JTOG Day 25: Monday Morning in Mexico City…

Monday, Monday, so good to me Monday morning, it wasn't all I hoped it would be Oh, Monday morning, Monday morning couldn't guarantee That Monday evening, Torch would be heading South with me A little personal reality improvisation on The Mamas & The Papas version. Torch, my 1992 Infiniti M30 Baby, who has been in the hospital the last three days, was suppose to be all repaired and ready to go at Noon on Monday. No such luck. Granted two of those three days were weekend days and she made it to the Emergency Room on Friday. The word from Bridgestone was that the frame was bent, there is no more room for adjustment, you can't get the full assembly for replacement so we will be forced to cut Torch, square her up and weld her true. New forecasted departure from the automobile hospital is on Wednesday at 3:30 pm. Not what I had hoped for but then again what was I hoping for? A safe journey down to Rio and acquisition of more golf and Olympic history and spirit so that they could be combined into the 'Olympic Spirit of Golf,' which has been lacking in this world for the last 112 years. Logical thinking would surmise Torch is being repaired and returned to a condition of safety and more time, another two days, in the Olympic City of Mexico City would allow more pursuit of golf and Olympic history and spirit. On second thought this was exactly what I hoped for.   I took a taxi over to the historic and presidential Golf Club of Mexico (Club de Golf Mexico) where I had met with member Mario Ortega on Friday evening. He graciously extended an invitation to come back to meet the president of the club Mario Zertuche Díaz and minimally get a tour of the golf course in daylight conditions. President Diaz was otherwise detained but a golf cart was arranged for me to have a look see at the golf course. There was a lot to see from the Aleman Tree on the 5th fairway (the Golf Club of Mexico was founded by a sitting president of Mexico in 1949—President Miguel Alemán Valdes) which reminded me (at the time, since struck by lightning and removed) of the Eisenhower Tree on the 17th at Augusta National Golf Club, to the logo picture of two cedar trees and the dormant volcanic mountain Iztaccihuatl, to the simple yet elegant bunkers in the 11th fairway to the difficult 18th complete with a burn and majestic view of the modern clubhouse. At the end of the self-tour I can across three interesting men on the terrace overlooking the 18th green. As happens quite frequently on these golf journeys, they were interested in the guy with the notebook taking a lot of pictures and I was interested in capturing their story and somehow relating it to my pursuit of the 'Olympic Spirit of Golf,' which is soon to reemerge in Rio de Janeiro. We had a delightful visit and they graciously offered to host me for a round of golf the next day which I quickly accepted. Returning to see President Diaz I learned he was tied up for the rest of the day and hoped to meet him the next day. I called my friend Ian Gardner and learned that he had arranged for me to meet and interview Federico Valdez, the Executive Director of the Federacion Mexicana de Golf (FMG), an organization similar to the USGA in the United States. The FMG headquarters wasn't far away so I took a taxi there. It seemed like I was staying in the heart of golf and culture in Mexico City! Mr. Valdez, a young guy, was very impressive and knowledgeable not only about golf and golf competitions in Mexico but around the world. FMG is a member of the International Golf Federation (IGF) whose mission it is to promote the development of golf around the world. Specific to the Olympics, they are the governing body that successfully promoted golf as an Olympic Sport with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision on October 9, 2009 at its meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark to approve golf as an Olympic sport in 2016 and 2020. The IGF will be organizing the golf competitions in Rio, as well as the Youth Olympic Games and the World Team Amateur Competition, all of which are held on an 'Olympic Cycle,' every four years. CLICK here for the Video Interview with Federico Valdez, the Executive Director of the FMG. Federico is the most knowledgeable person I have met and conversed with when it comes to the selection (not qualification, no trials like swimming) criteria for becoming an Olympic Golfer. Check out his video interview for all the details. He even had a Excel spreadsheet which he shared with me identifying the 60 women and 60 men that had currently at that time, based on their OWGR (Official World Golf Ranking), met the selection criteria to compete in the 2016 Golf Olympics. Surprisingly, because of the limits of how many golfers can be selected by country (maximum 4 if within OWGR Top 15, otherwise maximum 2 per country), for the men the worse OWGR ranking to be selected was No. 350 and for the women it was No. 700. As golf continues to grow around the world with more parity emerging in terms of skill level, perhaps some day there will be sixty countries represented in the Golf Olympics? Because of the work Federico and the FMG organization does in Mexico providing service to nearly 100,000 golfers that play on over 230 golf courses, Mexico was chosen as the site to host the 2016 World Team Amateur Championship. They will be held in September in Playa Del Carmen on the Greg Norman-designed El Camaleón Golf Course and Nick Price-designed Grand Coral Riviera Maya Golf Course.  The women compete for the Espirito Santo Trophy while the men compete for the Eisenhower Trophy. This is a huge accomplishment and compliment fort Mexican golf! It was another full day of searching for inspiration in golf and life, searching for what defines the 'Olympic Spirit of Golf.' Torch decision to operate (cut and weld) was big and hopefully will be successful, seeing the Clifford Percy-Lawrence Hughes-designed course at the Golf Club of Mexico and meeting Federico Valdez was more than I could ask for on a Monday in Mexico City. Monday, Monday, so good to me... Monday morning, it was all I hoped and needed it to be... There are some more stories in the pictures below this request to make a donation to The First Tee... I am looking for 100 new friends in the next 100 days to make a $100 donation (or any amount that you are able to make) to The First Tee. Each day I will be reliving the original “Journey to Olympic Golf” and hope to find a new friend in golf. Is that you? Please join me in giving back to the game we all love. CLICK here to make a donation to The First Tee. Please select ‘Andy Reistetter’s Journey to Olympic Golf’ on the drop-down menu for the question ‘What inspired you to make a gift today? This is for tracking purposes only, Andy does not receive any part of your donation or anything financially from The First Tee organization. There are interesting incentives for making your donation to the First Tee… PLEASE click here to make a donation to The First Tee.

Thank You!