I teased this giveaway about two months ago when it was proposed to us by our friends at 

, and I promised that there was zero chance that I was overhyping it. In all of its glory, the #EpicScotland giveaway is official. We’re also partnering with 

 to give our US & Canadian followers a chance to enter below to win the trip of a lifetime for yourself and a friend at some of the greatest golf courses on the planet, with brand new sticks in tow.

-Round trip airfare to and from Scotland for the winner and a friend

-4 rounds of golf, including a spot in the AAM Scottish Open Pro-Am playing alongside a notable Callaway Pro

-Tour player fitting experience at the AAM Scottish Open

-Full bag of the latest Callaway clubs, including GBB Epic driver & fairway woods

-Photographer/videographer capturing every Epic moment

I rest my case. Yes, this contest is only eligible to U.S. and Canadian residents for a myriad of reasons, but we’re quite confident that this is one of the greatest golf giveaways of all time. I’m honestly having a hard time figuring out which part I’m the most excited about. Is it the Scottish Open Pro-Am? Turnberry? The new sticks? Each item listed above would be a phenomenal giveaway on its own, but put them all together, and it’s truly epic.

fortune of playing some great golf courses in Scotland

, and can’t wait to get back to the area and experience the world renowned Scottish hospitality, and explore a new part of the country.

One of the main reasons we partnered with Callaway earlier in the year was their support of endeavors similar to this one. We promised that our listeners would benefit from this partnership, and this is one heck of a way to kick things off. I’m looking forward to joining the winners on this incredible experience. Special thanks to our partners Callaway Golf and Visit Scotland for putting this together and for graciously hosting. Pack your traj, get your #TourSauce dialed in, and let’s get ready to have some fun.

#EpicScotland Giveaway

The first round of The Players was hot and humid, but with a slight breeze to freshen things up a bit. This is my second year attending the event and this course yields fresh observations with each hour spent. Expect a rudimentary bullet-point takes column from me each morning of the event. Do not fear: THERE WILL BE TAKES.

After last year’s event and playing the course on several occasions in the past few months, my favorite holes in order are #4 (gnarliest par four I’ve ever played), #9 (top notch par-five), #13 (iconic and overshadowed by #17, this is a charming corner of the property), and #16 (which requires no explanation). I prefer to hang out on these holes and on #18 tee.

I’m back out on Kuchar. Way out. Rumors of his outfit rumbled around the course in the early afternoon, and I was aghast when I finally laid eyes on him on 12. Electric blue pants, navy Skechers, white and navy belt? Not good. Then I watched him hit a wipey layup. I like the idea of Kuchar in the macro sense, as the stories suggest he’s extra woke and his personality is almost that of a method actor playing everyone for fools. But from a micro sense and actually having to watch him swing a golf club? Again, way out. I’m so sorry to flip flop.

My 3-month old son Freddie aka the Junkman came out yesterday for a bit. Wasn’t able to catch a pic with him and his namesake, FreddieJac, but no dice.

Mid-afternoon found pretty much the Blog Cabin crew out watching the DJ/JT/Rory triumvirate. I watched a couple holes but then ejected after witnessing the group’s tee shots on 12. Rory pulled three wood and went at it, but DJ and JT both laid up (I guess JT preemptively apologized to Soly earlier in the day for his strategy on 12. JT dumped an iron in the bunker and whined a bit as he’s prone to do. The energy in that group was way out of whack – like there was too much pop in the group and it was collapsing on itself similar to a blackhole. As the balance of the crew trudged along I went searching for a boost.

At that point I wandered over to the 16th tee, which is perhaps my favorite shot on the course. A palpable energy pervades, akin to gladiators waiting in the bowels of the coliseum anticipating the gauntlet that awaits ahead. The tee shot calls for a baby draw around the corner and the wind yesterday only exacerbated that (unless you’re DJ). When watching a tournament I prefer to follow a group around the course in the morning and then post up on an interesting tee for most of the afternoon. Watching dozens of players hit the exact same shot provides an interesting case study in trajectory, strategy and pop.  

The first group through was Willett, Lowry, and Haas. Meh.

Next up were Reed, Bagdad Gerry, Koepka. Needless to say I tried to keep a low profile. Gerry pulled his drive way right and helicoptered the finish before glaring at Teddy. On brand.

The 1:30pm grouping of Rahm, Rose and Kaymer sauntered up, with some attractive Sheila’s in tow (bombs over Baghdad). Of the big name players beyond Kuchar, Rahm’s threads are consistently gross (see: his Ronald McDonald outfit when he won at Torrey.) His pants are ill-fitting, the shirts a bit too tight, and the hats need to be burned. My colleague Big Randy always posits that these outfits make Rahm look like a giant thumb. Of the actual golf played in this group, Rahm’s trajectory was the biggest takeaway – he launches the ball relatively high from the start but then it planes out and stays heavy through the air instead of ballooning. Reminded me of a Vlad Guerrero throw from right field to home plate. Brutally efficient move, even more so than when I followed him last year at Travelers.

Next up were Sergio, Adam Scott, and Kuchar. I touched on Kuchar’s offensive attire earlier, but Sergio’s fuschia shirt also deserves mention. Scott pulled three wood, Kuchar bunted one down the middle and I have no recollection of what Sergio did because I was too focused on the lag in his downswing. The best. Shortly after the roar arose from the direction of the 17th that was too loud to be anything else but a hole in one. Sergio is just vibing right now, regardless of what he shoots.

The low energy DJ/JT/Rory trio rolled through and Rory and JT both pulled their drives a bit left, exacerbated by the wind coming from the west. DJ then steps up and vaporizes one with a baby cut so far over the corner that the marshal vociferously motioned that it was heading way left. The ball ended up in the first cut and he eagled. I’d be doing you all a disservice if I didn’t mention Rory’s cotton candy colored shoes. Adidas and Nike are going toe to toe for the crown of who can outfit guys in the dumbest looking stuff.

Next, Mackenzie Hughes, Jim Herman and KJ rolled up. I could watch KJ hit balls all day – just a precision killer. He’s going to feed on people’s souls on the Champions Tour when that time comes. Hughes was rolling, four deep and golfing his ball. I was keen to follow him a bit as our time with him during Wednesday’s podcast session was enlightening. His tempo and temperament have me buying stock on Hughes Island. He went down the left side and hit a 245 yard iron to the mounds on the left of the green. After taking a drop from a sprinkler head Hughes was faced with a twitchy chip off a tight lie over the bunker and limited green to work with before the lake in back. He did well to hit it to 13 feet and then poured in the putt. I followed these guys to the 17th and then stayed with them through 18. After pumping his drive into the right trees Hughes hit one of the better shots I’ve seen this year through a window in the trees that I hadn’t even fathomed as an option while standing behind him. He put it on the green from 200 yards out and two-putted. The Canadians following along regaled him with “that was fucking wicked awesome eh?!?”

Neil, who flew in on the red-eye from SF on Thursday AM was pretty weary. So we made plans for dinner and then ventured out to the range to see who was searching for something in the gloaming. We found Charl Schwartzel deep in the process after firing a 76 replete with two double bogeys. After each shot he cleaned his grooves out with a tee and then let out a string of expletives. We marveled at how he castigated himself so thoroughly and efficiently. Truly a manic master of his craft.

Caught a glimpse of Monty…what a treat!

I scooped Big Randy from the airport last night – he flew in from Ohio for our ProTraj Holdings LLC Board Meeting this evening at a local Hibachi grill. He and Neil are heading out to Hyde Park for a little golf this morning, then gonna pick up a vape rig and vibe out at the tourney all day. Meanwhile I am headed over to Sawgrass shortly. Plan for today is to follow Spencer Levin (who was a little hot under the collar after his finish yesterday) and Luke List for their second nine late this AM, Zac Blair & Blayne Barber for awhile in the PM, get a peek at Cantlay, rove around with Every and Leishman, and station myself behind Stenson on the range while he warms up while I struggle to contain myself. More to come!

Tron's Players Diary: Thursday

When you think about traveling abroad to play golf, the first two places you probably think of are Scotland and Ireland. I’ve been fortunate to play a lot of golf in the British Isles, yet I was completely in the dark with my understanding of the quality of the golf courses in England. James Somerside from 

 reached out to us to discuss the idea of introducing me and Tron to northwest England’s golf scene. We managed to pull together a trip on relatively short notice, at which point James started working his magic planning out the golf and logistics. As we hopefully capture in this and the posts to follow, both the quality of the golf and the richness of the experience along England’s “Golf Coast” were revelatory.

In addition to this summary post on Wallasey, and the other posts that are to follow, please check out both 

 of the podcast that we recorded on the last night of the trip prior to flying back to our respective locales.

The trip included six incredible courses over the course of four days, starting with 

We grabbed some gas station baps and coffee and made our way to the fifth stop of the trip: Wallasey. You might think that after three straight days of sunshine, we were due to be brought back down to Earth. Not even close. We had one more 36 hole day in ahead of us before returning to the daily grind, and were determined to soak up every last minute of it.

Similar to Royal Liverpool, Wallasey sits right off a main road, and lacks the standard dramatic drive from civilization to hallowed private grounds. I like it. As was a common theme on this trip, the air of exclusivity so common in stateside was almost non-existent, affording us a comfort level and sense of belonging throughout the week. Facing the clubhouse from the parking lot you see the first tee immediately to the right. Blown away by the quaintness of the scene I told Tron on the spot that I would be writing the review for this track.

Wallasey eases you in with a rather simple par four opener. Enjoy it while you can, because the second hole is 458 yards of hell. It was on this hole that Dr. Frank Stableford devised the scoring system that still bears his name:

“I was practising on the 2nd fairway at Wallasey one day in the latter part of 1931, when the thought ran through my mind that many players in competitions got very little fun since they tore up their cards after playing only a few holes and I wondered if anything could be done about that.”

If reading this from the states, our definition of Stableford scoring (now commonly referred to as modified stableford) is different than the one used in the British Isles. In the Queen’s version you get zero points for a double bogey or worse, one point for a bogey, two for a par, three for a birdie, and four for an eagle. This system is so common on this side of the Atlantic that I tend to hear British and Irish people refer to their point total more often than their total score. This is a cool piece of history about the club, and they go out of their way to make sure you don’t ever forget it. “Home of Stableford” is front and center on the scorecard, yardage book, and even on polos in the pro shop. While I can appreciate the nod towards history, the golf course stands on its own as far as its memorability, and it being the “Home of Stableford” is more of a footnote.

But back to the second hole: it’s a big boy dogleg right par four. The landing area is wide and invites you to swing freely with a driver. However, it’s still rather demanding, and you need to decide how much of the corner you want to take on. You’ll likely still need a mid to long iron to get to the green that’s guarded with a bunker in the front right. None of us played the hole well, but we all walked off marveling at how well it’s stood the test of time. The third goes up a large hill, in turn dramatically concealing the scene that awaits at number four. Traversing the hill backing the green you get your first glimpse of the ocean and the fourth and seventeenth in all this glory. I was speechless.

Easily the best view of the entire trip. A stunning and friendly par five that, with the sea birds cawing and the Irish Sea lapping against the shore is as soothing to the ears as it is to the eyes. The water sits far enough back that it doesn’t really come into play, and with the seventeenth sitting comfortably to the left, you’re granted full authorization to begin your launch sequence. The drop off is much more dramatic than it appears in the picture above, and the ball stays in the air forever as gravity gradually takes over. The setting right up against the water reminded me of both the 7th at Ballybunion and the 4th at Pacific Dunes, but with more elevation.

With the locals walking their dogs along the beach and the sun on our backs I could have lingered on this hole all afternoon and encapsulated the weekend more than any other hole we played. The fifth is a nice little par three heading back out towards the sea and the views are just as good as the previous hole. I’ll let Tron walk you through that one:

This “superstar Fred McGriff” back-to-back combination was fantastic, and easily the signature stretch of the course. Out in the open with no protection from the dunes you’re forced to take at least one club more just to avoid a short iron ballooning up into the air. I’ll never tire of playing these kinds of shots in links golf. I’d be fine with never hitting a full iron shot again. Flighted six irons all day baby!

The 7th hole is when things started to go very wrong for Tron. I didn’t see the contact, but I 

 it. The sound was unmistakable. He went full Webb Simpson. You NEVER go full Webb Simpson. A shank that went OB circa Steve Stricker at the 2013 US Open, and his psyche was perhaps permanently damaged.

Fast forward to the 8th hole: Tron had a 40 yard pitch for his third. He proceeded to hosel it 

. My initial reaction was just to drop my jaw in amazement. But when the ball shot through the brush at breakneck speed, only to land 

 in a pheasant’s nest, the laughter could be contained no more. The pheasant went NUTS, assuming that Tron’s Chrome Soft was making a personal attack on its family values. As it poked its head out to see who had stirred its slumber, squawking at the top of its lungs, we were in tears laughing at both the shot, and the epic display of bravado by the pheasant.

Three holes later, Tron was doing all he could to get wedge out of his hands:

The further we got into the weekend, the more willing we were to take putter from 40+ yards out (wait until you see what James did on 18 at Royal Lytham). Your ego might not encourage it, but the turf does.

The 12th was a savage little par three called Old Glory that was something out of 

. The picture below also give you a good sense of the property on the inland side of the dunes.

There are a few holes at Wallasey in the middle stretch that are a bit underwhelming, but as I go back through my yardage book and visualize these holes again, I’m reminded just how much I enjoyed the walk around this place. This was no doubt aided by yet another flawless day of sun, and what ended up being my best round of the trip by quite a few strokes, but every hole from 11 on in was a good mix of birdie chances, great challenges, nice views, and strong vibes.

The 17th is an absolute mammoth. I’m confident that the adjacent downhill downwind par five 4th would easily play to a lower scoring average than this uphill, into-the-wind 457 yard par four that cuts right toward a green that’s cradled into heather. It took all I had off the tee, and a flushed three iron to barely reach the green just off to the left. Easily the hardest hole on the course on this day, as I would not imagine it was designed to play into the teeth of this wind.

The 18th hole is a bit funky, with a huge undulation in the fairway placing a premium on accuracy. But the approach frames the clubhouse and the small patio out back quite nicely, to the point where it feels like you can bank your approach off the bricks. A group of members playing in front of us was gathered and seated to enjoy the rare March sun, and for a moment I pictured what it would be like to be a member there, vibing with your friends week after week, drink in hand. Similar to how they send you off on the first tee, the tight quarters give an air of intimacy and a lasting final image from a distinctly fun golf course.

Our tee time for the afternoon at Royal Lytham was a tight one, and we weren’t sure if we were going to get to play all 18. We hustled up the coast to make it to Lytham in time.

. Stunning views and some really fun holes. The 

England Golf Trip, Part V: Wallasey

 reached out to us to discuss the idea of introducing Soly and I to a sample of what northwest England has to offer. We managed to pull together a trip on relatively short notice, at which point James started working his magic planning out the golf and logistics. As we hopefully capture in this and the posts to follow, both the quality of the golf and the richness of the experience along England’s “Golf Coast” were revelatory.

In addition to this summary post on Liverpool and the other posts that are to follow, please check out both 

 of the podcast that we recorded on the last night of the trip prior to flying back to our respective locales. The trip included six incredible courses over the course of four days, starting with 

Royal Liverpool played host to day three of the trip. Our batteries fully charged after sleeping in a bit, Soly, James and I relished the opportunity to show up early and spend a leisurely day at one course after a couple hectic ones. The club is located in the town of Hoylake, a quick drive west from Liverpool, and we were charmed from the moment we pulled up. The club’s PGA pro, Michael Jones, provided a warm welcome and would later join us for a few holes on the inward nine.

As soon as you pull past the gate into the intimate car park, you’re hit with this stunning clubhouse view.

With the luxury of time on our hands, we wandered through the halls soaking up the memorabilia related to Big Cat’s ’06 triumph, and Rory’s ’14 ball-striking fiesta. All of the greats are pictured, going all the way back to the early 1900’s. There was even a Francis Ouimet sighting! From the dining room, you can see right out onto the putting green, the first tee/fairway, and even all the way to the edge of the property and the houses that manage to compliment the periphery without being intrusive. A vast piece of land with a quaint Dickensian border – vibes!

After a standout meal at the club china, we headed out to the driving range for the only range session of the entire trip. This proved to be a disastrous decision, as I started thinking about my swing and quickly entered a dark place. I scurried over to the putting green directly behind the clubhouse and spent a few minutes putting and marveling at the expansiveness of the property. Based entirely upon watching The Open, I arrived expecting a flat, rather nondescript piece of property. And while it is a flattish property, that is immediately overshadowed by the sheer scale and enormity of the course. For that reason Royal Liverpool doesn’t appear all that sexy on tv – the grandstands chop up the expansiveness, making the property feel compartmentalized and small. Liverpool’s scale 

We stepped to the first tee (The Open routing is different, with the normal 17 & 18 serving as 1 & 2 during The Open – for the purposes of this recap I will refer to the regular routing) recalling the strong opinions I was bombarded with in the lead-up to the trip: everyone had a take regarding the first hole. What otherwise would be a bunkerless, flat par four is complicated by OB stakes on the inside corner of the dogleg guarding the driving range in the middle of the property. I didn’t find this at all troubling – this feature added a much-needed air of danger to the hole and rewarded a bold line coupled with a demanding butter-cut.

The polarizing opener (on our second loop)

The next few holes, “Road” (a timid par four), “Long” (a well-bunkered par five) and “New” (a normally demanding one-shotter that played easier in the benign conditions) meander in and out of a residential corner of the property. I realized early on that Liverpool isn’t the type of course that will beat you down or trick you – the terrain is largely flat, even the greens, and it’s just a matter of driving the ball well and being decisive with approaches. The fifth hole, “Telegraph,” is an excellent example of that ethos – a long four that puts the onus on getting off the tee and onto the right side of the fairway. From there you navigate gorse and two devilish greenside bunkers to get an outside look at birdie on a flat green. The greens are pretty chill once you’re on them, the trick is coming in from the correct angle.

The holes got progressively funkier as we from there, with a 400-yard par four with a blind tee shot over a briar patch that sits out of bounds down the left. Navigate that and you’re home free. Once you reach the eighth it’s game on. “Far,” by way of a straightforward par five, takes you way out to the edge of the property where you feel a distinctly San Francisco vibe – baller spreads, funky trees…shit, I felt like I was playing a nicer version of the Presidio course!

I can’t overstate how perfect the dunescapes on this side of the course are for golf. Holes nine (Punchbowl) and ten (Dee) are exceptional fours that demand stellar drives and deliver gorgeous views of the River Dee. Next is the eleventh, aptly labeled “Alps” for its simple yet effective mounding. The twelfth “Hilbre” is the best hole on the course – a long, sharp dogleg left that forces commitment and strategy off the tee to prepare adequately for the approach into one of the more severe greens out there. Thirteen was a short, enjoyable part 3 to a nuanced green that can yield unforeseen challenges. Fourteen is a beast of a par five wiggling right through the meat of the property. Fifteen is no easier – a long four into the wind featuring eight bunkers.

Playing the 16th was a highlight of the trip, especially considering Soly’s affinity for Rory and his legendary 5-iron approach there from a gratuitous distance. Another hole flanked by OB on the inside of the dogleg, you must go over the driving range on your second shot if going for the green. The green is well-bunkered and much more attractive with the clubhouse set behind it. The last two holes are both long fours featuring newish green complexes with more slope than many of the others on the course. After playing these two I certainly feel the club/R&A made the right decision to use these two as the opening holes for tournaments.

In all, the course features a wide variety of holes and distinct areas of the property that feel starkly different from one another. The variety adds flavor to the course but also makes it feel a little chopped up at times. A few of the new greens don’t quite match the others on the course as they are narrower and feature more undulation, though these greens were some of my favorites on the course (13 & 17 in particular).

Of all the courses we played on the trip, Royal Liverpool was the best experience. Perfect weather, long sunset, great company, and a club that truly emphasizes hospitality. We were encouraged to play extra holes, enjoy a few beers in the clubhouse and hang out as long as we so desired. And all of this despite the fact that the club was holding its Annual General Meeting and there were scores of members in the clubhouse, many of whom were in from out of town. Not once did we feel anything but welcome. Can’t wait to get back.

. Authentic vibe, phenomenal hospitality, and a lively layout. Stern but fair. 

Hoylake was transcendent. Pure class. Floored by the level of hospitality and vibe.

England Golf Trip, Part IV: Royal Liverpool

When you think about traveling abroad to play golf, the first two places you probably think of are Scotland and Ireland. I’ve been fortunate to play a lot of golf in the British Isles, yet I was completely in the dark with my understanding of the quality of the golf courses in England. James Somerside from Golfbreaks.com reached out to us to discuss the idea of introducing myself and Tron to a sample of what northwest England has to offer. We managed to pull together a trip on relatively short notice, at which point James started working his magic planning out the golf and logistics. As we hopefully capture in this and the posts to follow, both the quality of the golf and the richness of the experience along England’s “Golf Coast” were revelatory.

In addition to this summary post on Royal Birkdale, and the other posts that are to follow, please check out both 

Following the ethereal morning session at West Lancs we glided about thirty minutes up the coast to Royal Birkdale. The drive ambled through pastoral English hamlets and the coastline became more rugged. Buoyed by a proper cup of black coffee (which proved to be a surprisingly elusive commodity on the trip), we arrived to find a harsh dunescape, seemingly removed but not isolated from the nearby Irish Sea. Immediately memories abounded: IBF’s 64-66 weekend in ’91, Big Cat’s missed opportunity in ’98 (backed up a Saturday 77 with a final round 66 to miss playoff by a single shot), and the crisis averted in ’09 when Norman made noise and Poulter led midway through the final round before Padraig Harrington neutralized the threat in heroic fashion. With the Open back at Birkdale this July, Soly and I were keenly interested in scoping out the scene and correspondingly this recap goes a bit deeper into each specific hole due to the relevance of this year’s Championship.

Pristine evening scoping out Royal Birkdale in advance of 

. The course is absolutely mint. Incredible day of golf. 

, we ambled out to the first tee and commenced 18 holes of beautiful, masochistic golf. From the outset, Birkdale offered up a first-class experience that, owing to the dunes, isolated you from the outside world in a way that the other courses we played did not. The quaint throwback starter’s hut and stern, yet straightforward, opening par four provided a warmer welcome than the Skechers display featured prominently in the pro shop. The subsequent two holes are also two-shotters that make it incumbent upon the player to value precision over distance. That decision repeated itself throughout the day, which prompted the group to agree on that the course is very “Spiethy” in that it requires a disciplined approach and should stand up well against many of the bomb-and-gougers plentiful in the professional ranks these days. Please keep in mind that the rough was down, the greens slower, and we were presented with an opposite (and much softer) wind than what is typical, and 

The fourth hole brought us to the first of Birkdale’s par three’s, a group which we found to be quite exceptional. This one was a long, well-bunkered affair with a flattish green. While Birkdale’s greens aren’t severe they do feature a number of tricky run-offs and swales around the peripheries.

The fifth heads west toward the dunes, typically into the wind, and features a charming dogleg right that will be an interesting case study on course management during the Open should there be a benign day. Despite the hole only measuring 346 yards, Soly and I struggled to figure out if it would be worth someone like DJ bombing one over the corner and threading the minefield of bunkers fronting the green. Through the first five holes we found the course to be solid, if unspectacular.

Then we arrived to the 6th hole, at which point Birkdale stopped being polite and started being real. 

. Heading south along the dunes, and though a couple hundred yards from the water, there’s a distinctively rugged beach vibe. A prototypical “four and a half” the dogleg right features two bunkers guarding the bend, some pretty gnarly mounds down the right and an uphill approach to a deep, long green – exactly the type that makes you question why par even matters.

The approach into the mad real 6th, with the dunes abutting the right side.

Panorama from 6 tee provides scale of dunes on all sides.

The next is a cheeky one-shotter with a hellish array of pot bunkers (a common theme indeed).

One of seven bunkers on the sadistic 7th.

The 8th is a girthy par four back toward the clubhouse and played dead into the teeth of the wind for us. Soly hit one of the better long irons I’ve ever seen a playing partner hit – frozen rope off a crazy stance, threading a couple scary bunkers fronting the left to reach a green replete with what the yardage book calls some “very deceptive borrows.”

Approach into 8 – positioning key with that hole location.

The 9th is a greenlight special – blind tee shot but once the pros figure out their lines they’ll be in the go-zone. After making the turn the 10th is the inside spoon lining the 9th. Well-bunkered and turning to the left in pretty dramatic fashion, the hole places a premium on placement in the fairway. Again, not punishing but plenty of trouble lurking should one get out of position. The eleventh is a longish par four that coerces you into strategic decisevness off the tee with several menacing bunkers.

The four of us reached the 12th with our rigs in varying degrees of disarray, with the exception of Soly, who was building a score. Of the group, only I found the narrow putting surface. Soly’s shot rolled off the front of the green, slithering into the bunker guarding the front right, and compounded by the fact that this particular bunker (along with a few others throughout the course) was roped off as ground under repair. He found the designated drop area directly behind said bunker and was tasked with hitting a flop shot off a bare lie to an elevated convex green with little-to-no green to work with and four different run-offs distinctly in play. This was our WELCOME TO ENGLAND moment. He proceeded to make five and we trudged silently to the next tee.

The next hole is terrifying yet thrilling – a nearly 500 yard par four affair playing dead into the wind on this particular day (likely opposite during The Open) and featuring a trench running down almost the entirety of the left side and penal bunkers down the right. Timeless shit – dropped delicately into the sand hills, this was one of the standouts of the entire trip.

Fourteen is the final one-shotter on the course, a bit longer than the others and eminently fair, any misses will be swiftly rebuked, especially if the wind is up.

14 – we realized by this time that the greenskeeper was in some sort of mood that morning.

The final four holes feature over 2,000 yards traversing over and around rugged terrain, 40 bunkers, immense dunes and the most dramatic elevation changes of the round en route back to the clubhouse. Any enthusiasm for the birdie opportunity afforded by a par five quickly evaporated while navigating the narrow fifteenth, which features eleven bunkers within 150 yards of the green and a spiny putting surface. A precision par five if there ever was one. The 16th was all about the drive – a demanding uphill four to a green that will reject any #LPCP approaches that aren’t intently hit. The 17th is another complicated par five, as evidenced in the flyover below. Sided by OB down the right (a lovely dog park and Hillside Golf Club on the other side of the…hill), heather down the left and theatrical mounds throughout: the contouring felt like something you’d find at the blue-blooded clubs of New England, only these contours were completely natural. From the fairway, the green looked about three yards wide.

Both the 15th and 17th tempt you into being aggressive and then body-slam even the slightest mistake, with the contours and tall grass multiplying misses. In hindsight, 

Padraig Harrington’s decision to go for 17 from 280 yards out ahead by two shots in the final round of the 2008 Open

 is both insane and legendary. Soly should be glad that his round went by the wayside on the 12th, because the 17th would’ve been even more painful judging by how our entire group played it.

Battered and brutalized by the back, we reached 18. The Championship tee box is set back on the right, making the hole more of a dogleg. We played it from the left set of tee boxes – similar length but much straighter. Perhaps I recall this hole more fondly than my playing partners as I hit what was my shot of the day to about 25 feet. A world-class finishing hole, featuring a tear-drop green with a pinched landing area, accuracy and distance control are essential on the approach.

To the shock/awe/amazement/delight of a few members enjoying pints on the veranda, I proceeded to completely miss the hole from about three feet on the comebacker en route to a horrifying three-putt to close out the day.

If the debacle on the 12th was our “Welcome to England” gut punch, then sitting on the back porch of the iconic, delightfully quirky clubhouse whilst enjoying a pint and a bowl of delicious broccoli stilton soup served as our “Welcome to England” embrace after a stout test. We marveled at some of the history on display in the clubhouse and then opted for the scenic route back to Liverpool. On the way we passed by Hillside, Formby, and Southport & Ainsdale Golf Clubs, all said to be remarkable in their own right and all deserving of a round during a return trip to the area. I envy those headed to Southport for The Open.

In retrospect, that aforementioned bowl of soup is a good analogy for Birkdale: hearty, timeless and more than a little funky.

England Golf Trip, Part III: Royal Birkdale

In addition to this summary post on West Lancashire, and the other posts that are to follow, please check out both 

. Quintessential links course, yet so playable. Perfectly enjoyable walk. A must play. 

When doing these summaries, it can be challenging to find the proper adjectives to describe the experience without repeating yourself. I’m just gonna throw out a quick “sorry I’m not sorry” in advance of all of these next five posts, because there are only so many synonyms in the English language for the word “incredible”, and I’m not exactly a wordsmith (Tron’s note: Soly’s a takesmith!). Our morning at West Lancashire was the quintessential links golf experience, and blew us away.

The shock factor that came with laying eyes on the lush green grass framed by the brown heather surrounding the first fairway may have been influenced by the fact that we had next to no expectations for this day. Everyone has heard of Royal Birkdale, Royal Liverpool, and Royal Lytham, but to be honest, I had no idea until this trip that they were all located within an hour of each other in and around the Liverpool area. Despite a decent reservoir of knowledge on top golf courses around the world. But I had never heard of West Lancashire before James arranged a tee time for us, and with those three courses previously mentioned also on our itinerary, it was hardly the headliner. Getting the opportunity to play a hidden gem like West Lancs to supplement The Open rota courses is what helped make this trip so incredibly special.

The fact that I hadn’t heard of West Lancs is more of an indictment of myself, and not of the course. The club is steeped in history and dates back to 1873, and is one of the ten oldest clubs in all of England. Like many old courses, it’s situated near a railway line which frames several holes on the back nine. When you realize that the reason that it sits so close to the train station is because that’s how people got to golf courses back in the day, you start to feel the history of the property at a different level. There are touches of the old glory all over the place, yet it somehow blends seamlessly with the modern game.

The first thing that we noted about the setup was the simplicity of the operation. The unassuming clubhouse immediately delivers the message that you’re here for the golf. This may sound like a criticism, but it’s the polar opposite. You’re welcome to tote your bag right through the front door, and you walk through what feels like a sort of disorganized caddyshack. The carpet in this room is like worn astroturf, which inherently tells you it’s fine to wear your cleats through it, throw your bag down, and not feel like you have to tip-toe around the place. In the states, it seems like country clubs get into pissing contests with each other over the size and the grandeur of their clubhouses, missing the point of golf entirely. Here the membership dues aren’t put towards a posh 19th hole. They go instead towards the maintenance of the 18 holes that sits just beyond those glass windows.

As was the theme of the trip, we were greeted with perfect sunshine, and unseasonably warm temperatures. With a 7:30 tee time, and morning forecasts in the 30’s (Fahrenheit), we laced up the tights and Under Armour underneath the day’s scripting (I rocked my trademark blueberry pants – before we left the hotel Tron asked why I hadn’t paired the white belt with them and tried to surreptitiously get me to put it on). The extra warmth proved unnecessary, and we were shedding layers before we even teed off.

I legitimately had trouble wiping the smile off my face when I looked at the first hole. It’s not an incredibly unique hole, but the whole setting was sublime. Fresh out of European winter, I was hesitant to book this trip before Q2 even hit considering the UK’s reputation for weather. And here we were on a Friday parading down the first fairway at West Lancs with our bags and rusty golf games in tow on an absolutely perfect morning.

It may sound hyperbolic, but these types of walks are truly spiritual for a golf nut. The different colors of the grass, the sound of the sea just over the dunes, and even the smells in the air give you sensory overload. It’s impossible to be anything but giddy. The way the sun hits a links course in this hour, the way the turf flows right into the small sod-faced bunkers, and the hint of dew collecting on your shoes all rolls up into a feeling of golf nirvana. How many chances in your life do you get to do this kind of thing? We only get so much time off a year from the daily grind, and there’s absolutely nothing I’d rather be doing than hamming it up with your buddies down the fairway of a great links golf course.

The second hole was one of the best on the course. The back tee (noooo big deal – no seriously, no biggie – this was one of only two courses we tipped it out on) is elevated, and gives you a great view of the sea. With the winds down, the fairways start to look a lot wider and they actually seem uncharacteristically welcome. West Lancs is not built to handle the huge crowds of a major championship, but it does boast a long history of Open Championship qualifying events, along with many other tournaments. It’s got all of the elements of a distinctive, worldly championship golf course, just without the theater capacity surrounding the holes.

I’m always so impressed with courses that age well, particularly a course like this one that is approach its 150th birthday. The game was completely different back in the day, and courses were able to be fit into spaces that wouldn’t work if you were designing a course today. Some old properties don’t have the space or the capability to expand their golf holes, and any effort to redesign the links usually means jamming tee boxes into awkward locations. This could drastically affect the design of the hole as it was intended, and the charm of the original layout can get lost in the process. There was none of this at West Lancs, and while I surely don’t have a complete history of the updates made to this course over time, I can say that it has aged as gracefully as Christie Brinkley.

Here’s an idea of the perfect conditions we had, and how the heather frames the fairways so beautifully on this shot off the 4th tee:

We strolled through the front nine with the sun continuing the rise, and the benign conditions slowly faded away along with the dew. As we made the turn to the back, the wind really started to howl. That we were able to ease into the course, and the trip, without a stiff wind on the front nine was a gift – more so than any other course we were able to enjoy each other’s company without having to worry about the variables inherent with wind, and dial in our swings a bit.

The par threes impressed us throughout the entire trip, and perhaps none more so than at West Lancs. The sixth (captured here) seems rather simple, but with the pin tucked behind the bunkers on the right, was deceptively inviting, and of course I took the bait.


Another hole that stuck out to me was the par five 11th. The hole runs along the aforementioned train track, with an ancient stone wall dividing the course from the commuters. The tee sets you up to aim towards the wall and try to draw the ball back down the length of the fairway. Here’s Tron dialing up a draw down the left side.

While this thought might terrify Branden Grace, it was a really fun shot, and a great opportunity to spray a little sauce as the train casually zoomed by.

with flyover videos. At the risk of highlighting the majority of the holes on the course, Tron and I felt 2, 4, 8, 11 and 14 were exceptional, along with the aforementioned one-shotters. Also, the drive on 18 is among the hardest I’ve ever played, especially when the wind gets going, with water down the right, bunkers and heather down the left and a cheekily narrow fairway. The overriding theme at West Lancs, as with most links, is course management. The bunkers look deceptively simple (even in relation to the other courses we played on this trip), but they’re strategically placed all over the course, and are the first thing you look at when you open up the yardage book. If you catch one well, you can really run out in these fairways and if you get too aggressive you run this risk of getting funneled in. Tron’s tee ball suffered that fate:


Waited until James’ disgusting yellow ball was out of the frame to take this picture on 11

With the green surfaces casually rolling into the next teeing area, the golf course becomes so much more inherently walkable and natural. This was probably the most enjoyable walk of all the courses we played as there was just enough elevation change to provide views of the Irish Sea, but without making it a strenuous hike. There would never be any need to take a cart on a course like this, and it’s the way golf was intended to be played.

Of all of the places we played on this trip, this was the course I felt most at home, and the one that I could most visibly picture myself being a member at. It’s certainly helped by the fact that we were greeted with a smile and a welcome in the pro shop, and that the club was happy to show off their layout. There was no feeling of pretentiousness or exclusivity that you might think there would be with such a historic club. I’ll be back in the area for The Open this year, and I’m already lining up another chance to tour around this gem.

As mentioned prior, we knew next to nothing about West Lancs, and I’m glad we were able to experience it that way (despite the couple dozen people who went out of their way on twitter to tell us “oh man , West Lancs is awesome, enjoy!”) This is where both Tron and I mentioned where we see the value in a touring company such as Golfbreaks.com putting a golf package together for you (yes, they did pay for our trip, but they’re not paying me to say this). While we had heard of the Open rota courses, we would have had to do quite a bit of research to have stumbled upon this place. The Golfbreaks.com folks have the knowledge of the area courses, and the relationships at the respective courses to get you setup to play at the best courses. They do the digging for you, and it’s at no greater cost that what you would be paying if you were setting it all up on your own. If you’re making your way all the way across the pond wasting a half day on what turns out to be an uninspiring course can be demoralizing. Conversely, feeling like you’re being let in on a well-kept secret like West Lancs can make the whole trip feel worth it just on it’s own.

 for a truly memorable morning of golf at a very special place. I can’t wait to come back.

England Golf Trip, Part II: West Lancashire

It was the one we knew by heart–the tear-jerking tale of Sergio Garcia, Best Player to Never Win a Major, doomed to come close enough to taste victory only to fall apart at the crucial moment.

On Augusta’s iconic 13th hole, well left of the wide and sloping fairway, the movie was playing out once again. Garcia’s towering, corner-cutting drive had clipped a tree and dropped into the pine straw, coming to rest in an unplayable lie beneath a bush. In years past, the mercurial Garcia would have shaken his fist at the gods, lamenting his place in the cosmic tapestry. He would have tried a miraculous recovery and failed, or dumped a wedge into the water short of the green, or three-putted for triple.

But on his Sunday, on (everyone together now) what would have been Seve Ballesteros’ 60th birthday, Garcia did none of these things. He rewrote the script. He took his medicine, hooked a runner towards the front of the green, and got up and down for a par that felt even more like a birdie when Justin Rose’s 5 footer slid past. After this roller-coaster ride, as Garcia saved par from a flower bed and Rose settled for 5 from the middle of the fairway, a friend texted me: “That’s what’s incredible about golf. That Rose & Sergio played that hole in the same amount of strokes.”

Incredibly enough, the drama was only beginning.

Masters 2017: Sergio Garcia | 14th Hole, Round 4 





— Masters Highlights (@MastersMoments) 

A difficult driving hole for the fade-hitting Garcia, the 14th bends slightly right to left and sheds tee balls towards the trees down the right hand side. Every highlight package of this Masters will begin with Sergio’s pin-seeking eagle at 15, but the 14th hole was just as pivotal.

Even after the fraternal twin pars at 13, it seemed like disaster was looming for Sergio. Garcia had gone bogey-bogey-par-par on Augusta’s second nine, and as everyone knows, The Masters doesn’t start until these very holes. The mental fortitude necessary to shake off a wayward drive on 13 and produce the 305-yard bullet that he did on 14 is something that fans aren’t used to seeing from the fate-cursed Spaniard.

Rose and Garcia took different routes up the fairway, with the Englishman’s ball coming to rest near the left side and Garcia’s sitting in the first cut, 15 yards further up on the right. The primary defense on this bunkerless par 4 is the wildly undulating green, and Rose’s indifferent approach left him with a 35-foot bender for birdie. After Garcia’s highwire act at the 13th, he stepped up from 150 yards and gave all of us a front-row ticket to the stripe show. His approach was inch-perfect, landing 15 feet left of the flag and trickling down the slope towards the cup. His 6-foot birdie putt left him one shot back, and fans began to question whether this was, in fact, that movie they had seen so often.





— Scoreboard.com (@Scoreboard_com) 

Jim Nantz’s call on Garcia’s approach into 18 in regulation was too late. I hate to criticize Mr. April, but Nantz’s “The shot of his life!” should have been spent three holes earlier, when Garcia fired this dart of an 8-iron into the shallow 15th green.

After a mammoth, lag-filled, traj-happy 330-yard drive to the center of the fairway, Garcia was left with only 192 yards into Augusta’s final par 5; his last chance for a momentous eagle. All Sergio did was come within a foot of holing the damn thing on the fly, his approach clipping the pin and finally settling within 15 feet.

 make a 14-foot putt for eagle on No. 15 and move into a tie for the lead at 9-under-par. 





— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) 

Rose didn’t have a bad hole himself, leaving a cross-green eagle try a few feet short and settling for birdie. With both players tied at -9, the crucible of 16 awaited.

Sergio had the honor, the pin was at the bottom of the hill in that traditional Sunday spot, and the Spaniard made no mistake. His sky-high iron shot pounded the green and settled just six feet behind the cup. Rose again rose to the challenge (sorry), catching a bit of luck as his ball released off the spine of the side bunker and trickled down to eight feet.

Masters 2017: Justin Rose | 16th Hole, Round 4 

Rose’s birdie putt mirrored Garcia’s eagle from a few minutes earlier, tipping over the front of the cup on its final revolution.

And then, again, Sergio missed a big putt. While his approach was stiff, it was on the wrong side of the hole, and attempt fell off weakly to the right before reaching the cup. Was the heartbreak still to come? Had 14 and 15 been the hero’s last stand, a bizarro 

reboot where the punch-drunk protagonist staggers off the ropes and starts bludgeoning his opponent, only to be felled by a vicious uppercut?

Masters 2017: Sergio Garcia | 17th Hole, Round 4 

Asked by Dottie Pepper which shot Rose would most like to have back, the Olympic gold medalist thought for a moment, then answered, “the putt on 17.” It was a par save, set up by a gorgeous long bunker shot. Had Rose made it, he would have come to the final hole with a one-shot lead over Garcia.

But this article isn’t about Justin Rose’s missed putts, it’s about Sergio Garcia’s laser beams. And Garcia hit two more on the penultimate hole of the tournament, just as Rose was floundering.

Another fairway hit, and another green dented by a flushed iron. Rose could only find the front bunker from his position in the right hand trees, and Garcia’s approach left him 30 feet straight up the hill for birdie. Two putts, and a crucial miss from Rose, and the two Ryder Cup teammates were striding to the 72nd hole all square.

Sergio Garcia has long been known as one of the best ballstrikers in the game. It’s evident in the way he holds his follow through on iron shots, sometimes including an extra tug of the club past his left shoulder, as if he’s trying to anchor his twisted body deep into the turf.

With the driver in hand, Garcia produces a swing that could garner an NC-17 rating. It fairly drips sex appeal.

Study the Masters champion's unique (and powerful) swing. Turn the volume UP!

A post shared by Golf Digest (@golfdigest) on Apr 9, 2017 at 6:53pm PDT

Look at the outrageous amount of lag that Garcia creates between the shaft and his left arm. He’s mentioned that one of his swing thoughts involves him 

 downwards from the top of his backswing, and that massive downward force allows him to produce the two tee shots that he hit on 18 to win this tournament.

Masters 2017: Sergio Garcia | 18th Hole, Round 4 

Both players pounded drives toward the two fairway bunkers on 18, Sergio’s running out 15 yards further. Rose caught a huge break on his approach as it kicked off the shoulder of the front right bunker and trundled down to 15 feet. And then Sergio hit Nantz’s “shot of his life,” a wedge from 134 yards that covered the flag and stuck just six feet away.

Because it’s Sergio, and because this could never be easy, he missed the birdie putt that would have won him his first major championship.

It was the 14th hole all over again. A mini meltdown threatened to turn into a 5-alarm fire, the kind of tournament-changing moment that Sergio-haters could look back on with smug satisfaction and say that 

was the stone-cold proof that this man didn’t have the mental toughness to win a major.

Golf is unique among sports played with a ball. It plays out over the largest area, competitors battle the course more than each other, and as Babe Zaharias once said, “That little white ball won’t move until you hit it, and there’s nothing you can do after it has gone” (DJ at Oakmont notwithstanding). But the most unique thing about the sport is its demand for repetition. Players spend countless hours hitting balls in hopes that, in the moments when their emotions and nerves threaten to overwhelm them, they can make a swing that’s the carbon-copy of the one they’ve grooved on the range.

With untold maelstroms swirling through his mind and his nerves, Sergio Garcia did just that.

Masters 2017: Sergio Garcia | 1st Hole, Playoff 

Yes, Justin Rose had finally blinked, driving right into the trees to set up a bogey 5. But the story was the Spaniard. Finally, improbably, after 

. Finally, he took advantage of the one skill that hadn’t wavered since his days as a skip-jumping teenager in 1999.

From the 14th hole through to the end of his first major win, Sergio Garcia hit all but one fairway in regulation. He hit every green in (or under) regulation. He out-drove Justin Rose on every hole, and he stuck his approaches inside Rose’s every time.

When the pressure was highest, Sergio Garcia played some of the best shots of his life. He took the script that we had seen so often before and slashed it with red. And he finally joined the ranks of the major champions. 

Sergio Garcia's Ball Striking Carries Him To The History Books

It’s everyone’s favorite week of the year, which means that every outlet dials up their A-list writer for their Masters content. Rather than a traditional preview, I thought it would be best to just tackle your mailbag questions.

 are there hills at Augusta? Everyone always says the course is as it seems on TV



— Dane Mitro (@DaneInOC) 

I laughed! This is good comedy. This line is right up there with the mandatory “our cameras actually add light, it’s much darker here than it appears on TV” that we hear every time a round is threatened to be postponed due to lack of sunlight.

I’ve only been to Augusta once, and the elevation change had to be mentioned by every single person I talked to before I left. But even knowing this, I was still in awe of it when I saw it with my own eyes. The 10th hole is a ski slope. I may need a tow rope to get up the 18th fairway. The 2nd fairway is theatrical. The false front in front of the 3rd green is terrifying. The second shot into 13th is a baseball swing. I could go on and on.

Sometimes when I go to a tournament, I look at a certain shot a player is about to hit, and think to myself, “I could hit this shot.” There’s shots at Muirfield Village that fit my eye, and while that course has kicked my ass every time I’ve played it, I at least feel like I have a chance there. But there wasn’t one single shot at Augusta that I looked at and thought “this looks pretty doable.” The slopes on the greens are terrifying. The lies are tight, and there doesn’t seem to be anywhere to miss. The greens glisten, the wind blows harder than it looks like on screen, and I’ve never had more appreciation for the level at which these guys play.

But yes, you’re right. It’s something that everyone is desperate to point out, basically to brag about the fact that they’ve been to Augusta. I’ve 100% been guilty of this in the past.

 could redesign one hole at ANGC, which hole would it be and why? What would you change?



— Brad Repplinger (@TCRBrad) 

I’m far from an architecture expert, but this is a topic I’ve touched on in the past. Some people think it’s blasphemous to even entertain the idea of making any changes to Augusta National, but golf’s mecca is actually one of the most tinkered with courses in the history of the game. The setup we see today is a far cry from the vision of Bobby Jones and Alister Mackenzie, who centered their design around challenging the decision making of a player. Similar to the Old Course, you used to be able to hit it pretty much anywhere off the tee at Augusta National. With no rough second cut and very little tree intrusion, you were presented options on how much of where to play your tee shot, and made you think about what type of approach you want to leave yourself. At the Old Course, you can hit it pretty much as far left as you want off of every tee, as all of the trouble sits to the right (with the exceptions being holes9 and 10). However, the further left you hit it, the more likely is is that your angle at the flag will be less appealing.

Augusta used to play very similarly, and was characterized by the fact that the entire course was essentially fairway. But when Tiger obliterated the course in ’97 by hitting sand wedges into par fives, we all knew that changes needed to be made. Since then, there’s not a hole that hasn’t been adjusted in some form. First came the addition of the second cut and the planting of the hundreds of pines. Then came the significant lengthening of the course prior to both the 2002 and the 2006 Masters. Almost 800 yards were added, which is essentially two extra holes! With these changes, a lot of the decision making off the tee vanquished, and the course we see today has many holes that present extremely limited options.

The two holes where these changes have been the most evident are 11 and 7. Both holes have been lengthened, tightened, and basically ruined. The 11th now plays 505 yards, and there’s no choice to make off the tee except to grab the driver, swing hard, and hope you find the fairway in between the natural forest to the left, and the planted one to the right. Unless there’s a significant wind helping the ball around the corner, everyone is playing from the top of the hill, hitting between 5-iron and hybrid to a green protected by water. You used to be able to take the corner on off the tee if you had the balls, leaving yourself a short iron approach if you execute it properly. Now, not even the longest players can clear the pines on the right, and almost no one can take on any pin position with a long iron, and the heavy slope down towards the water.

If you enjoy watching hours worth of footage of guys bailing out way right, chipping up, missing a hard breaking eight footer, and making a boring five, then turn into the featured group coverage on Masters.com! The only mystery is whether or not a player’s four iron approach will hit the mound that sits just right of the green that acts as one of those pinball rubber band launcher things, sending random shots to a watery grave.

The 7th hole was lengthened to 460 yards, and tightened even more so than the 11th. If you manage to hit the fairway, you’re likely playing off a downslope to a green that sits above you and is almost completely surrounded by bunkers. You have the option to take driver or 3-wood, but you’re forced to play the hole in one way: straight down the chute. Challenging? Absolutely. But totally against the spirit of the way this course was originally designed. The one redeeming quality of this hole is when the pin is front right, and it’s relatively easy to funnel a ball down to the hole, and a chance to make an easy birdie with two well executed shots.

Other holes I’m not crazy about are the 1st, the 5th, the 17th, and the 18th, but on a much lesser scale of the two holes above.

As far as a redesign, I’d have to leave that to someone like 

that is more plugged into that scene. For now, I’m happy to play the role of the guy that points out the problems and offers no solutions on how to fix them.

For those interested, I would recommend David Owen’s book “

” on how Augusta National came about. The old pictures are fascinating, and there’s a story behind every single hole, as well as how the club came about to formation.

 do you have any of your own Masters week/weekend traditions (besides tweeting and screaming at the television shirtless)



— Golf Is Mental (@golfismental) 

My annual tradition is to make sure that all meetings scheduled for Thursday or Friday must be, at minimum, conference calls. There’s next to zero chance I’m not “working from home” once the online coverage starts. I’ve failed this year, as I’ve got a two hour meeting on Thursday that I’m still desperately trying to get out of.

This tradition actually drastically changed the course of my life unintentionally. Back in Chicago, I worked on a Dutch client and had to report up to our firm in the Netherlands. The partner from the Holland office would visit every spring to review our files, and every year I would try to make sure that visit did not occur on the Thursday or Friday of Masters week. In 2014, I failed miserably, and I sat in a conference room with this partner as he casually went through our file and came up with a list of questions based on our file. He gave me the list in the afternoon, and made a joke about the fact that it might take me until Friday afternoon to answer them all. Knowing that the afternoon TV coverage was about to begin, I furiously put my head down, plowed through them all, and had all of his questions answered within the hour. He was so impressed by the timely turnaround, that on the spot he offered me a position with the firm in Holland to work on the parent company. Less than six months later I was on my way to Amsterdam. Trying to rush home to watch the Masters on TV changed the course of my entire career, and my life.

 if your buddy gets you some merch when he went can you wear it proudly or not?



— John Clayton (@jchromes) 

You can for sure wear it, but not with too much pride. Do you really want to have to say “actually, my buddy bought it for me” when someone asks about your Augusta experience? Well, you’re in luck, because in reality, if someone is asking your gear, they don’t want to hear about your experience. They just want to tell you about theirs. Very few people have as little self awareness about the importance of their own stories than golf hardos do. We’re all guilty of it to a certain extent.

 Augusta couldn't possibly allow bubba to use a pink ball right?



— Michael O'Brien (@MOB_23_) 

Way too much of my emotional energy has already been invested in this issue, but I honestly can’t wait to see what color ball Bubba comes out with on Thursday. I’m sure someone has played with a colored ball at Augusta before, but if he shows up with a white one on Thursday, you’ll know someone in a green jacket gave him a talking to. Until 60 Minutes does a deep dive on this topic, I’ll continue to say this it is criminally under reported that Bubba dumped the Pro-V1 for putt putt balls. It’s impossible to measure how much this equipment change has cost him in terms of strokes, but I would find it very hard to believe that even the $1 million or so cash that he received for the deal would exceed how much he’s cost himself in on-course earnings.

 You've got one Masters shot to recreate and try to hit. What is it?



— Rob Trayah (@alldayevery365) 

Thought about this one for a long time. Put me on the top of the hill, hitting the approach into 15 green from 240. That hole was one of the ones that sticks out to me the most in person, because that area between the pond in front of the green, and the one behind it looks WAY smaller in person than it does on television. The green looks like a tiny island from that far out, there’s no safe place to miss, and distance control is paramount. If you fly the green, you can’t stop the ball from going way long, and you know what happens if you come up short. The fact that those guys stare down that shot, sometimes with 3-woods, with that much on the line come Sunday, continues to blow my mind. I’d love to see if the flighted chunk 3-iron I would hit would actually reach the water.

 My first time going to Augusta, I have Tuesday practice round tickets. Any tips or suggestions on how to do it right?



— Kevin J. Prendergast (@KJPCFA) 

Kyle Porter and I chatted a bit about this on our Masters Preview Podcast, Part I

. You definitely need to walk all 18 holes to get an appreciation for the landscape, the elevation changes, the ridiculous locations of the tee boxes, as well as the close proximity of all of the holes. Let’s face it, you go to a practice round to see the golf course, not the players putting to little paper circles at all the different hole locations. The lone exception to this is the 16th. It should be required that you spend at least an hour there either sitting in the bleachers, on the hill, or wherever you can find space and watch guys skip the ball off the pond. If you get a spot in the bleachers left of the tee, you can also see shots come into the 15th green, which is tremendous.

 if only one of these could ever happen, would you rather see Rory win at Augusta or Phil win a US Open?



— Thomas McDonald (@ThomasMcD_98) 

Writing

#EpicScotland Giveaway

Tron's Players Diary: Thursday

England Golf Trip, Part V: Wallasey

England Golf Trip, Part IV: Royal Liverpool

England Golf Trip, Part III: Royal Birkdale

England Golf Trip, Part II: West Lancashire

Sergio Garcia's Ball Striking Carries Him To The History Books

Masters Mailbag

McIlroy Cabin and Mickelson Grove: Naming Augusta National's Famous Locations

England Golf Trip, Part I: The Belfry

9 and 8, and Other Stories: the History of the WGC Match Play

Honoring Arnie: History of the Arnold Palmer Invitational

Pat Perez Goes In On Tiger, Outrage Ensues

Rory McIlroy Played Golf With Donald Trump This Weekend

L.A. Open History, Ft. Hot Tiger Takes and Rumors

Camping Across Canada: David Wetterich’s Summer on the MacKenzie Tour

U.S. Makes Two Changes To Ryder Cup Selection: One Of Them Is Good

Phoenix Open Notes