[r9tbayfC]

So, I didn't practice at all yesterday. Came to the conclusion that my game is in as good a spot as it has been all year. The chipping issues I had Wednesday weren't the result of poorly struck chips. In fact, I struck all of the chips perfectly. I just didn't judge how hard to hit the ball correctly. So for Saturday, I just need to remember to dial it back a little on the chip shots.

So while taking yesterday off and talking to my uncle, I learned something that made practice seem even more silly. It seems that instead of getting 25-35 people for the city tournament (that's a lot for a rural Iowa county that doesn't even have a stop light) to hopefully 8 people. Seems we scheduled the city tournament the same weekend as a local festival.

Depends who shows up out there, but with that low of turnout, I might have a shot at this thing.

~Rock

[GohJHM9k]

good luck Rock! i'm trying to get another practice round in today, yesterday i spent my lunch hitting diff kinds of chips/flops/pitches with my pops...we always do games to determine who's buyin lunch...(closer to the hole, best of 7, different areas/lengths/types of shots etc)

[r9tbayfC]

Its tournament day. I woke up at 550 this morning, which is a tad earlier than I was hoping for. I'm not nervous about the tournament, or at least I don't think I am. Decided to use my extra time to just slowly and casually get ready. Even getting some relaxing time right now. Won't head out until 715. I'm in a small town, so I'll be heading to the gas station first to get a couple of snickers bars and then on out to the golf course. ETA for the course is 725. Listening to a little adagio for strings right now, which is one of the handful of classical songs I listen to help clear my mind and strengthen my focus. Then I'll move into some harder songs. Maybe a little Fair to Midland, followed by some eminem just to get my adrenaline and focus up to high levels.

Yesterday evening, I took my cart around the course last night to scope out the pin positions. I was told they would remain the same this morning, but knowing who cuts them, he may have just been yanking my chain. Still, based on the pin positions, I have a decent idea of my safe misses on a few of the longer par 3s. We don't have a range, so I grabbed some old shag balls out of the garage to hit off into the timber to loosen up before the start of the round. That has been one mistake I made the last couple of city tournaments I played in was going in cold. It wasn't that I hadn't stretched out and swung the club, but I never hit a ball until the first tee.

We picked up a bit of rain yesterday, but nothing that's going to change the condition of the ground, which is rock hard. So my strategy of bump and running chip shots from 10 yards and in remains the same. The grass is just too thin to even consider grabbing the ball on the way to the green.

The course is 9 holes, and we play 18 today. I'll post here after todays rounds.

~Rock

[r9tbayfC]

Ok, I'm two shots off the lead in the championship flight. We had more than expected show up, at a total of 16 (please remember, I'm in a tiny rural community). Technically I'm tied for last in my flight, but when the leader is only two strokes in front of me, I consider that prime position. Here are the scores, starting with hole 3, because that's what we started on both rounds (its a 9 hole course)
hole#(par) - score (running total)

Round 1
3(3) - 4 (+1)
4(4) - 3 (E)
5(3) - 4 (+1)
6(3) - 4 (+2)
7(4) - 5(+3)
8(3) - 4(+4)
9(4) - 6 (+6)
1(3) - 3(+6)
2(4) - 3(+5)
Subtotal 36(+5)

Round 2
3(3) - 4(+6)
4(4) - 4(+6)
5(3) - 4(+7)
6(3) - 3(+7)
7(4) - 3(+6)
8(3) - 4(+7)
9(4) - 5(+8)
1(3) - 4(+9)
2(4) - 5(+10)
Subtotal - 36(+5)
TOTAL - 72(+10)

I can't argue with the consistency I had. I only had one hole where I played terrible, and that was hole 9 in the first round. That also happened to be my only double bogey. On the positive notes for the day, I was incredibly consistent. I hit very few bad shots, and when I did, I made the smart play to prevent a high score. My chipping was top notch. There are definitely a couple of yardages that cost me, particularly the 80 yard shot. That yardage is in between a full pitch shot and a 2/3 wedge swing. That cost me at least 3 strokes today. I also made a lot of 5 foot putts today. It saved me bogeys, saved me pars, and made me all 3 birdies. All in all, it was a great day to shoot 72 (+10) and be two off the lead. Given some of the best green conditions we've had in 5+ years, I was surprised that 68(+6) isn't winning.

I think I need to shoot 70(+8) tomorrow to win it. The championship flight has one person leading at 70(+8), two at 71(+9) and two at 72(+10). The leader should shoot worse tomorrow than he did today. He actually had a personal best today with +3 for his first 9 holes. He averages about 39(+8), so I'm betting on that. His son is tied with me, and can put together an 18 hole round of 68(+6), and since I will be playing with him, will be using him as a pace keeper tomorrow.

I can't complain about any aspect of my game, but I definitely need to get my mind in order. Since I got home an hour ago, I've been having a lot of negative thoughts of "what if I shoot an 80(+18) tomorrow. That kind of score is not out of my realm. I average about 38(+7) out here. So 40 is a score I've shot about 8 times this year. These rounds today, I didn't let any bad shots or bad holes get in my head. I just focused on the next shot, doing the best I could with that very next shot, and it clearly played out for me. So I'm trying to get my jitters out now so that I can go through my music listening routine tomorrow morning and be focused.

Thanks everyone for reading, and I look forward to all your upcoming tournaments.

~Rock

[ClorrerVeks]

Mine is in three weeks. I don't do anything really to get ready for it other than to just keep playing everyday. I look at it as just another round of golf. First year for me in the senior group.

[r9tbayfC]

It's Sunday, the final of the two day city championship. I am likely to be put in the group I normally would play with rather than the people closest to my score. That means I'll be playing with the leader who is two strokes ahead of me, and his son, who is tied with me. There are three people ahead of me by 1 stroke, and they will likely be the other threesome.

Just going through my music listening routine at the moment. Then its off to pick up a couple of snickers bars and some adult beverages. I'll get to the golf course and peel the matted dry grass out of my cleats and then relax. A minimal warm up may be in order, but it will only be 6 iron shots. The tees are going to be moved back today, which means those 220+ yard par 3s will become 225-230 yards.

Going to approach today the same as yesterday. I'm going to maximize my opportunities off good tee shots, and minimize the damage from bad shots.

Here's to hoping.

~Rock

[GohJHM9k]

Good Luck!!!

[Sliliashdes]

Good luck in day 2 Rock. Bring back a trophy to THP!

[GohJHM9k]

I had another practice round this past friday, shooting a +7 78. birdies didnt' drop (only had 1) and the scorecard looked like this:

8/14 fairways, 32 putts, one birdie and 8 bogeys.

Par, bogey, par, bogey, par, par, par, bogey, par - 39
Par, bogey, birdie, bogey, bogey, par, bogey, bogey, par - 39

overall i putted (for me) horrible. i could've had again, a par or near par round. i'll be getting out this afternoon to play, but it won't be at picatinny, however i'll be working on my putting stroke and get some more birdies.

-Paul

[GohJHM9k]

Mine is in three weeks. I don't do anything really to get ready for it other than to just keep playing everyday. I look at it as just another round of golf. First year for me in the senior group.

Good luck Hoosier! get some

[sandyphoebetvmaa]

Good luck McRock!

I am still trying to decide if I want to play in my Club Championship or not, it's the weekend right after the Morgan Cup, Friday-Sunday and after that I am not sure I will be menatly ready for it,,,,pluse it cost $270 bucks to enter...$210 is the entry fee into the tourney and then $20 bucks per day into the skins and low gross money.

[r9tbayfC]

End result at the end of the post (in all caps!) Let's see if I can recall all the scores. 18 holes again today, began the day two shots off the lead 72 (+10) in the clubhouse. Again, it's a 9 hole course.

Hole#(par) - score(running total on the round)

Round 1
1(3) - 3(E)
2(4) - 5(+1)
3(3) - 4(+2)
4(4) - 4(+2)
5(3) - 4(+3)
6(3) - 3 (+3)
7(4) - 3(+2)
8(3) - 4(+3)
9(4) - 5(+4)
Subtotal - 35(+4)

Round 2
1(3) - 3(E)
2(4) - 4(E)
3(3) - 4(+1)
4(4) - 3(E)
5(3) - 4(+1)
6(3) - 3(+1)
7(4) - 4(+1)
8(3) - 3(+1)
9(4) - 6(+3)
Subtotal - 34(+3)
TOTAL - 69(+7)

I believe I said yesterday that I felt like I needed to shoot 70 to have a shot at winning the championship. I knew I had a lot of room in front of me with the two guys I was playing with, but I also knew that one of the guys in the other group for the championship flight was having a good day. And everybody in that other group was one shot ahead of me to start the day.

I spent the whole day using the soon to be sophomore in high school as my pace maker again. He made one hell of a charge in the last round thru the first five holes. I did have a 3 stroke lead coming into the 11th hole, and he made a charge to where I only had a one stroke lead. He finally made a slip. At that point, I knew I just needed to play safe shots to have a shot at it. So my tee shots were safe, although they didn't give me the best approaches. I had this in my head all day. "maximize the good shots minimize the damage on the bad shots." Since our course is primarily the short game, that meant that my mindset was dependent upon the tee shot. So the end result:

ROCK IS THE 2012 CORYDON, IOWA GOLF CLUB CITY CHAMPION!!!

I need to work today, but the hell with it. I am celebrating all afternoon! I shot fantastic golf, and more importantly, I shot smart golf all day. I didn't take risky shots. All weekend, golf channel has been on "the putter is the biggest equalizer in golf," kick, and it was for me today as well. I had 59 putts out of 36 holes. That's 13 under two putts, including a final round of 11 putts, or 7 under two putts. I putt perhaps the best I have in 11 years. And the majority of those 1 putts were 5-7 feet. But, I had spent a lot of time putting tuesday and wedenesday to get a feel for all the breaks. The pin positions were the same the whole week, so my practice paid off to learn those putts and those breaks. I've never had so much confidence in my putting.

I hope to see some more victories in this thread, and I'll be following along closely.

~Rock

[padlabtard]

Congrats McRock, thats really great man. You sir, are the Champion!

[nerrttrw]

Wow congrats dude. Winning a club championship is a huge accomplishment.

[GohJHM9k]

(for the mods, if there is a similar thread, please combine)

This thread is for anyone who is participating or wants to follow anyone participating in their own club championships this summer. I thought I'd set this thread up since ours is the first weekend in August (3,4,5) and figured it'd give me, as well as anyone else who wants to post, some time to give updates. Let me start this off by giving background of my own club championship background:

Home course: Picatinny Arsenal Golf Club
Flight: Championship
Tees: Blue (back)
Yardage & Rating: 6,724/Par 72/72.8 rating/131 slope

History: I've played in the CC two times in my 4 years of working at Picatinny. (I've been playing here since i was 10, my grandfather has been a member since the 70's) I've finished second (by a stroke) and 4th.

Goals: finish first (obviously), but hit 60+% of fairways, 40+% of greens and make no more than 2 doubles through all 3 rounds.

What I intend on working on between today and the start of round 1: shot dispersion with longer irons/working the ball more right to left (course favors a draw more than a fade)/short game consistency

I will report back daily (or multiple times daily) on things i've been working on, my results and things i need to work on.


For those who would like to add, please follow the format above. I wish everyone and anyone good luck in competitive golf, hit em high and roll em true!
-Paul G

[DoctorTDent]

Got back into the groove today. Played 9 and shot even with 2 birdies and 2 bogeys. Played another 3 practice holes afterwards and really focused on hitting my wedges better. Was playing with another member getting ready for the match play as well so we had a few closest to the pin contests from around the green and with lag putting (which I was struggling with).

Picked up a little tip from the member I was playing with on our 6th hole that really straightened out my drives. I tend to get a little quick and after pulling a drive into the woods I hit a provisional damn near perfect. I sarcastically asked why I couldnt do that all the time and my buddy said I had "good lag" at the top of my swing. When he elaborated he said that on all my good drives he noticed I had a little pause or hitch at the top of my swing and on my poor drives my transition was too quick. I kept that in mind for the next 3 holes of the round and the 3 practice holes and hit some great drives.

Going to try and not over do it this week. Going to play 9 tonight and Friday and try out a few new lines off the tee.

[GohJHM9k]

i will be taking video today at lunch, hopefully can post sometime this afternoon. will update with session notes.

[padlabtard]

Ohhhhh I like this thread! I didn't get to play in my club championship last year because it was the exact same dates as the Morgan Cup, but this year the dates of the MC are different and I am able to compete in my first one as a member at my club.

My prep has been long going for me to be a better golfer, and while I have no chance at winning the gross this year, I will try and compete for the net, and next year really make a run at the gross title.

[GohJHM9k]

Well, played our course after work and had some fantastic results...all the hard work is paying off! see below:

shot a 75 (par today was 71) from the blues. 10 pars, 2 birdies, 4 bogeys and 1 double. i hit 3/14 fairways, and i measured all my drives (275, 228, 235, 252, 254, 262, 245, 243, 268, 264) and averaged 252 off the tee. i hit 8 GIR's, and had 28 putts with 1/1 sand saves and a scrambling percentage of 50%. i was even through 12 holes...then had two straight bogeys...got caught behind a tree on the 225 par 3 16th hole and ended up making a double...i could've shot even had a couple more putts dropped. Overall i'm excited since things are going in the right direction and the range work is paying off. I didn't have a single putt in the entire round outside 25 feet...stoked is an understatement

[GohJHM9k]

confidence in one club beats half confidence in two...i chip/pitch with just my 54* and open/close the face based on a runner or a one hop stopper. the only time i pull anything other than that is when i have to do a lob...then it's the 58. have fun, i'm doing short game stuff at lunch as well!