RIP Mikey 6/8/11-8/22/11

8/22/2011
Mikey the Golf Ball passed away suddenly on Monday. His health had been deteriorating over the past few weeks but none of us saw this coming. In a small ceremony on the 10th hole at Meridian Valley CC, George Edwards and I bid adieu to the best little golf ball a guy could ever have had the privilege to play. Mikey is survived by his owner, his 2 brothers and his many swoosh bearing brethren. Remembrances of his career can be left below. In lieu of flowers, please comment on his life. Final tally-Mikey completed 302 holes in 15 over par

It started as just another day on the course for my little pal Mikey. We had the opportunity to play at Meridian Valley thanks to a friend, the home of the LPGA Safeco Classic for many years. I had played here before a couple times maybe 20 years ago but this was different. This was me and Mikey, another round, more memories and more research on just how durable can a golf ball be.

As I stood on the first tee I thought if any of the members had seen this ball, I would’ve been asked to leave…he was very scuffed up, and most of the scuffs were now a dirty brown. I had redrawn his face for him as it had disappeared many rounds ago. He was starting to remind me of “Wilson”, the famous volleyball from the movie Castaway. Mikey now had personality to go with his game. He played the front nine valiantly and never once…well maybe on one hole…did I ever think today would be his demise. The aforementioned #8 has a big pond on the left so we played way out to the right. I had 161 in and turned the sweetest little 7 iron over right on the stick for a tap in birdie. It’s an easy game with Mikey on patrol. On #9 I hit him right down the middle..one of the few on the day I might add and was left with 256 to the middle. I sorta stubbed a 3 wood and left myself the dreaded 30 yard pitch to a tight pin. No sweat for Mikey…I nipped a 62* wedge, he came in soft and stopped about 6 feet from the hole. He kinda smiled at me as I picked him up to clean him off and remove the shreds from his chin. Then I swear he winked at me as he fell in the hole for a bird!

The ultimate end came on a fairly benign little hole. Ten is 365 yards, pretty straight and Soos Creek borders the entire right side. There is a grove of firs on the right and lone fir on the left…they do actually present what appears to be a tough driving hole even though it’s not really. For whatever reason I stepped up full of confidence coming off back to back birdies, planning to hit a little draw off the trees back into the fairway…I truly didn’t even consider the creek. I figured if I hit him at the trees, he’d be high enough to clear them and land safely in the fairway beyond the looming guardians.
The impact was flush, the flight was good, but their was no draw. Mikey was headed straight for the tallest of the guardians…no sweat he’ll be over. Except he wasn’t. He careened into the top of the fir and both George and I waited anxiously for him to fall to the ground.

We never saw Mikey again and that is my fault. I never should have hit a draw off that tee. The shot is a fade and I blew it. I was so “up” after my birdies that I thought I could challenge the agressive line. We spent some time looking for my mate but there was really only two places Mikey could be. Either in a swampy overgrown Soos Creek or better yet, still in the tree. I hope for the latter actually for my friend. He deserves a resting place where he can view his brothers and sisters being chased around the course by hapless hacks and aspiring tour pros.
Johnny told me never to fall in love in with a golf ball…I have to admit I did  with Mikey. I’m sad it’s over, I wasn’t ready for the end yet. I go to Bandon tomorrow and I had hoped to send him off to a proper resting place in the Pacific there. Rest in peace my friend, you treated me well.

Mikey had been on course a bunch since we last reported. He had 2 rounds in league, 9 holes in Sun Valley and now faced Meridian Valley. He was getting pretty battered cosmetically but his performance was still first class.

Some highlights from the last month
7/29/2011
BigWood Golf Course Sun Valley ID
Mikey is on vacation and back course. Big Wood is a great little hole course in the heart of  Ketchum. It’s high here, close to 6000 feet, so Mikey should fly!. #2 is a 340 yard par 4 and after ripping Mikey down the middle I’m left with only about a 30 yard pitch..he skips onto the green, takes two hops and stops..gotta love that boy. He is starting to show some scuffing and the most recent wedge shot has grown him a “beard”, the frayed cover that you get when your really nip the ball. On #4, a 225 yard par 3 I hit 3 iron…about a 200 yard club normally for me and Mikey sails straight and true onto the green…no distance issues yet.
#7 is a par 5 now playing into about a 2 club wind I’ll call it. It’s like 540 and little uphill to start then back downhill a bit to the green with a trap on the right greenside. I “neck” one to the left side of the fairway and have about 260 left which is about the end of the rope of my 3 wood. Here’s where you can really tell if a golf ball is performing or not, I need to keep this ball down and turn it over from right to left. Of course it all depends on whether or not I do what I’m supposed to do, but if for some odd reason I pull off the correct swing…I expect Mikey to do the correct thing also and follow the intended flight pattern. Well low and behold, both of us are in sync and we hit the best shot of the day, maybe the month, a low, drawing, laser that lands about 15 yards in front of the green and rolls up pin high about 12 feet left. “Every now and then a blind squirrel will even find a nut” and I found it on 7…of course I missed the putt, but at least it wasn’t short. Tap in birdie and that is the way it should be.

8/3/2011
White Clouds Golf Course Sun Valley ID

This is a place I could easily lose Mikey so I’m going to be a little careful. This course is new and reminds me a bit of Eaglemont..up and down and lots of sidehill. I end up only playing Mikey for 5 holes, holes I can tell I’m not going to lose him. It’s a beautiful morning, I’m all by myself so I decide to play a cou,le balls per hole. #1 is a straight away par 4..no way I lose the kid here. Second shot plays into the wind and again I need to keep him down and he more than obeys my request.  I gotta be honest, I’m really seeing no performance lapse in Mikey at all. Yeah he’s beaten, bruised, scuffed and discolored but he plays well. I hit a couple drives around 300 yards…gotta love mountain golf, hit some great wedge shots and putted well. What’s not to like.

8/4/2011

“Oh crap…that’s Mikey”…this not a good thought to have at the top of your backswing. Whack and he heads off in direct flight towards the pond on #3 at BigWood. As I watch him fly to his demise I reflect on how much fun it’s been partnering with him…too bad I lost him in such a rush. I am truly sorry Mikey, you were a good ball. Maybe with a little bribery, I can get my son to wade into the pond to get you back.
Let’s step back a second…it began as an outing to the driving range for my son and I. We hit balls in the evening and as I watched the play dwindle on the course, I suggested to him that we “sneak” on at #3 and play a few holes. “Really, can we do that” he replied, “sure” I told him.
“What if we get caught?”
“Well then mom will have to come bail us out of jail”.
“Cool!” And we were off.
As we got to the tee, I noticed a person coming to the green on #2, we need to hurry and I quickly grabbed a ball out of my bag, threw it on a tee and swung the club back.
“Oh crap…that’s Mikey.” To my relief he landed softly…almost plugged we discovered as we got to him. They must’ve had a sprinkler issue because he landed about 5 feet short of the pond and literally came to dead stop in a soaking wet area of grass. Not sure why it was so wet and didn’t care, Mikey was safe!
We played three more holes in the twilight including the long par 3 5th and again 3 iron got me pin high. He’s a gamer!

8/10/2011

The last night of match play,  I have probably the toughest match I’ve had in a few years. I’m giving 2 to a player of my equal…is Mikey up to the challenge…am I…? On #3 I hit the standard 7 iron to a back pin…Mikey flies long and with a little soft draw lands and stops 10 feet from the pin…so far so good. On #4 I hook him into the trees but manage to get him up and down for a half as I’m able to spin him to a stop from about 30 yards. Nice! On #8 I probably hit him about 260..no lack of distance that I see so far. He seems to still have that bite I need.I dropped the match in the end but we won the title so it was all good.

I have to say probably the best shot I ever hit with him came on #9 at Jefferson in week 8. It’s a par 5 and I left him in an awkward spot, just on the top of the trap greenside to the right. He flew into the beach and just sorta hopped out up on top a couple feet. The pin was front and I had barely any green to work with plus it was downhill all the way to the hole. This type of lie has to be hit like a sand shot or you will “chunk” it, as the leading edge of your club will dig into the sand in the grass. Acceleration is your friend! Trouble here is that the lie feels a little  firm, it’s going to be tough to get the club under him with out skipping into his belly and zooming him 30 yards through the green. Full commitment, I swing aggressively and my club just slips like a knife under him. He pops up and out towards the hole, lands, takes one hop and stops 3 feet away. Perfect! I even had witness’ from our league. That was a golf shot…and yes I made the putt.

Over his life I got him to back up on shots, I was able to hook and fade him, hit him high or hit him low…Mikey pretty much still did everything I asked him to do. I have to say I was surprised by the lack of decline in performance. I thought as he got more scuffed up he’d start to fly “funny”, like the old range balls that will “corkscrew” on you. No such thing with Mikey, was he the perfect ball…I was a little disappointed at how easily he scuffed but maybe that is Nike’s way of making you continue to buy golf balls. Obviously his cover is pretty soft, so he spins really well. The day I played White Clouds, I “paired” him with Taylor Made Penta, their 5 piece tour ball. The Penta was maybe a smidge longer, 1/2 a club maybe and flew a little lower. The difference was pretty slight as it is with any “tour” level ball from any of the manufacturers in my opinion. I’m certainly not good enough to tell the difference.

All in all I think I learned a lot about ball performance. They have certainly changed over the years. You just don’t have to take them out of play when they get a scuff. They’ll still work fine. They don’t cut like the old balata balls and they retain their distance. The only time I wouldn’t put a used ball in play is when I know it came out of the water. Tests have shown that they lose distance in conjunction with the time spent in the water. So all you folks who buy the recycled balls…where do you think most of them come from…something to think about.

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