Fall Series Event #2---Hyannisport Country Club

Today was my second event in the New England PGA Assistant's Fall series... I had a 9:10 tee time in the last group due to my showing at last week's tourney, with the guy that beat me... The course we played is again right on the ocean, it's a very famous area due to being right down the street from the "Kennedy Compound", and therefore the course that all of them were/are members at. As I drove in, I saw the estate that they live on, with tourist in the street taking pictures. The course is short and usually pretty wind, today it was not too bad at all...but the lack of wind was made up in the toughness of the greens... to give you an idea of how firm they were---No one in our group had to fix a ball mark all day, because our approach shots never made a dent in the green... that is the first time I've ever played a course where that was the case. They were lighting fast...like WICKED fast... putting on a gym floor fast... so that firmness and speed make them the teeth of the course. Here's how it went...

1- "ON THE FIRST TEE FROM WILLOWBEND COUNTRY CLUB, MR. CARSON SOLIEN" they announced... naturally I was pretty hyped up, I don't remember much before the shot bc I was kinda nervous... but all I know is that when I hit it... I said..."oh no"... I pumped my first tee dead right... OB! Out of Bounds... I had 200 yards to the left that was safe, which I could have hit it... Hitting 3 off the tee... four just over the green...five up to a foot, six in.... Double Bogey... +2

2- Killed my driver down the right....short hole... Chunked my pitch shot... at this point, I'm asking myself if this is how it's going to be all day... I should have had a chance for an easy birdie putt..instead have to get up and down for par... I hit a poor chip shot again, running it by 15 feet... 15 footer downhill... I knew I needed this putt---- Dead in the heart! Great save, Par.... +2

3- Hit a 4 iron off the tee, 6 iron into the green...it ran off just off the back right edge, putted it up from off the green, left it 10 feet short though...again a must make downhill slider----Dead in the heart... par....+2

4-3 wood right down the pipe... wedge to the green, hit a good shot,but it spun back and caught a ridge and came back off the green in the rough... hit a great chip to 2 ft, knocked it in...par... +2

5- 5 iron into the green, hit a good shot, but once again ran off the back right edge, leaving me a really tough sidehill/downhill chip shot. I hit a pretty solid chip, leaving myself with a side hill 4 footer with a foot of break... missed it low side... bogey...+3

6-This was a straight forward par 5, I had to have a smoke... I was 3 over through 5, knew if I was going to have a good round, I needed to get my shit together. I hit a drive right down the middle, had 248 into the green... hit a rescue just in front of the green...Played an ole Texas Wedge (putter) honestly from 15 yards off the green, cuz it was shaved so short and I would have had to clip it good with a pitch shot.. hit it good, got it to about 8 ft for birdie. Need to knock this putt in for birdie...needed to capitalize... missed it, it snapped on me and I missed it low side...Par..+3

7-Really frustrated at this point... Drive-right down the middle...hit a really good 7 iron into the wind, just got on the front edge... I had a 40 ft putt up the hill, I hit the putt a little too hard.. and missed a tough little 4 footer.. depressing... 3 putt bogey... +4

8- Tough par 3, hit a thin bad horrible 5 iron just in front of the green right, got a way with one. Knocked a putt from off the green up to 2 ft...really good touch on a lag putt... snuck out of there with a par... +4

9- Short par 5... just had to hit a good drive, I completed this task... Had a 4 iron into the green from 210, downwind... I hit a good shot, just didn't draw back in... left myself with a tough sidehill chip from pin high, had to hit a flop shot..I couldn't have hit a better shot, asked it to go in and tapped it in for birdie... This was a huge up and down for me, and a good job of converting for once... plus it kept me under 40 for the front nine... +3...39 on the front.

10- This is when I started to finally feel confident, I hit a great driver down the right side... I hit an absolutely horrible 6 iron from the the center of the fairway... it was god awful, I had a tricky little chip and put it a little passed the hole... this seemed like a day of endless downhill 10 footers... it was brutal standing over them, but I think I did a pretty good job.... but then again I missed the putt and made bogey... +4

11- I was downright pissed at myself for pissing away a stroke right there after battling so hard, and making a birdie on the pervious hole. I hit another good drive down the leftside... again hit and absolutely horrible 9 iron left into the bunker, short siding myself... god I was mad after that shot, I actually threw my 9 iron back trying to hit my bag as I got my divot... I never throw clubs anymore.. deep bunker, 15 ft to work with... I hit the best shot of the day probably, clipped it perfectly out of the bunker, landing it softly just on the green, it almost dropped in the hole and I tapped it in quickly to get out of ther with a par..+4

12- Hit a drive down the left side of a dogleg right... so I had a 7 iron coming in, after pulling my last two.. I naturally pushed it out right.. Missed the green just off the right side. Again, I hit a really really good little pitch shot, spinning it off the slope just on the green, rolling it down to a foot. It was another little clutch shot, great par... +4

13-I was in a pretty good mood at this point, I had just had back to back difficult up and downs on the last two holes... it was a real short little par 4, I hit a good drive just in the left rough, I only had about 60 yards into the green... it was a really good birdie opportunity, until I hit my lob wedge all the way to the back of the green 30 ft. away... But then I hit my putt and half way there realized it was a good birdie opportunity again... as the putt dropped in the hole I was sure... huge putt! Birdie... +3

14- In the zone at this point... Hit the best drive of the lay, long down the leftside of the fairway... Hit a PW into the green, hit a good shot right at the stick... it hit by the hole and released 20 ft by. I thought I had this putt, but I left it just short and was happy with another par... +3

15- Straightforward par 3.. pulled it a little again, into the wind.. it caught a bunker greenside... with no green to work with. I put myself in another bad position with my shit iron play. The bunker shot was a good one again, my bunker play usually is horrible... you guys know that! I got it to stop about 12 ft by the hole, the putt held its line until the last second when it caught the lip and spun out. damnnnn bogey.. +4

16- Tough par 5... I had to hit 3 wood off the tee, down the left side... weird... from a blind shot at the bottom of a steep hill, I slapped a 4 iron through the fairway and into the range which was in play. I had 90 yards to the pin, just an easy little lob wedge, the pin was right infront... I hit it right on, and it one hopped and hit the sick, bounced off to like 15 ft... Another good birdie putt and I needed to convert! As the putt was rolling, I was urging it to please hold it's line and stay up! It just barely dropped in the left side of the hole... YES, TWEEET TWEET... +3

17- Short little par 3 right on the ocean... green is sloped severely from back to front, the pin was all the way in the back.. I hit a knock down 8 iron, just barely on the front edge... I had 40 ft straight up hill... I hit a good lag putt and after rolling back a couple inches (thats how steep the slope way), it came to rest 4 ft from the cup... The guy that beat me last week, was beating me all day today, sometimes by 4.. I was 1 up on him after the birdie on 16... He 4 putted this hole from the front by where I was, for double... I calmly knocked in a slippery 4 footer for par.. +3

18- Real short hole, 300 yards straight up hill... I hit a good drive in the left rough... I had like 45 yards straight uphill into the green, pin tucked over a bunker back left.. so I had no angle... I tried to hit a great shot and like an idiot left my shot in the bunker left, and completely short sided myself... in the bunker... Once again though I came through and hit a great great bunker shot, as could as I could have done..to about 12 ft... Its a right to left slider, and I just didn't give it enough steam, left it just short, for a stupid stupid bogey... really bad brain turd there folks... bogey +4.... 36 on the back nine...for (+4) 75...

---If it wasn't for my first shot out of bounds and last shot into 18, I would have played a pretty solid round... but that's life, and I'll learn at some point...but I'm getting better! I ended up in 4th place, and made $175.. so it was a successful tourney. I also gave myself a 3 point cushion for the lead in the Player of the Year points. Hopefully keep it up! --18 holes at the tourney, 18 holes at willowbend for fun after, playing 40 minutes in bball game at night-----BEAT, night!