2020 Tournaments Follow Along

[JAGolfore]

I did this last year and I had so much fun doing it I am going to do it again in 2020.  It is looking like 2020 will be an even better year than 2019.   For those that are new here is a little back ground on me. 

A little bit about who I am.  I grew up in western Pennsylvania playing a shorter course in the small town of Kane (Kane Country Club).  This is a shorter (6000 yds) course but very tight and small greens.  It was a great place to learn the game and grow up.  I was lucky enough to play good golf in high school and earned a scholarship to play at St. Bonaventure University. I went on to have a very nice carrier there ( https://gobonnies.sbu.edu/sports/m-golf/2016-17/files/Golf_Career_Scoring.pdf ).  I still hold the records for most wins (5) and lowest year scoring average at 73.0.  From there I failed horribly at trying to play professional golf.  I went out on my own didn't have a support team, slept in my car and never made a cut.  I went back home with my tail between my legs and started over.  I didn't play events for a few years as I was trying to find the fun in the game again and with help from my wife (she plays too) it has become a lot of fun again.  I know I will never play on tour, but it is fun to try and play in these events. A fun note, I have 2 course records (60 at Urbana CC tie with Steve Stricker  and Dylan Meyer & 61 at Kane Country Club) but I do not have any hole in ones. 

I am looking to come into the 2020 golf season stronger and bigger than 2019.  I started the season at right around 170lbs.  The lightest I had been in over 20 years.  This was not good for the golf game and I quickly realized that with a poor start to the season.  By the mid summer I was back up around 180lbs and playing much better golf.   I am going to start the Super Speed program next week and hopefully that combined with some more strength training I will be ready for a great 2020.  Below is a list of events I have already confirmed (with the wife  ) I plan to play in.

 

2020 Tournament Schedule 

June 28 Indianapolis Open (Golfweek Am Tour)  Purgatory Golf Club - 73 (2nd place)

July 18 & 19 - UCC Club Championship* - 67 - 73 (-4) 140 (1st place)

Aug 1 & 2 Indianapolis Masters @ Purdue 71-72 (-1) 143 (1st place)

Aug 5 - 9 SWNY-NWPA Men's Amateur @ Bartlett Country Club Olean, NY* Match Play (lost in Semi-Finals)

August 11 - Illinois Mid Amateur Qualifier @ Lincolnshire Fields CC 72 (E) 10* Qualified

Aug 24 & 25 - Illinois Mid Amateur Championship  75 - 74 - 77 = 226 (+10) T-10 (Exempt into 2021 event)

Sept 5 & 6 U of I 2 Man Better Ball 65-68 = 133 (-11) 2nd

Sept 28 & 29 Indianapolis Players Championship  71 - 71 = 142 (-2) 1st

Oct 10 & 11 Lake of the Woods 2 Man  64 - 64 = 128 (-16) 1st 

 

In the bag:

 

Driver - Taylormade M6

4 wood - Golf Sub 70 Pro 16*

Irons - Golf Sub 70 699 Pro 3 iron, 639 CB 4 - 6 iron & 639 MB 7-PW

Wedges - Titleist Vokey 50, 54, 60

Putter - Taylormade Spider 

Grips - Golf Pride Tour Z Cord Align.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 12, 2020 by JoshAndersonGolf
Updated 10-12-2020

[GolfSub70]

Can't wait to follow your success again next year. Thanks Josh!

[fixyurdivot]

8 hours ago, JoshAndersonGolf said:

I did this last year and I had so much fun doing it I am going to do it again in 2020.  It is looking like 2020 will be an even better year than 2019.   For those that are new here is a little back ground on me. 

A little bit about who I am.  I grew up in western Pennsylvania playing a shorter course in the small town of Kane (Kane Country Club).  This is a shorter (6000 yds) course but very tight and small greens.  It was a great place to learn the game and grow up.  I was lucky enough to play good golf in high school and earned a scholarship to play at St. Bonaventure University. I went on to have a very nice carrier there ( https://gobonnies.sbu.edu/sports/m-golf/2016-17/files/Golf_Career_Scoring.pdf ).  I still hold the records for most wins (5) and lowest year scoring average at 73.0.  From there I failed horribly at trying to play professional golf.  I went out on my own didn't have a support team, slept in my car and never made a cut.  I went back home with my tail between my legs and started over.  I didn't play events for a few years as I was trying to find the fun in the game again and with help from my wife (she plays too) it has become a lot of fun again.  I know I will never play on tour, but it is fun to try and play in these events. A fun note, I have 2 course records (60 at Urbana CC tie with Steve Stricker  and Dylan Meyer & 61 at Kane Country Club) but I do not have any hole in ones. 

I am looking to come into the 2020 golf season stronger and bigger than 2019.  I started the season at right around 170lbs.  The lightest I had been in over 20 years.  This was not good for the golf game and I quickly realized that with a poor start to the season.  By the mid summer I was back up around 180lbs and playing much better golf.   I am going to start the Super Speed program next week and hopefully that combined with some more strength training I will be ready for a great 2020.  Below is a list of events I have already confirmed (with the wife  ) I plan to play in.

 

2020 Tournament Schedule

April 30 - CDGA Mid Amateur Qualifier

May 11 - US Open Qualifier 

May 18 - 20 - CDGA Mid Amateur Championship

May 23 & 24 - Lincoln Elks Memorial Day Tournament*

May 28 - CDGA Amateur Qualifier

June 6 & 7 - Naughtin Open*

June 11 - IL State Am Qualifier*

June 20 & 21 - University of Illinois Open*

June 22 - 25 - CDGA Amateur Championship

July 18 & 19 - UCC Club Championship*

July 21 - 23 - Illinois State Amateur Championship

July 25 & 26 - Twin Cities Championship*

August 11 - Illinois Mid Amateur Qualifier

Aug 12 - US Mid Amateur Qualifier

Aug 24 & 25 - Illinois Mid Amateur Qualifier

(These are subject to change and dates may be added especially 4 ball events. * denotes events we have won in the past)

 

In my bag for 2020 will be updated in April and look for more of the same as the @GolfSub70 irons and fairway woods will be in the bag for sure.  Right now if this does not change and we play every round (stroke play round) possible it will be 25 tournament rounds in 2020.  I am looking forward to another great year!

 

 

Impressive college record Josh.  That's quite a busy tournament schedule - best of luck!

[HardcoreLooper]

Best of luck pal.  Hope those Align XLs knock off a couple of shots.

[JAGolfore]

Today I started my journey looking for more speed. I have my Super Speed training sticks and the radar all set. First session went well. Driver swing speed was 114 before the session. Right where I thought it would be. After the session I was at 126. Not bad. Not we have to build to that 126. The fastest I swing I took was at 133 with the green stick. I am excited to see where we are at come April.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

 

[bens197]

Good luck Josh!

[JAGolfore]

Ordered my Skytrak today!  I cant wait to get this and start practicing here in the next 2 weeks.  It will be great to get an early jump on the season. 

[gobama84]

Will follow your success.

[JAGolfore]

Updated to reflect the US Open Local Qualifying and the CDGA Mid-Amateur Championship cancellations.  Has to be expected at this point and maybe we will get some tournaments in later this summer.  I hope everyone is staying safe and getting an opportunity to play golf when you can. 

[JAGolfore]

Updated to remove a few more events in May.  Hopefully June is a much better month for everyone.  Stay safe and enjoy the golf we get.  Its nice just to play. 

[JAGolfore]

Updated a few events.  Yes I am going to have to travel to get to some of these, but they should be well worth it.  I am really excited about going back home to western PA and playing in the https://swnynwpa.com/ men's amateur.  Check it out.  It can be a lot of good golf for only $120.  

[JAGolfore]

Well 2020 has certainly been an interesting summer.  An update here, living in Illinois it has been hard to find events to play in.  I decided to join the Golfweek Amateur tour over in Indianapolis.  I have played in 2 events so far over there with one win and one 2nd.  So far the courses have been very good and the players are a lot of fun.  My next event over over there will be Aug 1 and 2 at the Purdue Golf Complex.   

As far as golf tournaments in Illinois I was able to win my 5th straight club championship this weekend!  I shot 67 - 73 (-4) 140 for the weekend.  I was very happy with how I hit the golf ball and to get a couple of good tournament rounds in.  

In the bag for the year are the following clubs:

Driver - Taylormade M6

4 wood - [mention=76062]GolfSub70[/mention] Pro 16*

Irons - [mention=76062]GolfSub70[/mention] 699 Pro 3 iron, 639 CB 4 - 6 iron & 639 MB 7-PW

Wedges - Titleist Vokey 50, 54, 60

Putter - Taylormade Spider 

Grips - Golf Pride Tour Z Cord Align. 

 

 

August is going to get busy with events so stay tuned!  Hopefully more updates to come!

 

[JAGolfore]

Well its time for another update.  Since I last updated I have played in 3 events.  The first one was a Golfweek Am Tour event at Purdue.  I had never played these courses before and going in blind is always fun.  The first round I started off well and was -4 through 12 holes.  I made a few mistakes coming in but was able to get it in the house at 71 (-1).  The second day I again started well and was -2 through 5 but again stumbled and ended up at even for the day and one under for the tournament.  71 - 72 = 143 (-1) and that was good enough to get the win for that weekend!  

 

 

The next event I played was a match play event.  Qualified on Wednesday August 5th with a round of 74, not my best effort, and lost the next day in the first round.  That dropped me into a loser bracket and I played all the way till Saturday and lost in the Semi Finals 2&1.  I always have loved this event because it is match play and there are very few of these events left.  

 

 

And finally on Tuesday August 11th I had a qualifier for the Illinois State Mid Amateur Championship.  Unlike the other events, I started off very poor.  I was +3 through 7 and made the turn at +4.  That number was never going to get me in.  I thought maybe +2 would, so I knew I had to play well on the back.  I started with birdies on 10 & 11 to get it back to +2.  I got an update from an official that it looked like the number was going to be even par.  I still need 2 more coming in.  Well the game was there and I made birdies on 14 & 17 to get it back to even par and qualify on the number.  40 - 32 = 72 (even par).   

That is now my next event on August 24th & 25th.  I finished T-22 in the state mid am last year and I hope to improve on that this year!

 

Edited August 13, 2020 by JoshAndersonGolf

[JAGolfore]

Monday and Tuesday were the Illinois State Mid-Amateur this year.  It was held at Edgewood Valley CC in the Chicago area.  I had never seen this course until a practice round on Sunday afternoon and I was glad I played it.  The golf course was not overly long but the greens were as firm and fast as I have played in a very long time.  I had a 7:39 tee time off of the 10th tee on Monday morning for the first round.  I got off to a slow start being +2 through 4 holes but did not get upset with the start knowing I had some holes I could make birdie on coming up.  I was able to get it back to even par through 10 and then stumbled coming into the club house after the first round and finished at +3 (75).  Side note this event had live scoring so that was really nice as I looked at the scores and saw I was T-15 after the first round.  Solidly inside the cut line.  My second round started on number 1 and I was able to get off to a better start being -1 through 5.  Things took a turn on the 7th hole (This hole did not fit my eye) and I made my second double bogey of the day on this hole to fall to +4 for the day.  It was a really poor double bogey and that got me off my mental game for a few holes.  I made a few more mistakes and after the 13th hole I was +7 and decided to look at the cut line.  I saw it was at +8 and if I could finish well I would be right where I wanted going into the final day.  Birdies on 16 and 17 got me to +2 for the round and +5 for the 2 rounds T-7th going into the final day.  There were only 4 scores lower than the afternoon 74 so I was pleased with that scoring. 

Yesterday the final round.  I was a ways back from the lead at +5, and told myself that I was not going to look at the leader board unless I got it to -2 or -3 on the round.  I should have been watching all day.  I was +1 through 12 holes and probably in 3rd or 4th place at that time.  If I would have looked I would have seen that the course again was playing very tough.  But I didn't look until the 14th hole when I was at +8 and still T-7 .  I couldn't get the game to come alive coming in and made 2 more bogies and finished the tournament at +10, T-10th place.  Not a bad finish in this event by any means.  I am exempt from qualifying for this event next year so that is a nice prize.  

 

 

I am upset at how I let my mind dictate the round and not my game.  I was playing well, scoring well, the course average was 77.62 for the 3 rounds.  I was under that every round.  And these are the best golfers in the state.  That should show how hard this course was playing.   

 

 

I am looking forward to the next year as I plan to work on my body and my swing.  No club changes in the future and hopefully an even better 2021.  

 

 

 

 

[StrokerAce]

Great to follow along with you on your journey.... thanks for sharing it all with us. Impressive work! Top 10 is extremely well done. 

[JAGolfore]

I was able to break away this last weekend and go play in a two day event over in Lebanon, IN. The first day we played the Golf Club of Indiana and the final round was at The Trophy Club. I had never played either course, and let me tell you I would go play either one again. I had been hitting the ball decent the last month and the game traveled well with me to Indiana. I was able to shoot -1 (71) & -1 (71) = -2 (142) and come away with another victory in 2020. That makes four in the season shortened by Covid.



I have another 2 man event in two weeks and that should finish out the year. I will do a full recap with stats on the year once that is finished.


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[JAGolfore]

Well the 2020 competitive golf season has come to a close here in Illinois for me.  I paired up with a good friend to play in a 2 man better ball event this weekend and we had a great weekend.   We shot 64 - 64 = 128 (-16) to win by two shots.  We both played well at different times which is key in these events.  I finished the weekend with 9 birdies and an eagle.  Not a bad showing at all.  It was really nice to get this team win and finish off 2020 on a good note.

 

 

The season was for sure a weird one as to where and what to play.  But we had one of the best years in terms of finishes.  I ended up having 4 wins, 2 seconds and my worst finish was 10th (twice).  The one being a T-10 in the Illinois State Mid-Amateur which makes me exempt for next years event!  I am looking forward to playing more golf in 2021 and hopefully starting the season in Florida in February.  I will be sure to do this again next year and that you all for following along.  If you ever have questions or know of events let me know!