What did Brandon Holtz take away from living every golfer’s dream last week, playing against the best in the world at the Masters? So much, that his first day back at his RE/MAX Rising real estate office was mostly “staring blankly at the (computer) screen, just picturing what just happened.”
“I’m still trying to process all this,” he said.
He called it “a great week, a great experience,” and here is what we know: Holtz learned a great deal in his time at the famed Augusta National Golf Club.
On the golfing front, there were lessons in how challenging Augusta National can be. A shot that’s a yard short or a yard long can turn a birdie chance into a bogey or worse.
“It’s 18 holes of complete concentration,” said Holtz, who added that by the end of each round he was “mentally just toast.”
On a personal front, he learned that well-known pros Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson and Jason Day are “extraordinary people.” Holtz played one practice round each with Fleetwood and Spieth; played in the pre-Masters Par-3 contest with Watson, Day and their families; and played his two tournament rounds with Watson, a two-time Masters champion.
He found each to be genuinely interested in a 39-year-old amateur from Bloomington who sells houses for a living and played Division I basketball at Illinois State. They asked about his background, his family, talked to him about golf and the emotions of it.
“These guys are robots when it comes to golf, but they’re not robots. They’re people,” Holtz said. “They have good conversations. After talking to them, I want to be their fan for life and I will be just because of that interaction.”
On a family front, Holtz learned that as badly as he wants to play in the Masters again, his 6-year-old son, Baker, wants it more.
The Wednesday Par-3 contest includes the tournament’s players and families, so Holtz was accompanied by his wife, Liz, Baker, and 2-year-old daughter, Millie.
Dad promised Baker he could putt on each green. On hole No. 1, facing a five-foot putt his father called “a downhill slider,” Baker “knocks it in casually,” Holtz said.
That night at bedtime, he asked, “Dad, can we do that putting thing again?”
For that, Dad would have to qualify for another Masters.
“He threw the pressure on me,” Holtz said.
The Par-3 contest provided a lesson regarding Millie as well. That is, her appetite for golf has not yet caught up with … well, her appetite.
Described by her father as “a feisty one,” Millie enjoyed the experience until the No. 7 fairway. At that point, “she had a complete meltdown,” Holtz said.
Liz Holtz picked her up, drawing a cheer from the patrons.
“We got her to our family (outside the ropes) and they went and got her a snack,” her father said. “She just needed a snack, right? She came back out on No. 9 happy as could be. Those are just things you’ll never forget.”
Self evaluation
Holtz earned his spot in the Masters by winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship last September in Arizona. He sought to prepare by hitting balls into simulators and traveling south to play courses in climates warmer than chilly Illinois.
He shot 81 in the first round on the par-72 Augusta National course and 78 in the second round, missing the cut for the final two rounds.
“Really, I didn’t have my best stuff,” Holtz said. “I had five pre (Masters) practice rounds and three practice rounds while I was there, and it was night and day how firm and fast it was on Thursday (for the first round).
“You try to plan and recreate some of these shots in the practice rounds, but you can’t until you actually do it. It’s not easy. It wasn’t easy. And for a guy who doesn’t do this for a living … and it’s April. For an Illinois guy in April … I did my best to try and travel over the winter, but it wasn’t enough.”
Holtz said the experience “gives me some motivation. I don’t want this to be my only time out there. It was too much fun.”
Shared memories
Holtz had a contingent of family and close friends cheering him at Augusta. He cherished having them experience the moment with him.
“I’ve always been kind of that guy who when I win, we all win,” he said. “My family and my good buddies who were there, we’re going to be good buddies the rest of my life. This is just a story that we can continue to talk about, continue to share.
“It was another moment where I’m out there for myself, but more importantly, for my circle of friends, family. I’m glad they all got to share that with me.”
Holtz sought to make it fun, including for the throng of patrons watching him play. He interacted often with them, particularly young kids he saw near the ropes. He gave them high fives or fist bumps, and at one point played rock, paper, scissors with three boys near the 16th tee.
“You know, I was once that kid out there reaching for hands,” he said. “I just wanted it to be fun for everybody, and I felt like I did a pretty good job.”
What’s next?
The Mid-Amateur championship also qualified Holtz to play in the U.S. Open in June at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in New York. His brother, Brent, who is a year younger, will be his caddie after his father, Jeff, filled that role at Augusta.
Holtz said the Masters experience gives him an “understanding how the week kind of works.” He also expects to be in better “golf shape” from having played more rounds.
“I’m not saying I’m going to play well and win, but I feel like I’ll feel more comfortable playing golf in the middle of June than teeing it up in early April,” he said.
“I’m going to practice my butt off because it (his Masters score) was a little bit of a sour taste. I felt like I didn’t play my best. I don’t think I played terribly, but I’ll be ready for Shinnecock for sure.”
The Holtzes flew home Monday, arriving in Bloomington at mid-afternoon. Baker wanted to go hit some golf balls, so …
“We went and hit balls Monday night,” Holtz said. “At the end of the day, I just went and played in the Masters, but I also am still a father, a husband, a family guy.”
