Describe a Time When You Had to Carry the Team in a Golf Event…

[Sandy Lie]

I’ll start.  Today we had an event with four man teams. 90% of each players handicap, the format we played was called a Cha Cha Cha.  Meaning 1st hole one score, 2nd hole two players low scores and the third hole 3 lowest scores (all Net).  You repeat that sequence the rest of the round.  Our team total stroke count was 22 strokes, essentially we had no chance.

I had zero strokes.  And from the get go the other three guys all had off days, and I mean off!  Nothing went right, OB’s 3 putts, unplayable lies, topped balls and more.  Everyone felt pressure, we won the last time we played so expectations were high. I shot a 5 over 77 feeling the pressure every hole trying to make par or better as I watched the other guys explode trying to keep my game steady.  One guy had an 84 and the other two went 89 and 90.  We finished 2nd to last overall. Yea!  I guess I’m trying to say it’s tough to keep your game going the best you can while others struggle.

It’s not to say it hasn’t happened to me either being the one struggling.   But when have you had to carry the team in any tournament format and how did you do?

Edited December 1, 2021 by Sandy Lie

[woodzie264]

That would never happen….my carrying a team in golf that is 😔

[bkuehn1952]

I do not recall carrying a team for a full round.  A few years ago, our club was playing a group from Indiana in a faux Ryder Cup event.  My buddy and I were partners and we started with a four ball match.  He hit his drive OB on the first hole but I managed to par and tie the hole against the other team.  Next hole my partner hit into the water and I scrambled again to par and tie.  Next hole he was in the water again and I made birdie to win the hole and our team went 1 up.  After that he came around and played well, helped me out of some jams and we won.  It would have been a looooong day if those first couple holes had been the standard and not the exception.

[darthweasel]

this year we played a "best ball match play" 2 on 2. They matched me with the worst player for, uh...reasons, even though the better of our two opponents had beaten me the prior three times we played. He was improving while i was at the time getting worse. On the front, my partner and I were down 2. We ended up winning by three as i got hot on the back. I had low score on the day and after a lot of trash talk on the front, Jon missed his goal of breaking 90 for the first time. 

The way I know I carried the team is two fold. First, my partner had our teams low score on precisely one hole. Second, someone totaled the scores. I beat Jon by a couple strokes on the day, he beat his partner by twenty-some strokes on the day, and, had we compared total scores...my partner and I would have lost...By 35. 

[DeadMan]

I played in a two man best ball once where we only used my scores. I shot even par though, so we actually ended up finishing third. My partner had a rough day, and it would have been better if he hadn’t shown up, because I would have gotten a random score-only partner from the rest of the field. If I remember correctly, one or two lower hole scores would have won us the tournament. 
 

It happens from time to time. I’ve definitely been the boat anchor enough times that I understand and don’t get upset. That time just sticks out as one where I literally did everything for the team. 

[iacas]

10 hours ago, DeadMan said:

I played in a two man best ball once where we only used my scores. I shot even par though, so we actually ended up finishing third. My partner had a rough day, and it would have been better if he hadn’t shown up, because I would have gotten a random score-only partner from the rest of the field. If I remember correctly, one or two lower hole scores would have won us the tournament. 

It happens from time to time. I’ve definitely been the boat anchor enough times that I understand and don’t get upset. That time just sticks out as one where I literally did everything for the team. 

He didn't even tie you on a hole? Man, that's rough.