Golf – Analog Artist Digital World

On March 22nd Jesse Newton invited me to a Green Party at the 16th hole of the Bay Hill Invitational. My North Bay neighborhood is right near the Bay Hill Country Club, so we were issued neighborhood access passes for the car to guarantee we would not be turned away since parking for the golf event is a logistical nightmare. My sister Pat Boehme was in town to go to my gallery opening. Mark Baratelli of The Daily City was up for an adventure as well, so the four of us drove towards South Bay and thanks to the neighborhood car passes we were able to drive through check points and avoid traffic tie ups.

The South Bay home was absolutely gorgeous. It was a casual but very fashionable affair. A bar was set up behind the home next to the pool. Many of the people at the party were restaurant and bar owners and it was a crowd of beautiful people. Right behind the pool deck, a small grassy hill sloped down toward a small pond. Just beyond the pond was the 16th hole. I ordered a soda and turned my back to the golf because I needed to sketch the beautiful people. One woman had a white paddle with “Quiet” written on it. Whenever an important putt was about to happen she would raise the paddle and hush the revelers. Once the ball was in the hole the party conversations would fire back up with plenty of laughter and joking. The “Quiet” sign holder posed provocatively for me several times but I knew she wouldn’t be able to hold the poses long. I sketched her when she least expected it. Several times during the party the “Quiet” paddle was used like a fraternity butt spanker.

A short path to the left lead to a spot right next to a TV camera tower where the putting action could be viewed from up close. It was possible to get closer to the action than any of the spectators on the greens behind their ropes. I glanced over my shoulder periodically when I heard the crowd on the green murmur or applaud. But honestly, the gorgeous people on the hill captured most of my attention. Mark and I joked about how this must be what it feels like to be part of the “in” socialite crowd.

A women introduced herself and watched me work for a while. She analyzed my composition and decided that the woman in the black tights and shapely hips was the primary focus of the sketch, the rest was just supporting detail. I laughed. “Guilty as charged” I had to admit.With the sketch done, Terry, Pat and I retired to a shady spot in the pool area. I had to sit in the direct sunlight to get the sketch, so my neck got sunburned. I have no idea who won the golf tournament. The last balls plopped into the holes and the golf greens slowly cleared as the sun set. With so much to see and sketch the tournament scores were the least of my concerns.

Once a year the Bay Hill Invitational golf tournament caused all sorts of traffic in my neighborhood. Our neighborhood association issued parking permits to residents so they can get into the neighborhood. Policemen directed traffic for people trying to get to the golf tournament. I decided to go for a walk to see what traffic was like at the golf course. The walk there and back was perhaps three miles. Glancing between the quiet suburban homes I could see that there were plenty of cars parked on the green grass of the golf course itself. Some homes charged people to park on their front lawns and they then shuttled fans to the entrance using golf carts.

I ended my walk in front of the Bay Hill Club House. It was late afternoon and there was a long line of Buses waiting to transfer fans back to their cars. I believe a large empty lot near Universal Studios was being used as the overflow parking lot. Since all the buses were blocking the street, event staff and police had to use walkie talkies to be sure that cars could go down the single lane without a head on collision.

Walking home I realized there were several spots where I could have walked on the golf course to do a sketch. It was hot however and I didn’t feel like watching grown men hit a ball with a stick.