At the opening of the UW Husky Golf Center, Nick Taylor, who is playing in the U.S. Open this week, and Jens Bracht show us some of their juggling skillz - hitting the ball from the bottom level to the top.

This is why these guys are so good.

(Here’s another take - in case you can’t get enough.)

University of Washington golfers, Jens Bracht and Darren Wallace, give a tour of the new Husky Golf Center in Hec-Ed Pavilion.

The grand opening/open house of the facility was on June 6, 2009. The facilities are top of the line, but you wouldn’t expect anything less from UW, which is known to boast one of the best athletic programs in the country.

Unfortunately, I didn’t capture the tributes to Paige Mackenzie, former Husky superstar, but you can see them here and here.

On Saturday, I attended the grand opening of the University of Washington’s brand spanking new Husky Golf Center in Hec-Ed Pavillion. Men’s coach Matt Thurmond and Women’s coach Mary Lou Mulflur did the honors, cutting the ribbon and welcoming everyone to the new facilities.

As expected, it’s nothing short than state of the art. There are two hitting stations with cameras that capture and replay your swing on big screens, a large putting area that also comes equipped with cameras to show your stroke, loft and lie bending machines, a gripping station, among other features. Upstairs the clubhouse has a lounge with a flatscreen TV, wireless internet (!!!), meeting room, kitchen and lockers. Pretty cool, wouldn’t you say? This and this might take the cake though!

The guys from the Men’s Team were kind enough to give me a tour of the center before the festivities began. Stay tuned for the video over the next few days.

Anyway, in the photo above, we have from left to right: Dylan Goodwin, Tze Huang Choo, Jens Bracht, Nick Taylor, Kevin Spooner, Chris Killmer, Me, Ty Chambers and Darren Wallace. (Richard Lee is MIA because he’s in New York playing in the U.S. Open sectional qualifier.) How cute are they? And they’re exceptional golfers.

This season, the Huskies won the Pac-10 Championship, placed second at NCAA Central Regional and finished T3 at NCAA Championships. They lost in the quarterfinals in the match-play portion of the NCAA Tournament. However, the team still ended the year ranked fourth in the country. Not to mention, they aren’t losing a single player next season. I smell a national title for the Huskies in 2010!

In related news, Nick was named to the Division I All-America First Team. I wouldn’t be surprised if one or two others receive Second/Third Team honors - which should be announced today.

I have a feeling that we’ll be watching a couple of them on the PGA Tour in the upcoming years! Mark my words.

After the press conference, it was time to play Sahalee. In my opinion, I had the best pairings of the field. I played with Bob Bracht, Jens Bracht and Darren Wallace. Jens and Darren are both members of the University of Washington Men’s Golf Team - the same team that won the Pac-10 Championship and reached the quarterfinals in the NCAA Championship and ranked fourth in the nation this year. In fact, Darren won the Pac-10 individual title. You could say they’re good golfers. Maybe even really good.

I was ready to throw my clubs in the drink after about eight holes ‘cause I was struggling. (No, I’d never actually do such a thing.) It appeared that I’d forgotten how to read greens. So, it helped when Darren and Jens read some of my putts for me. Yippie! Good thing the back nine was a complete turnaround. I don’t think Sahalee would have wanted to be responsible had I never picked up a club again.

Remember what I said about ball placement? On the first hole, I hit my drive in the left-center of the fairway. You’d think good shot, right? Wrong. There was a tree that jutted out a bit - I didn’t have a clear opening to the green or at least I couldn’t attack the pin. I found myself in a similar position quite a few times. It’s frustrating but I’m just going to throw it out there and say I like the challenge…sometimes.

One last thing - I have to thank my buddies from GolfingMyWay.com, Jake Horton and Scott Rasmussen for getting me the invite. I think I lucked out with the excellent pairing because they exaggerated lied told Billy Rodgers, who organized the event, that I was a decent golfer. Key word: Was.

Tip of the hat, guys.