U.S. Senior Open 2013
Originally Published on July 13, 2013 by ranchomurieta.com
Diaries written by: Don Thames
DAY #2:
July 11, 2013: On the leader board ... very briefly
Omaha, Nebraska – Even though the scoring was not good, the experience has been incredible. The USGA, the volunteers and the fans of Omaha have treated us like kings. I wish I could just drive home in the Lexus SUV they let us use.
There is such a fine line between a good round and a poor one in conditions like this. Barely missing the fairway is at least a one half stroke penalty. A player must be very adept at getting it up and in from around these greens that are surrounded by two to three inches of thick grass. Even though I practiced the shot for three days, the knack for it in competition has not come to me yet. If and when I have this opportunity again, I will somehow find some grass like this and just flop a thousand balls around and back again. One of the players, Kym Olsen, had this knack and he beat my brains out even though I clearly outdid him in ball striking. Kym competes on the Asian tour, the Australasian Tour and plays in some Senior European Tour events. In his travels he has picked up playing these greenside rough shots. I can tell you for sure that being in the bunker versus the greenside rough is preferable. There is also an incredible amount of courage involved in playing this shot as the options (other than hitting it close) are leaving it in the hay or playing conservatively and blasting it 30 feet long.
Josh, Jerry, Carole, Makayla and I went out to dinner in the Old Market area downtown and had a great meal. Josh and Jerry wimped out on eating oysters but were happy with their corn-fed Omaha steaks. Omaha is a great town. Several fortune 500 companies are here and the downtown is thriving with tourists and locals alike. The people here are so nice.
Don and Carole Thames
What some happy golf students say:
"Don is an amazing teacher. He helped me go from barely even being able to hit the ball to being able to play on weekends with my dad. Golf is now my favorite sport."
- Trevor A.
"Don is great at diagnosing the weak areas in a golfers game. After one chipping lesson with Don my handicap decreased by two strokes in just over a month."
- Chase A.
"I have been in the Jr. Golf Program with Coach Don since I was 5 years old. Coach Don has helped me to be successful on the Jr. PGA Team and in other golf tournaments."
- Axel S.