Journal Entry #25
Tuesday
January 20, 2004
 VIEWS WEST OF ASPEN, COLORADO JUST BEFORE "BERMA SHAVE" |
 OASIS WELCOME SIGN |
Day one, the drive to Mesquite started at 6:00 AM on January 12th from Colorado Springs. The roads were dry and the skies clear until we got to Rifle, Colorado. From there to Green River, Utah, the sky disappeared and a light fog descended as we dropped into a white landscape of unusual beauty. Remember those "Berma Shave" signs of days long gone past? It was like we had a strip of pavement neatly carved through a thick white bead of Berma Shave shaving cream on both sides. In addition to the blanket of white the trees were as if flocked as if for Christmas. This was due to the fog freezing on the branches.
Before I comment on the golf courses we played, I want to give this disclaimer. Keep in mind that we are playing in January. This is a period in which the Bermuda brass is dormant and winter grass is just coming in, if coming in at all. The main thing to remember is that come March and April all these courses will likely have country club quality fairways and greens. The SFG ratings can be increased at least one point up for "friendliness" when the greens and fairways come back. Since we played from the "men's" tees, you can add another point to SFG ratings if you play form forward tees. I hope to return in April with my friend Mel Millhauser, who missed the trip this year due to other commitments, to replay two of the courses and Wolf Creek nearby. I overheard someone saying that Wolf Creek is among the top 10 toughest courses in our country.
Day two, January 13th, we were all present, 60 of us, at the Oasis Golf Course and ready to tee off on the Vista nine at 9:30 AM. Our leader, Stan Thorp, had made arrangements well in advance for our group. He even called and faxed a list of participants. Guess what, when we got to Mesquite Stan gave them a call and they did not have a clue. Everything almost turned out okay, though. Unfortunately we ended up with tee times and not a shotgun start. Bottom line is that the last three or four groups were unable to finish. Too bad Bagger Vance and all those autos with lights a blazing was not around to bring in the last foursomes.
 OUR FOURSOME |
 JACK AND STEVE |
I played with two old friends and one new one. Our foursome consisted of myself, Steve Mandel and Jack Doherty of Valley Hi Golf Course in Colorado Springs, and Jerry Davenport, retired USAF. We played the Oasis Vista nine-hole course and then the first nine of the regular Oasis course. Both offered numerous views, and the fairways were easy to find on the Oasis Vista Course. They were the green stretches banked by dormant Bermuda and red sand and stone canyons. The greens on the Vista course were not good at all. The greens on the Oasis course were even worse. The fairways were the best we played this trip, although that's not saying much. The beauty of the course was its "canyon" flavor. Yes, "canyon." We played on top, under, and into them. SFG Rating: 6.1
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| VISTA VIEWS | ||
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| OASIS FRONT NINE VIEWS | ||
Day three we played the Casa Blanca Course. This course is what I call a target course. The scenic beauty of the Oasis courses was not there. Instead you tee off from a patch of green over desert or hazards to another patch of green. In many cases you do have a fairway, once you got to them, but on most holes you are just going from one target to the next. If you slice or hook you might not find your ball and if you did you rarely could hit out well. In summertime you are likely to meet up with a few gila monsters and rattlesnakes. The greens were better than the Oasis courses but not much better. The fairways were not as good either. Some of the three par holes displayed some pleasant views. The best thing about the Casa Blanca course this time of year was the courtesy and pleasing manner of the golf course staff. Our foursome consisted of myself, Clay Chisholm, John Bloom and Jerry Davenport. AFG Rating: 5.92
 OUR FOURSOME CLAY, JOHN, JERRY, ME |
 CHRIS ORCHARD HEAD PGA GOLF PROFESSIONAL |
Day four, our last day on the courses, we played the Palms Golf Course. The Palms is like an average between the Oasis and Casa Blanca courses. It has breath taking views and wide-open fairways you can pull and slice to your heart's delight. You'll have lots of water and bunkers to keep away from, but if you are fairly accurate you will score well. This course is longer that the other two. If you like wildlife there is a large variety of water foul. My favorite hole is number 15. It is a psyche-out hole. It is a 5 par and the elevation could be 200 to 300 feet above the fairway below. It looks like a 600-yard challenge, but once you get down to the bottom it scopes into about a 500-yard hole. Make that 490. Our foursome was well suited for each other because we all played terribly but I took the prize as the most terrible and will have to post a 115 when I get back to Valley High Golf Course in Colorado Springs. I did enjoy playing with Adrian Murphy, Jim Jackson, and Babe Humphrey. SFG rating: 6.07
 NUMBER 15 HIGH ABOVE |
 OUR FOURSOME JOHN, BABE,ADRIAN, JIM |
 PALMS PGA PROS KEN TURNER & BRIAN MORGAN |
 WILLIE, RUDY, DICK & DARREL |
 PALMS PAR 3 NUMBER 14 |
 PALMS PAR 4 NUMBER 17 |
| We all want to thank our leader, Stan Thorp, who has been putting these trips together for about 10 or 15 years. |  STAN THORP OUR LEADER |
OTHER SNAP SHOTS OF THE 2004
MESUITE, NEVADA GOLF TRIP
 OASIS CLUBHOUSE |
 CASA BLANCA CLUBHOUSE |
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| WATERFOUL AT THE THREE GOLF COURSES | ||