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…

WEST FLORIDA AM TOUR 2014-15 SEASON DEBUTS AT RITZ-CARLTON

Additional photos can be viewed here

In the battle of course versus golfer, the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida was clearly victorious in the kickoff event of the West Florida Amateur Tour 2014 – 15 season. Slick, undulating greens, most of which were elevated,

combined with gusting winds into par-4s over 400 yards, resulted in just four of 22 players meeting their quotas. Even those who met their quotas didn't do so with ease, as the two best scores were just three points above quota. 

Josh Stevens & Ross Hanson- WFAT Director

Both Josh Stevens (who needed 29 points and posted 32) and Randall Voss (who needed 25 and posted 28) claimed top spots with their +3 showings. Stevens claimed honors in the Gross Division (highest point total), just edging Michael McIvor (who also carded 32 points, but was +1) by virtue of scorecard tiebreak.

Voss took the Net Division with his +3, narrowly eclipsing his playing partner Bob Merriott who finished second with a +2 total. Stevens and Voss pocketed $175 pro shop vouchers, and I saw Josh walking away with several boxes of balls. Merriott and McIvor netted $100 each for their stellar play. Martin Harm (needed 26 and got 25) and Mark Postier (needed 25 and got 24) were also in the money with their well-earned -1 quota scores.

Chris Capps

The quota of 25 points was quite popular today as nine of the 22 players came into the event needing 25 points. I was one of those players, but the other players all played far better than I did today. Unfortunately for my buddy Chris Capps (who is a much better player than I am), he was in my cart and caught my disease. He finished 10 below his quota of 30. 

Steve Zonca

My other playing partner, Steve Zonca, whose quota was 21 points, was well on his way to making his quota with 11 points after the first nine holes. But even he succumbed to my malady, scoring just eight points on the back side to fall two points short. Even so, he finished in a tie for 7th.

Justine Harper

The fact of the matter is that everyone played better than I did today, including Justine Harper (the lone woman in the tournament) who also finished in a tie for 7th with the several other players who just missed their quotas by two points. She needed 26 and amassed 24. Me? I needed 25 and finished with 14, and that -11 debacle rendered me dead last in the field.

One more missed putt

As a competitor in many games and sports throughout my lifetime, I don’t believe I have ever been last in a field…and then there was golf… I must say that I’m quite bearish on myself as a competitor these days, for my decline has been noticeable and troubling. After yesterday’s event, as thrilling as it was to be there, I have to conclude that I’ve reached a 55-year low! Ah, but I am learning to wear humility with a smile…or is that humiliation I meant to write?

Whatever the case, still in the vein of Thanksgiving, I was grateful for the opportunity to play another gem of a course that I wouldn’t

have been able to play if not for the West Florida Amateur Tour. Sure the bunkers were like yawning chasms and the rough around the greens was like wispy cotton candy through which my wedges barely moved the ball, but if you don’t like a challenge, golf is not for you anyway. I’m beginning to reconsider…nah!

Steph in action

I was also grateful to have my golf partner (Chris), and my life partner (Steph) along on this painful journey of ineptitude I am taking. Sometimes having someone there to share your pain makes it a tad bit easier to bear. But hey, gorgeous day, tremendous course, great company, plus bad golf equals three outta four, and I’ve heard that ain’t bad.

The good news for my tennis students is that I cannot give up my day job. The bitter-sweet news for me is that I may be down but I’m not out, and that means I’ll be out there again subjecting myself to more humbling efforts to become a competent golfer. Perhaps I should change my name to “Don” until I exorcise this quixotic quest.

Ross Hanson

In any event, thanks for the work behind the scenes Ross! I know it isn’t easy to put together these events, and we are looking forward to the next opportunity to play. Thanks for your work behind the camera Steph. I know that isn’t as easy as it looks either.

I don’t know how many of the 14 remaining events we’ll be able to play, but know that I would play them all if I could. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, the venues are pretty spectacular and the WFAT is a hacker’s dream. The next stop on Tour is the Sara Bay Series at the Sara Bay Country Club. If you would like to test your skills against a solid field on great courses, you might want to check out the West Florida Amateur Tour as well. Until next…

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA MEN'S AMATEUR- ROUND 2 AT FORT MYERS COUNTRY CLUB

Additional photos by Steph can be viewed here

Beautiful days in Southwest Florida may become old hat to some, but turning into Fort Myers Country Club on this crisp cool morning for the final round of the Southwest Florida Men’s Amateur was anything but old hat to me. The dewy sheen on the recently rejuvenated emerald practice green was streaked with the trails of hopeful putts…most of those streaks didn’t end at the hole. It was a sign of things to come…

You have probably heard the saying, “The good lord giveth and the good lord taketh away?” Well the good lord may have taketh my golf game, but he gave me a foursome to make up for it. None of us played as we would have liked, but doggone it, we had a dang (yeah, this is a G-rated family blog) good time!

Dave Cobb

Today I had the side-splitting pleasure of playing with Archie Copeland, Craig Sherwood, and David Cobb. We all knew going in that we were out of contention for tournament honors, but we still had intention of playing well. Within a few holes, I think we all realized that the day before was no fluke, no temporary spell of bad luck, so what else are ya gonna do except have a good time if you can’t have good golf? I think Dave might have been the last to give up the ghost though.

Any of you reading this can sign up for my brand new course in “Drunken Crane” style golf (You don’t need nunchucks or Gi, just an inherent balance deficiency). Anyway, that’s what Archie termed my final drive of the day on No.9, and we had a good chuckle on that one (I wish Steph has been around to catch some video of that drive). Bottom line is that it was in the middle of the fairway and I had a baby 8-iron into the green to finish with a par. So karate chop that Archie!

Craig Sherwood

Craig and I rode together and saw more of the new FMCC layout during today’s round than a foursome who had played three or four times. But we kept on laughing…although Craig wasn’t really happy until the lady with the Coors Light on her cart came around the second time. After about our third hole, Craig was regretting not having stocked up when she asked us shortly after we began the round.

Craig was more than ready when we encountered her with just four holes to go, and he immediately expressed his joy with a par on No.6 and finished the final four holes plus-2. That’s no small feat considering he had scored plus-2 or more on 10 of the 18 holes we played. Ah, but he also had two birdies, which was one more than the rest of us. We had made a pact that score was not at all important by that time

Archie Copeland

Archie didn’t know it, but in addition to wanting to do better than I did the day before, finishing ahead of him was my motivation today. After the first two holes, it seemed obvious that he was the best player in our group, and I know Archie from the Quota/Skins Game at The Hideaway, so it was as good a motive as I could find to try to maintain some sense of competition despite being out of the tourney. Archie built a three-stroke lead through our first seven holes, but we were tied at 44 after the first nine holes.

Steph- our photographer

My first seven holes were like a metronome at a piano lesson: Double, bogey, bogey, double, bogey, bogey, double…C’mon, sing along; it’s catchy. Anyway, Steph finally showed up on No.17 (our 8^th hole played) and immediately things began looking up. No.17 is a par-4, listed as 380 yards on the card, and was listed as playing 320 yards on the instruction sheet they gave us this morning.

My eagle putt on 17 just missed

I suspect that neither yardage was correct because I drove the green and had a 18-footer for eagle. Even that strong wind at our backs and firm fairways couldn’t have helped me drive it 320; I’m just a short-knocker. However these new Snake Eyes balls that I put into play the past couple of weeks have definitely increased my driving distance. They haven’t seemed to hurt the little spin I do generate either.

Archie sinks one

In any event, I missed the eagle putt on No.17 (no shock given the way I putted this past weekend), but did make the birdie, and posted par on the following two holes. But then Steph had to go take more photos and the real me showed up again. Neither Archie nor I played lights out on the final nine, and Archie’s par on No.8 meant that I had a one-shot lead coming into our final hole (the 390-yard, par-4 9^th). I posted par and Archie posted a bogey, and at least I had won my imaginary competition…and had a great time with the guys to boot.

C-Flight

But what about the real competition? The Day 1 leader of our C-Flight Mark Johnson (80, 90), who had held a one-shot lead over Pete Chappell (81, 81), struggled most of the day before finishing strong with three pars. Johnson fell into a tie for 5^th. Chappell claimed the top spot in our flight, and was the picture of consistency over the two days, shooting identical scores (81, 81). On the final day, he shot 42 on the front and a nifty 39 on the back, despite two double bogeys in the final four holes.

Keith Cramsey, 2nd in Flight C, putts on Day 1

My cart partner of the first day, Keith Cramsey started the final day in 4^th-place, six strokes off the lead, and five shots back of Chappell. Keith leapfrogged Johnson and Brayden Fortini (3^rd after Round 1) to claim second in our flight. Keith shot 38 on the front nine, but posted 8-over 43 on the back, despite finishing the round with a birdie for the second consecutive day. I guess Keith knows how to finish strong.

It was a John’s day on Sunday, because John Rhoades and John Brown II both shot 78, the lowest score in our flight for both days of the competition. Rhoades’ score, 13 shots better than his score at Eastwood the day before, vaulted him from 11^th into 3^rd-place! Brown II’s 78 was 14 shots better than his first round, moving him up from 14^th to 5^th. Pretty nice climbs up the leaderboard huh. Me? I started in the middle of the pack and there is where I languished at tourney’s end (10^th). Somehow, I will find a way to deal with mediocrity!

Championship Flight (see News-Press article here)

Mike Andre and Jake Sherwin head out

In the Championship Flight, Jake Sherwin maintained his lead of the previous day, taking top honors for the second consecutive year with his three-under 69 at Eastwood and his even-par 70 at FMCC. He had shared that 1-shot lead over Griffin Hanson with Mike Andre coming in to the final day. Despite his four birdies, Hanson struggled to plus-8 on the day to finish 4^th, while Andre shot a respectable two over, with three birdies, to finish third in the flight.

Kaleb Johnson on his way to low round of the tourney

It was Kaleb Johnson’s day from a scoring standpoint, however. Johnson posted the low round of the tournament, shooting a 2-under 68, to finish second, just one shot short of Tournament Champion Sherwin. 

Winning form from repeat winner Jake Sherwin

Johnson posted a stunning eight birdies on his card on Sunday, compared to just one the day before. Unfortunately for him, he also posted six bogeys. Sherwin notched four birdies of his own, but they were offset with four bogeys. It may not be the PGA Tour, but it’s nice to take top honors in a field of 148.

A-Flight

In the next best flight, the A-Flight, Matt Hight was the only player to post two rounds in the 70s, shooting 79 at Eastwood and 75 at FMCC to win the flight by seven shots! Matt posted par or better on 22 of the 36 holes played and notched an eagle on the 560-yard, par-5 8^th at FMCC.

Dat Phan- 3rd in Flight A

Jo Jo Fortini, who was third coming into the final round, bettered his first-round 82 by three shots to take 2^nd-place. Dat Phan, who was tied for 8^th after Day 1, crept up the leaderboard into 3^rd with a final round 79, five shots better than his first-round score. Phillip Everhart, who was 2^nd and just two shots off the lead after the first round, shot 84 and fell into a tie for 6^th.

B-Flight

James Cole- Flight B Winner

The B-Flight winner was James Cole, who, despite being in a flight that called for players with handicap indices between 8 and 10, shot 76 at Eastwood (with 4 birdies!), and 77 at FMCC. His 153 total (which “cole-cocked” the second best performer by six shots) would have won the A-Flight…I’m just sayin’ and wondering if this is the same James Cole who is a PGA Professional. Sure did shoot like one.

Toby Schwetje- 2nd in Flight B 

Second-place in the B-Flight went to Toby Schwetje, who came close to posting two rounds in the 70s with a 79 at Eastwood and an 80 at FMCC. Schwetje needed a bogey or better on his final hole to accomplish the feat, but posted a double bogey. Ouch! He still held on to 2^nd by two shots.

View from proshop

Bo Pulley emerged from a logjam of players tied for 8^th-place after the first round, to tie for 3^rd with Danny Suero, who moved up from 4^th after Round 1. Suero hurt himself big time with three doubles on the back side coming in. Pulley posted an almost blemish-free first nine, carding a 37 with one birdie and a triple on the par-5 11^th.

Tom Wallace & Kari Phenix working the leaderboard

John Phelps and Ron Puder started the final round in 3^rd, but Phelps dropped into a tie for 9^th after posting 85, and Puder fell to tie for 13^th with an 86. The number of doubles on his card suggested that Phelps had an off day, and Puder, who had three birdies at Eastwood, could never get going at FMCC.

D-Flight

The winner of D-Flight, Tom Watkins, would have won C-Flight and taken second in both the B and A flights with his 158 total (77, 81). That’s some pretty stellar golf for a player with an index of 14 or greater I’d say. Watkins’ gross score was nine better than his closest competitor in the flight, and his net advantage was even more lopsided. I’m told that Watkins was recovering from injury and that’s why his index was so high. Good recovery Tom!

Pete Soom on Day 1

Two of the three players who tied for second-place Daniel Johnson and Michael Ahearn posted identical scores (87, 80) that were seven shots better in the second round than the first. Neither could make up much ground on Watkins’ 10-shot lead from Day 1. Pete Soom, who led my group the first day, was the third player to tie for second-place with a 167 total, but he was pretty consistent both days, shooting 85, 82.  All three would have tied for 2^nd had they played in C-Flight.

In Retrospect

Kari and Tom almost done

Regardless of how I play, I hate to see a golf tournament come to an end, and the Southwest Florida Men's Amateur is no exception. As usual, I'd like to thank the staff and volunteers at both facilities (Kari Phenix, Todd Brown, Tom Wallace and others) for putting on a terrific event. 

Todd Brown chats with participant

I just wish they were a little tighter on the handicaps. It wouldn't have helped me any, but I feel for the guys who played well in their handicap range, only to be blown away by players who posted scores that made a mockery of the notion of a USGA handicap. But hey, that's golf and we love it regardless. Next stop: West Florida Amateur Tour stop at the Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota. Until then, your "drunken style" golf sensei and lovely photographer are signing off...