Today I was THAT guy

[JEd_i]

I participated in my first non-scramble tournament today. It was a two man best ball tournament at a course that I've played several times.  The course is in the Pacific Northwest and we've had rain solidly for the last week, but today the weather was beautiful.  This course drains well and is pretty much wide open as far as fairways and rough goes, but the greens were lightly sanded.  My previous low round at this track was an 86.  Today it played to about 6200 yards rated at 71.10/130.  My lowest round ever at any course is an 81 at 5700 yards rated at 68.20/115.  Today, I shot a 77 comprising of two birdies, eleven parts, three bogeys, and two doubles.  I only had two drives that I would consider errant and I didn't sink a single putt outside of six feet. The one bunker I found myself in took me two shots to get out. My partner and I combined for a 73 gross, 54 net.  I have never felt so relaxed on a golf course as I did today.

Ever since I started keeping track of an index, I've counted all my strokes and recorded all my rounds.  The lowest I've ever been was 13.5 (about 3 years ago), but it's ballooned since then and I finished up with a 19.9 prior to our season's end.

How did I become THAT guy and an apparent sandbagger?  My driver has never been an issue, but for the last 18 months I couldn't hit a green from 100 yards out no matter what I did.  I recently had a lot of time on my hands and decided to take a package of lessons.  My instructor was awesome and didn't tweak much--shorten my backswing, eliminate my right leg sway, adjust my spine angle, and switched to a slightly stronger grip.  One month later, and my iron game has never been better and I've never had more confidence in approach shots.

My score from today is legitimate and I'm ecstatic about that.  My handicap is legitimate, but I'm not so ecstatic as to the overall result today.  I was honestly hoping to turn in a scorecard and find someone else had shot significantly lower.

Oh, and I found a nice note on my cart once dinner was over.  I originally thought it came from my playing partner, so I had a nice chuckle.  Come to find out, he didn't do it and I have no idea who did as I didn't know a single person at this place except him and the two other players I met during our round.  They were awesome to play with and really kept the round light. I still find the note humorous.

[David in FL]

Congrats on your career round!  

Edited February 3, 2019 by David in FL

[JEd_i]

8 minutes ago, David in FL said:

Congrats on your career round!  

Thank you! 

[bkuehn1952]

As you said, you diligently and accurately post all eligible scores to your handicap so it is legit.  Everyone has a round of their life.  Enjoy the moment.  Congratulations on the win.

[Vinsk]

29 minutes ago, JEd_i said:

I participated in my first non-scramble tournament today. It was a two man best ball tournament at a course that I've played several times.  The course is in the Pacific Northwest and we've had rain solidly for the last week, but today the weather was beautiful.  This course drains well and is pretty much wide open as far as fairways and rough goes, but the greens were lightly sanded.  My previous low round at this track was an 86.  Today it played to about 6200 yards rated at 71.10/130.  My lowest round ever at any course is an 81 at 5700 yards rated at 68.20/115.  Today, I shot a 77 comprising of two birdies, eleven parts, three bogeys, and two doubles.  I only had two drives that I would consider errant and I didn't sink a single putt outside of six feet. The one bunker I found myself in took me two shots to get out. My partner and I combined for a 73 gross, 54 net.  I have never felt so relaxed on a golf course as I did today.

Ever since I started keeping track of an index, I've counted all my strokes and recorded all my rounds.  The lowest I've ever been was 13.5 (about 3 years ago), but it's ballooned since then and I finished up with a 19.9 prior to our season's end.

How did I become THAT guy and an apparent sandbagger?  My driver has never been an issue, but for the last 18 months I couldn't hit a green from 100 yards out no matter what I did.  I recently had a lot of time on my hands and decided to take a package of lessons.  My instructor was awesome and didn't tweak much--shorten my backswing, eliminate my right leg sway, adjust my spine angle, and switched to a slightly stronger grip.  One month later, and my iron game has never been better and I've never had more confidence in approach shots.

My score from today is legitimate and I'm ecstatic about that.  My handicap is legitimate, but I'm not so ecstatic as to the overall result today.  I was honestly hoping to turn in a scorecard and find someone else had shot significantly lower.

Oh, and I found a nice note on my cart once dinner was over.  I originally thought it came from my playing partner, so I had a nice chuckle.  Come to find out, he didn't do it and I have no idea who did as I didn't know a single person at this place except him and the two other players I met during our round.  They were awesome to play with and really kept the round light. I still find the note humorous.

Whoever put the note is probably a sandbagger.  They hate to lose especially when they cheated to win.

[JEd_i]

1 minute ago, Vinsk said:

Whoever put the note is probably a sandbagger.  They hate to lose especially when they cheated to win.

I suppose that's possible.  Someone else brought up that the note may not have even been meant for me...that it was placed on the wrong cart.  That's possible, too.  Regardless, I found it funny.  

 

[DaveP043]

Congratulations on your career round, I hope you can keep it going the right direction. 

One thing I'd suggest for anyone who does this, post your score while everyone is there, loudly, publicly, and if appropriate, make sure to post it as a tournament score.  Real sandbaggers try their best not to post these scores, or post them incorrectly (wrong tee, for instance), so be sure the folks understand that you are doing the right thing.

[billchao]

Competition can bring out the worst in people. You had a career round, it just happened to be during a tournament. If people assume just because you shot lower than expected that your handicap isn't accurate, that's on them.

---

I used to play with a guy regularly who was about a 17. He shot a 76 once when we were playing, including two eagles (one was a 3w to tap-in distance on a par 5, the other was a lucky hole-out on a par 4 that hit the top of the flagstick and dropped). Next time we played he shot 95.

[Patch]

Congrats on the 77. It's always great to be "that guy" every so often. 

Myself, when I break 80, I always ask myself if I could have shot one more stroke lower. 

[JEd_i]

2 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

Congratulations on your career round, I hope you can keep it going the right direction. 

One thing I'd suggest for anyone who does this, post your score while everyone is there, loudly, publicly, and if appropriate, make sure to post it as a tournament score.  Real sandbaggers try their best not to post these scores, or post them incorrectly (wrong tee, for instance), so be sure the folks understand that you are doing the right thing.

I am considering posting it even though we are out of season, the greens were sanded, and it was lift/clean/place throughout the course. Frankly, low scores and a falling index are the kind of badges I want. 

1 hour ago, Patch said:

Congrats on the 77. It's always great to be "that guy" every so often. 

Myself, when I break 80, I always ask myself if I could have shot one more stroke lower. 

I was +2 through eleven holes until I scored back to back doubles. Flub into the bunker up against the wall and then a flub trying to get out. The second out was great, though!

[Mr22putt]

OP...you SANDBAGGING cheat....lol....congrats on a once in a life time score.....your 77 works out to a differential 13.9 strokes lower than your 19 cap...the probability of that is so low.

What course is this?

So you say this course has generous fairways....but at 6200 yards at 71.1/130 would indicate it's a really tough course with quite a bit of trouble.....it's rare to see 71.1/130 at 6200 yards. 

[JEd_i]

9 minutes ago, Mr22putt said:

OP...you SANDBAGGING cheat....lol....congrats on a once in a life time score.....your 77 works out to a differential 13.9 strokes lower than your 19 cap...the probability of that is so low.

What course is this?

So you say this course has generous fairways....but at 6200 yards at 71.1/130 would indicate it's a really tough course with quite a bit of trouble.....it's rare to see 71.1/130 at 6200 yards. 

The course doesn’t have a lot of trees comparable to the rest of this area and the rough was really short. It has several reachable bunkers. A couple of the Par 3 greens are surrounded by trouble. If you can stay out of the walled bunkers and avoid the water on a couple holes, it’s an extremely playable course. 

It’s The Home Course in Dupont, WA

Edited February 3, 2019 by JEd_i
Additional info

[bkuehn1952]

4 hours ago, JEd_i said:

I am considering posting it even though we are out of season, ...

 Don't do that.  Keep your handicap record legit.

[JEd_i]

34 minutes ago, Mr22putt said:

So you say this course has generous fairways....but at 6200 yards at 71.1/130 would indicate it's a really tough course with quite a bit of trouble.....it's rare to see 71.1/130 at 6200 yards. 

I pulled that info off my app while writing this post.  The site has it at 69.9/123 on the combo tees which is basically how it was setup.

[Mr22putt]

6 hours ago, JEd_i said:

I pulled that info off my app while writing this post.  The site has it at 69.9/123 on the combo tees which is basically how it was setup.

That makes more sense....at 6600 yards it's 71/129 which makes more sense too.

I've read a lot of good things about The Home course, including how dry it plays in the winter....it's also often included in Chambers Bay golf packages.

Didn't realize the course is so close to I5.

Congrats again on the once in a life town rd until you get into a single digit cap where a 77 will be more common.

Did you get snow today?......we got 1" up here in Vancouver, BC

Edited February 4, 2019 by Mr22putt

[JEd_i]

54 minutes ago, Mr22putt said:

That makes more sense....at 6600 yards it's 71/129 which makes more sense too.

I've read a lot of good things about The Home course, including how dry it plays in the winter....it's also often included in Chambers Bay golf packages.

Didn't realize the course is so close to I5.

Congrats again on the once in a life town rd until you get into a single digit cap where a 77 will be more common.

Did you get snow today?......we got 1" up here in Vancouver, BC

I would personally play Home Course before Chambers.  I just find it more enjoyable.  Chambers is a good experience, but it's a little extreme in design in my opinion.

I'm hoping that 77 is just an indication that I'm trending in the right direction with the lessons I took.  I can't wait for March to get here and start posting some scores.  I've had a few rounds in the mid-80s playing winter rules and whatnot knowing that it is definitely a little different once you have to start playing the ball down.

We're starting to get some accumulation.  I think they upped the forecast from 2" to 3"

[phillyk]

53 minutes ago, JEd_i said:

I would personally play Home Course before Chambers.  I just find it more enjoyable.  Chambers is a good experience, but it's a little extreme in design in my opinion.

I do like the Home Course. Very fun track and I play well there. Look out for Chambers Bay this summer. All greens have been replanted to poa and one of my members, who is also a member at Chambers, says the 3 that have already been replanted roll great! 

Good round by the way! Definitely a good score for that course!

[Mr22putt]

On 2/3/2019 at 8:29 PM, JEd_i said:

I would personally play Home Course before Chambers.  I just find it more enjoyable.  Chambers is a good experience, but it's a little extreme in design in my opinion.

 

I attended a Tuesday USO practice rd in 2015 at Chambers....too bad it's a 4 hr drive from Vanc, BC....I got a sunset rate for any time Mon-Thurs until July 31 promo card at our golf show last weekend.