Ten Rounds of the Decade Part Two (2016-2019)

As I reflected on this decade on the course I tallied up a few statistics:

Countries played in: 1

States played in: 18

Courses played: 65

Lowest score: 75 (Mammoth Dunes - par 73)

Now back to the list...

2016-2019

August 10, 2016

Chambers Bay

University Place, Washington

Drive, Chip, and Putt had brought us to Seattle. My sons qualified in Anchorage and we traveled down to the lower 48 for a fun weekend. Being only 11 and 9 my sons were still pretty young for a full-fledged golf trip but I wanted to get them out to a course while we were there. Chambers Bay is probably not the first course that comes to mind when people think of kid-friendly golf. It’s big and requires a long walk with several big climbs. That being said it also has Forward Tees for kids, plays fast and firm, and is FREE for kids under 14. I was sold!

We were the last tee time of the day and I hired caddies for my boys to help with the walk and to get them around the course. I was nervous the caddies would be disappointed to carry for kids but they were more than happy to have their light bags and show them a good time. I knew we were in good hands when my eldest son’s caddie asked him on the first tee, “Have you ever broken 100?” My son modestly responded, “No…” His caddie let him hit his drive, grabbed his bag and said, “well we’re going to change that today kid!” Over the next few hours we hit great shots, hilariously bad shots, enjoying each and every one. We walked up 18 with the sun setting. When the last ball dropped we opted for hugs over handshakes. I will never forget that afternoon as long as I live. Oh and Jack fired a smooth 98!

March 13, 2017

Pine Dunes

Frankston, Texas

SB2K17! I traveled to Dallas to visit Justin (previously mentioned in previous rounds) for a golf intensive spring break. On the itinerary were: Cowboys GC, Stevens Park, Pine Dunes, Texas Star, and Trinity Forest. Justin is a master itinerary builder and each course offered something a little different. Cowboys is all things Dallas Cowboys from the carts named after players to the blue star emblazoned in the fairway. Stevens is his local muny that’s full of character down to the square greens. Trinity Forest is the C&C Course Factory private course we cold-called to get a tee time and it did not disappoint; in many ways it was just as memorable as our day at Pine Dunes.

Pine Dunes was a mystery off in Frankston, a course we heard about through the Interwebs but had no first hand knowledge of. We woke up early and made the drive out to Frankston, where we were greeted by a modest/quaint proshop and very appreciative staff. It only took a couple of holes for us to realize that this course was something special. The term “hidden gem” is often overused but it felt like we were in on a secret. Our initial plans were to head back to Dallas right after the round so we could play at Texas Star but before we made the turn we made the executive decision to stay on property and play in the pines one more time. The feeling of discovery, newfound enjoyment, and ownership of the experience has stayed with me for years. Bucket list courses are amazing but finding a diamond in the pine straw with your best friend is something special.

October 2, 2017

Tetherow

Bend, Oregon

Justin and I were invited to play in the Jones Weekender, three days of fun at Pronghorn in Bend, Oregon hosted by the folks at Jones. This tournament deserves a spot on this list but unfortunately it was disqualified because it technically was a multiple day extravaganza. However, if you want to read about it here you go: The Jones Weekender

After the Weekender festivities came to a close, Justin and I wanted to check another course off the list so we scheduled a round at Tetherow aka Death-Row (shoutout Dr. David McLay Kidd). Notoriously difficult and diabolical, Tetherow had me spooked but once we arrived, strapped the clubs to the golf boards and surfed the earth all my fears were assuaged, but that’s not the round I want to talk about, that was just a warm up. As we made the turn Justin received a DM from the one and only Stephen Malbon, a fellow Weekender. Malbon has an enigmatic presence in the golf industry. He carries himself with the swagger of Steve McQueen but is about as approachable of a guy as you’ll ever meet. We met him a couple of days prior during an emergency nine at Pronghorn and mention we were playing Tetherow before heading home. He messaged Justin that he’d missed his flight, was looking for a ride back to Portland, and wanted to know what time we were playing. Justin offered him the ride and told him we were already on the course. He responded by saying he was heading our way and asked if we had time to play it again with him. I also had a flight to catch but we happily agreed, I mean how do you turn down the Malbon?

By the time we finished our morning round Malbon was there waiting for us with his golfboard and was ready to surf. We had to play fast in order for me to catch my flight and lucky for us the cool weather left the course empty and the golfboards made things move rather quickly. We didn’t keep score that round. We enjoyed the good shots, gave birdie putts a good run and picked up testy come backers. We weren’t there to post a score or try to impress each other, the three of us wanted to enjoy the challenges Mr. McLay Kidd put in front of us and appreciate the opportunity to play this maddening game. Malbon waxed philosophical about the golf, how he pushes back on the notion that this game is not for everyone, and how he too enjoyed the simple pleasures golf provided. By the end of the round the sun started to peek out as we rode our golfboards back to the clubhouse. And yes, I made my flight.

June 3, 2018

Malbon Invitational at Industry Hills

Industry Hills, California

As a result of my round at Tetherow with Malbon I received an invitation to play in his event the following summer in LA, all I had to do was find a partner. It was a single afternoon of golf so I wanted to find a like-minded local would appreciate the atmosphere of a Malbon tournament. So into Erik Anders Lang’s DMs I decided to slide. “Hey Erik, I am a complete stranger but based on your social media posts it would appear we both like golf and stuff and so I was wondering if you’d be my blind date for a tournament in LA?” That may not be the exact verbiage but the sentiment was the same. Erik, without blinking, agreed and so we were set to team up.

As many of you know Erik is golf’s free spirit. Listen to one podcast or watch one episode of Adventures In Golf and you’ll realize he approaches golf with a certain joie de vivre. I drove in to LA via Palm Springs and I arrived tremendously early for fear of getting stuck in traffic. I hit balls for an hour, reconnected with a few people I had met at the Jones Weekender and slowly made my way to the cart for our shotgun start...no sign of Erik. With a few minutes to spare Erik swooped in. Erik’s energy is palpable, a manic ball of energy full of possibility and positivity. Without a single swing on the range we set out to play and play we did. With a confident sinewy swing Erik got us on the board early. Between shots we talked about all things golf and his upcoming project “Random Golf Club.” Along the way we made a heroic eagle, nearly won the long drive contest( Erik), and had some cart trouble when ours interacted with a sturdy tree and lost.

I am an introverted person. I keep a tight circle of friends and rarely branch out. Playing a round with Erik was out of my comfort zone but well worth the internalized stress. It felt good to get out there and play with someone that shares a lot of the same golf virtues as me yet approached golf from a completely different slant.

June 29, 2018

The Sandbox

Rome, Wisconsin

I turned 40 in 2018. To celebrate I set up an 8-man trip to Sand Valley. It was a chance to reconnect with college friends and spend time with old friends and family. I wanted to add a little competition to the trip so we created two teams and played for the Sandy Mammoth Cup(™). Team C4TC vs. Team College. We played alternate shot, two-man scramble, best ball, and a team scramble at the 17-hole short course the Sandbox. Any number of rounds from that trip could have made the list but the team scramble still resonates. What made that particular round so special was the group, we were able to all play together, all 7* of us (we lost one to heat exhaustion).

Team C4TC rolled up in tropical garb to gain a schematic advantage. Playing a short course as a sevensome was a blast. Seeing that many players hit a variety of shots from short distance: Chris’s full go 60 degree, my choked down 8, to LJ’s soft-handed sand wedge. It made it all the more entertaining. Team College closed us out on 13. I guess the tropical costumes did not give us enough of an advantage. so we decided to all tee off at the same time on 14, the kind of thing that would be impossible under “normal” golf circumstances. I love short courses and this round only further cemented that feeling. It’s hard to have a bad time under those circumstances.

Shoutout The Houston resting up. Shoutout LJ who was grabbing refreshments.

The round of the decade goes to:

February 20, 2019

Bandon Dunes

Bandon, Oregon

This February I had the opportunity to go on a vacation with my wife and along the way I introduced her to Bandon Dunes. I wrote about that experience here: Links golf is for Lovers. What made this particular round so special is quite obvious, I got to share my love of links with the love of my life. My wife and I grew up in the same town so I never had the opportunity to bring her back to my hometown to show her where I was from so she could see the environment that made me the man I had become. In a weird way this round felt like that. I first visited Bandon in 2008 to celebrate my 30th birthday. That trip fundamentally changed the way I feel about golf and in many ways influenced who I am today. Taking my wife to Bandon felt like sharing an important part of who I am. Walking the course that day we experienced all the weather Bandon has to offer: wind, rain, hail, and even some sun. As I said in my original post, my wife does not play golf so her willingness to be out there with me in the elements experiencing something that I consider to be spiritual meant the world to me. I still get tears in my eyes thinking about that round. I love this silly game but not nearly as much as I love my wife. Being there with her was all I could ever ask for.