The 13th Woman

Yours Truly at the Ryder Cup entrance mugging with an artist designed golf ball

Sitting on my sofa at home watching the final day of Ryder Cup 2012 at Medinah, I suddenly felt like a passenger on the Disney Tower of Terror Ride.If you are unfamiliar, this is a nauseating ride where you go up,up,up and then the bottom drops out.This is precisely what occurred for the American team supporters this past Sunday.I expected to be crying tears of joy on Sunday along with a blubbering Bubba Watson due to the 10-6 lead that the US held going into the final day of play. Surely, Ian Poulter, a Matchplay God with dogged enthusiasm couldn't carry the entire European Team on his back. Boy,was I wrong. I ended up cringing and crying on Sunday night due to whatever occurred at Medinah on Sunday, a collapse, a massacre or simply stellar play by Team Europe.

Since Sunday I have been forlorn over the European victory which yielded a score of Europe 14 1/2 to USA 13 1/2. I still haven't decided where I believe the blame should fall for what occurred but, it was a horrifying spectacle that as the matches were finishing the US players were not garnering points. Brandt Snedeker's match was particularly difficult stomach as his game just completely left him on such a high profile stage, losing 5 and 3 to Paul Lawrie.

As the 13th man, I will accept some of the blame for what occurred on Sunday; I left Chicago Saturday to head home. I wanted to share my Medinah 2012 experiences with you on the most positive of notes, with the US having regained the Ryder Cup. I now have a Ryder Cup 2012 pin flag,hat and shirt that I am looking at in a very bittersweet fashion. I did have a wonderful experience at Medinah and in Chicago in general. I took 337 photographs on Thursday at the practice round alone, which I have edited into a slideshow to share with you here on the blog.

A great billboard of Captains Love and Olazabal greeted spectators at the tourney entrance

Thursday morning I met the most wonderful group of teaching pros adjacent the 2nd tee box at Medinah, from the Illinois section of the PGA. They were kind enough to inform me of the best viewing spots on the course due to their personal familiarity;quite a few of these gentlemen had played MCC several times. The spot directly behind the 245 yard Par 3 13th green was noted to be an excellent spot for spectating. They also had interesting things to say about the course setup and that due to drought conditions there were some bare spots in the rough that Davis Love the III had opted to cut down.

Tiger Woods,Steve Stricker and Dustin Johnson were practicing together on 18, at this point I got distracted and separated from my Illinois' friends. I went into frenzied photography mode and starting encountering many of the players practicing. Here is a slideshow of some of my photographs:

On the 12th green I met up with Brian Katrek of Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio, which was a very cool experience because I am a regular caller to his show, Teed Off. I also had an opportunity to meet Michael Breed of the Golf Channel's Golf Fix who was working on the RyderCup.com broadcast along with Katrek.

Friday, I arrived at the Medinah Country Club at 6:30am and followed the first match out, Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker versus Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell in alternate shot format. I was shocked when Jim Furyk was driving off of the 1st Tee for Team USA. It was a great match to follow, when Snedeker put a ball into the trees off of the 4th tee, Furyk had to come right into the area where I was standing to hit their second shot. Later in the day, I was standing adjacent Phil and Bones in a wooded area.

On the 12th tee box I had the privilege to meet up with one of my Twitter friends from Northern Ireland. We spent the rest of the day together on the course, rooting for opposing teams. His favorite chant is, "stand up for the Ulstermen" and his objective was to coerce me to support Team Europe. I reassured him that I only support the red, white and blue and that these colors don't run. Watching the afternoon Fourball, I had what was the coolest of experiences, I was introduced to Gerry and Rosie McIlroy. They were lovely people and it's obvious where the number one professional golfer in the world obtained his incredible demeanor.

My friend Gary and me strike a pose after a full day on the course Friday

Much has been said about the crowds and whether they were disrespectful. I can reassure you that the spectators on the whole were fabulous. I met tons of Americans and Europeans while I was out walking. People were in good spirits. There were very few idiots in the huddled masses; I attribute any poor behavior to the fact that people were served beer starting first thing in the morning. The volunteers were spectacular, from the on course marshals to the shuttle lot attendants.

Some patriotic Team USA Fans show their spirit.

Fans that went full on European Flag with an homage to Rory

One very inventive spectator

My only regret is not having stuck around for the weekend. I have my name in the lottery for tickets to the Ryder Cup 2014 at Gleneagles. If I am lucky enough to secure passes, I will absolutely go to Scotland to support Team USA, especially if my favorite pro, Bubba Watson makes the team.

So that's how he hits it Bubbalong;he's a giant.

Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup, a set on Flickr.

Ryder Cup Slideshow

Sunset Golf Denial

Apologies for my blogging absence but, I have been busy relishing in the delights of Summer golf. No, I have not been lured out of my silence by the Augusta National Golf Club decision to admit women. I still have not reasoned out how the decision directly effects me; if someone could direct me to the admission line for Italian girls from Staten Island that would be dandy. I refuse to lose myself in the fantasy decision about whether to lay up or go for it on number 13, Azalea at this point in time.(which happens to be my favorite hole on those hallowed grounds)

Folks, I am in denial at the moment,it happens every year,the plight of a Mid-Atlantic golfer and one of my most favorite things is about to cease. Summer is ending and a shadow is falling on my precious late afternoon rounds. Daylight on a golf course at 8:30PM is the closest I have come to nirvana. It is absolutely liberating,even if the greens are rolling a bit faster due to a day spent baking in the sunshine. The serenity of an empty golf course with a soundtrack provided by singing birds and chirping crickets is the closest I have ever been to God. This is my church,my peaceful place where it is so divine that I can think clearly about life and reason out the nuances of my game. Just last night, I figured something out about my shoulder on my drives and once I had that breakthrough I was making solid contact repeatedly. The pace of play is a gift; finishing 18 in under 3 hours is nothing short of miraculous.

My love of late afternoon rounds certainly stems from time I spent on the golf course with my Father, who worked a tremendous amount. He operated his own business for 25 years. Some weeks he would work 6 or 7 days a week and other weeks his schedule was more flexible to allow more time for golf and family. He often took me to the driving range in the late afternoon to hit balls. When we played golf on the weekend it was always late afternoon rounds. There is nothing more beautiful than a golf course at sunset and having the privilege to share those moments with someone you love.

This Summer I have taken my own Daughter, Hailey a few times to play late afternoon golf. She prefers to run to her ball and hit it, over riding in the cart. You can't bottle that kind of enthusiasm. Although, she is athletically gifted, I exert no pressure on her because I want her to love the game. Hail plays off of the USGA Family Tee and she has had putts for eagle a couple of times now. The quiet of the late afternoon also allows me to explain some of the on course etiquette too.

The days of me standing on the practice area garbed in attire that makes me resemble the Michelin Man, in 30 degree weather approaches shortly. Every year I go down fighting in the Fall, unwilling to accept the inevitably dimming light. Two Autumns ago I recall begging my girlfriends to play a Par 3 with a carry over water in near darkness out of desperation. We could barely see racing back to the clubhouse and narrowly avoiding quite a few trees.

One more closing admission, the 19th hole is best enjoyed at 8 or 9pm. For the next few weeks I will drown my sunset golf sorrows in a beverage or two.