From the moment Lin’s Challenger 350 touched down at the West Palm Beach Airport, it was clear that this was a world I rarely encountered. The FBO was surrounded by private jets and luxury vehicles. We deplaned and made the quick drive from the airport past the PGA headquaters and numerous golf course, to Seminole Golf Club. I’d come to Seminole with Lin, his son Nick, and our mutual friend Danny. Danny, Lin and I had also played together at Augusta National.
We were greeted by attendants whose job it seemed was to make us feel as special as possible. Our only responsibility is to ensure you enjoy the experience. They handled everything else.
Fourteen years earlier as I was first learning to play golf, I was playing at Terrell Park, a public course in Beaumont, Texas with my good friend Kevin of “The Battle in the Bluegrass” and “The Whuppin’ in the Woods” fame. We caught up with a twosome that happened to be co-workers. Both were named Dennis. Dennis number one invited us to join them on the tee box for the par three eighth hole for the rest of the round. As I stood off the tee box and behind Dennis number two, he took a practice swing then said in a not some friendly tone, “you’re standing in my line of sight, move.” Thus, begin one of the most important relationships in the development of my golf game.
Dennis number two and I went to on to play numerous rounds together and develop an enduring friendship. He also became my primary golf instructor. He called me Mr. Jimmie because of our work relationship and I called him Mr. Dennis because there was no reason for him to call me Mr. Jimmie. It was he who taught me how to hit a driver off the deck. We were on the par five eleventh hole at Terrell Park and I’d hit my drive into the rough on the left. I was close enough to go for the green in two but had a tree with over hanging branches blocking the shot. Mr. Dennis said, “hit your driver.” He told me to put the ball a little farther back than normal, grip the club loosely, keep my head still, stand down and swing. The ball came out low, then started to rise before curving to the right toward the green. It landed in the fairway then roll onto the green. I’ve been using that shot every since.
However, that was not the first nor most important thing Mr. Dennis taught me. The first thing he taught me besides not standing behind him on the tee, was about speed of play. He said, “Mr. Jimmie, golf is a game where everyone who plays it has played poorly at one time or another. No one will refuse to play with you because you play poorly.” He went onto to tell me that one of the biggest sins in golf is to play poorly. Anyone who has ever played golf with me will attest to Mr. Dennis’ effectiveness at drilling that message into my head. My time in the locker room is memorable for the friendliness of the locker room staff and a sign that read, “Play well, play fast. Play poorly, play faster.” I was finally home. Thanks to Mr. Dennis, I would fit right in with the members at Seminole.
Our foursome sat for a nice lunch the returned to the locker room before heading to the range and then the first tee where we were greeted by the legendary Bob Ford. Bob spent many years as the head pro at both Oakmont and Seminole. In 2016 he retired from Oakmont to work full-time at Seminole. In 2017, he received the USGA’s highest honor, the Bob Jones Award. It is given to individuals in recognition of their distinguished sportsmanship in golf. It carries Mr. Jones’s perferred monicker.
To say I was nervous standing on the first tee, playing with a US Mid-Amateur champion and US Amateur Runner-up while Mr. Ford stood by and watched, would be an understatement. My first drive at Augusta National was a piece of cake compared to this. We played from the blue tees which measure 6600 yards. There is no course rating or slope on the score card, but I quickly learned that Seminole is a difficult course, especially with the win blowing. Just for the record, like at Prairie Dunes, the wind is always blowing.
The first hole at Seminole is a 370 yard par four. There is sand between the tee box and the start of the fairway. The fairway has several bunkers along the left and right sides. Fortunately for me and my tense nervous body, the trees along the left side have a lot of space between them. I pull a short drive to the left. My ball rolled through the first of the fairway bunkers, leaving 215 yards to the flag.
My second shot of the round was one of my few shining moments. The ball came off my three hybrid cleanly, sailed between two trees, then drew toward the middle of the green. It landed just short of the green before running through it and off the back. That it ran through the green was a little bad luck I was willing to accept given when I put my drive. I putted from off the green to 10 feet. I left my par putt five inches short of the cup before tapping in to open my round with a bogey.
At 380 yards, the second hole is a slightly longer par four than the first. There is pond between the tee and the beginning of the fairway, but the carry is not long enough to present a problem. The large bunker on the right, and the two small ones on the left between the fairway and a strip of water are more of a concern.
My drive landed in the first bunker on the left. My second shot caught the lip and landed in the next bunker. My first double bogey followed after my third shot landed 80 yards from a back pin position, my fourth shot landed just left of the green, and my bogey putt missed the cup.
The third hole, the first par five, measures just 500 yards with a fairway that slopes right to left while bending left to right. There are bunkers and waste areas on both sides of the telescoping fairway as it approaches a green with a small bunker off the left front and two along the right side.
I finally found a fairway with a nice long drive that rolled even farther leaving just 220 yards to the green. Well placed trees blocked my path to the green. I laid up over the trees with my pitching wedge but landed in the waste area on the right when the ball didn’t draw, leaving just 80 yards to a front right pin.
I caught a little too much sand on my third shot. The ball landed in a bunker on the right just a few yards from the green. My bunker shot rolled 30 feet from the pin, leaving a fast downhill right to left breaking putt. I skimmed the hole with my par putt and tapped in for another bogey. I wasn’t playing well, but I wasn’t playing disastrously either. I was trying to keep my nerves in check.
Danny told me the fourth and the sixth are his favorite holes at Seminole. The fourth is a 440 yard par four that is not only beautiful, but also challenging with bunkers that add to both the beauty and the challenge. The fairway rises slightly from the tee box, but slopes down toward a well bunkered green that is shifted slightly to the left.
I hit another nice 250 yard drive down the middle, leaving 200 to the hole. I flared my approach shot to the right into the waste leaving 60 yards to the flag. I pitched on to 8ft from the hole. I started my putt a little right of the hole. The ball caught the inside edge of the cut and rimmed out leading to another bogey.
The first par three on the course is a long one, not the longest, but long none-the-less. The hole is along the perimeter of the course with hedges against the tee box on the right that run past the right side of the green. The tiny green looks like the back of a turtle whose head is the bunker off the front with bunkers off the left and right sides serving as legs and feet and a bunker off the back as its tail.
I had to take a drop after hitting my tee shot into the hedges along the right. I pitched before one-putting to conintue my string of bogeys.
Danny said, “not only is the sixth one of my two favorites, it’s also Ben Hogan’s favorite.” The 375 yard par four has sand between the tee box and the start of a fairway with bunkers on the left that merge with a waste area. There are also several bunkers along the right, two about midway from the tee to the green and two that along with the waste area on the left, make a sandwich out of the narrow strip of land that serves as the last 80 yards of fairway.
Luck intervened on my drive. My ball stopped just short of the hedges along the right side of the fairway. I didn’t have enough room for a full swing so I pitched out to the fairway, leaving 75 yards to a middle pin. A little too much juice on my third shot sent the ball just beyond the back of the green. I two-putted from off the back of the green for yet another bogey.
Looking out from the seventh tee box, I saw more sand and water than fairway. It was easy to see why this was the third most difficult hole on the course. The hole was playing 410 yards and required a drive over a waste area and a couple of bunkers to reach a fairway with intimidating bunkers along each side. The fairway slopes down and ends at a pond that sits between it and the green. There was no where to miss. The two club wind blowing directly into us increased the difficulty.
All things considered, I was pleased with my drive that left 205 yards to the middle of the green. With that big pond in front of the green looming, there was no way I was going to go for it. I laid up with my sand wedge well short of the pond, leaving 130 yards that played 150 yards. The lay up almost paid off. I hit my third shot to 20 feet, but missed the putt and settled for yet another bogey.
There is no let up on Seminole. After playing the third most difficult hole on the course, we faced the longest and most difficult of the par threes. The eighth hole 225 yards and plays across a small portion of the pond that was on the adjacent hole. There is a bunker on the right well short of the green and four around the green.
I hit my tee shot way right to one of the fairway bunkers off the left side of the 8th hole. My bunker shot landed well short of the green. I pitched my third shot over the bunker onto the green before two putting for my second double bogey of the round.
The front nine ends with a 485-yard par five. There are water and bunkers off both sides of the fairway. The creek on the right is between the fairway and the hedges that border the perimeter of the property. The water on the left is an extension of the pond comes into play on the seventh and eight holes. A drive to the water on the left led to my third double bogey of the round and a 48 for the front nine.
The back nine opens with a 360 yard par four that with a waste area followed by water on the left and a couple of bunkers on the right. The fairway is one of the widest on the course. It does narrow significantly near water on the left.
I pulled my drive so far to the left that I had to hit back over the water off the left side of the fairway to reach the green. My shot barely made if over the water before rolling back into the sandy area along the water. I was so concerned about getting the ball out of the sandy area that I swung to hard. The ball flew over the green, leading to another double bogey. I was starting to try to too after my embarassing front nine.
In keeping with Seminole’s spirit of “Play well, play fast. Play poorly, play faster,” I stopped taking notes and used the time to focus more before each swing. I ended my string of doubles and ran off a sting of five bogeys on holes 11 through 15.
The eleventh hole at Seminole is rated as the second hardest hole on the course. It is a 390 yard par four. It is the drive on this hole that makes it so difficult. It is wrought with peril. In the first 200 yards, there is no safe harbor except the narrow strip of fairway between a pond on the right and a lagoon and bunker on the left. The remaining 190 yards has water on the right and mostly bunkers and a waste area on the left. The green has several bunkers and some waste areas protecting it in the front and on the sides. You definitely need your A game to par this hole and I clearly left mine on the plane or back in Atlanta.
The twelfth hole is slightly easier. To begin with it measures just 360 yards. The hole is squeezed into the northeast corner of the course. With hedges and a narrow strip of water on the left, there is absolutely no room on the left for a ball that’s not in the fairway. The hole also has one fairway bunker off the left and right side, but they are much closer to the green than the tee box. The green is a bunker infested delight. There’s no place except the green to put the ball and not be in trouble. Still it is a much easier hole than the 11th.
The par three thirteenth hole is the easiest hole on the course. I still couldn’t find a way to make a par. The hole measures 165 yards and plays over a waste area to a green riddled with more bunkers than some courses have on all 18 greens combined. The hole might as well have been on the beach that sits behind it. I hit my tee shot into one of the left bunkers and failed to get up.
The fourteenth hole is the first of two successive par fives. It measures 500 yards. It is supposed to be an easy hole. And it is, if you can avoid the water and bunkers on the left and the bunkers on the right with your drive. You then must get on the elevated green without landing in one the bunkers that have it surrounded. You get the idea. There are no easy holes at Seminole. The easy ones are still hard.
The fifteenth hole is the second of the successive par fives and although shorter, is the more difficult of the two. It measures just 475 yards, but those yards are packed with almost more water and sand than fairway. Your drive must carry the water and land in a fairway that can’t be much more than thirty yards wide, and not land in a series of bunkers along the left side. I did all of that well, by hitting a perfect tee shot with my three wood. But rather than playing it safe, I tried to reach the green in two. That didn’t end well. The green is probably one of he easiest ones on the course. It has just three bunkers and is open in the front. That’s probably why I was able to save bogey after going in the water. I had reasonable par opportunities on all but the 15th hole.
The sixteenth hole is another difficult par four. It measures 395 yards with a fairway that doglegs to the right. The first 220 yards of the hole which occur prior to the dogleg are relatively trouble free. There is a waste area to the right, but there is also a nice buffer of rough between it and the right edge of the fairway.
The last 175 yards which occur after the bend to the right, are where the problems start. There are bunkers and a waste area all along the right and bunkers and a waste area along most of the left. The green is also surrounded by bunkers with only the strip of grass in front and between the bunkers on the right providing any safe place to miss.
I hit my drive to the fairway. My approach shot plugged in the first and largest of the two bunkers off the left side of the green. My sand shot was one of my best shot of the round. I was able to get the ball out of its plugged position to with in 15 feet of the hole. Unfortunately, I couldn’t sink by par putt for a sand save. I settled for my sixth bogey in a row.
The seventeenth hole is the last par three at Seminole. The hole measures 160 yards. It plays along the beach and over a waste area to a well bunkered green. I hit what I thought was the perfect shot. I lined up to hit a shot that would ride the left side of the hole and fade onto the green. The shot did just that but stay on the green. It rolled off the right side of the green into one of the bunkers.
My sand shot on this hole was the antithesis of my bunker shot on the previous hole. I hit it too far. It landed on the green and rolled off the left side of the green in between the bunkers. I chipped on and two putted for my second double bogey of the back nine.
We arrived at the final hole with me not having made a single par during the round. If I’m honest with myself and you, I must admit that I was so looking forward to playing well with Danny and Lin after not having played well with them at Augusta National. While I had struggled with my game at The Quarry at LaQuinta and at Whispering Pines back in December, the rounds immediately before those were all in the 80’s. I think I tried too hard and did as I always do under stress on the golf course and that is overswing.
I stood on the tee box of the 400 yard eighteenth hole wanting a par really badly. The tee box on the hole is sandwiched between the hedges that separate the course from the beach and the 17th green. The fairway is offset to the right with a waste area wedged between the hedges and the left side of the fairway. There are also three bunkers that blend into the waste area. The right side of the fairway has a series of bunkers.
I lined up for a fade, aimed along the left side of the fairway. The ball drew slightly and landed in the last of the three bunkers on the left that blend in with the waste area. It wasn’t looking good for finishing with a par.
Once we arrived at my ball, I breathe a slight sigh of relief. I had a good lie and was far enough from the front lip of the bunker to hit a club that could cover the remaining 165 yards to the back right pin position on the eighteenth green. There are two bunkers along the left side, one on the right side and one off the back of the green.
I’d played poorly and faster all day. I stood in the bunker, took my time and thought about my shot. I decided to go with a six iron, my 170 yard club and hit the same shot I hit on the seventeenth hole. This time if I went long, the ball would roll off the green between in a space between the right bunker and the back bunker.
I address the ball and summoned my best swing of the day. I caught the ball cleanly. The ball flight was just as I had imagined. The ball landed in the middle of the green and rolled to eight feet below the hole and slightly right.
My caddie Matt handed me my putter and I joined Danny who also had his putter in hand, for a long walk in the short grass to our balls on the eighteenth green.
Sadly, I missed my birdie putt, but made an easy par to avoid a par free round. My score on the back nine was two strokes better than the front nine. My total score was a disappointing 94.
I’d like to thank Danny and Lin for making possible for me to play Seminole and for their continued assistance and support during my quest.