Yesterday, my Dad and I competed in the Winchester Father Son Tournament for the first time. Its the largest Father-Son tournament in the state with over 300 teams competing. The tournament takes place over three days, with each team competing on one day only. The format is selected drive alternate shot, with awards given to gross and net champions.
I'll tell you I was very excited about the opportunity to compete with my Dad on a championship golf course. What a great way to spend a Tuesday - no work and golf with my Dad!
We shot an 38 - 45 = 83 (+12) (Gross score).
Phew, it was a hot, humid day (90 degress +) and we came out swinging. Both of us hit solid drives off the first tee. We selected my Dad's drive, so I played the second shot from 120ish. My shot fell short and right of the green, about pin high. Then, my Dad chipped it to 10 feet and I missed the putt. An easy looking par became bogeyville. The second hole was a short par-5. I crushed my drive to within 185 of the green and then my Dad hit a nice hybrid shot to 20 feet. We were sitting pretty with an eagle opportunity. I aggressively hit the eagle putt by the hole 3 feet and then my Dad missed the birdie putt. How quickly the eagle became a par? Good ball striking and good opportunity went to waste. Unfortunately, that became the story of our day. We were real close to breaking through in this tournament and posting a great round. We had 6-three putts and 2 penalty strokes, pushing the score well up the charts. We will likely finish in the middle of the pack.
The hole of the day was probably the eighth hole, a daunting 420 yard par-4 with a narrow fairway and steep uphill approach to a blind green. My Dad hit a 280 yard missile down the middle and I hit a 6-iron right over the pin and GREEN (looked perfect until we walked up to the green and noticed nothing there). The chip shot remaining for my Dad had to come up over a hill and land to a pin at the bottom of a slope of a two tier green. My Dad hit a beautiful chip to 4 feet and I sunk the downhiller for par. Can't believe he made that chip. It was 8 level of difficulty on a scale of 1 to 10.
All things considered this tournament was a day to smile back on and good preparation for next week's MGA Father-Son event. Its going to be a lot of fun going out there again with my Dad. Our goal is to avoid big numbers and three putts!
We had a marker (scorer) named Steve (assistant pro at Winchester) that joined us in yesterday round. Steve was formerly an assistant at Meadow Brook CC in Reading, MA.
Enjoy the summer nights while they last
Cheers
KF
p.s.: treated my back with electrodes at 9am yesterday, it was nice, athletes have it made with the amount of physical treatment they get from trainers, physical therapists, etc.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Free and Easy
Last night, my Dad and I figured out some 'mental' things together to improve my approach to each golf shot and those ideas really clicked today. It went so well that my Dad called today's round 'free and easy'. I shot 70 (1 under) (two day total 147) with 3 birdies and 2 bogeys. I stand in 3rd place after two rounds, behind Peter Scully (143) and Rob Lynch (141). We have Monday - Friday off before completing the final two rounds.
Amazingly, I followed my own advice on how to win the club championship and completed a solid round w/ birdies, confidence, patience, and good putting (29 putts!).
The weather held up nice for the men's and women's club championship. In terms of average score, the field seemed to shoot higher today. Possibly due to higher wind speeds and fatigue, maybe? It was hot (felt like 90)!
SPECIAL THANKS to my wonderful friends Brandin and Tracy for coming to watch me. They certainly helped me will in some putts out there today, especially my 20 footer from above the pin on 16 to save par. It was the shot of the day to keep me at level par thru 16.
Next weekend will be a lot of fun. Don't anybody give up.
Be healthy and be happy this week
p.s.: Wednesday should be my first blog of a golf event outside of Lexington, stay tuned
Amazingly, I followed my own advice on how to win the club championship and completed a solid round w/ birdies, confidence, patience, and good putting (29 putts!).
The weather held up nice for the men's and women's club championship. In terms of average score, the field seemed to shoot higher today. Possibly due to higher wind speeds and fatigue, maybe? It was hot (felt like 90)!
SPECIAL THANKS to my wonderful friends Brandin and Tracy for coming to watch me. They certainly helped me will in some putts out there today, especially my 20 footer from above the pin on 16 to save par. It was the shot of the day to keep me at level par thru 16.
Next weekend will be a lot of fun. Don't anybody give up.
Be healthy and be happy this week
p.s.: Wednesday should be my first blog of a golf event outside of Lexington, stay tuned
Saturday, July 25, 2009
How to Win the Club Championship
I've been lucky enough to win the club championship three times in my short career, so I'd like to share my thoughts of what I believe are the keys to winning (in no particular order):
1) Patience
2) Good Putting
3) Confidence
4) Make Birdies
1) Patience - When I say patience, I mean you must not let mistakes carry over to the next shot in a 72 hole stroke event. Every shot counts as much as the one before and the one after. Don't get caught up if you leave an iron shot 10 yards short of the green or fly one over because the next shot is way more important in that it could save you par or better. If you let it carry over, you will be looking at double in no time. If you are struggling with your swing, try to return to something basic (alignment, grip pressure, initial takeaway of swing); then be realistic and execute the shots you feel comfortable with.
2) Good putting - It requires good practice prior to the tournament and it requires trust. The speed of the greens will be a little intimidating, but don't let this trick you into thinking that putting is more of a challenge. In fact it should be more fun. All you have to do is pick the line and trust it. Fast greens will reward a good putting stroke.
3) Confidence - Be prepared to deal with nerves and pressure shots. When the time comes to execute shots, you must believe in yourself. You must visualize the shot and let it happen. If you only visualize the one shot you want and nothing else, it will happen. Confidence is built over time prior to the tournament. When you get on the course, you show it off.
4) Make Birdies - All of us are going to make a fair share of bogeys, a few doubles, and maybe (hopefully not) greater than double. Therefore, birdies are necessary to offset over-par scores. I'm not saying you need to make 5 birdies per round. My number is 3+ per round. Not only does it boost your score, but it boosts your confidence!
These are my keys to winning the club championship. Every winner has a different story of how they got there and what worked for them. Last year, Lee Smith won with 75-75-75-75 = 300. Expect to go 295 or better to get it done.
p.s.: props to Kenny Collina for having fun no matter what he shoots, now thats a key to a good life!
p.p.s: I played my first round w/ Tim Diskin, Steve Potter, and TJ Lombardini, a pleasure of a group; we only made 3 birds between the four of us; ouch!; i finished 38-39= 77; struck the ball excellent, but i missed in the wrong spots; i sit here with confidence and look forward to my chance tomorrow to get back at the golf course; Rob Lynch shot 70 (-1)
1) Patience
2) Good Putting
3) Confidence
4) Make Birdies
1) Patience - When I say patience, I mean you must not let mistakes carry over to the next shot in a 72 hole stroke event. Every shot counts as much as the one before and the one after. Don't get caught up if you leave an iron shot 10 yards short of the green or fly one over because the next shot is way more important in that it could save you par or better. If you let it carry over, you will be looking at double in no time. If you are struggling with your swing, try to return to something basic (alignment, grip pressure, initial takeaway of swing); then be realistic and execute the shots you feel comfortable with.
2) Good putting - It requires good practice prior to the tournament and it requires trust. The speed of the greens will be a little intimidating, but don't let this trick you into thinking that putting is more of a challenge. In fact it should be more fun. All you have to do is pick the line and trust it. Fast greens will reward a good putting stroke.
3) Confidence - Be prepared to deal with nerves and pressure shots. When the time comes to execute shots, you must believe in yourself. You must visualize the shot and let it happen. If you only visualize the one shot you want and nothing else, it will happen. Confidence is built over time prior to the tournament. When you get on the course, you show it off.
4) Make Birdies - All of us are going to make a fair share of bogeys, a few doubles, and maybe (hopefully not) greater than double. Therefore, birdies are necessary to offset over-par scores. I'm not saying you need to make 5 birdies per round. My number is 3+ per round. Not only does it boost your score, but it boosts your confidence!
These are my keys to winning the club championship. Every winner has a different story of how they got there and what worked for them. Last year, Lee Smith won with 75-75-75-75 = 300. Expect to go 295 or better to get it done.
p.s.: props to Kenny Collina for having fun no matter what he shoots, now thats a key to a good life!
p.p.s: I played my first round w/ Tim Diskin, Steve Potter, and TJ Lombardini, a pleasure of a group; we only made 3 birds between the four of us; ouch!; i finished 38-39= 77; struck the ball excellent, but i missed in the wrong spots; i sit here with confidence and look forward to my chance tomorrow to get back at the golf course; Rob Lynch shot 70 (-1)
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Toast of Champagne
played a round with the Champagne brothers this weekend...Steve and Mike, got whopped by Steve, who shot 71, a very close run at Magliozzi's 69 for the Champagne's annual family shootout (note: steve made double on the 4th hole); my play was mediocre at best, got off to a poor start with a three putt on one and then went bogey, double, bogey, birdie, birdie to start the back nine (not consistent to say the least), finished with a 77 (+6)
one thing i know about myself is that pre-game preparation is very important to my success on the golf course, including a good sleep, good breakfast, good warmup, and good on course nutrition...i think it can be the difference between a 72 and a 77
other notes: spent some time with Dick Harding on the putting green this weekend, a legend at Lexington, he has 6 club championship titles; i don't know Dick that well but I certainly admire his love for the game - he still plays and he is in his 90s; i told him i'm chasing down his record (i believe that its the most in club history), also exchanged some short game tips with Dr. Yusah - practice shot of the weekend was the hybrid chip shot
This coming week will be quiet on the blog as I prepare for the club championship - A LOT OF R&R and short practice sessions
one thing i know about myself is that pre-game preparation is very important to my success on the golf course, including a good sleep, good breakfast, good warmup, and good on course nutrition...i think it can be the difference between a 72 and a 77
other notes: spent some time with Dick Harding on the putting green this weekend, a legend at Lexington, he has 6 club championship titles; i don't know Dick that well but I certainly admire his love for the game - he still plays and he is in his 90s; i told him i'm chasing down his record (i believe that its the most in club history), also exchanged some short game tips with Dr. Yusah - practice shot of the weekend was the hybrid chip shot
This coming week will be quiet on the blog as I prepare for the club championship - A LOT OF R&R and short practice sessions
Friday, July 17, 2009
Friday Night Lights
I'm really not sure where to go with this blog, Lexington GC was full of energy on this Friday night...the beer, wine, and food was flowing on the porch, bets were flying, and personal shots were taken (in a humorous way of course, we at LGC are all close)
I showed up to the course around 530 and managed to see a wide range of great events:
1) Matty C with a Super Stroke putter grip; if you know what this is, you'd be laughing in some way; Matt is working very hard to get rid of it by the club championship
2) Billy F mysteriously making his way around the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th holes, practicing golf or enjoying nature?
3) Scott C betting $20 on two separate bets with Brian K: 1) he would break 70 in at least one round of the club championship and 2) he will finish in the top 5 of the club championship; love the confidence, but you wouldn't catch me betting on myself in the club championship
4) Jack F and friends signing Ole Ole Ole Ole on the porch; yes, this really happened and more than once
Aside from the entertainment and laughter, there was some serious golf that preceded these events. It was the first Ryder Cup event in LGC history with Lexington High School defeating Arlington High School (graduates of all ages) 383 to 386 (team totals - 6 combined scores per team - included 9 holes net best ball and 9 holes net scramble). The low rounds per each respective team were for Lexington - Scott C and Pat H fired a 60 and Arlington - Peter S and Joe T fired 61.
In the middle of all this I managed to put in my practice time around the greens and on the course. The club championship is right around the corner. Everyone is talking about it. The hype it brings to the club just makes you love the tourny even more.
Can you believe Tiger Woods missed the cut at the British Open and Tom Watson and Mark Calcavecchia are 1st and 2nd? Say that again?
Passing out...cheers to the weekend
I showed up to the course around 530 and managed to see a wide range of great events:
1) Matty C with a Super Stroke putter grip; if you know what this is, you'd be laughing in some way; Matt is working very hard to get rid of it by the club championship
2) Billy F mysteriously making his way around the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th holes, practicing golf or enjoying nature?
3) Scott C betting $20 on two separate bets with Brian K: 1) he would break 70 in at least one round of the club championship and 2) he will finish in the top 5 of the club championship; love the confidence, but you wouldn't catch me betting on myself in the club championship
4) Jack F and friends signing Ole Ole Ole Ole on the porch; yes, this really happened and more than once
Aside from the entertainment and laughter, there was some serious golf that preceded these events. It was the first Ryder Cup event in LGC history with Lexington High School defeating Arlington High School (graduates of all ages) 383 to 386 (team totals - 6 combined scores per team - included 9 holes net best ball and 9 holes net scramble). The low rounds per each respective team were for Lexington - Scott C and Pat H fired a 60 and Arlington - Peter S and Joe T fired 61.
In the middle of all this I managed to put in my practice time around the greens and on the course. The club championship is right around the corner. Everyone is talking about it. The hype it brings to the club just makes you love the tourny even more.
Can you believe Tiger Woods missed the cut at the British Open and Tom Watson and Mark Calcavecchia are 1st and 2nd? Say that again?
Passing out...cheers to the weekend
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Controversy
we finished the final round at 11:15am; Mike and I threw in a 72 for a team total of 139; the second round format was the Chapman Format, too much work to describe here, but its simply a form of alternate shots, using 50% handicap of the higher handicap partner and 30% of lower handicap partner, its a solid format for the low handicap teams, our team score for the weekend was good for nothing this week...we lost again to our playing competitors, who fired a 67 and were in position for a runner-up finish!
today's highlight had nothing to do with golf per se, but it had to do with being able to drink alcohol before noon; the Keegans and multiple other members were denied alcohol prior to noon because of member compliant, are you serious!? i've never paid much attention to alcohol rules, one because i'm not a big drinker and two they don't really mean much to me...is this bush league or is this the 'lawfully correct move'? (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bush+league) I'm not too concerned, (i won't be researching the laws) but I don't think a member should be denied a drink on a Sunday at their home club, especially on Sunday at a major...wheres the freedom? the luxury? the celebration?
it stirred up some controversy...i'm not sure the new laws will stick
Caruso's appear to be repeat winners with a team total of 130 (12 under par)
I was criticized for a long blog entry yesterday....tried to shorten this one up
Great weekend at LGC; I'm looking forward to the Club Championship in two weeks, until then...be healthy and be happy
today's highlight had nothing to do with golf per se, but it had to do with being able to drink alcohol before noon; the Keegans and multiple other members were denied alcohol prior to noon because of member compliant, are you serious!? i've never paid much attention to alcohol rules, one because i'm not a big drinker and two they don't really mean much to me...is this bush league or is this the 'lawfully correct move'? (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bush+league) I'm not too concerned, (i won't be researching the laws) but I don't think a member should be denied a drink on a Sunday at their home club, especially on Sunday at a major...wheres the freedom? the luxury? the celebration?
it stirred up some controversy...i'm not sure the new laws will stick
Caruso's appear to be repeat winners with a team total of 130 (12 under par)
I was criticized for a long blog entry yesterday....tried to shorten this one up
Great weekend at LGC; I'm looking forward to the Club Championship in two weeks, until then...be healthy and be happy
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Mid Summer Classic
Round 1 of the Mid Summer Classic kicked off this morning at Lexington GC, one of the "Majors" at the club; its a 2-day event with 2-man teams, i consider it the second best tournament behind the Club Championship (begins July 25), the purest test of all at 72 holes of stroke play; anyhow, the tournament kicked off this morning at 7:16 am; i happened to be in the lead group, not my preference to have to set the alarm clock for 5:15am on a Saturday morning (thanks Steve Keegan!), today's format was best ball, 90% handicap...tough for us low handicappers,but who said good things come easy anyway?, lets go...bear with me on my first blog ever
I arrived at the club at approximately 6:35am to prepare for my opening round and the first person I see is defending champ Jim Caruso warming up with some chips around the practice green, how about that! no wonder the Caruso team is always geared up to play well; its a tournament that truly comes down to chipping, i experienced it first hand with my steady partner Mike 'Groundskeeper Willy' Keegan last year, when we lost in a chip off to the Caruso's; first thing i did after my stretching routine was to practicing chipping, you never know, it could happen again!
Mike and I were paired w/ Steve Keegan and Dan Brennan at 7:16am, a strong group of golfing talent; i always enjoy the competition and i was looking forward to playing with Steve and Dan because it'd be a while since we last played and I know they would give Mike and I a good pulse on the tournament competition
As usual, the field was filled with strong teams, many of whom I will not name here, but to name a few strong teams I saw on the grounds in the early am, included Bob "PGA" Green and his partner Steve Champagne, a guaranteed contender; of course the Carusos, Steve Tunney and Peter Brown, Jack and Tim McDonough and many more...
A testing golf course awaited the field, the greens running as fast as they have all year (probably 11 on the stimp...just a guess on my part), the rough is thick in many spots from all the rain; and to the players' benefit, the fairways remain wide and conditions were benign
Mike and I were coming off a win in 2007 and a playoff loss in 2008, but we are no guarantee to put on repeat performance in this field, especially after Day 1; we shot a 4-under 67 on a round of fair, unexciting golf, 2 gross birdies and 2 gross bogeys; our playing competitors Steve and Dan made up for our boring play with multiple chip ins, birdies from the woods, and a bogey (!) on the ever so simple looking, but tricky short par 4 16th; i often leave that hole shaking my head why i'm not at least skimming the hole every time for birdie! its only 280 to 290 yards and its a par 4. it proves that golf isn't about distance, its about execution; Steve and Dan ended up besting us with a 6-under 65 ; well done
Some other notable sightings: Peter Scully ripping driver off 10 in pro form (look out), Rob Lynch making his Mid Summer debut with Steve Jackson, and Peter Brown making a delicate putt from above the hole on 18! a crowd pleaser!
I can say I'm very happy about waking up early to kick off MY first MAJOR of the year, it was too hot later in the day (i'm always excited to play, i guess its just the pure thought of waking up at 515 that stings...Steve, thank you and I look forward to doing it again tomorrow morning)
Who is going to pull it out tomorrow? Mike and I are going to make a hard run at it. When I left at 1pm, the clubhouse leaders were at 63. Great shooting. Mike and I are coming after you tomorrow.
Keep it in the short grass.
I arrived at the club at approximately 6:35am to prepare for my opening round and the first person I see is defending champ Jim Caruso warming up with some chips around the practice green, how about that! no wonder the Caruso team is always geared up to play well; its a tournament that truly comes down to chipping, i experienced it first hand with my steady partner Mike 'Groundskeeper Willy' Keegan last year, when we lost in a chip off to the Caruso's; first thing i did after my stretching routine was to practicing chipping, you never know, it could happen again!
Mike and I were paired w/ Steve Keegan and Dan Brennan at 7:16am, a strong group of golfing talent; i always enjoy the competition and i was looking forward to playing with Steve and Dan because it'd be a while since we last played and I know they would give Mike and I a good pulse on the tournament competition
As usual, the field was filled with strong teams, many of whom I will not name here, but to name a few strong teams I saw on the grounds in the early am, included Bob "PGA" Green and his partner Steve Champagne, a guaranteed contender; of course the Carusos, Steve Tunney and Peter Brown, Jack and Tim McDonough and many more...
A testing golf course awaited the field, the greens running as fast as they have all year (probably 11 on the stimp...just a guess on my part), the rough is thick in many spots from all the rain; and to the players' benefit, the fairways remain wide and conditions were benign
Mike and I were coming off a win in 2007 and a playoff loss in 2008, but we are no guarantee to put on repeat performance in this field, especially after Day 1; we shot a 4-under 67 on a round of fair, unexciting golf, 2 gross birdies and 2 gross bogeys; our playing competitors Steve and Dan made up for our boring play with multiple chip ins, birdies from the woods, and a bogey (!) on the ever so simple looking, but tricky short par 4 16th; i often leave that hole shaking my head why i'm not at least skimming the hole every time for birdie! its only 280 to 290 yards and its a par 4. it proves that golf isn't about distance, its about execution; Steve and Dan ended up besting us with a 6-under 65 ; well done
Some other notable sightings: Peter Scully ripping driver off 10 in pro form (look out), Rob Lynch making his Mid Summer debut with Steve Jackson, and Peter Brown making a delicate putt from above the hole on 18! a crowd pleaser!
I can say I'm very happy about waking up early to kick off MY first MAJOR of the year, it was too hot later in the day (i'm always excited to play, i guess its just the pure thought of waking up at 515 that stings...Steve, thank you and I look forward to doing it again tomorrow morning)
Who is going to pull it out tomorrow? Mike and I are going to make a hard run at it. When I left at 1pm, the clubhouse leaders were at 63. Great shooting. Mike and I are coming after you tomorrow.
Keep it in the short grass.
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