By Joe McAdory
Posted 04/11 at 12:47 PM
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I often visit the Lee County Courthouse to survey folks regarding a variety of issues. This week’s issue revolves around legislators and the double-dipping ban. Thankfully, I found five folks in less than an hour.
Two dudes I bumped into, but did not poll on the subject, were Auburn football players Sen’Derrick Marks and defensive end Quentin Groves. Of course, Groves is looking forward to the April 26 NFL Draft, where he is expected to be taken in the first or second round. He’s driving a nice black SUV, so I kinda envied that. I bet my old dumpy car gets better gas mileage.
I learned Friday morning in a news report that Groves underwent heart surgery last month. Don’t fret. It ain’t serious. Apparently, he had a condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, which the surgery repaired. It should not effect his draft status or NFL career. I’m glad to hear that.
After a season at defensive end, Marks said he would be returning to the interior of the line. Marks is good on the inside or outside, so it just looks like Auburn will use him wherever the team needs him depending on depth at the positions.
I wish both of these guys the best. Still don’t know how they feel about legislators and double-dipping though.
By Joe McAdory
Posted 04/10 at 03:23 PM
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Took this picture Monday at Augusta National. Thought it was attractive. If you weren’t sure, this is the par 3 12th hole—arguably the most picturesque and signature hole at The Masters.
By Joe McAdory
Posted 04/09 at 08:49 AM
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Following Tiger Woods at Augusta Monday at Masters practice was difficult simply because most of the patrons inside the facility followed him too. But if I wanted to watch other players such as Zach Johnson, Ben Crenshaw or Vijay Singh, I had no problem.
As my roll of film was nearly exhausted, I spotted Steve Flesch approaching the second green. Flesch won the first professional golf tournament I ever covered, the 1997 NIKE Tour Championship at Grand National. Looking back at his rounds for that week, it’s hard to imagine anyone shooting 69-68-68-73 at a course I can’t break 100 without bending the rules. The dude broke 70 at Grand National three days in a row and he never moved his ball to a better spot on the fairway or took mulligans. He must be good or something.
Regardless, I snapped a couple of shots of him tuning up for this week’s Masters. Flesch dropped a few balls into the sand and practiced knocking them on to the green. Pictured above is one of his shots.
By Joe McAdory
Posted 04/08 at 03:02 PM
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I’ve never seen a golf course more beautiful than I did Monday. It was cold, damp and overcast, but even drab skies couldn’t take away from Augusta National’s radiance.
The azaleas and dogwoods were blooming—just like they are here in east Alabama—except their presence behind select greens, coupled with Rae’s Creek and the tall Georgia pines painted a stunning masterpiece, often repeated through reflections in the ponds.
Even after Tiger Woods and his throng of thousands that followed his every move finished Amen Corner, the 11th, 12th and 13th holes outlined with flowers and the meandering creek and its picturesque bridges, many stayed behind. There was nobody to watch. Masters practice was in full swing, but Tiger had little company in his wake. The grandstands that overlooked the 12th hole remained packed. At that moment I realized that people weren’t necessarily here to watch Woods, or even golf for that matter. Many were at this very spot simply because it is mesmerizing. People talked, drank and took pictures. They were in golf heaven, sacred ground, and didn’t want to leave.
I left.
I was hungry and an egg salad sandwich sounded good at the time.
Watching Masters practice is fun because the players aren’t as serious, other than Tiger spouting a few unnecessary F-bombs, and take numerous turns chipping and putting around the greens from multiple angles. Pin placements will be different each round, so they wanted to get a feel for all areas of the greens.
Another thing that caught my eye was the grass. That stuff is immaculate. It’s so soft and green, it doesn’t look real.
Also, the practice rounds are the only rounds patrons (that’s a fancy term for fans) can bring cameras and photograph PGA Tour stars to death. Everyone wanted Tiger’s picture. That’s why it was so difficult taking close-ups of the tournament favorite. I had no problem standing beside the tee box when defending champ Zach Johnson pulled out his driver and was practically alone when Ben Crenshaw and Steve Flesch, who won the 1997 NIKE Tour tournament at Grand National in Opelika, approached the second green.
If you’ve always wanted to walk Augusta National, the practice rounds are your best bet. Badges are available along Washington Road, the four-lane street outside the course, from people looking to make a profit. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so why not head to Augusta one year in the near future? Concessions are very inexpensive and the course is fan-friendly. You get to walk across the famous fairways from time to time. That’s like walking across Lambeau Field.
The Holy Grail of golf lies just four hours away. If you drool at the chance to stroll on the grounds and see the world’s best, try heading to a practice round in the future. You’ll be glad you did.
By Joe McAdory
Posted 04/04 at 08:43 PM
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Here is a complete list of candidates who qualified by Friday’s deadline to run for major state and federal offices, with “I” designating incumbents:
U.S. Senate
I-Jeff Sessions (R)
Earl Mack Gavin (R)
Vivian Davis Figures (D)
Johnny Swanson III (D)
Mark ``No NCAA’‘ Townsend (D)
1st Congressional District
I-Jo Bonner (R)
Tommy Fuller (D)
2nd Congressional District
David Grimes (R)
Jay Love (R)
John W. Martin (R)
Craig D. Schmidtke (R)
Harri Anne Smith (R)
David Woods (R)
Bobby Bright (D)
Cendie Crawley (D)
Cheryl Sabel (D)
3rd Congressional District
I-Mike Rogers (R)
Joshua Segall (D)
4th Congressional District
I-Robert Aderholt (R)
Greg Warren (D)
Nicholas Sparks (D)
5th Congressional District
Mark Huff (R)
Ray McKee (R)
Wayne Parker (R)
George C. Barry (R)
Angelo ``Doc’‘ Mancuso (R)
Cheryl Baswell Guthrie (R)
Parker Griffith (D)
David Maker (D)
6th Congressional District
I-Spencer Bachus (R)
7th Congressional District
I-Artur Davis (D)
Alabama Supreme Court
Greg Shaw (R)
Deborah Bell Paseur (D)
Court of Criminal Appeals-Place 1
Peggy Givhan (R)
Beth Kellum (R)
Lucie McLemore (R)
Teresa Bearden Petelos (R)
Steve Dodd (D)
Clyde Jones (D)
Court of Criminal Appeals-Place 2
Mary Windom (R)
Duncan Crow (R)
Chris Mixon (R)
Jeff Duffie (D)
Jon Hayden (D)
Aimee Cobb Smith (D)
Court of Civil Appeals
I-Bill Thompson (R)
Kimberly Drake (D)
Public Service Commission President
Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh (R)
Matt Chancey (R)
Jack Hornady (R)
Lucy Baxley (D)
State Board of Education-Place 1
Paul H. Christopher (R)
I-Randy McKinney (R)
Kenyon T. Berry (D)
State Board of Education-Place 3
I-Stephanie Bell (R)
Skip Smith (R)
Judy West Bell (D)
State Board of Education-Place 5
Lula Bridges (R)
I-Ella B. Bell (D)
State Board of Education-Place 7
Gary Warren (R)
Brett Whitehead (R)
Earl Gardner (D)
