Every year, the fine folks over at Golf Digest throw a big golf tournament party and they call it the Think Young Play Hard Invitational, or TYPHI for short. The tournament is so much fun, that it is one of the few tournaments T Rex attends every year. As it turns out, the 65 million year old creature is a total golf nut.
For the tournament's inaugural 2 years, it has been hosted in Las Vegas. Sensing that the TYPHI needed a change of pace, the tournament organizers consulted the ancient golf scrolls and moved the venue to Bandon Dunes. From hot desert terrain to sea side wind storms, the tournament was on the move to the Pacific coast.
“When in doubt, go to Bandon Dunes”
There are 2 acceptable options for any golfer arriving at Bandon Dunes without enough time for a full 18: Hone your putting game on the Punch Bowl or go to Bandon Preserve and warm up your wedges. We had time for both.
The 2nd hole at Bandon Preserve gets the golf juices flowing.
With holes like the 6th, Bandon Preserve is easily one of the country's best short courses.
For those new to Bandon, the Punch Bowl is a 100,000 square foot putting course designed by Jim Urbina and Tom Doak. It just had it's 3rd birthday and is a terrific way to spend hours putting.
“You will find every kind of putt you can imagine out there, and probably a few you’ve never dreamed of.”
With the tournament preparation taken care of, it was time to set our sites on the first round. My partner? Why It was none other than Smooderoo. She's a doctor in Canada and wears hats that say "Pray for Birdies" What could go wrong? As it turns out in golf, lots of things can go wrong.
Things that remained high during Round 1 of the 2017 TYPHI
- Spirits
- Temperatures
- Our golf scores
The @jonesgolfbags crew, Bandon Preserve, and a sunset. 👌🔥👌 pic.twitter.com/XrdUPiCcIJ
— Patrick Koenig (@PatrickjKoenig) June 2, 2017
In one of our team's first round highlights, we made a 4 footer for par on the relatively easy 17th hole at Bandon Trails. The highlight reel was sparse, the aerial footage was plentiful.
The popular 5th hole at Bandon Trails.
This is where we would drop out of the lead. #2 at Bandon Trails.
So naturally, after a tough outing at Bandon Trails, I headed over to Pacific Dunes to hone my wind game. I was fortunate enough to tee it up with the guys from ShipSticks and a good time was had flying drones, taking photos, and also playing some golf. In perfect weather, with the sun setting over the ocean, Pacific Dunes is a visual assault on the golfing senses. I tried to capture the magic from the ground and from the air.
A look back on the short 16th at Pacific Dunes.
The golf party really starts on the 3rd hole at Pacific Dunes.
With round 1 in the books, we found our 2 man team 4 shots out of the TYPHI flight lead. Unfortunately, we would do little to help ourselves up the leader board during the second round at Bandon Dunes. However, Sarah did help herself to some scotch at Bandon's secret stash.
The difficult 5th at Bandon Dunes is one of the best holes on the property.
A different view of the 16th green at Bandon Dunes.
In the end it was the folks from Jones Golf that totally dominated the field with stellar play both rounds. Congratulations fellas!! I highly suggest that you honor their victory by picking up a Jones bag.
Just when the awards were about to be handed out, T Rex came in hot and crashed the party. He immediately started roaring and pounding Bud Lights. He then proceeded to pass out as he took in a classic Bandon Dunes sunset.
T Rex takes in a sunset at Bandon Dunes. #Trex #Bandon pic.twitter.com/j5MZDRMsig
— Patrick Koenig (@PatrickjKoenig) June 4, 2017
After spending some time in the Bunker Bar and telling stories of missed putts and chunked chips, it was time for an early morning send off round at Old Macdonald and just like that the TYPHI had come to a close.
A big thanks to Luan and the team at Golf Digest, the staff at Bandon Dunes, and all of the sponsors for putting on another fantastic tournament.
What your golf ball sees at it descends onto the 11th green.
The view from behind and above #13.
Leave a ball, take a pull on the scotch, and go make some birdies.
“Any time you use the same club 5 times in a row, it’s a bad thing.”
Our final round pairing featured Instagram standout Kasia Kay. This girl can golf her ball.
After calling in 6 rules violations, an angry and drunken T Rex demands a recount of all scores.
Personally, I am a big fan of railroad ties in bunkers.
