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

GUEST BLOG! - Successful Mass Mid Am Qualifier @ Concord Country Club

*The views and opinions expressed within this post are those of Kurt's caddy and do not necessarily reflect the views of the blog owner*

On Tuesday I took a day off from work to complete a milestone: caddying Kurt to a successful Mid-Am qualification for the third year in a row (as well as following it up with a second consecutive successful guest blog). As a mid-handicapper, I always enjoy being around Kurt and other elite amateurs so that I can soak up as many tips as possible. Fine, high-handicapper. For example, I learned Kurt's 3 golden rules to success at a big tournament:

1. Show up as early as humanly possible. You should be there 4 hours early if you can. Spend most of the time biting your nails and turning into a mannequin so that you have no nerves left by the time you tee off.

2. Call S. Keegan and ask for "Keegan's Notes". Hitting the ball down the middle and putting your 2nd shot on the green? That's old fashion, outdated golf. Without Keegan's notes, we wouldn't have known to tee off with a 4 iron hybrid on a 460 yard Par 4. We wouldn't have known that it was better to be in the big gully in front of the green than actually on the green.

3. Club down. You don't want to be seen taking a longer club for a shorter yardage. It lets your opponent know that you're weak. Came up short on that approach shot? Its okay...you were using an 8 iron from 170.

We started the day by hitting complementary balls at Concord's driving range. After Kurt hit a ground ball and sliced a few off of the driving range onto the 14th fairway, I began to worry that I may need to do something beyond simply carrying his bag. Luckily the guy hitting next to him had legs that looked like wooden telephone polls, had barely enough mobility to tee up his next ball, and consistently hit paper thin slice that made me confident that Kurt may have a chance after all.

We started on the 10th hole and Kurt began by playing it safe and hitting a hybrid...with a wicked slice into the woods. The starter almost fainted and yelled "good god" as the ball went about 140 yards and almost took a U-turn. After 4 holes, Kurt was 4 over par...and had already taken about 8 tee shots! If I had a nickel for every time I heard, "I'm going to hit a provisional...its a 3...".

On his 5th hole, something amazing happened. After debating whether he should hit a 3rd drive, we decided we would look for his first drive on the edge of the driving range among countless other range balls that people had sliced onto the 14th hole (mostly Kurt's shots from his morning session). If it wasn't for Concord CC's decision to use yellow range balls instead of white, we may have never found Kurt's ball buried in spinach next to a bunker. Picking the ball clean as he extracts nachos from an O'Sullivan's plate, Kurt stuck his 7 iron to about 5 feet. He then proceeded to sink the 5 foot birdie putt by aiming almost sideways to account for the undulation. 3 in!!! We're making a comeback!

This game is easy all of the sudden. Better follow up with 3 consecutive bogeys on the next 3 holes to make things a little more challenging. So we did...including on a 528 yard Par 5 where Kurt was 15 yards out in 2 shots. On his 9th hole--the 417 yard Par 4 18th, a switch finally flipped. A calm par...to the front nine we go...

Then the earthquake hit. Yes, the one you saw on the news. It was actually the result of Kurt's tee shot on 1. 300 yards in the air. Absolutely crushed. Just missed the birdie after a skillful flop shot...but pars are good at Concord CC from the black tees. The 436 yard Par 4 2nd hole? Easy par. The 455 yard Par 4 4th hole? Easy Par. The 437 yard Par 4 5th hole? Easy Par. We're on fire. After a miscue on that led to a double on 7 I sensed Kurt was about to write off his hot streak as a promising stretch that would be too little too late. On the 8th fairway, I told him to keep the wheels on as every shot may end up counting. He looked back at me with his "I just shot 100 buddy, what have you been smoking?" face. After a sweet par on 8, we made our way to the last hole...an 150 yard Par 3. Kurt hit his tee shot crisp but pushes it right...and then the golf gods took over. It hit the side of a hill and rolled to about 4 feet. As we were on the green reading the putt, a punkish looking player and his even more punkish looking caddy walked past me and asked us if "we were in the hunt". "What's the hunt?" I replied. 81. At this point I had no idea what Kurt's score was. I'm not sure if he did either, but he felt he was in the ballpark. All of the sudden he got the "oh crap I better hit this putt" look. Sinks the putt. A two! The old MGA guys hovering near the 9th green loved it.

After adding up the scores, we finished at 79. After a few more scores came in, it looked like we were heading for a 9 man playoff at 79 for a handful of spots. "If you shot 79, get over to the putting green or the range to warm up" was being heard throughout the patio. Kurt went over to the range and I stuck around to see what our next step was going to be. After the final groups came in and someone with a 79 inexplicably withdrew, all 79s were officially in and the two 80s were the alternates. The MGA team loved the simple math. I ran over to the range to let Kurt know...but not before messing with him and pretending we need to rush over to the first playoff hole. Although he starched his last hybrid on the range (as our dad would say...he also calls jeans dungarees), he looked relieved when I finally told him we could just take his clubs to the car and head home with a guaranteed spot in the final stage of the Mid-Am. He deserved it...Concord is a brutally challenging course and only 4 out of 65 people broke 75 (+5).

Kurt would like to thank the following people for helping him qualify for his third conesuctive Mid-Am. His caddy. Steve Keegan's notes (again). Mike Keegan's beard. All Lexington CC members for regressing to the point where a score of 320 might win you a club championship.

MGA Father Son @ Charter Oak

August 16 - Bright and early, 445am wake up call, blueberry gruel, cantaloupe, and collard greens at 5am, 530am pickup by my Dad, and 710am tee off at Charter Oak. My Dad and I were yawning a bit, but ready to take on the challenging 6,600 yard tournament layout. Charter Oak weaves through the woods with heavy elevation changes, undulating greens, large strategically placed bunkers, and long par-3s covered with hazards.

My Dad striped his first tee shot down the middle, showing no signs of nerves. He said he didn't remember hitting it, but it was solid! With the green light, I hit driver around the corner on the dogleg right par-5. My Dad then hit a nice hybrid to within 40 yards of the green. I pitched it to 7 feet and my Dad's birdie putt just edged by the hole. So close! Tap in par to start. We parred the next 5 holes with my Dad making a 12 footer on #2 and me making a 15 footer and 12 footer on #5 and #6. Even par through 6. We hadn't hit anything great, but kept our tee ball in play and made some clutch putts.

Then on #7, a 210 yard par-3 over water, we both hit our tee shots in the water. This turned into a double bogey and left us a bit deflated. We then had 3 putts on each of the next 4 holes. For the remainder of the round, our short game failed us and we shot 83 (39-44). We overreacted to our mistake on number 7. I think we really needed to bounce back with a par on 8, however, an ugly bogey from inside 100 yards set us into defensive play, losing our rhythm. On a positive note, we did make 2 sand saves on #6 and #12. And my Dad hit a nice, manufactured slice from the woods on 18, almost on to the green. (I put him in the woods - remember this is alternate shot)

The golf course played challenging, but fair. The weather turned out good, after 24 hours of heavy rainfall. Due to yesterday's rain, the course played long and we played preferred lies in our own fairway. We played with the Bohane's from South Shore CC and Olde Barnstable GC. Good guys.

I absolutely love this tournament. We have what it takes to post much lower. We left disappointed in our results, but grateful for the experience. Afterward, we watched the Murphys finish up and ate lunch together. Mike and I chatted about our excitement for the Dennis Four Ball and my upcoming trip to California. The four of us recapped our rounds, laughing at some of our silly mistakes. Great day!

Cheers to Father-Sons,
Kurt

P.S. congrats to STAG for its first earnings call in company history

Updates

Aug 6 @ Meadow Creek - finished at the top - my first time at this golf course and found it very challenging, i only hit driver once on the 6,500 yard layout...accuracy was at a premium, some very narrow intimidating tee shots, i recommend a visit if you are looking to practice hitting precision shots with distance control, course conditions were above average for a public track

Aug 11 @ Charter Oak - followed up a narrow, short golf course with a long, narrow, hilly golf course that is one of the toughest golf courses I have ever played...450 yard par-4s, playing 490 up hill with narrow, undulating greens...it was the practice round for next week's MGA Father Son, my Dad and I played with the St. Clair's...it was the best golf I have seen my Dad play, hitting beautiful hybrids tight on long par 4s and par 3s, chipping in for birdie and sticking a shot for birdie on the same hole (#6)! (we were playing two balls alternate shot), then flopping a magnificent lob wedge over a bunker to a tightly cut front pin on the 18th...excellent play and Happy Birthday Dad!

2011 Club Championship 3rd and 4th Rounds

I capped off a disappointing weekend with a crowd roaring birdie on the 18th hole. Putting from the middle right edge of the green to a back center pin, I played the 30+ foot putt 20+ feet plus to the right of the hole and watched it take the slope up and then turn left, travel sideways, and curl down into the hole. Draino!! The fellow members and I put our hands up in excitement I couldn't believe it! My Dad and I talked about the line, but then it was pure feel over the ball. I said thats for an 85! (actually ended up being for 84) After a brutal day of penalties and big numbers, it put a huge smile on my face and made my realize how much fun this tournament is. It brings many of the members and their families over to the club to support the players, socialize, and cheer on the contenders.

Rob Lynch hit a 4 foot putt to win by 1 shot over D. Rubin and S. Keegan on the 72nd hole. A dramatic and exciting finish.

I shot 79-84 over the weekend to finish 10th place, hampered by 3 triple bogeys and 4 double bogeys. All tournament I stood over most shots feeling uncomfortable with my setup. Its not a good feeling. I couldn't hit shots where I wanted. I battled to score through it, but it showed through in making big numbers. For example, I fought to be only 5 over through 16 holes in Round 3 (didn't feel like great shooting during the round, but afterward i found out it was very good playing relative to the field) and then proceeded to make triple on the shortest hole at LGC. You cannot make triples and expect to win this tournament.

Scores were high despite good weather all four rounds. Round 3 had some challenging wind, but nothing that should have sent scores as high as it did. The only pin that I thought was a bit tricked was the back left pin on 7 during the final round (right above the ridge and the apex between upslope and downslope). The rest of the course played fair. I would like to see the tee markers not put at the edge of the boxes. There is no room to setup behind the ball and go through an alignment routine.

Thanks to my Mom for watching me play the front nine on Sunday.

Great tournament! Nice work by the LGC groundscrew and staff!

Ciao,
Kurt