This week in Myrtle Beach, we had two ten-man teams going head-to-head in Ryder Cup style matches over five days. The first four were better ball and the last day was singles. Our team entered the singles down by three, went 6-4 and lost by one. I went 2-3, won my singles match, but only played my best on the last day.
I had a fabulous time and was reminded of a few lessons along the way. If you want to play your best golf, you need to compete – regularly. You may have experienced significant changes to your golf routine over the past few years, with the ability to compete being removed because COVID restrictions. I sure have. For serious golfers, competition is an essential tool for keeping their game sharp as it hones their focus and steels their nerves. I was reminded of this because I hadn’t competed in anything since February of 2020 and it showed.
Mental preparation is essential for golf competition, but there is no substitute for being exposed to regular competitive pressure. My symptoms were classic. I often stood on the first tee with my head full of mechanical and competitive thoughts, and the mix was toxic. I got off to poor starts the first four days and finally started to play like myself on the last. Oh, there were stretches of good play mixed in, but the poor starts were the common thread since I had not been under the competitive gun.
A few key takeaways:
Do compete in your regular golf game. It gets your head in the right mindset for competition.
Do pair your down-the-middle stay out of trouble players against ego-based players. Down the middle puts excessive pressure on the ego-based player.
Do not make any mechanical changes to your game before leaving on a golf trip. They won’t hold up under the pressure of playing on strange courses or in competition.
Do not take too many chances in a close match and remember, par usually wins the hole.
Giant 8-foot friend we found at Thistle
Overall, I loved this trip. The weather was glorious and the course conditions superb at all five venues. The best part was the companionship and camaraderie. I was in a condo with our team captain, and our nightly libation fueled conversations about how we wanted to match-up the next day were fascinating and great fun.
Final thought: Why do the real Ryder Cup captains require two years of preparation where we did the same thing in two hours with a couple gin and tonics?
There are ample opportunities to help your golfing friends and I enjoy doing my part. Yesterday, one snuck up on me. I had agreed to meet a buddy at our home course for a practice session and have known this guy for 25-30 years. We play once or twice per year but practice more frequently. This friend is one of those self-taught players who insists upon playing the game his way and is very resistant to change. Over the years, I’ve learned to never offer any assistance and have never been asked. His grip, aim, and setup fundamentals are very off, and subsequent ball striking is poor. He will typically open the clubface about 45 degrees at address and severely close his stance. Basically, he has no chance. The only way he can hit a straight shot is to severely come over the top and course correct mid-swing.
As we hit the range, I put down two alignment sticks and built a channel towards my first target. I noticed he had put down an alignment stick and then he asked what he should do with it. I was taken back a bit by the request and was doubly curious that he was using an alignment stick given that alignment is his biggest foible. I rolled with it and offered a spare alignment stick and helped him build a channel and then described the basics. Point your club at the target, set your feet parallel to the sticks, etc. It was here that I learned even after playing golf for 30 years, he had little concept of alignment because he asked why you pointed the clubface at the target first!
Well, he started hitting it pure and you could hear the discovery of the ah-ha moment. I wanted so bad to take a picture of him working with a square alignment but didn’t for fear of embarrassing him, which is why I haven’t mentioned his name. Later he floored me with another request on mental approach and how to introduce good practice habits.
This eye-opening moment tickled me pink thinking that I could have helped move his journey forward in a positive way. He insisted this is the way he’s going to practice every time out and that made my day. Have you ever stumbled into a situation where you could help a friend? I would love to hear your story.
My dear friend and playing companion for the last 30 years, Jim Rush, passed away on Wednesday, October 6, 2021. Folks that knew and played with Jimmy recognized what a selfless, generous, kind, and devoted man he was. His family, friends, and the local golf community have endured a tremendous loss.
Jim Rush
I first met Jim in the late 1980s at Needwood Golf Course. He used to work as a construction foreman for the organization that maintained the course and a handful of other municipal tracks in Montgomery County. Jim and another friend, Mike DeOrio, used to pick golf balls at the range and play together. I assimilated into their group and a lifelong friendship was born. Over the course of the next three plus decades, Jim and I played many weekend rounds and charity events together. We traveled annually to Myrtle Beach and played the RTJ Trail in Alabama, as well as the Boyne Resort in Michigan. Every Fall, Jim would come with me to my beach house in Bethany Beach, DE to winterize the place and play our little mini-Eastern Shore Tour. I will miss him.
Pat, Mike, Ronnie, Jim, Cary, and myself at TPC of Myrtle Beach
Along with golf, Jim was an avid varmint hunter and would travel to Ohio, Nebraska, and shoot in the local farmlands of Maryland. Jim was fond of telling the same hunting stories more than once. I remember on long drives to out of town golf courses, he educated me over and over on the Coriolis’ effect (earth’s rotational effect on moving objects) and what this had on some of his long hunting shots. I am now an expert 🙂 Golf, hunting, travel, sports, politics, family life, his daily to-do list, and just about everything else was fair game for a discussion. I will miss him.
Jimmy was a man of many details. He always organized the annual Myrtle Beach trips, and even after everyone had cellphones and cars with GPS, showed up at our staging area with 10-page printed copies of directions, maps, and lists of tee times. Jimmy was late to the technology party but eventually got there. His laminated index card with 15-20 swing thoughts was legendary and was always in his bag. I will miss him.
Jimmy on the Eastern Shore Tour – #10 tee at Eagles Landing
Jimmy wasn’t shy and had the gift of gab. As readers of this blog know, I like to review golf courses and feel that the best reviews are done when the course is not aware they are being evaluated. One year, we rolled into Baywood Greens in Delaware, and I told him that I’d be reviewing the course and to keep it quiet. He strolled right up to the pro shop attendant and introduced me as a course reviewer from All About Golf and said that their course would be evaluated during our round. They welcomed us and immediately paired an assistant pro with us for our “enjoyment.” Thanks Jimmy – I will miss you.
Jimmy had fought and beat the scorn of cancer for many years. I won’t dwell on his illness or his courageous fight but watching him through the surgeries and treatments and to see him keep taking lessons and trying to improve was inspiring. We used to lovingly tease him that he was belting it past all the other one-kidney guys out there. Eventually his illness cut short his time on the course, and I believe the last time we played together was at Blue Mash in May.
Jim and I played together, practiced together, filmed each other’s swings, and compared lesson notes from each of our instructors. When he stopped playing, I felt the void and my game went downhill fast because I lacked the motivation Jimmy provided to improve. I’ve only played three rounds since the beginning of August and the last was over a month ago.
In the 20+ years that I have been traveling to the Grand Strand for golf, it’s always been in the summer. This year, I was invited to play in a February family and friends 5-day match play tournament staged across the four Barefoot courses and Grand Dunes. We had a fabulous outting. If you have not tried Myrtle Beach as a winter golf destination, it’s about time.
Many in the group of 20 players scheduled their travel to arrive and depart on the first and last days of the competition. I elected to pad a travel day on both ends which worked out well. Going into the event, I had been playing or practicing every weekend and that turned out to be a huge boon for my game. I played well the entire week and generally felt in mid-season form. The on-site day of practice beforehand was very helpful for getting accommodated to the playing conditions and green speeds.
Our accommodations were condos located in the Yacht Club and North Tower on the Barefoot property. These were huge and well-appointed three- and four-bedroom units that housed us very comfortably. I would definitely recommend them for a trip in the North Myrtle Beach area. On a previous trip, we stayed in 3-bedroom condos on the Norman course which were nice but much smaller.
Spacious living area in our Yacht Club condo.
View of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Pool area at the North Tower
Tournament format:
We were grouped as A, B, C, and D players by handicap and a blind draw assigned us into two 10-man teams for a Ryder Cup style competition. I was told that on paper, our team looked very strong. Not having played any golf with any of these fellows, I made up my mind to just go play and not try to over-analyze anything. On days 1 through 4 we would play four ball matches (you and your partner’s better ball against your opponent’s ball) at 80% of handicap. On the fifth day, we’d play 10 singles matches – again at 80% handicap. Every match had one available point, with a total of 30 points available, 15 ½ were required to win the Cup. The team captains met each morning to make pairings and select who would play whom. An excellent requirement was added to promote player interaction. You could not be paired with the same teammate more than once. I greatly appreciated the opportunity to play with a new teammate every day because I only knew four of the other 19 players going into the week. After playing with different teammates and opponents and dining with everyone on a nightly basis, I’m thankful to have met so many great guys.
Match Summaries:
Day One: Barefoot Love Course.
Weather was cloudy in the mid-50s. This was the first time I had played the Love course and I enjoyed the layout. Course was in great condition and the over-seeded greens were rolling medium speed and smooth. There was a little hidden water off some of the tee shots but the holes were nicely framed and fit my eye. I played with Ken and our opponents were Bruce and Tim. I drove it really well and struck some good irons close. Lost my concentration a bit around the greens on the back nine but Ken and I had pretty good control of the match and won 3 and 1.
The boys on the practice putting green before the matches at Love.
Day Two: Barefoot Norman Course.
Weather again cloudy in the mid-50s. Norman is the Barefoot course I’ve logged the most rounds on, but I struggled on the greens. Joe and I played Nick and Ed and we were behind all the way around. Down 2 with 4 to play, our opponents let us back into the match with some loose driving and Joe made a 4-footer for par to win the match on 18. About 2/3 of the guys went out for a nine-hole replay but not me. My new strategy was to conserve energy.
Day Three: Grand Dunes.
One of my favorite courses, Grand Dunes did not disappoint. Temps were in the low 60s and the course was in fabulous condition. I was super excited because I was stripping it on the driving range which is always a good leading indicator for my game. Greens were running faster than the previous two days at Barefoot and the day’s match was Glenn and I vs. Marc and Ed. I had my best ball striking day and carried my partner on the front nine. Glenn ordered a fast-action Bloody Mary from the cart girl on the 6th or 7th hole and his game suddenly caught fire. I relaxed afterwards and we coasted in this one 7 and 5. The last four or five holes were played in the rain which was a harbinger of things to come.
Day Four: Barefoot Dye.
It had rained heavily overnight and there was still precipitation in the area. Dye was playing cart path only and giant puddles and ruts were the order of the day in the cart paths. The paths at Dye are all sand/waste areas which made for a sloppy round. It basically rained medium hard all day. The driving range was closed beforehand and swings were obviously affected. In this match, Ron and I played Nick and Tim. Nobody hit it that well. However, my chipping and putting were getting it done and we prevailed 5 and 4. I found Dye the most difficult driving course because there are few good sight lines. You stand on the tees and confront a world of bunkers. Where to hit it? At the end of the day, our team was up 15 to 5 and needed only a half point to secure the Cup making the outcome all but decided. I guess all the pre-tournament prognostications were correct.
Day Five: Barefoot Fazio.
Temps were in the low 40s, rain was falling, and winds were building from the west. We were on the leading edge of a winter storm that dumped four inches of snow just north of us in Virginia and North Carolina. I was paired against Dan in singles and was playing with my teammate Ted who was matched up with Steve. Surprisingly, the greens were rolling fast and pure despite the weather. Dan and I got off to a rough start and halved the first hole with 7s. He took a 1-up lead on the second but I came back to take a string of holes and was three up at the turn. Ted was leading Steve 7-up and it was raining and blowing sideways. We called it quits. A couple of the boys did complete their games and a few reported that they had played well. I didn’t get the final points total, but it was clear that our side had prevailed. While we didn’t play the back nine, we had to drive in along it and I was impressed by some of the routing and conditioning. It would be great to come back and play Fazio in good weather.
Playing notes:
When in a match play format, don’t get distracted by your individual score. Several players asked me what I shot for the day and I told them that I didn’t know. It was true. If I was out of a hole, I’d put my ball in my pocket and let my partner play for our side. I think it’s beneficial to NOT play out a ball on a hole you messed up because making a bigger mess can form negative mental pictures in your head. When you have a bad hole pick up and forget about it. Your gross score doesn’t matter – it’s not the game you are playing. I get that many of the guys just want to play for practice or measure themselves, and that’s fine, but not my preference.
Play to your strength in match play and don’t alter your game based on the way your opponent(s) play. My strengths are accuracy off the tee and attacking with wedges. My weaknesses are playing from fairway bunkers, and there were a lot at these venues. I often hit a long iron or 3wd off the tee for position. If you have strengths like mine, you’ll find that ego-based players may become frustrated playing you. While they like to bomb tee shots, your accurate tee shots and their wayward driving often puts significant pressure on their game.
Around the greens, work the ground game. Courses at Myrtle Beach do not have significant greenside rough and don’t require high lofted pitch shots. Don’t get too enamored with your lofted wedges and try chipping and pitching with more straight-faced clubs. Putt when you can and keep the shots low whenever possible because roll is easier to judge distance on than flight.
Summary:
This trip was about camaraderie. We played with lots of different players which was great. We were also able to make dinner reservations every night for our party of 20 at a different restaurant. You could never pull this off on a summer trip to Myrtle Beach; it’s just too crowded.
The course conditioning was excellent everywhere. Of course, the dominant playing surfaces (Bermuda) were dormant, but they were very playable and framed the over seeded fairways nicely on all the courses.
The value was tremendous. We paid about $550 for five days of golf and four nights in excellent accommodations.
I’ve been invited to the 2021 version of this tournament and am eagerly looking forward to it. That’s it for now.
Play well!
New lids for the winning side
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