Bullseye
October 11th, 2010, 10:31 AM
Wow. Where do I start?
I had set a very obtainable goal for myself and that was to not finish last. I had been reading about the new stroke and distance rule, so I knew I would have to play very conservatively throughout the week. My practice round on Tuesday further reinforced the appropriateness of this plan.
Round 1:
Round one started out great with a birdie on Hole 1 and a par on 2. I played steadily with a few well deserved bogeys (or worse) here and there. I took a 7 on hole 10 due to two terrible drives that ended up barely out of bounds. It wasn’t until hole 13, the infamous 888 hole, that the scheiss hit the fan It was there that I threw two drives OB and two upshots as well. Woohoo, my very first 14… EVER! I tried to shake that off but it was pretty disheartening. I made a few dumb mistakes then gathered myself together just in time to take a 10 on hole 17. Aaaargh!!! I carded a par (4) on 18 and finished the round with a 90. During that round I had 11 OBs penalty strokes, and 3 missed opportunities. (I considered anything inside of 35 ft with a clear look at the basket to be an opportunity).
Round 2:
Round two started out well with a birdie on one, but after playing hole two perfectly for my par (4) I doinked a 15 footer and take a 5 instead. That was the course telling me to wake the hell up and focus. Lesson learned I birdie the next hole and go on a long run of pars with a birdie on hole 9. It wasn’t until hole 12 that got bitten again. While still playing safely I had an upshot hit the stake holding the OB rope and kick it back OB. I birdied this hole every round except this one time. I took a bogey 6 on hole 13 (888) but having carded a 14 yesterday I was pleased with 8 stroke improvement. I finished the round with another birdie and a couple of bogeys. My final score was a 71, 19 strokes better than the day before. Needless to say, I was very happy. During that round I had 2 OBs and 4 missed opportunities.
Round 3:
Round three started out with another “wake the hell up and focus ” bogey on hole 1. And wake up I did. I played the next 11 holes with all pars and 3 birdies. I took a double bogey seven on 888 when my upshot to the green hit the curb and bounced back OB. It was a shame because I played the hole very well up to that point. I played the next few holes at par (with a single bogey on 14). In the interest of playing safely I laid up my drive on 17 but still managed to take a 6 on the hole. Bummer. I took a par on 18 and closed out at a 72. During that round I had 2 OBs and 5 missed opportunities.
Making the Cut:
I did, however, make the cut, so I got to play on Saturday as well. I was super happy about that making the cut my first time here.
Round 4:
Round four started out well with a birdie on one, but after playing hole two perfectly for my par (4) I tried a “safe”, two-finger pancake upshot that was supposed to slide up to the pin, but instead it slid on the wet grass like a car on black ice right out of bounds. I pitched up and tapped out for my double bogey 6. I threw my next tee shot right out of bounds for another “wake the hell up and focus” moment. I parked my retee, for a 4p. Tragedy averted I go on another long par run until hole 11. I shanked my drive up into the bushes, pitched out and played for the bogey from there. I birdied hole 12 again and took a par on 888. Hole 14 stung me hard, exactly like it did Nico Locastro in his final round. Two tee shots OB to card a 7. Ugh. I took pars on the next two holes and moved on to hole 17. Every single round I tried to play hole 17 safely by pitching out from the teepad and playing from there. I got bit here again and took another agonizing 7. I just wanted to par out from here, but it was not to be. After a great drive, I flipped my straight Roc over and went OB. Learning from my mistake I grabbed my stable Roc and threw what looked to be a perfect upshot then I saw the spotter waving the red flag. Nooo, not again. He told me it was a perfect up, but hit a stake and kicked OB right next to the basket. I finish up my final USDGC round with an 8 on a hole that I had previously taken a pars (4) on. I closed that round out at 82. During that round I had 8 OBs and only 2 missed opportunities.
Personal Accomplishments:
I finished 109th, with a 968 average round rating.
I beat 48 players who were rated higher than myself, and was beaten by only two players rated lower than myself.
I birdied holes 1, 9 and 12 3 out of 4 times.
I was 4 for 4 with 5s on hole 5.
All in all, this was an amazing experience that will remember forever. Hanging out all week with the rest of the Oregon crew was a blast! Thank you to everyone who threw me some encouragement. I definitely appreciated it.
Disappointments:
The stroke and distance rule. This rule made it nearly impossible to even bogey a hole after going OB. One OB almost always resulted in a double-bogey… or worse.
USDGC Rocs. Although the store was not even open by the time we were scheduled to start playing, all of the USDGC Rocs were completely sold out by the time we finished our rounds. Seriously guys, you can’t set aside a couple for the players? This was a HUGE disappointment that was compounded by seeing them for sale on EBay by the time we got back to the hotel.
That’s all for now. Thank you Magilla for selecting me as the Oregon State Representative this year. I hope I represented you all well.
Jeff Hagerty
I had set a very obtainable goal for myself and that was to not finish last. I had been reading about the new stroke and distance rule, so I knew I would have to play very conservatively throughout the week. My practice round on Tuesday further reinforced the appropriateness of this plan.
Round 1:
Round one started out great with a birdie on Hole 1 and a par on 2. I played steadily with a few well deserved bogeys (or worse) here and there. I took a 7 on hole 10 due to two terrible drives that ended up barely out of bounds. It wasn’t until hole 13, the infamous 888 hole, that the scheiss hit the fan It was there that I threw two drives OB and two upshots as well. Woohoo, my very first 14… EVER! I tried to shake that off but it was pretty disheartening. I made a few dumb mistakes then gathered myself together just in time to take a 10 on hole 17. Aaaargh!!! I carded a par (4) on 18 and finished the round with a 90. During that round I had 11 OBs penalty strokes, and 3 missed opportunities. (I considered anything inside of 35 ft with a clear look at the basket to be an opportunity).
Round 2:
Round two started out well with a birdie on one, but after playing hole two perfectly for my par (4) I doinked a 15 footer and take a 5 instead. That was the course telling me to wake the hell up and focus. Lesson learned I birdie the next hole and go on a long run of pars with a birdie on hole 9. It wasn’t until hole 12 that got bitten again. While still playing safely I had an upshot hit the stake holding the OB rope and kick it back OB. I birdied this hole every round except this one time. I took a bogey 6 on hole 13 (888) but having carded a 14 yesterday I was pleased with 8 stroke improvement. I finished the round with another birdie and a couple of bogeys. My final score was a 71, 19 strokes better than the day before. Needless to say, I was very happy. During that round I had 2 OBs and 4 missed opportunities.
Round 3:
Round three started out with another “wake the hell up and focus ” bogey on hole 1. And wake up I did. I played the next 11 holes with all pars and 3 birdies. I took a double bogey seven on 888 when my upshot to the green hit the curb and bounced back OB. It was a shame because I played the hole very well up to that point. I played the next few holes at par (with a single bogey on 14). In the interest of playing safely I laid up my drive on 17 but still managed to take a 6 on the hole. Bummer. I took a par on 18 and closed out at a 72. During that round I had 2 OBs and 5 missed opportunities.
Making the Cut:
I did, however, make the cut, so I got to play on Saturday as well. I was super happy about that making the cut my first time here.
Round 4:
Round four started out well with a birdie on one, but after playing hole two perfectly for my par (4) I tried a “safe”, two-finger pancake upshot that was supposed to slide up to the pin, but instead it slid on the wet grass like a car on black ice right out of bounds. I pitched up and tapped out for my double bogey 6. I threw my next tee shot right out of bounds for another “wake the hell up and focus” moment. I parked my retee, for a 4p. Tragedy averted I go on another long par run until hole 11. I shanked my drive up into the bushes, pitched out and played for the bogey from there. I birdied hole 12 again and took a par on 888. Hole 14 stung me hard, exactly like it did Nico Locastro in his final round. Two tee shots OB to card a 7. Ugh. I took pars on the next two holes and moved on to hole 17. Every single round I tried to play hole 17 safely by pitching out from the teepad and playing from there. I got bit here again and took another agonizing 7. I just wanted to par out from here, but it was not to be. After a great drive, I flipped my straight Roc over and went OB. Learning from my mistake I grabbed my stable Roc and threw what looked to be a perfect upshot then I saw the spotter waving the red flag. Nooo, not again. He told me it was a perfect up, but hit a stake and kicked OB right next to the basket. I finish up my final USDGC round with an 8 on a hole that I had previously taken a pars (4) on. I closed that round out at 82. During that round I had 8 OBs and only 2 missed opportunities.
Personal Accomplishments:
I finished 109th, with a 968 average round rating.
I beat 48 players who were rated higher than myself, and was beaten by only two players rated lower than myself.
I birdied holes 1, 9 and 12 3 out of 4 times.
I was 4 for 4 with 5s on hole 5.
All in all, this was an amazing experience that will remember forever. Hanging out all week with the rest of the Oregon crew was a blast! Thank you to everyone who threw me some encouragement. I definitely appreciated it.
Disappointments:
The stroke and distance rule. This rule made it nearly impossible to even bogey a hole after going OB. One OB almost always resulted in a double-bogey… or worse.
USDGC Rocs. Although the store was not even open by the time we were scheduled to start playing, all of the USDGC Rocs were completely sold out by the time we finished our rounds. Seriously guys, you can’t set aside a couple for the players? This was a HUGE disappointment that was compounded by seeing them for sale on EBay by the time we got back to the hotel.
That’s all for now. Thank you Magilla for selecting me as the Oregon State Representative this year. I hope I represented you all well.
Jeff Hagerty