Thursday morning is tournament day and I meet Zack at 8:00am. I have a 10:30 am tee time. We do all of our normal preparation. Hit some balls, chip and putt and talk strategy. Zack tells me that this tournament is a test for me. He thinks that I should take it easy the next four days. Get myself back into playing shape and do not do anything to risk causing any problems to my injury. I tell him that I agree with him, but I want more. I want to win this thing.
Finally the time has come. We are sitting down in the club house and they call us up. Time to walk to the first tee. As we stand up. I look at Zack right in the eye, totally serious. “Ok let's go, I want to break 80”! He looks at me confused. He smiles. “I hope so," he replied. “I am not holding back Zack. I am breaking 80” I barked out. He looked at me and he could tell that I am serious. “You OK Jim?," he asked looking confused. “What do you mean am I OK? I told you I want to win this thing!," I said in irritated tone. “That's not what you told me. You just told me that you want to break 80."
When he told me that I must have had the deer in the headlight look. I had a flood of emotions come into my head. Breaking 80 sounded so familiar and real to me. At that point, I realized the dreams that I have been having about being a normal golfer trying to break 80 is starting to come alive when I am awake. “Jim are you OK?, he asked sharply. Somehow, I was able to realize what was going on and was able to get myself together. I knew Zack was confused. I just smiled and slapped him on the shoulder. “Geese Zack, I was just kidding, now let's go." I don't think he bought it.
I was nervous on the first hole as I was getting ready to hit. But I hit a good drive and soon it seemed that everything is back to normal. At first I wanted to go for it and see if I could win this tournament. I was hitting the ball pretty well. But after a few holes I realized that this is truly a rehab tournament for me. I started to relax and just work on my swing and my body. I shot one over for the day. Not good, but not bad. The next day I shot even and just made the cut. Zack had me dialed in on club selection. I was a little shorter than normal, but I know that will increase as I get stronger. And by the time the I play at the British Open in a couple of weeks, I will be back to normal.
I finished the tournament at even par which was not bad considering what I have been through the last few weeks. I was way down at the bottom of the final leaderboard, but I made a little money. After the round Zack and I discussed my progress, and we both felt good. Next Stop The Scottish Open.
Chapter 14: Across The Pond to Scotland
Monday evening Zack and I are off to Scotland for the Scottish Open. Then after that, the British Open. I am excited and gearing up for a few weeks in the Old Country. This is my first trip to the British Open. I got the invite after I won the Masters. I have my mind made up that I am going to win this thing. I have that attitude on every tournament that I play since I won the Masters. That is such a different attitude that I had before, where my goal was just making the cut. But now I have a chance to make history and I am going to make a run at this tournament.
A lot of players go to the Scottish open as a warm up for the British Open. It gives you time to adapt to the time change and time to get used to playing on a Links course which the Open is on. We leave Monday night at 8:00pm. Sleep all the way and get to Aberdeen Scotland.
As we are on our landing approach, I told Zack that I want to go to the course today. I cannot wait to see Royal Aberdeen Golf Club. It is the sixth oldest golf course in the world. We landed a little after 10:00am. I expected that it would take forever to get out of this airport since we had to go through customs and get our baggage. But to my surprise we were all finished by 11:30am. We were ready to go. We got a bite to eat first. Then we got a cab and headed to The Royal Aberdeen Golf Club. No way we were going to rent a car and try to figure out how to drive on the left side of the road. I am wondering how this is all going to work out. I have not done that a lot traveling to foreign countries. And this is the first time for a golf tournament. I wonder how I will do in this tournament. I also start thinking about the logistics of this trip. How do we get around? What do we eat? Oh well at least English is spoken here.
Before we know it we were there. It such a beautiful city and beautiful country. “And the home of Golf!” Wow what a place! I feel like I just came to the home to golf because this is where golf was born. I get registered and all checked in. It was so exciting. But since we are on the golf course I am ready get down to business. Zack and I go through our normal routine drills. Hit some balls, chip and putt. We schedule a 9 hole practice round. I do not even feel Jet Lag. I am ready to play golf. We ran into quite a few guys we know from back home. But there are a lot of European Pros that we do not know. And you really get the feeling of being international because you hear a lot of different languages spoken around here. I think it is pretty cool. It just seems more casual here than on the PGA. Especially the gallery. They seem to be having a lot of fun. And the gallery can even bring their dogs. I have heard about that before. The Americans really got a kick out of seeing dogs in the gallery. I have been told that in Europe pets are are important. People will even take their dogs into restaurants and bars and they will just sit by the table.
We schedule a nine hole practice round about 3:00pm. We play with one American and one guy from Germany, his name is Hanz. His caddie was from Italy. What a mix. It was fun casual round. I have not played that many Links courses so this was interesting. So much different than a normal course. Lots of blind shots to the green or the fairways. You can stand out in the middle of the fairway sometime and just turn around and look at everything and it does not even feel like you are on a golf course. It just out in the country somewhere. The Royal Aberdeen Golf Club is an awesome course. Great history here and it is in great shape. However, it is not as manicured as the traditional courses at home. You get the feeling that you have to work hard to get a good score. Zack works figuring out the lay of the land. He will be a great asset on this course. I know I will not have a clue on what club to hit sometimes. We played nine holes and it was a good round. I felt good. I feel like I am almost completely healed from my injury. I am getting back in golf mode again. After we finished our round we were hanging out with Hanz and his caddie. “You Yank’s want to get a beer?," asked Hanz. I looked at Zack and he nodded in agreement. “Looks like beer in the international language here," I said smiling. “Sure we are in," I told him. “Alright” replied Hanz.
He told us a great place to go not too far from here. It is a favorite of the players here. It was close to our hotel and we made arrangements to meet them there. We took a cab to our hotel got checked in. The hotel was really cool. It looked like an old style high-class hotel like you see in the movies. After we checked in we took a cab to the bar. We met up with Hanz and some of some of the European players. Also there were some American players that we knew. It was a great place. It was like the fake Scottish Bars we have back home but this is a real Scottish bar. And everyone is having fun. Seems to be more free spirit here. The European tour pros were great. They were buying us beers and everyone was having fun. Seems like everyone were friends with everyone in this bar. The players were even laughing and having fun with the normal bar crowd. And before we knew it. Groups of people would start to sing these crazy songs. The American guys just laughed. We have never seen anything like this before. I was having a blast. But I was thinking this is too much fun I better be careful.
We were there for about three hours. We all had a good time. Everyone seemed to be best friends. Finally we headed out. Zack and I and a couple of American players that were staying in the same hotel got a cab and headed back to the hotel. “My Gosh! that beer is strong," I said as we got out of the cab. Everyone laughed and agreed. This ain't that light beer back home. As we got to our rooms I talked to Zack about tomorrow. “Look, we just flew halfway around the world, so I am sure we are going to have Jet Lag. And this beer is strong. I say sleep in and get a late start tomorrow. Let's meet at 1:00pm tomorr
ow."
“Sounds good to me," he said with laughing and drunk salute as he staggered off. I just laughed. It looks like he is having fun and that's good. I think we both need to have a little fun. I just hope I will be ready by Thursday.
I woke up the next morning. Not feeling so great. But not too bad. It took me awhile to figure out what day it was. After flying all the way across the Atlantic, changing time zones, Jet Lag and getting introduced to my first Authentic European bar, it is hard to figure out what day it is. Wednesday, I think. It was 10:00am. I remembered I will meet Zack at 1:00pm. I took a shower and felt better and luckily the hotel had coffee in the room. I drank my coffee and looked out the window. We were basically downtown, and it was really interesting looking at the architecture.
I was ready to eat. I went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. Looking at the menu, I was pretty much lost. The challenge of a stupid American traveling. Thankfully it is all English here. My waitress recommended a normal Scottish breakfast. I told her that sounded good to me. I did not know what to expect. It was a little like an American breakfast. It had Eggs which were fried. It has some really good sausage, and some toast. The big difference is it had some baked beans, fried tomatoes and some type of pudding. Nice hearty breakfast. I liked it. After breakfast I headed to the course, and I felt better. I will be ready to hit some balls and then play nine holes. I was wondering how Zack was doing. I think he overdid it a little last night.
I met up with him just after 1:00pm. “Hi Zack, I see you were able to make it today” I said laughing. “It wasn't easy. Sorry about last night," he replied in an embarrassed tone. “Hey no problem, it was a blast” I said laughing. “Well I got the course mapped out” and he handed me the info he had gathered along with the normal documents that you can buy from enterprising caddies." “You walked the course already?” I asked. “Yep hear at 7:00am," he told me. “You're an animal," I said shaking my head. “That's my job he replied proudly."
We hit some balls and arranged for a 3:00 pm practice round. I hit the ball well. Zack had the distances down. I do not know how he does it. No matter where we were on the course he knew the course like the back of his hand. To me it was confusing hitting where you cannot see your target. On a normal golf course, you can see the green. And if you are 150 yards out for example. You have a feel for it, such as if this is a short 150 yard shot or a long 150 yard shot. But here, sometimes you have no idea. You just know that the green is somewhere over this hill in front of you 150 yards away. But then I become to realize that this may be perfect for my new style of play with my revamped swing. Just set up, aim at whatever, and just concentrate on the swing. If I make a good swing like Gus taught me, then I should be fine. So it was fun. I put my trust in Zack's recommendations as usual. But more than ever here. We had a good round that day.
That stupid little voice in the back of my head which I have seemed to accept. It was happy as ever on every golf shot or practice shot. But the strange thing, it was mocking in a Scottish accent. It pissed me off. That just made me realize more and more that I really must be losing my mind. “Oh well whatever," I told myself.
Tournament Day
Cool and rainy. Just like you would expect for the Scottish Open. I really do not care. I feel fortunate to be here. I am lucky that my injuries did not end my season this year. This tournament is a warm up for next week's British Open. My goal for this tournament is to bet back in golf playing shape from my injuries, and get adapted to the time change and get the feel of the Links course. I have taken the attitude that I am going to have fun and just take in the experience of international golf. As we are getting ready to tee off, everyone is talking about the weather. I do not mind. I feel like playing in bad weather is as advantage for me after the success I had at the US Open. Just do not let it get in your head, and make good golf shots and you will be fine. I am paired up with one European player favorite Michael “O'brien from Ireland. He is a very popular player here since we are close to Ireland. He is a good player and mainly plays on the European tour. The other player is Howard Jones from the United States, I have played with him a few times over the years.
I started out pretty well. I birdied the first hole, pared the second and birdied number three. I ended up bogeying number 8, and I pared number 9. I was one under after nine. Not bad on a day like today. I was really enjoying this. I like the cool weather, compared to the heat back home. I watched the gallery little and noticed they seemed to be different than back home. They really seem to be into this. Golf just seems more serious to average golfer here than back home. Or maybe it is my imagination. But at the same time they seem more causal. Some people have their dogs with them which is really pretty cool. The whole atmosphere just seemed so different than back home.
The links course is not so perfectly manicured like the typical PGA course back home. It is in great shape, but the feel is rustic. You really get the feeling that this is the home of golf. The back nine I struggled a bit. I had three bogeys and one birdie. So I was one over for the day. Not a great round but I was satisfied. My main goal today was to get my body back in golf shape. My ribs felt good. I am still not at 100%, but I am close. My legs were a little tired, and I was ready to call it a day after we finished. To my surprise, one over was not bad, no one really tore it up today.
Day two, I was a little tired. I can tell that I have been out of competition for a while. I was trying to shake the rust off. The weather was better today. I got into some trouble the front nine. I had three bogeys the first eight holes and was able to birdie number nine. So two over after nine. “I better get my butt in gear if I expect to make the cut” I told Zack. “Just hang in there. Only one hole at a time that’s all we can control” he replied. I struggled the back nine, I had two more bogeys, but one birdie. So one over the back nine, three over for the day. So the two day total was two over. I made the cut by one stroke. I am happy. I was happy for a couple of reasons. I did not have my A game today but managed to compete. I hit some bad shots but my short game saved me and I felt good about that.
“My legs are tired," I told Zack. “You have been off for over a month," he said. I knew that the first couple of days would be difficult for you. Tomorrow will be the deciding day to see where you are at. Tomorrow you are either going to feel like crap if you body is not ready. Or you are going to get over the hump and get back in the swing of things," he told me. “OK Dr. Zack” I replied laughing. “Trust me," he said in a serious tone. I know physiology. Tomorrow you will feel good, or you will feel like crap. Let's get back to the hotel. You need to get a good meal and get to bed early." “Done deal” I replied. I have no reason to doubt Zack. He is more than a caddie. He knows so much about the body and what the professionals golfers goes through. He is really smart. I am just hoping I am getting over the hump. I cannot go through two more days of feeling like this.
I got back to the hotel and got a bite to eat. I decided to call Emily. It should be late morning back home. I got the scoop on how to call. Basically you buy these phone cards and you can call home pretty cheap. Just use the hotel phone and enter in the numbers and presto, you are calling home. I talked to Emily for a few minutes. She asked how I was doing and how everything is going. I told her I was happy to make the cut, but I am pretty tired today. We talked for about 30 minutes but I could have talked to her for hours. As usual every time I talk to her I am happy and time flies. After we hung up, I felt great. She seems to give me so much happiness and energy. But time to go to bed. Tomorrow is another day of competing and I need to be ready.
Day three.
I wake up and lay in bed for a few minutes. I realized that I have not had any of those strange dreams lately. I wonder why they have gone away. That's fine with me, maybe I am getting back to normal with my sleeping habits. I get up and I can tell right away that I feel great. Zack’s prediction came true. I am just happy I feel good and not like crap.
Of course I did not let Zack off the hook for his p
rediction on how I would feel. just called him Doc the rest of the day. I hit the ball great. My legs felt strong and almost back to normal. And for the first time I did not feel any discomfort with my ribs. I shot one under for the third round. And for the first time, I feel like I am getting back to normal. Now I am starting feel like I can start being competitive again. I am not going to come close to making a run in this tournament. But if I continue to make progress I will be ready next week at the Open.
I talk to Zack after the third round. “I want to get this in gear” I said. Tomorrow I want to have a good round. I want to get ready for next week for the British Open. The last few days have just been a test for me. I think I have recovered and I want to get back into serious competing mode," I told him. “Sounds good to me” Zack replied. “However, you have to have a different mentality on a links course. You cannot not attack it like a normal course. You cannot get out there and get all hyped up and hit the big booming drives and go for the pin on every shot. The key to putting together four good rounds on a Links course is shot making, and strategy. And most important, stay in the fairway. Most of your bogeys’ this week were because you hit your drives out of the fairway. Those big booming drives and attacking the pin will only buy you trouble. I got an idea on the strategy for the links courses, which I think will pay off next week, especially on the last round.”
“I’m all ears," I replied. He went on. “The secret to these links course is not distance, but staying in the fairway, as I just mentioned. Especially with your drives. Out of the fairway buys you thick fescue grass or a sand bunker or both. Basically out of the fairway and you are dead. If you look on at the scores this week you will see players with both low and high scores. One day they will shoot lights out. Then the next day they will get in trouble and have a terrible round that puts them out of competition. The secrete to the links course is consistency. I recommend on most of these holes do not even use your driver. Just use a three wood. A 275 to 285 yard drive down the better is much better than a 320 yard drive out of the fairway. There are some goods driving holes here but if it is a tight hole or any doubt, go with a three wood. And you approach shots you have to be smart. Trying to go for the flag stick will get you in trouble. With these greens and windy conditions, there is no way to stop the ball if you hit it to the pin on some of these shots. Links course are made for bump and run shots. On a lot of these holes, just choose one club less and hit in front of the green and let it run up if there are no bunkers in front. Be conservative on the tough holes. There are plenty of birdie opportunities out there. But the tough holes here will eat you alive if you get too aggressive.
Golf In A Parallel Universe Page 24
