I'm still trying to put my fingers on the viability of the "reverse horseshoe" used for pairings when going off split tees. Simply, it means the middle of the field tees off earlier then the leaders and the bottom feeders. Being in the top 38 going into the last round we found ourselves in last group to tee off the 1st tee at the early tee time of 8:30AM.
Brian and I joked with the wildly different weather we played in the first 3 rounds that we went to Q School and the Open Championship broke out. Each day was so different than the day before. Sun, sun and wind, cold and rain, etc. Heck it was even different than our practice rounds when the temperature topped out in the mid 80's! Friday's weather was sunny and gorgeous but a had a wee bit of nip in the air being in the high 30's.
We had confidence on the range Friday morning. We knew a low number was out there and we had the confidence that we were going to set it. Being at +2 we knew that 66 could get us close to the line but 65 would advance us to the next round. However the mental side of golf allows you only to focus on the shot in front of you.
The front nine at the Club of Irish Creek is really setup for short iron and wedge play. We knew gaining momentum right off the bat could give us a great boost. We had a great look at birdie on the first hole followed by a wonderful 2 putt from long distance on the second hole and we were still at Even for the round. The cellophane lid was lifted on the 3rd hole with a long range birdie putt that gave Brian a rye smile as it was a little on the firm side hitting the back of the hole before jumping into the cup. Momentum is a powerful ally in sports. A great approach shot into the 4th netted yet another birdie. Heading into a driveable par 4 and and reachable par 5 we were poised to make a strong early move. However the putts didn't subscribe to our momentum theory and we were still at -2 for the round but back to Even par for the tournament.
Golf is a game of feet if not inches. Our approach to the 7th hole land about a half foot from our target spot and instead of being stone dead to the hole we settled for a two putt par from about 15 feet.
One of the most powerful tools in the mental game is remembering those great shots you hit when you see the shot in your mind, you feel it in your body, and then trust the shot executing it perfectly. Out of the 4 rounds Brian and I marked it down as one of those shots. It wasn't the tee shot on 8 but it was the bunker shot that I'm talking about. It was a 30-40 foot bunker shot to a pin that was tucked just 4 paces from the left of the green. Only a handful more paces you would find a hazard that marked Lake Kannapolis. Because of what lies beyond the hole the "chicken" shot would have been to leave it short by 10-15 feet. What transpired was a beautifully executed shot that landed 6 feet from the hole, checked slightly and rolled to 2 feet away. Just like a driver down the middle in a 3 for 2 playoff into a PGA Tour event those shots are the thing that you store away for the future.
Going back to the earlier statement of golf being a game of feet the next hole proved that theory correct once again. Because of the slightest of breezes into our face the second shot into the 9th hole garnered significant discussion between a solid 9 iron and a baby 8 iron. Our choice was the 9 iron. Brian flushed it and it landed at the top of the false front on the green but trickled back off the green. Unfortunately we walked away with bogey but still knew that with a small run on the back nine early we weren't out of it.
We never regained the momentum even though Brian and I made the decision for more aggressive lines off the tee and to the pin positions. The putts just weren't falling even with good looks we had. The last 3 holes on the back nine happened to be the bane of our rounds. We were over par for the tournament thaThose holes are tough with no doubts about it. The scoring average for the par 4 16th hole was 4.21. The par 4 17th hole average was 4.32 and the par 3 18th average was 3.32. All the other 15 holes average was much closer to par. Brian's par 3 scoring put him 5th overall at -2. His par 5 scoring average put him T12 in the field at -5. Unfortunately the par 4 performance put him near the rear of the field being +11 for the tournament. Granted there are twice as many par 4 scoring opportunities.
Overall, it's the best I've seen Brian hit the ball since we've been teamed up. Even with the occasional miss the recovery shot was no problem and a couple times were quite spectacular. Lag putting was spot on and we didn't have a 3 putt. The disappointing part is the scoring didn't show it.
What I like about Brian and I teaming up is that we always look how to improve. There are times that the planning we have for a shot during the round doesn't work out. But post round we talk about the good shots, the bad shots and how to modify strategy for the next time.
Going forward Brian's looking to play in more tournaments over the winter down in Florida. More competitve reps will only make him better. He's resilient. He knows there are 2 paths to a setback. He chooses the path to improve and move forward.
We'll try to keep a better blog. I have no doubts that we'll have something to write about during the upcoming day after Thanksgiving Day grudge match between Brian, Jeff Lane and myself. Which reminds me! The result of me losing the bet last Thanksgiving has been fulfilled. I did my 20 pushups at the beginning of the first round on the first tee. Somehow I couldn't pull the trigger at the John Deere Classic in July. I wouldn't know why. :)
Until we talk again. Have a wonderful and blessed day.
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