A friend suggested I sign up for the World Series of Golf. Some of you may know that growing up in Wisconsin; we played cards all the time. Many of us still play whenever we get together for family functions. Well that poker habit has continued as I play once in a while when traveling to Vegas, etc. The World Series of Golf, is a knock off from the World Series of Poker and offers the best of poker and golf combined.

Here is how it works; the person, who draws the high card, goes first. This is like being dealt first in a card game. Each hand or on the next hole a different person is first to act or in golf hit the first tee shot. After the tee shots are completed, the first person has the option of checking or betting. The remaining players have the option of calling the bet, raising the bet or folding. Folding in this golf game means you pick up your ball and wait until the next hole to play again. After the bets, etc., the person who acts first hits again. This hitting, betting, etc., continues until someone wins the hole outright by holing out with the lowest score, or everybody else folds. In the case of ties, the players left each split the total amount bet to that point including antes. The object of the game is to take everybody’s money. The game is played with 5 players and it is mathematically impossible to go past two playoff holes based upon the antes. They double every 3 holes and start at $100.

Before I signed up, I had to find out how much it cost to play in the tournament. Let’s just say I had to get permission first. The winner of the 3 day event held in Las Vegas at the Paiute Golf Club received a check for a cool $300,000. Not too bad for a few days work.

First there was a practice round to get used to the format and see how you handle the pressure of the event. That was followed by television interviews; you see the whole event was taped for broadcast over 13 weeks this past summer on WGN. Oh, I didn’t mention that cameras were right behind you while you were hitting? Guess I forgot to tell you about the rigid nature of the rules and how yelling “go all in” was frowned upon by the people in charge. I made that mistake on the first hole. I thought I was going to need an escort from the course. At any rate, after the practice round, I went to Vegas for the big event in May. There was another practice round on Monday, followed by the White party. This is where everybody shows up at the Mirage pool dressed in white. Cocktails and food, music and entertainment were on schedule for a great evening to kick off the 3 days.

As the evening went on, it became clear who the players were and who was there to have fun. Many of the golfers in the tournament included poker pros, most of who are sponsored by Full Tilt Poker. The hosts and cosponsors of the event are Mirage and Full Tilt. Lets just say, it was very cool hanging out with the best poker players in the country. Phil Ivey, Jesus Ferguson, Daniel Negreanu to name a few. Most of these guys were in for a while and left early, as I did to get some rest for tomorrow’s big day.

On Tuesday morning the players all gathered at the Paiute Golf course to get the tournament started. Cameras were everywhere. During the warm up on the range, they were coming up and asking questions, looking for some pearls of wisdom, comedy or just plain footage for the show. I did my best to make a show of it. I came dressed in my Packers gear; including shoes, hat, and shirt along with green and gold Packer golf bag. Everybody knew who the Packer guy was in the group. Each five some teed off at different times. Our group went off at 8:30 a.m. The five somes were broken down by handicap so we all played from the same tees. As the tournament goes on, the players with higher handicaps stay at the front tees and the players with lower handicaps stay at the back tees, and so on. This way everybody was even as the players were eliminated. Where the real difference became evident was the betting format. Even after a good drive in the fairway, you could be standing there with an all in bet to win or go home. That became the theme and definitely added the pressure to the entire day.

As Tuesday started out, I was feeling good. I drew the Ace and was first to tee off. My tee shot landed in the left bunker under the lip about 90 yards from the green. Out of 5 players 3 were in the fairway and only 2 played the hole. Landing in the bunker was the best thing to happen as it was easy for me to fold and watch losing only my $100 ante. Getting used to the cameras and overall pressure of the day took some time I figured. On the Hole #2 my drive was right down the middle. I was not the longest hitter in our group, but I was holding my own. With me and two others playing the hole, the first bet was $1,000. We called and hit our next shots. I was last to play since I had been first on Hole #1. With this advantage, I felt like it was time to take a chance. Well the first two guys hit great shots. Both ended up within 15 feet from about 160 yards out. Now I had the pressure of executing to stay even in hopes of staying in the hole. My shot went short right and rolled off the green. The next bet was $3,500 and the next guy called. I would be faced with a chip and putt for almost ½ of my money. And if somebody rolled in the putt before I hit, I would have to hole the shot to tie. Well this is why the poker part pays off. It was easy for me to fold and save the money. Live to see another hole, as they say. Both players two putted for par and we moved on to the 3rd hole.

On Hole #3, I again hit a great drive down the middle. I was feeling good with my driver and had some adrenalin pumping from the last hole. Well it ended up with me and another guy. This guy had played in the event in 2008. He had played the first two holes and halved each. So he had more money than I did and he was feeling lucky. We made the bets $2,500 in the fairway and he played first. So a total of $5,500 was on the line ($100 antes through 3 holes) He hit his shot right and I thought in the bunker. His balled ended up on the side hill in the rough not in but not out of the bunker. A tough lie and even harder shot. Now I was in go mode. I played an 8 iron from 145 yards thinking I would be charged up some and hit it a bit longer. Well that was the truth! I hit it long and right just off the green above the hole. Not a bad shot and I certainly had the best of the two positions. But all in all, I didn’t hit it where I was aiming. He checked his bet and I did the same. My plan was to get it close knowing that he would have to hit a great shot to get close I would then go all in and hope he would fold. He punched his shot out about 25 feet below the hole with a big break. I chipped to about 6 feet with a straight in putt.
He checked and somewhere in the back of my head, I felt a little birdie saying “don’t be greedy”, so I checked as well. Now the pressure was on. Even though we would still have money left and it was only the 3rd hole I felt like the whole game was on the line. He lined up his putt while I looked mine over. After what seemed like forever and the cameras positioning around him for better angles, he stroked it up the hill and it went in the hole like a homesick gopher! I couldn’t believe it. He jumped up and down, his caddie went wild and his wife was cheering. After everybody had settled down, including me, I lined up my putt again. 6 feet and straight in, or was it? Maybe a bit of a break, hit it firm, allow it to break, don’t hit it too hard, etc., etc.. You can imagine that I was freaking out. Now I had the biggest putt of my life. Miss and I would be down to less than ½ of my starting money. I would have little or no chance of surviving the whole day without putting my money on the line a few times. When I stood over the putt, I went to grip the putter and realized I was shaking so much I didn’t want the TV camera to notice. So I leaned on my putter to relax my hands. I stood over the putt so long, I could hear my brothers (as they say when we play together) that the grass would grow an inch before I would hit. In this case, they would have been right. When I finally took the putter back and hit it square, it went right in the hole without a doubt. I gave it my best Tiger fist pump and said something. The truth is I was so amazed that I made it, I don’t remember what I said. But the cool thing is that every time they showed the WSOG on WGN, that putt is in the opening credits, including the fist pump.

So off we went to the next hole, with some money in my bank. I didn’t play the next hole while getting air and trying to settle the nerves. The player I was against kept pushing and kept making the shots. On Hole #4 I was 4th to hit. The first three players didn’t reach the green on the Par 3 180 yard hole over water. I decided early on that I was going to be aggressive on the Par 3’s in hopes of stealing some antes and maybe getting close on a few. This was my chance to step up, as they say. I played a rescue 4 and hit it 10 feet to the left of the flag safe and away from the water. I got high fives and was feeling good. The next and last player was the, at the time, weakest so far. You can guess what happens next. He put it 2 feet from the hole like a dart board with a big swooping hook off the water. I check, he goes all in, I fold and so much for picking up a few extra dollars. That is poker on the golf course in a nut shell.

Hole #6 was the next wild one. We had a guy who sliced the ball 30 yards on every shot. #6 is a par 5 on which all the players hit good tee shots. I hit a good 3 wood and was 80 yards out. The “slicer” hit his right down the middle, but back about 110 yards. The guy who won the 4th hole bombs a 3 wood just off the green. I have called a bet of $1,000 to this point. The bomber bets $3,000 and the slicer calls. The bomber is getting warmed up I deem and I fold. He is 10 yards off the green with a straight forward chip. The bomber goes first and lays 2 feet of sod over his chip advancing the ball about 5 feet. The slicer clearly nervous skulls a wedge about 2 feet off the ground and it ends up……..wait……..you guessed it, about 2 feet from the hole. The bomber checks and the slicer goes all in. The bomber folds and is left with 1/3rd of his money. As I learned throughout the match, the tide can always turn and the nerves were always present.

Now on Hole #9, the slicer is first to hit off the fairway and has bet ½ his money. He gets 3 callers. Me, and two others. He promptly sticks a slicing 5 iron 3 feet from the pin over a bunker and water on the right. #9 is a hard hole. 2 guys hit in the water and I am on the front left (protecting from hitting in the water) and fold when he goes all in. Prior to hitting that shot, I had to decide whether to go for broke or play it safe and hope he wouldn’t push all in. Well it didn’t work. Now I am down to less than $3,000 in money with the blinds at $900 for three more holes. I fold from the rough on #10, I fold from the fairway on #11 and #12. On #13 I am faced with going all in to stay in the event and moving on to day 2 or going home. I hit what I would like to think is my best drive of the day. Not because it was right in the middle and not because it was the longest one in the fairway, but because there was more on the line and I was scared to death. So hitting that shot at that moment was a victory in its own right. Me and two others played the hole with my all in bet from the fairway. The first two were short left. I was in the drivers seat. All I had to do was get it close and beat these two to keep going for a few more holes. Well, my shot sticks the flag from 110 yards, jumps once and rolls slowly over the edge of the green down into a swail behind the green. I am bummed and knew that I needed to have this one close. The other two chip up and bottom line we end up halving the hole, which gives me just enough to stay in the next hole. The rules are that each player must have enough money to equal the ante on the hole in order to keep playing. So I was all in on #14. The fairway is a dog leg left with approximately 230 to clear the desert and get within a 100 yards to the green. Hit it straight and you are left with over 160 yards to a small green. I hit my drive as bad as I possible could. I was in the desert stuck behind a twig or root, whatever. I was in a bad way and took as long as possible while another player found his ball out of bounds and played. He was all in as well. I knew I had to make a miracle shot so I punched a 9 iron up to the green and stood and waited for my 3rd shot. There were 4 guys in the hole. Me, the guy (bomber) who was all in as well and laying 3 with a penalty. The other two were on the green but both with long 30 foot or better putts. As we stand there, the first guy strokes it and almost makes the putt. I dodged one bullet and didn’t have a heart attack, although if that is what it feels like, I would not like to have one. Well the next guy hits the cup, the ball jumps what looked like a foot in the air and goes down to the bottom of the cup. GEEZ! Now I have to make a 60 foot chip to stay in the game. I run mine past the hole 2 feet, just missing the edge and pick up and congratulate the winner of the hole.

Mind you this whole day has taken 6 hours to play 14 holes in the desert. I am tired and thirsty. I cracked open a Miller Lite that I was saving for after the round. It was good and I was cooked. The pressure of the day had taken its toll. I was going home without having made my money back and not even making it to the 18th hole. No chance for the $300K. When I got back to the club house, there were many other golfers hanging around. Some had been eliminated on earlier holes. There was one who was all in on the first hole and lost. Story goes he snapped all of his clubs in half right there and then. There were more interviews after the round and lots of food and drink. The days festivities were well managed and it was a joy for all the played win or lose. The Full Tilt Poker and Mirage groups along with the World Series of Golf personnel went out of their way to make everybody feel great.

The good thing, I was able to get back to work earlier than planned. The bad thing, I am now hooked and have been working towards the goal of playing again next year. Step one; Save money. Step Two; Practice my golf. Step Three; Practice my poker. I cannot imagine doing anything that was more fun. Each shot and play was awesome to be part of. Having the chance to watch it unfold on TV was a great experience as well. I didn’t get a lot of air time, but our groups 1 hour portion included some of my interviews and of course the “putt”. For the moment, I was a winner. You can go to www.worldseriesofgolf.com for more information and check out the format. I would highly recommend this event to anyone who loves the two games of golf and poker like I do. See you next year!!!