Pebble always has been my favorite tournament, especially when the sun is out. It comes at the time of year when Indiana weather is cold and gloomy. I watch it as much for the scenery as the golf. I once visited the course with my family while on vacation. It was on my bucket list long ago, when I didn't understand that my game was not worthy of the course. Age has cured that misguided wish.
I've always loved the course. Mary told me one time that she'd try to spread my ashes there. I asked her which hole. She replied "Hole? I'm going to spread them in the Tap Room."
Unlike most courses, Pebble doesn't return to the club house at the 9th hole. There is a little shack by the 9th tee that sells some food. The first time I ordered there I got a hot dog and left it on my cart seat as I teed off. When I turned around to return to the cart, I got to see a sea gull flying away with my dog. Returned to the shack to see the guy behind the counter with a big smile on his face. Seems all first timers end up buying 2 dogs.
I've a couple of times played a course after a Pro Tourney, once was at TPC San Antonio after the Texas Open. It was a disaster, the rough was more than I could handle and the greens were so fast I had a hard time keeping chips on the green. Plus they were almost all Turtled and with shaved sides. Didn't really enjoy it other than to say I'd played a course set up for the PGA Tour I've played Harbor Town but it wasn't after a tourney and it was back to normal, still a tough course but not impossible.
PGA Championships will now allow range finders. I never really understood why they were outlawed in the first place. Those damn yardage books and the green reading books have more information than you can get with a range finder.
I think caddies have been using range finders for years in prep for tournaments. They'd just write down yardages from certain spots on every card. The new twist will be that some range finders also take elevation into account which for the pros is big. It won't be long before they're able to incorporate wind direction and speed into the mix. Sort of takes all the art out of the game.
That's ok, soon they will only need 3 clubs. A driver, a wedge and a putter. Everyone will be driving the green.
I grew up playing a course where the only range marker on each hole (other than par 3's) was a lone 150 yard stake in the middle of the fairway. I don't seem to recall that my club selection was all that much worse. Of course club selection is easier when you only have a 3-5-7-9-PW.
yeah, the pros play a different game. They don't have to contend with weeds and hardpan in the fairways or bald spots on the greens or compacted sand in the traps. They obviously have honed their talents but they don't play the same game that most of us play on public and municipal courses. By the way, there are free cell phone apps that give yardages based on GPS. Swing U is one that I use. It is accurate enough for my level of expertise.
I have a Skygolf watch and that works well for me. I used to carry those cellphone like devices but I kept losing them. So I went to the watch. I tried the cellphone apps a long time ago and they ran my battery down pretty fast. I imagine the newer ones don't do that though.
One thing that the cellphone like devices could do that is cool was custom targets. you could move the cursor to any place on the course and get yardage. There is a par 5 one one of my courses I play that I can't reach the green in 2 under any circumstances and I can't really even give it go because there is a water feature that will catch even my best hit long hybrid or even 3 wood. So it's a layup, but depending on my drive I need to know how far it is to the end of the fairway, now I've figured out how to do it with my watch device but when I carried the other device I just had to move the cursor to the spot and it told me 165 yds or whatever. On a course I play all the time it's not that important, but on a brand new course it's definitely helpful.
I've got a golf buddy which clips on my hat visor. I take my watch off to play so that works better for me. It's easy to charge and gives me front back and middle yardages.
Jordan Speith is having another good tourney, is tied for the 2nd round lead at 10 under with an eagle putt comming up on 16
Jordan is leading at 12 under, he missed a putt on 18 for a birdie, it was a fast putt but he hit it so tentatively that it couldn't hold the line...it was about a 4 foot putt. But he did make a 45 footer on a par 3 and his lone bogey was a 3 putt from 7 feet!!! I can do that and do it too frequently! What has struck me about the tournament this year beyond the lack of the celebrities and the crowds is the seemingly poor draw. Dustin, Rory, Xander, Bryson, Koepka, JT, and more are not there. Jason Day is the only other big name. It's almost like one of those events that are held on the weeks when there is a WGC event or a major.