A few days ago, I had the opportunity and distinct pleasure to play a round of golf with PGA Tour veteran Brandt Jobe at prestigious Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, home to the upcoming PGA Tour’s Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Before I get to our round of golf let me tell you about this golf course. The recent renovations done to Colonial are on the mark! The bunkers are without a doubt “perfect”! The greens are more than fair and an excellent test of golf. Teeing grounds, you ask? Well, “perfect” works again! The course is in immaculate condition and the best I have ever seen. Need I say more?
I wish Ben Hogan could see the course today. I believe he would truly appreciate what they have done and consider it a fair but demanding test of golf. If one is to complain about Colonial they would need to sit down with Mr. Hogan and let him know how they feel. Colonial Country Club continues to carry the Hogan “mystique”. The PGA Tour does itself proud with this stop on the schedule and it is truly an event that has stood the test of time.
Dow Fisterwald, the Director of Golf, does a masterful job; he and his staff deserve a good portion of the credit for what they have continued to produce year-in and year-out.
Fort Worth is a very unique “big small town” or “small big town” with great charm, its own culture, wonderful people, great food, arts and entertainment. There is a lot of culture in this city and it is definitely worth a trip. Oh, and by the way, there are many fine golf courses in and around the city.
Now on to golf….
First off, Brandt Jobe is truly a gentleman. He knows his game inside and out and now that he is healthy, I expect to see him contending again very soon. He finished T-17 in San Antonio a few weeks ago and has been in the top 25 three times in six events this season.
Okay, enough of the nice guy stuff! He can bomb his driver an average of 300+ on a regular basis and launch a 3 metal to the depths of 280+. During our round, he only hit the driver 4 times but roasted the 3 metal all day. And he is a gamer! He was jacking with me like Roger Federer does with his opponents on the courts.
On the first tee, Brandt and I traded a little “information” and after much deliberating, I ended up getting my handicap of 4 for the day which translated into 8 shots. You have to take in consideration that is not enough because he will average 4 under in a casual practice round on a PGA tournament course. I know, it sounds like I am whining! (To give you an idea of how PGA tour courses play compared to a regular manicured golf course, I usually will shoot 69-74 when I play. On a PGA Tour tournament set-up, it is usually more like a 75-79.)
Now, I have to tell you I have never been given 8 shots for a competitive round of golf and if it did happen, I would most likely put the hurt on them! Well, that was not the case today. Brandt beat me 1 up for the match. Sounds respectable, doesn’t it? But, it wasn’t even close. Every time I felt like I had a little something working, he would smoke a drive around a corner, stuff a short iron to 6 feet and drain a putt. I learned so much about his game, how he thinks, feels, sees, plots and executes the ball around the golf course. It was a great learning day.
We hope to see him hoisting a trophy on tour this year. I’m licking my wounds and looking forward to the rematch…and getting 9 shots.
Cheers and I hope you are enjoying the PGA Tour’s Texas Swing of golf this month.
Shawn