Part One
My track record in 3-Day Member-Guest tournaments is somewhat legendary; as documented in a previous Bad Golf Guy post (“My Nemesis”). My brother (John) and I typically struggle to stay out of the cellar of these sixty-team events; never, ever, sniffing the all-important Shoot-Out which determines the tournaments overall Champion.
John, who has developed into a very consistent player through the years, was once again, kind enough to invite me to his fall 3-Day Member-Guest at his home course in the southwest corner of Florida. The invitation had more to do with hanging out, playing a little golf and drinking a few beers than chasing the elusive title.
The event consists of a practice round on Thursday, three nine-hole matches on Friday and two nine-hole matches on Saturday. The sixty, two-man teams are segregated in ten six-team flights by combined abilities (handicaps) and teams are awarded points based on performance in each of their five matches (1 point for winning a hole, a ½ point for a tying a hole, 0 points for losing a hole and an additional point for winning the match). The maximum number of points is fifty, the minimum number of points is zero. The format is match-play, better ball of partners with handicaps. The winner of each flight and two Wild Card teams participate in an alternate shot Shoot-Out where teams are eliminated in a four-hole mini-tournament to determine the eventual winner.
I arrived on Thursday morning in plenty of time to play in the afternoon practice round with my brother, his friend and his friend’s guest. The weather was beautiful; course conditions were outstanding and the company was enjoyable however, my play was a complete disaster!
The following is a text conversation with my wife after Thursday’s round:
“Lovely event, nice people, fabulous atmosphere. I am just so miserable on the golf course. This is my last member-guest. Any early flights out in the morning?”
An expletive may or may not have been included in this particular text!
(Response) “You need a sports psychologist! You care too much and you just get in your own way.”
“It is so intensely painful. It makes me crazy that I can’t be somewhat competent/competitive in something I invest so much time.”
(Response) “So tomorrow, just hit the ball and let go of expectations. Have a couple of Bloody Mary’s before you start.”
The start of the event was on Friday morning at 8:30. Based on Thursday’s performance, my confidence level was dodgy at best! We began the tournament on the par-four 13th hole. My brother was the first on the tee. John pulled out his driver, removed the head cover, confidently strode to the tee box, addressed his ball, took a smooth swing and struck his ball a total of two-yards; pulling it just a little to the left. A leaf blew behind his ball at point of impact, causing the distraction. As we exited the tee-box, I suggested that we were off to our usual start!
Friday’s Results (maximum 10 points per match):
- Match One: 3 Points
- Match Two: 8 Points
- Match Three: 3 ½ Points
At the end of Day One, after three matches, the team of Schoch/Schoch were tied for 3rd place in our six-team flight with 14 ½ points. The leader of our flight had secured 20 points. I am unable to confirm, or deny, whether we have ever scored a total of 14 ½ points at the end of an entire 3-Day Member-Guest!
Being down 5 ½ points with two matches to play is a bit of a daunting task. My disposition and overall play had somewhat improved as we were looked forward to a respectable finish; recognizing that winning our flight was most likely beyond our reach.
Saturday’s Results (maximum 10 points per match):
- Match Four: 7 ½ Points
- Match Five: 8 Points
- Total: 30 Points
A respectable day it was; at least for one “hack”!
Our final match was against a player with a three-handicap and a player with a twenty-handicap. The three-handicap lit up the first hole with a tap in birdie to earn one point as things began to look a bit bleak! Our opponents surprisingly struggled for the balance of the match, only securing two ½ points over the remaining eight holes. During our match, I got the sneaky suspicion the three-handicap was somewhat distracted and/or lost his interest in the competition.
After the fifth and final match had concluded, brother John checked the scoreboard and discovered we had finished second place in our flight; three-points out of first place…stunning news! We immediately kicked off our golf shoes, threw down a couple of Fireballs and headed straight to the bar for a few celebratory pints.
Midway through pint number two, we received our second dose of stunning news. We had qualified for the Shoot-Out as a Wild Card entry by winning the most points in the entire field during our final match.
Part Two/Epilogue next Sunday…
Thank you for following Bad Golf Guy!
The back nine can only get better!
Outstanding Jim. No expectations and it all came together