Steve Stricker at Shell Houston Open
Snow on the ground. Temperature hovering in the 30s. No golf courses open for miles. And miles. Maybe a couple of states worth.
So what’s a golfer to do? Steve Stricker built a putting green in his basement. Undulations built up on the cement slab. Green carpet that’s slick. Almost as slick as the greens here at the Shell Houston Open.
What does it run on the Stimpmeter? “It’s pretty fast,’’ he grinned.
Good enough to keep him pretty sharp, even if he’s got about a 20-foot limit on lengths.
"Actually, you know, my carpet [has] imperfections," he said. "It rolls perfect. These greens (at Redstone) are just like my carpet. I mean, they’re so good. The speed is pretty similar, too. Mine may be a touch slower, but it’s pretty quick and, you know, it’s just getting the feel … Out here I got to do some lag putting from 30, 40 feet just to get the feel."
Which explains why he flew in Sunday and spent most of Monday working on his chipping and putting. And, why he came into the week with few expectations.
It doesn’t explain, however, his opening 5-under-par 67 at the Shell Houston Open.
"It was a good start,’’ he said. “I mean the weather is perfect, perfect today, hardly any wind. You know, going out there after I’ve been here the last three days with some little bit windier conditions, you knew scoring was going to be better today, and it looks like it is and the course is in great shape.
"So, guys are going to make some putts and take advantage of these calm conditions today, and I was just fortunate enough to get off to a good start, hit the driver well and hit a lot of greens in regulation and gave myself some chances."
And, he dropped four birdie putts in a row – 12 through 16 – before dropping a shot coming in.
"Those are holes you really kind of need to take advantage of, too,’’ Stricker said. “Maybe not so much the par 3, what is that, 13 — no, 14, but you have a short iron in at 12, par 5, 13, and then another par 5 at 15. You know, you go into that stretch thinking you’re going to get some birdie opportunities, and, you know, I hit some good wedges in there and hit a good 4-iron at 14 to about 8 feet and made some good putts. They’re all in that 5-to-10-foot range. So that was a good stretch and kind of got me going."
Not that Stricker needs much urging here. He didn’t play here last year, but he had three top-11s in the previous four times he’s played here, including a third in 2006.
"Well, it’s hard to tell because I come from Wisconsin this time of year and I don’t really know where my game is at,’’ he said. “I come down here early. Got here Sunday night. I played a bunch of holes on Monday over on the tournament course, then over on the other course. So it’s kind of always a wait-and-see, no expectations for me when I come out of the cold weather, and this is no different.
"So I just try to do as best as I can, play hard, you know, see what I’ve got at the time, and today was pretty good. I drove the ball well which sets up a lot here, you can drive it well, and, you know, that’s half the battle and I gave myself some opportunities.’"
And, yes, like everyone else, he has an eye toward next week’s Masters.
"Yeah, very much so," he said. “I can even feel like you’re getting — I feel like I’m even on edge a little bit thinking about next week and a little uneasy. You’re trying to figure out where your game is at. You know, for me I’m kind of cramming, you know, trying to play this week, see where I’m at, you know, see what I need to work on, see what’s doing — see what I’m doing well, but you always have that in the back of your mind.
"It’s a good test here this week, too. There’s a lot of water. It makes you focus. The greens are quick like next week, so there’s some similarities there that help you prepare for next week as well.’"
Kind of like that basement putting green got him ready for this week.
