Oh. You’re saying if a home and home was played as two 18 hole matches instead of a single 36 hole match.
Gotcha.
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Taking a quick detour from next year planning to provide an update on current match-play play:
@Twowaymiss and I faced off yesterday afternoon at Mayfield Country Club in an OATW Semifinal Match. Golf was, purportedly, played, though neither one of us had anything close to our A-games. As Andrew put it, we were like two Michelin Men out on the golf course in a pathetic pillow fight.
Andrew got off to a quick start, winning the 1st two holes. I tried battling back over the next several holes, but thru 15 was only able to get the match back to AS. Seemingly every time I won a hole, Andrew would take it right back on the next.
We were tied heading into 16 with both of us in the “sh*t” off the tee. I was fortunate to find mine, Andrew not so much. I took 16 and then closed things out with a comfy bogey on 17 for a 2 &1 victory.
It was a pleasure getting out with @Twowaymiss, and I’m looking forward to #launchingthem at Canterbury.
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After letting the match play pitch sink in, does anyone think it makes more sense to get a travel bonus point for a tie or win but not for a loss?
I’m still going to make an effort to travel, as I’ll have a lot more free time in the next 6-8 months with the kids back in school but needing to post a result to get the bonus would (to me) eliminate any possible PPM fluffing.
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the best way to describe the round was - right before we get to the first tee and talking about strokes.
@MDM - “I am at an all time low for my handicap”
Me - “I am as well, looks like this will be a fun low scoring affair”
Narrator - “It was not a low scoring affair”
but - all in all a great day at a great course with awesome company. Thanks again Matt for hosting!
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Should be total holes won
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We could also leave it up to those playing a 36 hole home and home how they want to do it. You can play one 36 hole match or two 18 hole matches with your own tiebreaker choices.
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Folks,
Things are moving very quickly in the other half of the Ohio Roost Matchplay bracket.
The last remaining quarterfinal match took place yesterday at Four Bridges CC. @BoomBaby812 and I both play out here at 4B and we’ve had close to a hundred matches up to this point, but none with more at stake than this. Instead of the normal “loser buys the post-round drinks”, this match came with the prize of moving on to face the Commish himself with a trip to Canterbury on the line.
The sunny, blue-skied day started with Boom making a difficult up and down look easy, while I three-putted myself to 1DN after 1. With birdies on 2 and 4, I went on a heater and took the next 4 holes to make it 3UP after 5. We made the turn with me leading 4UP.
After a group shotgun on 10-tee to try and swing the momentum, Boom won hole 10 and started his cut into the lead. After a few straight halves he won 14 as well to shrink the lead to 2UP. We were beginning to think the shotgun momentum shift had worked… It would ultimately prove to be too little too late though, as I got the wheels back on and finished things off 3&2 on the 16th green. It was a great day on the course with Boom and our marker Cade, a fellow NLU fan but non-refugee (who quietly beat us both and took our money in our side game).
Moving forward quickly, the seminal match between myself and the Commish has already been scheduled for this afternoon at Miami Shores GC, a Donald Ross muni that doesn’t know the history that’s about to be made there today. By this evening, the Ohio Matchplay finals will be set with the winner moving on to face @MDM.
Let’s go launch ‘em @golf4miami
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The Finals are Set!
First I want to thank @tmck14 for making the drive up to Troy to play Miami Shores, especially the day after he had just played another match. It was an option I just kind of threw out there because I had played it before and knew that it had a fun set of greens.
The setting was great, the weather was perfect, and the combatants were primed and ready to go. Tad had the unfortunate task of giving my 9.1 handicapped self 8 strokes over 18 holes.
#1 - A handshake slight dogleg right par 5 and I was immediately reminded why I liked this course as a kid since it starts and ends with a par 5. Unfortunately Tad got off the bus quickly with a perfect drive and well executed second. After my recovery shot and third shot found a GIR, Tad poured in his birdie putt to take the lead 1up after 1.
#2 - A 135 yard par 3 on the day with the pin up front playing slightly into and off the right. Tad’s tee shot ended up short left and mine found the green about 8 feet away. After a delicate pitch attempt from Tad didn’t quite make it onto the green and his chip-in attempt missed I was able to two putt for the win. AS
#3 - A slight dogleg right par 4. I hit a perfect drive down the left middle of the fairway and Tad’s drive got a bit wipey and found some high grass we had agreed to play as lateral. Unfortunately we were unable to find his ball and he had to take a drop a long ways back from the green. After his third couldn’t find the green he had a nice punch shot out from under a tree that was nearly perfect, but just got hung up. This allowed be to play my second shot safely to the front of the green and get up and down for the hole win. Ryan 1 up.
#4 - My first pop of the match a longer dogleg right par 5. Two solid drives from both competitors found us both in position to go for the green. Tad’s second wound up just right of a bunker short of pin high. I tried to push a 3 iron further than I should have and pulled it left of the green. Both of us were able to put our chips onto the green. I missed my 10 footer for birdie and Tad missed his six footer as well. I won the hole thanks to my stroke. Ryan 2 up.
#5 - Another dogleg right par 4 with a green that has a knob right in the front middle that can really mess with you. I’m getting another pop here. I hit another solid drive up the left middle and Tad had a solid drive up the right side. The wind picked up down this hole straight into us and I think Tad caught a gust as his ball got pushed into the bunker on the right side of the green. I took my gap wedge and put my ball safely into the middle of the green. Tad got robbed yet again of a recovery shot being just inches from perfect out of the bunker so I was able to safely two putt to card a 4 for 3 to win the hole. Ryan 3 up.
#6 - A short 4 with a wicked green. I tried to play it safe with a long iron and didn’t get all of it which kept me a bit further back on my approach than I wanted. Tad went with driver and got down far enough to allow for an open look at the green from the right rough. After pulling my approach long left Tad placed his second shot safely into the green. My chip shot ran about 10 feet long down a slope that was just passed the pin from my angle and after I missed my comebacker putt Tad was able to safely two putt for the par and the win. Ryan 2 up.
#7 - The inevitable Donald Ross Long Par 3™ pokes it’s head up here and because of that I get a pop. Playing 201 to the pin with the pin in the front on the day. Both players left their tee shots safely in the front of the green and below the hole. After two chips both competitors would probably agree were mediocre I curled in my par putt which rendered Tad’s attempt at par irrelevant with my pop. Ryan 3 up.
#8 - Straightaway shortish par 4 with OB left. Tad’s drive was down the right side of the fairway and mine found the rough about two yards from OB. Tad threw a dart onto the green and I gave mine just a bit too much oomph. With the pressure on and thinking my putt was more downhill than it was, I left my birdie attempt way short. Tad lagged up to an easy par allowing him to win the hole when my par putt slid just by. Ryan 2 up.
#9 - Another par 4 with OB left with slightly more length. The last hole of the front nine and my last pop on the front. Two solid drives myself into the left rough again and Tad down the right side of the fairway. I hit chunked my shot, but it left me safely below the pin in the fairway. Tad thinned his approach just a little and went long right of the green. I chipped up to the front of the green, but left myself still about 15 feet for par. Tad’s chip was a tough scene. He played it nearly perfect but the front to back slope of the green saw the ball run out just past my marker. His par putt just slid by on the left allowing me to two putt with my pop to take the hole. Ryan 3 up at the turn.
#10 - Another longer par 4 with OB left starts off the back nine. This is my first pop of the back nine, it’s also my last pop until hole 16 where I’ll be getting the last three holes in a row to finish the match. I hit a solid drive down the right hand side here and Tad’s drive caught an early overhanging tree branch and didn’t get that far. A solid second shot for Tad leaked just right putting him under a tree where he would have to punch out to the front of the green. I chunked another approach and came up just short. But I was able to get up and down from there for my part to win the hole. Ryan 4 up.
#11 - Straight away par 4. Another solid drive from me down the right side of the green after my ball just snuck through a tree. Tad’s drive faded just a little too much into some high grass. We couldn’t find his drive so he had to drop and punch out again for his third to the front of the green. Feeling an opportunity on a hole I wasn’t popping on I got a bit too in my head about the approach and fully chunked it leaving myself about 30 yards short. My third also snuck onto the front of the green leaving me about 10 feet to Tad’s 25 to 30. Tad promptly pulled the NLU Mongolian Reversal on me however and dunked the putt for par which won him the hole when my putt didn’t make it to the hole. Ryan 3 up.
#12 - Par three playing about 160 on the day with the wind directly in our face. A tricky green here as well. Both tee shots end up just short again but below the pin. Tad winds up in some fairway grass and chips it up to about 4 feet. I draw a tough lie and get too much of the ball and it runs out to about 20 feet on a slider of a putt. Thinking that my goal would just be to make sure that Tad would need to make his putt to win the hole, I nearly pull my own Mongolian Reversal, but the putt slides just by. Tad’s four footer also slides by as I dodge a huge bullet. Ryan remains 3 up.
#13 - A 300 yard risk-reward par 4 with a lot of high risk. Both competitors choose to lay up. My second shot ends up just short again but with what should be a straight forward up and down. Tad’s approach finds the green with a solid shot. My putt from the front fringe looks good, but runs about four feet by. Tad’s birdie putt burns the edge and he settles for par. This time it’s my turn to miss a four footer which gives Tad the hole. Ryan 2 up.
#14 - The inverse of the long par three, here is the Donald Ross shorty. Playing about 130 yards with a tricky pin location on the front left. Tad’s tee shot finds the green, but it has too much spin and comes back off the front. I miss the green just about pin high to the left. We’re back into the same situation we found ourselves in two holes ago. And it’s the same result. I missed my par putt and Tad’s four footer just burns the edge. A Bullet Bill sized bullet dodged for me here. Ryan 2 up.
#15 - A really fun short par 5 that isn’t really all that getable unless you play it perfectly off the tee. Tad goes into the left rough which blocks him out from going for the green in two and plays a punch shot into the right rough just short of the green. I blow my tee shot way right onto the fairway for #13 which also has me blocked out. I try to hit a cut three wood that starts just too far right and catches a tree and luckily drops me into the fairway. A solid shot to the middle of the green from me later and an approach that finds the green from Tad later we each two putt to halve the hole. Ryan 2 up.
#16 - Longish downhill par 4 with the wind and my pops start back up again, I get one on each of the last three holes. Tad’s drive goes into the right rough. Sensing an opportunity my drive goes down the right side of the fairway. Tad’s second finds the front left of the green about 20 feet away from the pin. Nerves make themselves known to me again like on hole 11 but this time instead of chunking it, I catch it beyond thin and it flies the green into the lateral hazard beyond the green. My fourth shot from the drop catches the edge of the green and rolls out to about five feet from the pin. Tad’s birdie putt is another great effort that just misses but he’s in with par making my putt for five to halve the hole which I make finally making a short putt. Ryan 2 up with two to play.
#17 - Another par 4 the same length as the last basically but back up the hill and into the wind. Combined with the green it’s one of the tougher holes on the course. Tad’s tee shot goes down the left side of the fairway, just into the rough. My drive goes way right again, just like on the 15th and winds up on the other side of the 16th fairway. Knowing I need to step up and hit a good shot, I club up and swing aggressively and my ball lands on the back edge of the green. Tad with the pressure on puts his second shot to about 8 feet. Nerves pop up for me again as I try to lag my putt up close and I get too worried about it being downhill and leave it about four feet short. Before stepping up to his putt Tad says, “Gotta have it” and in a baller move immediately drains the putt for birdie. Making my four foot putt for par to halve the hole and win the match. Which I’m able to just do as it slides into the left side of the cup. Ryan wins 2&1.
I personally cannot speak more highly of @tmck14 as a person or competitor. We had so much fun on the course beyond the golf itself that was being played and I would gladly tee it up with him anytime. Maybe even as a rematch next year for the open play stages of the match play. Also, he clearly has the game and if not for a couple putts this match could have very easily gone the other way. I told him at one point that I felt like I was constantly dodging bullets or like a cat hanging onto the screen door just holding on for dear life hoping I didn’t fall off on that back nine.
As a very personal aside, I’m feeling extremely lucky this year to be playing some pretty decent golf when it’s been required of me and because of that I’ve been able to meet and play with some absolutely awesome Refugees. Which was the whole point of this thing in the first place. Feels like a Cinderella run for me to make it to the Final this year. Hopefully the carriage doesn’t turn back to a pumpkin at Canterbury.
Looking forward to teeing it up with @MDM!
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ATTENTION
The 2023 OATW Match Play Finale will be taking place August 13th at Canterbury Golf Club in Cleveland, Ohio
Tee time will be at 11am and I have been informed that @Browcoww77 will be joining our tee time! It’ll be great to have last year’s winner on hand for this years final will be pretty damn cool.
Does anyone have any questions for our finalists? Both finalists have agreed to a Q&A session before the match.
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@MDM and @golf4miami:
Which matchplay opponent did you fear the least?
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You want to limit that to pod or elimination play or just anyone we played so far this year?
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Please answer however you wish
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Full honesty? Probably @RyanNas and that’s only because he was coming off some really tough circumstances where our first match date had to be postponed and we rescheduled it for a course that I was fairly comfortable on. Combined with the weather that I knew was rolling in that day, which I enjoy playing in, I think that was the most confident I was going into a match.
All that being said, I know for a fact I did not get Ryan on his best day on the course and if the circumstances were different (him not having to reschedule) we might have had a different outcome.
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Easiest answer here would be @Browcoww77 but never got the opportunity to beat him since he ducked the competition this year.
In all seriousness, I don’t think I played anyone I feared the least. I’m a recreational golfer with wildly fluctuating scores, so I’ve had a healthy dose of apprehension with each matchplay opponent.
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Alright, I’ve got one for you @MDM.
What’s your absolute least favorite club in your bag? Narrow it down to just one.
I think mine would have to be my 60 degree. I barely use it anymore because full swings are usually either a sky high ball that winds up short or a super thin shot that flies long and it’s not as versatile around the green as my 56.
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To piggyback - what’s your favorites
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Since you said favorites, I’m going to list a couple.
PW - it’s my 150 club and pretty versatile for me. It just feels right in my hands.
Putter - I’m a decent putter and I just like the look of mine.
Driver - when it’s going straight, it just feels so good to see the ball rocket off the face. When it’s not straight, it’s nowhere near my favorite.
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Apologies for delayed response!
This used to be, unquestionably, my putter. But I’ve found something that’s acceptable this year and putting is no longer something I loathe. The answer to this question currently is my 3 hybrid. Cant seem to get it off the ground much these days. Luckily, it’s not a club I need all that much but something that I’ll be grinding on this winter.
Lotta different directions we could go with this. Driver, when it’s on, can be a weapon and super fun to hit…when it’s not, it’s not. I love hitting 8-iron for some reason. Gap wedge also looks good to my eye.
I think my favorite club, though, is my 58 degree – feel like I can score with it from 60-80 yards and it’s the club I most often use ARG and from bunkers.
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You absolutely added this to troll me
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Got another question for you @MDM.
How would you say making it to the Final of the Match Play ranks as far as golfing accomplishments goes for you?
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