Too far gone to catch up

Still so far behind, I think I'm giving up recapping the final round from the Phoenix City and the San Tan tournament. I shot 76 the last round of the Phoenix City after making the turn at 2 under, not sure if I ran out of gas or what, shot 6 over on the back, just got on a bogey train and couldn't get off. Then the next weekend at the San Tan I went 74 - 79. I played fairly well the first day, nearly made eagle on #1, but then just fell into a rut, and then bogeyed my last hole to rub salt in the wound. The next day was pouring rain, cold and miserable. To make matters worse, they did a reverse horseshoe for tee times, so my lucky middle of the pack ass at 74 went off promptly at 7AM in 48 degrees and rain. No rain pants, by the time we turned to the back my pants were soaked, my shirt was soaked from the sleeves and back being exposed, and I had slipped twice on tee shots. I turned in 4 over, and shot the same number on the back. As an insult, Mother Nature brought out the sun as I tapped in for par on 18. Bitch.

Phoenix City - Round 3

Ok, so Round 3 and 4 was the following weekend. Round 3 is at Cave Creek in North Phoenix, about an hour from my house. I really like this golf course, played well here last year and got nothing out of it. Trust me, there's more of that coming.

I saw on the pairings sheet that I was playing with my man Joe who I'd played some Golf Channel Amateur events with, so I was excited to see him again. I haven't played any Golf Channel events since before the shoulder surgery, so it's been nearly 10 months since I'd seen him. We go off of #1, a 363 yard straightaway par 4, we all hit driver, the best angle is from the right as the stick is just over the bunker in front, so I hit a nice draw. Just a small flip wedge left, put it about 8 feet past the hole, and left the putt 4 feet short straight downhill, wow, great start. Center cut the par putt and left shaking my head. 2 is a reachable 510 yard par 5, that I block into the trees. So I punch a 5 iron out to about 90 yards and hit a nearly perfect half wedge that catches the ridge and spins back down, straightforward 2 putt from there. 3 is a 195 yard par 3, pin is up front, hit a solid 5 iron that didn't draw, just past middle right about 25 feet away, JUST missed that putt, thought for sure it was in. Hit what I thought was a bomb off of 4, 387 yard par 4, left me with 95 yards, and Joe and another guy were a full 20 yards ahead of me, ouch. Somehow I actually hooked the SW left of the green, shortsided to a pin on a green that slopes away, best I could muster was 20 Goddamn feet, leaving me a downhill right to left par putt that broke 4 feet. Oh, and I left it 3 inches short, dead in the jaws. 1 over.

The tee shot on the fifth doesn't setup good for me, I cold blocked it last year, and followed through consistently this year. I think I nearly landed in my divot from last year. Left me 155 to the hole, back into a freshening breeze now. I decide on 7 and immediately begged for it to get down, luckily I don't know what the hell I'm talking about as it lands dead in the heart of the green, 15 feet below the hole. Hit another great putt that somehow stayed out, straightforward par. 6 is a 532 yard par 5, HUGE fairway, very easy looking hole. Hit it pretty good off the tee, but pulled it and landed it in the left rough. Ball was nearly a foot below my feet, I hit hybrid from 235 and just smother hooked it. Overcompensation says what? So now I've got about 40 yards to a green sitting 10 feet below me, sloping away, over a bunker to a back left (short side) pin. Hit a great pitch but it just kept running, ended up 30 feet away. I felt really good about this putt, even though it breaks nearly 6 feet and I actually lipped it out, tap in par. What a great putt. 7 is a 197 yard par 3, nutted a 5 iron dead over the flag, about 12 feet above the hole. Hit a good putt but it never really had a chance of falling, easy 3 and we're off to the next hole.

Eight is a 437 yard par 4 that has a huge grass covered wash about 290 yards off the tee, OB left, big desert wasteland right. Absolutely bombed 3 wood down the left side after the guy who went before me rope hooked it OB. Pretty happy with the aggressive swing after that. I get to my ball and I'm dead on 150 yards to the hole, but with the ball in the rough and quite a bit above my feet. Well I didn't deserve that. Fat that piece of shit short left, but hit a great pitch to about 8 inches and made 4. Off to the 422 yard par 4 ninth, hit a good tee shot down the right side, still 160 yards out though, bummer. I can feel the breeze, I know it killed my tee shot, but I still pull 7 iron and hit a great shot for a front right pin. Problem is we're back left today, about 40 feet away, hit the first putt the perfect pace, but misread it bad and left it 3 feet right. Made the putt to make the turn at 1 over. I ate the most wonderful flavor of Clif bar ever, Chocolate Brownie, oh my.

Hit driver on the 341 yard 10th leaving me a flip wedge which I pulled a bit, left me pin high about 12 feet left. The putt was low all the way and never had a chance. Ah well. 11 is a 521 yard par 5, water reachable from the tee. I hit a so so 3 wood fully intending this to be a 3 shot hole. The other guys hit bombs and had nothing into the green, kicking myself now. I decide on a 6 iron to lay up to the top of the hill with and fucking blocked it into the trees. Wow, great strategy, now I'm really kicking myself. Luckily I had went back to 6 instead of 5 as I had just enough room to hit a knockdown 9 iron from 135, pulled it just a bit but was pin high in the fringe, about 12 feet away. Very nearly made the putt but walked away with an easy 5. 12 is a 370 yard dogleg right par 4, Hit a beautiful driver down the right side and have nothing left, except for the big huge tree overhanging the entire right side. Looks like the shot here is a big rope hook off the tee, dammit. I figure I'll hit a knockdown wedge to the center of the green, over the big ass bunker, just take my medicine. Typically knockdown shots are supposed to fly low, I however invented the high flying rattle the overhanging tree limbs knockdown that lands 30 yards short of the green. Disappointed and super excited, I hit the pitch to a tidy 30 feet. Yay concentration. I haven't made a putt all day, so I say to myself "well, it's time" and damned if I didn't make it. In my excitement about it, I ran to the left side of the green and gave my best Phil Mickelson winning the Masters leap of 4". Joe and his caddy can't help themselves and promptly tell me "dude, that was gay". True.

13, 171 yard par 3, pin back right, wind is strong now. I nutted a cut 6 iron, looked soooo good from the tee. We get up there and it was actually 25 feet short, I just made a bomb, let's make another. Gave it a run, went about 5 feet past the hole and missed the comebacker. 2 over. 14 is 392 yards, water left and right about 270 off the tee, I hit hybrid right down the center, left me 140 yards and a solid 9 iron to about 8 feet. Once again, the putt never had a chance and we walk off with a ho hum par. I blocked driver dead right on 15, 383 yard par 4, SMACK right into a tree. Now I have no idea where the ball is. We start walking and wouldn't you know it, I'm dead in the center of the fairway. Clean living boys. Still had 150 in, good 8 iron about 15 feet left, putt never had a chance, par. The last par 5, reachable at 518 yards, big tree on the left about 250 out. Last year I blocked it right into a flat waste area and then fatted it into the pond short, this year I blocked it farther right. The good news is I was on a 30 degree slope behind a palm tree, so no chance I'm able to go for it this year. Bad news is I have no idea how far right, left or deep I can hit it to lay up without hitting it into the pond beyond the fairway. I get as good of a yardage as I can and hit a solid 9 iron, dead into the heart of the fairway. I can't remember what I had left from there, but it was a horrible angle, pin cut right behind the bunker. I of course leave it short, but hit an amazing chip shot down the tier to about 4 feet and made the putt for par.

So we're 2 over, we have 2 holes left, let's get something going. 208 yard par 3 17th, I hit the worst 3 iron I've hit in years. Short right, pin is back right, my ball ends up on hardpan on a downslope with zero green to work with. How does that happen? The proper miss is long, and that's where we go, into the fringe, about 15 feet above the hole. Awesome, straight downhill and I leave it 2 feet short. Now it's straight downhill and it breaks outside the hole, and I fucking miss it, double. I hit my driver really hard on 18, right through the fairway into the trees. hit an unbelievable punch 5 iron that was one hop away from being stony, instead it stops on a downslope just short of the green in the rough. I really, really tried to make the chip and ran it 5 feet by. Let's cap off that double with a missed par putt and make bogey on the last hole shall we? Yes. Awesome.

2 over through 16 after some unlucky breaks and go 3 over on the last 2 holes for 77. God I love golf. Yes, that was sarcasm. Shoot me.

Phoenix City - Round 2

Man I'm getting behind. So round 1 at Encanto was a disaster, lots of rust. Round 2 is the following day, I go off just before 10, play with the same guys as the day before. I had to drop my wife off at the airport at 7:30, so it's to the Waffle House for breakfast. Just as a joke, I call my friend Sean Murphy and wake him up to try to get him out for breakfast. He's hung over, played poker until 4 AM, needless to say he's not overjoyed that I called. To add insult to injury, I then suggest that he gets his hungover ass out of bed to come caddy for me. That didn't go over well either, but to his credit, he didn't hang up on me. We talked for a bit then I went in and had the old standby, the All Star. Oh what a meal, the perfect breakfast for any growing golfer. So by then it's time to head out to Maryvale.

I'm on the range warming up and I can "feel" some guy just staring at me, so I turn around to ask just exactly what the fuck he might need from me, and what do you know, it's my man Sean Murphy. Are you kidding me? My man got out of bed and drug his hungover sleepy ass to come out to carry my bag, words can't describe the love I feel for that guy. I have a lot of friends, and he's literally the only one you could get to help out in a situation like that. Amazing. But he's not done yet...

Ok, so here we go. Par 5 first hole, hit a decent tee shot, left me 3 iron in, took a big high cut at the left side of the green, clears the front bunker and settles just in the fringe in the back left, pin is back right, 2 putt from 20 feet for an opening birdie. #2 is 212 yards, and I comment to Murphy that the entire group ahead of us was short. It's playing a bit downwind though, so we pull 4 iron, of course, short left. Pitch was a bit aggressive, about 4 feet past but we center cut it for par. Three is a dogleg right par 4, hit a decent cut driver but back into the wind. We're now just under 200 yards into a crossing breeze, pin is middle right. As I'm pulling my 4 iron I notice that my putter cover is gone. Murphy sees it in the fairway and he literally RUNS down the fairway and back to retrieve it. Hung over and running, haha, what a sight to behold. I was so impressed that I informed him I would carry my bag for the rest of the hole. Haha, what a friend I am. Anyway, hold a 4 iron into the wind, stops about 15 feet short, got it up the hill double breaking, it hit the back of the hole at about 50 mph for another birdie. 2 under after 3, that's a little better. Fourth is a 160 yard par 3 over water, hit a good high hook 7 iron to about 10 feet but leave it low and walk out with a routine par.

Fifth hole is a short par 4, blind tee shot, I always hit 3 wood here, and always nut it, and always hit the fairway. And what do you know, I actually did it again. Left me 92 yards and I hit it 104. God I'm deadly with a SW, what a pathetic attempt. 35 feet away and nearly holed it for birdie, ah well. Sixth hole is a dogleg right par 4, 270 to the water straight out. I hit 3 wood at the corner and hit it so good that I yelled for it to get down. It was fine, dead in the middle. Had 120 yards to the middle right flag, thinned a PW perfectly pin high, about 8 feet away. Missed it and was damned aggressive, hit it 5 feet by, but made it coming back. Seven is just over 400 yards, a bit of a dogleg left, hit a solid tee shot and left me 120 yards again. Ok, don't hit the wedge thin again, mission accomplished. Left myself about 40 feet short, nice execution jackass. 2 putt from there, getting pretty disappointed with these 30+ footers here. Eight is a straightaway par 4, 425 yards, good tee shot up the right side, never comes back. 9 iron from 135 and caught it just a bit heavy, left it in the front fringe, pin is front left, so about 20 feet right and short, very nearly holed that putt as well, thought for sure it was in.

Ok, chop lickin time. Nine and 10 are both reachable par 5's, let's go do some damage. Good tee shot on 9, I had 219 in and hit my hybrid but blocked it into the bunker pin high. Pathetically safe bunker shot to about 10 feet, but uphill and right to left for birdie, never had a chance, left it a full foot short. I swear I wanted to make it, really. So no real damage done, 2 birdies and 7 pars, and there's still some good holes to make some stuff happen. I actually pulled my tee shot on 10 into the left rough, but bombed it so I only had 220 in. Pin is in back on the top shelf and nothing in front of the green. We decide on a little chaser 3 iron to get it up on top of the hill, but I fatted it, about 5 yards short of the green and steam coming out of my ears. Pitch it to about 6 feet after a terrible first bounce that kicked it dead right and missed the putt. We should be at least 3, legitimately possibly 4 under here and nothing to show for it. So now I get aggressive. Oops. 11 is a 175 yard par 3, pin is front left, oh I'm going for it. Hit 6 iron way way way high in the face and leave it in the front bunker. So now I'm short sided AND sitting on the downslope of the bunker. I get cute with it because we HAVE to get up and down, hits the lip and kicks back in. Great. Hit it out from there to about 5 feet and miss the fucking putt, back to even. I hit the tee shot on the par 5 12th hole hard as we had a case of red ass going on now. 590 yard par 5 and I've actually got a chance this time, I've never hit this green, but I have 270 in with nothing in front, we can chase a 3 wood in here and get something back. Hell no, I cold block the 3 wood and hit a 40 foot tall tree, ball kicks straight down onto the hard pan. Brilliant. We get to the ball, I've got a shot. About 80 yards in, pin is middle left, wind coming at us from the left. I'm about to pull the trigger on a SW and Murphy stops me. "Uhhh, where are we going here?" He hasn't said a word to me strategy wise since #2, but I just made double, and now my man rightfully steps in to get my head out of my ass. I tell him I'm trying to hole the fucking thing, seems logical to me. He then points out the overhanging branches on that line and suggests we take the middle of the green and try to make a putt, good call. Hit it dead in the heart about 20 feet away pin high, and very very nearly holed it, just misread it. #13 is a shortish par 4, the green is ALWAYS farther away than it looks, surely I won't be short this time. Bombed driver down the right side, had 90 yards in from the rough, thought I stoned it, we get up there and it had zipped off the green into the fringe. From the rough. I'm totally happy with that. Fuck. Hit a pathetic chip shot that stops 4 feet short on the top of the tier, leaving me a nasty downhill left to right putt for par, center cut it, awesome. #14 is a dogleg left around the only lake on the course, par 4, 280 to the end of the fairway at the corner, I always hit 3 wood. Killed it and went through the fairway, holy shit did I need that shot on 12. 126 yards left, let's hit PW again. Oh yeah, that's right, DON'T thin it! 15 feet past the hole though, no damage, almost holed that putt, was not to be.

#15 is pretty straight, goes back around the lake the opposite way. I pulled my tee shot and hear it hit a tree, but no splash. Well, it has to be dry, but if not, we see where it might have gone. We get up to the tree and can't find my ball until one of the other guys goes farther up on a whim. My ball was 40 yards ahead of where we thought, it had to hit a tree and kick forward hard, over the lake, only left me 75 yards. Amazing, don't know how it happened, I'll take it. At the last instant I had a vision of the thick grass killing the momentum so I gave it a little more flick, 40 feet past. One of the guys in our group left it short so Murphy and I walk around the green on the right and get to my putt from the side, look it over and go. Ran it 6 feet by the hole. Oh shit. As I'm walking to my ball, I notice just how far downhill this putt was, completely missed that, what a stupid I am. I'm so busy kicking myself that I miss the par putt. Murphy grabs my putter before I throw it and calms me down on the way to the next tee by telling me "you better fucking birdie 2 of the next 3 holes". That was the only thing that could have gotten through to me at that time, perfectly said.

Hit a good tee shot on 16, long par 4, dogleg left. I still have 180 yards up the hill, hit a 5 iron at the right side and we'll take a hook if we can get it as there's a nasty bunker between us and the middle left hole. No hook, 30 feet for birdie, how the hell that putt stayed out as well I won't know. Best putt I hit all day, tap in 4. 17 is playing 210 yards, back into the breeze, I hit hybrid perfect and one hopped it on about 8 feet short of the hole, great shot. One of the guys in our group was outside of me on the same line, hitting his putt for bogey (big block into the lake off the tee, big block, huge) and he ran it 10 feet by. Guess where mine ended up? 3 inches short dead in the heart. Murphy about choked me.

Last chance, 420'ish yard par 4 18th, back into breeze still. I unintentionally hit a wind cheating tee shot dead into the heart of the fairway. So this is it, we're concentrating extra hard here, we're looking at the trees, flags, leaves, everything. Murphy thinks it's going to blow it left, I'm thinking he's crazy and it's dead into us. I pick a line at a particular palm tree, he tells me 8 feet right of that. I think he's nuts, he's sure he's right. What a moron, I'm taking my line, he hardly even plays. I pure 6 iron from 160 and immediately start begging for it to stop hooking. He calmly says "I told you". Shut the fuck up. Sticks in the left fringe 15 feet short of hole high. The fringe looks real smooth here, I decide to putt it and leave it 3 inches short dead in the heart. Sound familiar? Murphy about choked me. Again.

So 1 over 73 after being 2 under through 3. The back to back par 5's really deflated me, but there's definite potential here. I didn't really put it into to much trouble except for the 6 iron on 11 and the 3 wood on 12 (I think a direct result of the double on 11). Good stuff to build on. More to come as soon as I get off my behind and finish this up!

Phoenix City Amateur 2009 - Round 1

Round 1 of the even is played at Encanto, arguably the worst course in the rotation. Par 70 and one of those city courses that is showing it's age. Didn't like it last year, definitely don't like it this year. Here we go!

My man Rob Brauer looped it for me this day, very much appreciated. My first tournament back, so it's nice to have someone along with me to keep me from getting too frustrated. First hole is a dogleg left reachable par 5, hit a horrendous weak heeled cut into the left rough, in an open spot between some palm trees. I was going to hit hybrid but Rob talked me into a 5 iron which I pured to 73 yards. Hit a nifty little one hop, zip pitch to about 6 inches for an opening birdie. I pulled 3 wood on the 322 yard 2nd, left me 80 yards over the greenside bunker, thinned it like a bitch and put it deep over the green under a tree. Fantastic pitch to about 5 feet but missed the putt and made bogey. 195 yard 3rd, a hair downwind and hit a terrible 5 iron into the bunker, poor bunker shot to about 15 feet and missed that putt for 2 bogeys in a row. Driver down the right side on 4, still left me 160 yards, pin cut over the bunker. I hit a good 7 iron dead into the heart of the green, should have been fine, instead it hits the back edge and hops nearly up onto the 5th tee, yikes. About 15 yards farther in the air than we were counting on, bad hop on the pitch left me about 6 feet for par, which I pulled, 3 bogeys in a row. Yay.

Fatted a 4 iron to nearly pin high on the 195 yard fifth hole, chipped it to about 2 feet and made the putt for my first par of the day. Perfect driver on 6, left me 117 yards, GW is at home so I hit a soft PW, chunked and pulled pin high left, aggressive chip shot past the hole, miss the putt, bogey. 9 iron on the 132 yard 7th, but it got hung up in the wind, left me about 30 feet, great putt that nearly went in but made par. Hit a good tee shot on 8, 569 yard par 5, solid 3 wood about 60 yards short of the green, time for a nice tight little pitch. Yeah, ahem. 35 feet past the hole, like a surgeon! Cozied the birdie putt to a foot and made par. Hit a good tee shot up the right side of 9, OB left, OB right. I said "the hell with it" and just swung hard. Ended up in the right rough in some casual water, got an iffy lie from the drop and fatted 7 iron to the fringe, pin in front. Rob and I surveyed it and he confirmed it will bounce right on the first hop, had him remove the stick and promptly dunked it, just made the putting surface. Wow. Solid 2 putt bogey from there for a front nine 39, 4 over.

10 is a 304 yard par 4, pin just over the bunker so I hit it down the left side, nearly pin high, about 30 yards left of the green. Hit another wonderful pitch to the center of the green, a mere 25 feet away. Rob says "ok, good shot, center of the green, let's go make the putt". "Fuck you Rob" I replied, there wasn't an ounce of sincerity in that comment. Smartass. Oh yeah, 2 putt par. Time to make something happen, 161 yard par 3 eleventh, pin is back left, we pull a full 7. Ummm, I nearly got "el hosel" dead right, clanked off the fence that lines OB and settled it in between 2 palm trees. Couldn't have asked for a better lie. Pitch to about 15 feet and missed the putt, bogey. 541 yard par five 12th hole, hit a good tee shot up the right side, Rob calls for the 3 wood at the left side of the green, if it fades then awesome. Oh it faded, and hopped and skipped and rode the cart path around nearly pin high. Took a drop into a shitty lie, came out soft and short, too aggressive with the chip shot about 6 feet by and missed it and made another bogey.

Hit a beautiful cut driver off of 13, playing for a hook of course. Actually had an open shot, 9 iron out of the rough and stabbed it, ended up short of pin high left, chipped that to about an inch and finally made another par. 14 is a great hole, 219 yard par 3, playing a bit back into the wind, and I hit a gorgeous cut hybrid, Rob yells "I love it!" as it's in the air. Ballooned a bit and landed short of the green, oh man did that look good for a minute. Pitched to about 4 feet with the lob wedge, Rob and I decided on a read and it never broke. Bogey. Hit what I thought was a very solid tee shot on 15, of course on of the guys in my group hit it FIFTY yards past me. 4 iron to the front left corner about 20 feet away and made an uneventful up and down par. Another good tee shot on 16, solid 6 iron to about 20 feet below the hole. Knew I had this read right, and I was rewarded with a 3 foot par putt remaining. Nice read jackass. Solid tee shot on 17, left me a bit more than a comfortable 8 iron, but when in doubt, hit it hard. Dunked it into the left bunker, short sided, out to 8 feet and missed the putt. 18 is a dogleg left par 4 with OB right, hit a smoked driver over the trees and around the corner to 88 yards. Then put my SW over the back left corner of the green. Up and down for par, which kept me from shooting everyone in sight. Another 39 for a 78 on a par 70 city course, who's the man now? Not me. God I hate this golf course...

Phoenix City Amateur event

I played in the Phoenix City Amateur over the past 2 weekends, just now getting around to posting the details of the rounds. They probably won't all be posted at once, but they are coming...

Whirlwind Championship - Round 2

A day of early near misses that ballooned into "holy crap maybe we should take up tennis". I had 40 putts, five 3 putts, started with a double and finished triple, double, bogey, for a stellar 87. I'm in absolutely no mood to post the details of this crap today, hell we may even pretend it never happened. But for right now, I can tell you that after the double on 1 I had birdie putts of 6 feet, 12 feet, 4 feet, 6 feet and 15 feet on holes 2 through six and shot 2 over for that stretch. Do the math, that's some pretty solid ball striking and some horrendous putting. Now I know what you are thinking, perhaps just fix the putting and all will be well. I tried a different route, I instead opted to start hitting it all over the golf course, which just happens to be tighter and less forgiving that the course we played yesterday. I did however continue to putt bad, you know, you don't want to change too many things at once.

Here's the kicker, if I could have managed to shoot even par today I would have won by a shot as the leader shot 6 over and finished at +3, one shot outside of where I stood after round one. Great, somehow that doesn't make me feel any better. 13 shots worse 24 hours later, how does that even happen?

Whirlwind Championship - Round 1

First round of the Golf Channel Amateur Tour's Regional Championship at Whirlwind today, second round tomorrow on the other golf course "Cat Tail". Shot a 2 over 74 today, played the last 8 holes 3 under so we finished strong. Had a stretch of 5 holes that just got me down and the card showed it. Here we go!

Great tee shot on the 424 yard 1st, left me 136 yards, pull PW into the left bunker, out to 8 feet and canned it for par. Hit a little 3 wood on the 399 yard second, 7 iron to about 8 feet and just missed it on the high side, that there my friends is half the strokes I played this hole in the last time I was here, small victories. A not so great tee shot on the 593 yard 3rd, decent 3 wood leaving me 111 into the breeze, and hit the ugliest little thinned GW you've ever seen, to 4 feet, and missed the putt. Dammit. Blocked it right of the green on the 4th, but a good pitch to about 3 feet and made the putt for the 3. Really solid tee shot on the 410 yard fifth but left me an agle that gave what looked like 3 feet between the stick and the bunker on the right, so I hit 9 iron pin high all the way left. A fantastic putt that just missed on the high side. Here comes the stretch, can you feel it? Are you getting sick to your stomach yet? You will...

Decent tee shot on the 564 yard 5th, then nearly topped my 3 wood to 136 yards, yay. A bit uphill this time so I pull 9 iron and hit the most pathetic weak cut about 30 feet short. First putt to about 2 1/2 feet and I talked myself into thinking the lines from the water injection aeration they did would pull the putt right, so I missed it left, dumbass. Seven is a 163 yard par 3 over water, a bit into the breeze, but a solid 7 iron as far left as I could and still be on the green. I've got 30 feet up and over the tier, pin sitting right on top, didn't give it enough break and the slope pulled my ball back down the hill about 12 feet away, and we missed it, another bogey. Number 8 is 317 yards, but a bunch of trouble left, so I thinned a 3 iron to 101 yards, uphill, into the wind and I pull SW, which isn't enough in those conditions, leaving me just short and right in the fringe. The first putt rides a ridge I didn't see past the hole about 5 feet left, and we missed that one too, 3 in a row, awesome. I went from talking and laughing it up with the guys I was playing with to not saying a word, kicking myself, feeling sorry for myself, etc.

9 is a split fairway 441 yard par 4, hit a decent tee shot down the left fairway, had 165 yards to the back left pin. Again a bit into the breeze and uphill so we decide a pathetic weak 6 iron to 35 feet is the smart play here. I somehow scraped in the 3 footer for par to stop the bleeding, or so I thought. 10 is 407 yards, with 254 to clear the fairway bunker on the right. I hit a not bad tee shot, that cut, and caught the top of the trap and rolled back in, right next to the front lip. 254 yards? Are you fucking kidding me? So I've got 152 in and I don't think I can clear the lip with 8, so let's take our medicine and hit 9 just short and get it up and down, nope, caught the lip. 91 yards away and I decide to lay 4 lbs. of sod over my ball. 42 yards away and I hit a 54 yard pitch to about 35 feet, 2 putt double. I literally felt my face turn red, 5 over now and I'm swinging progressively worse. I told you it was a sick feeling.

Number 11 is a 444 yard uphill par 4 and with steam coming out of my ears I finally swung like a man and left myself 140 in. I'm too busy congratulating myself on finally catching one that I forget we're uphill and my 9 iron stops in the fringe. I somehow left the uphill right to left putt short and made 4. Hey, it's better than that 6 we just posted. 12 is a 235 yard par 3 over water, pin back left and I hit one of the best 3 irons of my life to about 12 feet. One of the other guys was on a similar line about 20 feet away, his ball broke about 8 inches, so I figure to play mine about 4 inches as mine was little flatter, but it actually only breaks about 1 inch. We both looked at each other as if to say "wtf just happened there?". 13 is a short par 4, 361 yards but I'm hitting driver. Over the left trap just short of the last fairway bunker, leaving me 81 yards out of the rough. Hit a great held off SW to about 2 feet which we canned for our first birdie of the day. Yay, we're going in the right direction finally.

14th is a 172 yard par 3 playing shorter as the pin is up front, hit 7 iron but not real solid, just crept it on the front of the green, putt missed high but a good par. 15 is a 507 yard par 5, we're licking our chops now. Fairway bunker on the right, 278 to clear it, just hammered the tee shot, nice little draw at the bunker headed back to center, then the wind started pushing it, and I actually ended up catching the lip and rolling back in, damn that was going to be a good tee shot. So now we're under this huge lip again (who makes these damn fairway bunkers with 6 foot lips anyway?), I again pull 9 iron and in an attempt to not thin it into the face, I fat it and just cross the cart path, leaving me 178 yards in. They give you these pin sheets that show you how many paces short or long from center and left or right the hole is, but those are for pansies. I opt to just shoot it with the laser, 178, looks like it's JUST over the greenside bunker, let's hit 5 and give ourselves a putt, no sense in chancing dunking it in another bunker. Well I yanked it, screaming for it to get down as there is a lot of junk left. Ended up pin high left in grass, although there was actually about 20 yards of room over the front bunker as the pin was all the way in the back, good decision making there. (note to self, use the damn pin sheet from here on out) So we hit a lame ass pitch to 20 feet and actually jarred it for par, what an awesome putt.

16 is a 425 yard par 4, hit it to the left side of the fairway this time (not taking another chance at the right fairway bunker), just didn't really go. I had 160 yards left, a bit of a breeze crossing from the left, hit what I thought was a great 7 iron, but it landed dead in the center of the green, about 20 feet short, bottom tier, pin is on the top tier. I gave it a good rap and it just didn't stop rolling and finally found the bottom. Back to even for the back side. 17 is a 551 yard par 5 into the wind, big canyon about 80 yards short of the green. Rather than chance it with the 2nd shot, I'm laying up, already decided before I hit the tee shot. So a decent tee shot, not hard, still left me 290 yards in, hit a 7 iron short of the junk, left me 152 to the center, about 145 to the hole. Big huge swale right and behind the hole, hit a perfect 8 iron just past and right of the hole, took the swale down to about 6 feet. As God as my witness that's exactly the shot I pictured, sure maybe I was lucky to execute it that way, but it sure felt good. Canned it for birdie as well. 18, 442 yards into a pretty good wind now, hit a real good ball up the left side, but still had 190 yards to the stick, yikes. Pin is back center, my line is right over the greenside bunker short of the green, so I unconsciously started it right but drew it back in a bit, pin high about 15 feet right. Uphill right to left putt for 3 in a row to finish and I left it short. You fucking chop.

Out in 39, back in 35 with a double on 10. Really happy obviously with how we finished the last 8 holes, but we can't afford to get down on ourselves in the middle of the round like that. I think the reason I finished so well is I just had a talk with myself after 10 and basically decided that it was unacceptable to play like this, putting half swings on shots, so I decided to swing hard the rest of the round. 11 fairways, 13 greens, 31 putts. We go off later tomorrow, nearly 11AM, in the heat of the day. Forecast is 104 degrees, I'm drinking a ton of water this evening, my toilet is getting a workout. Until tomorrow!

US Open Qualifier results

Nope, we didn't make it, but we finished pretty strong. Well, at least compared to how we started. Yes, it was intimidating, I played practice rounds with guys from the Nationwide Tour and the actual Qualifier with Roger Tambellini from the Nationwide Tour. I'll spare the details of the practice rounds and get right to the qualifier. Here we go!

Showed up with plenty of time to spare and took my time warming up. I think I was one of four guys who didn't have a huge staff bag with my name on it being carried by a caddie. Lots of good swings out there on the range, very exciting stuff. I was last off in our group, and the first two guys hit it right over the corner. Hmmm, I don't think I can carry that. I split the fairway, hit it really well. Hmmm, about 40 yards short of my playing partners, wow. Fanned 7 iron into the bunker, out to about 8 feet and pured the putt for par. My man Roger Tambellini even complimented me on the putt I hit. Thanks buddy! Clearly he recognizes greatness when he see it. (yes, I was joking). Rope hook it off of #2 into the fairway bunker, under the lip, have to wedge out short. Hit a really straightforward pitch shot over the green, chip to about 6 feet and miss the putt, double. Alarm bells are going off now. I fan 5 iron into the bunker on the par 3 third, nearly hit the stick coming out but ended up 20 feet past the hole, hit the par putt about 4 feet by, but made that one. Panic mode has officially set in. Both of my partners bomb their tee shots on the par 5 fourth, I hit a good ball, again 40 yards behind them. This is getting old quick, well, this is what it's going to be today, so just deal with it. Hit 3 wood to leave me 102 yards (596 yard par 5, yeah, it's long). Hit SW so pure, all over the stick, nearly knocked it over, only 30 feet left for birdie (yes, again I was joking). Nearly made it, easy par to stop the bleeding.

Took a rip at it on the fifth hole, rope hook left into the bushes. Shit. There were a few spectators following us and thankfully one of them found my ball. I was looking at a left handed putter swing, but decided against it. Just as I'm looking to figure out my drop options, a USGA official appears out of nowhere and walks me through the whole thing, perfect timing. Took an unplayable, 3 iron through the trees short, pitch to 5 feet, miss the putt, double. OK, we're 5 over after 5. Wow, we may not break 100 today, this is ridiculous. At this point, I'm not ashamed to admit, I can literally taste my own vomit. How can I be hitting it this bad? Well, at least the 6th hole is a 3 wood hole and I hit the shit out of that club. And I did, dead left. Shit. Just as I'm about to hit a provisional one of the guys sees it bounce out of the rocks and back into grass between the bunker and OB. Ok, that's a sign right there. No more thinking, just go hit your ball, get out of the way and right the ship. So from here on out, I took no practice swings, just got my yardage and hit it, picked up my bag and moved on quickly. So from there a PW to the center of the green, 2 putt par. 7th hole is 433 yards, driver down the left side just short of the bunker. 8 iron from 155 to about 9 feet, JUST missed the putt, par. 8th is a 176 par 3 to an island green. Pin back, a bit downwind, smooth 6 iron and nearly flew the green, stopped in the back fringe about 25 feet right. Putt was low but only 2 feet away, good par. 9th is a 564 yard par 5, lame weak cut tee shot, short of the fairway bunker, 3 wood to 100 yards, SW that hung up just under the top shelf and spun back to about 25 feet, the birdie putt was a bit short, but another par. Now we are rolling, can't taste any more vomit. Things are looking up.

Ok, new 9. 364 yard 10th, perfect 3 wood hole, except when you yank it! Phew, stopped just short of the cavernous fairway bunkers. 102 yards left, perfect SW to 6 feet. Hit the putt exactly like I wanted, didn't fall. Great putt though. 471 yard par 4 11th, Solid tee shot, left me nearly 190 yards though. Hit 5 iron a bit high in the face and ended up just short of pin high left, negotiating a buried elephant between me and the hole. Hit what I thought was a good pitch, but it ran about 6 feet by. Hit the putt dead on line, but short. Short? Really? Nice lag dumbass. My competitors both fly it over the corner on the par 5 third, I roll mine into the bunker at the corner. Ugh this sucks! Fatted 5 iron out of the bunker, left me 187 yards for my 3rd shot. Blocked 6 iron from there pin high right. Another buried elephant between me and the hole but hit a perfect chip into the bank, up over the mound, down to the hole, breaking left, clink. Chip in for my first birdie of the day, damn that felt good.

2 groups waiting on the 4th hole, a 235 yard par 3. A bit down wind and I decide on 3 iron, Hit it like crap and ended up short right. Chip to about 4 feet and bury the putt to keep the momentum going. I take 3 wood off of the fifth, 354 yard par 4, pefectly placed at the top of the hill at the corner. About 89 yards left, pefect held off SW to about 8 feet right of the hole. Another perfect putt buried in the heart for another birdie. Back to 4 over and momentum is on our side. Hit a decent tee shot on 6, just really short. Had 180 yards back into the breeze, but it's calming down a bit now. Hit a perfect 6 iron to 8 feet. This putt is identical to the last hole. Hit it perfect and left that mother F'er short. I screamed a string of profanties in my head but kept my cool on the outside. Par 3 seventh hole, only 164 yards. I'm still fuming from that putt and block it into the bunker. Tried to get cute with the bunker shot and left it in the fringe. Hit that to about 3 feet and saved bogey. Dammit, that sucked so bad. Now most people would hammer a driver on the next hole, but apparently I felt like hitting a heeled lame ass cut into the fairway bunker. Had 166 yards to the stick, wind a bit into us and from the right. Hit a perfect, I mean perfect 7 iron. The ball landed 3 inches right of the cup, nearly made 2 there. Unfortunatley the greens are as hard as cart paths and the ball bounced hard into the bunker over the green. Failed to get up and down and just like that we gave the 2 birdies right back.

18 is a 560+ yard par 5 into the wind and I rope hooked driver again, this time into the junk left. Thankfully I was able to find it, gashed a 5 iron out to 120 yards and hit a solid PW back into the breeze about 6 feet past the hole. Hit a great line but wouldn't you know it, I left that putt short too! 3 putts inside of 6 feet on the back left short, dead in the heart. Back to back bogeys on 16 and 17, 16 I deserved, but that bogey on 17 was the Gods just pissing on me, I didn't deserve that.

Ok so let's recap. Great par on 1 then pissed down my leg for the next 4 holes and gave up 5 shots. Played the next 13 holes 1 over, but very nearly made something special happen. Ended up with 78, 72 made it to the playoff. Good news, I wasn't in last place, not even close. Bad news, I didn't make the playoff, not even close. I'd sure like to have those 5 holes back, but I do take some comfort in the fact that I finally got over panic mode and just started playing. I definitely realized that recent swing changes have led to me hitting the ball a lot lower with my driver. When I bought it, I needed the 9 degree to keep it down a bit, now I need an equipment change as I really need to get some more trajectory on my tee shots. Distance wise, I need 40 yards. It's great to hit it farther than my friends and most people I play with, but these guys hit it far. F. A. R. I'm obsessed with distance now. Since the qualifier, I've had a couple of practice sessions and I'm hitting it great. I have so much more confidence now that I've played directly with these guys, and with the exception of 4 holes of panic attack, I held my own. I really feel like I hit it, chip it and putt it as well as any of the guys I played with over the past few days, but I don't hit it anywhere near as long. If I had 40 yards, I'd quit my job. I know exactly how Jason Gore felt after his 80 in the last round of the US Open. He realized he could play with those guys and with the exception of a few mistakes, he was right there. He then went out and won his next 3 Nationwide events and got a Battlefield promotion to the PGA Tour. Maybe a bit extreme, but you get my drift, I'm really happy with how I turned things around.

Best of all, I didn't lose a ball, so I have the ball I played the entire qualifier with. That is getting displayed along with my marker score and paperwork from the USGA. Hey, at least I get something out of the deal.

Phoenix City Amateur - Round 4

So yesterday I mentioned the shin injury, I was told it's the anterior tibialis muscle, but I just looked it up and that isn't it. Anyway, it's the muscle about 4-6 inches above the ankle bone, on the front / outside of my right shin. It has cramped up a bit in the past, but never too bad. It started up a bit late in round 3 and in round 4 it hit on about the 5th or 6th hole. By the time I got to the back side I was limping pretty bad. I actually had to step away on the 18th tee and tell myself that I only had to make 2 more swings. I drove home with the cruise control on as I couldn't depress the gas pedal on the car, couldn't put any weight on it at all. Man does this thing hurt. Ok, so round 4. A bit shorter drive to this golf course, and not hitting it all that well on the range. Pretty flat golf course, looks to be pretty short. Considering how yesterday went, surely I'm in for some good breaks? Here we go!

Stripe the tee shot on the opening par 5, nary a 4 iron in. Blocked it just short of pin high right, pitch to about 4 feet and made the putt for birdie. That's a birdie on #1 three out of the 4 days in this tournament. If only they only counted the first hole. Ah well. 2 is about a 200 yard par 3, hit a pathetic 4 iron short and right into the bunker, blasted out to a foot and saved par. Hit a nearly perfect cut driver on 3 into the heart of the fairway. Looking at the hole, it's cut on the right side, big swale and dropoff right of that. Obviously miss it left if anything, or hit a cut that starts at the stick if you are me. The pitch was 6 inches from perfect, par putt failed to drop. Back to even. 165 yard par 3 fourth, hit an identically pathetic 7 iron into the front bunker. Ball way above my feet and I could only manage to sneak it on the green about 20 feet short, missed the par putt and made my 2nd bogey in a row. Five is a 331 yard par 4, trees overhanging right, I opt for a cut 3 wood and thinned it, but perfectly shaped dead into the fairway. About 70 yards left but went a little deep. Left the 15 footer about 4 feet short (wow) but made the par putt. 6 is a dogleg right par 4 with water through the fairway left, hit a perfect 3 wood into the corner and a solid 9 iron about 15 feet left of the stick. Misread the putt for birdie, thought it broke left but went dead straight. I really can't remember number 7, it's a par 4 of some sort and I made par, but I can't remember the details. Eight is a 425 yard par 4 and I hit a decent tee shot but a bit right into the rough. Thought I kind of smothered a 9 iron out but it landed pin high about 20 feet left. Didn't exactly come close on the birdie putt, but it was an easy tap in for par. Number 9 is a short par 5 and we need one back. Hit a pulled tee shot but only left with 206 yards into the breeze. There's a bunker all the way across the front, so it's about a 200 yard carry, and I hit another pathetic shot, this time the thinned 3 iron, pin high right onto a dirt path. I tried to bounce it into the slope between the bunker and the green, but was a little agressive, flew the slope and over the green. Chip to 6 feet and couldn't convert. Out in 38, really not too sharp.

Re-compose myself on 10, another par 5. Hit a pretty good tee shot, again in the right rough. About 225 yards out and hit a nearly perfect chaser 3 iron into the heart of the green, about 15 feet away for eagle. The putt nearly went in but we settled for a tap in birdie to get back to 1 over. 11 is about a 165 yard par 3, hit a solid 7 iron about 10 feet right of the stick, pin high. A real good uphill right to left putt to get back to even, except as it turns out, it wasn't uphill and I ran it about 6 feet by. The par putt burns on the high side and we 3 putt for bogey to get back to 2 over. A little red ass on 12, another par 5, hit a low hook right into the corner, leaving me about 265 to the greenside bunker. Just on the edge of safe, we waited for the green to clear and I hit a perfect 3 wood, I mean perfect, that landed 10 yards short and stuck. Damn. Straightforward pitch shot, oops, I mean a nuked pitch shot over the green. A lame "I'm still dwelling on the pitch shot" chip to about 12 feet and we miss the par putt, another bogey. Great.

13 is a short par 4, hitting 3 wood great so I'll just..., nope, toe hooked it into the rough. No matter, 110 yards out, perfect GW. I don't know what happened here, caught it solid, felt great, just crept onto the front, pin all the way back, about 45 feet for birdie. Left the first putt 6 feet short, didn't even scare the hole for par, another bogey. 14 is a dogleg left par 4 around a lake, blocked 3 wood through the corner (hey, exactly where I wanted to miss it, look at that, a perfectly executed shot!), then fatted 8 iron short of the green. Half hearted chip to 10 feet, missed the putt, that's 4 bogey's in a row. 15 is a straightaway par 4, killed 3 wood leaving me right at 100 yards. Hit a perfect SW that landed about 5 paces behind the hole and zipped back to 5 feet. Now wouldn't you know that I missed the damn putt? Of course, great par though, break that bogey train! 16 is about 430 yards or so, dogleg left around a bunker, hit the tee shot low and left, right into it. I'm 155 yards out, on an upslope, so I pull 7 iron. Hit it perfect, I mean perfect, just left of the stick, lands in the fringe and bounces straight left. Hit what I thought was a great chip but it just skated by to about 6 feet. Missed that putt too, for yet another bogey.

Well we're officially pissed. We can't walk or put any weight on our right foot. We've made 8 freaking bogey's on the day and we're up to the 215 yard par 3 17th playing dead into the wind. I hit a pretty solid 3 iron and "bored a hole through the fuckin' wind" (Dead Solid Perfect reference for those not enlightened), settled at the back of the green about 30 feet away, pretty good shot considering the elements. Hit a great putt that stopped 2 inches short dead in the jaws. As I mentioned earlier, I had to actually step away on the te at 18 to talk myself into swinging and walking on my foot for one more hole. Hit a good driver but blocked again, just past the fairway bunker. Still into the wind and I pull an 8 iron from 140 and smoothed it up there to 6 feet, just a great shot. Unfortunately this putt lips out on the high side and we're 3 inches away from going birdie birdie to close out the round.

So there, in all of it's glory is the closing 78 we stank the place up with. Played number 9 just terribly and the 3 putt on 11 just killed my will to play decently. Obviously happy with how we finished the last 2 holes, but man is my shin muscle killing me! Just getting over this monster head / chest cold as well, it's been a rough couple of days. Finished 21st out of 39 entered in this flight, a mere 24 shots from victory. Looking back, this is literally the first 4 round tournament of my life and we made it through. We obviously could have played better, but in all, the front 9 last Sunday and the back 9 this Sunday is what kept this from being respectable. It's all a learning experience and we'll look to improve in the next couple of weeks in the next Golf Channel event. I'll be playing a casual round this Sunday so we'll try to put some things together to build upon. Thanks for keeping up with me and wish me luck!

Phoenix City Amateur - Round 3

Sorry for the delay in posting, this weekend was a whirlwind and immediately after Sunday's round I was down with a shin injury and a bout with the worst head / chest cold I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with. I'll post Saturday's round now then Sunday's round tomorrow. Here we go!

Drove about an hour to get to Cave Creek GC from my house, wind was up and I was hitting it pretty solid on the range. 3 wood off #1, left me about 90 yards in, just nuked my SW, about 25 feet above the hole but cozied it down there for an opening par. I hit a lame thin driver off of the par 5 second, so a 5 iron layup out of the rough, again about 90 yards. This time it came out real soft out of the wet fairway, barely cleared the bunker. Chip to about 5 feet but buried it for par. # is a 200 yard par 3, hit a good 4 iron to about 12 feet below the hole, just missed it for birdie. 3 Wood on 4, blocked it a bit but in a good spot. I fatted the 8 iron out of the cabbage short of the green, but nestled the chip shot to about an inch for another par. Fifth is a weird dogleg right, and all 3 of us blew our tee shots way right into the rough, no trouble except for a big palm tree, but easy enough to cut around it. Instead I hit a dead pull into the bunker. No spin out of there, to about 15 feet and somehow, some way the putt stayed out, I thought for sure that was in.

Hit another kind of lame driver off of the par 5 sixth, hit a monster 3 wood however to about 30 yards short, pitched it to about 3 feet and made it for birdie to get back to even. 7 is playing about 185 yards and I kind of smothered a 5 iron to the back left corner, about 30 feet away from the front right pin. First putt was low all the way, leaving me about 4 feet for par, but no worries here and we hearted it for another par. 8 is another weird hole, straight ahead, but the fairway runs out at about 270 down into a severe valley. Hit kind of a line drive driver up the left side, left me about 170 yards in. I hit what I thought was a short 6 iron but got up there to see it was just past pin high, about 10 feet. This pin was in a nasty spot, literally on the other side of a ridge and I'm not kidding when I say the putt nearly stopped 5 feet short, but kept rolling and rolling and rolling, finally settling on the absolute lip of the cup. Oh how in the world did that not go in? Great tee shot on 9, about 425 yards, a bit downwind now. Left myself right at 100 yards, right next to a goose. Luckily it didn't bite me and I hit SW pin high about 8 feet left. How this putt also didn't go in was a mystery, but another tap in par for even on the front.

10 is almost identical to #1, 3 wood off the tee, about a 70 yard pitch to 6 feet. Misread it and thought it broke left, dead straight, another tap in par. 11 is a par 5 with water about 260 yards out on the right. I aimed at the 2 geese in the fairway and promptly hit the worst 3 wood on the planet. I bet I hit this nearly 180 yards, oh well, it's safe. Hit a perfect 5 iron to layup, leaves me 100 yards on the number. Hit SW maybe 3 feet left of the hole, but I didn't realize how severe the slope was there and it spun back to the front of the green. About 25 feet up the hill and rolled it over the right edge of the hole, another tap in par. For those counting, my par putts on 8, 9, 10 and 11 added up didn't equal 6 inches. Dogleg right 12th, hit a perfect 3 wood to the corner, perfect that is until I see the tree over hanging the corner, hiding the stick. No matter, a nice high cut 9 iron is the perfect shot. Nope. How about a dead straight pansied 9 iron to 45 feet? Ok, we'll take that instead. Cozied the first putt up to about 8 feet (I only wish I was kidding) but drained it for par. 13 is 163 yard par 3, hit a solid 7 iron and was yelling at it in mid air to go in. Literally hits dead pin high 4 inches left of the cup. Big hop and I'm about 11 feet down the hill for birdie. Somehow I managed to leave it 3 inches short, dead in the heart.

14 is another hole with water about 260 out, this time both right and left. I hit a solid 3 wood into the right center of the fairway, 155 yards, pulled 8 iron a bit but it cleared the bunker, about 12 feet up the hill. Missed it low, kind of a weak effort really. 15 is about the same length but the wind has kicked up now. Another 3 wood to the middle of the fairway, 150 yards, back left hole. I decide on a held into the wind 7 iron, hit it very solid, but it upshot into the wind, left me about 25 feet, up and over a hill, right to left about 2 1/2 feet. I missed it by one inch on the high side.

16 is going the other way now, dead downwind, short par 5. Hit a pretty good tee shot but blocked it right through the fairway. No matter, only 200 yards in, sitting up in some rough. I have to go over a hill and some trees and a pond about 30 yards short of the green. Blind shot, but a perfect 5 iron, and I've been hitting my 5 iron great. I'm thinking about how short my eagle putt is going to be when I thin it into the trees and catch the pond. If memory serves, a phrase that starts with the letter "F" and ends with "uck me you stupid mother fucker" came out of my mouth after that one. I took every bit of punishment I could on that, after my drop, pitch short, chip on, 2 putts later we turned a sure 4 into 7. 17 is a 210 yard par 3, uphill, pin all the way left, hit 4 iron to the heart of the green. First putt caught the wind on top of the hill, nearly went in but skated 6 feet by, but we made it for par. 18 is dead downwind, I hit a rope hook 3 wood that rode the wind to about 70 yards (that was a big 3 wood). Pitch to about 20 feet and nearly made that one as well, but another tap in par.

So Saturday was a day of near misses. We turned a pretty straightforward 68 into a 74 with that double. It's almost like I talked myself into putting it into the lake on 16, just pathetic. On to Sunday.

Phoenix City Amateur - Round 3 coming up

They just posted the 36 hole results from the Phoenix City Amateur and I'm actually only 6 shots back, leader is at 143, I'm at 149. Wow, that's pretty encouraging considering how badly I played in round 2. I have a putting and checkup lesson with Jeff tomorrow and then I'm off at 7:54 at Cave Creek on Saturday. I was pretty disappointed at where I thought I would be, but I'm a full 4 shots ahead of where I expected to be in the best case scenario.

I put a new grip on my putter last night (Scotty Cameron Baby T) as it was the grip on a putter a friend of mine lent to me to try this week, and I fell in love with it. I'm sad to let the Oklahoma Sooners grip go, but it's all in the name of progress. Wish me luck and I'll post results of round 3 on Saturday!

Phoenix City Amateur - Round 2

A tale of two nines today as I shot 76, 6 over, all of which occured on the front. I went 41-35 and was actually 8 over at one point, but played the last 5 holes 2 under to get it back to even for the side. Wind blew pretty hard on the back and the pins were again tucked in some locations, but overall more fair, not conducive to my scoring, but more fair. Here we go!

Oh, and I found out I wasn't T-3rd after yesterday as one guy shot 69, posted after I left the course yesterday. I think that was the only other score lower, wasn't in the mood to scan the board after the round today.

I don't have a scorecard, so yardages are approximate. Hit it horrible on the range warming up, I literally hooked my first PW 25 yards, yikes. Hit a great tee shot on the par 5 first, ran just through the fairway at the corner, 3 iron just short and a great pitch to 4 feet, canned it for an opening birdie. #2 is approximately 330 yards with water right, hit driver to clear the fairway bunkers and yoked it left. I was able to pitch it around the palm trees but at the last second mentally feared pulling it into the tree so the pitch shot went straight over the bunker, barely cleared it but left me about 12 feet uphill right to left. In the middle of my stroke I thought "wow, this is great, hit it bad on the range and now have a great chance to go 2 under through 2". The putt broke so far left it amazed me. About 3 feet for par and I literally watched the hole the entire stroke, missed it, bogey. 185 yard 3rd, pulled 5 iron pin high left, mud on the ball, tentative chip to 3 feet, downhill left to right, wuss stroke and missed it. Now I'm thinking "great, another day like this" Good thoughts to have moron. Pulled driver on the 4th into the trees and had to punch out with a 7 iron, hit it real well and bounced it in front, but it just skated past the hole, about 30 feet downhill right to left, didn't play enough break and left it 4 feet away. Now I'm thinking "If you are going to ever have a chance to hit a confidence building putt, this is it" 4 feet uphill right to left and I jammed it in there for par. 198 yard par 3 fifth, a little breeze into us and I hit what I thought was a decent 4 iron, but it ended up a bit short, fat part of the green. Literally looks like there is an elephant buried in the green, up the hill to the hole then it drops off sharply, first putt was 4 feet short, hit the 2nd putt with authority but not enough break and missed it high, another bogey.

Sixth hole is about a 420 yard par 4, hit driver and cold blocked it. Ended up about 3 inches away from the fence lining the street. I did the old "aim right with the body and left with the clubface" and hit a phenomenal punch hook PW from the fence into the greenside bunker where I was aiming. Remember all the golf courses that don't have enough sand in the bunkers? Well I found it, all that sand is at this golf course. Ball is buried, I step into the bunker and sink 4 inches. Swung as hard as I could just to get it out, great shot but it went left and rolled off the front of the green. Chip to about 4 feet and missed that putt too, double bogey. Par 3 seventh, only a 9 iron. Thought I put a great swing on it, felt real good, looked up and it upshot into the wind and faded, into the greenside bunker. I almost couldn't find the ball it was buried so bad. Swung as hard as I could again and blasted out to about 15 feet, which was a great shot considering the lie I had, missed the putt but it was a great stroke, another bogey. Par 5 eighth hole, absolutely block fanned the tee shot, but had an opening. I had to cut a 5 iron out of the rough / trench around a very large tree and almost slid it far enough right to make the fairway, but didn't. I had 151 to the stick, hit 8 iron and the ball just mushed off the face out of the very lush weed / crabgrass I was in, barely made the front edge. Probably 50 + feet to the hole, hit the putt and immediately knew it was way short. By the time it stopped rolling I was about 1 1/2 feet left of the hole, hmmm, great putt sir! First guy nearly blows it OB right on 9 (430 yards, into the wind), second guy hits an iron and says he hates this hole. I put a "please don't go right" toe hook driver move on it and bounce it off the fence lining the range left. Free drop from the range fence (it's on the rules sheet) but couldn't make myself hook 5 iron enough for fear of hitting the palm tree 10 feet in front of me. Pin high right, stubbed the chip shot, still in the fringe about 8 feet away for par. I rammed that putt real hard, lipped out low, 3 feet downhill left to right for bogey and somehow made it. 41, 6 over on the front.

10 is a 304 yard par 4, into the wind, first guy landed on the green and bounced over (pin cut right behind the bunker, that was ALL carry, very nice), I'm not carrying it that far so I'm aimed left figuring miss it right if anywhere, and I did, ended up in the greenside bunker. This sand is a COMPLETELY different texture, hit a great shot onto the green, should have been stony, no spin, rolled about 20 feet past, missed the putt low and made par. 161 yard par 3 eleventh, hit 7 iron, at the last second thought "don't hit it over, that's dead!". Let up and landed it right on the front, about 40 feet away. Hit the putt hard but was still 3 feet short, dead in the heart for 3. Par 5 twelfth is probably 550 yards or so, and the wind is kicking up now, dead into us. Hit driver into the right trees, but pretty sparse there. Hit 3 wood about 40 yards short in the left rough. Lined up for another pitch shot and came out of it, left it pin high on the bank short of the bunker. Pulled the pin as this is a chip shot you can make, flat out chunked it, about 8 feet left for par, missed it. 13 is about 410 yards or so, blocked my tee shot into the right rough, dead behind some of the widest and tallest trees I've ever seen. Punched 5 iron under it into the bunker where I was aiming. Fluffed it out of there, 20+ feet left, ran it 5 feet by and made it for bogey.

Pretty pissed off now, 8 over after birdieing the first hole of the day. Not going well. Par 3 14th, 215 yards, wind is howling off the left. I hit one of the best high towering drawing and held into the wind 3 irons of my life, about 12 feet left of the hole. Putt was 3 inches short, dead in the jaws. 15 is 450 yards, playing dead downwind, lake on the left. I aimed right and hit a great tee shot into the right rough by a few inches. Smooth 9 iron up into the wind and rode the fade, ended up about 3 feet left of the hole, canned that for birdie. 16 is only 413 yards, dead back into the wind, hit a good tee shot to the right side of the fairway. I had 167 left and hit 5 iron into the wind, at the last second thinking "wow that's a lot of club" let up on it and ended up a bit short of pin high in the right fringe, 40 feet away. First putt to about 3 1/2 feet, made the putt for par. 17 dead downwind, probably 410 yards or so, good tee shot, but still missed the fairway by 6 inches. Hit GW and it just mushed out of that same type of grass that was on 8. Maybe just under 20 feet, downhill downwind putt, hit it fairly soft and it just kept rolling and rolling, in for birdie. 18 is about the same length, but OB right. I setup to take it up over the trees on the left dogleg and cold blocked it again. I was in bounds by an easy 8 feet or so, moron. Pin is cut right in front, 110 yards to go downwind, hit SW and pulled it a hair but only 10 feet left or so, it takes one hop in front of the green and squirts left on me, ends up pin high about 25 feet away. I about puked my guts out trying to make that putt, but alas it was not to be, but an easy par. 35, even on the back.

So going by the cut of the grass, I hit exactly 1 fairway today, and that one by less than 3 feet. Probably 3-4 that missed by less than 2 feet. Hit 11 greens and had 34 (official) putts. I played 2 through 13 in nine over par, finished the last 5 holes 2 under. Just like the front nine yesterday, I couldn't get the ball in play on the front nine today. Obviously I'm pretty frustrated right now, spoke to my uncle and he suggested that I change my attitude for the rest of the tournament, play pissed off. A little, not a lot, but this tentative "please get in the fairway, please go in the hole" bullshit isn't getting it done. Man I wish I could have that front 9 over again. I'm probably an easy 10 shots back after this fiasco.

Rounds 3 and 4 are this coming Saturday / Sunday, so we'll be hitting a lot of pent up anger laden drivers at the range this week, as well as rubbing chicken bones on my putter. If anyone has any voodoo rituals or sacrificial ceremonies that work, please let me know.

Phoenix City Amateur - Round 1

Played in the first round of the Phoenix City Amateur today, a four round event, first round held at Papago today. I shot 73, 1 over par, which puts me T-3rd, 2 shots out of the lead. 1 guy at 71, 1 guy at 72, and 3 or 4 of us at 73. I believe there was one more group left to post when I left, but that's where it stood when I left anyway. Wind was up a bit, quite gusty at times, and the pins were tucked behind nearly every bunker, really setup pretty strong, as can be judged by the scores. I played out of the trees on the front 9 but put got it around better on the back. Here we go!

Number 1 is a 552 yard par 5, and I didn't remember a single whole all day (played this once 12 years ago). Blocked it right but found it on some hardpan, 5 iron over the junk into the fairway and what I though was a too deep GW, which ended up about 5 feet past the hole, and we jarred it for birdie. We're already stuck on the 2nd tee box, group in front is in the trees in the left searching for all their balls. They clear and I hit 3 wood dead left right where they were. Great, but I actually find my ball, literally stopped from going down the desert embankment by a small rock. I can't move it as it's literally holding my ball on hill, it's about 2 inches by 3 inches, but I have a punch shot. I pull 6 iron and hit it and hope, ball squirts dead left about 30 yards, but still playable. I punch out from there just over, chip and a putt for 5, and a good 5 for nearly losing the ball twice really. Toed the tee shot on #3, right at 150 in, I yanked it but thought it would clear the bunker on the left, nope, dead into it. Pin cut behind the right bunker, sitting on top of a shelf, hit a great bunker shot to about 18 inches, par. 4th was playing about 208 yards, hit a perfect 4 iron to about 5 feet, above the hole, breaking left to right, just pushed it a bit and lipped out low, easy 3. Fifth is 390 yards, yanked driver dead left into the trees, 3 feet from being ok, tried to slide a wedge right of it, nope, dropped straight down. Hit a great Stan Utley pitch shot to 4 feet, canned it for par (I didn't deserve that). Yanked another driver on 6, sitting on some nasty rocks / hardpan in the desert, got cute and "el hoseled" the SW. Another Stan Utley pitch but too far, about 15 feet, lipped it out and made bogey.

Finally hit a good tee shot on 7, 417 yards, 9 iron in, pulled it a bit, left me this ridiculously fast "looking" put up and over a ridge to a pin in the valley, somehow left it 6 feet short, buried that one for par as well. 198 yard par 3 8th, another pin ridiculously tucked behind a bunker, 4 iron to 40 feet and 2 putt par. Par 5 9th, here we go, let's get some! Good tee shot, just in the right rough, 240 out, a little downwind, decided on a chaser 3 iron, worked it all out, cut it around a tree from the hanging lie, fan it a bit, chunk. Great layup to 90 yards though. SW too deep to 20 feet, 2 putt par, out in 1 over 37. Ten is another par 5, ok NOW let's get some! Great tee shot to the corner, great 3 wood to I thought the middle of the green, nope, wind gust knocked it down, just short. Stan Utley pitch to 2 feet, made the putt, back to even. #11 is a 190 yard par 3, over water, over a gaping steep face bunker, just scary and ugly. Pin back right corner, hit a perfect 5 iron 15 feet short left, right where I drew it up, lame ass putt short and low but easy 3. Good 3 wood on 12, 99 yards to clear the high lipped bunker where the pin was tucked, as soon as I hit it I knew the GW uphill into the wind was not going to make it, so I did what any reasonable golfer would do, I begged please. Just made it but hopped left, 25 feet, great speed just didn't see it breaking left at the end, but good par. Great 3 wood off 13, 408 yard par 4 (playing a bit up), pin is accessible, but on a shelf just behind the corner of the front bunker, so I bailed at the last second, 20 feet short right, 2 putt par. Hit the bottom groove of the 3 wood on 14, right into the middle. Yet another ridiculously tucked pin, 142 yards to clear the lip, just a hair over comfort zone for 9, but too much for 8, hard 9 was tugged a hair, cleared the bunker, but kicked straight left and funneled down the slope to 40 feet away. What a ridiculously bad hop. First putt went 8 feet by, yowza. 2nd putt went right in the middle, 2 putts is 2 putts right?

Out of position with my bag leaving the green to go to the par five fifteenth, went back to get another guys towel he left on the green, the other 2 guys went first to let me catch up, out of breath and hurried to hit it, blocked it. The good news is I hit it so bad that I stayed short of the trouble. Pissed off though, and fat/hooked 5 iron into the left rough. 115 to go, perfect GW but the grass was a bit thicker than I thought and it fluffed out. Made the green but about 25 feet short. Ran this putt about 6 feet by, and I swear this green was faster. Not as fortunate this time, the par putt lipped out low and I made bogey. Great tee shot on 16, 8 iron in but the wind caught it a bit and I ended up pin high about 15 feet left, and left the putt 2 feet short, just pitiful really, but a solid par. 17 is a 227 yard par 3, no trouble around the green though, but I hit a lame chicken 3 iron pin high, 50 plus feet away. First putt was about 6 feet short, but that's about as far as I can hit a putter, I think I pulled something there. Anyway, 2nd putt was the purest putt ever, center cut for par. Thought I blocked my tee shot behind the trees in the corner on 18 but got up there and got a favorable bounce left past the trees into the fairway, 140 yards left, a bit downwind, hit 9 iron well, but it started going a bit left, hit pin high about 8 feet away and spun back down the hill into the fringe leaving me about 15-20 feet back up the hill. Great putt hit hard as hell, just missed it left and a tap in par to close the day.

So 37 - 36, and a miracle 37 considering how bad I was hitting it off the tee on the front. I hit 11 greens in a row starting on 7, streak busted with the zipped 9 iron on 18, 2 inches into the fringe. 31 total official putts, but without making birdies and not really missing greens on the back, they add up quick. I hit 1 of 7 fairways on the front and 6 of 7 on the back, swinging much better off the tee as the day wore on. By my count, there were 10 really hard and tucked pins, what happened to 6, 6 and 6? Tomorrow is at Encanto, which I've never seen before, of course I didn't remember anything about today's course either. I heard it's 300-400 yards shorter, but a par 70 instead of 72, and dead flat. On to tomorrow, wish me luck!

Phoenix City Amateur starts 3/29

I entered the Phoenix City Amateur, a four round event that starts tomorrow, 3/29. This event is 2 rounds this weekend and 2 rounds next weekend. Of the 4 different courses, I've only played one of them, Papago. 12 years ago. Should be fun. We play Papago tomorrow, I go off at 8:21 AM. Stopped by after work and hit some balls and some putts, hitting it very well. Worked again on moving my right shoulder under my chin through impact as I'd gotten away from that a bit over the past week or so.

Should be a great weekend, high of about 84 degrees both days. Wish me luck!

San Tan Amatuer results - Round 2

So after Friday's putting fiasco, I spent about an hour on my putting green at home, and I must say, putted even worse. I finally just went to bed and said the hell with it. It's not like I can have 41 putts again. Tee times on Saturday, I'm off at 8:40 AM. Here we go!

Started on #10 again (split tees). As yesterday, we're aiming for the right corner rough, oops, blocked it into the fairway on #1. I hit a perfect 7 iron, only to find it was actually pulled and just a bit short. A lame chip to about 10 feet, and a short putt, 3 feet left. Uh oh, remember yesterday? Well I made this one, Yay me. Bogey. Blocked 4 iron on #11 but hit it so bad that I actually ended up in the bunker, dead. Pin is in back, on the other side of this ridiculous slope. Hit it out of the bunker up into the rough, trickled down onto the green to about 3 feet, great shot. Damned if I didn't make that putt too. Sort of ok tee shot down the left side on the par 5 twelfth, but into the wind today, so about 270 in. Decent 3 wood just short, but have to pitch over the bunker up to the back shelf. Thought I hit it short but it bounced hard and ended up about 6 feet long. Got a great read from the first guy to putt nearly on my line and I made mine for 4. Hit another baby cut driver on 13, just a short pitch in. Fatted it a bit but got lucky with a hard bounce, about 12 feet below the hole. Just left it short, knew it as soon as I hit it. I have to think that yesterday had something to do with that tentative stroke. Hit 5 iron on 14 today (4 iron deep yesterday) and got sooooo lucky, hit it like a girl but got a good bounce out of the fringe and had about 15 feet left, uphill right to left. Other guy holes his from about 25 feet, nearly on my line, and I go after mine especially after leaving it short on the last hole. Well too much gas equals not enough break, miss it high left, about 3 feet downhill right to left to go. As I'm taking it back I think "don't hit it too hard in case you miss so you have an easy tap in for bogey". Oh, great swing thought, missed it low and left.

Decent tee shot on the par 5 fifteenth, dead in the middle of the fairway, 250 yards in, and topped the damn thing again. That's twice in 2 days, what in the h-e-doublehockeysticks is that about? 127 yards left, perfect PW, blocked it, left myself 35 feet for birdie. Missed it low, made the par putt. Group behind us is on our ass, and I want to get moving. I stand up on the next hole, look behind us to confirm that the group is pressing us and blocked the tee shot OB. Good job. 3 from the tee is right down the middle, hit GW to the back right top shelf pin and missed the green right, dead. Pitch to 20 feet and 2 putt, triple. Nice 7 dude, really, great course management there. No wind today on 17, hit 7 iron again, about 20 feet right, just past pin high, lame first putt, make the 3 footer for par. I hit a low hooked tee shot on 18, into the left rough, but about 135 yards left, and fatted a 9 iron short of the green. This game isn't that hard is it? F me again. Hit a great chip shot, nearly went in, then went 8 feet by. I was thinking "don't pull this" and missed it right. 39 yesterday and 40 today? I mean come on, who's dog did I run over? I don't deserve this do I?

Didn't hit the tee shot nearly as well on #1 today, but had about the same yardage in. Since we're not into the wind and the pin is in front, I try a little 3 iron chaser, hit it great, but it sat nearly in place when it landed, about 15 yards short. Hit another great chip shot, about 2 feet low and left though, but made it for birdie. Piped the tee shot on #2, 104 yards left. Now this is just a bit much for the ol SW, but I think we can get it there. Been hitting the GW like crap anyway. Pin is all the way left, green is split by a big valley, not much room for error. Thought it was perfect but landed about 6 inches short of flat and spun back down into the valley about 15 feet away. Good 2 putt from that bottom tier. Absolutely yanked the tee shot on #3, but it ran forever and got past the tree on the left. Had nary a SW left into the hole (55 yards farther than yesterday, I'm so huge). Blocked it and had a nasty right to left putt, one of those where the more break you play the more it breaks. Somehow I got it to within 6 inches and walked out with par. Absolutely nutted the tee shot on #4, had only 102 yards left. Hit GW this time (uphill) and 2 putted for another 4. Just a so so tee shot on the par 5 fifth, so so 3 wood just short, and a so so pitch shot to about 10 feet. Got another great read from a guy who was putting nearly on my line and made mine for yet another 4.

5 iron again on #6 but pulled and ended up about 35 feet and a bit short of pin high. This nearly would have been holed for yesterday's pin, hey, small battles right. First putt was tentative and was about 4 feet short. I never felt better over a putt though and stroked it perfectly. Oh yeah, it missed. Hit 3 wood again on #7, perfectly placed, just a nice pitch shot from there, but way too tentative, God forbid I attack the stick from 70 yards or anything. 2 putt from there for my 7th 4 in a row. Hit 5 iron again on #8, beautiful cut just like I planned, I just started it at the hole, ended up pin high in the fringe, felt really good about it, pulled the pin and nearly chipped in, tap in par and my first 3 of the back side!

As we're standing on the tee on 9, we see a guy in the group ahead make the longest walk in all of golf. He hit it OB and had to walk back to re-tee. We told him to take his time, he nutted it and went on his way. As I'm pulling my driver back after the fairway clears I think "you've already hit one OB, let's not be like that guy", hey look at that, I missed the fairway left! 106 yards in, a shade downwind. Hit a perfect SW, I literally was yelling for it to go in. One hop and zipped back a few feet though, about 10 feet left. Pured the putt and made it for a closing birdie and a 2 under 34 on the back. Can we start the golf tournament now?

I walked off after 32 putts feeling like I putted lights out, that's how bad Friday was. So 74 with a triple on day 2, and a lot of missed opportunities to look back on. Breakdown by nines goes 39-40-40-34. Maybe I need to play 27 hole practice rounds or something. At any rate, it's movement in the right direction. I spoke to my instructor and he's got some ideas on drills with a belly putter so we can target some isolation in the stroke. I'm not going to a belly putter, just drills. He and I agreed that perhaps an equipment change with the putter isn't out of order. I've had this putter or 10 years now, and it's not like switching is going to cause me to go out and putt worse than I already have. I'm looking for something now, I just can't find anything I like. I was thinking a mallet, but they just don't look right to me. The search goes on.

San Tan Amateur results - Round 1

I played in the San Tan Amateur last weekend, a 2 round event that also served as one of the Arizona Stroke Play qualifiers. Tee to green I hit it pretty good, but I've never putted so bad in my freaking life. 41 putts Friday, 32 putts Saturday, 79 - 74 respectively. How does that happen you ask? Good question. Here we go!

We started on #10 (split tees) in a shotgun format on day 1. #10 at Las Colinas is a dogleg right par 4 that sets up better if you cut the corner, even if you play out of the rough. Hit it right into the corner, ended up in the rough, right where I wanted it. Thinned PW out of it but bad enough to still leave it on the bottom shelf, pin back left. Hit a tentative putt to about 2 1/2 feet and yoked the par putt left. So bad I had to check the grip on my putter to see if it was crooked. #11 is 190 yard par 3, solid 5 iron about 30 feet left, just past pin high. Hit a great putt, downhill left to right, lipped out on the bottom edge, 3 feet left for par. Yoked it again. Decent tee shot on the par 5 twelfth, had 245 in, pin up front. Downhill lie and I literally topped it. Ok, now we're having fun. I have 150 yards left, solid 8 iron to about 10 feet, missed the putt. My first par though, yay.

Thirteen is a short par 4, hit a baby cut driver right down the middle, 105 left. Hit a smooth GW to about 8 feet, pulled the putt left (again) and then pulled the 18 inch tap in left. Again, I look at the putter grip to see if it's crooked. Still straight. 192 yard par 3 14th, hit what I thought was a PERFECT 4 iron, into the wind, drawing dead onto the stick, landed over the green and I was very fortunate it stopped there rather than rolling down the hill, which is dead. Good chip to about a foot and made the putt. Decent tee shot on the par 5 fifteenth, if just a hair right of where I was aiming. 250 yards in, hit a weak cut 3 wood about 20 yards short, eesh what a bad swing. Hardpan lie, bounced the pitch shot into the ball, ended up just over the green. Straight downhill putt, about 5 feet by, missed it, bogey. Good tee shot on 16, PW in, caught it a big heavy, about 20 feet short, but 2 putted by God. 167 yard par 3 seventeenth, the wind pick up just a bit as I was about to go, but thought I'd just muscle a 7 iron anyway, short. Chip and a putt for par. I swear to God I aimed for the left side of the fairway on 18, a tree, a big ass tree, is planted right in the middle of the fairway here. I cold blocked it, dead into the middle of the right half of the fairway. Phew. Pulled an 8 iron pin high, about 20 feet left. Another 2 putt that had my knee's knocking on the par putt. Out in 39, F me. Now I'm pissed, thirty fucking nine?

Absolutely killed the tee shot on the par 5 first, 250 yards left. Hit a solid cut 3 wood, just onto the back edge of the green. Nearly holed the chip shot, 1 inch tap in birdie. Cold blocked driver on #2, got a drop from casual water, then thinned a PW over the back, dead. The best I could do was 10 feet from there, missed the putt, gave back the momentum. Hit a piss poor weak cut tee shot on 3, 149 yards left. Hit a ho hum 8 iron about 20 feet short, first putt about 4 feet short, missed the putt. (New storyline). So one of the guys we're playing with comes up to me and whispers in my ear that instead of asking one of the other players if he wanted me to move my mark, I should have just looked for myself, rather than letting doubt creep into his mind that my mark might be in the way. Ooookay, sure thing brother.

Good tee shot on 4, about 135 yards left, pulled my 9 iron pin high left. Chip shot took off on me, 12 feet to go for par, missed it (that's 3 bogey's in a row for those keeping score). Not a great tee shot on 5, a par 5, left me about 270 yards in. Hit a decent 3 wood, about 10 yards short of the green. Now Mr. Ball Mark etiquette is in the bunker short about 2 feet in front of me. As I'm walking around the bunker I say to him "hey, go ahead if you're ready" as he's already in the bunker. His response? "I don't give a shit who's ready, who's turn is it?" Ummm, dude, are you going to be ok, cause I think you're about to have an aneurism. "It doesn't matter who's ready, it matter who's turn it is." Ok, now at this point, this guy can officially kiss my ass, as he went first on this same Goddamn hole, and it wasn't his box. Which I remind him of, and he replies with "I was asked to go first". So I fire back "Well I just asked you to go first, how in the fuck is that any different?" It goes deathly silent now, and we don't speak for another 2 holes. More on that later. (Sorry about the language, but this is how it unfolded).

Back to it, ok so I stab the chip shot (big surprise), and miss the 25 foot birdie putt by about a mile. I made the 8 footer for par though, jackass made 4 out of the bunker though, where's the justice in that? Pulled 5 iron on #6, just past pin high, hit the chip to about 4 feet and missed the putt. I pull 3 wood on #7 and as we're waiting for the group in front of us, my man actually apologizes for the outburst earlier, we kiss and make up, all is well. Great 3 wood, if not a little too far, on a downslope now. Hit SW but hang it out to the right, just in the fringe, about 8 feet away. The first putt breaks wildly left, about 18 inches for par, and pulled that one too. For the 3rd time, I check my grip to see if it's crooked, nope, still straight. Great 5 iron on #8 to about 6 feet. Another guy in the group however hits it to one foot, so mine doesn't look so great. I am so out of my mind with the putter that I actually left the uphill left to right putt 6 inches short and low. Great 3 you putz.

We get to 9 and there is a community outreach program of some sort papering the neighborhood with flyers. Well about 15 mothers and children are on the teebox on 9 in the shade, talking and laughing and playing tag. They quiet down enough for the first 2 guys to go, but when I stand up it starts getting loud again. I actually backed away and said "Excuse me" 7 times (yes seven) to get their attention so I could ask them to quiet down. After seeing me ask them, they all got up and walked away, right in the middle of my backswing. My God did I hit that tee shot good, absolutely pured. They should have been talking while I was putting all day. I hit some wedge from there and 2 putted, for the life of me I can't remember now. It was all a blur.

And that folks is how you shoot 79 with 41 putts. Pretty damn easy if you ask me. Somebody shoot me now please.

Entered US Open Qualifier

I have more stuff to post, but I'm too excited to not post this. I signed up for the US Open Qualifier today, and will be playing at Poston Butte on May 7th. Sectional round is in Daly City, CA, of course we need to make it past the first stage before we worry about that. I've already cleared the date on the calendar for work, and we're pretty damn excited!

Paper Hogan nets a Top 10

Played in another Golf Channel Amateur event this past Sunday and finished T-8th out of 20 guys in the Championship flight shooting 78. Back to back doubles on 11 and 12, and not a single birdie. The funny thing is, I've never been more excited about shooting 78 in my life. Man, are we CLOSE! Here we go!

Been hitting it a lot better lately, played 9 holes on Saturday at Lone Tree to get a feel for the swing, greens, etc. Played not great, hit it ok, stopped after 9 and hit some balls, got to hitting it ok. Showed up Sunday morning and hit it decent on the range. Was not hitting the driver well on Saturday, but Sunday morning I hit 3 in a row real good. Stood up on #1, my man Gary (tournament director) announces me and I clanged one off the fence on the right side. The ball kicked dead left and settled in the fairway. Now I've been reading a bunch of phsychology books and I took the opportunity to look at this very positively. I figured it must be my day if I can hit a 1/2" wide fence stake to keep me from going OB on #1, it's a good day. So I hit a half assed weak 5 iron pin high right, great pitch shot to about 3 feet, but dead above the hole. The greenskeeper must have been pissed off because the pin on #1 was on a shelf and wicked fast. I put it out there as far as I dared and missed it, oh well, bogey on the first. I pulled the wrong club on the par 3 second, came up 20 yards short. Hit the pitch way too far to the back of the green, nearly made the putt, 2 over after 2. Toed the tee shot on 3, hit a 7 iron to about 6 feet. Again, dead above the hole, put it out there as far as I dared and it missed, rolled 9 feet by. Made the putt for a good par. Blocked my tee shot a bit on #4, hit the SW a bit fat about 15 feet short, the putt just died left at the end, tap in par.

Decent tee shot on the par 5 fifth, although a bit blocked. Solid 3 wood just short of the greenside bunker. Really straightforward pitch over the bunker, the pin isn't tucked, I'm thinking 4 here. Yeah, I dunked it in the bunker, wow, that was great. One of the other guys thins his out of the same bunker over the green, these bunkers are a thin film of sand on concrete, so now I'm really happy. I dug the ball out, one hop, hit the stick, stopped an inch away. Routine 5. Good tee shot on 6, blocked the SW pitch about 15 feet right of the hole, hit a great putt and it stayed out. Bummer. So we're 2 over and coming up on one of the most difficult holes on the golf course, 470 yard par 4, water down the right side and I've been blocking tee shots. So the first guy gets up and snap hooks it left, nearly OB, he's playing a provisional. Now my turn, I aim down the left side thinking "the hell with it, put it up in the desert on the left" and put the most rope hookinest, dive bombinest, ugliest damn snap hook you'd ever seen, on the ball. It ends up about 150 yards off the tee just left of the cart path. "ok, it's dry" I say to myself. Nothing like a little positive reinforcement to get you in the mood. But that wasn't the worst, the last guy to hit overcompensates as well, nearly tops it, bounces off some rocks and ends up 15 yards left of the tee behind a tree in some rocks. My 150 yard rope hook is looking pretty good now. So, I get to my ball, hit the most gorgeous 6 iron layup to the middle of the fairway. Hit a thin "oh shit get down" 8 iron to about 6 feet and make the damn putt. What a great 4. I told you this was going to be my day.

Hit a great 4 iron, tugged a bit, on the par 3 eighth dead into the middle of the green. Looking at about a 40 footer now, hit a great putt about 2 feet short, tap in 3. Hit a perfect tee shot on the par 5 ninth. The point here is take it over this dead tree on the right and land it purposely in the desert on the top of the hill on the right. It's a big slope and will kick your ball well forward and left back into the fairway, and I couldn't have walked my ball out there any better, just like I drew it up. Now I've got 240 yards over a lake to a pin cut just behind the bunker. Nah, 4 iron about 30 yards short right, ran about 2 feet off the fairway. Hit a nice pitch to about 5 feet, and looking at a perfect putt. Downhill, right to left, and I missed it 3 inches right. Wow, what a bad stroke. 2 over after 2, 2 over after 9. Bombed it hard off the tee on #10 (a little red ass in that swing after that last putt), couldn't get lined up properly on my approach. Thought I would tug it a bit to compensate, nope, pin high right, then it spun down the slope. Got about 20 feet uphill breaking hard right to left. I misjudged the line by a mile and left myself 8 feet straight up the hill after it stopped rolling, but jarred it for par.

Hit a huge tee shot on 11, a gorgeous cut, into the lake that runs down the right side of the fairway. Dropped the ball, had 225 in, cut a 3 iron around the bunker onto the back fringe. Hit a good looking putt and it just kept going. Left myself about 6 feet for bogey, then the caddy starts talking. I'm not going to go into detail, but there was a guy with a caddy that was "struggling" and his caddy as trying to be positive. The problem was he was talking about "the putt just doesn't break on this, it just won't move, it's crazy" consoling his player after another miss. Well I get to listening and subconsciously dont' give it enough, slips by on the low side, double. As we're riding to the next tee, the guy I'm riding with states that he missed his putt because that guy "wouldn't shutup about lack of break", we almost died laughing after comparing notes on what we heard. At least I'm not the only one right?

Now the par 3 12th. 191 yard island green monster, God I hate this hole. I hit another weak 5 iron cut, right into the water. That damn 5 iron, I haven't hit but 2 or 3 good shots with that freaking thing, surely it's not me (ahem). Anyway, to the drop area, hit it to about 10 feet, above the hole, downhill left to right for bogey. I hit it perfect, I mean perfect, halfway there it hits a rock, bounces 3 inches in the air and 2 inches right, and just misses on the low side. Made the 6 footer for double. Ouch, what a stretch. Well let's get one back on the next hole...not so fast. 481 yard par 4, into the wind. Nice. I hit a great tee shot, still had 235 yards to go. Hit a great 3 wood into the back fringe, first putt to 9 feet, made the putt. Great frickin par dude. Half hearted 7 iron on the par 3 fourteenth, about 30 feet right. 2 tiers, pin on the bottom tier, almost made it, about 3 feet past the hole, made the putt for 3. Hit a corkscrew tee shot on the 470 yard par 4 15th, leaving me 230 in (240 yard teeshot downwind, stellar...), hit 3 iron a bit too far, over the back, good chip shot but just kept rolling. About 9 feet back up the hill, big slope on the right, it's got to go left, it must go left, it has to go...straight, left it on the right side, ball never moved. The guy I'm riding with was nearly on the same line and I swear his jaw hit the green. He said "well Scott, you saw it, trust it and hit it straight". After he made his I told him he owed me one putt.

Good tee shot on 16, 87 yards into the wind, perfect SW, pulled a bit, 10 feet left, pin high, read too much and missed it on the high side, good par. Great tee shot on 17, finally. Had 170 in, hit a worthless weak cut 6 iron, 2 feet from being enough, rolled back down into the bunker. Green is 4 feet above my head, hit it to about 4 feet below the hole, made the putt. Pulled my tee shot on the par 5 18th (was thinking "water has been in play 3 times so far, you put it in twice, don't block this into the water on the right", great swing thought eh?), had about 290 yards in. So I'm going back and forth on this one "hit 3 wood because I haven't made a birdie all day, I'm a million over, let's make something happen." And then I decide on a 5 iron. Water all down the left side near the green, let's not make it worse than it already is, you can still make birdie from the fairway. Hit the 5 iron perfect (damn, maybe it's NOT the club), left me 94 yards to the stick. Blocked the SW about 15 feet right, then let it run out of gas going down the hill, it was enough distance to get there, but not enough speed to hold the line, tap in par.

So let's take inventory, started out bogey, bogey, nearly making both par putts. Back to back doubles on 11 and 12, which truth be told, I was actually thinking about NOT hitting it in the water all week in my head while preparing, and 2 putts that absolutely should have dropped that didn't, 78. In all, I hit the ball a million times better than the last tournament, and I'm hitting it even better now (more on that in the next post). I walked away from this tournament feeling so good about a 78 that I should be ashamed, but the thing is, I know I'm so close. I'm hitting shots now that just feel, sound and respond differently than ever before. Very excited right now. The next tournament is 2 weeks away on 1/27, although about 50 miles from my house. Practice round and tournament day is going to suck for this one, oh well.

Golf Channel Amateur Tour membership and event #1

Event #1 for the 2008 Golf Channel Amateur Tour is taking place on November 18th here at The Duke in lovely Maricopa, AZ. It's a nice little track named after The Duke himself, John Freaking Wayne. Just signed up for the tour membership for 2008, so I've got 12 months of events ahead of me for this, as well as any others we can come across. Getting excited for some tournaments again.

Trying to get a practice round scheduled for Sunday so I can get back out there. Haven't played The Duke in over a year. If my friend can find it in his heart to play golf again, I will get the opportunity.

Arizona Open Qualifier results

Ugh, what a day. I didn't play all that well all day, which is a bit of a letdown because I hit it great on the range. Off the first tee I hit a weak little cut, which kind of set the tone for the day. End result - 82 with a 10 on 17. I was out of it after 16 and just went brain dead. Chipped in on 18 though! Here we go!

As I said, hit a weak little cut off the first tee, still in the fairway. Hit a weak blocked wedge right of the green, mediocre flop over the bunker to 8 feet and missed the putt, bogey. Hit a solid 3 iron off the tee of the par 5 second (it's a weird hole, 90 degree dogleg left with a forced water carry starting at 230 yards. 7 iron layup and a lame wedge pin high, 15 feet right, 2 putt par. Hit a big 8 iron on #3 to about 30 feet, hit a chickenshit putt down the hill 6 feet short and missed it, bogey. Good 3 wood off of #4 and a great GW to about 6 feet on the fourth, then left the putt short. Good tee shot on 5, was in between 8 and 9 iron, decided on a hard 9 as the pin was right in front, left it just short in the fringe, 2 putts from there.

Hit a horrible tee shot on 6 into a fairway pot bunker, had to hit a wedge out, left me about 80 yards. Hit SW a bit past the pin to about 8 feet and made it for par. Hit a great 6 iron on 7 to about 8 feet, and left the putt short. Could be even right now, kicking myself for that one. Decent drive over the fairway bunker on 8. It's the kind of hole where you need to hit 3 iron to put it in a safe spot away from all the fairway bunkers, leaving 160 in, or just bomb a driver down to 50 yards and hit a flip wedge. I went with the latter, and flipped it into the bunker short of the green. Great plan. Here's where it gets fun, so we're playing with another guy who is pretty let down with his play. At this point he may be even or one over, not sure, but he's uttered every curseword known to man so far. He puts it in the same bunker, and let everyone within 4 miles know that he wasn't happy about it. So I go first, hit a fairly poor shot to about 15 feet, then move to outside the back of the bunker with the rake to wait for him. He hits it out to about 5 feet, proceeds to scream an F bomb, and slams his club into the bunker, which splashes sand all over me, in my face, in my hair, on my clothes, etc. Now, I've never gotten into a fist fight on a golf course, but my man was one apology away from getting a rake shoved up his ass. We exchanged pleasantries, I politely suggested that he get his emotions in check. He literally didn't utter another curseword for the rest of the round. Oh yeah, two putted for bogey. Still shaking sand out of my butt crack. Asshole.

Hit a great tee shot on 9, 470 yard par 4, forced carry over the lake on the 2nd shot, it's a really good hole. I hit what I thought was a perfect 6 iron, but when I looked up, it just had this weird, weak flight to it, landed short in the bunker in between the green and the lake. Blasted out to about 8 feet and missed the putt. Out in 39 just like that. How the F did that just happen? Good tee shot on 10, then decided on a 7 iron to the back pin, hit it perfect. Too perfect, flew the green onto a really steep bank behind the green. Hit a ridiculously good chip that nearly went in for 3 off of that bank, good 4 though. Weak blocked tee shot into the fairway bunker on the par 5 11th, 7 iron out into the fairway, wedge to 12 feet, 2 putt par. Good driver off of 12, wedge to 15 feet, 2 putt par. Good 3 wood on 13, lame 9 iron to 20 feet, two putt par. Hit what I thought was a decent 5 iron on the par 3 14th, came up about 5 yards short of the green. Chip to 4 feet and solid putt for par. So we get to 15, I start taking inventory here, I'm 4 over, 4 holes to play and 2 really straightfoward holes coming right up. I'm thinking if I can get it to 2 over, I "might" have a chance.

Great tee shot on the par 5 15th, 3 wood just short, pitch to 8 feet. How this putt didn't go in, I don't know, hit it just like I wanted. Great tee shot on 16, then slid under a GW, landed it dead in the front 1/4 of the green, pin is all the way back up on a shelf, probably 45+ feet away. I hit the putt about as hard as I could and still came up 6 feet short. Missed it for par and make bogey. So now instead of getting it to 2 over, I'm 5 over with 2 to play. We're dead. Let's get it in and go home. Par 3 17th, 170 yards over water, hit a fat pushed 7 iron into the water. Re-tee as there is no drop area, all over water. Another fat pushed 7 iron into the water. Back to the bag for another ball. I said to the guys I'm playing with "maybe I should hit driver so I can make sure it's dry this time". Put some effort into this 7 iron, but hooked it left of the green. Hit a nearly one handed chip to about 10 feet, ran the putt about 6 feet by, missed that one. Go to tap that in for a 9 and back hand the putter, stubbed it into the ground. Awesome. Let's go ahead and make a real stroke this tip, one inch for a 10. Solid play on that little par 3 no?

Hit a baby cut driver to the landing area on 18, then blocked a 7 iron right of the green. I say to myself "well, might as well make this one, haven't made a birdie all day" and wouldn't you know it, 2 hops and it rolls dead into the heart for a 3. Can we play a new qualifying round starting now? So all in all, played bad on the front and had a chance to keep it in check, I just let it get away from me. Had a good talk with myself on the way to #10 and played really well through the fairway on 16. Once I 3 putted to shoot myself out of it, I just went brain dead obviously. As it turns out, I would have needed to shoot 70 or better to get one of the 25 spots available, wasn't even close. Bitter, party of one, your table is ready...