Under normal circumstances, I don’t do too much reminiscing about my original “life on Tour”. In fact, it has to be said that in the past, I’d worked hard on hitting the control, alt, delete buttons on some of my more disappointing years. This blog is now helping me delve into the archives of my mind and hopefully recounting some of the good times, the fun times and this story is one I will forever remember with a smile on my face.
I’d watched the 1995 Ryder Cup at Oak Hill CC and forever remember Faldo making that incredible up and down at the last to beat Curtis Strange 1 up and Seve’s ensuing tears of joy as he hugged Faldo. Who can ever forget the team Captain, Bernard Gallagher lifting Philip Walton up in the air when he defeated Jay Haas on the last hole to secure the victory for Team Europe? Most of my memories of the ‘95 Ryder Cup at Oak Hill Country Club revolved around those last 4 holes…so I was really looking forward to playing them myself.
On the trip with me to Rochester, NY was my caddie Dominic Bott and two of my best mates from Mill Ride GC, John Ellis and John Harris. On arrival, I registered at the Tournament Office, collected all of my passes and put Harris down as my manager and Ellis down as my coach (so that they could get inside the ropes and experience first hand what it’s like to be a part of the circus). Harris was then the UK Sales Director for Ericsson and Ellis’s background was in highly specialised Computer System and Tech road haulage. Needless to say that neither of them have ever experienced shooting a score in the 70’s…not for 18 holes at least! Now these two guys you could take anywhere and they would never feel inferior to anyone. On and if anyone ever dared to act superior in their company, then they were experts at taking the piss and taking them down a peg or two.
At 6 am on Wednesday morning, we got to the course and the plan was to play the practice round with Brian Davis at 6.45 am to beat the crowds, the players and get round quickly. The first hole was circa 460 yards, from an elevated tee with a line of 70 foot high Oak trees all the way down the left. It doglegs left at about 280 yards leaving you around 180 yards to a tiny green protected by a bunker short right. The fairway looked like a bowling alley, beautiful, green and flanked on both sides with what looked like 5 inch dark green, thick, lush grass.
The second, a dog leg to the right this time, around 410 yards and uphill for the second part of it. Once again, the fairway was tighter than Seve’s wallet and funnily enough, the place where (if you remember) Seve chipped in for birdie against Tom Lehman on the final Sunday in ‘95. So as we were walking off the 2nd green, I turned around to see Ellis & Harris hosing themselves with laughter. “What’s so funny lads?” I asked…and once Harris had managed to get some air back into his lungs, he said “This course is F….ing impossible” to which my response was…”wait until you see this, come up here’!
The third hole was a 220 yard par 3 from an elevated tee to an elevated green, the roundest and smallest of which I’d ever seen. The required shot was a soft, high flighted 3 iron landing (hopefully) about a foot short of the green accompanied by a prayer to just stay on the green. Impossible was the only appropriate adjective I could think of as this type of shot was not in my armoury at the time!
The greens were rock hard and running around 13 on the stimp meter. The rough was so thick, that finding your golf ball was virtually impossible without the assistance of the volunteer marshals. Harris was right, this place was impossible, but the amusement didn’t stop there.
After completing the front nine, we climbed the hill to the tenth tee and on the tee was the then current US Open champion, Jim Furyk. As we approached, he said “G’morning guys, d’ya mind if I join you for the back nine”? Naturally we said yes but once again, a few feet behind me I heard these giggles from Harris and Ellis. I stopped and asked “what now”? Harris piped up “well, having the US Open champion asking you two know nothing wankers if you wouldn’t mind him joining you is hilarious…this is too surreal for words”.
At this point in the story, I need to point out that if you thought there was ever any danger of me becoming a big headed, egotistical Tour Pro, it was never going to happen. My friends were brilliant in that they respected what you did but you were never allowed to shout about it. I love them.
So there we are striding the back nine along with Jim, his caddy and Jim’s Father, Mike (who by the way was an absolute gentleman, kind, quiet, friendly and happy to chat with my two best mates) whilst Jim, Brian and myself continued to try and figure out how the hell we were going to play this track over the coming days. Could Harris and Ellis first experience of being inside the ropes at a Major Championship get any better?…wait for it…yes! As we came off the par 5 thirteenth hole, once again we climbed a hill to walk back towards the clubhouse and the 1st tee, which was also adjacent with the fourteenth tee.
All of a sudden, whilst walking through this 2.5 metre wide walkway toward the 1st & 14th tees, we were surrounded by thousands of people (running ten deep either side of the ropes) and that feeling of claustrophobia was inescapable. My mates suddenly experienced this uncomfortable feeling for the first time ever but they were handling it pretty well until all of a sudden, some 25 meters ahead of us but walking to the junction where we would meet and head back down the hill toward the 1st & 14th tees was the GOAT…Tiger Woods.
That was it, the famous Harris, I can handle anything exterior, suddenly gave way to, ooooh fuck, I think I’ve just shit myself…and he and Ellis exited left under the ropes….now finally it was my turn to hose myself laughing. Tiger allowed Jim, Brian and myself to tee off down fourteen and get out of the hullabaloo. By the 15th tee, Harris & Ellis had caught back up with us, now laden with a beer in each hand. “Where did you boys disappear to then, the toilet?” and as per usual, Harris quick witted as ever said, “nah we were just thirsty, why what did we miss?”
The final four holes were the toughest finish to any golf course I’d ever seen (including Carnoustie).
15th hole - circa 160 yard par 3 - water on the right, bunkers and deep rough on the left. Smelly!
16th hole - circa 460 yard par 4 - relatively straight hole but very tight and tree-lined.
17th hole - circa 500 yard par 4 - uphill slight dog leg to the right and long, very long…and when I say my best drive and best 4 wood was required, I tell you no lie. The green complex was surrounded by deep rough and bunkers and boy was I praying that if I missed the green, that I’d find sand.
18th hole circa 490 yard par 4 - the hardest hole I’ve ever played anywhere - from an elevated tee to a left to right sloped fairway with a huge ridge running from left to right at about 280 yards - followed by a second shot uphill to an elevated green that was as hard as a pool table, sloped left to right and sits a good 25 feet above the fairway.
This was to be my greatest golf course challenge ever, as I was neither long off the tee or capable of hitting high-flighted long irons that land like a butterfly with sore feet. To sum up the tournament, I holed a 40 ft putt on the 9th green (my final hole on Friday) to knock all of the +9’s out of making the cut. 74, 74, was my number and the number that successfully made it to the weekend. I played really well on Saturday and shot 71 but when Sunday came around, I was mentally and physically shattered and faltered to a 77. That +15 total left me about tied 50th for the week and a $15,000 payday. A pay day that lasted only a few hours!
Ellis, Harris and myself headed back to Rochester airport for the short flight to JFK and our connection back to Shannon (we were flying Aer Lingus). After boarding the plane exhausted, the Captain came over the speakers and told us that there was a severe storm over NY and we had to sit on the plane until JFK was clear. Some 3 hours later, we were given clearance but by this time, we had missed our connection.
The only plane headed back to London that had any seats left on it was a BA flight, which was virtually full. Dominic had made different flight arrangements as he was flying into Manchester, so he was fine. The cost of 3 new one way tickets to London? just under $9,000! Thanks!! The only seats left on the plane was 1 economy, 1, business and 1 first class ticket, so sod it, I bought the 3 tickets and we were headed home.
It was a brilliant week and memorable for so many reasons. It was challenging, it was beyond difficult, it was hilarious, it was thrilling. To share an experience like this with my two best mates was incredible and to see them wax lyrical to their friends and golf club members about just how hard the golf course was made a change from me trying to explain what it was like. John Harris sadly passed away some 6 years ago from cancer but Ellis and I still reminisce and laugh about those few days in Rochester; the piss-taking, the laughter, the difficulty of the golf course, the lads eating in the family and friends area of the club house next to world class golfers…I loved that they loved the week…and one of my favourite weeks on Tour ever.