Napa Tourney - Day 2
The second day of the Napa event started out with much wetter conditions. We got there around 8:30 am to attend the players meeting at 9:30 am, and see where we stood. There was probably about 100 players overall, and most seemed to know each other. I was still in the last group, but had caught up to George, but Gary was still ahead of me. We were to play in opposite course order, which meant we started on the permanent course and finished on the temp course in the afternoon. It stopped raining after only a few holes, but the wind would be an increasing factor the rest of the day.
I found that I was playing better, and having the same group of guys who had similar strengths and weaknesses also helped me focus on my own game. I felt like I could certainly hang with these guys, if not beat them, and so was able to both be competitive with them and yet realize we were not really competing for anything except not finishing last. I had some nice birdies and was throwing well overall. I ended up shooting my best round of Napa and improving on my previous best by shooting a 63 (or 8 over).
After the morning rounds, the wind really started to pick up. There was light rain on and off, but by the third hole it was sunny again but VERY windy. This made playing in the open field challenging to say the least. A new member was added to our threesome, a player who was playing much better than us, but who did not play in the morning round so his score was super high (the TD gave him a 7 for every hole - ouch!). So we were not a foursome and I still played pretty well. I knew I was longer than the other guys in my group, and Gary thought for sure that I would pass him since he was more of a finesse player. I figured I might, but it was certainly no guarantee - as it turns out he beat me by one stroke. I shot a 62 my best round so far, and felt lucky to do so.
Gary, Geroge and myself after our last hole.
Gregg and I stayed past nine o'clock to watch the trophy presentations and raffle. Neither he or I did not win anything, and if I was driving I might have gone home a bit sooner, but since Gregg had the keys we stayed until the end. Gregg also bought a red "eye" roc like mine and we played a little "up-shot" game while we waited for the raffle and the trophies to be handed out. I resisted the urge to buy a bunch of stuff, but did get a nice collared shirt for $15 bucks.
I can take away a few highlights including the fact that my putting was much improved. The practice I put in lately gave me more confidence on putts of less than 20 feet, since I remembered I made 4 out of 5 almost every time. I just stepped up and banged them in, which made me feel good (and was what most of the better players were doing as well). I also improved with each round I played and felt more comfortable and had more fun. Overall, while I wish I would have started off better and played my game from the start, it was a great experience and while I don't intend to play every week-end, I do look forward to playing in Santa Cruz a maybe a few other tournaments in the months ahead.
I found that I was playing better, and having the same group of guys who had similar strengths and weaknesses also helped me focus on my own game. I felt like I could certainly hang with these guys, if not beat them, and so was able to both be competitive with them and yet realize we were not really competing for anything except not finishing last. I had some nice birdies and was throwing well overall. I ended up shooting my best round of Napa and improving on my previous best by shooting a 63 (or 8 over).
After the morning rounds, the wind really started to pick up. There was light rain on and off, but by the third hole it was sunny again but VERY windy. This made playing in the open field challenging to say the least. A new member was added to our threesome, a player who was playing much better than us, but who did not play in the morning round so his score was super high (the TD gave him a 7 for every hole - ouch!). So we were not a foursome and I still played pretty well. I knew I was longer than the other guys in my group, and Gary thought for sure that I would pass him since he was more of a finesse player. I figured I might, but it was certainly no guarantee - as it turns out he beat me by one stroke. I shot a 62 my best round so far, and felt lucky to do so.
Gary, Geroge and myself after our last hole.Gregg and I stayed past nine o'clock to watch the trophy presentations and raffle. Neither he or I did not win anything, and if I was driving I might have gone home a bit sooner, but since Gregg had the keys we stayed until the end. Gregg also bought a red "eye" roc like mine and we played a little "up-shot" game while we waited for the raffle and the trophies to be handed out. I resisted the urge to buy a bunch of stuff, but did get a nice collared shirt for $15 bucks.
I can take away a few highlights including the fact that my putting was much improved. The practice I put in lately gave me more confidence on putts of less than 20 feet, since I remembered I made 4 out of 5 almost every time. I just stepped up and banged them in, which made me feel good (and was what most of the better players were doing as well). I also improved with each round I played and felt more comfortable and had more fun. Overall, while I wish I would have started off better and played my game from the start, it was a great experience and while I don't intend to play every week-end, I do look forward to playing in Santa Cruz a maybe a few other tournaments in the months ahead.
posted by Scott at
9:39 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home