The Newport Cup

The Newport Cup was a fun experience. This golfer came away with some good memories and a few numbers to talk about.

The Numbers GameA bit shorter version of The Numbers Game this week as we had an eventful weekend in Pinehurst. Everyone had a great time, especially the blue team… of which I was a proud member. I thought I’d talk about a few numbers associated with the tournament and add to some of the other reports my fellow staff members have given you already.

#22
That is the place of Pine Needles in Golf Digest’s latest ranking of top courses in the state of North Carolina. Not too bad given the number of courses in the Tar Heel state. Looking through the list, I’ve played a bunch of the other courses as well. After playing Pine Needles this weekend, I gave it some thought on where I would rank it.

Going into last weekend I thought that Old North State was the best course I had ever played. Pine Needles is now at least tied (in my mind) with it. In the list, Old North State is above Pine Needles and I think the reason for that is because Pine Needles just underwent a massive renovation on its greens and fairways. Both of which I couldn’t even really tell except for a bit of tightness in the fairways. While Pine Needles may not be as mature right now as Old North State, the layout and feel of Pine Needles is something different. You’re either going to love or hate a Donald Ross course, and I loved it.

2007
The year the U.S. Women’s Open is coming to Pine Needles. I didn’t realize this until a few days before playing the course. I totally understand why they want to have it there though. Pine Needles is a shorter and more subdued version of Pinehurst #2. I got to go to the Open this year and saw how the greens and course was playing. Pine Needles will be a great test for the women and I’ll be in line to get tickets.

The renovations I talked about earlier were done in preparation for the Open in 2007. They’ve done a great job and I look forward to seeing the best women players in the world competing at Pine Needles.

5
The average length in hours for our rounds. I always want to finish close to 4 hours. Under normal circumstances there really isn’t a reason to take longer than that. The Newport Cup was not normal though. We had some extra time spent over some putts and helping each other out with some reads. Also, lost balls were not abandoned as quickly as our regular Saturday or Sunday games. Not too bad though. We got off a bit late at Talamore, pushing our round back a bit at Pine Needles, but we managed to finish just as darkness was setting in.

50%
The percentage of greens I hit over the weekend. This is about 12-13% less than the average I was hitting going into the Newport Cup. I wasn’t too happy with this and it reflected on my scores. My ball striking all weekend was erratic until the last nine on the last day. The back nine at Anderson Creek was probably the best stretch of holes I put together… but that’s not saying much. Maybe I was distracted by how beautiful the golf courses were. Sure… that sounds right.

432 and 19
The number of holes golf played by the eight Newport Cup contestants along with the number of natural birdies (no eagles) made. That’s 4.4% of the holes, 0.8 birdies per 18 holes, and one birdie every 22 holes. That’s not the best golf in the world. Fortunately, as the scratch golfer in the Cup, I accounted for about half of those birds.

2
The weeks I’m taking off from golf. This was the last ‘planned’ golf of the year and I’m a bit burned out now. I’m going to take a bit of a rest and come back in a couple weeks to practice and see if I need some changes to incorporate for next year. The Newport Cup was a fun trip and I look forward to next year not only for the competition, but to see a group of good guys I got to know and become friends with.

1 thought on “The Newport Cup”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The Newport Cup

The 2005 Newport Cup kicks off on October 15-16, and we’re excited!

Newport CupOn October 15 and 16, The Sand Trap .com is holding the initial Newport Cup matches in the sandhills of North Carolina. The competition will be similar to the Ryder Cup (albeit with smaller teams) and should be great fun.

The Name
The Newport Cup is named after the location of the first U.S. Open, the Newport Golf and Country Club in Rhode Island. Held in 1895, professional golfer Horace Rawlins of England was the first champion.

We’ve yet to choose team names for the two competing teams, so this year they’ll simply be the Red and Blue teams. The ball supplies the “white” in a patriotic theme. We’ll choose team names at the event. Perhaps we’ll be in an irreverent mood and play Team McAvoy versus Team Spackler, or perhaps we’ll keep things historic. We shall see…

17 thoughts on “The Newport Cup”

  1. Sounds like fun. Maybe next year I could help you arrange it at Barefoot Resort in Myrtle Beach – my second “home” course (actually 4 courses!)

  2. Well, my 3 teammates already replied to this, so I guess I better. Team Red is already looking like a cohesive unit.

    Seriously though, I am very excited for the event! I’ve never had the chance to play courses like this, and I’m highly looking forward to it.

    And I’m ready to meet my fellow SandTrap staffers as well.

  3. Looking forward to some good golf and a decisive blue victory.

    Let’s put them away after the 1st day!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *