Queenstown Meetup Game

Something New for Your Hack . . . Golf with Internet Friends

Your Hack drove 80 miles yesterday (Saturday) to play golf with 3 guys he met on the Internet. I was playing with Mike @DJsCokeDealer, Steve @sjdowne, and Will @Jelley.

You see, I’m a member of the “Hamsterdam Golf Club” which is a No Laying Up adjacent group based around Maryland. For full disclosure, I’m also a member of the National Links Troost (mainly DC and Northern VA) and the Electric Phactory (based around Philadelphia). These groups host meetup’s and tournaments for golf sicko’s and a chance to qualify into a national tournament held annually in Jacksonville, FL.

But I digress. The River Course at Queenstown Harbor was ready for play on this beautiful February day. Given recent weather, the course was in great shape and greens rolled well for this time of year. We played the Blue/Gold combo tees which is about 6200 yards. The only issue was that carts are basically needed because of some extremely long hikes between holes.

So, your Hack arrived about 10:15 for the 11AM tee time not knowing what he was getting into. My concern was immediately erased after meeting these boys. Although we spanned the age spectrum, Jelley is 23, Mike is 31, Steve 47 and your old Hack checking in at age 67, we were all close on the handicap scale. The shit talking started before the first tee, but I was surprised that no mention of a bet surfaced. Mike, Steve, and Jelley obviously knew each other, so I thought that I must have been the wild card.

The first hole is a 336 yard par 4 with water all down the right. We all hit our drives to the left side of the fairway and had easy approaches. Jelley hit a great shot below the pin and made birdie, while Mike and I pulled our shots into the left bunker. We both got up and down for par and Steve 2 putted for his. A nice start for the group.

Your Hack’s putter was working this day and I got up and down for pars on 2 of the next 3 holes, but the ball striking was tough as I only hit 2 greens on the front side. Everyone had at least one birdie on the card except me until I made a 15 footer on #9 to join the club. Naturally, your Hack had one blowup hole with a newspaper double and made the turn at 40 (4 over). Mike came in at 39, and Steve and Jelley just a few shots worse.

I finally figured out that Steve was as degenerate a gambler as me and we decided on the 12th tee to play for $10 a hole coming home. I luckily halved 12 with a bogey, when Steve 3 jacked it from about 20 feet. He made up for it on #13 with a great birdie as I left my shorter birdie try about an inch short - 1 down. Dual bogeys for each of us from the greenside bunker on #14 and then a nasty 3-putt on #15 for a bogey left me 2 down with 3 to play. On the downhill par 3 16th all four of us left shots short of the front pin, but I was on the fringe. Steve chipped up to about 10 feet and it looked like another halved hole after I lipped out my birdie putt. Unfortunately for Steve, his mind wandered left as did his putt - back to 1 down.

We halved #17 with textbook pars and came to the final hole. #18 on the River course is a par 5 that requires a layup off the tee short of a marshy area, but leaves you over 260 from the green. I hit a 3 wood over the right bunker but still in the fairway while Steve tugged his tee shot left into the trees. Steve’s second was yanked once again and left him in the rough about 160 from the green. My 3 hybrid split the fairway and left me 110 out. After leaving his approach short left (see the consistency here?), I hit a soft wedge to about 15 feet. Steve was unable to get up and down and I left my birdie putt to tap in range - all square (we should have played for $100 a hole!)

Your Hack ended the day shooting 80 with a double and one 3-putt, but ended up with 3 new friends that I hope to play a lot of golf with this year. They could not have been more gracious and were a ton of fun as we hacked out way around this great public track. Queenstown Harbor has 2 courses, but the River is the best choice. Great views of the Bay, good shot values and very fun to play.

That’s 7 rounds in the books for 2022 and here’s where we stand:

• Rounds Played: 7

• Scoring Avg.: 79.29

• Avg. Putts: 35.9

• Birdies: 11

• Eagles: 0

• Doubles or Worse/Round: 1.6

• FIR: 78.4%

• GIR: 61.6%

I know it’s pretty obvious that I need to work on putting and stop pull hooking my approach shots left. I know, I know, I say that constantly. I’m trying :-)

PGA Wagering Update:

After getting my hopes crushed by Zalatoris at the Farmers and Spieth at the AT&T, I skipped betting this week for the Waste Management. Licking my wounds as it were. I do have JT in my One and Done contest, but he’s currently at T20 and 6 shots back of the leaders. I’ll return with a card at the Genesis where my boy Max Home is the defending champ.

Waste Management - 3 Things So Far:

1. Charlie Hoffman needs protection

2. Beer bottles flew on #16

3. Phil the “Thrill is gone”

Player whining reached a new level as CH tried to take a drop after hitting his drive into a hazard. Yes, the drop (actually his placing of the ball after two failed drops) also rolled into the hazard resulting in another penalty. Just play better dude.

Sam Ryder’s hole-in-one on #16 led to a hole new dimension of golf fan celebration that is usually reserved for English football.

And then there’s Lefty, Philly Mic, Phil the Thrill . . . Your Hack used to be a fan, but something weird is going on here. After peaking with his historic PGA Championship win last year, his star has faded. After lashing out at the PGA Tour for “obnoxious greed”, making up stories about paying rights fees out of his own pocket, taking Saudi blood money, crafting a wild claim that he deserves a share of “$20 billion in unrealized digital profits” held by the Tour, and going after the Master’s Tournament for making money off “his” 2010 shot off the pine straw - he’s now left with blocking critics on Twitter.

No Laying Up @NoLayingUp

I just can't believe I did that. I'm such an idiot.

Phil has also blocked Joel Beall from Golf Digest.com and Geoff Shakelford as well as numerous other journalists and even critical fans. Sad. His legacy will undoubtedly suffer and he might have just put his Ryder Cup captaincy in jeopardy!

Your Hack can’t wait to see what the final round brings today - Theegala, Keopka & Scheffler in the final 3-ball - Deki, Max & X all lurking - LFG!

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That’s all I have for today folks. Enjoy the final round from Scottsdale and the Super Bowl. Keep it in the short grass.