There's a series of blogs coming, each with their own set of pics and experiences with the Kachilo family!
I drove down the previous day from New Jersey, and headed directly to Kevin's place where we spent most of the evening catching up and BSing, and of course talking a lot of golf!
We woke up nice and early to attend the Wells Fargo Pro-Am Golf Event that was taking place nearby.
I had never been to a golf event before, so I wasn't sure what to expect.
Given the recent bombing at the Boston Marathon, security wouldn't allow bags into the event, so I had to pick a lense and go with it.
I chose the Nikon Nikkor 24-70, but in retrospect, the Nikon Nikkor 70-200 would have been a better choice.
It was very cool to see all of the professional golfers and snap a few pics of them along the way!
The resulting pics came out good enough given the rainy conditions, most are heavily cropped and the lense just didn't have enough reach for most shots, but I made due and had a great time!
Here's a few shots of the day!
Kevin and I swung in early for a little Swing Analysis
Kevin, ready to go!
The guys, setting up...
Meanwhile Kevin poses with his new car...
The guys practicing on the range while we wait...
U.S.A.
Kevin, strapped in and ready to rock!
2013 Wells Fargo Championship!
A little chipping practice
We run over to catch up with Bubba Watson as he finished a hole.
And head to the next tee
Bubba eying it up
Kevin watching on
Bubba's approach
That's Bubba's ball there from his approach shot, but that old timer (amateur) playing in the Pro Am with him had some game!
Bubba sinking the birdie!
And on to the next hole!
Long baller!
And his approach on that hole with his caddy looking on
On to the 13th hole...
Bubba and his caddy deliberating
Bubba swinging for the fences and his trademark high finish
And as they walk to the approach shots
We move on to the next tee to grab a spot and catch another monsterous drive!
After watching Bubba Watson for a few holes, we head over to catch Rory McIlroy play a few.
Such a great swing
As we head to the next tee, we notice Rory running for the fences...literally...restroom shuffle!
Phew, relief huh buddy!
Back into the game with a nice drive!
And a nice approach chip shot
Rory was awesome about signing autographs...gave me an opportunity to grab a few close ups.
Signing autographs like crazy
And another autograph
Maybe it started wearing on him...or he was really suspicious of this guy haha
C'mon Rory, smile! :)
On to the next tee, post drive with a ghostly onlooker!
Rory explaining a shot he played earlier...hey Nike, call me!
Good eye contact finally and a wry smile! ;)
More Rory...
Getting ready to hit his iron finally as the hole was backed up a bit...
And the finish...
The green he was hitting to...
Some more shots of the course
Beautiful greens
And nice little creeks running through.
The crowds were growing
Quite a bit on the 18th
Then we moved along to observe some Ricky Fowler action, and came across his absolute, hands down biggest fan EVER!
Here comes Ricky!
Ricky rockin the Puma yellow!
Definitely a big following
Great finish...
And some refreshment!
On to the approach!
This is what I call the "Where's Ricky's Biggest Fan?" picture...kind of like "Where's Waldo?"
Kevin found him!
As Ricky moves up for his approach, it's a real nail biter to watch!
Ricky finishes the hole in style and moves on to the next!
Entering the tee box
The finish of the drive...
After Ricky Fowler, we jumped over to another green where I got this nice shot as Phil Mickelson approached.
Phil, playing out of the sand...
Always smiling too, with his caddy.
The putt after the sand shot.
Phil and his caddy on to the next hole
I had to shoot through some guys for these tight shots, but they came out pretty cool. Nice sequence of Phil's finish...
Finish...
He likes it!
One to the 6th hole with Phil...
Phil and his caddy assess the situation
Phil's got a plan
And his finish
The view down to the hole as they walk down...
And the chip up on to the green.
On to lucky #7...
Kevin is having fun!
Mickelson getting ready to tee off...
Goes over the plan with his caddy...
And then drives the ball a country mile...really cool sequence of his contact (you can see the ball here) and through the finish
Phil's drive sequence
Someone's summer cottage along the golf course...not sure how they manage to get by in that shack...rough life I tell ya! :)
Beautifully scenic
Kevin...continuing along as we track Phil...
As we walk along I come across a funny sight...at least one other guy thought it was funny too...the other guy, not so much haha
Poor kid...he needed a nap!
As we reached the next hole, the crowd was building and we came across none other than the man himself, Dave Chappelle!!! OK, just kidding...but man he looked just like him, so we had to snap a picture, then everyone looked at him as I yelled, THAT'S DAVE CHAPPELLE!!! That guy hates me for sure haha
Crowds are definitely growing! Looking for Dave?
They hustle after the tee shot...
View of the hole...
Same view, less people...
Given the growing crowds, we headed to the next tee and it was already packed....shot of the fairway...
And Phil teeing off!
Boom!
Phil's approach and the final shot of the event's pros as we headed back to the truck....
Along the way, I came across these nifty little lightning lines on the trees to protect them...pretty cool!
And we swung by the practice range on the way out one final time...
Then we headed to pick up the car I won...haha yeah right...I wish!
And finally the course map!
And the Fed Ex Standings at the time of the event!
Well that's all for Day 1 of trip, definitely had a great time at Wells Fargo with Kevin! Lots of laughs and an awesome experience!
Stay tuned for the follow-up blogs from North Carolina!
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