Tim Thoughts

Today was a really fun day. I ventured with my dad and Uncle Todd up to Akron to experience a day of watching the pro’s golf at Firestone. OK, officially, I suppose I attended the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club. And it was great! I had only been there once before, probably around 10 years ago. But at the time I didn’t love golf like I do now. Here are some thoughts from the day at Firestone.

Time with Pops

Having the chance to watch the best golfers on the planet is really cool. Having the chance to watch them while chatting with my dad out in the sun for almost seven hours was priceless. I never really imagined myself living in Columbus longterm, but now that I’ve been away from Massillon for almost a decade, I really value the time I spend with Dad.

Unemployment and Attendence

At one point, we were sitting in the grass, watching drives wizz by when a guy about 10 feet to my left says, “well I guess the economy can’t be too bad if all these people could take off work for a day to watch golf.”  Immediately, a gentleman behind my provided the obvious response. “They’re all laid off.”

What do Caddies Know Anyway?

My posse and I were hanging out near the green on the 12th hole. Vijay Singh had just played a shot out of the bunker, and his caddie took the rake into the sand to clean up the mess. This apparent Rory McIlroy super fan or unofficial caddy police lady next to me got all disgusted.  You see, McIlroy was placing his ball on the green, and to her, that meant he was in need of supreme concentration. He was a good 45 seconds from even dreaming of hitting the putt, but that didn’t stop this ambitious fan from shhhhh-ing Singh’s caddy while he raked the bunker. Really? You think the caddy needs you to tell him to get quiet and be still before the putt? Really? You think he cares that you are sending angry shhhhhh his way? Please.

Professionals are Human

You know what’s great about pro golfers? They are human. Yep. From about 10 feet away they look just like they do on TV. They also make real human mistakes on the course. I saw Tiger get stuck in the trees. And instead of just punching out, he really went for it, only to absolutley drill a tree and send it towards the other fairway. I saw Camilo Villegas hit a tree so hard off the left side of the fairway that it crossed the fairway and ended up in the rough to the right. I saw Ian Poulter toss a ball in the water after a disappointing hole. Heck, I even saw a drive bounce about 15 feet in front of me on a cart path and hop over my head.

Bad Business

We parked in a family’s yard, about a quarter mile from one of the entrances. It was an ideal location and they only charged $5. Good deal. The next house over, just a few feet closer to the entrance, was charging $10 per car to park. As we walked back to the car at around 4:30 pm, we took note that the $5 lot was packed with probably 150 cars. As for the $10 lot? 5 cars. Seriously. You do the math. Now it could be argued that maybe the people who pay $10 to park are the same people who watch Tiger play 4 holes and then head back to work or to a bar. But I think that’s only a minor factor. Maybe the $10 parking family should take note from gas stations. $4.99 might not be a bad idea.