Club Championships

[Golfbum]

My club held the Club Championships this weekend. This is the first year I have played in it since I joined 4 years ago. I have always been too busy on those weekends.

Yesterday it was windy and rained off and on, today it was just plain windy! (my home course is basically a links style course, very few trees, fescue and some water. When it gets windy out there it can become 2-4 club winds)

I was in the A Flight 5.0-8.9 index. Finished T5 with an ugly round of 84 (Man I had a friggin TEN on a par 5! In 4 years I have never done any worse than double on that hole. 3rd shot into the big swamp while going for the green. I had a big hunk of mud on my ball, and I just mi the shot. Took my drop, 5th shot went left of the green into the fescue and 4 of us could not find it. Back to the other side of the damn swamp for shot #7, onto the fringe, chip and 2 putts later my chances of winning my flight were down the drain I did get to slap the big snapping turtle on the back as he wandered across the fairway between the two swamps )
Today I had a better round, 79. (Bonus, boogied the same par 5 @ 557 yards, 4 shots less than yesterday )

Now what I noticed was some of the scores today and yesterday. Some were just plain UGLY! Guys with indexes below 4 shooting in the low-mid 80's on both days.

Is it choking or just too much pressure? I mean my ugly score came about basicaly from one hole. Other guys scores were way out of character.

I see this every year in CLUB C. There are a few guys who can get the job done in each flight, but there are usually some good old fashioned plain ugly scores. I saw shots that I have never seen from some of the guys I played with. It's a wonder there was not some broken irons and putters out there! (Oh wait, I did see a nice Callaway wedge that had a new bend in the shaft!) One of my buddies said he would have a new putter in the bag by tomorrow afternoon

So tell us how you make out if you play in a CLUB C? Years ago I won my flight one year and lost it one year. So I am 1-3 in Club C.

My buddy said that Club C is the "Ultimate test of your game of golf" Well if that is so most of us out there on the weekend FAILED THE TEST

I figure that every time you tee it up that is the ultimate test of your game.

[spart]

We also had our club championship this weekend and I can assure you that I was among the chokers with a 7 on a par three and a nine on a par 5 ( I had par on both those holes on day one). I noticed that I had a lot of company on the high end of the score board - I think some of it is having to hole every putt and some of it is just trying too hard. Anyway it was a great couple of days of golf....maybe next year.

[byerxa]

I played at my dad's course about a week after their cc and was looking at the all of the scores posted. There were the usual big numbers on he first day as people get too wound up. The other blatant choking on the scores were the front nines of a bunch of people in contention on the 3rd (last) day! There were some horrendous scores! Like single digits guys shooting low 50s on the front! Of course, they'd come back with a 41 on the back, but by then the train had wrecked and the rubble was already being cleaned up.

It's like people suddenly decide they are going to suddenly play "better" in the cc, which of course usually means only bad things. Quite amusing overall.

[davevandyk]

i had my Club Championship a couple of weeks ago and actually shot the best round of my life on my course. I was a 2.1 index at the time. I opened up the round with a double on the easiest par 5 on the course, then played -5 the rest of the way to shoot 69!!! Second day was a little harder, i had never slept on the lead of a tourney before, and i threw-up to a 75 and came second!

I have found that that tourney gave me a lot of confidence and i no longer get bent up over a double or bogey on an easy hole. I have since lowered the handicap to a 0.7 and have never played better golf!!

[Adska]

We had ours this weekend, and it was a blast.

Congrats to BC MIST for defending his title! I was paired with him in the final group, and it was just a treat to watch.

[Golfbum]

We also had our club championship this weekend and I can assure you that I was among the chokers with a 7 on a par three and a nine on a par 5 ( I had par on both those holes on day one). I noticed that I had a lot of company on the high end of the score board - I think some of it is having to hole every putt and some of it is just trying too hard. Anyway it was a great couple of days of golf....maybe next year.

Well I don't feel that I "Choked" so much as I just hit one bad shot that cost me big time. The hole I did it on, you would have to see it to know that if you make one mistake it is going to add up to a big number on the card!
I watched a couple of guys in my Sunday group "CHOKE", god it was ugly. A 7 on a 180 yard par 3 is not good.
I just do not get wound up about Club C like some guys I know do. To me it was just a weekend of golf!

[Sakuraba]

I finally got a good cc weekend in last weekend. I shot a net par both days, (83, 83) as compared to the last club tournament I played in, where I shot a 99! (I blamed back pain, but that doen't excuse the 100, 97 I shot last year at roughly the same cap I am now)
I care a lot about the tournament, and because its so important to me, I put a lot of pressure on myself.
A big problem for me (a weak putter) is not having any putts given to me. I'm, talking about the 18" ones that nobody (except me) misses.

Anyways, for me it is a huge monkey off my back and I hope signs of better tournament play in the future.

[Golfbum]

I finally got a good cc weekend in last weekend. I shot a net par both days.
A big problem for me (a weak putter) is not having any putts given to me. I'm, talking about the 18" ones that nobody (except me) misses.

Anyways, for me it is a huge monkey off my back and I hope signs of better tournament play in the future.

Congrats on your net par rounds.

Funny you mentioned those 18 inch putts! When I first started golfing at the course I am at now (with a friend who was already a member there), it was common for those guys to just give themselves 2 foot putts. I mentioned this one day and said "Boys come tournament time or any event you are going to be shaking in your shoes over those 2 footers! You need to make em all everytime you play" Well they took my advice and my god I have never seen so many putts inside 3 feet miss the holes completely Once they had to do it all the time then they started to fall. So it is better for you and your game if you putt everything out. Come Club C or whatever event you are in those 2 foot putts are routine.

Here's hoping you now have good vibes going into tournaments etc now that you have performed under the gun

[flagolfnut]

We had ours this weekend, and it was a blast.

Congrats to BC MIST for defending his title! I was paired with him in the final group, and it was just a treat to watch.

What did BC shoot?

[BC MIST]

We had ours this weekend, and it was a blast.

Congrats to BC MIST for defending his title! I was paired with him in the final group, and it was just a treat to watch.

Thanks Adam,

Judging by the comments above, there are a wide variety of thoughts/emotions in play when one plays in a club championship, as many have done recently, or other tournaments. The mindset of the golfer who is leading is usually very different from the one of the golfer who is a couple of shots behind.

To get the lead a golfer has to have the mind of a predator. No fear, aggressive, confident, target orientated and so on. The golfer who is behind will play the last round with a similar mindset as he has nothing to lose, and everything to gain. The challenging position is that of the leader. There is part of him that wants to PROTECT that lead and when protect is what he is thinking, the House of Cards crumbles. A couple of bad shots by the leader coupled with a birdie or two from the closest contender, causes the leader to get further into the fear mode that is very difficult to get out of. This is choking.

I must admit that yesterday I was feeling the heat, even before the round began. Increasing the lead over Jimmy to 7 shots after 3 holes helped, but, knowing how good a player that he is, I reasoned that it would be close at some point. My three hooked shots resulting in bogeys and his great birdie on 9 narrowed the gap to 3 after 12. It was then that I decided that enough of this protect junk, and switched back to the predator mode, and went after the pins on 13, 14 and 15, because I felt that I could make the shots, and you saw the results.

If there is any simple lesson to any of this it’s that to get the lead or be in contention, you have to be aggressive. When in the lead you just have to stay aggressive, even if going for the middle of the green is the right way to place to play the shot, go after the middle, instead of steering it on.

Your day will come and the more experience you get by playing in OVGA tournaments, The Citizen, Club championships and the like, and our Saturday money games, the sooner you will be able to stay in contention and finish things off. You have too good a swing not to, and you know more about golf, appreciate and respect the game better than most golfers twice your age.

BTW: The etiquette that you and Jimmy displayed during the weekend was outstanding and it is nice to see 20 year olds whose pace of play is reasonable, unlike others with whom I have played. Two hours for the front nine in the last group of the CC makes it so much easier to maintain momentum.

FLAGNUT: 71,72 Greensmere gold tees. That's 2.38 strokes per earth's trip around the sun.

[Big Johnny69]

Thanks for the insight BC. I hope I can use some of that in preparation for my CC this weekend. I have a tee time for everyday this week to practice, practice, practice. Went well today, a 76 and displayed some short game prowess that hasn't been around in a while. And by the way, congrats on the defence of the title, golf is one of the hardest things to repeat at, sometimes you never know what game is going to show up.

[bbad]

The one thing that I find funny are the people that go and win their B flight cc by (oh 15 strokes) and still try and justify to everyone at the club that they are still a 10-15 handicapp. I had 3 good rounds (75,76,75). C'mon.

At our club, I know of very few SB's, but there are a few and having them there for handicapp'd tourneys (A flight, B flight etc) is VERY discouraging for the legitamite B/C. A's not so much...There are a few vanity SB's, but I like playing those ones.

Have there been other experiences like this, and how are they handled at your clubs?

[Big Johnny69]

I have heard a few names thrown around my club of people who are SBs. I don't want to mention anyone but during match play and intersectional qualifying there was a player who claimed to be an 11 ( I was a 9 at the time) who shot 75 (MP qualifying) and was second with almost 60 points after two rounds of INT. Sec qualifying. I played with someone who shot 76 (28 pts) to give you an idea. I mean c'mon an 11, I don't think so.

[bbad]

Thanks for the insight BC. I hope I can use some of that in preparation for my CC this weekend. I have a tee time for everyday this week to practice, practice, practice. Went well today, a 76 and displayed some short game prowess that hasn't been around in a while. And by the way, congrats on the defence of the title, golf is one of the hardest things to repeat at, sometimes you never know what game is going to show up.

I could care less WHAT game shows up...I'd just like it if I could have my two favourite people play golf at the same time...Mr. I Drive It straight, and Mr. I can get up and down from anywhere........It seems that they just don't like each other.

God knows how bad my game is when they both go on strike.

[Golfbum]

Every club has them, Sandbaggers! At my club two years ago one guy told the kid in the Pro shop he was fudging his index so he could play in the B Flight instead of the A Flight. He should have been DQ'd.

The ones that make me laugh are the ones who say "I am a 6" Meanwhile the only reason they are a 6 is because they only post their low scores. Problem being when it comes to Tournament time they ain't going to shoot anywhere near their index!
Now that isn't a problem, until they are paired up in a two man best ball event where indexes are used. Then they are just screwing their partner.

As for CLUB C, I honestly think that too many guys put way too much pressure on themselves to go out and win their flight. That is why you see some ugly scores from guys who normally would not shoot a round of golf like that on a normal weekend.

Hey it is just a game, it is not like you are trying to qualify for the PGA. Lighten up, have some fun and just play your game. Life is too short to get upset about a couple of bad rounds of golf.

[jvincent]

I have heard a few names thrown around my club of people who are SBs. I don't want to mention anyone but during match play and intersectional qualifying there was a player who claimed to be an 11 ( I was a 9 at the time) who shot 75 (MP qualifying) and was second with almost 60 points after two rounds of INT. Sec qualifying. I played with someone who shot 76 (28 pts) to give you an idea. I mean c'mon an 11, I don't think so.

Just curious, why doesn't the handicap commitee do something about that? There are pretty well defined rules for this kind of situation (handicap reduction based on exceptional tournament scores, etc.)

[Big Johnny69]

Just curious, why doesn't the handicap commitee do something about that? There are pretty well defined rules for this kind of situation (handicap reduction based on exceptional tournament scores, etc.)

Well I'm a new member there and from what I gather there is a core of about a dozen or so members who kind of are in good with the club captain so I gather there is not alot than can be done. Too bad, but on the bright side he was beat out in the first round of the B match play where as I am playing in the A final.

[Big Johnny69]

I could care less WHAT game shows up...I'd just like it if I could have my two favourite people play golf at the same time...Mr. I Drive It straight, and Mr. I can get up and down from anywhere........It seems that they just don't like each other.

God knows how bad my game is when they both go on strike.

LOL, that is priceless.

I just wish once in my playing days Mr. Get Up and Down would just show up. Made a brief appearance today, first in a long time. Mr. Straight (fairly) has recently been showing up quite regularly, so if Mr. GIR shows up I won't need Mr. GUAD.

[bbad]

Just curious, why doesn't the handicap commitee do something about that? There are pretty well defined rules for this kind of situation (handicap reduction based on exceptional tournament scores, etc.)

Maybe they should make the SB's be on the handicapp committee and see how that reflects their handicapp?

[Adska]

Your day will come and the more experience you get by playing in OVGA tournaments, The Citizen, Club championships and the like, and our Saturday money games, the sooner you will be able to stay in contention and finish things off. You have too good a swing not to, and you know more about golf, appreciate and respect the game better than most golfers twice your age.

BTW: The etiquette that you and Jimmy displayed during the weekend was outstanding and it is nice to see 20 year olds whose pace of play is reasonable, unlike others with whom I have played. Two hours for the front nine in the last group of the CC makes it so much easier to maintain momentum.

FLAGNUT: 71,72 Greensmere gold tees. That's 2.38 strokes per earth's trip around the sun.

Thanks for the kind words Lyle... That means a lot!