Weekend in Miami

Just before tee time (approximately 7:45 AM) on Sunday I had the following conversation:

Me:  Hey, how’s it going?  I’m Denny.

Mike:  I’m Mike, nice to meet you.

Me:  Are you going to be our fourth?  (we only had three players in our group)

Mike:  No, I’m your caddie.

Me:  Oh, uh, ok.

Now, this wasn’t the usual caddie we all think of carrying my bad throughout the course.  This caddie walked the course while we drove, he gave us pointers at each tee box, went out into the fairway before we teed off to find our golf balls after driving it out there, he would tell us our yardage to the center of the green and pin, then give us an idea where to putt when on the green.  A luxury indeed, and a first for me.  Yes, as discussed in the previous posts comment section, I did shoot a 96.  I attribute this to a couple of reason. First, we played from the blue tees, not the gold, or professional (which weren’t even marked).  Second, the caddie found all of my drives, something that doesn’t always happen when I golf.  And finally, the greens were soft. When I hit the green with my approach, it usually stayed on the green.  Actually, on the 14th hole, after a short drive, I took out my 3 wood from the fairway and, with the usual fade, landed the ball on the green. That’s unusual for me with any club, but with a 3 wood is downright impossible without the soft greens.  And, although I didn’t par the hole due to some horrible putting throughout the day, I was able to get on the par 4 18th green in 2 shots. This actually means something as it’s considered the hardest final hole on the PGA tour (I’d really like to leave out the part about there being no wind that day, but I can’t).

After a quick nap which was sorely needed, I made my way over to Joe Robbie Stadium – who are we kidding, that’s what it will always be known as – for the Pro Bowl Tailgate party and the Pro Bowl itself. During pre-game the loudest boos were for the Cowboys players, which was a little surprising.  I do have some video from the Tailgate – The Flutie Brothers, featuring Doug Flutie at drums – and Pro Bowl introductions.  I’ll try to figure out how to get them on YouTube and link to them here.  Until then, enjoy the pics below.

And thank you Mary for the great weekend!