It’s foggy and humid this Sunday morning and I just finished my walk on the Cripple Creek Golf Course (4.4 miles @ a 15.42 pace for those interested). As I walked and listened to a podcast from the Broken Tee Society with John Sherman from Practical Golf, I realized that I have a major flaw in my golf game. I react too heavily based on the result of each shot.
The best golf is played when you exist in the space between caring too much, or not at all. This is *hard* to do You can't "live and die" at the result of every shot. But at the same time, you need to be engaged enough to control your emotions and approach each shot analytically.
Your Hack knows this, but wishes he’d listened to this podcast before the beginning of our Senior Club Championship this past Friday and Saturday. I’ve been playing good golf this year and this was my last chance to accomplish one of my 2022 golf goals - winning the Senior. Readers will remember that I’d failed to qualify for our Club Championship finals and then won the 1st Flight by 25 shots, shooting 68-72. If you missed it, you can catch-up here: 2022 Club Championship
It turns out that someone 13 years my senior was the better player - more steady, more analytical, more ready to play tournament golf. Let’s see what happened.
Friday Morning - Round 1
Your Hack was in the first group off at 7:30AM, paired with Harry Steele, Paul Dillon, and Steve Dewey. All good players and better friends. The weather was perfect and I’d had good warm up session.
The round started well with only a sloppy bogey on #2 and two missed short birdie puts on #1 and #5. Standing in the middle of the 6th fairway with a wedge in my hand, I yanked the ball left of the green onto the closely mown runoff between the green and the 7th tee. A good chip left me 5 feet from the cup and I missed to go 2 over. Steaming over the 3rd missed short putt, I walked over the #7 determine to make birdie.
Rather than thinking, “OK, you’re 2 over, all’s good, just take a club that will get you on the green or leave a short uphill chip”, I went into full aggressive mode and hit a “hosel adjacent” line drive right and onto the hill above the hole. A missed up and down - another bogey.
Another bogey from the fairway followed on #8 and a 1 putt par on #9 left me 4 over at the turn and 2 back of the leader. Instead of realizing I was in a good place, your Hack decided that now was the time to play catch-up and go pin hunting. The first 3 holes on the back nine are short par 4’s and I was going to get back into the tournament with 3 straight birdies.
The drive on #1 was in the middle of the fairway, 40 yards from the pin. A “shank” dead right followed by a missed up and down left your Hack with a bogey. On #2, another “pitch-out” from 35 yards, but resulted in a 1 putt par. Then, on #3 from only 25 yards directly in front of the pin, another shank, and another 1 putt par. At this point, I was literally afraid of the short pitch or chip.
A missed 12 footer for birdie on #13 left me only 5 over for the day, but I was shaken. To put it kindly, the chipping yips (shanks), missed putts and the hosel rocket back on #7 had me questioning things. Everything. But, as your Hack does, the drive on #14 was in the fairway. A layup and a good wedge would leave another birdie chance on the par 5. Instead of hitting an easy 8 iron down to 100 yards, I decided to hit 6 iron and put it down at the end of the fairway just before the hazard and leave myself a little 50 yard pitch over the hazard to the pin. You see what’s happening here? I’d just shanked 3 short pitch shots on #10 through #12 and I just couldn’t wait to try it again!
What happened next can only be described as a meltdown. My 6 iron was bladed right into the trees, my recovery shot caught a limb and came to rest just short of the hazard in front of the green, my pitch was shanked into the rough but cleared the hazard, my chip was shanked into the collection area pin high, the next chip ended up barely making the green. So, lying 6, I decided to 2 putt and make 8. Luckily, my second pin just lipped in - a triple. A round ending triple bogey. As one of my playing partners said: “GOLF!”
After missing a birdie on the next hole from 5 feet, I basically mailed in the rest of round 1. Shot 42 on the back to close Round 1 with an 81. Harry Steele was in the lead after shooting a solid 75 (4 over), followed by Gillis Green with a 76. Paul Dillon, Steve Dewey and your Hack were T3 with 81’s.
Saturday - Round 2
Being 6 shots back with 18 holes to go is tough. Harry had built a solid lead and it would take a combination of great play by your Hack and a blow-up from Harry for me to take the title. It wasn’t going to happen. As I told Mrs. Hack on Saturday morning, I’m just going to go out and have fun today and when I come home I won’t be upset if I shoot 70 or 85.
The final group teed off at 9:54AM and Harry and I both started with pars. Unfortunately, this was quickly followed by a 3-putt double on #2 and a bogey on #3. Harry made par on the first 3 holes and I was now 9 back. Dillon was playing well, while Gillis also had some struggles early on. A 2-putt birdie on the par 5, 4th hole felt good, but it was quickly followed by shanked 8 iron from the middle of the fairway on 5, another 3-putt bogey on #6, a shanked chip on #7 resulting in another double bogey, and I was out of the running. I made par on #8 and #9, but made the turn in 41 shots. Not good.
Harry played the front in 2 over and was rock solid. I was 10 back and Dillon (Paul) was 9 back, but Gillis had played himself out of contention for 2nd place. Unbeknownst to us, the Sheriff (Glenn Hudson) was making a run as well and there was a storm brewing on the horizon - literally. The back nine was going to be a battle for 2nd place and watching Harry complete another solid round.
Your Hack lost ground after a par on #10, a bad bogey on #11, and another shanked pitch shot on #12 that was luckily saved by a 15 foot put for par that crept into hole. A birdie on #13, left me 2 shots behind Paul for 2nd. On #14, where I’d made a triple bogey in the first round, my drive found the right rough as we could hear thunder north of the course. Another shanked 6 iron went through the trees and onto the 15th fairway. An over-hooked 8 iron went left of the green pin high, but I couldn’t get up and down for par - another bogey and I was 2 shots behind Paul.
The lightening siren rang after we hit our tee shots on #15 and we headed into the clubhouse to wait out the storm. Being 2 shots behind 2nd place with only 3 and 1/2 holes remaining, I decided to have a couple of beers while we waited and trade stories about our feeble attempts to catch Harry. The delay was about an hour - not too bad considering - and we headed back out in a light rain. Paul made another par while someone 3-putted from about 15 feet to fall even further back.
A poor tee shot on the par 3 16th left me short and left off the left pin, but I pitched over the bunker to about 5 feet and promptly lipped out the par putt. With that, your Hack gave up hope of at least getting 2nd place.
And that’s when the Golf Gods decided it was time to mess with us. I over cut my drive on #17 into the lateral water hazard while Paul found the left fairway bunker. As usual, Harry was in the fairway. Hitting a 6 iron (which I’d just shanked 3 holes ago), I struck in perfectly and it went over the big tree on the right side of the fairway and came to rest 105 yards from the pin - lying 4 on the par 5, #1 handicap hole. Paul’s shot from the bunker just stayed in play about 160 out, but in the rough just out of the water hazard.
What happened next was probably the greatest coronation I’d ever witnessed. Paul proceeded to hit 3 shots into the water hazard fronting the green and ultimately made an 11. My wedge landed about 6 feet below the hole and I made the put for an unlikely par. It was just your usual 6 shoot swing for 2nd place. Your Hack holed a nice 20 foot downhiller for par on the final hole and finished at 81-80 = 161. It was 11 shots behind Harry, but 2 shots ahead of the Sheriff and 3 shots ahead of Paul and good enough to take 2nd place. I’d been crowned with another 2nd place finish, but the real story was the winner.
Harry Steele is 80 years young. He’d taken the Club Championship just two weeks earlier beating 2 college players in the semi-final and final match. And, now he accomplished his first double - winning both Club Championships in the same year. He’d shot 75-75= 150. This was Harry’s 14th Championship win at Cripple Creek as he has 9 Senior wins and 5 Club Championship wins. It was an awesome thing to watch and a privilege to play along with him both days.
So, your Hack’s Championship season ends for 2022. I was able to win the 1st Flight in our Club Championship and was gifted 2nd place in the Senior. Not what I wanted, but I’m very happy to have competed. There is nothing like tournament golf. I’ll be diving deeper into John Sherman’s Practical Golf over the next few weeks.
Going forward, we have our Annual 2-day Club Match versus Bear Trap Dunes the week after Labor Day and then the Three Man Challenge, September 10-11, where 3-man teams play 9 holes of Select 18 Scores and 9 holes of Step Aside Scramble each day to raise money for Operation Seas the Day - Warrior Week at the Beach. This event has become one of their largest source of funding wounded warrior family vacations to Bethany Beach each year.
I’ll be blogging about these events and others so please come along and follow the golf adventures of your Retired Golf Hack. Keep it in the short grass.