Pacific Grove, California, United States of America (2)

Normally, I'd give you a rundown of what I did today, but I really only did one thing. 19 at Pebble Beach. Here's a retro diary of my day with photos along the way.

WARNING! This post is heavy on golf lingo.

7:00am - I get up and start pacing around the hotel room.

7:30am - I iron my shorts. My shorts have never been ironed before.

8:00am - Now dressed, and wearing my Pebble Beach shirt I bought 4 years ago. Kinda feel like the guy who wears the t-shirt of the band he's going to see.

8:15am - Wander over to the lobby for complimentary muffins. I manage to get half a muffin down. Nothing feels normal.

8:30am - Get in the car and take the scenic route towards the course. It's actually labeled Scenic Route on the local signage. That is until the end, and then it becomes 17 Mile Drive. Not a bad way to start the day.


9:00am - Arrive at the course and head into the pro shop to see if my credit card will even let this whole fiasco happen.

9:05am - Payment of $600 dollars goes through and I'm officially pumped. Grab my rentals and head for the range.

9:10am - You get shuttled in a van to the range. For real.

9:15am - The driving range has Callaway Tour balls. Feel like I should pull a tin cup and snag a few for later.

9:45am - After hitting it well on the range, head to the chipping green. More range balls.

9:55am - Hole out two bunkers shots on the chipping green (made two in my entire life on the course). I'm officially frightened. Never play well after hitting it well on the range.

10:00am - After getting shuttled back to the first tee, I hit up the putting green. Heard a few people mention over the last few days that the greens were really fast. Putting green seems manageable to me.

10:15am - Stop inside and chat with a friend I made in the retail shop.

10:25am - Grab a water and a banana to tide me over until after 9. I'm standing there with a fiver reading to pay. It costs $5.75. Should've seen that coming.

10:30am - Watching the group before me tee off. Lots of people around. Getting jittery.

10:35am - Meet my playing partner for the day and find out that we will be playing as a twosome. That's good news, more time to find my golf ball.

10:40am - I'm standing on the tee. Completely amazed. Everything is a blur.

10:45am - Now staring at a bad lie in the rough with a narrow opening through the trees to the green and several people that I need to avoid. I'm holding on to my golf club like there's no tomorrow.


10:50am - First hole is done, and so is my hope for a good score on the front 9. Starting with a triple.

10:55am - Almost hit it off the planet on the 2nd tee, but scramble around for a bogey. Turns out the first two holes are pretty much two of the worst holes. Can't wait to turn for the ocean.

11:25am - Make it to the 3rd hole. Wander back to see where the pros play from in the US Open. Promptly walk back to the Gold tees.


11:30am - Pipe a 5 wood down the middle, 100 yards in. Nail a sandwedge on the green. Aimed away from the flag because I'm sure it's in the bunker. Birdie putt. Starting to feel good again about golf.

11:35am - Without fail, 3 wiggle.

11:45am - The 4th hole is uphill? I did not know this.


11:50am - After mentioning that I might hit my tee shot in the ocean and my partner saying that would be almost impossible, I hit my tee shot in the ocean.

12:00pm-1:00m - This process repeats itself on holes 5 and 6.


12:50pm - I stand on the spot where Tiger hit 7 iron from the rough onto the green in the 2001 US Open. It's now fairway, and still impossible.


1:00pm - The 7th hole is a thing of beauty. Could stand there all day long.


1:10pm - I hit a horrific drive on 8 that looks like it's about to fall into the ocean. I walk up and find my ball 1 yard from falling down a 100ft cliff. Going to have a hard time lining this one up.


1:12pm - Promptly hit my second shot into the ocean. Waaaayyyy into the ocean. The hole is officially a trainwreck.

1:25pm - 9th hole has a mile of space to the right. I end up 2 yards from hitting it in the ocean again. At this point I notice that I've burned through 2 sleeves of balls already and I only brought 3 sleeves. I start wondering if I'm going to end up needing to buy balls at the turn, on go Roy McAvoy style on my last ball.

1:30pm - Hit my 3rd shot in the schmag left of the green and in the process of searching for my ball, step on 4 balls that aren't mine. Somehow find my ball after all that. None the less, triple.


1:35pm - FOOOOOODDD!!! (albeit, over priced food)

1:40pm - I feel rejuvenated. Time to play. I hit driver 30 yards left of the fairway and nearly kill several foreign workers. But I end up with a great angle to the green.

1:45pm - My second shot requires a gentle fade to a miniature green (I wasn't prepared for how tiny the greens really are at Pebble). If I missed right, another ball goes away. But with the new-found confidence of finding 4 golf balls and a Corona I rip one right at the green.


1:55pm - Embarrassing tee shot on 11. And the beat goes on. Double.

2:15pm - Miss a few makeable bogey putts and realize that I'm starting to string together a non-embarrassing stretch.


2:30pm - Get to the 14th hole. It's hard. Real hard. 560 yards, uphill. This isn't too bad but I double-cross myself off the tee and leave myself about 450 yards in for my 2nd shot. After two more fairway woods, I'm now near the green and realize that the already tiny green is really only 50% useable. It's so elevated that anything that isn't perfect is getting repelled away. I manage to get a great shot, which ends up being 2 inches from terrible. Somehow miss par by millimetres. Bahhh!


3:00pm - Make a few nondescript bogeys on 15 and 16. Well, I could describe how I hit a great bunker shot from my knees on 16 but I missed the par putt, so who cares.


3:15pm - Back towards the ocean on 17. We back up to the tips. This green is crazy small. I scramble to get within 5 feet for par and finally nail a par putt. I audibly scream "Wooooo!"


3:20pm - The 18th tee. Wow. I can't really write words that explain what it was like to stand there. Or what it was like having to hit a golf ball while there. Such an incredible hole. Everyone should see it in person.


3:25pm - After several photos and videos off the tee box, I find my tee shot between the two fairway bunkers and I rip a hybrid up the right side. Looks like I would be able to get through this hole without a water ball.


3:30pm - I hit a sandwedge directly under the lip of the front bunker with a back pin. Right about now I realize that I have a chance to shoot under a 100 (whoop-ti-do) and I probably just screwed myself. Anyways I get up to the ball and have to hit a full shot and hope. Somehow I pull it off and hit a miracle shot to 5 feet.

3:40pm - I make the putt for par. It felt good. Really good. I parred 17, 18 at Pebble. I couldn't even remember anything before that. It was like it didn't matter. I was grinning like a fool. What a day.