TPC Sawgrass

Pictured above is the infamous 17th hole at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Florida

A few years ago I went to the TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course) armed with my trusty camera. It was one of the best photo shoots I’ve ever undertaken. I came away with well over 100 shots (and photographs) of one of the most beautiful courses I’d ever laid eyes on.

A couple of weeks ago I received an e-mail from Erik Øysæd requesting permission to use some images I took while I was there. Of that I particularly proud.

Erik was kind enough to use several of my TPC photographs interspersed with an interview with Bill Hughes, the General Manager of the TPC Sawgrass golf facility. The interview focused on the infamous island green 17th hole. You can see the full three minute video at
http://1golf.tv/videos/tips/17th-sawgrass

All of my TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course) photographs can be viewed at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbglasson/sets/72157600054197080/



Two more of the eighteen beautiful holes at TPC Sawgrass.

On the left is the 13th hole at the TPC Sawgrass (Stadium Course). Below is the 16th hole.

The World's Most Incredible Golf Club

Yes, it absolutely true. A golf club has been invented that will keep you out of the woods and in the middle of the fairway. And that is a flat out GUARANTEE. At first I thought it was a joke but lo' & behold I found that it was not. It's for serious minded golfers. What you'll need to do to see a film clip on this gem of a golf club is to go to www.uroclub.com/ and click on the “as seen on TV” icon. This brings up a short video explaining the clubs unique features and how to use it.

I strongly suggest you see the video before reading the following information which I culled from their website. Reading what's below will ruin the video.

How many times has this happened? You’re playing 18 holes with your best buddies, drinking sport-“ades”, water, beer, etc. You’re coming up to the 3rd hole with no rest room in sight. There are no trees or bushes around and you just have to go, what are you going to do.

The UroClub™ is the discrete, sanitary way for your urgent relief. Created by a Board Certified Urologist, it looks like an ordinary golf club, but contains a reservoir built into the grip to relieve yourself. The UroClub™ is leak proof, easy to clean and no more embarrassing moments.

Ask any golfer if he’s ever been caught out in the middle of the course . . .no bathroom in sight and Nature was Calling, Loud and Clear! The answer is a resounding . . . “Sure I Have! I went in the bushes, I tried to find a tree, I went on the side of the golf cart, etc. etc.”


This may sound like a joke, but it’s not. I am a Board Certified Urologist, practicing in Florida, a place where Golf is played year round. Every day I hear these same complaints from my patients because they suffer from urinary frequency (a condition that can begin in men, as early as their mid 30’s). Even if you don’t have this problem, let’s face it, there are not too many bathrooms on the golf course.

These are the very patients that inspired me to create the UroClub™. A camouflaged portable urinal, designed to be discrete, sanitary and create an air of privacy! It looks like an ordinary golf club and comes equipped with a unique removable golf towel clipped to the shaft that functions as a privacy shield!

Imagine, giving the appearance of taking a practice swing, while both privately and confidentially, you are able to relieve yourself without any embarrassment! This can be accomplished easily while standing by the golf cart, as well. Have the confidence to drink whatever you wish during your game and not worry if you’ll make it to the clubhouse in time!

The privacy shield hooks to the sides of the pants or belt and adds stability. This allows freedom of the hands to manipulate the club and zipper. The entire club is made of a non-porous material. Therefore, caring and cleaning is effortless!

The UroClub™ is intended to eliminate anxiety and any feeling of uneasiness on the course. It can be emptied at the nearest restroom or later on, when the golfer returns home.

Capacity: Over half a liter, twice the volume commonly urinated.

Length: Like a standard 7 Iron

Acapulco Princess Golf Club

I received the following e-mails as a result of posting a set of photographs I took while playing the Acapulco Princess Golf Course in Acapulco, Mexico.


-->

Hi Russ,
Thanks for sharing your golf pictures.
Here's an extract of an email I sent this morning:
===
Dear P.J.
I am glad you enjoyed my pps on playing the front-nine at the Acapulco Princess.
Meanwhile, today I plan to "play" the back-nine of the Princess golf course and build-up a second pps.
Around 1978, I was a computer programmer when I went to work to the Hotel Acapulco Princess. It was a great job. The pay was not extraordinary but you couldn't beat the package of fringe benefits: I was assigned an apartment, not far from the hotel, which functioned as a hotel room - with daily maid service. I was assigned a yellow, electric golf cart, which I could use to go back and forth, and tour the surroundings. I was given free laundry service, as well.
All my meals were covered at any of the several hotel cafeterias; I could order anything I cared for and I just had to sign the check; 15% tip included.
For any extra personal expense, like drinks at the several bars and fancy dinners at the five-star restaurants, I was given a 50% discount.
On my free time I could use the pools, the tennis courts, and the golf course.
For golf, I was provided with everything that I needed: golf clubs, golf cart, even spiked shoes. I just had to pay for golf gloves. I also needed to provide my own balls, which I generally bought -- relatively cheap -- from the ground keepers: used lost balls that they collected from their rounds.

--> Hi Russ,
I've looked for more pictures - I can ascertain that yours is the most complete collection of photos from the Acapulco Princess GC that I could find on the internet.
I became quite familiar with the grounds, having played there so many times.
But in these past nearly 30 years, there have been a few changes
1) There used to be only three levels of Tee's, marked by black, blue and yellow coconuts. Now I learned that there are four.
2) I could not recognize the Tee for Hole #11. It used to be next to the avenue, just getting across from Green # 10. I figure that there were a couple of stray golf balls that ended up crashing into some windshield, and so they moved the Tee farther inland, to the other side of the fairway.
3) On the left hand side of Tee #7, there used to be a sort of chalet, with a convenient supply of drinking water and bathrooms. I couldn't tell from your pictures if it is still there.
4) Occasionally, me and my friends would play the Pierre Marqués, which is much more difficult. We, as beginners, prefered the simple Princess. Some of your pictures that I had a hard time recognizing, I for a time wondered whether they might be from the Pierre Marqués GC.
--> I missed not finding pictures of one of my favorite spots: the Golf Snack Club - Cleotilde and Juanita served excellent cheeseburguers and fries. I wonder if the place is still in operation. I don't suppose that the cheerful girls might still be there.
Also, the store and the storage for the golf carts.
If I ever go back there for a visit, I'll make it a point to go around the GC and take some more pictures - particularly, of the backstage surroundings of each green, where I spent some quality time looking for stray balls - mine and other's.
I'll be posting to Scribd.com both the pps that I built from (mostly your) pictures. I'll let you now.
Nice story, about Delta Airlines loosing and then "finding" your golf clubs.
Yes, you may post my email in your neat blogspot:
wkboonec@gmail.com
Outside Toronto? Nice. Not opened year-round, I bet.
Cheers,
William K.
Editors note: For my complete set of sixty-five photos I took while playing the Acapulco Princess Golf Course photos www.flickr.com/photos/rbglasson/sets/72157594456592857/

Rainy Day Blues

A crummy day today. Thought I would be called into work today at the TPC River Highlands. But it's cloudy, cool, windy, and just kind of miserable. Consequently there won't be much play at the golf club today so I wasn't called and am stuck inside at home. Now what can I do to avoid working on the "Honey-Do" list?

Perhaps work on my scorecard collection. Perhaps do some work on my website at http://golfcollector.ning.com or on my other site at www.flickr.com/photos/RBGlasson/

I had mentioned in my profile that my scorecard collection greatly exceeds one-hundred-thousand. Many people ask how that can be since there are only about 20,000 courses in the USA and 45,000 worldwide. Well, scorecards are similar to stamps and coins - they keep
changing. Every few years a golf course will change the picture on the front of the scorecard. The may build a new tee, move a green, redesign a hole all of which would change the yardage of the hole thus necessitating a new or revised scorecard. Courses frequently print the name of the head professional, manager and/or superintendent on their scorecards. People retire, change jobs, get fired, etc. Such changes necessitate the printing of new or revised scorecard. Telephone numbers change, e-mail addresses change, advertisements of some scorecards change, local rules change. These are just a few of the many factors that can cause a golf course to issue a new scorecard.



Now, of course, hard core collectors like myself seek to add as many different versions of scorecard to our collections as possible. For example my scorecard collection presently contains forty-six versions of scorecards from the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland and thirty-five different versions from Pebble Beach Golf Links in California.


To illustrate this point I've selected versions of scorecards in my collection from Cedar Brae Golf & Country Club in Ontario, Canada.




So there you go. Perhaps later today I'll get a phone call from my employer to report for work tomorrow. There are both Men's and Ladies Club tournaments so my odds are good I'll work.

P.S. Continue to scroll down to see additional Cedar Brae golf scorecards.