The TST Member Tournament Play Thread

[bkuehn1952]

11 hours ago, Big C said:

I decided to take the plunge this year and try out for our club's SCGA "Team Play" squad...

Presumably the matches are handicapped, yes?  Or is that handled by the "divisions."

Sounds like a cool idea and you have one person interested.

[p1n9183]

Forgot about this thread..

Last weekend I played the 1st mid-am tournament of the year at Martindale Country Club (Buenos Aires, Argentina), first time playing that course. Blue tee´s, rating 71,9, par 72. One of the most beautifull golf courses here in buenos aires and probably in the country. The field was composed by 80 players. My personal goal was to shoot +8 total and be top20.  

On Saturday i wasn´t lucky, i have a 2pm tee time, on the morning tee times they play with a beautifull sunny day, but at the afternoon the rain started a tuned into heavy rain on my last holes. Shoot -2 in front 9, but +4 in the back with the rain for a 74 (+2) for the first round. Finish tied for 10th place. Leaders at -4.

On Sunday the day started rainning for the first 9 holes with average winds of 25 m/h and 40m/h gusts.
Played bad all day long but at 17th tee i was still +6 for the round, +8 for the tournament tied for 15th place acomplishing my goals.

17th hole (really the 8th because we started on the 10th hole) it´s a 330 yards par 4 hole dogleg left with water on the left along the hole and trees on the rigth. Last day i hooked a 3wood into water but the water it´s after a lot of threes so nobody saw it going in so i have to declare it as lost and re-tee for a double bogey.

Because of that on Sunday i decided to play a fade to "eliminate the left side of the course" and the water. But the ball started 20 yards left of my intended starting line and didn´t turn rigth so.. like the previous day I hit it into the water... have to re-tee again but this time ended with a 7... triple-bogey. Bogey the 18th for an 82 (+10). Overal +12 tied for 24th place, Missed my 2 goals. The winner shoot 72-66 (-6) and won by 4 strokes.

In 8 days i have the Argentina Amateur, (similar to US Amateur) at Nordelta Golf Club i guess on the black course rating 76,2, 7300 yards, par 72, never play that course either. It´s a 36 holes stroke play where the first 31 qualifies for the matchs. My only goal it´s to shoot +18 total, have really low chances to qualify i guess the last to qualify will shoot arround +8 ( practicaly a 0 index). I will post the result after the tournament.

 

 

[bkuehn1952]

1 hour ago, p1n9183 said:

...In 8 days i have the Argentina Amateur, (similar to US Amateur) at Nordelta Golf Club ...

Buena suerte!

[Big C]

On 2/7/2017 at 4:35 AM, bkuehn1952 said:

Presumably the matches are handicapped, yes?  Or is that handled by the "divisions."

Sounds like a cool idea and you have one person interested.

Yes, the matches are handicapped off everyone's 12 month low index. 

Both teams set their lineup from lowest index to highest - so in theory you should be playing someone who is pretty close in handicap. But it doesn't always work out that way. From the looks of things, I'll be giving 5 shots this weekend. 

I'll come back to update later in the season.

[David in FL]

On February 7, 2017 at 7:50 AM, p1n9183 said:

Forgot about this thread..

Last weekend I played the 1st mid-am tournament of the year at Martindale Country Club (Buenos Aires, Argentina), first time playing that course. Blue tee´s, rating 71,9, par 72. One of the most beautifull golf courses here in buenos aires and probably in the country. The field was composed by 80 players. My personal goal was to shoot +8 total and be top20.  

On Saturday i wasn´t lucky, i have a 2pm tee time, on the morning tee times they play with a beautifull sunny day, but at the afternoon the rain started a tuned into heavy rain on my last holes. Shoot -2 in front 9, but +4 in the back with the rain for a 74 (+2) for the first round. Finish tied for 10th place. Leaders at -4.

On Sunday the day started rainning for the first 9 holes with average winds of 25 m/h and 40m/h gusts.
Played bad all day long but at 17th tee i was still +6 for the round, +8 for the tournament tied for 15th place acomplishing my goals.

17th hole (really the 8th because we started on the 10th hole) it´s a 330 yards par 4 hole dogleg left with water on the left along the hole and trees on the rigth. Last day i hooked a 3wood into water but the water it´s after a lot of threes so nobody saw it going in so i have to declare it as lost and re-tee for a double bogey.

Because of that on Sunday i decided to play a fade to "eliminate the left side of the course" and the water. But the ball started 20 yards left of my intended starting line and didn´t turn rigth so.. like the previous day I hit it into the water... have to re-tee again but this time ended with a 7... triple-bogey. Bogey the 18th for an 82 (+10). Overal +12 tied for 24th place, Missed my 2 goals. The winner shoot 72-66 (-6) and won by 4 strokes.

In 8 days i have the Argentina Amateur, (similar to US Amateur) at Nordelta Golf Club i guess on the black course rating 76,2, 7300 yards, par 72, never play that course either. It´s a 36 holes stroke play where the first 31 qualifies for the matchs. My only goal it´s to shoot +18 total, have really low chances to qualify i guess the last to qualify will shoot arround +8 ( practicaly a 0 index). I will post the result after the tournament.

 

 

Good luck!

I was fortunate to live outside of BA in Hurlingham for a few years back in the early '70's.  Although I was pretty young, I played quite a bit at the club there.  Argentina is a beautiful country that I'd love to revisit some day!

 

[p1n9183]

33 minutes ago, David in FL said:

Good luck!

I was fortunate to live outside of BA in Hurlingham for a few years back in the early '70's.  Although I was pretty young, I played quite a bit at the club there.  Argentina is a beautiful country that I'd love to revisit some day!

 

Thank´s! It´s a nice course Hurlingham too. The country it´s a little worse than the 70' decade but still have a lot natural attractions to visit. 

 

On 7/2/2017 at 10:57 AM, bkuehn1952 said:

Buena suerte!

 

Gracias!!

[Big C]

Updating my prior post, I'm pleased to report that our team clinched the division yesterday, and will be advancing to the playoffs. 

Our only loss on the season was reversed earlier in the week, when it came to light that the opponent had used ineligible players. SCGA rules require that any competitors need to have posted a minimum of 20 rounds during the 12 months prior, and one of the teams in our division had started a couple of guys that didn't meet that requirement. When those players were DQ'ed, our close loss turned into a win and we only needed to win one of our last 2 matches to clinch. Fortunately, we took care of business yesterday with a convincing 35-13 win. 

I won my individual match, although it was not without some rough moments. Facing a 3 footer for the halve on hole 1, I pushed the putt right and it did a full 360 around the cup before dropping in. On the next hole, I had a 2.5 footer for the win - I yanked it left and it didn't even scare the cup. After those two putts, I knew I wouldn't be seeing any "gimmees" the rest of the day.

My putting remained shaky on the front 9 and cost me a few more holes, but I managed to win holes 8 & 9 to make the turn all square. On hole 11, I dumped two in the water to give the hole away, but rebounded nicely with a birdie on 12 to square the match again. On 13, I hit my best shot of the day, a gap wedge from 125 to 2 feet for what looked like a tap in birdie. My opponent remained silent (and rightly so) while I marked my putt. With the team and my individual match hanging in the balance, it was really a critical hole. And I was having a  difficult time shaking the bad putting memories from the front 9. 

Nervous as hell, I stepped up and yanked the putt left. A millisecond of dread turned into relief when the putt caught the left edge and dropped in the hole. Somehow, I managed to hang onto my lead and not gag any more putts. My opponent hung in there, but I finally put the match away on the 18th hole. 

We've got a few weeks off before playoffs get underway in mid-March. Here is the link to the league page, for anyone interested. SCGA league page

[tigerrag]

I had forgotten about this thread.  My game has been a rollercoaster lately, and it seems like the more golf I play the more I'm starting to blow up.  My previous two tournaments have started well for me, with a lot of pars, then I tend to start falling off as my tee shots begin going wayward.

 

Two weeks ago I had my first real tournament of the year (one of those flighted by handicap).  Anyways, through 3 holes I was even and in 1st place out of my flight.  Then poured in a double bogey, birdie, and was feeling halfway decent sitting at +1 through 5.  Then the wheels came off, as I just couldn't hit a decent tee shot.  Every course is tough when on every other hole you're hitting 3 from the tee.  My goal in that first tournament was to break 90, and I couldn't even do that.  Oh well, I will keep the same goal heading in to the next one next month.  Eventually by the end of the year I'd like to break 85 in tournament play.

[p1n9183]

Played the 3rd Mid-Am of the year, 2nd for me, at Pilara Country Club. (Jack Nicklaus Design) Par 72, rating 72. 6500 Yards. Never played there before.

I google the course for strategy pourpuses for the tee shots mainly and hit the course on the first day of the tournament. Besides that i was changing my irons swing so and i didn´t play for 2 weeks because of my vacations on Peru. My spectations where so low.

My 1st Hole (N°10 on the Card) was the worst one to begin with, OB and trees left and water rigth, dog leg rigth. Par 4, 350 Yards with water in front of the green and on the left. Well, hit my tee shot on the water, rehit to the fairway and miss long rigth the green, not up and down for a 7 (triple bogey) on the first hole. Bogey the 2nd Hole par 3 180 yards with water in front of the green. Managed to shot 40 (+4) on the front iether way. On the back keep the good golf going but bogied the last holes and triple bogey the 18th for a 81 (+9). My normal melt down in the last holes when I play tournaments.

On the 2nd round again have to start in the 10th hole. Luckyly hit the fairway and green for a par. A couple of bogey for a 39 (+3) on the front. On the back i decided that i didn´t have confidence at all with the new swing on the Irons, and performed the B Iron Swing, worked out really well for a 35 (-1) on the back for a 74 (+2) round.

Ended tied for the 23th position, with 155 strokes (+11). Winner at 143 (-1).

[Big C]

Nice finish, @p1n9183.

Our club played in the first round of Team play playoffs on Saturday. The good news is that we won handily, taking 20 of 24 possible points on our home course (during the playoffs the matches are split evenly between "home" and "away") for a 30-18 win. Onto to the round of 16!

The bad news is that I did not play well and shot an 85, to lose both my individual and the team match. Fortunately, the rest of our crew picked up the slack.

I've been a little lax in practicing deliberately on my full swing and it showed on Saturday. For the most part, I've been hitting the ball really well, but my swing didn't hold up under pressure as well as it should have and I hit a couple of really head scratching shots in critical moments early on. 

I'm going to try and post an update to my swing thread early this week. With tournament season ramping up here in Spring, I need to have a bit more focus to my range and practice sessions.

[Golfingdad]

First tournament of the year today - SCGA Mid-Am qualifier.

I have improved a bit (a small bit) since last year, but I'm still not expecting a lot out of these because I recognize I'm still one of the "worst" players in the field.  That said, I still am continuing to play in them because I figure if I get some experience under my belt while I still suck, when one day I'm (hopefully) good enough to be in the mix, I won't make any silly mistakes that would come from lack of experience.

Got off to a great start today in spite of the nerves, by birdieing the first hole.  On the third hole, a simple short par 4, I darn near whiffed my tee shot.  I topped it off the heel and the ball made a divot right in from of the tee and it scurried left into a lateral hazard 50 yards off the tee.  Whoops.  I took my drop, then hit a good 4 iron to the landing area, and a good wedge to 6' then made the putt for bogey.

Did almost the same thing on 4, and just missed an 8' or so putt to save par.  Made a nice up and down on 5, 2 putt par on 6, just missed up and downs on 7, 8 and 9 and turned in +5, 40.

On 10, I went with the layup 6 iron, a little out to the right, and then knocked a wedge down to 15', par.  Made a 25 footer for birdie on 11, then 2 putt pars on 12 and 13.

Found my only bunker of the day on my tee shot on 14, and had to play to the wrong (lower) tier of the green because of the lip, and ended up leaving my first putt 6' short and 3-putting.  Missed the 15th green in the wrong spot, couldn't quite get up and down.  Made a nice par on the 223 yd 16th and I came to the 17th tee at +6.  17 is a straight up wind par 5, and I hit a poor tee shot, had tree trouble, left myself with tree trouble on the next shot as well, and hit a bad approach, followed by a bad first putt, and somehow carded a three-putt double bogey.

18 is, by far, the hardest hole on the course, playing 466 yards, with a big lake running the entire right side of the hole and front and right of the green, and it plays into the wind.  I hot my best drive of the day, chickened out with my 4 iron approach and went left of the green, then pitched to about 10', but just missed the par putt.

Final tally, 2 birdies, 9 bogeys, and one double for an 80.  Officially T51 out of 83 players.  Hit 5/13 fairways, 8/18 green, and had 34 putts.  (two 3-putts)

[Wanzo]

3 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

That said, I still am continuing to play in them

Good for you. Sounds like a decent round under some pressure with a few correctable misses. 

[coachjimsc]

Good job @Golfingdad. The first tournament of the year is usually the toughest. So you got it out of the way.

Love tournament golf and the challenges it presents mentally. Like when was the last time you topped a tee shot? Probably can't even remember.

 

[boogielicious]

11 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

 On the third hole, a simple short par 4, I darn near whiffed my tee shot.  I topped it off the heel and the ball made a divot right in from of the tee and it scurried left into a lateral hazard 50 yards off the tee.  Whoops. 

This is what I turn and say to my playing partners when this happens. 

[mdl]

Good work @Golfingdad.  Nice recap.  Nice bounce back to start the back after the dribble drive and 3 bogey sequence to end the front.  Tough finish, but can't feel too bad about 14 or especially 18.  Good drive, play for the smart miss, don't hit the perfect shot needed to stay on the green given aim point for the approach, still give yourself a chance at par.  

[GolfLug]

22 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

Final tally, 2 birdies, 9 bogeys, and one double for an 80.  Officially T51 out of 83 players.  Hit 5/13 fairways, 8/18 green, and had 34 putts.  (two 3-putts)

THAT, my man, is NOT sucking at all!! I hope you are encouraged by that fact alone..

[Golfingdad]

11 minutes ago, mdl said:

Tough finish, but can't feel too bad about 14 or especially 18.  Good drive, play for the smart miss, don't hit the perfect shot needed to stay on the green given aim point for the approach, still give yourself a chance at par.  

No, not at all.  In fact, in a weird way, I'm actually kind of "proud" of both of those bogeys.  On 14, I had 118 yards to the pin and knew I could take one more club to get that far but couldn't risk leaving it in the bunker by catching the lip.  As it turns out, I hit it so pure, I could have aimed at the pin and gotten up on that top shelf, but that was way too risky, and getting up the tier was a hard putt, so a 3-putt wasn't that surprising.  On 18, I knew that the only place I couldn't go was in the water, so I bailed in a safe spot that I could have gotten up and down from but didn't.

That's the kind of stuff I think these tournaments are teaching me that I will keep with me when I'm actually able to compete.  There's no need to press and get frustrated from a couple of bad shots.  A bogey or two is never going to hurt me that much.  It's the doubles (made 1) and others (none) and the penalty shots (again, 1) that kill.

The ones on 3, 4 and 17 are the ones that bug me, and that I hope to learn the most from.  On 3/4, I could/should have been almost exactly where I was in 2 shots, in 1 shot.  And on 17, I could have recovered easily enough to the fairway from the first shot, but got a little careless and I also got careless with the first putt.  Even with the bad drive, that should have been a par.

[mdl]

Right.  I totally agree on the proud point.  Partially it's just maturity and personal work outside the game that has helped me have a better mental attitude about not getting hung up on bad shots – incidentally, as an amateur weekend warrior, that helps both score and enjoyment! – but also, taking to heart the framing and process and evidence from LSW has totally helped both my decision making and a lack of anger/frustration.  Per your example, if I aim away from the potential really big score to a place that's gonna put only, say, 30-40% of my shot dispersion circle on the green but keep all put a very tiny fraction away from the water, and then, such a surprise, hit a 60-70% shot and don't make the green, make a reasonable pitch, but don't quite get up and down.  Then I'm not mad.  I made the right play and successfully kept double or worse out of play while giving myself a reasonable chance at par.

Face edge topped dribbler is brutal though!  I'd probably be regretting that one the most too.  I haven't done that in a long time, but then again, life's gotten in the way of my getting to play tournaments for a number of years now, so I've had no pressure situations in a long time either...