A little over a year ago there was a run of 3 suspected arsons in the Carriage Hills apartments, the townhomes actually. This fire was not very serious, but it did happen in my own building which was bad. Damage appeared minimal, and seemed to be confined to the laundry room in the garden level. Firefighters explained it started with the laundry machines. So aside from the smoke and smell, it is a minor inconvenience. Good to know the Meridian Fire Department responds so quickly.

Buick Open:
Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club - Grand Blanc, Michigan.

You might think its a bit crazy to wake up at 5:30 AM just to make it
to Tiger’s 7:36 tee off time, and you’d be right. But the timing
was right for me, having plenty of free time and all. Plus this
is the only recurring PGA event in Michigan, and who knows how long
that will last. When else can you drive an hour and get a chance
to see top tour pros up close and personal. Plus, aside from the
locals, the crowds here must be a lot smaller than in many other
tournaments, owing to the location and all. I can’t imagine many
out of towners getting all excited about making the trip to the Flint
metro area.

Tickets are about $35 for individual day passes, less if you go for the
whole tournament. I was a little annoyed at being asked to pay so
much and then being subject to harsh restrictions on carrying bags or
taking pictures, both sufficient to get you ejected. But after
seeing what the players have to put up with in the way of jackass fans,
it didn’t bother me so much. I honestly felt bad for the players
at times, especially those playing with Tiger. As soon as he
would drive or finish putting ahead of the group, the whole gallery
would start noisily marching on toward the next shot. It’s not
that hard to wait for everyone else to finish people!

Tiger teed off with Matt Gogel and Paul Azinger. Gogel and Woods
were both consistent and ended up near the top of the heap with -4 and
-5 respectively. Azinger started strong leading through the first
8 holes with 4 birdies, but then lost it after a double bogey on the
9th. He never got back in it and finished even after giving up
four more bogeys on the back 9. Tiger’s main trouble spot was
continually getting in trouble off the tee flying drivers and even
irons right of the fairways and greens. Tiger hasn’t had a win
yet this year and is obviously looking hard for his first. With
Warwick’s low difficulty level, this could be his best chance.

I only watched the Tiger group through the front 9, and grew tired of
fighting the enormous gallery that followed him everywhere. Trust
me, a disturbingly large number of people were there very early in the
morning just to see the heavily hyped Woods play. Plus they are
all dorks, who verbally obsessed over the clubs and knick-knacks in
Tigers bag. One guy I walked past said “Did you see Elan back
there?” I had no idea that Tiger’s wife/girlfriend was following
the match in the gallery, nor did I care.

I noticed a couple good ideas for stuff to bring to the
tournaments. Number one was a small folding step stool instead of
a chair, allowing you to see over the heads of even a large gallery in
front of you. Binoculars and bottled water are a must. A
bag chair (sans bag) is also handy if you prefer to watch a single
hole. I prefer to follow a single group and watch the play
develop, but I eventually got tired of walking and standing around and
took a break at one of the bleacher stands. Golf wins the prize
for most active spectator sport. Beats watching from the couch
any day.

Sadly, the annual Jackass Invitational is dead, long live UnGolf! I disagree with the founders that a name change was in order for the 5th outing, but hey, they’re in charge after all.

Thursday we met in Flint at Applebees and proceeded to abuse yet another unfortunate waitress. On to the trailer in upscale Roscommon, but not without a quick stop at the local Glenn’s market. We were disappointed to learn that not many places sell Twinkies anymore, I can’t imagine why. Another UnGolf tradition lost. Finally after settling in at the trailer, heavy drinking, unhealthy eating, and PS2 followed. Under these circumstances, it’s not really that surprising that 18 holes of Tiger Woods 2004 actually took longer than the real 18 holes we played the next day.

Friday, a quick bite to eat at the Houghton Big Boy, before catching our 2pm tee time at The Quest. The Quest had a great deal, $40 for as much golf as you can get in before dark. I played all right for the first time out, shooting a 98 though 18. We managed to play about 6 more holes after that which I scored much better at (I need about a full round to get warmed up) but the rest of the whiners in the group were hungry and tired, boo-hoo. So we cut it short and headed to the world famous Buccilli’s Pizza, where Gary celebrated a narrow victory over Scott to take the first round of UnGolf. Scott and I reclaimed our dignity by out-eating Gary and Rick who left their large meat-lovers one slice shy of finished.

On to DQ for desert, where Rick was buying after losing a closest to the pin contest the last par 3. Back at the trailer we got a nice fire going in the pit. Sadly, I had to take off at this point in order to make it back for a Saturday wedding reception in Indy. I missed the second round to follow on Saturday, so I’ll leave it to Rick to fill in the details here later. I’ll be curious to see if Patrick showed up.

Things went more smoothly this year, particularly on the golf course, where both carts returned without serious mechanical damage. This due no doubt to the lifetime ban placed on Scott forbidding him from ever again piloting a motorized golf cart.