2015 WORLD AMATEUR HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP- DAY 3

Note: Please forgive typos, and other errors. I'm well past bedtime if I'm to reach my goal tomorrow. Thanks Steph! Wish you were here.

Tradition Golf Club

The early morning haze had pretty much burned off by the time I pulled into Tradition Golf Club on Pawley’s Island, SC this morning for the third day (only 2nd round) of the 33^rd World Amateur Handicap Championship of Golf.

As usual bodies buzzed on the practice green, and balls crisscrossed the smooth terrain of the putting surface. Ah, Golf, you too are one of a kind. How can one guy be so fortunate as to have two ones of a kind…or should that be one-of-a-kinds? Whatever…

Our foursome

I had another good group of guys to play with today, even though they were a bit more serious than yesterday’s group. No surprise, since Steve McNamara was tied for 3^rd coming into today’s round. When

Steve rolling one in from 10 feet

you’re in contention, you tend to be a bit more serious than when you aren’t. A tough day deposited Steve in a tie for 5^th, after following yesterday’s 83 with an 85 today.

Tim dropping one of many

Tim Fessler, who was tied for 31^st after yesterday’s round of 92, bounced back seven shots better with an 85 today, tying Steve for the lead in our group, and jumping 13 spots into a tie for 18^th. Tim had so many well-struck putts burn the edges, that his round could have been four or five strokes lower with a little luck. And I don't think Tim had his "A" game today. It wouldn't surprise me to see Tim climb the ladder tomorrow and end up in the top ten. 

Kevin's unique swing

Unfortunately, somebody had to ride with me and suffer the consequences of the “Niles Curse,” and that duty fell to Kevin Satterfield today.Kevin, a flight winner last year, but battling a bad back this year, notched an 88 yesterday, and posted a 93 today. Todays struggles dropped him from 20^th to 29^th on the leaderboard. Kevin can take away “Shot of the Day” honors though. I’m not sure that makes up for the Niles Curse, but it’s something.

I believe it was the par-5 fourteenth hole, where Kevin hit his second shot to about 50 yards from the flag, right of the fairway and rough, but left of the cart path.

His ball lay on hard-packed, cart-path dirt, with trees and a sand trap in his line to the green. Kevin fired a wedge off that dirt, through the trees, over the bunker and onto the putting surface within 10 feet of the cup. It may not sound like much to you as I write it, but I was there as he was hitting that shot, and that may just be the best shot I will see all tourney.

So how about what I did today? Well, I went out this morning relaxed and looking forward to another day of joyous self-challenge in a “naturally” picturesque landscape. Golf courses are naturally picturesque to me even when the fairways aren’t very fair, and the greens are more like browns. But I digress…

Birdie putt on par-5 10th

Well, the first six holes I’m cruising along according to plan, hitting the first five fairways, and getting a par and birdie on the first two par-5s we faced. Ah, but then that ADHD kicks in, the focus drifts a bit, and next thing I know I’m carding a 7! The concentration tried to make an early exit today, and I was fighting it from the fifth hole on. I wonder if a diagnosis and prescription would help my golf? Gotta check into that.

I bogeyed #11, our fifth hole played, which wasn’t bad considering that it is the longest par-4 on the course (415 yards from our tees). Interestingly enough both Steve and Tim posted triples on that hole, while Kevin and I bogeyed it. Weird. But anyway, I could feel myself in scramble mode, and noticed that I had to fight to stay focused.

On #12, a 147-yard par-3, I posted par, but that was a “par-amble” (a par due to scrambling) after a poor tee shot fell short, and my attempt at a “Martin Kaymer” (or an “Oliver Stenger” if you prefer) failed miserably (both Germans putt from well off the green with far more success). I had about a 12-footer remaining for par…and I drained it. 

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After those first six holes (No. 7 – 12) I was 2-over par, including a par on the par-5 ninth, and a birdie on the par-5 tenth. Huh? I’m the guy who’s usually struggling on the par-5s. Today I played the four par-5s in even par. Still looking for the positive…In any event, I must have been basking in my relief at converting that par on #12, because my tee shot on #13 missed the fairway to the left (1^st missed fairway of the day).  

Not to worry, I had a shot at the green and hit a nice hybrid to just short of it. I had a good 10 feet of fringe, another 30 feet of green to work with, and the hole was uphill.  Soooooo… I thought I’d try my new technique of chipping with a pitching wedge. Had the brain been functioning properly, I would have realized that it was not the shot to try with the ball lying in a bit of a depression. I hit it thin, all the way to the back fringe, some 30 feet past the flag. For the life of me I can’t remember what I did from there to card the 7, since I only recorded two putts??? But 7 it was. Am I in shock, or what?!

Obviously I’m not a happy camper at this point, but I’m working to keep it together and doing a pretty decent job of it too. Of course, next up is the par-5 fourteenth hole…and you know how I feel about par-5s…So I proceed to par that hole and the next. I bogey the next two. We’ve played 11 holes at this point, and Kevin is 13-over par, Tim is 9-over, Steve is 7-over and I am 6-over. I didn’t know that at the time, but I’m looking at the scorecards now. You know what that means?

Look what we found next to the practice green

That means there are seven holes to go, and I  am leading Kevin by seven strokes, Tim by three, and Steve by one. Kevin plays the last seven holes in 8-over par. Steve does it in 6-over and Tim closes the last seven holes in just 4-over. Me? How does 10-over grab ya? It niggles at me even now as I think of it. Curious, I just took a look at yesterday’s last seven holes. Pick a number, any number! Yep, 10-over. Am I snake bit? I’m just sayin’…..

Nice little 6-iron to about 3 feet 

Oh where has our bright side optimist gone? No worries, still here. On the bright side, I parred three of the four par-3s, and played the four par-5s in even-par. After a disaster hole I bounced back with two pars, one of them a par-5. I did hit an all-world flop shot that almost went in the hole for birdie. For 11 holes I played the best golf of our foursome. The course was in terrific shape (all things considered), greens rolled beautifully, the guys were pleasant, and IT WAS GOLF! Even brighter yet is that there is more golf to be played tomorrow!

Yet, it is goal revision time. One must always be prepared to revise one’s goals, no? In any event, I started the day in a tie for 21^st on the leaderboard (click here for yesterday’s post). Today I stand in a tie for 22^nd with Anthony Johnson, one of my playing partners from yesterday. The top ten is looking like an unrealistic goal at this point, so tomorrow’s goal (probably today’s by the time you read this) will be….you guessed it: Finish the final seven holes in fewer than 10 strokes over par! I’ll consider 5-over acceptable. Let’s see how that goes.

Until then, thanks for coming along for the ride and we’ll see you tomorrow.

T. A. & Steph

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