2020 Birdie Every Hole Challenge

[GolfSpy MPR]

This is an idea I first heard about from the guys at No Laying Up and just today Andrew Jensen posted a YouTube video on it. I'm proposing a MyGolfSpy Birdie Every Hole on Your Home Course Challenge for the 2020 season!

The challenge is simple: during the course of the year, you have to record a birdie on each hole at your home course. (I suppose it doesn't have to be your home course: if you visit a new track and shoot a 54, that would count as well.)

Start posting now with a summary of the challenge in front of you. What's the layout of your course? What holes are the easy birdies, and which are the holes you're least likely to birdie?

And to make sure no one's left out, there are two side categories:

• The Par Every Hole at Your Home Course Challenge (PEHaYHC)
• The Birdie Every Hole Except the Par 5s Which You Have to Eagle Challenge (BEHEP5WYHtE)

Let us know which category you're entering, and let's see who can get it done this season!

EDIT: I've whipped up a simple scoreboard to keep track of the birdies as they roll in! Use your forum name, pick your category (pars, birdies, or birdie/eagles), and put an "x" in the box when you accomplish your goal for each hole: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1P9-C6rS1vIO44rYbPDqQgLlTxGxYQtsQHAs31t1j_sU/edit?usp=sharing

[GolfSpy MPR]

My home course: Gogebic Country Club, Ironwood, Michigan

• Hole 1 | Par 4 | 435: This is a tough, tough birdie for me as a short hitter. It isn't a green I hit often.
• Hole 2 | Par 4 | 267: A 90° dogleg, typically a PW/9 off the tee and GW in. Very birdie-able.
• Hole 3 | Par 3 | 170: The tee here is most often set to 150.
• Hole 4 | Par 5 | 482: Length-wise, a very gettable hole, but trees and ditches make this a perilous hole. A 4 is in play, but so is an 8.
• Hole 5 | Par 4 | 330: Straightforward uphill par 4. Birdie-able.
• Hole 6 | Par 4 | 368: Very hard drive, very hard green to hold. A tough birdie.
• Hole 7 | Par 3 | 200: Very downhill, so plays much shorter. Still not an easy birdie.
• Hole 8 | Par 4 | 365: One of simpler holes on the course.
• Hole 9 | Par 4 | 419: Plays uphill and most often into the wind; a very, very tough birdie.
• Hole 10 | Par 4 | 315: Slingy dogleg; two reasonable shots make a birdie well within reach.
• Hole 11 | Par 4 | 352: Another 90° dogleg; second shot is typically a PW, so gettable.
• Hole 12 | Par 4 | 300: Very short 4. Definite birdie here.
• Hole 13 | Par 4 | 367: Miserable, narrow, tiny green. This will be a tough one.
• Hole 14 | Par 4 | 363: Yet another dogleg. Second shot is most often an 8 iron. Doable.
• Hole 15 | Par 3 | 142: Plays shorter than this, but a blind shot.
• Hole 16 | Par 4 | 315: Slightly uphill, but still short. Will have chances here.
• Hole 17 | Par 4 | 287: Easiest hole on the course. Downhill. Will have multiple birdies on this hole.
• Hole 18 | Par 5 | 553: Like Hole 9, uphill and into the wind. I can't reach in two, but three good shots are well within reach.

So the easiest holes for a birdie: 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 16, and 17.

The hardest are 1, 6, 9, 13, and 18.

[Kenny B]

My wife's Ladies league keeps track of each player's best score on each of the holes over the course of the year...  called The Eclectic.  

I've birdied every hole at my course, but not sure if I have done it over one year.  I think so, just never kept a record.  

[MmmmmmBuddy]

I am in.  

I will only keep track from the back tees at my place. 6706  72.5/128.    From back there, I am gonna have to hole some wedges to make eagles on the par 5's. The layout is such that I have to lay up from the tee, and the holes are unreachable by mere mortals. (especially the 50+ type).

I am hoping to play more and work less this year...  

 

 

[pulledabill]

5 minutes ago, MmmmmmBuddy said:

I am in.  

I will only keep track from the back tees at my place. 6706  72.5/128.    From back there, I am gonna have to hole some wedges to make eagles on the par 5's. The layout is such that I have to lay up from the tee, and the holes are unreachable by mere mortals. (especially the 50+ type).

I am hoping to play more and work less this year...  

 

 

What is your home course?

[JohnSmalls]

Awesome idea @GolfSpy MPR!   I am in, but I am going to do a hybrid.  Bird is the goal, but will be tracking both par and birds.  (Par is effectively my bird at this point).

Spring Lake CC
White Tees, 6426yds, 70.8/121

Edited February 20, 2020 by JohnSmalls

[GolfSpy MPR]

Added a link in the original post to a spreadsheet that we can use as a scoreboard. Anyone can edit: if you're in, just enter your forum handle, choose your scoring category, and add an X in the box for each hole in which you've accomplished your goal: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1P9-C6rS1vIO44rYbPDqQgLlTxGxYQtsQHAs31t1j_sU/edit?usp=sharing

[MaxEntropy]

I like this idea, I'm in!

For me, the PEHaYHC is a more reasonable goal.

Here is a screencap of my stats for our league course (started using Arccos in August, so the data is for nine, 9-hole rounds)

#1 - Relatively short, not a difficult par if tee shot avoids trees. OB left, trees right.
#2 - One of the longer par 4's on the course, plenty of room (slightly) left, way left will be blocked by big trees, right is bad, water left/rear of green. I've never played this hole very well. I'm sure it's psychological now.
#3 - Not terribly difficult par 3.
#4 - Another long-ish par 4, usually into whatever wind we have. Trees right and left, but a bit more room left.
#5 - Depending on pin, one of the longer par 3's, but nothing terribly problematic.
#6 - Par 5 can be reached in two if a good tee shot catches the downslope of the landing area during dry season. It's a pretty rare occurrence, but it happens. Probably most open hole on the course, but it is a bad time for a dead pull as OB becomes reachable.
#7 - Relatively easy dog-leg right par 5. Trouble way right, but usually not hard to recover from a bad tee shot.
#8 - Forest right, trees left. Approach is almost always blind and pretty far uphill.
#9 - Par 3 that usually plays 140-ish. Long can be trouble.
#10 - Short-ish par 4 into prevailing winds. OB right, trees left. Way left can have a decent look from in front of #18 tees. Nothing super hard, but I've never scored well on this hole, mostly because I've gone long on approach a few too many times.
#11 - Three-shot par 5 for me. Target for second shot can be tricky because of a big valley, making third shot interesting.
#12 - Longest par 3 on the course. Depending on tees and pin, can be 170 to almost 200. Pond left, but is not really in play unless you get a bad bounce.
#13 - Dogleg left, can be a tricky hole. A tee shot in the fairway can still have tree trouble blocking approach. OB way left, trees left and right.
#14 - Pretty straightforward par 5. Landing area on second shot slopes down to green, so make sure to under-club. OB right, trees left, long is death.
#15 - The bane of my existence. A good tee shot leaves a 6 or 7 iron to the green. I rarely have a good tee shot here. Left is not too bad, way left is a forest, and trees right. Second shot is intimidating to me, perhaps because of pond short/right, even though it's not really in play.
#16 - Relatively straightforward par 4 with sparse trees right and left that, with a lucky bounce, will leave a doable approach.
#17 - 150-ish yard par 3, uphill, usually into the wind. Green is a bit crowned on the sides and will repel what might be a decent shot.
#18 - Very tight par 4, but pretty short. I spend too much time banging around in the trees on this hole, especially to the left.

Our league moved to the course last year. It is not terribly long but there is a big emphasis on accuracy. As a result, I use a lot of 3W's or hybrids off the tee. 

Realistic birdie holes: 1, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14 (I have birdied 4 of the 7 listed and have had decent looks on the others).

Never going to birdie...EVER: 2, 4, 13, 15. I sort of birdied #4 during a scramble - we used my tee shot, my approach, and I made the putt, but it was a fluke. It's a tough hole.

[vrnyn]

Count me in

[Shankster]

I’m in... this could get dangerous.

[pulledabill]

Sounds fun so I am in.  I will post up scorecard later when I get a chance to.  I will be doing the birdie challenge. 

[bens197]

Absolutely in. This is where I play a majority of my rounds and it’s no slouch. I’m not a member of any of the local clubs so this is as close to it as I can manage. I’ll try to Birdie / Eagle challenge because why not right?

 

[GB13]

I’ll do this! Hopefully I can get that elusive 54 and just be done with it... although while that will almost certainly happen, I’ll keep track just in case.

[THEZIPR23]

I get to count the birdies I already made right? I've birdied the 2 hardest holes on the course this year already!

This should be fun. Will be trying for BEHEP5WYHtE, although 1 par 5 is almost impossible to eagle.

155 rounds with Arccos at my home club, 95% from white tee. Numbers below. Will struggle to eagle # 3 even though it is 408 yards long. If you can get it 200 yards off the tee it leaves you in the 250 range. Just a goofy par 5. 2, 4 & 14 are the hard birdies. I have already birdie 4 & 14 so check those off. 

 

[GolfSpy MPR]

2 minutes ago, THEZIPR23 said:

I get to count the birdies I already made right? I've birdied the 2 hardest holes on the course this year already!

Definitely! As commissioner of this here enterprise, I'm a total pushover 

In fact, I'm willing to add this: if you're playing in a scramble and your group happens to birdie a hole using all your shots, that counts, right?

[THEZIPR23]

Just now, GolfSpy MPR said:

Definitely! As commissioner of this here enterprise, I'm a total pushover 

In fact, I'm willing to add this: if you're playing in a scramble and your group happens to birdie a hole using all your shots, that counts, right?

Absolutely!!

[apexironman]

I'm in for the birdie challenge!

[JohnSmalls]

3 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

Definitely! As commissioner of this here enterprise, I'm a total pushover 

In fact, I'm willing to add this: if you're playing in a scramble and your group happens to birdie a hole using all your shots, that counts, right?

Whoops!  I cheated and already counted my pars

[NoSpoon]

I love this! I'm in.  Starting with the pars challenge, but will record birdies as well. If I finish the pars quickly, I will try and round out the birdies!

My home course: Shining Rock Golf Club, Northbridge, Massachusetts

Hole 1 | Par 4 | 411: Primarily tricky because I'm not warmed up when I tee off. Plays downhill and short, but anything off the back of the green is a disaster. 
Hole 2 | Par 4 | 384: Fairly wide open hole, with a narrow green.  This one is gettable with a good tee shot but that's no guarantee for me.
Hole 3 | Par 5 | 504: Last 150 yards or so are a forced carry, so it's usually best for me to lay up.  I can make birdie here for sure
Hole 4 | Par 4 | 282: Short with a dog-leg right.  Green is blocked by some trees, but I can reach with a little 3w fade.  This birdie has my name on it too.
Hole 5 | Par 3 | 219: Long par three.  This is going to be extremely challenging for me to birdie but a par is very achievable.
Hole 6 | Par 4 | 300: This isn't a hard hole as long as you land on the right level of the two-tier green.  Doesn't fit my eye (read: hook) well at all, but I can conquer it.
Hole 7 | Par 4 | 290: Pretty short, uphill par 4.  The green is diabolical... if the flag is on the front, it's better to be short of the green than to land 10 feet past the flag.
Hole 8 | Par 3 | 148: Tricky green, but really manageable hole.  I'll make birdie here
Hole 9 | Par 5 | 485: One of the more open and straight-forward holes on the course.  Just don't lose the tee shot right.
Hole 10 | Par 4 | 360: Stay middle or right on the fairway, and this straight par 4 is your friend.  No concerns here
Hole 11 | Par 4 | 372: Plenty of landing space for the driver on this hole, which opens up as it bends a little left.  The green is very receptive.
Hole 12 | Par 3 | 188: Tricky hole and a bit uphill.  Not much space to miss the green here if you want to find your ball.  This will be a challenge to biride.
Hole 13 | Par 5 | 478: This one is all about the tee shot.  Looks wide open off the tee, but land in the wrong spot and you'll have a miserable second shot.
Hole 14 | Par 4 | 345: Swing away here.  One of the easier holes for me to play.
Hole 15 | Par 3 | 180: Wide open par 3 but a very tricky green. Will struggle to make birdie here.
Hole 16 | Par 5 | 563: For me this is long.  If I'm not playing well, I'll be struggling to be in range of a GIR.  I'd be thrilled to make birdie here.  This is going to be a hard one.
Hole 17 | Par 4 | 312: I could copy this one straight off the original post... Easiest hole on the course (for me). Downhill. Hope to have multiple birdies on this hole.
Hole 18 | Par 4 | 375: Elevated tee and wide fairway.  The angle of the green makes my approach shot the bigger challenge.  I'll make a birdie here eventually.

Easiest holes for me: 3, 4, 9, 10, 14, 17

Hardest holes for me: 1, 2, 5, 12, 15, 16

[MaxEntropy]

41 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

In fact, I'm willing to add this: if you're playing in a scramble and your group happens to birdie a hole using all your shots, that counts, right?

If we say 12 month period instead of 2020, I'll gladly take the birdie on #4 I referred to in my post. I rarely sniff par on that thing.