The Mother of All Golf Trips (Days 7-9)

A blog covering the first three days of a nine day trip the Gurus took back east (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania) where we played many of the most historic and renowned golf courses in the world.

Blog by: Mike Sutorius

June 1, 2009 - Oak Hill Country Club (West and East)

Monday morning we were at Oak Hill Country Club with plans to play the West Course first, and then the East Course to conclude the day. Both sets of 18 were played without any real stories of interest. Upon finishing the first 18, we had to wait for a quite a while for standard Monday morning maintenance to finish on the East Course, so that we could start play as the first group out. This gave us extra time to consume a great burger, and to meet a foursome that was at the course to re-measure and calculate slope and rating due to some small changes such as a couple of new back tee boxes.

Upon finishing the second round we jumped in the car and headed out on another long road trip, this time to Mars . . . Pennsylvania – about 275 miles and 4 ½ hours of driving. Living in the West has gotten us used to having long, unobstructed views of our surrounding. On clear days, we can see mountain peaks 100 miles away, and can always see American Falls Reservoir, which is about15 miles away. Views on this entire trip were quite different that what we are used to. For example, the Oak Hill complex is only about 5 miles from Lake Ontario, but due to the abundant and dense trees, there was no chance of even catching a glimpse of it. Furthermore, the drive to Mars had us following the banks of Lake Erie for almost 100 miles, always within a couple of miles, and occasionally within a half a mile of the shoreline. Yet, only on a couple of very brief occasions were we able to see the Great Lake as we were driving.

We had pegged Erie, PA as a good place to stop to eat along the way. It was a little more than halfway, and it appeared on the GPS to be a little bigger than everything else that we would drive through. With that little bit of information, though, we had pretty low expectations of the town. When we arrive, however, we were pleasantly surprised! The Erie SeaWolves, a double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers were in town and the area around their stadium was hopping with people. The surrounding restaurant district was also brimming with activity. It didn’t take us long to spot a sports bar that looked like a great gathering spot. Luck was with us, as we found that Monday nights are half-priced wings night. We ended up eating a ton of popcorn, splitting a couple of big baskets of wings, and, on our waitress’s recommendation, eating the best artichoke dip that we had ever tasted – anywhere. It was phenomenal!

Soon we were back on the road. At this point, we had an easy 115 miles to the Motel 6, our home away from home. However, with about 50 miles left on the trip, the “check tire pressure” light came on in our Chevy Impala rental car. Having had this same indicator light come on in the past in my own GM vehicle, I immediately feared that we had something in one of the tires. With about 15 miles to go, I hit a bump in the road and the car swerved back and forth without a lot of control, and I instantly realized that we had a flat tire! We pulled over to the side of the road and checked it, and could hear air escaping from one of the tires. Since it wasn’t completely flat yet, we made the decision to slowly continue toward our hotel, with our hazard lights flashing, while contacting Budget Rental to determine our best course of action. Miraculously, we made it all the way to the motel on the remaining air pressure – though it seemed to take forever. Once at the motel, the local tire service guy arrived. He was a little on the peculiar side. He informed us that all that he was authorized by Budget to do was go change the tire and put on our spare tire, which was a tiny little emergency donut. We asked him if he was aware of anyone that could repair the original tire so that we could finish our final two days of the trip with as little inconvenience as possible. To our initial delight, he told us that he could repair it on the spot for $10. Ten minutes later, he had failed to remove the metal piece that was lodged in the tire, had made two failed attempts to seal around it, and had likely damaged the tire to a point that it could never again be repaired. Luckily (for him), he didn’t ask us to pay for his botched efforts.

As unique as the 24-hour tire guy was, he was not the most bizarre character of the night. While we were in the process of having the tire changed (at about 12:30 am – with a thunderstorm threatening to hit at any moment), an older, single guy wandered out of his room and approached me and Bill as if we were all great friends. It was a strange and uncomfortable friendliness. He seemed way too interested in our situation . . . and the two of us. While we were thrilled to get the tire changed, and get out of the storm, we were much more interested and anxious in putting a double locked door between us and him.

June 2, 2009 - Oakmont Country Club and Laurel Valley

Tuesday morning we arrived bright and early at the great Oakmont Country Club. We were beyond excited for the chance to play and experience the most storied US Open Course of all time. However, we ended up with quite the experience.

We enjoyed ourselves, and were, of course, very impressed with the overall facility. The course was an absolute pleasure to play, and the reasons that it has been so often chosen as a site for major championships became immediately obvious. I have trouble overstating the privilege that it is to play a course of Oakmont’s unparalleled history and stature.

On the other hand, it was not a perfect day by any means. By far, the most unfortunate experience was the 4 hours spent with the caddies, Craig and Dave, which were assigned to us. Quite honestly, it was the worst caddy experience that we have ever encountered. For 18 holes they both seemed disinterested, distracted, impersonal, and utterly unprofessional. I will try to include several of the interesting examples.

Craig greeted us with the disclaimer statement that he had been up since 1:00 a.m., had gotten only 2 hours of sleep, and was perhaps too fatigued to be caddying. He admitted the lack of sleep, but the lack of showering and/or personal hygiene was painfully evident – they guy reeked like nobody’ business!

When asked, mid-round, for their personal opinions of the course before and after the highly-publicized tree removal program, Dave replied that he preferred the trees because it gave him more locations to urinate during the round (or a slightly more slang version of that). No further opinions were offered on the original question about the trees.

On #18 both of us hit poor tee shots that were left of the fairway. Both caddies had gone out ahead, and as was typical for the day, had not made an attempt to watch or locate our shots, but proceeded to walk right down the middle of the fairway without ever looking back at us. In fact, we were already searching for our balls in the rough before they even noticed that we were not where they anticipated us to be.

When we reached the tee box on #3 (we played the back 9 first), both of the caddies sat down on a bench ahead and to the left of the forward boxes, and neither stood nor watched when we hit our tee shots. From the tips, I hit a pull-hook that landed to the left of the famous church pews. When I asked if either of them had seen it (knowing that had not even looked up), Dave stated that “he was having trouble picking up balls today” I replied in a frustrated tone that they would need to “actually stand up and look” if they expected to see anything at all. Craig then claimed to have seen it land between the 3rd and 4th pew – which was ridiculous since his back was to the landing area and the ball was left of the entire bunker complex. Dave then complained to my playing partner, Bill, that if I wanted them to know where my drives landed, then I needed to be more consistent off the tee.

On #4 Bill hit his drive perfectly down the middle; I pulled mine slightly into the edge of the church pews bunker. Again, neither drive was seen by the caddies – even after the brief confrontation about the subject on the previous hole. Dave started looking for Bill’s shot in the first cut on the right side of the hole and found my ball that had been hit off of the tee on #3. Not having paid any attention to what balls we were playing (now 13 holes in to the round) Dave just inaccurately assumed that it was Bill’s ball.

When we reached #5’s tee box, I noticed that a head cover was missing from my hybrid that I had used to hit out of the bunker on #4. I asked Craig about it, and he apathetically remembered that he had left it on the side of the bunker, but didn’t make any suggestion on how or when it could be retrieved. When I asked if he was going to arrange to get it, he replied that a caddy in one of the groups behind us would likely pick it up and turn it in at the clubhouse after their round. Not comfortable with his inept solution, I sought out and waved down a course marshal in a cart and asked if he would go retrieve it for me – which he did.

As Bill was literally addressing his ball on the tee box of the par 3 6th, we found both caddies deep in their own, and very audible, side conversation – which was about their favorite subversive massage parlors and the unethical treatment that they liked to received there.

At the end of the round we did have the opportunity to briefly express to your caddy master that our experience with the two specific caddies was disconcerting, at best, and asked for his input on an appropriate amount to pay Craig and Dave. However, we did not go into the details of the experience at that time – being disturbed by it overall, but not wanting to overreact, or to appear ungrateful for the opportunity to play the course.

Regrettably, their role was a huge detraction from the overall experience. With that said, we were there to enjoy the course and its history, and that was easy to do. Having the opportunity to access a course of Oakmont’s distinction is one that we consider a rare and cherished experience. We count ourselves extremely fortunate to have had the chance to play one of golf’s most venerated courses and hope to visit again in the future.

Like I said, it was quite the experience!

When we left, the first order of business was to exchange our crippled vehicle for another. Our GPS showed that closest Budget Rental car location was back in Pittsburg, 15 miles in the entirely wrong direction relative to our next round in Ligonier, PA. However, we decided to bite the bullet, get the car exchanged, and get back on the road. Our GPS, though, directed us on the most illogical route of all time. We found ourselves winding up a very narrow road into the mountains, and 25 minutes later hit a road closure. At this point, we realized that we were going to have to backtrack almost all the way back to the Oakmont. So, we began again looking for other Budget locations that might be found closer to our intended route. The first alternative option that we called had no available cars! A car rental facility with no cars to rent! It reminded me of the time I went to an Apollo Burger in Salt Lake City for lunch and was told that they were out of hamburger. Finally, we found a location in Murrysville, PA where the manager assured us that they had plenty of cars, and he would personally take great care of us.

When we arrived 20 minutes later, the manager had left for lunch and failed to mention our conversation to any of the remaining employees. We also found that there were no full-sized cars available, and that we had the very limited option of a Hyundai Accent sedan and a PT Cruiser. With golf clubs and enough luggage for a nine-day trip we opted for the PT Cruiser, with the fold-down rear seat. We now have a new least favorite car of all time! What a piece of garbage! It was gutless, uncomfortable, frail (every accessory felt like it was on the verge of breaking), and it had an abominable stench as soon as we turned on the A/C. We felt like we had just gone from the Trump Plaza to a single-wide trailer!

When we arrived (in style) at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, PA, we observed that there were no other cars in the parking lot. At the bag drop we were met by a single employee that escorted us through the incredible clubhouse to the pro shop, where he unlocked it just for us, and informed us that we were the only tee time of the day, and that we would literally have the course to ourselves. The economy had really affected the number of corporate outings that typically came from the banking community in Pittsburg, and none of the very few local members had scheduled play for the day, which left the course entirely open for us to enjoy! We spent the next four hours with our caddy, Kenny King, without seeing another golfer. The only other individuals that we saw were the superintendent, who lived next to the course, and his grandson, who together were taking a leisurely evening drive out on the course. It was a very unique experience.

Upon completion of the round, we headed out on our final long leg of the trip, a 6 hour, 350 mile drive to New Rochelle, NY, just north of New York City. On a reverent note, when we were outside of Ligonier about 30 miles, we passed within a couple of miles of the memorial for United flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania on 9/11. We probably should have stopped and paid tribute. Fortunately, for the bulk of the remaining drive we were on I-76. Unfortunately, we hit road construction. While in the road construction, we had a small but entertaining confrontation with a driver of a certain semi truck. It started with my aggressive efforts to skip ahead of as many big trucks as possible before an upcoming group of lane closures. This driver noticed my intentions and became determined to block all of our efforts. Every time that we would even veer out of our lane to just take a look up the road at the backed-up traffic, he would swerve his entire big-rig out to block any attempts by us to pass him. Messing with him ended up being very entertaining. Ultimately, we tried everything that we could think of to annoy him. We even jumped off on an off-ramp, and then jumped right back on again on the connected on-ramp in an unsuccessful attempt to try to get past him. When he passed us while we were waiting to merge back onto the highway, he triumphantly honked his horn at us and flashed his lights. However, a couple of miles further down the road, we made a strategic play that allow us to get past him for good. Once we got in front of him, we swerved over right in his view and gave him a celebratory fist pump out the window, which produced another honk and flash of the lights by him.

When we finally arrived at our motel (after stopping mid-trip for our 3rd and final visit to Burger King) it was close to 2 am. We were exhausted, to say the least, and the only room that they had for us was about ¼ mile from the nearest parking spot, up 3 floors and down one of the longest hotel hallways of all time. In an effort to rally a last bit of energy (and to be generally obnoxious) we ran as fast as we could down the full length of the hall to our room, yelling at the top of our lungs, like a couple of high school kids. We thought it was pretty funny. All the people that were awakened from a deep sleep probably didn’t.

June 3, 2009 - Winged Foot Golf Club (West and East)

The next morning brought the final 36 holes of the trip. Wow! No matter the number of days or rounds, golf trips always fly by. Winged Foot, in Mamaroneck, New York, was the site of our final 2 rounds. What a place! When we arrived, we met Chris, our caddy for the day. He may have been the best caddy that we have ever had. As a caddy, he was almost perfect. He was constantly attentive, knew an immense amount about the history of the course and of the major championships that it had hosted, gave great reads on the greens, and was a great golfer himself who had played both courses many times and, therefore, knew the best way to play every hole. Again, we encountered US Open-caliber rough, greens, hole length, and overall difficulty. One of the interesting aspects that both Bill and I observed was the firmness of the entire property. By the end of the 36th hole, our feet were noticeably more worn than at the end of any other day of the trip. We found ourselves accepting of the fact that the trip had come to an end, and that the roughly 75 miles that we had walked over the course of the past 9 days was definitely enough for one golf trip.

We played quickly at both courses, finished just as it started to rain, and found ourselves with a more time than usual to get to JFK for our flight back to Salt Lake City. Typically on a golf trip when we find some unexpected, extra time we spend it stuffing our faces. So, we decided to get off the highway in Queens for a little Thai food. We half expected a crazy, inner-city experience, but really it was pretty uneventful. We got off the highway, found the restaurant and a parking place, ate some pretty good food, and got back on the road to JFK. Once at the rental return, we also thought we might encounter some headaches since we were returning a different vehicle than we had rented, and had blown through at least one toll location with our Fast Pass closed, but it also was very uneventful and ordinary.

• Old-school, parkland-style golf courses that have hosted major tournaments - Hype
• The Chrysler PT Cruiser's status as a legitimate mode of transportation - Hype
• The value of direct flights - Not Hype
• Bethpage Black, National Golf Links of America, Shinnecock, Sebonack, Maidstone, Yale GC, Fishers Island, Oakmont, and Laurel Valley - Not Hype
• Suggesting that this trip was an instant classic - Not Hype

Once on the plane, we were hit with realization: first that we were exhausted, and second that we had just completed the trip of a lifetime. Fortunately in the first case, we were thrilled to find that it the plane far from full. In fact, Bill and I both had a full row to ourselves. With less than 5 hours of sleep the night before, 2000 miles of driving in the previous 9 days, 75 miles of walking, and 324 holes of golf we both slept pretty well all the way to SLC. This was essential, as we anticipated that the final drive of 175 miles, with an expected arrival time of about 2:30 am, was going to the most difficult of the trip. Surprisingly, though, it went quickly. Amazingly, we were alert enough to spend the whole time reviewing courses and great holes, ranking our favorites, and holding our first ever caddy draft. We listed all of the caddies that we had had for the trip and then drafted them in order of preference. We decided to cut the draft short by one round so that neither of us had to pick the two idiots from Oakmont!

In hindsight, it was a mind-blowing trip! It was not without its challenges; a cracked right heel, a broken camera, a misplaced driver, a wayward range finder, a flat tire, a foul little rental car, and the two worst caddies on earth – to name a few. But the highlights were extraordinary, fantastic enough to dominate the our memories of the trip. A 9 day, guys-only golf trip is tough to beat. Period. It would be tough to imagine getting away with that feat ever again. But, when we reflect on the 18 sensational course that we played, it is a bit mind-blowing! In addition to the accolades that I mentioned to start the blog, it is worth mentioning that we played 6 of the Top 15 courses in America on this trip! Shinnecock is rated #3, Oakmont #5, Winged Foot (West) #8, Fishers Island #9, Oak Hill (East) #11 and National Golf Links of America is #15. What other regional trip could be taken where the Top 6 courses of the trip are listed and that list doesn’t include 7 courses that are also in the Top 100? I think the most accurate way to summarize all aspects of the experience is to again say that this trip was HUGE!

Read about the Gurus' experience by jumping to the intro to this blog: (New York Golf Trip) <<<.

Read about the Gurus' experience at Bethpage Black, Atlantic, NGLA, Sebonack, Shinnecock, and Maidstone: (NY Trip Days 1-3)<<.

Read about the Gurus' experience at Philly CC, Somerset, Baltusrol, Yale, and Fishers Island: (NY Trip Days 4-6).

Read about the Gurus' experience at Oak Hill, Oakmont, Laurel Valley, and Winged Foot: (NY Trip Days 7-9) >>>.

You can also click on an individual course name to read the review posted on that particular course.