Originally Published on August 11, 2008 by ranchomurieta.com

Diaries written by: Don Thames

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Don Thames had an experience open to few -- he played in the U.S. Senior Open. That's not to mention signing autographs.

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Don Thames earned a spot in the U.S. Senior Open two weeks ago in Colorado, and he had the golf experience of his life. He made the trip with his wife, Carole, and family and friends. Don writes about it here -- first-tee jitters, good shots, bad shots, friendly golf legends and the U.S. Golf Association's equipment rules.

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THANK YOU!

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I would like to thank all of you who supported Carole and me before and during the 2008 U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor. Your e-mails, cards and phone calls were very uplifting and inspirational. I want to chronicle the week for those who are interested.

To begin, I have to say that this was the single greatest golf experience I have ever participated in times 10. Upon arrival at the airport, the U.S. Golf Association supplied each player with a Lexus to drive for the week. When we arrived at the Broadmoor Hotel (a five-star resort) we were spoiled immediately with tremendous service by the hotel and the USGA. At every turn was a volunteer, hotel staffer or USGA official to welcome us and make our week seamless, comfortable and nice.

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All U.S. Opens are difficult examinations. In this one I got an "A" in finding the rough. A player can simply not play well from the hay. My driving was not at all wild but was off just enough to barely miss fairways and thus I missed several greens. I liken the tournament to the situation of NBA teams that make the playoffs for the first time. In most cases they do not advance. After a couple of tries they may eventually become successful.

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I feel that I can play well at the Broadmoor under Open conditions, but this time it just did not happen for us. But it's OK. I will know better the next time. It was a great learning experience. I also misfired on some short putts due to a combination of nerves and very tricky greens.

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Scott Hoch told me that the greens were the toughest he had ever played, including Augusta National. That made me feel a little better knowing that everyone struggled to read and putt the greens. Hoch said that "It's hard to get the right thoughts from your head to your hands in hitting it hard or soft enough." I agreed completely with his assessment. The other problem for me was that the golf course did not eyeball well for me because most of the holes were dogleg lefts. My shot shape is that of a fade.

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