How I managed to get there

Qualifying for the United States Mid-Amateur Golf Championship was held at the Country Club of Arkansas in Maumelle.  I managed to shoot 2 under and tied with Wyn Norwood for the low round.  There were only two places available and so I got one and Wyn the other.

Day 1, Thursday - Practice Round on the Blue Course

I left Batesville before dark Thursday morning about 6:15 a.m. drove straight through (4 pit stops) and got there about 12:30 p.m. I was stopped at the gate by the security guard to make sure I was a player. I had a 1:40 tee time for my practice round on the Blue Course. I arrived early (highly unusual for me) and had to register first. This took about 30 minutes, as I had to fill out a questionnaire with a lot of facts and data (in case we did good I suppose). All the USGA and DAC personnel were very friendly and helpful. They told us to wear the name badge in our packet and I kept looking for a plastic thing with the pin on it. Turns out it was a bronze medal thing with the USGA emblem and my name engraved on it, pretty spiffy. I said this is going to be great. At the end of the line there was this huge manila envelope with our name on it and inside was a Framed 8 x 10 picture of the Blue Course signature hole #5, with our name engraved. I was again, impressed.

I got to the first tee and was paired with Walter Powell from Springfield, MO, Steve Jones from Oak Ridge, NC and John Lang from Madison, MS. It was my first time to walk and carry my bag since I was in college in Fayetteville and played at Paradise Valley in 1973. I held up surprisingly well except I could feel the threads on the spikes of my shoes about the 12th hole. The course measures 6,766 yards from the blue tees and most of the holes were dogleg right. Not good for a hooker like myself. The roughs were about 4 to 6 inches deep and common Bermuda. It is a beautiful course, well manicured and the greens were extremely fast (and huge too!). I was especially impressed with the bathrooms. They were air conditioned and hidden by hedges. Truly they were Restrooms.

The guys were friendly and we all had a good time. They kept looking at these books that had diagrams and yardage on them. Found out later they sell them in the pro shop. Since I have a 10 to 15 yard variance with each iron I decided the yardage book was not for me. I use the Ben Hogan theory and just eyeball the distance.

Walter was some kind of equipment rep and helped me figure out how to hook up the izzy thing with the double straps for carrying my bag (I hope Tracy and Ron notice I bought a new wire brush for the trip). He finally figured it out on the 11th hole and it made quite a difference. I borrowed my daughter's Batesville High School Pioneer carry bag since I have a pretty heavy bag and is made for a golf cart.

After the round went to the Men's Locker Room where the members had given each player the use of their locker. There was a whirlpool, sauna and all the other amenities of a fancy club. The supervisor of the locker room was named Booker and the appearance reminded me of the locker room in Caddyshack. All the personnel were very nice and went out of their way to help with anything you needed. They also had a keg of Michelob and a big screen TV. I was, needless to say, in my element. Stayed here for quite a while and met lots of guys from around the country.

I stayed at a friend of mine's apartment (Dan Fagan from Batesville, Thanks again Dan!) and it was 17 miles from the golf course in Plano. It was 7 p.m. on Thursday night and traffic was thick. It took me 40 minutes to get there. Dan and I went to a barbeque place and had dinner. It was tasty. Went back took a shower rubbed my feet and went to sleep. Walking and carrying your bag makes you tired I found out.

Day 2, Friday, Practice Round on the Gold Course

I decided I needed new shoes to walk in, something with air in them. There are 2 Edwin Watts Pro Shops in Dallas and one was only 10 blocks from the apartment. Guess what? They didn't have them in a 10 1/2. I had to drive to West Dallas about 8 miles away. I had a 12 p.m. tee time so had to leave at 9:30 a.m.

Today I played the Gold Course which is 6,993 yards. Most of the holes are dogleg left. I felt more comfortable here. The signature hole here is the 18th which is 604 yards and zigzags, left, right, left. I played with Randy Conn and Ed Steiber from Cincinnati, OH and Bert Atkinson from Charleston, SC. Bert was the medallist and tied the lowest competitive round ever shot in a USGA amateur event (an 8 under 64 including a 29 on his front side). He didn't play quite that good in the practice round but I could tell he had potential. He asked me if I knew Ron Richard. He said Ron beat him in Detroit, birding five of the first six holes they played. He said he was still mad about that. He is the Cobra rep in SC. Randy and Ed were nice guys. Randy used to be a club pro. They were all blowing it past me off the tee, but my trusty Zebra and Browning sand wedge kept me in the game. The Gold Course had much less intense rough off the fairways but around the greens it was just as deep as the Blue Course.

We finished our practice round about 4:30 p.m. and I made a quick trip to the apartment to clean up and went to the Player's Dinner. It was held at the Northwood Country Club, which luckily was up in my neck of the woods. We entered around back and were met by Paige & Cindy and got our nametags. There were hors d'oeuvre and open bar on the veranda and we visited and had some camaraderie. Then dinner was served. I sat with Wynn Norwood and Ed Steiber from Cincinnati. We had a salad which we all thought was the main course. It had this black thing in it and I thought it was some kind of liver. I finally asked the waitress and she said it was a mushroom and we all ate it. Then the main course of salmon, filet and I think a crab cake came out. It was all very delicious. Then Byron Nelson got up and said a few words. The USGA officials welcomed us and then Butch Harmon spoke and told some anecdotes. All in all it was pretty entertaining.

Day 3, Saturday, 1st Qualifying Round on the Blue Course
Tee Time: 9:05 a.m.

Left at 7:00 a.m. This is one of those tournaments they DQ you if you are late. Hit a few practice balls, really out of character but loosened up some. The starter was Peter James, the Chairman of the Mid Am Championship. I was a little nervous, a few butterflies, just hoping to get an air ball and not hit a spectator. Smacked it down the middle and the butterflies flew away. Played with Guy Whidby from Valdosta, GA and Jim Spagnolo from Ft. Worth, TX. Guy's wife, Karen caddied for him. Again, both really nice guys and we had a good time. Jim and I shot 75 and Guy shot 79. My new shoes were great. I had some good holes and bad holes, pretty erratic. Had 5 birdies and an assortment of bogeys and doubles. We played the front nine in 1:20 but it took over 2 hours for the back side, still pretty fast for a USGA stroke play tournament.

After the round went to my favorite place and shot the bull with several guys. We were watching the football game and in they came with Tacos and all the fixin's. It was great. Tom Orr from VA and myself indulged in several Tacos and many nachos, plus a beer or two. We decided to rendezvous at the Million Dollar Saloon at around 7 p.m. I woke up about 10 p.m. and called Tom. He did not answer so I went to the Saloon and sure enough he was there. I tell you, Miss Kitty and Matt never saw a Saloon like this. We closed it down about 2:15 a.m. and went to get a good night's rest before Cut Day.

Day 4, Sunday, 2nd Qualifying Round on the Gold Course
Tee Time: 1:35 p.m.

Mosedy out about 11 a.m. Again hit a few balls and started to work on my swing. Didn't have a clue so I decided to go somewhere I felt more comfortable. Watched the Cowboys play till about 1:25 p.m. Putted a few before teeing off #10 on the Gold Course. Played pretty good front nine at 1 over then birdied 10 to get to even for the day. #11 was not fun. Par 3, 145 yards downhill into the wind. Decided on an easy 8 iron and quit on it. In the drink. Drop area hit it on the green and 3 putts later had me a 6. #12 a reachable par 5 busted my second shot with a driver right into the bunker against an overhanging lip. Blasted out over the green, chili dipped, chipped on, sank 20 footer for 6. On the next tee box I saw my buddy Jim Benford whom I had met in the practice round on Friday. He lives on the course by hole #13 and was watching from his patio. After taking his picture I was walking down the fairway and my legs started burning. I thought, not on the last round of qualifying, my legs giving out? I looked down and had a bunch of little tiny ants all over me. Texas fire ants. Pretty annoying little buggers they were. Anyway, I par 13, double 14, double 15, par 16 & 17 and birdie 18 for a smooth six over on the back and a 79. Pretty disappointing. Jim Spagnolo shoots 2 under and makes the cut and Guy who was 3 under through 13 ended up 1 over for the day and missed by 2 shots.

After the round, they had a BBQ dinner for us which was great. I went back to my apartment and slept until 4 a.m. and came home, sad, but grateful for the experience. Hey, there are some really good golfers there. I would love to go again. Wish they would cut out that walking stuff though. By the way Ron, you were right, I should have practiced hitting out of the deep rough.

John Vinson
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Putting Green
Water Fountain #9 Blue Course
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