narromindedjr
by Shayne Narro
Last minute plans to make the Zurich
Classic turned out to be an amazing
experience. There were so many superstars
in the field with memories that will last a life
time that I made with my future brother-in-
law Aaron Pool on Saturday.
We have been golf buddies ever since
he moved to Hammond with my sister,
and we were able to make the most of the
professional venue at TPC of Louisiana.
The conditions were difficult with the
breeze. There were knockdown shots and
lay up attempts all day during the alternate
shot because there was not another player
picking up the slack throughout the hole.
Players on each team discussed each shot in
detail and were able to put together great
golf minds to produce fantastic results.
Golf rounds were speedy all day because
of alternate shot, meaning there were only
two balls played each hole rather than 4.
Being up close and personal with many of
the top tier pros was very exciting. It was
also nice to see how the pros played the
doglegs TPC has to offer with the high level
of winds. And it was also nice to see every
so often the pros hit shots that amateurs hit.
The crowd on hole 18 in the grandstands
awaited the pairing of Jordan Spieth and
Ryan Palmer playing alongside with Charlie
Hoffman and Nick Watney. Ryan Palmer
hit a beautiful wedge to about two feet on
the par 5, and the crowd went wild. Spieth
had a birdie putt to cap off a nice round, but
possibly the best putter in the world missed.
14
The crowd was ready to explode, and you
could hear the gasps when he pushed it right.
It is amazing to watch the pre-round
routines of all of these high level talents. It
was amazing seeing them hit specific shots
on the range, hitting simple chip shots on
the chipping green and lagging 50-foot putts
on the putting green. It is easy to appreciate
how much work all these golfers put into
their game every day. Even after the round,
Jordan Spieth was hitting 2-foot putts
because of the one he missed on 18.
These players were class acts after the
round, signing all the gear fans put in
their faces. Bubba Watson signed and took
pictures with everyone after the round who
waited on him to post his score. Spieth only
could afford to sign about half of the people
that were out there, granted there were about
four times the amount of people waiting for
Spieth because of the children that he draws
to the game.
I was fortunate to get a couple tickets to the
Zurich Classic and was able to take Aaron.
We had a great time following multiple
groups and being talking golf all day long.
Even after the round, we mentioned to each
other that it felt like we just got done playing
because of all of the walking we did around
the course. My health app said that I did
about 18,000 steps, was equivalent to over
six miles. We got a little exercise in while
watching our favorite players compete in a
sport that we love.