Course Preview: Paiute Golf Resort, Wolf Course

Gentlemen,

Below are some reviews of our second course, the Wolf Course at Paiute Golf Resort.  As a reminder, this match will be two man best ball, also known as "Four Ball."

The shot to the island green at No. 15 serves as the highlight of the Wolf Course

• Two Guys Who Golf - Wolf Course Review
• Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort - Wolf Course
• Las Begas Paiute Golf Report Is a Whole Other World
• Wolf Course Photo Gallery

Six Weeks Out

Gentlemen -

We are officially six weeks out from meeting in Las Vegas for The Desert Cup. To help you get both motivated and familiar with the courses, I'll start posting course reviews.  Below are some links that should provide some good reading about TPC Las Vegas.

Green #2 at TPC Las Vegas

• TPC Las Vegas Course Review
• TPC Las Vegas: A tried and true trip through desert golf elegance
• With matured greens and new name, TPC Las Vegas offers a PGA TOUR-caliber challenge
• TPC at the Canyons (Former name, same course)
• TPC Las Vegas - Photo Gallery

The Motivation of Brenda Walker

Knute Rockne. Matt Foley. Brenda Walker. All amazing motivational speakers. Wait - Brenda Walker?

Yes. It's true. Below is a video of my completely stoned wife giving Brandon a pick-me-up. It is comedic gold.

A little context: 2 days ago, Brenda had to have surgery to fix her nose from getting smacked in the face with a 2x4 when she was a little girl. As we were leaving the hospital, Brandon called to tell me about a round he'd played that morning with some especially funny errant shots. As I was telling this to Brenda - and her drug-addled mind - she was convinced that Brandon was going to quit golf. Hang it up forever. It probably didn't help that I told her BT was listing his clubs on eBay...

Enjoy. 

The Commissioner’s Retrospective

By Terry Walker

Editor’s note:  Terry Walker is a handicapable golfer whose shoulders will not allow five rounds of competitive golf in a three-day setting.  Since retiring as a player, Terry has been nominated and served as the Desert Cup Commissioner since 2010.

I was one of the original eight players in the first Desert Cup held in in Palm Springs in 2006.  The original concept was to just have some of Brandon’s and my friends gather to play some great golf courses. What began as a group of players quickly evolved to a tournament where the old guys played the younger guys. The Old Guys team consisted of Kerry South, Brent Pulver, Gary McBride and me.  The Young Guys, made up of Brandon, Jeff Buckwalter, Gary Romril, and another guy (I can’t remember) received an absolutely thorough drubbing.

My best memory from the original Cup was a great 9-iron from a fairway bunker in the alternate shot round.  My ball went from that bunker about 135 yards out and landed it close to the pin.  It was by far my best shot of the weekend.   To be fair, I hit so few great shots, it is easy to remember them. 

I also remember a match against Brandon where he was up three or four to go and I won the last 4 holes – with double bogey or worse.  In fact, I won one hole with an 8. Brandon just melted down and had a terrible final few holes.  That course had a long par 4 with a left-side bunker the entire length of the fairway.  The bunker was about 4 feet deep at the tee box and about 25 feet below the elevated green.  Brandon hit into the bunker off the tee (which is strange, as his poorly-hit shots tend to go right).  He hit his second and didn’t get out of the bunker, and then his third off the left of the green and to the bottom of a cliff.  It took about 3 tries to get on to the green from there, like hitting out of an alley to the top of a building.  The next was a par 3 with water.  Brandon hit two into the water and had about a 6 or 7.  My point isn’t to relive Brandon’s poor shots – merely to say that some wins are a not a result of one person’s great play, as much as the opponent truly struggling through a round.

My other memory is playing with Gary.  As a high school coach, Gary likes to try and help his partner hit the best shot possible.  On the second or third hole he is telling me where to hit my drive – very specifically where.  I said, “Gary, I am a 21 handicapper, if I could hit where I wanted I would be a 15 handicapper.  I am lucky to get it forward, in play, about 150 out.  You can tell me where to hit, and I know where I would like to see the ball go, but I have no chance of hitting it anyplace on purpose.”   That’s always been my golf philosophy – hit it straight and short… when possible.

The last fun memory was that we were small enough that we were able to stay in one house together.  During a tough game of Texas Hold ‘Em, I was able to split the pot with Gary and I won $80.

It has been great to see the Cup so big and to make some great new friends.  With Buck not coming, there are four original players still playing and me as commissioner, so five of the eight are still very much in the heat of it.  

Brandon has built the Cup into something that is really fun and no one ever wants to miss.  I am proud of him… even if he’s wrecked a cart, and got sick and melted down one year to throw his Dad a bone.  I treasure this weekend and look forward to seeing you all again.