Barb and Andy's Golf, Travel, & Life Diary
Inspired by Golf & Life and Sharing Our Experiences, Insights, & Love
With a membership of 1900 families in the flourishing Raleigh, Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill communities of North Carolina, Prestonwood CC is the ideal setting for a Champions Tour event. This is the place where "Cary comes to play," so why not let the professionals come to play too?
One of the thrills from my round at Prestonwood was teeing off in front of the massive Georgian style clubhouse. It seems all the great courses have that sensation- the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, Augusta National and Pete Dye's last creation at the French Lick Resort in Indiana.
Tournament sponsor SAS is headquartered in Cary and is one of the largest privately held software companies in the business. Originally the name was an acronym for "Statistical Analysis System." The company is now known for a broad line of software products. SAS is No. 3 on Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For list in the United States, marking the ninth time the company has been ranked in the top 10, including twice as No. 1. Golf Writer Andy Reistetter experienced something truly special- a day with golf’s legendary golf course architect Pete Dye at his signature golf course- The Pete Dye Course at Indiana’s premier French Lick Resort. The inspirational encounter included a two-hour conversational interview, lunch and a walking tour of the course with Pete and Golf Superintendant Russ Apple to check out recently completed modifications and to ponder others to come. Join Reistetter as he reminisces about “the long view” of Pete Dye and what he means to our golfing lives.
No. 9 on the Pete Dye Course at the French Lick Resort in Indiana. (Photograph courtesy of Dave Harner).
Pete Dye is at home in Indiana and that is where he has created the Masterpiece of all of his golf course designs- an altar upon which all Dye lovers will worship his genius for all of golfing eternity. Ever since man has lived on the Earth he has sought the highest point to be close to Heaven. Dye found his place in the rolling hills of Southern Indiana and created “the long view” through which future generations will come to know the man at the heart of this era of golf course design.
Dye is nothing more than a simple and humble man who works tirelessly, without technology for the most part, preferring sketches on the back of napkins and imprinting his vision with those he works with to build great designs like the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, Kiawah Island and Whistling Straits.
Sitting down with Pete Dye and his dog ‘Sixty’ for a morning of conversation.
When asked how he figured out the puzzle and found the sweet spot of risk-reward design that challenged the players, pleased golf television producers and entertained us mere amateurs and lovers of the game his reply is simple and surprising, “I don’t know, I have no idea, you tell me.” Though in his uncanny style he delivered what everyone wanted. Players rose to the higher standard of competitive course design, producers delivered the beauty of the courses and the drama of competition and we willingly pay big bucks to play Dye’s courses.
There is no question of Dye’s contributions to the game as evidenced by the awards and recognition given to him- including the Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), the PGA TOUR’s Lifetime Achievement Award and his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame. The quiet, people and dog loving prophet aced the hole of modern golf course design before we ever imagined in our minds.
Pete Dye designed in “the long view” at French Lick and it is spectacular! PHOTO CREDIT: Dave Harner
One wonders how this all came to be? If you ask Pete his reply again is “I don’t know, I have no idea, you tell me.” But he is an open book and having had an opportunity to read his person up close and personal here is what I surmise.
Fate had something to do with it. In the early 1920s Pete’s father was driving to Washington, D.C. when his car broke down. Stranded, he stayed at the Summit Inn above Uniontown, Pennsylvania where he went out to play a few holes of golf for the first time on their 9-hole mountaintop course and got hooked on the game. Upon returning home to Urbana, Ohio he built a 9-hole golf course of his own and a few years later Pete was born. He was watering and cutting greens by age 7, the greens superintendant by age 16 and burnt out all the greens during his second year on the job.
Pete said his father volunteered him to for the Army and he trained to be a paratrooper. Stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina he became the superintendent at the base golf course. The course was designed by Donald Ross and had sand greens. No one knows if he burnt them out. Dye would drive the 35 miles with his superiors over to Pinehurst to play golf. There he would find and meet Donald Ross who like himself would become one of only five golf course architects in the Hall of Fame (the other three being Charles Blair Macdonald, Alister MacKenzie and Robert Trent Jones Sr.)
With Pete Dye and his statue near the Pete Dye Course clubhouse at French Lick.
Another stroke of fate was that a neighbor of Pete’s in Urbana had a son that went to The Ohio State University and became friends with Jack Nicklaus. Dye had an expert pointer dog and the boys would borrow the dog when they went hunting. Jack likes to tell the story that at age 18 his big break was that he beat a 32-year old Pete Dye 4&3 in a match in the Trans-Mississippi Amateur to earn an invitation to the Masters. Pete likes to remind people that he beat Jack at Inverness when Jack made his major debut at age 16 in the 1957 U.S. Open in Toledo. He leaves out the fact that the boy wonder shot 80-80 and missed the cut same as he did. As a team they designed and built Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina in 1969 and from there their design careers took off.
Pete Dye was a keen amateur golfer and qualified for the 1963 British Amateur Championship at St. Andrews. Only a few years into the golf design business his thorough tour of the classic Scottish golf courses would mold him into the golf course designer that he is. Sort of a Renaissance man golfing wise he incorporated the historic pot bunkers, use of wooden bulkheads and smallish sized slanted greens into modern courses.
Alice & Pete Dye with the long view of their course at French Lick in the background. PHOTO CREDIT: Dave Harner
Like all successful men there is a strong woman behind Pete Dye and her name is Alice. They met in college at Rollins near Orlando and have been married for 62 years. A champion golfer in her own rite she has played with the likes of Babe Zaharias, Patty Berg, even Sam Snead and Byron Nelson. She won the Indiana State Amateur nine times, Florida’s three times as well as the U.S. Senior Women’s twice. Maybe it is Pete standing behind Alice? Some would say she worked behind the scenes and is the one that brought the PGA Championship to Dye’s Whistling Straits and Kiawah island courses. In reality they are side by side, dynamic golf architecture team both previous presidents of the GCSAA and have collaborated on most “Dye” designs, if not all in one way or another.
Pete’s first question of his first call down to Dave Harner the Director of Golf at French Lick says it all about the woman and the dog in Pete’s life. Pete asked, “Do you have ticks down there?” Dave, thinking he was talking about himself, said “yeah they will get on you but you will know it.” Dye responded, “No not me, my dog.” He had taken Sixty down to Kentucky and brought him back with ticks which upset Alice. After walking the golf course the day I met him, Pete personally washed down Sixty and closely inspected him to insure Alice would be happy.
Pete Dye showing me the long view and his unmatched and insightful golf course architecture perspectives… what a day!
Fate for sure but hard work and talent performed consistently over a long period of time has made Pete Dye the renown golf course architect that we all know, love and love to hate at times. His genius at French Lick is evident as you drive though the gates. The road meanders a bit through the course and finds its way up to an old mansion that is converted into a clubhouse. The view goes on forever in all directions from the highest point. By raising fairways and lowering tree lines Dye insured the same view on all 18 holes that encircle the majestic clubhouse. At French Lick, in perhaps his last Masterpiece, Pete Dye has created “the long view.”
The Pete Dye Course is unique, a true links course on a mountaintop with no trees and natural stone cart paths winding through hillocks and crisscrossing the entire golf course. The view behind the infinity green on No. 6 goes on forever, maybe even 60 miles on a clear day. No houses to be seen anywhere. No two bunkers are alike including the “volcanic” ones atop hillocks. The only thing that is predictable is the beautiful color contrast between fairway and rough and the challenge to put the ball in the fairway, on the green and finally into the hole.
Always taking notes when I am in the presence of greatness!
It is interesting to note that nearly 100 years after his father’s car broke down and he came to golf atop a mountaintop course with a sixty mile view on the fourth hole, son Pete Dye brought his dog Sixty and has majestically constructed the same awed sense of infinite spirit at French Lick. This course is truly the gem of not only the Pete Dye Trail in Indiana but surely all of Dye’s vast portfolio.
I am guessing a PGA Championship there in 2020- resulting in the long view with perfect vision!
Five Tidbits on Pete Dye from the interview:
1. What would Mary Smith think of this hole? This is a common refrain of Pete’s as he muses and works as a golf course designer. It references his wife Alice Dye who has a weekly game with her friends at Crooked Stick who don’t break 100. Perhaps one was named Mary Smith? A bulldozer was working on the bunker in the middle of the sixth fairway three hours after Alice first played the hole. I don’t think he had to ask her what she or Mary Smith thought!
2. Pete played with Ben Hogan about 20 times mostly at Seminole in Florida. The first time was on the spur of the moment and Pete did not have his clubs with him so he grabbed a set of new Hogan Dyne clubs from the pro shop, went in the backroom and scratched them up a bit. Hogan was impressed that Dye had been playing his clubs for so long. Pete says there is no question Hogan’s club manufacturing business distracted him from his competitive golf game.
3. A key design principle of Pete Dye: make it play severe for a good player and playable for a high handicapper. Good players get to back of the green so the most difficulty lies there. The hood on the bunker right of No. 2 green protects the back of the green but allows an easier unobstructed shot to front and middle hole locations. The back of the 11th green is extremely narrow making it difficult to hit and recover when missed.
‘Sixty’ is always at Pete’s side. This is actually the 4th ‘Sixty’ so maybe nicknamed ‘Sixty-Three.’
4. The name of Pete’s dog is “Sixty” and comes from the original purchase. When Alice asked what should we name the dog, Pete responded how about the name “Sixty” because it cost him $60 (a lot of money at the time) – more than the advertised $20 for the dog, with an additional $20 for the collar and $20 for the leash to take him home with. This “Sixty” is really the fourth “Sixty.”
5. Pete Dye once said “The ardent golfer would play Mount Everest if somebody would put a flagstick on top… golf is not a fair game so why build a fair golf course?” Well, the Pete Dye Course at the French Lick Resort is high but it is not Mount Everest. There are 18 flagsticks mounted there and believe it or not it is a fair golf course. When you play the course the right side of the uphill par-5 15th fairway was recently raised 10 feet. It is still a blind shot but now you can see the top of the flagstick. Also look for a widening of the sixth fairway and raising of the left fairway bunkers as well to make it more playable for the average golfer no matter where he or she drives the ball.
Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer as well as a Spotter, Research and Broadcast Assistant for The Golf Channel, NBC and CBS Sports. He spends time on all four major American golf tours- the PGA TOUR, Champions, Web.com and LPGA tours.
Reistetter resides within two miles of the PGA TOUR headquarters and the home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.
A lifetime golfer, Andy enjoys volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame and THE PLAYERS while pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it.
Friend Andy Reistetter on Facebook to enjoy daily updates on the Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary page or touch base with him by e-mail at AndyReistetter@gmail.com
Pete Dye taking in the long view that he created at French Lick.
At Medinah having a ball with the 2012 Ryder Cup ball!
They say life is a journey and not a destination. They also say the Ryder Cup is golf’s premier event. They are right but with one caveat. If the Ryder Cup is your destination then journey there with Premier Golf, the licensed travel agent of the PGA of America. You will undoubtedly come away with knowing you have experienced a golfing competition like no one else can.
Helping out the Color Guard heading into the Blues & Bagpipes event at the iconic Field Museum in downtown Chicago courtesy of Premier Golf. They know how to make a package!
Attending a Ryder Cup with Premier Golf is more than a golf experience; it is an intimacy of a lifetime. My brother once said “golf is a lot like life, the more you learn and understand about it the easier it is to meet its challenge.” Golf at a Ryder Cup is more than golf. It takes us to a place we don’t go to often enough in life.
Where else do you simply start chanting “U.S.A…., U.S.A…, U.S.A….?”
Or after the golfing is done you feel deep within that you witnessed a “Miracle at Medinah.” You breathe the rhythmic hymn of “Ole…, Ole…, Ole…,” an old Spanish blessing sung when people seem to rise above themselves in performance. And you find yourself singing “there is only one Ballesteros” right along with the victors.
There is no doubt Seve helped win this one for the European Team.
There is no doubt that Premier Golf is an enabler of all that is good with being at a Ryder Cup. Licensed by the PGA of America, the organization that represents the Golf Professionals at your club or public course and, they are the ones that conduct the Ryder Cup. What better ticket can there be than one from the people who create the event?
Though it may sound like an advertisement, this is not an advertisement. In some degree it is a creative investigation into what just happened in this the 39th Ryder Cup in history. More importantly how did it impact me and how could it possibly impact the world beyond the sport of golf?
Here’s Carina with Rory’s signature on her shoulder and a Stella in hand… needless to say it is easy to fraternize with the opposing fans!
To experience what I did on the grounds of Medinah CC these last four days first I had to be there. Yes I may have had a better view in front of the television or on my computer but I don’t think I could have had a better experience. There is something restorative about chanting with thousands of other people instantaneously at the unexpected holing of a putt.
The thing with Premier Golf is the hotels and shuttle to and from the golf course. They are both “dedicated” but in a different sense. The shuttles are ‘dedicated” to customers of Premier Golf. They are waiting there for you when you want to leave the hotel and they are waiting there for you when you want to leave the golf course. If you want to be in the stands on the first tee to witness all 12 singles pairings tee off on Sunday starting at 11 a.m. there is a 6 a.m. shuttle waiting to take you, not me, there. I took the 10 a.m. one and was happy standing six-foot-three and three heads back on the rope line.
Euros celebrating their Ryder Cup victory at Medinah in 2012, their 5th win in the last six. Who will win at Gleneagles in 2014?
I lingered after Tiger Woods and Francesco Molinari finalized the score of Europe 14-1/2 to U.S.A. 13-1/2. I witnessed the elation on the 18th green, the champagne celebration on the bridge and the Closing Ceremony. I saw the full moon rise as the flags of the Ryder Cup were lowered for another two years. Afterwards my shuttle bus was waiting for me.
The hotels are “dedicated” to the customers of Premier Golf. A representative, usually one of their corporate staff, is there in the lobby at a Premier Golf hospitality desk acting as your personal concierge. If a question about logistics or the Ryder Cup comes to mind they have the answer. What is really good is that even if the question doesn’t come to your mind but should have they will communicate and share information with you to customize and optimize your experience.
So my destination was the Ryder Cup and my journey was with Premier Golf. The folks I mingled with in the galleries at Medinah were the same as the folks on the shuttle- the five Englishman celebrating a mate’s 50th birthday and the father and son from Iowa celebrating together being a father and son. Premier Golf caters to people from all over the world.
Thumbs up to golf and life and Premier Golf Ryder Cup packages!
I found myself celebrating life at this Ryder Cup. Seve Ballesteros, a man who went all too soon at the age of 54, lived on in spirit all week at Medinah. A team of 12 golfers, their caddies and wives and partners, 4 vice-captains and one very special Captain, so inspired by Seve, came back from a deficit of 6-10 and won the Ryder Cup by the slimmest of margins.
Sure this was sport but isn’t all life sport to some degree? Aren’t we trying to play it safe, hitting fairways and greens, in our life? Aren’t we challenged when things don’t go perfectly as planned? Too often don’t we find ourselves in a bunker, the rough or having to take a penalty stroke in life? Aren’t we trying to enjoy the journey and delay the final 18th hole destiny that we all share?
One thing I realized this week is the diversity, specifically the intermingled diversity of the Ryder Cup whether inside or outside the ropes. Luke Donald went to Northwestern, is a member of Medinah CC and married an American woman. Is he European or American? My friend Wayne Richardson, a CBS broadcast assistant like me, caddied for Sergio Garcia in the playoffs and Ryder Cup. Is he American or European? What am I?
You have to have a Closing Cereemony at Medinah to have an Opening Ceremony at Gleneagles. Will you be there? I hope to be. GO USA!!!
My guess is that the answer is “yes” to all the questions of life. We are all citizens of this world. Generations from now it will be like Americans today, proud to be from one state or another, one college or another, yet more proud to be Americans than anything else. The Ryder Cup brings out the best in golfers and the best in us- the realization is that we are all the same- citizens of this world. It does matter who won the Ryder Cup at Medinah. But what matters more is the manner in which this Ryder Cup was contested and how it can inspire us.
Okay I will come down off my footstool… they aren’t allowed at the Ryder Cup… Premier Golf told me so or if they were would have given me one to take on the shuttle…
“Ole…, Ole…, Ole…”
“U.S.A…, U.S.A…, U.S.A…”
Life is too short. Already thinking about the 2014 Ryder Cup? Is it time to make the golfing pilgrimage to Scotland, the Home of Golf or to some other destination? Book your trip now with Premier Golf, the licensed travel agent of the PGA of America since 1988.
Click here to go to the Premier Golf Website.
Andy Reistetter is a “golf voyageur and documentarian”, as well as a freelance golf writer, and Broadcast Assistant for The Golf Channel, NBC and CBS Sports. A lifetime golfer, Andy enjoys volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame and THE PLAYERS while pursuing his passion for the game of golf, along with everything and everyone associated with it.
Friend Andy Reistetter on Facebook to enjoy daily updates, check out his website “Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary”, or contact Reistetter by e-mail at AndyReistetter@gmail.com
Clubhouse at Edgewood Tahoe. Photo courtesy of Golf the High Sierra.
I may have been hypnotized for my week of High Sierra golf. It seemed surreal as I looked out the window during my flight into Reno and saw the Sierra Nevada below me. Flying along in the wisps of clouds in brilliant sunshine above such grandeur takes one into a new state of awareness. My mesmerizing meditation became focused as I saw the magnetic magnificence of Lake Tahoe. Below, I could see where the golfing gods had walked through one day and left behind golf courses in their green footprints. I knew I would be playing many of those courses during a weeklong golf journey. I couldn’t wait for the plane to land so I could get to the first tee.
Like any spinning wheel in a Nevada casino, my golfing journey went clockwise from Reno to Dayton to Lake Tahoe to Truckee to Graeagle. The terrain went from the mountain to the valley to the lake to the meadows to the really high mountains. Going around the High Sierra golfing wheel in seven days seemed like a magical and heavenly opportunity. With unlimited tee times at 40 courses how many could I play in seven days—maybe I could roll that lucky 7-11: seven days, 11 courses?
With Vince Mastracco, Matt McKay, and Steve Habel at Montreux!
My first round of golf was at Montreux CC, a private real-estate enclave and superb Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course. You know it as the scenic course that hosts the annual Reno-Tahoe Open on the PGA TOUR, the tournament J.J. Henry won this year. Nestled in the Ponderosa pine trees on the gentle eastern slopes of snow-capped Mt. Rose, Montreux was a good first experience of High Sierra golf. With pine trees are taller than Jack’s beanstalk and dramatic views all around, Montreux offers a very different golfing experience. In this part of the country it is all about the altitude. I figured it out on the fourth hole after flying a wedge 20 yards over the green. I thought it was my superb and powerful ball-striking abilities. That it was not; it was high-altitude golf, a plus for anyone’s game and attitude!
After eagling the 15th at Dayton Valley!
The next day we golfed at Dayton Valley, a solid Arnold Palmer-designed facility. As a prequalifying site for the Reno-Tahoe Open, Frys.com Open and Q-School, this golf course provides all the challenge one golfer needs. If the wind kicks up, as it did for us, it becomes more of a challenge than a foursome of golfers needs. The rain never came but a rainbow did appear in the distant cloud-enshrouded mountain tops. My playing partner and I persevered through the weather to post an 8-under par 64 scramble score. Needless to say it was one of the best ball-striking days of my life as evidenced by the driver to five feet for eagle on the 323-yard 15th hole. Okay, so it was downwind and from the whites, but the putt was no gimme!
On the third day (and you know where I am going with this seven-day odyssey) the drive up to golfing heaven was spectacular via the NV 207 Kingsbury Grade Road from Minden. Once we rose to the elevation of Lake Tahoe, we played along its shore and in a nearby forest at Edgewood Tahoe, home to the American Century Celebrity Classic. This is the “Major,” where sports and entertainment celebrities compete for the right to be called the best nonprofessional golfer in America. This year, that honor went to Dan Quinn, a former NHL center.
Mr. Hickory Golf at the par-3 17th at Edgewood Tahoe.
The course design is really a Fazio Plus with Uncle George doing the original design that opened in 1968, and nephew Tom renovating the course for the 1998 season. The first nine leads the golfer up a gentle slope through towering pine trees while the second nine brings you quietly down to the lake. In a tranquil state one plays the par-3 16th with lake right and putts out on the final green as gentle waves slap along the shoreline.
To complete your experience at Edgewood Tahoe find the hidden hallway down the stairs behind the bar in the Brooks dining area. Check out the fascinating golf pictures of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and John Daly when they played junior events at Edgewood Tahoe.
When one is on a golfing pilgrimage to the High Sierra one must drive along the edge of Lake Tahoe. From south to north on the east side of the lake, it is spectacular. Like a tap-in birdie, one must stop to pause, take in the view and remember the feeling of awe and satiation.
After Montreux, Dayton Valley and Edgewood Tahoe, it was time to experience a unique combination of golf near Truckee—the closely mated twosome of Old Greenwood and Gray’s Crossing. The terrain is gradual, meadows abound and the land well-suited for parkland golf courses.
On the 18th green at Old Greenwood!
I walked Old Greenwood, saw some deer and tried to stay out of the chaparral. Taking notice of Old Greenwood’s logo, which depicts a golfer in knickers, and the Jack Nicklaus-designed course, a golfer knows playing here will be a memorable experience, and it was.
On the fifth day I played Gray’s Crossing (Peter Jacobsen/Jim Hardy design) with Ed Leinenkugel, a grandson of the brewery founder, and Joe Starkey, the voice of the 49ers. If Peter Jacobsen can have “Jake’s Takes” on NBC golf broadcasts, I can have an “Andy Dandy” on one of his golf courses. After I hit a great tee shot on No. 3, Joe makes the call “what a bonanza,” and after the round Ed gives me a bottle of the family’s best Summer Shandy. Does it get any better than that for a golf travel writer of average golfing skill? Did I tell you this is a great golf course? And I haven’t even mentioned PJ’s casual indoor/outdoor restaurant and bar (yet).
Are you counting? That was five golf courses in five days. I was definitely the “slacker” of the group. I picked up the pace on the sixth day driving up to the Graeagle area to play The Dragon and Plumas Pines.
First tee at the Dragon!
Playing the Dragon was a good and unique experience. I loved it! When you drive up to the clubhouse and it is a Frank Lloyd Wright design, you know it is going to be a special day. I played with a guy that last played it when the course opened and he said it is much more playable now. That is how I found it to be. Fairways and greens is good course management. Spray it a bit and you will pay the price though it will be lots of fun!
With Brandon Bowling, Head Golf Professional at Plumas Pines!
What can I say about Plumas Pines? There is no nicer Golf Professional (Brandon Bowling) in the world. The Superintendent (Mark Callahan) rides around with his dog in the golf cart. You feel like family the moment you step onto the property. The golf course is a good test of golf and a fun time if your girlfriend or wife can play along too! Have time to stay for dinner at Longboards as the slow-roasted baby back ribs are outstanding!
The seventh and final day of my High Sierra golfing trip came, and I saved the best for last—Whitehawk Ranch Golf Club! Now how can I say that after sharing the previous seven courses with you? Well I shot a two-birdie 73 from the 6,500 yard three-hawk tees. This is no cream puff of a golf course, but it is so picturesque that you are totally relaxed. In that state I believe you play some of your best golf, at least I do. I guess the 126 holes I played the previous six days helped a little too.
The 14th green at Whitehawk- tranquiity!
High Sierra Golf is not an ordinary golf trip. Perhaps it is the refreshing mountain air, the scenery or the elevation. Altitude maybe but attitude for sure—there is a certain personality and camaraderie to the area that makes the trip a lot of fun on and off the golf course!
While I did not play that lucky 7-11—I only played eight golf courses in seven days—I hope to return next year and play eleven!
PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Florida features four golf courses and a 35-acre practice facility plus a lot more!
If you are a golfer and your bucket list does not include a visit to the PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Florida then it needs to be updated. The good news is Port St. Lucie is “below the frost line” in Florida and essentially a year-round golf destination. Whoever thought there was a “frost line” in Florida? Nobody probably did, including me until I moved to “frosty at times” Northeast Florida. I also never took the time to educate myself about the PGA of America. Having made the visit I now feel like I am a “Village Sage” and recognize the vast influence they have on our golfing life and that of our children for many years to come.
One of nine practice bunkers- this one has a flat bottom and very course sand.
Gosh, they have 9 bunkers with different sands from around the world. So not only are you practicing or learning how to play a bunker shot you do so under various conditions. Please don’t discount this learning experience thinking you will never play 9 different types of sand. The sand at your golf course changes as conditions change- before/after a rainstorm, early/late in the day and early/late in the season. The PGA Village is like the Disneyland of golf- one doesn’t know what they are missing until they hop on the Monorail or I-95 to see for themselves. Okay so I-95 is no monorail!
My flexibility is being assessed by Performance Specialist Adam Dunham.
In addition Performance Specialist Adam Dunham assessed my flexibility in a number of positions and prescribed 10 specific exercises for me to do to improve in key areas. With the combination of knowledge learned from the K-Vest and Trackman along with improved flexibility I am destined to be a better golfer.
I was fitted in a K-Vest and wired up by Instructor Mark Drenga.
The travel czar of the PGA noted an exchange that is all so relevant this year as Davis Love III captains the American team and Jose Marie Olazabal heads the Europeans. At Brookline in 1999 as Captain Crenshaw’s “good feeling” the night before was going wild, Love won early and sought out Justin Leonard coming off the 10th tee four down to Olazabal. Davis grabbed him, shook him and gave him a little pep talk. Leonard never lost another hole and made that memorable 45-footer on No. 17 to set up the American come-from-behind win. All Olazabal could do was watch, wait and then stroke a putt that did not go in the hole.
The pro shop at the PGA Village, note the American flag.
Merri & Andy enjoying dessert in the Grand Dining Room!
Golf Writer Andy Reistetter is joined by Merri Daniel, golf’s newest voice for women, as they share another intimate “stay & play” golfing experience. This exclusive “Play-Stay & Write” article encompasses a weekend visit to Jekyll Island, the State of Georgia’s “Landmark Experience.”
Much has been written about its aesthetic, cultural and historical significance. These were the homes for Millionaires starting back in 1886. But what sense of being is found today on the island? Why does it attract so many visitors? Join Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Daniel and Reistetter, yes Merri Daniel and Andy Reistetter, as they share their perspective of why Jekyll Island is today’s destination of choice.
The Jekyll Island Golf Complex boasts 72 holes of golf for competition and fun for every golfer!
Walter Hagen once said “I never wanted to be a millionaire. I just wanted to live like one.” The millionaires of the late 19th and early 20th centuries lived on Jekyll Island to escape winter and rejuvenate themselves. Today there is no need to be a millionaire but there are a million reasons to come to visit Jekyll Island.
In the legendary office of the legend Johnny Paulk himself! What an experience to meet this man!
Well of course that can also happen on a golf course. Jack Lemmon, who told us the story of Bagger Vance, said “If you think it’s hard to meet new people, try playing the wrong golf ball.” Opportunities to play into other fairways are minimal due to the spatial world class design of the golf courses. Jekyll Island is “the World’s first golf course designed with suitable tee locations for the entire family to enjoy the game of golf together.” Perhaps a game of alternate shot is the course of design for fun and making more friends in the family?
Golf has been on Jekyll Island since 1898 and today boasts 63 holes and is the largest public golf resort in the state. That’s three 18-hole courses and one 9-hole keepsake from the 1926 Walter Travis creation of “American Ocean Links” called the Great Dunes course. Oleander is a 1917 Donald Ross masterpiece redesigned in 1964 by Dick Wilson. Indian Mound was designed by Joe Lee in 1975. Pine Lakes is a 1968 Dick Wilson/Joe Lee design renovated in 2002 by Clyde Johnston. So if one is into name dropping, the golf architects of Jekyll Island are right up there in the world of golf as Rockefeller, Vanderbilt and Morgan are in the world of finance.
The World’s first golf course designed with suitable tee locations for the entire family to enjoy the game of golf together. Thank you Johnny Paulk!
A living legend of Georgia golf, Paulk started as an Assistant Professional at East Lake Golf Club, home club of the legend in golf, Bobby Jones. On the wall outside his office hangs the letter Bobby Jones wrote on his behalf recognizing Johnny as a personable, competent and industrious person and recommending him for a job. Of course Jones started the Masters Tournament a long time ago.
Paulk announces the golfers as they approach the 18th green and is only the third person to do so. When you bring your family to golf on Jekyll Island, seek out Johnny Paulk for a story or two and learn something about the true essence of the game.
Merri enjoying the company of three deer off the 9th tee on the Pine Lakes Course!
8. Riding bicycles around the island. “At the Club Hotel you can literally valet your car, walk a few steps and rent a bicycle to tour the island and get some exercise. I liked when we rode out to Driftwood Beach, what an interesting and beautiful place with fantastic views.”
The charming view from the bathroom window in our charming room in the
4. Walking down to the Café Solterra at the Club Hotel to get some coffee. “Andy knows I need my coffee early in the morning. I love to pop down to the café to get some Starbucks coffee and bring Andy back a treat from the bakery.”
Faith Chapel on Jekyll Island…
In reality maybe the reasons folks come to Jekyll Island today are very similar to the reasons the millionaires started coming 125 years ago. Sure we are curious about how they lived and what the insides of their homes looked like. Exploring the island and connecting with its natural beauty is a big part of the experience. Probably a bigger part, like that father and son rocking on the porch is connecting with ourselves and the people important to us in our lives whether friends or family. You don’t have to be a millionaire. On Jekyll Island today it does not take long to decompress, relax and enjoy the ambiance of a special place. “It’s different, it’s just different.”
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I first met Mark Naes over the Labor Day weekend during last year's American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Junior PLAYERS Championship. Bill Hughes, the General Manager of TPC Sawgrass, also Home of THE professional PLAYERS Championship made the introduction. When W.W. Hughes makes an introduction, smart people follow up.
I was invited by Mark to come and experience Perdido Bay Golf Resort for myself. I did and connected with the people, the golf course and the simple golfing ambiance of Perdido Bay. With overnight accommodations at the Cottages On the Green, the visit reminded me of staying in the Jones Villa at Nicklaus' Muirfield Village. Having only a few steps to the practice tee and first tee and never having to leave the property makes a golfing weekend extraordinary.
Naes retired a few years ago and went back home to Pensacola after being gone for 30 years. He left the day after high school to play golf at Houston Baptist College. In addition to running tournaments for the tour he owned a lighted par-3 course and driving range in St. Louis.
Why promote junior and collegiate golf tournaments? Mark will tell you as he did me that "the adults that got involved in my life at a young age because of golf helped mold me to where I am today and I am very thankful for that process. Now it is important to me to give back to kids."
Surprisingly one of those adults was none other than Gary Player, the Black Knight who won 24 times on the PGA TOUR, including nine majors. How does a kid from Pensacola meet and get to know a professional golfer from South Africa? The Pensacola Open at Perdido Bay is how.
His dad was a big Player fan and organized the "Gary's Gang" cheering section. Player came over to thank him and in the ensuing conversation was invited to stay with the family which he accepted for the next five years. Mark was 10 years old at the times and likes to tell the story that "my very first golf lesson and my very first set of clubs all came from Gary Player."
Looking back Naes says with the confidence of knowing for sure that "golf changed my life." As a 10-year old boy he would watch the workout routine of his role model, see him do pushups, eat healthy and be in bed by 9 p.m."
Now looking forward in the lives of young golfers, he sees a void in golf and wants to fill the gap between junior golf and collegiate golf, especially for the golfers who don't qualify for the top tier amateur events like the U.S. Amateur. Simply put, so "there's a place for all kids in golf."
Naes found four founding sponsors- Hardee's, Gorilla Design, J. Lindeberg and Peak Nutrition. Perdido Bay is the perfect place to host a tournament with comfortable housing onsite, superb practice facilities and a timeless Bill Amick design that stretches out to over 7,000 yards. The friendly people supporting the tournament make it a memorable experience for the players with special touches like announcing players on the first tee and approaching the 18th green.
The Cottages On the Green and Perdido Bay Golf Resort have a revered place in golf trivia. The scene in the movie Tin Cup with the golf shot that knocked the pelican off its perch was reportedly based on a real incident involving Gary McCord that happened during a rain delay in a Pensacola Open.
In 2012 the SECT will consist of two tournaments- the Hardee's Players in August and the Hardee's Holiday Classic in late December. But in 2013 it will grow to six tournaments including one at TPC Sawgrass on Dye's Valley Course and TPC Louisiana.
In addition to the collegiate competitions, Naes coordinates junior tournaments including the Hardee's National Junior Classic at Perdido Bay in early January. Always thinking of the progression of golfers from junior to college and beyond, Naes has the juniors caddie for the college golfers in late December and then play the same course setup a week later to test their skills and have some good comparative data for college coaches.
Perdido Bay, Mark Neas and the new Southeastern Collegiate Golf Tour promoting the game of golf and giving back in the truest sense. Play well this week!
Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer as well as a Spotter, Research and Broadcast Assistant for The Golf Channel, NBC and CBS Sports. He spends time on all four major American golf tours- the PGA TOUR, Champions, Nationwide and LPGA Tours.
Reistetter resides within two miles of the PGA TOUR headquarters and the home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.
A lifetime golfer, Andy enjoys volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame and THE PLAYERS while pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it.
Friend Andy Reistetter on Facebook to enjoy daily updates on his GolfWriter59 page.
Contact Reistetter by e-mail at AndyReistetter@gmail.com
The clubhouse and 18th green at Fallen Oak, host of the Champions Tour’s Mississippi Gulf Coast Resort Classic. Photo Credit: Fallen Oak
Golf Writer Andy Reistetter continues his exclusive “Play-Write” series returning to Fallen Oak, Mississippi’s premier resort golf course. Weather interrupted his first date with Fallen Oak, canceling a March pro-am round with Nick Price during the 2012 Mississippi Gulf Coast Resort Classic. Merri Daniel, golf’s newest voice for women, joined Reistetter for the rescheduled round and also teamed up with Reistetter for the writing of this article. Their visit included a stay at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino with a thrilling evening of Fata Morgana,a brand-new Cirque-style extravaganza. Join Merri and Andy as they share an intimate “stay & play” golfing experience.
Have you ever driven up to a bag drop and had an experience of a lifetime even before you went to the first tee?
A time where someone is expecting you to arrive at a golf course, greets and welcomes you as if you are visiting the home of a dear friend.
If so, then you have played Fallen Oak, the private though accessible golf course one can play when staying at the Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Merri Daniel with Steve Berger at Fallen Oak.
“Hello Miss Daniel, welcome to Fallen Oak,” smiled Steve Berger, golf professional.
“Hi Mr. Reistetter, please leave the keys in the car, we’ll take care of everything, ” invited Greg “Tex” Gallup, a former professional caddie.
The bag drop was the porte-cochere of a traditional Southern, yet modern clubhouse. Seriously, greeted by name without a reference sheet? Valet parking and our shoes on the way to the locker room for a bit of a touch up and new spikes without asking?
Merri, a product of the Golf Academy of America with experience on course working for Arnold Palmer, Kemper Sports and Troon Golf, commented that “I have never seen that kind of service before.” As a proponent and writer for Women on Course she has seen various levels of service at all types of facilities.
Yes, Fallen Oak has less than 9,000 rounds a year, most days less than 30 so they have the staff and opportunity to go above and beyond. The fact is they do and they do it quite naturally. What is remembered is the warm smile accompanied a genuine happiness to see you at Fallen Oak, a sort of Beauty & the Beast “Be My Guest” castle reception.
An engraved nameplate greets you as you are escorted to your locker in the lounge. Though separate for women and men they are nearby so that one doesn’t lose track of their partner as they get ready for their round. This is a nice touch for couples wanting to share the complete golfing experience together.
Our experience is enhanced by the company of Dr. Bill Bridges and later on the 7th green by our new friend Steve. We continue to be amazed in our travel golf journeys by the people we meet on a golf course.
Merri and Andy like to engage in a match. A friendly couple, the recently minted relationship was characterized quickly by Bill as “competitively compatible.” We took that as a compliment as we like our playing partners to have as good a time as we are.
The green at the short par-4 7th hole.
A babbling brook on the first tee announces our threesome and keeps us company as it meanders down the left side of the first hole. As we look out over the gentle terrain of the par-5 first hole Merri exclaims her typical warning: “Best to get our bet straight on the first tee.” Bill deflects to me and I acknowledge I am giving her 6 strokes total, one less than last time.
As we find ourselves in the fairway closer to the bunkers we see their magnificence. This is a “difficult looking but easier to play than it looks” type of golf course. The numerous bunkers along with stately trees are target points off the tee, but become hidden when looking back from the green. What was visible becomes hidden, the opposite of links golf. This is parkland golf at its best. Merri, the analyst proclaims “this bunkering is incredible, it looks pretty difficult and something to stay away from.” Interestingly she doesn’t take her own advice. Losing the first and tying the second sinking a 15-foot chip-putt with a stroke to match my bogey.
“The course is beautiful and Andy is playing some of the best golf I have ever seen him play, I however, am not yet on my game,” were Merri’s playful words as we headed to the third tee.
We finally see another person, a maintenance worker watering the fairway by hand on the fourth hole. Andy’s peace and tranquility vanish as he takes lost ball and water penalty strokes on the next two holes. Now Merri confidently assesses that she is “just starting to feel my game coming back and look forward to beating you.”
Not on the next hole as Andy’s regulation par trumps her bogey with no stroke and he regains a one hole advantage in a match that is likely to go the distance.
The dramatic 8th hole green complex.
We love that there are no houses at Fallen Oak. No houses mean that there is nobody living on the course. No civilization to look at, we like to get away from civilization.
“Merri’s got a hell of a game,” shares Bill just before Steve joins us on the 7th green, “and you do too.” “I enjoy playing with you. It is fun to play with people who love the game… it is my salvation.” We agreed that it was ours too as we smiled at each other.
Merri made a bomb on the par 3 8th hole sharing with us afterwards, “I saw the line (of the putt) when I stepped up to the ball and I knew it was going in.” The golf school graduate typically impresses newcomers to the group with an amazing shot or two. Sort of Tigeresque at times but not intimidating to Andy since the deuce only squared the match.
Andy knew he was in trouble after a stroke on the 9th hole earned Merri a point even though they tied with a pair of bogeys and Merri acquired a little energy boost at the turn. “Some of the best chicken salad I have ever had, a little cranberry, celery, egg and spicy mayonnaise, really good!”
After Andy lost a ball off the tee on the 10th, his Big Miss being characteristically left, he took the dreaded “X” after surveying two of the amazing Fazio bunkers. Suddenly he had lost three straight holes and was now two down in the match.
Andy was in trouble left off the tee on the 11th but recovered to match Merri’s bogey. He made a 10-footer to save a regulation par on the 12th for a point. The par-5 13th was a pivotal hole where the momentum swung in Andy’s favor as he drained a 24-footer for birdie. Merri three putted for a bogey six and her stroke was meaningless. All she could mumble was “that was a difficult hole location” as she stumbled off the green.
Our foursome (Left to Right)- Dr. Bill Bridges, Andy & Merri and Steve Berger.
Not only had the momentum swung to Andy’s side but Merri questioned Steve’s alliance and noted he had “switched teams” and now seemed to be rooting for Andy to play well. After a solid par on 14 and a 3-hole win streak, Andy had taken the lead with four holes to go.
The match is tied on the next as Andy’s erratic tee ball goes predictably left and he manages to find another Fazio bunker on the way to the green. Merri plays the magnificent par-5 flawlessly with a tap-in par on the most difficult hole of the second nine.
A 15-footer by Andy for another regulation par regains the lead that is only surrendered again on the 17th where Merri’s near ace and tap-in deuce evens the match for the last time. Merri comments that “we really like to go at each other.” Andy is upset that the scorecard gave Merri a 100-yard advantage. It seemed as though he was giving her another stroke that he had not agreed to on the first tee. Still it was an awesome 9-iron from 100 yards.
On the way to the 18th tee Merri notes that she has “put myself in a position to win,” confident that the last of six official strokes will be a strategic advantage on the home hole. The aim point off the tee is the namesake Fallen Oak. Only partially fallen, with about a third of the massive tree lying horizontally, this is a century old landmark of the golfing landscape.
Though serenely quiet the tall oaks sway in the wind as if to wave and say hello. Andy sees a monarch butterfly, a favorite of his father who brought him to the game and feels a warm sense of belonging here in the nature of Fallen Oak. Perhaps it distracts him from the matter at hand and Merri’s short game prevails with a nice one-putt bogey to secure a 1-Up victory.
By the Fallen Oak on the right side of the 18th fairway…
“Don’t you just love Fallen Oak?” she whispers in my ear as we compatibly embrace on the 18th green. I do and think of our golfing motto. While the PGA of America promotes “Play it Forward,” we say “Play it Together!” We thanked Bill and Steve for making our round extraordinary as we headed up to the Clubhouse and the 19th Hole.
With a floor-to-ceiling view past the sunken bar to the 18th green and the Fallen Oak tree, we sit and talk and relive an incredible golfing experience. When Andy thinks of overall beauty, “there is nothing else like Fallen Oak, what an exceptional experience for the mind, body and soul.”
Merri commented, “I am going to remember the chicken salad for a long time.”
Merri Daniel is a Women’s Golf Advocate and emerging Golf Writer and Broadcast Assistant in addition to being a Spokes Model for Vivacity Sportswear http://www.vivacitysportswear.com/
Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer as well as a Spotter, Research and Broadcast Assistant for The Golf Channel, NBC and CBS Sports. A lifetime golfer, Andy enjoys volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame and THE PLAYERS while pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it.
Residing within two miles of the PGA TOUR headquarters and the home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, this golfing couple is focused on a number of entrepreneurial golf pursuits within the realm of “Outside the Ropes Entertainment.”
Friend Andy Reistetter on Facebook to enjoy daily updates or contact Reistetter by e-mail at AndyReistetter@gmail.com
