My first US Open Qualifier experience

[Dave2512]

I looked up the guy that finished DFL in one of the CO qualifiers, he had an 82 and 92 posted in his last 20 and he is a +2.6. Mofo plays some tough courses though, courses rated over 73 here are freaking looooong.

[phillyk]

Sectional Qualifying.. they burn greens out so that there is nothing left they are so fast for those things. They set the rough up another inch or so and they are firm. Local Qualifying is not Sectional Qualifying.. sorry to say. Have two friends who are PGA Members who have hosted sectional qualfiying.. one of them the hardest in the country that year.

So what about Dustin Johnson with how closed at the top he is.. no one would point that out on this site? Hard to believe.

You'll also see Tumble Creek also hosts Sectional qualifying some years.  So I'm guessing they made the course run about the same for both regional and sectional.

[mchepp]

Absolutely. And typically the USGA will investigate and get signatures from a club pro after a poor round to ensure that everything is okay. I have heard of a club pro having to send in signatures for shooting an 83.

In the past, it may not be that way anymore, when you shot ten more than the course rating in a USGA event, you get a letter from the USGA saying please don't play in any scratch events for a while. A year or so I think it was. Many of my college golfing pals got them after blowing up in the Open qualifiers. For the record I never tried, never thought I was good enough.

[Golfingdad]

So what about Dustin Johnson with how closed at the top he is.. no one would point that out on this site? Hard to believe.

If you were familiar with the pros on this site and what they teach (the 5 keys) then it wouldn't be hard to believe at all.

[GHIN0011458]

Is there a tour player who uses this 5 key system?

[cipher]

Is there a tour player who uses this 5 key system?

They pretty much all do, they just may not know it.

[Golfingdad]

Is there a tour player who uses this 5 key system?

It's not a system, or a swing.  It's more just an awareness, or acknowledgement, of the things all good players have in common.

A bowed (or cupped or flat) wrist at the top of the backswing is not one of them.

[iacas]

Sectional Qualifying.. they burn greens out so that there is nothing left they are so fast for those things.

So, it turns out I meant local qualifying. Some of the guys I've talked about haven't ever sniffed sectional qualifying. Brain fart - I was thinking local qualifying but typed sectional.

So what about Dustin Johnson with how closed at the top he is.. no one would point that out on this site? Hard to believe.

Answered by others. I sure as heck wouldn't change that about DJ's swing. Nor Graeme McDowell's. Heck, I use them as examples for students who need to be a bit more like that.

Let's try to stick to the topic though, eh?

Though I think it's unlikely a +2.x would shoot 90, it's far from impossible. I do have a question for you as well: Why do you care so much?

[bplewis24]

A +2.7 SHOULD have a ceiling of shooting a 75 and on really bad days a 78-79.

This is a blanket statement that I find pretty silly.  Forget the specifics of his handicap for a moment, and remember a few things:

1) Last week at a non-major, I counted five scores of 78 or worse (up to 80) in the first two rounds between 4 different pros.

2) I can recall several pros shooting that or worse in major tournaments.

3) These pros are leagues better than an amateur, + handicap. (subjective, but quantifiable)

4) An amatuer, + handicap playing in his first local qualifier might as well be a pro playing in his first US Open. (subjective, I know)

There is no real ceiling on what a person of a specific handicap can shoot.  I'm not saying the OP's handicap is tried and true (even he acknowledged that it might be somewhat due to the course he plays), but having known his posting history over the years, I don't believe he is a vanity capper.  I'm about as cynical as they come, but I'm giving the benefit of the doubt on this one.  I think he had a bad day, and isn't ready for tournament conditions at that level.

[newtogolf]

We had an open qualifier at my home course.  Given this was a qualifier I was expecting to see scores in the low - mid 60's based on some of the scores our club members have posted in the past, but they weren't.  Low scores were 69,69, 70, 70. 72, 72, 73, 73.

I played the course the day before the qualifier and the greens were the fastest I'd ever seen.  The club pro said they were rolled twice to make them extra fast and hard, pin placements were also very tough.  If the course the OP played at was set up in the same way my home course was I can see why he had difficulty with it, especially if he's used to his home course with slow greens.

[GHIN0011458]

This is a blanket statement that I find pretty silly.  Forget the specifics of his handicap for a moment, and remember a few things:

1) Last week at a non-major, I counted five scores of 78 or worse (up to 80) in the first two rounds between 4 different pros.

2) I can recall several pros shooting that or worse in major tournaments.

3) These pros are leagues better than an amateur, + handicap. (subjective, but quantifiable)

4) An amatuer, + handicap playing in his first local qualifier might as well be a pro playing in his first US Open. (subjective, I know)

There is no real ceiling on what a person of a specific handicap can shoot.  I'm not saying the OP's handicap is tried and true (even he acknowledged that it might be somewhat due to the course he plays), but having known his posting history over the years, I don't believe he is a vanity capper.  I'm about as cynical as they come, but I'm giving the benefit of the doubt on this one.  I think he had a bad day, and isn't ready for tournament conditions at that level.

Look I will leave it at this. I want to see some more scores.. that is all I was really asking. I didn't even care that much until everyone says oh no this guy is legit. I know where I am at and I have a ceiling of about 83. I feel that if I am trying my best to put the ball in the hole on every shot, like you do in tournament play, I will not shoot over an 83 at this point.. and that is at a 0 handicap. We are talking about the hardest courses on tour, not some course that holds local qualifying. Here is what I took from the Local Qualifying:

The courses play LONG, the greens are fast, but the pin locations are fair. They give you a good mix of pin locations though. We had a 516 yard par 4, but the pin location was very fair. We had 380 yard par 4, but it was tucked.. and that was the same all day long with which pins you want to go at and which pins you dont.

In addition.. Go to Missouri and look up a guy named John Kelly. He took an alternate spot, he also is a previous runner up in the US Amateur who has played at Augusta. He is a +3.8. So he is roughly 1.5 strokes better than the OP here, but still managed to throw up a good round and get 2nd in the US Amateur and play at Augusta. Then we will look up Joe Migdal, a guy who is a +.09 handicap who got into a playoff for the alternate spot. Roughly 1.5 strokes WORSE than the OP. Then we have Drew Ervin, who shot 91. Keep in mind the OP's qualifying site yielded much better scores than mine did. Drew is a 1.2 handicap, or 3 strokes worse than the OP.

Anyone who is a +2.4 handicap is ready for tournaments at ANY LEVEL. I don't think many people here realize what it takes to get to a +2.4. You are shooting 67-69 fifty percent of the time to get in that range. Right now I get out of the car and can throw up a 71-75 on a daily basis with no warm up shots with recreational pin locations and I am only a 0.

Your statement is kind of out there.. you are bringing up the hardest courses with only 4 guys shooting UP TO an 80, or 10 strokes worse. You are talking about Major Championship golf.. which is another level. A pro playing in his first US Open isn't going to fire a 90, and if he does, its because its windy, the rough is twice as long as normal, and you cant hold a green.

[Dave2512]

Look I will leave it at this. I want to see some more scores.. that is all I was really asking. I didn't even care that much until everyone says oh no this guy is legit. I know where I am at and I have a ceiling of about 83 . I feel that if I am trying my best to put the ball in the hole on every shot, like you do in tournament play, I will not shoot over an 83 at this point.. and that is at a 0 handicap. We are talking about the hardest courses on tour, not some course that holds local qualifying. Here is what I took from the Local Qualifying:

You have 2 86's in your last 20 that aren't tournament rounds. Just sayin'

[phillyk]

Look I will leave it at this. I want to see some more scores.. that is all I was really asking. I didn't even care that much until everyone says oh no this guy is legit. I know where I am at and I have a ceiling of about 83. I feel that if I am trying my best to put the ball in the hole on every shot, like you do in tournament play, I will not shoot over an 83 at this point.. and that is at a 0 handicap. We are talking about the hardest courses on tour, not some course that holds local qualifying. Here is what I took from the Local Qualifying:

I could give you plenty of scores, but no tournament scores.  My job allows me wednesday and thursdays off, not what you'd say is good for tournaments.  And its very hard for me to get days off.  I play when I can.  I'll leave it at this, IN NO WAY IN HELL did I think I could ever shoot a 90 at any course ever again.  That is way above and beyond any cap I should or should not have.  It was just a bad day.

[GHIN0011458]

You have 2 86's in your last 20 that aren't tournament rounds. Just sayin'

That is true, those are actually tournament rounds. And that was also last year. Its called improvement. This year I have a 79,79,72,75, and 83 in tournament rounds. I don't play as many rounds, I like to practice so my handicap gets updated slower. the 83 was a blow up back 9.. a 43. Why the 43? Well because going into day two I was 5 strokes off the lead and moving into the back 9 I needed to make a move.. so what did I do? I shot at every pin, ended up over the hole numerous times when they were running 12.5. But I was go for broke. 86 still isn't a 90 btw at a 0 handicap.

[GHIN0011458]

I could give you plenty of scores, but no tournament scores.  My job allows me wednesday and thursdays off, not what you'd say is good for tournaments.  And its very hard for me to get days off.  I play when I can.  I'll leave it at this, IN NO WAY IN HELL did I think I could ever shoot a 90 at any course ever again.  That is way above and beyond any cap I should or should not have.  It was just a bad day.

alright that is fine. Let me know next time you play in something sanctioned that is all I asked for and then its a law of averages.. you shoot 90 one day you shoot 72 the next. I could ring off rounds I have played as well.

[bplewis24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GHIN0011458

Your statement is kind of out there.. you are bringing up the hardest courses with only 4 guys shooting UP TO an 80, or 10 strokes worse. You are talking about Major Championship golf.. which is another level. A pro playing in his first US Open isn't going to fire a 90, and if he does, its because its windy, the rough is twice as long as normal, and you cant hold a green.

Right. Mine is out there. Somehow you can appreciate how good a +2.4 is, you can appreciate how much better a professional is than a +2.4, and yet can't put a professional shooting in the 80s in perspective relative to what a +2.4 amateur could possibly shoot.

Quote:

Anyone who is a +2.4 handicap is ready for tournaments at ANY LEVEL.

What does this even mean?  Any +2.4 should be ready to play the Masters on Sunday at even par?  No worse than 79?  You should have informed Rory McIlroy of that a few years ago.

[Spyder]

alright that is fine. Let me know next time you play in something sanctioned that is all I asked for and then its a law of averages.. you shoot 90 one day you shoot 72 the next. I could ring off rounds I have played as well.

You lost me here now. It sounds like you're just going after this guy for almost no reason now. Not sure what the agenda is, but I'd assume it would be better to tone it down a bit. It's not like @phillyk is coming here bragging. He shared an experience about a bad day/round that he had. I don't see the need to pile on excessively or repetitively. The horse is now mutilitated, so let's try to move on.

@phillyk I appreciate you sharing your experience with us and I hope that none of this discourages you from doing it again in the future. Chalk this one up to s*** happens and please continue sharing your experiences with us. Many of us will never even flirt with a 5 HC, let alone scratch or beyond, so I think I speak for many when I say that your personal tournament experience is intriguing and worthy of being shared.

[GHIN0011458]

Right.  Mine is out there.    Somehow you can appreciate how good a +2.4 is, you can appreciate how much better a professional is than a +2.4, and yet can't put a professional shooting in the 80s in perspective relative to what a +2.4 amateur could possibly shoot.

What does this even mean?  Any +2.4 should be ready to play the Masters on Sunday at even par?  No worse than 79?  You should have informed Rory McIlroy of that a few years ago.

I am saying a +2.4 can get around any course at any level without shooting 90. I can see someone shooting an 80.. not sure you understand that. You keep bringing up 80, when we are talking about 90 at a local course with tournament conditions vs a PGA tour level course.. that is a PGA Tour player(roughly +5-6) or 2.5 to three strokes better.. SO lets say that you have a +2.4 who has a bad day but is 4 strokes worse.. that would put him at an 84.