US Open local qualifier

[cougar978]

Recently (the past month), I have been playing pretty well, and have consistently put up scores in the low 70's, and a 66 last weekend in a tournament. I expect when handicaps come out Friday that I will be below a 2.0 (3.5 now), and hopefully if things go well this summer I will be close to scratch or in the plus at the end of the year, in which case, I would consider putting in an application for a qualifier next year.

My question is - how much more difficult is it course-wise to play in a USGA qualifying event? I know the pressure is obviously there, but outside of that, do they narrow the fairways, grow the rough, and speed up the greens to simulate the conditions of the US Open?

[billm408]

I played in a few Open qualifiers back in the early 90's at courses that I knew fairly well and the only thing I remember was that they double cut and rolled the greens. I don't remember them tricking out the courses at all.

[MiniMoe]

Just played in a US Open qualifier this last Monday. I made it to the next round. The course played difficult, but not unfair. They played the par 4's and 5's all the way back, but brought the par threes forward a little so they only played 195-210. They also moved the tees forward on a short par 4 to tempt us to try to drive the green. The bunkers on that hole were deep and the fairway was very narrow with trees on the right. I managed to get the ball on the green, but heard stories of others making double.

The hardest part for me is to get used to the speed of the greens and the difficulty of the pin locations. They don't put them on real severe slopes, but they are not far from the edge of severe slopes, so you have to put the ball in the correct positions to have a chance at par or better. The biggest part of playing in an Open qualifier is managing your game and your abilities. Know your limitations and use them to your advantage.

Monday, there were 4 pins that were pretty accessible, 10 pins that you could have a putt to, but were on the edges of some false fronts and ridges, so you could easily put yourself in a bad spot. The other 4 were very difficult or a "sucker" pin. On those holes, you had to be very careful where you put your ball. I missed the green short left and had a good look at an uphill chip. I was only 2 feet past the hole, and I was scared to miss the putt because of the slope I was on. I did make par, but had to check my britches on the next tee.

[cougar978]

Just played in a US Open qualifier this last Monday. I made it to the next round. The course played difficult, but not unfair. They played the par 4's and 5's all the way back, but brought the par threes forward a little so they only played 195-210. They also moved the tees forward on a short par 4 to tempt us to try to drive the green. The bunkers on that hole were deep and the fairway was very narrow with trees on the right. I managed to get the ball on the green, but heard stories of others making double.

Congratulations on making it to sectionals - where are you playing?

[MiniMoe]

I think it is Northwood country club in Dallas, TX on June 8th. I figure if I shoot -6 for two rounds I have a chance.

[shortstop20]

Are you an Amateur or Pro MiniMoe? Maybe that's a dumb question, I don't know the specifics of the qualification rules of the tournament.

[jorruss]

The course setups vary from location to location, and the local qualifiers are set up easier than the sectionals. I played Monday at a qualifier and they moved the tees up about 300 yards from the scorecard length. The course I was on (Hammock Dunes - Creek Course) is ~7350 from the tips. They moved 2 par 5s up about 30 yards, a par 4 up from 375 to 313, and 2 par 3s up from 230+ to 187 and 136 respectively. The final length was just over 7000 yards.

The greens were rolling at about 13, but they were soft. That actually made it more difficult, since I was hitting mostly mid and short irons to greens and balls were spinning like crazy. At one point I spun an 8 iron back about 20 feet from 170!

The USGA is always fair in setting up a course. I would expect the sectional site to be set up with more length and tougher pins, but that's to separate the men from the boys

If you've never competed at the USGA level, I would suggest getting your feet wet at the state and local level first. Get as many tournaments under your belt as you can to get a comfort level when teeing it up against the stiffer competition at the national level.

Your handicap goes out the window when they announce your name on the first tee and the results of your round are likely to be posted in the paper. As they say - you're not in Kansas any more...

[cougar978]

The course setups vary from location to location, and the local qualifiers are set up easier than the sectionals. I played Monday at a qualifier and they moved the tees up about 300 yards from the scorecard length. The course I was on (Hammock Dunes - Creek Course) is ~7350 from the tips. They moved 2 par 5s up about 30 yards, a par 4 up from 375 to 313, and 2 par 3s up from 230+ to 187 and 136 respectively. The final length was just over 7000 yards.

I held my own in my first tournament - it was a local event - was 5th after the first round but then got spanked 2nd round and ended up T17. Last week, I played in a single-day blitz (team stroke play) and shot 66. I birdied the first hole and was pretty much locked in from there - only bogeyed one hole when I drew a sh*t lie off the back of a green and chunked my chip, went out in 32 (par 35). Birdied 10 and left birdie putts on the lip on 12 and 14, parred in for a 34 for 66.

If I play in a state event and get locked in like I was last weekend, I can make some noise. When I'm 'in the zone', I can beat anyone.

[wannabe]

^good advice, probably the local tourneys are also needed to build your official scoring resume to allow you to enter the qualifier. I also understand that you really don't want to participate in a qualifier unless you can keep up with the pack, so you'll easily be able to come back the next year without having to jump through hoops, or worse, not be allowed back. "Getting the letter", as it's commonly phrased.

not that i'd really know from personal experience. :P

Awesome that you're able to start thinking about this level of competition. Doubt that'll ever be in the cards for me.

[MiniMoe]

technically, I'm a a pro. I have played in more than one cash scramble tournament, so I will not enter a tournament as an amateur. I know of many players that do consider themselves amateurs eventhough they have played in cash tournaments... it's just wrong.