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Streaks

bkuehn1952

Entry posted by bkuehn1952

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If the weather holds and I manage to play a round of golf in November, it will mark the 45th consecutive month that I have played golf in Michigan.  The last month I did not manage to play 18 holes was February, 2015.  Yes, I am one of those fools wandering around on the course when it is 35 degrees.  While I can handle cold and wind, I do have some standards as far as conditions.  I neither play when the greens are frozen solid as concrete nor if the course is mostly or entirely covered in snow & ice. 

 

It is a rare winter in Ann Arbor when the weather is mild enough to eliminate the snow cover for an extended period; we average 60 inches of snow annually.  Still, there are mild stretches when the sun, temperatures and rain will melt the snow cover.  This past February, we had a two-week period where temperatures pushed 60 degrees and some hardy souls were wearing shorts.  My guess is the streak will end in January or February of 2019.  Despite the many signs that our climate may be warming, this isn’t Palm Beach; we are overdue for a hard winter.

 

Speaking of streaks, my “modern” holes-under-par-streak remains at 3.  I had a few opportunities where I managed 2 consecutive birdies this year, but never succeeded in getting 3, much less 4.  I call it my “modern” streak because I had an out-of-body experience back in the early 1980’s.  Having never broken 100, I rattled off “eagle, birdie, birdie, birdie” while playing nine at a local course with some friends.  Of course, I opened the round with a double but then found myself standing on the 6th tee at three under. Thoughts of a course record danced in my head.  Reverting back to my normal game, the next four holes were not pretty.  I did not even break 40 for the nine. Truthfully, that streak was a total fluke, like flipping a coin and coming up heads 20 times in a row.

 

A streak that will be coming to an end this year is my “100+ rounds a year” streak.  About 10 years ago I began a flexible work schedule.  Playing 100+ times a year was a no brainer.  This year there just wasn’t the drive to go out and play like year’s past.  If the weather stays relatively mild, I might hit 90 but 100 is out of the question.

 

Finally, in 2018, I continued the golf streak that means the most to me.  My first Ann Arbor City Men’s Golf Championship was in 1990.  Every year since then I have played, save 1995 when the course was closed for renovation and there was no tournament.  I look at the field in 1990 versus 2017 and the only name they have in common is mine.  I now play against the sons or grandsons of the guys who played in 1990. Sadly, I have always been a participant rather than a contender.  In a field of 150, my best finish was a tie for 20th. Still, I have always enjoyed measuring myself against the course and my fellow hackers.  Nowadays I finish in the middle of the pack with an average three-day total of around 255.  When the day comes that I can’t walk the 54 holes and/or can’t keep my scores under 90, I will retire.  At this point, the plan is to continue the streak to 29 in 2019.

 

What kind of streaks does everyone else have?

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Patch

I can't claim to have played 45 months straight.

I guess my claim to fame would be swinging a club (except for a few days here or there) every month for the past 6+ years.

I was making little swings with a club days before my release from a hospital. This while the doctors (my wife included) were telling me not to expect to play golf ever again. 

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iacas
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I have to be pretty close to that number if not past it. I don't think every round has been in PA, though. I know that I've played in PA every month for the last 22 months, though. November and December, if I can, will make it 24.

Congrats.

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DeadMan

If you count 9 hole rounds, then I'm actually at almost the exact same streak of playing a round of golf. Last month I didn't play at least 9 holes of golf was January 2015. Before that, the last month I didn't play was January 2013.

But there's a pretty significant difference between Denver and Ann Arbor winter weather, so your streak is much more impressive. Having lived in Ann Arbor for 7 years, there were definitely months where I would have never even considered golfing. That's not true in Denver. We'll get a nice week or so every month, at a minimum.

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Lihu

Wow, nice! 😎

I’ve got no excuse to not have done that 🤪

But I’ve likely come close to that number when I was really into golf 😊

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p1n9183

Here in Argentina we play on winter too so.. from age 12 to 21 i played at least 1 round of golf each month. That´s a streak of 120 months jaja. 
After that i quit golf for 5 years. played 2 years between ages 27 and 28 and i restarted playing on Dec 2015. My current streak it´s 36 months.  

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Club Rat

When I lived in the Colorado mountains (Summit County) a friend would play every weekend regardless during the winter.
He would watch the weather and travel as far as Utah in order to play.
Usually he could go to course in Denver or head west towards Grand Junction.

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bkuehn1952

47! I actually played 3 full 18 hole rounds by the 8th of January.  Not a record as we tend to have mild starts to January.  February will be the tough nut.  We are getting snow and very cold temps this weekend.  But, there are a lot of days until 2/28!!!

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DeadMan
On ‎11‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 9:20 AM, DeadMan said:

If you count 9 hole rounds, then I'm actually at almost the exact same streak of playing a round of golf. Last month I didn't play at least 9 holes of golf was January 2015. Before that, the last month I didn't play was January 2013.

But there's a pretty significant difference between Denver and Ann Arbor winter weather, so your streak is much more impressive. Having lived in Ann Arbor for 7 years, there were definitely months where I would have never even considered golfing. That's not true in Denver. We'll get a nice week or so every month, at a minimum. 

This is what we call tempting fate. I'm going to lose this streak this month, barring something really unusual. It's been a constant barrage of snowstorms since the first week of the month. There were a few days where I could have played had I not been working, but that's life.

That said, I did find a really cool and reasonably priced simulator in town. Silver linings...

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bkuehn1952

48, sort of.  The only golf facility not closed is our city executive course.  They leave the first seven holes open year round.  I call them the "flat seven" as they are on the Huron River's flood plain and very flat.  The "Hills" part is on the other side of the road.

i went out on 2/5 and played 19 holes.  Twice around the flat seven and then 3-7, skipping 1 & 2 to avoid a slow moving threesome.  My "Rules" for the streak require at least 18 holes, keeping score and playing the ball down.  No playing in the snow. 

My hope is to have a chance to play a real 18 before 3/1 but that is entirely dependent on the course owners being willing to let us play.

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