Thanks.

45-43-88 par 68 at dawn.

No birdies 5 pars 8 bogeys 3 doubles 2 triples.

Didn’t lose any balls.

37-37-74

2 birdies, 2 bogeys, 1 double

Grand Cypress New Course in Orlando. I will call it a St. Andrews inspired course. Plenty of room off the tee with random pot bunkers. I found one all day leading to the double.

Sawgrass tomorrow, weather not looking good. Between rain delays I would imagine we can get 18 in. I literally have all day to get the round in.

TPC Sawgrass - Players Stadium Course

38-36-74

4 birdies, 9 pars, 4 bogeys, 1 double

Will chronicle some more of it tomorrow when my phone charges up. One short note is I have a video of my 17th hole. Pin was in the lower section of the green. Hit it into the slope and backed it down to 6 feet....and missed the birdie putt.

Woah, nice job at Sawgrass!

ok u got my attention - nice job! I assume u played from the tips? even if not that's still awesome. plus u owned the T-shot on 17!

My state mid-am qualifier weather was not quite as tough as Campfirewest's but it was pretty gnarly. Was about 40 and raining when I got there - full rain gear warm up and for the first 5 holes but then the rain stopped fortunately and it was just cold and windy the rest of the day - never got about 46 and a light 1/2 to one club wind all day.

The 7,210 yards then seemed really long. 42-46 88 (78 for the playoff to qualify). Field average of 82 for 23 guys. I only had one penalty shot but I count 8 bad club selections/decisions - not like being too aggressive just picking the wrong club or shot and getting the wind/effect wrong.

The par 3s were 230, 146, 229 and 189 - with the cold and wind I hit 3w, 9i, 3i and 5i - didn't hit a green on the par 3s and that's one the strong parts of my game. Tee game was okay for me (only one penalty shot) - just meh and not sharp all around and the course was long and conditions were tough. I feel good about the round though - always something to build on.

That's a really long course in those conditions. Where I played they set it up much shorter. Is that the first CGA event you've played? I would just keep at it and come back better next year.

Shot by shot. Played the white/blue combo tees at 6,406y (71.9/147). The furthest tees out were the blue tees and I was more than willing to play them but the person i went with wanted to play up a bit. No complaints as I am going to score much better from there.

We had a teeoff.come deal for $300 each. Their rack rate is $550. Tee time was 11am but we arrived at 9am and was told there was a 930a twosome then out time was next on the sheet at 11a. We went off at 9:40a (the group before was a no show) as a twosome. Did not take a forecaddy.


1 - 394y par 4 - Trees and a fairway bunker right so I took a hybrid off the tee splitting the fairway leaving be 149y into the green. Pin was left middle and I hit a soft 9 iron that I pulled pin high on the right side of the green, a solid 50 feet away. Lagged it up to a foot and tapped in for par.

2 - 507y par 5 - Dogleg left with no real trouble off the tee unless you are really wild. Hit a good driver and had 220 into the green. Thinging I can't get hybrid home I hit a choked down 3 wiid and hit it really good. Drifts a bit let but lands on the green and sticks, leaving me about 60 feet for eagle. Eagle putt comes up about 2 feet short and I tap-in for birdie.

3 - 160y par 3 - Pin was in front to actual yardage was 149 playing downwind. I hit a really soft 9 that was never that far offline. Have a 10 footer for birdie and I burned the edge, tap-in par.

4 - 359y par 4 - Hit driver and almost ran it through the fairway but was fine leaving me a 63y shot. Hit my 60* and it looked all over the flag. Get up and have myself about 10 feet for birdie. Burn the edge again and make par.

5 - 446y par 4 - Pull the driver right into some thick wiregrass and have an unplayable lie. Go backwards on my line and take a drop leaving me around 160y. Hit 9 iron from the uphill lie into orbit. Wind pushes it a bit and I land on the fringe about 40 feet away. 2-putt bogey.

6 - 360y par 4 - Short par 4 where the runout is at 306y so I hit hybrid down the middle. I think I had somewhere around 110y with a front pin and blast my 50* over the green and down a shaved area. Decide to putt it and hit a really good one that trickles down the hill and have a 1 foot tap-in for par.

7 - 407y par 4 - Tough driving hole with water and fairway bunker all the way down the left side. There is a tree that overhangs the just in front of the tee box so I hit hybrid to guarantee I get over it in case I pull it, which is exactly what I do. In the right rough with a tree right in front of me from 150y. PW gets over the tree but lands 15 yards short in the fairway. Open up a 60* but run it about 15 feet past. Missed the putt coming back and make a bogey.

8 - 168y par 3 - Playing 156 into a breeze and I pull 8 iron. On the downswing I decide I need to swing harder and instead of a smooth swing and all but top it 100 yards. Have 61y left and hit 60* about 30 feet past the hole. Decide I want to get the ball there and blow it 10 feet past. Miss it coming back and make double.

9 - 522y par 5 - Water sits through the fairway to the right but I hit a solid fade and leave myself with around 260 yards. Wind is right to left and I hit a perfect slinging 2 wood and wind up 5 yards short of the green. Significant slope up to the green so I decide to chip it and run it 10 feet past the hole. Make the comeback putt for birdie.

+2 38 on the front

10 - 392y par 4 - This is an exact mirror image of the 1st hole. Tees must have been up a bit because i hit hybrid off of the tee leaving me 136y into the green. Hit a perfect pw that never left the flag and would up 18 inches away, birdie.

11 - 480y par 5 - Super easy par 5, or so it should be. I push my tee shot left into the fairway bunker. I have only 172y to the pin but have 2 trees with overhanging limbs so I decide to play out sideways. Didn't have the correct club to do this (used 54*, wanted 71). I was too lazy to go back all the way to the cart (CPO) so I just try and pitch it back to fairway, chunk it, and leave it just above the bunker on a hanging lie. This time I go back and get the 7 iron and hit the left edge of the green (pin is on right) leaving me about 80 feet. I three-putt it for a bogey.

12 - 332y par 4 - This is the hole that the PGA plays up on to make it driveable. We played it from 296y, one tee up so it's driveable for me. Win is into me but I hit a really good shot that rolled about 10 yards short of the green. Chip was not great, 15 feet past. Burned the edge and made par.

13 - 156y par 4 - Hit a solid 9 iron that doesn't leave the flag but Winds up 12 feet short. Miss it, make par.

14 - 377y par 4 - Wide fairway but I push a hybrid a bit left but am far back enough in the fairway to get over the trees to a pin that was diabolical to say the least, on the far left edge of the green. I think I hit 8 or 9 iron and was 30 feet right of the pin. 2-putt par.

15 - 366y par 4 - Narrow chute to hit it through off of the tee. I hit hybrid and push it left into the trees and pine straw. I have a clean look at the green from 143y. Hit a punchy 9 iron that I can't see but it lands 3 feet away and sticks there. Make the putt for birdie.

16 - 486y par 5 - We played it around 500y and I hit a really good driver down the middle. I have 222y left into a left to right wind. The green juts out into the water to the right and behind the green. I choke down and peel a 3 wood into the wind and it stops pin high and 50 feet for an eagle. Hole is cut on a plateau on the left side of the green. My first putt is not close bending 8 feet left of the hole. Miss that one and make a 3-putt par.

17 - 127y par 3 - No description necessary for the island hole. Wind was around 10mph right to left. Standing on that tee the green looks WAY smaller that what it looks like on TV. We were lucky and the pit was cut on the front of the green, just the way you would want to play it. I hit a soft pw that starts out about 15 feet right of the pin and drifts towards the hole, lands on the slope behind the hole, and backs up to 6 feet away. I watch my friend miss right from high up above the slope so I think my putt is straight. Nope, it bleeds left and I MISS THE DAMN BIRDIE PUTT and tap-in for par.

18 - 426y par 4 - Water all the way down the left and this is as intimidating of a shot as you will ever face. Wind is pushing the ball towards the water too. Of course pull the tee shot right into the trees and pine straw but get a friendly kick and am about 2 paces off of the fairway but still in the straw. I have around 150 yards left and hit 9 iron that I push and watch it drift into the water. Drop is right in front of the green and easily 2-putt from there for a bogey.

E - 36

+2 - 74

I have video of my whole 17th hole in 3 parts so I need to splice that together into a youtube video and will post it up when done.

Nice recap! That's interesting 17 seemed smaller than you expected, I had the opposite experience. I played it in like 1992 or 1993 so my memory could be a little hazy... But I remember it seeming way bigger than I expected. I felt like just getting one on dry land from the white tees was easy, but going at a Sunday flag from the back tee which has a different angle is where it would get super dicey. I played it from around 120 and the pin was back middle. I remember because I hit it to about 15 feet and made the birdie Finished somewhere in the low 80's for the day.

Yeah I shocked and almost bummed they didn't shorten the course for the conditions. Of course everyone has to play the same setup but my driver average of 250-260 doesn't really mesh with that.

Not my first CGA qualifier - I've played a handful of the ones on the Western slop for the last few years - good way to play some courses I normally don't or can't. But yes - I really want to get my "competitive" results to be closer to my normal play ability (says everyone I'm sure)

I like competitive golf because it sort of keeps me honest. A lot people get into the habit of taking gimmies or mulligans and aren't really as good as they think they are. It's like play money vs real money poker. Pulling the trigger when something is on the line is just different. What's weird for me is I seem to have my very best and very worst results in tournaments. I rarely break 70 but have done it a couple times in CGA qualifiers. My biggest blowup rounds also seem to be in tournaments. The most extreme example was in the CGA mid-am a few years ago. In the qualifier I shot 68 and had the lowest score. In the first round of the actual tournament I made a 10 on the 3rd hole and shot 86. Sometimes I'm just locked in and nothing bothers me at all. Other tournaments my mind is all over the place and I'm a mess. It's a weird game.

33-35-68 (par 68)

3 birdies, 1 double

Two par 5's are par 3's again. Tropical Storm passing just to the south of me and they already closed the courses for tomorrow.

40 (par 36). 1 birdie, no double bogeys. Rained out after nine. Too bad, had one of those rounds where things were being figured out on the fly. Gave away shots on the first three holes with awful putting, made a change and it got better. Got up and down twice with really good pitches.

48-41-89

Pulled it together somewhat on the back 9.

Played with a father/adult son 2some who were the slowest people I've ever played with. 45 minutes to play the first 2 holes. Foursomes stacked up behind us, they sent the ranger out. I do not get bothered by slow play when it's a nice day out, but holy hell this was another level. It wasn't just that they were both terrible (and they were, chunking every shot 30 yards) they were just oblivious to any need to pick up the pace. Excruciating. Round ended up taking 5.5 hours.

43-42-85. Managed a round down at Orange County National, was lucky to only have rain falling for ~10 minutes during my round. I hit 12(!) fairways, but my iron/wedge game was very lacking. Greens rolled well, it was a nice course.

i have no problem coaching people to pick up the pace in this type of situation (or in any situation, really)

I once was behind a group that was so slow I played through them on the 18th hole. The front 9 they did ok. Then on the back they were on like a 3 hour pace. By 18 I had lost my mind and our 3-some just moved through without asking....

It finally happened. At long last, I made my first eagle today! The monkey is officially off my back!


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That's a great feeling. My college golf course gave me lots of eagle putt opportunities. The FSU course has 5 par 5s, and a driveable downhill par 4. I never made any of those eagle putts, more of them ended up as pars than birdies

Details details...

42-45-87. No birdies, a number of double bogeys.

Started out promising but went off the rails midway. Too much waiting.

Ok ok..

A couple friends and I headed inland for a social game at a course two of us had never played before. I actually played terribly for the most part and had probably the highest score off the stick that I've had in months, but I digress.

6th hole is a par 5, 449m (roughly 490ish yards). Slight left-to-right dogleg, but the tee shot is kinda open. Tree-lined fairway, OB down the right side just outside the tree line. Coming into the green, the hole narrows considerably, and the last 100m or so is kinda like a 15-20m wide runway of sorts, with trees and undulating rough to the left, and to the right there is a raised dam, which you can't see from back in the fairway. None of us had any idea the dam was there. I imagine it is full of golf balls given where it is.

I hit a pretty solid drive up the left hand side. My ball is on a pretty tight, hanging lie but sitting up ok. I have 228m (~250 yards) to a back pin location on a small, narrow green. My only shot is to hit a low draw 3w and run it up through the runway short. I recently got fitted for a TS2 and have been pretty comfortably shaping it and flighting it any which way, so despite playing terribly to that point, decided to give it a go.

Struck it pure, little baby draw straight at the flag. Hard to tell how far it carried but it ran up to about 3 feet short of the front edge. It was a hell of a shot from a hanging lie, not least when you consider the invisible dam I'd have been in had I not turned the ball over, or OB further right had I straight up carved it.

I get up to the green, pretty happy with the shot. I've recently started pitching more from spots like this with a 9ir, as opposed to trying to flight a 60 degree. I've realised that it's so hard to be as precise as you need to be with shots like this, and the percentage play is to pitch and get it rolling like a putt instead. With that in mind, I take out my 9ir and play for a landing position about 2-3 feet on the green, maybe 2 feet outside right of the cup and let the ball run out and fall back toward the pin.

Anyway, I clipped the ball perfectly, hit my landing spot and watched the ball track the entire way. It hit dead-centre of the flag at fairly gentle holing speed. The ball never looked like missing.

My buddies who know my lack-of-eagles has been a real monkey on the back for a couple of years now celebrated pretty hard. Well, one did. The other was still moping about losing a ball off the tee and still hadn't yet found his approach shot. Plus he knew our standing bet was any eagle in one of our skins game earned you a carton of beer from each player. Today was an expensive day for him.

So there's the story! I can finally tick that one off my golf goals.

Love it - congrats that's awesome.