Turkey Shoot! Woburn CC

November 24 -Thanksgiving Day Turkey Shoot at Woburn CC! My brother played in it last year for the first time and he invited me to play this year. The event is a 9-hole scramble with an ABCD team. Each player's drive must be used once. You cannot make worse than a par. Also, you can make up to 4 birdie putts on a hole. For example, if you have a 5 footer for birdie and all team members make the putt, you score 4 under for the hole. Its a great format for the cold conditions and gives every team a chance if they have 1 or 2 good holes.

The atmosphere was even more fun than I expected. Barky (the golf pro) had a table set up near the first tee with bloody marys and shots of anisette! Players were tailgating in the parking lot with beer and cigarettes. I thought people were getting ready for the Pats game! It actually was a bunch of locals in jeans, red sox jackets, winter hats, winter gloves, hoodies, and work boots getting ready for a golf tournament. Who would have thought this has taken place for the last X number of year right down the street from my parent's home?? Where have I been?

My team started on the sixth hole. My partners (K. Winter, J. Gallagher and brother K. Gallagher) each shanked it right or pulled it left into the woods leaving me stranded. I striped a drive down the fairway, 60 yards from the pin, hit my approach to 7 feet (after my partners shanked or duffed their shots). None of us made the birdie putt. So, two good shots and we end up no better than anyone else in the field (because par is worst score you can get)! After many chances, we succeeded by making 3 under on the first hole. I hit a 7-iron approach to 4 feet. Then, I made a 15 footer for birdie on number 3 on Winter's approach shot from 100 yards. We finished 4 under, thinking that would put us in the running.

Who else was out there??.....

My brother and TC. They fired a solid 5 under to take home the Turkey Cup. Derek hit a 15 footer for birdie on the 2nd hole, the group's final hole of the day. A clutch performance by my brother and the former State High School champion went down. Should I return for a rematch?

I think so, but this time I hope I get my brother on my team!

Some other moments of note

-TC handing out 20 dollar bills to Derek after the round saying 'barky gave me extra, you made the winning birdie, so take some more money'

-Barky opening a bottle of goldschlager to take shots after the tournament finished

-My partner spilling beer all over myself. Still feeling the effects of a late night at the bar.

-Barky driving around the course with a bucket full of beers

By the way, the weather is great right now. I played 9 holes the next day with my Dad and 18 the following day at Lexington. It reached mid-60s on 11/26/11!

Looking forward to the next Shoot.

Congrats Derek!

Kurt

Bentley Boys Reunite at Norfolk County 4Ball

Oct 15-16, 2011 - Flio and Swen, former Bentley captains, made the unprecedented appearance at the Norfolk County Classic 4Ball at Presidents GC in Quincy, the 2-day best ball event that has drawn the best amateurs in the state since the late 1970s. This weekend's events brought nice fall weather in the mid-60s, but heavy winds, 20-30 mphs both days.

Let me tell you Swen came out like a seasoned professional birdieing the first two holes, 10 and 11. He knocked it stiff on 10 and then made a heroic birdie from the edge of the left woods on 11. If I didn't know the kid, I would think he was a full-time player. Great ball-striking all weekend. Swen made the birdies for the team and I held the fort down with a lot of pars.

First day, we shot 2 under 68. We played very well, despite no birdies on the par-5s and two three putt bogeys. Our game plan of consistent GIRs and decisive club decision off the tees led to a blast of a day. The wind was whipping. Both of us aimed 30-yards left of the pin on #4 and ended up right of the pin after good shots. On the par-5 15th, I smoked a 20 degree hybrid and it barely cleared 190 yards on my second shot. I normally hit the hybrid 240. It was a very satisfying round even though we felt a 65 was what we played to.

Day 2 brought many challenges. We bogeyed the first hole and never really got it going like we did in Round 1. The wind factor was more intense. On #3, I sent my drive so far right, it went to the far side of the 5th fairway. I had 128 yards to the flag and smoked an 8-iron. The shot ended up 20 yards shot of the pin. Yeah wind! I lost that battle. Swen birdied the 18th hole, making it an opening and closing birdie tournament. We shot 71. Oh yeah, we also played with J. Hynes, a real estate mogul in the Boston area who plays good golf and is a very down to earth person.

The winners were Riley-Diramio. And you know what? We were tied with them after Round 1. They shot a scorching 61 and won on the 3rd playoff hole. Unbelievable round 2.

Another great weekend. Here are the top results from the Presidents GC website.

1 Ryan Riley, Andrew Diramio 68-61—129*

*won on 3^rd Playoff Hole

Dan Falcucci, Brian Higgins 64-65--129

3 Frank Vana, RJ Foley 63-67--130

4 Mark O'Sullivan, Aengus McAllister 65-66--131

Andy Drohen, Ace Eaton 64-67--131

Doug Clapp, Bob Malcolm 64-67--131

7 Bernie Lynch, Michael Willock 66-66--132

8 Chris Congdon, Scott Congdon 67-66--133

Steve Bruce, Chris Tarrallo 69-64--133

10 Garrett Whitney, Doug Karo 67-67--134

Dave McAdams, Dylan Evans 66-68--134

28 John Mazzocca, J.B. Randall 70-69--139

Kurt Flionis, Erik Swenson 68-71--139

80 John Hurley, John Sassi 82-78--161
81 Murt Naughton, Ollie Murray 84-77--161

Lex Member Member

Oct 1-2: Lynch and I teamed up for the LGC Member-Member, a best ball 90% handicap competition. Rob was getting 0 and I was getting 3. We shot 67-69 to finish well off the pace. The winning total was 123 by Volpicelli and D. Brickman. The weather held up okay over both days and we played with the Keegan brothers. Overall, it was a very fun tournament. As low handicaps, we had almost no room for errors. We didn't make enough birdies to have a chance, but we competed and we will be back again!

Top 10 shots in California

1. PGA West - Stadium Course: Round 3 of Nationals - Hole #4 Par 3 - 128 yards (to pin) - I hit a 9-iron to 1/16th of an inch. It landed a foot in front of the hole, bounced two feet by, and spun back stopping on the lip of the cup. Even better, my Dad was standing greenside watching the whole thing! If that went in, I would have pocketed at least $1k in skins and prize money.

2. PGA West - Stadium Course: Round 3 of Nationals - Hole #14 Par 4 - 372 yards - I hit my drive into a fairway bunker that runs the whole right side of the fairway, leaving me 200 yards to a blind green. The bunker was below green level, requiring me to walk down a flight of stairs to get to my ball. I puree'd a 4-iron to 8 feet below the hole, the ball flight was on a string and the compression was PGA tour caliber.

3. PGA West - Stadium Course: Round 3 of Nationals - Hole #18 Par 4 - 439 yards - On the tee shot, water runs the entire left side of the hole to the green. Its complete risk and reward. How much do you want to cut off? I picked out a bunker over the corner and ripped my best drive of the day, down the middle, settling 120 yards from the green. The long-drive champion only edged me by 10 yards.

4. PGA West - Nicklaus Course: Round 4 of Nationals - Hole #11 Par 5 - 490 yards - I lied two in a large greenside bunker to the rightside of the green. It was a 35 yard bunker shot with 25 yards of bunker to carry. I kept the face slightly open, much closer to square than normal and pinched it perfectly, landing 10 feet below to the hole taking two hops and stopping within 4 feet of the hole. I attribute a successful shot to practice my long bunker play in morning warm-ups.

5. La Quinta Mountain: Round 1 of Nationals - Hole #15 Par 5 - 517 yards - I lied one in the middle of the fairway, 206 yards to the pin. The green was tucked inside the mountains (literally surrounded by rocks behind and to the right as well as a bunkered on the same sides. I starched a 4-iron, starting at the left side of the green and fading to the center. It landed on the green and rolled to 25 feet for eagle.

6. La Quinta Mountain: Round 1 of Nationals - Hole #4 Par 5 - 508 yards - I blasted my driver down the left side, a very aggressive line. It stopped in the fairway, only 200 yards from the green. Ball flight was great, a soaring drive!

7. Putting - I had 27 one putts and 1 three putt throughout the tournament. I drained a number of 10-15 footers for par and rarely missed a putt inside 5 feet. The best greens were Stadium Course and my best putting change on the week was no practice strokes inside 15 feet.

8. Silverrock Resort - Final Day of Trip - Hole #18 Par 5 - 520 yards. My Dad lies two from 120 yards into a heavy breeze over water. He flushes a shot to 10 feet below the hole and drains the putt to finish the trip with a birdie!! The perfect ending and classic story that leads a golfer back for more.

9. La Quinta Mountain Course: Round 1 of Nationals - Hole #14 Par 4 - 389 yards. After hitting a drive that I thought was in the mountains (to my relief in was in the fairway, a deceiving view from tee) and blowing my approach long left (again thought in was in the mountains, but happened to be a large collection area), I was left with a delicate flop shot downhill to a narrow strip of the green. With soft hands and nice touch, I lofted a chip (w/ 60 degree wedge) up quickly and got it to stop after a few bounces to within inches of the cup. Tap in!

10. PGA West - Stadium Course: Practice Round - Hole #5 Par 5 - 514 yards - I had 235 yards left to the green on my second shot to a peninsula green. Water was protecting all up the right side on the green. There was bailout area to the left, but it was covered with large mounds and bunkers. I hit a high fade with my 20 degree hybrid that landed on the front edge of the left side of the green and rolled to the center, leaving a 25 foot eagle putt. This was all done to the amazement of the attractive cart girl, who was told by my playing partner from FL to watch this shot!

Yes yes yes to shot visualization...see it and do it,

Kurt

Golf Channel Am Tour National Championship at La Quinta, CA

Sept 24-27: My Dad and I traveled from Boston to Long Beach, CA and then drove 2 hours to the desert city of La Quinta, CA to participate in the Golf Channel Am Tour National Championship. The tournament included 575 participants from all over the United States and Canada. It included former pro baseball players Mark Mulder and Orlando 'El Duque' Hernandez. It was attended by Golf Channel's own Charlie Rymer, Jason Sobel, Win McMurry, and Todd Smith (all pictured to the right). Needless to say, Win was the most popular guest. I think you can understand why! My expectations were exceeded over the entire week, including 72 holes on exceptional golf courses with unlimited access to practice facilities, nightly events, gift packs, professionally run tournament scoring from scoring to pairings to rulings, great resort, constant assistant from staff, easy access to information and scheduling, and much appreciation from the Golf Channel for our participation.

It was a 72 hole event at 4 different courses: La Quinta Mountain, PGA West Norman, Nicklaus, and Pete Dye Stadium. I shot 75-79-79-79 to finish tied for 32nd. The winner was a 4-day total of 2 under par. It was an amazing experience to play 4 straight days at 4 different golf courses, each having different challenges from deep rough to treacherous fairway bunkers to desert hard pan to fescue to island greens to fast and firm greens. You had to adjust your game slightly for each course. Also, add in temperatures between 100-109 degrees all week! We constantly were drinking water and applying cold towels to our faces.

My Dad walked the golf course everyday in this heat. No feat was matched by any other. Caddies were not allowed to drive in carts. We arrived two days early and played practice rounds at La Quinta and Stadium. Then, on the day after the tournament we played Silverrock Resort, home of the Bob Hope Classic 2008-2011. We dined and enjoyed the resort pools in between rounds. La Quinta Resort is an exceptional place with over 40 pools, nice restaurants, spa, tennis, etc. They even have a separate "over 21 pool" for those that like to party spring break style.

I played golf and made friends with people from Florida, Venezuela, New Mexico, Bahamas, NJ, Iowa, California, Washington, and South Africa. These people ranged from navy divers to auto dealership managers to pure drinkers! All were a pleasure to play with, including one of the long drive champions during the week's event. He hit it 360 yards!

One guy thought my Dad was from Australia with his accent. Another thought he had the best Boston accent ever. Another thought he was my brother. Many people thought I was younger than my age and got a lot of comments about my long hair. I spoke Spanish at the on-site Mexican restaurant. We woke up every morning to the coffee market on site with coffee, smoothies, bran muffins, and yogurt parfaits. It was an unforgettable experience. I recommend it to anyone who has the chance to compete in the National Championship. The competition is strong, its very social, and the location was top shelf.

Top 10 shots from trip are coming next

Swing Free!

Kurt

Dennis Four Ball !

Sept 17-18, 2011 - Murph and I made our annual trip to the Mullen household in Dennis to compete in the Dennis Four Ball. We drove through the Friday 5pm traffic from Boston and arrived to the house around 7pm, had dinner at Lost Dog Pub. Excellent greek pizza, sesame chicken, boneless buffalo wings, and Guinness. We even liked it so much that we ordered the pizza on Saturday night for the FSU-Oklahoma game.

During the two days, we made homemade baked nachos, walked the beach, created a fire, and played 36 holes of tournament golf. My good buddy, Porter, came to watch us on Saturday with the Brockton boys. One of em said after a crappy shot on the last hole, 'the first guy I see in the bar I am going to punch him in the face.' Albeit a joke, this 6'5" 270 lb guy had likely been in a few melees in his day. Porter bought the guy a beer right away to make sure he was on his good side. We had an awesome time. The other Brockton guy played 5 years of minor league baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays before getting injured. Lots of laugh were had at the bar after the round.

Mike and I played really well in Round 1. We missed a bunch of makeable birdies, but still ended up at 2 under par 69 (4 birds, 2 bogeys). Tied for 11th going into the final round. We closed with a 76 in Round 2 to fall well out of contention. It was a bad day for us, only making one birdie.

As usual, one of the best weekends of the year. Weather was sunny and partly cloudy in the low-to-mid 60s. Winds were relevant both days, especially Round 2, gusting 20mph+.

Good times,

Kurt

2011 Mid Amateur Finals

Sept 13-14: Result = MC

The championship took place at Pocasset Golf Club. Let me tell you, this golf course is exceptional for its condition, layout, and general atmosphere. It is a fair length at 6,600 yards from the tips with forgiving fairways. The greens protect themselves well with tricky, yet subtle slopes and are guarded by bunkers, false fronts, elevation changes, and fescue. All of these attributes play fair. The fescue is generally thin enough to find your ball and play it out safely. There is a mix of short and long par-3s, easy and challenging 4s, reachable par-5s, doglegs, uphills, downhills, you name it they have it. You feel like you can make birdie on almost every hole. At the same time, bogey or worse is only one miss away. It tempts you be aggressive when conservative is the better play.

We had warm sunny weather for the first two rounds (80s). Winds were a factor in both the afternoon (rd 1) and morning (rd 2) rounds I had. Gusts probably 20+ mphs. It didn't bother me mentally, but it certainly bothered my golf ball!! I kept the ball in play for 36 holes, but my lack of sharp ball striking left me standing over a plethora of par putts in the 6-12 foot range. I didn't see the lines and/or feel the speeds on the greens all week, tallying up an astounding 75 putts in 2 days.

My Dad caddied Round 1 and my Mom walked with us. The best part of the week. We had a dinner at a local joint in Pocasset with the thickest spinach dip ever and a pizza with the most buffalo sauce ever (my Dad's least favorite sauce).

I spent one night at the Holiday Inn in Falmouth watching America's Got Talent and other random TV shows. I also enjoyed lunch on the Cape Cod Canal during my practice round. I am starting to make more friends out on the MGA circuit that I hope to continue to see in the future. Played with S. Andrews (M. Murphy look-a-like) from Thomson and J. Powers (M. Stanley look-a-like) from Olde Scotland. I enjoyed their company.

My scores are too ugly to note. I was a bogey machine. The good news is there is so much ahead and many good scores to come.

Cheers,
Kurt