Finish like a boss (or, Travelogue: Milwaukee)

By |  May 12, 2015 0 Comments

My odyssey of six trips in five weeks came to an end with a trip to Milwaukee last week. The main reason we were in town was for the annual Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) annual meeting. And to quote my playing partners’ caddy to me on No. 18 at Whistling Straits, “So you decided to finish like a boss, huh?”

The sausage race at Miller Park. Seth was pulling for "Cinco." Photo by Pete Seltzer

The sausage race at Miller Park. Seth was pulling for “Cinco.” Photo by Pete Seltzer

I’m not going to lie: there was more pleasure than business on this last trip. My pal Michael Boettcher, head groundskeeper at Miller Park, set us up with some great seats, so I caught a Brewers/Dodgers game the first night. Then the next day the bat-signal was flashed and it summoned me north to play some golf up near Sheboygan. My Batman coozie was then spotted on the fairways (and some bunkers) of Black Wolf Run (River Course) and Whistling Straits (Straits Course).

Chris Zugel and Seth, aware of the fog. Photo by Pete Seltzer

Chris Zugel and Seth, aware of the fog. Photo by Pete Seltzer

Yes, I did take some time to visit with our friendly neighborhood superintendent, Chris Zugel, who hosts the PGA Championship in just a few months. The fog was lousy, though, and prevented me from getting any great photography done. I also saw turf’s fastest man alive, assistant superintendent Joe Sell. What was he doing? Working fast, like always. I’m looking forward to being back in August when the PGA arrives and seeing these guys in action for the big show.

Golf was amazing. Black Wolf Run was tough, but we had a blast.

The next day I played the Straits Course at Whistling Straits. I thought it might be a good day when I pured my first drive down the middle of the fairway. And it was, for most holes. There were those holes where I found trouble… and it was difficult to recover. But when I was able to listen to my caddy, things went well.

With the wind whipping off Lake Michigan, that speed is hard to judge. Photo by Pat Roberts

With the wind whipping off Lake Michigan, that speed is hard to judge. Photo by Pat Roberts

I had my playing highlight of the year on No. 3, and then trumped that on No. 18 by winning the skin and getting our team to all-square, no blood. Probably for the best, there was no sudden death holes to determine the winner… and we all walked off winners.

Recommendation: When you’re enjoying a cold one at the 19th hole, try the house beer, Belhaven Jigger Ale. Not only is it good, but where else can you get it? Oh, yeah… Scotland.

The trip ended with the annual TOCA awards dinner back in Milawukee. And we again “finished like a boss” when we brought home a whopping 16 TOCA awards for our work in 2014.

More details on that to come…

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About the Author: Seth Jones

Seth Jones, a 18-year veteran of the golf industry media, is Editor-in-Chief of Golfdom magazine and Athletic Turf. A graduate of the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Jones began working for Golf Course Management in 1999 as an intern. In his professional career he has won numerous awards, including a Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) first place general feature writing award for his profile of World Golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman and a TOCA first place photography award for his work covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In his career, Jones has accumulated an impressive list of interviews, including such names as George H.W. Bush, Samuel L. Jackson, Lance Armstrong and Charles Barkley. Jones has also done in-depth interviews with such golfing luminaries as Norman, Gary Player, Nick Price and Lorena Ochoa, to name only a few. Jones is a member of both the Golf Writers Association of America and the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association. Jones can be reached at sjones@northcoastmedia.net.


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