Friday Round, time-stamped.
We are switching it up this week. More substance, less impulse. So, instead of our typical cadence of the random collection of my thoughts on the city/town/golf course that we’re at/in, I figured I’d give you a look into what my Friday morning looks like before an afternoon round. And I’ll sprinkle in a few thoughts at the end regarding Jackson, MS.
Spoiler alert: wasn’t a life altering visit.
- 6:00 am: Rise and shine. I got to bed early the prior night — the Niners/Rams matchup put me to sleep quicker than melatonin. Lay in bed contemplating why I convinced myself to wake up early for a 1:29 pm tee time.
- 6:08 am: Brush teeth.
- 6:11 am: This isn’t like your typical Friday morning. For those of you who know me, October 3rd is an important date. Taylor Swift just released her latest album, Life of a Showgirl. So, before I started my day, I had to get through the entire album.
- 6:14 am: This album rocks. The Fate of Ophelia as track 1 absolutely slaps. I hope this doesn’t age poorly.
- 6:53 am: This album stinks, and I’m pessimistic about the future of Taylor’s music. My official rating? 4.8/10. I don’t have any demerits, or places it left me wanting more, but it didn’t capture me. (After 13 more listens, I’ve changed my tune… official, official rating? 7.6)
- 7:00 am: Time to lace ‘em up. There is nothing quite like a morning run to calm the nerves and get the blood flowing. After a few minutes of dread, I’m off and loving it.
- 7:25 am: Finish up. Air dry outside. Shower. I’m a 3-4 minute shower kind of guy. Anything else feels redundant, obnoxious, and wasteful. I’ll die on that hill.
- 7:30 am: Time for some recon work… flipped on PGA Tour Live for the next 90 minutes to see if there was anything of note to remember for the afternoon. Don’t go left on 10, check. Careful about bailing out left on 11, that will leave a nasty little pitch. For the love of god, hit the fairway on 12 and we’ll have a great look.
- 9:00 am: Head to Sports Clips for a quick trim. I got a mullet in Greensboro as a joke, and I ended up loving it. One on the side, an inch off the top.
- 9:45 am: After a 20-minute wait and an unnecessary hair wash, my haircut was over. 9.3/10, I think I’m a mullet guy. It really fits the vibe these days.
- 10:00 am: Arrive at Starbucks.
- 10:05 am: Grab a table with an outlet, a necessity these days as my laptop now only functions at 100% plugged into a wall. No, I’m not kidding. Iced Americano for Drew.
- 10:10 am: After a few sips, I unpack my belongings for my brief stint inside Corporate Coffee HQ. Just on the record, typically I’d like to find something more local, but with my computer limitations, my time constraints, and the warnings I’d gotten about Jackson, I figured it would be best if I kept it within the strike zone.
- 10:50 am: Starbucks visit concluded. Finished two chapters of The Psychology of Money, given to me by my favorite college professor. Two emails written, one to my lovely grandmother. One chapter of Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman — I really should read more fiction. A few confusing words of Against the Written Word, a book my older recommended that hasn’t stuck yet. A few articles (fairly) critiquing the Ryder Cup. And a few articles on The Ringer about Taylor Swift and the NBA. Efficient visit.
- 11:10 am: Back at the Airbnb, time to change and get ready to roll. Burgundy velour shirt, navy shorts, Del Campo crossbone socks, red/green dunks, wayfarers, and the absence of a hat — an outfit based on ~vibes~
- 11:30 am: Boys are off to the course.
- 11:45 am: Arrive at the Country Club of Jackson. A pretty typical time frame for us. Almost always 1 hour and 45 minutes before our tee time. We go our separate ways. Riedel, to eat and stretch. Murda, to jot down the pins, slam two cups of coffee, and grab a sleeve of balls.
- 12:20 pm: I’m out on the putting green trying to find a straight putt. I grabbed a sleeve of 6s from our ball supply today, 6 felt lucky. I’m getting a lot of looks from people. I’m not sure if it’s the look of admiration or disgust. Okay, it’s admiration, thank goodness. At least another day of delaying an older caddie from dressing me down about my lack of adherence to the dress code. Dress codes are ridiculous.
- 12:25 pm: Straight putt has been found, or as straight a putt as I could find. I’m not very good at this… I pull my putts so every straight putt actually looks like it breaks to the left. Thankfully, Luis, Camilo Villegas’s caddie, came over to lend a helpful eye.
- 12:34 pm: Riedel arrives on the putting green. Always 55 minutes before he tees off. Always.
- 1:25 pm: Warm-up concludes. Putt for 10 minutes. Chip for 10 minutes. Hit for 20 minutes. Hit a few more warm-up putts for 3 minutes. Walking to different practice areas for 7 minutes. One minute of miscellaneous. And then we’re headed to the first tee. All it’s gonna take is a 64 today, something that I have full, undying confidence/belief in.
- 1:29 pm: Ball in air. We’re off.
Psychology behind a much-needed great round:
There aren’t very many guarantees in professional golf. No guaranteed success. No guaranteed paycheck. No guaranteed status. But one thing is for certain: there will be many rounds where you’re required to shoot -5 or better to make the cut.
When I first started caddying, it was overwhelming. That type of score requires such precision and excellence that anything besides perfection seems pointless.
But that’s a dumb way to think. After caddying for a year and a half, I’ve been shocked by the number of times I will walk off the course and say: That guy shot 4 under today? It seemed like he shot even.
That is the magic behind these guys — the boring, unimpressive stuff that accumulates into really good rounds. To shoot 4 under par, you don’t have to play perfect golf. But you do have to play good golf. You do have to play timely golf. And it’s the one-at-a-time mentality that allows them to shoot a good score when necessary. Instead of thinking about the bigger picture of: Oh my god, I’ve got to make 7 birdies and no bogeys today………….
It’s more predicated on trying to get the first one and then going from there. It’s more predicated on emphasizing the truly important shots of the day… A tee shot on a reachable par 5. A tee shot on a difficult par 4. The wedge shots you have on your first 4-5 holes. A long iron into a par 3 when you can’t afford a bogey. It’s situational golf. The older guys we’ve played with are noticeably great at these shots.
But the key to these rounds is not to panic; birdies come in bunches. Find a birdie, be stingy, don’t give it back, and go try to make another one. Of course, it would be ideal if we started the day -3 through 4 holes, but that’s unlikely. If you can grab 1-2 in the first 5-6 holes, great. Build off of that. If you press because you are trying your absolute hardest to go shoot 65, it’s actually probably going to work against you. A lack of patience and discipline, and you’ll throw away those first few birdies you get.
You don’t shoot 65 by forcing it. You shoot 65 by building some momentum and coasting off of it. One turns into two. Two turns into 5. And soon enough, you’re signing a 64. That’s my take on it. Is it easy? No. But easier than thinking you have to play perfect golf.
Jackson and the Country Club of Jackson
We stayed in the Northeast part of town, so we didn’t get a fair assessment of the city of Jackson. But the little suburb we stayed in was a delight. The terrain was rolling and winding. I found a terrific path to jog that married three of my favorite things: variance in elevation, vegetation, and a glimpse of a large body of water. The mornings were filled with a crisp air, just enough to disguise the heat that would inevitably come in the afternoon. The food options in Jackson didn’t blow us away. It consisted of a taco place that proved to be polarizing between Riedel and me — Riedel gave it a 1.8 on Beli, basically categorizing it as the New York Jets of the culinary industry. It wasn’t that bad. A classic Riedel overreaction.
- A few food reviews in 5 words or fewer
- Outback: Derrick White of restaurants
- Honey on pizza: stop it, now
- Bojangles: elite breakfast biscuit
- Kind bars: gold label, no notes
- Buffalo Wild Wings: shower needed after consumption
- Krispy Creme: chocolate glaze>regular glaze
- Uncrustables: strawberry>grape
- Waffle House: true Americana
The golf course was terrific. Bermuda grass, back and forth. Easy to walk. Rough was thatchy, uncertain of what kind of lie your ball would receive. The greens were the perfect speed and incredibly smooth.
The bunkers were a true penalty, instead of the usual luxury that they typically are. The sand was good, but there wasn’t a ton of it. An easy golf course to make some sloppy bogeys, but also an easy golf course to get on a roll. Some short par 4s, some gettable par 5s, and challenging par 3s. You could tell that it had been around for a long time, and I mean that in a good way.
