1000 Words Cannot Do Justice--Unique Looks at Pebble Beach

[PThomas]

Peter pls finish the story

this is just F***ing nuts...did the staff really know he was bringing his rabbit with him?

why would a sane person do this?

good thing Pee Wee (!!!) didn't go running off the tee at 8 and hit the end of the fairway and meet an untimely demise

what a playing partner...guy brings a rabbit, spends all kind of time on the phone....

this just may inspire a new thread, which I'll let someone else start if they choose cause I don't have any bad candidates:

"Worst playing partners of all time"

man...............

[PThomas]

I've finally figured it out:  the rabbit is another new piece of ABC's broadcast team with Faldo and Zinger...

Peter, at any point during the round did you hear a little Verne Lundquist -type voice say, "Maybe......YES SIR!!!!!!!!!!!!"?

this is cracking me up!

[Peter_Herreid]

Yes, Paul, the staff absolutely knew he had the rabbit with him...

In fact, they told him (facetiously, I think, not realizing he actually had a rabbit with him) that he would have to pay a trail fee for the rabbit...

.....which the player dutifully did....

The rabbit was therefore properly listed on the tee sheet as "Mr. XXX and non-playing guest"

Dan Taylor and I actually got our Warholian 15 minutes of Pebble Beach fame as the "guys playing with the guy with the rabbit".  On multiple occasions during and after the round, we were asked by passers-by, walkers, bicyclists, other golfers, marshalls and pro shop staff, what the experience was like..

If this were to be a film, there is no question that David Lynch should direct it....in the film version, the rabbit would probably be smoking a long cigarette, while alternating hits of pure oxygen, and offering his player cryptic swing thoughts disguised as psychosexual musings...

Unfortunately, Mr. Taylor and I were unable to parlay our minor celebrity status into swag at the pro shop, or into a signed picture with the rabbit, for that matter...

Peter

[PThomas]

Peter -- reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when Jerry offers Elaine $50 is she goes up to people eating at a Chinese Restaraunt and calmely eats and takes one of their egg rolls..jerry said, "They will have a great story to tell forever"

that tee sheet had better be saved for posterity

did the guy say he had any other pets at home?

we better investigate the tee sheets for Spyglass, etc.

"9:46:  Mr. XXX and Ms. Kang Roo"

and I know Cypress is pretty  exclusive for most PEOPLE to get on, but maybe they are more accomodating for members of the animal kingdom

I'll try to make this my last post on this......

[Sean Leary]

Did the rabbit walk or ride? Read Putts?

[PThomas]

well said Redanman

now if the rabbit was trained to fix ball marks in my line, would that be illegal?  

[Peter_Herreid]

Well, as things moved along, our friend arrived at the 15th tee, clearly struggling with his game.  The rabbit was clearly now distracted by the crows, who were furtively plucking unguarded lettuce, rabbit chow and bit of mulch from the rabbit carrier.

The player stood on the 15th tee and asked us which way the hole went...I naively pointed out that the hole went straight ahead, but that the left side of the fairway was a bit better for the approach to the far right center hole location...

I should have kept my mouth shut...

He turned his body at a 30-40 angle to the left and aimed out directly over the tree and towards the houses down that left hand side and let fire with a rocket that we could clearly hear caroming around the structures over there.

Again, he's on the back tees...

He then re-loaded and cold topped one deep into the fronting barranca.  At that point, he disappeared into the barranca and did not materialize for a full ten minutes--no exaggeration.  Since we were backed up behind the group in front, this did not hold up play, but Dan and I literally could not see him for all the vegetation.

Upon his arrival back on solid ground, he announced that he had to find that ball, no matter what, as it was his last one and he really liked it!

Believe me, and those of you who have seen me play will, I am entirely empathetic to being off one's game, struggling, and down to the final ball, etc., and I wouldn't wish that on anyone...

It just added to the whole atmosphere of the afternoon.  It would have been more appropriate if a fog had rolled in at some point, as that's what it seemed like mentally...

Yet, that's not quite all of the story...

[THuckaby2]

Yahoooooooo!

A GCA cliffhanger.  Peter, I am loving this.  Ok, I am rooting big time for him to find his lucky golf ball... then lose it again.. then the rabbit finds it...

 

[Peter_Herreid]

Here we see the rabbit selecting the tee location on #8


The rabbit certainly had the opportunity to read all the putts, although in some instances I think it may have left a "cheater line" on the green...

Peter

[PThomas]

if anyone can come up with a weirder playing parnter I would love to hear it!

[Peter_Herreid]

I better start wrapping this up, I suppose, since this is a decidedly non-architecture thread...

We arrived at the 17th tee, in the beauty of the setting sun.  After admiring the spectacular scenery for a moment, we prepared to hit our tee shots.  While in the midst of his pre-shot routine, our playing partner (who by this time was really looking tired, sleep-deprived and just basically plum worn-out) uttered the words that Mr. Taylor and I could not possibly have predicted at that precise moment....

"So, where are you guys staying tonight?  Is there any room for me?"

The silence on the tee was deafening, and could be heard over the crashing of the waves, the call of the gulls, and the gentle laughter from the deck of the Beach Club...

I gently suggested that I didn't know if the Lodge had a policy on pets, but that he might want to make a few calls to hostelries in Monterey, Seaside, Marina or even Salinas, before heading out...

To his credit, and with my complete admiration, the gent made a terrific double-sandy par on #18, from bunker right to strip, ocean-fronting bunker left and nicely onto the green from 160 yds or so out.  I believe the rabbit had suggested playing the ball a bit further back in his stance.  This time a successful two-putt par was artfully captured, both on film and on disposable camera.

Thus endeth our companion's most fortunate and bizarre afternoon...

The rabbit, however, may not be so fortunate...

[THuckaby2]

Absolutely fantastic.

Hmmmm... just what was on the Club XIX menu
that evening?

 

[Lou_Duran]

Mr. Huntley,

When hungry even haggis probably tastes good.  Reportedly, during Spain's civil war, my father and a couple of friends were served a most delicious dog by a grateful, though out of more normal meat, restaurant owner.  I can't recall that he liked it enough to ever order it at home.

I shot my last rabbits on Thanksgiving of 1973.  After field cleaning and later skinning four cute cottontails I had an epiphany.  I didn't much care about shooting them (they were the third choice behind pheasant and quail), the meat was nothing special, and cleaning them was rather simple but kind of messy, specially in the field when it's cold and you have to wash your hands in the snow.  Much to the chagrin of my friend's beagles, I went cold turkey and never shot one of them again.

However, if you care to share some of your better rabbit recipies, I may consent to try it once again.  On the other hand, if the best you can do is to make it taste like chicken, I'll just eat the real thing.  

[PThomas]

I'm thinking Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction....

and Peter, I hope you didn't tell Bunny Boy of your GCA Association....after all, not inviting him to share your quarters reflects badly on all of  us

I think Pebble owes you a refund

maybe you should email them with all these gory details....

pt

[Ted Kramer]

Mr. Huntley,

When hungry even haggis probably tastes good.  Reportedly, during Spain's civil war, my father and a couple of friends were served a most delicious dog by a grateful, though out of more normal meat, restaurant owner.  I can't recall that he liked it enough to ever order it at home.

I shot my last rabbits on Thanksgiving of 1973.  After field cleaning and later skinning four cute cottontails I had an epiphany.  I didn't much care about shooting them (they were the third choice behind pheasant and quail), the meat was nothing special, and cleaning them was rather simple but kind of messy, specially in the field when it's cold and you have to wash your hands in the snow.  Much to the chagrin of my friend's beagles, I went cold turkey and never shot one of them again.

However, if you care to share some of your better rabbit recipies, I may consent to try it once again.  On the other hand, if the best you can do is to make it taste like chicken, I'll just eat the real thing.  

A small restaraunt in Manhatten, Piccolo Angelo (Hudson and Jane) serves delicious rabbit. If you are ever in West Village/Soho area it is worth a try.

-Ted

[Dave Kemp]

Peter.

Absolutely priceless.  I am still wiping the tears of laughter away after the "so where are you guys staying?" line.  

[A_Clay_Man]

One head chef here, served rabbit easter weekend. Sheryl thought it cook humor.
 
Bob- The corrolation to a cat is appropriate, cause I have taken Seamus golfing several times.

Peter- That Baranca on 15 is a bitch. I have never seen anyone go down there. He must've found plenty of balls, or, it just took that long to extricate himself.

[Marty Bonnar]

Does anyone else also have 'Ride of the Valkyries' (the Elmer Fudd version) running around their head??

FBD.

[Jason Mandel]

Peter,

Tell us more!
What was his reason for not having a place to stay?  How did he end up at Pebble just him and Peter Rabbit?  About what did this guy shoot? Where was he from?  Has he been spotted anywhere else around the Penninsula? Does this guy have a job?  Did the bunny behave?  This has the makings of a great story, please DO Tell!!!

Jason

[peter_p]

I'll bet the owner works for the LA Red Line, rabbit transit.

[Peter_Herreid]

Well, friends, I will hereby supply the last chapter to this tale...

Our best estimate is that the bloke shot about a 103, give or take a few shots, and that is with pars on #6, #7, #16 and #18.

Unless he was asking us to take pictures of him and the rabbit, or the other statements I have already mentioned, he did not say 3-4 sentences the entire way around.  Again, I stress, not in a mean or ill-spirited fashion, but rather in a trance-like, disconnected, self-absorbed sense.

He was from Toronto originally, but Los Angeles most directly.  As to where he went, we know not, as he vanished as strangely as he had come, and he had not returned to the pro shop in the 15 minutes after the completion of the round...no cart, no clubs, no rabbit...

Before I proceed, I must say that I am most sincere in my respect for all animals that are pets--sometimes I wish we treated our children as well as we treat our pets!--but everything must have its place in life, and I'm not sure Pebble Beach was the place for this rabbit...

For I have withheld one key element of the tale, for which I apologize, as in the Hollywood tradition of story-telling, there is indeed a kicker, a mystery, a zinger if you will in the last reel... I beg forgiveness, as I have been overtly manipulative..

Unfortunately, it has been more in the tradition of "The Sixth Sense" or "Sophie's Choice" or, heaven-forbid, "Thelma and Louise" than in the more-traditional happy ending...

I spent the first few holes wondering why the rabbit wouldn't simply hop away--not that it couldn't be re-captured, but the smell of the fresh air, the textures of the grasses, etc--wouldn't that stir up some primal instinct for freedom in the poor creature?  

Sadly, the rabbit would be unable to flee.  It had a tumor that occupied over 50% of its posterior half, and treatments had failed to improve its condition.  Eventhough it was on anti-inflammatories, clearly its movements were labored.  In all sincerity, the player told us that "Peewee wanted to see Pebble Beach before he passed away."

The afternoon was strange in more ways than I can ever count, and I spent some of the afternoon feeling awful about the more mean-spirited thoughts that had crossed my mind from time to time.  Perhaps in some sense, I had been manipulated too, and I think it could be argued that it was blatantly unfair for someone to assume that the other players playing in the group would be OK with this whole sequence of events.

Nevertheless, in the setting sun on the 18th tee at Pebble Beach, as I was holding the videocamera taping the man with his rabbit, I am not too proud to admit that I had to fight back a great big lump in my throat, and maybe even a few tears...

As to where the man and the rabbit disappeared to, well I hope it might be the best 19th (rabbit) hole either one of them could imagine...

Peter

[Ted Kramer]

Great story.
Thanks for sharing.
The truth is often much stranger than fiction . . .

-Ted

[SPDB]

Peter - Touching and funny story. Exquisitely narrated. Thanks for sharing.

-Sean

[MBL]

My friends,

I have not logged in lately as I've been quite busy.  That said, I have been blessed of late not the least of which I count GCA among: I've met wonderful people, I've learned much about this great game of ours, etc.

However, I was encrouraged to take a look at this post by a fellow GCAer .... and threads like these are what TRULY sets GCA (and its various participants/constituents) apart!!

As I continue to chuckle, thank you Peter!

[Rick Shefchik]

if anyone can come up with a weirder playing parnter I would love to hear it!

The rabbit probably has my candidate beat, but last Saturday Dan Kelly and I played as a team in a 27-hole even in the same foursome with another two-man team. One of the guys stood over his ball for about 15 seconds before taking the club back -- and he was the normal one.

The other guy wore a stocking cap over his baseball cap, with a chin that jutted out and a nose that jutted out almost as far, making him look like Ichabod Crane. People can't help how they look, but they can help how they act. This guy said the same thing every time a putt with any break was missed -- usually by Dan or me: "Read and speed. Read and speed." After the 10th or 15th time, I wanted to stuff a headcover in his mouth. He really became annoying any time I made a putt that caught a side of the hole and circled the cup on its way to the bottom: "Oooooohhh! A real flusher! An all-around good putt!"

He was never ready to hit when it was his turn, acting as though he was in his own world, when in fact we were in the middle of an event and rapidly losing sight of the group ahead of us. I kept hurrying to the next tee and hitting out of turn to get us going, but we lost contact with the group ahead of us for good after the 14th hole when the guy went into the crapper and took about 15 minutes to reappear. Then, when our first 18 holes was completed, he and his partner sat down to lunch in the clubhouse, while Dan and I waited for them on the first tee of the par 3 course.

While I was on the 8th tee preparing to hit my drive, I heard crashing and stomping in the weeds behind me. Wanting to get it over with, I went ahead and hit the shot (terribly), then turned around to see our buddy thrashing through the weeds next to the tee to take a leak.

We ultimately finished 4 holes behind the group in front of us.

The weirdest thing about this guy is that we had been partnered together in this very same event three years ago. He had absolutely no idea who I was.

But the rabbit, I concede, is even weirder. I wish we'd had him, instead.