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.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
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.
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.
LGC Club Championship - Rd 3 and Rd 4 - 5 time
Aug 2 - 3:
18 hole lead: 1 shot
36 hole lead: 2 shots
54 hole lead: 4 shots
Final: 2 shot victory
Scores: 69-78-74-76 = 297 (+13)
I won my 5th club championship, which I believe is one off tying the club record! It was no easy feat as I struggled in the final round. My 4 shot lead was cut to 1 within the first few holes. I never relinquished the lead and the tension was high as ever during the tournament. My championship moment when I truly felt like I was in a dream, everything around me was still and non-existent, as I made a hard swinging right to left 20 foot putt to save par on 16 (back right pin putting from crest of ridge). As I prepared to putt, I envisioned making a very similar putt years back when I previously won in front of friends (Brandin) and family and at that moment the meaning of the putt disappeared and it was laser focus on making a good putt. This penultimate putt came after my tee shot went into the trees on the 17th tee box, barely giving me enough room to punch out. It was an incredibly emotional hole, I was shaking after. I went on the win by 2 shots over S. Keegan and B. Douglass. Keegan and I played head to head the whole final round. He is a true competitor and a great friend. What a rush and I am honored again to have my Dad caddying for me again (and for all the victories!).
And to do it wire-to-wire is special. You go through so many ups and downs in 72 holes. My Dad and I are pushing and pulling so hard. From an almost flawless 69 in Round 1, to battling to shoot mid-70s tests resolve and determination. We drew on experience and teamwork. I'll leave it to an excerpt from Pacino to Any Given Sunday (I added golf),
"You find out life's this game of inches, so is football (golf). Because in either game - life or football (golf) - the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step (swing) too late or too early and you don't quite make it. One half second too slow, too fast and you don't quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They're in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team we fight for that inch. On this team we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when add up all those inches, that's gonna make the f*&king difference between winning and losing!"
As the golfers say on Tour, its culmination of a lot of work that puts you in a position to win. With a combination of skill, luck, and positive attitude, anything is possible.
Feeling grateful,
K
18 hole lead: 1 shot
36 hole lead: 2 shots
54 hole lead: 4 shots
Final: 2 shot victory
Scores: 69-78-74-76 = 297 (+13)
I won my 5th club championship, which I believe is one off tying the club record! It was no easy feat as I struggled in the final round. My 4 shot lead was cut to 1 within the first few holes. I never relinquished the lead and the tension was high as ever during the tournament. My championship moment when I truly felt like I was in a dream, everything around me was still and non-existent, as I made a hard swinging right to left 20 foot putt to save par on 16 (back right pin putting from crest of ridge). As I prepared to putt, I envisioned making a very similar putt years back when I previously won in front of friends (Brandin) and family and at that moment the meaning of the putt disappeared and it was laser focus on making a good putt. This penultimate putt came after my tee shot went into the trees on the 17th tee box, barely giving me enough room to punch out. It was an incredibly emotional hole, I was shaking after. I went on the win by 2 shots over S. Keegan and B. Douglass. Keegan and I played head to head the whole final round. He is a true competitor and a great friend. What a rush and I am honored again to have my Dad caddying for me again (and for all the victories!).
And to do it wire-to-wire is special. You go through so many ups and downs in 72 holes. My Dad and I are pushing and pulling so hard. From an almost flawless 69 in Round 1, to battling to shoot mid-70s tests resolve and determination. We drew on experience and teamwork. I'll leave it to an excerpt from Pacino to Any Given Sunday (I added golf),
"You find out life's this game of inches, so is football (golf). Because in either game - life or football (golf) - the margin for error is so small. I mean, one half a step (swing) too late or too early and you don't quite make it. One half second too slow, too fast and you don't quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They're in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team we fight for that inch. On this team we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when add up all those inches, that's gonna make the f*&king difference between winning and losing!"
As the golfers say on Tour, its culmination of a lot of work that puts you in a position to win. With a combination of skill, luck, and positive attitude, anything is possible.
Feeling grateful,
K
US Mid Amateur Qualifier - Southwick, MA
July 28 - Ranch GC - Par 72 - 7,174 yards
Score - 74 (T12 out of 60)
It was my third consecutive day of tournament golf! One day after a disappointing 78 in the second round of the LGC club championship, I had a chance to erase those thoughts. The day was humbling because I was expecting a wash out (forecast was scattered thunderstorms all day) and it made me realize how excited I was to play and fortunate to have these opportunities. My ride along the Mass Pike for 90+ miles included consistent, heavy rain, some torrential enough to ruin vision beyond a few yards. I pulled over in Charlton to call The Ranch about tee time status. The lady in the pro shop says, "On time, 8am off 10 and 1. Thanks."
What!? Okay? I thought in disbelief. When I pulled into the Ranch at 745am, there was no rain and partly sunny. It stayed that way all day! I took advantage making birdie on the Par 5 1st and then going out in 37. I was in the hunt with a strong back nine!
Bogeys at 11 and 12 set me back but I held strong and came in with 37. I battled all the way to the last putt. I missed the cut by 3 shots. I missed 8 putts inside 10 feet. It is a very fine line out here; if my putter was hot I was in. Great experience. Great golf course. My playing partners J. White and K. Harrington were fun to walk with. Me and K. Harrington talked a lot of hoops, given his bro is the former trainer of Kevin Durant!
Good luck to the qualifiers at Saucon Valley. I will be rooting for you.
Savor each experience (good or bad),
K
p.s. Reflecting on a confident mind set, more aggressive play on long 4s and par-5s.
Score - 74 (T12 out of 60)
It was my third consecutive day of tournament golf! One day after a disappointing 78 in the second round of the LGC club championship, I had a chance to erase those thoughts. The day was humbling because I was expecting a wash out (forecast was scattered thunderstorms all day) and it made me realize how excited I was to play and fortunate to have these opportunities. My ride along the Mass Pike for 90+ miles included consistent, heavy rain, some torrential enough to ruin vision beyond a few yards. I pulled over in Charlton to call The Ranch about tee time status. The lady in the pro shop says, "On time, 8am off 10 and 1. Thanks."
What!? Okay? I thought in disbelief. When I pulled into the Ranch at 745am, there was no rain and partly sunny. It stayed that way all day! I took advantage making birdie on the Par 5 1st and then going out in 37. I was in the hunt with a strong back nine!
Bogeys at 11 and 12 set me back but I held strong and came in with 37. I battled all the way to the last putt. I missed the cut by 3 shots. I missed 8 putts inside 10 feet. It is a very fine line out here; if my putter was hot I was in. Great experience. Great golf course. My playing partners J. White and K. Harrington were fun to walk with. Me and K. Harrington talked a lot of hoops, given his bro is the former trainer of Kevin Durant!
Good luck to the qualifiers at Saucon Valley. I will be rooting for you.
Savor each experience (good or bad),
K
p.s. Reflecting on a confident mind set, more aggressive play on long 4s and par-5s.
Monday, December 29, 2014
Club Championship at Lexington GC - Rounds 1 and 2
July 26 - 27: First two rounds of 72 hole gross stroke play tournament
Scores: 69-78 = 147
Someone (not close to me) recently said golf seemed very important to me and wished me good luck in the tournaments ahead. The LGC club championship has a different vibe and meaning to me than others because its "home." I go through a similar routine each year in preparation (e.g. sleep pattern, pre-round off-site routine).
In Round 1 and Round 2, it was disappointing to see that a few familiar faces were not playing; R. Lynch and L. Smith. I was paired with S. Keegan and J. Harding. My Dad was on the bag, a celebrity in his own right at LGC and not even a member. On the first hole, I scrambled from the rough on the far side of the right greenside bunker to a front left pin to save par. From there, I rolled along with three consecutive pars, bogeyed #5, birdied #6 and #7, and barely missed birdie at #8. On the back nine, I birdied #14, #16, and #18 to shoot 69! S. Keegan shot 70 including a 135 yard hole out on #9 for 3 and a 40 foot birdie on 18 from back fringe to middle pin. Two incredible shots! What a fun day. Weather as mid 70s and sunny. It was an easy, free flowing round for me. Good luck was spurred by my Dad's friends Maury and Tommy. Motto: To beat par; Result: 2up on par and 1st place by 1 shot
Day 2: I felt fantastic and was amped up. I came out with a shaky bogey on #1 (made a 12 footer); then went par, par, birdie. After that, the wheels started to loosen...4 bogeys over the next 5 due to bad tee shots on 5,6, and 7. I was still feeling confident at the turn, making a solid par at 10 and placed a perfect drive at #11; boom here we go. I proceeded to hit a 4-iron into the right fescue and made 7 :(. I was up and down the rest of the way for a 78. The golf course was interesting with the white tees back on #3 (par 4 - 450 yards) and blue tees on fifth tee box for hole #12 (par 4 - 485 yards). The 12th tee was an idea of a golf course architect who recently visited. I birdied #12 with a chip-in! Wish there were skins. It was the first birdie in LGC history on that hole. Overall the course was get-able and I felt solid so results were disappointing. Still, my lead was 2 shots.
Another heroic hole by S. Keegan on #10. After shanking his second shot into the right woods and declaring a lost ball, he stiffs his next shot and makes bogey. There was hard rain over the last 5.5 holes. We barely finished before conditions were deemed unplayable. The Ladies Club Championship had to cancel its final 18.
My take away after Round 2 was to not become overdefensive after a good round, push even more for a great score. Too much thinking of where not to be, then where I want to go.
Kurt
Scores: 69-78 = 147
Someone (not close to me) recently said golf seemed very important to me and wished me good luck in the tournaments ahead. The LGC club championship has a different vibe and meaning to me than others because its "home." I go through a similar routine each year in preparation (e.g. sleep pattern, pre-round off-site routine).
In Round 1 and Round 2, it was disappointing to see that a few familiar faces were not playing; R. Lynch and L. Smith. I was paired with S. Keegan and J. Harding. My Dad was on the bag, a celebrity in his own right at LGC and not even a member. On the first hole, I scrambled from the rough on the far side of the right greenside bunker to a front left pin to save par. From there, I rolled along with three consecutive pars, bogeyed #5, birdied #6 and #7, and barely missed birdie at #8. On the back nine, I birdied #14, #16, and #18 to shoot 69! S. Keegan shot 70 including a 135 yard hole out on #9 for 3 and a 40 foot birdie on 18 from back fringe to middle pin. Two incredible shots! What a fun day. Weather as mid 70s and sunny. It was an easy, free flowing round for me. Good luck was spurred by my Dad's friends Maury and Tommy. Motto: To beat par; Result: 2up on par and 1st place by 1 shot
Day 2: I felt fantastic and was amped up. I came out with a shaky bogey on #1 (made a 12 footer); then went par, par, birdie. After that, the wheels started to loosen...4 bogeys over the next 5 due to bad tee shots on 5,6, and 7. I was still feeling confident at the turn, making a solid par at 10 and placed a perfect drive at #11; boom here we go. I proceeded to hit a 4-iron into the right fescue and made 7 :(. I was up and down the rest of the way for a 78. The golf course was interesting with the white tees back on #3 (par 4 - 450 yards) and blue tees on fifth tee box for hole #12 (par 4 - 485 yards). The 12th tee was an idea of a golf course architect who recently visited. I birdied #12 with a chip-in! Wish there were skins. It was the first birdie in LGC history on that hole. Overall the course was get-able and I felt solid so results were disappointing. Still, my lead was 2 shots.
Another heroic hole by S. Keegan on #10. After shanking his second shot into the right woods and declaring a lost ball, he stiffs his next shot and makes bogey. There was hard rain over the last 5.5 holes. We barely finished before conditions were deemed unplayable. The Ladies Club Championship had to cancel its final 18.
My take away after Round 2 was to not become overdefensive after a good round, push even more for a great score. Too much thinking of where not to be, then where I want to go.
Kurt
US Amateur Qualifier - New York
July 14 - U.S. Amateur Qualifier at Trump National Golf Club Westchester - Briarcliff Manor, NY
Par 72 - 7,291 yards
Score - 80 (T44 of 83)
Typically I would not travel far for a qualifier but when I saw the opportunity to play Trump National I decided to make a mini trip (3 hour drive). I packed the bags, booked a Holiday Inn in Mt. Kisco, NY, enjoyed a Kobe steak at the Village Social Kitchen & Bar (excellent restaurant), and went cold turkey to a course with 154 slope and 78 rating!
I reserved a Trump caddy named Ricky from Miami. When I told him I never played the course, he looked at me like your "F*$*@?." Then he gave me a lesson on the greens, dropping balls in the best spots for me to learn pace and said we will get you around. Well, I came out smashing with par, birdie, par, par, and par. This course had every look off tees and approaches to greens; streams, ponds, major bunkers, ravines, out of bounds, and tree lined bowling alleys.
After a strong start, the rest of my round was up and down. I reached the 14th tee at +3, a number that would get me to the afternoon for sure. My tee shot was hit down the right tree line, along scattered trees, rough, and a drain, and we never found the ball! (caddy thinks it went down the major drain hole haha). I re-teed and made a double. That was the end of me. I shot 80 and missed the second 18 holes by 3 shots.
Taking a pro caddy was a huge plus because I never had to read a putt (thankfully because the greens were very tricky) and I didn't lift a finger on a range finder, borrowed the caddy's rain jacket, received accurate yardage adjustments on elevation changes, and spot on recommendation on what side of the hole to be on when approaching greens. If you are swinging well, this is a major advantage. My driver got erratic on the back nine which cost me any of this advantage. I played with 2 high schoolers, including C. Daly who was coming to Winchester the following week for the NE Amateur.
It was a superb day (mostly sunny and hot, a 15 minute hard rain on back nine) and experience. On the long drive home I realized it was somewhat fortunate I didn't make the cut because Round 2 got postponed due to rain until the next day and I have to work!
Treat yourself to a mini golf trip,
Kurt
Wyndham Cup
July 7 - Stepping off the golf course and returning to my world left me thinking many thoughts, both backward and forward looking. Backward looking, such as "I wish I was that age again," "why wasn't I that good at that age (and now haha)"; Forward looking in that I would use the feelings of inspiration, determination, and focus to continue improving my golf and other areas of my life. I did also leave with extreme admiration, some jealously, and feeling like I could be a parent and coach. Would it be fun to coach golf? In five plus hours at the AJGA Wyndham Cup hosted by Old Sandwich with the Top 12 high school boys and Top 12 high school girls from each coast of the U.S. competing Ryder Cup style over 3 days, I was fortunate enough to participate in the Pro-Am and was paired with an OS member as well J. Seiple (West Team - Colorado) and R. Dai (East Team - Atlanta). What amazing talents, but more importantly I held high respect for their maturity, attitude, and appreciation toward others. Not sure I will have this opportunity again, a special day!
p.s.: got smoked by Seiple from the back tees; if I had my "A" game I would have challenged his "C" game
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