I’ve been traveling to Las Vegas since I was a wee lad, probably before I could walk or grok where I was.
My dad loved to gamble. I remember the many times he handed my brother and I a crisp twenty and told us to make it last at Circus-Circus while he played the ponies and rolled the bones next door at the now-disappeared Stardust.
Good times,
These days, even though I’m a longtime Nevadan (I’ve lived in Reno for 35 years, and no, it’s nowhere near Sin City, you East Coasters), I don’t get down Vegas way nearly as often as I used to. But when I do, it’s usually to play golf, just as the PGA Tour is doing this week for the long-running Shriners Hospital For Children Open at TPC Las Vegas, several miles west of the Strip.
My latest round, under warm desert skies last March, was right next door at TPC Las Vegas, and it was a tale of two nines—awful on the front, decent on the back. I had a nominal excuse, having not played in several long winter months as Northern Nevada trudged through a snowy spell, but still. It was ugly.
Good thing I had a photo shoot that afternoon with the property’s PGA Director of Instruction, Matt Henderson, who took over for Brandon Stooksbury, one of Top 25 Instructors. Over about an hour, just watching him knock out a couple lessons for Golf Tips, including this great one on the short game, got me in the right frame of mind and body to keep going into the new golf year, especially after a half-day of skulls and chunks on his home track. Now that 2019 is heading for the clubhouse, he’s one of the reasons I’ve had one of my better tours on the Nobody Circuit, knocking a stroke or two off my handicap and generally not embarrassing myself. I suggest you check out his stuff.
And teacher and Director of Player Development at TPC Summerlin named Cathy Kim has the right stuff, too. For proof, check out this video lesson on putting.
It’s not exactly a double-sawbuck to play video games, but don’t say I never gave you anything. And there’s no gambling necessary on your part. These pros are a sure thing.
