EZprophet
Head Pro
As some of you might have seen on the telly a few weeks ago, the Grand Slam of Golf was held again this year in my home country of Bermuda. The PGA give my dad a spot in the pro-am before the event every year due to the fact that he ran the event for its first two years on the island. So anyways, after seeing the line up of major winners this year I though I would head back home to caddy for my dad and watch the tournament, as I had never been on the island before while it was on. Two days before I fly out there I get a call from my dad saying that a spot had become free in the pro-am at the last minute and he had got me in to play!! After picking myself off the floor I threw my clubs in the travel bag and headed for the sunshine.
The way the pro-am worked was that everyone was put into teams of 4 for a "Captains Choice" or "scramble" format, and then whichever pro you were assigned would join you for 6 of your 18 holes and be on your team. The pro would just pay his own ball (so that he could essentially have a practice round) and then if you chose to use his shot, you just hit from where he was after he'd played.
Me and my dad arrived in the morning to be given a free goodie bag which included: A dozen pro V1's, a custom fitted glove, a Bushnell V2 rangefinder, a Cleveland wedge (loft of your choice) with custom "grandslam of golf" print on the hosel, a towel, 2 caps, a bottle of local Goslings black rum and a custom engraved suitcase that was delivered to my house a few days ago.... Suddenly the $12,000 price tag for a pro-am spot (which luckily neither of us had to pay) started to make sense! Aswell as all this was a sheet of paper that said that we had got Rory McIlroy as our pro!! The nerves definitely began to set in.
There was a rumour floating around that Rory was not going to make it in time for the event due to the fact that his private jet was down in LA, en route from China, due to bad weather. After constantly checking twitter on my phone for the first twelve holes of our round for updates from @McIlroyRory and getting nothing, the wait on the 1st tee (our 13th hole of the day, we started on the 7th) was agonising. After about twenty minutes of waiting a huge crowd started crowding around the tee, and Rory's caddy emerged, with Rory close behind him. A quick handshake to all of us and away he went.
Now the first hole at Port Royal is a 395 yard downhill par 4 with an almost 90 dogleg in the middle of it. Rory took out a 5 iron and banged it down to the corner. My dad then took his driver and did the same. Now it was my turn to hit and during our wait for Rory I had been discussing with our group of caddies (all 12-13 year olds from the junior golf programme) about the possibility of going for the green with driver if we had a ball in the fairway, due to the fact that it was a scramble. They all wanted to see me go for it and we had picked out a house in the distance that we reckoned was a good line (you cant see the green as you are just hitting over trees.) I decided that at the risk of looking like a complete tool in front of 100 people, I had to take the chance at hitting a belter in front of Rory so grabbed the big stick, aimed at the house and fired away. I caught it straight out of the middle and right on line but had no clue where it was going to end up. The crowd (probably thinking I had just blocked it 100 yards off line) stayed dead silent, and Rory said "well... we'll see" with a little smile.
The young caddies ran out in front to see where I had ended up and as I got to the corner of the dogleg, my caddie handed me my putter with a huge smile on his face, I had hit the green!! I wasn't standing near Rory but I was told that when he saw my ball he said "are you kidding me? is that his ball??" It was without a doubt the best shot I've ever hit in my life and in front of Rory McIlory himself...
Needless to say the golf went downhill from there! I hit all my drivers well (was level with Rory twice, 10 yards behind once and 35 yards behind once even though I absolutely clocked it!) but the irons and putting was iffy to say the least. Watching him play though was an absolute pleasure and beyond all of my expectations. His swing up close is a thing of beauty and the crispness of his contact was unreal on every, single, shot. He had 3 birdies and 3 pars when we played with him and apparently shot -8 total on the day. He was also an absolutely top bloke who didn't just go through the motions but got involved in conversations with everyone. He was very genuine and laid back and was just chatting football and gambling like everyone else.
Anyways I wasn't meaning to write all that but it was quite possibly the best day I've ever had on the golf course and surpassed all of my expectations in every single way. Below are some photos that were taken.
On the 1st tee
I aimed my drive pretty much over where his right shoulder is...
My young caddy has a lot yet to learn about photography...
Pulled this one I think... Even if I didn't remember its a safe bet to be honest...
Rory's dad and caddy JP with Rory looking on. This shot looked great in the air and proceeded to fly the green by about 15 yards. Totally wrong club. But obviously I absolutely love this photo!!
Post round handshake.
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The way the pro-am worked was that everyone was put into teams of 4 for a "Captains Choice" or "scramble" format, and then whichever pro you were assigned would join you for 6 of your 18 holes and be on your team. The pro would just pay his own ball (so that he could essentially have a practice round) and then if you chose to use his shot, you just hit from where he was after he'd played.
Me and my dad arrived in the morning to be given a free goodie bag which included: A dozen pro V1's, a custom fitted glove, a Bushnell V2 rangefinder, a Cleveland wedge (loft of your choice) with custom "grandslam of golf" print on the hosel, a towel, 2 caps, a bottle of local Goslings black rum and a custom engraved suitcase that was delivered to my house a few days ago.... Suddenly the $12,000 price tag for a pro-am spot (which luckily neither of us had to pay) started to make sense! Aswell as all this was a sheet of paper that said that we had got Rory McIlroy as our pro!! The nerves definitely began to set in.
There was a rumour floating around that Rory was not going to make it in time for the event due to the fact that his private jet was down in LA, en route from China, due to bad weather. After constantly checking twitter on my phone for the first twelve holes of our round for updates from @McIlroyRory and getting nothing, the wait on the 1st tee (our 13th hole of the day, we started on the 7th) was agonising. After about twenty minutes of waiting a huge crowd started crowding around the tee, and Rory's caddy emerged, with Rory close behind him. A quick handshake to all of us and away he went.
Now the first hole at Port Royal is a 395 yard downhill par 4 with an almost 90 dogleg in the middle of it. Rory took out a 5 iron and banged it down to the corner. My dad then took his driver and did the same. Now it was my turn to hit and during our wait for Rory I had been discussing with our group of caddies (all 12-13 year olds from the junior golf programme) about the possibility of going for the green with driver if we had a ball in the fairway, due to the fact that it was a scramble. They all wanted to see me go for it and we had picked out a house in the distance that we reckoned was a good line (you cant see the green as you are just hitting over trees.) I decided that at the risk of looking like a complete tool in front of 100 people, I had to take the chance at hitting a belter in front of Rory so grabbed the big stick, aimed at the house and fired away. I caught it straight out of the middle and right on line but had no clue where it was going to end up. The crowd (probably thinking I had just blocked it 100 yards off line) stayed dead silent, and Rory said "well... we'll see" with a little smile.
The young caddies ran out in front to see where I had ended up and as I got to the corner of the dogleg, my caddie handed me my putter with a huge smile on his face, I had hit the green!! I wasn't standing near Rory but I was told that when he saw my ball he said "are you kidding me? is that his ball??" It was without a doubt the best shot I've ever hit in my life and in front of Rory McIlory himself...
Needless to say the golf went downhill from there! I hit all my drivers well (was level with Rory twice, 10 yards behind once and 35 yards behind once even though I absolutely clocked it!) but the irons and putting was iffy to say the least. Watching him play though was an absolute pleasure and beyond all of my expectations. His swing up close is a thing of beauty and the crispness of his contact was unreal on every, single, shot. He had 3 birdies and 3 pars when we played with him and apparently shot -8 total on the day. He was also an absolutely top bloke who didn't just go through the motions but got involved in conversations with everyone. He was very genuine and laid back and was just chatting football and gambling like everyone else.
Anyways I wasn't meaning to write all that but it was quite possibly the best day I've ever had on the golf course and surpassed all of my expectations in every single way. Below are some photos that were taken.
On the 1st tee
I aimed my drive pretty much over where his right shoulder is...
My young caddy has a lot yet to learn about photography...
Pulled this one I think... Even if I didn't remember its a safe bet to be honest...
Rory's dad and caddy JP with Rory looking on. This shot looked great in the air and proceeded to fly the green by about 15 yards. Totally wrong club. But obviously I absolutely love this photo!!
Post round handshake.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us
