My first US Open Qualifier experience

[saturday]

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.

+1 Well said. I enjoyed your OP Phillyk and look forward to future experiences out there on the course!

[Golfingdad]

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?

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.

Yeah, I'm with you here.  Enough is enough.  I was part of the group questioning phillyk yesterday, but he's done nothing to deserve any of this except share a rough experience with us.  My apologies, now let's move past that.

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@phillyk t that your "problem" probably has a lot to do with the fact that you just aren't that experienced in tournaments.  Hopefully your job will start allowing you to squeeze in more of them, get some valuable experience under pressure, and start playing to your abilities when it matters.

[Lihu]

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.

Personalities are different. Shooting 90 might be one reason Phil is not on a mini tour. If you were a +2.4, I'm confident that you would not shoot a 90, as you mentioned. The main thing is for you to get to a qualifying handicap, and let a committee determine anyone else's qualifications. Don't get yourself worked up over something you can't do anything about anyway. Btw, my son beat multiple single digits and two scratch players twice in competition shooting to his 10HC. Anything is possible at this level of play.

[GHIN0011458]

Yeah, I'm with you here.  Enough is enough.  I was part of the group questioning phillyk yesterday, but he's done nothing to deserve any of this except share a rough experience with us.  My apologies, now let's move past that.

@phillyk, I would suggest that your "problem" probably has a lot to do with the fact that you just aren't that experienced in tournaments.  Hopefully your job will start allowing you to squeeze in more of them, get some valuable experience under pressure, and start playing to your abilities when it matters.

That is fine.. I am done now.. Just being skeptical looking for results. As a tournament player, its a pet peeve of mine to say you are one thing and be another. Everyone can move on and defend this guy >> http://thesandtrap.com/t/63658/hi-please-read-need-motivation/36

[Golfingdad]

Everyone can move on and defend this guy >> http://thesandtrap.com/t/63658/hi-please-read-need-motivation/36

Haha, no thanks. I'll let other people "defend" him.

[Lihu]

That is fine.. I am done now.. Just being skeptical looking for results. As a tournament player, its a pet peeve of mine to say you are one thing and be another. Everyone can move on and defend this guy >> http://thesandtrap.com/t/63658/hi-please-read-need-motivation/36

It's not just a peeve, meeting the minimum HC requirement gives you the opportunity to enter the open qualifier.

Generally, it does raise a red flag, and you and @Shorty are correct in being suspicious.

However, I think @phillyk is not guilty of any wrongdoing. This is based upon many previous interactions with him. He just does not appear to be the type of person who would do such a thing. Also, why would he be open about it on a public forum?

[bplewis24]

@phillyk, I would suggest that your "problem" probably has a lot to do with the fact that you just aren't that experienced in tournaments.  Hopefully your job will start allowing you to squeeze in more of them, get some valuable experience under pressure, and start playing to your abilities when it matters.

I would add that some course diversity is probably needed as well.

[iacas]

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.

I pointed out how I know of some +2s and +3s who shoot 88s in local qualifying. You've thus far ignored that, so far as I can tell. Perhaps because it doesn't fit your agenda of bashing @phillyk ?

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.

That's wrong. Do the math. If you average 68 on a course that's 73.9/140, that's a +4.6 or so. On that course, you'd average about 72 to get a 2.4 index (with your ten best being about 70.x average).

You've said you're done now a few times, IIRC. I hope one of them is accurate. :)

[GHIN0011458]

I pointed out how I know of some +2s and +3s who shoot 88s in local qualifying. You've thus far ignored that, so far as I can tell. Perhaps because it doesn't fit your agenda of bashing @phillyk?

That's wrong. Do the math. If you average 68 on a course that's 73.9/140, that's a +4.6 or so. On that course, you'd average about 72 to get a 2.4 index (with your ten best being about 70.x average).

You've said you're done now a few times, IIRC. I hope one of them is accurate. :)

I pointed out how I know of some +2s and +3s who shoot 88s in local qualifying. You've thus far ignored that, so far as I can tell. Perhaps because it doesn't fit your agenda of bashing @phillyk?

That's wrong. Do the math. If you average 68 on a course that's 73.9/140, that's a +4.6 or so. On that course, you'd average about 72 to get a 2.4 index (with your ten best being about 70.x average).

You've said you're done now a few times, IIRC. I hope one of them is accurate. :)

Those guys aren't +2's or better then. That is all I have to say. What about a course rating of 67.4/112? There were no specifics.

http://agpts.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/agpt14/event/agpt142/contest/1/profile/pfarley8/tresults.htm

One of 4 guys all season to shoot in the 90's on the Adams Tour.. Look at his profile.. think he is a +2.4 too with 85's all day long? He is more like a 5-7 capper. Adams tour you get between a 0 and a +3.5

Lets look at the NGA tour.. not seeing any 90's on there either and a lot of these guys are a +1.5-+4.5. They are never shooting in the 90's..My argument is not this one person.. my argument is that a TRUE +2 does not shoot 90 at a course that isn't ranked top 50-100 hardest in the country.

At the end of the day I play tournament golf, I talk to players, they know who is the real deal and who is full of it on their handicaps and this is what I firmly believe. We have +2's around here that don't shoot above 78 ever. No matter the conditions or course.. they don't do it. That is my argument.. you can dig as deep as you want into this. There is only one example in all of golf that I can say is the exception and that is John Daly. But he also has horrible course management when he gets frustrated and seems to care less.

[Golfingdad]

That is all I have to say.

Liar.

[Dave2512]

GHIN0011458 you are losing it man.

[GHIN0011458]

GHIN0011458 you are losing it man.

I know.. I know.. lol. I totally understand I am digging a hole right now.. I see guys rip new users apart for saying this kind of stuff but then back up others who have been on here for awhile. Just wish more people knew what a +2.5 can really do with a golf ball.

[inthecup]

I applaud the OP for sharing his difficult experience.  Anyone with GHIN in his name must be obsessed with handicap, lighten up. Why so much animosity, life is short.

My home course hosted the Senior open recently.  If you had not played on a course prepared like that you could definitely have issues.  During the open the greens were run up to a speed that was just below any shot rolling off the front.  It you got badly out of position on the green you could literally be doomed to run to the front of the green.  They were double cut and rolled.  They ran pure but get above the pin or out of position and you were doomed.

The roughs were epic.  You could see your ball go in to the rough and not be able to easily find it.  You can imagine hitting out of it.  The fairways were hard and fast so staying in the fairway was difficult.  -10 Won it.  there was so many 3 putts I was shocked.

Sounds like the OP had very limited tournament experience and had little experience with a course like that.  Is his Cap accurate?  Who knows or who cares, I think the story is interesting.

[bplewis24]

Just wish more people knew what a +2.5 can really do with a golf ball.

I think more people understand than you are giving credit for.

[Lihu]

I know.. I know.. lol. I totally understand I am digging a hole right now.. I see guys rip new users apart for saying this kind of stuff but then back up others who have been on here for awhile. Just wish more people knew what a +2.5 can really do with a golf ball.

Ahem. . ., my kid's high school coach is a +2 handicap, and my daughter's first Tee coach is a +4-ish handicap (recently "retired" from Canadian Tour). Neither of them would ever shoot higher than the 80s on a standard course from what I gather. The ex-Canadian pro would be having an extremely bad day to shoot only par on pretty much any standard course even from the tips.

I do know what they can do with a golf ball, very impressive. This is why I am not completely discounting what you say.

However, many of us are also saying that we do not think cheating is part of @phillyk 's personality profile.

[3putter]

That is fine.. I am done now.. Just being skeptical looking for results. As a tournament player, its a pet peeve of mine to say you are one thing and be another. Everyone can move on and defend this guy >> http://thesandtrap.com/t/63658/hi-please-read-need-motivation/36

Glad you're done (at least I hope so), because it's starting to get rather irritating.

[iacas]

Those guys aren't +2's or better then. That is all I have to say. What about a course rating of 67.4/112? There were no specifics.

Yes they are. They're Division I and II college players, many of them.

As to the second half, duh, look at the course rating for the course he's playing. 72.9/137 seems to be the common one. So no, shooting 67-69 the majority of the time is unrealistic.

At the end of the day I play tournament golf, I talk to players, they know who is the real deal and who is full of it on their handicaps and this is what I firmly believe. We have +2's around here that don't shoot above 78 ever. No matter the conditions or course.. they don't do it. That is my argument.. you can dig as deep as you want into this. There is only one example in all of golf that I can say is the exception and that is John Daly. But he also has horrible course management when he gets frustrated and seems to care less.

So… what's your issue, man? You've now said repeatedly that you're done. You said in this post in the second sentence "That is all I have to say" and then proceeded to keep right on going. What's you're deal? Why do you care?

I know.. I know.. lol. I totally understand I am digging a hole right now.. I see guys rip new users apart for saying this kind of stuff but then back up others who have been on here for awhile. Just wish more people knew what a +2.5 can really do with a golf ball.

No, that's not what happens here. You're getting the response you're getting because you're kind of being a jerk about it.

[3putter]

I think more people understand than you are giving credit for.

I'm not sure about that. I thought only HE knew what a + handicapper could do with a golf ball, it's not like anyone else has ever seen one.