2015 WORLD AMATEUR HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

Well folks it’s that time of year again. What time is that? The time of year when I head to Myrtle Beach to play the World Amateur Handicap Championship of golf. Yep, it’s about as close as I’ll ever come to playing an event like the big boys and girls do on TV. Four rounds of golf on four different courses, and if I win my flight, I’ll get to play the championship round against the other 60-odd other flight winners.

Will Smith & Matt Damon in
The Legend of Bagger Vance
Photo by David James

Unless Bagger Vance is hitchhiking, I pick him up on the way to Myrtle, and then channel all of his wisdom during the four (hopefully 5 days) days of play, the odds aren’t good that I’ll return to Fort Myers as the World Amateur Champion. But that’s not my immediate objective. My objective is to play as well as I can and enjoy the experience as much as I possibly can without having Steph at my side (no easy task I assure you!).

According to the World Am website, “Nearly 3,400 golfers from 48 states and 28 countries are preparing to descend on the Grand Strand for the 32nd annual Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship, golf’s largest and most inclusive event.” Listen, there are 48 guys in my flight, and according to reported handicaps, I’m about 12^th from the bottom of the flight. In other words, I am not even one of the top seeds in my flight, much less the tournament with 72 flights (66 men’s, 6 women’s).

Ah, but we’ve all heard about upsets, right? Nobody ever won anything on paper, and that’s all we’ve got so far. I gotta go play some golf and see what happens. The bad news? My on-course performance the past couple of weeks has been mediocre at best. The good news? The last two shots I hit today at The Hideaway before the sky opened up were excellent shots. I’ve got to lock in those images for next week. I’ll keep ya posted unless you tell me not to.

For those who would like to follow along, I’m in Flight 21, with players carrying handicaps from 9.4 – 10.1. Perhaps being in over my head is just the kind of challenge I need. The courses we are playing on are offering some nice challenging all on their own.

For example, on Day 1 (Mon) we’re playing Prestwick Country Club, the work of Pete Dye and his son P.B. For a short-knocker like me, a 444-yard par-4 hole is essentially a par-5, and that’s what Hole #3 presents. 

If you know anything about Pete Dye designs, you know there’s all sorts of sand traps, water, and undulations to keep your mind busy the entire round (you can check out the club and holes here). If the photos, course tour and scorecard on their website are any indication, this is a lovely track that should both aesthetically pleasing and mentally stimulating…not to mention nerve-wracking.

On Day 2 (Tue), we’ve got the Jack Nicklaus-designed Long Bay Club that features some crazy bunkering, an island green, and greens that Myrtle Beach Golf called, “among the fastest on the beach.” I just hope I’m not to worn out by the time I get to Hole #18 on this one, because although it isn’t very long (only 368 yards), it could present all sorts of trouble with a tree in the left fairway just where a fader wants to hit, and water all down the right side.

Day 3 (Wed) features Tradition Golf Club, a Ron Garl design that I’ve played on one of my previous visits to Myrtle Beach. Of course I have no recollection of playing it, but at least the surroundings should be familiar. Locals might be familiar with Garl’s work as he designed both courses at Fiddlesticks, as well as the sweet track at Cypress Lake Country Club. I’m really looking forward to Hole #7, a 377-yard par-4 with an island green (see scorecard here).

We close out flight-play on Day 4 (Thur) with the shortest of the four tests we’ll have (just 5841 yards), and I’m guessing the least challenging, River Oaks Golf Plantation. Unless you’ve golfed in the Carolinas you probably haven’t played a Hamm track (list of his courses). 

River Oaks has 27 holes, and we’ll be playing the Fox & Otter nines. I’m going into the final day of flight play with a positive attitude, because I shot my best round of the tournament last year (3^rd best in the 12 tourney rounds I’ve played) on a Hamm course. Hopefully, I’ll be higher up the leaderboard this time around when we get to that point.

Ok, that’s the preview of my 2015 World Amateur HandicapChampionship of golf. I’m preparing mentally for a soggy affair (which doesn’t favor a short-knocker like me), and getting pumped because I’ve played some of my best golf in the rain! Go figure. 

Anyway, for those of you who choose to follow along, thanks for sharing the journey, and I’ll be back at you from Myrtle Beach next week. 

Oh, for those who have followed my exploits before, please don’t be as disappointed as I will be without those fantastic photos that Steph usually takes. Hasta next…