I’m back from the PGA Tour, or at least back from the tournament. In case you forgot, I went to the PGA tournament being held near here at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass. It’s the Deutsche Bank Championship. (Photos are online in the photo gallery.)
My roommate Paul’s brother is a caddie for one of the golfers and got us tickets and I decided to go during the first round on Friday when the crowds would be a little smaller. We were able to see Tiger play one hole, but I didn’t want to follow him all day and fight the crowds. I did get within an arm’s length of Tiger, but I didn’t snap a photo because (a) his back was to me and (b) I wasn’t supposed to have a camera. I sort of snuck it in (the security screener asked me if I had a camera or cellphone and I grunted. It wasn’t a yes or a no!)
Most of the day we followed Paul’s brother around the course. His golfer’s name is Mik Grob and he’s a real nice guy. He’s a great golfer, but then everybody on the Tour are great golfers. They’re the elite, the pinnacle. The other two guys in their group were Kirk Hanefeld, who’s the director of Golf at the International country club, an exclusive place nearby that boasts the longest course in the world, and Jason Caron, another local guy from Cape Cod, I think. So we definitely weren’t alone as we made our way around the course.
TPC Boston is a beautiful place, and walking through there is a like a great walk in the woods. It’s so quiet (despite the thousands of people; it is golf after all) and it was a beautiful day.
Speaking of walking, anyone who says professional golfers aren’t athletes is kidding himself. We must have walked five or ten miles yesterday. The course itself is 5,000 yards long, plus there’s the walking between holes and back and forth. My feet were very sore at the end of the day. I haven’t walked that much since World Youth Day in Rome.
At the end of the day, Rick took us into the caddy shack to sit down and relax for a bit (the real PGA caddy’s shack!) I was kind of disappointed not to see Bill Murray there. After, we went out to the driving range where Paul and Rick talked to Rick’s former golfer Darren Stiles. They’re still friends and were going to the Red Sox-Yankees game last night (Sox won! Yay!) While we were there I got to see Nick Price and Mark O’Meara practicing their shots.
It was a long day (we got there about 7:45 for the tee off), but it was a lot of fun. I’m glad I got to go.
