Los Angeles

With the forecast for Seattle in January predominantly consisting of rain, it appeared to be a prudent move to book a long weekend trip to Los Angeles.  I called up my Portland buddy, Sean Ogle of Breaking Eighty and fellow Seattle-ite, Ben Garrett, and they both agreed with me.  A sunny January date in LA was booked and tee times slowly filled up a marvelous agenda.

Everything was looking fantastic until about a week before the trip when someone told us to look at the weather forecast.  Epic rainfall, flash foods, and the inevitable golf course closings!!  Even our VRBO land owner offered to refund our money if we wanted to come back another weekend.  However, these 3 golf dudes would not be denied.  We had rain pants and it would take a lot more than some silly "flash food" to keep the drivers out of our hands.  Plus, the weatherman is usually right only about 1 out of 10 times.

The view from the 1st tee at Riviera.

Up first on the agenda was The Riviera Country Club.  After watching The LA Open on TV for years, I was super excited to play Riviera.  Also, those clouds in the sky are definitely not bringing any precipitation.  The tee shot on the first hole is one of the coolest I have experienced, you are probably fifteen feet or so from the clubhouse as you fire one off down the hill.  They even announce your name on the tee to make you feel like a tour pro.  Some of us hit that tee shot like a tour pro, some of us did not.  

With respect to the rules of the game, no breakfast balls are allowed on the first tee at Riviera.

The par 3 16th hole at Riviera with the 6th in the background .

A small river runs down the middle of the 3rd green at Griffith Park.

After drying off our socks and wringing out our pants, we struck gold with another rain free day at The Valley Club of Montecito.  Not only was the weather good but the course is an absolute gem and we had a fantastic host.  The Valley Club has done an outstanding job of keeping with Alister Mackenzie's original design plans and as a result, the course is very enjoyable.  

Ben would make an eagle 3 on the 15th hole and Sean would almost card an ace on the 8th hole to secure a tie for the "Shot of the Day" honors.

With our tee time at Los Angeles Country Club coming up next, rain threatened another round.  However, our host was just as hardcore as us and we headed out for a water logged round on one of California's finest golf courses.  We finished up 18 and watched the Falcons destroy the Packers from the fantastic clubhouse.  I can't wait to come back and visit this course on a sunny day... Or any other day, it's just flat out great.  

After our round at LACC, we grabbed some grub at the Misfit in Santa Monica, then hit the hot tub.  As you can see, the hot tub party was off the chain

After ringing out our pants for a second time, we had one last round to get in, the odds were in our favor with only a 30% chance of rain.  As it turns out, the sun wouldn't be the only good fortune that would shine down on us during our round at Rustic Canyon.  Ben Garrett would make his 7th career ace on the 8th hole.  4 of those 7 aces have come in the last 4 months.  Probably time for this kid to start buying Powerball tickets.  Hopefully, our next visit to LA will include more luck with the weather.

Probably the most talked about feature at Riviera is the bunker in the middle of the 6th green, after 3 putting my way around the bunker, we decided to play a shot out of it just for kicks.  The 6th hole was certainly unique, but personally, I gave the nod to the 16th for best par 3.

The 10th hole was also just as fun as advertised.  After driving it on the 11th tee box, I managed a nice par.  A huge thanks to Mayumi and Tal for setting up a fantastic round.

After the rain free round at Riviera, we would not be so fortunate with our second round of the trip.  After getting fully rained out at Wilshire Country Club, we found a course that was actually open for play.  It was going to be a wet one at Griffith Park.  After 15 holes of downpour, we played the last 3 in just a drizzle. 

Scorecard got a little wet today, but that's a birdie on 17. #golfintherain pic.twitter.com/bAAjktO6fV

— Patrick Koenig (@PatrickjKoenig) January 21, 2017

The par 3 14th, with the 1st hole and the clubhouse in the distance.

Ben easily captures 1st place in the "Best Overall Trip Photo" category.

After the screaming and excessive high five-ing ended, Ben takes time to show off his male model skills in a celebratory pose.

Sean and I would try to add to the hole in one tally, but "look good missing" was the only thing we were actually able to accomplish.

Hole in One.

Approximately 150,000 hole-in-ones are made each year.  0 hole-in-ones have been made by this golfer. Let’s do some quick math.  The unofficial estimated odds for a low handicapper making a hole are 5,000:1.  I have played an estimated 2,000 rounds of golf with approximately 4 par 3’s per round of golf.  That put’s my total at 8,000 or so hole-in-one attempts.  Mathematically, I am overdue.

Within the past 10 years or so, I have started the Ace Cam campaign, which is my personal attempt to capture my very first hole in one on amateur video.  So far, the only good ones, are the really bad ones.  Here I will recap some of my closest and most interesting calls.

• June 1991 Arlington Park Golf Course, 5th hole, 130 yards:  My 7 iron was struck pure and true.  However, my Pinnacle Gold came to rest overhanging the edge of the cup.  I got down on my hands and knees, stared at the ball, and blew it into the hole.  I recorded an unofficial score of 1.5.  I was only 11, but the ace hunt was on!!
• Sometime in 1994, Swan Lake Golf Club, 5th hole, 172 yards:  I hit a high floater into a stiff wind.  The ball was on a string to the hole, this one was going in.  When the golf ball hit the green it bounced very high, like it had hit a cart path, and settled a couple feet from the hole.  That was odd, we thought.  When we arrived on the green, we realized that the ball had landed directly into the hole and bounced out.  Shattered parts of the cup were all over the green.  I remember hanging onto one of those pieces of the broken cup as some sort of memento to my sorrows.
• 2000, Indiana University Golf Club, 4th hole, 216 yards:  One fine fall college evening, I strolled over to the University course with a couple of buddies and a couple of six packs.  This half-drunk 3 iron had its eyes on making history and as it landed, it disappeared.  Perhaps over the green, perhaps in the hole.  Moments later several raccoons would make their way across the green.  Raccoons!!!  We never found that golf ball...  It cannot be ruled out that the raccoons did not pluck my ball from the hole in some sort of raccoon golf prank.

• 2010, The LInks at Bodega Harbour, 7th hole, 215 yards:  With a serious backup in play on the 8th hole, there were about 8 witnesses to this one.  On a foggy afternoon, I ripped my tee shot right at the hole.  It was an absolute laser beam and I knew it was going to be close.  As my ball struck the green, I heard loud screams and yells up by the green, and for one glorious half of a second, I had finally done it, a hole in one.  I was the greatest golfer to ever live!!  Then I heard the sounds, “Awwwhhhhhh” and my dreams had been dashed.  Upon arriving at the green to find my ball less than a foot from the hole, a kind gentleman informed me that my golf ball had horseshoed back at me, a 180 degree lip-out.  I fought the urge to punch his face, as he was only the messenger.  I made the 1 foot putt.
• 2012, We-Ko-Pa Cholla Course, 3rd hole, 164 yards:  After convincing myself that this was the shot that finally drops, I shanked my tee shot into the desert.  Not a close call, but perhaps the farthest I have ever been from an ace.  Video exists, but I “lost it.”
• 2014, Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course, 12th hole, 187 yards:  My buddy Xan was getting married and this was his Bachelor Party, it was the Xanvitational.  Like so many balls before, my Taylor Made would peak into the cup and just say “ehh, not today.”  This one happened in extra slow agonizing torture.
• 2014 Lincoln Park Golf Course, 2nd hole, 256 yards, par 4:  For a while, I had actually given up on attempting to make an ace on a par 3 and was focusing exclusively on par 4’s.  This of course, was bullshit, but it sounded like a pretty bad ass thing to say and do.   To this day, I have no clue how my perfectly struck 3 wood did not find the bottom of the cup.  The Pitch mark was 2 feet in front of the hole with the ball resting 3-4 inches directly behind the cup.  Golf Magic!!
• In my latest sob story, I give you this video.  I had recently told a new group of golf friends about the Ace Cam.  This was my initial attempt on Sahalee's 9th hole.

Scene of the latest heartbreak at Sahalee

No matter how many cruel bounces I receive, I shall doggedly hunt down my ace.  It is out there waiting for me and I will find it, video tape it on the Ace Cam, and then celebrate it unnecessarily and excessively.

Feel free to share any of your Hole-in-One stories in the comments below.  Successful or not, I want to hear them all.