Blogs >> From Island Green To The Tarheel State

 
Wednesday March 11, 2009…Week two has dawned on the Hooters Tour for 2009 and after a swift 7 hour drive north from Florida we have arrived in Hickory, North Carolina and our host, Rock Barn Golf and Spa.
 
But, before I get onto this week, I must note how the last one ended. For me, our week in Amelia Island turned out pretty cool as my good friend and roommate David Skinns and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity to play the TPC at Sawgrass on Sunday. As any golf fan would know this is one of the cooler courses you could play in your career and both Skinnsy and I were stoked to get out there and play all the holes we had seen on TV so many times. We got the opportunity because of David’s Nationwide status and I am happy to say we were treated like absolute royalty out there. We arrived at around 9am and were promptly shown to the professional’s tee at the end of the range where we hit balls for a while to warm up. We proceeded to play 27 holes during which time we saw exactly one other group on the course. We zipped through the back nine, had lunch and then played the front, and then the back nine again, finishing up at around 5 in the afternoon.
 
The highlight of the day for me was almost making an ace on the famous “island green” 17th hole, spinning my wedge back past the hole and tapping in the 4 foot putt for birdie. Skinnsy’s highlight was probably watching me destroy his hopes for victory with that birdie but I can‘t say for certain.
 
But we have moved on and started a fresh week here in North Carolina, one of my favorite places to play golf in the entire country. Hickory, besides being home to NASCAR stud Dale Jarrett and about half a dozen other drivers, was also named Money Magazines’ 1998 “most livable place to live.” Of course everybody knows that fact, but not many people know it was also named Golf Digests’ “least walkable place to walk.” I jest, but Rock Barn is a very, very tough course to negotiate on foot, and the layout itself is defined by, and challenging because of, the major elevation changes which come into play on almost every hole.
 
Set at the base of the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains, the course is a classic Robert Trent Jones Jr. layout, which has been home to the Champions’ Tour Greater Hickory Classic since 2003. It’s fantastic to see the tour make a stop at a course with such a good tournament pedigree; however with poor weather forecast for later in the week Rock Barn is sure to be a tough challenge.
 
If the weather does us a favor we may see some low scoring Thursday through Sunday, so if you happen to be a local looking to watch some of golf’s top up-and-comers come out to Rock Barn this week and watch the birdies fly. If you are a player, I’ll be updating the blog later in the week so be sure to let me know of any interesting or unusual encounters you might have this week.
 
See you out there and happy hiking,
 
Nick