Wegoblogger #31

The Anatomy of a Fake Golf Course: Husker Dunes Golf Club

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:32:00 +0000

Back in March, I entered an amateur golf course design contest on golfclubatlas.com, called the Armchair Architecture Contest, 3rd Edition (AACIII). I entered the previous two iterations of the contests a few years ago and finished second both times. Always the bridesmaid...

This year's contest was set on a 1,000 acre site in the Sand Hills region of Nebraska, an area that I know well. I figured a treeless, linksy site would give me somewhat of a homecourt advantage. 25 people entered the contest, which was whittled down to 8 through a public voting period. The 8 finalists were subject to an expert judging panel of three golf course luminaries: golf course architect Mike Nuzzo (Wolf Point), Tommy Naccarrato (aka The Emperor) and Golf Digest Architecture Guru and Ron Whitten (who also has design credits to his name, including Erin Hills, site of the 2017 U.S. Open, and interestingly enough, the site of the first Armchair contest)

I made the top 8 -- the votes are in and the results will be published on Sunday. Win or lose, it has been an extremely rewarding exercise and has given me a better appreciation of the tough choices and tradeoffs that the professionals have to make when trying to come up with the best 18 holes that they can. Honestly, I'd love the opportunity to build my own golf course someday.

Since everything is final, I can go ahead and publish details of my entry. Please see the Google Slideshow embedded below. I appreciate all comments and feedback, good or bad, in the comment section.

Here's my entry from AACII: Ballyneo

Hole-by-hole pics after the jump...

Rules are Rules*: The Average Golf Fan's Guide to #Dropgate

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 18:04:00 +0000

Happy Masters Sunday! While Phil Mickelson and Rory Mickelson are out of the running, many big names will be on center stage today: Angel Cabrera, Brendt Shnedeker, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Tiger Woods and, of course, Fred Ridley.

Make no mistake, on a day when the world will be plopping their proverbial butts on their proverbial couches to see who will slip on the green jacket, the 2013 Masters will forever be overshadowed by this mess created by the Green Jackets. By all accounts, Fred Ridley is a stand-up guy -- U.S. Amateur champion, Walker Cup participant and captain, former president of the USGA, rules demigod -- with some name recognition by golf die-hards before this week. This weekend he's a household name...and that's not a good thing.

Saturday's telecast, which already starts an agonizing hour later than it should (the retro-fluff pieces they run before the telecast are probably very interesting on any other day of the year, but they are like nails on a chalkboard when you're clamoring for live golf), launched with ten minutes of Ridley trying to defend the ruling with Nantz in the Butler Cabin. In a tournament where the rules officials lay in the weeds instead of following every group, the fact that an emergency press conference and damage-control lead-off were necessary was definitely not a good sign (plus, the officials were already in the spotlight after the Tianlang Guan's slowplay penalty/international incident) The best case scenario is the tournament comes and goes without incident, without us ever seeing or knowing who Ridley is, other than a guy you'd really, really want to have as a golf buddy.

I tracked dropgate closely starting very late Friday night and all through Saturday. I even set an all-time personal record by watching more than five minutes of the Golf Channel. I watched Ridley's press conference in its entirety. I dusted off my copy of the Rules of Golf. Here, in my humble opinion, is a summary of what transpired:

Tiger took a bad drop and played from the wrong spot. He signed for a 71, but should've signed for a 73. Normally this would be grounds for disqualification, however his 71 was actually the correct score at the time, because unbeknownst to him, the Rules Committee had already reviewed the drop and proactively gave him the all clear. So by little more than dumb luck, Tiger did not sign for the wrong score. It was only after Tiger incriminated himself that the Committee reopened the case and realized that 71 wasn't the correct score. His score was then changed to 73.

Got it?

In short, the only reason that Tiger is still playing today is because the Committee supposedly reviewed the footage and said no harm, no foul. If this review hadn't happened until after Tiger had made his comments in the press conference, then they would've had grounds to disqualify him. If Tiger had said nothing in the press conference, but had later realized his mistake while replaying the round in his head, then the right thing to do would be to disqualify himself.

I use the word "supposedly" in the above paragraph for all of you conspiracy theorists out there. I have to admit that as I was watching the press conference yesterday, my B.S. meter was making small blips. Now I freely admit that this is primarily a function of me being a former die-hard baseball and college basketball fan who has seen my once idolized views of sport tarnished beyond recognition. I'm also a guy who has a hard time separating Tiger Woods the golfer from Tiger Woods the man. The tournament founded by Bobby Jones had to be one of the last bastions of purity and integrity, right? Don't take that away from me, please. There's no way the Masters would cave in the name of TV ratings and the almighty dollar, right? They wouldn't just fabricate this whole review story in order to create the loophole for the meal ticket to drive through, would they?

I want to believe Ridley's story that they reviewed the drop and concluded that there was nothing wrong. However, have you seen the video of the drop? In my opinion, Tiger clearly started with arm extended at "the spot" of his last shot, then took a full step back and dropped his ball. I just can't comprehend how somebody would review that footage and definitely say that it was fine. If anything, it would've warranted further investigation.

And guess what? Tiger was on the 18th hole when all of this was (supposedly) happening! If the Committee had just waited 10 minutes to ask Tiger about the drop, all of this would've been cleared up and we wouldn't even be talking about it today. I'm certain that Tiger would've given the same candid responses that he later did, the Committee would've said that's a violation, you need to add two strokes to your score, and we'd have a minor story instead of the major story.

So the Committee screwed up, and Tiger Woods is the beneficiary of their missteps.

We like to rail on the guys who call in these violations, painting them as dudes sitting in their recliners, bag of chips in one hand, Rules of Golf in the other, and 1-800-AUGUSTA on speed dial. My guess is the guys who called in are either other rules officials or other players, and that the switchboard lit up after that drop. I don't think the average viewer knows enough of the rules to recognize a violation or even know what to do or who to contact when they see one.

Couch potato or not, interestingly "the caller" might end up the one saving Tiger from himself. He may have cost him two strokes, but the timing of the call and the initial review are the reason Tiger is still in the tournament. If it happens 30 minutes later, he's DQ'd. If Tiger overcomes this four stroke deficit today, maybe he'll thank the phantom caller(s) (and Ridley) during the already awkward Butler Cabin ceremony.

Augusta Chronicle Photo Superimposed on top of each other (they didn't have the side-by-side lined up quite right, as seen by difference between 'first shot' and 'second shot' at the top): http://www.augusta.com/masters/story/blog/woods-receives-2-shot-penalty-stays-tournament

The USGA created that Harrington rule a couple years ago to protect the golfer against these phone-in violations. The intent of Rule 33-7 was to protect the golfer from things he never could've known about, like things only discovered via Konica Minolta Biz Hub replays in 1080p. There's one problem though, Rule 33-7 isn't meant to protect players against ignorance of the Rules:

"A Committee would not be justified under Rule 33-7 in waiving or modifying the disqualification penalty prescribed in Rule 6-6d if the competitor's failure to include the penalty stroke(s) was a result of either ignorance of the Rules or of facts that the competitor could have reasonably discovered prior to signing and returning his score card."

Oops. This excellent post by Ryan Farb describes how the Committee incorrectly applied Rule 33-7, or at least incorrectly attributed their actions to Rule 33-7. The media, like most of us when we hear a rule expert start talking in numbers and dashes and slashes, heard Ridley say 33-7 over and over again and just ran with it. It wasn't until closer inspection proved this rule to be problematic.

To all who don't get 33-7. Sorry. There's no cure for stupid.
— David Feherty (@Fehertwit) April 14, 2013

[Actually David, there is a cure for stupid. It's Rule 33-7!]

However, as Farb points out, the Committee's actions were in fact correct, using a different rule:

"The appropriate term for this is "Committee Error." If you look at Decision 34-3/1, the Committee is entitled to correct an incorrect ruling in stroke play provided the competition has not closed. They may do so by either rescinding an incorrectly assessed penalty or assessing a penalty not previously given. That is exactly what they did in this case, but the explanations given have been very poor in terms of the Rules of Golf."

And that part of the rule only holds up IF you assume what the Committee did constituted as a ruling. Is a non-ruling still a ruling?

So in the end, the committee acted within its right, did what they thought was fair and Tiger ended up with the same penalty that he would've gotten had they talked it out before he signed the scorecard. We took the scenic route, but ended up with a 'nothing to see here'. Now hopefully we can enjoy the back nine on Sunday just like every other year. Time to go sit my butt on the couch.

4 for 40: My (Five) Hundred Hole Hike Plan for 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 21:26:00 +0000

There are few things crazier than a man who is about to turn 40. Everyone seems to react to it a bit differently. One friend decided to get into "the best shape of his life," a fairly common reaction. I turn 40 this October, and had the misguided notion that I needed to dunk a basketball for the first time in my life, a plan that quite literally has not gotten very high off the ground. Is there something psychologically significant about approaching 40? Something that tells us that our best days are behind us?

Years ago, some enterprising 39-year old golf addict figured out that the 40th birthday is an iron-clad excuse to take a killer golf trip. Like most middle-aged men with young families, any golf trip requires a careful juggling act between spousal support and parental responsibilities. In my house, this usually starts by "floating the concept", which can be something as non-threatening as "Jeff's talking about going to Ireland again" or even more direct like "I got invited to play in this tournament". It's not as much about gaining spousal approval as it is about gauging the initial reaction -- determining whether it's something you want to pursue further. I have concept floating down to a science, though my success rate is driven largely by having an all-world wife (and the fact that I wait until she's half asleep to bring it up...yes, flights have been booked and tee times made based on groggy, incoherent grunts).

For whatever reason, that 40-year old golf trip is a different animal. Whereas most buddy trips require "cashing in some chips", generally wives are completely on-board with the special 40-year old trip. Some even do all the planning! A friend last year left us all speechless and completely envious when he was heading straight from our weekend at Ballyneal to San Francisco for a round that his wife set-up for him at Cypress Point! Other friends have set-up similar once-in-a-lifetime trips to Monterey, Australia, Ireland and Bandon.

With that as a backdrop, my beautiful wife Sue repeatedly asked me, "what do you want to do for your 40th birthday?" Immediately, I gravitated to some of those same popular golf destinations mentioned above. But eventually, my heart and head brought me back to Hundred Hole Hike and wanting to do something to raise awareness for the event in general and hopefully a lot of money for a worthwhile cause. Eventually, I had one of the single greatest moments of enlightenment in my 39 years and 4 months of existence: why not do both?

Today, I'm thrilled and slightly terrified to present the following...

Pinehurst.
Ballyneal.
St. Andrews.
Cabot Links.

Four world-class golf destinations. Four of the top 100 golf courses in the world. Four once-in-a-lifetime trips in 15 days. Four Hundred Hole Hikes or bust.

All of this will walking will be to raise awareness and money for the Solich Caddie & Leadership Academy at CommonGround Golf Course in Denver. The academy can be viewed as a feeder program for the Evans Scholarship Foundation -- essentially it identifies 8th graders from the diverse neighborhoods surrounding the course, teaches them the ropes about caddying while also providing life-skills and leadership training. After two summers of CommonGround, the academy graduates will migrate to the caddie programs at private clubs in the Denver area, where they will continue to gain valuable experience and hopefully be considered for an Eisenhower-Evans Scholarship.

After learning more about the academy from my friend Jim Urbina and Ed Mate, the Executive Director of the Colorado Golf Association, I knew this was the program that I wanted to promote and support for my 2013 hike. I see four benefits from the program:

1. Providing a path for success for a young person who might not otherwise get the opportunity.
2. Exposing kids to the game of golf who likely would never touch a club otherwise. As a former caddie whose love for the game, like many others, was cemented during Monday rounds at the private club where I caddied, I often wonder if the mass migration from caddie golf to cart golf has wiped out a generation of future golfers.
3. Providing an incentive for golfers to try a caddie and walk the golf course instead of immediately hopping on a cart. The program essentially subsidizes the base caddie fee for the golfer, eliminating any economic reason for not taking a caddie.
4. Building a successful program and operating model that could leveraged in other parts of the U.S.

With you support, my hope is that my Hundred Hole Hike can help make progress on all four fronts. For more information about the program, please feel free to reach out to Ed Mate at edmate@cogolf.org

Now, back to this trip. Here is the specific itinerary and details about each hike.

Pinehurst - June 17th (144 holes)

I will be driving from Chicago to North Carolina with the family for a mini-road trip. In the middle of all this, we have a Colton family reunion in Tennessee later in the week, so why not make it a family affair! The original plan was to play all 8 courses at Pinehurst, 1 through 8 in order. However, one of the courses will likely be closed for maintenance that day, so the plan is to play seven different courses and start and finish with a round on the famed No. 2 course. Note that June 17th will be one-year away from Pinehurst being smackdab in the middle of hosting both the U.S. Open and U.S. Womens Open in back-to-back weeks, truly a historic event!

Ballyneal - June 24th (155 holes)

After driving back from Tennessee on or around June 22nd, I'll be hopping on a plane to Denver to join my brethren at Ballyneal. In a nod to my good friend Ben Cox, I'll be attempting to walk 155 holes again. Let's just hope that it's not 107 degrees like last year.

St Andrews - June 27th (100 holes)

There simply can't be a more ideal place in the world to spend a full day on the golf course than at the Home of Golf. I will be joining my good friends Todd Rohrer from The Mackenzie Golf Bag Company and Josh Evenson. They are looking to endow a golf scholarship at the University of St. Andrews. The Hundred Hole Hike event will correspond very closely with the 600-year anniversary of the University, which will forever be known in the Colton household as The University of Why Didn't I go to School Here? Details are still TBD, but it looks like our hike will begin and end at the Old Course (hopefully, we can avoid Peter Dawson's new bunkers at the 2nd), with other rounds mixed in at the other Links Trust courses nearby.

Cabot Links - July 1st (100 holes)

From the oldest links course in the world to the newest. Cabot Links in Nova Scotia opened last year to rave reviews. It's been on my bucket list well before opening, and can't wait to play it 5 or 6 times, in one day. I'm even more excited to be joined by Ben Cowan-Dewar, co-owner of the resort and the one person most responsible for turning this golf dream into reality. Even more special is the fact that we'll be hiking on Canada Day, Canada's version of the 4th of July.

Adding all that it up, it means:

85,000 Frequent Flier Miles Cashed In
9,825 Miles by Air
2,626 Miles by Car
~165 Miles by Foot

and 499 holes hiked for charity!

Let's just round that up to 500. If I have to crawl on my hands and knees, we'll eke out an extra hole somewhere.

Please go to HundredHoleHike.com or http://hundredholehike.com/golfers/jim-colton to view my hiker profile.

Streamsong Battle: Red vs. Blue?

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 16:53:00 +0000

Streamsong: How do you split 10 rounds at Streamsong?

The (Nearly) 40-Year Old (PGA Show) Virgin

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 06:02:00 +0000

Over the course of a man's life, certain dates just stick out as landmark events. First kiss (Beth Weckler, October 23, 1989). First date with your future wife (October 9, 1993). 21st birthday. (October 20, 1994) Wedding day (September 4, 1999) First "time" (ditto). Kids being born. First 155-hole marathon for charity (June 22, 2011). First dunk (TBD).

Then there's January 25, 2013. After 39 years, 3 months and 5 days of anticipation, I finally popped my PGA Show cherry.

The PGA Merchandise Show is golf's Super Bowl. Every January, the Orange County Convention Center is filled with golf industry insiders, buyers, reps, media, celebrities and entrepreneurs looking to see the hot products for the upcoming year. For the Average Joe like you or me, this usually means being on the outside looking in. Our only glimpse of the action is from YouTube clips, GolfWRX threads or equipment blog posts. To me, the PGA show has always looked like a magical fairyland of golf gadgetry. Oh what I wouldn't do for one of those badges.

Thanks to my good friends at TRUE linkswear and my self-labeled 'Brand Ambassador' title, I bagged a badge. It was on like Donkey Kong.

The show runs from Thursday to Saturday, with a huge demo day on Wednesday to boot. I flew in on Thursday night, so only had one day to see as much as possible. Like a kid on Christmas morning, I woke up ridiculously early and couldn't get back to sleep. 9:00 AM couldn't come fast enough.

Probably like many other first timers before me, my experience got off to a clunky start. My mentor/chaperone/sage show guru/fellow One Divot board member/friend Tom had an appointment in the morning, so I was left to wander the floor on my own. After seeing the rows and rows of apparel outfitters and other soft goods exhibits, I felt overwhelmed. I made over to the TMAG (Taylor Made, Adidas, Ashworth, Adams) exhibit, though exhibit doesn't really do it justice. You go through a dark tunnel to a separate wing, essentially Taylor Made has its own show within the show. I shall call it Conglomerica.

From the look of the entrance and some of the stories I'd heard, I expected smoke machines, laser light shows, DJ DJ (Dustin Johnson) cutting and scratching on the 1s and 2's, free giveaways and cirque du soleil performers on a high-wire acrobatically dodging range balls hit by patrons below. Instead, I entered a half-empty room with a bunch of dudes in sportcoats, some clubs scattered about and Adele playing on the loudspeakers. I wandered around aimlessly before noticing a room mark LETHAL with a bouncer manning the entrance. This had to be important. Fully expecting to get put into a half-nelson, I approached the intimidating figure.

"You want to get some free golf balls?" the bouncer asked.

"Yeah, who doesn't," I replied.

"Aiight. Come right in then."

V-I-P, beaatches! Now I had found my calling. This is what the show was about. The Schwag! Besides, I was playing Streamsong in a few days and needed as many new nuggets as I could get.

Once inside the small room, I waited for a minute while others leaned over the counter to listen to the sales pitch. I could almost see the thought bubbles over their head: "Can I just get my sleeve of balls and get outta here?" I saw some savvy, experienced schwagologists strategically maneuver their way towards the front. Again, I felt out of me league and just left. I'm a Bridgestone guy anyways.

Schwagometer (pronounced Schwa-GOM-eter and not SCHWAG-o-meter): None

Thankfully, all was not lost. I stumbled on the booth for the new TaylorMade R1 driver, the one with the funky racing stripes on the crown. I talked to a nice young woman and explained that I've been a loyal TaylorMade woods guy for a few years now. She seemed impressed enough to offer me a position on the TM staff. On the strength of a handshake agreement, I was officially a member of the TMAG crew! I can't wait to get next month's Golf Digest to see if my 'look like some fan just coughed in your backswing or somebody just reminded you that you missed a 10-footer to win the British Open' staredown will make a full-page ad.

Schwagometer Update: Taylor Made Unleash The Beast Print; possible long-term, incentive-laden equipment contract

Still dazed and confused, I left Club TMAG and entered the main apparel hall. Thankfully, I ran into my good friend, Ballyneal GM Matt Payne and we caught up for a bit. I received a text from Tom, and we agreed to meet up at the booth for Kentwool socks. They were a big supporter of the Hundred Hole Hike, and we wanted to stop by and thank them personally.

We met briefly with Kent at Kentwool. I expressed my gratitude at their support and showed him how I was devoted convert of their products. I made a comment about the wild blue-and-orange striped socks on display (as part of their 19th Hole collection), which matched my Illini colors. He grabbed a pair and just handed them to me. "Here, take 'em." Boom! Better yet, poor Tom was standing right there the whole time and didn't get the same royal treatment. He left scratching his head, wondering if he should've mentioned his beloved Brown Bears.

Hail to the orange, hail to the blue

Schwagometer Update: Kentwool striped-socks (if you don't think I'm wearing the socks right now with Tom on the other side of the hotel room still wondering what went wrong, then obviously you don't know me very well)

From there, it was back to see Rob, Wags and the guys at TRUE linkswear. Rob was busy being interviewed, but his colleague Michael handed me a sneak peek of the HHH Special Edition True proto. These are my gamers. I also picked up a pair of TRUE senseis (the whole 2013 line-up at TRUE is amazing, the sensei's are unbelievably comfortable).

Schwagometer Update: TRUE linkswear proto and sensei. TRUE bumper sticker.

Now I was in a groove. We made the rounds to all of the other supporters of the Hike, mostly to say thanks but also brainstorm how to make things bigger and better for 2013 (lots more to come on that). I stopped by Prestige Flags. We shared a meal with our friends at Buffalo Communications. Tom swooned over a bag the Mackenzie guys had made for him. It was being lent out and on display in the Greg Norman apparel exhibit. We stopped by Edel Golf (Edel's booth was buzzing with the just-announced partnership with Nick Faldo). I finally got to meet John Ashworth (and could've stolen every size L item on display in the Linksoul collection). We had a great meeting with Bridgestone Golf. I even got the chance to swing by Frogg Toggs booth to thank them for possibly saving my life during last year's 107-degree hike.

Schwagometer Update: dozen Bridgestone B330, Linksoul sticker, Frogg Togg chamois and water bottle

By the late afternoon, the crowds and the buzz started to die down. The only crowded booths were the ones giving away free beer. We slumped on the couches of the TRUE booth until the 6 PM curtain call came over the P.A. system. A couple minutes later, they shut off half the lights.

My knees ached. My brain hurt. As I mentioned on twitter, I needed to seek immediate medical attention for a golf erection that had lasted for over eight hours. The day was over. After years of anticipation, I had finally joined the club. It was even better than I had expected. And I can't wait to do it again next year.

The First Annual Colties: Celebrating Excellence at the PGA Merchandise Show

I launched a few of these on Twitter yesterday, so apologies for any regurgitated material. I only have so much to go around.

The Coltie Award for Best Golf Shoe

The nominees are...

A. TRUE linkwear down with the brown protos

B. The special edition HHH TRUE protos (pictured earlier)

C. The TRUE chukkas

And the winner is...the TRUE linkswear chukkas. You may cry foul, saying the Coltie judge is on staff, but seriously...why would anyone think of putting a non-TRUE on their feet? Did you see Foot Joy's sad attempt at Zero Drop technology? As for the chukkas, not only do they look great with khakis, you can also get very creative working them into a sentence with your best Samuel L. Jackson impersonation ("Check out the new shoes on Brett...)

The Coltie Award for Biggest Celebrity Rockstar Following

A. David Ledbetter

B.Butch Harmon

C. Scotty Cameron

D. Winn McMurry

E. Paul Creamer (Paula's evil-twin brother, who may or may not be a porn star. I'm sure somebody got fired over this one.)

Honorable mention: Matt Ginella, Ashley Mayo, Jason Sobel and John Ashworth

And the winner is...Scotty Cameron in a upset. With a 99:1 sausage ratio, Winn is bound to stick out in a crowd. But Scotty's cult following was around the corner.

The Coltie Award for Most Glaring Outfit

A. the company that makes John Daly's pants (Loudmouth?)

B. Snag Golf (I was confused and whipped a tennis ball at this kid's butt. Sorry.)

C. The McMurray Triplets (it was pretty cold in the convention center)

D. These girls....

And the winner is...the John Daly is so Broke I'll Wear These Ridiculous Pants Company. Congratulations.

The Coltie Award for Best Trophy

A.The PGA Senior Championship Trophy

B. The Claret Jug

C. The Ryder Cup (almost saw the Ryder Cup take a tumble off that wood base as they tried to move it)

D. The FedEx Cup (remember that Never Been Kissed campaign and Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller handling it with white gloves? Have any of the five winners bothered to kiss it yet? Well, I thumbed it. Also, I was just wondering what it might look like if Tiger's wins are ever expunged in a HGH scandal)

E. PGA Tour Wives Association

And the winner is...the Claret Jug. The Ryder Cup is still too painful (seeing Steve Stricker on 17 & 18 was almost as bad as seeing him in a Wisconsin Badger hat cheering against his alma mater). So Claret wins by default. For all our sakes...please don't let Peter Dawson anywhere near it.

The Coltie Award for Product Most Likely to be Found During HHH2013

A. This Safari hat with built-in, solar-powered fan

B. Seamus Golf Headcovers

And the winner is...the first one that can get me 120 of them (hopefully Seamus)

Special Coltie Award for Best Multi-Dimensional Product Since the Two-Sided Chipper

The winner is...The Faldo by Edel iron. Also doubles as a butter knife.

The Special Coltie Award for Best Reminder that Golf Ain't Out of the Woods Just Yet

This depressing scene is just a block from the convention center. Let's hope all that Grow the Game and Golf 2.0 talk is more than just that.

Follow @jcolton31 on Twitter

One Divot Auction

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 19:05:00 +0000

On Tuesday, I launched a fundraiser auction to support The Midnight Golf Program in Detroit. Details are below. Please support this worthwhile cause by spreading the word, bidding on an item or maybe even donating a golf-related item.

One Divot Charity Golf Auction Fundraiser for The Midnight Golf Program

Online auction for rounds of golf at top courses and other valuable golf-related items

Proceeds to support Midnight Golf, serving young men and women in Detroit

One Divot matching 20% of auction proceeds up to $3,000

What is The Midnight Golf Program?

Since 2001, more than 1,000 young people have participated in The Midnight Golf Program. The Program teaches life skills, including personal and professional development, college preparation and giving back to the community along with learning to play golf. The young men and women come from across the Detroit area. Adult volunteers serve as mentors and golf is taught by Class A PGA professional instructors. The expectation is that the experience will develop empowered, socially responsible young adults prepared to maximize their potential. For more details, go to http://www.midnightgolf.org/

The Auction

The online auction begins on Tuesday, January 22nd and will continue until we run out of items! The fundraiser will be operated through eBay’s Giving Works, which ensures that 100% of the sale proceeds go to the nonprofit organization (in this case, One Divot). One Divot will funnel 100% of the proceeds to Midnight Golf and will match 20% of the funds raised, up to $3,000.

The items set for auction include (click each item to be taken to the eBay auction listing or click here to be taken to a list of all open auction items):

A threesome of golf with Tom Doak at Crystal Downs in Frankfort, MI

A threesome of golf at Oakland Hills Country Club (South Course) in Bloomfield Twp., MI

A threesome of golf at The Olympic Club in San Francisco

A foursome of golf at Ballyneal Golf Club in Holyoke, CO

A threesome of golf with P.B. Dye at Urbana Country Club in Urbana, OH

A threesome of golf at The Course at Yale in New Haven, CT

A threesome of golf at White Manor Country Club in Malvern, PA

A foursome of golf at Paramount Country Club in New City, NY

A signed and personalized copy of The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses by Tom Doak

For more information, or to donate a golf-related item for auction, please contact Jim Colton at jim@onedivot.org or David Gamlin at dgamlin@midnightgolf.org

About One Divot

One Divot is a non-profit organization that, through creative, golf-related fundraising events like the Hundred Hole Hike, brings together passionate golfers seeking to make a positive impact on the lives of others. Specifically, money raised through direct donations and corporate sponsorship will go into one of two key areas:

1. To provide support to individuals in the golf "family" who are in dire need of medical or financial assistance;
2. To develop and provide support to "grow the game" initiatives, particularly amongst youths in traditionally underserved areas.

One Divot's directors and other active participants are all unpaid volunteers seeking to fulfill One Divot's above mission out of a shared respect and passion for the game.

Incorporated in April 2012, One Divot is a non-profit public charity exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Rbzdiculous

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 06:54:00 +0000

One of the best golf purchases I made this offseason is a Players Club Plus pass at the local PGA Superstore here in Chicago. For $99, you get to use their simulators and practice bays as much as you want for 30-minute increments (and as long as no one is waiting, you can keep rolling over session after session). I've been able to go about twice a week since November, usually with one of my kids in tow. It's been a great way to stay loose over the offseason, spend time with the kids, and hit a bunch of golf equipment.

The PGA Superstore uses simulators from AboutGolf (http://www.aboutgolf.com/) and though I really have no idea as to the accuracy of the numbers, they seem to be in the ballpark and there are a bunch of them. Numbers and golf are probably my two favorite things, so I'm like a kid in the candy store with this software. Until I can convince my wife that we need to install one of these in our basement (it's an investment in our kids, honey!), I'll keep making the 15-minute drive to Lombard to hang out with my boys Milo, Steve and the gang who roll their eyes and graciously start setting up a bay whenever they see me walk in the door.

Earlier this week, my buddy and fellow lefty Wego and I hit the Schaumburg store together and took turns testing out some of the demo clubs. Being left-handed, it's generally hard to test new equipment. As a result, I generally don't buy clubs that often. When trying to find Wego a driver to test out, I stumbled on a demo set of TaylorMade Rocketbladez (non-tour) irons in lefty, something the Lombard store didn't have yet. I grabbed a 6-iron in both regular and stiff shaft and took them back to the simulators.

The Rocketbladez are the next big thing (or 'this little thing' if you follow their marketing and social media campaign) in TMAG's arsenal of clubs. Similar to the Rocketballz hybrids and fairway woods that have a speed pocket in the sole, the irons have some sort of magical flubber injected into a slot in the clubhead to increase ball speed and thus distance. The early buzz on these clubs and distance claims were almost too good to be true, though it's difficult to know what's marketing schtick vs. true performance. As details started coming out, we came to realize that the lofts are 3* strong, with lighter and longer shafts. That combination was almost guaranteed to make the ball go farther.

So after explaining all of this to Wego, I stepped up and let the bulky, offset 6-iron fly.

It carried 227 yards and 236 yards total. Whoa. As in Brent Musberger Whoooooa!

Next ball: 226 yards carry, 235 yards total. 6-iron!

The next five balls were all about the same, averaging around 225 yards. We were laughing about the distance and the ridiculousness of the all. While Wego took a couple cuts, I grabbed a 4-iron and PW to see how far those went. I hit a 4-iron 265 yards. Pitching wedge 180.

But despite those distances, I still wasn't a believer. They felt pretty solid, but who wants to hit a pitching wedge 180 yards? I just got three new wedges for Christmas. I'd have to get two more to fill in all the gaps between 105-175 yards.

One caveat: these demo clubs were graphite shafts. I'd never hit graphite-shafted irons before but initially thought that was all they had. It wasn't until we were leaving that I saw some steel shafted demo irons. So I vowed to come back and test them out side-by-side with one of my current clubs, a Mizuno MP-32 (these are my backup clubs. I play with old Mizuno MP30 irons that I keep out in Colorado. I got these MP32's on ebay a few years ago. I believe they have Project X shafts, but the stickers have come off so I don't know the stiffness.)

I was able to do the side-by-side showdown earlier this evening. I don't really know what all these numbers mean, other than it's a good thing I have a decent short game! The Rocketbladez were about 14 yards further on average, with slightly lower launch angle and lower spin rates. I can miss +/- 15 yards with the best of 'em no matter what bat is in my hand.

I'll be making my virgin trip to the PGA Show in Orlando in a couple weeks, and hope to get my hands on some of the Rocketbladez Tour irons with less offset and more traditional topline (Dustin Johnson just won with them in Hawaii). I'll be interested in comparing those numbers side-by-side. For now, my long-term marriage with Mizuno's is still intact. But the Rocketbladez are a little bit like A.J. McCarron's girlfriend. Part of me wants to take them to get wings and then to King of Diamonds after a sim session.

Champion: Mizuno MP-32 6-iron

Challenger: TaylorMade Rocketbladez (non-tour) 6-iron

The Shot Chart

New Golf Digest Rankings, America's Greatest 100 Golf Courses 2013-2014

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:21:00 +0000

The Dell Hole didn't survive, but that didn't stop Erin Hills from debuting at #10 in the 2013-14 America's 100 Greatest Public Courses

With its February issue, Golf Digest updated its definitive list of America's Greatest 100 golf courses. You can see the full-list with write-ups on the top 100 overall and public courses below.

For the first time, the magazine provided a glimpse at the courses in the next 100, with its "Second 100 Greatest". You can see the list here.

For a historical perspective, check out this google document that has a list of all of the Golf Digest rankings going back to 1975.

If you're really into numbers, I put together this spreadsheet survey (it's hosted on Google Drive, but you need to download it and open in Excel) that helps you determine which of the seven Golf Digest ratings criteria is important to you, then provides a more customized top 100 list. The survey will ask you to select amongst groups of 10 courses, based on whether you feel one group in collectively underrated or overrated relative to the other group. In the first tab, you can select the courses you've played (or paste in '1' for all rows to have the survey select all the courses). You need at least 20 courses selected in order for the survey to work correctly. Once you're done scoring the 21 questions in the survey, the results tab provides the customized results. Please let me know what weights you come up with in the comment box below.

#savetheoldcourse

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 21:02:00 +0000

We've recently encountered golf architecture's version of Occupy Wall Street: #savetheoldcourse. In case you haven't heard, the St. Andrews Links Trust, the charitable organization that exists to manage the courses and protect the history and spirit of the Home of Golf, recently announced that it was making significant changes to the Old Course. All of this seems to be motivated by making the course better suited (tougher, sloggier, able to accept faster green speeds, etc.) for championship play in preparation for the 2015 Open Championship.

Martin Hawtree, who comes across as Smithers to R&A Chief Executive Peter Dawson's Mr. Burns, has earned the Old Course commission. A press release went out just last Friday outlining all of the proposed changes, some of which have already begun. The work includes expanding the Road Hole bunker and altering the slopes leading into the green and softening the undulations on the par 3 11th, perhaps the most replicated but never duplicated one-shotters on the planet.

Changing contours that have been untouched for years (if ever) has a number of people up in arms, including many leading architects in the industry. My BFF Tom Doak wrote a letter to American Society of Golf Course Architects asking them to join him in taking a stand against these changes. You can see a copy of Doak's letter here. Here's hoping that other big names will follow suit and take a stand for something worth fighting for.

There are other grass roots efforts going as well. A change.org petition has been started, and is nearing the 200 signature mark in its first day. Twitter is ablaze with back and forth chatter both adamantly against and frustratingly flaccid on the topic. I started the #savetheoldcourse hashtag a few days ago, and it is slowly gaining steam. Feel free to join the fray.

The timing of this issue is particularly interesting given the USGA/R&A's joint conference-call to ban belly-putters tomorrow. Once again, it seems the powers that be are focusing on the wrong issue. The advancements in equipment and golf ball have rendered a lot of classic courses moot -- either they have to find room for more tee boxes or they get left behind. Why are we carving up the most historic golf course of them all in order to appease the R&A for a tournament held four days every five years? Just because Louis Oostihuizen obliterated the course (and the field) two years ago?

Certainly, the belly putter will get plenty of airtime on GolfChannel's Morning Drive this week. But isn't there a bigger issue here? Desecrating the Old Course proves that nothing is sacred any more. Where do we go from here?

[For a running gallery of construction pics, check out this golfclubatlas.com thread]

Introducing: Can Jim Dunk?

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 21:32:00 +0000

A little side project to keep me busy during golf's offseason. Can Jim Dunk is about one man's quest to slam dunk a basketball before his 40th birthday. Check it out!

Ballyneal Panoramas

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 19:23:00 +0000

Thanks to the lovely new panorama feature on Apple's iOS 6, here are some recent pics out at Ballyneal. The pics with a little more vertical space were taken by my buddy Tim, who has the fancy new iPhone 5 and its additional real estate. Enjoy!

Looking over the expanse left of the 1st green

Overlooking the 1st hole with 2nd hole in the distance

The famous E-Green on the 7th Hole

10th, 11th and 17th hole

12th Hole with back tee box on 13

Wild 12th green with 13th hole off in the distance to the right

14th green

16th Green

Double Rainbow!

Rainbow looking back the 18th fairway

I suspect we'll see a lot more golf pictures using this cool new feature. Just be careful if you're using the new Maps function to try to find the course...unless you're into 4x4'ing over the Chop Hills!

Swan Song or Streamsong?

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 16:45:00 +0000

The more things change, the more some things never change. Or something.

I'm not a smart man, but I do know one thing: best friends are hard to come by. That's why I'm particularly melancholy this week as yesterday my best friend, former college roommate, golf partner/adversary and brother from another mother boarded a Southwest flight with a one-way ticket to Florida. The Jefenator is gone.

I knew this day was coming for months, and bounced between states of denial and self-loathing in equal measure. Every time I tried to bring up the subject to Jefe, he'd simply reply, "Dude, I am not dead." True, thankfully, though it does feel like the end of an era.

This isn't the first time we've been down this road. Back in 2000, Jefe left Chicago and took a job in Pittsburgh, I think primarily motivated by a desire to add a bunch of new golf courses to his list. And just as I finally got within shouting distance of him (332 courses vs. 360-something), he packs up his tent and heads to a magical land of year-round golf. Oh, the humanity! Let the self-loathing begin...

With the end quickly approaching, I tried desperately to plan some sort of special last-ditch golf hurrah before Jefe's departure. I batted around ideas like a day trip to Erin Hills or 36 holes on Blackwolf Run, one of our personal favorites. Nearly every great idea got squashed by scheduling debacles. Jefe was making trips to Florida almost every weekend. The one weekend he was around to golf, I was downtown with my family. Multiple times, Jefe texted me on a beautiful day wondering if an emergency 9 was a possibility...and I'd text him right back from Ohio or New York. I even worked on lining up a round with a living legend golf-course architect on a mutually agreed upon date...until Jefe later realized he had plans to take his kids to Disney World. Damn you, Mickey Mouse! The world seemed to be conspiring against us from ever teeing it up again.

It very much looked like that would be the case, until Jefe gave his two weeks notice on Monday and his boss gave him a two-minute countdown to exit the premises. He had four days of unencumbered "retirement", which undoubtedly had him on Golfnow.com looking for the next available tee time.

As fate would have it, I already had a vacation day planned for golf that Wednesday with my buddy Matt, who was in town from Denver for a work convention. Almost prophetically, Matt had long ago made arrangements for three for golf in the afternoon, fully expecting that one of the Tang Bros would be able to join us. With Jefe now free and the round with Matt not until 2:00 PM, the morning was wide open. So Jefe and I hunkered down and did what we've done countless times before: batted around different options for golf at one of Chicago's countless quality public courses.

One course quickly came to the fro: Ravisloe...perhaps the only decent public golf course that neither of us had played before. Ravisloe is an old Donald Ross course that used to be private until recently. Ravisloe debuted at 7th in the 2011 update of our Definitive Guide to Chicago's Best Public Golf Courses, and after finally playing it, I'd say maybe that's a tad too low (look for updated rankings this fall). Not surprisingly, Ravisloe has some very interesting, well-protected greens. Nearly all of the par 4's are in the 390-410, which gets a little monotonous, but overall the par-70 course is quite fun. If it weren't 55 minutes from my house, I would probably play it multiple times a year.

Somewhat by happenstance, Jefe and I usually end up teeing it up together in late September right on or around the Ryder Cup. This is one of the rare opportunities I can convince Jefe to put the scorecard and pencil down and play some match play. The last three Ryder Cups, we gotten together for a singles match, a mini-President's Cup to our Ballynizzle main event. And just like the Ballynizzle Cup, Jefe always manages to get the best of me. By most accounts, I consider myself to be a better golfer than Jefe, but I'm 0-5 lifetime in these ventures. I just can't beat the guy in match play.

I was determined to finally hang an 'L' on Jefe as a going-away present. Things looked very good from the get go, as I rolled in a downhill birdie putt on the first hole and managed a 2-up lead through four holes. I was ON-FIRE! with the putter (I believe the result of some time spent with the iPing app -- by the way, check out my buddy's Tom Dunne write-up on this app in Links magazine. Try to guess which "golf buddy" would be cruel, yet creative enough to give him the nickname "Dubya" after a round of 43 putts.) Jefe stuffed it in to four feet on the 5th hole while I short-sided myself in the bunker. Thinking I had to hole out the shot, I aggressively went after the flagstick and scurried the shot clear across the green. With nothing to lose, I took dead aim at the 45-foot putt up and over a ridge with about three feet of break and calmly jarred it for par. After opening the round with five straight one-putts, Jefe couldn't decide if I had sold my soul to devil or if he needed to find the nearest Apple store. Shaken but not stirred, he responded by making the birdie putt to get it back to one-down.

Having staved off the best I had to offer, Jefe reclaimed the momentum and went back to his M.O. of demoralizing his opponent with D- tee shots followed by A+ recoveries and improbable par saves. On the 9th hole, I bombed a tee shot down the right side and had a three-quarter wedge left to a green light pin. Jefe hit his tee shot dead left with no real angle to the pin, but deftly hit a half-knockdown with his hybrid that defied all laws of physics by bounding through the thick rough like it was firm-and-fast fescue to within 10 feet of the hole. Try pulling the trigger after witnessing your opponent pull that off! My 37 on the front would've been cause for elation, but on this day, all it got me was 1-down at the turn.

Jefe quickly stretched it to 3-up by winning the 10th with a birdie and the 11th with a par. I continued my putting magic on the back nine, but who are we kidding here? Even with a personal best 23 putts and a respectable 77, it just wasn't enough. Jefe pulled the world's ugliest 75 out of his orifice. 0-6!

To add insult to injury, Jefe left me dazed and confused and ripe for the pickings for Matt in the afternoon. The winds picked up and the already tough former U.S. Open course grew fangs. It was a challenge not to make double bogey on any given hole. Matt waltzed to a 4&3 victory.

After a ceremonial trip to Chipotle and a long drive home, Jefe dropped me off, said goodbye to my family and was on his way. It all happened so fast that I found myself woefully unprepared about what to do or what to say. It's a strange feeling seeing your best friend pull out of your driveway and having no earthly idea when you might see him again.

Maybe it will be soon. Optimistically, I cling on to the experience of juggling a number of long-distance golf relationships, and my experience there has been that while quantity might suffer, quality increases exponentially. To that end, it just so happens that a 36-hole complex called Streamsong (with courses by personal favorites Tom Doak and Coore & Crenshaw) is opening at the end of the year just a few hours from Jefe. It very well may be our winter or spring break meet-up destination. Still, I will miss those times waking up or leaving the office for lunch and realizing that it's one of the handful of '10 out of 10' weather days in Chicago when you just have to get out on the golf course, knowing full-well that there's somebody just a text message away having the exact same thought at the exact same time.

Evolution of my golf course rankings, 1997 to 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Sun, 15 Jul 2012 05:17:00 +0000

File this under 'little or no interest to anybody in particular', but I came across an old spreadsheet from 2004 with some personal golf stats and scores, plus a personal ranking of all of the golf courses I had played up to that point. It was somewhat amusing to take a stroll back in time when Pete Dye and Tom Fazio ruled the land and a tree-lined parkland course with a 151 slope was my definition of ideal.

A little further digging around unearthed other rankings files for most years between 1997 (88 courses played) to 2012 (325). Obviously a lot has changed since over the last 15 years, and my rankings have really evolved over time. In fact, there isn't a single course in my current top 20 that was around in the original list in 2000.

It's a bit embarrassing to show, but below is a google doc link with my rankings evolution in full glory. Admittedly I need to go in and clean up the more recent version a bit; I haven't really paid much attention outside the top 35-40 or so.

Flame away!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtI2sGAMtMU9dDFpeUhTMm03QkMxNVhhVEp0ZFlBbFE

[On the spreadsheet, the bolded names are courses added since the previous iteration. The shaded courses show the ratings evolution of courses that were in the original Top 10 or 2000 Top 15]

Bogeys on Parade: My Hundred Hole Hike Experience

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 18:42:00 +0000

I know I'm not the best golfer in this group of 64. Nor am I the youngest or most fit. But there's one advantage I had over my fellow hikers (besides freakishly long, skinny legs): EXPERIENCE. As a savvy soph-o-more, I figured I could school these newcomers. Caddying for the Flossmoor event only reaffirmed this notion, as I witnessed guys limping up the 16th hole in various stages of disrepair; to a man, all saying the experience was much more difficult (but more rewarding) than they had anticipated.

Experience definitely mattered. I burned around at a feverish pitch last year, but I knew there were ways to shave some time off those 1:35ish rounds. Practice swings? Who needs them. Putting? Hit and run. Golf bags? Audi 5000. I just brought 6-8 clubs and split them between the two caddies I had at any one time (swapped in and out throughout the day, but a combination of Nick, Tori, Shelby, Andrew, Ryan, Matt G, Duncan, Conrad, Mason, Chad and one player to be named later -- thanks to all of them).

The big revelation came while watching my buddy Jefe try to grind out pars and bogeys at Flossmoor. He's just wired that way and the speed golf to him is like oil and water. My thought was to take quality out of the equation and just play for bogey. Keep it in play, get it somewhere around the green in regulation, putt if possible (and even if less than possible, putt anyways), then just try to three-putt from wherever you are, on or off the green (a nice plus to hiking at Ballyneal). Swag a lag putt without thinking 2-8 feet from the hole, if the next one goes in, great. If not, just tap in and move on. Bad golf, played quickly. (I didn't realize it at the time, my Ballyneal compadre Rob Rigg took the concept to a greater extreme, aiming for double bogey on every hole and putting one handed to avoid bending down to put his Gatorade down. He started on the back nine and I never saw him all day. He ended up with 144 holes.)

2nd tee shot in the fog, 4:44 AM

True to form, my first round was as fast as it was mediocre. I teed off with 6-iron in a zero-visibility fog at 4:39 AM. We stumbled on the ball in the fairway, bumped it up where we thought the green might be, then made the first of 70 bogies. We couldn't see the ball in the air until the 5th hole (two balls were lost in the abyss or stolen by jackrabbits), but the morning round was an enjoyable walk in the proverbial dewy fescue park. By 18, it was blue skies and sunshine.

I completed the first three rounds in 1:24, 1:25 and 1:27 with a 87/85/86 that under any other circumstances would have me considering a trial separation with the game. Rather, I had completed 54 holes, usually an all-day affair, by 9:00 AM (okay, 9:01), probably before you finished your Monday morning Starbucks.

There was a dual motivation for finding that extra gear. Besides wanting to raise as much money and exposure as possible for Craig Hospital, my goal was to bang out as many holes before it got oppressively and dangerously hot. Leading up to the event, the various weather outlets had the temperatures ranging from 106 to 111, about 20-25 degrees higher than normal and 25-30 degrees higher than the "10 out of 10" conditions I walked under last year. 111? I had no idea what that felt like.

Not wanting to have somebody drop dead in one of our first events (a bad way to start any charity, I'm sure), we contemplated postponing our hike. The club gave us the option to individually find alternative dates. Our friends at Kingsley Club, with their hike-friendly 69-degree high, graciously opened their doors for any displaced hikers. For various reasons, ranging from "I'm in" to "I'm at the airport, I'm in for better or worse", all but one Ballyneal hiker decided to stick to the plan and just make the most of it.

It turned out to be the right move. Sunday didn't turn out quite as bad as expected, I think 103 tops with a pleasant breeze from the north. We played 36 holes and had some enjoyable matches (just because it's my blog, I'm going to take this opportunity to tell everybody that I came back from four down with four to play to halve the morning match with hiker Matt "Calc" Schulte, then had three birdies and an EEEAGLE in the afternoon round to win 3&2)

Monday morning was humid but manageable. I was well ahead of the pace from last year. Rounds 4 & 5 were a bit slower than the first three (1:41 and 1:42), with rounds of 87 and 82. Still, I had finished 90 holes exactly eight hours after I had teed off. With right about eight hours left to go, I couldn't help but think, "Is 180 doable?"

I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about Tyler Witman walking 158 holes at The Concession last week and becoming the new "Sheriff of Hikesville" I figured somebody would break the 155 barrier, and I was happy for Tyler when he did it. But it did provide a little motivation for raising the bar even higher. 180 seemed like a nice, round number to shoot for. Something that, ahem, @reillyrick might even bother to take notice of. A respectable sixth round of 84 and at 1:45 kept me on reasonable pace to still get there.

But then something happened. God must've been craving chicken nuggets, because He turned on the convection oven. Starting about 2:30, the temperature climbed up to and beyond 100 degrees and a the winds gradually increased until they were a steady 25 miles per hour with gusts up to 35-40. Not only did it make the golf and the walk difficult, it was one of those hot winds that made things feel worse.

Mentally, I started to check out as well. On the 109th hole, I found myself in the collection area short and left of the first green, and failed to question the logic of trying to hit flop shot over the hazard commonly known as the "bunker of death". Not surprisingly, I skulled it into the face of the bunker and, yada, yada, yada...I had to expand the column width of my scorecard spreadsheet.

The 10 on the first hole kinda snapped me back to reality. I bounced back, made a couple birdies (my first since the first round) and shot a 90 after missing a 18-inch putt on the 18th hole.

I'd be remiss if I didn't give props to my nutritional guru, Matt "Balco" Schulte, who had me pumped up with so many supplements that I've already been black balled by the BBWAA. I literally did not eat anything other than gels, goo and an occasional nutrition bar that tasted like sawdust.

Schulte also proactively took on responsibility for heat management. He found this thing called a Froggy Togg, a blue chamois with magical cooling powers when wet. It looked like something you'd dry your car with, but worked wonders for battling the heat. Schulte suggested we cut a neck hole in the middle of it and wear it like a bib under the golf shirt, covering the top half of both sides of the torso (side benefit: the cut-out circle being perfect for under the top of ones hat). Though it made me look like I was 20 pounds heavier in pictures, the chamois was a miracle worker. Every time I found a cooler, I'd Douse a towel in the melted ice and pour it down my shirt or over my head.

Even the chamois was no match for the heat and winds of round 8. I teed off at 4:55 PM and started with a near-birdie on 1 and a tap-in bogey on 2. 180 holes was out the window, but 162 holes (9 rounds) seemed doable with time for a few more holes to spare. My plan was to keep banging them out, sticking to that "Two Days" theory like Wee Bay from The Wire.

Unfortunately, the 129th hole broke me like those 14 years for Dennis "Cutty" Wise. The beautiful, but relatively simple par 3, 140-yard hole with the juicy "HHHole-in-One Club" friendly pin locale broke me. I chunked a 50-degree wedge into the yucca wasteland short of the green, advanced a chip shot about five yards from there, then hit my next shot that hit a tuft of grass that propelled the ball backwards and to the right. In my mind, I could see the long grass waving its index finger at me like Dikembe Mutombo. Or maybe I was just hallucinating from heat exhaustion.

The next six holes were an embarrassing blur of shanks, duffs and foozles, with an occasional stroke of brilliance mixed between. While I had successfully avoided the grind against score, the grind against time is what got to me. While trudging up the fairways, all I could think about is how much time I had left and how many holes I had to play. As I was laboring up the hill and into the stiff breeze on the 9th hole, my 135th of the day, I had hit the breaking point. I wasn't sure I could go on. I told my caddies that I was going to take an extended break. I'd take a shower and see if I could muster up enough strength to go on. Honestly, at that point in time, I was 90% sure I would have to pack it in.

I made the short walk to the Ringneck lodge, literally crawled up the stairs to my room and stumbled into the bathroom to turn on the shower. Other than for obvious reasons, I wish we would've had a time lapse camera pointed at the shower. It was truly a comical display of trying to find some comfortable way to take a cold soak. Standing was too painful. Kneeling down to the shower floor took 60 agonizing seconds. The shower was just small enough that I couldn't sit in one corner and extend my legs fully to the other, yet bending my legs at all caused my thighs to seize. Moving from side-to-side caused a cramp near my ribs. Sitting criss-cross, apple sauce didn't work either.

Eventually I found some formation that worked, then realized that the liquid soap was still up on the ledge. So I had to go through the reverse process of getting back up to get it. I broke the soap pump as I tried to reach for it and it crashed to the ground. I couldn't help but laugh at that the ridiculousness of it all.

That moment was actually the turning point. I was able to again think with some relative degree of clarity. I thought about my family at home, especially my son Luke who was celebrating his 5th birthday. I thought about the Cox family and the faith and strength that they've put on public display. I thought about the growth of this event in such a short period of time; about the hikers and sponsors who saw the big picture potential and were so enthusiastically behind it. I thought about what Jonathan Decker graciously did at Flossmoor, intentionally stopping at 155 when he likely could've gone on further, purely out of respect to me and this event's grassroots origins. All along, I had been missing the cues. I had been chasing 180 and then 162, when 155 should've been the number. 155 was my number.

It was about 6:15 PM when I had the moment of enlightenment. I did the quick math and figured I could head back out at 6:30 and have about two hours of daylight to get in 20 holes. I said a prayer, thought about Philippians 4:13 (I can do all this through him who gives me strength), and suddenly felt like a new man. A new man with a plan. A plan that involved my good friend, head pro and general manager Matt Payne.

One thing that I realized was missing relative to last year was the camaraderie during the rounds, especially in the late stages. Last year, I hit the wall during Round 7 and the shots, especially the short ones, starting going awry. My friend and fellow member John, who caddied the last 2 1/2 rounds that day, quickly picked up on this and went out of his way to keep my mind on other things. We talked mostly about NBA hoops, a passion we both shared. It made those last 47 holes a breeze.

With that mind, I walked over to the pro shop (half expecting that by 6:30, it would've started cooling down. It actually felt hotter), Matt came out of his office and greeted me with his common opening question, "So...?" (probably because he never has any idea what kind of crazy idea or request I'm going to come up with next).

Jim: I got 20 more holes in me. I need you to bring me home.
Matt: You sure you don't want the young guys? They are waiting for you downstairs. (Translation: are you freaking kidding me?)
Jim: I need the conversation, otherwise I'm going to go crazy.
Matt: Okay, no problem. Let me change.

While Matt got ready, the four remaining caddies drew straws and Chad was the unlucky soul. He gathered the clubs and we were on the way. I grabbed my buddy Wyatt's hybrid as I thought that might be an easier club to keep in play. I promptly duck hooked it into the giant bunker on 10, leading to a snowman. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

The golf was downright awful on that back nine, but Matt in tow at least we could laugh it off. I shot 54 with four double bogeys, the aforementioned quad, and a 9 on the par 4 14th (death on grass into that wind). For the round, a 102 (dangit, another column-width adjustment).

By the 15th hole, the temperature finally started to break. The sun started to come down and the Ballyneal started to glow, reminding me why it's one of my favorite places to be on Earth. I knew I could do this.

After witnessing the last 9 holes, Matt quickly deduced that five of the eight clubs that he and Chad were carrying around were completely useless. On the first tee of the 9th round, he decided to take control of the situation.

Matt: Hit 4-iron here.
Jim: Okay. Chad, do you have my four iron?
Chad: No, you told me to get rid of it for this hybrid.
Matt: Hit 6-iron here.

Basically, 6-iron, 50-degree wedge and putter were my only options. Long par 4 2nd hole? 6-iron. Par 5 4th hole? 6-iron. It went against every 'grip and rip' chromosome in my body. But after I made par on the 2nd hole with 6-iron/6-iron/gap wedge/1-putt, I was beginning to believe. I often call Matt "Sensei" as he sometimes likes to drop pearls of wisdom inspired by his youth spent watching old Kung-Fu movie. So most of the time, he'd club me and I'd say, "Yes Sensei". When I questioned his selection and he turned out to be right, I'd admit, "You were right, Sensei". On the 7th hole, I was desperate to take one last rip on the drivable par 4. My drive found the yucca. I had learned not to question the master.

Tee shot, 155th hole

We got to the 11th hole, the same uphill par 3 where I finished in the near dark last year. I hit the same club to the same spot right of the green. Putted up to about five feet, just like last year. Unfortunately I missed the par putt this time. And although there was still enough daylight to get in 2-3 more holes, I was perfectly happy and content to stop at 155. It was great having my friend Matt as the second 'Five' in the picture.

With Sensei Matt, 1-5-5

JP from the club picked us up from the 12th tee box and drove us back to the clubhouse. I was greeted by my good friend Wyatt, who was smiling ear-to-ear, having pushed through his breaking point himself to eke out 9 more holes to go from 108 to 117. I borrowed a phone to call home, just to tell my wife that I was, in fact, still alive.

Dinner late that night made the whole event worth it. The camaraderie between the hikers and the staff will be the lasting memory for me. Being able to trade war stories, compare injuries and recall good shots and bad ones (mostly bad ones) was something completely different than last year. We laughed even though it was painful to do so.

At various points of the evening, each hiker talked about how special the day was, how every fiber in their body ached that good ache. And each person talked about participating next year, and commented on what they learned and what they'd do differently next time. I discovered a little bit about myself as well. I realized that I'm going to walk 155 holes every year until I'm no longer physically able to do so. See, experience does matter.

There's still plenty of time to pledge. Please consider supporting my 155-hole hike for Craig Hospital Foundation via the 'Pledge to this Golfer' button below, or use the 'Find a Golfer' search tool.

8th times 9:

By the Numbers:

HOLE	YARD	PAR	RD1	RD2	RD3	RD4	RD5	RD6	RD7	RD8	RD9
1	382-320	4	5	4	5	5	4	4	10	4	5
2	490-360	4	6	6	5	4	4	5	5	5	4
3	145-90	3	3	3	3	4	3	4	4	6	4
4	573-360	5	6	5	6	5	5	6	4	8	6
5	165-110	3	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	4	3
6	480-370	4	5	6	6	5	5	6	5	6	6
7	352-285	4	5	4	4	4	4	5	4	4	6
8	515-340	5	6	6	5	9	6	5	5	7	7
9	362-315	4	5	5	4	5	6	5	5	4	4
OUT	3464-2550	36	45	43	41	44	40	43	45	48	45
10	509-380	4	5	5	6	4	5	5	7	8	5
11	200-125	3	4	3	3	4	3	4	4	5	4
12	375-240	4	5	7	5	7	4	4	5	6
13	510-330	4	6	4	5	5	4	4	5	5
14	362-300	4	3	5	7	5	6	5	6	9
15	237-135	3	3	3	3	3	4	3	4	3
16	546-410	5	6	6	6	6	6	5	4	6
17	481-365	4	5	5	5	5	5	6	4	6
18	463-375	4	5	4	5	4	5	5	6	6
IN	3683-2660	35	42	42	45	43	42	41	45	54	9
TOTAL	7147-5210	71	87	85	86	87	82	84	90	102	54
Fairways			11	7	7	6	8	10	9	4	6
GIR			3	6	6	8	8	7	6	4	2
Putts			31	35	36	35	36	35	36	37	22
3-Putts			1	3	3	3	2	1	2	3	2
Lost Balls			3	1	1	3	0	1	0	3	0

HOLES: 155
STROKES: 757
MILES WALKED: ~50
SCORING AVG: 87.99
VS. PAR: +146
BEST BALL: 69
WORST BALL: 117
FAIRWAYS: 68/120 56.67%
GIR: 50/155 32.26%
PUTTS/HOLE 1.95
3-PUTTS: 20
LOST BALL: 12
PAR-3 AVG: 3.54
PAR-4 AVG: 5.12
PAR-5 AVG: 5.85
EAGLE: 0
BIRDIE: 3
PAR: 51
BOGEY: 70
DOUBLE: 21
OTHER: 10

More Pictures:

7th Hole, Round 1

Nick and Tori, caddies for Rounds 1 & 2

The ol' backwards 6-iron yucca shot

Playing through Mitch and Brian on 17. I'm guessing this went left.

7th Hole

Don't *mess* with the Yucca

One of the caddies really liked yucca plants, because I have a half-dozen pics of them on my camera

More chipping out of the native, wearing my fat suit

4th Hole

Drove the 7th green; promptly three putted

Father's Day Re-Post: A Father's Love

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 14:29:00 +0000

A look back at a memorable Father's Day last year...

I don't even know where to start. It's 5:09 AM on Monday June 20th and I'm supposed to be somewhere around the 7th or 8th hole of my 108+ hole journey right now. Instead I'm laying in bed wide awake trying to process everything that's happened over the last 24 hours. A short recap:

- I teed it up with my beautiful wife Sue for our first time together at Ballyneal
- 10 days after playing one of my worst rounds ever, I did a complete 180 and played well enough to go toe-to-toe straight up against the reigning club champion.
- I spent the afternoon with Ben Cox and his wonderful family. I got to play with Ben for his first two holes after his skiing accident, then the rest of the front nine with his father, Ken.
- I got to spent quality time with friends and other guests huddled up in the basement of the Ballyneal restaurant praying that a tornado didn't rip the roof off.
- I got to deal with the disappointment of hearing the words "there's no way you can do your marathon tomorrow" due to the huge hail storm that tore through the course.

Any of one of these topics could probably be a chapter in Volume 2 of One Divot at a Time (hypothetically speaking), but the one that plays out over and over in my mind is obviously the two holes with Ben and his Dad. In an ironic twist of fate, what on the surface would be a nightmare scenario for me and most golfers - getting paired up with a father and son on a Sunday afternoon on a 45 minute per hole pace, turned out to be the highlight of my golfing life.

After getting to know Ben over the last couple months, I knew he would do great. Ben is nothing if not determined, and with his engineering brain always working, I knew he'd figure out how to make the golf swing on the adaptive cart work. I knew with his patience and positive attitude, he wouldn't get frustrated over the misses and the do-overs. And I knew he would continue to be an inspiration to everyone he met the same way he's been an inspiration to me.

What really stuck out with me and what I want to focus on is Ken and the special father-son relationship between Ken and Ben. As a father of three, it was an extremely humbling experience. On Father's Day especially.

I hadn't had the chance to meet Ken prior to yesterday. We had spoken on the phone and traded a few text messages, but had yet to meet in person. Of course, the reason I hadn't met him was because he's been working full time at his day job then spending most of the night trying to renovate their house to prepare for Ben's return. That was Exhibit A.

Exhibit B was the Denver Post article from last week. Talking to numerous friends and colleagues about Benjamin Hochman's piece, many pointed out one of two things: a) the family's tremendous faith in God that He is working this accident into something bigger and better and b) the pain that the father must be going through being on the slopes with Ben as he made that life-altering jump.

That was really all I knew about Ken prior to yesterday at 1:30 PM. By 4:30 PM, he was enshrined into my personal Dad Hall of Fame.

Seeing Ben and his dad together on the golf course was a deeply moving experience. It was quickly apparent that they were truly best friends and best golf buddies. They showed up at Ballyneal with matching light-blue collared shirts and plaid, baggy Phat Farm shorts (Ken probably setting a world record for oldest man to wear the hip-hop label). On the first tee, they ribbed each other just like it was any one of hundred of rounds shared together out at F&H Golf Course in Haxtun.

When Ben's first drive found the edge of the native, Ken was reluctant to give his competitor relief (I stepped in and foot-wedged it.) When Ben's third shot on the 2nd caught the hole's patented turbo slot and ended up a yard past Ken's drive, they approached the balls not knowing whose was whose. After Ben found out he had "outdriven" his Dad, he muttered "I got ya" just like countless other golfers had said in that exact same situation before. It was just like any other round of golf between friends - rooting for the other guy but also secretly wanting to beat his brains in. Ben was Ken's Jefe. The only difference was the set-up time between shots.

It was the 3-4 minutes between shots where Ken really shined. It was truly the perfect example of a Father's love for his son. I kept thinking about the famous bible verse from 1 Corinthians (13:4): "Love is patient, Love is kind...". You usually hear that at weddings but it was even more appropriate here. When Ben couldn't quite negotiate both the steering and the accelerator lever, Ken stepped in and controlled the gas while walking alongside. For every shot, Ken helped Ben negotiate his solo rider cart into the proper position, perpendicular to target, then lifted Ben's legs as they flipped the seat around so Ben was hanging off the back of the cart. Next, Ken would place the club in Ben's makeshift golf glove, then tie down a series of Velcro and elastic straps so the club would stay in Ben's right hand. Finally, Ken would tee up the ball for his son in the spot most likely to intersect with the swing path.

On one hand, you'd think that this kind of a Father's love would be expected. I'm blessed to have an all-world Dad (thanks Big Dog!), and I know he'd do the same for me in this situation. I'd like to think I'd do the same for one of my kids if needed. But then you realize that this isn't always the case. One of the onlookers commented, "I need to text my Dad right now and tell him this is just like him and me, only the exact opposite."

Ben's initial batting average on making contact was probably below the Mendoza line, but Ken patiently worked with his son to try to get it right. They tried different Velcro combinations, different clubs, different leg positions, different left-hand positions (with virtually no balance, Ben has to use his left hand for stability). It was very much like a father teaching his 8-year old son the game for the very first time - trying not to overcomplicate things while still trying to find some simple combination of positioning and swing thoughts that could produce somewhat consistent results.

Many, many Dads could learn a lot by watching Ken reteach his son the game. I couldn't help but think about the last time I took my 9-year old son out for nine holes one night after dinner. On one occasion, I got frustrated with him after he 10-putted a green, constantly criss-crossing the hole and failing to heed my suggestions. At that moment, I was the anti-Ken.

Sitting in my bed at what is now 7:05 AM, I hope that I'm a changed man. A changed Dad. I pray at least a fraction of Ken's love and patience rubbed off on me by osmosis. All along, folks have been praising me for my role in setting up this Father's Day moment for Ben and his Dad. But what I'm finding to be consistently true of the Cox family in general, they continue to find ways to turn the gift around tenfold.

UPDATE: Brenda Brandt from the Holyoke Enterprise was kind enough to send the following pics from the special Father's Day event. See the Holyoke Enterprise article here.

Follow Wegoblogger31 on twitter at: http://twitter.com/jcolton31

Pumped-Up Kicks: New Limited Edition HHH Shoes from TRUE linkswear

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:30:00 +0000

For 17 years, the patent-leather Air Jordan XI's held the title of my all-time favorite shoe. Sorry MJ, you've just been trumped.

Today, the TRUE linkswear HHH special edition shoes are available for sale. You can find them here: http://www.truelinkswear.com/index.php/shop/hundred-hole-hike.html. These three electric blue-soled beauties might just bring a tear to my eye. Half of the proceeds from the sale of the shoes will go to charity. 75% of those funds will go to One Divot our two-pronged purpose to help those in the golf "family" who are in dire need of financial or medical support and to develop and fund grow-the-game initiatives, particularly among youths in traditionally underserved areas. The remaining 25% will go to support the Evans Scholars Foundation, TRUE president Rob Rigg's chosen cause in the hike.

I can't say enough about the energy and commitment and way above-and-beyondedness that Rob and the TRUE gang have shown for One Divot and the Hundred Hole Hike. They shared my vision for what this event could be and the lives we could impact through something as simple and silly as chasing a small white ball into a hole. Honestly, is there any other golf shoe company that shows this much passion for the game? Throw in the fact that they are probably the most comfortable shoes you'll ever own and I'm not sure why you'd consider anything else.

A couple weeks ago, I went out for a late afternoon round and got paired up with a 15 year old kid and his father. The Dad was sporting the black/red TRUE phx's. I always get a kick out of seeing TRUEs out of the course, knowing the blood, sweat and tears that Rob and CEO Sean put into their development over the past 2-3 years. I will likely hug a random stranger if I see him wearing the HHH's. The resulting punch in the face will still be worth it.

I hope you'll join me in purchasing a one or more pairs of the HHH special edition phx ($99) or stealth ($199) shoes. Your feet will thank you. And I thank you for your support of the Hundred Hole Hike. Free random hugs with every purchase.

Hundred Hole Hike Partners with TRUE linkswear to Launch Limited-Edition Shoes

Proceeds to Benefit One Divot and the Evans Scholars Foundation

(Chicago, Illinois) – Hundred Hole Hike (HHH) – the global giving platform supporting charitable fundraising by “golf marathoners” who will play and walk at least 100 holes in one day – announces the launch of three limited-edition HHH shoes created by leading minimalist golf footwear manufacturer TRUE linkswear.

Crafted for the devoted walking golfer, the TRUE HHH Limited-Edition stealth (black/electric blue and white/electric blue; $199/pair) and phx (black/electric blue; $99/pair), are available starting today exclusively atwww.truelinkswear.com/shop.html. Half of each sale will be donated to charity, with 75 percent of those monies going to support One Divot and 25 percent to the Evans Scholars Foundation.

“Right of the gate, response to HHH has been off the charts as we’ve added some amazing venues and received tremendous support from all corners of the golf community,” says Jim Colton, 2011 Walking Golfer of the Year and founder of One Divot. “When taking on the challenge of playing 100 or more holes, having proper footwear is a must and TRUE makes the best shoes I’ve ever worn.”

A member of Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club in Holyoke, CO, Colton established One Divot following the Ben Cox 155. That 2011 event saw him walk 155 holes in one day and raise more than $110,000 for Cox, a caddie paralyzed in a skiing accident. The organization aims to bring together passionate golfers seeking to use their love of the game to positively impact people's lives.

“We were so impressed by Jim's initiative and commitment to helping society that we wanted to be involved in a big way for 2012,” says Rob Rigg, president of TRUE linkswear. “What he’s doing – and what the Evans Scholars Foundation has been doing for decades – exemplifies the commitment that golfers have for our great game and bettering the lives of others.”

Funds raised by One Divot through direct donations and corporate sponsorship goes to support individuals in the golf "family" in dire need of medical or financial assistance, and to develop and fund "grow the game" initiatives, particularly amongst youths in traditionally underserved areas.

The goal of Hundred Hole Hike is to take the same energy that fueled the Ben Cox 155 to a grander scale. Instead of one golfer at one club for one cause, HHH includes men and women at clubs worldwide, all walking to raise money for a variety of worthwhile causes. Since its launch in April, over 50 golfers have signed up for the challenge.

More than just a robust and centralized venue for pledge collection, www.hundredholehike.com is designed to be a daily web destination for avid walking golfers. It includes personalized blogs where HHH participants share updates on training, engage in friendly competition with other hikers and post items pertinent to those who embrace the game’s traditions and philanthropic heritage.

For additional information visit www.hundredholehike.com/how-it-works, or follow @100HoleHike on Twitter.

About TRUE linkswear

TRUE linkswear is a Scottsdale-based footwear and apparel company. Its founders are dedicated golfers who share a passion for the game - walking the fairways with friends, and knocking down pins, while truly feeling the course. Their initial product, the TRUE tour shoe, is worn by Ryan Moore, an investor and co-founder in the company, on the PGA Tour. TRUE footwear is designed to offer a "barefoot" experience by providing the lightest shoe with the thinnest sole in golf. For more information, visit www.truelinkswear.com.

About Hundred Hole Hike

Hundred Hole Hike (HHH) is a global network of golf marathons where participants plan to walk and play 100 or more holes in one day to raise money for various worthwhile charitable causes. It includes events at many courses ranked among the Top 100 by leading golf publications.

Managed by One Divot – a charity that aims to help change the world for the better one divot at a time – HHH is inspired by the success of the Ben Cox 155. Launched in 2011 at Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club in Holyoke, CO, that event saw club member Jim Colton walk 155 holes in one day and raise more than $110,000 for Cox, a Ballyneal caddie paralyzed in a skiing accident.

The goal of the Hundred Hole Hike is to take the same passion and energy that fueled the Ben Cox 155 to a grander scale. Instead of one golfer at one club for one cause, the HHH includes golfers at clubs worldwide, all walking to raise money for a variety of worthwhile causes.

###

Announcing the Hundred Hole Hike

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:34:00 +0000

Today, I'm thrilled to announce the official launch of the Hundred Hole Hike, a charitable golf event that hopes to build on the success of last year's Ben Cox 155. Instead of one golfer walking a bunch of holes in one day for one cause, the HHH is a global network of passionated golfers all walking 100+ holes in a day for a variety of worthwhile causes. Our website, http://www.hundredholehike.com/ is now live and serves as a centralized platform for "hikers" to share their progress and their story through blogging or other social media tools. Our goal is that http://www.hundredholehike.com/ evolves into a real community of avid golfers who share a passion for the game and for helping others.

Please click here to see my opening blog post and check out the press release below for more information.

I couldn't be more excited about the launch of this event and some of the exciting things we have in the hopper for this year and beyond. I hope you'll join me by pledging your support or perhaps joining us as a hiker this summer.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 30, 2012

MEDIA CONTACT:
Tom Williams
Buffalo Communications
703.891.3391
twilliams@buffalocommunications.com
www.buffalocommunications.com
www.twitter.com/buffalocomm

Hundred Hole Hike Launches Global Charitable Network of Passionate Walking Golfers

Initiative Provides Centralized Website for Fundraising by Players and Host Clubs

(Chicago, Illinois) – One Divot – a charity founded by 2011 Walking Golfer of the Year Jim Colton – announces the launch of Hundred Hole Hike (HHH), a giving platform hosted at www.hundredholehike.comthat supports fundraising efforts of “golf marathoners” who will play and walk at least 100 holes in one day to benefit philanthropic causes.

A society of dedicated men and women seeking to use their passion for the game as a vehicle to better the lives of others, HHH allows for each hiker to choose their own causes to support. Among the roster of industry leaders to register are Rob Rigg of TRUE linkswear and John Ashworth of LINKSOUL. Also participating are renowned venues such as Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club, The Kingsley Club and Hidden Creek Golf Club.

“This all began last year as something very personal to me – raising funds for the care of Ben Cox, a caddie and friend seriously injured in a skiing accident,” says Colton. “With the support of walking golfers worldwide, Hundred Hole Hike is now positioned to positively impact countless lives.”

A Ballyneal member, Colton’s original goal was to walk 108 holes and raise $5,000 to benefit Cox. On June 23, 2011, he walked 155 holes and raised more than $110,000. Soon after, he set about forming One Divot and creating a method for like-minded golfers to raise awareness and money for the charities about which they care most deeply.

More than just a robust and centralized venue for pledge collection, www.hundredholehike.com is designed to be a daily web destination for avid walking golfers. It will include personalized blogs where HHH participants share updates on training, engage in friendly competition with other hikers and post items pertinent to those who embrace the game’s traditions and philanthropic heritage.

“I’m super excited about making my own Hundred Hole Hike,” says Ashworth. “It’s a cool and innovative way to support the broader community through golf, and also to challenge your own body and mind while having some fun, too.”

For additional information visit www.hundredholehike.com/how-it-works or follow @100HoleHike on Twitter.

About Hundred Hole Hike

Hundred Hole Hike (HHH) is a global network of golf marathons where participants plan to walk and play 100 or more holes in one day to raise money for various worthwhile charitable causes. It includes events at many courses ranked among the Top 100 by leading golf publications.

Managed by One Divot – a charity that aims to help change the world for the better one divot at a time – HHH is inspired by the success of the Ben Cox 155. Launched in 2011 at Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club in Holyoke, CO, that event saw club member Jim Colton walk 155 holes in one day and raise more than $110,000 for Cox, a Ballyneal caddie paralyzed in a skiing accident.

The goal of the Hundred Hole Hike is to take the same passion and energy that fueled the Ben Cox 155 to a grander scale. Instead of one golfer at one club for one cause, the HHH includes golfers at clubs worldwide, all walking to raise money for a variety of worthwhile causes.

###

Dream Golf Weekend: A Bandon Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:53:00 +0000

Introduction:

A little over a month ago, I sat shirtless on a doctor’s examining room table wondering if the rest of my 2011 golf season was over, with perhaps 2012 on the brink as well. My body was crumbling faster than Tiger’s knees and personal life combined. Early in September, during a casual round with my buddy Wego at Prairie Landing, I felt something pop in my right shoulder as I pulled the club back on the par 3 12th. I took it easy for a few weeks, figured I’d be fine and eventually agreed to go to Ballyneal for a long weekend with my friend Matt and 10 others at the end of September. I thought even if I couldn’t rotate my shoulder anywhere close to parallel, I’d still be able to slap it around at Ballyneal on those firm and fast conditions. How bad could it be?

The answer: really bad. I struggled to break 100 in seven rounds over four days. Matt had organized a bunch of entertaining individual and team events each round, and my presence in a foursome was the kiss of death. I finished dead last in the running points game, and second to last in the money. I even set a dubious course record by hitting a grand total of 0-of-14 fairways (on fairways averaging 70 yards wide).

Right before that trip, two great things happened to me. First, I found out that the Walking Golfing Society had named me their 2011 Walking (Wounded) Golfer of the Year. Also, I got invited to a two-day, fourball event at Old Macdonald, the newest course at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. After I found out that Rob Rigg, the founder of the Walking Golfer Society (and president of True Linkswear shoes) had also been invited to the event at Bandon (and was to be my partner), we made plans to do our award ceremony/trophy hand-off at Bandon as well. It promised to be a dream golf weekend. Except for my mangled shoulder and what I thought could be a torn rotator cuff.

So the day after I got back from Ballyneal, for once I listened to wife’s advice, sucked it up and went to the orthopedian to get my shoulder checked out (I bet I’ve been to the doctor no more than three times in the last 15 years). He pushed, pulled, yanked and dragged my arms in various positions, some of which felt perfectly fine, others of which made my eyes water. His diagnosis was some inflammation of the rotator cuff ligament, with the potential of a slight tear. I stressed that I was a serious golfer and had one last big trip planned for the year. He gave me a cortisone shot and hoped that would be all I needed.

Days after the shot, I felt like a new man. I could do full arm circles without pain, practiced that deeply-flawed but too-late-to-teach-a-middle-aged-dog-new-tricks golf swing in the mirror and dreamed of winning the Bandon team event in a blaze of glory. Then I took my kids to the driving range one late Sunday afternoon and woke up the next morning painfully back at Square One. I spent most of the month of October in golf limbo, dragging along a bum shoulder that didn’t exactly hurt but just felt off, like it was attached to somebody else’s body. Still, even if it meant swinging the club with one arm followed by an extended trip on the disabled list, there was no way I was missing out on a trip to Bandon Dunes.

The first and only time I had been to Bandon was back in 2006. A lot had changed for me in those five years. I went from two kids to three. Seemingly overnight, I leaped from young buck to prematurely gray. At work, I had clawed my way from senior grunt to junior middle management. I went from public golfer to a private one (and maybe back to public again). And I migrated from a two-handicap with a 50/50 love-hate relationship with the game to near double-digits but loving nearly every minute of it (other than the 0-for-14 fairway bit...that did kinda suck.)

It would be hard to top 2006's motley crew of Jimbo, my father-in-law Ken and my buddy “80-grand motha*****” Charles, but this trip had promise with Rob, my good friend and bunkmate Ben (Air Force Captain by day/turfgrass student and golf course design wannabe by night), and Matt Payne and Dave Hensley (GM and Superintendent of Ballyneal, respectively) among the friendly faces in the event. Ben picked me up at the North Bend airport, and after an 11-hour door-to-door journey, we were on our way to the greatest golf resort on the planet.

PART ONE: SHEEP RANCH

Since my flight arrived around 2 PM on Saturday, we didn’t really have time to get in a full round that day. But thankfully Ben had better plans. Being a bonafide F.O.D. (Friend of Doak), Ben had obtained intelligence that Tommy Deez was likely going to be out at Sheep Ranch, the somewhat secret romper room of 13 greens and freeform turf that allows the holes to be played in every which way imaginable.

View Larger Map

Sheep Ranch was a fitting place to spend the afternoon with Ben. It was just three years ago that Ben had his “a-ha” moment in golf, sending him down a path to study architecture with a Red Bull-ish vigor and eventually leading to spending a week’s leave from the Air Force to rake dirt and spread hydroseed as part of the crew for Doak’s Dismal River project in Nebraska. Ben zoomed down some backroads bordering Old Macdonald, leading to a gravel off-ramp blocked by a black gate marked “No Trespassing”. Pulling up, we still weren’t 100% sure that Doak would be here.

The gate looked like it was locked but Ben got out of the car to try it. Bingo! The gate was open. As we continued down the gravel road, I had visions of cutting through a backyard on the way home from middle school and having the cops called on us. It felt wrong enough to give yourself a little guilt trip about it, but not enough to stop yourself from still going. All I could think about was this magical playground of fescue, sand and gorse. Following the gravel up and around a sharp bend, you begin to see the course on the left, along with a couple of old fire trucks that they use for irrigation. Past the fire trucks, we saw a white Hyundai rental car. We weren’t alone. But was it Doak and Co.?

We climbed out of the car and got the clubs out of the trunk. It was spitting rain and a fog was rolling in, but we could see the silhouettes of golfers approaching a green in the distance. We headed out towards them as they were hitting to their next hole. As we got closer, one of the guys started heading towards us. From a distance, it looked an awful lot like Tom Doak, arguably the greatest living golf course architect.

Over the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to have some dialogue with Tommy Deez, mostly over e-mail but a couple times face-to-face. I don’t know if it’s nerves or what, but I’ve developed an uncanny ability of saying stupid things that lead to awkward silences every time I’m within 50 feet of him. For example, the first time I played golf with Tom, one of the first things I ever said to him was, “Tom, what’s your vertical leap? Because you have the biggest calves I’ve ever seen!” See what I mean?

Unfortunately, this time was no exception. As Doak approached and got within earshot, I cracked, “Can anybody tell us how to get Old Macdonald?”

Stone silence. 0-for-2.

Despite my idiotic comments, Tom agreed to let us join his group. They were playing some sort of 3-team alternate shot match, which then had to be altered due to our arrival. We split up into three 3-person teams and the format changed from hole-to-hole. After each hole, Tom would kind of point out the multiple options for the next hole and we’d pick one and go on from there. Using Tom’s local knowledge and short game prowess, his team (which I wasn’t on) won or halved the majority of the 6-7 holes we played. His team even claimed a halve on a hole that I later realized we had won outright!

As we neared the end of our "round", a official-looking green pickup truck came driving down the road and then turned onto the course heading right towards us. A man got out of the truck, ready to bust yet another set of trespassers to the fullest extent of the laws of Keiserland. I was paralyzed by the indecision of following my street instincts to make a run for it and wanting to try out that Old Macdonald crack on an independent third party. "Excuse me, this is private prop...," the man started to say, until he recognized the man walking towards him. "...oh, hello Mr. Doak, how are you?" His demeanor changed in an heartbeat. For Doak, it was the ultimate Jedi-Mind Trick. I knew he was a genius, but had no idea he was one with the Force as well. I guess we should've known.

Obi-Wan Doakobi

The beauty of the Sheep Ranch is its freedom and flexibility, not to mention the fact it sits on a cliff high above the Pacific. The greens are designed to be played from multiple directions, so a golfer is really only limited by his or her creativity. One green sits on a point the juts out over the ocean. We played it as a short par 4, then the picture below shows my tee shot on the next hole, which starts on the very tip and requires a nervy, blind shot over the beach…

Into the abyss...

…walking down to the fairway, Doak made a point of showing us the tee boxes that play in the opposite direction to the green we just came from. You can see how this could be the most picturesque par 3 on the entire property if it ever got built into a regulation course. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. Until then, don’t pass up a chance to experience Sheep Ranch at least once if your lifetime.

Potential par-3 at Sheep Ranch

PART TWO: TWGOY

As I mentioned, Rob and I had planned to do The Walking Golfer of the Year presentation at Bandon. The original plan was to do it on some picturesque spot at Sheep Ranch overlooking the Pacific Ocean. But the crummy weather put the kibosh on that option. So we wandered around the lodge aimlessly trying to find some suitable place to do the photo op. Surprisingly, there weren’t many viable options. The best we could come up with was a well-lit conference room that had a map of the state of Oregon on the wall. It would have to do.

"For a Passionate Commitment to Golf as a Walking Game"

Unbeknownest to me, in addition to the cool leather plaque that Rob presented to me, the award came with a slick leather Mackenzie Walker golf bag from Todd Rohrer, president of the company located in Portland. Oh my, is this thing sweet! The leather is so supple, I could’ve curled up in bed with it (maybe I did, you’ll never know). Embroidered along the side, it says: “Jim Colton, 2011 Walking Golfer of the Year”

While I jokingly prepared two speeches, I didn’t actually have to give one. But the sentiment in my first version is still there. This honor is easily the greatest achievement of my golfing life. And hopefully we can use this award as a springboard to do bigger and better things down the road. (Note: you can see the press release here)

PART THREE: KIDDO CLUTCH

Sunday morning was the official start of the matches at Old Macdonald. The format was a 64-man, 32-team fourball bracket. Survive and advance. Lose and go home (well, go play another round at Old Mac or one of the other courses at the resort). Each match was nine holes. The winners played the winners in the group ahead/behind them starting on the 10th tee. The losers paired up with the other losers and played a match or just played in for fun. If you won your first two matches, then you had to stick around for a third nine.

Given the sorry state of my shoulder, I figured Rob and I were a sure one-and-done. I just hoped not to get 5&4'd right out of the gate.

The first hole at Old Macdonald is a great opener, one that Doak calls the best opener they've ever built. It's sufficiently wide but you need to pick a line carefully depending on the pin position to the double plateau green. Let me get on my soap box again and plead for more double plateau greens. I've enjoyed each and every one that I've played, and it certainly seems like you could build them just about anywhere. On Monday, they pinned it to the back shelf, which normally isn't used in the Bandon rotation (they need to add it, it's a blast).

I hit a (surprise) hard hook to start the match, but it ended up just off the right fairway with a clear shot to the middle pin. Rob pulled his drive hard but hit a good approach shot in to the green. We both made pars and suddenly were 1-up. Five minutes later, we were 2-up after Rob jarred a 25-footer on Eden. I was still thinking 5&4, but now it was the other way around.

A funny thing happened that Monday morning. I started hitting the ball again. I'm not sure how or why, but I didn't stop to analyze it. I just kept swinging. I hadn't felt this way since the day of the 155-hole marathon in June, when I was striping it for most of the 16-hour adventure. I was on top of the flag at the 2nd, won the hole for our team on the 4th hole (Hogsback), then stuffed it tight on the 5th (Short), but missed a tricky, downhill birdie putt. We were still only 2-up, although it felt like it should've been more.

Anybody who plays match play knows the momentum can turn on a dime. Often it just takes one great shot or one mistake by the other team, especially in a 9-hole match like this one. We were in the driver seat, right up until the moment I decided to run my 30-foot birdie putt 10 feet past the hole on the 6th (Long, with an awesome Hell bunker). A bad bogey there and we were back to 1-up. Then Rob and I both made a mess of the 7th (aptly named Ocean), and suddenly the match was all-square.

The interesting twist to the 9-hole matches was that since there needed to be a winner before the 10th tee, in an all-square match the team that last won a hole is the one who advances. In this case, our opponents Jonathan and Harry were now in the driver's seat. We had to win one of the last two holes to advance.

Both Jon and Harry hit the green on #8 (Biarritz, and a wild version of one at that). I hit a poor tee shot to the front of the green with the pin on the other side of the large swale. I made a nifty lag putt to get within 3 feet, but it was rendered moot when Harry made his par. We had to win the last hole or we were done.

The 9th hole is Cape, which is known for the angular, "bite-off-as-much-you-dare" tee shot with all sorts of hazards and gorse waiting for those who get too aggressive and/or can't execute. Both Jon and Harry wisely played safe out to the fairway left, putting the pressure squarely on us. Rob stepped up to the tee first with a 2-iron, then proceeded to top one into a bunker about 30 yards in front of the tee box. This wasn't good.

There I was, faced with the unenviable position of having to pull off a solid drive in the clutch. My track record in these situations is well below the Mendoza line. It was more like Adam Dunn's performance with the 2011 White Sox. But with very few swing thoughts other than "don't duck hook it, you idiot", I pulled the club back, swung through and hit my best drive of the day - climbing over the hazards with a nice 5-yard draw. Where was this guy in September?

Rob took a couple more whacks, but was B.I.P. by the time he reached my drive. Harry hit his approach shot just short of the green. Jonathan went into the front right bunker. It was a small window of opportunity but you had to expect at least one could get up and down. I had to make a birdie here. I had to hit it close.

I had 125 yards in, into a slight breeze. It had just started to rain, and after teeing off I put on my shiny new Sunice pullover ordered specifically for this trip. I thought to myself, this is probably not a great moment to be swinging with this jacket on for the first time ever. In general, I hate the feeling of a restricted golf swing, even though I should probably embrace it.

So with the match on the line, I stepped up to the ball with my pitching wedge and tried to will the ball close to the hole. The shot was well struck and on line, starting just left of the flag and drawing in. It landed on the front third of the green and started bouncing towards the hole, eventually settling just below the cup. It was literally the best golf shot I ever hit under pressure. It was my Shaun Micheel moment, minus the low testosterone.

Harry proceeded to chip up to about 12 feet. Jonathan hit a great bunker shot to six feet above the hole. I would've been perfectly fine with both of them missing their par putts, followed by the sight of me lagging a 30-inch putt to tap-in range, but Harry jarred his par putt. I had to make my 2 1/2-footer for birdie to win the match. And trust me, I've missed shorter.

As I stood over the ball and started to take the putter back, I literally said to myself, "Man, how bad would it suck if you missed this putt and lost the match?" Not exactly the breakfast of champions, is it? But thankfully the hole got in the way of the ball, and it dropped center cut. Birdie and a 1-up victory.

Jonathan and Harry acted like Ron Burgundy when Baxter ate the wheel of cheese -- too impressed to really be upset about losing. Their only exposure to me had been this two-hour window, so to them I looked like Mr. Clutch. And trust me, I milked it for all it was worth. Who cares if I reverted to the mean in the second round and we lost 1-down. I freakin' willed a birdie with the match on the line! It might honestly be the first time I've ever done that.

Later that night at the event dinner, I was reliving my feat to anybody who would listen. Eventually, Matt was the only guy who could stand to be around me, so we leaned against the bar and talked shop. Jonathan got up to leave, coming up to us to shake hands and say good night. After exchanging pleasantries with Matt, he leaned towards me, wapped me a couple times on the side of the ribs and said, "Play well tomorrow, kiddo!"

I could feel the look from Matt even before Jonathan left. Once he was gone, Matt nodded and said, "kiddo?" with a tinge of mock envy. "And he even gave you ribbage!" I was mocked for it incessantly for the rest of the weekend (and probably for the next 25 years), but it was totally worth it. For one shining moment, this kiddo was clutch.

PART FOUR: TRUMP COLORADO

Sunday afternoon at Bandon may go down as one of my most memorable moments on a golf course. Not because I was playing Pacific Dunes, one of the best and most scenic courses on the planet. Heck, the visibility was no more than 150 yards for most of the round, so any ocean vistas were rendered moot. It wasn't because my I had a career round or found some sort of Golf in the Kingdom-like enlightenment.

No, my round at Pacific Dunes that afternoon will go down in history because that's where I was when I found out that my home course Ballyneal was going into foreclosure. An email with the unfortunate news came across my phone as I was standing on 8th tee, drenched from head to toe from cold, spitting rain that seemed to penetrate every orifice of my rain gear.

I'd be lying if I didn't immediately wonder what the heck was going to happen to my beloved club. Would I get to play there next year? Could I still plan my golf marathon? Might somebody buy it and change it? Everything ranging from raising dues or opening it to the public all the way to the unbearable thought of putting in cart paths raced through my head in those first few seconds.

Of course, I should've been thinking about my playing partners, Matt and Dave, who as GM and Super, were worried about things like whether they were still going to have a job and whether somebody was going to fund payroll in a couple weeks. They had lived and worked under this dark cloud of financial uncertainty for more than a year, and as you can imagine, it made their day-to-day jobs of running the club, helping members and their guests and keeping the course in great shape extremely difficult. It's amazing that they were still able to the great job that they did.

Eventually, we hit our drives on 8 into the foggy abyss. And then spent the next two holes slapping the ball around in between complaining, questioning, bickering, wondering, bitching, moaning and generally wallowing in self-pity, and that was before I let anybody else get a word in edgewise. I can't even tell you how I did on those two holes; the golf was so secondary to everything else at that moment.

Finally on the 10th tee, Dave chimed in. "This is ridiculous. C'mon, we have to play for something." So after much debate about elaborate formats and stakes, we settled on simple dollar skins (double for birdies).

Dave was right. We needed something to shift our focus away from the foreclosure. Fittingly, golf was the escape. On the back nine, it wasn't three guys closely tied to what is sure to be one of the highest profile failures in an industry full of them. It was just three guys needling each other and trying to whip each other's white asses in to earn a couple extra bucks (Matt won, but I dont think anybody even collected). For Matt and Dave, it was a golf trip that they wished would never end.

Anytime the foreclosure came up after that, it was usually part of some wise crack. Along the way, we decided that for the time being, Ballyneal would now be referred to under a new name: Trump Colorado. I can only imagine the size of the new clubhouse.

PART FIVE: TRICK OR TREAT

It is a good thing I won the Walking Golfer of the Year award, because my Father of the Year nomination isn't coming any time soon. While you were probably spending quality time with your kids on Halloween bouncing from house to house, I was hopping from course to course at a nearly empty Bandon Dunes resort.

When I first got the invite to this event, I figured there was no way I could pull it off, as much as I wanted to. Of course, I did what I KNOW many of you do when you get a golf trip invite: you casually float the idea to your spouse. You're not seeking permission as much as just gauging the initial reaction to see if it's worth exploring further. Ten times out of ten, these conversations start with something non-threatening like this: "You'll never guess who I just got an e-mail from..." Here is the exact transcript of the conversation in the Colton house on September 15, 2011 at 10:30 PM.

Jim: "You'll never guess who I just got an e-mail from today."

Sue: "Okay, which golf course is it?"

Jim: "Old Mac. [Host] is having his annual event there. The only problem is it is over Halloween." [Braces for impact...]

Sue: "Hmm...That's okay. We're going over to my parents that night anyways. It shouldn't be a big deal."

Jim: "Cool. I'll tell him I'm in."

Sue: "When am I going to get my kitchen?"

I barely heard that last part, because I was too busy scrambling to send in my RSVP, followed by texts to 8-10 of my closest golf buds informing them of my plans/rubbing it in. Father of the Year may be out of the picture, but Susie C cemented Understanding Wife of the Year for the fourth year running.

Honestly, I still felt bad about missing out on the trick or treating. I felt like an even bigger ass at Sunday night's dinner, when the host Tom said, "We invited a lot of folks to join us, but we knew many wouldn't be able to make it because they had to spend time with their kids." I felt a little better about my absence the next day when I called home from the 5th fairway at Bandon Trails, right as my kids were getting home from school. My usual yapperhead children had cut their conversation down to no more than 12 words each, as I was the only thing standing between them and an unlimited smorgasbord of sweets that they never end up eating. My brutally honest daughter dealt the final blow: "Dad, can I say goodbye? I really don't want to talk to you right now."

Monday morning was the second day of the team event, but since Rob and I had already been eliminated, it was more like open golf. Our host went around the room at the end of the aforementioned dinner and set up pairings amongst those that were in the same boat. Knowing my level of golf insanity, he thoughtfully put us out as the first group off at 8:00 AM.

I don't have to tell you, but there are few joys in golf more treasured than the first tee time. So you can imagine our dismay when we rolled up and there were already two groups on the tee. One was a threesome of locals who just showed up and got themselves inserted at 7:50. The other was a twosome from the event that ignored the host's plans and just decided to their own thing.

However, that was just a minor inconvenience on what was otherwise a glorious day of golf, as good as any I've ever had on the links. As crummy as the weather was on Sunday, Mother Nature more than made up for it on Monday. Clear blue skies and the rising sun had me taking more pictures than my buddy Matt's Japanese friends, Yuji and Toshi.

Old Macdonald #1 - Double Plateau to a back pin

The second round at Old Macdonald was a key. Not only because of the improved weather that actually allowed us to see the holes for the first time, but because Old Mac, arguably more than any course on the resort, is geared for multiple plays. Similar to NGLA and many other Macdonald/Raymor designs, it's all about the strategic options. With the unprecedented width of the fairways and size of the greens, there's no way you'll fully get Old Macdonald in just one play. I still don't feel worthy to evaluate it after two rounds.

Old Macdonald #3 tee - Sahara

Still, favorite holes started to emerge. I really enjoyed the 3rd hole (Sahara), with its soon to be iconic lone tree forcing a decision on the tee, a expansive view as you cross the ridge and a wild, roller coaster fairway leading down to the green. The par fives are really strong, particularly the 6th (Long) and 15th (Westward Ho!), which have perfectly placed hazards to mess with your head as much as your second shot. The 16th (Alps) is sure to be a favorite for its memorability as well as its strategic value. I may even like this take on the template more than the one at National, as blasphemous as that might be to say (give me 10-12 more rounds at each and I'll be able to tell you for sure!)

Old Macdonald #7 (Ocean) - birdied it!

Our playing partners/opponents on Monday were Mark and Steve, aka Buzz and Saw. I knew we were in trouble when Matt, who was playing in the group behind us and had lost to these guys in the first round, nudged me and gave me a "check out this swing" nod right before Steve was about to launch his first tee ball. Steve's swing reminded me of Steve Stricker, completely unrushed and on plane the whole time, with absolutely no margin for error. In other words, the complete opposite of mine. I need the universe to be perfectly aligned in order for clubface to meet ball squarely. In Steve's universe, there was no possible the ball wasn't going to go straight. True to form, he made a 40-footer for birdie on the first hole (to the tough back plateau which is usually never pinned) and then stuck his approach to number two to gimme range. Just like that, Rob and I were two down through two.

My favorite template name: Westward Ho! - Old Macdonald 15th

It was more of the same for the vast majority of the round. Rob and I were up and down with our play. When we were up, the best we could do was halve. When we were down, we sunk even further. But we had a great time, played quickly (we skipped from 9 green to 13 tee in order to pass the two groups that snaked our ceremonial spot) and thoroughly enjoyed the cool sunny morning at Old Macdonald. I later told our opponents that I never have I had as much fun getting 4&3'd in my life.

After a quick break, I headed back to a wide open first tee. I played 1 & 2, and with the 3rd tee practically part of the 17th fairway, I could see Matt, Dave, Ben and my friend "Moves Like" Jaeger coming from that tee box. So I joined up with them and played in. I first tried to reach the 17th green again from my original spot (still failed), then missed a 5-footer for bird on the closing hole. Still, it was 18 1/2 holes down, many more to come.

The five of us split off into three different groups. Ben and I had a 1:20 tee time at Bandon Trails, but we knew we could get out before that. We dropped Jaeger off at Pac Dunes, who was hoping to get one last round in before heading back to snow-covered New York. Matt and Dave had a 1:15 tee time at Bandon Dunes, which they later professed was "by far the best course at the resort." (The 10th tee at Pac Dunes was the closest either Ben or I would get to the original course all weekend.)

Bandon Trails seems to be the red-headed step-child of the Bandon family. I'd venture a guess that it gets at least 30% less play then the other three courses at the resort. However, I was beginning to sense a groundswell of support for the course from a number of my closest golf friends, many of whom believe that Trails is as good as or better than anything else there. My friend John called Trails "the most underrated course in America." My buddy Wags kept telling me, "Trails is so good, dude. It is so good." Like many others, I originally had Bandon Trails high on my list but still 4th out of the four courses there. But I was anxious to play it again since it had been five years since my initial visit.

Bandon Trails - 5th Hole

You know what? Trails IS so good, dude. So good. I came away really impressed with the course and wondered why I had rated it so low to begin with. What it lacks for oceanside frontage, it makes up for in natural beauty and solid golf holes. Coore & Crenshaw really know their stuff. The course looks like it's been there for over 100 years.

Bandon Trails - 15th Hole

Perhaps it lacks the jaw-dropping, postcard holes at Bandon or Pacific Dunes. But Bandon Trails just seems to be one solid golf hole after another. I kept waiting for a let-up, something that would trigger my memory on why I didn't like it as much the first time. However, each hole, with the possible exception of the 16th, was better than I remembered. I'd even go as far as to say it's my second favorite at the resort behind Pacific Dunes and one of my favorite modern designs, just a tip of the Principal's Nose ahead of Old Macdonald.

Bandon Trails - 17th Hole

Ben and I grabbed a quick bite to eat and were able to tee around 1:00 PM. Nobody had teed off on the course for over two hours. The light bulb went off in our collective heads...potential third round, the holy grail of free Bandon golf! We had an enjoyable walk at Trails (even through the closing stretch, which are a set of ball busters into the summer wind), both hit the ball extremely well (much to my chagrin, Ben outdrove me on a bunch of holes) and burned around the course in less than 3 hours.

From there, we jetted over to the Pacific Dunes pro shop to get our freebie round in. It was about 4:05 and we had less than 2 1/2 hours of daylight left to get in as many holes as possible. The guy behind the counter was less than optimistic: "You should be able to get in the 7-hole loop." We both looked at him like he had two heads. "Uh...we're going for the full 18," Ben replied. The pro shop guy then claimed that it got dark before 6:00, which was a boldface lie since I just played until 6:30 easily the previous night under overcast skies.

Up for the challenge, we raced off to the first tee. We blitzed through the first three holes, pausing only momentarily to gaze at the beautiful, afternoon-sunlit course. Pacific Dunes is another course that I probably underestimated in my mind from my previous visit, even considering the fact that it was the #1 ranked course on my list at one point. It's just hard to beat the combination of rugged beauty, challenge and fun that Pac Dunes provides.

On the third hole, Ben (who is generally doing three things at once at any given time) called his friend Don who was somewhere out on the course at the same time. Ben must've grown tired of hanging out with me, because he skipped over to the 13th hole in order to catch up with those guys on #14. I didn't really mind, because it pretty much assured me that I would have no problem getting in the full 18 holes. After putting out on the 3rd, he went right and I went left, and Ben said, "call me when you're done and I'll pick you up."

There's something almost spiritual about being out on the golf course right on the ocean by yourself in the late afternoon. I had one of those "man it's a good time to be alive" type moments when I was on the 4th fairway. Since I had no longer had to rush the get done, I could soak it in and enjoy it as much as possible. I even putted from the 155 yards out on the 4th fairway, not because I was goofing around, but it just seemed like the right play at the time (I came up just short of the green.)

Not surprisingly, those all-around good vibes usually lead to a higher level of play. Aside from making a complete mess of the 8th hole (a certain quadruple bogey or worse had I actually finished it), I was continuing to hit the ball really well and surprisingly straight. I rode the par train from the 9th to 13th holes (first time I ever parred that sucker); suddenly I felt like a golfer again. I hit a poor shot on the short par 3 14th and made bogey (why is this hole so hard?), but was in great shape on the 15th, bombing my drive on the downwind hole to just short of the cross bunkers, so I was only hitting 8-iron into the green. I blew a good chance for birdie there, then made a killer par save on the tricky 16th. Add a bogey on the 17th and a 20-foot curling putt for birdie on the 18th (in front of Ben, who was waiting on the plexiglassed-in porch, huddled in front of the fireplace with the other guys he joined up with). 1-over 36 on the back...that just doesn't happen enough anymore.

Pacific Dunes - 10th Hole (Upper Tee)

Joining the guys up on the porch, I relished in the warmth of the crackling fireplace and basked in the glow of an increasingly rare stretch of inspired play. Three rounds on the last day of October, at Bandon Dunes under blue skies. How do you top that? I can honestly say it was the best 54 1/2-hole day of my life.

More pics:

Pacific Dunes - 7th Hole

Pacific Dunes - 11th Hole

Pacific Dunes - 16th Hole

PART SIX: NO LOOKING BACK

Tuesday morning was the last round of the trip. And more importantly, the last round of 2011. It's always good to go into the long Chicago offseason with some positive feelings, some sort of nugget that can sustain you for the winter and keep you optimistic that next year is going to be "your year." Finish the year on a down note and you're left thinking about that for the next 5-6 months. Combine that with the uncertainty about my shoulder, no NBA games to speak and a complete question mark hanging over my home club, and yeah, there was a lot riding on this one round.

One guy who was not optimistic about my prospects was my playing partner, Ben. At various points over the course of the weekend, I regaled him with magnificent golf feats from my golf past, like how I made five birdies at Pacific Dunes the first time I played it back in 2006. When I told him about a similar birdie barrage at Bandon Trails while we played there on Monday afternoon, he asked, "How come you never have any of these good rounds whenever I'm playing with you?" Truthfully, Ben had been on three previous trips with me over the last 2 1/2 years, seeing me play some of my absolute worst golf this side of Shinnecock Hills. I could hardly blame him for his red-lining BS meter. I didn't have a good answer for his question. Much like the my beloved Illini's Final Four appearance in 2005, each subsequent disappointing year since has made the Dee Brown/Deron Williams-era seem like eons ago. Yet we still hang on to it because that's pretty much all we have.

Pac Dunes was the obvious choice for the last round of the trip, and the 8:00 AM tee time was one of the first things we secured when booking the trip. Once again, a group got put out right in front of us. This time, it was a group that included some of Doak's design interns. They were good guys, and likely the future of golf course design (assuming there is one), so I didn't put up too much of a fuss. I only hit into them once.

The Ballyneal boys, Matt and Dave, rounded out the foursome and we're our opponents in the friendly fourball match. It was a crisp but sunny morning, the temperature dipping down into the 30's but fortunately not low enough to warrant a frost delay (I had a 1:56 PM flight back to Chicago, so we didn't really have too much extra time to play with). The first hole at Pacific is an awkward driving hole, but I started things off by splitting the fairway with a laced 3-wood. Good vibes. I should've known something was up after the second hole, when I hit my drive way right and was completely blocked out from the green by trees, yet hit one of those big towering draws around trouble that Tiger always seemed to pull off when he was in his prime. I wasn't even sure where the putting surface was when I hit, but I got up to the green and was thrilled to see my ball on the back edge. Matt and Dave both got plugged lies in a front bunker that had the consistency of cold oatmeal. Just like that, Ben and I were two-up through two.

Pacific Dunes - 3rd Hole

Some view the par 5's as a weakness at Pacific Dunes, but it's hard to say anything bad about the 3rd. Just look at the picture above. If that doesn't do anything for you then you should take up a different sport. As you can tell from the pic, you have to pick a side on the tee -- challenging the left side of the hole will shorten it and leave a better angle to the green, but it's very much an all or nothing shot. Conservatively playing right opens up lots of room for the second shot but is virtually impossible to get close to the hole. Not feeling particularly confident with my driver after the previous hole, I aimed down the middle and hit a slight draw that bounded down the right side of the hole. Not exactly Position A; more like Position B-.

The interns were on the green, but I was about 265 out and had no thoughts of reaching the green in two, so I went ahead and hit. I pulled out my 3-wood and hit a low running shot up the left side. It wasn't very well struck, but it turned out to be a great shot for the firm and fast conditions, as the ball just kept on rolling and rolling closer to the green. It eventually rested just left and short of the green, and about 3 feet from one of the golf bags of the guys in front of us. Oops! They were putting out about 40 yards away when I hit, so there wasn't really any threat of injury, but it did garner a look back as they walked off the green and headed to the 4th tee.

For my next shot, I did what should always do at Bandon when you're anywhere close to the green -- I putted. I wapped the ball with my flatstick and sent it hurtling across the greens. Within the first two seconds, I knew it was good. About 30 feet out, I knew it really good. About 15 feet out, I knew it was going in. The ball just never left the center of the hole the entire way. Right on cue, it hit the flagstick and dropped straight down for E-E-EAGLE!!!

Now this wasn't just any old eagle. This one was particularly special. In order to understand, we need some history. Cue the flashback music…

Last September, I made two hole-out eagles within a 10-day period of each other. Both were with my good friend Tom Dunne, who for some reason is like a hole-out and/or hole-in-one magnet when you are playing with him (good guy to know). The first was at Friar's Head on the 11th hole, when I jarred on with a sand wedge from about 115 yards out. The second one was at the 7th hole at Ballyneal (probably my favorite hole in the world), when I rolled one in with a three-quarters lob wedge from about 85 yards out. They were my first eagles since June 2008. I barely even sniffed an eagle for most of the 2+ years in between, and usually choked like a dog whenever I had a decent chance.

As you may know, my buddy Jefe and I are extremely competitive. One of things we've kept track of is lifetime eagles. Although I probably get three times as many chances, he's always had the upper hand on number of eagles. It's something that has slowly eaten away at me for years. Jefe had eight eagles before I got my first, and I've been slowly (excruciatingly so) been reeling him in ever since. As I've gotten closer, the obligatory "EEEEEEAAAAAAGGGGGGLLLLLEEEE" calls to the other party have gotten longer, louder and exponentially more annoying with each passing one.

You might be surprised to hear this, but because my game had gone to pot and the eagle opportunities had all but dried up, I had pretty much forgotten where I stood in relationship to Jefe prior to these two hole-outs. I went back and tallied up my eagle count and discovered it was at 21. Here is the text exchange I had with Jefe:

Jim: I think my eagle count is 21. I'm prob still behind you.

Jefe: I'm at 21.

Jim: It's on like Donkey Kong!!!

Jefe: I need a full list of your eagles for audit purposes.

Within 60 minutes, I was able to produce an e-mail with all of my lifetime eagles dating back to 1994, with course, hole number, shot type and playing partners. Not that you care, but it's my blog and I can post what I want to:

1. 1994 - Burr Hill, 10th Hole. Par 5. Putt. Playing solo
2. 1997 - Oak Club of Genoa, 3rd Hole, Par 5. Putt. Playing solo
3. 1997 - Links at Carillon, 5th Hole, Par 5. Chip-in. Playing w/ Sue
4. 1997 - Cog Hill #1, 15th Hole, Par 5. Tap-in putt. Playing solo
5. 1998 - Prestbury, 17th Hole. Par 4. 9-Iron Hole out. Playing w/ Jefe
6. 1999 - TPC at Sawgrass (Valley), 17th Hole. Par 5. Chip in. Playing w/ Sue on our honeymoon
7. 2000 - TPC at Deere Run, 17th Hole. Par 5. Putt from fringe. Playing w/ Charles
8. 2001 - Purdue University (Kampen), 14th Hole. Par 4. PW Hole out. Playing w/ Charles
9. 2003 - Arrowhead, 8th Hole (South Nine). Par 5. Putt. Playing w/ Marc F.
10. 2004 - Grand National (Lake), 14th Hole. Par 5. Long Pitch. Playing w/ Jefe and Jimbo
11. 2004 - Prairie Landing, 18th Hole. Par 5. Putt. Playing solo
12. 2005 - Prairie Landing, 18th Hole. Par 5. Putt. Putt w/ Wego, Cloon and some weird dude from North Carolina
13. 2005 - Prairie Landing, 17th Hole. Par 3. ACE! 4-iron. Playing w/ Jefe
14. 2006 - Prairie Landing, 4th Hole. Par 5. Putt. Playing solo.
15. 2006 - Prairie Landing, 18th Hole. Par 5. Putt. Playing solo
16. 2006 - Prairie Landing, 10th Hole. Par 5. Tap-in Putt. Playing Solo (document in One Divot at a Time)
17. 2007 - Prairie Landing, 13th Hole. Par 5. PW Hole-Out. Playing solo.
18. 2007 - Ozaukee Country Club, 15th Hole. Par 5. Putt. Playing w/ Dan M. and Eric T.
19. 2008 - Cantigny (Woodside), 2nd Hole. Par 5. Putt. Playing w/ my Dad
20. 2010 - Friar's Head, 11th Hole. SW Hole Out. Playing w/ Tom Dunne and Mike P.
21. 2010 - Ballyneal, 7th Hole. LW Hole Out. Playing w/ Tom Dunne and Matt Schulte

After Jefe replied with his equally detailed list, the race for Eagle #22 was on! The next time we played together was in mid-October, as part of a Golf Club Atlas event at the Highlands of Elgin (#8 and "Top Value" on my Definitive Guide to Chicago's Best Public Golf Courses). The GCA'ers were in love with the Highlands' firm and fast conditions, although in fairness they were due partly by maintenance intent and partly by sparse conditions on a relatively new course. On the 5th hole, I hit one of my best drives of the day, only to find my ball was sitting on a spot of rock hard, bare dirt. I badly shanked my approach shot into the tall, fescue grass left of the green.

On the par 5 14th hole, I hit another good drive and found myself in a similar situation -- on bare dirt. With the 5th hole debacle still fresh in my mind, I decided to move my ball about 2 inches onto something resembling green turf. Then I proceeded to hit what was the probably the best 3-wood of my life (no exaggeration, since I had just bought the 3-wood after not carrying one or being able to hit one for the 10 years prior). The shot barely cleared some fronting bunkers and had to be somewhere close on the uphill green.

When we got up to the surface, we could see that the ball was just 10 feet short of the hole. Jefe, Jimbo and our playing partner Matt were hooping and hollering about the potential tie-breaking putt. I quietly had the internal struggle between good vs. evil, desperately trying to find some rationalization for counting the eagle if I were to make the putt. Part of me just wanted to miss it in order to not have to face the ethical dilemma. But I pulled the putter back and rolled it in true. Jefe approached me, stuck out his arm for a man-hug and said, "Congrats man". But in that moment, the Rebel Alliance won out (somewhat surprisingly). "I can't count it. I moved the ball back in the fairway," I admitted. Jefe had a new lease of life.

[End flashback music]

After the eagle putt at Pac Dunes had dropped, I hopped around and screamed like an idiot for a good 15-20 seconds. It was a bit excessive, I admit. But this was an eagle that was 17+ years in the making. "Uh oh…here comes the phone call," Matt was quick to point out. I stood out on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific, got Jefe's voice mail then let out an eagle call that was more louder, more longer and exponentially more annoying than ever. The guys ahead of us on the 4th hole said they heard it. I'm sure the golfers at the 4th green on Bandon Dunes further up the coast probably heard it as well, if not the 7th green at Pebble Beach some 500 miles away. When I finally got the chance to talk to Jefe later that day, he said, "I was in the meeting when you called. When I saw the voice mail pop-up, I knew right away. It was about time you finally passed me."

Oh yeah, and I was -2 under through 3 holes and 3-up in the match…

My 2011 Walking Golfer of the Year Victory Speech Dilemma

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 01:46:00 +0000

Check out this e-mail that just came across my shiny new iPhone 4S from Rob Rigg, founder of The Walking Golfer Society and co-founder of TRUE Linkswear (I tried to get Siri to read it to me, but apparently she doesn't do that yet):

SATURDAY 15 , OCTOBER 2011

2011 Walking Golfer of the Year and TWGS Event at Pasatiempo

Hello Society Members,

I am excited to announce Jim Colton as our 2011 Walking Golfer of the Year.

When I requested nominations for the award there was a resounding response that only one person was the logical choice and that was Jim. There was literally nobody else nominated and for good reason.

This summer Jim walked 155 holes in one day at Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club in Colorado, and raised over $100k for Ben Cox and his family. Jim's incredible feat is an inspiration for us all and the money raised for injured caddie Ben and his family has been incredibly helpful in their time of need. Jim has been a passionate walking golfer for many years and his love for the game is infectious. Since writing "One Divot at a Time: Diary of a Full Fledged Golf Addict" , Jim has started to focus a little less on a score and a bit more on enjoying being on the course with friends and family. He wanted to turn his passion for walking Ballyneal into a way to help others and it has been an brilliant success. Jim will be taking the Ben Cox 155 to another level in 2012, stay tuned for details.

Congratulations Jim! It will be an honor to present you with The 2011 Walking Golfer of the Year award at Bandon Dunes at the end of October.

Keep enjoying the walk,

Rob

Founder - The Walking Golfers Society

Hey, I know that dude! What an honor it is to win the Walking Golfer of the Year award. What a perfect way to cap the golf season.

As the e-mail mentioned, Rob is planning to present the award to me at Bandon Dunes at the end of this month. I'm not sure what the format of the presentation will be like. As my lifetime record in Ballynizzle Cups probably indicates, victory speeches are not something that I have a whole lot of experience with.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned this year is this: anything that one could possibly want to learn about can be learned from YouTube. Back in March, I bought an electric guitar and just seven months later, I can butcher a Top 40 song or 90's rock tune with the best of them. So after giving one victory speech a shot, I then turned to YouTube to help come up with a second version. And I figured what better place to start than to watch victory and acceptance speeches from some of the best athletes of my generation. I've had such a stellar track record of following athletes who are not only superstars but great people (Michael Jordan, Barry Bonds, Tiger Woods), I knew this plan would be full-proof. I spent hours pouring over videos from them and others such as Rickey Henderson, Alex Rodriguez and Mark McGwire.

The problem is I'm now stuck with two versions. Which should I use in Bandon in two weeks? Check them out below and let me know what you think.

Version 1:

Thank you very much to Rob and the Walking Golfer Society for this tremendous honor. I feel truly humbled to be included with the likes of Mr. Keiser and Chick Evans – in many respects I feel unworthy of being listed with these great fellow Chicagoans. I’m just a guy who really loves the game of golf – and through an amazing twist of fate and the generosity of others, stumbled upon a way to use that passion to impact one family’s life for the better. That, in and of itself, has been prize enough. I’ve been truly blessed to have met Ben and the Cox family, and to have witnessed firsthand this outpouring of support from thousands of golfers from around the globe. To win the 2011 Walking Golfer of the Year is just the icing on the cake of the most memorable year of my golfing life.

There are so many people to thank; I don’t even know where to begin. First of all, thank you to Rob and the team at TRUE Linkswear. I know it would be bad form for Rob to give himself this award, but is there honestly anybody who’s done more for the cause (and the feet) of the walking golfer than Rob? The TRUEs have revolutionized the game for those who enjoy the walk and have made it possible for others to free themselves from the shackles of the cart path. I’ve mentioned this before and it’s the truth -- not only would I have never walked 155 holes in one day, I would’ve never even tried this crazy plan without my TRUEs.

Of course, thank you very much to the members and staff at Ballyneal. Ballyneal is my second home and the folks there are my second family. Thank you to Rupert O’Neal for having the vision to build such a special place. Thank you to Tom Doak and the Renaissance team for building a world-class golf course that one would want to play 8-9 times in one day, and for keeping those green-to-tee distances so manageable! Thank you to head pro Matt Payne and assistant Brian Carruthers, for all of the support leading up to the event but also for caddying for the first six rounds. What an awesome experience to share with both of you. Thank you to Casey St. John and John Kirk for caddying the last 2 1/2 rounds and for being there when I tapped it for par on the 155th hole at 8:55 P.M. And thank you to my good friend “Dr.” Matt Schulte, who kept me hopped up with a myriad of energy drinks and nutritional supplements. Without him, I surely would’ve crashed and burned before noon.

Look behind any full-fledged golf addict and you’re likely to find a saintly, beyond understanding and extremely supportive wife, and I’m truly no exception! Thank you to my beautiful wife Sue for being supportive of this event and accepting of all my golf adventures. The marathon was so much more special having you there to share it with. I love you forever and always.

Last but not least, I have to thank Ben Cox. Trust me, it’s not lost on me that the only reason I am Walking Golfer of the Year is because of a 23-year old who would do anything to walk a golf course again. My promise is to never lose sight of this fact (plus as TWGS members, we can never let our passion for promoting the benefits of the walking game trump making the game accessible and fun to anybody who wants to tee it up). It’s difficult to understand why this life-changing accident had to happen to Ben, but countless people have been moved by Ben’s story and by his and his family’s tremendous strength and faith during this tough time. The Cox family is doing what they can to turn a negative into a positive. Ben has been an inspiration to me personally and I feel blessed to call him a friend.

Through getting to know Ben, I’ve developed a sort-of personal mantra: “Bold in life. Bold in faith.” Ben Cox lives this way every day of his life. My hope and prayer is to do the same. After seeing how this event took off and witnessing the impact that one bold idea can have when fueled by passion, I’m ready to announce bigger plans for 2012. With the help of Rob and others, we’re launching a non-profit, charitable golf society called One Divot. The goal is to use our passion for the game to help change people’s lives for the better. The centerpiece of our fundraising efforts will be a marathon event called the 100 Hole Hike. It will be similar to my golf marathon this year at Ballyneal, but instead of one man walking a bunch of holes at one course for one cause, the goal is a network of golfers all walking 100+ holes at great golf courses around the world to raise money for a variety of worthwhile causes. Look for more details in the coming months.

As you may know, One Divot comes from the tagline on my website: “changing the world one divot at a time…” Before this year, it was nothing more than an intentionally-hokey play on words, originating from something I said to my younger brother as he was taking huge chunks of earth out on every swing while on a golf trip over 15 years ago. Admittedly, my existence as a golfer was a shallow and selfish one – trying to shoot low scores, bomb 300-yard drives, make a few birdies and play as many of the world’s great golf courses as possible before I died. The only way a person may have been “changed” by me was if I hit them while they were standing in an adjacent fairway.

Today, I still want to shoot low scores. I still want to bomb 300-yard drives and see and play great courses. It’d be difficult to call yourself a passionate golfer if you didn’t. But to use this passion while also helping others has been a revelation. As a result, my passion for the game and motivation to help others is at an all-time high. I have Ben Cox to thank for that. The best part of winning the Walking Golfer of the Year is not the personal notoriety that may come from this award, but the validation of this positive shift in my life and, more importantly, the platform to use this award to reach more people with Ben’s story and the other worthwhile causes coming in the near future. Thank you again to Rob and the Walking Golfer Society for this honor.

Version 2:

Good morning. And thank you for joining me. I want to say this to Rob and the Walking Golfer Society simply and directly: Thank you for this honor.

Jimmy C looks at the list of winners of this prestigious award and couldn’t help but think of one thing: Chicago 3, the Rest of the World 0!!! Is the Windy City now officially the walking golf capital of the universe? Perhaps. People like to use the word “dynasty” so freely. Normally, I’d caution against it, but if the TRUEs fit…

Speaking of TRUEs, congratulations to Rob and the TRUE Linkswear team for having the intelligence to bring me on as a (pseudo) staff member. Next year’s True Colton special editions will be the hottest thing in golf – I fully suspect golfers will get killed over them like Air Jordan 11’s. Don’t say you weren’t warned. And Jim Colton thinks Jim Colton is ready to replace Ryan Moore in your online and print ads. Just give me a second to find my hoodie.

Thank you to Ballyneal for telling everybody to get out of my way on that fateful day. I knew Garrett and his 6’4”, 250-pound frame was good for something, but up until June 22nd I wasn’t 100% sure what it was. Congrats to Matt, Brian, John and Casey for carrying my limited-edition, Ballynizzle bag (there are only two in existence, and I own both of them). I apologize for stiffing you on the caddie bill. I am truly sorry. But hopefully you learned a thing or two about the golf swing along the way. This should be payment enough.

To Nick Flaa and Gary Nelson, who held the pevious record of hole played at Ballyneal in one day: take a suck of that! Nick and Gary are great golfers who walked. But today...Jim Colton is the Walking Golfer of the Year. Huge difference.

Before we go any further, I need to clarify one thing. I did not (to my knowledge) take any performance enhancing drugs before, during or after the marathon event. Ever. This is completely and utterly false. Even so, 155 with an asterix next to it still starts with the numbers 1-5-5. Ballyneal may have a loosey-goosey, laid-back attitude, and the Guiness Book officials may have been instructed to look the other way, but my nutrition regiment consistent nothing more than Gatorade, flaxseed oil and female reproductive hormone pills that I take for medicinal purposes. So what if Dr. Schulte received his online doctorate in TV/VCR repair from some institution in Barbados? I trust him with my life. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that my body has broken down faster than a 1978 Gremlin since the marathon.

Besides, I'm not here to talk about the past. I'm here to talk about the plans we have for next year. We’re taking the golf marathon thing on a global scale. One cycle of blood spinning and a “cortisone” shot from Dr. Schulte and I'll be good to go. Stay tuned for the launch of One Divot, my charitable golf society, and the 100 Hole Hike, coming to a top 100 golf course near you in 2012. Taking our fundraising efforts to the next level will help us achieve three things. First, it will help us raise even more money for a variety of worthwhile causes. Also, it will improve my chances of someday playing Augusta National. Finally, it will ensure that I will continue to win the Walking Golfer of the Year award for the foreseeable future. We have an old-saying in Chicago: “minimum 8-peat!”

Oh…and thanks to Ben Cox. And to my wife Sue. And God. Thank you.

Follow Jim Colton on Twitter: @jcolton31

Ballyneal: Somewhere Only We Know

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:30:00 +0000

My buddy Matt put together this slideshow highlight some of the great times at Ballyneal over the past couple years. Nice work, Matty!

The Wegoblogger Man Cave

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 03:47:00 +0000

Here are some pics from the newly renovated Wegoblogger World Headquarters, a.k.a. Ballymancave. Enjoy!

I think I have another piece of hardware coming in October, so I need to find room for it. More on that when the time comes...

The Eighth at Ballyneal by Joshua C.F. Smith on the left; a wind-tattered old Ballyneal flag on the right

Flags left to right: Olympia Fields, PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, The Players Championship, Masters, Riviera Country Club, World Woods and Friars Head

Ballyneal photos on canvas by canvasondemand.com ($45 via group on)

Flags left to right: Bethpage Black U.S. Open, Black Sheep, Pebble Beach, National Golf Links, Ballyneal, Shinnecock Hills, Kingsley Club, Sand Hills, Harbour Town

Guide to Chicago Public Golf Courses - 2011 Update

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:01:00 +0000

We've updated the Definitive Guide to Chicago's Best Public Courses by soliciting the input of an expert panel of fellow Windy City golf-crazed lunatics. Bowes Creek, The Highlands of Elgin and Ravisloe Country Club are new entrants to the list, which was last published in 2007 but continues to be the most requested web page on my site. Cog Hill #4 (pictured above) still holds the top spot. Click on the link below to view the updated rankings.

http://www.wegoblogger31.com/2007/05/chicago-golf-definitive-guide-to.html

Natty Twice!

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 20:11:00 +0000

I never thought I'd see the day...I get to play National Golf Links of America twice in one summer.

Okay, the lyrics need work. But that doesn't change the fact that I got another chance to play the National this past week, a.k.a. the greatest golf course that I've ever played. After a second go 'round, I can't help but think of the words of the great KRS-One: "I'm still #1!" Those lyrics work just fine.

Looking back now...it's crazy to think that I'm almost passed on the opportunity to play CB Macdonald's masterpiece again. For most of the latter half of July and beginning of August, I sat in my home office wallowing in self-pity and was stuck in a existential (my favorite word in the English language, although I'm still not exactly sure what it means), post-marathon and post-Ballynizzle Cup defeat funk. I was done for the year, by far the earliest in the season that I had hung 'em up. When my good buddy Matt mentioned that there might be an opportunity to fill out the foursome at NGLA, I initially passed.

But in the words of John Popper (with creative license), "The Alps brings you baaaack!"

A few weeks back, my friend and golf writer Tom innocently asked me a question about the playing characteristics of the famed 3rd Hole at National for a piece that he was working on. I was slightly perplexed and deeply perturbed that I couldn't give him a good answer, largely because the first time I played the hole back in June, I hit my drive about 50 yards left of left, and had to play the hole up the hill from near the 4th green.

That darn 3rd hole stuck in my craw for days. As did many of the other wonderful template holes - Redan, Road, Bottle, Punchbowl, etc. I thought to myself, "How many times are you going to play this course in your lifetime? Strap on a sack and get back out there, you idiot!" I went crawling back to Matt and a couple e-mails later, I was confirmed in. Natty twice!

Check out the pictures below. What a perfect way to cap off what has been the best golfing year of my life. Unless, of course, there's a Natty Thrice sometime in September or October (anybody?)

Here's the bell behind the Alps green. Matt should've been the one to gong it, as he birdied the hole. Wow, what a hole to birdie. I did successfully hit it in the right side of the fairway, but hit a low skunky approach shot out to the left (a common theme on this day) and made bogey.

The greatest Redan hole in the world. What did I say my lifetime record is on redans last time? 0-for-102? Well, it's 0-for-103 now.

Short. The 6th hole.

Matt was in New York for a weeklong binge with two golf friends from Japan, Yuji and Toshi. Matt met them about 6-7 years ago at Portmarnock while on a solo trip to Ireland. Imagine this because I've know you've been there - cruising through the course playing as a single, when you reach a par 3 occupied by some Japanese golfers who are waving you up to join them. Do you join them? Do you try to play through? Do you hang back and play 2-3 balls for the rest of the round? Matt ended up agreeing to join and got a couple lifelong golf buds out of it. It turned out they had very similar itineraries for the rest of the Ireland trip and agreed to meet up at various points down the road. And they've been going on yearly golf trips to great courses around the world nearly every year since.

I had heard all about Yuji and Toshi and their adventures from Matt and was anxious to meet them (from Yuji, I found out that the name Jim means "from zero", which sounds about right). I knew they were extremely passionate golfers, and the shared love for the game would be enough to overcome any cultural or language barriers. What he failed to mention was the fact that they were legitimate sticks -- Yuji a steady 3 and Toshi a +1 index. Their straight and solid games were in stark contrast to the hack and slash style of their American counterparts. Our U.S. vs. Japan fourball match was a lot like the Womens World Cup finale, if that soccer match had ended at halftime by slaughter rule. Toshi made four birdies on the front nine of shot 2-under 34 on the front. The picture below shows the "Road" on the 7th hole...if you look closely you'll see Toshi and my golf balls right next to each other. Toshi calmly blasted out to 10 feet and made the birdie putt. I skulled my shot over the green and made the last of five straight dumb bogeys.

8th Hole - Bottle. Hard to choose a favorite hole here, but this would be one of the contenders.

Master Yoda has seen a lot of golf courses in his 800+ years, but nothing as good, as National is.

Yuji hitting out of the Strath bunker on the 13th hole. I birdie this one from just past the pin. After a par on the 14th, I was a respectable +6 with just 4 holes to go. Let's just leave it at that.

Matt hitting out of the swale on Punchbowl. My drive is up on top of the hill. Yes, I made bogey.

The home hole. Just a wild, big and brawny par 5 finish. I haven't quite figured this hole out. Maybe next time?

If you look closely or zoom in on the pic, you'll see a black Ferrari as the rightmost car in the parking lot. Normally straight-ball hitting Toshi pushed one way left and missed that car by mere inches, one hopping it off the parking lot.

Bonus Pics: Shinnecock!

As an added bonus, here are some pictures from an afternoon at next-door neighbor Shinnecock Hills. No, I didn't get to play it, but with the afternoon free I was able to tag along while the others played. I even caddied for Matt for most of the round, broadening my work experience just in case I get laid-off in the upcoming recession. The clouds gave way in the late afternoon, and it was a beautiful day for golf. As you can see from the pictures, the course was very green from recent torrential rains (8-10" in one day), which made for great contrast to the oranges and purples of the deep fescue.

3rd hole

7th Hole - Redan. Let's just assume I would've missed it. 0-for-104.

9th Hole. I hope I get a chance to meet this Ben Nevis character. I'd like to shake his hand. Starting from the 9th hole on, is there a better golf course on the planet than Shinnecock Hills?

10th Hole. The picture doesn't do the fall and rise justice.

11th Hole. This is the hole that was stuck in Matt's head for the last two months. Great short par 3.

12th Hole.

13th Hole.

14th Hole.

15th Hole.

16th Hole. Matt made a mess of this hole after being in a good position off the tee again. I'm sure he'll blame his caddie, who talked him out of laying up. However, I sort of made up for it by ramming in a 25-footer with Matt's right-handed putter as he raked the bunker (at the time this made sense, trust me.) I guess I did get to play Shinnecock Hills. How many people can say they aced the par 5 16th?

17th Hole.

5th wheel or starting center?

Shinnecock surpasses Ben's Porch as best place to sit and have drinks as the sun is going down.

Desktop background material...

Follow Wegoblogger31 on twitter at: http://twitter.com/jcolton31

From Bad to Far Worse

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 22:50:00 +0000

Let me just start off by saying this: losing the Ballynizzle Cup sucks. I probably wanted to win it back a little too much, to the detriment of my golf game and my team's chances. That said, there is absolutely no way I'd want to trade places with Jefe right now. In fact, I'm not sure anybody would.

The day after the Nizzle started innocently enough. The plan was to play two rounds of golf in the Denver area before taking a late-night flight home. Everything was going along swimmingly until the second round ended four holes early due to thunderstorms. A minor setback in an otherwise great golf trip.

Suddenly, we were faced with almost six hours to kill before our scheduled 9:44 PM flight. Luckily, we spotted our ol' friend Chili's (a golf-trip staple) on the way back to the Interstate and figured a bowl or three of bottomless chips and salsa would be a good way to kill time. Even if none of us were all that hungry. That morning, we met the "Milkshake Lady" at Castle Pines and had to try one of her world-famous milkshakes . It was one of those rare cases in today's world where something actually lives up to the hype. In fact, I ended up having two milkshakes (one chocolate after the round and one strawberry for the road). I felt like a lead balloon during the second round and really paid the price later that night (two milkshakes and Chili's...not a winning combination), but I will go on record that the second milkshake was worth it. It was that good.

We pulled up to the airport around 6:30 PM, over three hours ahead of time. At least that's what we thought. As we reached the kiosk to check our clubs, I received the first of seven text messages telling us that the departure time had been pushed back. From 9:44 to 10:15. then 10:30. 10:47. 11:15. 11:30. 11:50. Then ultimately 12:10 AM. Our flight didn't leave until 12:30 in the morning. We didn't land at O'Hare until 3:45 AM, sort of an unplanned red-eye flight.

I consider myself to be an extremely patient air traveler. Years of flying in and out of LaGuardia for work have conditioned me to hope for the best and expect the worst. But six hours at Denver International late at night has to be something similar to the survival training that our buddy Ben told us about from his days at the Air Force Academy. In the war for airport supremacy, the man with the most power outlets and gummy worms wins. I managed the battery-life remaining percentage on my iPhone like it was a ticking timebomb. If it had gone down to zero, I would've certainly gone insane. Poor Jimbo was losing that battle - he spent his time trying to be the first person to discover how to comfortably sit in those blue vinyl and metal airport chairs. He gave that up and switched to the rock-hard floor. I knew his brain was turning to mush when he said, "If I ever build my own airport, the floors will be made entirely out of mattresses." It was getting ugly.

The long wait was bad, but it gets worse. After running out of better ideas, Jefe and I decided to scavenge for food. We slumped our dead tired bodies against the sides of the long people movers at DIA and headed towards the center of the B concourse. Along the way, I did what most golfers do in that situation, I simulated an air golf swing -- the same one that led to so many duck hooks and conceded holes over the weekend. Jefe stared at it with a certain glint of satisfaction. You could practically see the thought bubble above his head saying, "Ha! With that swing, I'm going to own the Cup until the day I die!" Suddenly, however, his focus shifted to two kids who were sprinting down the people movers and quickly coming our way. I was blocking the entire walkway with my swing. Jefe warned me to move to the side.

Jefe and I watched as the two kids sprinted past us. Instead, what he should've been watching was the end of the moving walkway. In what now seems like a move out of a bad romantic (or bromantic) comedy, Jefe flailed off the end of the people mover, flung his arms in order to catch his balance and with a mean right-hook PUNCHED ME SQUARE IN THE MOUTH. The worst part is he didn't even know he had done it. He kept on walking as if nothing had happened. I had to stop him with a "Dude, you punch me in the lip," holding my hand up to my mouth to find out that my lip was cut and I was now bleeding profusely from the swinging hand of my former best friend.

Thankfully, the mens bathroom was one of the only things that was open at that hour, and I was able to rinse out my mouth and stop the bleeding with a handful of paper towels. Jefe waited outside, probably wondering if I was going to hit him back. Once out of the bathroom, I jokingly asked everybody within earshot the following rhetorical question: "I just lost the Ballynizzle Cup, my golf game stinks, we've been waiting in this airport for five hours and now my best friend just punched me in the face. Could this night get any worse?"

The answer was yes. Yes, it could.

The flight, once it finally left, went relatively smoothly. Jefe and I got upgraded to first class while Jimbo, a.k.a. the Unstoppable One (only when it comes to matters involving match-play matches), got stuck in chattle class where he rightfully belongs. It was the second time in a row we had been upgraded -- I honestly think United is trying to make up for the customer-service fiasco that occurred during the golf marathon (I'm still not taking down the rant until they donate $280 to the Ben Cox fundraiser). On the way out to Denver, all was fun and giggles. It was Jefe's first time in first class and we used the opportunity to take some pictures of him and the Cup, much to the chagrin to the staff and the rest of the cabin. On the way back to Chicago, however, we were both zombies. I used an impossibly small and thin United-issued blanket and tried to get some sleep. Jefe curled up like a baby with a blanket twice the size and thickness as mine. I just can't beat this guy in anything.

In fact, I don't think we said a single word to each other for the first 98% of the trip. I woke up just as the pilot said we'd be making our final descent. I looked over at Jefe and he was awake. But his face was pale and he looked troubled. If you've followed these golf adventures closely, then you know Jefe has a moderate fear of flying. I half-jokingly hold his hand on take offs and landings, which is always worth a chuckle but I'm beginning to sense that he actually needs it. So when I saw his ghost face I just figured he was frightened by the turbulence as we approach the runway. So I put my hand on his shoulder and tried to comfort him. That's when Jefe said literally his first words to me on the entire flight:

"My left nut is killing me," he said with a grunt and a grimace.

"Well, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for you on that one," I replied.

Jefe continued to toss and turn and grimace as we landed and waited to de-plane. He limped around after we met up with Jimbo and started heading to the Terminal. Jimbo and I didn't really think it was all that serious, until we reached the baggage area and turned left to find our golf bags. Jefe was lagging behind, called to get our attention and said, "Here, you guys just bring my bags home. I'm going to get a cab to Geneva, then go to the Emergency Room."

At that point, Jefe looked like a dog that was going to go lay down in the forest and die. He didn't want us helping him. He snarled when we tried to get near him. But obviously we weren't going to just put him in a cab with a hardy handshake and a "best of luck, keep us posted". Our golf bags came out relatively quickly and we convinced him to head back with us, where his wife could meet us at the ER at the hospital five minutes from my house (twenty-five minutes from his). I can only imagine what his wife was thinking when the phone rang at 4:00 AM. We figured it might've been a hernia. Certainly after watching Jefe's violent full swing approximately 400 times over six days, it seemed like a plausible explanation.

During the 30-minute cab ride, Jefe made the leap from a '5' to a full-fledged unhappy face on the pain scale. Suddenly thrust into a position we had never been in before, Jimbo and I tried to offer words of encouragement and advice, but otherwise sat their helpless. About 10 minutes into the drive, I asked Jefe if he just wanted to find the nearest hospital and he said yes. I struggled to find one close by on Google Maps and thankfully the pain subsided just enough for us to make it out to the one by my house. Even if it did take me convincing the cab driver to make about six different moving violations to get there quicker.

Jimbo stayed with his brother at the ER as I took the bags and clubs back to my house. I paid the cabbie $100 to cover any eventual court costs and instantly jumped in my car and headed back to the hospital. I pulled up to the ER desk and said, "My brother Jeff Tang was just dropped off here about 10 minutes ago," figuring there was enough truth in that statement that they'd let me see him. A nurse took me back through a maze of construction back to room C-10, where my best friend and golf buddy laid on a hospital bed helpless, with Natalie there by his side. I'll admit, I was a little freaked out.

I stuck around and made small talk just long enough for the ER doctor to arrive. He started to do his, umm, examination and that my cue to get the heck out of dodge. I ran into Jimbo, who had been looking for me, on the way out and I gave him a lift back to my house so he could take Jefe's car home. It wasn't until a couple hours later that I found out the diagnosis from Natalie: "Kidney stone. 3mm." I cringed when I heard the news, just like you are cringing right now. The hospital sent Jefe home with a hardy handshake and a "best of luck, keep us posted", plus some painkillers and some FloMax to help him pass the stone. Thankfully, Jefe was in good enough spirits to make the obvious FloMax joke: "Natalie and I had the windows down on the way home, high-fiving and singing some songs." Almost 36 hours later, we're still waiting for the inevitable...

Suddenly, losing the Ballynizzle Cup doesn't seem so bad.

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Everything you need to know about Ballynizzle 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Jim Colton) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:11:00 +0000

The next two years will be one, long continuous Climb.

Congrats to Team Jefenator and especially captain Jefe, who was so focused on keeping it under 1,000 total strokes on this golf trip, he left the Ballynizzle Cup at the club.