2016 Masters Picks

With my first visit to August National Golf Club on the horizon, I am turning in my picks early this April.  The favorites heading into this week are more clear than in previous years.  I see the A list contenders as Jason Day, Bubba Watson, Rory McIlory, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, and Adam Scott.  In an effort to see even deeper into the 2016 Masters storyline, I offer up the following advanced predictions.

• Vegas odds are 2:1 that I will shed a tear when my eyes are first laid upon Augusta National Golf Club.  I will keep it together.
• Jordan Spieth will valiantly attempt to defend his title, however the par 5, 15th hole will serve as his week long nemesis and ultimate undoing.
• The swashbuckling Swede, Stenson, goes low on Thursday and Friday and leads heading into the weekend. However, a wild succession of water balls will sink his chances.
• No, Tiger Woods will not participate in this years Masters.  However, the vast number of references and montages will make you think otherwise.
• Rory McIlroy sets a new record for number of Masters eagles in 4 days with 5.  Rory simultaneously balances that out with 5 double bogies.
• Adam Scott plays solid golf all week and finishes 3rd.  Looks confusingly at his putter after a birdie miss on Sunday's 18th hole.
• Jordan Spieth's Texas Barbecue is rumored to be one of the most delicious meals ever consumed at the Champions Dinner.  Unfortunately, I will not be in attendance to confirm the allegations.
• As a contributing writer to Ashley Mayo's "Overheard at The Masters," the 2016 version will be one of the most viewed internet snippets of all time.  Move on over David After the Dentist!
• Bubba Watson hits it into the woods on #10 again.  However, he makes bogey this time and never recovers from the ensuing mental tailspin.
• Sleeper pick:  Ryan Moore is only one off of the pace going into Sunday.  Finishes solo 4th.  After prediction comes true, controversy erupts over Ryan Moore's qualifications as a legitimate "sleeper pick."
• Jason Day finishes second for a change.  Remains #1.
• Rickie Fowler wins the Masters by 2 shots and posts a record 16 selfies of himself doing rad $hit in the green jacket.  Including but not limited to the following action items.
  • Ricky begins his Masters victory lap by skydiving in the green jacket and successfully using the coat tails as his parachute.
  • After his appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Ricky accepts a triple dog dare to scuba dive in the green jacket.  Mako sharks look on enviously.
  • Ricky's high tops, no pants, and green jacket selfie generates wild enthusiasm while drawing serious criticism from golf's governing bodies.
  • Golf Boys 3.0 Green Jacket edition proves that even Augusta glory can't improve your rap game.

Hello Wisconsin!

In town for a wedding on Lake Geneva, I seized the opportunity to play some of the best golf courses that Wisconsin has to offer.  A fantastic lineup of Erin Hills, Black Wolf Run, and both courses at Whistling Straits were on the agenda.    

After dropping off the wife and some friends after the wedding, I drove the hour or so to Erin Hills for my first Wisconsin golfing experience.  I was fortunate enough to join a great group of guys who were on the tail end of their 27th consecutive annual golf buddies trip.  Read the full review on Erin Hills and see all the pictures here.

The very cool par 3, 9th hole at Erin Hills.

The early morning view on the range at Erin Hills

Erin Hills will host the 2017 U.S. Open.  This will be an excellent new course for the Open and I am excited to watch the action.

Next up on the agenda was the Irish course at Whistling Straits.  Living in the shadow of it's next door neighbor, the Irish course does a great job of holding it's own.  

The course has a cool American links feel to it and served as a great warm up for it's big brother.  Read the full write up on the Irish course here.

the 16th hole at Erin Hills figures to be a pivotal hole in the 2017 U.S. Open.

Plenty of tall fescue to hunt down wayward teeshots on Whistling Straits' Irish course.

The opening hole on the Irish sets a great pace for the round.

One of the most scenic par 3's on the Irish course is the 6th hole.

The difficult 17th hole.  The superintendent cut us some slack with that pin position.

 Whistling Straits was easily the most fun I had photographing a golf course.  With all of the huge sand dunes, there are tons of places to get unique vantage shots of the course.  It was hard to narrow down the shots for the gallery.

I got up on some of the partially taken down grandstands to get this one of the 15th hole.

John Daly fired 3 balls into the lake here on the 7th and then threw his club in after it during the 2015 PGA.  A kid in a boat would later retrieve it.

Next up was the Straits course at Whistling Straits.  Playing host to the 2015 PGA Championship just weeks prior, they were still taking down some of the final grandstands.  I managed to sneak an official program from the rubble beforehand, so I was ready to go.

There are no carts allowed on the Straits course and caddies are required.  Which means none of those cart path bounces or scuffed balls.  Although that won't save you from finding Lake Michigan on the course's 8 lakeside holes.  

The difficult par 4 8th hole.  I almost hit it in the lake and made a great par save from the beach.

The par 3 3rd hole is the 1st in a series of 4 jaw dropping waterfront par 3's.

One of my favorite moments in the 2015 PGA was when Jason Day flat out chunked one 20 yards short of the green with a wedge.  Unfazed, he got up and down for par and went on to win the tournament with a record -20.  What a stud

Out of all the courses I have played Whistling Straits might just be my favorite.  It's a close call with Pebble Beach for the top spot.  Be sure to check out the full review and writeup here.

Here is the finishing 18th hole.  A great spot to watch the action.

For the final round of my Wisconsin trip, I was greeted by these swans at Black Wolf Run.  After 3 days of taking on Pete Dye designs would I finally get the best of Pete?  Be sure to read the full review here.

Black Wolf Run is a must play for any golfer visiting the Kohler area.  The course features two 18 hole tracks, the River and the Meadow Valley course.  I played the River which is the more popular option. 

A big thanks to everyone that I played with and to the courses for being such tremendous hosts.

Plenty of risk reward options at Black Wolf Run

The tough 11th hole at Black Wolf Run

The view from the tee box on the par 4, 5th hole at Black Wolf Run.  Oh yeah.