My first U.S. Open Local Qualifying Experience

[Shooting29]

Course was par 72

rating/slope 75.7/144

7284 yards

Course was wet and brutal. I fired an 84. I wore out my 5 wood and my 4 hybrid on second shots and par 3s. I hit my driver 14 times and hit 12 of 14 fairways. The 2 I missed, 1 was in the first cut and the other was a fairway bunker. I hit 5 wood into 3 par 4s and 3 par 3s. 

My problem was 2 doubles and 2 triples. No penalties on the day so I have that going for me. I won't bore you with the pars and birdies. 

I was even through 6 holes. On my 7th I Hit it left of the green a 226 yard par 3. Found it in 2 foot tall grass. hit my 2nd solid and it went about 10 feet. hit my third solid and got it out of the high stuff. chipped on amd two putted for 6.

My 12th a 365 yard par 4 I hit it in a fairway bunker, shanked it into the gunch, hacked out of the gunch, chipped on and two putted for a double. 

My 14th a 580 yard par 5 I hit driver in the fairway, half bladed my 5 wood into the face of a fairway bunker wedged out to 125 and then the fun started. Hit pw onto the green and watched my ball catch a ridge and fall off the green into a collection area. chip it up the slope and it rolled back to my feet. chipped it on and two putted for 8.

My 16th a 215 yard par 3 i hit a weak flare about 20' right of the hole, problem was it ended up in that nasty 2 foot grass again, gouged it out over the green, chip on two putt for 5.

+10 on 4 holes +2 for the other 14. The field average was 80.6 and 70 was medalist, 71 was the other spot. 4 times I put a ball in a position you can't recover from. But even with only bogies on those holes the best I could have shot would have been 78, my absolute best on that course under those conditions would be 76. No way I can shoot 70 there. Just not long enough.

What did I learn? These guys are on a different level than me. I was killing my driver and the kid (17) I was playing with knocked 3 wood past me. On 18 I hit my drive 272 and had 230 for my second (par 4 by the way). I hit driver 5 wood. the kid hit driver and had 170 and hit a lofted club to 5 feet. The course was wet, there was no roll. I also learned there is no let up on courses like this. you better be striping it and you better stripe every shot. A bad swing is mercilessly penalized. A good swing on a bad line is mercilessly penalized.  I three putted twice because i played to the fat of the green and because of the undulation, couldn't get it inside 20 feet. you just hit your putt knowing a good swing and well struck shot put you on the green but the line you chose means you're making bogey.

I'm glad I played. I doubt I try again, it's mentally exhausting. I will try again if I find a magic driver that gives me 40 more yards of carry. The guy who won made a double and two bogies but his length helped him make 6 birdies. 

[Papa Steve 55]

Thanks for sharing. It seems length is dominating the game today, same as HR's were in the Sosa, McGwire baseball days. I'm not sure the risk/reward factor is in balance anymore. Bunkers placed 275 yards out are carried on the fly by pros today. There is no thought of should I try a driver or layup with a 5wood. Bombs away.....

I wonder if a Brad Faxon could even make the tour today.

[Let it Fly]

Thanks for sharing.  Putting the "rough day" factor aside, that was cool to read from the perspective of viewing a player like yourself as being on totally different level than me.

I may have to print this out and give it to one of my regular (and delusional) playing partners who thinks he could break 100 on a US Open-setup course.

[Shooting29]

13 minutes ago, Let it Fly said:

Thanks for sharing.  Putting the "rough day" factor aside, that was cool to read from the perspective of viewing a player like yourself as being on totally different level than me.

I may have to print this out and give it to one of my regular (and delusional) playing partners who thinks he could break 100 on a US Open-setup course.

you're welcome,  no way anyone legitimately a 10 or higher is breaking 100 on the course I played. I was a plus when I signed up and hit a slump and played yesterday as a 1.2 There were three forced carries of 240 yards just to reach the fairway across a gorge/creek so if you don't make it, re-tee. the par 3s were must hit because missing the green was death.

[jamo]

31 minutes ago, Let it Fly said:

Thanks for sharing.  Putting the "rough day" factor aside, that was cool to read from the perspective of viewing a player like yourself as being on totally different level than me.

I may have to print this out and give it to one of my regular (and delusional) playing partners who thinks he could break 100 on a US Open-setup course.

I'll echo this. Thanks for sharing @Shooting29!

[Shooting29]

My dad is a 7, he hits it straight and solid but not very far. I know his game almost as well as I know my own. Using the distance I played at and knowing the distance he hits it, (220 carry) I figured what even par would be for him. 2 of the par 3s would be par 4s, 2 of the par 4s would be par 5s,  3 of the par 4s would be par 6s due to the forced carry, and 2 of the par 5s would be par 6s so even par for him with his distance would be 83. That's him hitting every fairway and every green in his regulation and 2 putting. If he got a little loose off the tee or on approach shots I can see him going up to triple digits pretty easily. 

[NCGolfer]

Thanks for sharing @Shooting29.  Kudos for giving it a try.  I've done US Amateur qualifiers before and been humbled a bit with a similar experience.  It was probably 7-8 years ago but there was a college kid who drove it straight and pretty long (not crazy long) but always had a shorter iron in his hand...gave himself good opportunities and never in trouble.  He was one of the four qualifiers...shot something like 69-68.  My best round in the couple years I tried was 75 I believe.  Made the cut for the second day one of those years.

[TN94z]

Wow! Very eye opening and just goes to show the different levels of the game.

[cutchemist42]

Any thoughts on how you could find the extra distance or are you physically maxxed out you think?  Very humbling to read how even 290ish(?) drives wont cut it at those levels. Thanks for posting this.

Edited May 16, 2017 by cutchemist42

[RandallT]

Great read, and I'll echo the thanks. Impressed you took on the challenge, and it sounded like a slog to get through. Interesting to hear about how you saw people separating themselves, even from solid golfers like yourself. When conditions are tough, it seems those extra yards (with decent accuracy, of course) can mean all the difference- translating to multiple strokes over a tough round like that.

[Shooting29]

42 minutes ago, cutchemist42 said:

Any thoughts on how you could find the extra distance or are you physically maxxed out you think?  Very humbling to read how even 290ish(?) drives wont cut it at those levels. Thanks for posting this.

I have an out dated off the rack driver. I hit it too high and put too much spin on it. If I get my launch angle and spin rate down I would pick up some distance but as you all know, new drivers are expensive. Is 20 yards worth 500$ and would 20 make a difference? I'm still hitting mid to long irons and hybrids and still not reaching those par 5s. 

[Pretzel]

5 hours ago, Shooting29 said:

Course was wet and brutal. I fired an 84.

Are you me? 

Local qualifying was rough for me too, but I think I still want to have another go at it next year if my handicap allows for it. 

[kpaulhus]

8 hours ago, Let it Fly said:

Thanks for sharing.  Putting the "rough day" factor aside, that was cool to read from the perspective of viewing a player like yourself as being on totally different level than me.

I may have to print this out and give it to one of my regular (and delusional) playing partners who thinks he could break 100 on a US Open-setup course.

You and I must know the same guy. 20.7 handicap index...has no clue what a tournament setup is like. Putting greens are lightning fast and the rough is thicker than a south boston accent.

[bkuehn1952]

11 hours ago, Shooting29 said:

Course was par 72

rating/slope 75.7/144

7,284 yards

What course was this?

[dennyjones]

Even though it wasn't the outcome you wanted, it is still impressive to us higher handicaps.    Thanks for posting.

[Shorty]

11 hours ago, Shooting29 said:

I wore out my 5 wood and my 4 hybrid on second shots and par 3s. I

An enlightening post from a good player that people need to take notice of.

It shows what people don't get. On hard courses, the average player cannot reach par 4s in two. Even playing well with regulation bogeys means that you are doing well to hit par 4s in 3 and 2 putt for bogey without making errors. "Average" players are not hitting close to ANY greens in regulation on these courses unless they fluke a 3 wood onto the one par three that is reachable for them.

Edited May 16, 2017 by Shorty

[mdl]

Funny that a guy with ~270 carry is just too short to compete!  Seems like maybe a new driver with a proper fitting might be worth the money if 290 would put you in the mix!

[Hategolf]

Dang...that sounds like a really difficult course. 

I thought if you can drive it 250 you can compete outside your average men's club, but apparently I was wrong. 

The search for longer shots is not an obsession , is a must if you want to compete.