January Golf

The sun was shining, the skies were blue, and the grass was damp on closely shorn fairways... Sounds like any day in May or September on one of Wisconsin's many great golf courses. But, this day was January 7. The temperature was 34 degrees, and the ground was rock hard at The Bull at Pinehurst Farms in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin.

After a 52-degree day spent receiving text messages and emails while at work from area courses reopening on Friday, I sent a feeler out to some friends to see if I could find a playing partner for the following day. The unseasonably warm weather was supposed to carry over to the weekend, and I was optimistic and looking forward to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play January golf in Wisconsin. My good friend, Adam Altis, was up for the adventure.

January 7 is supposed to be cold in Wisconsin, and it was. The ground is meant to be covered in snow, and fortunately for us, it was not. The sun was shining, though, making the cold air bearable, and I got a good laugh when an errant tee shot on the second hole bounced off the ice on the pond and nearly re-found the fairway.

While unsuccessfully trying to find ways to get tees in the ground without losing feeling in my fingertips, the talk of the round inevitably turned to how the two of us will be on another great golf course in just a few short weeks - this time in sunny California. That's right, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play golf in Wisconsin in the middle of January will quickly be outdone by participating in the 2012 Farmers Insurance Open Pro/Am.

Adam was invited to play in this prestigious event on January 25 at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California. I will be there, too, as his caddy. Needless to say, he was hoping to get some swings in to avoid being too overpowered by whatever PGA Tour professional our group draws. A former two-handicap while working at such courses as Castle at the Bay (then Northern Bay) and Bulls Eye Country Club, Adam is a big hitter with a lot of shots in his repertoire. He is also an agency owner for Farmers Insurance in Waukesha, and was chosen as a representative of the company to play with a pro to be named later.

Who are these pros to be named later, and how are they chosen, you ask? The pros are the majority of the PGA Tour and world's elite golfers, and each group's professional will be chosen by their group at a gala the night before the event. Each foursome, made up of regular Joe Schmo's who paid $6,500 per person to participate, will be part of a lottery system, and when their team is chosen will draft their pro based on the players who have yet to be selected. Adam's and my first hope is to partner up with Bubba Watson, who won the event last year.

In case you missed it, Watson went on a tremendous surge late in last year's Farmers Insurance Open, finishing the final round with a two-stroke lead on Phil Mickelson, who was the tournament's 54-hole leader. Forced to lay up to the pond on 18, Mickelson had one shot from 84 yards to hole out and force a playoff. Phil sent his caddy, Bones, to tend the pin as he fired his wedge. The ball landed within two feet of the hole, resulting in a birdie and one-stroke victory for Watson.

The Farmers Insurance Pro/Am is one of my most anticipated golf articles yet. I am beyond excited for the opportunity to socialize with the likes of the aforementioned Mickelson and Watson, as well as my favorite golfer and Wisconsin legend, Steve Stricker, and a multitude of other PGA stars at one of the country's all-time greatest golf venues in warm Southern California. It certainly doesn't hurt that our hotel rooms on the course, airfare, rental car, food and drinks will be free, too!

But for now I'm on a fantastic, albeit frozen, Wisconsin golf course in 34-degree weather. While I can't imagine we'll be receiving any favorable bounces off the water hazards at Torrey Pines (more commonly referred to as a "miracle"), the Farmers Insurance Pro/Am is another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I could not pass up, and I look forward to keeping you all apprised of our adventure.