Our hot and humid weather had finally broken. It was Friday morning and we stood around in a light rain that was forecast to stop about 15 minutes before our 8AM tee time. It was Day 1 of our Club Championship and I’d told Mrs. Hack earlier that morning that I was ready to “beat the shit” out of the guys in the 1st Flight. Going through my bag, only 2 ProV1’s showed up in the search. As I walked back into the pro shop to gather some more ammo, I thought back on the week leading up to the event . . . .
One of my goals this year was to win both the Club Championship and the Senior Club Championship. I wrote about the poor rounds I’d put together in last week’s qualifier for the Championship flight (you can read it here: QUALIFIER). I’d not only shot 83-82 to come in 6th, but I’d made 4 doubles or worse and had zero confidence.
Last Monday, I’d played in an event at Huntington Valley Country Club outside of Philadelphia in conjunction with the Fried Egg golf media group. The classic William Flynn design was probably one of the top 5 courses your Hack has ever played. Hilly, tricky pin positions, lightening fast greens absolutely proved too much. I’d shot 86 with 41 putts (5, 3-putts) and 4 doubles - sadly, only 1 birdie.
Wednesday, I played in our regular Wednesday game and again, could not break an egg. I posted a smooth 87 and was not looking forward to the Club Championship.
I’d secured a sleeve of fresh ammo and stashed them in my bag as “just in case” insurance, pull the clubs up on my shoulder and headed off to the practice area. The 1st flight consisted of the top 8 players that did not qualify for the championship match play and 5 of the guys were buddies that I played with regularly - Harry Steele, Steve Hagen (the Voice), Mike Robel (Mr. Robel’), Glenn Hudson (the Sheriff), Steve Dewey (the Striker) - and your Hack had a very comfy paring with Steele, the Voice, the Sheriff, and the Striker. All 8 of us kicked in $20 each for a 2 day birdie pool and we were off, playing the same Black/White hybrid tees used for the real championship.
To be honest, I was looking forward to proving something to myself. Not making match play was devastating. Standing on the first tee and getting instructions from our Pro and making small talk, the Pro said to me, “just swing easy” and something clicked. I’d fallen into the trap of trying to hit every shot as hard as I could. Maybe this was it.
I hit the fairway on the first hole, hit 8 iron to 20 feet and rolled the birdie putt over the edge - par. After an up and down par on 2, I stuffed a 9-iron on the par 3, 3rd hole to kick-in range and your Hack was 1 under after 3. I made the mistake of leaving the ball above the hole on #4 and missed a 6 foot come-backer to get back to even, but I has hitting the irons well and hitting fairways off the tee. After 4 more pars coupled with a nice birdie on #6, I made the turn in 34 - 1 under.
Now this is where your Hack would typically lose it and come in with a mid-40’s back nine and blow the good work from the front. Instead, I went on to birdie #10 and #12 to get to 3 under for the day. One putt par saves on #14 and #15 kept the round together and your Hack was able to finish off the back with a 2 under 34 and post 68 for Round 1. I had birdie putts on each of the last 3 holes to shoot my age, but for the second time this summer it was not to be. Still . . . one shot away from shooting my age!
It was my second 68 of the summer from the Black/White hybrids. The only blemish was the 3-putt bogey on the par 5, 4th hole. 29 putts, 79% of fairways hit and 78% of greens in regulation will definitely get it done. Posted as a Competitive Round in GHIN and I woke up Sunday morning to another Exceptional Score Adjustment on my handicap, which was recalculated to a 2.3 index.
Oh, and I had an 11 shot lead in the 1st Flight with the next best score being a 79 from Steve Morgan. Mrs. Hack and I spent the evening celebrating with dinner and drinks at the bar at Cripple Creek, where I tried my best to relax and enjoy the moment, no matter how fleeting these moments can be in my golf life.
Before we move on, an unusual thing happened on the 14th green as the club’s general manager drove up in a cart and made his way to Harry Steele with some wild news. Paul Dillon had to withdraw from match play and Harry was the next qualifier in line, having come in 5th the prior weekend. He was now in the match play portion on Saturday and had a chance to win his 5th Club Championship. He would only have to win 2 matches on Saturday and it was his.
Saturday dawned and the weather was even better than the day previous. I went to the club early and took a cart out to watch some of the first 2 matches which had teed off at 7:30AM. Harry was playing a young college player, Colby Hook, and Pip was playing another college player, Patrick Gogarty. The winners of each match would face off at 12:30 for the overall championship.
I came back in about 8:45 for my 9:30 tee time to get ready. With an 11 shot lead, I wasn’t really worried about much and spent most of the time just chipping and putting after loosening up. It felt good to not have to grind. Of course, not being out on the course in match play was sitting heavily in the back of my mind.
Your Hack was paired with Morgan, the Voice and Mr. Robel’ for the final round. They each took a cart while I carried and walked alone, just like Round 1. The greens were faster than Friday, freshly cut and rolled. My goal was not just to win the 1st Flight, but to convince myself that I could put 2 rounds together in a tournament.
I had a little scare on the 1st tee as my drive was pulled left into the trees bordering the practice range, but the ball luckily ricocheted back into the fairway leaving me 205 yards out. My 3-hybrid was pushed just slightly right and I was able to get up and down for par and put that flakey 1st drive out of my mind. Another par on #2 and the wind started freshening as we came up to the 3rd tee. I flushed a 6 iron directly into the north wind that started just at the back right pin location, but drifted into the closely mowed swale above and right of the pin - 6 feet off the green. Aiming away from the pin, I putted up the swale almost stopping the ball at the apex of the slope and watched the ball roll down to 4 feet below the hole. Unfortunately, the little twitch in my right hand made it’s appearance and I left the putter face wide open and missed the relative tap in. 3 putts and a bogey.
Settling down with pars on the next 3 holes, I got too aggressive on the par 3, 7th and left the ball above the hole again. After a relatively good lag down to 4 feet below the hole, the little yippy twitch made another appearance and I pushed the par putt right. The 2nd par 3, the 2nd 3 putt and the 2nd bogey of the day.
A solid 2 putt par from above the front pin on #8 and a 15 foot par save on #9, left your Hack 2 over on the front, still 1 under for the tournament, and an extended lead of 18 shots. I really wanted a second round under par and had a little psych session with myself at the turn. “Three birdies will do it and you haven’t made one yet today. Let’s go!”
After pars on #10 and #11, I birdied the next 2 holes to get back to even. In the group ahead of us, the Sheriff made his 6th career hole in one on #13. At least I knew my first drink at the clubhouse would be free. Thanks Glenn!
The par 5, 14th hole bends around a marsh and is reachable, especially down wind. In a remarkable show of restraint, your Hack pulled 3-wood instead of Driver and found the middle of the fairway, about 250 yards out. A 9-iron and then a gap wedge left me 4-5 feet from the cup for my 3rd birdie in a row, or so I thought. The little right handed twitch re-appeared and I completely missed the cup to the right right - par.
Pars on #15, #16 and #17 left me even par on the 18th tee. Your Hack needed a birdie to shoot 70 and post 2 rounds under par for the tournament. I hit a solid drive, but it didn’t fade as I’d planned and was in the rough left. The approach called for a low draw between the trees that would bounce and roll onto the green. I missed the call however and left the 6-iron in the right greenside bunker. Needing to hole out from the sand, the shot bounced off the flagstick and left the ball 6 or 7 feet from the hole. I promptly left the par putt short and tapped in for bogey. I’d shot 72, 1 over par, but 2 under for the tournament.
Here are the final results:
Although I was very pleased with the result, I couldn’t wait to get back out onto the course to watch my buddy, Harry Steele, in the final championship match against Patrick Gogarty for the real Club Championship. I met Mrs. Hack in a cart at the entrance to our community - Bay Colony - and headed to the 9th hole to pick-up the final match.
Harry was 1 up at the turn and we had a blast watching the back and forth play over the second nine. It came to the 18th tee with the match all square. Harry’s drive was in the fairway, but over 220 yards out while Patrick was left with only about 170 in. Harry hit his shot just short of the green, but Patrick smothered his left, leaving a 40-50 yard pitch over a mound to the back left pin. The pitch was beautiful, covering the mound and checking up about 6 feet left of the pin. Harry chipped up stone dead and was in for par. Unfortunately, Patrick’s putt lipped out and Harry had won his 5th Club Championship. Harry is 80 years old and your Hack couldn’t help himself, but I ran up onto the green and gave the old guy a huge hug and several slaps on the back. A steady, solid player, he’d gone from being stuck in the 1st Flight to miraculously winning the championship beating two kids in their first year in college.
Old dudes rule!
Speaking of which, our Senior Club Championship will be held in two weeks. Your Hack will be back with something to prove. Keep it in the short grass and thanks for following along on these adventures.