Being honest, these events are basically opportunities for clubs (and their members) to showcase everything they've got in one big "my club is better than yours" contest. But that doesn't mean they're not a lot of fun. I previously wrote about part of my experience at my friend Kevin's member-guest (and the closest round I ever had to even par), which is just a fantastically run tournament; this year I had Kevin as my guest at the Quarry Hills Invitational at Granite Links.
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| Kevin hits his 2nd shot -- 4th Hole, Milton 9, Granite Links Golf Club |
The event is played in 2-man teams, slotted into flights of 6 teams based on combined handicap. I was playing as an 8 and Kevin as a 10, which put us as the top seed in the 4th flight (of nine). On the weekend, each team plays a 9-hole match against the other 5 teams in their flight, with each hole being worth 1 point (you get 1 point if you win the hole, 1/2 point if your halve the hole, and 0 points if you lose the hole). Additionally, on the Friday before the weekend there is an 18-hole better-ball event (at 90% handicap) for "bonus points" -- 2 points for the low team in the flight, 1 point for 2nd, 0 points for 3rd and 4th, and -1 point for 5th and 6th. At the end of the weekend, the team with the most points wins the flight, and each flight winner then plays in a shootout to determine the overall champion.
Day 1: Better-Ball
Before we started, I told Kevin I thought we needed to shoot 6-under to win the flight. It was a shotgun, and we started on the 5th hole on the Milton 9 and each made routine pars, so we got off to a good start. From there we really played well as a team, with at least one of us putting up a good score on each hole; I shot 82 and Kevin 87, but together (with our strokes) we managed exactly what I had set as our goal -- a 6-under 65. Along the way I found my putting stroke,* with just 26 putts for the round, making both a few long ones and several 4-8 footers. Unfortunately, my prediction about the score we needed to win the flight was way off -- we were 3rd, with groups having shot 61 and 63 ahead of us!
*Side note: I put a new putter in play before the tournament started. I realize this screams of desperation, but in truth, it wasn't really a new putter -- it's the same one I have in my bag down in Florida. I love that putter, and happened to see it on sale at Golfsmith earlier in the week. As you'll see, this was a great decision.
Day 2: 27 Holes (3 matches)
Saturday we played 3 matches covering all 27 holes of the club. It was an awesome (and full) day of golf. We got off to a rocky start, losing our first 3 holes, but battled back to halve the first match; then halved the second match; and finally won 5-4 in the 3rd match. The key to the day was definitely our putting; we both hit it all over the place, but were very consistent on the greens. Kevin made a 20-footer on the 9th of the 1st match to save the halve; I made a testy 15-footer on the 1st of the 2nd match for birdie. But the 3rd match was where it really all clicked -- I had 7 putts through the first 6 holes, getting up-and-down 3 times and making two long ones for birdies.
Really, it was a great putting weekend all-around. I had been struggling a bit with the flat stick this year, which I mostly attributed to my lack of play. As I said, I decided to put a new putter in the bag this weekend. I don't know if it was because of that, or the fact that the greens were rolling absolutely perfect, or that I actually played several days in a row -- or some combination of all of the above -- but I was seeing lines on the green like it was a video game. It felt like everything had a chance to go in.
Here are my short-game stats for the year before and after the new putter:
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| Short Game Performance YTD (prior to new putter) |
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| Short Game Performance at QHI (with new putter) |
There's a little bit of fiction to those numbers since some putts were conceded and there were a few holes where I was out of play and didn't finish the hole -- but not many. The vast majority of those 1.52 putts/hole represent made putts.
The kicker, though, is that it was putting that was ultimately our undoing. We both missed 2-footers on the 8th hole of our 3rd match that would have garnered us an extra half-point. And then there was day 3...
Day 3: 18 Holes (2 matches)
We finished day 2 in second place in our flight, but a distant 6 points out of the lead. Our matches that day were against the 3rd and 1st place teams, so we needed to be on top of our game. We started well, each making par on the first hole of the day. On the 2nd hole (the par 3 #7 on the Granite 9) we cost ourselves a 1/2 point, as we were both on the green and both 3-putt (I hate 3-putts, even when the pin is in an impossible position on a steep slope), ending up with a halve. We halved the next as well before we each made sandy-pars to steal a full point on the 9th.
The next hole (Granite #1) featured two of the best shots of the tournament. The hole is a par-5 that plays severely downhill; most players hit a lay-up off the tee, and then must choose whether to lay-up again or hit a 200+ yard downhiller to go for the green. It's an intimidating-looking hole, especially for those who haven't played it much, because it looks like there is trouble everywhere (in reality, the fairway is enormous). Kevin struggled with it all weekend, and he did not make a committed swing on his tee-shot, pushing it well right and out of play in the woods. After a drop and a layup short of the first hazard, he was left with about 260 yards in. At this point in the match-play format there was no reason to play conservative, so he pulled out the 3-wood and let it rip... and rolled it just about 3 feet past the hole. It was awesome.
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| Granite #1 |
Unfortunately, although that was the best shot I saw all weekend, he wasn't even the closest to the hole on the green, as our opponent hit his drive down the left side to the narrow strip of fairway, getting all the way down to a flat area that leaves just about a 7-iron into the green. And he stuffed his next one inside Kevin's ball. So despite Kevin's amazing par, we lost the hole by 2 shots.
We battled right back, though -- I halved with a par on #2, and then made a 15-footer from just off the green for birdie on #3 to get back to 1-up in the match with two holes left. Both the other member and I made par on the par-3 4th; but then on the last hole Kevin and I both mis-hit our approach shots and had to battle to get up and down for pars. Those weren't good enough, though, as we watched our opponents roll in a birdie to (yet again) halve the match.
So that left just one more match, and we were up against the leaders in our flight. We actually had gained a half-point, so we needed 7-1/2 points in order to win the flight. And we still had a 1-point lead for second (and therefore, the money). We started this one on Milton #7, a potentially-drivable par 4, though with the wind in our face that was unlikely. Kevin and I both hit good drives and put ourselves in decent shape to make birdies; but for the second hole in a row we watched our opponent make a nice putt and we weren't able to match. We did get that point right back on #8 when everybody missed the green and I was the only one that managed to get up and down for par. Everybody parred the 9th, but our opponent's guest was getting a shot there, so now we were back down a point. We halved the next two before Kevin won us another point on #3, and I took home #4 to put us up 4-3 with two holes to play. At that point 1st place was already out of play, but 2nd was a strong possibility.
On the par-4 5th I hit my drive well left, actually down into a bunker on the 4th fairway; my shot from there was never found, essentially putting me out of the hole. But Kevin was on the green in 2, albeit a good 50 feet from the hole. From the other positions on the green, it was likely that par would yield a half point. It was a tricky downhill putt that required a precise line since it could really break either way depending on the line... but it ended up being speed that was the putt's undoing, as he ended up about 20 feet short. Suffice to say, we headed to the last hole back to even in the match.
But 2nd place was still out there, and Kevin was the only one in our group to hit the green on the 188 yard par 3. I was in the fescue on the right, but was able to get my pitch onto the green, leaving about 20 feet for par. After our opponent's guest essentially put himself out of par contention, I was next to putt, and again I felt sure that I was seeing the line perfectly. As soon as I hit it I was sure it was in, tracking perfectly uphill and slightly left to right... except it just skirted by the right edge. Bogey.
Kevin's putt was all about speed again -- he had to go uphill over a ridge initially, but the last 5 feet were going to be back downhill. He hit it just a bit too hard, and left a good 10 feet coming back; he, too, made bogey. All we could hope for was a halve, which would require a miss from the other member on an 8-footer on the same line Kevin just had. His putt? Oh, it only did a full 360 around the cup before falling in. We lost the match 5-4....
...and finished 1/2 point out of a tie for second place. Ouch.
Final Analysis
Considering neither Kevin nor I have played much golf this year, I'm pretty happy with how we played. We certainly were well-placed in the 4th flight since we ended up halving everything -- 3 matches were 4-1/2 to 4-1/2, and the other two were 5-4. Obviously the missed opportunities on the last two holes hurt, but really I go back to the 8th hole of our 3rd match on Saturday (when we both missed 2-footers that would have won the hole) as the one that got away.
It was definitely a great weekend. The course was in absolutely perfect condition, the weather couldn't have been better, and the atmosphere amongst the guys was what really made it fun. I can't wait for next year.
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