2nd round of the tournament of champions at Wolf Creek:
I did play much better on day two, and improved my score by 10 shots. There was a ton of room for improvement.
I was basically golfing for fun since I’d shot myself out of the tournament. Having shot a poor round I was paired with other players who didn’t play well the first day as well. Yep, we were up at the crack of dawn as the worst scores teed off first. Each of the players I was paired with was either a club champ or won a certain qualifying amateur event. These two sticks were +2 handicaps.
Stick #1
Stick #1 was the returning champ of this tournament. This guy is the longest hitter I’ve ever seen. His 3 iron goes about 10 yards farther than my driver, and I’m not a short driver. And from 240 out on the par 5 ninth hole he knocked a six iron pin-high to a back pin. (No wind, flat ground and over water no less). He went driver 6 iron, I went driver, 7 iron, pitching wedge. He then 3 putted for par. I saw a total of six 3 putt pars over the two days in my groups. I never thought to ask him about his wedges. Heck, if your 6 iron goes 240 then does your PW go 200? How does one figure wedge shots when nearly all of your approach shots are wedges from 200 in? Just wondering…
But stick #1 had putting issues. Somehow on these lightning fast greens he was leaving all of his putts short. He left downhill putts short on greens that were as fast as your kitchen table at a 45 degree angle.
Stick #1, a +2 handicap shot a blistering 82.
Stick #2
I was feeling for stick #2. He had his family in our own personal “gallery.” He was struggling with his tee shots. He kept knocking his shots either OB or in hazards. He managed a 12 on the same #9 hole that stick #1 reached in two. When we got to the tough 18th tee, he informed us that he needed par to shoot 100. He put his approach shot about 10 feet above the hole. On this course that is almost certain death. Over his birdie putt he proudly announced “this is for 99.” He barely nudged the putt and it ran a good 15 feet below the hole. He then knocked that 15 footer solidly into the back of the cup for a 100.
After we signed our scorecards he took his into the pro shop and got a photocopy of his round for his personal bulletin board.
This just goes to show that when it goes bad it can go really bad. It doesn’t matter what handicap you are, that 100 is there waiting for you.
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This beautiful ‘effing game