DAY 3: WORLD AMATEUR HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP

After two rounds in the low-80s, and a spot atop the leaderboard, Day 3 of the World Amateur Handicap Championship at TPC Myrtle Beach was full speed ahead for me...in reverse! Basically, the golf gods giveth and the golf gods taketh away. Today was a taketh away day.

I felt good going in, had a nice warm up, and felt ready to shoot another nice round. That is, until we got to the opening hole, the 138-yard par-3 17th. If this were the third or fourth hole, rather than the opener, it would still have presented some visual challenges, but I suspect our group would have handled it better.

As it was, two of the players in the foursome that started on the same hole, but just in front of us, found the water,

 one on his first shot and the other on his second when his chip rolled through the green. The second shot of another member of that foursome saw his chip flirt with the wet stuff, but it hung on.

Our foursome, Norman Bolen, Ron Colville, and Kevin Ashe (5th, 35th, and 47th respectively after 36 holes), watched the carnage, and it did nothing good for our first-shot jitters. 

The lighting practice greens didn't help at all either.

Kevin was the only one to find the green, with Ron taking a dunk, and Norm and I bailing to the left. 

Had I not seen one ball find the water and another hanging on the edge, it might have been a routine up and down...at worse a bogey from where my ball sat. But I had seen the fate of the first foursome, and I chipped away from the hole. 

Fear of fast greens dominated me as I approached my downhill 30-footer, and I just waved my putter at the ball and yelled for it to go. It didn't go, and I missed the subsequent 15-footer. 

After just one double bogey in two rounds (not counting my two-shot penalty for absent brain matter yesterday), I had started the day with a double.

I vowed to shake that off, and off we went to the par-5 18th, the fourth hardest on the course (yeah, right!). Looking at this hole was no picnic after you were just shell-shocked on your opening hole (the 6th hardest). 

I'll skip most of the gory details and just tell you that I moved to the third hole (TPC No.1), a virtual walk in the park in comparison, with my second double bogey already on my card. Great way to start when you're atop the leaderboard, no? 

In any event, I got my first par on the third hole, and that was merely a brief respite before I carded a triple bogey 8 on the par-5 second. 

Par 5 No.2

Can you feel my pain yet? Believe me, I was feeling it! To put it in perspective, the first two days I was 9 over par (minus yesterday's penalty) for 18 holes. Today, I was 10 over after 8. 

Was there anything positive about the day? Well, yes. Norm, who, as I mentioned was fifth coming in, had picked up his game after his triple-triple start. Having pretty much shot myself in the foot as far as leading the flight was concerned, I had to find another goal. I decided that if I could stay ahead of Norm and post the best score of my foursome, it would be a moral victory.

How could I miss that!

Despite my struggles, my front-nine score was one shot better than Norms (44 to 45 respectively), and I knew I had had a two shot edge on the back from our first two holes (12 for me, 14 for him!). When Norm posted three pars on holes 10 - 12 (our 12th, 13th, and 14th holes), and I went bogey, bogey, double bogey, even that goal wasn't looking too good. Norm had taken a one-shot lead with four to play.

Pretty good form

Norm held that lead with three to play, but although I botched a very makeable birdie attempt on the par-5 14th and came away with par, Norm missed his short par-putt to even things up with two to play. I finished the lat two holes, bogey, par, and Norm doubled both. And that moral victory, my friends, is all I have to show for 5 1/2 hours in the sun.

At the 19th Hole

Today I just didn't hit enough good shots, and when I did hit good shots, I failed to capitalize on the greens. Basically, on the way to "Fantasy Land" I took a detour in "Realityville." I shot a 90, which dropped me to second place, three shots behind the leader going into the final day of flight play. 

And this is what we wake up to

But how bad can it be? I have the most beautiful photographer in the world with me, our anniversary is tomorrow, and I still have a shot to win my flight. 

Just a note about the play at TPC today. Other than getting beat up by the terrific course itself, what I will take away was the "thock" of golf balls bouncing off trees on almost every hole! At least my pain was shared. "Play it as it lies"... T. A.

DAY 2: GOLF.COM WORLD AMATEUR HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP

Aberdeen Clubhouse

Coming off yesterday's 81, I felt good going into today’s second round of the Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship (WAHC). Sure, I hadn’t had a round like that since…since…since…well never in competition, but I was feeling pretty confident. We got to Aberdeen Country Club in plenty of time to warm up for the 8:30am start. 

Aberdeen Staff

Plenty of range balls for $3, found a little room on the putting green, and I even remembered to bring a towel out to deal with the dewy conditions. 

Aberdeen’s cart staff was outstanding, directing traffic, giving rides to the range, etc. You won’t meet a more helpful bunch of guys…

But I digress…Aberdeen has three nines, Highlands, Woodland, and Meadows. We played Highlands and Meadows (6,079 yards from the white tees). I would love to tell you all about the entire round, but I think I paid for staying up writing and doing pictures last night. Think I’ll try to make this one relatively quick (didn't quite work out that way after all).

Anyway, today I rode with Orlando Henrique of Portugal (42nd after Day 1), and we played with Charles Dickerson of Bella Vista, Arkansas (30th after Day 1), and Bill Clarke of Hamilton Square, New Jersey (tied for 10th after Day 1). I didn’t know where they stood coming in, and I didn’t really care. I just wanted to play as solid as I had yesterday.

We teed it up on Meadows No.9, 

a 352-yard par-4, playing as the 18th hole for those starting on Highlands No.1 (yes, I know it’s confusing if you aren’t used to shotgun starts). I teed up the first ball and hit it almost just the way it wanted to…it went through the fairway. Charles hit a nice drive, but both Bill and Orlando struggled off the first tee.  

As we rode to my ball, I continued to fiddle with myGolfshot app, which has become like another club in my bag (provides distances to green). It refused to work (much like my 60-degree wedge), and I gave up after countless tries…much like my 60-degree wedge (no longer in the bag). I was missing that app right off the bat, because I was in the mulch under a tree, and had to go over water to get to the green (see course layout here)!  

I guessed it was about a 9-iron shot, but wasn’t gonna mess with the water, and pulled an 8-iron left of the green, but pin high.I used Sean Balliet’s chipping technique, and got up and down for par. Phew! Picking up where we left off yesterday, felt good.

Highlands No.5- Lone birdie hole of the day

I bogeyed the next two holes, but was not at all worried…after all, bogey golf is the game I typically try to play. I sandwiched four pars and a birdie between the first and final two bogeys on Highlands, finishing the first 10 holes just three over par. 

Highlands No.5 tee box

I know my usual playing partners are thinking, “That’s pretty doggone good for you!” I was thinking the same doggone thing! 

Things had slowed down quite a bit at this point, and we were past the 3 1/2-hour mark for 10 holes. I was struggling to keep my concentration. I bogeyed Meadows No.1 (our 11th, just 306 yards), and that was a great bogey considering what I had done on the hole. Somehow I scraped out a par on the 494-yard, par-5 second. But I was feeling the late night and slow play. 

My first double of the tournament came on the next hole, a mere 300-yard par four (tee shot went all of 50 yards),

I bogeyed the tiny 129-yard par-3 that followed, and the most interesting event of the tournament happened on the following hole. 

Meadow No.5

Chris, Mike, you two will understand this, but I’m not sure anyone else will. Meadow No.5 is a 358-yard par-4, that’s pretty straight forward (see Meadow layout here), with a slightly elevated green. I hit a good drive down the right side of the fairway, and was doing all I could, in the fog that had descended upon me over the previous few holes, to figure out my distance. I pulled and 8-iron and a 9-iron, still unsure of which I would hit.

I chose the 9-iron, stood over the ball, and began my pre-shot routine. somewhere in the back of my consciousness, I thought the grip felt a bit thin (I use mid-size), but continued "bravely" on…I hit the 9-iron thin, and it went a bit long and left. Shouldn’t be much of a problem though… 

2nd shot, first hole

Until I went to put my irons back in the bag…did you see this coming? There I am trying to put my clubs away and can’t figure out for the life of me why there’s no empty space in the usual slots. Finally it hit me! I had pulled my playing partner’s clubs! 

Are you bleepin’ kidding me! How is that even possible? He uses TaylorMade Burners, I use Giga Golf TRX Powermax Slot irons. He has iron shafts, I have graphite. He uses standard grips, I use midsize. Un-bleepin’ real man!  

Playing partners Charles & Bill

So anyway, I bogeyed the hole…before the two-shot penalty,when I’m playing the best consecutive two rounds of golf I have, perhaps, ever played, on the second day of a tournament with 3308 (had a few dropouts) other participants vying for top honors. 

I have pulled some bonehead moves in my day, on and off the golf course, but I can’t think of anything more calcified than that move. In case you weren’t counting, that was a seven (7) on a hole that should have been at worst a bogey.
In my fog, I was troubled, but I didn’t have the energy to be too upset. After all, this is golf. I parred two of the final three holes, and carded an 83. That’s right, 83 with a two-stroke penalty. All I can say is that if I lose my flight, it had better be by more than two strokes!  

Bill putting one in

My playing partners struggled most of the day, but Bill carded a nifty 87 to finish second in the foursome.Charles posted a 91, and Orlando would probably knock me upside the head if I listed his score. 

As it stands, I, at least, tied for first in my foursomes the first two days, and I sit atop the leaderboard going into Day 3. Not bad for an old "shankapotamous" like me.

Day 2 Leader Board

TPC Myrtle Beach

Tomorrow we’ll be headed to Tournament Players Club Myrtle Beach for a 9:30am tee time. Steph has ridden over ten hours on golf carts over the past couple days taking photos and will probably do at least another five tomorrow! Stay tuned for a massive photo gallery once we have had time to go through the photos.

Heads up: If I’m still in contention after tomorrow. I might just pass on doing the Day 3 Update, as getting some more rest than I got last night and will get tonight will be in order. I’ll combine the final two days if that’s the case. Thanks for hanging out in Myrtle with us! “Fore!” T. A. & Steph

DAY 1: GOLF.COM WORLD AMATEUR HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP

Driving into Ocean Ridge Plantation to play the first day of the 30th Anniversary Golf.com World Amateur Handicap Championship (WAHC) was a treat unto itself. The tree-lined streets with pristinely manicured homes gave us an “Aww this is too sweet!” feeling as we turned off State Road 17 onto Ocean Ridge Parkway.

Tiger's Eye Clubhouse

The table was set for a good day of golf. All I had to do was partake of delightful smorgasbord of golf that was offered up on Tiger’s Eye Golf Links, one of four championship layouts on the property in Ocean isle Beach, North Carolina.

My playing partners

Our group, Craig Forbes, Mike Schaal, Butch Willis, and I, teed off on the 345-yard 14th hole, playing from the Bengal tees (6120 yards), with me having the honors. I promptly put my drive into the sand on the right. 

Funny, I had just talked to my riding partner, Craig, about only being in the sand once in my practice round the day before. Figures, doesn’t it?

They all proceeded to put their drives in the fairway, and each of my playing partners parred the hole. Me? I came out of the sand okay, and bogeyed the hole…in fact, I bogeyed the first four holes, and was sitting four back of Craig, who had parred each of the four, two back of Butch who had parred two of four, and even with Mike, due to his 8 on the par-four 16th (third hole played).

But hey, given what I usually shoot, I was happy to have opened with four bogeys. “At least I had honors on one hole”

Par 5 18th

I quipped after the first few.My usual playing partners aren’t gonna believe this, but I got my first par on the par-five 18th, playing 525 from the Bengal tees. The tee was probably up, but hey, that’s what it says on the scorecard, ok?

Before I go any further, let me thank Sean Balliet for my chipping lesson, because my chipping kept me in the game. A good chip and a one-putt snagged me that first par, and that par was one of four in a six-hole stretch that included those four pars a birdie and a bogey. 

At that point I was five over after ten, and right in the thick of things. I had closed the gap on Craig, who was four over after ten, passed Mike who was seven over (despite 6 of 10), and Butch, who was six over, despite making the shot of the day on #18. 

Butch getting his eagle ball

Butch hit his third shot on 18 from about 150 yards, and it looked good in the air, looked really nice when it landed just on the front of the green, tracking toward the hole. It rolled really nicely toward the pin until…it just disappeared. Yep, eagle-three for Butch. Bet he collected a tidy sum for that skin!

I got back on the bogey train on the short par-three 6th, playing just 140, when my 9-iron came up short. But I got off on the next stop when I parred the par-five 7th, playing 513. Even though I was driving the ball well (after the first pathetic two that landed me in the sand), 

Par 4 8th

I decided to play No.8, a short par-four playing just 337 yards, smart, and used my brand new 19-degree Cobra T-rail hybrid off the tee. It was perfectly placed for another 9-iron into the back pin placement.

That 9-iron came up short as well, and my first shot out of the green-side bunker, was, uh, not out of the bunker. My second shot out of the bunker, was out of the bunker, but just barely. Shoot! Lying four and facing my first very likely double bogey on the 13th hole of the day.

Hah! But I had had a chipping lesson from none other than Sean Balliet, 

Sean Balliet

The Hideaway Country Club’s Head Golf Professional, in preparation for this event, and hit the perfect chip that tracked down the hill dead center cup to save the bogey. Phew! It was just one of those days. I don’t remember ever shooting a round without a double bogey, but after that save, I started thinking the golf gods were looking out for me.

 

On No.9, a dogleg right, showing 370 on the card, I hit a nice drive, and had about 137 over water to a front pin. Should be a perfect little 9-iron again. I hit it well…I thought, with just a little tug.I turned away thinking that it would be just left of the pin, and looked back to see the ball fall short and beat a hasty retreat into the water. “Are you bleepin’ me! I hit that well?” Fortunately for me, I hit a decent chip and made a good putt to save the bogey.

Guess those gods were looking out for me. Two pars, two bogeys on the final four holes, to finish with a 9-over 81, my best round of golf since I shot 81 the last round I played in the WAHC two years ago. Craig, playing in his 15th WAHC, also finished with an 81. Butch posted an 86 in his first ever WAHC round, and Mike, playing his 10th, closed with an 87.

Steph on the camera

I’ve gotta thank Steph for making the rounds shooting photos, and especially for the sandwich she brought me, just as I was reaching for the crackers in my bag. What a woman! I’m thinking she brightened up the day for some of the other guys on the course as well, just with that sunny smile of hers. 

Clay Stanley get the show rolling

I also want to thank the World Am organizers for treating me to yet another terrific golf course and a fun foursome.Of course my luck may run out eventually, but this was my fifth round of WAHC play, and so far all of the guys have been way cool! 

Craig's unique putting stance

Thanks for the refreshment Craig! Butch, I won’t forget that eagle! Mike, I didn’t even mind you hitting that stinkin’ three-metal past my driver every time :). Hope the putting picks for you tomorrow…or maybe not, or I won’t have a chance at winning the flight.

As for the competition, my double-bogey-free round put me tied for third with playing partner Craig of Hillsboro, Ohio, two shots back of the flight leader Mylan Metcalf of Union Grove, Alabama, and one behind Kenneth Gahr of Myrtle Beach. 

Tiger's Eye view

I’m looking forward to my 8:30am (yikes!) start at Aberdeen Country Club tomorrow. Aberdeen’s just over 6100 yards as well, but quite a bit tighter than Tiger’s Eye. Perhaps the golf gods will be smiling benevolently upon me again tomorrow. “Drive for show, putt for dough!” T. A.

COURSE REVIEW: THE HIDEAWAY COUNTRY CLUB- FORT MYERS

Invariably, the first time someone who lives in the Greater Fort Myers area comes through the gates at The Hideaway Country Club, he or she will utter, with the most pleasantly surprised inflection, “I didn’t even know this existed!” The Hideaway has been one of Southwest Florida’s best kept secrets, but the word is getting out and the appreciation is rolling in.

I have plenty of praises to sing for this short-but-lovely, Ron Garl-designed track, but being a stickler pre-game range work, I must say that one element of Hideaway experience that is lacking: No range! However, there is a net to hit into, a large practice green, around which chipping is allowed, and another practice area where you can work your wedges and bunker game.

At 5146 yards from the tips, this little gem may not seem like much to the big hitters, but the new renovation (summer 2013) with Paspalum grass from tee through green, and the design features make it enough of a challenge that even the bombers find themselves appreciating not just the beauty of the landscape, but the nuances of the course itself.

The Hideaway offers golf delight right from the very first tee box. At 312 yards, the slight dogleg right, par four tempts the long-hitter to launch it over pines. A successful drive over the trees will generally end up just short or even on the green for a great eagle or birdie try. 

Those who don’t hit quite so long only have to drive it 200 yards to have a wedge into the green and a nice birdie op as well.Florida is not known for elevation changes, but that is precisely what you get on the second and third holes at The Hideaway, both par threes, but after a good shot at birdie on the 120-yard second, the 172-yard third up the hill presents a nice challenge. 

The driver can come out again on the 364-yard par four fourth, but the fairway narrows where a good drive is likely to fall, and there’s water left and OB right if your accuracy is shaky. After you capture your “easy” bird on No.5 (just 120 yards with two bunkers protecting short right and left), you can choose driver on 6 and 7 (both 343 yard par fours). However, unless you’re really confident, you might wanna leave the “Big Dawg” in the bag or you could ruin your round before you get to the par-five eighth.

The dogleg right 8th can be an eagle hole if you get brave and take a blind shot over the trees. That’s the only way you are getting there in two. Otherwise, it’s two shots to the green, which is pretty accessible and amenable to birdies. No.9, at 190 yards, is the longest par three on the course, and with water all the way up the right and the tree line really close on the left you had better be on the straight and narrow here. 

Listen, I can write about this cute, little, cheerleader of a track for pages on end, but you need to try it yourself. The Paspalum fairways remind me of hitting from a mat…almost…and the greens roll so very truly, even if a bit slowly at The Hideaway.

All I’ll tell you about the inward nine is that the final three holes consist of a par 5 (No. 16) and two of the longest par fours on the course. Fortunately you shouldn’t be tired even if you have walked this little beauty. 

Like the course, the pro shop and staff are small, but they get the job done. All in all, The Hideaway is a terrific value for the money from May through September (only members from October through April), and if it had a driving range, I’d join in a heartbeat. 

I'm might be just a little biased, since I practice my trade at The Hideaway, but you don't have to take my word for it. Plenty of others share my views (check ratings and reviews here). If you read the reviews, you'll see comments like, "I can't express just how fantastic this place is. I only wish it was open to the public. I will play there are often as I can!" And from another: "This was the best maintained course I have ever played. The tee boxes were good enough to putt on. The food was excellent... I wish I lived near so I could play all the time. If I could give it 6 stars I would." 

If you are in the area from May through September, you will want to make a tee time at The Hideaway. Unfortunately, it's members only from October through April. Once the best kept secret in town, The Hideaway is now just one of the best courses in town.  "You're still Away"...T. A.