narrominded
A lot of my friends think I ’ m a lucky guy , especially on the golf course . A good bounce on the course is referred to as a “ Narro ” and for that matter any where else .
I must say I am a very lucky guy when it comes to my family . My kids are great , my mom is the coolest person I know , I couldn ’ t ask for better in-laws , and I definitely out kicked my coverage in the marriage department .
But trust me , I get as many bad bounces on the course as the next person ; I just don ’ t let it get to me . However , a recent trip to the Monterey Peninsula has provided some incriminating evidence when it comes to me being a lucky guy .
As I reported in the January issue , I qualified for the Taylor- Made National Championship which is played at Spyglass and Pebble Beach , two bucket list check marks . It ’ s a two player pro-am format , and my good friend Kevin Florenz agreed to be my partner . There is also a rather nice professional purse as well .
It ’ s a two day event in which I played Spyglass on Wednesday
and Pebble on Thursday with a practice round at Spyglass on Tuesday . Players stay at the Inn at Spanish Bay , and TaylorMade throws a couple of great parties for all involved . Pretty lucky huh ?
In the weeks leading up to the event , Kevin and I also cleared our schedules for Friday to try and play another iconic course in the area , Cypress Point . We both knew the chances were slim , but we still wanted to take a shot – we might get lucky .
The week before the event , we had struck out in trying to pull off the impossible , so we decided to try other courses . I thought I had locked up the prestigious Monterey Peninsula Country Club on 17-mile drive , but at the last minute , it fell through . At this point , we were in Monterey Tuesday before the first round and waiting on a friend who was helping with Poppy Hills . Then we got a “ Narro .”
We ran into someone with some influence at Cypress Point . During our time with this gentleman ( I ’ ll leave him nameless as this is one of the most private clubs in the world , and they like to keep their business to themselves ), I went over in my head the numerous classy ways to request 18 holes at the iconic venue . I finally mustered up the nerve to give it a shot . I basically told him I could never live with myself if I didn ’ t at least mention something to him . As suspected , he couldn ’ t make it happen . He did invite us to come over and walk the course , and we happily accepted his offer and made plans to have dinner Thursday night and discuss the logistics .
Not a complete “ Narro ” but not too bad either . Thursday morning , we had a tee time at Pebble Beach for 7:20 a . m ., and our faithful caddies from the first two days were waiting on us ready to go .
What a walk around that historic piece of property . The history , the views , the great ocean holes . Wow ! Pebble Beach didn ’ t disappoint . What a day .
However , it was Thursday at noon or so , and we still hadn ’ t found a place to play on Friday . Our caddies overheard Kevin and I talking about what we could do , and they suggested we play Pacific Grove municipal golf course . The 30-year caddy said it had as many ocean holes as Pebble and nearly as good of golf course . After all , the same guy , Jack Neville , designed both courses . What a great idea ! The same exposure to the beautiful area but with a green fee for the common man .
We made the tee time at 10:50 a . m . so we could get up early and go walk around Cypress and experience its beauty . Pretty lucky I would say , but we had no idea what was coming our way .
We ran into our new friend with the Cypress Point connec-
Jake
Jake Narro , PGA professional , head golf coach at Southeastern Louisiana University and Backspin publisher
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