Brennan's Blog -Chevron World Challenge

Sherwood Country Club is located about 45 minutes North West of Los Angeles in the small town of Thousand Oaks. It is nothing like living in LA as the area is beautiful with ocean on one side and mountains on the other. That is not to say that LA isn't nice but this place is beautiful, very expensive area to live. Sherwood is home to many famous celebrities like Will Smith, Justin Timberlake, and The Great One himself Wayne Gretzky. The golf course is a nice course but not one that I would say is one of my favorites. It is quite hilly and in the mountains so there are lots of elevation changes to deal with. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, it has some pretty severe undulations on the greens which is the most difficult part of the course. It is normally a pretty tough driving course but this week will be quite easy as it has done nothing but rain all week, soaking the course. There will be no roll on the ball in the fairways which will make the course play a lot longer than we are use to. It will really help to be able to hit the ball high and long this week so that you can hit some short irons into the green. I think Kenny Perry is probably licking his chops right now as he sees the rain come down. It is going to be important to get the ball on the correct side of the hole in order to have uphill birdie putts. Being on the wrong side of these greens will lead to some difficult chips and some potential bogeys.

This week there are 5 par fives and 5 par three's which we don't see a lot of on tour anymore. Having 5 par fives is usually a pleasant site for tour players as it provides a great opportunities for birdies and eagles. It will be a little more challenging than in past years with the softer conditions. There is a lot of risk reward on the approach shots here at Sherwood so I expect Mike will lay up most of the time and rely on his wedge play to make birdies.  Sixteen is one of the best holes on the course, with a slight dogleg right and water guarding the right side and traps guarding the left. It requires a good drive just to get in the fairway, and then you are faced with a very difficult second shot to a narrow green. A massive tree protects the left side of the green and a river runs right of the green. It requires a very accurate second shot if you plan on hitting the green in two. Fifteen is probably the most dramatic hole on the course as it is a 190 yard par 3 that has water in front and a very narrow green. The tendency is to take a little extra club to make sure you get the ball over the water but if you go long you're in trouble as well. It requires a really good shot and should provide some excitement coming down the stretch. Seventeen is a pretty easy, short-iron par 3 that will be a hole to make birdie on with the softness of the greens. Eighteen is dogleg right par 4 that really isn't that difficult but has a very testy green with water in front. As long as you're playing from the fairway (which is a little tricky with the blind tee shot) 18 is a hole that you should make birdie on. Overall the course is very scenic and really fun to play, especially with a competitive field like this one.

This event will conclude a very successful year for Mike and a year that I think he is very proud of. He was a much more consistent player that he has been over the past few years. Contending in most events from mid summer on really showed that he had turned the corner with his swing changes and I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in 2009. It has been 10 years now that I have caddied for Mike and I think it's great that we have one of the longest player/caddy relationships on tour. Most players have a tendency to make changes when things are not going their way but I'm proud of the fact that I have been able to be around for the good and the bad. I get asked all the time what the best moments have been over this time and I always say the 2003 Masters win and the victory over Tiger at the Presidents Cup were both on the top of my list. Obviously being involved in Mike winning the Masters was great and seeing him play the way he did in Montreal against the best player in the world was great. I know he was very excited to get to host the Presidents Cup in Canada and then to play like he did was incredible. I never thought that I would be caddying this long but have enjoyed the 10 years we have been together and look for many more!

Happy Holidays to all and stay tuned for more in the New Year.