The 2017 Newport Cup at Talamore Resort (Pinehurst, NC)

[DaveP043]

12 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

Let's hear from prior participants about their experiences from prior Newport Cups.

1. What surprised you most about the Newport Cup competition?

2. Which day/format was your least favorite? And which was your favorite?

3. Which player from the opposing team would you least want to face in a winner take all situation?

4. What did you think about the handicapping of the matches? Would you rather get or give strokes?

5. Which player was the fastest as far as pace?

6. Without naming names, what was the longest average drive stat for an individual player?  Shortest average drive stat for a single player?

7. Who could drink the most without visible problems?

1.  The first major surprise was all of the merchandise we were given, golf bag, shoes, clothes, balls, etc.  The second, and even more surprising thing, was the final score.  Who could have guessed we'd end up tied?

2.  I like all of the formats, really.  Foursomes (alternate) is maybe the more stressful, and the hardest to get into a rhythm, but its still fun.  I'll agree with most of the others, I probably enjoyed the team matches a little more than the individual match.

3.  There were no pushovers on either team, everyone was a strong player, but @Club Rat may be the toughest of the tough from the red team.

4. We tied, how much better can handicapping work?  Getting or giving strokes doesn't matter all that much when the range is so tight.  Either way can get into your head if you let it  ("I get a stroke here, I better win this one"  or "I better play extra-hard here, I'm giving a stroke"), you just have to put it out of your mind.

5.  I think I'm a reasonably fast player, but @kpaulhus was definitely faster than me.

6.  I'm sure there were drives around the 300 yard range, I'm sure @kpaulhus had one or two.  I know I was in the shorter-driver group, along with @Club Rat, with solid shots carrying 230 or so.

7.  There was very little drinking going on, and none until the matches were over each day.  Both @Club Rat and I had a couple of beers most evenings, but that's about all that I really noticed.  If I had to guess, I'd say the @kpaulhus could put both of us away if he had a mind to.

[Club Rat]

50 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

 I know I was in the shorter-driver group, along with @Club Rat, with solid shots carrying 230 or so.

I'll add, Dave & I were usually "down the middle" all day long, unlike some Bombers who were often on scenic tours ...

On one hole as we approached our green, a couple of golf balls rained down on us from the group behind us.
I grabbed my white towel and tied it to my driver and started waving it to surrender the onslaught of being bombed .... 

They cordially apologized for their errant tee shots as they drove up.

[DaveP043]

13 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

  (I did outdrive Dave a couple of times last week, so I know I can at least keep up with him :))  

Sure, its easy to hit it past the old fat guy!

[iacas]

Enjoying the answers so far, guys. Keep 'em coming.

[kpaulhus]

19 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

Let's hear from prior participants about their experiences from prior Newport Cups.

1. What surprised you most about the Newport Cup competition?

2. Which day/format was your least favorite? And which was your favorite?

3. Which player from the opposing team would you least want to face in a winner take all situation?

4. What did you think about the handicapping of the matches? Would you rather get or give strokes?

5. Which player was the fastest as far as pace?

6. Without naming names, what was the longest average drive stat for an individual player?  Shortest average drive stat for a single player?

7. Who could drink the most without visible problems?

1. I was surprised at how well we all got along right from the start. The swag from Ping and Linksoul were icing on the cake for sure. That really took the Newport Cup over the top....last thing that surprised me was how patient @mchepp was with me during our team match. I did some dumb stuff that round. I would say chipping out of the woods into a lake was probably the "Not top 10" play of the week. 

2. I liked all the formats. I would say the first day out in foursomes was a bit nerve racking because I didnt want to let the team down and lose my match. I liked singles. @GolfLug and I had a great match. 

3. I would say @DaveP043 would be the toughest opponent in my opinion. Dave has a super steady tempo and you know when he turns his hips that drive is going right down the middle. The best part about Dave is maybe the unintentional head games haha. You'd hit one bad shot and knew Dave was going to make par and win the hole, and he would say something to the tune of "you'll get it next hole" 

4. The handicapping was very fair. I think I had to give 1 shot in my matches, and it was a tie most of the time. I didnt witness any huge blow out matches. 

5. I am going to take the honor of fastest player. @mvmac even had to tell me to take my time, maybe a practice swing or two. I've always been one to turn a nice 9 hole round into a 40 min race. 

6. Longest drivers of the trip were probably @SavvySwede or @saevel25. If we each had 3 drives I think I could "keep up" with them, but Matt and Vince are much longer on a more consistent basis. Shortest drive stats was probably @Club Rat, but he never hit it long and OB. He was in most holes throughout the week. 

7. This is a tough one. I have no problem downing a 6pk on the front 9 and still shooting around 3 or 4 over. I think if you put myself and @DaveP043 in a bar and the drink of choice was those heavier beers he likes, he would crush me. If we went whiskey and diet I could put a ton down. Either way, not sure if that's an accomplishment but I can handle a lot of booze and still play relatively close to my handicap. 

 

[DaveP043]

5 minutes ago, kpaulhus said:

The best part about Dave is maybe the unintentional head games haha. You'd hit one bad shot and knew Dave was going to make par and win the hole, and he would say something to the tune of "you'll get it next hole" 

[iacas]

1. @jamo 1.5 A
2. @billchao 13.8 B
3. @coachjimsc 1.0 A
4. @jbishop15 7.5 A
5. @georgep 8.7 B
6. @RandallT 16.0 A
7. @JxQx 4.0 B
8. @NCGolfer 0.8 B
9. @DaveP043 5.8 A
10. @GolfLug 9.7 A
11. @jkelley9 ? B
12. @cipher ? A
13. @jsgolfer 6.5 A
14. @CarlSpackler 11.8 B
15. @saevel25 3.8 A
16. @bkuehn1952 8.4 B
17. @k-troop 9.0 A
18. @SavvySwede 4.0 B

[GolfLug]

20 hours ago, bkuehn1952 said:

Let's hear from prior participants about their experiences from prior Newport Cups.

1. What surprised you most about the Newport Cup competition?

2. Which day/format was your least favorite? And which was your favorite?

3. Which player from the opposing team would you least want to face in a winner take all situation?

4. What did you think about the handicapping of the matches? Would you rather get or give strokes?

5. Which player was the fastest as far as pace?

6. Without naming names, what was the longest average drive stat for an individual player?  Shortest average drive stat for a single player?

7. Who could drink the most without visible problems?

 

 

 

 

1. Few things, not greatly surprising but certainly wasn't expecting:

Erik and Mike hooking us with the sponsors and the sponsors hooking us up with ALL of our play gear except clubs. I had packed all kinds of blue shirts, shorts and shoes for the three days. Dang. I use the PING bag with my name and The Sand Trap embroidered on it till day.

How evenly the teams were matched. The tied final score was only about a 5% accident, IMO. I had expected the blue team to have a distinct advantage which did manifest in the first two days but then red came back and evened it out. Deserved.

What was not a surprise - The venue quality. Knew it would be great and absolutely loved Moon Valley.

2. Foursome kicked my butt. Never got settled enough to play equivalent to either of my two partners. But having said that I am hoping to get picked just so I can redeem myself. Enjoyed fourball and singles equally.

3. @mchepp who has a under bearing presence with a disarming smile but has some serious match play chops. Should mention @Big C as he got down from trash cans. From our side I am absolutely certain @DaveP043 is a tough opponent for anybody. Competing against folks like that can wear you down. Relentless and the quality of play wavers very little. I learnt a LOT.

4. I think HCP was fine. I was one of the higher HCP so obviously I want to get strokes as I should.

5. Played 3 out of 5 matches with Kyle in them including my singles. No contest. I think if he could, he would just hit the ball while walking up to his next stroke without stopping to take a stance..  

6. There were at least 4 players in the 280+ range for the week, with one routinely up in low 300s. Median I would guesstimate 245ish.

Short side is in the 215-220 range. Honestly it is hard to compete seriously in this crowd with that kind of distance no matter how well you keep it in play.   

7. Didn't think there was much drinking going on other than a beer here or there so hard to say but there were a few who I would say can hold their alcohol. There were cigars too.

Not one of the questions here but I want to say this was a very solid group of guys including the captains and it cannot be mentioned enough how well we all got along. There was absolutely zero 'unhealthy' gamesmanship then went on. You just couldn't tell the teams apart at The House. Loved it!

 @Golfingdad, have given up on the fact that my swing will never win a beauty contest but there is a method to the madness even though the result doesn't always point to it..  

[Big C]

Just a couple quick thoughts on @bkuehn1952's questions. 

- There were no real surprises for me. And, I might add, that's a good thing! My only real expectations were to meet some great guys who loved golf as much as I do, and have a blast competing with them. The trip certainly did not disappoint. I already knew @Golfingdad pretty well, but was glad to make 12 new friends - all of whom I would gladly tee it up with again. In particular, I spent several rounds competing against, and sharing a ride from the airport to our house with @GolfLug, who is just as nice in person as he is online. 

Interestingly, once I got past the butterflies and fear of putting my partner in a terrible spot, I really enjoyed alternate shot/foursomes. It was probably my favorite format and one that I wish I had the chance to play more often.

In terms of competition, it was clear that everyone was a straight shooter with their handicaps because there no pushovers in the group. Meaning that anyone could make life miserable for their opponent in their own way. @SavvySwede buried me on the back 9 of our singles match with a 5 hole/2 under stretch. With his distance advantage, @saevel25 was never out of a hole. And @jamo made more long back-breaking putts in our opening fourball match than I care to recall. But in terms of grinders: guys you wouldn't want to play if you had a large sum of money on the line? @mchepp and @DaveP043 were both maddeningly consistent. I played two rounds with Dave and one with Mike - and while my memory might be fading a bit, I don't remember either of them hitting a single really lousy shot.

Drinking was mostly contained to house afterwards. But if I had to guess, I'd put my money on @Clubrat to down those cold "barley pops" with the best of them.

[NCGolfer]

Love the responses here guys.  I played in a couple of these YEARS back so the format has changed somewhat and many of the contestants are not around any more.  I always had a good time at these and it was awesome meeting a lot of the people you only knew from their thoughts and sentence structure.  

I'm hopeful I can make it this year and get picked.  I feel like I'm re-dedicating myself this year and working towards a much more positive 2017.  A fun, successful Newport Cup would (hopefully) be the end of a great year.

[bmartin461]

I have to say to my West Coast nominees: 

1. I'm jealous, what an amazing opportunity

2. Don't disappoint!

3. Let me know if you need a caddie.....

[CarlSpackler]

I think it's safe to pull my name from the list. I'm not even going to break 100 today. No chance of dipping into single digits. This doesn't count since I'm playing solo, it's time to stop fooling myself. Enjoy everyone. 

[iacas]

1 hour ago, CarlSpackler said:

I think it's safe to pull my name from the list. I'm not even going to break 100 today. No chance of dipping into single digits. This doesn't count since I'm playing solo, it's time to stop fooling myself. Enjoy everyone. 

I'll give you time to chill out and calm down, because I'm not going to take people off the list, then add them back, then take them off again… If you want your name added or removed, I'll only do each of those one time.

[CarlSpackler]

3 hours ago, iacas said:

I'll give you time to chill out and calm down, because I'm not going to take people off the list, then add them back, then take them off again… If you want your name added or removed, I'll only do each of those one time.

I suppose it isn't hurting anything to remain on the list. 

[jsgolfer]

On 1/27/2017 at 1:51 PM, iacas said:

I dunno, man… you're a Patriots fan. On the bright side, your odds increase when they lose to the Falcons.

Now that the Patriots had the greatest comeback ever in the Superbowl, my odds have decreased significantly?  

[iacas]

26 minutes ago, jsgolfer said:

Now that the Patriots had the greatest comeback ever in the Superbowl, my odds have decreased significantly?  

I don't know about "significantly"…

[stayblessed]

Excellent.

[bkuehn1952]

24 hours until the big announcement.  My expectation is the selection process will be smoother than the "Best Picture" award was last night.

With the number of excellent players submitting "V-Logs", the fortunate candidate could be one of several.  Best of luck to everyone.