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Played PGA Village Ryder Course – Port Saint Lucie, FL (86)

The Course

The Ryder course is a fun course to play and one that you can definitely score on if you are playing well. The fairways have generous landing areas and in comparison to Wanamaker, feel like you’ve got an entire football field out there to land it. I didn’t get the sense that the course had as much undulation to it in the fairways, but I could be wrong. But like Wanamaker, there were some really cool holes that make you think around the course. The condition of the course once again was excellent. The greens were in great shape and the fairways were beautiful. Aside from the greens on the Dye course, all the courses at PGA Village were in great shape.

For today’s round, we were going to have a coach/caddie with us. Part of the goal of the Freakonomics weekend (Sub Par Thinking) was to prove that amateurs can shave strokes off their score without changes to mechanics, by simply playing smarter. For the weekend, we were going to have either Pat Goss or David Inglis. My first thought was “Are you Serious!” Having Pat Goss, one of the game’s best coaches, lead you around for 18 would be awesome. But by chance, I had worked with David during a Trackman experiment on Friday. As cool as it would’ve been to have Goss as our coach, I was actually hoping we would get David. He’s an accomplished player in his own right, having played on a Walker Cup team, and is now the Asst. Golf Coach at NU. He was great to work with during the experiment and I was very happy when he rolled up and said he would be our coach.

Our only requirement was to embrace the experiment and follow instructions from the coach. I’ve played really well in the past when we’ve had a caddie (Cascata 79) and was ready to follow an instruction. The first one…. putt for at least 15 mins before the round to get a feel for the greens.

My Round

We teed off at 7:50a on Sunday and played from the Tournament tees. The other rounds this weekend were played from the White tees. The reasoning given for this was to offer us some fatter landing areas. Given my average distance off the tee, the length of the course shouldn’t be an issue and today it wasn’t.

I started the round with a driver down the middle of the fairway and an approach shot that went left, but on the green. I was disappointed with the approach shot because it was a good 40 feet left of the pin when David had given me a line basically just left. It was a pull. And it was a shot I would have to get used to all day long. I hit the first 4 fairways with Driver and 71% on the front. My driving was not the issue. My approach shots were the issue. I was left all day long and I believe it was just a straight pull because I was consistently lined up right. In fact, David had mentioned it a few times during the round and after my tee shot on 18, David said “you know what, you were aimed left that time.” It felt like I was way left. But its something to work on.

I played a solid round with the longer clubs. My short game let me down. I wasn’t confident with my chip shots and I certainly wasn’t confident with the putter. Aside from #1 and #9, my other two GIRs on the front led to 3-putts. There were some fun shots. Like taking a 3W off the tee on #4 and hitting a perfect 250 yard shot with a slight fade to the middle of a dogleg right par 5. I had 215 to the pin over water with bunkers right and left, but a deep green. I was surprised when David said hit the hybrid about 10 feet left of the pin. I said “really” and he responded “you can hit it 200 yards, right?” All of his comments were valuable today, but times like that one really gave me some great insight in course management. I had assumed he would have me lay up and play safe, but in this case, the payoff for hitting the green in 2 far outweighed the risks of going in the water. The water never crossed my mind, and that was his point.

My favorite shot of the round came at #9. I went right off the tee but was long enough to clear a waste area and end up in the short rough. My ball was sitting nicely, with a great line at the pin and about 180 yards away to an uphill green. The pin was tucked in the back right corner about 6 feet on the green and directly behind a bunker. I had a tree about 50 yards in front of me that left me only a slight glimpse of the flag, but no danger of hitting it. David gave me a line to the center of the green and I pulled a 6i. As was common, I ended up aiming directly at the pin and flushed a 6i with a beautiful straight flight. I watched it fly over the bunker and bounce once but couldn’t see where it ended up. With a big grin, David said, pretty nice push! I’m sure I was aimed that way. I got up to the ball and it was 3 feet from the pin. Its one of the coolest shots I’ve ever hit. I rolled in the putt.

I had some chunky shots and some poor swings, but for the most part I was swinging the clubs well, I just wasnt hitting them online. At one point I apologized for not giving him much to work with. I really wanted to hit quality approach shots and give myself a chance for birdie and at least par. But on the front, I didn’t really do that. My back 9 was better. I had five pars but actually hit less GIRs. I wish it would’ve been more consistent but it was still a blast. On 18, I was left with another 180y shot from behind a tree, in the rough to a right hand pin. I hit another great shot that was a little long, putted down and made par.

This entire weekend was an absolute blast and I’m very lucky have had David take us around the course. The Northwestern Golf team is lucky to have him as one of their coaches.

Scorecard

Ryder Scorecard

Photos

Nice little range at PGA Village

Who doesn’t love to see these pretty little pyramids all stacked up and ready to go
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Played PGA Village Wanamaker Course – Port Saint Lucie, FL (86)

The Course

The Wanamaker Course at PGA Village is by far the best of the three main courses. It isnt completely fair for me to say that without playing the back nine of the Dye course, but I think its safe to say. The course is the most challenging (on paper) of the courses at PGA Village and it played as difficult as we expected. There were some fantastic holes, including long par 5s, par 3s with tough greens and even short par 4s. The course condition was almost perfect. Even with all the rain, the greens and the fairways held up nicely. And these greens, unlike the Dye Course, were rolling pure and smooth.

My Round

This was a challenging round. For one thing, it was raining off and on the entire round. We had also spent the entire morning practicing and hitting balls, which was awesome. For another, we were going to miss Luke Donald giving a masterclass in putting and short game. I had known for a day or so that Donald was going to be doing many of the drills we were doing throughout the weekend and because of our afternoon tee time, we would miss it. But I tried to put it out of my mind. Unfortunately, the front nine was brutally slow taking almost 2 hours and 45 mins. By the 9th hole, we were concerned we wouldn’t even finish the round. In my mind, if we weren’t going to finish the round, I would rather quit at 9 holes and go watch the greatest short game player in the world.

But we made the turn and with that, I changed my atitude. I went birdie, par, par to start the back. I was driving the ball extremely well (86% on the back) and after driving 3 holes in a row, I got back on a par run with 16. As we approached the long par 3 (over 200 yards) 17th, we could barely see and the rain had picked up again. I hit a hybrid to pin high but 40 feet away leaving me a sidehill/downhill putt. I took a confident stroke and rolled it in the high side for birdie. If I had missed the hole I would’ve been 10 feet past. I went to the par 4 18th sitting at 33. If I par 18, I shoot 37 and my best 9-hole score ever.

By this point, we couldn’t see anything at all and wondered if we would get called off the course. 18 is a great finishing hole. A medium length, dogleg right with a long fairway bunker that guards the right side of the fairway leading to the edge of a lake that guards the rest of the fairway all the way to a green. The smart play is to take a fairway wood. I grabbed my RBZ 13º and hit a solid shot up the right that finished at the front of the fairway bunker. I’m lucky I didn’t flush it, I would’ve been in the water.

My lie in the bunker was good, but it was close to the edge. I needed to fly the ball 150 over water and had to aim a little left of the green. I took a 7i and gripped down. I normally would’ve taken 8i, but in this case I wanted to make sure if I caught it fat, I’d have enough club. I hit it solid, but left and long. I was left with an uphill chip to a downward slopping green and needed to get up and down for par. I had to leave the chip right on the top of the mound and let it trickle down, but I didn’t get it enough. The darkness made it so hard to see. I putted down, missed the putt back and doubled the hole. I still shot 39, and after the terrible front 9, I felt really good about it.

Scorecard

Wanamaker Scorecard

Photos

Wanamaker Course PGA Village

I just wanted to roll around on this turf. The course was in beautiful shape

Wanamaker Course - Didnt work out well

This shot didn’t work out well. I got too aggressive and ended up in the water right
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Played PGA Village Dye Course – Port Saint Lucie, FL (39, 9 holes)

The Course

PGA Village as a whole is incredible. With five courses and a learning center, this place is a golfer’s dream. We were only scheduled to play the front nine on the Dye course and unfortunately, I don’t think the front nine was the best nine. I’m a big Arthur Hills fan, and he didn’t disappoint. The course felt links-like, with undulating fairways, natural grasses, and large waste areas. It is a fair course, with decent landing areas for tee shots, approachable greens and if you’re playing well at all, not a ton of danger. The issue with the course today, were the greens. I’m not sure if they had just been aerated or worked on, but many of the greens were very sandy which made it difficult to get a consistent roll. The rest of the course was in great condition.

My Round

I ended up playing well overall. It was the first round of a long, exciting weekend, and I got off to a rough start probably just due to excitement. I bogeyed the first four holes and putting was a big issue. I hit 2/4 greens in that stretch and on each GIR I 3-putted. From #5 on I went on a great run of par, par, birdie, par, par. My putting on the last 3 holes saved me. On $7, a par 5, I hit a great drive leaving me a chance to get home in two with a hybrid. I hit the hybrid over the green, chipped it close and got down for a birdie. It was a great hole.

My irons were good, but not solid. But I wasn’t worried about it. It was the beginning of a long weekend and I was excited to get going. My driver helped me out. I was having alignment issues, as I have been lately, and that trend would continue through the weekend.

My Scorecard

Dye Course Scorecard

Photos

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The course has a great mix of natural areas, bunkers, and prime fairways

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Played Half Moon Bay Ocean Course – San Francisco, CA (86)

The Course

The Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay might be the most beautiful setting for a golf course I’ve played yet. Its right on the water and almost every hole has a glimpse of the ocean, with the finishing holes running right next to cliffs. The view alone is worth playing here.

A links style course designed by Arthur Hills, The Ocean Course does a great job of feeling like a links. The setting certainly helps and when the afternoon breeze kicks up off the ocean, you almost feel like you’re playing in Europe (maybe, I wouldn’t know from experience). The course is fair and not particularly long. The greens, fairways, and rough were very well maintained. I was surprised by the size of the greens, so of them were massive. Since the holes run parallel, its difficult to lose balls on most holes, but its possible. Winter rules were in play which meant cart path only, which was kind of a drag, but understandable.

But the main aspect of this course is ocean. I’d pay here again in a heartbeat.

My Round

I had a blast, so lets get that out of the way. From a technical perspective, I played pretty good. The same issues continue to creep up. Inconsistent contact and a sub par short game added a few shots. I really need to spend time on and around the greens.

I also had some course management issues that bit me on the back. I was in a fairway bunker on 16, close to the lip with about 170 left to the center. I knew when I looked at the lie that getting a 6i over the lip would be tough and I should just take a PW and send it down the fairway, chip up close and try to 1-putt. But I didn’t do that. I hit 6i and embedded in the bank, took a drop, hit the PW perfectly and went on to a triple bogey. That mistake essentially cost me the chance to break 80 as I spiraled out of control after it.

Don’t do that again! But I still really enjoyed the round, it was a blast.

Photos

So many holes right on the water

Talk about a distracting view when you’re trying to putt

Right on the water

This view is right off the 17th tee. Stunning
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End of the week rounds at River Strand

My Rounds

Andrea came out on the course with us on Wednesday. I shot 86 with another 8 on Trib #9 and two 5s on par threes, so the round could’ve been better. But, I always enjoy it when Andrea comes out on the course with me. I hope one day she starts playing, but its nice to have her on the cart and actually see that the hard work and obsessive practice has actually paid off. Just hitting a few great, flushed irons and a could nice drives, is all I need. And on Wednesday, that certainly happened. Its fun playing with Debbie, too. Her game has come a long way and she’s always fun to play with.

My expectations were high after the 78. I don’t think thats surprising at all, but its certainly dangerous. That said, I think I kept it together well all things considered. I was even par through #4 with a birdie. But dammit!! Trib #9 got me again. Another 8. This time, a par would give me a 39 on the front. Another hybrid off the tee, this time much worse. I came up on it and sent a little worm burner into the crap in front of me. Found it, but couldn’t play it. Took a drop. Put my next shot into the crop right, another terrible hybrid. Then a couple irons, a couple putts and an 8.

Spanked my new RBZ fairway wood on #1 right down the middle, hit a great approach shot and 3-putted. But at least I’d moved on. Hit some more solid irons but my putter started failing me. All in all, it was a blast, even with some disappointments.

Awful day on Thursday playing with the Men’s League. Just terrible. I felt so tired and stiff in the morning. We had just finished the round the night before and this was round 5 in 5 days. I let that get to my head.

But my swing faults were showing themselves and I hadn’t realized it at that point. I wouldn’t realize it until I worked with Corey the next day. But I was having all kinds of issues. Topping shots, slicing shots, hooking shots, hitting fat shots. No consistency. No common miss. It was infuriating.

I shot a 97 and with the exception of one hole, I either parred or +2 or greater on every hole. My card was either black or blue. I still hit 8 GIRs. With the exception of one hole, if I hit the GIR, I parred the hole. But I had 6 penalties, 5 sand shots and had 10 holes with double or worse. It was a very bad round. I would learn why the next day.

Photos

Storm blew through but didn't last

This storm blew through in 15 mins. Wednesday. It was kinda fun huddled under the cart

#8 Trib

This pic looks familiar. The fairways on number eight Tributary are unreal.
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Shot 78 at River Strand Christmas Eve Shotgun

My Round

I broke 80 at River Strand! Its funny, my best round last year was during the shotgun and now I’ve broken 80 and posted my lowest score to date during the shotgun. Something about this format really suits my game. And I’m thinking I know what some of it is. I’m playing with people I’ve never met. I know it sounds weird, but I think I keep my emotions in check and I think I stay more focused.

Whatever it is, I had 8 pars and 2 birdies, hit 71% of the fairways and 56% of the greens and my putts averaged < 2.0. Thats a recipe for a good round. I had so much confidence that by the back nine I was starting to fire right at the pins and get a bit bummed if I hit the green but far away. I was confident on the tee, confident with my irons and confident with the putter. I played Sanctuary/Estuary, which is the hardest of the pairs at River Strand. It was a great round, I had a blast and unfortunately, had to wait almost two days to play again.

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Played River Strand – Bradenton, FL (86)

My Round

Well, I think I can say I have the tools to shoot in the 70s on a regular basis. Now I just need to stop making huge mistakes and wreck my score. I shot 86 on a challenging pair of courses, Trib/Sanc. I had 11 pars which might be the most pars I’ve ever had in my round, BUT I also had two 8s. And those 8s were stupid.

I was swinging the club really well today and putting well. Aside from a four putt on the first hole. Although to be honest, having Andrea and my sister in law yelling at me from the street as they drove by didn’t help. But I had numerous one putts which saved me.

Lets talk about those two 8s. #9 Tributary, a hole which will bite me again later this week. I took a hybrid off the tee and pushed it with a little fade, over into the water. Penalty. My drop and short iron approach, boom, penalty. Now I’m steaming mad. A par and I shoot 40 on the front. Now I’m looking at a 6. I should’ve just settled down and focused, but I was upset. My next shot ended up in the bunker. Getting out took me 2 shots. Theres your 8. I need to relax and let shots go. I need to let expectations go.

I turned around and parred the next 4 holes with GIRs in 4 of the next 5. I 3-putted #5 and got a bit frustrated, but what can you do, I moved on. Took a 5W out of my bag because we were playing from the whites. I should’ve taken driver. I hooked it left a bit, hit the path and was behind the tree, so I took a penalty and drop. I took a 7i from the rough, from what I thought was 160yards. I flew it long and bounced through into the hazard. I was standing on the 150 marker. Thats an 8i. Had I slowed down, I would’ve realized that. Theres another 8.

Ended up parring the last two and shooting 86. 86 is a good score for me at River Strand, but it could’ve been so much better. It could’ve been a sub 80 round. I need to relax and let shots go. Stay focused and not rush.

But it was an awesome day of 36 holes. Always fun playing golf with Chris.

Photos

Tributary Par 3 5th

One of my favorite and usually challenging par 3s at River Strand. #5 Tributary

The fairways are gorgeous

The quality of the course and the turf is unreal. It hurts (and feels good) to take a divot

Sanctuary #3

Tough shot. 168 yards over water to a tough, elevated green. Flushed a solid 6i

Stunning views and a perfect day

Perfect afternoon at River Strand. Couldn’t ask for anything more
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Played Bobby Jones – Sarasota, FL (88)

The Course

We played the British at Bobby Jones Golf Complex. Bobby Jones is Bobby Jones. If you live close, like Chris, this course is almost perfect for those early morning or late day rounds. Its pretty wide open, but maintained pretty well and even with a foursome, you can get around the track quickly. This isn’t the best Florida golf has to offer, but its a nice course and I’d play it again for sure.

My Round

I wanted to experience Chris’ first tee time Bobby Jones experience, but unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate. We got to the course before 7a, but ended up on a frost delay for two hours. This was the first 18 of 36 we had planned.

I might’ve come into the day with high expectations. Chris has been shooting upper 80s here and talked about how I should tear this course up, maybe even shooting 70s. I might’ve let that, plus the frost delay and being concerned about making our River Strand tee time, affect how I played. I had a great time, but wasn’t playing my best.

There were bright spots, like hitting a 3H about 220 into the 14th green giving myself a real good look at eagle. But I couldn’t putt, parred that one. I had some solid irons and some good drives, but I was definitely off my game.

Even so, it was a fun round.

Photos

Sunrise and steam at Bobby Jones

We got here before 7am and had this view on the range
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Played Bear’s Best Atlanta – Suwanee, GA (92)

The Course

This course was stunning. Easily the best course I’ve played in Atlanta. I had high expectations for this course and it didn’t disappoint. Starting on the giant putting green, huge driving range, and the massive chipping area, we had a chance to warm up our entire game. The starter was great and the course was amazing. The condition of the course, even in mid-October, was superb. The fairways were still lush, tee boxes trim and full of great clean grass, and the greens were in great shape and rolling true. What is really amazing about this course, is that even though it consists of 18 holes from 15 (or so) different courses, it felt like one solid, cohesive track. Nicklaus used ever piece of the land to perfection. We will definitely be playing here again.

My Round

Casey got us out on this course and I couldn’t be happier that he did … and that he’s actually down here in ATL and we can play golf together. Regardless of the course, its always a fun round. And today was a great day.

Because we were playing this course for the first time, I wasn’t concerned with scoring well. That doesn’t mean I didn’t care about score, it just means it wasn’t a priority. My priority was just having fun and taking in the course. I didn’t score well, but I still hit some great shots. My bad holes were due in most part to rushing. For some reason Casey and I both rushed #6, the Muirfield Village signature par 3. As a result, I went right and short and in the water. My drop from the drop area, also short. When we got finished with the hole, the group behind us wasn’t even on the tee. We rushed for no reason. Same thing happened on #11 and a few other holes. We’re not slow golfers, there was no reason to rush. But that was the issue, rushing led to bad swings which led to numerous doubles.

I had some great swings. A few drives were over 280y, one of which had very little roll out, so that was a big hit for me. The shot I will most remember was off the #17th tee. A 160 yard par 3 downhill. I took an 8i and hit a beautiful shot that hit 8 feet past the hole, checked and even rolled back a bit. But the hit was perfectly struck with great balance, perfect divot and tracked with an ever so slight baby draw right over the flag. I lost it in mid air, but knew it was perfect and just looked at the hole waiting for it to come down.

My misses were a result of overactive hips and right leg and bad alignment. I’m not trusting my alignment and I need to work very hard at that. My right leg and hip keep spinning out and I need to keep them under control. I hit a few hooks and a few pulls. Whats funny is that on the range I was hitting the most perfect little baby draws, solid and long with the 9i and 7i. Even the driver. But I was using a narrow stance, focusing on a full shoulder turn (out over my right leg) and coming through the ball solidly. My right leg staying on the ground and under control. When I carried that feeling over to the course, I hit great shots.

Regardless of the score, we couldn’t have asked for a better day. It was a great round.

My Scorecard

Other Photos

Couldn’t ask for a better day at Bear’s

#11 180 yards completely over water. I ended up long in the bunker left

What a great starting hole. You get a feel for how cool this course will be right from the very beginning

Even the short holes can bite you here.

Black sand in the bunker on #2. Mimics the sand found in PA

The sightlines, contours and features of this course were insane

Looking back toward the tee of this unique but short par 4

We were running up against the clock, but it made for some awesome late day views of the course

Went for it in 2 from 245 out. Ended up flying it in the bunker right, 3 feet left and I roll up and probably thru the green

Each hole had a marker displaying the yardage as well as the original location for the hole such as Scotland

Tee Markers
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Played RiverPines – Alpharetta, GA (82)

Today’s 82 was just “ok.” It comes down to three things 1) lack of focus 2) not a full shoulder turn 3) no confidence.

The driver was off and I think a lot had to do with poor alignment and a weak turn. Irons were a bit pushed. And I wasn’t moving the lower body as well. But, after being even thru 4, then stringing 6 straight bogies, ending with 82 is actually pretty good. Greens were a pot hole mess, but rest of the course was in good shape.

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