Now as you all may well know, when it comes to events like the FBR Open we leave all the box score type stories to all the sports outlets as it would be pretty pointless to cover that specific angle of the event as there are so many people already covering that part of the FBR Open.
I poked around much of the open to find the stories that you wouldn’t see on TV or in the sports print media. The more I looked, the more I kept coming back to the same thing.
In the middle of Day 2, on my way to the now infamous 16th hole, I stopped at the players practice areas (the driving range, putting green, and sand trap) and was mesmerized by the time and effort that the players who were about to start their days at the FBR Open put into their craft (as it were). But the thing that really blew me away was around the time that rounds would get called for darkness, there was ALWAYS someone out there practicing. Not just a few swings but time intensive work on the different aspects of their games.
I spent a good 20 to 30 minutes watching a golfer, at the end of a given day practicing a shot out of the sand and trying to hit a specific area on the practice green. Now this is among all the partiers going to and from the 16th hole completely and utterly in different stages of drunkeness and all the associated noise that goes along with it. Not a thing phased him. He put a ball in the sand, lined up his shot, mentally targeting the zone he wanted the ball to land in, and took his shot. He must have done this at least 30 to 50 times and then switched his position in the sand and took even more shots from a completely different angle.
This may be something that isn’t new to you golf enthusiasts but for people like myself who don’t exactly know the amount and kinds of hard work that goes into simply becoming a player on the PGA Tour, this was an eye opening experience. I could have sat there for hours just trying to simply recognize what the small adjustments made for each shot were.
I’ve always had a love and respect for golf that has never been to the fanatical levels like some fans are. However, by simply just watching the PGA Tour players practice their craft, my respect and appreciation for Pro Golfers didn’t simply reach a new level but another dimension. My time hanging out at the players practice areas gave me a tremendous inside look at what goes on when the cameras are either turned off or not focused on the players.
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