Rigid and to a certain extent immobile, elitist by definition, golf draws on heraldry and tradition, a sport that respects history like few others, enthroned like none other Saint Andrews and its linksthe birthplace of the club and the ball. Augusta, Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass, Royal County Down, Murifield, Torrey Pines… are just a few of the many courses that any amateur or not, even hearing about in passing, already makes any golfer, amateur or not, drool, since hitting a good shot is a serotonin shot that you always want to rediscover. The classic, however, is no longer so classic since the arrival of the Saudis and their circuit, the LIV, a shake-up of the establishment and a coup d’état for the PGA Tour, which each year falls apart with its rival because it cannot compete with the checkbook, because many of the golfers leave seduced by playing less and earning more. The format, in addition, with DJ’s Live, only three days and in teams, attracts young people, who may well have a party without knowing what it is pulla socketor a flop. And that, as it happened last year, will take place in Valderrama where the classic nature of the course will mix with the revolutionary nature of the tournament. And it will be on a unique carpet, on a course between cork oaks only suitable for the most skilled. This is explained during a round of the pro-am [torneo previo a la competición oficial donde un profesional juega con tres amateurs] Danny Lee, who was once the best amateur in the world, and David Puig, who recently qualified for the Games.
It’s 11:10 am and the Cadiz sun is giving no respite, sunscreen everywhere and countless bottles of water that Valderrama generously supplies, as on each hole there are coolers and even towels soaked in ice to quench the heat. No detail is missing because they also give out pieces of fruit, sandwiches and even beers for those who have a slightly twisted day of golf. After assigning a caddy To all the amateurs, they go to the practice field so as not to make more fools of themselves than necessary… It’s time and New Zealander Danny Lee, who is not having his year, 45th out of 54 on the list, is already waiting in the tee 1. Hat off and handshake, big body and swing of the most academic, happy smile. But it soon fades because Valderrama gives no respite, because missing a fairway is facing the cork oaks, also a rough which hides the ball at certain points.
“How do you see yourself for the weekend?” he is asked. “Well?” he answers with a smile; “Well, we will see how it goes. It is a difficult course, but very fun, I like it a lot.” Although his irons do not work completely. “Come on, calm down, naturally,” his friend asks him. caddy. But he doesn’t succeed and on several holes, especially on the par 3s, he repeats the shot, too many times hitting the ground before the ball. He doesn’t lose his cool, though. And he even has time to joke with his teammate Kevin Na, who is in the next round, because before hitting his second shot on one hole he challenges him to step on the ball – to hit it further than him – on a par 5. Na can’t catch up. And Lee grabs a marker, grabs his ball and paints peanuts on it.Peanuts, peanuts“He explains, as if he wanted to say that this shot is less than nothing, insufficient. The New Zealander’s round, in any case, is bad, as he is +1 on the course and has not been able to catch up with Valderrama. He leaves a little dejected but always polite, and hands over the next 9 holes to David Puig.
Curiously, the game has become something familiar because one of the three amateurs is Waldo Puig, his father, who has as his caddy to his wife. David is also accompanied by his girlfriend. “How is the round going?” she asks them by way of greeting. “Bad, bad,” says his mother, because the amateurs, although they start each hole a few meters ahead, have not been in good shape either. Although the atmosphere changes, every time Puig mixes with everyone, he even gives advice: “Here I would try to put it to the right of that tree; it is better to hit from the bunker than from that one.” rough…”. On hole 10 the team signs birdie and the group, encouraged, accumulates another 10 in the last nine holes to finish in the middle of the table from above. “Not bad for complaining all the time,” David tells his father, after a hug, when he achieves a eagle He then shouts to the next team, where Sergio Garcia, captain of his team (Fireballs), is playing. “Sign him!” Everyone is laughing. Puig is funny.
“Look at the clubs he has…” he says later, referring to his father; “he uses some of mine that I used when I was 13. It’s not because he doesn’t play often… He could change them, right now,” he jokes. “A bit weak, eh?” he says later, after a hit that doesn’t quite reach green. “Go on, enjoy the course and don’t look at the result,” he also advises, because Valderrama is one of a kind, the 29th course in the world on the list of the best courses he performs. Golf Digest. But Puig also has time for himself, to focus on his golf. “I’m tweaking a couple of things in the swing and it shows,” he explains, as he mixes strokes of genius with some irregular ones; “but on the weekend it can work.” caddyAlberto, does not take the day off, since before each shot he explains the intricacies of the hole, the possibilities, the wind, the area where it is best to attack… David listens and also practices some extra shots; the next day the good stuff begins for him and for everyone at LIV. And he tries to make his golf flow. “I don’t think about the shot, but I do say words to myself that help me like: ‘rhythm, alignment…’” And during the round he marks three birdiesThe Puigs embrace each other, natural, friendly, good people. The amateurs shake hands and smile, suffering with golf is also fun. And even more so if you do it with professionals and in Valderrama.
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