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2011 Southern California Golf: The Next La Costa Is Here!

December 20, 2011 By admin

Golf writer Andy Reistetter continues his exclusive “Play-Write” series with an extended visit to the recently renovated La Costa Resort & Spa in Southern California. As part of a Special Media Preview, Reistetter met with architects Damian Pascuzzo, Jeff Brauer and Champions Tour Player Design Consultant Steve Pate, learned the history of La Costa and the inside story of the recent golf course renovations. Truly an exceptional visit to an exceptional place—the Next La Costa is here!

Golfing foursome on the 16th tee- Jeff Brauer, Andy Reistetter, Steve Pate and Damian Pascuzzo…

Some things never change, they are simply transformed in the next era.

That is exactly what has happened at La Costa where the final touches of a $50 million renovation by owner KSL Resorts are being completed.

That’s on top of an earlier $150 million upgrade.

Needless to say, La Costa has reinvented herself into the impressive, sophisticated, all-encompassing resort of the future.

Whether you are visiting as a single, a couple, a family or a corporation, everything is there for you at La Costa.

Not too far from Los Angeles or too close to San Diego, this is a special place.

Redesigned and well-appointed guest rooms, suites and villas are your new home.

The family friendly Bistro Legends and the signature Blue Fire Grill are two highly-acclaimed restaurants. The Diversions Sports Bar is another dining option, as well as outside pool and spa cafes.

The quaint village at La Costa…

The Coastal Events Center has 110,000 square feet of flexible meeting and banquet space, while the Coast Costa Del Sol Ballroom is the largest in North San Diego County.

With two championship golf courses, 17 clay and hard surface tennis courts and one of the best spas in the world, once you come on site you will never want to leave.

Plus, there is Splash Landing waterslides, Kidtopia children’s programs and the Vibz Game Lounge for kids of all ages. La Costa is a guaranteed better experience for your kids than any cruise ship that you have ever been on.

Shopping is abundant and unique with Coastal Dunes and Audrey’s Closet to explore. The golf and tennis shops carry all the top brands and are well stocked.

Palm trees greet your arrival at La Costa…

La Costa has a village atmosphere that is well accentuated with three large water fountains, majestic palm trees and an ambiance of restorative peace and tranquility.

Fire atop the water fountains once the sun sets brings additional warmth to a serene setting.

Her Las Vegas desert heritage and Hollywood flair seem to be present as the gentle breezes of the not too distant Pacific Ocean envelop you in a sense of well being.

Golf, namely professional golf, came to La Costa from the desert for the first time in 1969 and stayed for the next 30 years.

Inner sanctum of the Spa at La Costa…

Like the resort, known as “the best of the best,” the golf tournament’s mission was to determine “the champion of the champions.”

Gary Player won the first Tournament of Champions at La Costa, and Phil Mickelson in 1988 won the last, both for their second time.

In between, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson won it three times on the famed original 1965 Dick Wilson designed “tournament” course.

Lanny Wadkins, Steve Elkington and Tom Kite also won the prestigious event at La Costa.

Johnny Miller’s triumph there in 1974 was one of eight PGA TOUR victories that year, the year after a Sunday 63 won him the U.S. Open at Oakmont CC.

Tiger Woods at La Costa in 2006… Photo Credit: Harry How Getty Images

Tiger Woods won in 1998 when it was known as the Mercedes Championship.

As Player said in his inaugural win, “this is golf.”

Golf continued at La Costa in 1999 with the very first World Golf Championship.

Never before in the history of the game had the world’s best 64 golfers come together and compete in head-to-head single elimination match play to determine the best golfer in the world.

In the premier event, Jeff Maggert beat Andrew Magee and won $1 million in a 36-hole final that went two extra holes.

The next year, Darren Clarke showed early signs of his recent Open brilliance by defeating Tiger Woods in the final match 4&3.

The WGC Match Play continued at La Costa through 2006, with the exception of 2001 when it went down under to Australia.

La Costa is located near the childhood backyards of Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods. Like San Diego, Phil is closer, but Tiger enhanced his legacy at nearby Torrey Pines with a Monday playoff over Rocco Mediate in one leg in the 2008 U.S. Open.

Tiger also owns the modern golfing legacy at La Costa.

Woods won back-to-back WGC Match Play Championships in 2003 and 2004.

Who can forget the “9&8” drubbing Tiger put on Stephen Ames in a first round match in 2006? Mind you it was an 18-hole match. Mathematically, only “10&8” could have been worse for the outspoken Ames.

Remember the 6-iron to 10 inches in 1998 on the par-3 16th hole to beat Tom Lehman in the first hole of a sudden-death playoff?

In 2010, golf came back to La Costa with South Korea’s Hee Kyung Seo winning the season-opening LPGA event by six strokes.

The LPGA will be back in 2012 with the Kia Classic in mid-March.

Dramatic bunkering on the par-5 second hole…

With 45 years of tradition and a superb renovation of 18 holes of championship golf now called the Champions Course, who knows what the future of hosting professional golf tournaments will be for La Costa?

All that is known is that the Resort, Spa and Golf at la Costa have been transformed into the next era and are ready for your visit and the perpetuation of professional golf championships.

Damian Pascuzzo and Steve Pate formed 2P Pascuzzo & Pate Golf Course Design in 2006.

Pascuzzo worked for and became a partner with famed designer Robert Muir Graves right out of college.

The John Goodman look alike brought in Jeffrey Brauer out of Texas to assist with the La Costa project. Both architects, like Graves, are past Presidents of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCS).

Steve Pate, a veteran of 553 PGA TOUR events and a winner of six, finished in the Top Ten of two majors this year as a rookie on the Champions Tour.

A California native and UCLA graduate, Pate’s biggest career victory came in 1988 when he opened with a pair of 66s and won the MONY Tournament of Champions at La Costa.

To say La Costa is a special place for Pate is probably an understatement as it was also the place where he came as a child to see his first professional golf tournament.

Pate’s most recent win came last year on the Nationwide Tour in Columbia as he prepared for his May Champions Tour debut.

Needless to say, the design team to renovate La Costa was superb!

Interestingly, the scope of the project was not a renovation of the original Dick Wilson “tournament” 18.

Instead, the scope was to renovate the North Course- the original Dick Wilson tournament front nine and the back nine added by his design partner Joe Lee in 1984.

With new Bent grass greens, the upgraded holes can no longer be combined into a tournament course with the original Bermuda greens.

No longer the North Course, it is now known as the “Champions’ Course.”

Also renovated were four holes of the South Course where Lee added the front nine to Wilson’s tournament back nine in 1973.

The four South holes renovated were the first and last of each nine, all clearly visible from the elevated resort and clubhouse area.

The project significantly improved water flow and drainage of both golf courses by raising fairways and dredging lakes.

Playability under all weather conditions is a key criteria for hosting professional golf tournaments.

Even in Southern California where the song goes that it seems like it never rains but when it does it pours man it pours.

The exciting part of the golf course renovations were the changes to the routing and the bunkers.

The 16th is now a dramatic short par-4 with the green perched out into a lake. This is the ultimate risk-and-reward hole with sand and water hazards guarding the reachable green.

The par-3 17th was shortened from a middle/long iron to a relatively short iron, an 8-iron for this amateur golfer. With an elevated tee, a lake to carry and a shallow green, this hole like the 16th is simply fun to play.

Fairway bunkers that originally were opposite one another in the landing area are now strategically staggered and very appealing from mostly elevated teeing grounds.

The design team used historical deception techniques such as a hidden fairway between seemingly connected bunkers and oversized distant bunkers that appear to be in play but are not unless you are Tiger Woods. This makes for an engaged golfing experience at The Next La Costa that is here now for you to enjoy.

The upgraded green complexes are difficult yet fair to play and incorporate all the latest design techniques and course setup features such as run-off areas and tight and guarded hole locations to test your short game finesse.

Green complex on the uphill par-5 sixth hole…

The classical uphill par-5 6th hole is now a fairer hole to play with visible and built up landing and layup areas.

This is a golf course that fits your eye with dramatic, magnificent elevated tee shots on par-4 holes Nos. 1, 7, 10, and 13, the par-5 11th and the par-3 16th.

Pascuzzo and Pate, along with Brauer, took two nines built years apart and created a unique and special flow of a golf course as it meanders through canyons to the north and then comes gently back to the resort.

There is no higher acclaim for a golf course than for it to be in tune with the land it is built upon. This graceful feeling is there for all to experience on the Champions Course at La Costa.

My only recommendation is not addressed to the golf course or resort renovation but rather to the LPGA’s decision to play the March 2012 Kia Classic on the South Course rather than the newly christened Champions’ Course.

While it is understood that the South is more central to the resort and convenient for the patrons and contains the famous “Longest Mile” finish, the Champions Course is deserving of its first professional golfing event.

It’s a beautiful stroll to the far eighth green/ninth tee and an opportunity to view the 40 acres of new native grasses. The viewing areas for patrons are outstanding on the Champions layout.

Granted, there is little growing season even in southern California in the next three months, but the greens are rolling true and fast and the fairways seem free of any lingering sod lines.

Just cut the rough, give it a go and let the girls play!

These girls can play and deserve to play on the best tests of golf, including the newly-renovated Champions Course at La Costa!

Christmas tree with fairways of La Costa beyond…

Well okay, I do have a second recommendation…let’s get 2Ps & B (Pascuzzo, Pate & Brauer) started renovating the remaining 14 holes before Pate gets healthy and too successful on the Champions Tour.

Then we will have our course for professional golf at La Costa and be able to play it, too.

The new and dramatic Champions’ holes Nos. 16 & 17 as the tournament front nine with the “Longest Mile” finish determining future champions at la Costa.

One thing for sure is that they got the names right—”Champions” Course and The “Next” La Costa!

Some things never change, they are simply transformed in the next era.

Filed Under: Featured Golf Resorts & Courses, Travel Golf, West Coast USA

2011: Dye’s Valley at TPC Sawgrass: Home of the Winn Dixie Jacksonville Open

October 25, 2011 By admin

Golf writer Andy Reistetter lives in the Golf Capital of the World- Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., home of the Nationwide Tour’s Winn Dixie Jacksonville Open on Dye’s Valley for the last two years.

Also, Florida’s First Coast is home to the PGA TOUR, TPC Sawgrass, The Players and the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Reistetter captures the spirit of this year’s tournament in this slideshow. Do you see a familiar face?

Welcome to Dye’s Valley…

Welcome to Dye’s Death Valley II. This is no half sister to the Stadium Course. It is a pure blood “Dye-abolical” designed golf course. You may need some simple “Dye-rections” to find Dye’s Valley, as it is a little more than driver distance from the iconic TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse.

Who Cares About Football Anyway?

Even Jaxson de Ville, the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars mascot, played hooky from work on Monday to catch the Junior Clinic with Nationwide Tour players and then a demonstration by two-time world long drive champion Jamie Sadlowski. Judged by how he hits the golf ball, Jaxson the Jaguar plays better golf than the Jaguars do football.

Winn Dixie Junior Clinic a HUGE Success!

THE best junior clinic I have seen in four years on tour. What made it so? Twelve instruction stations manned by dedicated NWT players (and one Champions player) where the kids got to hit the balls and apply what the professionals where telling them.

Local favorites included Len Mattiace, Frank Lickliter, III, Russell Knox and Champions Tour member and 2005 Players champion Fred Funk. Others giving of their time to promote the game of golf to juniors on a beautiful day were Ron Whittaker, Brendon Todd, James Sacheck, Clayton Rask, Matt Hendrix, Tommy Biershenk, Will Wilcox and Danny Wax.

Fred Funk Knows How to Teach Kids

Fred starts each kid without a club or ball. He works on posture, balance and then body movement, focusing on the triangle between extended arms and shoulders. He gives them a club and works on grip and rehearsing the swing without a ball. Then, he tees up a ball for them, and voila, the ball gets in the way of a good swing!

Son Taylor is a sophomore golfer on the local Ponte Vedra Sharks team which just won the district championship. Next up is the regions, and then hopefully, the state finals.

Jamie Sadlowski Hits it a Long Ways

Sadlowski (in black shirt) tries to “hit it as far as humanly possible.”

He says it’s easy. “Just count to eight seconds before it lands.”

Jamie readily admits being 23 helps! Hey, maybe Dye’s Valley is less than a driver from the Clubhouse. Note that Jaxson Jaguar dude taking notes…he’s a golfer dude for sure. Also note the number of Nationwide Tour players that hung around to watch and perhaps pick up a tip or two.

Guinness Book of World Records: TPC Sawgrass Stages World’s Largest Pro-Am

Not sure how accurate that is, but it is the largest pro-am on the world’s largest tour, so doesn’t that make it so?

Think about it: Two courses, morning and afternoon shotguns, five-hour rounds, 10 hours of daylight (OK, 12 hours) and over 400 golfers. Head professional Matt Borocz and his team should be coordinating the handling of all luggage at our nation’s airports. Takeoffs and landings too! WOW factor to the 18th degree.

Look Who’s Back in Town

… and playing the stadium course before his concert Wednesday evening: Florida’s own Jake Owen! Owen wanted to be a professional golfer, winning his first tournament at age 15. He went to Florida State University.

A wakeboarding accident and ensuing reconstructive surgery ended his golfing career.

The Stage is Set

… and fans of Jake Owen are getting settled in on the back lawn of the TPC Sawgrass Clubhouse for an evening of great fun and good music.

Inside the Truck

Golf Channel’s Karel Schliksbier gives the local Ponte Vedra Sharks high school golf team a tour of the behind-the-scenes action in golf broadcasting. With more than one ball in play at the same time and 18 fields of play, broadcasting golf is one of the more demanding of all sports.

Inside Another Truck…

Golf Channel Producer Keith Hirshland (black shirt of left) is the storyteller during the broadcast. Ponte Vedra Sharks Hanks Massey (yellow shirt in center) and Jack Bishop (red shirt with black vest on right) survey the activity in the main truck.

Get the Picture?

Golf Channel cameraman Randy saddles Hanks with a HD lite 25-pound camera. Try carrying running around with that on your shoulder all day with two hip replacements! Being a remote cameraman on the ground is not an easy job!

The Planters Peanut Mobile Came to Dye’s Valley…

But who is inside?

Well, It’s Mr. Peanut Planters!

(With volunteer Shelley)

We see this guy swim really fast in commercials. In Dye’s Valley, he not only parts the water really fast, but he walks on water as well. Did you catch him in the water at No. 9 and 13 on TV?

The Volunteers Are the Heart of Any Tournament on the PGA Tour

This is volunteer Kathy Hodges. She has more flair than Jennifer Aniston in the movie Office Space.

Sometime it Hurts To Be a Volunteer

Ask Sheila on the 15th hole, who got hit by an errant drive of Luke List. Peter Lynch, president and CEO of tournament sponsor Winn Dixie, happened to be driving by and went to get some ice for her shoulder. Note the ice back is a plastic glove, which I guess is the ultimate helping hand.

Team Tim Finchem?

NOT. Team Tim Wilkinson. The black shirts are for the Kiwi’s favorite rugby team that recently won the world cup. The silver fern only grows in New Zealand. Go TTW!

I Will Have a Jacksonville Double!

Winning caddie and local resident Michael Carrick (no, Stevie Williams does not win every event) has won the Jacksonville Double! On the bag with Tom Kite when he won The Players in 1989, Carrick is the only one to have won both of Jacksonville’s professional golf tournaments.

Charity Wins at TPC Sawgrass

Whether is it The Players with a record $5.9 million or the Winn Dixie Jacksonville Open with a strong $1.8 million, charity in the Northeast Florida and Jacksonville area wins. Champion Galvin Coles more than “stopped by” the volunteer’s party Sunday evening…he “came and stayed” to the delight of all the volunteers and Yours Truly! What an outstanding event: the 2011 Winn Dixie Jacksonville Open presented by PLANTERS.

Dye’s Valley…

TPC Sawgrass, Winn Dixie, PLANTERS, the Nationwide Tour…Dye’s Valley…it all seems to be truly “Dye-licious.”

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 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. He can be reached by e-mailing him at AndyReistetter@gmail.com

Filed Under: Hickory Golf, PGA TOUR Golf

The Sea Island Golf Club Defines Southeast Golf!

October 17, 2011 By admin

Golf writer Andy Reistetter continues his exclusive “Play-Write” series with a round of golf on the Seaside Course at Sea Island in Georgia. Ben Crane triumphed in the PGA Tour’s McGladrey Classic on the Seaside Course. Along with the Plantation and Retreat courses, Sea Island Golf Club is a premier golfing destination. But there is more to the story. Play along with Reistetter as he discovers a truly unique, world-class golfing experience at Sea Island.

Ben Crane kept his balance and his eye on the ball winning the 2011 McGladrey’s Classic on the Seaside Course. Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Seaside defines a timeless historic version of golf in America.

There may be five oceans and seven seas, but there is only one Sea Island.

What defines a golf course?

Eighteen holes?

What defines an ocean or a sea?

It gets complicated, isn’t it all salt water?

What defines golf in the southeast United States?

I grew up north of the Mason-Dixon Line, playing on golf courses with bent grass greens and Kentucky bluegrass rough.

After four years of living in the Southeast, Bermuda grass continues to challenge me.

How does one play a shot from the rough around the greens?

Why is it harder to read the break on Bermuda greens?

But isn’t Kentucky south of the Mason-Dixon Line?

Why does bluegrass, but not Bermuda grass, grow well up north?

Here’s the answer to the rub…

Red wicket baskets are a nice touch on the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club.

Play the Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club on St. Simons Island in Georgia.

Sea Island defines southeast golf… golf nestled in the salt marshes in the coastal plains of the Low Country.

There is a reason Sea Island has hosted the SEC golf championship since 2001.

Sea Island’s pedigree goes back to 1927, with Walter Travis designing the original nine holes of the Plantation Course.

Harry Colt and C.H. Alison designed a second nine in 1929.

In 1999, Tom Fazio redesigned Colt and Alison’s work, as well as Joe Lee’s Marshside nine (1973), to form the Seaside Course as it is known today.

Seaside is a design masterpiece.

The first nine goes out and back in a counterclockwise fashion, while the second nine follows a clockwise direction.

Each of the four par-3s faces its own unique direction.

In essence, the layout complicates the gauging of the ocean breezes.

Red wicker baskets are the norm on the Seaside Course.

The golfer is left in quiet isolation to feel the direction and strength of the wind without the aid of a flag on the stick locating the hole on the green.

Davis Love III played in the McGladrey’s Classic where his father was a distinguished golf instructor. Phote Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

The PGA Tour thinks this is unfair for its players, so during the McGladrey Classic there are flagsticks on the greens.

Golfers with exceptional talent and a desire to have that talent challenged have always come to Sea Island.

Bobby Jones first played there in the summer of 1930, just before completing the Grand Slam at Merion Cricket Club in Pennsylvania.

Merion has wicker baskets but no crickets.

World Golf Hall of Fame member Louise Suggs has been a member of Sea Island since 1955.

Whether it is a sponsor’s product or a golf club affiliation, Suggs never associates herself with anything other than the best and something she personally believes and trusts in.

Sea Island was the place where the best golfers would come for instruction by Davis Love Jr.

His son Davis Love III heads up a growing list of professional golfers who make Sea Island their home.

Hosted by Davis and his foundation, the McGladrey Classic is a family affair. His brother Mark is the executive director of the tournament.

Davis grew up at Sea Island. This is where his heart is.

To bring a PGA Tour event to his hometown must be as satisfying as winning the 1997 PGA Championship with Mark on the bag.

Every golf shot Love takes has something to do with his father.

Wildlife abounds on the tranquil Seaside Course.

When he sank the winning putt for his first major championship, a rainbow was present.

It was as if his father, who had died nine years earlier in an airplane accident, was there smiling his approval for a course well played, a job well done.

The golfing face of McGladrey is bigger than only Davis Love III. It includes Chris DiMarco, Natalie Gulbis, and another Sea Island resident, Zach Johnson.

While I have been trying for four years to understand how to play golf on Bermuda grass, it took me one round at Sea Island to understand Southern golf.

We all know that the lie dictates the shot.

Play shots from greenside Bermuda rough like bunker shots. Open the blade up, aim an inch or two behind the ball and blast it softly onto the green.

On the green, look for the grain at the edge of the hole cut and play one-third less break than you think you need.

We all know that the truth dictates one’s life experience.

Play Sea Island and enjoy a truly remarkable golfing experience!

Filed Under: "Play-Write" Golf Courses, East Coast Golf Journey

October 2011: TPC Sawgrass: Home of High School Golf & PV Sharks!

October 8, 2011 By admin

Golf Writer Andy Reistetter lives in the golf capital of the world—Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida—home of the PGA TOUR, TPC Sawgrass and THE PLAYERS, with the World Golf Hall of Fame nearby in St. Augustine. A big supporter of amateur golf, Andy was excited to recently catch his first high school match of the local Ponte Vedra Sharks. Let him take you back to high school in this article. Recall and “en joie” the innocence and fun of life and golf at that time in our lives…

Freshman Kevin Slayden with Lauden Golf’s Banana Hybrid.

TPC Sawgrass: Home of the PLAYERS, where guys like Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods triumph on Pete Dye’s Stadium Course.

Guys like K.J. Choi and Sergio Garcia come through in the clutch to win a major-like tournament that can be a springboard in their careers.

Guys like Paul Goydos and David Toms lose in the clutch but come back the next week to win, or later go out and shoot a 59 on tour.

The Stadium Course is also home to the collegiate Jacksonville Invitational in late January, hosted by local golfer and 1988 PLAYERS Champion Mark McCumber.

Not too long ago, Galvin Hall went out and shot a 64 on his 17th birthday on Pete Dye’s Valley Course. The next day he conquered the Stadium Course, with its world famous par-3 17th to win the Jr. PLAYERS.

In a few weeks, the Nationwide Tour will come back to TPC Sawgrass and Pete Dye’s Valley Course in the second rendition of the Winn Dixie Open.

Strategically placed the week before the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island, the road to a top-25 finish and the 2012 PGA Tour comes right through the backyard of the PGA TOUR headquarters here at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

But wait… high school golf on Pete Dye’s Valley Course?

What is that, and how does that tie into the world of golf?

When I was getting ready for high-school golf, my older brother “LP” (for Lawrence Peter) did a remarkable thing for me.

He gave me a book—Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf.

Not remarkable? You are right.

What was remarkable was that he inscribed it with the following written words…

“Golf is a lot like life, the more you learn and understand about it, the easier it is to meet its challenges.”

Maybe that is why watching and supporting high-school golf is such a remarkable thing to do?

No matter the scores or the players, you will see it all.

The drama, the ups and downs and the storylines of emerging golfers and developing citizens of the world, not just the world of golf.

The day I watched was the day the Ponte Vedra Sharks hosted the Panthers of Palatka and the Yellow Jackets of St. Augustine.

The Sharks scored 149 and easily defeated the Panthers and Yellow Jackets.

Evidently, sharks are as fierce on land as in the sea and somehow can de-buzz the terrors of the air as well.

Palatka’s Michael Farley (L) and Ponte Vedra’s Anthony Scolapio (C) with St. Augustine golfer (R).

Scoring for the Sharks were co-medalists senior Marcus Plunkett and junior Anthony Scolapio (even par 36s), along with junior Chase Berlin (38) and sophomore Jack Bishop (39).

Their average score was 37, one over par on a course set up for the upcoming Nationwide Tour event.

As one opposing coach put it, “This is more golf course than we can handle.”

But that is not the story here.

I was a Panther and Yellow Jacket combined when I was in high school.

It was a big deal for this kid from the Ely Park, Binghamton, New York, municipal course to go over to Endicott and play the Union Endicott Tigers.

Their home course was En Joie Golf Course, home to the PGA Tour’s B.C. Open and now the Champion’s Tour Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.

En Joie’s slogan is “Play where the pros play.”

Sadly, I never played quite as well as a pro, but in a Section IV Championship at En Joie I did finish only five or six strokes behind Joey Sindelar and Mike Hulbert.

What is the story here?

Play golf and live life to the fullest!

The camaraderie of high school teams is exceptional.

They have fun with golf and life.

As Sharks’ coach Pete Molinaro puts it, “Individually they are competitive but they all like each other and cheer for their teammates.”

No wonder, because the coach is out there on the final green along with the boys congratulating each person as they finish… no matter what the score.

Parents and spectators look on as a school of sharks come off the 18th green.

Here’s the story lines I saw that day…

To know why the kids have so much fun, one needs only look to the supportive parents…

Mrs. Berlin is the snack lady extraordinaire for the day, driving a golf cart around with water, soda and treats for all days before Halloween.

Mother Nicole is the team mom, an amazing organizer, ensuring every parent gets a chance to drive the snack cart. She is also the team photographer.

Mother Elizabeth does scoring and communicates the results to the local newspapers.

But the kids—the kids are really cool.

Ponte Vedra Sharks junior Andrew Ullman and senior Tommy Anderson.

Junior Andrew Ullmann and senior Tommy Anderson were the first golfers that day.

At first, I thought Andrew had an exceptionally tough day out on the links because his team uniform was a bit tarnished and he looked a bit disheveled.

Turns out it was “Spirit Week” at school, with football homecoming on Friday night, and the appearance I saw was merely face-painting gone body- and clothes-painting as well.

As a testament to the course setup (that is. the rough being grown in for the Nationwide event), Andrew lost two golf balls. Balls he hit only a few feet off the fairways of the Valley.

Remarkably, he shot a 2-over 38 playing by the rules of golf.

One lost ball became a double bogey, the other only a bogey, which would have been a mulligan par and birdie to most social golfers.

Andrew, the birdie warrior!

Freshman Matthew Plunkett, known as “Little Matteo,” stands out for his tall, lanky build and almost knee-high white socks.

Reminds me a bit of myself at that age, sans my black shoes. It is Ponte Vedra Beach, after all.

“Little” must only refer to being Marcus’ younger brother.

Freshman Matthew Plunkett with “Amazing Grace” after draining a 50-footer on the 18th green.

Matteo drained a 50-footer with a belly putter for bogey on the 18th to card a 41.

The Name of Matteo’s belly putter?

“Amazing Grace.” An F-22-LONG prototype design by Bobby Grace.

Belly putters in high school?

Okay, 25-year-old Keegan Bradley started it by winning the PGA Championship with a belly putter.

Having seen Keegan win in Atlanta, I had just returned from the Tour Championship at East Lake.

I had Phil Mickelson’s group on Sunday and watched him struggle with the belly putter all day.

Phil—give it up.

Keegan, Matteo—keep it going!

Freshman Kevin Slayden navigated the rough with a special locally designed club by Jim Laudenslager of Lauden Golf.

The name?

Banana!

With a palm tree logo, though maybe that is a banana tree… not sure, new to Florida.

But the best story line came from Palatka’s junior Michael Farley, who described his experience on the tough Valley course with a series of hand gestures and a simple three-step story.

With hands outstretched to shoulder width, he began by noting the fairways were narrow… narrowing the separation of his hands to about the width of his nose.

Secondly, he pointed out with his hands outstretched over his head like he was commanding the pilot of a 747 on how to taxi his aircraft to a stop… the rough was UP, way UP!

Finally, with a hand gesture reminiscent of Jackie Gleason’s “away we go” and adding a verbal “swish,” the greens were FAST!

While one cannot predict whether or not one of these kids will go on to play golf on the PGA Tour, I would place a bet that one Michael Farley will become a great entertainer one day.

His is a good-natured, funny kid!

Living life large, isn’t that what it is about?

Other playing students of the shark school include senior David Novakoski, sophomore Taylor Funk and freshman Hanks Massey.

The Sharks are currently 10-2.

Maybe these storylines and others will comprise a book to be written someday: The Five Modern Fundamentals of Life.

TPC Sawgrass: Home of high-school golf.

Why not go out and support high-school golf at your local golf course?

Have the time of your life!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer as well as a Spotter, Researcher 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 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. He can be reached through his website Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary or by e-mailing him at AndyReistetter@gmail.com

Filed Under: Featured People, Hickory Golf, People in Golf, PGA TOUR Golf

2011 Jr. PLAYERS: Gavin Hall Celebrates 17th Birthday with a Win!

September 3, 2011 By admin

Golf Writer Andy Reistetter lives in the Golf Capital of the World- Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida- home of the PGA TOUR, TPC Sawgrass and THE PLAYERS. Nearby is the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine. But wait there is more than just professional golf here. Whether the collegiate Hyatt Invitation at Sawgrass CC or this week’s Jr. PLAYERS at TPC Sawgrass all levels of golf call this part of the world home Relive this week’s impressive victory by Galvin Hall in the 2011 Jr. PLAYERS at TPC Sawgrass.

Galvin Hall (in red shirt) putting on the 18th green at TPC Sawgrass en route to the Jr. PLAYERS Championship (Photo courtesy of Jacqueline Davis)

Go out and shoot a 64 on your 17th birthday.

Enjoy a family dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House to celebrate.

Next day play strong down the stretch and win the Jr. PLAYERS Championship.

Exciting and priceless but this is no MasterCard commercial.

Tiger Woods may have introduced himself to the world.

Perhaps the world should get to know the newly minted Gavin Hall.

Hello Gavin Hall.

The tall, smiling left hander has an unmistakable presence like that of Phil Mickelson.

But unlike Mickelson he was steady and conservative down the stretch on the renown back nine of the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

Hall started the day with a 3 stroke lead over Jim Liu after a Saturday 64 on the “other” Pete Dye gem- the Valley Course.

The next nearest competitor was another 3 strokes back of Liu.

Like the PLAYERS, the junior version has one of the strongest, if not the strongest field in all of junior golf- 78 players, top 60 from the United States and the top 18 from around the world.

Gavin Hall completes his swing on a heroic second shot that reached the green safely on the par-5 11th hole on the Stadium Course. (Photo courtesy of Jacqueline Davis)

What looked like a battle of New Yorkers, Hall from upstate Pittsford near Rochester, Liu from Smithtown on Long Island turned into just that.

It could have been Choi vs. Toms, Garcia vs. Goydos or “Phil the Thrill” vs. O’Hair in the professional PLAYERS.

After failing to get up and down from short of the green on the 9th hole with a putter in his hand, Hall held the slimmest of leads over Lui at the turn- one stroke.

The battle with Lui was fierce and magnified with two strokes swings on Nos. 11, 13 and 17.

After pars on 10, Lui went for the green on the par-5 11th though his second shot found water right missing the safety of the bulkhead green complex by only inches.

Hall reached the green safely in two and 2-putted for a birdie while Lui made a testy 6-footer for bogey.
After pars on 12, Lui made a 12-footer for deuce on the par-3 13th while Hall played conservatively away from the water and failed to get up-and-down walking away with a bogey.

Mary Ellen and Bob Hall watch their son Galvin tee off on the famous 17th at TPC Sawgrass.

Hall’s one-stroke lead evaporated on the difficult 14th as Lui hit a strong iron shot from the right rough and made a 2-putt par. Hall missed the green right from the fairway and failed to get up-and-down from one of Dye’s treacherous bunkers.

Lui bogeyed the 15th after being blocked by a tree from the right fairway bunker to fall one stroke behind entering TPC Sawgrass’ three water laden closing holes known as “the Water Closet,” at least to this author.

Lui’s drive was only feet from the fairway with what looked like a playable lie that wasn’t all that playable. His layup iron shot squirted right a bit and found the water after hitting ground first.

“If players don’t flush their iron shots coming home on the Stadium Course, the Water Closet will surely flush them down the leader board.”

Guarding his lead Hall once again played conservatively with his second shot left of the green. Though the chip was tricky one he drained a 15-footer for birdie to increase his lead to 4 strokes over Lui who made double bogey on the always pivotal 15th.

Jim Lui’s second shot at the difficult par-4 14th. He nearly holed a long putt at the green to take the outright lead from Hall. (Phote courtesy of Jacqueline Davis)

With the traditional right Sunday hole location on the 17th island green, Hall the 17year old played cautiously to the middle of the green.

While Hall was comfortably ahead of Lui, Jonathon Garrick playing two groups ahead had eagled the 16th and was on his way to closing out an impressive 4-under 68 and posting a 2-under total in the clubhouse.

Hall’s lag putt on the 17th green was difficult- long, flat at first with a severe downhill slope at the end. His first putt was skillful and rolled out but stopped 5 feet short leaving a difficult par putt.

Hall made the putt and went to the 18th tee knowing he had a 2-stroke lead with one to play.

Again he bailed out conservatively into the right rough avoiding an untimely flush in the Water Closet.

With Gavin Hall the 2011 Jr. PLAYERS Champion at TPC Sawgrass.

His iron shot cleared the trees and safely landed on the green.

Having three putts to win he took them edging Garrick by a stroke at the end of a draining experience in his first Jr. PLAYERS.

Hall in this the fifth Jr. PLAYERS joins Morgan Hoffman (2007, now a senior at Oklahoma State ranked No. 12 in Golfweek Sagarin Rankings), Evan Beck (2008, a junior at Wake Forest ranked No. 31), Bobby Wyatt (2009, a sophomore at Alabama ranked No. 37), and Michael Johnson (freshman at La Salle named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week after being medalist in team’s spring opener) as champions of the prestigious Jr. PLAYERS.

Entering his junior year at Pittsford-Mendon High School Hall will be the first to have the opportunity to defend his Jr. PLAYERS title.

Hall’s win also comes with an invitation to play on the Nationwide Tour in the Winn-Dixie Open on the Valley Course in October…

… where he shot 64 on Saturday to set up his breakthrough victory on the Stadium Course.

Hello Gavin Hall, welcome to the world of golf, TPC Sawgrass-style!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer as well as a Spotter, Research and Broadcast Assistant for various golf networks. 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 home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Filed Under: Featured People, Hickory Golf, People in Golf, PGA TOUR Golf

Meet Robyn James: The Only Woman in the Field… (TPC Sawgrass, July 25, 2011)

July 26, 2011 By admin

This is the first article in Golf Writer Andy Reistetter’s latest creative venture- an exclusive “Meet Golfers the Write Way” series- a collection of articles about the golfers and people that he has met along the way these last four years on tour.

Meet Robyn James: one of the most interesting and passionate golfers you will ever meet.

Robyn James was the only woman in the field at the Golf Channel AM TOUR at the TPC Sawgrass Open in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Though typically not the case on the country’s premier amateur tour, it did happen recently at a “major” held at the “Home of THE PLAYERS Championship and the Nationwide Tour’s Winn Dixie Open.”

Being the only woman in the field is not what is unique about Robyn.

What is extraordinary about Robyn is that in her rear view mirror is corporate America and in front of her on a full time basis is the green grass of golf courses.

At age 32, she is determined to transition from a corporate cubicle dweller to a green grass go-getter.

Her dream is to become a professional golfer.

Robyn James may look back one day to an amateur tournament at TPC Sawgrass as a huge stepping stone on her journey to become a professional golfer.

In the 36-hole event with rounds on Pete Dye’s Valley course as well as the more famous Stadium course, Robyn finished fourth in her flight, only two strokes behind the winner.

In last year’s season finale called The National Championship, contested on the same two courses, this determined soul failed to break 100 on either course.

This year, she opened up with a 94 on the Stadium and followed up with an 87 on the Valley course.

Playing golf as an amateur and improving is not the end of the story of this sassy, passionate golfer from Shelby, N.C.

It’s really the middle of the story with a forecasted terrific ending.

The start of the story began with a college degree in applied mathematics from N.C. State. With a concentration in cryptography, she later began to break down and decipher the code of her own life.

Robyn James in the process of becoming “better than most” at TPC Sawgrass.

When her first company was acquired by a private entity she felt “sold” like everyone else. In her second gig in corporate America, she analyzed patterns of returned product before being laid off at the beginning of the 2008 economic downturn.

Laid off like hundreds of others in Atlanta, the prospects of a different job in the same pursuit did not look promising.

Robyn will tell you she had a “mid-life crisis at age 29,” realizing nothing she was doing was guaranteed.” She wanted off the corporate track to a not-so-certain future.

She turned to her family: mother Rhonda; father Kevin, who is an orthopedic surgeon; and older sister Kellee for support and insight on what to do next.

Though dedicated to riding horses competitively and running track in high school, Robyn remembered being introduced to golf by her father at age 10.

Robyn James with her Rule 8.1A ball marker which signifies she knows what she is doing and fellow golfers better not mess with her during a competitive round.

Raised as an army brat, her family was living in El Paso, Texas at the time. She remembers her set of junior golf clubs with the Panda head cover.

The youngster was out on the golf course with her father when it started to rain hard, Texas style.

They cut through a ditch to get back to safety and were almost swept away by a flash flood.

Now she is on a crash course to become a professional golfer trying to improve enough to pass the Player Ability Test (PAT) while pursuing a parallel path to golf instructor.

The originally 25+ handicapper made a decision to move back home with mom and dad at age 30 to pursue golf as a full-time job in order to eventually make it to the highest level.

Working 9-to-9 in Corporate America, she did not have time to play golf.

Now playing golf is her No. 1 priority all the time.

Why not follow your passion and love in life?

Her mentor is Millie Keeter Holbrook, a former LPGA player and now a golf instructor at Robyn’s home course in Shelby, the semi-private Deer Brook Golf Club.

Touring professional? Teaching professional?

Robyn’s eyes get bigger than big as she explains how Holbrook’s perspective made sense to her.

“It’s kind of like a daisy, if you aim for the center portion of the daisy (touring professional) that is fine. You work towards that as long as you are improving and you still want it.

“If you decide you don’t want the center there are all these support petals around it like teaching professional and tournament operations. So maybe it is not the center anymore, but something around that love of golf.”

Anywhere in the golf world yet to be determined is where Robyn will land.

She knows and understands that folks like Michelle Wie have a 20-year jump start on her.

But she loves what she calls “the ultimate independent women’s sport;” you go out there and slay your own dragons, go for the green in two, and don’t rely on someone else to do it for you.

“What else can you do where it is completely up to you?”

‘The mental challenge of golf is so intoxicating.”

She has given herself another two years to pursue becoming a touring professional while also making progress towards becoming a teaching professional.

Her performance over the weekend at TPC Sawgrass lowered her handicap to 13.6 down from a pre-tournament 15.0.

The Player Ability Test (PAT) works out to be around 15 shots over par for 36 holes.

She figures she is halfway there and wants to continue to develop her competitive playing skills while improving her game between tournament starts.

The Golf Channel’s Pro-AM tour is perfect for Robyn; she does not play on any other tour but wants to get her handicap down to qualify for mini-tour events in the not-so-distant future.

This bright, smart and motivated person figures that it is better than “waiting to be a scratch golfer.”

Not a gym rat, she works out in the early morning with kick-boxing DVDs before heading to the practice range and golf course for the rest of the daylight hours.

She takes lessons 1-2 times per week and gets lots of golf book reading assignments from her mentor.

Her loss of independence is more than offset by enjoying time spent with her parents and being out there playing with the guys.

On the Pro-AM tour women are given a 10 percent distance advantage.

She gets the “You hit it further than me you and should be playing back here with me” type comments from the guys and is quick to respond with “they don’t tell Bubba Watson to move further back, why should I?”

Tell her that she “hits it far for a girl,” and she is likely to respond with “you hit it short for a guy.”

With a giggle she will tell you she has a typical golfer split personality where she can talk to everyone all day, or hit balls and chip and not talk to anyone all day.

There is no steady boyfriend at this point in time. She will tell you that dating in the golf world is interesting.

She wishes guys would think of dating more as a job interview- “some guys want to interview for the wrong position, the position is boyfriend, not golf coach. Sometimes you get guys that think they are interviewing for a golf coach position.”

This fiercely independent woman will tell you that “the problem with guys in golf is that everyone wants to coach you, even those who are not as good as you.”

“Here’s what you need to do to play a bump and run shot… sorry not interested, right now I am focusing on putting since I am on the green in two and you are not.”

The 5’ 5″ lady who weighs in at 120 lbs with her golf bag on her shoulders admits to “a certain sort of satisfaction beating the guys especially the six foot plus guys with the Gaston complex.”

Most of the guys she plays with on the Golf Channel tour are great, but every once in a while a guy comes along that is playing the gender game instead of playing the golf course.

Beating them is an added bonus.

Guys also take note of her tournament ball marker. The “8.1” on it stands for Rule 8-1A in that a player cannot give a playing competitor advice on the golf course. If they do it, is a two-stroke penalty.

“Some guys would give advice to a snail.”

Some guys have told her that she should not play a shot the way she intended, which upsets her.

When she learned about the rule, her attitude became “it’s not okay, play the game.”

She is motivated by seeing the personal growth- practicing a shot for months and then pulling it off in competition.

Discover who you are and how good you can be, building confidence, not sure at first if you can do it and then going out and doing it.

Knowing she is addicted to golf her first “hello” on her website demands a “hello” back as in a 12- step meeting.

“You think that you are normal because you wake up thinking about golf, but some guys tell me that is not normal.”

Her philosophy is that “the bad shots make the good shots even better,” that you “can’t have the up without the down.”

The name of her web site is “Ups and Downs… check it out at http://upandowns.wordpress.com/

She is a “Tiger Woods” on practice days and a “Matt Kuchar” on competitive playing days.

She hopes to keep that attitude in a year or two when she is trying to make the professional cut.

Wise in her young years she knows that “I seem to play better when I am happy.”

Robyn has friendly head covers and carries on conversations with them along the fairways and greens.

“Max the Moose” is her driver for “maximum” distance.

Lola is her putter with a lady bug on the grip.

There are two theme songs with Lola- one from the musical Damn Yankees- “Whatever Lola wants, Lola Gets,” and Barry Manilow’s Copacabana… “Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl…”

Lola replaced “Pablo,” who Robyn divorced.

They wanted different things: he wanted to putt as many times as possible and she wanted to putt the least amount of times.

“Yes Lola, I did say right edge but I wanted it to fall into the cup from the right edge.”

I guess even women misunderstand one another at times.

With the wisdom of someone much older, Robyn will tell you that “nothing ever happens in ones.”

Well on the golf course a score of “one” is a good thing.

And if there has to be “one” woman in the field and that one is Robyn James then maybe that isn’t such a bad thing.

But that isn’t the story.

She might be the “one” that does what we all dream about doing: coming from nowhere at a not so young age golf-wise and making it as a professional golfer.

Hey, even Carl Spackler, a.k.a. Bill Murray won the Cinderella Story out at Pebble Beach with D.A. Points earlier this year.

Stay tuned for the rest of the story!

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer as well as a Research and Broadcast Assistant for the major golf broadcast companies. 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 home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Filed Under: Featured People, People in Golf

Historic Golf Discovery in Williamsburg, Virginia

July 21, 2011 By admin

Golf Writer Andy Reistetter takes his exclusive “Play-Write” series on the road north to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. While known for its historical role in the emergence of American democracy, more should be known about its present-day role as a 45-hole world-class golfing destination. Whereas George Washington and Thomas Jefferson walked down the main street on the way to American liberation, so too have many famous golfers walked the fairways of the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club. Enjoy this autumn golfing trip with Reistetter, then schedule a golfing trip of your own!

Escape from all of the hullabaloo outside R. Charlton’s Coffeehouse over a stamp tax and head to the links for a quick round of golf on the Spotswood, Green or Golf courses of the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club.

“Are you people of the frontier?” cries Mr. Richard Lee, a historical re-enactor in the R. Charlton’s Coffeehouse when asked a silly question about life and politics in the year of 1765.

The same could be said for seasoned golfers who have yet to play the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Colonial Williamsburg.

“Are you golfers of the rough?”

Come to the fairways and greens of the championship Gold and Green Courses designed by the renowned father-son golf course architects Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Rees Jones.

Jones Sr. called the Gold Course which opened in 1963 his “finest design—a natural arboretum upon which a great golf course has been built.”

The following year the World Golf Hall of Fame member reconfigured the original 1947 Fred Finlay nine-hole course into the executive-length Spotswood Course.

This little family-favorite gem earned “the best nine-hole course in the country” distinction of Golf Magazine.

From where does the name “Golden Horseshoe” originate?

Spotswood, the course’s namesake, was the colonial governor in 1716 and led an expedition from the coastal plains to the far western portions of the Virginia colony.

Many horseshoes were consumed due to the newly encountered rocky soil of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

The expedition was successful and when they returned to civilization the governor gave each pioneer a Golden Horseshoe.

Four years after the Gold Course opened, Jack Nicklaus set the professional course record of 67 in an exhibition match.

More recently in collegiate competition, Daniel Summerhays of Brigham Young University and Michael Schachner of Duke University have posted 10-under-par 60s.

Though relatively short at 6,817 total yards from the back tees, the tightly laid out design nestled amongst rolling hills and a hardwood forest requires precise golf shots from tee to green.

Aesthetically pleasing to the eye and the soul are the four par threes which are memorable.

The par-3 16th on the Gold Course is as finest a par-3 as you will find anywhere in the world of golf.

Three of the four, Nos. seven, 12 and the signature No. 16 cross water in a magnificent little valley near the center of the traditional layout which is free and clear of any adjacent development.

In fact you could be a million miles from civilization for all you know yet you are close by one of the earliest civilizations in our country.

The 16th is a true island hole. Having been constructed in 1963 it is one of the first holes with an island green anywhere.

The second shot on the reachable par-five second hole is a risk-reward all or nothing shot over the same stretch of water.

The par-three third hole has water of its own cutting across the front of a diagonally placed green. From the elevated tee a bunker short right appears as a beach even though Virginia Beach is 60 miles away.

Originally the Gold and Spotswood courses met the needs of the locals and golfing guests to Colonial Williamsburg.

The par-3 third hole on the Gold Course has water of its own.

Director of Golf Glen Byrnes has been a golf professional at Golden Horseshoe since 1986. He recalls the design challenge of the Green Course as being “a playable resort course that can host a major golf championship as well.”

Rees Jones, the younger son, answered the call and designed a green masterpiece literally next door to his father’s legacy.

Both the Gold and Green Courses are certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuaries.

The Gold and Green Courses are the only father-and-son, side-by-side designed courses in the world. One could literally play the first five holes on the Gold then check in at the Green clubhouse, play 18 and come back to finish the remaining holes on the Gold.

With up to five or six teeing grounds on each hole the yardage of the Green Course extends from the red tees at 5,348 to the green tees at 7,120.

For a touch of history one can look to the right and see the timeless boathouse of John D. Rockefeller Jr., the man who championed the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg in the 1920s.

The Rees Jones-designed Green Course opened in October 1991 and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

With extreme flexibility of course setup particularly in tee and hole locations, narrowing of fairways and length of the rough this playable links style course can be transformed overnight into the most difficult test for the world’s best golfers.

That happened in the 2004 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship.

Yano Tseng got the best of Michele Wie in 2004 on the Green Course at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club. This picture is more recent.Victor Fraile/Getty Images

Defending champion Michelle Wie battled a young Yani Tseng down the stretch.

It all came down to the classic finishing hole a reachable par five with an elevated tee shot over water down into a valley with an upward slope—to the well-bunkered green.

All square in their 36-hole match both Wie and challenger Tseng bunkered their second shots greenside at the home hole. Tseng got it up and down and Wie did not.

Tseng, at age 15, became the second-youngest winner of the championship behind Wie, who captured the title as a 13-year-old. Wie is in the record books as the youngest titlist of a USGA “adult” championship.

Tseng, if by chance you have been out on the frontier, has gone on to become the youngest player ever, male or female, to win five major championships..

The Williamsburg Inn recently enlarged both guest rooms and bathrooms reducing the number from 100 to 62. Spectacularly appointed and luxurious.

Colonial Williamsburg’s motto is “The future may learn from the past.”

Whether you play the Spotswood, Green or Gold or hopefully all three what you will learn is that Colonial Williamsburg is a premier golfing destination.

I guarantee that you will remember your rounds of golf at the Golden Horseshoe in 20 years’ time.

My insider’s tip when golfing Williamsburg is to make it truly a “Jones family affair.” Prior to going, read older brother Robert Trent Jones Jr.’s Golf by Design book. This will give you the knowledge to lower your score by understanding how golf courses are designed.

Perhaps once you come in from the frontier, armed with knowledge and faced with the challenge of these 45 holes of golf, your golfing experience at the Golden Horseshoe will be your best ever!

Golf Williamsburg’s motto, in my opinion, is “Come play golf here and we will do whatever it takes to make it a memorable experience.”

The Spa at Colonial Williamsburg has perfected the golfers massage!

Besides the golf and American historical experience of Colonial Williamsburg, there are great restaurants, lodging and of course the full-service spa.

For an elegant dining experience may I recommend the Regency Room at the Williamsburg Inn (coat required)?

I had the Crabmeat Randolph for a first course and Grilled Angus Filet and Veal Sweetbreads for my entrée. In addition the steward recommended a local Virginia wine, Octagon vintage 2006—a proprietary blend by from Barboursville Vineyards.

My desert selection was the Carrot-Coconut Cake with caramel cheesecake frosting and pineapple relish.

Truly a memorable culinary experience!

With nearly 700 guest rooms and suites available, whether you stay at the Williamsburg Inn, Lodge or the Woodlands you will be close to the golf courses and Colonial Williamsburg.

The Lodge is literally right across the street from the Gold (& Spotswood) clubhouse with the Green only a few drivers away.

Reistetter is all smiles golfing at Golden Horseshoe and enjoying the autumn season.

Also across the street is The Spa. I enjoyed the sports massage which is really the golfers’ massage. Even after 11 years of yoga I don’t think my shoulders or hips have ever been so free. I only wish I had taken the massage before I played the golf!

One final tip—there are five taverns nearby. Don’t miss an opportunity to taste one of the locally brewed AleWerks beers.

That’s all for now, reporting from a state of bliss…

Filed Under: East Coast Golf Journey, Featured Golf Resorts & Courses, Travel Golf

2011 (March thru June) Year in Review- 60 Pictures & 60 Stories!

July 1, 2011 By admin

In Puerto Rico with The Golf Channel at Trump International in Rio Grande… working hard but enjoying every moment!
See Puerto Rico- a good tip!
Man hunting crabs off the fairways…
Like the hammock and tranquility of PR!
Now I know how to spell it I will visit again!
Able to spend some time with Chi Chi Rodriguez and hear some interesting stories!
Played Royal Isabela in Puerto Rico- amazing golf course! Aerial of par-3 17th hole.
Ground level view of tee shot at the 17th.
Sitting on the 12th tee. Profile of Taino Indian face in the cliffs.
View from the south end of Royal Isabela.

Note: Listed picture captions continue below the gallery:

[Show slideshow]

17th green, a bit windy!
Sod faced bunkers on the par-5 10th hole.
With my playing partners Miguel suarez (shot 5-under) and golf writer Mike Bailey.
With forecaddie Jose in front of the logo wind-swept native oak tree of Royal Isabela.
With owner Stanley Pasarell on the 17th green.
With friends Pedro and Bobby enjoying life my last night in PR.
With Elaine & John, owners of ‘Ola Lola” in PR.
With the “Ola Lola” gang in PR.
Pedro, me and Tony and the Fruit Loop dude!
Reading Lil Jordan’s book to Pedro Jr….
Graduation night performance at the Comedy Zone in Jacksonville… some more talented than otheres, all more talented than me! I think I need to keep my day job if I had one!
Back at Augusta for the third year in a row… a very special place!
A quick picture with Al Geiberger… he has a plaque on Championship Way at TPC Sawgrass… the original “Mr. 59.”
No. 12 at Augusta.
No. 13 at Augusta… I know it would be prettier if I stepped aside…
Ocean side dinner with friend Sir Walter at The Reef in St. Augustine after an afternoon at the World Golf Hall of Fame… note historic PLAYERS books… doesn’t get any better than this!
Sunset of my life… NOT… but awesomely beautiful… bring on the dawn I am ready!
Putting greens at the World Golf Hall of Fame… a very special place…
Can you guess where I am… Harbour Town Golf Links… Hilton head Island, South Carolina… love the Low Country!
This is me morphed in 20 years… not bad except for the double nose!
Okay back to the present loving the beach!
Love everthing about living at the beach!
Here’s my new but old motorcycle… same Volusia 805cc model but 2 years younger with only 2300 miles on it… convertible comes in handy for transporting my new Brazilian hickory floor!
Motorcycle fits in the condo… only for long trips away from home to avoid the sea air rust that attacked my previous ride…
My cousin Edward came to visit me at the World Golf Hall of Fame! quite the golfer and golf historian himself by the way!
At the Beach Hut for breakfast with other PLAYERS volunteers… guy on the right is my bossman Tommy!
My favorite job preparing for THE PLAYERS… washing the champions’ portraits along Championship Way… during breaks I read my books and relive each PLAYERS championship! Did I tell you I am a golf nut?
Tommy and I out at the 16th green at TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course… staking the back nine the Friday before tournament week… the red thing is heavy and is a great aid to pounding the stakes into the ground.
Two awesome women I volunteer with at the PLAYERS- Miss Marion on the left and Chris on the right!
Two great guys I volunteer with at THE PLAYERS- on the right the “one and only,” the real bossman of everyone Les and on the left well let’s just call him BUZZ the celebrity guy! BTW Les donated my free round of golf on the Stadium course to the Wounded Warriors… which is okay with me…
THE PLAYERS was enhanced this year by the World Golf Hall of Fame Inductions on Monday… which meant I was spent by Tuesday of PLAYERS week! Class of 2011 from left to right Doug Ford, JUMBO Ozaki, President George Bush (No. 41), Ernie Els, CBS’ Frank Chirkinian and Jock Hutchinson… total in WGHOF now stands at 136… you gotta come!
Here’s my 3 bosses at the WGHOF- Jane, Frank and Sandie and I love them all- so much much fun volunteering at the Hall of Fame even if you are not a golfer like…
Quick pic with Hall of Famer Louise Suggs in front of her bronze portrait in Shell Hall.
My NBC spotter friends all dolled up for the WGHOF Induction ceremony!
My NBC spotter friends- back where they belong on a golf course… why is it that they can locate the golf balls of professionals but have great difficulty (except Gary) finding their own balls?
I was lucky that day… didn’t make the A-List to play with the big boys and enjoyed a round with Sandie and Debbie!
My first Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) breakfast at the PLAYERS… my friend Garrett on the camera shooting an interview with Zach Johnson.
Enjoying the PLAYERS on Wednesday before the Darius Ruckers concert on Military Appreciation Day!
2011 United States Open at Congressional CC outside Washington D.C…. my 4th in a row!
First tee hanging out early in the week!
Familiar picture pose- 18th fairway with green and clubhouse in the background!
With cousin Em on Tuesday! — with Emery A Reistetter.
Photo opp with Nick Watney at the Lexus booth…
With brother LP on Saturday…
Practicing my yoga tree position with the real thing…
At the 18th green when Rory McIlroy wins a historic U.S. Open by 8 strokes and shooting 16-under par!
Visit to my sister Joanne in Long Island… she and her husband Bob spoil me- Strawberry Shortcake for breakfast!
Back at Augusta National for the 2011 Masters!
I found out I lost a dear friend today- Jimmy Davis (in blue shirt)- a volunteer extraordinaire at THE PLAYERS- someone who help make Jacksonville feel like home to me the first day I met him 3 years ago! Another reminder to enjoy each day of life to its fullest!

Filed Under: Featured People, Hickory Golf, People in Golf, PGA TOUR Golf

2011 DSGO: “En-Joie” Your Hometown Golf Course at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open!

June 22, 2011 By admin

Golf writer Andy Reistetter continues his exclusive “Play-Write” series with his hometown golf course: En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott, New York—site of the upcoming 2011 Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.

Loren Roberts edged out Fred Funk at the 2010 Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.

I guess maybe there are a few better places to call home if you are a golfer.

Perhaps growing up in Augusta, Georgia and playing the National where the world’s best golfers come each spring to play in the Masters.

Or the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland would be a treat.

Maybe Pebble Beach Golf Links would be a spectacular site.

But for this kid from the west side of Binghamton, which along with Johnson City and Endicott is known as the “Triple Cities” of the Southern Tier of New York State… there is no better place in the world than En-Joie Golf Club.

Born in 1959, I came of age the same time as the PGA TOUR.

The touring pros were a new, different and emerging business than the club pros.

Read former Commissioner Deane Beman’s book Golf’s Driving Force to understand why even a little triple play town like Endicott was a key component of that rising starship enterprise known as the PGA TOUR.

The Triple Cities with founder William Bingham and industrialists like Thomas J, Watson Sr. and George F. Johnson and his Square Deal was always a community like no other.

Like the tour, the Valley of Opportunity surrounding En Joie is about charity, hard work and helping one another even in the most difficult of times.

The B.C. Open tournament founder Alex Alexander was the “little engine that thought he could and did” starting with a one-day satellite event in 1971.

The now famous golf instructor “Butch Harmon” won that event, his only win in a short three-year playing career.

To his credit Alexander staged a PGA TOUR event for more than three decades without the benefit of a major title sponsor.

Though named after a comic strip written by Endicott’s own Johnny Hart the B.C. Open was never a joke—it was a world class golf tournament built upon the fabric of a golfing community.

When George F. wanted to build a course for his workers he wanted it to be flat so that while they recreated that did not become overly exhausted—he wanted them to “en-joie” their time away from the shoe factories.

So En-Joie was built on the flatlands along the Susquehanna River.

Along with that decision, flooding became a constant challenge for the golf course and tournament.

A flood in 2006 washed out parts of the golf course and what was to be the last B.C. Open was played at and presented by the Turning Stone Resort a hundred miles away.

Professional golf returned quickly to the Triple Cities and En Joie in 2007 with a Champions’ Tour event—the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.

Dick’s first store was in Binghamton so now the tournament held at En Joie has a major sponsor with roots in the community.

The Champions tour event is a good fit for the community as well.

The Champions Tour golfers remember the Triple Cities, and the locals remember them as well.

Current Dick’s Sporting Goods Open Tournament Director Jon Karedes is carrying on in the tradition of Alexander and the En Joie tournament continues to benefit the Broome County Community Charities.

If you have the chance, go to the Triple Cities and “en-joie” everything good about life, golf and a great tournament!

Filed Under: Hickory Golf, PGA TOUR Golf