MGS VCT Season 3 - Week 3

[LinksgolfFever]

Date	05/08/2024
Course Name	Pajaro Valley Golf Club
Gross Score	74
Course Handicap	10
Gross Strokes over/under par	2
Net Score to Par	-8
Net Score	64
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

Blue tees 70.6/125
 

After a terrible round Monday I was pleasantly surprised to start with a birdie.  Off the tee I was playing well but was plagued with the long iron/fairway metal issues that seem to not want to get better…4 bogeys and 4 pars the front was 39 with 15 putts.  Back 9 started slow with a bogey but that was the last one!!! I played 11-18 2 under with birdies on 15 and 18.  35 on the back with 11 putts

[LinksgolfFever]

Date	05/09/2024
Course Name	Del Monte GC
Gross Score	77
Course Handicap	10
Gross Strokes over/under par	5
Net Score to Par	-5
Net Score	67
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

White tees 70.4/128

Very slow start with a pair of bogeys and the 2nd hole was a scrape needing a 10 foot putt to make bogey….

Next four holes were even including a good up/down on the par 3 6th.  Bogey on 7 was followed up with a birdie on 8.  2 over on the front.

Back 9 great tee shots, continued issues with the long irons/fairway metals that don’t seem to have any desire to cooperate and 3 lip outs garnered a 3 over 39.  77 with 31 putts.

[cheese57]

Date	05/06/2024
Course Name	Colonial Golfers Club
Gross Score	108
Course Handicap	26
Gross Strokes over/under par	36
Net Score to Par	10
Net Score	82
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

course: 70.5/126

[J7Hawkins]

Date	05/10/2024
Course Name	Stillwater Country Club
Gross Score	87
Course Handicap	15
Gross Strokes over/under par	17
Net Score to Par	2
Net Score	72
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

69.9/126

Still mightily struggling off the tee but I putt very well today and got up and down 3/3 from bunkers so I’ll take it. It’s progress right now 

[LBC]

Date	05/08/2024
Course Name	Providence Golf Course
Gross Score	89
Course Handicap	17
Gross Strokes over/under par	18
Net Score to Par	1
Net Score	72
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

Tough day, cart path only (10,330 steps)

no birdies, 35 putts.

[Shifty]

Date	05/10/2024
Course Name	Birch Hills Golf Club
Gross Score	84
Course Handicap	7
Gross Strokes over/under par	16
Net Score to Par	9
Net Score	77
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

Had an absolute disaster on the front 9, never really got into a groove until the back 9.  Amazing how different a golfer I am from one day to the next, lol.

Had 2 driver penalties which I normally don't have, and a couple water balls...

Ah well, today is another day.

[Randall Robbins]

Date	05/10/2024
Course Name	Bent Creek GC
Gross Score	71
Course Handicap	4
Gross Strokes over/under par	0
Net Score to Par	-4
Net Score	67
Net Birdies or better	0
Longest Drive	0

Ok, I'm back - somehow missed the start of the new season, so I've spotted you 2 weeks!  Anyway, good round on greens that were punched and sanded - !lucky if anything outside of 3 feet went in - like playing plinko when you putted, which was a shame since I ran off 18 pars without being able to get one of at least 7 birdie looks to drop.

Forgot to add course info:

Slope: 128. Rating:  69.7

 

[Golf2Much]

Date	05/09/2024
Course Name	Key West Golf Club
Gross Score	86
Course Handicap	10
Gross Strokes over/under par	16
Net Score to Par	6
Net Score	76
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

Gold tees have a rating of 67.7 and slope of 124

Two days after food poisoning and I'm starting to regain my strength and stamina.

  

I really did play better than two days ago.  I hit 86% of the fairways and doubled my normal greens in regulation (two to four with a birdie on the par 5 third hole when I stuck it 4 inches from the pin).  I only had one up and down for par (very un-Golf2Much-like but several for bogie) and only 27 putts (which is not as good as it sounds).

In the end, our inconsistent sand traps did me in!  Though I had one sandy par from a fairway sand trap on 17, almost 10% of my shots were on the beach.  Not acceptable.  Typically, our traps are poor with a hard rocky feel.  You never know what hard pan lurks below the surface.  Over the last few months, they have tried to add sand to make them better represent bad traps everywhere else.  So, the consistency varies even within a trap and there's still concern over embedded rocks under the ball.  If it sounds I'm making excuses...I am!

My final round of the week is tomorrow.  Hopefully I can get to full strength and get back to playing better.

[daviddvm]

Date	05/09/2024
Course Name	Timber Creek Creekside/Pines
Gross Score	81
Course Handicap	5
Gross Strokes over/under par	10
Net Score to Par	5
Net Score	76
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

longest drive 273

We got rained out last week 

[fozcycle]

Date	05/10/2024
Course Name	Heritage Isles GC
Gross Score	81
Course Handicap	9
Gross Strokes over/under par	9
Net Score to Par	0
Net Score	72
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

Slope: 64.1/103

Putts 32 FIR 11/14 79% GIR 9/18 56% Longest drive was 223yds Had 1 Birdie (#5 Par 3)
Great hot day today, shooting 40/41:81 

[Prodigal Duffer]

Date	05/11/2024
Course Name	Split Rail Golf Clug
Gross Score	90
Course Handicap	14
Gross Strokes over/under par	18
Net Score to Par	4
Net Score	76
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

69.4/130

Both encouraging and frustrating day. On the whole I played my best all around game this year. My iron play was still a weak point, but very much improved. I had a good day on the short game, including this chip:

Putting was pretty good, too. But my driving (usually my strength) was all over the place. I took five (!!!!) penalty strokes, so there is some low-hanging fruit. Golf.

[GolfSpy SAM]

Date	05/11/2024
Course Name	Hansen Dam
Gross Score	78
Course Handicap	7
Gross Strokes over/under par	6
Net Score to Par	-1
Net Score	71
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

Got to play Hansen Dam today - the site where I first broke 80, back late last year.  

  (Course Rating: 70.2 / Slope: 117)

Well...I shot a 78 today, too. Started with some CRAZY scrambling to save par on the first four holes, then hit one O.B. on 5, then played the hole in Par, so - double (ouch).  Parred 6, Double (again, OUCH) 7, Par 8, Bogey 9 (with the dumbest "I'm going to only tap this putt instead of stroking it so it'll end up 2" short" play in the world).

Parred 10, birdied 11 (full story later), par (12, 13 & 14), three bogeys in a row (15-17), then finished with a great birdie on 18.  

Fun fact: when you hit a good drive with the wind at your back and dry-ish fairways, you, too, can hit your last drive of the day 317 yards.  Lol - I was literally laughing, as the vast majority of my drives for the day were in the 250-265 range.  But I was able to take advantage, hitting a 48-degree to 6 feet and then drain that for the closing bird.

Double Fun Fact: the 11th hole is an elevated tee, where the fairway runs straight down (about 30 yards) and then straight back UP (about 25 yards).  The whole is only 310 yards, but you need to carry 260 to get to the top of the hill.  I hit my drive very high, and a little leaky, nearly to the top of the hill (about 250).  However, it was in some rough, with a tree ahead and to my left, with branches hanging over my desired line to the flag, and a bunker directly in front of the green - between me and the pin.  @Billy The Kid Rogers suggested I punch something low and into the sand, thinking it might have enough low velocity to skip through.  It was honestly the only shot I had, and I'd already hit two VERY good punchy-7-irons in some of my previous scrambling.  

So out comes the 7-iron.  Back of the stance, about a 1/2 swing.  The ball flight was perfect - low, penetrating, skirting underneath the branches of the tree, into the sand trap, OUT of the sand trap, then trundled the 15 yards of rough between the sand and the green, and finally settled at the front of the green, about 10 feet away from the pin.  I honestly don't think I've ever hit a better shot - it was EXACTLY what was suggested, it was EXACTLY how I envisaged it, and the result was EXACTLY what I was hoping for: a shot at birdie.  

Which I drained.  

It was just a delightful round.  Now my third time breaking 80 - and there are a few shots I want back to see how low I really could have gone.  75 was there for the taking, that's for sure.

Alright, that's it.  Can't wait to get back out there (check out a detailed report of how the first outing of the L.A.B. DF3 went (28 putts total)).

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Date	05/11/2024
Course Name	Forest hills
Gross Score	101
Course Handicap	20
Gross Strokes over/under par	29
Net Score to Par	9
Net Score	81
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

Played a lightning fast 18 (sub 3hrs). Greens were wicked fast. Had 5 3 putts and 5 penalties strokes on drives (2 OB and one just lost). Beautiful morning (started before sunrise at 5:15am). 
Second round with the snell prime 4.0  this ball really performs. Hoping my putting turns around soon.

course rating 69.6/128

net birdies:5

longest drive 272 yrd

best shot was on par 3 4th. Duffed drive and then pitched it to 10” 

second best was another uphill par three. 

[MonBear]

Date	05/10/2024
Course Name	Riverside Golf Course
Gross Score	91
Course Handicap	9
Gross Strokes over/under par	19
Net Score to Par	10
Net Score	82
Net Birdies or better	0
Longest Drive	0

69.0/119

 

It was....a day. Only the 3rd time out this year, and the short game wasn't there. Earlier this year I shot an 80 with 38 putts. Today I shot a 91 with 32.

 

What a game!

[Alf. S]

Date	05/11/2024
Course Name	West Lothian Golf Club
Gross Score	79
Course Handicap	9
Gross Strokes over/under par	8
Net Score to Par	-1
Net Score	70
Net Birdies or better	0
Longest Drive	0

Great conditions on the course today. +1 to the turn then pitching and chipping let me down coming back. Driving really well 13/14 hit. More comfortable with a new set up with my putter, 29 putts, beginning to get my distance back with my irons. 

PAr = 71

SR = 126

CR 71.2

[Alf. S]

2 hours ago, MonBear said:

Date	05/10/2024
Course Name	Riverside Golf Course
Gross Score	91
Course Handicap	69
Gross Strokes over/under par	19
Net Score to Par	-50
Net Score	22
Net Birdies or better	0
Longest Drive	0

 

 

Nett score of 22, 50 under eat your heart out Scottie! 

[MonBear]

2 minutes ago, Alf. S said:

Nett score of 22, 50 under eat your heart out Scottie! 

Woah, I may have goofed. We can't be sure!

[Alf. S]

29 minutes ago, MonBear said:

Woah, I may have goofed. We can't be sure!

We've all been there. 

[Alf. S]

Date	05/09/2024
Course Name	West Lothian Golf Club
Gross Score	82
Course Handicap	9
Gross Strokes over/under par	11
Net Score to Par	2
Net Score	73
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

Put this one down to arriving back from Cyprus at 2:30am (4;30am Cyprus time) after 10 hours journey and then playing at 1pm. Shattered by the 14th.

Par =71

SR = 126

CR 71.2

[Javs]

Date	05/11/2024
Course Name	Sun City Golf Club Cowan Creek
Gross Score	73
Course Handicap	1
Gross Strokes over/under par	1
Net Score to Par	0
Net Score	72
Net Birdies or better	0
Longest Drive	0

Another decent day. The weather was perfect and I won the money game! I hit 8 fairways, 11 greens (15 near greens included), 29 putts. Birdied two of the first three holes out of the gate. Had a bad double and one bogey. The rest were all pars. A heck of a lot of near misses or lip outs. Blue tees with a rating of 69.1 and slope of 123.

[GolfSpy_BNG]

Date	05/11/2024
Course Name	Hillside Golf Course
Gross Score	82
Course Handicap	0
Gross Strokes over/under par	10
Net Score to Par	10
Net Score	82
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

Not a great swing day for me. Hopefully tomorrow is better. 
 

Rating and Slope are the same 107/68

[CFreddie]

Date	05/11/2024
Course Name	Riverpines GC
Gross Score	86
Course Handicap	14
Gross Strokes over/under par	16
Net Score to Par	2
Net Score	72
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

Overall, I’m pretty happy with this round. This was my first time out with the DF3, and while I still have work to do on the green, I’m very pleased with its performance (4 3-putts today, which is a bit better than average). 
 

On the other end of my bag, I feel I’m finally starting to get comfortable with my new driver - including a 314 yard shot on the 10th hole (#1 normally, we started on back nine). Just ignore the fact that it’s a downhill par 4 and I hit a downslope in the perfect spot

[Golf2Much]

Date	05/11/2024
Course Name	Key West Golf Club
Gross Score	75
Course Handicap	10
Gross Strokes over/under par	5
Net Score to Par	-5
Net Score	65
Net Birdies or better	0
Longest Drive	0

What a difference a few days can make!  Five days ago I was away from home with some kind of food poisoning.  Four days ago I shot my worse round in a long time and I was amazed that I could even finish the round.  Today, I shot the best round of my life with a 75!  The way I played I thought for sure my friends would require me to submit a specimen for drug testing!

As in the past, the course rating is 67.7 and slope 124.

  

The only thing I can think that was not outstanding for me was the 64% fairways hit.  All four missed shots were just off the fairway with one on a bad downhill lie and one in the trap.  Other than that, I played out of my mind!  I had two natural birdies on the toughest and fifth toughest holes.  This is the way my day went:

I hit an ok drive about 175 yards down the middle.  With the pin back left, I wanted to keep the ball on the center to right side of the fairway.  I hit a solid 5 wood to exactly the area I was interested in.  The green is a bit elevated and slopes away from you in that corner.  I hit a three-quarter gap wedge, it hit about 10 ft. away and rolled right into the cup for a birdie (and I never saw it).

I hit 17% of the greens (a little better than average for me) and had a total of eight up and downs for pars.  In total, I had 21 putts all day including just 9 on the front (a "0", seven 2foot or less and one 3foot and one 4 foot putt).  My problem on Thursday was traps.  I had eight sand trap shots in total.  Today, I had four sand attempts, got out on the first shot every time and finished two with one putt sandy pars.  When I did get myself in a little trouble, I made smart moves, solid shots and didn't get in a situation that hurt me too bad.  

All in all, it was the most complete round of golf I've ever played, and the shots gained reflects that.

   

The first strokes gained chart on the left represents my last 10 rounds.  The strokes gained chart on the right is for today.  It's the first time I can remember that all four categories had plus shots gained.  

Why did I play so well?  It's hard to say.  I was in the first group off, and I didn't have my normal time to hit a few chips and putts.  All I had was a minute to swing my Orange Whip.  Maybe it was that I slowed everything down a bit as I struggled to gain back my strength from earlier in the week?  Maybe it was putting my Sqairz shoes back in my golf shoe rotation?  Maybe it was getting used to and fully applying the Bridgestone Mindset process for my MGS review?  

I wish I knew!  There are only a few things that I'm sure of:  it was my best round ever, for some reason I seemed to play in an overall sense of calm, and finally, it's not likely to happen again!  I wish I could say it was my "new normal", but I know in my heart the round was more likely a positive adnominally.  The stars just aligned today.  That's it!  Maybe it was the Northern Lights!!!!

 

[Bubba1985]

Date	05/12/2024
Course Name	Northwestern hills
Gross Score	84
Course Handicap	16
Gross Strokes over/under par	13
Net Score to Par	-3
Net Score	68
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

[Bubba1985]

Earlier this week.. Has a good round going considering but couldn't finish strong

[EMacK1961]

Date	05/11/2024
Course Name	Baja Country Club
Gross Score	98
Course Handicap	16
Gross Strokes over/under par	16
Net Score to Par	0
Net Score	82
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

69.5/117

It was an ugly day off the tees. It was an ugly day for the approach game. It was an ugly day on the greens. If there was a tree to be hit or to be stuck behind, I found it. The bunkers were like concrete. It was not a good day at the office. The only good thing was that my playing partner didn't fare much better. We suffered together in our miseries of the day. Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. 

[William P]

Date	05/09/2024
Course Name	The Courses at Watters Creek, Traditions
Gross Score	83
Course Handicap	10
Gross Strokes over/under par	11
Net Score to Par	1
Net Score	73
Net Birdies or better	0
Longest Drive	0

Course: 70/126

1 birdie

Longest drive: 276

Could have been a very good round for me but couldn't putt worth a tinker damn... 4 - 3 putts!!!

[GolfSpy_BNG]

Date	05/12/2024
Course Name	Hillside Golf Course
Gross Score	84
Course Handicap	0
Gross Strokes over/under par	12
Net Score to Par	12
Net Score	84
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

Not a good ball striking day for me. Once I switched balls on the back things changed for the better. 45/39. 
 

Slope and rating 107/68

[Shrek74]

Date	05/12/2024
Course Name	Dorchester Golf Course
Gross Score	91
Course Handicap	20
Gross Strokes over/under par	19
Net Score to Par	-1
Net Score	71
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

White Tees
Slope: 68.0
Rating: 125

3 trainwreck holes and a couple 3-putts. But a birdie and 5 pars is great stuff to build on.

[cnosil]

Date	05/12/2024
Course Name	Cypress Point
Gross Score	77
Course Handicap	5
Gross Strokes over/under par	5
Net Score to Par	0
Net Score	72
Net Birdies or better
Longest Drive

69/118