Oct 15 - Seems the Flio family always has a good time playing in NH. We find courses are laid back, the energy is calm, and courses are not limited to restricted land areas. Today, the course was challenging yet fair, and staff was so welcoming. My friend Richie who I saw at the Norfolk invited my bro, my Dad, and I to play unaccompanied at his home club Abenaqui. We arrived to an upbeat, friendly, knowledgeable, pro in J. Sheerin. Mr. Sheerin is a very accomplished player with a PGA Championship under his belt and three US Senior Opens.
Weather was cloudy in the high 50s and we had the course generally to ourselves. The pro gave us the lowdown on the course with his notes and set us off on the first tee. Greens were smooth as butter, not fast, but hardly a bump. The fairways and rough were lush. Its a flat golf course with many scattered water hazards and small greens. We enjoyed the layout and loved the scene. We felt like we were playing at our own estate. Its so private it feels like a big backyard with massive homes nearby.
My ball striking was excellent, taking driver off many tees with no fear and attacking flags. I had three bogeys and two birdies to shoot 73. Almost holed out on the par 3 11th with a 5 iron, puree'd. My Dad came alive on the back nine, just missing bird on 15, birdieing 16 (the Dan Brown), and again closely missing on 17. My bro putted lights out, I swear making every putt in the 10-15 foot range. Not sure how he does it. If I did that, I'd be a player!
Its interesting that 17 and 18 provide a completely different design and feel, like you are in North Carolina. I guess these holes were built in the last 10 years after a micro blast destroyed prior holes. I would recommend this course to anyone who has the chance to play it. Fun layout. Great condition. Good staff. And thanks to the Abenaqui legend Richie for making this happen!
Play NH golf,
Kurt
Monday, October 21, 2013
Presies - Norfolk 2-Ball
Oct 12-13: Swen and Flio teamed up again (last time was 2011) at the Norfolk County 2-Ball. As usual, a very solid field of amateur players with lots of birdies to be made on a short layout, but some would say diabolical greens. The weather was excellent both days; sunny and in the mid to low 60s, wind a significant factor; typical of the elevated location in Quincy. The wind can add or subtract 2+ clubs to a shot at any given time.
Day 1: Score 68 (2 under). Started on #10. Play was very solid. Swen is mr. high energy and I'm loving it. He birdies 12 from off the back fridge, makes up and down from the left side of 15 for birdie, and hits an incredible shot on 14 from a willow tree (far right corner of fairway, just short of the water on tee ball). Swen drove it over the green on 3. I drove it to upper tier, leaving a 20 foot eagle putt; made the birdie. I birdied #1 with Driver, LW to front pin. I had a great driving and ball striking day, had 168, 185, 185 into 15,16, and 5 (failed to birdie each one!). Missed makeable putts on 14, 16, 18, 5, 7, and 9; 16 greens including 2 fringes; 72 with 38 putts. Solid performance (around Top 10 in field), felt 66 was easily achievable.
Day 2: Score 75 (+5). Energy weak. J. Burke show. We started on #18 in shotgun. Burke birdies #2, #3, and #5. Then on back nine, Burke goes off with birdie on #12 (chip in), birdie on #14 (stiff in two), eagle on #15 (7 feet on 2nd), birdie on #16 (long putt), and birdie on #17 (3 feet in two). His team shot 62 to finish in 5th place. One of the best performances I've personally seen in an amateur tournament We went birdie-less and watched Burke/Fitzgerald move up the leaderboard. My parents watched the last 8 holes. Slow round; about 6 hours. My ball striking was worse, but putting came through with sub 30 putts. Score 76.
62-59 won the event. Ridiculously great play. Look forward to the opportunity each year to make the final groups. As they say on TV, these guys are good!
My keys were energy conservation throughout with good nutrition, good visualization on where I wanted to land pitch and chip shots, and a longer, smoother tempo putting stroke. Great to see familiar faces; Parker, Stover, Falcuccis, Sharaf, Riley, Keegan, Brennan.
Great tourney.
To much more fall golf,
Kurt
1 Andy Drohen (The Ranch G.C.), Chris Congdon 62-59--121
2 Kevin Carey (Dennis Pines G.C.), Don Reycroft 63-63--126
3 Herbie Aikens (Pinehills C.C.), Matt Parziale 63-65--128
Michael Willock (Cohasset G.C.), Sean Crowley 63-65--128
5 Arthur Fitzgerald (Worcester C.C.), Jordan Burke 67-62--129
6 Brian Higgins (Franklin C.C.), Daniel Falcucci 65-66--131
7 Steve Neidermire (Thorny Lea G.C.), Greg Chalas 67-65--132
8 Chris Corey (Holden Hills C.C.), Mike Lemerise 67-66--133
9 Justin Sharaf (Meadow at Peabody), Mike McLaughlin 68-66--134
Frank Vana (Andover C.C.), RJ Foley 70-64--134
Dave McAdams (Gardner G.C.), Dylan Evans 66-68--134
T42 Kurt Flionis, Erik Swenson 68-75--143
Day 1: Score 68 (2 under). Started on #10. Play was very solid. Swen is mr. high energy and I'm loving it. He birdies 12 from off the back fridge, makes up and down from the left side of 15 for birdie, and hits an incredible shot on 14 from a willow tree (far right corner of fairway, just short of the water on tee ball). Swen drove it over the green on 3. I drove it to upper tier, leaving a 20 foot eagle putt; made the birdie. I birdied #1 with Driver, LW to front pin. I had a great driving and ball striking day, had 168, 185, 185 into 15,16, and 5 (failed to birdie each one!). Missed makeable putts on 14, 16, 18, 5, 7, and 9; 16 greens including 2 fringes; 72 with 38 putts. Solid performance (around Top 10 in field), felt 66 was easily achievable.
Day 2: Score 75 (+5). Energy weak. J. Burke show. We started on #18 in shotgun. Burke birdies #2, #3, and #5. Then on back nine, Burke goes off with birdie on #12 (chip in), birdie on #14 (stiff in two), eagle on #15 (7 feet on 2nd), birdie on #16 (long putt), and birdie on #17 (3 feet in two). His team shot 62 to finish in 5th place. One of the best performances I've personally seen in an amateur tournament We went birdie-less and watched Burke/Fitzgerald move up the leaderboard. My parents watched the last 8 holes. Slow round; about 6 hours. My ball striking was worse, but putting came through with sub 30 putts. Score 76.
62-59 won the event. Ridiculously great play. Look forward to the opportunity each year to make the final groups. As they say on TV, these guys are good!
My keys were energy conservation throughout with good nutrition, good visualization on where I wanted to land pitch and chip shots, and a longer, smoother tempo putting stroke. Great to see familiar faces; Parker, Stover, Falcuccis, Sharaf, Riley, Keegan, Brennan.
Great tourney.
To much more fall golf,
Kurt
1 Andy Drohen (The Ranch G.C.), Chris Congdon 62-59--121
2 Kevin Carey (Dennis Pines G.C.), Don Reycroft 63-63--126
3 Herbie Aikens (Pinehills C.C.), Matt Parziale 63-65--128
Michael Willock (Cohasset G.C.), Sean Crowley 63-65--128
5 Arthur Fitzgerald (Worcester C.C.), Jordan Burke 67-62--129
6 Brian Higgins (Franklin C.C.), Daniel Falcucci 65-66--131
7 Steve Neidermire (Thorny Lea G.C.), Greg Chalas 67-65--132
8 Chris Corey (Holden Hills C.C.), Mike Lemerise 67-66--133
9 Justin Sharaf (Meadow at Peabody), Mike McLaughlin 68-66--134
Frank Vana (Andover C.C.), RJ Foley 70-64--134
Dave McAdams (Gardner G.C.), Dylan Evans 66-68--134
T42 Kurt Flionis, Erik Swenson 68-75--143
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Member Member 2013
Oct 5-6: T. Keebaugh and I partnered up for the first time and shot 65-63 (-14) for a 2nd place finish in the best-ball net event. We had a great rhythm going over two days, helping each other on reading putts and only a few holes where we made bogeys. Day 1 - Temps were 60s and sunny. The greens were running close to 13. Kevin even changed the pins on 3 and 9 during the round because the putting was so difficult. I made a 40 foot birdie "putt in" on 3 before the pin was moved. Todd played excellent, carrying me most of the way to a 65. I did stick one on 18 to inches to finish our round. Did not take advantage of any of my three stroke holes. Day 2 - Weather was rough with rain all day. We started on 9. We played great. I birdied 13, 14, 16. I net birdied 4 and 9. Todd made a 3 net 2 on 7. 8 under par with one over total on the easy par 5 second and 11th. We thought the tournament might be ours given the weather, but Geldart and Taves stormed the course with a 60 to win by 4 shots. Keebaugh is a great guy and pleasure to compete with. Played with S. Keegan and C. Manning, defending champs.
Another great weekend at LGC.
To good people,
Kurt
Another great weekend at LGC.
To good people,
Kurt
Friday, October 11, 2013
Weekend Sept 28-29
Sept 28: Played at LGC with my brother, his colleague Alex, and Matty Champ. Alex plays out of Kernwood and he said Lex greens were the fastest he has ever played...a big statement coming from a Kernwood member. My bro told Matty he was going to see a 130 today; well after Derek made a par on #4 and was +4 thru 6, he was sandbagging his way along! Matty was just ripping it off the tee...Kaboom, probably the loudest sounding ball speed off the driver I've ever played with.
It was a nice, calm, quiet day at the club. Derek and I continued after a buffalo chicken lunch, playing 6 more holes. I went off with a 5iron and a putter. Derek played the first hole with his 4 iron and putter, then reverted to the full bag. Beautiful SW shot on #5 by my bro to recover after a poor tee shot, 45-50 yard shot to a front right pin, not easy coming from the right side. I played below average, but somehow won the best 15 holes competition. Matty paid for my entry too!
Sept 29: Fall 2-Man at LGC with my good friend J. Flanagan. It is a team score of best ball gross added to best ball net. The same player can be used for the gross and net score. We bring a good team given my low handicap and Flanagan's 18 handicap. We shot a total of 144, good for T4 and 4 shots off the winners M. Champagne and T. McDonough. We had a nice run at it. This was the beginning of a new relationship too. J. Flanagan, I look forward to next year. Keep up the great playing.
This was a 3 day weekend of golf. Can't beat it! Weather keeps on doing well.
Oh and this was my 100th blog post! Thanks to everyone who takes interest!
Take dead aim,
Kurt
It was a nice, calm, quiet day at the club. Derek and I continued after a buffalo chicken lunch, playing 6 more holes. I went off with a 5iron and a putter. Derek played the first hole with his 4 iron and putter, then reverted to the full bag. Beautiful SW shot on #5 by my bro to recover after a poor tee shot, 45-50 yard shot to a front right pin, not easy coming from the right side. I played below average, but somehow won the best 15 holes competition. Matty paid for my entry too!
Sept 29: Fall 2-Man at LGC with my good friend J. Flanagan. It is a team score of best ball gross added to best ball net. The same player can be used for the gross and net score. We bring a good team given my low handicap and Flanagan's 18 handicap. We shot a total of 144, good for T4 and 4 shots off the winners M. Champagne and T. McDonough. We had a nice run at it. This was the beginning of a new relationship too. J. Flanagan, I look forward to next year. Keep up the great playing.
This was a 3 day weekend of golf. Can't beat it! Weather keeps on doing well.
Oh and this was my 100th blog post! Thanks to everyone who takes interest!
Take dead aim,
Kurt
Sunday, October 6, 2013
LGC 1 Day Member Guest - An Epic Epic Finish
Sept 27 - The Bentley boys came to LGC; Bates, Kyle, and Teller. Its always a pleasure being on the golf course with these guys. Its bound to be a competitive, fun day and this lived up to it and more! Batesy's towering drives, Kyle's sling draw, and Teller's consistent irons.
A quick overview on the format: Best-ball 2 man teams (gross and net prizes). Given that I had three guests (some others in the field had 1 or 2 guests), I would be posting three scores; one with Bates, one with Kyle, and one with Teller.
Our goal was to win gross, nothing else. When we came to #16, I was the only player to make a birdie (I had three) in the group, so I was busting the guys to step it up. On 16, Kyle, Teller, and I made birdie and Bates goes 'i'm not going to waste one here, i'll get the next one'. On the par-3 17th, Bates sticks it for closest to the pin prize and makes birdie. Huge! This put Bates and I at 3 under gross. On the 18th fairway, I looked at Bates and said lets get one more. He knew exactly what I was talking about and where we stood. I hit my approach in the right greenside bunker and Bates left in short in the rough, not acceptable shots. My bunker shot was nice to about 6 feet. What does Bates do? He chips in!, in Larry Mize fashion...arms up and high fives all around. This was not an easy chip as he had to throw it out at least 6 feet to the right and have it curl right to left, rolling above the pin and coming in back door! We finish 4 under 67 and win gross by one shot!
Finished T3 with Teller at 66 net and T7 with Kyle at 67 net, both in the money. It was a winning day all around, especially for the fact that Teller and I gave Kyle and Bates a whippin. Batesy's birdie birdie finish only saved them from completely losing their shirts.
Other notes from the day:
A quick overview on the format: Best-ball 2 man teams (gross and net prizes). Given that I had three guests (some others in the field had 1 or 2 guests), I would be posting three scores; one with Bates, one with Kyle, and one with Teller.
Our goal was to win gross, nothing else. When we came to #16, I was the only player to make a birdie (I had three) in the group, so I was busting the guys to step it up. On 16, Kyle, Teller, and I made birdie and Bates goes 'i'm not going to waste one here, i'll get the next one'. On the par-3 17th, Bates sticks it for closest to the pin prize and makes birdie. Huge! This put Bates and I at 3 under gross. On the 18th fairway, I looked at Bates and said lets get one more. He knew exactly what I was talking about and where we stood. I hit my approach in the right greenside bunker and Bates left in short in the rough, not acceptable shots. My bunker shot was nice to about 6 feet. What does Bates do? He chips in!, in Larry Mize fashion...arms up and high fives all around. This was not an easy chip as he had to throw it out at least 6 feet to the right and have it curl right to left, rolling above the pin and coming in back door! We finish 4 under 67 and win gross by one shot!
Finished T3 with Teller at 66 net and T7 with Kyle at 67 net, both in the money. It was a winning day all around, especially for the fact that Teller and I gave Kyle and Bates a whippin. Batesy's birdie birdie finish only saved them from completely losing their shirts.
Other notes from the day:
- Fantastic weather, sunny and 70
- Greens were fastest all year at LGC, probably running at 13 and rolling beautiful; very easy to three putt, ask Teller
- I hit a banana hook on the first hole (bubba esque) with a 6 iron, blind to the green from approx 120 yards in the left treeline. Shot went to 20 feet for birdie on the back tier. Gallery included Geldart and Wilczewski.
- Other memorable shots I had: a greenside flop on 13 in front of the right bunker to a white right pin, minimal green to work with; right greenside bunker shot to a back middle pin on 18 (big sloping right to left), second shot swing up against the left trees on 15 that made the green from 80 yards (was able to swing almost full even though clubs was going through the pine), and a 45 foot birdie putt on 5 from right side of green to back middle pin. Building on my creative golf shots is satisfying.
Another memorable, winning day with the Bentley boys. We will have to do this again very soon.
Always enjoy your friends,
Flio
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