But not for humans.
Barry’s two best buddies out there are the sweetest golden retrievers of all time. They may wonder, who this guy is who walks by just to pet me several times a day! And why is he carrying all those sticks?
Frankly, with the crap Barry eats on the golf course, these Milk Bones may provide him more nutrition! Just sayin…
When the graphite shaft of your driver rubs against the exposed skeleton of your Titleist golf bag, that has worn out just since Christmas, (well, it has been a few rounds) … here is what happens:
And you know it is just a matter of time.
Fortunately, it wasn’t until the impaired club was crunched for 300 yards on number 18 Hills, that it looked like this:
Funny, it didn’t break until way after the shot, when Barry was just holding it in his hand.
The good news was the round(s) were over (for the next 12 hours, anyway).
The bad? Where can you get a driver re-shafted by the 8 a.m. tee-time in the morning?
This is going to be an expensive year…
It is a real gift that Barry’s 82 year old father, Ed, is able to come to Austin to play a few rounds during the “Record Breaking Year”.
I drove the cart for Ed, so that Barry could get another round in. I was not playing- just caddying. So, I had a chance to take a picture of my favorite shot for this round (on 15 Hills) of Barry’s…
I call it “through the uprights”.
Here is Barry hitting an amazing shot!
Result? Putting for birdie.
And maybe we will just end my commentary right there…
Yes, the below was written by Barry, himself!
He was paired with kids who were playing practice rounds for this week’s tournament at Flintrock.
I am handing the (virtual) microphone over…
Cole, Jack and Lauren
One of my home courses is hosting a youth tournament for a few days this week. I received a phone call from the pro shop a few days ago asking if a few of the kids could join me for my second round of the day, because the course was booked solid and they were trying to get a practice round in before the tournament. Naturally, I agreed, and had the opportunity to play with a couple of nice young men – Cole and Jack, who were accompanied by Cole’s mother Lauren. These kids are 14 years old, and they absolutely bomb the ball – made me feel like a first rate hacker, even if I wasn’t playing with an injured hand. Let’s just say that I got to hit first a lot, and that’s not because I had the honor!
Naturally, I had a lot of questions for the boys and for Lauren. I think I get my curiosity from my father! After speaking with Lauren about the tournament schedule, which consists of about 25 tournaments a year, it dawned on me what a huge commitment her family was making so that Cole could pursue his golf dreams. Considering the clothing, equipment, coaching, tournament entry fees, greens fees, travel, lodging, food, etc., I couldn’t help but start to do the math on the investment that these parents making in their children. More importantly, the time that Lauren spends supporting Cole, which over the three days for this tournament alone is probably 20 hours. We only get so much time, and that’s a lot to gift to your child. She walks the course to get some exercise and follow the boys, keeping her distance and letting them play their games.
Following our round, I couldn’t help but reflect on whether the typical 14 year old could really appreciate how much parents do for them. I’m certain that they “think” they do, but when they get a bit older, much wiser, and are earning a living for themselves, they will probably realize just how much they underestimated the commitment their parents were making for them.
Now, the parents do this for their kids because they love them, and they aren’t looking to get “paid back”, and it will be a long time before the kids would be in a position to do so anyway. But there is a way to pay it back now, in a currency that is far more valuable to parents than a cash payment. There is nothing more valuable to a parent than the expression of heartfelt gratitude, sincere appreciation, courtesy, and respect. So Cole and Jack, I have to ask you not what your score is today, but rather whether you invested more in “the bank” than you withdrew today? Did you hug your parents, tell them how much you appreciate the support, tell them that you love them, and ask them what you can do for them now that your round of golf is over for the day. I think you’ll find that you feel very good about yourselves if you do so, and it will lead to better balance in your lives…which means better golf.
Good luck in the tournament boys, but even more luck in making a commitment to give back to your parents more than you get!
When the last 18 of the day has this much light, when you start your 152nd round (32 rounds ahead of the record pace)…
Then is it any wonder you need a glow-ball when you finish? Look closely, there are two people (Brian and Barry) in the last two photos, finishing up on Hills after dusk. Okay dark.
At about 41 holes, when the food/beverage cart had been MIA for what felt like about 41 holes, Barry was really starting to fade. He is not the best at planning the fuel for the round(s).
Brian and I joined for the last 18, which probably caused there to BE a last 18. Reality was Bar was way too tired to keep going.
But!……… He did.
As I was thinking this might have to be a round where I peel off to remedy the situation… The heavens opened up on #5 Hills fairway, and the golf gods answered Barry’s plea for sustenance.
Larry showing up on cue was very impressive! (any semblance to calling LHK an angel here is purely coincidence, and completely unintentional!)
Well, both Brian and I thought it was all over when Brian saw Barry trip over a vine going for a ball in the area we call “Stew-ville” (because our British boy Stewart has a propensity to leave behind some new/nearly new golf balls there), along the right side of The Hills number 9.
When I saw Brian’s face and he started running to Barry, I thought OH NO!!! Brian basically had to peel off Barry’s golf bag, and then peel Barry off the rocks. It could have been a lot worse, because that is a very steep gully, with all kinds of rocks and trees… sharp stuff too!
Nothing broken (probably), but knees bruised and the knuckle on one hand got shoved back in the wrong direction on impact. The hand may end up being the thing. Hope one wrong step didn’t make all this effort for naught!
Good thing he was going for that ball because we hardly have any…
The new rule should be no treasure hunting after the second round!
After 2 rounds moving very quickly because, funny thing… there were hardly any golfers out there! Barry came home to change into dry shoes. Can’t afford to get blisters from wet socks rubbing the feet.
But at about 3:30 the course was calling (or was that thunder?), so he went out again for round three!
Here is what it looked like at sunset. (it is a 22 second video from our back patio, so you can hear how hard it was raining. I missed a thunderclap by about 1 second. But there was definitely thunder, trust me.)
Twenty minutes later, he came walking in. When I asked about it, he smiled and said, “There was no lightening!”.
We went to The Hills to eat and saw our neighbor Paul, who has been counting the number of times he sees Barry pass by his house. Paul noticed that Barry has a new golf bag. (Now it is black, gray and red (a little too Ohio State for my taste), if you were identifying him partially by the bag out there.) Barry actually wore out his Christmas present bag (ALREADY) and the exposed structural elements of the bag have worn away at his graphite shafts!
I predict 2016 will be a four bag year…
The weather was better after the golf was over today! It is presently gorgeous outside, but was raining sideways late morning, while Barry was out making sure 2 rounds were added to the total.
For the last two days Barry has been giving his feet a rest and only playing 36 holes (each day- not total). His feet are still the only part that is troublesome. Maybe backing off a little will help. (If you call only 2 rounds a day backing off!)
This pace means that he will likely hit 25% of the way to the record, soon!
Sometime this week…
You never know what to expect from Ed, the starter at Flintrock, but you know it will always be entertaining
When he joined for a few holes last week he went “to the trees for his tees”.
.
(that is “ball moss” from an oak tree)
Below he is hitting one off what he calls his “natural tees”.
If you try this yourself “be sure the ball moss is fresh, so it is not crunchy”, says Ed. Sounds like good advice.
Also good advice may be.. don’t take a photo of your husband right after he took a bite of apple 🙂
There was a point on #11 at The Hills where Ed got separated from his cart, but Barry was close to it. Barry took a club and pressed the accelerator with it, while steering with his other hand and walking beside the cart. Ed turned to me like what the heck is he doing? I knew exactly…
Barry was trying to help Ed out by pulling the cart forward for him, but he could not get IN it or he would not be walking!!! It was slow and unwieldy, but no one could ever accuse Barry of not walking the WHOLE round!!