WCA 2012 - Kettle Brook and Wachusett CC

June 30-July 1: Worcester County Amateur
Day 1: Mid-high 80s, sunny, and breezy at Kettle Brook GC.  At 6,912 yards from the tips, with a strong breeze, and large elevation changes, this course can play havoc.  Most of the holes seemed to be playing into the wind, even the 490 yard par-4 ninth.  Scores were much higher than last year, with 70 as the Round 1 low, compared to 65 last year.  I played with a Mr. 69 years old (W. Cosgrove), who brought his reliable caddie from Worcester CC, Randy.  He and I chatted briefly about the Celtics and didn't know KG would return (for 3 yrs!) until after the round.  We later joined up with J. Frew and H. Hough on the 12th tee because play was sooo slow.  We finished in 5 hours and 30+ minutes.  My golf swing was not comfortable at all, however, my short game was excellent.  I had 7 one putts and 30 putts overall.  I bogeyed 17 and 18 to shoot 77.  My adventure was extra fun today with Zully supporting me and driving the golf cart loaded with PBJs, bananas, cashews, and Lara Bars.  Her first time on the golf course!  If I had to pick a few things to characterize my great putting today, it would be a slow stroke and very good feel for the speed.  Birdies on 7 and 14, both par 5s.  Total putts: 30 (1 three putt); 2 birdies, 1 double, 5 bogeys, 10 pars

Day 2: Tee'd off with K. McCarthy (Harvard) and S. Neidermire (Thorny Lea); good group.  My ball striking was night and day compared to yesterday.  I hit my first 8 greens in regulation, 12 out of the first 14, 10 out of 14 fairways; made 9 straight pars (holes 2-10).  I was very confident off the tee; something about Wachusett fits my eye well.  These greens are some the trickiest I play during the summer; you can easily have an 8 footer and then have a return putt of 20 feet if not careful, one of my playing partners putted off the 13th green and had to chip back up to the pin.  I was +1 thru 14 and finished double, double, bogey, bogey to shoot 79.  37 putts (3 three putts); 2 birdies (#12, #14), 2 doubles, 5 bogeys, 9 pars.  I feel a took a lot of positives out of this weekend.  Today, I really saw that my swing can be great under pressure.  I was in the zone off the tee, picking a line and not even concerned about trouble, as I knew the tee ball wouldn't get far off line.  Great tempo.  Great vision on shots.  Relaxed grips, turn, release.

Both courses were in great shape.  Tricky pin placements on both days.  Wachusett CC greens were faster than Kettle Brook.

Happy 4th of July week,
Kurt

Final Results:
JAKE GREER 72 69 141
DEVIN BIBEAU 70 72 142
RICHARD   POWERS 77 69 146
RICKY   STIMETS 76 71 147
SAM RUSSELL 74 74 148
MATTHEW   LEGER 72 76 148
J.C. GUTHRIE 72 76 148
TAYLOR FONTAINE 76 73 149
JOSHUA   FARMER 76 73 149
BRIAN   HIGGINS 73 77 150
MICHAEL   MERTES 80 71 151
DANIEL   FALCUCCI 75 76 151
RJ FOLEY 75 76 151
DYLAN EVANS 75 76 151
ALEX DALEY 75 76 151
RYAN RILEY 72 79 151
FRANK VANA 78 74 152
CHRIS COREY 79 74 153
MICHAEL   HAGLOF 76 77 153
JEFFERY   SANTORA 75 78 153
STEPHEN   QUARTARONE 78 76 154
DAVID   FALCUCCI 76 78 154
ALEX BURY 79 76 155
BRIAN KELLY 76 79 155
HARRY HOUGH 76 79 155
THOMAS   HENDERSON 75 80 155
DAVID HOLMES 73 82 155
JIM RUSHIONI 81 75 156
TERRY DUNN 81 75 156
KURT FLIONIS 77 79 156

Mass Am Qualifier 2012 - Elmcrest

Felt great about my game coming into this one after a good ball striking round (74) at the Year UP Corporate Event at Weston GC on Monday.  My Dad and I woke up at 430am and made the 1 hr 45 min ride to East Longmeadow.  The weather was excellent, mid 70s and a mix of clouds and sun.  I teed off on 10 at 824am with my 3 wood down the right side into the rough, leaving only a sand-wedge shot to a front middle pin.  I made my best wedge swing of the day, knocking it right below the hole to 6 feet and drained the putt for birdie.  What a start!  I made bogeys on 12 and 13, missed a 3 foot birdie putt on 14, and then unfortunately doubled the par-5 15th after knocking a hybrid into an unplayable lie over the green.  +3 thru 6.  After the double, I felt I lost 4 shots in 2 holes.  The rest of the way I made a mix of pars and bogeys, then doubled 18 for a 78, 5 shots off the cut line.  My lag putting was excellent.  I made some awesome recovery punch shots from the woods, including a punch 5 iron to 6 feet from woods 100 yards out.  (missed the birdie putt :( ).  I left very disappointed because my swing is good right now and my putting is good.  The pressure still got to me on my many shots, just enough to miss greens, fairways, and chips.  That said, I did hit many good shots and continue to see improvement in my tournament play.  Golf course was in great shape.  My best swings continue to be those with a quiet lower body, relaxed shoulders, and a compact back swing.
Perseverance,
Kurt

Sherrill Cup 2012

June 6, 2012 - The "Big Four" were back, not to be confused with Celtics big four, determined to win the Sherrill Cup, a 36-hole competition against 24 other private clubs who send their best players.  The day before, Dan, Steve, Rob, and I played a practice round at Essex CC.  The Scottish starter sent us off at 3pm into what I call the 'field of dreams' of golf.  We had the whole place to ourselves.  The young guys won the match!  The shot of the day (and maybe year?) came from me on the par 3 11th.  I was a few yards short right of the green in the first cut of rough, the pin was about 7 paces on the front right, at the bottom of a severe right to left slope.  I say to the guys, 'watch this, Tiger Woods, (referencing Tiger's recent chip (high flop) in at the Memorial Tournament from a treacherous spot on 16)'.  I flopped it high into the air, carrying most of the slope and landing it a few feet to the right of the pin, it rolled and stopped on the edge.  Couldn't believe it, I paused watching and then started walking to the cup, when I got halfway it dropped in!!  Birdie 2, called it!

Okay, moving to tournament day, we teed off at 750am and 230pm with Pinebrook CC.  The weather was overall good, some showers in the morning and a fair wind.  Rob and I played both rounds together, with Lee S. and Andrew B. on the bags.  They were excellent!!  I played well, a few breaks off of the tee, birdied 14, and shot 78.  My only bad hole was 16, when I made double bogey from the 15th fairway; not a hard place to make par from.  That carried over to a poor bogey on 17, then parred 18.  I stumbled in, which was disappointing.  My other bogeys came from lack of up and downs or three putts.  Essex CC does not allow you any breaks around the greens, you have to study every putt, as you can easily leave yourself 5-10 footers all day for par.  Course was in phenomenal shape...greens were perfect.  It was wet from overnight rain and a lot of rain the previous days.

Rob had 78, Steve 78, and Dan 77.  We finished the morning at 311, 5th place and 9 off the lead.

In the afternoon, Rob took the odd holes and I had the even (alternate shot).  We started nicely with par on 1, bogey on 2, and par on 3.  When we got to 4, the wind was howling down wind, exact opposite as the morning when I hit hybrid (note: wind was exact opposite on every hole in the afternoon!).  I was debating between the 4-iron and hybrid.  I couldn't get myself to hit 4-iron on a 238 yard shot, even though short of the green is a very good spot to be.  I hit the hybrid, trying to take off some of the distance, and blocked it so far right in the fescue...LOST ball.  Rob played a nice iron to just short of the green and we made 6.  Two years in a row, this hole crushed us.  The good news was instead of falling apart, we bounced back quickly with an EAGLE on 5!  I hit a hybrid to 6 feet from 218 yards, dead into the wind.  Thank you thank you for making a shot!  It was a risk to go for it.  We parred through eight.  On nine, Rob hit his drive left off of the trees.  I had 215 yards to the green, needing to hit a draw to get in on.  I confidently swung a 4-iron, hitting the branches of a tree on the backswing (and downswing) and MISSED the golf ball, 3 inches above the ball.  WHAT THE HECK!  It became more laughable, then embarrassing.  Rob had to step up and follow that!  Calmly, he hit a nice shot greenside in the rough, and we got up and down for bogey!  Phew...bogey okay, but my confidence a bit shaken.

We birdied 11 and then had a mix of pars and bogeys, finishing at 77.  Two disappointing bogeys to finish on 17 and 18, after perfect drives.  Steve and Dan shot 80.

Afternoon total of 157.  Team Total of 468.  We finished 4th place, one shot out of third.

This is one of my favorite golf days of the year.  Love the course.  Love the team aspect.  Can't wait for next time.

Cheers,
Kurt

Norfolk County Classic 2012

Perfect day in the making - mid to high 70s, sunny, and minimal wind at Presidents GC, paired with good friends Swen and Dan B.  One thing about Presys, its always windy; today was the exception.  My preparation started well with a warmup at Granite Links GC.  I left there at 1155am, giving myself plenty of time to make my 1239pm tee time, since its only a 10 minute ride to the course.  Well, that changed in a hurry when I missed the exit coming back, got lost off the next exit, got back on 93 South and took the wrong exit again!  As I go towards the off ramp, breaklights lead to stand still traffic.  I was panicked because I was lost again and time was ticking to make my tee time...stand still at 1215pm and no idea where the course is from my location.  I put the car in park, jumped out, popped the trunk to grab my cell phone and then called 411.  I connected with the golf course and this guy Frank saved the day, staying on the phone with me until I got to the course.  After a few curse words and raised heart rates, I made it with time to spare, as the tee times were running 5 minutes late.

First tee shot with 3-wood went 50 yards right, almost into the 8th fairway.  I hit a nice second shot with a 6 iron (over the trees) to get back into the hole and then chipped in for birdie!!!  Parred #2 and then birdied #3!  -2 thru 3.  Finished the front bogey, par, par, bogey, bogey, and bogey.  36 out.

Back nine was not so friendly.  I doubled #10 after a flubbed chip, then hit three tee shots on 12 leading to an eight.  Actually a nice eight, I made a four on the third ball.  Never got in going again.  Shot 46 coming in.  Total 82.

Disappointing to end up the way I did.  I felt good with the swing.  Chipping was nice and rolled the putter well.  Still 4 three putts!  My mistakes around the green came from peeking too early and my poor tee shots on 12 were pure nerves. New irons felt good.  I think I'm gaining distance with them.  Three wood came up a few yards short of driving #11.

Focusing on the positive shots I hit out there - many good drives, putts, approaches, and bunker shots.  Best shot of the day was probably my 60 yard approach shot on #6 from a tight lie to 7 feet and made the putt to save par.

Hope to get in a number of rounds between now and the Mass Am!

Stats:
33 putts
3 fairways, 8 greens, 2 birdies, 1 triple, 2 doubles, 7 bogeys, 6 pars, 3 penalty shots (2 with distance)

See ya,
Kurt

Augusta National Trip

April 4, 2012 - Unexpectedly, I had the opportunity to purchase 4 tickets to the Wednesday practice round at the 2012 Masters, one of the most anticipated Masters tournament in years with all the top players in the world peaking at the right time. I stalled for a few days, should I spend the money and go or not?, then I finally stopped and reminded myself that there is no better time than the present and took the tickets! Myself, my brother, my Dad, and my best friend set our minds on a dream trip to August National, the sacred grounds almost every golfer wishes to see or play.

We packed up and headed to Charlotte on Tuesday, teeing it up as soon as we landed at The Golf Club at Ballantyne, a well maintained resort course. The greens were running about a 13 on the stimpmeter. The layout was straightforward, with not many holes that would cause an average player to shoot high numbers, typical of a resort layout. I enjoyed the course and would recommend it to anyone visiting the area...a great value at $60 for 18 holes with a cart. Charlotte golf is so much more affordable than Boston! All of us played pretty well. My brother was the most consistent I have ever seen him play with great touch around the greens and good tee shots. I had one of my best nine holes in a while, shooting 2 under 34 on the back nine, including 3 birdies and 1 bogey. I was very close to birdieing three other holes on the back. I shot 75.

After a nice evening of free beer and nachos at the hotel and a solid dinner at Mac's Speed Shop, we set our alarm clocks for 430am departure to Augusta. The excitement was so high! I couldn't believe we were on our way to Augusta. What would the event be like? Would it live up to the hype? How would the crowds be? Would we have time to get merchandise and see everything we wanted to? The ride in from Charlotte was smooth. We made one stop about 50 miles outside of Augusta at a McDonalds. It was 6am and after we walked in, two cars full of other Augusta bound fans came in. You could feel the energy, we were all on a dream mission.

As you get off the exit to Washington Street, immediately you start seeing people holding signs 'need tickets', 'buying and selling tickets'; then as you drive 1.5 miles down a main road with retail locations on both sides of the road, each retailer offers parking or has signs related to the golf tournament. We passed the Hooters where John Daly's motor home was set up to sell merchandise, sports illustrated had a party tent, ticket companies had tents. The FREE masters parking lot is a gigantic rolling field with stadium lighting, volunteers directing you exactly to your grass spot. From there, its walking distance to the entrance. No shuttles necessary!!

Walking into Augusta, was like a kid walking into Disney World for the first time. Thousands lined up at the gate waiting for the 8am opening. Hundreds and hundreds went through the mini merchandise building that is set up for spectators to get at before they enter the gates. We hit up both the mini merchandise and the large, department store like merchandise building inside the gates. Wow I spent money fast on shirts and other memorabilia!!

I think I could write a book on this experience. I am going to cut this short with a bullet point list of some key memories:

• You have no idea how beautiful this place is until you see it in person
• Driving range and practice facility is a dream for the practicer
• Every blade of grass is impeccable
• The hills on the golf course are very big, you can't really get the perspective on TV
• Augusta roars must be unbelievable, on a Wednesday 16 was loud and the stands weren't even half full...in person, i found it surprising how close 15 green, 16, and 17 tee are to each other...i now know what they mean when they say you can hear the roars almost everywhere on the course
• 12th hole is good as it gets and looks just like you see in the pictures, but even better
• Masters tournament operations knows how to run an event better than anyone I have ever seen - the concessions were immaculate and so efficient, same with the merchandise tent and bathrooms, all cables were underground, green gravel is used on certain edges of the grounds, tv towers were permanent fixtures, no corporate advertising allowed
• Buy your merchandise first thing and bring it back to your car, its worth an hour of your time
• Par 3 tournament was phenomenal, a pure party, fun-loving atmosphere where everybody is so laid back including the players...you really need to spend time here, more than we did, get there as soon as it starts and plant yourself near a green
• 16th hole water skipping tradition is worth seeing
• Rory McIlroy is the real deal
• You can't beat the price of food and drink, cost me $5 for a sandwich, lemonade, and cookie..beer was less than $4
• My Dad snuck us into the clubhouse area and we met Gary Player's wife and mingled around Nick Faldo, Brandt Snedeker, Stewart Cink, and many others
• We walked all 18 holes
• There is literally no rough worth a trouble for these players
• The pine trees are so tall it hurts to try to look up at the top
• The greens are way more undulating in person than on TV

The day following Augusta, we played at Springfield Golf Club in Fort Mill, SC. This is rated the hardest public golf course in the Charlotte area. A great layout. The greens are very firm, roll good, but speeds are inconsistent. The condition is fair, not well groomed, but you get good greens and a solid layout. The value was very good for $51 with a cart. Again, I recommend it! I actually liked the layout much better than Ballantyne. A local person recommended we try Edgewater next time, a Fuzzy Zoeller course - claimed to be best greens in the area. My brother and Dad played great golf, again both driving it beautifully and producing steady results. I shot an 82 and felt I played well for most of the day, a brutal course at 145 slope and 73 rating from the tips.

The memories are unforgettable this week! Thanks Dad, Derek, and Mike! I want to go back!

Happy 2012 season,

Kurt

Still playing

Its December 4 and the golfing weather remains very acceptable. It was 50 degrees and partly sunny. I played a course in Attleboro called Highlands CC, where PGA Tour player Jim Renner grew up and holds the course record. I did not challenge the course record, however I did manage to play decent for this time of year with Murphy, Ciombor, and Ciombor's Dad. Highlands CC is a nice, well-conditioned 9-hole track with small treacherous greens and challenging par-3s. The greens were in great shape. If would be a fun course to belong too if I lived in the area. It reminds me a bit of Lexington given that its a 9-hole course with what seems to be a more blue collared crowd.

The extended forecast calls for more good weather this week. Thank you Mother Nature!

Cheers,
Kurt

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