Only played 8 holes today. It rained overnight and continued into the morning. This golf course is like a sponge - we had standing water on a lot of greens and in a lot of fairways. I didn't tee off until 2:40 pm.
We'll try and play 28 holes tomorrow, but there is more rain in the forecast and any more water on this course will make us wait.
You can watch the leaderboard for updates. Or check my twitter page.
Neil
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Stage 2 - 2nd Round
Bogied the last hole to finish +2, 73. I hit my worst tee shot of the day and hit it into a water hazard. And this came on the heels of my best hole of the day - #8 - where I hit a great drive, knocked a 9-iron to 4 feet, and made birdie.
Friday has a forecast for rain - most of the morning. That could affect scores, but it was very windy today and scores didn't go up very much. Regardless of the weather, I need to make a big move during the last 2 rounds.
Neil
Friday has a forecast for rain - most of the morning. That could affect scores, but it was very windy today and scores didn't go up very much. Regardless of the weather, I need to make a big move during the last 2 rounds.
Neil
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Stage 2 - 1st Round
I thought I was prepared for everything. I was ready for wind, rain, and cold temperatures. I've become accustomed to 6 hours per round. I was anticipating a tough course with difficult pins. But despite preparing for everything I could think of, I lost it today.
What got me?........
.......water. Or lack thereof. Iexpected the coolers on the golf course to be filled throughout the day with fresh water, but I guess the employees had other duties to attend to. This course is routed so you never return to the clubhouse and the "halfway house" was locked up. The coolers on hole 7 and 13 were both bone dry. By the time I got to 12, I was extremely dehydrated. I actually had a tough time staying focused for a few holes because I was so thirsty, but also because I couldn't believe nobody was driving around filling up the coolers. And even more surprising, there were no officials in sight to ask them to help us get some water.
Finally, on #15 there was a restroom with drinking fountain. The lukewarm, iron-flavored water tasted like heaven to me. I was seriously worried about what I would've felt like it I hadn't found water by the end of the round.
After drinking the water, I hit a solid 4-iron to 15 feet on #15. I missed the putt, but when I went to tap in my 10 inch par putt the ball oscillated - giving me a one stroke penalty. I kept my composure the best I could. I hit a great drive off 16 and made a simple par. On 17, I made a bad club choice - opted for a knockdown 6, instead of hitting a hard 7 - and made bogey. And then on 18, I had an out of body experience and three-putted from 12 feet.
I thought I was prepared for anything. I guess I will never again assume the golf staff will provide water in the water coolers. The ironic thing is that this golf course (TPC Craig Ranch) is owned by the PGA Tour - just like all TPC courses are. You think they would understand that each player needs water, along with each caddy, and every caddy is going to use water to keep their towel wet. Unbelievable laziness and stupidity shown by the golf staff. But like I said, I will never again rely on idiots in the golf business to do simple tasks.
Funny thing - I have 2 cases of water in the back seat of my car! As I left the parking lot for the driving range, I grabbed one bottle. The rest of the week I will start the day with 4 bottles in my bag - but I also know the rest of the week there will be extra coolers on the course (enough people complained that they decided to put some tables and extra coolers on the course). This isn't the first time this course has hosted 2nd Stage of Q-School, so why aren't they used to something as providing water for the players, caddies, and spectators? I will never again rely on idiots in the golf business to do simple tasks.
Tomorrow is round 2 of 4.
Neil
What got me?........
.......water. Or lack thereof. I
Finally, on #15 there was a restroom with drinking fountain. The lukewarm, iron-flavored water tasted like heaven to me. I was seriously worried about what I would've felt like it I hadn't found water by the end of the round.
After drinking the water, I hit a solid 4-iron to 15 feet on #15. I missed the putt, but when I went to tap in my 10 inch par putt the ball oscillated - giving me a one stroke penalty. I kept my composure the best I could. I hit a great drive off 16 and made a simple par. On 17, I made a bad club choice - opted for a knockdown 6, instead of hitting a hard 7 - and made bogey. And then on 18, I had an out of body experience and three-putted from 12 feet.
I thought I was prepared for anything. I guess I will never again assume the golf staff will provide water in the water coolers. The ironic thing is that this golf course (TPC Craig Ranch) is owned by the PGA Tour - just like all TPC courses are. You think they would understand that each player needs water, along with each caddy, and every caddy is going to use water to keep their towel wet. Unbelievable laziness and stupidity shown by the golf staff. But like I said, I will never again rely on idiots in the golf business to do simple tasks.
Funny thing - I have 2 cases of water in the back seat of my car! As I left the parking lot for the driving range, I grabbed one bottle. The rest of the week I will start the day with 4 bottles in my bag - but I also know the rest of the week there will be extra coolers on the course (enough people complained that they decided to put some tables and extra coolers on the course). This isn't the first time this course has hosted 2nd Stage of Q-School, so why aren't they used to something as providing water for the players, caddies, and spectators? I will never again rely on idiots in the golf business to do simple tasks.
Tomorrow is round 2 of 4.
Neil
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Stage 2 Site and More Stage 1 Analysis
Received an email today confirming my 2nd Stage assignment. I'll be heading to Dallas, TX - TPC Craig Ranch. November 15th and 16th are practice rounds and the tournament begins on November 18th.
Thanks to everybody for all the emails and text messages congratulating me on my success in North Carolina. Thanks also for everybody continuing to follow this blog. It was a long week, but I was well prepared for the stress and tactfully managed the difficult golf course. I didn't play my best, but I did play a smart game. Until the last hole, I never forced myself to go for anything - be it a pin or a par 5 in two. Only when I knew I could reach a par 5 in two, did I go for it. Only when a pin was in an accessible spot, did I aim for it.
The course set-up really dictated my approach to each round. During round 1, I quickly noticed that all of the pins were tucked into a corner or placed on top of a shelf. I made the decision to avoid those tucked pins with extreme caution. If I went for them and missed the green - essentially short siding myself - I would be making a lot more bogies and flirting with some double bogies. Placing the ball in the middle of the greens meant I'd have several easy pars and by the end of the week, I figured I would've have rolled in some 20-30 foot birdie putts.
My management of the course helped me get through 4 rounds with no double bogies and get me to the 72nd hole until I had a penalty stroke. With so few birdie opportunities, double bogies would've been round killers. Trying to fight back and make 2 birdies would've forced me to get more aggressive, which would've forced me to aim at some of those tucked pins. One double bogey might have led to 2 or 3 more birdies a round, but most certainly would've led to more bogies and possibly more double bogies.
I played the par 3's 1-under par for the week, which again was due to my course management and club selection. Rarely was I aiming for the pin on a par three. I also rarely choose a club based upon the yardage to the pin. I found the spot on the green that I felt was best to hit it to in order to make an easy par or have a chance at birdie and calculated that yardage. Sometimes it was beyond the pin and sometimes it would be a yardage that would just get me to the front edge of the green - even it the pin was 10 yards onto the green. I ended up with 13 pars during the week and 12 of them were tap-ins. The only one that wasn't was during the 3rd round, on #7. After birding #6, I was first to hit on #7 and misjudged the wind. I forgot the wind was blowing to the right and my shot missed the green right and I had to make a 5 foot putt for par. Every other par was a simple 2 foot (or less) tap-in.
That's a lot of analysis for me.
Neil
Thanks to everybody for all the emails and text messages congratulating me on my success in North Carolina. Thanks also for everybody continuing to follow this blog. It was a long week, but I was well prepared for the stress and tactfully managed the difficult golf course. I didn't play my best, but I did play a smart game. Until the last hole, I never forced myself to go for anything - be it a pin or a par 5 in two. Only when I knew I could reach a par 5 in two, did I go for it. Only when a pin was in an accessible spot, did I aim for it.
The course set-up really dictated my approach to each round. During round 1, I quickly noticed that all of the pins were tucked into a corner or placed on top of a shelf. I made the decision to avoid those tucked pins with extreme caution. If I went for them and missed the green - essentially short siding myself - I would be making a lot more bogies and flirting with some double bogies. Placing the ball in the middle of the greens meant I'd have several easy pars and by the end of the week, I figured I would've have rolled in some 20-30 foot birdie putts.
My management of the course helped me get through 4 rounds with no double bogies and get me to the 72nd hole until I had a penalty stroke. With so few birdie opportunities, double bogies would've been round killers. Trying to fight back and make 2 birdies would've forced me to get more aggressive, which would've forced me to aim at some of those tucked pins. One double bogey might have led to 2 or 3 more birdies a round, but most certainly would've led to more bogies and possibly more double bogies.
I played the par 3's 1-under par for the week, which again was due to my course management and club selection. Rarely was I aiming for the pin on a par three. I also rarely choose a club based upon the yardage to the pin. I found the spot on the green that I felt was best to hit it to in order to make an easy par or have a chance at birdie and calculated that yardage. Sometimes it was beyond the pin and sometimes it would be a yardage that would just get me to the front edge of the green - even it the pin was 10 yards onto the green. I ended up with 13 pars during the week and 12 of them were tap-ins. The only one that wasn't was during the 3rd round, on #7. After birding #6, I was first to hit on #7 and misjudged the wind. I forgot the wind was blowing to the right and my shot missed the green right and I had to make a 5 foot putt for par. Every other par was a simple 2 foot (or less) tap-in.
That's a lot of analysis for me.
Neil
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