dhill
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Man that rocks. I hope you have a amazing time! Good luck
My Week Under Pressure
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We played a practice round on Seaside, where the McGladry Classic is played and I'm awful glad we did. It is a beautiful track with terrific views of the ocean from many of the holes. It was even more stunning in person than on TV. The amateurs are scheduled to play from the green tees (blue equivalents), and that is where I started. Those who qualified as seniors could move up a tee, but had to sacrifice two strokes on their handicap. After nine humbling holes it was clear to me that I could not handle this course from the greens tees. With the winds and the very wet fairways, I just don't have enough length off the tees. Moved up on the back nine and did better, but still didn't break 90. We did try a lot of shots that we might not have hit if it were not a practice round though. We play Seaside the last day and it is supposed to be clear that day albeit windy. Looks like we'll play the first two rounds in the rain though.
I took a lot pics today and will post them when I get back. I have no clue how to post pics with my Nexus7.
I took a lot pics today and will post them when I get back. I have no clue how to post pics with my Nexus7.
SanDiego_Husker
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That sounds amazing man. Good luck. And have fun.
Ole Gray
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Buddy I am so excited for you and jealous at the same time 
. I hope this rainy weather in Georgia does not slide down the coast and mess you guys up 
. I'm pulling for your team to take em to the woodshed :deadhorse:
. I hope this rainy weather in Georgia does not slide down the coast and mess you guys up . I'm pulling for your team to take em to the woodshed :deadhorse:
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- #31
I am back at home resting after 5 straight days of golf and trying to organize my pictures and my thoughts about the courses at Sea Island. This is harder than I thought, since we had shotgun starts and my pics don't start at hole #1. So, it will be awhile before I can actually do a course review. But to recap the tournament, it was a blast. The weather wasn't kind, but it didn't take away from a really terrific experience. The tourney was to be three rounds, one each on Seaside, Plantation, and Ocean Forest. I’ll break this summary into three parts, one for each course, so as to keep each post shorter.
Round 1 for us was Ocean Forest and the forecast was for 100% rain all day. Indeed, it did and round one was washed out and the tourney reduced to 36 holes. They did make it optional to play Ocean Forest on our own and three of our foursome opted to play. There was no way I was going to miss out on playing a course in the top 100 in the world. Despite the steady rain, it was still fun playing such a fine golf course. Because of the rain, however, I got no pictures of the golf course and, hence, will not be doing a review of the course. I did find some representative pics on the web (there really aren’t many) and will include a few here so that you get a feel for the course.
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We started on Hole 15, a short par 3 all carry over marsh that was playing about 135 yards. The wind was blowing at about 20-30 mph straight into us, so clubbed up. My tee shot settled about 2 inches from the cup. Only problem was that I was hitting 5 from the tee, having hit the bulkhead on my first two attempts. Had to finally hit a 5 iron for a very nice 6.
Not a great picture of Number 16, but I show it because it has been rated "one of the hardest in the world to get on in regulation". I didn't, but settled for bogie.
Number 17 looks a little like 15, but is longer and with even more wind. It backs up to the Atlantic and there is nothing to break the wind. There is some forgiveness short, albeit with traps. Just a stunning hole.
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Number 1 is a beautiful opening hole doglegging around a large pond. It is a short par 4 that should be an easy opening hole. But water is in play off the tee and on the approach shot, and it could be hard to concentrate with mullet constantly jumping in the pond. You can see a tiny little finger in the lake to the left and short of the green. That would be where my first Bridgestone E6 test ball met its watery grave.
That should give you a little bit of a feel for Ocean Forest. It really is a "special" course and I would love to play it again on a dry, sunny day. That's not likely, though, since you have to be with a member and the club only allows two foursomes each day with guests. Shows how special this Invitational really was.
Hope you enjoyed. I know I did.
Round 1 for us was Ocean Forest and the forecast was for 100% rain all day. Indeed, it did and round one was washed out and the tourney reduced to 36 holes. They did make it optional to play Ocean Forest on our own and three of our foursome opted to play. There was no way I was going to miss out on playing a course in the top 100 in the world. Despite the steady rain, it was still fun playing such a fine golf course. Because of the rain, however, I got no pictures of the golf course and, hence, will not be doing a review of the course. I did find some representative pics on the web (there really aren’t many) and will include a few here so that you get a feel for the course.
We started on Hole 15, a short par 3 all carry over marsh that was playing about 135 yards. The wind was blowing at about 20-30 mph straight into us, so clubbed up. My tee shot settled about 2 inches from the cup. Only problem was that I was hitting 5 from the tee, having hit the bulkhead on my first two attempts. Had to finally hit a 5 iron for a very nice 6.
Not a great picture of Number 16, but I show it because it has been rated "one of the hardest in the world to get on in regulation". I didn't, but settled for bogie.
Number 17 looks a little like 15, but is longer and with even more wind. It backs up to the Atlantic and there is nothing to break the wind. There is some forgiveness short, albeit with traps. Just a stunning hole.
Number 1 is a beautiful opening hole doglegging around a large pond. It is a short par 4 that should be an easy opening hole. But water is in play off the tee and on the approach shot, and it could be hard to concentrate with mullet constantly jumping in the pond. You can see a tiny little finger in the lake to the left and short of the green. That would be where my first Bridgestone E6 test ball met its watery grave.
That should give you a little bit of a feel for Ocean Forest. It really is a "special" course and I would love to play it again on a dry, sunny day. That's not likely, though, since you have to be with a member and the club only allows two foursomes each day with guests. Shows how special this Invitational really was.
Hope you enjoyed. I know I did.
MaryC
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What a great trip!! Hope you enjoyed that wood paneled, fully stocked bar, serve you lunch men's locker room too!
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- #34
I didn't spend any time in the bar at Ocean Forest, but I did have lunch in the Men's Locker Room and Grille. Here is a pic.
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The table in the foreground was our table. The water buffalo over the fireplace looks small in the picture, but is actually quite large. On the walls completely spaced around are trophies bagged by Bill Jones III who was the owner of Sea Island. Most are very exotic. The facility was quite impressive.
The table in the foreground was our table. The water buffalo over the fireplace looks small in the picture, but is actually quite large. On the walls completely spaced around are trophies bagged by Bill Jones III who was the owner of Sea Island. Most are very exotic. The facility was quite impressive.
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Ole Gray
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I'm glad you had a great time Ken! Good memories to look back on and smile :thumb:.
El Bandito
Active member
Sounds like a great time on some great courses. Looking forward to some more pics!
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- #37
After the rain out of round one, the tournament started for our half of the field on the Plantation Course. The other half drew Seaside, and we reversed the following day. Set on the grounds of a once working plantation dating back to the 1790's, the original 9 was built in 1928, redone in the 1990's by Rees Jones, and combined with Retreat into 18 holes in 2001. To some, it would seem that Plantation is the easiest of the two 18's, because Seaside is much more exposed, more susceptible to high winds, and has more water and marsh land to catch errant shots. The truth is, they're both difficult. Plantation's difficulty lies in its length and elevated greens. It also has its fair share of water and marshland, and is well trapped.
We started on Hole #5 in the shotgun and I'll show it here because it indicative of many of Plantation's holes that are lined with beautiful 100+ year old live oaks.
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But, as I mentioned, there is a lot of water. Here is #7, which is an almost island green a la #17 at Sawgrass and, although shorter at 163 yards, is subject to high cross winds that create havoc with tee shots. It was my favorite hole on the Plantation course.
Another Par 3; this one at 205 yards.
And finally, an example of a long par 4 at 409 yards. What you can't see in the pic is that the lake cuts in almost to the edge of the fairway at about 210-230 yards. Anything left of center with a draw is in peril.
So, now that you have a feel for the Plantation Course, how did we do, you ask? Well, when we finished our round, I was not all that optimistic. We left a lot of strokes out there. But at the end of the day we were in 3rd place in the standings and our Pro was leading the Pro portion of the tournament by three strokes. We picked up some nice day one cash (gift card to the Sea Island Pro Shop). Needless to say, we celebrated that night with a nice dinner and some libations.
Next up will be the Seaside Course and the finish of the Invitational.
We started on Hole #5 in the shotgun and I'll show it here because it indicative of many of Plantation's holes that are lined with beautiful 100+ year old live oaks.
But, as I mentioned, there is a lot of water. Here is #7, which is an almost island green a la #17 at Sawgrass and, although shorter at 163 yards, is subject to high cross winds that create havoc with tee shots. It was my favorite hole on the Plantation course.
Another Par 3; this one at 205 yards.
And finally, an example of a long par 4 at 409 yards. What you can't see in the pic is that the lake cuts in almost to the edge of the fairway at about 210-230 yards. Anything left of center with a draw is in peril.
So, now that you have a feel for the Plantation Course, how did we do, you ask? Well, when we finished our round, I was not all that optimistic. We left a lot of strokes out there. But at the end of the day we were in 3rd place in the standings and our Pro was leading the Pro portion of the tournament by three strokes. We picked up some nice day one cash (gift card to the Sea Island Pro Shop). Needless to say, we celebrated that night with a nice dinner and some libations.
Next up will be the Seaside Course and the finish of the Invitational.
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- #38
Our final round of the Invitational was played on the Seaside Course. It also began as a nine hole course in 1929 and was updated in 1999 by Tom Fazio. It is consistently ranked in the Top 100 in the U.S. It is a stunning, links style golf course that offers many views of the ocean during play. Here is a pic that will give you a good feel for what Seaside is all about. It is hole #2, a 398 par 4 dogleg right with marsh and bunker left and water on the right off the tee. A long approach shot to the peninsula green is made very difficult by a bunker and water protecting the right side.
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We began our round with great anticipation. Sitting 3rd after the 1st round, we were in good position to win this thing. Our draw was to start on hole #16, 378 yard par 4. Here is my pic from the tee.
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With a tidal creek an marsh running the entire left side of the fairway, the tendency is to hit your tee shot to the right, but the farther right you hit it, the longer the second shot to a well protected green. We did pretty well here, though, with 3 out of 4 making par.
Hole #17 is a 176 yard par 3. The wind makes choosing a club quite difficult on this hole. Again today, winds were 15-20 mph with gusts much higher.
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My pic makes Number 17 look pretty benign, but I promise you, it is not. It looks short in the picture, but it is 176 yds. playing like 190. Still, we did well on this hole also. We were feeling really well at this point as a team.
Our day really flattened out from here, however. We didn't really play badly, but we didn't play great either. That is, until our last two holes. We figured if played those two well, we would have a real chance of winning. Of course, we probably put too much pressure on ourselves and played them poorly.
So, we didn't win the Pro-Am. But, all was not lost. We did manage to finish in 5th place, and our Pro held on the finish tied for the win. In lieu of a playoff, the pros just split the prize money, so we really felt good for him.
And what an experience. The Sea Island Resort is rated #4 out of the "Top 75 Best Golf Resorts in the U.S." behind Bandon, Pebble, and the American Club. The Cloister is a genuine 5 Star hotel, and all three courses were truly pristine despite it being February and having rain two and a half out of four days. Having stayed and played at Pebble Beach, I'm not sure I agree with Golf Digest on their ratings. I hope we take a team back to Sea Island to next year's Invitational, and, of course, I hope I get to go again.
We began our round with great anticipation. Sitting 3rd after the 1st round, we were in good position to win this thing. Our draw was to start on hole #16, 378 yard par 4. Here is my pic from the tee.
With a tidal creek an marsh running the entire left side of the fairway, the tendency is to hit your tee shot to the right, but the farther right you hit it, the longer the second shot to a well protected green. We did pretty well here, though, with 3 out of 4 making par.
Hole #17 is a 176 yard par 3. The wind makes choosing a club quite difficult on this hole. Again today, winds were 15-20 mph with gusts much higher.
My pic makes Number 17 look pretty benign, but I promise you, it is not. It looks short in the picture, but it is 176 yds. playing like 190. Still, we did well on this hole also. We were feeling really well at this point as a team.
Our day really flattened out from here, however. We didn't really play badly, but we didn't play great either. That is, until our last two holes. We figured if played those two well, we would have a real chance of winning. Of course, we probably put too much pressure on ourselves and played them poorly.
So, we didn't win the Pro-Am. But, all was not lost. We did manage to finish in 5th place, and our Pro held on the finish tied for the win. In lieu of a playoff, the pros just split the prize money, so we really felt good for him.
And what an experience. The Sea Island Resort is rated #4 out of the "Top 75 Best Golf Resorts in the U.S." behind Bandon, Pebble, and the American Club. The Cloister is a genuine 5 Star hotel, and all three courses were truly pristine despite it being February and having rain two and a half out of four days. Having stayed and played at Pebble Beach, I'm not sure I agree with Golf Digest on their ratings. I hope we take a team back to Sea Island to next year's Invitational, and, of course, I hope I get to go again.
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Ole Gray
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Great recap Ken! Awesome pics and congrats on placing in the money and you must be mighty proud of your pro :clapp:
