June 7 - Today was a Golf Channel Am Tour event at Lake Winnipesaukee GC in New Hampshire. A one day 18 hole scratch event. When I saw this on this schedule, I made it a point to get here. I played it in 2013 with my friends on our annual Sunday River trip and loved it. This course meanders through the woods, up and down significant elevation changes, with holes cut in many different shapes and it demands good placement off the tee and a solid short game. The weather was excellent, sunny and 70s; course conditions were solid (especially given most courses struggled from a harsh winter); greens were not running fast but rolled well.
My ball striking/putting led me to a 74 (+2) and a seven shot victory. I hit 12 greens and 10 fairways. Aside from two three putts, my putting remained hot. I drained multiple putts over 15 feet, including a 35 foot birdie putt on the par 3 4th hole. I was 2 under through 8 holes then had a hiccup mid-round with a 4 over stretch on holes 9-12.
The first hole is memorable to me. With over a 100 foot drop from the tee to green, I drove the green last year from 340 yards. This year, the tee was set up at 380 yards. I like to think I can it far, but no chance reaching it this year. I decided to hit driver anyway and got to about 45 yards away. I pitched it to 10 feet and rolled in the birdie! (Note, one of my playing partners drove it greenside...kid was crushing the ball all day, but had difficulty keeping the ball in play...he withdrew mid-round given the struggles; hitting it long without some accuracy is not a good formula; if he straightens it out, than potential is high)
My fellow competitor G. Barton and I commuted from Charlestown together and shared a lot of golf and business stories. G, I hope to see you at a future event soon and maybe Kiawah next year!
Play aggressively smart,
K
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
2014 Sherrill Cup
June 4 - The annual Sherrill Cup at Essex County Club lived up to its usual greatness - excellent golf course conditions, good food all day long, high level but friendly competition, and great tournament staff. A couple of different highlights this year included a new tee box on the 16th hole (perched about 50 feet high and I'd say added 30 yards to the hole), less fescue!, my best club caddy yet in S. McLean (read every putt well), and my morning and afternoon partner was S. Keegan (recent years have been with R.Lynch). We played with Concord CC throughout the day; good group of guys that manage to play well while enjoying multiple beverages! I couldn't do that for sure. Hope to set up a Concord-Lex Battle someday in the near future.
Team LGC - myself, S. Keegan, R. Lynch, and S. Geldart couldn't quite break through in the afternoon; always difficult to stay steady through 18 holes alternate shot. I generally find we have one, bad 4 hole stretch, that loses us 4 or 5 shots. We finished T6 at 466. The winning team of Old Sandwich won by 6 shots. The weather forecast was very bleak coming into the day, with heavy rain expected. Fortunately, there was only minor rain before 9am and than a few showers in the afternoon round that were gone in less than 10 minutes. During that 10 mins of heavy rain, Steve and I made a disappointing 7 on the second hole; consecutive chips that rolled back to our feet above the greenside bunker. I think the 2nd green is one of the hardest on the course given it falls off on both the back and front.
In my morning round, my putter remained pretty hot. I had one three putt and 30 putts overall. I made long putts (over 10 feet) on 18, 3, 5, and 8. My most adventurous hole was 18. I hit a driver, right, into the fescue. I had a decent lie, but it was downhill and ball above my feet. I foolishly (in hindsight) slashed a PW and the club was grabbed shooting the ball left and low. It cleared the front stream (about 25 yards shot of green) by inches. I hit a poor chip to 30 feet above the pin and drained the putt for par! I got away with par, but double would have easily been in play 8 out of 10 times with that strategy. It was my 'no reason to complain for the rest of the round' shot of the day.
My Dad walked the morning 18 with us. His first time seeing the entire Essex course! Thanks Dad!
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Team LGC - myself, S. Keegan, R. Lynch, and S. Geldart couldn't quite break through in the afternoon; always difficult to stay steady through 18 holes alternate shot. I generally find we have one, bad 4 hole stretch, that loses us 4 or 5 shots. We finished T6 at 466. The winning team of Old Sandwich won by 6 shots. The weather forecast was very bleak coming into the day, with heavy rain expected. Fortunately, there was only minor rain before 9am and than a few showers in the afternoon round that were gone in less than 10 minutes. During that 10 mins of heavy rain, Steve and I made a disappointing 7 on the second hole; consecutive chips that rolled back to our feet above the greenside bunker. I think the 2nd green is one of the hardest on the course given it falls off on both the back and front.
In my morning round, my putter remained pretty hot. I had one three putt and 30 putts overall. I made long putts (over 10 feet) on 18, 3, 5, and 8. My most adventurous hole was 18. I hit a driver, right, into the fescue. I had a decent lie, but it was downhill and ball above my feet. I foolishly (in hindsight) slashed a PW and the club was grabbed shooting the ball left and low. It cleared the front stream (about 25 yards shot of green) by inches. I hit a poor chip to 30 feet above the pin and drained the putt for par! I got away with par, but double would have easily been in play 8 out of 10 times with that strategy. It was my 'no reason to complain for the rest of the round' shot of the day.
My Dad walked the morning 18 with us. His first time seeing the entire Essex course! Thanks Dad!
50th Annual Hornblower Memorial - Putting Display
May 30-31: A bit to my surprise, I was accepted to play in the 50th annual Hornblower! It has been at least 5 years since I tried to play in the event. What was I thinking!? This event is top-notch. The field attracts the best amateurs in the state, top ranked collegiate team players, and out-of-state competitors. You see school bags from Texas, Wake Forest, UConn as well as Mass Amateur champions. Golf course is fantastic with greens that will drain all your energy and focus. At 6,300 yards, you think the course will be very scorable, but it plays long with only one par-5 (par-69). We had warm weather with healthy winds and the winning score was +5! Not a single player in over 150 rounds played in two days broke par!
My goal coming in was to make the cut. I made the cut and I finished T19! This is one of my top amateur finishes and I can't wait to come back. My ball striking was okay, but my putting was pro-like. Over the two days, I had 58 putts including 27 putts on Day 2. The way I was putting on Day 2 I should have shot par. I made putts of 10ft, 15,7,12,8,15,16,10. I stood over every putt thinking I could make. I'm not sure the reason, but I attribute a lot of it to taking time to practice on the putting green after Round 1. When you play greens this slick, you have to find such a fine tuned rhythm that gives you full confidence in your ability to match speed and break. I got it and the hole looked like a bucket.
Good to see J. Burke and good to see fellow Bentley players A. Jeffers and J. Stoddard finish near the top of the leaderboard. Bentley represented well !
Thanks to my Dad for caddying on Day 1. Can't wait for next year! Below are pictures of random scores, a flag they had all the participants sign, and Top 20 scores. Cut after Day 1 was 76.
My goal coming in was to make the cut. I made the cut and I finished T19! This is one of my top amateur finishes and I can't wait to come back. My ball striking was okay, but my putting was pro-like. Over the two days, I had 58 putts including 27 putts on Day 2. The way I was putting on Day 2 I should have shot par. I made putts of 10ft, 15,7,12,8,15,16,10. I stood over every putt thinking I could make. I'm not sure the reason, but I attribute a lot of it to taking time to practice on the putting green after Round 1. When you play greens this slick, you have to find such a fine tuned rhythm that gives you full confidence in your ability to match speed and break. I got it and the hole looked like a bucket.
Good to see J. Burke and good to see fellow Bentley players A. Jeffers and J. Stoddard finish near the top of the leaderboard. Bentley represented well !
Thanks to my Dad for caddying on Day 1. Can't wait for next year! Below are pictures of random scores, a flag they had all the participants sign, and Top 20 scores. Cut after Day 1 was 76.
BETTS, William - Longue View Club 72 4 5 3 4 4 3 5 3 4 35 3 4 5 4 4 3 5 5 3 36 71 143
MCLAUGHLIN, Nick - Wentworth BTS 70 4 4 3 4 3 4 5 3 5 35 2 4 7 6 4 3 5 4 4 39 74 144
CLAPP, Doug - Old Sandwich GC 76 5 4 3 4 4 3 3 4 4 34 2 4 4 4 4 3 6 4 4 35 69 145
SPITZ, Ben - Unaffiliated 76 4 5 3 5 4 3 3 3 4 34 3 3 5 5 4 3 5 4 3 35 69 145
AIKENS, Herbie - The Pinehills GC 71 4 4 4 4 5 3 3 5 4 36 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 38 74 145
PARZIALE, Matt - Thorny Lea GC 74 4 5 3 3 4 3 4 4 4 34 5 5 4 3 4 3 5 4 4 37 71 145
STODDARD, Jonathan - Plymouth CC 74 5 4 3 4 4 3 4 3 4 34 4 4 5 5 3 4 5 4 4 38 72 146
JOSEPHSON, Kevin - CC of Farmington 73 4 5 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 35 3 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 5 38 73 146
WILLOCK, Michael - Cohasset GC 72 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 3 4 35 4 4 6 4 4 3 5 5 4 39 74 146
GRENUS, Evan - TPC River Highlands 70 4 4 3 4 5 3 6 4 5 38 4 4 4 4 5 4 5 4 4 38 76 146
HIGGINS, Brian - Franklin CC 74 4 3 3 4 4 4 3 3 5 33 4 4 5 5 4 3 5 5 4 39 72 146
WALTHOUSE, Billy - Longmeadow CC 73 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 37 3 5 5 4 4 4 3 4 5 37 74 147
PELLETIER, Ryan - Pawtucket CC 72 3 4 4 5 4 4 5 3 4 36 5 4 5 3 4 3 5 5 5 39 75 147
HEFFERNAN, Paul - Oyster Harbors CC 74 4 4 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 33 4 5 6 4 4 3 6 5 4 41 74 148
BURAK, Steve - Thorny Lea GC 72 4 5 3 4 5 4 4 4 4 37 4 6 5 4 5 3 5 4 3 39 76 148
JEFFERS, Alex - Woodland GC 75 4 3 3 4 3 3 5 3 5 33 4 3 5 4 4 5 6 4 5 40 73 148
LACAMERA, Paul - Plymouth CC 74 4 4 4 5 4 4 4 3 5 37 3 5 5 3 5 4 4 4 4 37 74 148
HADGES, John - Thorny Lea GC 73 3 4 3 4 5 5 4 3 5 36 5 5 5 4 4 3 5 5 4 40 76 149
KUHN, Stephen - Plymouth CC 73 5 5 4 4 4 5 3 3 5 38 3 4 5 5 4 3 4 6 4 38 76 149
GUISE, Danny - Griffith Harris 73 5 5 3 3 4 4 5 4 5 38 3 3 5 4 5 4 5 4 5 38 76 149
CARLSON, Brian - Clinton CC 72 4 6 3 4 4 4 5 3 4 37 3 5 4 4 5 3 5 5 6 40 77 149
FLIONIS, Kurt - Lexington GC 75 5 4 4 5 3 4 5 4 4 38 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 36 74 149
GATELY, Kevin - Unaffiliated 70 4 4 4 4 5 4 7 3 4 39 3 4 5 4 7 3 5 4 5 40 79 149
CAREY, Kevin - Dennis Pines 74 4 4 3 6 4 4 5 2 4 36 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 39 75 149
Friday, June 6, 2014
Braintree Municipal
May 25 - Tee'd it up at Braintree with my brother and friend Josh H (home is Michigan - go State!). The weather turned out excellent, sunny and high 60s, and the golf course was in great condition. Greens were on the slower side, but very well maintained and the fairways did not draw a bad lie. One of the best municipal courses in the area. I'd consider it almost in the category of Wachusett CC, another gem of a municipal course. My brother is working on his swing through lessons and took it to the course with good progress, most notably the Mashie club (makes me think Francis Ouimet) and destroyed the #11 hole, number one handicap with a solid ball striking display from tee to green! Braintree is a tight course to challenge yourself and he managed very well. Josh played his low cut driver off the tee and showed good touch around the greens. #18th was a great finish for all; Derek hit his best drive with a three wood, Josh hit an 80 yard shot to inches from the hole, and I just missed birdie; keeps you coming back for more! Unexpectedly, we came face to face with a handful of goats. Apparently there is a goat farm? They were separated by wire fence, but we got a close first hand look at their big ole' heads. I went around in 74, two birdies (#10 and #13), two bogeys, and one double.
Fun day and great value. $38 for 18 holes walking! I recommend this course for those in the area. Its a great value play!
Thanks for a great day bro and Josh a.k.a Tank.
To family and friends,
KFly
Fun day and great value. $38 for 18 holes walking! I recommend this course for those in the area. Its a great value play!
Thanks for a great day bro and Josh a.k.a Tank.
To family and friends,
KFly
Friday, May 23, 2014
2014 Norfolk County Classic
May 17-18, 2014
Year after year I like this tournament more and more. I wish my scores would get better in the same fashion. Despite shooting a 79 and finishing T62, I took more out of a 79 than I ever have. I didn't walk away frustrated, tense, or de-motivated. It was the exact opposite. I only remembered my good shots, felt like I shot 72 and was confident about my game. I finished my round even on the last five holes, with great ball striking. I hit 7 out of 9 greens on the back nine. My swing is coming around after some great work with G. Parker at CityGolf over the past few months. My putting felt great too. I'm confident the scores will come in lower throughout the season.
Round 1 was unfortunately cancelled due to heavy overnight rain, which setback the golf course from being able to handle carts and get the entire field through 18 holes. Its too bad because Saturday ended up being one of the best weather days of the year. Sunday's weather was nice, relatively calm winds for Presidents, sunny, and mid-60s. When I prepared for my opening tee shot at 1247pm with C. Carlson and B. Mahoney, I knew the best score was 65 by M. Parziale. Wow, an incredible score. My quest to come close to that score was squashed with doubles on 1, 4, and 6.
My parents and uncle came to watch when I reached 14th green. They lit a fire under me, which led to a par, par, birdie, bogey, par finish. My most memorable shots were my hybrid off the 15th tee (crushed, so good it ended up in fairway bunker...i didn't have the guts to go for it from 177 and played left) and sandy birdie on 16 (from first part of the right greenside bunker). Strategy to hit hybrid off #12 tee worked well and 4-iron off #11 didn't work well as it reached the first bunker near the green (will adjust next year, depending on weather and course conditions). Oh, and being left of the pin on #14 is ridiculously hard; that green is brutal in general. Hardest on the course?
Nice playin by Mr. Guthrie who I tee'd it up with last year as well buddies Mr. Falcucci, Mr. Riley, and Mr. Burke. Congrats to M. Parziale. Special thanks again to the staff at Presidents; they put on a great course and tournament.
2014 Norfolk County Classic
Final Results
Championship Flight
Individual Stroke Play
1 Matt Parziale Thorny Lea G.C. 65 -5 PGC
2 Daniel Falcucci Cyprian Keyes G.C. 68 -2 PGC
J.C. Guthrie Wedgewood Pines C.C. 68 -2 PGC
4 Ryan Riley Thorny Lea G.C. 69 -1 PGC
Kyle Kelly Franklin C.C. 69 -1 PGC
Jordan Burke Needham G.C. 69 -1 PGC
Michael Willock Cohasset G.C. 69 -1 PGC
8 Eric Daniel Presidents G.C. 70 E PGC
Frank Vana Andover C.C. 70 E PGC
Andy Drohen The Ranch G.C. 70 E PGC
11 Sean Fitzpatrick George Wright G.C. 71 +1 PGC
Vin Bucci Old Sandwich G.C. 71 +1 PGC
Phil Smith Vesper C.C. 71 +1 PGC
John Gilmartin Indian Ridge C.C. 71 +1 PGC
Learn something from every round,
Kurt
Year after year I like this tournament more and more. I wish my scores would get better in the same fashion. Despite shooting a 79 and finishing T62, I took more out of a 79 than I ever have. I didn't walk away frustrated, tense, or de-motivated. It was the exact opposite. I only remembered my good shots, felt like I shot 72 and was confident about my game. I finished my round even on the last five holes, with great ball striking. I hit 7 out of 9 greens on the back nine. My swing is coming around after some great work with G. Parker at CityGolf over the past few months. My putting felt great too. I'm confident the scores will come in lower throughout the season.
Round 1 was unfortunately cancelled due to heavy overnight rain, which setback the golf course from being able to handle carts and get the entire field through 18 holes. Its too bad because Saturday ended up being one of the best weather days of the year. Sunday's weather was nice, relatively calm winds for Presidents, sunny, and mid-60s. When I prepared for my opening tee shot at 1247pm with C. Carlson and B. Mahoney, I knew the best score was 65 by M. Parziale. Wow, an incredible score. My quest to come close to that score was squashed with doubles on 1, 4, and 6.
My parents and uncle came to watch when I reached 14th green. They lit a fire under me, which led to a par, par, birdie, bogey, par finish. My most memorable shots were my hybrid off the 15th tee (crushed, so good it ended up in fairway bunker...i didn't have the guts to go for it from 177 and played left) and sandy birdie on 16 (from first part of the right greenside bunker). Strategy to hit hybrid off #12 tee worked well and 4-iron off #11 didn't work well as it reached the first bunker near the green (will adjust next year, depending on weather and course conditions). Oh, and being left of the pin on #14 is ridiculously hard; that green is brutal in general. Hardest on the course?
Nice playin by Mr. Guthrie who I tee'd it up with last year as well buddies Mr. Falcucci, Mr. Riley, and Mr. Burke. Congrats to M. Parziale. Special thanks again to the staff at Presidents; they put on a great course and tournament.
2014 Norfolk County Classic
Final Results
Championship Flight
Individual Stroke Play
1 Matt Parziale Thorny Lea G.C. 65 -5 PGC
2 Daniel Falcucci Cyprian Keyes G.C. 68 -2 PGC
J.C. Guthrie Wedgewood Pines C.C. 68 -2 PGC
4 Ryan Riley Thorny Lea G.C. 69 -1 PGC
Kyle Kelly Franklin C.C. 69 -1 PGC
Jordan Burke Needham G.C. 69 -1 PGC
Michael Willock Cohasset G.C. 69 -1 PGC
8 Eric Daniel Presidents G.C. 70 E PGC
Frank Vana Andover C.C. 70 E PGC
Andy Drohen The Ranch G.C. 70 E PGC
11 Sean Fitzpatrick George Wright G.C. 71 +1 PGC
Vin Bucci Old Sandwich G.C. 71 +1 PGC
Phil Smith Vesper C.C. 71 +1 PGC
John Gilmartin Indian Ridge C.C. 71 +1 PGC
Learn something from every round,
Kurt
Monday, May 12, 2014
Golf Course or Apples??
May 3 - Lyman Orchards GC - Jones Course
I made the 2 hour drive from Boston to compete in the Golf Channel event. I envisioned a high end public track on a vast piece of land with apple orchards, retail market, horses, frisbee golf; basically you name it farm lifestyle in a box. The result was a vast piece of land with a full retail market of freshly baked apple pies, chicken pot pies, and many other local products. In addition, there was a nice learning center with a short 9 hole course, pitching and sand green, putting green, and a nice range with ample targets. The golf course was a disappointment, with some consideration given to the fact they were still recovering from the long winter; greens were sanded and punched and fairways/rough were saddled with leftover rain (poor drainage topography). In top condition, it would play much better and possibly change my opinion. On this day, I left with a couple of large apple pies and chicken pot pies for the family and friends and not wanting to return; weak layout and bad condition. My score didn't help either: 82.
Temperature was mid-60s and partly sunny.
As I write this, the weather is heating up and golf season is picking up!
Enjoy every moment on the course and play with a purpose,
Kurt
I made the 2 hour drive from Boston to compete in the Golf Channel event. I envisioned a high end public track on a vast piece of land with apple orchards, retail market, horses, frisbee golf; basically you name it farm lifestyle in a box. The result was a vast piece of land with a full retail market of freshly baked apple pies, chicken pot pies, and many other local products. In addition, there was a nice learning center with a short 9 hole course, pitching and sand green, putting green, and a nice range with ample targets. The golf course was a disappointment, with some consideration given to the fact they were still recovering from the long winter; greens were sanded and punched and fairways/rough were saddled with leftover rain (poor drainage topography). In top condition, it would play much better and possibly change my opinion. On this day, I left with a couple of large apple pies and chicken pot pies for the family and friends and not wanting to return; weak layout and bad condition. My score didn't help either: 82.
Temperature was mid-60s and partly sunny.
As I write this, the weather is heating up and golf season is picking up!
Enjoy every moment on the course and play with a purpose,
Kurt
Sunday, April 27, 2014
6 & 4
April 27, 2014 - The fearsome foursome of Flionis, Lynch, Keegan, and Brennan had a Sunday morning showdown. The three of us tee'd off around 745am. I say three of us, because my partner Rob was still waking up. He joined us on the 2nd tee after I carried the team to a win on the first hole. Rob proceeded to make a stellar birdie on 2 to give us the 2-up lead. We never looked back. 10 team birdies, 9 under par best ball (62). A 6 & 4 thrashing that will always be 'chirped' at Keegan and Brennan throughout the 2014 season and maybe longer.
Weather was cold for late April; runny nose and cold hands. You wouldn't know by the drastic difference in apparel. I had a under armour and a full rain suit. Rob was in shorts and a light jacket. Temp may have hit 50 degrees.
My day was sweetened by a victory in the Paul Revere Cup, an 18 hole 100% NET MAJOR at the club. It is very rare for a low handicap to win. I shot 68 gross, 66 net for a one shot victory. One of my best rounds at LGC, with a career high 7 birdies, running off 4 in a row on the back nine.
Unfortunately (as this is so much fun), this will be the last battle of Flionis/Lynch vs. Keegan/Brennan until the fall season. Well, maybe not so bad for them, they could use some practice time....
What a start to tournament season at the Lex!
Cheers,
Kurt
p.s. (I think this 2-0 Lynch/Flionis since we started the new match record...see "1-0" blog post)
Weather was cold for late April; runny nose and cold hands. You wouldn't know by the drastic difference in apparel. I had a under armour and a full rain suit. Rob was in shorts and a light jacket. Temp may have hit 50 degrees.
My day was sweetened by a victory in the Paul Revere Cup, an 18 hole 100% NET MAJOR at the club. It is very rare for a low handicap to win. I shot 68 gross, 66 net for a one shot victory. One of my best rounds at LGC, with a career high 7 birdies, running off 4 in a row on the back nine.
Unfortunately (as this is so much fun), this will be the last battle of Flionis/Lynch vs. Keegan/Brennan until the fall season. Well, maybe not so bad for them, they could use some practice time....
What a start to tournament season at the Lex!
Cheers,
Kurt
p.s. (I think this 2-0 Lynch/Flionis since we started the new match record...see "1-0" blog post)
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