Apr 16, 2012 - Apr 18, 2012

UST 6.1 Phoenix

The Mini UST Moves To The Desert.

133 Miles. 3 Games in 3 Days. 4 Golf Courses (81 Holes!). Burger Overload and a Little PF Chang’s. And Truba Has Put on a Little Weight

Trip Map

April 16 2012: Phoenix, AZ. Raven Golf Club. Let the Golf Begin!

Phoenix golf is all about value. Something close to the airport. A straightforward decent course that is a mainstay of Brands’ and Feiz’s previous Phoenix trips. Can’t say much other than Red is turrible (“that’s turrible Kenny”) at golf.

April 16 2012: Phoenix, AZ. Chase Field. Pirates vs. Diamondbacks. D-Backs Win 5 – 1.

One of those baseball games where not much happens, the crowd has trouble getting into it and it becomes more about relaxing with your buddies than about what’s happening on the field. You can certainly feel the overall “lethargicness” of the Phoenix economy. It was around everything we did. Just a little slow feeling everywhere we went.

April 17 2012: Goodyear, AZ. Golf Club of Estrella. 27 Holes in the Blazing Sun.

It was hot (duh!) and the golf was cheap (unlimited golf and a full box of Pro-V1’s for $80), so we did 27 holes for max value. Brands and Feiz are all about “value” in all aspects of life. And why not? Love value. One upside to the round is that we now have an RV park that we can stay in if we ever find ourselves in southern Arizona. Great value hook up.

April 17 2012: Tempe, AZ. Packard Stadium. Arizona vs. Arizona State. Sun Devils win 12 – 8.

First college baseball game of the UST franchise! In state rival and the future NCAA champion Arizona Wildcats in the house. UST has a knack for attending games with teams that end up making the finals or winning their championship later in the season. Good tour of the ASU campus. Now we know why ASU ends up on all those “top party schools” and “hot co-eds” lists.

April 18 2012: Scottsdale, AZ. TPC Scottsdale. Champions Course AND Stadium Course. 36 Holes!

36 holes in 100 degree heat! No problem for a pasty skinned redhead, right? Red was forced into playing the back nine at the Stadium course with a water soaked towel around his neck. What a fancy boy! This shouldn’t have been surprising, but would you believe that the par three 16th at the Stadium course (better known as “The Coliseum” during the Phoenix Open) is a bit less dramatic and exciting without all the stadium seating around the hole? Ah well, now we can say we’ve played it and move on. Decent course(s), but nothing to get too excited about. We’re just lucky to be able to play it.

April 18 2012: Phoenix, AZ. US Airways Arena. Thunder vs. Suns. Suns Lose 109-97.

Not that it wasn’t already plainly obvious, but this game proved that the Steve Nash run and gun Suns were finished. Crowd was quiet (and a little sparse) even though the Suns were battling for the 8th playoff spot in the west at the time and they were playing the most exciting team in the league. We blame Alvin Gentry. Suns were winning in the second half and Gentry kept his starters on the bench until the lead was given up and the eventual hole was so deep that there was no way they could make it back once the starters came back. What the hell, Gentry? Wouldn’t want to sacrifice your starter’s health/energy for a shot at the playoffs, now would you? Charles and Kenny would be calling you “turrrible” right about now.

Other Highlights:

Red insisted on In-N-Out Burger or Whataburger every night on the way home. Brands and Feiz were weak and insisted on the “calorie counters menu”. Weak!

UST has found a way to mix in just the right amount of relaxing on an intense weekend. In this case it was PF Chang’s. The A/C came at just the right time and the food hit the spot – right as the Coyotes playoff game started.

Note to self: Next time in Phoenix we need to try and track down @biznasty2point0 (Paul Bissonette from the Phoenix Coyotes). He would love UST!