League Play From the Middle of the Pack - 2021 edition

[GregB135 1,165]

Hello again fellow spies!

It's time to gear up for the summer league season, and it's tough not to be excited - even for a middle of the pack grinder like me. 

The summer league I play in uses an individual stroke play format, applying full handicap in two flights (A/B). The flights are split right down the middle of the handicaps of each week's participants so it can vary. Each week's final results award points to each player to apply to the league standings. The league maintains two standings pools. An overall standings applies all of each players rounds for total points, and a Top-6 standings which uses only each player's best 6 rounds from the season. The Top 20 in the Top-6 standings are the qualifiers for the end of season invitational tournament. The Overall standings Top-20 make up the qualifier pool for the post season Team Cup event. It is what I would describe as a 'competitively social' league that is as much about having fun with as it is competing against the other players.

This is my fourth season in the league. Year one was a mess, and I was near the bottom of the standings and didn't qualify for any post season events. Year two I played with a lot more consistency, managed to win my first weekly event, finished 3rd overall and qualified for both post season events. Last year was year 3 for me. We had an influx of a few good new players, and even though I played fairly well, thanks to C-19 I had to skip two events that in the end left me just short of qualifying for either post season event.

My goal heading into this year is still pretty modest. My 14 handicap should have me in the upper half of the B flight for most of the year, so I really just want to qualify again for the Invitational and Cup. I think that's doable, but I'll probably need at least two top-5 weekly finishes, and I'll need to play middle of the pack or better in the three 'majors' that count for higher weekly points.

To get ready for that, I've continued with regular practice trying to spend more time on short game and putting than full swings. I've found a coach close by that seems to be a good fit, and I'm seeing a lot of things I like with my swing and ball flight after just a couple of lessons. And, of course, I just had a fitting for new long game clubs (D/3W/Hy). It was time to make a shaft flex adjustment, and I think I got a good fit with the choices I made.

It's always a wild ride with this group with a lot of groans and laughs along the way. Hope y'all enjoy the journey as well.

 

[Megah1tz 39]

I'm still gonna kick your ass again this year (just kidding.... or am I???)! HEHEHEHEHE! Looks like a good schedule this year and should be lots of fun! What adjustments did you make for the long game? I'm looking to swap drivers myself but haven't gotten the right fit just yet (took a RadSpeed 9 degee with the HZRDS Smoke Blue RDX out to the course 2 weeks ago and could get it to launch enough (confirmed on Trackman later that day that launch and spin were wayyyyyyy too low and also discovered that the real loft is 8.2 and not 9)...

[GregB135 1,165]

On 3/3/2021 at 6:41 PM, Megah1tz said:

I'm still gonna kick your ass again this year (just kidding.... or am I???)! HEHEHEHEHE! Looks like a good schedule this year and should be lots of fun! What adjustments did you make for the long game? I'm looking to swap drivers myself but haven't gotten the right fit just yet (took a RadSpeed 9 degee with the HZRDS Smoke Blue RDX out to the course 2 weeks ago and could get it to launch enough (confirmed on Trackman later that day that launch and spin were wayyyyyyy too low and also discovered that the real loft is 8.2 and not 9)...

You may not be kidding, but we'll see 

I booked a fitting with one of the PXG reps at TPC. Outdoor fitting with trackman, so got to see both ball flight and the numbers with the depicted trackman ball flight. Got into the 211s for all three clubs. Not much of a difference club head wise, just no self adjustable weights. Also got a better shaft fit for my early onset old guy swing (haha). Evenflow CB 50, 5.5 flex in both D/3W. Saw a smidgen of distance gain and better consistency without having to feel like I was swinging really hard. Delivery was quick, so I've still got a couple of weeks to get everything feeling good. Looking forward to the season. (now, about the league website.... ha)

If you are looking for a fitter, Joe at JBM Golf at Bloomingdale is really good. He has a few brand options as well. I went PXG for the value of the 211 line, and partly after seeing the results of the Most Wanted driver test where the 211 came in 5th at roughly half the price of 1st place.

[GregB135 1,165]

Things may be starting to come together. Had a Hyde/Jekyll round this afternoon. +11 through 8 holes, then birdied the 9th with a chip in, and managed 6 pars on the back 9 including both par 3s which tend to be nemesis holes for me. Felt like I got a couple of things dialed in from my latest lessons, and the driver was definitely working on the back 9 (5/7 FIRs).

Another interesting change for this season. The weekly fields have been expanded from 36-40 up to 40-48 players. My goal for the first few events now is to make the top 15. I feel like if I can do that in the first few events it will set me up for success in my goal of qualifying for the post-season events.

[GregB135 1,165]

Event number one for the season is this weekend 

I'm feeling pretty good about where my game is for the moment. I've had a couple of decent practice rounds. Tee to green I'm playing pretty well. The primary weak spot I'm dealing with right now is chipping and pitching. I've been maddeningly inconsistent with my wedge play. In my last practice round I had 5 missed greens where it took me two pitch/chip shots to be on the green. 20-50 yards right now is a nightmare.

I'm driving the ball better and reducing penalties so I'm really happy with that. Here's to missing close this weekend!

[GregB135 1,165]

Well...

The season opener didn't go as well as I'd hoped, event though I was confident and comfortable with my swing going into the event. I started off with a playbook par, and then the front nine was a struggle. Even hitting just two 'bad' shots, I didn't get away with any of my misses and finished with 52 on the front. 

I rallied a bit starting the back 9 with a bogey and three pars but posted another big number hole with two penalties and limped in with bogeys on the rest for a 98 total.

Granted we were playing a really hard course, the El Campeon course at Mission Inn Resort (review to be posted shortly). The white tees for B flight rated 71.1/135. It is definitely a target/strategy driven course that doesn't let you stray off the intended path very far. Putting for a lot of us was a struggle. The practice/warm up green was rolling pretty fast. The greens on the course were the opposite. I fared better than some with 37 putts (about 6 above average) and 4 3-jacks. I remember at least 5 putts that were tracking the center of the cup that stopped within 2 feet. I did get better on the later holes but by then it was too late.

The league committee is revamping our website, so we are waiting for final results to post. Chances are I was somewhere middle of the pack because the post round chatter sounded like my round was typical of the group. If that's the case I've got no reason to be discouraged.

[GregB135 1,165]

Results from event 1 have posted as final, and my 98 net 81 was good for a middle of the pack 16th place overall finish, and B-flight 8th. While I was a little disappointed with the performance as a whole, that round isn't going to be a back breaker standings-wise. Starting out solidly in top 20 means I'm not behind the 8-ball early on points.

We go to a league favorite course this coming weekend, Southern Hills Plantation in Brooksville. It's a great Pete Dye course where the greens can be really fast. With the pairings posted, I know I'll have a good time with my group even though we are last ones off. 

Remember, Relax and have fun!

[YourLocalJimmy 33]

21 hours ago, GregB135 said:

Results from event 1 have posted as final, and my 98 net 81 was good for a middle of the pack 16th place overall finish, and B-flight 8th. While I was a little disappointed with the performance as a whole, that round isn't going to be a back breaker standings-wise. Starting out solidly in top 20 means I'm not behind the 8-ball early on points.

We go to a league favorite course this coming weekend, Southern Hills Plantation in Brooksville. It's a great Pete Dye course where the greens can be really fast. With the pairings posted, I know I'll have a good time with my group even though we are last ones off. 

Remember, Relax and have fun!

Good luck on your tournament Greg! Looking forward to hear how it went.

[GregB135 1,165]

2021 event #2 is in the books with an encouraging outcome.

We played at Southern Hills Plantation in Brooksville. A favorite among the league's players, but it's a tough Pete Dye course with a lot of elevation change, and those tricky Pete Dye greens to deal with.

It was an interesting round. While I didn't hit my intended line, or my best shots off the tees, I didn't miss a fairway until the 11th hole. So it was poor short game play that kept me from making par until the 8th hole. I rallied a bit but did tally a couple of penalties on the back 9, and made a birdie on the 15th hole. Altogether it came out to 47/43 - 90 for a net of 73. Good enough for B-Flight 5th, and 8th place overall on the day. Not bad considering I felt like I left a bunch of strokes out there.

The good: I played well tee to green. The bad: short game cost me several strokes - four 3-putts (three of those bogeys). The ugly: one missed green was two chips and a putt from the fringe to finally be putting .

To feel like I didn't play a great round I do have some good takeaways. I had better control of my tee shots so I kept myself in play most of the day. Even with the two penalties, I had no score higher than double bogey, which is rare for league play. And, even that 'meh' round was a top-10 finish and I should move up the standings boards a bit.

We've got two weeks to the next event so I guess it's time to focus on short game again at the practice range.

[tony@CIC 20,772]

On 3/31/2021 at 8:32 PM, GregB135 said:

Results from event 1 have posted as final, and my 98 net 81 was good for a middle of the pack 16th place overall finish, and B-flight 8th. While I was a little disappointed with the performance as a whole, that round isn't going to be a back breaker standings-wise. Starting out solidly in top 20 means I'm not behind the 8-ball early on points.

We go to a league favorite course this coming weekend, Southern Hills Plantation in Brooksville. It's a great Pete Dye course where the greens can be really fast. With the pairings posted, I know I'll have a good time with my group even though we are last ones off. 

Remember, Relax and have fun!

Greg, your thread is a fun read - keep the details coming especially the course evaluations.

[Megah1tz 39]

On 4/5/2021 at 6:35 AM, GregB135 said:

2021 event #2 is in the books with an encouraging outcome.

We played at Southern Hills Plantation in Brooksville. A favorite among the league's players, but it's a tough Pete Dye course with a lot of elevation change, and those tricky Pete Dye greens to deal with.

It was an interesting round. While I didn't hit my intended line, or my best shots off the tees, I didn't miss a fairway until the 11th hole. So it was poor short game play that kept me from making par until the 8th hole. I rallied a bit but did tally a couple of penalties on the back 9, and made a birdie on the 15th hole. Altogether it came out to 47/43 - 90 for a net of 73. Good enough for B-Flight 5th, and 8th place overall on the day. Not bad considering I felt like I left a bunch of strokes out there.

The good: I played well tee to green. The bad: short game cost me several strokes - four 3-putts (three of those bogeys). The ugly: one missed green was two chips and a putt from the fringe to finally be putting .

To feel like I didn't play a great round I do have some good takeaways. I had better control of my tee shots so I kept myself in play most of the day. Even with the two penalties, I had no score higher than double bogey, which is rare for league play. And, even that 'meh' round was a top-10 finish and I should move up the standings boards a bit.

We've got two weeks to the next event so I guess it's time to focus on short game again at the practice range.

You played better than your score (I thought you were killing me so when I found out what I shot I was as shocked as anyone!!!) and I feel your pain on the short game... I couldn't figure out the greens for chipping/pitching as they checked when I didn't want them too and refused to check when I hit the ball perfect...

[GregB135 1,165]

12 hours ago, Megah1tz said:

You played better than your score (I thought you were killing me so when I found out what I shot I was as shocked as anyone!!!) and I feel your pain on the short game... I couldn't figure out the greens for chipping/pitching as they checked when I didn't want them too and refused to check when I hit the ball perfect...

Thanks brother! You witnessed as much as anyone my frustration with the parade of double bogeys from the middle of the fairway. I'm just glad that (excepting the 6th green) I didn't let it get to me too much. But I mean, come on, when it takes two chips and a putt from the fringe to finally be on the green, it's gotta be the wedge's fault. 

[GregB135 1,165]

We are heading into event #3 this weekend. I put myself through the math for the standings, and through two events I am sitting tied for 7th place in points. I wasn't sure how much my top 10 in the last event was going to help, but it's got me in a pretty good spot for early in the season, and earning points early will take some pressure off later in the season.

I had what felt like a good range session this morning. My stat tracking tells me though that I'm still not hitting enough greens in regulation, so I've been focusing more on the irons while at the range and in the lesson box. The recently purchased long clubs have my FIR percentage up and the penalties per round are down, so mission accomplished on that front. I'll get at least one more practice session in, for putting and short game, and then it's on to event 3 this Saturday.

We will be playing at Old Corkscrew down the road a bit near Fort Myers, which will be a first time track for many of us. I'll definitely burn some calories on the satellite map to build my strategy card. Then the trick is sticking to what's on the card when it comes to tee shots. 

[GregB135 1,165]

Breaking news sports fans! Turned in a nice 88 net 69 good for B-flight and overall 2nd place!! 

It was kind of an up and down round. I started off with a FIR/GIR par on the first hole, and an up-and-down par on the par 3 second. Had a bit of a struggle with the short game around one green, then really garbaged up a par-5 with two penalties and a three putt earning a 46 on the front 9. Started the back-9 off with par on a long par-4 then a nicely executed par on the par-5 11th. I did get a bit wild on a couple of holes, but rallied again to par the final three holes to card 42 on the back 9. The par on the 18th managed to win second place in a scorecard playoff. 

The Old Corkscrew course was really challenging (review pending) so I was pleased with the round overall, even knowing I left a few strokes out there with the four penalties and two three putts.

The only downer in the round was a minor dust-up with one of my playing partners. Here's the story: The 5th hole has a water penalty area covering the entire length down the left side of the hole, angling at the green from front left to back left. http://www.oldcorkscrew.com/course_tour/

This player hit his approach shot a bit long and left, and reaching the green could not find the ball. I was on the back left portion of the green with my approach, and briefly helped search for his ball along the line of the hazard and behind the green. As I walked back up to my ball to get ready to putt, he drops a ball between the green and hazard, and plays a pitch shot onto the green. I asked him where he assumed his ball crossed the hazard line to drop where he did, and he replied "I have no idea where it went". My reply then was, 'your drop should have been made back on the line rather than next to the green', because where he dropped would have been considered closer to the hole. He got angry with me at that point and there was a back and forth about where he should have dropped or 'did I want him to go back and hit again'. At that point I decided not to press the issue further, and just told him to putt out. So my first question is; was I right? At the end of the day, it didn't really matter much, as he didn't factor into the top of the standings. This particular player though, is one of the higher handicap players in the league so gets afforded a lot of strokes each week, and has won the low net in a couple of the recent events. And this is not the first time I've witnessed him take a questionable drop near a green-side hazard. Am I being an A-hole, or is this something I should consider taking to the league's executive committee?

[GregB135 1,165]

1 hour ago, GregB135 said:

Breaking news sports fans! Turned in a nice 88 net 69 good for B-flight and overall 2nd place!! 

Results and standings were just posted, and this result moved me up the leaderboard into 4th place overall after 3 events. Off to a good start, so it looks like I can play a little more stress free as the season moves on, and not have to feel pressed to turn in a good round. 

I feel like I've got my swing in a pretty good place right now, with the exception of a lingering struggle with intermediate wedge/pitch shots. Even with that I'm optimistic and looking forward to the rest of the season.

[GregB135 1,165]

Hello Spyverse -

The league is back in action this week at the Orange County National - Panther Lake course. The course looks like a lot of fun, but is a little on the long side for us B-flighters. While I've been playing relatively well, my work schedule this week, and having my C-19 vaccination kept me off the practice range all week. If I'm lucky I might get a few practice swings in late today but it might take an extended warm up on the range in the morning to be ready to go. I'm feeling a little more relaxed with three pretty good results so far, and a good early position in the standings. Of course, the internal mid/high handicapper is saying that just means I'm due for a big score. I'll try to shut that guy up and just play relaxed.

[GregB135 1,165]

So Orange County National's Panther Lake course brought out my swing's bipolar disorder today. 5 pars on the front nine, and made the turn at +5. Didn't make a par on the back nine until the 17th, followed that with a playbook par on the 18th but it was only enough to salvage a 47 for 88 total. I played decently from tee to green. I got away with most of my full swing misses, and made good recoveries from trouble spots. All that was encouraging. Short game killed me, especially on the back side. I missed three tap in putts (on of those resulted in an unmentionable number of putts on that green), and had one hole where it took me 3 strokes to be on the green from 50 yards, center fairway. At least the 3rd one went in.... Still waiting for the final results to post, but sounds like my net even par was level with another 3 B flight-ers for something like B-flight fifth. We heard stories of low scores in the A flight, so even par is likely a middle of the pack result.

While I'm disappointed I left too many strokes out there on the back 9, the result is not going to kill me in the standings.

Having seen my FIR percentage get back up to the 50% range, I plan to get in touch with my coach this week to do some fine tuning on the irons to maybe bring the GIR percentage up as well. It's been frustrating averaging only 4-5 GIRs when I'm putting the ball in good spots off the tee. And I KNOW it's mental. Easily my three best shots in this round were my layup iron shots on the par 5s. All smooth, purely struck iron/hybrid shots right down the intended line. Yet somehow that guy can't make a similar swing when there is a more precise target involved. Don't even ask about the 0/4 on the par 3s...

Next week is our first double point, major event, so another decent showing there and I'm going to be in a pretty strong position for making the post season events.

[GregB135 1,165]

Results came in from event #4. As expected, I came in middle of the pack last week. Even with that, my point total was solid enough to stay in 4th place overall after 4 events.

I'm feeling pretty good about that, since I have yet to turn in what I thought was a really good round. Of course that means I'm due like Morten Andersen for a gag round, but hopeful it doesn't come this weekend in the double point major.

I did have a VERY good trackman lesson session with my coach trying to dial in my iron swing. With luck that will get my GIR% climbing to match my FIR%.

Also, considering some of the large numbers I posted last round from really good approach positions, anyone got the number for a good sports shrink? (only 1/2 joking)

[GregB135 1,165]

Event #5 is in the books, and I fared pretty well in our first 'major' of the year. This week we played at Bella Collina near Orlando. An amazing facility with a really great golf course.

The green speeds were inconsistent, and like many others I struggled a bit on the greens tallying 37 total putts compared to my average of 31. Once again I felt like I could have played better, despite having my best tee-to-green round in a long time. I was 7/14 FIR with 9/18 GIR  so the latest lesson paid off!! I'm still struggling with the up-and-down game. I gave away a couple of strokes with poor chip shots, and then there were the 4 three putts, and there was one big number posted thanks to a penalty that required a re-tee.

Altogether though, I really only had 3 bad tee shots. I just didn't get away with any of them and they all resulted in double-bogey or worse. I had one bad chip shot that left me about 80 feet for a first putt. I rallied and made 6 straight pars on my back nine, which might have been a first for me. So, I think there is as much to feel good about after the round as there are things I need to work on. At the end of it all though, my 88 net 73 tied me for 11th on the day and kept me in the top 5 in the season standings so far.

After our next event, the standings can change a little more. We qualify for the post-season invitational based on our best 6 point rounds, the Top-6 standings. Majors are worth extra points so finishing solid this week has me positioned well for Top-6. If I can continue playing consistently the rest of the year, I should also fare pretty well in the overall standings (total points all events). I'm not planning or expecting to skip any events, so earning points each week should give me a good chance to be an auto qualifier (top 20) for the team cup event as well.

If you need me, I'll be at the chipping green....

 

[GregB135 1,165]

We played our latest event at Juliette Falls near Ocala Florida. An absolutely beautiful course that is not to be missed if you get the opportunity.

Alas, I finally got bit by the tough round bug this year. I played about average through the front 9, but short game again was a struggle. I thinned just about every opportunity I had at a shot less than 60 yards. It was horribly frustrating. Even with that, I was feeling comfortable with my 45 on the front side. Then I blew up for 2 holes and carded a max 9 on the par 4 10th, then followed that with an OB tee shot on the 11th that netted me a triple bogey, so I knew I was pretty much out of it for the day after those two holes. Wound up with a 95 overall, net 81 and finished in the bottom 5 for the day.

This was our 6th event, so the Top6 standings will now start to fluctuate relative to the overall standings. This round knocked me down to 10th in both. The good news is, our next event marks the half-way point in the season, and I am 10th in Top6, with a strong chance to knock at least one low round (this one) out of my top 6. And, if I continue to play pretty steady the rest of the way, I'm in good shape to qualify for both post-season events.

I'll be making myself familiar again with the short game practice area to try to work on my up-and-down percentage.