MGS Tour CCSO Memphis.

[RoverRick]

So a couple of weeks ago, I am minding my own business when my GameBook App tells me that JBones shoots a 66.  Bully for him.  That was great, and later in the day it prompted a FaceBook chat, where he proclaimed to have the greatest short game ever.  Well, I will listen to him hitting 300-340 yards all day long, but I balked at his short game claim.

 

This led to a challenge.  He travels occasionally to Memphis for work.  Next time he is in the area, I challenge him to a match.  The very next day I post a 68 on GameBook, and the challenge is accepted.

 

Then in the last couple of weeks things pick up steam.  We find a date that he is coming.  He talks to Mr Theoo, who was trying to arrange a game with him in Ohio, and then I contact Zach who wants a piece of the action and just like that, we have a foursome in the middle of a week.

 

We discussed making an open invitation to all but knew from past experiences that would turn into a mission and this was dictated by JBones work schedule and quite frankly, this was a pretty short lead time.

 

The venue was chosen by JBones, and I have to admit, that he stacked the deck in his favor.  Mirimichi Golf Course.  7500 yards long.  This is like playing 12 of my par 5's. 

 

And it has been named the Cross Country Shoot Out or CCSO.

 

One of the most interesting aspects of this is the course length.  I will be giving up 50 yards off the tee box to these guys.  However, I feel like I have a short game that can make up for it.  The key is: I have to get in range to use the short game.  Unlike most courses I play, if I have a poor shot, that is okay, because I have the distance to recover.  On this course, I am at my max distance.  I will be hitting driver and hybrids on most of the par 4's.  They will be hitting mid and short irons.  So this will truly be a distance vs accuracy and game management.

 

I have been tracking my shot distance the past few weeks and practicing longer approach shots.  I am not a short knocker by most standards.  I average 260 off the tee, compared to these three I am.  I am about to take pictures of my new bag set up to show my different set up for this course.

 

I honestly hope we all play well, so I can comeback and brag next week. 

[RookieBlue7]

If it's what's in your WITB currently, JBones, call him on having 15 clubs, lol.

[JBones]

Game on. 7500...pfft, I'm taking driver and 4 wedges, that's all I'll need. Lol

[RoverRick]

If it's what's in your WITB currently, JBones, call him on having 15 clubs, lol.

 

Actually, it is close.  I don't carry the 4 iron, and 23 at the same time.

[Mr_Theoo]

With handicaps in play I have a huge advantage

[RookieBlue7]

Miramichi is a nice track.  Played it a few times, and a buddy just went a few weeks ago.  Lots of wildlife there, or there were when he went a few weeks ago.  

[Kanoito]

This sounds exciting! Look forward to hearing the complete story!

[Hula Rock]

7500 Yards ?  that is a lot of turf to cover..... have fun out there....

[JBones]

It doesn't play that long; last summer I was hitting it 350 there, because it's firm and fast.

[RoverRick]

It doesn't play that long; last summer I was hitting it 350 there, because it's firm and fast.

 

In keeping with the RoverRick and Jbones playing together tradition, Mirimichi got 2 inches of rain last night.  The other time we played together we got 9 inches of rain.  That day.

 

I need firm and fast. haha

 

I am only giving up 90 yards off the tee.

[JBones]

Also, it wasn't mentioned that we're playing 27 per day.....18 on the big course and 9 on Little Mirimichi (2530yd par 35).  It is definitely going to be a test.

[Hula Rock]

Some "Hefty" Par4 and Par3's according to the scorecard.  #18 600 yrds .......  thats a BEAST

[Mr_Theoo]

Some "Hefty" Par4 and Par3's according to the scorecard. #18 600 yrds ....... thats a BEAST

That hole may haunt my dreams

[RoverRick]

Some "Hefty" Par4 and Par3's according to the scorecard.  #18 600 yrds .......  thats a BEAST

 

Don't forget the 231 yard par 3.

 

Now you see why I have a bag full of hybrids.

[Hula Rock]

Don't forget the 231 yard par 3.

 

Now you see why I have a bag full of hybrids.

 

 

Hit em well guys..... 

[Mr_Theoo]

First day in the books. 7500 yard course conquered and I feel like we all deserve a medal for making it through.

[whiskey golf]

We need some leaderboard updates. Along with the millions of stats such as each shot, percentages, etc.

[RoverRick]

Here is some of the pertinent data. 

 

The Hotel- well, we finally found one that was acceptable, on the fourth or fifth try.  Never have I been given a hotel room key to a room with dirty dishes and unmade beds.  And I saw that twice.  Finally, we found one that met our "high" standards.  Clean sheets, hot water, cold a/c, Free WI-FI, and not have the car broken into while we sleep.  Yes, I understand with standards like this you can expect some disappointment.

 

The weather was perfect.

 

The guys well, since Zach and I have played with JBones, and he had played with Mr. Theoo there were not many surprises.  Other than Theoo has a full face.

 

The course was not in pristine condition.  The concept of the play is awesome.  Great practice facilities, 9 hole executive course, and 18 hole championship course.  Unfortunately, the green speeds on the 3 different paces are not the same. But they are fast and roll well.  There is not a straight level spot on any green that I saw.  The pins were pretty much a flag length from the edge and tucked behind a hazard.  Downhill putts, tended to run 10-12 feet past the hole.  It was not uncommon to see someone with a 3' downhill putt have at least twice that going back, and that was after tapping the putt so gently that it wobbled past the hole.

 

Every hole had a forced carry.  Most par 5's required a 220 yard carry at least, and par 4's were 200.  Par 3's for the most part required you to at least carry the front of the green. 

 

The fairways were well maintained, but the bunkers were not, and the water jugs on the course were empty.  Most of the gripes would be minor and perhaps maintenance related.

 

However, there were some serious design issues with this course. The pictures are aerial views give the illusion of a very open course.  The problem is once you are there you realize that on one side of the fairway there are trees, and on the other side of the fairway there is "native grasses" which means 3' tall weeds.  The fairway width, green difficulty, and rough height are more typical of a 6500 yard course.  This is a really tough course at this range, when you add 1000 yards it just becomes brutal.

 

The Competition was great.  No one played their best.  Standing on the first tee box looking at 220 yards of waist high fescue with water left, trees blocking the middle left of the green, and two huge bunkers right does not exactly encourage you to swing freely.  You have to bomb it and place it at the same time.  Ideally, you want to hit each shot to a 20 yard wide area.

 

We played three of the scheduled four rounds.  We had three different winners.  Amongst ourselves, but the true winner was this course.  It kicked our butts during three rounds that we did not play the fourth.  We had had all the golf we wanted there.

[Mr_Theoo]

I'll say even though the course was very long and tough I never felt I was in above my head in terms of length. If I struck the ball better I think I could have parred many of the holes.

 

The course did bring to light some weak points in my bag set up. Mainly the hybrid and fw wood. I've always struggled with hybrids and didn't feel confident enough to hit it once. The fw I just need more practice with I think but I will be dumping the hybrid for a driving iron.

 

Overall this was a very fun week and I am glad I got to be apart of it. Can't wait to play with these guys again!

[RoverRick]

Horse hockey.  This course was above everyone's head in terms of length and width.  For one simple reason, you can have courses where tight fairways, and fairway bunkers and greenside bunkers and undulating greens to defend par, or you can have courses that use length, uneven lies, undulating fairways, very fast greens to defend par.  But when a course uses all of them, it stops being fun. 

 

The first 5 holes I was chipping or putting for birdie from 12'.  I did not make a poor shot until the 6th hole and at the end of it I was six over par, with 4 bogies and a double.  And here is the deal, I moved up to some forward tees so that I was hitting my drives into the same area as they guys.

 

The funniest part about it was I was before this event, I was averaging 260 total with my driver.  Knowing that I had to carry 220 on most holes, I barely carried it and averaged 240 on the first day.  This left me 200 plus to most greens.  I had a number of well played holes that were bogies simply because I did not hit it far enough.  I thought I would be able to pitch my way back into a par on these holes but with the pins tucked behind bunkers short meant a really tough up and down.  A miss hit was almost an automatic double bogey.  I moved up a set of tees, to where based on the previous days experience I should have been with them, and I averaged probably 265-275.  Once the pressure of having to carry was gone, it freed me up to hit the ball better.

 

I would not be surprised if Theoo and JBones say the loved the challenge of the long courses.  This combination of all of these things was too much.

[JBones]

I loved the length when I hit the fairway......too bad that was only about 50% of the time. Really the only holes I felt were unfair were the 220-230yd par 3s with no bailout areas.

[Blade]

I loved the length when I hit the fairway......too bad that was only about 50% of the time. Really the only holes I felt were unfair were the 220-230yd par 3s with no bailout areas.

Were the greens big on those? A muni I play here has a 235 par 3. But it's not a forced carry and it's a big green.  So it's not really intimidating.  If you put water up to the green, it would be tougher mentally before even making a swing. 

[JBones]

Were the greens big on those? A muni I play here has a 235 par 3. But it's not a forced carry and it's a big green. So it's not really intimidating. If you put water up to the green, it would be tougher mentally before even making a swing.

Really big greens, but they ran diagonal with water short and left, native grass long and right, and nasty pot bunkers everywhere.

[Mr_Theoo]

May be too soon to ask but can we play there again next year? Lol