As suggested in previous articles, my brother (John) has worked very hard on his game and has turned himself into a very respectable, very consistent golfer; currently carrying a 10.6 index. He is a frequent competitor in the majority of his Club’s Championship events and periodically competes in Inter-Club team events. Through it all, John has assembled a modest collection of golf related bling in his trophy case.
Conversely, if memory serves me correctly, my last trophy was a “participation” trophy during my fifth-grade year at James Caldwell Elementary School in Springfield, NJ!
Recently, brother John competed in his Club’s annual “singles” Club Championship in Sarasota, Florida.
Format:
- Five-Flight* event
- Qualification Round (Weekend One):
18-holes of stroke-play to reduce the field to four participants per Flight
- Semi-Final/Final Round (Weekend Two):
Four participants per Flight play in the bracketed single-elimination match-play semi-final/final
*Golfers are grouped together based on their handicap index, which is a measure of their skill level. Flighted events ensure that all golfers in a “flight” have a fair chance to compete. There are typically multiple flights in a golf tournament, with the best golfers competing in the 1st Flight or the Championship Flight.
During the qualifying round in the Third-Flight, John was paired with two fellow Club members; Tom and Phil. Immediately following the initial qualifying round, my brother shared the details of his performance in following text exchange:
(John)…As if he was being interviewed:
Question: “So, Mr. Schoch, how did you shoot a 99 in the Club Championship qualifying round?”
Answer: “I parred my last five holes.”
(Bad Golf Guy): “Back nine can only get better! Five par streak is pretty awesome. At least you didn’t mail it in!”
(John): “You are not going very far when you have 20 strokes in two-holes; a 9 on the five-par 7th hole and an 11 on the five-par 18th hole.”
(Bad Golf Guy): “I assume you are hanging out at the Clubhouse waiting to see if you qualified?”
(John): “Funny boy!”
Three days after the qualifying round and four days prior to the match-play semi-finals/finals, brother John received a phone call from his Head Pro asking if he would be available to participate in the bracketed single-elimination match-play semi-finals/final, as the number #3 seed excused himself from the event due to an injury. John, as the first alternate, graciously accepted the offer.
In the first round (morning round) of the match-play semi-finals, John was paired against Tom, who, along with Phil, had witnessed his uncharacteristic 99 a week earlier. John was victorious, winning his match against Tom (the #1 seed), 2 holes up with 1 hole to play.
Shortly after the morning round, John and Tom retreated to the Clubhouse for a cocktail; waiting for the conclusion of the morning matches to determine the pairings for the afternoon Flight finals. Phil (the #2 seed), who won his morning match, entered the Clubhouse, made a bee-line to John and Tom’s table and without hesitation, looked directly at Tom and stated the following…”I assume we are playing against each other in the finals?”; completely dismissing John’s very existence. It would appear that Phil was momentarily reflecting on John’s performance a week earlier! Tom’s response to Phil, “No, actually, John kicked my ___!”
Post cocktails, John and Phil headed out to the first tee to compete in the Third-Flight match-play finals. It wasn’t a fair fight as John really kicked Phil’s ___, winning the match and the Third-Flight Championship, 6 holes up with 4 holes to play. So much for assumptions!
Not dissimilar to a phoenix rising; John rose from the depths of obscurity to a convincing victory! Yet another contribution to the trophy case! Proud of you brother!
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The Back Nine Can Only Get Better!
Another awesome article from Bad Golf Guy. Thanks for sharing.