CA Course Reporters: Thursday afternoon entries

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Editor's note: Courtney Burris, Johnie Freatman and Owais Durrani will be blogging this week at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. The three are part of the CA Course Reporters program. Check back each day to see what they have to say.

Archive: Wednesday's entries | Thursday morning entries

A behind-the-scenes look
By Owais Durrani

Hi! After many exciting activities in the morning, we experienced a swing analysis session from an instructor who works with TOUR pros, enjoyed some more tournament action and learned about ShotLink.

Jon Tattersall, a teaching professional who works with pros, gave us a very comprehensive swing analysis. Creating a magnetic field and attaching magnets to the body and golf club allows Jon and the student to see every motion of the body in the golf swing. From viewing our 3-D images on a screen to getting exact numbers on our hip turn and shoulder turn, we learned how technology was used to help golfers from TOUR pros to average Joes. After explaining how we could better our swings, Todd, an exercise physiologist, explained to us the benefit of remaining fit and performing golf-related activities. By performing these activities, juniors and adults alike will remain fit, enabling them to play good golf and live well.

After the lesson of a lifetime we went out to the course to see some of the action. We decided to follow Tiger around for a few holes. THE GALLERIES WERE HUGE -- compared to some of the other galleries, Tiger had the largest following and was hard to see. After jockeying for good viewing position on a par 3, Tiger finally approached and we were literally standing next to him. He was hitting an iron to a 236-yard par 3 -- that's amazing! Though he did not hit the green, seeing Tiger's swing from about 4 feet away was truly something. The sheer speed and smoothness of his swing left me in awe for quite a while.

Finally, we visited the ShotLink trailer. From the outside the trailer was just another normal-looking truck, but on the inside it was something else. Volunteers with PDA-type devices are paired with each group. These volunteers input scores, lie, slope and many other facts into the devices which relay the information back to the ShotLlink trailer. There the information is tallied with information from lasers, which are also operated by volunteers, that measure distances, and within 8-10 seconds the stats for the shot are released on the Internet and updated to the scoreboards around the course. All of this data travels through a core server that is about 7 feet high and 4 feet wide -- that's one smart computer. Moving from a process that used to take 20 minutes to something that takes a max of 10 seconds is a huge improvement. What really shocked me the most was how the volunteers ran all the on-course operations of ShotLink. We never realize how important volunteers are to a golf tournament, but believe me they are and they need to be appreciated for their generosity.

Over the past 24 hours I have really been in shock over all the preparation that goes into putting on a tournament. From meteorologists to countless volunteers to ShotLink, the amount of dedication and passion provided by these groups is truly priceless. When one views a golf tournament on TV, none of these aspects are observed, but with a behind-the-scenes view, one is able to appreciate all aspects. I hope some of you have learned quite a bit about the behind-the-scenes aspects. I am signing out for the day and will talk to you all again tomorrow.

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Chatting with Goosen
By John Freatman, Jr.

For certain companies, the name is everything. This week, for CA, that name is Retief Goosen. As a CA-sponsored golfer, one can only imagine how much it would mean for CA executives to have Goosen win their tournament. Right now, there are many smiles on the faces of these executives as their man is currently in a tie for the lead.

Earlier this week, I had the chance to sit down with the affable South African to discuss a myriad of topics. Upon being asked how the course conditions were, Goosen sounded pleased, citing the soft fairways and firm greens. The conversation began with me asking him about his greatest golf accomplishments, winning the 2001 and 2004 U.S. Opens. He expressed surprise that the U.S Open has been his best major, saying he always expected to win the British Open first. In discussing the '01 Open, as would be a recurring theme, Goosen invoked the name of Nick Price and the fact that he had won a major tournament at the same course, Southern Hills, before. This was a part of the overarching confidence and comfort Goosen said he experienced that week. He went on to say that despite getting the first one out of the way, his second major was no easier. This is understandable considering that, despite Goosen's 21 putts in Sunday's final round, the greens were faster than any in recent memory.

The subject of various countrymen surfaced, as I initially asked Goosen about Ernie Els. He said they are only seven months apart in age and have been playing together since they were 13 years old. He sounded genuinely happy for Trevor Immelman and his triumph in last year's Masters while stressing the importance of not reading too much into the Green Jacket bearer's recent struggles. He cited Immelman's ball-striking acuity while noting that, if any part of his game can be spotty, it's his putting.

When asked about his best friend on TOUR, Goosen invoked the name Michael Campbell. I resisted the urge to ask whether or not they ever talk about the '05 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, where Goosen had a three-shot lead heading into the final round, only to see it dissolve and Campbell hoist the trophy in his crowning golf moment. The inference can be made that this tournament had no impact on their friendship, a fact that merely reinforces my opinion that Goosen is a classy man with lots of integrity.

A classy man who might make a certain company very happy come Sunday night.

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An entertaining event
By Courtney Burris

To begin my afternoon I went to a show. Only kidding, I actually got my swing analyzed and fitness tested by the professionals that work at the Terminus Club. Mr. John and Mr. Todd were quite the characters, too. John, from across the pond, often threw jokes about Todd's counting skills and other basic skills because of Todd's Mississippi heritage. Of course, Todd declared that the British are dumb and have pale skin. The jokes did not stop, but don't let me fool you, they seriously knew what they were talking about when they analyzed our swings. The technology they used was incredible! I mean who knew that my spine turns 68 degrees in my backswing? I sure didn't! More than that, who knew that a 68-degree spine turn is way too much? Vijay has the largest spine turn on the tour with 60 degrees. I certainly learned a lot about my golf swing and the steps that I can take to improve my swing. The swing analysis truly amazed me. John, a golf instructor, and Todd, an exercise physiologist, combined to provide quite a wealth of insight and instruction.

After the analysis, we headed outside to enjoy some of the tournament. Or let me correct myself, TOUR event, not tournament. What is the difference you ask? These events encompass so many thousands of people I cannot imagine being in charge of an event like this! There are so many different things going on at once. The volunteers, the reporters, the fans, the players, security, you name it, it's here! Also, have you ever wondered how you can access shot-by-shot information as it happens on PGATOUR.COM? Today I met Matthew Toenjes, coordinator of Tournament Operations, to get the inside scoop on how that process works. Back in the "olden" days, as in prior to the 1990s, all of the players' shots were recorded on paper. That sounds like a nightmare to me. Just think, hundreds of players, all of their shots, the yardage, the type of shot, all of this on hundreds of pieces of paper -- not good! The process to get the shot information was not easy either. It normally took 15-20 minutes to get the score to the leaderboard. Well, folks, times have changed. Now the volunteers carry around little hand-held devices to record anything you could possibly want to know about a player's shot. And the time to get the scores to the leaderboard, 8-10 seconds! That is an incredible difference from how it used to be! Another technology that I am thoroughly impressed with!

As the week goes on, I hope to discover more of aspects of this incredible, collaborative effort called the 2009 World Golf Championships-CA Championship!