The cruise ships are back
And the golf rolls on!
Every morning, I walk out of my room and stare at the boats.
It’s been just over a year now since our arrival in Seattle, and this particular bit hasn’t gotten old. Early in the pandemic, we were in the market for housing and happened upon an apartment for rent with a view of the Puget Sound and seized on it. Lucky us. We just re-upped for year two. I like watching the boats.
Even from a mile away, they tell stories of the world. Container ships, weeks behind, Suez Canal to blame. Sailboats puttering along, enjoying the social distance of the seas. Commuter ferries, more full today than a year ago and more full a year from now than they are today.
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But I couldn’t believe my eyes when, after a couple weeks away, I woke up to a brand-new sight: A monster in the water. An absolute behemoth of a vehicle, the Norwegian Encore, seemed to block out the very sun. I’d thought container ships were massive, but cruise ships? Holy hell.
(This photo? It’s of the Norwegian Encore, but not taken in Seattle...)
The 1100-foot, $1 billion, 6,000-person floating city served as a reminder that the world is changing once again. If you’ve spent much time traveling in recent months I don’t think “back to normal” applies. But changing, no doubt. And while I’m in no rush to hop on board a nautical apartment complex with a few thousand new friends, the fact that some people can is some sort of positive sign. I think.
Meanwhile, the golf rolls on. Let’s get to it!
FIRST, A QUOTE
"Unfortunately as you gain experience, you lose innocence," Padraig Harrington said at the PGA Championship. He was talking about Phil Mickelson. He was talking about himself, too. Aging professional golfers. He continued. "There is a sweet spot on the way up when you're gaining a bit of experience, and yet you have that innocence as you get older. Myself and Phil, yeah, we have experience, but we have some scar tissue in there and we can overthink things at times."
Woof. That hit me hard.
WHAT I’VE BEEN UP TO
Writing about golf, mostly. Since I last checked in I’ve bopped around for much of the summer. A selection:
-I was in the mosh pit that enveloped Phil Mickelson (and Brooks Koepka!) on their way to the 18th green at Kiawah Island, where Mickelson was finishing off his improbable victory. I wrote about the tournament finale here. And below is a bonus shot of me (far right, in the white) eyeing the champ.
-Emily and I got home to Massachusetts for the first time in over a year and got the chance to see my family, roam a variety of old haunts, go to our friend’s wedding and breathe the country air. (Here’s a photo of the dirt road I grew up on, about a 7-iron from my driveway).
-Stopped through Northern Michigan to explore a new small airport (my favorite) in Traverse City and play The Loop, one of only a few reversible golf courses in the world, with co-workers Sean Zak and James Colgan, in a Porsche-sponsored travel series. (Lucky us.)
-Then it was time for the big journey south. With some help from the good folks at Dave & Matt Vans (a thriving camper-van startup) I got hooked up with a tricked-out Dodge Ram and drove from Seattle to San Diego for the U.S. Open, playing munis along the way in honor of the host site, Torrey Pines. If there’s one link you click from this newsletter make it this one!
-There was plenty of intrigue at the tournament itself, too. Once I finally got the big rig on-site, I talked to Matthew Wolff about his struggles with mental health (here), followed Brooks and Bryson around (here) and tried to make sense of the final-round chaos as stars imploded down the stretch (here).
-In a fun change-of-pace assignment I went to the American Century Championship, a giant celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe where I wrote about Charles Barkley’s inspiring golf swing transformation (here) and walked with a foursome that included Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, pinching myself all the while.
-This past week I watched the Open Championship from the safety of several different couches, depending on the day. It’s fun to be at tournaments in person but it’s really fun to wake up to some golf across the pond, too. I wrote about Bryson dealing with celebrity (here), the difference between good and great golfers (here), Louis Oosthuizen coming up just short (here).
ONE MIND-BENDING VIDEO
This clip of Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka walking in perfect sync has really stuck with me.
WHAT I’M EXCITED FOR
A deep breath. A few rounds of golf. The precious days of a waning summer. Some hugely important weddings, including my own. Sending the next newsletter out in just a few weeks, so I don’t jam too much into it — like I did with this one.
We’ll see you then!