjoy shoes with white accents. Still has the same exotic gear: Fourteen Golf FH 900 irons & RM-22 wedges and RomaRo woods. She has daddy on the bag.
Took a quick trip through the pro shop where Karen Chung was standing in line for the register...I think she was trying to exchange cash for smaller bills.
Walked towards the range and stopped at the repair van where the bags of Chung and Brooke Pancake were outside of it. Karen had her grips changed...maybe that’s why she was in the shop...is the repair guy paid in cash per job by the players? That would make sense.
I arrived at the range which is two ranges...the one on the right is for the pros only, while the one on the left is for the amateurs, although a pro will tee it up over there sometimes. As usual, Callaway had a tent sent up on the left side to display its latest stuff for the ams...Cally is the house brand here, while Titleist is still top dog at Galloway.
Tiffany Chan had completed her swings on the range, but Na Yeon Choi was with her. NYC was demonstrating a grip and stroke with Chan’s putter, then Tiff took hold of the putter as NYC adjusted her hands on it. When the lesson was done, Tiff, her caddie and NYC walked up towards the Marriott villas behind the range.
I was not aware that it was Women’s Golf Day...around 2 PM the left range was reserved for giving lessons to ladies...Laurie Rinker showed up from Galloway to be one of the instructors. I think I saw Troy Mullins walking around there, which I thought was weird...shouldn’t she be at the World Long Drive competition?
I took a walk to the Bay course to check out a player here and there. Lauren Stephenson was one of them and she had Michelle Wie’s looper on her bag...I’m guessing this is temporary and not permanent. Her attire was functional but boring...she looks better in person than in photographs.
Jenny Shin arrived at the 9th tee box and talked with the ams about residing in the Las Vegas area:
Am: So, you like it in Las Vegas?
JS: No, I’m in Summerlin
Am: Have you played (TPC) Summerlin?
JS: I’m a member there. But, the crime rate is so high in Las Vegas. Danielle Kang is ten minutes away from me and they took her car, just towed it right out of her driveway.
Am: Did they strip it?
JS: No, they found it later, it was okay. But, the crime rate is so high. There are guys walking around barefoot in downtown Vegas at 4 AM completely out of their minds.
Yu Liu’s group teed off at par-4 4th hole. They were left with only 68 yards to a front pin position. The green is angled diagonally from left to right...the ams hit some nice high floating shots just left of the flag, but they all rolled off the green on the left. Liu took a different approach, hitting a long pitch that landed short of the green, but scampered up to the pin before turning right and rolling to the collar. I wanted to continue with Liu, but it was around 4:30 PM and I needed to get moving to ACCC for the World Long Drive contest.
Apparently, I was misled or misunderstood the WLD website saying there would a “live” Golf Channel broadcast at 6 PM. I parked on a side street around 5:40 PM, walked on to the course and the place seemed awfully quiet. A worker among the TV trucks was wrapping super wide packing tape around a bunch of equipment boxes...that wasn’t a good sign.
It was grey and windy...rain was coming in this evening, so I thought maybe they cancelled it for safety reasons. I didn’t talk to anyone as I walked around and visited the grandstand...it has 13 rows with at least 36 seats in each row. Most of the carpet had been pulled up from the hitting platform, revealing a plywood deck. On each side of the grandstand were mini “luxury” pavilions that were being disassembled.
I walked into the clubhouse and there was a lot of activity in the bar/restaurant. I asked for directions to the pro shop...a door in the bar lead directly into the men’s locker room, followed by another door to the pro shop. Two guys were working there with a TV on behind the register. When it hit 6 PM, one of guys said, “Okay, here it is.” Did they announce a cancellation? Of course not, the entire event was completed earlier in the day! The good news is that I told no one there of my stupidity! I walked back into the locker room, perched myself in an overstuffed recliner in front of a TV screen and watched the first match between Phyllis Meti and Sandra Carlborg. I could have done this (and later did it again) at my dumpy motel room. The only bad part was that I didn’t see Cassandra Meyer (aka Cassandra Blaney) in person...what a stunning knockout!!! I don’t expect her to reach the LPGA...shoots 70s and 80s on the Florida mini-tour.