In the Heat of the Moment

There are moments in time when some things just click. A series of events comes together, suddenly making sense. Or perhaps, it’s an experience of a different side of something familiar, leading to a whole new perspective. I had one of these moments watching two amateurs play off for a spot in the semifinals of a state tournament.

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The extended match had become a true test of endurance, comprising of three opponents: the two players battling against each other, and the third opponent being none other than the course itself. It was the 20th hole of the day, which was hole number two.

The temperature had reached 90 degrees, but the humidity made it feel much hotter—and it was only May!

Needless to say, exhaustion and mental fatigue were becoming evident in the two players as they stepped up to hole number two. A par-4 with the driving range marking OB down the left side. The fairway slightly curved around the driving range, making it impossible to ignore the daunting OB stakes.

Player One stepped up to the tee and hit his drive straight left. In frustration, he let his club fall to the ground with a thud that echoed his inner turmoil. It was Player Two’s turn, and the door was literally wide open.

All he had to do was hit a somewhat good shot down the fairway to begin his victory of the hole and advance to the next round of match play.

He hit it straight right.

I whispered into my radio, calling for another official to help search for not just one ball, but two.

The sun was setting, casting a golden glow on the course as the humid ocean breeze brushed against me. The beautiful city skyline was visible in the distance, and I could barely make out the ‘7’ of the signature 1927 carved into the hedges on the 18th tee.

I stood there caught between the match and the beauty that surrounded me. The beauty of the third opponent that seemed to be winning at the time. So, where in the world am I?

La Gorce Country Club, Miami, Florida.

Construction on La Gorce began in 1923, and the club officially opened in 1927. Carl Fisher, a wealthy real estate developer who helped transform Miami Beach from a swamp to a high-end social scene, played a key role in developing and funding the creation of the club.

Originally designed by English amateur golfer, Captain Herbert Charles Coningsby Tippet, the course eventually faced several renovations over the years. Due to the economic strain following WWII, the club was briefly turned over to the city of Miami Beach.

Yet, in the 1950s, Robert Trent Jones Sr. led a significant renovation, which solidified its reputation once again as a premier and private golf club. The club was associated with various celebrities over the years, including Joe DiMaggio and Will Rogers.

The most significant renovation as of late occurred in 1995 when Jack Nicklaus helped to restore the course to its original character, all while enhancing its playability.

You know that when the Golden Bear gets a hold of a course, then it’s going to be extraordinary. As a result, La Gorce is still recognized as one of South Florida’s most exclusive private clubs.

It’s one of those courses where every hole is beautiful. You know, most places you kind of reach a lull, for lack of a better term. A series of holes that, while still great holes, just pale in comparison to the signature holes. Yet, it’s like every hole at La Gorce is a signature hole. The view of the Miami skyline visible from various places, the regal palms that line the holes, and the beautiful Spanish and Mediterranean homes visible around the course.

As with most Nicklaus designs, a fade is favorable on many holes. In addition, accuracy rewards the player more than distance off the tee as many holes feature narrow landing areas and doglegs. It’s a course that forces the player to use strategy over distance.

The greens present the necessary challenges as well. Most are guarded by water, bunkers, or sit slightly elevated above the fairways, requiring a necessary club adjustment, which circles back to the need for strategy and precision.  

Strategy and precision. I can only imagine those were the exact qualities that both contenders wished they had on their 20th hole of the day at La Gorce Country Club.

Battling for a spot in the semifinals, one player was out of bounds and the other player was somewhere on the right side of the hole. Yet, the right side is better than the left since there are no OB stakes. The only risk is not being able to find the ball and having to re-tee, but luckily that didn’t happen.

After nearly three minutes of searching, the ball was found, and the door remained open to close out the hole. His next shot is something that I can only describe as a chunk-shank that ended up in the bunker right of the green. Meanwhile, Player One, having already re-teed, was on the green, lying four.

As a spectator watching this all unfold, I was thinking, if one player can just make a bogey, then he will win.

This is when it happened for me.

It dawned on me how much easier it is to spectate the game than play it. While that may sound like a simple and obvious realization, it was, nevertheless, a new side of the sport that I had only experienced in the last few years.

I mean, clearly, I always filled the role of a spectator for the PGA TOUR, but that’s different. It’s easy to watch the guys on the PGA TOUR burn it up, oblivious to the feats they are actually accomplishing. Of course, they pull off unbelievable shots like Cam Davis at Pebble Beach that (with good reason) go viral.

But what we really overlook are the seemingly ‘simple’ shots. Like teeing off on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach. I watched so many of those guys just step up to the tee and stripe it down the middle of the fairway. It’s cold, and windy, and the Pacific Ocean is just right there all the way up the left side. Not to mention the tree that sits in the middle of the fairway.

And the pressure of it all.

There’s nothing like golf on the PGA TOUR, but there’s also nothing like amateur golf on a difficult course to remind you just how hard the sport actually is. At the end of the day, we’re only human. Mistakes happen, nerves get the best of us, and we can’t always control what happens next.

Aside from the physical exhaustion they may have been feeling at La Gorce that day, perhaps they were nervous about the potential next hole, which is the number one handicap hole on the course.

It could even be as simple as having watched his playing partner hit OB, thinking something along the lines of, “I hope I don’t do that too.” So, then the brain kicks in and guides your body to block it right, away from the OB. I mean, that’s a win, right? Your brain did do what you asked.

Tournament golf can be put in perspective with this metaphor that my coach told me a while back. If someone put down a 2x4 plank on the ground, then it wouldn’t be too difficult to balance on it and walk across. Maybe if you don’t have great balance, you may stumble the first time, but after a few times, you could more than likely do it with ease—maybe even with your eyes closed! But now set that same piece of wood between two high rises in New York City and try to walk across it and see how “at ease” you feel.

Well, that’s the difference between recreational and tournament golf.  

Player Two ended up closing out the match with a bogey on that hole and advanced to the semifinals.

And, I guess all in all, it was a perspective shift for me. The times when I felt so nervous, like I was walking on a 2x4 from one high-rise building in Manhattan to another, looked to a spectator as easy as walking on that same plank sitting on flat ground.

Now, I try my best to shift my view from the player to the spectator in those situations. To play the moment down, in a sense. Or maybe, just accept the moment for what it is—it’s actually not a life-or-death situation. If you strip away the mental hurdles, the task is simple: the opponent hit it OB, now it’s necessary to hit the fairway and the green, then two-putt to win the match.

With that in mind, I present to you a challenge as both a spectator and a player. The next time you are playing a round of golf and the pressure mounts, and the nerves are racing, try to take a step back and view the situation as a spectator would—“All you have to do is hit the fairway!”

On the flip side, the next time you’re a spectator, take a moment to appreciate the difficulty of the game.

Don’t lose sight of the immense skill and pressure required to compete and remember that what may seem easy from the perspective of the sidelines is anything but in the heat of the moment.

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Golf Course Details

• Par 71

• Tips Course/Slope Rating: 74.2/131, Length: 6,998 yds.

• Forward Tees Course/Slope Rating (Women): 69.7/119, Length: 5,180 yds.

• Course Designer: Jack Nicklaus

• Opened in 1927

• Grass Type: Bermuda Grass

• Course Type: Private