Post by 9ironanon on Oct 20, 2020 22:31:34 GMT -5
Intro
Sometimes Tournament Directors need a new direction, I've organized 25 tournaments this year on a much, much smaller circuit and its not that I'm bored of administration work going along with every course I play, it's more that I've got my eye on a plot of land that is in desperate need of 18 holes laid over it, the only problem is as one would expect, money. Sponsorships pay bills, they don't buy golf courses. Tournament Winnings do.
Been meaning to attend Q-School for the last month but my duties take up a lot of my time, but with a free weekend available ahead of the week I hopped on a flight and spent the last 3 nights at Tasoto, played a couple practice rounds ahead of the qualifying event and while I played horribly my back 9's were strong and because of that I thought I could qualify, what an idiot eh? My playing partner thought that too the other night at the 19th over a couple drinks about our plans for the weekend.
TGC Tours Q-School Attempt 1 - Tasoto Golf Club
R1
Round One came and went as expected, I sh%$ the bed all over the place and found new ways to make bogies I previously thought I was smart enough to not do. That was my first mistake, coming into 9 at +2 over I was feeling pretty confident that I could use the strength of my previous back 9's and bring myself even for the day, 2 bad shots, I'm in the water shooting 4 and finding myself doubling it to go +4 over and yet again fail to break 40 on the front. Doubled 12 because I was dumb and took a chance that I shouldn't have, got 2 strokes back on the back 9 par 5's but gave up a stroke on 17 blowing a dumb putt, tomorrow is a new day but that doesn't mean anything to Golf, the Gods will probably decide that I'm going to shoot 10 over, it's just the way she goes.
R2
Started off pretty strong on the front 9, par'd the first 3, birdied the 4th, 2 putt doubled the 6, bogied the 7th but somehow came out under 40 for the first time in a handful of rounds and then promptly bogied the 10th, oh have I talked about how much I apparently love the bunkers here? I've really avoided that topic until now. I have hit probably 50 of these and I can say they are pretty well placed considering how many times I find myself there. Sent my approach into the water on 12 and doubled it again, did the same thing as yesterday but it didn't seem like a chance, I just hit a sh%$ show of a shot, the guy in the group ahead of me walked off after 13, talking about next week. Poor bastard. Somehow found myself with a birdie on 14 after finding yet another bunker on my approach, it's really uncanny. 16 was a 3 putt bogey and I wanted to snap my putter, that should have been a god damned birdie but these greens hate me today and what do ya know? Another approach, another @!$#ing bunker on 18, still made birdie, but god damn how many am I going to find? 9 over after 36, not bad had I not heard from somebody at the bar that 15 over should, keyword being, should secure a tour card, I'm not sure if I can manage it this week, but damned if I'm not gonna try.
Calibration and Hour long Range session
Woke up at 3:15 and went to the range to warm up for my 7:15 tee time, just dialing in my wedges and irons for about an 45 minutes each, I normally don't wake up and hit the range this hard before a round, but I feel if I can just keep the ball straight a little bit more I'll have a better chance at my tour card, may Golf have mercy on my soul.
R3
Oh yeah, putting. Didn't do any putting this morning and it @!$#ing showed right away, 3 putt the first for bogey and at this point I'm thinking its going to be a long god damned day.
Had as easy a 30 footer you could have that was as flat as a pancake and still found a way to put it 8 feet behind the hole on 4 for par, I'll take the par, but I need birdies if I'm going to get my card this week and I did just that on 5 off the back of an amazing approach with my 4 iron after putting it 313 yards off the tee into a, you guessed it, bunker, did the same on 7 and found myself with a 2 putt par after splashing out of the bunker to 8 feet, par'd 8 and 9 to card a 36 on the front and I'm openly wondering what the @!$# is going on, where was all this coming from?
Played some great golf to start the back half, found some bunkers and still managed to scramble for par all the way through 13 and then made an easy 2 putt birdie on the Par 5 14th to be under par here for the first time since my opening practice round when I bridied 1 and 2 before finishing the front 6 over, followed up 14 with a Par on 15 and took my chances on the short 4 16 and bagged myself another birdie after pitching up to 5 feet, a tee shot on 17 that left me to 6 feet was negated by missing thin and having to settle for a par was quickly forgotten about by 2 great @!$#ing shots on 18 to set up for a birdie on 18 to card a 3 under 69 lowering my 54 hole score down to 6 over and giving me a bit more than an outside chance at getting my tour card with only 18 holes to play. What a @!$#ing day, what a @!$#ing round, time to hit the 19th I earned that Tequlia.
R4
I woke up today 35 minutes before my tee time, grabbed my bag and casually walked to the tee with a massive sh%$ eating grin on my face, dropped down my ProV1 and damn near drove the @!$#in' green, landed in the rough just off the edge of the green, another missed fairway and not a @!$# to give as I knock it up to 5 feet and tap in a birdie to start my last qualifying round under par and make it 2 under after nearly hitting the green in 2, knocking it back up to 5 feet again and draining the easy putt, bless the wind there, par'd 3 and 4 where I could have just as easy birdied either and then found myself in the same bunker on 5 that I've been in all week, ball was sitting more in the spit of grass than it was the sand and I hooked my 4 iron into the tree 50 yards from the green and had to play it out of a god damned bush and take a bogey and then pulled it right back with a 41 footer for the bird. Damn near drained a 38 footer on the 8th and took a par then bombed my drive on the 9th into another bunker, blasted it out to the rough and then knocked it 3 feet to the pin for a birdie, this is what you call failing upwards by carding a 33 on the front, that range time yesterday morning really did something to my confidence, even when I hit garbage I find a way to score.
Had the wind in my face to start 10 and knew I couldn't carry the bunker with my driver but still tried anyways, I'm playing with house money now, with my thinking that unless I melt down, which I won't, this tour card is mine so I can take a risk or two, went too much club on my approach but ended up draining the 58 footer for birdie. HE'S ON FIRE! From NBA Jam goes off in my head as I fist pump my way to the 11th tee and grab 20 foot a par there after hitting the bunker off the tee, 12 and 13 were more of the same and much like yesterday almost make the green in 2 on 14 and damn near drain an eagle chip but settle for the tap in birdie and then get 2 great shots to set up a beautiful 24 footer for back to back birdies bringing me even after 69 nice holes and then hit another bunker and made another birdie on the other green complex on the 16th, failing upwards is an art gentlemen and I am Picasso, maybe that's a bit much but I damn sure feel like it. After paring 17 I walked up to the 18th tee with the exact same sh%$ eating grin that was on my face when I tee'd off on the 1st, blasted it into a bunker and laughed the whole way down the fairway and laughed ever harder when I sliced my shot into the bottom of the 3 fairway ponds and had to settle for a bogey, a 6 under 66 for the day an even 288 for the 4 days and a tour card that will be in the mail early next week.
I'm off to Cardinal Pines in the morning but tonight, I'm getting drunk as @!$#.
NB: Before last night I had only played 1 round at Firethorn on TGC Settings a week or two after launch, shot 99, figured I’d play Pro-Am a bit more, put everything to TGC settings last night, shot under par on a couple courses, went to Tasoto and played like sh%$, back 9’s were strong, just ended up needing to recalibrate my swing which I did after round 2 and the changes were instant and dramatic, who knew 300 hours of Pro-Am would get me a tour card on my first attempt?
Sometimes Tournament Directors need a new direction, I've organized 25 tournaments this year on a much, much smaller circuit and its not that I'm bored of administration work going along with every course I play, it's more that I've got my eye on a plot of land that is in desperate need of 18 holes laid over it, the only problem is as one would expect, money. Sponsorships pay bills, they don't buy golf courses. Tournament Winnings do.
Been meaning to attend Q-School for the last month but my duties take up a lot of my time, but with a free weekend available ahead of the week I hopped on a flight and spent the last 3 nights at Tasoto, played a couple practice rounds ahead of the qualifying event and while I played horribly my back 9's were strong and because of that I thought I could qualify, what an idiot eh? My playing partner thought that too the other night at the 19th over a couple drinks about our plans for the weekend.
TGC Tours Q-School Attempt 1 - Tasoto Golf Club
R1
Round One came and went as expected, I sh%$ the bed all over the place and found new ways to make bogies I previously thought I was smart enough to not do. That was my first mistake, coming into 9 at +2 over I was feeling pretty confident that I could use the strength of my previous back 9's and bring myself even for the day, 2 bad shots, I'm in the water shooting 4 and finding myself doubling it to go +4 over and yet again fail to break 40 on the front. Doubled 12 because I was dumb and took a chance that I shouldn't have, got 2 strokes back on the back 9 par 5's but gave up a stroke on 17 blowing a dumb putt, tomorrow is a new day but that doesn't mean anything to Golf, the Gods will probably decide that I'm going to shoot 10 over, it's just the way she goes.
R2
Started off pretty strong on the front 9, par'd the first 3, birdied the 4th, 2 putt doubled the 6, bogied the 7th but somehow came out under 40 for the first time in a handful of rounds and then promptly bogied the 10th, oh have I talked about how much I apparently love the bunkers here? I've really avoided that topic until now. I have hit probably 50 of these and I can say they are pretty well placed considering how many times I find myself there. Sent my approach into the water on 12 and doubled it again, did the same thing as yesterday but it didn't seem like a chance, I just hit a sh%$ show of a shot, the guy in the group ahead of me walked off after 13, talking about next week. Poor bastard. Somehow found myself with a birdie on 14 after finding yet another bunker on my approach, it's really uncanny. 16 was a 3 putt bogey and I wanted to snap my putter, that should have been a god damned birdie but these greens hate me today and what do ya know? Another approach, another @!$#ing bunker on 18, still made birdie, but god damn how many am I going to find? 9 over after 36, not bad had I not heard from somebody at the bar that 15 over should, keyword being, should secure a tour card, I'm not sure if I can manage it this week, but damned if I'm not gonna try.
Calibration and Hour long Range session
Woke up at 3:15 and went to the range to warm up for my 7:15 tee time, just dialing in my wedges and irons for about an 45 minutes each, I normally don't wake up and hit the range this hard before a round, but I feel if I can just keep the ball straight a little bit more I'll have a better chance at my tour card, may Golf have mercy on my soul.
R3
Oh yeah, putting. Didn't do any putting this morning and it @!$#ing showed right away, 3 putt the first for bogey and at this point I'm thinking its going to be a long god damned day.
Had as easy a 30 footer you could have that was as flat as a pancake and still found a way to put it 8 feet behind the hole on 4 for par, I'll take the par, but I need birdies if I'm going to get my card this week and I did just that on 5 off the back of an amazing approach with my 4 iron after putting it 313 yards off the tee into a, you guessed it, bunker, did the same on 7 and found myself with a 2 putt par after splashing out of the bunker to 8 feet, par'd 8 and 9 to card a 36 on the front and I'm openly wondering what the @!$# is going on, where was all this coming from?
Played some great golf to start the back half, found some bunkers and still managed to scramble for par all the way through 13 and then made an easy 2 putt birdie on the Par 5 14th to be under par here for the first time since my opening practice round when I bridied 1 and 2 before finishing the front 6 over, followed up 14 with a Par on 15 and took my chances on the short 4 16 and bagged myself another birdie after pitching up to 5 feet, a tee shot on 17 that left me to 6 feet was negated by missing thin and having to settle for a par was quickly forgotten about by 2 great @!$#ing shots on 18 to set up for a birdie on 18 to card a 3 under 69 lowering my 54 hole score down to 6 over and giving me a bit more than an outside chance at getting my tour card with only 18 holes to play. What a @!$#ing day, what a @!$#ing round, time to hit the 19th I earned that Tequlia.
R4
I woke up today 35 minutes before my tee time, grabbed my bag and casually walked to the tee with a massive sh%$ eating grin on my face, dropped down my ProV1 and damn near drove the @!$#in' green, landed in the rough just off the edge of the green, another missed fairway and not a @!$# to give as I knock it up to 5 feet and tap in a birdie to start my last qualifying round under par and make it 2 under after nearly hitting the green in 2, knocking it back up to 5 feet again and draining the easy putt, bless the wind there, par'd 3 and 4 where I could have just as easy birdied either and then found myself in the same bunker on 5 that I've been in all week, ball was sitting more in the spit of grass than it was the sand and I hooked my 4 iron into the tree 50 yards from the green and had to play it out of a god damned bush and take a bogey and then pulled it right back with a 41 footer for the bird. Damn near drained a 38 footer on the 8th and took a par then bombed my drive on the 9th into another bunker, blasted it out to the rough and then knocked it 3 feet to the pin for a birdie, this is what you call failing upwards by carding a 33 on the front, that range time yesterday morning really did something to my confidence, even when I hit garbage I find a way to score.
Had the wind in my face to start 10 and knew I couldn't carry the bunker with my driver but still tried anyways, I'm playing with house money now, with my thinking that unless I melt down, which I won't, this tour card is mine so I can take a risk or two, went too much club on my approach but ended up draining the 58 footer for birdie. HE'S ON FIRE! From NBA Jam goes off in my head as I fist pump my way to the 11th tee and grab 20 foot a par there after hitting the bunker off the tee, 12 and 13 were more of the same and much like yesterday almost make the green in 2 on 14 and damn near drain an eagle chip but settle for the tap in birdie and then get 2 great shots to set up a beautiful 24 footer for back to back birdies bringing me even after 69 nice holes and then hit another bunker and made another birdie on the other green complex on the 16th, failing upwards is an art gentlemen and I am Picasso, maybe that's a bit much but I damn sure feel like it. After paring 17 I walked up to the 18th tee with the exact same sh%$ eating grin that was on my face when I tee'd off on the 1st, blasted it into a bunker and laughed the whole way down the fairway and laughed ever harder when I sliced my shot into the bottom of the 3 fairway ponds and had to settle for a bogey, a 6 under 66 for the day an even 288 for the 4 days and a tour card that will be in the mail early next week.
I'm off to Cardinal Pines in the morning but tonight, I'm getting drunk as @!$#.
NB: Before last night I had only played 1 round at Firethorn on TGC Settings a week or two after launch, shot 99, figured I’d play Pro-Am a bit more, put everything to TGC settings last night, shot under par on a couple courses, went to Tasoto and played like sh%$, back 9’s were strong, just ended up needing to recalibrate my swing which I did after round 2 and the changes were instant and dramatic, who knew 300 hours of Pro-Am would get me a tour card on my first attempt?