On The Links With Lon

Defining Moments

2010-06-08T10:54:00.004-04:00

Sometimes fate is decided by nothing more than a split second or a half an inch. (photo by Lon Horwedel)

No one knows for sure when a moment in time will be thrust upon him or her in such a way that it will change their life forever. Sometimes it comes and goes without so much as a blip and it’s not until much later that the significance is even realized.

Sometimes the moment happens by not happening at all. The plane you didn’t board, the road you didn’t take, or maybe you avoided a horrific crash just by leaving somewhere 10 minutes early … or 10 minutes late. Every fiery crash you see on the highway could have been avoided by either party if not for bad timing.

I’ve thought a lot about defining moments lately. Not just my own, but other’s as well. Especially last week when Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers came within a whisker of pitching a perfect game against the Cleveland Indians. His defining moment came on what should have been the last batter of the game, Jason Donald, who hit a routine grounder to second base.

Only it wasn’t quite that easy. The Tigers’ first baseman Miguel Cabrera ranged far off the bag to try and field the grounder instead of letting the second baseman take it. Now, realizing no one was covering first, Galarraga hustled over to cover the bag fand try and cement his place in history.

Donald was busting up the line to try and beat the throw, but Cabrera threw a perfect strike to Galarraga, who got there a step ahead of the Indians’ runner. The stadium was set to erupt, the players were set to erupt, but then came the parallel arm motion of first base umpire Jim Joyce. It seemed puzzling at first because it wasn’t what anyone expected – not even Jason Donald.

Joyce had called him safe.

Stunned silence filled the air. It couldn’t be. Television replays started showing the play from a million angles, and every angle showed the same thing – Donald was out by a wide margin and Joyce had blown the call costing Galarraga his shot at the history books.

Fans began to boo Joyce as Tiger manager Jim Leyland and first baseman Cabrera gave the ump a tongue-lashing. But not Galarraga, he seemed unaffected as he walked calmly back to the mound to record his 28^th out of the night.

Later, Jim Joyce, regarded as one of the best umpires in the American League, would see the replay and break down in tears. He now knew he had blown the call and he felt terrible. So terrible he did something unprecedented for an umpire. He payed a visit to the Tigers clubhouse to seek out Galarraga and he apologized.

Joyce wouldn’t sleep that night; in fact, he still had tears in his eyes the next day as he tried to ready himself to be the home plate umpire for final game of the Tigers and Indians three-game series. Ina show of true sportsmanship, Galarraga walked the lineup card out to Joyce. When he arrived at home plate, he gave the tortured umpire a pat on the back. Joyce wiped away his tears and returned the gesture. It was nice moment between the two who now were forever linked by a routine grounder with two outs in the ninth inning of what would have been a perfect game.

It’s become their defining moment. A half an inch higher on the bat and Donald pops out to right field – no controversy. A half an inch lower and he strikes out - a perfect ending to a perfect game. If anyone other than Jim Joyce was umping at first that night, he probably calls Donald out and Jim Joyce could tell his grandkids about the perfect game he got to work one night in Detroit.

I feel for both men, but especially Jim Joyce because I know what it’s like to lose sleep over a mistake – to question your worth, even when you know you’re good at what you do. Galarraga’s almost-perfect game couldn’t have come at a stranger time because I had my own defining moment the same week and it nearly cost me my job, and just like Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga, I had no clue that something so routine would turn out to be so huge.

Of course mine wasn’t a ground ball to second base, mine was my normal drive home from work – something I’ve done on the same route, five days a week, for the past 16-years. Only on this particular day I saw something that wasn’t routine at all - a dead man. It was so striking to me, I wrote about it a few weeks back in my piece called “Slipping into Silence.”

Originally published on my blog with little fanfare, the piece took on a life of its own when my employer, AnnArbor.com, published it. Some people loved it – others not so much. I was called a racist, a terrible writer, a terrible person, a liar, etc. Some thought I made up the whole story. When I was asked to verify the details of the man I thought was dead, I found out I was wrong. The man I assumed to be dead, was indeed lifeless, but only because he had just suffered a seizure.

Maybe he died later, maybe not. I’ll never know because HIPPA laws prevent hospitals from giving out information about patients. But it didn’t matter. My employers deemed my error unacceptable and I was sent home for two days while they tried to decide my fate.

It’s hard to put into words how you feel sitting at home on a beautiful day not knowing if you’ll have a job or not when the phone rings. I couldn’t really enjoy the weather because I felt like I might puke. I couldn’t really get up enough energy to do anything but worry. After 25-years as a photojournalist, I had a hard time believing what was happening.

How could my career come down to one mistake?

How could an anonymous man control my destiny?

Was my job really going to boil down to if a man was alive or dead? How could I possibly hope for someone's death just to save my job?

In the end I kept my job. But not until I was smeared publicly by a gaggle of commentators who were, and still are, calling for my head. I’m now forever linked with that elderly black man on the bench who I thought was dead - just like Galarraga and Joyce are forever linked. The only difference is the man on the bench, if he’s even still alive, doesn’t know it.

It’s been a strange few weeks. People keep asking me what happened and I keep telling the same story over and over again. I’m no longer allowed to write for AnnArbor.com, but that’s all right because I’ll continue to write on my own blog as I’ve done all along - at least through the end of July. At that point I plan on starting a book about my childhood.

In the meantime I’m rediscovering the joys of running and working out and breathing air again. I love to write and I love to take pictures, and coming up with something fresh and new every week for four straight years was a hell of a challenge. I’m proud of what I produced in that time span, and I plan on doing it for a while longer, but then it will be time to move on to try something new.

Who knows, maybe that will become my true defining moment.

Losing His Stripes

2009-12-31T12:06:00.004-05:00

Tiger Woods tees off during the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills Country Club. (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

Tiger Woods turned 34 yesterday. My guess is it wasn’t all that happy a birthday. I suppose I shouldn’t really care what happens to Tiger. He made his bed, now he has to sleep in it (or the couch, or maybe the garage). But for some reason I can’t seem to stop thinking about Tiger since his “transgressions” came to light a month ago.

Maybe I’m so intrigued by his situation because I’m a golfer myself. Or maybe it’s my love of history (and let’s face it, Tiger Woods is a historical figure in our culture, like it or not). But for me, my fascination with Woods started kicking into high gear in October of 1999.

At the time Woods had just won his second major and helped the United States Ryder Cup team win back the cup from Europe. All the signs were there for super-stardom. It seemed like nothing could stop him in his quest to shatter every record in the books. And in 2000, he did nothing to derail those plans, embarking on the single greatest year any professional golfer has ever had by winning three more majors and dominating professional golf like no one thought possible.

But on October 25th, 1999, the golf world cared little about Tiger Woods or his enormous potential. Instead, our attention was tuned into 2-time U.S. Open champion Payne Stewart and his private jet, which was silently streaking several thousand miles off course before running out of fuel and death-spiraling into a South Dakota farm. It was then and there that I had the sickening premonition that “something really bad is going to happen to Tiger Woods.”

Since that fateful day, I’ve had the opportunity to photograph Tiger Woods in action several times. I even prompted my daughters to shout out to him during a practice round at the Buick Open a few years ago.

“He won’t acknowledge me because I’m a grown up.” I told them. “But he might say hi to you.”

Sure enough, as Woods walked by us on the first fairway, my girls shouted out, “Hi Tiger!” and to his credit, he stopped in his tracks, turned toward them, and then smiled and waved. They nearly peed their pants.

To see Tiger in action is truly spectacular. He has an aura, a focus, which is unrivaled. He does things on a golf course that defy logic and reason (and sometimes physics). It’s rare when he doesn’t pull off the seemingly impossible.

But despite my intrigue and respect for his talent, I’ve never been a big fan of Woods. I always found his behavior to be boorish. His club-throwing, spitting and incessant use of obscenities seemed immature to me, and he treated photographers with absolute disdain, often dispatching his thug/caddie Steve Williams to rough up a lensman or two if they, God forbid, snapped off a picture of Woods at the wrong time.

It’s not that I don’t like Tiger so much as I always kind of felt sorry for him. Where most golfers I know would have loved to have been Tiger Woods, I never in million years would have traded places with him - even before he was found to be a fraud.

Tiger never seemed happy to me. And when somebody supposedly has everything – immense talent, fame, fortune, a beautiful wife and two beautiful kids – and then throw it all away, were they ever really happy?

Tiger was our (golfer’s) Santa Claus. He wore the same color red, he always came through in the clutch, and he did things that seemed impossible. The only difference is, unlike Santa, who we put our faith in cookie crumbs and an empty glass of milk as proof of existence, we actually saw Tiger perform his magic.

Now we feel like we’ve all been had. We don’t know what to believe. It’s like we’re all third graders again, the ones who stood up for Santa when our classmates laughed at us and told he wasn’t real. But he was real - he had to be real. Right?

Imagine our disappointment when we found out our classmates weren’t lying.

So something terrible did happen to Tiger Woods. It turns out he isn’t real after all. At least not the way we hoped or thought.

And that is sad.

Slade leads after first day of county tourney

2009-09-26T22:35:00.003-04:00

Spencer Slade of Ann Arbor takes a one-shot lead into Sunday's final round of the Washtenaw County Men's Golf Championship after firing a 5-under par 67 Saturday at Pierce Lake Golf Course in Chelsea.

Slade, the 2007 Ann Arbor city champion, leads 2008 city champion Adam White by one shot. Neither has previously won the county tournament.

Rounding out the top four are 2008 Ann Arbor city senior champion John Richart, who shot a 2-under par 70, and three-time Ann Arbor city champion Andrew Walton, who fired a 1-under par 71.

Benign weather conditions and soft greens made it the lowest scoring opening day in tournament history. Five golfers in the field of 42 shot par or better for the day, and more than half the field broke 80.

The final threesome of Slade, White, and Richart tee off Sunday at 12:20.

County Tournament Returning to Pierce Lake

2009-09-10T21:59:00.006-04:00

The many forced carries over wetlands on the back nine at Pierce Lake Golf Course await this year's field in the Washtenaw County Men's Amateur Golf Championship, September 26-27 in Chelsea. (photo by Lon Horwedel)

For the first time in three years, the Washtenaw County Men's Amateur Golf Championship will return to Pierce Lake Golf Course in Chelsea, the weekend of September 26-27.

Pierce Lake was the original site of the county tournament, hosting the championship from 2001 through 2005. Washtenaw Country Club hosted the tourney in '06 and '07. Last year's tournament was held at The Polo Fields Golf and Country Club.

The change of venue back to a public course owned by the county, seems fitting for 6-time tournament champion, Mike Ignasiak, Saline, who practices and plays most of his golf at Brookside Golf Course in Saline, a public track.

Ignasiak's domination of the tournament at Pierce Lake began in storybook fashion when he sank a 210-yard 4-iron for a double eagle on the par-5, 4th hole en route to a final round 66 and the first of his five straight triumphs in 2001.

The only two times Ignasiak didn't win the county championship were in 2006, when he was beaten by Mark Doyle in a three-hole playoff at Washtenaw Country Club, and again at WCC in 2007, when he was playing in the U.S. Public Links championship in Oregon and wasn't in the county tournament field. Last year he returned to form winning his sixth crown at The Polo Fields.

The field for the county amateur is limited to the first 78 players with a USGA handicap or 8.0 or less. Historically, the field has topped out at 56 or 57 players, but the past few years members of the Washtenaw County Golf Association have made a concerted effort to up those numbers by opening the tournament to junior golfers.

This will be the second year the boys high school golf season won't conflict with the county tournament since the MHSAA (Michigan High School Athletic Association) switched the boy's golf season to spring and the WGA hopes all young golfers add the county tournament to their competitive schedules.

To get an application for the tournament, visit your local pro shop or go to milesofgolf.com. The cost is $90 for golfers over 18, and $60 for all junior golfers. Golfers over the age of 50 are automatically entered into a senior division for the tournament.

Mann is the man! - Dr. Mark Mann wins Ann Arbor Senior Golf Championship in dramatic fashion.

2009-08-23T23:55:00.024-04:00

In the above photo sequence, Dr. Mark Mann watches his 45-foot chip shot disappear into the cup for a tournament-winning birdie on the 18th hole at Leslie Park Golf Course before exploding with joy during Sunday, August 23rd's final round of the Ann Arbor Men's Senior Golf Championship. (photos by Lon Horwedel - to see a complete photo gallery from the final round, visit annarbor.com and click on the sports tab.)

In the annals of golf championship history, there have been many fantastic finishes.

Jack Nicklaus' final round charge to win the 1986 Masters.

Tom Watson's chip in on the 17th hole at Pebble Beach to win the 1982 U.S. Open.

Corey Pavin's amazing four wood approach shot that stopped six feet from the pin on the 18th hole at the 1995 U.S. Open and even last week's three-hybrid approach on the 18th hole from 235 yards over a tree to 10-feet, by little-known Korean golfer Y.E. Yang, helping him beat the unbeatable Tiger Woods in this year's PGA.

Add to that list Dr. Mark Mann of Ann Arbor who stepped on to the 18th tee at Leslie Park Golf Course in Ann Arbor, tied for the lead in the 2009 Men's Senior Championship, Sunday afternoon.

Mann had just missed a seven-footer for birdie on the 17th hole that would have given him a one shot lead over Dave Kempner, Ann Arbor, with one hole to go. Now all bets were off as he made his way to the difficult 18th.

It had been a see-saw battle between the two for much of the afternoon, they just didn't know it. With no scoreboards on the course and the two men playing in different groups, neither was quite sure where the other stood until the par-3, 17th hole.

"I saw Dave make his birdie putt on 17," Mann said, "and I heard he was around par so I knew it was close."

Kempner, had, in fact, tied Mann at one under par for the 36-hole tournament after sinking his 12-footer for birdie on the 17th, but he also wasn't certain where he stood in the tournament until he being informed his final round two-under par 70 had him tied for the lead. Meanwhile, Mann was making his way down the 18th hole toward his tee shot which he pushed into the right rough.

From there, Mann had to watch as both his playing partners, Bruce Wagner and Jack Stollsteimer, knocked their approach shots close to the pin on the tough finishing hole. Now it was his turn to try and do the same.

With Kempner watching from just off the 18th green, Mann's approach shot landed pin high, but with no chance of spinning the ball from his lie, it skidded off the back of the green and into the first cut of rough, some 45-feet from the hole.

With the hole cut in the back-left portion of the tricky green, getting up and down was hardly a foregone conclusion for the Ann Arbor dentist and Travis Point Country Club member, who carefully patrolled the real estate between him and the pin before settling in over his shot.

After several practice swings, Mann gracefully sent his chip shot floating over the apron of the green before it began its descent toward the pin. The line of the shot looked good from the start, but it was picking up speed as it neared the cup; a six-footer or more for par seemed a certainty. And then it happened, the ball slammed into the pin and dropped into the cup.

Mann leaped into the air, partly in shock, partly in joy. Just like that, the tournament was over - no playoff necessary.

"I honestly thought he hit the shot a little too hard," Kempner said of Mann's chip, "I thought he was going to have a tough putt coming back, but congratulations to Mark, that was a hell of a shot."

On a round that saw him hit 17 greens in regulation, Kempner managed to shoot only two-under par, noting his putting had let him down. "A pro would shoot a 62 or 63 if they hit that many greens," he said, "but I couldn't get any putts to the hole."

As for Mann, he thought he had blown the tournament when he failed to make his birdie putt on the 17th hole.

"I was disappointed when I missed that seven-footer for birdie on 17 after I hit a lucky shot." Mann said, adding he felt if he could go out and play par golf and someone still beat him, "then so be it."

"This was stronger field than I thought," Mann said, "and to beat a player of Dave Kempner's caliber, I don't know ... it means a lot; I'm in a cloud right now."

Bruce Wagner fired a final round one-over par 73, 145 total, to finish solo third in the tournament. Rounding out the top 10 were Ernie Sellers and Terry Jourdain at 146, Ed Shaffran at 147, George Washburn at 148, Jim MacDonald and past champion Lawrence Clemons at 149, and first round co-leader Jack Stollteimer and Fritz Reifert at 150.

This year's senior championship field drew a record 107 golfers giving Leslie Park yet another feather in its cap in a year that already saw the popular track receive the honor of being named the best municipal course in the state.

Championship Results:

Name	City	1st. Rd	2nd. Rd	Total
*Championship Flight*
Mann, Dr. Mark	Ann Arbor	71	71	142
Kempner, Dave	Ann Arbor	73	70	143
Wagner, Bruce	Ann Arbor	72	73	145
Sellers, Ernie	Monroe	75	71	146
Jourdain, Terry	Toledo, OH	77	69	146
Shaffran, Ed	Ann Arbor	75	72	147
Washburn, George	Frederick, MD	75	73	148
MacDonald, James	Ann Arbor	75	74	149
Clemons, Lawrence	Canton	77	72	149
Stollsteimer, Jack	Ann Arbor	71	79	150
Reifert, Fritz	Ypsilanti	76	74	150
Gregg, Daniel	Ann Arbor	76	75	151
Rullman, Karl	Grass Lake	77	75	152
Richart, John	Ann Arbor	78	75	153
McQuarrie, Neil	Livonia	77	76	153
Breier, Randy	Ann Arbor	75	79	154
Redmond, Tim	Dexter	77	77	154
Hahn, Eugene	Ypsilanti	77	80	157
Stadtmiller, Martin	Northville	76	83	159
Mile, Chris	Ypsilanti	78	82	160
Frontier, Greg	Waterford	78	85	163
*First Flight*
Adler, Tim	Ann Arbor	79	73	152
Maidment, Ray	Saline	79	75	154
Kuhl, Roger	Jackson	79	78	157
Bretting, Michael	Canton	80	78	158
Bishop, Dave	Milan	80	78	158
Kim, Kyu	Bloomfield Hills	81	78	159
Stark, Tom	Hartland	79	81	160
Baker, Doug	Ann Arbor	82	78	160
Kozlowski, John	Saline	81	79	160
Husak, Dave	Dexter	81	80	161
Carden, Robert	Ann Arbor	82	80	162
Bostick, Andrew	Horton	80	82	162
Kuehn, Brian	Ann Arbor	79	83	162
Russ, Ron	Farmington Hills	79	85	164
Choi, S.C.	Ann Arbor	79	87	166
Ridenour, Robert	Ann Arbor	82	85	167
Harrison, Pat	Ann Arbor	81	86	167
Hart, Kevin	Ann Arbor	80	88	168
Gilboe, Gerald	Whitmore Lake	79	89	168
Mangan, Tim	Plymouth	81	90	171
Rasmussen, Bob	Ann Arbor	82	90	172
Parsell, Richard	Ann Arbor	82	91	173
*Second Flight*
Prince, Donald	Shelby Twp.	83	72	155
Orians, Greg	Ypsilanti	83	73	156
O'Neill, Mike	Troy	83	77	160
Young, Song	Ann Arbor	83	78	161
Bigge, Christopher	Ann Arbor	85	77	162
Kennard, David	Ann Arbor	83	82	165
Wojcik, Tom	Saline	87	78	165
Everett, Bruce	Brighton	84	81	165
Gatscher, Dennis	Dexter	84	82	166
Brown, Bennie	Northville	87	80	167
Brousseau, Marc	Ann Arbor	87	80	167
Burnley, Kenneth	Ann Arbor	87	80	167
Hatto, Jeff	Ann Arbor	83	85	168
Monger, Bill	Brighton	83	85	168
Pritt, Jeff	Jackson	86	83	169
Laughlin, Harry	Ann Arbor	85	85	170
Chonko, George	Fraser	84	86	170
Grant, Bob	Ann Arbor	83	87	170
Talik, J. Michael	Ann Arbor	87	84	171
Gliha, Greg	Plymouth	85	89	174
McClellan, Ed	Ann Arbor	87	88	175
Poszywak, John	Ann Arbor	86	89	175
Piotrowski, Skip	West Bloomfield	86	90	176
Toma, Jeff	Ann Arbor	87	90	177
Kauffman, James	Ann Arbor	86	92	178
Callender, Jeff	Ann Arbor	87	92	179
Hickey, Brian	Chelsea	86	WD
*Third Flight*
Hollander, Tom	Ann Arbor	89	79	168
Faerber, Gary	Ann Arbor	89	83	172
Cohen, David	Ann Arbor	88	85	173
Nichols, Steven	Ann Arbor	90	84	174
MacInnes, Bill	Ann Arbor	90	84	174
Bluhm, Rick	Ann Arbor	88	86	174
Erwin, Michael	Ann Arbor	88	87	175
Wallace, Pat	Manchester	90	87	177
Emmitt, Jerry	Ann Arbor	90	87	177
Sewell, Emmett	Ypsilanti	90	88	178
Acosta, Lou	Ann Arbor	90	88	178
Smith, Bob	Ann Arbor	90	88	178
Pigford, James	Ypsilanti	92	87	179
Betts, Jim	Milan	88	91	179
Ann, Chan	Ann Arbor	91	89	180
VanBlack, John	Ypsilanti	92	89	181
Burke, Rick	Ann Arbor	92	96	188
Maier, Bill	Ann Arbor	89	101	190
Newcom, Mark	Saline	92	99	191
Mrokowski, Jerome	Lathtrup Village	91	103	194
*Fourth Flight*
Vlisides, William	Saline	94	80	174
Cox, Terry	Ann Arbor	93	86	179
Brigham, Mike	Chelsea	93	87	180
Markel, Tim	Ann Arbor	96	88	184
McCarthy, Tim	Livonia	96	88	184
Brownlow, Ron	Ann Arbor	93	94	187
Kempfert, Vernon	Ann Arbor	95	95	190
Lundy, Michael	Ypsilanti	101	91	192
Harmon, Mike	Ypsilanti	97	97	194
Faron, Bob	Ann Arbor	105	90	195
Carps, Dan	Farmington Hills	93	102	195
Schielke, Jerry	Ann Arbor	104	95	199
Germa, Jacques	Ann Arbor	100	101	201
Moran, Tom	Ann Arbor	105	99	204
Mac Arthur, John	Ann Arbor	113	101	214
Drake, Kay	Ann Arbor	116	118	234
O'Brien, Gail	Milan	117	130	247
Medaugh, Stephene	Ann Arbor	94	WD
Mihailuk, Mark	Allen Park	94	WD

On the Rocks

2009-08-21T23:09:00.007-04:00

Photos by Lon Horwedel

Above are the various views from the memorial rocks at Leslie Park Golf Course in Ann Arbor.

Picture #1 is Don Yost's memorial stone with a beautiful view of both the 11th hole and the 12th hole (and even #13). A great spot with a great view for a great man.

Pictures #2 and #3 - The rock for Mr. Gelenius at the base of the flag pole near the club house and the view from his rock looking out over the first and third hole.

Picture #4 is Fred Fornaca's rock located behind the 8th tee. Fred's rock stays cool all day, seemingly in the shade of the wood line all day.

Picture #5 is the gorgeous view of the seventh green from Fred's rock. A great vista.

Picture #6 - The view from my proposed memorial site near the top of the hill between the 13th green and te 14th tee. The only thing missing, besides my boulder, is Laura Ingalls Wilder frolicking down the hillside through the tall grass and the wildflowers.

Haymaker Hill...or "This way to my memorial site."

2009-08-10T13:19:00.005-04:00

The extremely steep climb from the 13th green to the 14th tee at Leslie Park Golf Course. (photo by Lon Horwedel)

Have you played Leslie Park Golf Course in Ann Arbor lately? If you haven't, you should.

Recently, it was named the best municipal golf course in the state of Michigan by Golf Digest. Some of that, I suppose, comes from the marketing push the city has put into the course the past two years and certainly, there are more bells and whistles at the course than in year's past.

Things like clubhouse renovations, new patio furniture, new mowers, a new director of golf and a new greenskeeper, roofs on the carts, lower rates, and, of course, a liquor license, have driven the amount of play at the course well beyond what it saw just a few years ago.

But what about the actual course?

Leslie Park, despite all its new features, is still the same great golf course it's always been. You owe it to yourself to play there before the summer is over, if, for no other reason, than to visit my future burial site.

Not that I've made it official or anything, but in recent years I've noticed that Leslie Park has become sort of a memorial ground as well as a great golf course. The flag pole just outside the clubhouse started the recent trend of memorializing local folk who, like me, found Leslie Park to be just about the closest thing to heaven on earth.

On a rock at the base of the pole it says: "In loving memory: Howard C. Gelenius 1928-2001"

I never met Howard, or at least I don't think I ever met him, but I'm pretty sure, at some point in his life he thought to himself "Boy, when I die I sure wouldn't mind if it were here."

I've had that thought many times while playing at Leslie, but the thought of having a memorial rock plopped on the course in my remembrance is a relatively new idea.

Memorial #2 at Leslie showed up shortly after the flag pole rock for Mr. Gelenius. One day, while playing the beautiful par-3, 12th hole, I made my usual trek toward the green when I noticed a giant boulder just off the cart path; perfectly placed so it wasn't in play, but impossible to miss, and on the boulder it said: "In memory of Don Yost, a golfer for all seasons, a man for all time."

I'd played golf with Don that prior year late in the fall before he died. I never even knew his last name. I only knew he was an older guy and he liked to walk the course like me. He also played in just about any weather, just like his memorial rock states.

The last few times I played with Don he'd only play what he called the "lower six" at Leslie Park. That being holes No. 1-3 on the front and holes No. 10-12 on the back. Those six holes are relatively flat and close to the clubhouse. Don would only play those holes because he was going through chemo treatments for cancer. I'd heard rumor that he was in his early 80's, but I never really knew for sure. Like most golfers, Don and I only talked about golf or the weather when we were on the course. We crossed paths many times over the years, usually hooking up for a handful of holes. Then he was gone. It wasn't until the rock showed up on No. 12 that I realized why.

It made perfect sense his memorial rock would be on the 12th hole. It is, after all, the final hole of the lower six, if, like Don, you're only playing six holes. For the record, it also happens to be one of my favorite holes on the course.

Last year, memorial number three showed up at Leslie near the 8th tee box. This time Fred Fornaca, a long time ranger at the course, was the recipient. On Fred's rock it simply says: "Fred Fornaca - Starter/Ranger A true gentleman."

I never knew Fred at all, which is weird since I've spent so much time at the course over the past decade. But I never played in a league or on weekends at Leslie, so I guess it makes sense that our paths wouldn't have crossed.

I guess Fred was in his 80's when he died as well, making Howard C. Gelenius the youngest memorial recipient at 73. I'm only 44, so I probably don't qualify for anything more than pebble at this point. But I do have a plan in place for where I'd like to be memorialized if the folks at Leslie would be so kind as to bestow such an honor on me.

Since I walk all of my rounds, I have a healthy respect for the hill from the 13th green to the 14th tee. There are days when I wonder if I'll ever get to the top without first blowing out an achilles tendon due to the severity of the climb.

The hill is so steep I always try and make sure I don't have the honors on the 14th tee because it takes me a minute or two for my heart rate to drop below 200 once I've reached the summit. Still, I love the challenge the hill presents and once you do reach the top, it is a rather breathtaking view of darn near the entire course.

So I'd like my memorial spot, if I should be so lucky, to be placed near the top of the old path going to the old 14th tee box, an alternate route that carts don't take, but many walkers do, since it's a tad gentler slope.

It's a place that always brings me peace, no matter my heart rate, and it's a place that just feels right. One of these days, I fully expect to have a haymaker mid-climb, and keel over dead somewhere on the hill, hopefully near my proposed spot. It's entirely possible I may be there a while before I'm discovered, especially if I roll off the path a bit once I hit the ground and gravity pulls me into the brush. But there's a family of turkey vultures who live in a dead tree near the top of the hill who should clue in a search party, such there be one.

Hopefully, that day is a long way off. So until then I'll say hello to Howard on my way to the first tee, give a shout to Fred when I get a drink of water on eight, and spend a minute or two with Don, my old friend, on No. 12 before I head to my memorial destination a hole and half (and some 200 feet higher above sea level) later.

Daily Log From The City Championship: Final Round

2009-07-19T22:11:00.007-04:00

Watching in mock disgust as my tee shot on the 196-yard, par-3 second hole at Leslie Park Golf Course hits a bank by the green and bounds into a sand trap. (photo by Leisa Thompson)

8:00 a.m. - Hey, whaddaya know, I actually slept in for a change. Since I played halfway decent the first two days of the tournament (75-73 148, good enough for fourth place going into Sunday's final round) I'll be teeing off in the second to last threesome of the day at 2:30 p.m.

This is cool on two fronts. The first being the fact I could sleep in, which I did, and the second being the fact I could watch the entire final round of the British Open before I had to play myself.

And what a British Open. Tom Watson coming oh so close to pulling it off at the age of 59. Even my kids were into it. But alas, it wasn't to be. My adrenaline was pumping and my heart was racing and I was so nervous watching him come down the stretch. I can only say this wasn't the best way to prepare for a round of golf.

When I got to the course I was already emotionally drained and I had yet to hit a shot. I also had skipped a lot of other things I normally do before playing a round of tournament golf. Things like cleaning my clubs, or for that matter, cleaning myself.

A good two days growth of beard stayed in place and I'm pretty sure I just skipped deodorant all together. But really, it's not like I'm Ian Poulter. I just came to play golf, not make a fashion statement.

Now for the best part. The actual account of what it's like to be in contention while playing a final round in a tournament.

First, let it be known that I have won golf tournaments before. In fact, three of them. The only problem is they were all in the same year and that year was 1982. Two of them were high school tournaments which were one day affairs, the other was the Huron City Championship, a match play tournament I won as a 17-year old before I knew what pressure was.

For some reason, as you age, the pressure feels even greater if you ever find yourself sniffing a trophy. They say it gets easier the more times you find yourself in that position. Certainly Mike Weir, who shot a final round 80 in the 1999 PGA at Medinah after entering the day as a co-leader, can attest when he came back to win the Masters a few years later.

But I haven't found that comfort level yet. It took me years to break 70, but when I finally did it, it didn't seem like that big of a deal and I've done it every year since. But for some reason, breaking into the top three is a lot harder.

The swings you put on the ball can be mighty ugly when you're nervous and fatigued. A few years ago, after 12 holes at or around par in the final round, I completely lost all my touch around the greens. Chips, putts, pitch shots - all a mystery. I played the final six holes way over par and shot 79. It was as if I had an out of body experience.

The next day; a normal Monday, I returned to Leslie Park and shot 71; amazed at how natural it felt to swing a golf club or go for a par-5 in two without thought of potential horrible outcomes.

It's the weirdest phenomena, struggling with fatigue and feel and fear. I mean really, what's there to be afraid of? It's not like we're playing for money or anything. Still, the pressure is there, as is the fear of chopping the hell out of the course and posting a score in the 90's (no offense to anyone who shoots in the 90's).

You can tell yourself it doesn't matter. You can tell yourself to just relax and play golf. You can tell yourself to just hit the clubs you normally hit and play the way you normally play, but the truth is, it's different.

First of all, if you're playing for fun and you miss a putt, chances are you'll rake it back and try it again, and maybe again and again, until you make it. Even though this doesn't seem like a big deal, the whole time you're getting a feel for the greens and you're grooving your stroke and your confidence. If you blow a three-footer in the tournament, it's just pick it up and move on with your tattered confidence in tow.

With all that in mind, and with Tom Watson's heartbreaking loss looming large, I still found myself rather calm as I stepped to the first tee for the final round. Once again, my playing partners Alex Wunderlich, a friendly 16-year-old Huron High School student, and Zach McCurley, another affable youngster, were younger than I was combined.

It's weird playing with a couple kids who are young enough to be your kids. Both boys bombed their tee shots well past mine, yet, at the turn, the old man of the group was even par. Of course, like most days in the city tournament, the axe was bound to fall, and it did. This time it was the tenth hole where I decided to dig myself a three-shot hole to try and recover. A horrible drive followed by an ill-placed layup, followed by a pushed third shot into the hazard and the next thing you know - TRIPLE!

Well, I'd been there before, but this time the putter couldn't save me. I did rebound fairly well with some good saves and a tee shot on the par-3, 12th that actually hit the side of the cup on the fly creating a bit of damage to the hole, but nothing else. By the time my near hole in one (missed it by that much) came to rest, I was 18-feet from the cup. I did birdie the 16th, but for the second time in three days I put a shot against the fence on the 18th and had to take an unplayable. Still, I had my chance to salvage par after knocking my approach shot to 15-feet after my penalty drop. I missed and had to settle for a round of 76.

By day's end I wound up in fifth place. Not bad for an old dude. Once again there will be no trophy this year, but that only means I'll be back again next year marking time until I either finish in the top three and quit, or turn 50 and take my game to the senior championship.

In the end, this year may have been my most memorable city tournament ever. Sure, the 5th place finish was nice, but this week was so much more than a top-5 finish. I'll always remember Tom Watson's run at Turnberry, as well as my two triple bogeys, my kid puking the morning of the second round making a WD a real possibility, my wife's successful year at art fair, my last week as a photographer at The Ann Arbor News and, of course, the amazing disappearing ball mark fiasco.

A special thanks to tournament director Andrew Walton and course director Doug Kelly for making this year's course setup one of the best. Kudos also to all the course volunteers and the many special folks who work at Leslie Park. Folks like Mike, Logan, Andrew, Joe, Lance, Scott, Terry and everyone else. You guys are the best and it's no accident that Leslie Park was recently named the best municipal course in the state of Michigan.

Congrats also to Matt Paterini, winner of this year's tournament after a long (at least six holes) playoff with Aaron Peterson.

Later this week I will return to Leslie Park to play for fun. And I'll probably shoot a 75 or a 76 and I'll get in my car and drive home and never think another thought about the round. But tonight I'll think of the two triple bogeys that kept me from a third place trophy. But those 15 strokes on two holes are also the reason I'll be back again next year!

Daily Log from the Ann Arbor City Championship- Day 2

2009-07-18T09:39:00.012-04:00

The normally easy par-5 fourth hole at Leslie Park, has been anything but for me the first two days of the city championship. I've taken 14 blows on this hole so far, including a beautiful, triple bogey 8 today. (photo by Lon Horwedel)

6:50 a.m. - Well, I have to admit, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind to start my day. Instead of sleeping in, like I had planned, I found myself stirred awake by the elegant sound of my 9-year-old son barfing in the bathroom.

"Geez, that's all I need." I thought as I rushed in to see if he was okay. "At least he made it to the bathroom instead of throwing up on his bed." Sure enough, the poor guy was in the bathroom, but he wasn't doubled over the toilet like I expected, he was sitting on it instead. He decided to take care of his bottom half, but in doing so he puked all over the floor at his feet.

My wife cleaned up his vomit as I went to the basement to get a bucket for future upheavals.

"I guess I'll withdraw from the tournament." I told my wife, who was getting ready for her fourth and final day as one of the selected artists in the Original Ann Arbor Street Art Fair.

"No, don't do that." She said. "My sister can come over and stay with him while you go play."

With that settled, now all I had to do was deal with the anxiety that's inevitably instilled anytime vomit is involved.

Soon you're thinking, "Do I feel warm? Am I a little nauseous too?" I mean I've thrown up on myself many times while coming down the stretch in contention at the city tournament - I just had never done it literally.

Just to be safe I looked in the mirror to see if I was as pale as my poor kid.

"Holy crap!" I said out loud as I glanced in the mirror.

"What's wrong now?" My wife asked.

"Look at me, I look like a frickin' match stick." I said.

Having teed off at 8:10 the previous morning, I sort of forgot to lather up the old noggin with sunscreen. Since it was so cool, it never dawned on me I might be getting a healthy, or, as it turns out, unhealthy dose of UV. The top of my balding pate was fine - white, smooth, and pure as a baby's bottom. But my neck and face were as red as Chief Wahoo, the much maligned mascot of my beloved Cleveland Indians.

"Wow, you do look like a match stick." My wife said.

"Great, not only am I worried about getting sick," I said, "but now I look like an idiot to boot!"

My wife stared at me, puzzled, as if to say "what's the difference, you are an idiot."

Now she's long gone at art fair, it's a little after 10, still more than three hours until I tee off. My son is watching Sponge Bob, looking much better than he did three hours ago. He said he thinks he got sick from his constant diet of free doughnuts the day before in the art fair's hospitality booth. I hope he's right.

Now it's off to clean my clubs, watch a little bit of the British Open and start my pre-round checklist for Day 2.

1) Clean clubs - check

2) Eat lunch - check

3) Go to the bathroom - check

4) Relax and take positive swing thoughts to the course - ?????

Well, two out of three ain't bad.

1 p.m. - Julie's sister arrives and I get ready to head for the course. My son has remained dry since his morning spewage. He's been watching a Sponge Bob marathon for nearly three hours with little sign of any further illness. This gives me a little peace of mind knowing I won't be getting sick myself, at least not from any virus.

1:20 p.m. - I arrive at the course after watching Tom Watson most of the morning still leading a field of youngsters at the British Open - it gives me inspiration. The wind is howling, the rain is blowing sideways, it's cold, and yet some old guy is up on the leaderboard. Oh, and the British Open was pretty cool too!

What, you thought I was talking about Turnberry and Tom Watson? No, I meant Leslie Park and me, a 44-year-old hack trying to fight my way through a bunch of 20-somethings in weather much like Scotland. (I think this global warming thing is beginning to lose its luster).

By day's end I would card a 73, good enough to put me in a tie for third, four shots off the lead. But this wasn't your run of the mill 73, this one had a few adventures along the way. Nothing like the disappearing ball mark trick from day one, but interesting nonetheless.

For example, how many rounds of 73 include a snowman? Mine did. After making a birdie on the first hole and parring the next two, I was bound and determined to make amends of the mess I'd made on the par-5 fourth hole the day before (a bogey that included a tee shot into a tree, a punch shot into heather, a topped hybrid that traveled all of 20-feet back into the heather, a fat 6-iron and then a 7-iron to a foot for a tap-in bogey).

This time I clocked a drive up the right side of the fairway leaving me 230 yards to the green. From there I clocked a 3-wood about 15-yards short of the green in the left rough. With the pin tucked left behind a greenside bunker, I did the only thing anyone would do, I chunked a sand wedge into the bunker. So as not to repeat that horrid mistake, I promptly bladed my next shot out of the bunker and into a stand of pine trees well behind the green. One failed punch shot later and I was at the base of one of the pines where I would chunk yet another chip just short of the green. At this point steam was rolling off my collar, but I collected myself, chipped down a steep slope to about 4 feet and sank the putt for an 8.

As 8's go, this one was a beauty seeing how I'd done all my damage, a mere spitting distance from the green. Funny thing was, I was happy I hadn't made a 9. If there's one thing worse than a snowman, it's a one-legged snowman. Plus I'd made a pretty tricky, downhill left to righter to save that 8, so I actually felt pretty good about getting up and down for my triple.

After that, things kind of fell into place. A decent shot here, a good save there, a couple more birdies and only one more bogey. Voila! 73.

Tomorrow will be the tell-tale day. After two long days of walking, will I have enough stamina to stay in contention? Can I get my head out of my butt and just play golf? Will I be heaving my dinner in the toilet sometime in the middle of the night thanks to my son?

All these questions and more will be answered come tomorrow night.

Stay tuned...

Daily Log from the Ann Arbor City Championship

2009-07-17T23:07:00.020-04:00

Hitting to the par-4, 14th hole on a scorching hot Sunday in 2005.

I've been playing in the Ann Arbor City Golf Championship nearly as long as I've been in Ann Arbor. Some years have been good - some not so good. This year I'm going to chronicle what it's like to play in this popular event from inside the ropes (you know, assuming they had ropes) from a player's perspective.

Day 1: Friday morning arrives. Before I left home I went through my pre-round checklist.

1) Eat breakfast - check

2) Go to the bathroom - check

3) Take vitamin, aspirin, and roughly half a bottle of ibuprofen - check

4) Be confident and take good swing thoughts to the course - ????

Well, three out of four ain't bad.

Oddly, I think new course director Doug Kelly has a soft spot for us over-40 golfers because my tee time is a somewhat palatable 8:10 a.m. In year's past I never teed off any later than 7:30 on the first day. This always caused much anxiety the night before; not because I was nervous about playing...I was nervous about not playing - as in oversleeping and being DQ'd for missing my tee time. (Hey this tourney costs $150, might as well get your money's worth even if you play like $#@t).

The weather was strangely palatable as well for mid-July. Gone was the normal blistering heat that accompanies the three-day tournament. In its place were temperatures in the low to mid- 60's with strong winds out of the northwest. In fact, I wore long pants for only the second time in the 13-years I've been playing in the tournament.

Gone too, seemed to be the first round jitters that usually had me swinging like a 20-handicapper. This year I arrived at the course a mere 15 minutes before my tee time to replicate my normal routine. No range time (why waste the swings?) very little putting on the putting green (what good would that do?) and just a little bit of stretching (my swing's too long anyhow).

Instead I just shook hands with my playing partners Jerry Wood and Yuan Song, stepped up to the 10th hole tee box (we started on the back nine today) and calmly striped a drive down the middle of the fairway. One shot down, a crap-load to go, but at least the first one was good.

So as not to put my second shot in the drink, I safely yanked my 144-yard approach roughly a mile left of the green. From there I chopped the ball on the green (well prepared to take my usual starting round bogey) when low and behold, I dropped an 18-footer for par.

"What the hell is going on here?" I think to myself. "First I'm not nervous, and now I actually make a putt longer than a foot on a Leslie Park green."

On No. 11, I did what I normally do, eliminate the temptation to go for the long par-5 in two shots by putting my drive in the woods. From there I punched out, then hit a wedge to about 12 feet for birdie. That's when things got really interesting. After tapping down my ball mark with my putter, I walked to the far edge of the green to wait for Jerry and Yuan to hit their approach putts. When it was my turn to putt, I walked back to where I thought my ball was and found nothing.

"Where the hell is my mark?" I ask.

Jerry couldn't find it. Yuan couldn't find it. I couldn't find it.

I had marked the ball with a foreign coin I found on the floor at my bank a few days ago. I knew I couldn't spend it, so I thought it would make a cool ball marker. But now it was gone!

Soon I was doing 360's looking for the damn ruble, or mark, or peso, or whatever it was. I wasn't panicked, just puzzled. Finally I found the coin at the far edge of the green where I had been standing. Apparently it had stuck to the bottom of my putter when I tapped it down. I've been playing golf for 31-years, but this was the first time I'd ever had a coin stick to the bottom of my putter.

"Now what?"

Jerry, Yuan, and I, decided we'd better call over a rules official. I actually knew where my ball had been because it had come to rest right next to the recently fixed ball mark from the approach shot. But my coin was now 40-feet away.

Amazingly, the rules of golf have a rule that actually addressed my exact situation. I was allowed to replace my mark with no penalty, then proceed. Despite all the hoopla, I drained the putt for birdie.

For the rest of the round I felt like Paul McCartney - a little here, there and everywhere, but somehow I managed to scrape out a 75 - good enough to be tied for fourth going into round #2.

At least this year I'm playing with contemporaries. Yuan is 44, same as me. Jerry, I suspect is quite a bit younger, but last year I was older than both my playing partners combined all three days of the tourney - and they took carts!

As most of you know, I walk when I play. It can be tough in a tournament when you're walking and your partners are riding. Both Jerry and Yuan were riding today, but I never felt like I had to run to keep up, which was nice. On the second hole Yuan jokingly told me he was riding because he was too old to walk the golf course. I jokingly told Yuan I was too old not to walk.

If the cool weather continues, I suspect I should stay somewhat fresh. Last year I ran out of gas on about the 12th hole during Sunday's final round. Three days of 4-5 hour rounds in the extreme heat had sapped me dry. I faded from fourth place at the start of the day, to ninth place by days end.

This year? Who knows.

I made a promise to myself several years and many close calls ago, that if I ever win a trophy in this tournament - any trophy, then it would be the last time I ever play.

Stay tuned - round two starts on the first tee, 1:40 p.m. Saturday.

Balls, Balls, and more Balls!

2009-07-07T22:00:00.003-04:00

(photo by Lon Horwedel)

How different golf balls affect your game

With the seemingly millions of different golf balls available in today's market, how does a golfer know which ball is best for his or her game? It's nearly impossible for any golfer to try every ball available, so lets look at the three specific types of balls on the market and if you should give them a try.

The first type of ball, and easily the most expensive, is what is classified as a professional, or a "tour" ball. Several different companies make a professional ball, but the most popular are the Titleist Pro V-1 and Pro V-1x, the Callaway Tour iX, the TaylorMade TP Red and Black, the Bridgestone Tour B330, and the Nike One Black and Platinum models.
Expect to pay up to, or more than $50 a dozen for these models and don't be too shocked if your scores don't change one bit despite the expense of the ball.
The key to playing a tour ball well is having a swing speed in excess of 100 mph, and more preferably 105 mph with the driver. If you don't, and chances are pretty good you do not, then these balls do you little, if any good. True, most tour balls are covered in a long-lasting, soft-feeling urethane, or elastomer cover that are great around the greens, but you may be surprised to find little, if any gain in distance with these balls off the tee and even less with your irons.

The better bet for most amateurs is to drop down a level to the ever-popular high-end amateur balls like the Titleist NXT and NXT Tour, or the extremely popular Bridgestone B330RX (a tour quality ball built for players with slower swing speeds). Callaway also makes the HX Hot ball which falls into this category.

Precept may well have started this trend about five years ago when golfers discovered their MC Lady ball (designed for women) was flying miles further, and was considerably cheaper, than professional models. To appease the male golfer, Precept simply changed the name of the ball to the Scottish-sounding "Laddie" and marketed it for males. It was one of the best balls I ever played until they tried to improve it with their Laddie X, which may have gone further, but was hard as a rock around the greens.
The high-end amateur balls are much better for players with swing speeds in the 85-95 mph range and they'll cost you much less. Typically they'll sell anywhere from $20-$45 a dozen.

The last type of ball, that most experienced, or better players, avoid all together, are the garden-variety distance balls found at sporting goods stores. The Dunlops, Pinnacles and Top-Flite's of the world (although it should be noted the Top-Flite Gamer is a high-end amateur ball). Usually selling in a bargain quantity greater than a dozen (15-ball packs seem to be the rage) these balls can sell for as little as $9.99 per pack.

For beginners, these balls are great because feel is of little concern and if you pound three, four, five or maybe a half dozen of them into a water hazard, you haven't ventured much capital. Of courseanyone with even a remotely decent golf game will tell you these balls are just painted-white rocks.

Perhaps the first thing you should do before you go out and buy a dozen balls is figure out how much money you're willing to spend. Once you know that, the best thing you can do is make up your dozen from four different 3-ball sleeves comprised of similar-styled balls.

You'll soon find that some balls will just feel better than others, some will go further than others, and most likely, none of them will do what they say they'll do on the side of the sleeve. And remember, no matter what brand you choose, at some point during the season you will stray and try another brand. It's half the fun of golf.

Golf Gallery: Happy Fourth of July

2009-07-03T18:58:00.005-04:00

Star-spangled fans show off their patriotic spirit during the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills C.C. in Bloomfield Twp. (photo by Lon Horwedel)

Hoffman win's Ann Arbor Women's Championship: Entries at an all time low

2009-06-30T09:19:00.005-04:00

Sarah Hoffman tees off on the 10th hole at Leslie Park Golf Course, Sunday, en route to victory in the Ann Arbor Women's Championship.

Sarah Hoffman followed up her opening round 75 with a second round 77, then defeated Minjoo Lee (who fired a tournament-low, final round 74) in a playoff to win the 2009 Ann Arbor Women's Championship Sunday at Leslie Park Golf Course.

The win came in a year where the women's tournament had an all-time low number of participants. Only 27 women teed it up this year to vie for the title, a disturbing downward trend that wasn't lost on the golfers.

Hoffman herself expressed her desire to have more college and high school golfers play in the tournament to beef up the field and make it more competitive. "It would be nice if more girl's my age played." She said.

Long-time tournament participant, and former champion Susan Macinkowicz also expressed her concern at the dropping numbers of participants. "I don't understand it," Macinkowicz said, "it's such a great course; one of the best muni's I've ever played, and they do such a great job...it's just a great couple of days."

The upcoming men's championship in mid-July, once immune from low participation numbers, has fallen in recent years as well. Less than five years ago, the tournament field of 156 would fill in less than a week once it opened to non-residents (the first week to enter was limited to residents only) and it wasn't unusual to have as many as 20 golfers on waiting list to get in the field.

The past two years that hasn't been an issue. With fields in the mid-140's, it was still the largest local tournament, but the days of making sure to enter early seem to be over.

I entered the men's tournament on Saturday, a good three weeks after entries were being accepted. In year's past that would have been too late, but this year I was only entry number 77. With only three weeks until the tournament tees off, that's less than half of last year's field. It's makes me wonder if the field will even hit 1oo for this year's championship.

Why this is happening and what is the solution? After all, despite the dour economy, recreational golf rounds are way up at Leslie Park the past two years, even as tournament fields plunge.

Is the entry fee just too steep? ($150) Are local players too intimidated to play tournament golf? Is a three-day tournament too long for most players?

I'd like to hear from local golfers to see what they think. Let's start a forum right here to see if we can solve this problem.

Golf Gallery: Barton Hills Country Club

2009-06-26T08:22:00.004-04:00

The Barton Hills Country Club clubhouse. The famed, Ann Arbor club will host the annual match play championship between 8-man teams from Jackson County and Washtenaw County this Sunday, June 28th.

Open Week - Phil just keeps on breaking our hearts

2009-06-22T22:26:00.007-04:00

(photo by Lon Horwedel)

Phil Mickelson must have been born in Cleveland. There can be no other explanation. Nobody can finish second in the U.S. Open five times, can they?

Yes, they can. Mickelson did it today for a record fifth time. He's like watching the Cleveland Browns, or this year's Cleveland Indian's bullpen. Somehow, someway, they'll blow it. You're never quite sure how, you're just sure they will. I'm never comfortable watching the Tribe, Browns or Mickelson when they have a big lead, because I know all three of them can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in incredible, almost unbelievable ways.

This week, my beloved Indians blew not one, not two, but three 7-run leads in one week. On their current 6-game losing streak, they've lost four games they were leading going into the 8th inning.

A few years back my other beloved Cleveland team, the Browns, managed to lose to the Bears when they had a 14 point lead with 38 seconds left in the game - and the Bears were out of timeouts! One Hail Mary, a successful onside kick, followed by another Hail Mary, and the game was tied at 21. The Browns then tossed an interception on the second play of overtime, which, of course, was run back for a touchdown sending the Browns to a 28-21 defeat.

That's it, right? No team could possibly lose more incredibly than that. Wrong. The very first game the next season it appeared they beat the Kansas City Chiefs in a close after nearly sacking the Chiefs quarterback, only to have him heave the ball in the air to an offensive lineman behind the line of scrimmage who was then shoved out of bounds as the clock expired.

It sure seemed like the game was over. Browns win their opener right? Chalk it up, 1-0. Only one problem. One of the Browns linebackers, Duane Rudd, had taken off his helmet to celebrate what he assumed was a victory. Wrong! Rudd was penalized for excessive celebration and since the game can't end on a defensive penalty the Chiefs got one more play. With the yardage they gained from penalty, they now were in field goal range, and with no time left on the clock, they calmly booted the field goal to beat the Browns by a point. Now, I had seen it all.

Phil Mickelson is the golfing equivalent of professional sports in Cleveland. You want so badly for the guy to win, but you just know he's going blow it somehow - maybe that 5-footer he's gonna miss down the stretch, or that drive he'll blast out of play. Why can't he just make those damn putts like Tiger does? Why can't he just hit a fairway when he needs to? Why do we all get so caught up in a guy none of us even knows?

Probably because we feel like we do know Phil. He addresses media members by their first names in post-round interviews. He admits when he's done something idiotic (Winged Foot meltdown). He doesn't make excuses. He seems like a genuinely, good guy. Plus he lives on the edge. He'll make a load of birdies, but he'll make an equal load of bogeys - or worse. He's fun to root for because he pulls you into his battles emotionally.

Tiger? We don't worry about Tiger. If he comes in second it's because he "didn't have his A-game." But if Phil comes in second it's because he just couldn't finish the deal, or someone else stepped up and delivered - or a combination of the two (Payne Stewart '99, Retief Goosen '04).

Today was no exception. With his wife Amy giving plenty of ammo for that Hollywood ending (she wanted the Open trophy in her hospital room when she begins cancer treatments next week) NBC had to be licking their chops when Mickelson stuck his approach to 5-feet on No. 13, then actually drained the eagle putt to vault himself into a tie for the lead.

"If he can only stick one in their on 14 (a short, 127-yard par-3) and make it two in a row," we all thought, "then the tournament is his!"

Fools! That's what we are - fools. He had us sucked in and we all fell for it. "It has to happen," we thought, "this is the year he finally breaks through." The last time he blew an Open he was on the verge of winning his third straight major before he made a mockery of the 18th at Winged Foot. Surely he's learned his lesson from that debacle. (He hasn't won a major since).

Phil hit a good, if not great shot into 14, but lazied a putt down to the hole that never had a chance.

"That's okay, nothing wrong with par." We thought.

Then he hits a ball into the rough off the 15th tee.

"That's okay, he's drawn a good lie." We thought.

After reaching the back fringe in two, we all breathed a sigh of relief. But then he does it - again! Phil leaves his first putt some 5-6 feet short of the hole.

"Noooooo!!!! What are you doing Phil?" we all scream at the TV.

Just like the Tribe in the 8th inning or the Browns in the fourth quarter we already know the outcome. He'll miss the putt; not only miss it, but blow it 6-feet past the hole. Amazingly he jars the comebacker for bogey. Even more amazingly, he jars a 10-footer for par on the next hole. But the damage is done. He's now a stroke behind Lucas Glover and on No. 17, Mickelson, who supposedly has this great short game, can't get it up and down for par, missing yet another 6-footer.

Needing a birdie on 18 to have any chance, Phil bombs a drive nearly to the green. With the hole cut right up front you just know he's going to hit one of those ozone-scraping lob wedges that will sit down right next to the hole for a tap in birdie. Right?

Wrong.

Instead he tries to spin back a low-flying wedge that doesn't come back at all, leaving Phil a 30-footer for birdie, which, of course, he runs past the edge of the hole just close enough to make you groan.

"Damn, he did it again." You think to yourself as Glover takes Phil's trophy out of Amy's hospital room and plants it firmly on his mantle and in the history books.

Two short putts cost Phil once again. And really, can we stop saying Phil has this awesome short game. Yeah, he pulls off an amazing flop shot from time to time and he can hit it backwards over his head off the steep face of a bunker. But just as often he tries something stupid, like a flop shot from the front fringe when he has a million miles of green to work with where he could just as easily hit a standard bump and run. Then, if he chunks it and leaves himself with a 50-footer for par, nobody questions his decision making. And that's not even touching on all the missed short putts he never seems to make when he needs them.

Maybe one of these days Phil will drain those 6-footers for par. And maybe one of these days the Browns will go to the Super Bowl and actually win the damn thing. And maybe the Indians will do the same in the World Series. Phil did, after all, break through and win the Masters after years of near misses. But somehow this U.S. Open thing is different. Somehow it seems to leave some golfers permanently snake bitten. Just ask Sam Snead, Tom Lehman and Colin Montgomery - they'll tell you how cruel it can be. And so can Phil.

Slow Play - The Scourge of Golf!

2009-06-19T23:10:00.012-04:00

Please let me finish my round before the snow falls!

First off, let it be known there's almost no place I'd rather be than a golf course. That being said, it doesn't mean I want to spend more than four hours playing a round of golf - check that, no more than three and a half.

For me, golf is a game of flow - a game of rhythm. And nothing breaks that rhythm more than a lack of basic etiquette from slow-playing golfers who insist on ignoring the obvious - that being the fact they are holding up play.

The other day, for example, I played Leslie Park Golf Course in Ann Arbor, relatively carefree for 12 holes. Then, on the 13th tee, I ran into a twosome - one in a cart, one on foot - who took more than 10 minutes to hit their approach shots to the green.

"No problem," I thought to myself, "I'll just play through when I catch them on the next tee. Well, by the next tee the walker had joined his partner on the cart in an effort to speed up their pace.

"Good," I thought. "Problem solved." Normally a twosome in a cart is equivalent to one player walking. But not so with this twosome. For the remainder of the round, with no one in front of them, and no one behind me, I was forced to wait on every single shot.

As luck would have it, the offending twosome stopped by the putting green near the 18th hole to practice even more following their round (I guess the numerous occasions they hit more than one ball during their round, despite the fact I was waiting behind them, wasn't enough practice). But that was okay because it gave me a golden opportunity to confront them after I finished my round.

They must have sensed my frustration because when I approached one of the players with steam rolling off my collar the first thing he did was apologize for holding me up. This was a real head scratcher. If you knew you were holding me up, then why in the hell didn't you just wave me through?

At any rate, I told the fellow it was perfectly fine to wave faster players through, in fact, preferential - especially when there is nothing but open real estate in front of him and behind me.

So what constitutes slow play? How do you know if you are a slow player?

Let's face it. Slow play is like being a bad driver (car, not a golf ball). Nobody thinks they're a bad driver, even if they are, and nobody thinks they're a slow golfer. But are you?

To help you find out, Here's a test you can take, much akin to the "you just might be redneck" quiz made popular by Jeff Foxworthy.

1) Do you take more than one practice swing on anything other than a shot of less than 100-yards? If you do, you just might be a slow golfer.

2) Do you drive a golf cart, rather than walk? Sounds crazy, but you just might be a slow golfer.

3) If you do play your rounds from a cart, do you wait for your partner to hit his shot before driving to your ball? If you do, you just might be a slow golfer.

4) Do you stand in one spot while putting your headcover back on your driver, rather than walking, or driving to your ball while completing the task? If the answer is yes, you just might be a slow player.

5) Do you put your bag, or park the cart, on the opposite side of the green from the next tee's location? If you answered yes, you just might be a slow player.

6) Do you ever find yourself driving the cart back toward the tee box instead of toward the green? (I'm amazed at how many times I see golfers in carts, I thought were out of range, suddenly heading back toward the tee box for no apparent reason, giving me even more head-scratching moments). If you do, then you just might be a slow golfer.

7) Does your twosome take more than 3 hours and 15 minutes to play a round of golf? (and that's on foot) If yes is your answer, then you just might be a slow golfer. If you play longer than that as a twosome in a cart, then you are a slow golfer!

8) Do you find it necessary to stop at the turn to grab a bite to eat even when there are golfers behind you? If you answered yes, then you not only are a slow golfer, you don't have any etiquette either.

9) Do you line up every putt from three different angles as if you were playing in the U.S. Open and plum bob 3-footers even though you don't know what the hell plum bobbing is or how it works? If yes is the answer, then you might be a slow player.

10) Do you hit mulligans on more than just the first tee and do you write down your score before the leaving the green, or God forbid, stand by the hole while looking back toward the tee while trying to recall each shot (all 10 of them) by counting with your finger in a ziggity-zag fashion from the brutal 50-yard sideways tee shot, to the three you left in the bunker, to the four-putts you took from 15 feet?

If you answered yes to this one, you already know the answer.

So folks, let's speed up play by eliminating those four practice swings on every shot (you only have so many swings in a lifetime, why waste em?) and counting your strokes on the green and lining up those two footers. Move toward the green at all times. You don't have to be by your partner when he hits his shot, you can be by your ball and still watch. It's called "ready golf." It's a cool concept where players hit their shots in short succession, thus speeding up play, and it works everywhere on the course - even on the greens!

Put your clubs back into the bag while walking to your next shot. Visualize what you're going to do before you even get there, then you can pull the trigger much quicker and stay in the flow. It works, try it.

And most importantly remember this, it's only a game and you're probably not as good as you think. So as my good friend John once said (and he was a good player). "Miss it quick!"

Golf Gallery - Open Week continues: Sergio Garcia, toast in New York to the toast of New York?

2009-06-19T22:35:00.005-04:00

Sergio Garcia's boyish charm has worn thin with many golf fans. His last trip to Bethpage brought catcalls from the New York faithful who tired of Garcia's grip, then re-grip, then re-grip, then re-grip again ritual, before finally hitting his shot (Garcia was in the midst of a swing change). "Just hit the ball, Sergio!" rants came from the gallery of impatient Long Islanders. Sergio's response? The middle finger salute.

Have the last seven years softened the tension? After the first two days of play, it would seem so. Still, if things don't go Garcia's way, he's bound to verbally lambaste both the crowd and the course, as he recently did at Augusta and last year's PGA at Oakland Hills (see photo above). The best part about the PGA Tour is the game within the game - petty, though it may be.

(photo by Lon Horwedel)

Golf Gallery • Open Week - All eyes on Tiger and Phil

2009-06-18T22:29:00.017-04:00

Phil Mickelson tees off at Oakland Hills C.C. in Bloomfield, Michigan, during the 2004 Ryder Cup. Oakland Hills last hosted the U.S. Open in 1996, won by Steve Jones. Mickelson has come close in several U.S. Opens, most notably in 1999 where he lost to the late Payne Stewart on the 18th hole when Stewart jarred a 15-footer to save par and beat Mickelson by a stroke, and in 2006 when he blew the Open with a double bogey on the last hole at Winged Foot. Toss in a near misses at Shinecock Hills and Bethpage Black and Mickelson has tasted stinging defeats in four of the last 10 opens. Will his return to Bethpage this week finally net Mickelson an Open trophy? We'll know by Sunday. (photo by Lon Horwedel)

Tiger has shown a flare for the dramatic and no amount of shutters clicking early seems to matter to Woods who will be looking for his second Open title at Bethpage Black this week, and his fourth overall, including last year's Hollywood ending at Torrey Pines where he beat Rocco Mediate on the 19th hole of a Monday playoff - all with a bum knee and a broken leg. Now fully healed, Tiger had a U.S. Open-worthy performance at The Memorial two weeks ago hitting all 14 fairways in the final round en route to his second win of the year. Will Sunday yield another major for Tiger? We'll know by Sunday...or maybe Monday if rain continues on Long Island. (photo by Lon Horwedel)

Golf Gallery - U.S. Open week • Could be a wet one at Bethpage

2009-06-17T08:18:00.003-04:00

The University of Michigan's Lion Kim walks through the rain on the first hole at Inverness during last month's NCAA Men's Golf Championships. Inverness last hosted the U.S. Open in 1979 when Hale Irwin hoisted the second of his three Open trophies. (photo by Lon Horwedel)

Golf Gallery - U.S. Open week - The Bridges of Inverness

2009-06-16T22:01:00.004-04:00

The quartet of walking bridges that crisscross the Inverness Club in Toledo, OH., site of the 1979 U.S. Open won by Hale Irwin. It was Irwin's second of three Open Championships. (photo by Lon Horwedel)

Golf Gallery - Tiger's first Open, Oakland Hills, 1996

2009-06-15T16:38:00.004-04:00

Tiger Woods, then an amateur, blasts out of a greenside bunker on the 14th hole at Oakland Hills Country Club during the 1996 U.S. Open. (Photo by Lon Horwedel)

Course Review - Radrick Farms, Ann Arbor

2009-06-13T22:26:00.008-04:00

Par-5, 490-yard, 5th hole at Radrick Farms.

There are some truly great golf courses in and around Ann Arbor, and Radrick Farms, off Geddes Road, certainly ranks as one of the best.

The problem, I suppose, is that only a very select minority of local golfers ever get a chance to play the jewel of a course. Owned and operated by the University of Michigan, unless you are a faculty or staff member (or know one) the best chance you have of getting on the course is to play in a GAM qualifier or some other tournament hosted by the course. But, if you are lucky enough to get a chance to play Radrick, you won't be disappointed.

Designed by famed architect Pete Dye, Radrick opened for play in 1965 (maybe that's why I like it so much, we were born the same year). It was Dye's first course design, or so the story goes, and you might say he came out of the gates swinging (although rumor has it that upon a revisit several years later, he didn't like the course much; he thought the greens were too severe). Of course most folks are their own worst critic, so I'd like to share my thoughts on Radrick and leave Pete out of it.

One of the coolest things about Radrick Farms is if you didn't know it was there, you would never know it was there. It is, without a doubt, the most secluded golf course in Washtenaw County, even more so than Barton Hills Country Club.

Sitting well back off Geddes Road, the entrance to Radrick easily could be missed in the blink of an eye. There are no large signs; no holes visible from the road; no gigantic clubhouse to make you do a double take, just a little sign on a stone wall that comes up on you so fast there's a good chance you may put your car up on two wheels as you negotiate the sharp turn into the driveway at a high rate of speed.

But oh what a driveway. It's kind of like a poor man's version of Magnolia Lane. A very long, tree-lined drive that takes you well away from Geddes Road; away from civilization - almost to another time. So much so, you half expect Bobby Jones to be waiting for you in the parking lot dressed in knickers, toting a bag full of old hickories.

Before you even tee off, you realize this place is special. Except for the birds, it's a very quiet place. Even the gas-powered golf carts seem strangely silent. There is a "no playing through" at Radrick; a rule that seems a bit odd, but seems to work. Rather than wave faster groups through, slower players are told to pick up their balls and move to the next tee to keep things moving. Strange as it sounds, it seems to keep all the golfers civil.

As cool as the funky rules and the long entrance drive are, the course itself is also incredibly nice. Starting with the first hole, Dye's layout takes the golfer on a very well thought out route through the rolling country side. Despite being nearly 7,000 yards from the tips, Radrick is very feet friendly. Almost all the tees and greens are close together, making for a very efficient walking round, if you choose to go that route.

Radrick starts off with the longest (530-yards) but certainly not the toughest, par-5 on the course. And honestly, who doesn't like starting off their round with a relatively easy par-5?

But after getting you settled in, Dye throws a nasty one-two combination with holes No. 2 and No. 3.

The second hole is a doozy of a dogleg left that can play really short, if you cut the dogleg, or really long, if you block it right or have a nasty slice. A fairway wood hit straight off the tee may be the smartest play, leaving you little more than a mid-iron into a severely sloping, elevated green.

If you're still standing after the first punch at No. 2., the third hole will try and finish you off with the 465-yard, dogleg left, par-4 that requires a blast of a tee shot just to have a clean shot into the green. A green that slopes just as much as N0. 2 but is twice as big. Just for good measure, there's a Sahara desert-sized bunker guarding the front left of the green.

Once you drag yourself off the canvas, Radrick lets you breathe for a few holes with the fairly easy par-3, fourth, and the very short, risk-reward par-5, fifth hole. Probably the signature hole on the course, No. 5 requires only a straight tee ball to give the better golfer a fairly easy shot into the green setting up a possible eagle try. Of course, the problem is hitting that straight tee shot. With a very narrow landing area and plenty of trees to gobble up any eager beaver trying to cut the corner on the right, the fifth hole is a little tougher than it looks. The green itself takes up roughly two zip codes, so you better have a firm grasp on your yardage for your approach shot or you may need your caddy to set off a flare while tending the pin as you settle in for your two-day journey of a putt.

Just when you think you can get your round back on track, Radrick tosses another long par-4 your way, followed by what I think is the toughest par-3 on the course. At 213-yards, N0. 7 not only is long, but just plain hard. As if to offer an apology, Dye then gives you two extremely short par-4's in No.'s 8 and 9.

On the back nine, Dye gives the golfer more of the same, fairly easy holes followed by some fairly tough ones. But isn't that what a good golf course design is supposed to do? With Radrick, Dye has done just that. The course may beat you up a bit, but if you keep it in play, stay patient and keep the ball below the hole, it also gives you an opportunity to score.

The par-4, 13th, and the par-3, 15th, really stand out on the back as two of the better holes. Thirteen is another hole where you'd be better served leaving the driver in the bag. Even the 3-wood I hit the day I played, sailed through the fairway and wound up under a tree. It's a great hole that doglegs hard to the left from out of the middle of the woods. It looks like a hole from up north, in fact, it seems out of place compared to the rest of the course.

No. 15 is a great par-3 measuring somewhere between 171 and 183 yards depending on where you tee it up. From an elevated tee box several feet above the green, it looks as if a good throw could put the ball on the green, but just to spare your rotator cuff, and actually play the game by the rules, try picking two less clubs than what you think you should hit and swing away!

The final three holes at Radrick are solid, if not spectacular. Maybe that's the reason for all the fountains in the water hazards. I'm pretty sure they had nothing to do with Pete Dye, but who knows. Water fountains aside, No. 16 is another par-5 that's short on length (511 yards) but plenty tough nonetheless, thanks to narrow landing areas, water running down the entire left side, and... surprise!... a gigantic green.

No.'s 17 and 18 are a pair of back and forth par-4's that are medium in length, but not horribly difficult. No. 18 seems like it should be a N0. 13 or something. Not that it's a bad hole, it's just not a terribly exciting finishing hole. Bone straight, with a fairway that funnels almost all shots into the short grass, N0. 18 isn't long enough to be a killer, but it's no pushover either.

The green is very large, and sloped, just like all the others, only now you've been putting on those same greens for 17 holes, leaving you with the very real possibility of making a birdie if you play your cards right.

When you finish your round, you'll find that the 18th hole is in an odd location, as in, not exactly a stone's throw from either the clubhouse or the parking lot. No matter, the round itself should have been so fulfilling you'll be scheming some way to get back there again as soon as possible to do it all over.

Just remember this one tidbit of information as you leave the course and drive that long driveway back to civilization: Geddes Road is at the end of that drive, and there are cars driving by on Geddes Road; sometimes lots of cars; usually very fast. But they haven't just finished playing golf at one of the most relaxing places in Ann Arbor, so be careful as you pull out into the real world again, or you might just end up having your front bumper ripped off by a passing motorist who cares little or nothing about golf, or how great a round you just had.

Golf Gallery: Flag Day - 7th hole, Huron Hills Golf Course, Ann Arbor

2009-06-13T22:16:00.003-04:00

Changing the pin location on the 7th hole at Huron Hills in Ann Arbor. Happy Flag Day!

Golf Gallery - Foursome from Canada, 16th hole at The Majestic in Hartland, Michigan

2009-06-12T12:27:00.003-04:00

Hey...fellas, do you mind if I play through?

Golf Gallery - Polo Fields C.C., Ann Arbor

2009-06-11T07:53:00.003-04:00

Par-3, 12th hole at Polo Fields C.C. in Ann Arbor, MI.

Golf Gallery -Pecan Valley, San Antonio, Texas

2009-06-10T22:45:00.010-04:00

Early morning on the 9th hole at Pecan Valley in San Antonio, Texas, site of the 1968 PGA Championship won by Julius Boros over Arnold Palmer and Bob Charles.

I've decided to start a new feature I'm calling "Golf Gallery."

Since I've spent more than half my life as a photographer, and even more than that as a golfer, I figured it made perfect sense to combine my two passions and post a golf-related photograph every day, starting today.

Prints of all the photographs posted are copyright of Lon Horwedel. If you would like to purchase an 8 x 10 color print of the posted photograph, contact me at lonlostboy@yahoo.com.

The price for each print is $25 which includes shipping.

The photographs also are available for commercial use, where it applies. Contact the same e-mail address posted above for information on commercial usage.

Golfing with a true warrior

2009-06-04T09:21:00.012-04:00

Brent Newhouse, founder of WeekendWarriorGolfer.com, tries to figure out if he's pulled the right stick on the 171-yard, par-3, 15th hole at Radrick Farms, Wednesday, June 3rd.

Life can be screwy. You do everything you're supposed to: go to college, get a job, get married, buy a house, start a family and settle in for what you hope will be a long, healthy, and somewhat prosperous life and then, with little, or nor regard for your future plans, it comes crashing down on your head.

Because of the dour economy that is ripping the guts out of our country right now and absolutely crushing the state of Michigan, that story line is all too familiar for a lot of us - me included. Yes, I'll be on the bread line come July 23rd when the Ann Arbor News closes for good after 174-years in the business.

Without knowing it, the same story line played out in symmetrical fashion across town for Brent Newhouse, a fellow golf enthusiast, who had to come to grips with losing his job last June at Pfizer where he worked several years as a supervisor in operations.

What to do? Certainly it's a question that I, Brent, or anyone else who ever lost their job has to ask. For Brent, the answer was not going to be move to Connecticut where a lot of the Pfizer employees were relocated. Still, with a wife and a 2-year-old, he had to do something, but what?

The what turned out to be WeekendWarriorGolfer.com, a new website founded by Newhouse that launched earlier this year. The site is aimed at the "regular guy" golfer looking to play a course that offers both enjoyment and value. Newhouse can relate, because he feels like he's that "regular guy."

Brent and I got together Wednesday morning (June 3rd) at Radrick Farms in Ann Arbor to play 18 and talk about everything from the economy, to courses we love, to his decision to stay in Michigan and gut it out.

We had a great time playing one of my, and his, favorite courses (a review on Radrick to follow) but we had an equally great time just being outdoors, strolling a quality chunk of real estate, enjoying what I would call a perfect day for walking a golf course.

In fact, one of the first things Newhouse told me was how much weight he's lost since getting out from behind a desk to start his new venture of playing and reviewing golf courses.

For some, it may sound like a cake job, but when you take into consideration the fact that Newhouse not only plays the course, but also has to write, take pictures, sell advertising (which can be a tricky proposition so as not to look as if the review has been bought and paid for) and put it all together in a user-friendly package, well; it's not as easy as it looks.

Still, Newhouse wouldn't have it any other way. His loss of employment has opened up a world where he can chase a dream. A pursuit, he says, made all the easier by a wife who not only supports his new venture, but also encourages him to follow his dream on a daily basis.

Launched in January, the site focuses mainly on courses in Michgan, but also includes other gems that Newhouse has played, like Pebble Beach and Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. It's important to Newhouse to try and tell it like it is when he reviews a course. He wants golfers to know what a course is really like - and not just the golf part, but the whole deal. From the parking lot, to the pro shop counter, to the beer you might drink at the 19th hole, Newhouse wants you to know not only how badly a long, double dogleg par-5 is going to kick your butt, but also if the guy behind the counter was a jerk, or if the hot dog at the turn was the best you ever had. And since he's working for himself, he'll give it to you straight, regardless of the cost of the course, its ranking, or its reputation.

He does this with a course rating system called the Five F's: as in Fee, Friendliness, Fringe (amenities) From First Tee to Handshake Factor, and Fun. The site also features product reviews, contests forums and feature articles.

But why go from a high paying gig at Pfizer, to the relatively unstable world of the web? "People think it always has to be about money," Newhouse said, "but I'm a hundred times happier now than I was then... I was miserable as hell sitting behind a desk all day."

Before the day was done, Newhouse and I extolled on why we love golf so much and it dawned on me that many folks enjoy the game for the very same reasons we do. Yeah, there's the camaraderie, but Newhouse also enjoys the feeling in you get in your hands from a well-struck iron, or the joy you feel when you peel off your golf shoes at the trunk of your car after walking 18, and slip back into something -anything - that's more comfortable.

He wants golfers, and more importantly local Michigan golfers, to know that despite the horrid situation we've been plunged into economically, don't give up the golf. Instead, embrace the golf, make golf be your escape. Save your money wisely, but don't forget to get outside and be human - breathe a little - hit the ball; walk; walk some more, then hit it again.

Brent Newhouse is most likely a golfer just like you- a weekend warrior. He doesn't pretend to be anything more than that, but he gets it, he really does, and he wants you to get it to.

Swinging in the rain: An insider's view of Michigan's improbable run through the NCAA Division I Golf Championships at Inverness Country Club

2009-05-30T21:53:00.018-04:00

Michigan coach Andrew Sapp, right, hugs Bill Rankin after Rankin conceded his match to Texas A & M's Matt Van Zandt ending the Wolverine's run through the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships, Friday, May 29th at Inverness C.C. in Toledo.

Rankin just misses chipping in for par on the 18th hole.

Below: Alexander Sitompul watches his tee shot soar through the rain on the 8th hole during first round action Tuesday morning.

For whatever reason, the combination of me, a camera, and Inverness Country Club in Toledo, Ohio, equals precipitation and amazing finishes.

The first time I visited the storied club was a soggy PGA Championship Sunday in August of 1986. Australian golfer Greg Norman was relatively unknown on these shores at the time, but that Sunday he found himself on the eve of history as he waited in a hospitality tent with a young golfer from Oklahoma by the name of Bob Tway. I was there too, waiting with both Tway and Norman, their caddies, a few officials, and a volunteer or two.

As heavy rains pelted down, we would wait, and wait, and wait some more. After waiting nearly an hour, courtesy carts were dispatched to take the golfers and their caddies back to the clubhouse. I guess the fact Mallard ducks were swimming in the bunkers made it an easy call to move the final round to Monday.

Of course the rest is history. Tway would start a string of heartbreaking losses for Norman by holing out of a greenside bunker on the 18th hole to defeat the Shark. To this day the bunker is known as Tway's Twap.

On Tuesday, nearly 23-years after my last trip to Inverness, it seemed like deja vu all over again as I stood in a downpour wrestling with my two cameras and an umbrella while trying to photograph Michigan's Alexander Sitompul teeing off on the 8th hole.

The fact I was there was somewhat miraculous. Michigan was the last team to qualify for the NCAA Division I Golf Championships at Inverness, and it took an amazing final round in their regional the week before in Austin, Texas, just to squeak in. Expectations were low, but there I was, covering the Wolverines in the first of three rounds of stroke play before the 30-team field was cut down to eight for the match play finals.

Just being there seemed accomplishment enough, making it to the finals would be a pipe dream, right? After all, powerhouse teams like Georgia, Oklahoma State, and USC were in the field. Not to mention Florida, Duke and Wake Forest. I mean really, what were the chances Michigan could advance any further than 54 holes of stroke play?

Well, if the odds were slim, someone forgot to tell that to the Wolverine golfers who played three solid days of golf and found themselves alone in 6th place after the third day of competition. Led by sophomore's Alexander Sitompul, who finished in 6th place individually, and Lion Kim, who posted a top 20 finish, the Wolverines headed into the match play quarterfinals Friday morning against a USC team that came roaring back from oblivion on Thursday by posting a 5-under-par team score. Kim was the hero of the day sinking an 8-footer to save par on 18, starting a celebration among his teammates and coaches on the hillside next to the green. When I asked Kim if he was nervous standing over his critical putt, he just smiled and said, "Well, if I told you I wasn't nervous, I'd be lying."

Okay, so the Cinderella story ends here, right? This is where they get dusted, right?

Wrong.

Once again, lead by Sitompul and Kim, Michigan beat the Trojans 3 matches to 2, and found themselves in the golfing equivalent of the final four. Kim put the exclamation point on the victory when he stuck a 18-degree hybrid a foot from the pin on his 212-yard approach shot at the 17th hole, closing out his match with USC's Matt Giles.

Next up was Texas A & M. Amazingly, the Wolverines were only one win away from a berth in the finals, a completely unheard of proposition three days earlier.

But what started as a beautiful day, suddenly changed when a low front began sweeping through northern Ohio, clouding up the skies and dropping the temperatures nearly 15 degrees. Just for good measure, the front also started pumping 25 mph wind gusts across the course.

To this point it had rained at some point during every day of the competition, making me a perfect 4 for 4 on rainy days at Inverness. I thought my streak was over Friday morning when there wasn't a cloud in the sky, but sure enough, by Friday afternoon I was standing behind the 4th green (the furthest point from the clubhouse) when the skies darkened and rain began to fall.

Still, the action was riveting. The Sitompul/Kim show came grinding to a halt that afternoon. Especially for the long-hitting Sitompul (when I say long-hitting, I mean long, he hit his drive pin high at the 353-yard 18th on Tuesday) who ran into a buzz saw in Texas A & M's Andrea Pavan. Pavan birdied the first three holes and five of the first nine in his match against Sitompul. Before he knew what hit him, Sitompul was staring at a 8 & 7 thumping.

Kim hung in there a little longer, although not much. Visibly tired by his week of coming through in the clutch for Michigan, Kim was beaten 4 and 3 by A & M's Bronson Burgoon leaving any lingering heroics up to teammates Nick Pumford, Bill Rankin and Matt Thompson.

Pumford didn't disappoint, earning Michigan's first point of the day with a 2 & 1 victory over Conrad Schindler. Thompson too, was solid, battling it out against A & M's monster of a golfer, John Hurley. Hurley made mincemeat out of Inverness's 8th hole earlier in the week, blasting a 381-yard drive and a 7-iron approach into the long par-5 setting up a relatively easy eagle, if that's even possible.

With Hurley and Thompson going back and forth, it came down to Rankin's match against A & M's Matt Van Zandt. Trailing 2 down with three holes to play, it didn't look good for Rankin, or Michigan. But Rankin knocked his approach to 15-feet on No. 16, while Van Zandt left his approach short.

After chipping to 3-feet, it appeared Rankin would need to jar his birdie putt to win the hole - he missed. But with the nerves of the match perhaps getting the best of him, Van Zandt lipped out his short par putt and now his lead over Rankin was down to 1-up with two to play.

Both players hit wayward tee shots through the strong cross winds buffeting the 17th hole, Van Zandt's landing up against the lip of a fairway bunker on the right and Rankin's in the left rough. Van Zandt blasted out into the fairway, but Rankin could only advance his shot out of the rough about 100-yards, once again in the left rough.

Van Zandt then knocked his third shot to 18-feet putting the heat on Rankin, who somehow counterpunched by slashing out of the rough to 8-feet. When Van Zandt missed his par putt, Rankin found himself in position to draw all square in the match. The roar that echoed through the trees of Inverness told the story - Rankin dropped the putt.

With Thompson and Hurley still all square behind them with three holes to play, all eyes were on the Rankin/Van Zandt match as they headed to the 18th tee all square themselves. With the pressure mounting, both players blew their drives well right into the rough. From there, Rankin took several minutes to pull the trigger, backing off on at least three occasions before finally hitting his approach, which landed pin high at the back of the green, but with no spin coming out of the rough, there was nothing Rankin could do but plead as his ball trickled off the steeply sloped putting surface and into a bunker behind the green.

Van Zandt then countered with a similar shot from the rough, but 20-yards closer. From there Van Zandt was able to launch his approach high enough to get it to check up and stop pin high 18-feet from the hole.

With the advantage firmly in Van Zandt's favor, Rankin could only hope to emulate Bob Tway 22-years before him. Unfortunately for the Wolverine senior captain, he blasted out of the trap only to watch in horror as his ball ran past the pin, then continued to run until it disappeared off the far side of the green. This time, from the deep rough, Rankin nearly did pull off a Tway, lipping out his par-saving chip before it too, ran several feet past the hole. Now staring at at least a bogey, Rankin, somewhat surprisingly, conceded his match without even making Van Zandt attempt a putt, thus ending the Wolverines improbable run from barely squeaking in, to actually making the final four of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Golf Championships.

With tears welling up in his already fatigued-reddened eyes, Rankin was hugged by his equally emotional teammates and coaches as Texas A & M players celebrated a few yards away. The Aggies went on to win the title on Saturday, defeating Arkansas 3 matches to 2, but something tells me their semifinal match with Michigan will be the one that sticks out most when they look back or their week in Toledo.

Ironically, Bob Tway was there all week as well, cheering on his son Kevin who plays for Oklahoma State. I wonder what was going through his head as he roamed the grounds of his incredible win over Norman nearly 23-years earlier. I also wonder how this group of Michigan golfers will feel the next time they visit or play at Inverness. They're young men right now; some of them may be headed to careers in professional golf, some may not, but I feel certain, that at some point in their future, each and every one of them: Kim, Sitompul, Pumford, Thompson and Rankin, will return to the course and remember this week as one of the best in their lives.

Washtenaw Country Club - A beautiful day on a beautiful course

2009-05-22T22:12:00.018-04:00

Top: Washtenaw Country Club head professional John Myers tees off on the third hole. Below: The club's 16th hole.

Nothing beats playing a great golf course on a beautiful day. This is especially true if you're lucky enough to be playing in great company.

This past Thursday (May 21) I was lucky enough to do just that.

Earlier this year I wrote a column for The Ann Arbor News called "Thoughts on Golf." The column spoke specifically about the financial troubles of Washtenaw Country Club and the potential sale of the club to Washtenaw Community College (seemingly a perfect fit, wouldn't even have to change the initials).

The potential sale of the private course (for a paltry $1.9 million) fell through after a storm of opposition began to swell publicly over the sale. It wasn't the loss of the course that had the public in an uproar, it was the loss of the tax base if the college took over the property. What got lost in all the bickering was just how nice a golf course WCC really is.

After my column ran I got an e-mail from John Myers, the head golf professional at WCC. Myers appreciated the fact that I had gone to bat for his home course and invited me out to play once golf season arrived (my column ran in February).

I took Myers up on his offer, and late Thursday afternoon, the two of us set out to play the third oldest club in the state of Michigan.

First off, let it be known that I've played WCC five or six times before, but never this early in the year, and never with a golf professional. If any of you have played with a professional before, then you know it can potentially be intimidating. Let's face it, none of us want to totally embarrass ourselves in front of anyone, let alone a pro.

But John Myers is a great guy. Very forthright, funny, and probably the fastest player I've ever seen. Warming up wasn't even an option for Myers as we strolled to the third tee (skipping past a few groups to start on an open hole) where he pulled out his driver, teed up his Titleist and let it rip. (if I did that, the only thing ripping would be an oblique muscle, or perhaps a rotator cuff).

The third hole at Washtenaw is a relatively easy par 5 that measures 511 yards from the tips. Playing downwind, I actually reached the green in two and managed a two-putt birdie. The next hole, No. 4, is a great par 3 measuring 172 yards - this time into the wind. Both John and I struck pretty solid iron shots that ballooned in the wind before drifting left and coming up short of the green. With the pin tucked a pace or two from the front left side of the green, I had no idea how I was going to get the ball even remotely close to the pin on the firm, fast greens. After virtually declaring the shot unplayable, I holed out for birdie. Two holes, two birdies. Crazy start.

For the next several holes, Myers and I talked about the uncertain future of the club as we strolled up and down (and sometimes in and out) of the tree-lined fairways. With the club in financial peril, Myers predicted the bank would settle for less than the $1.9 million previously offered as a selling point to the community college. Rumor mills have kicked out the idea of Eastern Michigan University ridding itself of Eagle Crest (selling it to the Marriott) and buying WCC. This option seemed to sit all right with Myers, as I expect it would with any Eastern Michigan University golf team member.

Myers also pointed out that the public is invited to come play WCC this year with one day membership passes. The club has offered this deal to not only let non-members experience country club life for a day, but also to try and drive up future membership. Myers noted that the club has lost 10-15 members this year due to the club's situation.

The cost of a membership at WCC also has dipped. Interested golfers now may join the club for $4,000 a year. This includes all the perks that come with a membership as well as 10 free guest passes. Normally a guest would pay $50-$75 to play WCC, so the free guest pass perk is a huge one.

In between official club talk, Myers and I chatted about the course's beauty, and trust me, it is a beautiful course. With rolling hills, century-old hardwoods wreaking havoc on wayward shots and smooth-as-glass undulating greens, you owe it to yourself to take advantage of the one-day membership deal.

It's not a long course, tipping out at 6,564 yards, but that doesn't mean it's easy. "When I saw the yardage on this course I thought I would eat it up." Myers said. "But that's not the case." Stray off the tee even a little, and soon you'll be an expert at punching out from under trees. Myers is a particular master of this skill, because, as he put it, "I've had a lot of practice."

Perhaps Myers and I hit it off so well because we're both Ohio natives. In fact, it turns out he grew up playing with Buddy Bell's sons when Bell played for the Cleveland Indians (Bell was my childhood hero). Over the course of our round we talked as much about Buddy Bell and Jack Brohammer as we did about golf.

Myers came to WCC last year after former professional Jim Wilson left for another job. Prior to that, he worked several years as an assistant pro under Doug White at Barton Hills CC. A very boyish-looking 37, Myers looks as if he just graduated from high school, but he's a traditionalist at heart. He appreciates the beauty of a course like WCC over the modern-era golf community courses. He fondly recalls the days of persimmon and balata, and he easily relates to the joy of a well-struck iron shot, no matter where it ends up.

"I always thought a good round was one where I struck the ball well," he said, "no matter what I shot."

After a much-too-quick nine holes, Myers had to leave for family plans, but he was more than happy to let me continue my round solo. With nary a sole on the course, I had the place to myself. The rest of my round was magical. The light was stunning, the course was in pristine shape and I actually found I'm a pretty good putter if I'm putting on good greens, and these greens were better than good.

For me, the best part of WCC is the variety of shots that you must hit. This is no blast it off the tee and wedge it to the green golf course. Several holes take the driver out of your hand, and those are the holes you remember best once your round is through.

The 7th and 8th holes, for example, are two of the best little par 4's you'll ever play. No. 7 plays from an elevated tee and doglegs slightly right to a severely-sloped green tucked up nice and snug next to a pond. (It's the hole you can see from Packard as you drive by the club). Eight is just the opposite, an uphill, dogleg left to an elevated, two-tiered green that Myers admits "has only two places you can put a pin."

The collection of par 3's at WCC are off the charts as well. All are fairly long, save for No. 12 which tops out at 150-yards, and all are well protected by bunkers, or, in the case of No. 12, a water hazard behind the green.

Still, for my money the best two holes on the course are No.'s 15 and 16. Tracking in opposite directions, both holes carve through the woods and put a premium on putting your tee shot in the perfect place if you want to have a reasonable shot at the pin. Measuring only 373 yards, but bending to the right just enough to make you wish you were Jack Nicklaus pounding a 300-yard power fade, No. 15 is just a classic-looking, old, golf course hole.

The 16th is even better. From an elevated tee box, the 16th hole tempts you to blast away, but beware, a water hazard sits in wait 250-yards down the fairway. At 330-yards you need to do the math and realize (as I amazingly did) you need only to hit a 200-yard tee shot to be in good shape. The three-iron I hit downhill and downwind came to rest a mere 100-yards from the green. A little gap wedge later, and I had a stress-free par.

The finishing holes at WCC give you more of the same. No. 17 is a 400-yard, dead-straight par 4 that has a green sloping so severely from back to front, you can roll something all the way to the back of the green and know it will come back.

The last hole at WCC has you teeing off to a blind landing spot. Not a problem if you don'tget too greedy. Like No. 16, a pond lies in wait at the base of the hill where you are trying to land your tee shot. Luckily, the nice folks at WCC leave a first cut of rough in front of the water hazard to help keep your ball dry in case you catch one a little too well.

The 18th green sits at the base of a hill next to the clubhouse making a nice spectator spot for any friends (or foes) to make you nervous while you try avoiding an embarrassing three-putt to finish your round.

Any way you slice it (or hook it) WCC is a great golf course. And now, thanks to Myers and the rest of the club's courteous members, you get the chance to play it. Take my advice, don't pass it up.

Linemen on the Links

2009-05-18T21:37:00.014-04:00

Former Michigan running back Mike Hart laughs after hitting a brutal drive off the 10th tee at the University of Michigan Golf Course during Sunday, May 17th's Brian Griese and Steve Hutchinson Champions For Children's Hearts Golf Classic.

Former offensive lineman Steve Everitt displays his best golf apparel while preparing to hit a driver off the deck from 195 yards out on the 18th hole. Oh. did I mention the pond in front of the 18th green? Everitt's ball now swims with the fishes.

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and all around were tour-sized staff bags filled with Mizunos, Callaways, Titleists, Nikes and Pings.

Millionaire athletes strolled about the putting green of the famed Alistir MacKenzie layout. Yes sir, this was a golf tournament all right, and like most tournaments there was a ton of money to be raised for charity. But this was no ordinary group of millionaire golfers striping 300-yard tee shots with a slight draw down the middle of the fairway. No, this group was more likely to contain 300-pounders than 300-yarders.

Welcome to the Brian Griese and Steve Hutchinson Champions For Children's Hearts Golf Classic at the University of Michigan Golf Course.

Held Sunday, May 17th, the tournament once again brought in a ton of money for the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital (more than $650,000) while also bringing together some of Michigan's finest gridiron stars, both young and old.

I've covered many high-profile golf tournaments in my career: the Ryder Cup, a U.S. Open, two PGA's, as well as several Buick Opens, but until Sunday, I'd never covered a UM charity scramble, and when I say scramble, I mean that literally.

When photographing a professional golfer, it doesn't really matter all that much where you set up as long as you wait until he's struck the ball before you press the shutter (see "Tiger Woods tantrums" if you shoot too soon) This is not the case when shooting a professional football player. It became painfully obvious that hitting another human being in shoulder pads and a helmet is not exactly akin to hitting a golf ball off a tee - no matter how expensive the driver.

This, of course, made it extremely challenging for me, a photographer, to try and get a decent shot of these monsters at play. For example, just how far off the intended target line should I stand in hopes of getting a decent shot without having to worry about taking my teeth home in my hand?

The answer to that question turned out to be - it doesn't matter where you stand, your life could be in grave danger (never underestimate the power of a golf ball ricocheting off the curb of a paved cart path).

After watching former Michigan lineman Adam Kraus nearly kill a cart girl who was parked roughly 50 yards in front, and 50-yards left of the 10th hole tee box, with a drive hit pretty much sideways off the heel of his driver, traveling roughly at the speed of sound about foot off the ground, I decided standing behind the golfer may be the safest place.

That's not to say that some of these former players can't play. When Elvis Grbac, Michigan quarterback from 1989-92, strolled onto the grounds with his name emblazoned on his Mizuno staff bad, I kind of figured he could play. Turns out I was right, Grbac is a scratch player who competes regularly on the celebrity golf circuit.

Other sticks included kicker Jay Feeley, who can crush a drive about the equivalent of a 60-yard field goal, and tournament host Brian Griese, himself.

For some reason, quarterbacks and kickers make for the best golfers. Lineman and running backs? Not so much. I'm guessing it has something to do with weight transfer. Whether you're throwing a ball or kicking one, you have to shift your weight for power, same as a golf swing. Of course shifting weight doesn't mean a damn thing to a ball carrier, receiver, blocker or tackler, unless the weight you're talking about is the 280 pound opponent being put on his ass. And this lack of being able to transfer weight correctly shows up in embarrassing fashion on the links.

But hey, these guys are totally cool - cooler than you would ever expect. Every player was extremely gracious and some even let yours truly join in on the fun and smack a drive or two with their group.

Aaron Shea, Tyrone Wheatley, Steve Everitt, Jake Long, Mike Hart, Kraus and Grbac, friendly guys all. As I'm sure most of the other players I didn't meet were as well. Besides, it wasn't really about the golf, it was about the charity. And this event has gotten so popular over the years they're actually talking about adding another course (perhaps Radrick Farms?) for next year so they don't have to turn anyone away.

At any rate, it was a fun day spent with some superstar athletes on a place I feel more comfortable than anywhere on earth - a golf course. Although I'm pretty sure I can safely say they didn't feel quite the same level of comfort - at least from a golfing perspective.

Ode to Rossie

2009-05-15T18:23:00.003-04:00

I just got home and flipped on ESPN to see what was going on in the sports world today. As is my usual custom, I checked out the scroll on the bottom of the screen and the first thing I saw was that former PGA champion Bob Rosburg had died at the age of 82.

"No, not Rossie." I thought to myself.

Strange how we feel we know someone we've never met, but that's exactly how I, and I'm guessing many other golfers from my, and older generations, feel about Rossie.

Truth is I never saw Bob Rosburg hit a single golf shot, but boy could be describe one. Hell, I didn't even know what Rossie looked like for several years, but I sure knew his voice.

Aside from Ken Venturi, who else would you trust with the correct knowledge of what was about to be attempted by a professional golfer?

I vividly remember my friend Joe Simpson mimicking Rossie on every shot that he, I, or my cousin John would attempt, that was even remotely difficult while roaming the fairways of Thunderbird Hills in Huron, Ohio as a 13-year-old (the year I took up golf).

Even if it was something as simple as a punch shot out from underneath a fairly high overhanging branch, Joe would do a spot-on Rossie, declaring "he's got absolutely no shot, Kenny" before we'd miraculously pull it off.

Of course we took Rossie's famous on-course line and started applying it to ridiculously easy shots like 3-foot putts (oddly prophetic for me these days since I can't seem to make a damn one) as well as other incredibly easy tasks, like passing my driving test. To this day, when the three of us somehow stumble together to actually play a round of golf, we usually utter Rossie's famous phrase right before we tee off on the first hole.

I guess I'm getting old, because the broadcasters I grew up with, all seem to be falling by the wayside, either through death or retirement. I'll miss Rossie, just like I miss Ken Venturi and Pat Summerall. One of Rossie's fellow golf broadcasters, and Ann Arbor resident, Mike Tirico, a co-worker of Rossie's for 12 years at ABC, called him "the smartest man I ever worked with."

That's a pretty hefty compliment coming from a broadcaster who has done as much, and covered as many sports as Tirico has over the years.

That's not saying that there aren't a lot of talented on-course broadcasters out there today. Peter Kostis, Roger Maltbie, David Feherty, Gary McCord, heck, even Bobby Clampett and Dottie Pepper come to mind. But I'm sure if you asked any of them if they could fill the void left behind by Bob Rosburg's death, they'd be the first to quote his famous line -

"there's absolutely no chance."

What more can you say than that?

Welcome golfers

2009-05-13T09:20:00.000-04:00

Just an introduction.

My name is Lon Horwedel and for the past 15-years I've been a staff photographer at The Ann Arbor News.

For the past three years I've also written a weekly column and last year I was the golf writer for The News.

Why start a blog about golf?

Well, last year I received such a positive response to both the golf course reviews and the feature stories that ran each week in The News, that it only made sense to continue. The only problem is this year, after 174-years in the business, The Ann Arbor News will cease publication in July. Many folks in the golf community have asked if I would continue writing. The answer is yes.

This blog will pick up where I left off last year with course reviews and feature stories dealing with the local (southeast Michigan) golf scene.

Why should I read your blog?

With over 30-years of golfing experience, never worse than a 6 handicap, never better than a 1.6 (currently a 2) I'm a golfer who can relate to the good player as well as the novice.

I'm a short hitter who plays nearly all of his golf solo, meaning I hook up with a lot of folks I don't know.

That's OK, I enjoy meeting people on the various links in the area, be they players, teaching pros, or even the average hacker. Whatever the skill level, I feel I can relate.

I also play all my golf on foot so I get a real feel for a course and its design.

And since I'm a professional photographer, you will benefit by seeing better than average photo galleries from the courses I review and the subjects I feature.

Also, in the near future you will be able to access the archive I built up from last year's golf season.

Starting next week, I'll kick off the season with Washtenaw Country Club, a private course in Ypsilanti.

The feature on WCC will include both a course review as well as an interview with their new pro John Myers dealing with the odd situation the club has found itself in due to our lovely economy.

Stay tuned -

Lon