@cjnussbaum1219, Any interest in playing our match out over a couple of the supplemental loops at Sweetens?
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That was the plan for myself and @iPress but it will have to wait unfortunately.
Im in
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@dclthomas and I battled it out on Friday at True Blue with @Paden and @grizzly224 before this weekends roost regional. Dustin has been on a very nice hot streak this summer taking his handicap down from 5 to 0 over the last two months so he was giving me 8 shots for the match. A few highlights on the day.
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Round got off to a not so ideal start when we realized that the starter allowed a group of 9 (3 threesomes) to tee off together 5 minutes before our 4:18pm tee time. Thankfully we were able to go off of 10, however it wasnāt much better and I believe took us 2hr 45min to play 9 holes (#ShrinkTheGame).
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I got off to a hot start winning the first two holes with a 5/4 on No. 10 and birdie on the par 3 11th. We tied the next two holes and things got a little interesting on the par 3 14th. I had the honors and stuffed it to about 8 ft with a good look a birdie (back pin). Dustin hit it to the front part of the green and probably had a 25-30ft putt. Hits a great lag and the par was conceded. I hit a SLIGHTLY aggressive birdie putt that took a nice loop around the hole and shot out the left side 5ft away. Evidently I didnāt learn much from my first putt and basically did the exact same thing on the comebacker for par to lose the hole.
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We went back and forth to finish out the first 9 with me up 1.5 in the match. Up to this point we had been pretty lucky with weather as they had been calling for rain all day leading up to the round. As we were putting out on 18 though, mother nature decided we were not going to get off that easy and open up a torrential downpour for about 15 minutes.
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At this point Iām thinking there is no way we are finishing this round as we are watching the group behind us play 18 with the green turning into a pond and itās probably 7:15pm, but somehow the rain stopped shortly after and we were able to continuing playing.
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Dustin was able to cut his deficit down to just .5 after winning the short par 4 2nd hole with a par but quickly gave one back after hitting it into the not so soft bunker on the par 3 3rd hole and was unable to get up and down. Probably the turning point for the match was on the next tee box. Hole No. 4 is one of the iconic Stranz long dog leg par 5ās that has water up the entire left side of the hole. I had the honor and hit a solid tee shot up the right side of the fairway (shout out to the trusty 3 wood). Knowing he has to make a move in the match, Dustin went for the big draw to hopefully give himself a look at going for the green in two but unfortunately over hooked it into the pond.
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As daylight quickly faded away, I was able to close out the match 4.5 & 3 after winning the next two holes with a birdie and par. Always an honor to tee it up with my @PalmettoGolfSociety brother! Looking forward to my rematch with @jbilo in the next round and making the trip up to Charleston.
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The final 3 matches for the round of 16 are set
The stick vs the beast
@Deven75 vs @PowerFadez
SC on SC crime with
@jtshelley42 vs @jbilo
And last but not least the sandhills nice off
@westerj12 vs @BoyNamedSuj
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@dclthomas i feel like this was kind of glossed over. As a man who has floated āaround a 5ā for 3 years Iām shook. Congrats on the hot streak. Whatās your secret to success here?
Myself and the chasing scratch guys would love to know.
Itās probably more like a 6-8 beer discussion but a couple points.
- Starting at 5 is a bit misleading. Was down at 2 last season but threw my back out the morning of my first 40+ SCGA event (2-3 beers discussing the irony of this being the first time Iāve ever thrown my back out). That was last October after the Rail and I really never got my form back until probably April in which time the Index hit the soft cap.
- I just was re-fit for all new clubs that I starting playing in June. These replaced clubs I was fit for in 2016 when I was just getting back into golf so was long overdue. (2 beers to discuss fittings for sure)
- The rehab for the back took about 4 months before I felt ok. I have tried to continue with a focus on hip/back/leg strengthening. I havenāt practiced being the best at exercising for at least 15 years. (2 more beers discussing why I should have stopped at 2 beers if I want to take my new found health activities seriously)
- Have put a premium on range sessions focused solely on rhythm/tempo/feels. I donāt even watch the ball. Donāt care about result. Only that my transitions werenāt rushed and were properly sequenced. (this is probably when we switch to bourbon and put on something smooth with a 40 bps tempo)
- I really struggled with my turf interaction chipping transitioning from bent grass to bermuda. Watched a Rick Sheils video that really help re-instill proper use of bounce which isnāt punished on bent like it is on bermuda. I got up and down 7 of 8 times in round 2 of my club championship which was more like my junior golf days. This Golf Lesson Changed my LIFE! - YouTube @PFitz @Paden @AirMailWedges can attest to a couple bunker shots at Caledonia that saved me strokes even if the rest of the game failed me
- This was really the first season I didnāt have an off season. Iād lose my game every winter in Chicago so rarely had much time to improve rather than just working the rust off.
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I stopped reading here, SINGLE DIGITS HERE I COME!!!
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New logo, too?
Remember to get these matches in and post a writeup when they go down!
September 10 is the deadline.
Let me know if you have any questions.
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The ELITE EIGHT is almost set! 2 matches remain
and
Follow along here: 2023 CLC Matchplay Tracker - Google Sheets
I would also LOVE to see more details about these matchesā¦Mainly how @westerj12 let it slip away.
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I was looking death in the faceā¦
I was 3 down after 10ā¦all square walking off 13 greenā¦then 14 happened. I made an 8, and tied the hole. 15 is where my physical condition started to severely deteriorate BUT @BoyNamedSuj hit the shots he needed to hit and the heat was getting to all of us. Tom played solid golf all day and beat me. RIP to whoever has to play him next because minus one drive, and getting a little unlucky 5 yards off the fairway, his driver was a weapon. I knew I was screwed too on 1 when he hit his approach to 6 feet and Iām fumblefucking around in the bunker.
Edit: I also need to stop thinking on the golf course because I think if I had just hit the mini-Hogan driver all day (especially on the front) I would have been in a lot better position going to the back. But noooooooooooo, I have to try to play it smart and hit hybrid or iron off some tees.
But from what I remember, it was a fun round of golf with Tom, @tplatimer, and @needforspieth. I expect to see Tom and Powell in the final four as long as they donāt play each other.
Edit 2 because I think 14 needs some context:
After my near ace of 13 Iāve got the box and flare a hybrid on to the cart path right. Tom steps up and yanks one, and I mean YANKS one, right. It somehow missed every single tree and was deemed lost. He drops in the fairway on the line it entered with a 2 stroke penalty. I chunk my 2nd off the sand path in to the fairway. Tom hits his 4th over the green in to the bushes. I decide I have zero interest in winning the hole so I also hit my 3rd over the green in to the bushes. After a semi-lengthy discussion on drop positions, Tom chips it in to the bunker (his only play) and I have to take a drop on the backside of the bunker. I hit the lip on the chip and leave it in the bunker then chip out to about 15 feet. Tom chips out of the bunker to about 3 feet. Heās putting for 8 and Iāve got a 15 footer for 7. I slide my putt 3 feet by and make the comebacker. I give Tom his putt because weāve seen enough and no one should win a hole with an 8. I followed that up with another 8 on 15 and Tom took the opening and ran with it.
Edit 3 because I keep thinking of stuff:
To whomever plays Tom next, if you think heās out of the hole, youāre wrong. Heās a magician around the green. His chip on 3 from the 4th tee box was sensual.
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@Are_you_double_D v @BCates IV will occur this upcoming weekend. The forecast might make things tricky with some precip predicted. However, we planned for that and have 2 times in the works, BPP Saturday morning and Sedge Sunday afternoon(the preferred option of course).
For those not in the know Rudd v Ben has been decided on the 18th hole each of the first 3 matches. Rudd won with par on 18 at BPChamps, where Ben made him make the 8ā putt for the W, as it should have been. Rudd made a 20 ft long, 10 ft breaker at The Challenge to win the 2nd match. Ben took the last match at BP Players with a comfy par on 18. Lots of back and forth within those highly contested battles. Expecting more of the same this weekend.
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Most important take away of the day.
We probably tested the limits of how much two players can respect the game on 14. I distinctly remember standing on the green and looking back down the fairway wondering if we may have tried to have too much fun on one hole.
Overall it was a hell of a fun round. @westerj12 shot into 13 was one of the best shots Iāve seen all year.
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We had a CLC double-header matchup on Sunday at beautiful, steaming Mid-Pines between myself and @needforspeith and @jwester12 and @BoyNamedSuj .
Before the match even starts, Jonathan rolls up with 40-year old driver and 3-wood, like heās gonna take on Mid Pines in match play swinging around an apricot and a clementine. Self-imposed rollback. Itās funny until he absolutely mashes it off the tee, and almost every subsequent one.
Iām gonna provide the most detail for my and Dustyās match, but occasionally will list some highlights from Johnathan and Tomās match where I can remember. It was hot, I have an 2-month-old, I had limited mental brainspace to follow their match.
Holes 1-4, weāre getting settled here, Dusty and I are both comfortably 4-over through 4 to start and weāre even. Dusty is impeccably solid from 200 in.
Hole 5: Dustyās first really wayward drive, skies it right and spends most of the hole in the crap. I flush a 4-iron from 205 to have about 15 feet for a comfy 2-putt birdie. (I cannot emphasize how good this shot felt, I think I moaned audibly while ball was in the air)
Hole 6: I am still weak in the knees from that birdie, and drain a 15-foot putt for back-to-back birdies. Dusty bounces back from a blowup hole and drains a nervy 8-foot par putt with a pop to halve the hole. This putt from him was stony.
Hole 7: weāre both short of the green, but I get lucky and pour in a 20-foot breaking putt to save par and go 2-up. Reader, this is already more feet of putts made than any round this summer for me.
Hole 8: Our benefactor Michael Runy shows up to heckle a bit, and Dusty and I both collapse under the pressure. I make a double from a grass bush over the green, and thatās good enough to win the hole and go 3-up.
At the turn, Iām 3-up on Dusty and Tom is 2-up on Jonathan - Tom is having some real soft hands around the green and hitting some ridiculous pitch shots.
Hole 10: Push, but Jonathan opts out of walking and takes Runyās cart for the final 9. That seems to change the entire momentum of the match for a bit as both he and Dusty Rally.
Hole 11-12: I get bogged down in a bunker on 11, and Dusty takes the hole by being smart and missing where youāre supposed to. I then drive it inexplicably into the tall grass on 12 and we canāt find the ball, so suddenly the match is back to 1up with quite a bit to play. Butts are puckering.
Hole 13: Jonathanās rally peaks here, he hit a low piercing shot and started complaining about it being thin right off the clubface. but the ball tracked and tracked ā¦ and lipped out. He had 2 feet for birdie and suddenly the other match is all square. (I make a routine par to edge Dusty by a stroke and go 2up again)
Hole 14: This is where the other match gets off the rails. Itās all square, and Tom pipes his drive into the woods. It somehow missed every pine tree on property, and Tom and Jonathan search for it to no avail. Jonathanās drive is barely in the trees as well. Weāve got an older group behind us pressing, waiting on the tee. Jonathan stubbs one out of the trees and catches a tree branch. Jonathan launches the next one into the rose bushes behind the green. Tom drops, then hits HIS shot into the bushes. Dusty and I are both on the green, and Tom finds his ball in the bushes. Tom hacks it out 10 feet into the bunker. While heās doing this, Jonathan is rustling in the bushes for his ball, then asking about the right placement for a drop, and at one point Tom goes āweāre both laying like 6 right?ā Dusty and I are on the green for comfy pars, watching all this, and now two groups are backed up on the tee, arms akimbo, watching this unfold. Both players get up and down for quad, and technically there was no blood, it felt like psychologically there were buckets of it out there.
Hole 15: Dusty hits an absolute blister of a 3-wood into the green, but it rolls back off the false front. I have to hit another long-iron into the back of the green. We both par (Dusty is throwing some haymakers down the stretch and Iām just trying to parry). Tom spends the whole hole working throuhg the crap on the left side of the hole, but somehow manages to take the hole after Jonathan airmails the green and struggles to get out. Tom goes 1-up.
Hole 16: Neither Dusty nor I can get up and down for par after coming up short of the green. Tom takes this hole too. Both matches Dormie.
Hole 17: I make a nice little bogey putt and close Dusty out 3&1, in his only real stumble on the back. The Hogan Clementine ā87 finally betrays Jonathan with a stone cold top (the first really bad contact heās had with it all day), and canāt come back. Tom outlasts Jonathan 2-1.
An absolute blast even on a brutally hot day, and a welcome reprieve from 2 months of nothing but diapers and bottles. Dusty played me to a dead draw on the back and just kept coming.
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Couple of heavy hitters here
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I walked off 13 green thinking I had Tom on the ropes and then he hits his tee shot in the darkness so I really think Iām goodā¦then, wellā¦youāve seen the rest of the story
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Assuming the match occurs on Sunday, I will do my best to document anything noteworthy. I donāt really do Instagram but I can keep the CLC whatsapp chat in the loop.
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So yesterday we had a Coastal Pod rematch for the Sweet 16 between myself and @iPress at THE Wilmington Muni. I was coming off a truly horrendous 9 hole round at Ironclad a couple days prior and Joe was coming off of multiple double-bagger days at Eagle Point, including yesterday before our roundā¦So sorry that is what you have to do for a living Joeā¦ Anyway, we somehow managed to go off as a two-some on a Sunday afternoon. It was glorious, except for the god-awful pace of play lolā¦The beer was ice cold so we managed through the adversity just fine. Joe was giving me 7 shots also. Here are the details:
Hole 1: I hit a nice drive up the right fairway and Joe airmails one in the street right and then proceeds to hit his breakfast ball in the left rough. I hit it to a foot for a tap in birdie. Joe with a bogey and I take the 1up lead. Just a 3 for 2 to start off the day. Just hate to see that off the bat.
Hole 2: We both play the hole pretty well and make mediocre chips onto the green leaving us too long of birdie putts for where we were at. Both tapped in for par. I am still 1up.
Hole 3: Still trying to figure out whether I like this hole or hate it but nonetheless we both hit ok tee shots to the left rough. I hit a rope draw left and honestly didnāt know if I would find it. Thankfully the thick rough grabbed it and nestled it down leaving me 20-25 yards to pin. Joe hit a great ball but just came up a little short. Unfortunately, neither of us got up and down. I was popping so I took a 2up lead.
Hole 4: āThe Volcano Holeā This is a daunting par 3 and I should have kept my damn mouth shut. I have never made worse than par on itā¦until this occasion. What made it even worse was I got screwed by the bell on #3 instead of saved lol. Literally in my backswing, someone started ringing it to let the folks know on the tee box they were leaving the fairway. Needless to say, I got what I deserved for running my mouth and proceeded to hook my ball into the woods left. Joe hit a solid shot that just got hung up in the right rough. Joe bogeyed the hole but that was enough to beat my double since I was not popping on that hole. Back to 1up.
Hole 5: Joe hit his drive in the one place you cannot on this hole. It resulted in a dropped shot and a bogey up and down. I split the fairway, hit a decent approach shot and 2 putted for 4 for 3. BAck to 2up
Hole 6: We both hit good drives but dammit I did outdrive him on this one. Yeah his might have curved a little more than mine but still lol. Joe goes first and sends ones deep behind the green. I proceed to hit it to 10 feet. Joe hits a pretty good shot back onto green but doesnāt make the put for par and settles for bogey. I had this one in the bag right?? No, I miss my birdie putt and my par putt is almost just as long on the other side of hole. I then miss it and tap in for a bogeyā¦10 ft for birdie and I three puttā¦just hate to experience those. I remain 2 up
Hole 7: Donāt remember much about this hole other than we both played it well and missed birdie putts to settle for comfy pars. 2Upā¦
Hole 8: Little short Par 3 and man I do not play it well for whatever reason. Me nor Joe hit great shots with me missing the green left and Joe missing the green right. Joe hits an amazing chip to tap in range. My shot from the rough makes it to the green but just barely. The par putt doesnāt drop and my lead is back to 1up.
Hole 9: I put a little birdie in Joeās ear and man did he listenā¦Proceeds to airmail his tee ball over the First Tee fence and out of play. I hit my tee shot in the left rough as usual. Joe takes a drop and lays up with 3 wood. I lay up with a 7 iron leaving me such a comfy number heading in. I hit the green and 2 putted once again for a comfy par and Joe made another bogey with a drop. Lead back to 2 up
Stopped back at the proshop to pick up some additional refreshments since the first 12 went down so well.
Hole 10: Donāt really remember what we did on this hole but Joe made par and bogeyed the hole. I was popping so the lead remained at 2up.
Hole 11: Another par 3 I do not play well. Joe played it a little better than I did but we both managed pars this time. Lead still 2up
Hole 12: I played this hole pretty straightforward and boring and two-putted for par. Joe hit what we thought was the perfect drive only to find out the trees got him. He still hit a great shot and had a birdie opportunity. I was popping so after we both tapped in for par I took a 3up lead.
Hole 13: I do not remember what we did on this hole either. I did win the hole with a par to Joeās bogey taking the lead to 4up with 5 to play. I have been here with Joe before and most of the time our match is overā¦Not today thoughā¦We did make a bet for whoever won the back paid for the beers at the turn. Maybe that is why he was so motivated this time aroundā¦who can say
Hole 14: Me and Joe both hit good drives on this one. I hit a really nice approach but was unable to convert the birdie putt. Joeās approach stayed on the right fringe. We both made par on this hole and I remained 4up
Hole 15: I hooked my tee shot OB and ultimately doubled the hole. Joe played it well and won the hole with a par to cut the lead to 3up.
Hole 16: Last par 3 - Joe is short left and I am just short middle. Joe chips up for comfy par and I dont and make bogeyā¦Lead down to 2up
Hole 17: Joe hits a great drive and my drive finds the left rough. I hit a knuckle ball just off the back of the green and ultimately made a bogey. Joe has comfy par to cut the lead to 1up going to 18. Never seen this fight out of this man beforeā¦
Hole 18: Not our best efforts on this closing hole. We both managed to miss par putts and close with bogeys. I was popping so my 5 for 4 took the match to me winning 2UP.
It was a great afternoon on one of the Countryās great munisā¦The company was awesome as always and I do look forward to teeing it up again soon @iPress. I hope to continue to represent the Coastal Pod in the Elite 8. Cheers
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