“You must have great hands because your technique is sh*t!” Michael Campbell said, grinning.
Four hours into our round together, the 2005 U.S. Open champ had seen enough of my poor mechanics to marvel that I managed to even get shots airborne. He’d also gotten to know me well enough to realize I could take the friendly mockery.
Actually, he’d been ribbing me all day, and because turnabout is fair play, I’d jabbed back on several occasions, like when I deadpan asked the Kiwi star where he hailed from in Australia.
So it goes.
One of the great pleasures of this game is giving your playing partner a rash of grief — all the better if that partner happens to be a former major champ.
Opportunities like that don’t come up every day. Neither do events like the Punta Mita Invitational.
If you’re even passingly familiar with traditional pro-ams, you know how those tournaments tend to work: snap a photo on the first tee with your pro — who may or may not engage with you throughout your round — then shake hands on 18 before parting ways.
WATCH: Tiger Stories, a Bucket-List Par-3 & Boo Weekley Laughs | Punta Mita Golf Adventure
Wham, bam, thank you, man. A purely transactional affair.
But the Punta Mita Invitational is something else. Held in January in Punta Mita, a resort-rich, spear-shaped peninsula on the Pacific coast of Mexico, less than an hour north of Puerta Vallarta, the Invitational is an annual smorgasbord of golf and entertainment that shatters formal pro-am conventions. Over the span of three days, amateur participants play with a different pro each day, pegging it on two Jack Nicklaus Signature courses, in a competition that is only as serious as you want to make it.
The good times don’t end when the putts drop on 18. After golf, everyone hangs out together at cocktail-hour gatherings and sit-down dinners. You get to know the pros. They get to know you. You make friends and memories.
By the time Campbell and I met up on the first tee, we’d already broken bread together the night before. I’d met his wife. I’d learned about the life he’s made in Spain, where he runs a respected golf academy.
On day two of the event, the golf became a literal hit-and-giggle when I was partnered with Boo Weekley — camo on his head, beer can in his hand — who lived up to his reputation as the most amiable man in the game.
For all the goofing around, Weekley got it around nicely. But he wasn’t as on point as my pro on the third day, Jonathan Byrd, who lived up to his surname by dropping nine birdies in 18 holes, a searing performance that failed to compensate for the lousy play of his amateur partners. I think we finished in a tie for last.
But that’s also the point of the Punta Mita Invitational. Winning is largely beside the point. I could go on. But the video below is worth 1,000 words. And it’s well worth the watch. Meantime, to learn more about the Punta Mita Invitational, click here.
