Benzel Blog: Recovering from my first trans-Atlantic flight

All this week, Ryan Benzel of Bothell, Wash., a PGA teaching professional at Battle Creek Golf Course in Tulalip, Wash., will provide an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the 24th PGA Cup. This is his first installment.

LOCH LOMOND, Scotland -- This is the first time that I've ever taken a flight across the Atlantic and it's quite a different experience getting to adjust your body clock. Monday was a long, long day for all of us on the team. As for my wife [Stacy] and I, we were up at 4:30 a.m. in Washington and we made the flight to Newark [N.J.], from where we got on a plane at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time and then were off to Glasgow. I had troubled sleeping on the plane and was just groggy throughout the rest of the day.

We arrived about 7:06 local time in Glasgow and were met by Great Britain & Ireland officials.

Captain [Brian] Whitcomb knew that we would be tired and had planned for us to play a round of golf on a great links course. Seven of us were able to go to Western Gailes Golf Club, an hour south and along the ocean. Three guys missed connections [Scott Hebert, Steve Schneiter and Mike Small], and we were lucky to get the chance to play a great course.

I had practiced for this trip by playing with my dad at Bandon Dunes in Oregon. I was able to work on a lot of shots that I felt I would face over here. The thing is that The Carrick is not a links course, and Bandon Dunes is the best preparation that I could find. But it is still a great test and I figured that it would not hurt me.

Western Gailes gave us an opportunity to see a different golf course. As tired as I was, I was surprised that I played well. I had a 69, which was 2 under par. It was good to get the kinks out. I'm looking forward to having the whole team together.

What I remember from 2007 is that the first few days you spend time together getting to know your teammates, get to meet the opposing team at dinners and once the matches start you shake hands on the first tee and you don't really say much of anything until the last ball is struck.

Captain Whitcomb was good to us. On the way back when he announced that we would not begin our practice round at The Carrick until 10 tomorrow morning. That was welcome news.

TUESDAY, Sept. 15

I had a good night's sleep and I can say that what we face this week at The Carrick is a fun golf course. There are plenty of pot bunkers [118], but they are not hidden from you. You just have to do what you can to stay out of them.

There are generous landing areas here, but you have to be careful about these bunkers -- each with steep sod faces. Having a good round may well depend upon how often you land in a bunker and how far your ball rolls into one. I had one shot today where my only choice was hitting sideways. It's a virtual penalty every time you land in one.

The greens here are huge! You are going to get some long putts and whichever team can make the putts will be headed home happy. That's nothing new, is it?

I'm happy that I drew a good caddie -- Ricky Gillies [33, from Paisley, Scotland, near the Glasgow Airport.]

Ricky is a retired professional football [soccer] player. He has had good experience caddying in Scotland and also at this course. To me, his experience as an athlete means that he is someone who understands competition. I can rely upon him when things get intense, I believe.

Today he gave me some good advice to help me get around this course. I plan to bring him more on the greens tomorrow to help me.

Overall, I think that this team enjoyed today's practice round. The wind didn't blow and we didn't get wet. We'll take it.!

We're off to a Welcome Dinner tonight among both teams. I still plan on getting a better night's sleep to feel fresher tomorrow.