Author: dwightvanm

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, esteemed members of our sport’s greatest game – that’s all of you! – aspiring golfers of all ages and ability, as well as the global, golfing community, it is with great excitement I announce to each of you personally that this year’s Masters is right around the corner – despite being postponed until later this fall. 

This defining tournament comes at a time in our history, in your history, may I remind you, marked by the very first Masters tournament to be played this decade, in the 2020’s. The roaring 20’s are back! Of course they are, a century later, and with that the most prestigious golfing event on the planet as we head into our moments roaring twenties. The landmark scene this grand stage is set upon is our 21st century. 

Like the preceding 1920’s terrific, towering rise, our world and our game – this game of golf – will continue its upward climb. It simply has to and I, for one, believe it will. They say history repeats itself; and for once, this will be in our favour and worthy of a repeat. I believe a tranquil nobility of strength, dignity, and honour will come to enclose this era and tournament, as historians of the game and the world over will come to realize, in hindsight.

I have heard it said that this year and decade brings with it “2020 vision” and I can think of no greater clarity than having this stage set upon golf’s greatest of all stages, at none other than the hallowed grounds at Augusta National Golf Course in Augusta, Georgia. 

Each year as this tournament approaches I have noticed two things. First, the golf courses that are played on prior to this event (with exception to this year’s pandemic) all seem to start looking like Augusta’s. For instance, the pristinely-cut fairways, giant white sand bunkers, and pine straw looks around the edges of the fairways and greens all give that Masters-appearance. Second, the leaderboards in the events leading up are usually filled with the same names that top the Masters leaderboard, year in and year out, such as Jason Day, Adam Scott, Paul Casey, Zach Johnson, Phil, Rory, DJ and, of course, Tiger. 

Last year before the tournament started I predicted Tiger would win. This year, I predict again that Tiger will not only win and defend his Master’s title, but with his win it will catapult and propel him into a whole new realm of the history record books. By winning here at Augusta, Tiger would break the all-time record of most tournament wins in a career, established by Sam Snead, at 82 professional victories, set in 1965 at The Greater Greensboro Open (in other words, a long time ago.) 

Currently, both Tiger and Sam are tied at 82 wins. Number 83 will happen for Tiger, and probably a few more after that, because, well, he’s Tiger. I’m just saying and hoping it’ll be at this year’s Masters. Can you imagine: what a way it would be to launch this 20’s decade off in major-style in 2020 Anno Domini! But of course, I’m just sayin’.

I also believe that this decade will prove to be a very interesting and upwardly exciting one, in a way that can only be experienced by those of us living through it and those looking back on this historical time period. Sure, it will have its challenges and setbacks, as they all do; but, the enormity in scale will out-do any declines, no matter how they come. 

Now, like most golf fans out there, I’m just waiting for this year’s Masters to resume play. 

A Stillness Like No Other

Winter in K-Country
Photo taken by the author on an iPhone XR

 

“I regard golf as an expensive way of playing marbles.”

– G.K. Chesterton

 

From a cerebral perspective, the central point of the game is to get your golf ball in to the hole, using the least amount of shots, and to do this over eighteen holes in a given round. Then, you add up each of your holes, and voila, that’s the number of times, or strokes, it took you to play a round of golf. Robin Williams performed a hilarious improv about the game of golf, where he hones in on the whole insanity this sport often brings to those of us mortals who play it. Feel free to check it out on YouTube sometime.

So, is that it? I mean, it sounds pretty simple and straightforward, right? After all, how hard can this game be? It sure looks pretty easy when I watch it on TV. And, honestly speaking, it feels quite dull and boring when I’ve followed the Pro’s around at tournaments, too. I mean, they drive it out there, far and long, always landing on the pristine green carpet; then, hit their iron shot on to the green; and then, usually get it down in two or less putts. I find myself looking at my iPhone more often than I do actually watching them. At least with my phone, I can respond to texts or restart the darned thing when it doesn’t work.

Of course this game is not easy! It’s not even remotely close to being easy. It’s about as easy as walking from the Milky Way galaxy to the Hubble Deep Field. None of us makes it this far in life without knowing that nothing in life, or in golf, is easy or comes easily – nothing.

For me, the whole point of this wonderful, heart-wrenching game is to grow us as a person. Simply put, golf matures us, whether we intend for it or not. This game grows each and every one of us, whoever so wisely or un-wisely decidedly picks up a club as an instrument of this game and attempts to understand and accept the full range of one’s own limitations and full-on constraints.

Come to think of it, I know of nothing else in life that grows or matures us, more than the game of golf. People don’t. Situations don’t. Relationships don’t. Spouses don’t. Not even our own selves are capable of this growing effect. Golf is a game that one cannot or will not ever be able to fully and completely master, for its results of mastery are completely unattainable. However much of a perfectionist, or recovering perfectionist you may be, perfection in this game is elusive. It’s always fleeting and just when you think it’s within your grasp, for a shot or even a hole or two, it seems to go as quickly as it comes, vanishing into the thin air all around us.

Shaw Charity Classic, 2019
Hole 14, Par-3
Canyon Meadows G&CC

 

“I don’t let birdies and pars get in the way of having a good time.”

– Angelo Spagnolo

 

One thing I have learned is that golf is a game – and that’s all it is. It seems to take most of us a very long time to understand this reality. The bottom line is: golf is just a game and it is only a game. Pure and simple. Nothing more and nothing less. Period. 

I know that sometimes (okay, often times) I can forget this important part of the game and this reality-check can feel elusive, like wet sand slipping through my hands as I reach down across the ocean floor and try to scoop some of it up. To me, the scorecard is a distraction. It is just a metric that uses numbers to quantify and objectify what we shoot on any given hole or round. Then we use these very same numbers to analyze and measure our golfing potential. Even the bravest among us enter their scores into a USGA public domain database from which the software rolls out one’s handicap, which for non-golfers, is a numerical value that tells us what we should be shooting on average from any course we tee it up at.

Of course, even that computerized system is set up to make us feel like failures by the index number being an unfair numerical value. It actually tells us what we should shoot – if we shoot the lights out. So, it’s very realistic as you can see. By the very nature of this mega-large database being public means anyone can see the scores we’ve posted, from anywhere. Once in the system, or not, we compare our rounds with our playing partners and others we know, based on that smallish-looking, pencilled in, confined value we give ourselves (not always honestly, I might add) after each hole played, culminating in a total, or final round, score. 

And that’s the problem: the comparison that our “score” so often brings us and each other. This proverbial measuring stick feels like we’re constantly under the microscope with ourselves and the golfing world. So I say, take the pressure-cooker off and let the air escape. Let it all evaporate, like the helium coming out of your mouth after you’ve breathed it in from a party balloon. Simply put, don’t keep score or the score will keep you. Doing so, I think you’ll find the game much more fun, relaxing, and enjoyable; all of which are probably the very reasons you, or any one of us, probably picked up the game in the first place. So go scoreless, not for the sake of the score but your own sanity – and those around you. You might even gain some friends around the track. 

Teeing Off
Mickelson National Golf Course

 

“Forget your opponents; always play against par.”
– Sam Sneed

 

I don’t keep score when I play golf. 

I mean, I used to keep score but I don’t anymore. This has been my practice for the past few seasons now. I have learned not to keep score over time when I am out playing a round. I have found that things go better, much better, for me when I’m not concerned with the score. I have even been re-introduced to such things as fun, enjoyment, and laughter – which I didn’t know existed when I was too busy counting strokes.

The reason for this is simple: I am simply too competitive and way too hard on myself (with too many self-inflicted, and often unrealistic, expectations) to record, even if only in pencil, what I score after each hole. Thank goodness, at least, the score I do record can be erased, but that never happens as once a hole is done it is permanently etched in my mind and on the scorecard to be added up after the round. 

Sometimes, what I shoot on a given hole makes it easy for me to move on to the next hole, or the next shot (such as when making a par or a birdie); other times, it is much more difficult for me to move on and simply let it go. One of the best remedies I have found is to add up my strokes on a hole mentally, and then to let it go and move on to the next hole. That way, if it was a good hole I feel good and if it wasn’t then I can just put it behind me. In a way, I am playing match-play with myself. In other words, it doesn’t matter what I score on any hole because I get to start again on the next one. This has become really freeing for me, as of late.

Another reason I choose not to keep score is because I don’t enjoy the way I react and respond when things on the golf course do not go the way I had hoped for or anticipated. If I am honest, I seem to be predisposed to taking this game way too seriously when I am trying to score well, or hit a good shot. This approach often leads me to being stuck in my own head and unable to get out of it. And if I am not careful, getting too stuck inside my head can lead to actions I am not proud of. 

I am learning to not take this game so seriously and part of this process is consciously choosing not to keep score. Therefore, since my reactions can get a bit off, I don’t like the effects they can have on the people I am playing with. I know I don’t like it when my playing partners aren’t respectful of the golf course, their equipment, or their mouth when they don’t get the results they were hoping for, so I try to keep this in mind when I am playing my way around a golf course.

Shaw Charity Classic, Champions Tour
Pro-Am – Sept 2019
Photo taken by the author

“To now be the champion. Unreal for me to experience this. I couldn’t be more excited. I’m at a loss for words.”
– Tiger Woods

 

Sunday, April 14th, 2019 

 

It’s official: Tiger Woods has won the 85th Masters. His mighty roar after his final putt dropped on the 72nd hole was a declaration to the golfing world that he is back. Finally! Welcome back Tiger, we’ve missed you.

It has taken Tiger 14 years to accomplish this feat and to break through major number fourteen, to now number 15. Tiger’s run at this year’s Masters was both electric and elegant, all at the same time. 

“I’m just enjoying 15.”
– TW

Tiger is now only three majors off to tie, and then break, Jack’s record of 18 majors. As well, this year’s Masters was his first major win since his 2008 US Open win, in which he endured through an 18 hole playoff (a fifth round) with Rooco Mediate to claim the American Open title. That’s an eleven year drought in which no major was won for Tiger, which I believe is his longest stretch to date. 

Before the Masters tournament began I predicted on Social Media that Tiger would win at -14. He nearly clinched his par putt on hole number 72 and went on to tap in for bogey, to come into the clubhouse at -13. As Tiger himself said afterwards in the Media Centre, “The new green; that…thing should have broke. I hit a pure putt. I remember that putt breaking and it just didn’t break.”

But, who cares?

I certainly didn’t want the win for myself or for bragging rights. I just wanted TW to win and I believe we all felt that way for him. And he did win, and for that I am enthusiastic for him. Welcome back Tiger and all the best as you win your next 3 majors and then, of course, go on to break Mr. Nicklaus’ record for number 19, 20, or more. Well done!!

“When I tapped the putt in I don’t know what I did…I know I screamed. To have my kids there, it has come full circle. My dad was here in ’97; now I am a dad.”
– Tiger Woods

It was emotional seeing him hug his mom and children after his victory, which this moment could only bring back that memory from his first Masters win in 1997 with hugging his dad after he had won by a landslide margin. Now, 22 years later and as he said after the round in Butler’s Cabin, “It has come full circle,” in the sense of giving his own father a hug after he won in ’97 to now being a father himself and hugging his son.

I believe Tiger wanted to win this year’s Masters more than any other, only for a different reason this time: he wanted to win for his children and not himself. His kids were not there during his meteoric rise in the golfing world and all the memorable shots he made to collecting all of the hardware he has. Tiger had come so close to clinching the Claret Jug at the previous year’s British Open, but he just couldn’t get the job done, with having his children there to watch him. Sure, his kids could watch YouTube highlights of their dad absolutely crushing his opponents, and him dominating the various courses he had from the very back tees. They could even have their very own exclusive commentary from their dad, Tiger himself, but they have never seen him do this with their own eyes, or live in action. Now they have. That must have been an incredible experience for them to have witnessed and to have this picture of their dad winning The Masters for the rest of their lives.

“When I was there with my Dad, he shouldn’t have been there that year. He was recovering from a heart attack, from heart surgery. Now I’m there with Charlie. That embrace, it’s just special.”
– Tiger

When this week is over and all is said and done, Tiger’s son and daughter will forever have this major experience etched in their memory, and to draw from, forever. This is why this Masters is so special and unlike any other Major or Masters win. It is the passing of the torch to the next generation; namely, Tiger to both of his children. 

Calm and quiet B.C. water’s

 

“I’ll wake up [tomorrow] around 4am, maybe 3:45 am … start the process of getting this body ready and get after it.” – Tiger Woods

 

Here we sit at the three-quarter mark. If Tiger wins tomorrow, it will be a win for the ages. 

Tiger is already this generation’s golfer. This much has already been established, like a known-fact on any online encyclopedia. Jack Nicklaus was the golfer of the previous generation; now, it is Tiger’s turn. This we know. As for me, it’s exciting to have been following him and his game, all these years. There is a sort of self-assurance in knowing I have grown up with Tiger’s rise in the golfing world and in being part of his monumental career. I feel like I am Hardy Greaves in the book-turned-movie, The Legend of Bagger Vance. Hardy was a young, impressionable boy who got to caddy for Junuh during one of the most sensational golfing showdowns between the golfing legends, Bobby Jones and Walter Hagan. 

As The Masters is played each year during the same month as my birthday,  I was only 10 years old when Tiger first came to Augusta National as an amateur in ’95. I had just turned twelve when Mr. Red won his record-setting first Masters in 1997 at 18 under par. Tiger had literally shattered a ton of golfing records in his historic ’97 Masters win. It was a very thrilling experience for me to witness on TV; yet, I had no idea what exactly was unfolding before my eyes and what this large dent in the history books would do to me, along with so many other golfers – not to mention the entire golfing, and even sporting, industry. Even still, I knew Tiger’s fist-pumping win was a big deal and something I would remember for a long time to come. After all, who hasn’t seen the replay at least a couple of dozen times on the network stations of The Golf Channel, SportsNet, or TSN? What I didn’t know was just how inspiring this win would make me feel and how deeply moving it would be to recall in the years to come. I still get chills when I see the highlight reel of one of Tiger’s ultimate, adrenaline-pumping, sensational Major wins.

On asked what he had executed well during the 3rd round:

“Everything. I drove it well and hit my irons well. I made some putts. I just let the round kind of build…The goal today was to start at six [under] and make sure I got to double digits and I was able to do that.”

In his usual and expected Sunday red – only this time wearing a mock turtleneck shirt, reflecting the same style he  had worn when he last won The Masters in 2005 – Tiger is once again in a position to win this prestigious tournament. Only this time, to come from behind, which is a position he hasn’t been in before going on to win one of his prior fourteen Major tournaments. Even so, Tiger has an opportunity to make another electrifying charge and re-write the history books. Only this time, given all that Mr. TW has been through recently, his win would prove to be even more dramatic, remarkable, and unbelievable.

It is incredible what this guy can do – and can still do. If you think about it, all the “young guys” on Tour grew up watching Tiger during the height of his reign. And in many ways, Tiger was their hero growing up and now they have the opportunity of a lifetime, and a dream come true for them, to be able to compete with him. The only difference is that now he is beating them instead of the other way around. 

For now, we’ll have to wait and see what comes of tomorrow’s final round and what kind of game Tiger will bring as he makes the turn in hopes of leading the pack down the back nine stretch.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in contention here…I’ve been in the mix with a chance to win major championships…and that helps.”

– Tiger Woods

9th hole, Par 4, 2nd shot
Lynx Ridge GC
Mother’s Day 2019

 

I get to play golf for a living. What more can you ask for – getting paid for doing what you love. – Tiger Woods

 

Magnetic. 

That is the one word to describe Tiger this week at The Masters, especially in round two. He simply draws people to him as he always has, and always will.

We are now at the halfway point at the 2019 Master’s Tournament. Two rounds of 18 holes down, with two more rounds to go. As a comparison, at The Super Bowl the halfway mark is called half-time. During a live New York Broadway show, they’d call it an intermission. Only at The Masters, as in every other weekly professional golf event, the end of the second round (of four rounds) marks the cut, whereby roughly half of the players who did make the cut get to go on and play for money on the weekend. Thus, the rest of the field who didn’t make the cut miss out on earnings for that given week. However you describe this midway point, the fact remains that the 85th Master’s Tournament sees at its top of the leaderboard the biggest names and stars in professional golf. Even if you’re not a golf-fanatic, like I am, you would be hard-pressed not to know most of the names that hover their way around this sacred, famed white leaderboard at golf’s first major tournament of the year at Augusta National.

Tiger was on fire. Especially with his putter. Sure, he left a few putts on the table (who doesn’t, anyway?) He literally couldn’t have put the fire out in his game, had he tried to. He canned two long putts on holes 9 & 11, with a near-make from downtown, narrowly missing at hole number 10. My jaw dropped. It actually hurt when it hit the proverbial ground beneath me. Watching this 2nd round with my Dad in our living room, we both couldn’t believe what we were seeing and what was blissfully unfolding before our eyes. Tiger Woods, or TW, would have had four-in-a-row clutch putts, had his birdie attempts on 12 found the hole prior to the siren going off to signal a course evacuation, due to an impending lighting warning. 

“No matter how good you get you can always get better and that’s the exciting part.”
– Tiger Woods

One of the announcer’s made a comment that Tiger was performing as an “above-average” golfer. I couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous this statement sounded. Mr. Woods’ performance was sensational and his demeanour was the most laid-back than the golfing world has ever seen him. This was especially true in a Major, not to mention at The Masters; golf’s ultimate prize to have your name alongside history’s greatest champions. The winner of this prestigious tournament gets a lifetime invitation back each year this tournament is played in April. The stakes are high, the achievement even higher.

However, when things didn’t go his way or when the putts didn’t drop as he’d hoped, Tiger expressed his disappointment mildly and quickly, and then he just went on with his next shot as he played his way around the famous golf course. In short, he was gracefully able to recover and move on; thus, exhibiting remarkable resilience. Tiger did this in a seemingly effortless way, shot after shot, hole after hole. Truth be told, I don’t think any of us, fans or foes, have seen Tiger react or express himself in this way ever before. His composure was almost as stunning as the game he produced through the first two opening rounds. The way Tiger handled himself inside the ropes displayed and revealed a new Tiger: a more mature and sensible grown man. After all the struggles he has gone through and faced in recent years, Tiger has proved he has grown from a cub to the pride male, once again leading the pack.

It will always be the ball and me. – Tiger Woods

As the TV viewers caught a glimpse of the sun setting over the reflection of the historic pond at hole number 16, this mirror-like effect not only reflected a new angle of the course golf fans everywhere probably hadn’t seen before, it also reflected that the weekend was only just beginning on one of the biggest stages in golf, with the biggest and greatest name in golf right there along for the ride. 

At the start of the week, and before the tournament began, I predicted Tiger would win at -14 on a Facebook prediction thread. Currently he sits at -6, tied for sixth place and one off the lead. In this tournament, and especially when Tiger is in the hunt, anything is possible. I, for one, hope the golfing scales tip in Woods’ favour. I guess we’ll have to wait until the back 9 come Sunday afternoon.

 

Music

 

Inspires. 

Soothes. 

Heals. 

Mends. 

Awakens. 

Pulses. 

Alive. 

Powerful. 

Far-reaching. 

Contagious. 

Life. 

Grand. 

Impactful. 

Humanizing. 

Transcendent. 

Eternal. 

Evanescence. 

Escape. 

Immortality. 

Moving. 

Profound. 

Sustaining. 

Creative. 

Shared. 

Passionate. 

All-encompassing. 

Therapeutic. 

Sensational. 

Sensory. 

Gripping. 

Reconnects. 

Love. 

Divine. 

Electric. 

Eccentric. 

Out-of-this-world. 

Universal. 

Boundary-less. 

Borderless. 

Catapulting.  

Uplifting. 

Moving. 

Grooves. 

Flow. 

Transforms.  

Changes. 

Overjoyed.  

Releases. 

Hope.

Energizes.

Restores. 

Revives.

Triumphs. 

 

Music!

 

“This is The Masters. It’s got the beauty, it’s got the color, it’s got the sound and the breezes. Everything together makes this place special.”

Nick Faldo

It’s that time of year where for me, as a Canadian (Alberta) golfer, the golf season truly kicks off the golfing season: The Master’s.

The historic drive up Magnolia Lane, that most of the golfing world only gets to experience on their Smart TV’s, signal’s the start of the annual start-up to the first of golf’s four Major tournaments. As I have heard, the only thing the TV fails to do for its viewer’s is show the severe elevation pitches that are evident on each hole, from tee to green. Even still, the entire course is in immaculate condition.

Golfer’s everywhere across the rugged, Canadian landscape have eagerly awaited this moment to come since dropping their final putter on their final round last season. Then fall came with golf course closures. Christmas followed with having received some golf-related presents under the tree. The winner’s-only event of last year’s winners kicked off our new year in Maui. Other PGA Tour tournaments came and went each week, eventually building up to the crescendo at the peak of the golfing schedule: The 2019 Master’s.  

This prestigious and prominent tournament is played every year in April at the same course, since its inception: Augusta National Golf Course. The course has incorporated some big changes in recent year’s, including allowing female’s to join this once all-male club membership, lengthening the tees on certain holes, as well as hosting the Ladies Amateur Championship this year, right before the Pro guy’s tee it up.

“The winner of this tournament doesn’t just win a major, he becomes part of the history of the game, and that’s what excites me. This tournament creates something that is very special, and year in, year out, history is made here.”

Phil Mickelson

The entire tournament is steeped in some very rich and historic moments that would stir the heart’s of even non-golfer’s alike. Whether it’s Tiger’s near-impossible chip-in at #16 from off the green, Phil’s first major win (and a few more after that), or Mickelson’s sensational second shot from the pine trees, through a gap in the trees at the par-5 #13 landing on the green, pin-high, or Sergio’s monumental first Master’s win pointing to how it was his year to win in 2017, to of course, the co-founder Bobby Jones’ vision and creation of this tournament (also an accomplished amateur golfer himself), and finally its familiar 18 holes of bliss that every golfer knows full well, where the opportunity to play this crown-jewel of a course, would be the opportunity of a lifetime!

The Master’s officially starts first-thing during Master’s Week on Thursday morning, often with dew still on the grass and a frosty, chilly tempterature, with the traditional starter’s hitting their opening drives on the first tee. What seemed like forever, this iconic tradition feature’s the Big Three: Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player. Of course, Mr. Palmer is no longer with us, although his presence is still very much present on this ceremonial opening drive and all throughout the Masters tournament week. After the drives are launched, the presentation is followed by the Augusta National Chairman declaring that the tournament has officially begun and “to have fun,” as former Chairman, Billy Payne, would always remark. 

I, for one, am eagerly awaiting this year’s Master’s Tournament and getting out on the fairway’s this 2019 golfing season. 

The author, Dwight, on a recent expedition last summer
Fisherman’s Wharf; Victoria, BC

 

“The tides are in our veins.”
– Robinson Jeffers

 

Just being around water is all I seem to need in order to relax. The mere sight of water or the hearing of its movement is enough to settle me, distract me from the moment, and bring peace into my being. Even in the busyness of my day, the sight of a waterfall can do wonders for me, as it brings the much-needed oxygen, and minerals too, to fill my lungs with this goodness.

I have come to be on the lookout for these places of water sanctuaries. At the place I work at, there are a couple of waterfalls that appear to drop from the wall they are mounted on. These wall waterfall’s are quite lengthy and are a haven to my soul. Like air for my next breath, just being around these falling streams of water are life itself for me. I often find myself taking a diversion or alternate path to where I am headed, just so I can glance at the sight of these miniature falls. Instantly, I am renewed and refreshed; almost made new again. It’s as if I almost don’t need to grab that coffee I was desperately craving for (which is often the reason I end up passing by these hanging waterfalls.) It seems that water is for me what chocolate is for other people. There is no explanation for this craving, other than I just need it. To me, water is a sacred gem that deserves to be treated with such reverence and holy awe.

Often when I write I’ll play a video on YouTube of waves crashing on a beach and imagine, and try to visualize, I am on a beach in Maui – which is my ultimate relaxation place. I try to invoke all areas of my senses and to feel, or remember, the pleasure that water brings me. It doesn’t matter the timeframe either, whether it’s for five minutes or five hours or five days. Any amount of time around water is sufficient and often does the trick for me. Of course though, the longer the time the better I’ll feel. Also, when I go on vacation I always try to find a place where there will be water, whether it’s by a pool, a lake, or an ocean. The volume of water doesn’t matter, just as long as there is H20.