U.S. SENIOR OPEN 2008
Originally Published on August 11, 2008 by ranchomurieta.com
Diaries written by: Don Thames
Preparing for the U.S. Senior Open:
The Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs, Colorado
Sunday, June 29, 2008:
After check-in we arranged tee times for our practice rounds. You simply put your name down with whomever you chose. I chose Hale Irwin, Dale Douglass and Jim Colbert for Monday. I chose Ben Crenshaw, Bobby Wadkins and amateur Mike Bell for Tuesday.
On Sunday we played solo, with Carole measuring yardages and Clive from Jamaica on the bag. Clive knows the course and especially the greens very well. He explained about the "mountain effect," whereby everything breaks away from the Will Rogers Shrine. In his Jamaican accent he told me, "Fight the mountain up and then let it die back down to the hole." I listened and tried to put his advice into action, as unbelievable as it seemed at times. These greens were large and treacherous with several separate areas containing their own wicked characteristics. I was exhausted after the round and Carole and I had a quiet meal and slept like babies.
Monday, June 30, 2008:
I had met Jim Colbert on Sunday and was very comfortable playing with him and Dale Douglass. Hale did not join us as he was late in arrival from the Senior British Open. Colbert and Douglass could not have been nicer. Colbert told me to "Just play like you do at home. Don't pay any attention to who you are competing against. Most guys get caught up in that instead of playing the course."
The protocol of the practice round was similar to what we learned in college golf. Most of the practice involved putting several balls on the greens and hitting a few chips and generally trying to guess where the hole locations would be. I was bombing the tee shots that day, prompting Douglass to comment after a long one, "How many shots have you played to get there?" We all laughed, but I was careful not to think I was the new John Daly, because Colbert and Douglass are in their late 60s.
What some happy golf students say:
"Don is an amazing teacher. He helped me go from barely even being able to hit the ball to being able to play on weekends with my dad. Golf is now my favorite sport."
- Trevor A.
"Don is great at diagnosing the weak areas in a golfers game. After one chipping lesson with Don my handicap decreased by two strokes in just over a month."
- Chase A.
"I have been in the Jr. Golf Program with Coach Don since I was 5 years old. Coach Don has helped me to be successful on the Jr. PGA Team and in other golf tournaments."
- Axel S.