Super Bowl weekend in Phoenix is extra special because the [insert sponsor name] Phoenix Open PGA Tournament is always played on Super Bowl weekend. The Phoenix Open draws the largest crowds by far of any PGA Tour event. I think the record crowd for the Phoenix Open was over 538,000 in 2008. This year attendance was down because the Pro-Am was canceled on Wednesday and we had unseasonably cold weather with early and mid-morning frost. Total attendance was about 365,000, which will still be the largest attendance of any PGA Tour event this year. And crowd size is generally down on Sunday because of the Super Bowl festivities.
On Saturday, SO and I hiked the Go John Trail in Cave Creek Regional Park, just north of Phoenix. The trail is 4.8 miles long and is very scenic. There are a couple of steep grades, but mostly it is a nice hike on generally flat terrain. We completed the hike in 1 hour and 45 minutes. I led the way at the beginning and end of the hike and SO ran me ragged for over an hour in the middle. I could barely keep up with her! She has been working out like a demon and it is really showing in her physical conditioning. I am very proud of her.
On Super Bowl Sunday I played in the "traditional" Greenfield Lakes invitational golf tournament with SO's step-dad and his buddies. Greenfield Lakes Golf Course is a really nice par-62, 4,100 yards executive golf course with two par-5 holes, four par-4 holes and twelve par-3 holes ranging from 100 yards to over 200 yards. The par-5, 530 yard 18th hole is the signature hole with a double dogleg. I hit the ball really well and shot an 8 over par 70. I had two double-bogeys and two birdies and eight pars.
After golf, it was time for the Super Bowl. Although I did not really have a dog in this fight, I was rooting for the Packers. I hate to admit it, but I still remember Bart Starr and the Green Bay Packers winning the first two Super Bowls (I don't remember whether the games were called "Super Bowls" at that time). I was a die-hard New York Football Giants fan at the time, but everyone revered and wanted their team to emulate the Packers. The Vince Lombardi trophy deserves to be in "Title Town". The Steelers are also a great football organization and there is no family more deserving of greatness than the Rooney family, the owners of the Steelers (except maybe the Bidwills - yah right!). This was a match-up of two storied football franchises that play football the way it was meant to be played. Although the game was not the best played Super Bowl ever, it was very competitive and until the final incomplete pass you sat on the edge of your seat thinking that the Steelers might pull out a victory.
Showing posts with label Greenfield Lakes Golf Course. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Greenfield Lakes Golf Course. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Monday, February 8, 2010
Super Bowl Sunday
We went over to SO's mother and stepfather's house to watch the Super Bowl with their friends. It was not quite as exciting as the previous year when the hapless Arizona Cardinals made an unlikely trip to the Super Bowl and almost came away with the victory.
Before the game, we played our "traditional" Super Bowl golf at Greenfield Lakes Golf Course. Greenfield Lakes is a nice little 3,626 yard, par-62 executive course with some water hazards and even two relatively short par-5 holes. The par-3 holes range from 92 yards to 180 yards. I needed a little massage to my ego after Saturday's poor play at Camelback Golf Course. I hit the ball really well and shot a 72 with two double bogeys, one birdie, nine pars and seven bogeys. On one of the double bogeys I mis-clubbed and hit a good tee shot that flew over the green by 15 yards. Although I did not keep track, I probably hit 13 greens in regulation and I lipped out a couple of putts and one chip. I three-putted three holes! I did not realize it at the time, but executive courses can be input for USGA handicap index purposes. I have now accepted that I cannot hit my sand wedge 100 yards and I was using my pitching wedge for the 100 to 110 yard shots and hitting the middle of the greens. But our third player had a set of Ping G10 irons and I hit a few shots with his clubs and my ball traveled about an additional ten yards!
The Super Bowl was a well-played game. I like both teams and both quarterbacks but I was rooting for the Saints. Other than the obvious big plays like the on-side kick to start the second half (gutsy call by Sean Payton!) and the interception and return for a touchdown by Tracy Porter (the same player that picked off Brett Favre's last pass in the NFC Championship Game), I thought that the turning point in the game was after the Colts stopped the Saints on the two yard line with 1:30 remaining in the first half, the Colt's overly conservative three-runs up the middle series and the Saint's field goal to end the half. The Colts had all of the momentum, two or three timeouts and arguably the best quarterback to ever play pro football. The rookie coach should have shown confidence that Peyton Manning would not make a dumb mistake from his own end zone and opened the offense to try to score and put a dagger into the Saint's heart before halftime. Although Peyton Manning did not show it, I am sure that he was seething at the coach's decision to try to run out the clock.
Before the game, we played our "traditional" Super Bowl golf at Greenfield Lakes Golf Course. Greenfield Lakes is a nice little 3,626 yard, par-62 executive course with some water hazards and even two relatively short par-5 holes. The par-3 holes range from 92 yards to 180 yards. I needed a little massage to my ego after Saturday's poor play at Camelback Golf Course. I hit the ball really well and shot a 72 with two double bogeys, one birdie, nine pars and seven bogeys. On one of the double bogeys I mis-clubbed and hit a good tee shot that flew over the green by 15 yards. Although I did not keep track, I probably hit 13 greens in regulation and I lipped out a couple of putts and one chip. I three-putted three holes! I did not realize it at the time, but executive courses can be input for USGA handicap index purposes. I have now accepted that I cannot hit my sand wedge 100 yards and I was using my pitching wedge for the 100 to 110 yard shots and hitting the middle of the greens. But our third player had a set of Ping G10 irons and I hit a few shots with his clubs and my ball traveled about an additional ten yards!
The Super Bowl was a well-played game. I like both teams and both quarterbacks but I was rooting for the Saints. Other than the obvious big plays like the on-side kick to start the second half (gutsy call by Sean Payton!) and the interception and return for a touchdown by Tracy Porter (the same player that picked off Brett Favre's last pass in the NFC Championship Game), I thought that the turning point in the game was after the Colts stopped the Saints on the two yard line with 1:30 remaining in the first half, the Colt's overly conservative three-runs up the middle series and the Saint's field goal to end the half. The Colts had all of the momentum, two or three timeouts and arguably the best quarterback to ever play pro football. The rookie coach should have shown confidence that Peyton Manning would not make a dumb mistake from his own end zone and opened the offense to try to score and put a dagger into the Saint's heart before halftime. Although Peyton Manning did not show it, I am sure that he was seething at the coach's decision to try to run out the clock.
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