We played the awesome & great King’s North at Myrtle Beach National in Round 2 of the 2019 World Am! What a treat to play an Arnold Palmer Signature Design with his statue outside and his presence in the Memorabilia Room inside the clubhouse! Simply a great design and fun golf experience even though I did not score as well as I would have liked!

Home of ‘The Gambler; the Most Unique Par-5 in All of Golf;’ Dedicated by Kenny Rogers on June 21st, 1996 with these famous lyrics: “You got to know when to hold ‘em; know when to fold ‘em; know when to walk away; know when to run…” I gambled and hit the island fairway with a hybrid; went for the green but was short in the water; took a drop at the end of the island fairway; hit a 7-iron over the water onto the green and 3-putted from 40 feet for double bogey! What I found interesting was that some golfer after hitting the island fairway reverted back to the regular fairway on their second shot which was no easy layup! Great risk-reward Arnold Palmer and Kenny Rogers hole!

Tough 9 am shotgun start with an errant drive on the par-4 14th hole. Then I hit the next five greens in regulation only to 3-putt three of them from 15, 50, and 30 feet! My chipping let me down a bit; only one 1-putt and seven, yes, seven 3-putts! Total 42 putts; worse even in my life!

Everyone had a tough day. I didn’t realize I was playing with the leader Jim until after the round. He shot an 83 net 73 to maintain a 2-stroke lead. My cart mate and Facebook friend (we played together last year) shot the same score and is T7, eight shots back. It was just one of those days that I had what my golfing buddy Sir Walter phrased as “the melon head.”

Believe it or not I did get the hang of reading the grain by looking at the cup and adjusting “the break” and speed accordingly! I also realized that I have been putting on bent grass greens the last 3 months up north in New York!

No excuses, I shot 90 net 81, and wound up 25th 18 strokes back of Jim! But with thoughts of what could have been as I hit 11 greens in regulation and on any other day would have shot in the 70s! But like there is no some day in the week; same for any other day!

If you want to play a “Go for Broke” Arnold Palmer design; this is it and in my opinion all 18 holes are a gamble including the 18th hole with 40 bunkers (3-putt bogey from 30 feet) and the “SC (South Carolina) bunkered par-3 12th hole (3-putt bogey from 30 feet).

Enjoy King’s North at Myrtle Beach National as soon as you can!

PS: As the flowers on this golf course are so beautiful they must have a full-time horticulturist on staff!

#MBWorldAm

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 30 Pics; 8-27-19)

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Good first round in the 2019 PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com World Amateur! Had a great time today—played the General Hackler Course at Coastal Carolina University, made three new friends—Taco (Rodger); Bryan from Bittersweet; and Lanny; and shot 85!

Such an enjoyable round on such a beautiful day—one of those days on the golf course where you feel the gentle, refreshing breeze, hear the birds singing, and feel present and at peace with nature, life, and the world in general!

We started on No. 12, the longest par-4 on the golf course. Taco Beef can hit the ball a long way, made a 25-footer and birdied it! After imperfection replaced perfection he called the birdie on the first hole played a curse for the tournament. I am not sure about that as he played a solid round! Just before his birdie Lanny made a BOMB for par! We were off to a good start!

On our fifth hole Bryan and I realized we both lived in Gurnee, Illinois a northern suburb of Chicago. He lives there now and I did for 10 years starting back in the mid 1990s. Then I realized he was wearing a Bittersweet shirt which was my home club when I was there! So out of 3,215 we somehow were magically paired together!

We started chatting about SJ our mutual friend which distracted me a bit (my rationalization of course since I never have half-shanked and popped up a hybrid-2 into a fairway bunker, then tried hitting a hybrid-4 only to be left in deep rough 200 yards from the hole hitting four; fore! LOL!

Even with the double bogey I managed to be only 4 over par the first 9 holes boosted by a birdie on No. 1. BTW, for the record, we were talking about Jesus on that hole, not SJ!

I was rolling along, playing well, even learning along the way, imagine that! After seeing Taco Touch’s (really is a great putter) putt on the par-3 5th hole run out I adjusted to the changing green conditions and had a nice 2-putt par from about 25 feet.

Then I got a freaky bad break on the par-5 6th hole! My drive, slightly off line to the right hit something and ricocheted up 20 feet and directly right 30 feet out-of-bounds. Nines are automatic in the World Am but I still tapped in my final putt to make it official.

Going 1-over for the last 3 holes including a mindless 3-putt from 15 feet on the par-3 10th hole was a good omen for tomorrow’s second round. Taco Accuracy put one in close on the 10th to win the Proximity Award for the day!

Despite a nine and two double bogeys, the 85 was a good start, the highest score I could have shot by 5-7 strokes! No tournament is ever won on the first day of a four-day competition! Here in the World Am you hope to make the cut and win it on the 5th day!

I am late for the World’s Largest 19th Hole…

FYI, a little tongue-in-cheeks golf writers humor embedded in the pics…

#MBWorldAm

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 30 Pics; 8-26-19)

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Everyone’s coming to Visit Rochester! Pure coincidence that the SJF group is here! Well then again was that really my friend Phil BOMBING that drive or an imposter! WHAT, no invitation for Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary??? Play well gentlemen!

CLICK HERE to see a Video of my friend Phil bomb a drive off the 1st at Ravenwood Golf Club!

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 1 Video; 7-18-19)

Great round of golf at Ravenwood Golf Club with Rich of Visit Rochester who shot a 74 with 3 straight birdies! Thank you to GM Mike Roeder for hosting Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary!

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 30 Pics; 7-18-19)

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Fantastic golfing experience at the Links at Greystone in Walworth, NY just outside Rochester! World class design by Architect Craig Schreiner; fantastic course conditions & setup by GCSAA Superintendent Tim Hahn, and playing partner Dusty Odenbach, PGA Director of Golf and 4^th generation of the Dolomite mining and golf legacy made for an extra special round of golf. Golf like it ought to be all the time!

This links masterpiece opened in 1996. The third in succession of the Odenbach mining family turned golfing family—Shadow Lakes—Shadow Pines—then Greystone! At 7200+ yards from the tips, with sloping greens and fairways it is all the golf course you could ever want! The greens are rolling pure and true!

Hole Nos. 5 through 8; what I call Odie’s Valley (Odie an affectionate nickname for Odenbach) is particularly scenic on an overwhelmingly scenic golf course! Dusty’s grandfather, the golf originator of the family in the 1980s, doesn’t play the difficult uphill par-4 7^th hole hole with a blind approach anymore. Legacy has its privileged. I hit two great shots and a magnificent chip and putt to score a par, in effect a gift from Heaven on the hole they call High Heaven!

All the shots are played and all the clubs used on this golf course. Very playable with one golf ball. There was a memorable photo opp with Dusty amidst the grey stones high right of the fairway on the par-5 12^th hole. The second nine meanders up the slope to give you an especially dramatic view coming down to the par-4 home hole. As an ode to the legacy I managed to par the 18^th too!

Playing with Dusty was an exceptional experience and a great opportunity to see the golf course and family business through his eyes and heart. A top prospect out of UCONN in baseball he pitched in the Kansas City Royals system for four years. While he didn’t make it to the major leagues in baseball his contributions to the family legacy are above major league. Planting of fescue and tree removals for scenic vistas and views of the clubhouse coming in are the top priorities to transform the links design ever closer to a true links course.

The reality that the family sold the mining and golfing operations only to buy back the Shadow Lakes and Greystone ten years later tells you all you need to know about the Odenbach family and their love of golf and the golf business. The Clubhouse and Stoney’s Pub have a historic golf memorabilia flair. The golfing and culinary experiences are a magnet for corporate tournaments and league play. A travel foursome from Toronto joined me and Dusty at the bar for lunch. I was intrigued by and loved the Speedie Marinated Beef with House Made Cheese Sauce on a Pretzel Roll.

I have seen the best play the game of golf. Dusty’s athleticism and club head speed is amazing! Our round and good time together is what golf is all about. Go and play with folks you already know like the Canadian foursome was doing today at Greystone. Go and play by yourself and meet someone new through golf like I did today. Either way it is a win-win!

(Andy Reistetter; Facebook Post with 30 Pics; 7-17-19)

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First green with Sebonack Clubhouse in the background!

Walked and played Westhampton in the morning, drove the 16 miles, and played Sebonack in the afternoon riding in a cart with another great caddie Will!

The Welcome Statement below from the Sebonack website says it all! This is a historic haven of golf clubs out here on Long Island. Some with a climate and turf that duplicates that of St. Andrews, Scotland where golf originated over 500 years ago! The neighboring National Golf Links represents that history. With homage to the game of golf, its history, traditions, and its future, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Doak created a unique and meaningful golf course in XXX that fittingly takes its place in the continuum of golf past, present and future!

Entrance Gate to Sebonack!

The entrance through the gate with the light atop with expansive lawn views transitioning to the par-3 8^th hole over Cold Spring Pond and the uphill par-5 from tee to green to the magnificent high-ground Sebonack Clubhouse sets the stage for a great golfing experience!

The tee shot on the 355-yard par-4 first hole with a view of the Great Peconic Bay is the opening act! The hole takes you right down to the water and though short, it is difficult if you go long on your approach shot like I did! There are two greens, both on a cliff overlooking the water. I played the one straight away which is less difficult than the one tucked into a dog-leg-right!

Third fairway back towards the Clubhouse!

The second hole looks hard and is hard! After a bunkered tee shot I was forced to blast out. Then I hit an errant 8-iron right but managed to pitch up and made a 12-footer for bogey!

The golf course absorbs you into its beauty and challenges you with its difficulty. The links at National Golf Links go out and back to Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on the inward land side of Sebonack. This is links golf in America!

View from the 18th tee! Spectacular!

I made a bomb of about 75 feet on the par-3 4^th hole for a deuce and miraculously 2-putted for a birdie on the par-5 9th! Yes I played the White Tees at 6,342 yards, not the black at 7,512 yards! But I did shoot 40 on the first nine!

While the first nine holes heads inland it seems most all of the back nine holes are on the water or have a view of the water! It really is a spectacular piece of land! No birdies for me on the second nine!

My caddie Will was outstanding! He even provided the sunlit golden picture of the Sebonack clubhouse for this story! Many thanks to the PGA Director of Golf Jason McCarty and the Sebonack Golf Club for hosting Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary!

Truly a lifetime golfing experience to play Sebonack!

The Welcome Statement from the Sebonack Website:

What a great time I had with Will!

Situated on 300 acres in Southampton, NY, and neighboring the historic National Golf Links of America and Shinnecock Hills Golf Course, Sebonack has been carved out of land which seems to have been long-destined to become a golf course.

Sebonack features holes that offer panoramic views of Long Island’s Great Peconic Bay and Cold Spring Pond. The visual impact of the water vistas competes for the golfer’s eye with the rolling fairways, expansive bunkers and waste dunes, and undulating greens that present tricky swales and burrows. Meant to look as if manicured by time, Sebonack appears to have fashioned itself from the wild terrain.

Sunlit Sebonack Clubhouse! Photo Credit: Will Henry

Jack Nicklaus and Tom Doak, two designers with dramatically different styles, have used the natural contours and features of the land to create a unique look. The result is that Sebonack looks quite different from its illustrious neighbors and provides a strong golfing challenge for players of all calibers.

Spectacular cart ride (much needed) in the afternoon with caddie Will at Sebonack Golf Club. Enjoying the Hamptons after a week at the PGA Championship! Taking a ride out to Montauk today!

(Andy Reistetter; 5/21/19; Expanded Facebook Post with 30 Pics)

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With Zeny after playing… still smiling… he is a great caddie… I think I tired him out a bit though!

Beautiful walk around Westhampton CC in the morning with caddie Zeny… one of Seth Raynor’s early designs in 1915… expertly restored by the 2016 Olympic Golf Course designer Gil Hanse in 2009… Redan at the 7th… Short at the 11th… Biarritz at the 17th… Raynor was born on Long Island in 1874 and died at the age of 52 in 1926… graduated from Princeton in 1898 and came back to Southhampton and started a landscaping and surveying business… Raynor’s big break and entry into the Golf World was to survey the The National Golf Links of America property for C.B. MacDonald in 1908… then MacDonald hired him to construct the golf course and several others including Old White at the Greenbrier… Raynor died in his prime of pneumonia in Palm Beach, Florida… other Seth Raynor masterpieces that I have played include Shore Acres in Chicago and Blue Mound Golf & Country Club outside Milwaukee… dream Raynor courses yet to be played include Chicago Golf Club, Fishers Island Club, and Yale University Golf Club!

With PGA Head Golf Professional Kirk Satterfield!

Thoughts and memories of my time at Westhampton Country Club… played the Monday after witnessing another Brooks Koepka win at the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black… PGA Head Golf Professional Kirk Satterfield could not have been more welcoming… with kudos to my friend Ann Ligouri… fairly short even from the tips but make no mistake that this is an extreme test of golf given the Raynor/Hanse combined design and the wind nearly always present at this near Atlantic Ocean locale… Zeny was an awesome caddie, immediate friend, and wealth of course knowledge!

Bunkered long right on the Redan 7th… the rest of the story was actually pretty good but still a bogey 4!

Historic clubhouse and men’s locker room although modern and updated a bit, still exudes historic golf… first tee right outside the clubhouse and pro shop doors… there is a burn just in front of the green on the short par-4 first hole… reminded me of the Old Course at St. Andrews but unfortunately not the only water hazard at Westhampton as in St. Andrews… combination of sand bunkers with protective elevated mounding starts to emerge on the second hole… deep bunkering on the short 3rd… then a 4-5-4 combination before arriving at the Redan 7^th hole… cross the road to the 5th tee… make no mistake this Redan is as severe as they come… deep bunker long right which I experienced… back across the road after 8^th green… the par-4 9^th is a challenging hole with a risk-reward water hazard to navigate on the drive and bunkers to carry on the approach shot… memorable first nine, par-35 with two short holes and one long hole!

Deep, deep, deep bunker short right of the 15th green. I was short left of it! Thankfully!

The 10^th is another long par-4 with a water hazard short left of the green… the golf course is starting to feel like a bear when I reached the short par-3 11th… enveloped by Shore Road be sure to get a pic with a view of the water here… short does not mean easy, it means difficult in Seth Raynor’s vocabulary… avoid the water right on the drive on the 12th… the angle of approach to the big mounded green on the short par-4 13^th is key… watch out for water right (same as 12^th tee shot) of the par-5 14^th green… watch out for the deep, deep, deep bunker (staircase to enter provided) short right of the 15^th green… time to head eastward for the final 4-3-4 tricky punch of Westhampton… do not add up your scorecard yet… water carry on the 16^th is no issue, bunker left is… don’t go over this green… the short 206-yard par 3 Biarritz 17^th is spectacular… don’t get lost in the swale… somehow I managed a long 2-putt for par across the traverse… the home hole brings you gracefully back to the historic and grand Westhampton Clubhouse…

First a pause, tip of the hat and a tap on the heart to Westhampton members Thomas M. Brennan, Timothy J. Coughlin, Jeffrey E. LeVeen, and Joseph P. Shea who lost their lives on September 11, 2001…

Do not underestimate the difficulty of the deep green-side bunkers on the 18th… and don’t go long and knock one off the clubhouse like I witnessed a playing partner do at the home hole of the Old Course… which took a hook and a flyer!

Many thanks to Ann, Kirk, and Zeny from Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary for this historic round of golf at the historic Westhampton Country Club!

(Andy Reistetter; 5/21/19; Expanded Facebook Post with 30 Pics)

Referenced Source

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