Road to THE 2013 PLAYERS

May 3, 2013 By

 

  Going  to eight of the year's first ten tournaments, Ponte Vedra's own golf writer Andy Reistetter has been out on tour more than ever this year. The Road to THE PLAYERS comes through Hawaii, the West Coast, Florida, and Texas before turning down Magnolia Lane at Augusta National. Once again it is time to celebrate the grand finale of another PLAYERS Championship and Mother's Day on Sunday, May 12th. Can former Ponte Vedra resident Matt Kuchar become the first back-to-back champion in this the 40th rendition of the PLAYERS? Join Reistetter as he shares his perspective as the tour comes home to Ponte Vedra.

 

 

We like to look to the past to help predict the future. The takeaway from being out on tour this year is to expect the unexpected, especially when it comes to the weather. Due to extremely windy conditions on Maui the first event of the year, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions did not even officially start until the day it was suppose to end.  There was play for two of the first three days Which was cancelled out when the wind continued to move balls on the greens. The net result was Dustin Johnson winning for the seventh time in a two-day 54-hole tournament.

Sunshine and warmth appeared on Maui the following week as new tour rookie sensation Russell Henley won in his very first event as a professional golfer. Next Tiger Woods roared with another win at Torrey Pines before Phil Mickelson won another in Phoenix. Runner-up to Tiger and Phil the previous two weeks, Brandt Snedeker the 2012 reigning FedExCup Champion claimed his own championship trophy at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am where the weather was surprisingly very nice.

Snow appeared and delayed the World Golf Championship in Tucson for a day. In the end Matt Kuchar won on Sunday afternoon. It is easy to see the progression in Kuchar's game from the day he won the 1997 United States Amateur Championship then preserved through a seven year drought to his recent successes. After a PLAYERS and a WGC the next thought is a major for "the Kuch" in 2013. Another PLAYERS would be nice; only Jack Nicklaus would have more pictures in the Champions Tunnel.  

Other golfers with local ties are off to a good start and playing well this year- Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Russell Knox, Bud Cauley, Matt Every and Jeff Klauk. Like Fred Funk's win in 2005 wouldn't it be great if Singh or Furyk won their first PLAYERS? Remember Mark McCumber's win in 1995 or when local residents Calvin Peete (1985) and Sandy Lyle (1987) won?  

In Ponte Vedra, we know our community is one of the "best of the best," so come out to the PLAYERS and celebrate Mother's Day too!

Whatever happens, I am out on tour and taking you with me, always longing to return home to Ponte Vedra. 

 

  

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Q&A with Claus & Denmark’s EB.dk

March 18, 2013 By

Golf Writer Andy Reistetter is collaborating with Claus Jansson who writes for Denmark's largest newspaper, Ekstra Bladet (EB.dk). Based in Copenhagen, the newspaper can be a bit sensational but isn't golf a sensational sport? Here Claus asks the questions and Andy answers them to get and share some American perspective and insight. Join Jansson and Reistetter as they reach out "across the pond and then some" and write about golf and this week's World Golf Championship Cadillac at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral.

Jansson:   Who will be the biggest surprise at WGC Cadillac?

Reistetter:   Donald Trump, of course. TPC Blue Monster at Doral and PGA TOUR, you are hired for 10 more years; was the recent announcement to be the host resort and course through 2023. If anyone or anything threatens to take the stage from the Donald he buys the stge. But seriously, the game and business of golf loves Donald Trump and he loves and supports them in his own unique, generous and entertaining way.

As far as players, look to Jim Furyk and his caddie Mike "Fluff" Cowan to surprise the golfing world a few more times with big wins in majors and WGCs before moving on to the Champions Tour (remember he is only a youngster at 42). We all remember Matt Kuchar's win at frosty Dove Mountain in the WGC Accenture Match Play but it was Furyk's guts in his Round 2 loss to Bubba Watson that impressed me the most. The 2003 U.S. Open Champion was 3-down to the reigning Masters Champion but staged a rally on the back nine with the match going 22 holes before Watson escaped with a win. Needing a point on 18 and watching Watson hit one in close Furyk stuffed it in even closer for a gimmie birdie to extend the match. He reached the par-2 second hole in two in the playoff but three jacked it to let Watson off the hook. "Furyk & Fluff" is the grittiest, wisest and at times the most powerful twosome in all of professional golf.

Jansson:   What's wrong with Rory – any non-official stories from the U.S. press?

Reistetter:   I am an optimistic guy. By asking what is wrong with Rory one needs to look at what is right with Rory. He is 23 years old and quite a successful young chap by all accounts. He is the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world and coming off a season in which he finished first on both the U.S. PGA TOUR and European Tour money lists. He is dating Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki and is "the apple in the eye" of his parents Rosie & Gerry who I am sure are very proud with the way is he conducting his life.

What's wrong with Rory? A Google search tells us that he has a tooth ache and needs to get his wisdom teeth extracted. Or maybe it is his equipment change or something more personal? Or maybe it is just golf? Like life we have our good and bad days, good streaks and bad streaks and that in of itself is part of the game and life. This will be his fifth consecutive WGC Cadillac where he finished T10 with a Sunday 74 two years ago and third last year despite a first round 73. If Rory eliminates the tooth that aches and the high round he may be raising the trophy on Sunday in Miami.

    
Jansson:   What kind of player suits the TPC Blue Monster at Doral – the long hitters, the grinders, etc?

Reistetter:   To answer this question we typically look back at the recent winners- Justin Rose, Nick Watney, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Geoff Ogilvy and Tiger Woods since the WGC came to Miami in 2007. All are solid competitors with great short games though this is to be expected with a WGC field.

Weather and course conditions and setup can play a pivotal role. Looking back at the Honda Classic last week it is easy to see how Michael Thompson won. Rain early in the week made the golf course play longer and more difficult with the rough growth more than expected. Then the wind and cold came and voila you have Olympic Club like conditions where Thompson finished second to Webb Simpson in last year's U.S. Open.

But ultimately the kind of golfer that wins whether a major, WGC or regular tour event is the one that is playing well and has either been knocking on the door or repeatedly walking through it in recent history.

Jansson:   Who will win the WGC Cadillac and why?

Reistetter:   Answer above and translated in the names of Geoff Ogilvy, Keegan Bradley, Graeme McDowell, and Lee Westwood who all played well last week. Ogilvy and Bradley played the best on the windy weekend. I will go with Keegan Bradley to win and add a second WGC to go nicely with his major!

Jansson:   Do the U.S. press talk about the young Dane Thorbjorn Olesen? If so, what do they write?

Reistetter:   Who? (smiling) One thing I absolutely love about the two early WGC events is that it introduces us Americans to some of the world's best golfers that we have yet to see. Recent names that come to mind include Spaniard Alvaro Quiros who finished T13 in 2009, South Korea's Sang-Moon Bae who won three matches in his first WGC last year at Dove Mountain, and Japan's Tetsuji Hiratsuka who played in his first WGC at Doral last year.

I read the Jim McCabe piece on Olesen in the latest issue of GOLF WEEK. Olesen's rise from oblivion (ranked No. 529th in the world) to No. 40th to get into the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship is pretty impressive. He played in the WGC HSBC Champions last fall and finished T11. In his first WGC in America he beat fellow WGC Match Play rookie Jamie Donaldson in Round 1 then lost to little but experienced Tim Clark from South Africa. Perhaps Olesen will surpass Ryder Cupper and near major champion Thomas Bjorn as the best golfer to come from Denmark? Although Anders Hansen, Soren Hansen and Soren Kjeldsen are also in pursuit of that title.

 

p.s. What is the English translation of Ekstra Bladet?

             

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer and a broadcast assistant for the various golf networks. He spends time on all four major American golf tours- the PGA TOUR, Champions, Web.com and LPGA.

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 or touch base with him by e-mail at AndyReistetter@gmail.com

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Week 6: Pebble Beach Nat’l Pro-Am

February 9, 2013 By

 

Here is our chronicle for Week 6 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. After a week in the desert at Scottsdale we are cool and hydrated on the stunningly beautiful Monterey Peninsula. Can Phil defend his title and win for the second consecutive week on tour? How will we manage three golf courses, 156 professionals and 156 amateurs and celebrities galore? We are here on tour loving every minute. Enjoy the game; it's the game for life!

 

Definitely a celebrity, artsy sort of week:
 
Visited the gallery of Suzanne Yost McCourt, daughter of amateur Dick Yost… very talented Lady Artist of Pebble Beach with a neo-realism golf-art flavor.
 
Interviewed Jeannine Henebry, sister to John. A fascinating story of golf course photography. Interview video to come…
 
Met and interviewed Gary Mule Deer, another fascinating story with interview video to come…

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Week 3: Humana Challenge

January 19, 2013 By
Merri Daniel and Andy Reistetter are partnering in 2013 to document their experiences on tour. Through our "Outside the Ropes Entertainment" website we will cover a variety of story lines including growing the game of golf, travel golf, the people we meet, and the adventures we have along the way. Here is our chronicle for Week 3 at the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation. From the "Big W" at Waialae CC on Oahu to the "Big HUMANA" sign at PGA West in La Quinta, California. Enjoy the game; it's the game for life!
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Question the Pros- Russell Henley

January 18, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Who: Russell Henley, PGA TOUR rookie in 2013
When: Thursday, 1/17/13 after his first round 64 at Humana Challenge, After winning last week at the SONY Open at Waialae CC in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Why did Andy ask the question: I saw him win the WGJO on Dye's Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass last October (his 3rd Web.com win). He finished 3rd on the Money List to earn his card for 2013. I wanted to know how that win compared to his first win last week on the PGA TOUR. In the follow up question I wanted to know what his experience was on the Stadium Course, was he looking forward to the 2013 PLAYERS and did he like Ponte Vedra?
What was Russell's response (entire response below courtesy of ASAP.com): His win at TPC Sawgrass was a come-from-behind win whereas he was in the lead most of Sunday after being tied after 3 rounds with Scott Langley at the SONY. He won the 2004 SEJT event at TPC Sawgrass at age 15 by shooting a 1-under 71 on the Stadium Course and an even par 72 on Dye's Valley. He likes Ponte Vedra and enjoyed the Blue Angels air show during the week of his WDJO win.    
 Q. Can you talk a little bit about your win on the Dye's Valley at TPC Sawgrass in the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open compared to your win last week?
RUSSELL HENLEY: Sure. In my opinion that's the best course we played, one of the best courses we played throughout the year, in terms of how good a shape it's in, the challenge of the course, I thought that was a very difficult golf course. Long rough, fast, hard greens. So it's the kind of course I like to play.
That week I was second to last group on the last day and I think I was two shots off the lead or something like that. I shot 5-under on the front nine. I think I shot 30 on the front nine. So immediately I was back in contention and just tried to hold it together. 
And I was going into 18 and I thought I was 2-down and I looked at the leader board and when I was walking up to the green and I was 1-down. And knew I had a putt to tie to at least have a chance. And I made it and went to a playoff. 
 
So it was a little more of a come from behind victory in Jacksonville and last week I felt like I had the lead pretty much the whole day. At least I think I did. And just had to hold everybody off.
Q. There's another course there the Stadium Course and the PLAYERS Championship. Can you talk a little bit about competing in that this year and maybe anything, your thoughts about the Ponte Vedra community?
 
RUSSELL HENLEY: I'm excited. Both those golf courses are great. I played the Southeastern Junior Golf Event, Golf Tour event when I was 15 there. You play each one of them one time. And I love both of the courses. Obviously there's a reason there's a lot of guys down there, the practice facility is great and just the area is really nice. 
 
There's a lot to do, close to Jacksonville Beach and Jacksonville. And when I was down there last time I had a lot of fun. Obviously my family was there and that helped a lot, but there's a lot of cool stuff to do. There was an air show and it was a blast down there. So I'm definitely looking forward to going back.
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Week 1: Hyundai TOC at Kapalua

January 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment

 

Merri Daniel and Andy Reistetter are partnering in 2013 to document their experiences on tour. Through their website "Outside the Ropes Entertainment," they will cover a variety of story lines including growing the game of golf, travel golf, the people they meet, and the adventures they have along the way. Enjoy the game; it's the game for life! 

Happy New Year of 2013! We celebrated, toasted and brought in the New Year at The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua on Maui. While the Clubhouse of the Plantation Course is the center of activity during the day of Hyundai Tournament of Champions week, the Lobby of the Ritz-Carlton is the hub of excitement during the night, especially as the clock stroked midnight on New Year's Eve. We hope all good things to you, family and friends in 2013 and look forward to seeing you "outside the ropes" sometime soon.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_L0G5GE940&feature=share

 

Highlights of Week 5; photographs below, videos coming to the OTRE web soon:

Record of 179,022 people in attendance on Saturday.

Interview and video with LPGA founder and World Golf Hall of Fame member Marilynn Smith.

Interview and video with our host Frank, an aficionado of golf courses around the world.

Interview and video with Thunderbird Jock Holiman, announcer on the 16th hole.

Merri & Andy recap video of our experiences at the 2013 WMPO.

 

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Golf Means Fun in 2013

January 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment
It's a New Year for us and a New Year for golf. Attending the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions for the first time, Golf Writer Andy Reistetter asked Hunter Mahan, Steve Stricker and Rickie Fowler how they communicate with and how they encourage young kids to play golf. Being on Maui at the Kapalua Resort is an inspiring way to start the year and what these three champions shared with me was quite inspirational. Let's grow the game we love in 2013!
 
Guan Tianlang, a 14-year from China qualified for the 2013 Masters by winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in early November. With a birth date of October 25th, 1998, Guan will become the youngest to play in The Masters at age 14-1/2 years. That nearly 2-1/2 years younger than Italy's Matteo Manassero who was days short of his 17th birthday in 2010. Golfers are coming to the competitive game at a younger and younger age.
What brings young people to golf?
Steve Stricker, who will be 46 come Masters time, believes one of the reasons is that "it's a great sport to learn about what kind of person you are (and) what kind of values you have. You can tell a lot about a person from the game of golf and how they are on the course, how they handle some of the situations. I think if someone is really interested, they can really learn from our sport."
With a leading longevity in the sport that enables him to play a reduced schedule of "10 to 12 events" in 2013, Stricker knows personally golf is "a great sport that you can play late into your life. You know, you continue to play it and learn from it. It's a great sport to go out and play with your friends (and) family. I know I have throughout my career and (that you) continue to learn on a daily basis about yourself when you play this game. So it's a unique sport in that sense I think."
Mahan shared his love of the game first in terms of the flight of the golf ball- "whenever you hit that good shot, it's one of those things where it's like, there's no better feeling to see the ball go up in the air and go right at your target. It's a great feeling to have."
"It's a game that you just never stop improving on. That's what's so cool about it. Every day you're going to experience something new about yourself and about the game, and you know, this game is pretty honest. You can't fool your way around it. You've got to work hard and you've got to be patient and you've got to enjoy it, because you're going to fail more than you're going to succeed in this game."
"But it's so much fun to play and it's done a lot for me. I've met a lot of people and seen a lot of things I never would have seen without golf. I think it's a gateway to a lot of great things if you allow it."
Rickie Fowler, the youngest of the threesome to comment said "I'm definitely not going to force someone to play. I always try and make sure that they are enjoying what they are doing. Because that's kind of the way my parents went about things, bringing me up. When I started playing when I was three, it was because I wanted to do it and I always tried to make it fun."
"I was always around with my buddies at the driving range playing games, chipping contests, putting contests. I definitely try and push kids that way to make sure they are having fun with whatever they are doing, and having their friends be involved and competing against each other, because the competition is definitely the fun part of it. If you can keep it fun and keep getting better, it makes things a lot easier than sitting on the range for eight hours and just beating a ball one after another."
Mahan, who along with Rickie, is half of the "Golf Boys" foursome (with Bubba Watson and Ben Crane) who cut an Oh, Oh, Oh hit single. Hunter was quick to point out that "We are certainly not a band. We are not entertainers. We are golfers. That's all we are." Here is a link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM2NocuEihw
"When we step on the golf course, Hunter joked, we're men." Guan, will undoubtedly step into history at this year's Masters. There is no doubt that, along with his parents, he has taken to heart some of the perspectives shared by Stricker, Mahan and Fowler.
Fun, growth and competition if you like.
Enjoy the game; it's the game for life!
 
Merri Daniel and Andy Reistetter are partnering in 2013 to document their experiences on tour. Through their website "Outside the Ropes Entertainment," they will cover a variety of story lines including growing the game of golf, travel golf, the people they meet, and the adventures they have along the way. Enjoy the game; it's the game for life! 
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Prestonwood CC to Host SAS

October 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Golf Writer Andy Reistetter continues his exclusive "Play-Write" series at Prestonwood CC in Cary, North Carolina which is all set to host the SAS Championship on the Champions Tour this week. With 54 holes of golf, this week's premier event is staged on a combination of the Highlands and Meadows Courses. Join Reistetter as he reminisces about his round at Prestonwood CC and the excitement that continues to build around the 12th rendition of the SAS Championship. 
 
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?
All three golf courses at Prestonwood were designed by Tom Jackson a prolific course designer in the Southeastern United States. He also designed one of the two golf courses at Rock Barn Golf & Spa in Conover when the Champions Tour continues in its second consecutive week in the Tar Heel State. The routing for this week's championship makes use of nine holes each from the Meadows and Highlands courses. It is a "bye week" for the third course called the Fairways.
The green complexes on all three courses have been renovated like clockwork the last three years; the Meadows in 2009, the Fairways in 2010 and most recently the Highlands in 2011. Local golf course architect Rick Robbins was called upon to do the signature greens work. The greens are the heart of any golf course. Like a surgeon Robbins went in with the latest technology, immense skill and performed the delicate operations needed. The result are healthy greens that are consistent, challenging, yet fun to hit approach shots to, chip around and putt on- truly a world-class golfing experience.
Though local in upbringing Robbins has a world of experience and has designed golf courses around the world most notably in China. Robbins first worked under Robert Van Hagge, Bruce Devlin and then Jack Nicklaus before venturing out on his own in 1991. With an office in Beijing in addition to Cary his website lists two courses completed and near opening- China Maple and Wuhan Yishan.
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.
I thoroughly enjoyed the routing and the variety of holes. The hole to look for in this week's Golf Channel broadcast is the 168-yard signature par-3 eighth hole. The finishing holes are a mixture of hard holes where the leader can falter with a bogey and the challenger can take the lead, finish strong and win with a couple of birdies. Look for the pivotal hole to be the reachable par-5 17th hole.
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.
When the Champions Tour started in 1980 it was known as the Senior Tour and had only four events with purses totaling less than $500 thousand. Today in its 33rd year there are 24 events and the official prize money is over $50 million.
Last year SAS recorded double-digit growth and has global revenues nearing $3 billion in its 36th year of operation. SAS and the Champions Tour are as much at home in the high-tech research and development area known as Research Triangle Park as Prestonwood is on the Champions schedule. With only two more events before the Charles Schwab Cup Championship this tournament is key to any golfer wanting to win the season long Schwab Cup crown.
The SAS Championship normally attracts a strong field and this year is no different. Charles Schwab Points leader Tom Lehman and his three closest pursuers Bernard Langer, Roger Chapman and Michael Allen will compete at Prestonwood CC this week. Defending champion Kenny Perry is 10th on the points list and is trying to match Bruce Lietzke back-to-back wins in the first two SAS Championships. Perry has played in five PGA TOUR and 14 Champions Tour events this year with two Champions T3 finishes in his last three tournaments.
Prestonwood CC has a practice facility and short game area second to none and prides itself in a whole family approach including a strong junior program. Cary's finest and one of the Southeast's best is the home course to 41 juniors who have received partial or full collegiate golf scholarships.
Perhaps in another 30 years, in line with the success of Prestonwood CC, SAS and the Champions Tour, one of those junior golfers will tee it up in the 40th rendition of the SAS Championship in the year 2040.
                    
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
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Meet People in Golf

April 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Now in his fifth year "on tour" and traveling to a variety of golf resorts it was just a matter of time before Andy Reistetter started meeting and interviewing interesting people associated with the game of golf.  These inspiring experiences translated into two exclusive series.

The first entitles "Corporate Leadership Inspired by the Game of Golf" captures natural leadership styles that can be utilized in Corporate America to guarantee our future success in the world marketplace.

The second series called "Meet People the 'Write' Way" started with an interview with Annika Sorenstam early in 2011 at the PGA Show in Orlando.

Surely there is more insightful inspiration to be capture in the months ahead.

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Competitive Golf

April 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Competitive Professional/Amateur Golf

Join Andy Reistetter, a.k.a. GolfWriter59, as he covers a wide range of professional and amateur golfing competitions. Now in his fifth year as a golf writer, Reistetter has covered more than 100 events ranging from local Ponte Vedra High School golf matches to the 2009 Open at Turnberry where Tom Watson nearly won at age 59. He has attended 12 majors and both a Ryder Cup as well as a President's Cup.

Inspired by the game of golf at an early age, here are words he has written from the fairways of high school, AJGA/ WJGS (junior), collegiate, LPGA, Nationwide, Champions and PGA TOUR events.

Reistetter's complete collection of nearly 300 golf articles can be found on Bleacher Report via this link:

http://bleacherreport.com/users/81645-andy-reistetter

 

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