My first round at a TPC course

I was lucky enough to play the Tournament Course at the Woodlands Country Club a couple of weeks ago.  My fiance and I volunteered last fall at the Administaff Small Business Classic PGA Champions Tour event.  As a thank you for volunteering, the tournament committee gives everyone who volunteers a free pass to play the Tournament Course.  My fiance plays golf a little, but was kind enough to let me use her pass for a friend.  

My buddy Erik and I took an afternoon off during the week to play, and had a tee time scheduled for 1:00 p.m..  We arrived at the course about 45 minutes early and checked into the pro shop.  We asked if we needed to buy any range balls, and were told that they were complimentary.  This is probably not anything new for people who play country club golf often, but for the two of us who are used to hacking it up on a muni, this was a shock.  We got warmed up and then went to the practice green.  In retrospect, we probably should have gotten there even earlier because the greens were way faster than anything I've ever played on.  

We teed off exactly at 1 and it was an experience I'll never forget.  The course was in immaculate condition and way nicer than anything I've ever played on.  I actually started out pretty good and piped a drive down the first fairway.  Of course, I then proceeded to chunk my second shot and leave my 3rd short on the par 5 first hole.  I made a decent pitch shot from about 35 yards, and had an uphill 20 footer for par.  I was not yet adjusted to the speed of the greens and ran it about 8 feet by.  I made the combacker for bogey, and we moved on.  I struggled for most of the front 9 and shot a 54.  Erik was also struggling and shot a 52.  

We decided that we should really just try and break 100, and enjoy the round.  Erik really turned on the gas after the 10th where we both triple bogeyed, and shot a 46 on the back to end up at 98.  I never really pulled it together and shot a 51 on the back to finish up with a nice round 105.  It's not the worst I've ever shot, but I think that I could have done a lot better.  

I really enjoyed the experience of playing on a course where so many pros have played.  The course is now the host of a Champions Tour event, but from 1975 to 2002, this course was the site of the Shell Houston Open.  There were plaques on every tee box telling of the heroics that the pros had performed on that particular hole.  It was really cool to stand on the tee box and know that the likes of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus had stood in the exact same place I had and looked down those fairways.  It's an experience that is unique in golf, and really cool.

Growing up in West Texas, I never imagined that I would get the opportunity to play in such a cool place.

So, if you're in The Woodlands, and you find a proV1 in the trees, it's probably mine.