Thank you weather gods...

The forecast was terrible, the radar looked bad. The clouds looked heavy and ominous. It rained all the way from Atlanta to Birmingham. We successfully passed through a Leeds County police checkpoint (the officer asked for license and insurance???).

Anyway, we made it to Shoal Creek Golf Club around noon. The professional, Eric Williamson set us up with two caddies, showed us the locker room and we were off after a super quick range session.

Oh and the weather broke. The clouds remained but despite storms all around us, it only ever drizzled. I actually only pulled out the umbrella one time.

And the golf course was incredible. The 1977 Jack Nicklaus design was a great layout. We played a mix of the 4 star tees and the 5 star tees (which was basically about 7000 yards, par 72). Mike edged me out again today 1 up. He had a real nice 76 and I had a 77. We each had our share of mistakes. I bogied the first 5 holes and Mike had four 3 putts in a row on the front nine. One highlight was that we each birdied the 497 yard par 5 11th hole. Then followed it up with two pars on the 491 yard par 4 12th. We also each birdied the 521 yard par 5 17th.

Shoal Creek is the 72nd ranked course in the country and is best known for hosting the 1984 and 1990 PGA Championships. My boss at Baltusrol, Doug Steffen, played in the 84 PGA here. His signature is on the player plaque just outside the locker room in the main clubhouse!

Following golf, we took the advice of our caddies, Keith and Fletcher, and went to the Full Moon BBQ Restaurant.
The food was excellent and the BBQ sauce was so good that the staff was boxing it up for Internet ordering.

So after stuffing our faces, Mike and I decided that Tuscaloosa would be a good place to chill for the night. After riding through campus at the University of Alabama, we found a Hampton Inn to crash in tonight. Even though it pains us to say anything good about an SEC school, the campus here is beautiful. Classic southern architecture. Everything is big and bold. They just do it right...and there is so much school pride.

Chances are we will hit up the Houndstooth bar at some point tonight, however, it just started pouring and Mikey is fast asleep.

We play Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Mississippi tomorrow at 11am. Old Waverly is the 2nd best golf course in the state according to Golf Digest and is best known for hosting the 1999 Women's US Open. We will race down to my aunt and uncles house in Mobile, Alabama tomorrow night after golf.

Here is a few pictures from today. Thanks again for reading! Weather looks good for the rest of the week!!