The TST Member Tournament Play Thread

[saevel25]

Shot a 99 in my first tournament in years. Short game was a mess. I had three drives, two with stroke and distance and one with a lateral hazard. For the most part, I had iron shots with good look at a GIR. I just didn’t hit many greens and took way too many extra short game shots and three putted to many greens. I think I had zero scrambling with over half of them requiring a 2nd short game shot. 

[David in FL]

49 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Shot a 99 in my first tournament in years. Short game was a mess. I had three drives, two with stroke and distance and one with a lateral hazard. For the most part, I had iron shots with good look at a GIR. I just didn’t hit many greens and took way too many extra short game shots and three putted to many greens. I think I had zero scrambling with over half of them requiring a 2nd short game shot. 

A 99?!
 

Ok, two thumbs up for posting it here!  👍👍

 

[Yukari]

99???  Wow!  That's shocking given your HI.

Just goes to show how difficult and fickle this game is.

[bkuehn1952]

I have been playing in the City of Livonia golf championship the past couple years. As a "super senior" we get to play the forward tees at 5.300 yards.  Driver-wedge and reachable par 5's are the general rule, I have had some success finishing 2nd low Gross two years ago and then 1st low Net last year. The winner of the low Gross each year has been Bill H.  Well, I got the better of Bill H this year and won the low Gross competition for "super seniors." Two day total of 154.  Won in a playoff with a birdie on the first hole.

I am presently evaluating offers from the LIV Golf Tour.😉

[The Flush]

My 19 year old son is not a TST member, but he won our local course's club championship this summer.  It was net stroke play to set up a 4 man net match tournament. He was in a 3 way tie for 3rd in stroke play and won the tie breaker round. He won the 1st match play round 3 and 2 (forget what he shot and had to give a couple stokes) and then won the finals 1 up with his best round ever on this course, a -4 67 where he had to give 5 strokes to a guy who also shot his career best, a 74 IIRC. He probably wouldn't have made it through stroke play if it was gross, but he was playing as a 4 and it made the difference. 

His prize is a course membership for next year.  I am trying to make sure it is a family membership so I can play as well.  Or if he works at the course again next year maybe he can just give it to me.

[NM Golf]

A couple weeks ago I played in The Greater Albuquerque Men's City Championship. I turned 50, so I was able to play in the Senior Championship flight. Three days at the three different city municipal courses. I hit it very well, but I putted terribly (13 three putts in 3 days).  I still tied for first, but unfortunately I lost the playoff when the other guy hit it to 6 inches on the first hole. 

[Big C]

Hi all. I haven't posted here in awhile. Partly due to work and partly due to kids activities eating into my weeks, I just haven't thought about golf as much as I used to. 

While I haven't been grinding on my game very much, I still get out a few times a month and play (mostly mediocre) golf. But I played the round of my life in our member/member tournament last weekend so I wanted to jump back on to TST and brag about it for a bit😉

Set up: I came into the weekend sporting a 7.4 index, but this tournament was played at my 6 month low index, which was a 6.1. Day 1, I shot an uninspiring 86 so needless to say my expectations were not too high. Day 2 was played from the white tees and my index converted to a whopping 4 handicap strokes. I would have been thrilled just to shoot net par that day. But sometimes the stars align and Day 2 was one of those days. Somehow I managed to shoot a 2-under par 70, even with a triple on the 18th hole. Here was the breakdown

Hole 1: GIR - 2 putt par

Hole 2: GIR -2 putt par

Hole 3: GIR - Sink a 20 foot birdie putt (1 - under)

Hole 4: Par 5, I reach the greenside in 2. Chip to 4 feet and make the birdie (2 - under)

Hole 5: Hooked my drive but get lucky to have an opening between the trees. Hit my approach just short of the green. Sink a 60 foot putt from the fringe (3 - under)

Hole 6: GIR - 2 putt par

Hole 7: Drive left. Poor recovery shot. Can't get up and down. Bogey (2-under)

Hole 8: GIR to 5 feet. Sink the birdie (3 - under)

Hole 9: GIR - 2 putt par

Hole 10: N-GIR. Fairly easy up and down for par

Hole 11: GIR - 2 putt par

Hole 12: GIR - sink a 35 foot curling putt for birdie (4-under)

Hole 13: N-GIR - Easy up and down from just off the fringe

Hole 14: GIR - 2 putt par

Hole 15: Hook a drive way left. VERY lucky to have an opening in the tree lined fairway. Capitalize with a good iron. GIR - 2 putt par

Hole 16: Slice a drive way left. Lucky again, I'm so far off line I can play over the trees. GIR - 2 putt par. 

Hole 17: GIR - Sink a 40 foot birdie putt (5-under)

Hole 18: Par 5 and I hit a solid drive, albeit pulled slightly left. I have about 210 to the green center. The lie is tricky - out of rough and sitting on a slight downslope. The green is guarded by a pond short and right. The sensible play is to punch a 7 iron to 60-70 yards and wedge it up to the flag. But I have visions of a 65 or 66 so I pull my 4 iron. Guess what happens next? I get a bit quick on the downswing, shut the face and pull my shot about 20 yards left of my intended line. I find it near a boundary fence with maybe 6 inches of clearance between the two. Crap. Again, the sensible play is to take an unplayable drop, try to get up and down for par and take bogey at worst. Instead, I try the shot and whiff (WTF?). I try again and barely graze the top of the ball, squirting it about 5 yards sideways and on to the cart path. After taking my drop, I realize my head is spinning and I am losing my mind-body connection. I proceed to hosel shank my 5th shot about 15 yards sideways, narrowly avoiding the water that protects the front right of the green. Now it's just damage control mode. I'm still 10 yards off the green, but I take my putter anyway and whack the ball with hands that now feel like stone. It ends up 15 feet from the cup, which feel like a success. I do my best to focus over the double bogey putt, but the magic is gone - I miss and tap in for my 8. 

Random observations: 

- I matched the best ever round of my life (in one of club's biggest tournaments, no less), and I walked off the 18th green feeling like someone had shot my dog. Golf is capable of some truly amazing highs and lows.

- I will probably never putt this well again in my life. Aside from the 150+ feet of made putts on holes 3, 5, 12 and 17, I had a couple of lag putts from outside 25 feet that brushed inches by the hole. I had 27 putts and had no serious danger of 3 putting all day long.

- If a few bounces go a different way on a couple of my wayward drives, I'm probably looking at a score 2 shots higher. I credit myself for making the most of those opportunities when I did have unexpected looks at the green, however. 

- I learned something new about the USGA handicapping system. Apparently my differential met the criteria for an "exceptional" score, which is defined as one that is more than 7 strokes under your current index. As a result, I get the privilege of having every one of my last 20 rounds adjusted down by one stroke. Instead of that round taking me down from a 7.4 to a 6.5, I find that I am now a 5.5 index thanks to the additional stroke reduction. Great news if i am trying to get to scratch. Not so great for my next handicapped event, lol. 

- I had 13 GIR and 3 N-GIR where I was able to use a putter from the fringe. Whoever it was that said GIR is king is right - the game feels a whole lot easier when you are putting for birdies all day long. 

- I have never shot a round in the 60's and part of me is still kicking myself for letting the best opportunity I will probably every have to go low slip away from me. But at least it makes for a hell of a story. 

And as for the tournament itself, my 70/net 66 combined with my partner's net 78 took low team honors for Sunday and vaulted us up from 14th in our flight into a tie for 1st place. All in all, it was a very memorable day.

 

Edited May 25, 2023 by Big C
Update

[bkuehn1952]

Through the first four tournaments this year I had yet to crack the 80 mark. Yesterday I finally broke through (76) on a course that appeared to be designed for this distance-challenged player. Did it get me in the money? No! Baby steps, baby steps.

[Big C]

Club Championship: Day 1 is in the books. Coming on the heels of an "all time" round (posted above), I felt pretty good about the state of my game. 

Alas, golf can be fickle and I came out of the gates with an 83, net 79 which puts me in 10th place out of 15 in the A-flight net division. 

Not too many highlights to report. After carding 6 birdies in May, I didn't have a single birdie in my round last weekend. 

And after putting the lights out earlier, my touch and feel deserted me, highlighted by one bladed chip and several putts jammed 4-5 feet past the hole. 

There are still two rounds to make up ground - next Saturday/Sunday. The title itself will be a long shot, but if I can play close to net par both days, I know enough competitors will fall back to earth that I might be able to sneak into the top 3. 

[Big C]

Ugh. Round 2 was worse than round 1. I shot 86, net 81 and am in 11th place. The course conditions were tough (no one shot their handicap today, net 73 was the low score) but even still I left too many shots out there to count. 
 

Driving was ok, but my iron game was not sharp- I was consistently hitting my irons about a quarter inch fat and leaving myself 5 yards short of the green. And my hands were like stone today, so I was not converting even the basic up and downs.

Clearly…. I need to work on my mental game!

 

[ChetlovesMer]

5 hours ago, Big C said:

Clearly…. I need to work on my mental game!

Don't be so hard on yourself. 
As you probably know, a golfer only shoots their handicap about one out of every five rounds. 

[iacas]

8 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Don't be so hard on yourself. 
As you probably know, a golfer only shoots their handicap about one out of every five rounds. 

Pretty sure he was referencing…

[ChetlovesMer]

19 minutes ago, iacas said:

Pretty sure he was referencing…

Ah, I get it. 

[onthehunt526]

Club Championship this weekend. 
 

Shot 84 the first day… Seven strokes off the lead in the first flight. Was only one-over through 4, then somehow lost a ball on 5 and made double. Then made a sloppy bogey at 6. Made a great up and down at 7 from 50 yards after being stuck behind the maple of the tee. Took three to get down from the fringe at 8. (annoying because it’s a 120 yard hole). Made par at 9. Out in 40. (Par-35 front).

Sloppy bogey at 10 and double at 11. Parred both par-threes, made double from the middle of the fairway at 14. Made triple from being a dumbass at 15, Birdied the 16th, bogey at 17 and a par at 18 for a 44 home and a round of 84. (Par-71)

Today I shot one stroke better with an 83. But made six 6s, doubled 2, bogeyed 5, doubled 9. All the rest pars out in 40 again.

So Stan is re-doing the ditch between 9 and 10 (it’s a drainage ditch), So I hit it next the the bulldozer which was conveniently sitting over there. (It’s all marked GUR). So I take my free drop and proceed to hit an 8-iron from 170 yards on the green about 40 feet from the hole and canned the putt for a birdie.

Then 11-14 bite me in the ass, I play them in 7-over, then parred 15, birdied 16 again, made a sloppy bogey at 17, and three-putt from 8 feet at 18 for a sloppy 6. 
 

Six 6’s and a double-bogey 5. All of which were avoidable. Especially on 9 and 14 from the middle of the fairway,

Anyway, I finished in third place out of 20 in the flight. 157 won, and I shot 167. So getting closer.

[onthehunt526]

On 5/25/2023 at 1:58 AM, Big C said:

Hi all. I haven't posted here in awhile. Partly due to work and partly due to kids activities eating into my weeks, I just haven't thought about golf as much as I used to. 

While I haven't been grinding on my game very much, I still get out a few times a month and play (mostly mediocre) golf. But I played the round of my life in our member/member tournament last weekend so I wanted to jump back on to TST and brag about it for a bit😉

Set up: I came into the weekend sporting a 7.4 index, but this tournament was played at my 6 month low index, which was a 6.1. Day 1, I shot an uninspiring 86 so needless to say my expectations were not too high. Day 2 was played from the white tees and my index converted to a whopping 4 handicap strokes. I would have been thrilled just to shoot net par that day. But sometimes the stars align and Day 2 was one of those days. Somehow I managed to shoot a 2-under par 70, even with a triple on the 18th hole. Here was the breakdown

Hole 1: GIR - 2 putt par

Hole 2: GIR -2 putt par

Hole 3: GIR - Sink a 20 foot birdie putt (1 - under)

Hole 4: Par 5, I reach the greenside in 2. Chip to 4 feet and make the birdie (2 - under)

Hole 5: Hooked my drive but get lucky to have an opening between the trees. Hit my approach just short of the green. Sink a 60 foot putt from the fringe (3 - under)

Hole 6: GIR - 2 putt par

Hole 7: Drive left. Poor recovery shot. Can't get up and down. Bogey (2-under)

Hole 8: GIR to 5 feet. Sink the birdie (3 - under)

Hole 9: GIR - 2 putt par

Hole 10: N-GIR. Fairly easy up and down for par

Hole 11: GIR - 2 putt par

Hole 12: GIR - sink a 35 foot curling putt for birdie (4-under)

Hole 13: N-GIR - Easy up and down from just off the fringe

Hole 14: GIR - 2 putt par

Hole 15: Hook a drive way left. VERY lucky to have an opening in the tree lined fairway. Capitalize with a good iron. GIR - 2 putt par

Hole 16: Slice a drive way left. Lucky again, I'm so far off line I can play over the trees. GIR - 2 putt par. 

Hole 17: GIR - Sink a 40 foot birdie putt (5-under)

Hole 18: Par 5 and I hit a solid drive, albeit pulled slightly left. I have about 210 to the green center. The lie is tricky - out of rough and sitting on a slight downslope. The green is guarded by a pond short and right. The sensible play is to punch a 7 iron to 60-70 yards and wedge it up to the flag. But I have visions of a 65 or 66 so I pull my 4 iron. Guess what happens next? I get a bit quick on the downswing, shut the face and pull my shot about 20 yards left of my intended line. I find it near a boundary fence with maybe 6 inches of clearance between the two. Crap. Again, the sensible play is to take an unplayable drop, try to get up and down for par and take bogey at worst. Instead, I try the shot and whiff (WTF?). I try again and barely graze the top of the ball, squirting it about 5 yards sideways and on to the cart path. After taking my drop, I realize my head is spinning and I am losing my mind-body connection. I proceed to hosel shank my 5th shot about 15 yards sideways, narrowly avoiding the water that protects the front right of the green. Now it's just damage control mode. I'm still 10 yards off the green, but I take my putter anyway and whack the ball with hands that now feel like stone. It ends up 15 feet from the cup, which feel like a success. I do my best to focus over the double bogey putt, but the magic is gone - I miss and tap in for my 8. 

Random observations: 

- I matched the best ever round of my life (in one of club's biggest tournaments, no less), and I walked off the 18th green feeling like someone had shot my dog. Golf is capable of some truly amazing highs and lows.

- I will probably never putt this well again in my life. Aside from the 150+ feet of made putts on holes 3, 5, 12 and 17, I had a couple of lag putts from outside 25 feet that brushed inches by the hole. I had 27 putts and had no serious danger of 3 putting all day long.

- If a few bounces go a different way on a couple of my wayward drives, I'm probably looking at a score 2 shots higher. I credit myself for making the most of those opportunities when I did have unexpected looks at the green, however. 

- I learned something new about the USGA handicapping system. Apparently my differential met the criteria for an "exceptional" score, which is defined as one that is more than 7 strokes under your current index. As a result, I get the privilege of having every one of my last 20 rounds adjusted down by one stroke. Instead of that round taking me down from a 7.4 to a 6.5, I find that I am now a 5.5 index thanks to the additional stroke reduction. Great news if i am trying to get to scratch. Not so great for my next handicapped event, lol. 

- I had 13 GIR and 3 N-GIR where I was able to use a putter from the fringe. Whoever it was that said GIR is king is right - the game feels a whole lot easier when you are putting for birdies all day long. 

- I have never shot a round in the 60's and part of me is still kicking myself for letting the best opportunity I will probably every have to go low slip away from me. But at least it makes for a hell of a story. 

And as for the tournament itself, my 70/net 66 combined with my partner's net 78 took low team honors for Sunday and vaulted us up from 14th in our flight into a tie for 1st place. All in all, it was a very memorable day.

 

Too bad it wasn’t the member-guest you woulda made a shitload of money in the Calcutta!!! I wish I coulda shot 70 either day of the Club Championship, I woulda won!!!

 

[DeadMan]

I've advanced to the semi finals in my club's championship match play bracket, which we do as scratch.

I took down our reigning club champion, who is a scratch golfer, in my last match. We went to 21 holes, and I won with a birdie on the 21st hole. It was so much fun. He played bad on the front, so I had a lead after 9, which I extended on 11. I was E from hole 5 through 16, with one birdie and one bogey. But he played the back 9 in even par, including playing the last 7 holes in -1 with no bogeys, to catch me on 18. I basically had one full swing shot that was a bad in that closing stretch, which led to a bogey, and a few mediocre approaches combined with bad lag putts that let him back in. We both ended up shooting 78 (+6).

We go to extra holes, tying the first 2 with pars. We both made medium-length putts to extend the match: he made about a 12 foot par putt on the 19th hole, and I made a 6 foot par putt on the 20th hole. On the 21st hole, I outdrove him by 50ish yards. He hit an incredible shot to about 20-25 feet. I hit a decent approach to about 20 feet. We had basically the same line on the birdie putts - he missed his but I conceded the par putt. I had good read on the line after playing this hole earlier and seeing his putt - basically, it didn't break as much as it looked. I maybe hit the putt slightly too hard, but I hit my line, and drained the birdie putt to win the match. While he was disappointed in the result, I don't think he was angry because he had a good comeback without his best stuff and played the last 12 holes in -1. And it was good to have the final hole won with a birdie instead of a par or worse.

This is the furthest I've gone in our match play, and I'm the lowest handicap left. Not getting too ahead of myself, because I can lose to anyone, but I can also beat anyone. Next match will be in July sometime.

Edited July 3, 2023 by DeadMan

[bkuehn1952]

Had another 1-day tournament today. On the first tee I proceeded to top my drive into the penalty area 10 yards in front of the tee.☹️ We had off & on rain all day. I really had to grind to get my 78 (8.5 differential) as I was not sharp.

On the plus side, I had three birdies, including the 17th hole, which completes my "Away - Bridie Challenge." 😉

p.s once again not good enough to get in the money but one of my birdies could net me a skin.

Edited July 8, 2023 by bkuehn1952

[saevel25]

I am playing in a tournament Saturday at Sleepy Hallow near Cleveland, Ohio. Going in with zero expectations. Should be fun. 😉

How I would rank the confidence in my game...

Putting: 8/10 
Short Game: 7/10 (Probably the best it's been)
Irons: 5/10 (Getting there)
Driver: 2/10 (Needs lots of work) 

The gameplan is to keep the ball in play and keep the hole in front of me. Off the tee, I am going to try to eliminate the left side of the course. I am hitting a fade right now. I'll give myself the most room from left to right.