Ron Mon, In August of 2003, I had the privilege of playing the Blue Monster as a guest. We did not play from the championship tees, but from the men's tees which made the course 6615 yards. I thought that was long! Now, I'm just a hacker with a 14 handicap, so naturally I was a little in awe of the place. I played fairly well that day, but the best I could muster was a legitimate 92. Now I see that four guys are 13 under after two rounds from the long tees! Absolutly incredible! They're playing a course 7266 yards long and taking it apart! As a side note, Stephen Ames, the guy that got horse-collared by Woods last week, is in contention at 9 under. Also of note is the fact that Ames holds the course record, an astonishing 61. Ater playing that course, I'm almost ready to say that Ames' record score will never be beaten. Tied, perhaps. But the way these guys are going, it might be broken today. As they say on that PGA ad, "These guys are good!"

Alex,
It is a privilege to play a tour course, and I am glad that you had the chance. I had an 80 from the tips at the new Turning Stone Casino course near Syracuse-Albany in New York, with a 75 rating, last Summer.

What chops like us don't realize is that pros nail it IN THE CENTER of the clubface every time. We miss left and right, and are glad to avoid the shank/socket. Pros take absolute advantage of the expanded sweet spot and kill it long. In addition, their shafts are absolutely pured to their personal specs, and they repeat their swings like you and I repeat walking and breathing (perhaps better!)

There is golf, there is tournament golf, and there is weekend golf, and the three are in no way related.

Also had the pleasure of playing the Blue Monster twice about 5-6 years ago. It IS a beast for us non-golfing-Gods. But for Tour players it's maybe less than average in difficulty. One day I'd like to play bermuda greens when they are in Tour-type condition. Usually when we get on them the grass is a little longer and the grain is just horrible.

Well, looks like my Zach-Troy showdown turned out pretty limp. -1 for Z-Jay and even for T-Mat. Meanwhile, the Tag and Chop show stole the day.