Invitational at Concord CC

August 4-5, 2017: This tournament has been on my list for a number of years.  Others have spoken very highly of the competition, course, and tournament committee.  And it lived up to all the hype and more.  The golf course was in spectacular condition; greens were perfect, fairways were like carpets, rough was thick (sometimes only a 9 iron or wedge was the play back to fairway), and bunkers had just the right amount of sand.  The committee and staff at Concord set up the golf course, scoring, food, starting grounds, and rest of tournament preparations in a first class manner.  In particular, the pin placements were very very well thought out, each one requiring great skill to save par or make a birdie.  In its truest form, there were no gimmies!  

My partner L. Bohman and I were both making our first go around in the Invitational.  We were paired with J. Stoddard and J. Magner in Round 1 and the Arnold brothers in Round 2.  Fun guys and good players, consistent with the entire field.  We shot 75-72 (+7) missing the cut by 1 shot, placing in T21.  The Champions V. Galvani and D.Hynes played very well at 5 under par over the 45 holes.  The last eighteen was cut short due to weather delays from torrential rain earlier in Round 2.  

The story of our weekend was crazy streaks.  We started the tournament on #10 with nine straight pars and followed with only one par in the next 14 holes (includes start of Round 2).  One piece of the latter stretch included six holes where our best score was bogey.  Despite the volatility, we came to our last hole in Round 2 (#9) knowing if we made birdie we would move on to the final round.  My partner made a run at a very difficult birdie putt that slid by.  

Shout out to a great hole out for eagle on #18 in Round 1 by Galvani and Hynes.  Most of the field roared from the clubhouse!  In fact, we later found out this "eagle 2" followed an "eagle 3" on 17.  Now that is a strong finish!

It was great competition with many familiar faces.  Concord CC thank you!

I'm looking forward to playing in this event for many more years.

Keep the summer golf rolling,
Kurt

Sweet Home Alabama

March 31 - April 3, 2017

Grand National - Hotel View

Kyle, Chris, Jay, and I changed up the winter golf trip to Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Auburn/Opelika at Grand National and in Prattville at Capitol Hill.  As I reflect on the trip, I keep thinking of the food...introduced to Pork Rinds, conecuh (?) sausage, and much more.  Kyle, Chris, and I flew JetBlue (upgrade to extra leg room thanks to Bates!) into Atlanta while Jay came up from Fort Myers.  Then we made a 90 minute drive to our first stop at Grand National, home of PGA Tour Barbasol Championship.  The drive went by in a flash as we welcome ourselves into the area with the beats of Jermaine Dupri, featuring Ludacris, Welcome to Atlanta and Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama.  Then, thanks to Kyle, we had a great itinerary of food stops, starting with top local establishments Chuck's BBQ (solid minus the mustard BBQ sauce) and Zazu (downtown Opelika - fantastic sweet tea chicken and cornbread).  Its at these places where we started to experience the Southern Hospitality...random people coming up us to that didn't work at the restaurants, asking us if we needed help and giving us advice.  The same experience happened walking down the street in downtown Opelika.  When I say downtown, its like 2 blocks of stores and restaurants.  People say hello and smile to strangers in Alabama.

Capitol Hill - Judge Course

On the golf course, Jay dominated the Barbasol course at Grand National, dropping 6 or 7 birdies. Each of us had our moments and battled some tough tracks.  The courses had significant elevation changes and a lot of forced carries, especially Par 3s over water.  It felt like most of the Trent Jones greens were of severe undulation, more than we ever see in the Northeast.  Hello 3-putts!  These are big hitter courses from the tips, but also require good touch around the greens.  We also played a great Par 3 at Grand National that was a nice break from full 18, lotta action in WOLF. "Y'all going to have fun" said many of the golf staff.  Kyle had a lot of fun at the Grand National clubhouse, ordering a side of fries and being convinced by the waitress to sprinkle with splenda (sweet home alabama, right?).  She insisted this was the best thing ever (I disagree!).  We all opposed, but Kyle took the chance.  Kyle said it tasted like fried dough and I think he even tried a little in his peanut butter beer.  Yes peanut butter beer; they do things differently in the South.

Pork Rinds at The Hound (Auburn)

Shout out to Mellow Mushroom and Bates recommendation to try it.  Some of the best pizza crust I've had.  I'm not sure I want to know what its made with, but it is pure addiction...no matter how full you are you will want some more.

None of us had ever played golf in Alabama.  After 4 days, 5+ rounds of golf and some great Southern food and hospitality, we intend to go back to play the Trail in 2018.  26 courses across the state.  It is a great value trip.  We enjoyed having access to multiple golf courses on one site to limit drive time and maximum golf time.  Also, this time of year came with weather in the 70s!  We only ran into one weather problem, on the last day, with hurricane force winds and hail.  We were on the 3rd hole at Capitol Hill - Senator Course when the skies went dark and within an instant, the four of us were getting cloaked with hard rain/hail and high winds.  It was so strong that we were concerned about being able to make it back to the clubhouse.  We waited it out for an hour or so in the clubhouse boardroom, but when the electricity went out and backup generators kicked in, we knew our day was over.  We were able to get cash back for the value of the round and spend it in the golf shop.  Next, we had the full day to fill in before a late flight from Atlanta back to Boston.  We thought about every option, including trying to beat the storm east and playing in Atlanta.  Ultimately, it was a wash from Alabama to Atlanta.  Though, the outcome was about as good as it could get, when we found Top Golf Atlanta!  None of us had been before and always wanted to try it.  Golf, food, drinks, and music for 4 hours at less than a price of a round!

Thanks for a great trip boys!  Looking forward to seeing where next year takes us!

Fli

p.s. Did Kyle really ship golf balls and beers to the hotel??

Amateur

July 11-12, 2016 - I competed in my first MA Amateur Championship @ Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, MA!  Over the past 15 years, I have tried to qualify for it (not every year, but I am guessing 9-10 times)!  Achieving it this year was one of my biggest goals for the season and I did it in style with co-medalist honors at my qualifier at Haverhill CC. 

Now I title this post "Amateur" for two reasons: 1) I want emphasize the importance of the word "Amateur" and 2) Every competitive golfer's "Amateur" is different and changes over time.

1) The Amateur world of golf is so much fun and speaks love for the game.  Everyone, with some exceptions, have other full-time jobs and commitments and we aren't getting paid for this.  The camaraderie and pride at the MA Amateur could be felt in the air.  There was mutual respect between competitors and people really respected the tournament.

I was randomly paired with my good friend Swen (his first trip too) and another really nice guy Rob.  Competing alongside good players that are positive, respectful, fun, and supportive is no better.  Additionally, I practiced with and watched players that are much more accomplished than me; learning many new things about preparing for and playing at this level and what it takes to do well.  At the end of the day, it comes down to who is most prepared, most confident, most purposeful, and most in the zone at the right time (some days you just don't have it or someone will just have it more than you), because everyone here can play golf well.  

(L to R) Swen, Flio, Rob (4th hole)

2) The second point is that a golfer's "Amateur" may be a local club championship, a U.S. Amateur, a U.S. Mid Amateur, a senior amateur, the Hornblower, high school state tournament, a member-guest, a BAGS tournament, and so on.  All have different levels of attention and notoriety, but if its important to you, that is what matters most.  Whatever it is, it gives you that feeling of pride, accomplishment, and joy.  The MA Amateur gave me this feeling and more...

I came here with my Dad and my goal was to make it to match play (top 32 after two rounds of stroke play).  I fell four shots shy and I played my heart out through the last putt (Par 71 - I shot 76-75).  I walked away with my head high and had so many great memories in a mere three days.  It is such a special game and I believe it pushes you to be a better person...more than how you finish (because only one person wins each time...at the MA Amateur, over 130 players went home with a loss), its about what you learned about yourself and from others to get ready for the next opportunity.  Its about being aware of your emotions and body during different pressure situations.  Its about having a plan and enjoying the whole process.

Yardage Book and Notes

I recently got time with a very well known golf executive and when I asked him about handling the highest competition and highest pressure, he said the great thing about golf is that it is an invitation-based sport, so you are privileged to have each opportunity.  He said make sure you appreciate that and the work you put in to get there.  Whether you win or lose or get nervous or make a big mistake, at the end of the day, always learn something each time.

Some highlights:
1)Taconic lives up to its ranking as of the best public courses around; its a special place, fantastic condition and layout.  Its worth a trip if you haven't played it
2)MGA runs a very professional event, the attention to details makes a world of difference to me and the rest of the players
3)Making birdie on my first hole
4)My Dad makes it the most special for me; to share this week and emotions alongside with me; walking the course on Sunday prior to tournament in rain; #preparation
5)Thanks to my family and friends for rooting me on (and to my friend Andrea for coming to watch in Round 1).

Can't wait for Part Deux

To raising yourself to a new standard,
Fli

Naples Trip - Reuniting the Team

March 20 – 23

Bates, Richards, and Flionis lean back and look at each other with a grin, then a head nod, and the words “lets do this again next year!”  The thought of adding in more downtime crossed our minds as we sat on the 9pm flight home from Ft. Lauderdale.  Yeah good idea, maybe, well see.  We were coming off six rounds of golf in 72 hours.  Each one of us couldn’t have been happier with the time together, golf courses, the competition, and the weather and our gracious hosts over the weekend.  

First host, Mr. Gargiulo; our Bentley Golf teammate, friend, and great golfer.  He has this Shivas Irons mystique, something about him; and he is good, real good.  Prior to the trip, my friend Swen said “enjoy Gargiulo making every 15 footer on u”.  My brother  when thinking about him said, “I didn't realize Gargiulo was the Florida guy you were meeting up with--I would have remembered him by name since I hung out with him in your room in Rhodes at least twice.  I remember you telling me he had a pro-level short game back in the Bentley days.”  Despite the surprise that Gargiulo ended up being the high man on three putts, he was the low man on stroke play over 108 holes.  I’d say the 3 putts is a result of his aggressiveness and confidence…he probably dropped the most 15-20 foot putts.  Gargiulo is now a resident of Naples.  He guided us around the Naples area and got us out on a serious gem and very prestigious Hole in the Wall Golf Club.  Thanks Gargiulo!!  We call this place August National meets Marlborough Country Club.  Its got all the characteristics I like to see in a golf club, including pure golf only, mint greens, walkable, beautiful sand, and requires all the shots from tee to green. 

Second host, my family in Boca, including my Aunt Iris, Uncle Jay, and 98-year old (almost 99) Gram.  We all had dinner together at Brio, enjoying many laughs about life, business, my hair, my dating life, golf, etc.  The time was too short together, but nonetheless worth every effort to find the time we did together.  Boca is a beautiful area.  Bates, Richards, and I kept saying why aren’t we down here when Boston finishes off a record winter of over 105” inches of snow, the majority coming in a 45 day stretch!  Brutal! (and still snowing during this trip)  Lets go with "balance" as why stay; 4 seasons bring a balance of options and opportunities.  Plus another reason to fly to Gargiulo and my family. 

Jumpin to the Non-Stop Trip (btw the four of us love golf, so this is a constant HIGH until we crash to our beds)…oh it was also March Madness time, so no shortage of entertainment and betting.

The Bets: Rotating 18 hole best ball matches, dots (birdies, greenies, sandies), snake (any 3 putt adds $1 to pool), daily low gross, weekend low gross, everyday side match with the relentless Bates (love it), longest hole out…I’m sure I am missing some, we had it all going

The Schedule:

Friday: Land in Ft Lauderdale at 930am; quick brunch; tee off at Boca Lago at 12:30pm; dinner with Flio family at 6pm; 100 mile drive to Naples

Saturday: 8am tee off at Fiddlers Creek; no lunch; 130pm tee off at Wyndemere; dinner at Senor Tequila’s

Sunday:  8am tee off at Vanderbilt; lunch at Vanderbilt clubhouse; 220pm tee off at Old Corkscrew; dinner at Blue Monkey

Monday: 8am tee off Hole in the Wall Golf Club; lunch at Black Eyed Pig BBQ; 100 mile drive to Ft. Lauderdale; Arrive in Boston 11:30pm

The Results:

Gargiulo wins low gross over the weekend with limited big mistakes.  Flio wins overall group bets pool (somehow wins the longest hole out at 44ft! and takes dots with a 10 dot effort at Old Corkscrew).  Bates gets low round of trip at 75 at Vanderbilt (impressive given next best at Vanderbilt was 81).  Richards wins snake pool for least three putts (2).   

The biggest dagger of the weekend was when I drained an 18 foot birdie putt from the apron on the 18^th hole at Old Corkscrew for the Bates/Flio 1up win over Gargiulo/Richards.  This came right after Kyle missed a birdie bomb by inches.  You should have seen the look on everyone’s faces.  Disbelief!  Shock!  Excitement!

Hole in the Wall GC - Look at this place!!

Gargiulo was sweet swinging tempo most of the weekend, ripping drivers down the middle and over trees.  Bates would make hot runs and putted well considering he just gave up the belly putter.  Kyle was a master putter from inside 10 feet and was playing a fade?  I was just trying to take Bates money all weekend, even taking my shoes and socks off at the Hole in the Wall Golf Club to play from the bank of a pond, you ain’t getting me without a fight!  I hit some great iron shots, putted poorly, and showed touch in the bunkers (many dots hea!!).  

What a great time!  We had amazing weather, 80s and sunny everyday.  The golf courses would take too long to write about, but Hole in the Wall was the favorite (perfect, I mean perfect greens) followed by Old Corkscrew (great layout and challenge) and Fiddlers Creek (immaculate condition).  Vanderbilt, Boca Lago, and Wyndemere were all solid.  Each course had nice greens. 

No shoes and socks on!

It was just like old times at Bentley.  We didn't miss a beat and the game, competition, friendship is appreciated even more.

Gargiulo, hope to see you up north later this year! And congrats on the engagement and house!

Ready for warm weather in Boston,

Flio

Golf Channel Am Tour - Kiawah Island

March 13-15:  GCAmTour Kiawah Championship at Ocean Course and Turtle Point
Turtle Point: Par 72 - 6,526 yards (Round 1)
Ocean Course: Par 72 - 6,566 yards (Round 2)

My scores: 84-82 (Overall T17 of 178; Championship Division 13 of 26)

Kiawah Ocean Course Starter

My friend Gavin and I flew into Charleston, SC thru DC on Thursday evening.  We arrived in Charleston after midnight and by chance had a Wendy's right next to our hotel.  The fast food chain never tasted so good (the rare times when bad food choice = great decision is fun).  On Friday morning, we made the one hour drive to the infamous Kiawah Island, stopping along the way at a gem breakfast place called Sunrise Bistro, which had amazing open faced omeletes.

This was my first trip to Kiawah, host of the 2012 PGA Championship and location of the currently ranked #3 course you can play in the U.S. (the Ocean Course).  Given my background in Massachusetts and golf travels, this place had a mix of Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard, combined with the extravagance of a Waldorf Astoria.  The Sanctuary Hotel was to be marveled at, with ridiculously expensive interiors (wish I stayed there) and a steakhouse we couldn't get in because we didn't have the formal attire and the homes along the island spoke Wall Street Wall Street Wall Street.

Kiawah Ocean Course Driving Range

Well, we were here for the golf.  And the golf was something special.  The Ocean Course's putting green and driving range flanked the ocean, literally with bags of sand standing nearby to prepare for a beach reclamation project.  The caddies wore white jump suits, the back nine was one of the prettiest nines of golf I've ever played (can't believe the shots the pros have to hit from back tees, especially the 240 yard+ par-3 17th over water, I mean all water), and the greens were firm, fast, and many turtle back with shaved grass all around.  Wide fairways, no out of bounds, tightly bound grass that looks withered from the ocean salt (aka not perfect green grass),

very tricky greens.  When the wind blows here, its a bear of a course.  We had strong winds in the practice rounds that changed club selection by 2 clubs easily and calm during the tournament.  My caddie Dean was exceptional, great guy that lives in Charleston area with his wife.  His nephew is a rock star.

The other course we played was Turtle Point, a Jack Nicklaus redesign.  This course is New England like with similar grass (less grain), tree lined holes, tight, and not overly long.  Accuracy prevails over distance on most holes.  I really enjoyed this course.  Greens were excellent.  I saw my first 10 foot long alligator here.

My game was rusty as expected and I putted poorly.  6 doubles, 35 putts, and 38 putts are bad numbers.  Hitting 12 greens at the Ocean Course was encouraging.  I'm excited to build on this experience coming home to Boston.

I could see myself coming back here next year and spending a day in Charleston.  Would love to bring more friends and family.  The Southern lifestyle is attractive!  We avoided expected rain all weekend and temperatures reached the 70s on Sunday, the other days were between 50-65.

Thanks Gavin putting together most of the bookings for this trip.

Back to New England snow (100 inches plus this winter!)
Kurt

p.s. snow delayed our flight home on Sunday night (March 15!); we arrived in Boston close to 1am and everyone else too, as the cab line was 45 minutes long!

Season Finish Recap 2 - 3 events

This is a fun time of year when the tournament schedule shifts to team competition:

September 21, 2014: LGC Fall 2-Man
Course: Lexington GC
Scorecard: Par 71 - 6,100 yards
Best Ball - 1 Net Plus 1 Gross: 138 (T5)

Brief Recap: Mikey K and I teed it up with S. Keegan and D. Brennan.  We battled, but did not have our best.  Due to a scorecard mistake by my great friend S.Keegan, we were knocked out of the money.  Good day of golf and laughs.

October 4-5, 2014: LGC Member Member
Course: Lexington GC
Scorecard: Par 71 - 6,100 yards
Best Ball Net: 68-70 = 138 (T18)

Brief Recap: Todd K and I teed it up and played with Mannings (both Peters).  Todd and I have done very well together in the past, but this time was not going for us.  I did not hold up my end, making few gross birdies.  I shot gross 76-74.  Todd's game was not his typical play and he did not make as many net birdies.  We enjoyed the company of the Mannings and was good to catch up with Todd.

October 11-12, 2014: Norfolk County Four Ball
Course: Presidents GC
Scorecard: Par 70 - 5,800 yards
Best Ball Gross: 71-74 = 145 (T43)

Brief Recap: Mecke and I were first time teammates.  Under rainy and cold conditions (got called off course for 60+ minutes during round, it felt close to cancelling whole day), we pulled together a marginal Day 1.  On Day 2, we started on the tough #6 with a bogey, then I birdied #7.  We got to the 10th tee at even and then the wheels fell off.  We proceeded to go bogey, bogey, bogey, double, par, bogey, bogey, bogey on holes 10-17.  +8 thru 12 on best ball!  It was so bad.  Not sure what turned, but the flip switched "on" after 17.  On 18, I stuck a 9-iron to 6 inches and made birdie.  On 1, Mecke chipped in from short left of the green to front left pin for birdie.  We just missed birdie on 2 and 3 and then I birdied 4 and Mecke birdied 5 to go 4 under on last 6 holes and avoid the basement of the leaderboard!  Where was that all weekend!  Really enjoyed competing with Mecke and hope to do so again in the future.  Also, Alberico brothers are cool dudes.  My individual gross scores were 73-78.

Season Finish Recap 1 - 2 events

August 21, 2014 - Massachusetts Mid Amateur Qualifier
Course: Marlborough CC
Scorecard: Par 71 - 6,500 yards
Score: 83 (T43 of 80)

Brief Recap: I felt great about my game coming into this event and the results were very weak.  My energy level was so depleted, physically and mentally, which led to poor tee shots and I recall about seven three-putts!  It was so sluggish out there!  I grinded and couldn't pull it together.  It was great to enjoy dinner with my good friend C. Bates (he shot 80) and his Dad after the round.

September 13-14, 2014 - Dennis Four Ball
Course: Dennis Highlands GC
Scorecard: Par 71 - 6,464 yards
Best Ball Gross Scores: 69-69 = 138 (T9 of ~40 teams)

Brief Recap: M. Murphy and I had a solid showing against a very strong field, with USGA qualifiers and MGA champions.  We were happy with two rounds under par, especially on Day 2 when the winds were blowing hard.  One of my best birdies was Day 2 on Hole #7 Par 3, pin on right side of green and front, leaving little room to get to the hole.  I hit a 6 iron to 10 feet above pin.  Always a great weekend and well run tournament!  I've lost count, but we are probably over 7 consecutive years in this event.