San Francisco Safari (Day 2)
I was pretty tired after playing so much on Saturday, but was excited to see what the other course was like and to get another chance to play the main course where I had shot such a good score the preceding day. I arrived a little later than I did on Saturday as there was no player meeting today - plus I knew how long it would take to get to the course. I got there about 7:45 and found a good place to park, then went to warm-up.
As I did yesterday, I caught up with a few of the local guys to see how they fared on their afternoon round and it seemed that the Mark's Meadow course was the easiest one and our group was going to play that last. Plus I was interested to see where I was in the standings given that I did not have as good a round late as I did early. I talked to Karen and she was is a good spot for third place, and thought she might be able to get second.
Finally at around 8:20 am, our cards were posted and I started on the 7th hole of the East Course. It took me a little bit to find out where that hole was, but I arrived in time to throw a few practice drives and putts. My group looked to be pretty fun, as we laughed about the other guys who were still looking for their holes after the horn sounded to begin play.
I started out pretty well, with a few pars, and I tried to play each shot the best I could and look for my opportunities to get a birdie when I could. The starting holes were all fairly similar and not too long, which was a good warm up for the rest of the day. I felt like I was one of the better guys in my group and just as I did, I found myself taking a few bogies. I didn't let it phase me really as I knew that it was bound to happen and the key was to not try stupid shots to try and get it close, but take my medicine and just lose one shot (if any).
This course had a couple of really easy holes and I was just not able to capitalize on them and had to settle for pars. I tried to not let it get to me and tell myself that par was a good score for me and move on. There was two water shots on this course, back to back holes where you threw over the same lake. Luckily I had practiced the first shot with Brian the day before and I knew it was easy to get across the lake. My throw was actually a bit long, but it was the best of our group (as a few guys found the water) and while I was too far to expect birdie, I did manage an easy par. The next hole the drive was a little farther and the basket right on the edge of the lake. I went second on this hole and stopped to take a picture.
My drive was well over the water, and really a little too far and left. I ended up having to crawl under a tree and had to come up with a pretty difficult upshot to save my par. Another guy in our group was not as fortunate as he tried to throw a "thumber" over the lake and from the tee it looked like he made it - but once on the other side and after a considerable amount of searching we realized he didn't and he had to throw from the drop area. In the end I was glad to make my par and avoid any big numbers on the water holes.
The rest of my round was pretty steady, as I avoided any big numbers, but was unable to get much going or take advantage of the shorter holes. I ended up with no birdies and only a few bogies and one double for a round of 61. It was a long walk back to the tournament central and by the time I got there I was starting to feel pretty tired. It had been a long couple of days and so I just hung out and chatted with the local guys I knew,. I was not really sure how I was doing in the tournament overall, but figured I was in the middle somewhere as I had not been the best of worst in my group. I caught up with the Santa Cruz gang, and we hung out and talked about how they were doing and what was happening there. I chatted with Rob about how he was doing, since he was playing in my division and had in fact been in the group right behind me.
Finally about 2:00 the cards were posted and Karen and I drove back over the Mark's Meadow course. She was still in good shape in her division, and the girl who had been such as distraction the day before was not playing today, which made her very happy. As we got to the course, we were one of the first people there and took advantage of it by throwing drives down the length of the park. The course appeared to be set up the same way as it had been the day before, with the pins in the same place, so I was looking forward to shooting a pretty good score.
When I got to the tee I realized I was playing with Rob Harpner, Marty's brother, which I was excited about. We had never played together and I was anxious to see how he played. The other two guys I did not know, but before I knew it we were getting ready to start. This time I started on the 7th hole, rather than the 8th as I had the day before, and I ended up parring the first three holes. As we made the turn onto the back nine, I kind of fell apart, as I had a few bogeys before turning it around with a nice birdie on hole #14. Unfortunately on my very next hole I took a unfortunate 5, as my drive was not bad and by the next tee. I was only about 60 ft away and so thought I could easily save par. Well my upshot hit and bounced away from the hole instead of towards it and so I was left with about a 25 footer. Well this hole had a bad basket, it was put together upside down, and so had a smaller than regulation opening. I still made a good putt, but as I hit the basket in the front the disc hit and rolled away to about the same distance. Unfortunately I missed the come back putt for a five, when by all accounts I should have gotten a par.
Never-the-less I managed to shake it off and get back on a nice par run. Rob was playing about as well as I was, except that he throws everything sidearm (or forehand) which I thought was kind of interesting. He is just as nice as Marty and it was a pleasure to play with him. As we headed down the home stretch, I began to get really tired. It had been a long, long couple of days and my conditioning was starting to show (as I am SO out of shape). I tried to stay focused, but I was more interested in getting the whole thing over with rather than continuing to worry about my score. As a result I finished rather poorly with a number of bogeys and one double, before getting one last birdie. Unfortunately I followed that up with two more 5's, as I really was having trouble keeping my focus and so ended up shooting a 62... much worse than my 57 of the day before. But heck I was pleased to be in the middle of pack, given that this was like my 4th tournament and I have still been playing less than a year. Most of the people I had been playing with all week-end had been playing for years and I still managed to beat quite a few. I got back to the tournament central in time to say goodbye to a few of the guys from Santa Cruz and see how Geo, Mack and the local Berkeley boys had done. Everyone seemed to be pretty happy with their results overall, and no one seemed too excited... Everyone I spoke with had a great time and that is the most important thing!!
I can't wait to play again next year. The courses they set up were for sure challenging, but at the same time there were some easy ones too. It reminds me of how easy Moraga is and that I should be able to play better there. But it gets hard to really worry about your lines out there when everything is for the most part wide open. I think this is the secret to shooting low, and hopefully I can do it on a more regular basis. In the meantime, I will savor my good rounds and special shots, and forget about the ones I could have done better on. I am proud of the way I played and my putting and up shots were really good all weekend. I am looking forward to seeing how good I can get in the months and years ahead.
As I did yesterday, I caught up with a few of the local guys to see how they fared on their afternoon round and it seemed that the Mark's Meadow course was the easiest one and our group was going to play that last. Plus I was interested to see where I was in the standings given that I did not have as good a round late as I did early. I talked to Karen and she was is a good spot for third place, and thought she might be able to get second.
Finally at around 8:20 am, our cards were posted and I started on the 7th hole of the East Course. It took me a little bit to find out where that hole was, but I arrived in time to throw a few practice drives and putts. My group looked to be pretty fun, as we laughed about the other guys who were still looking for their holes after the horn sounded to begin play.
I started out pretty well, with a few pars, and I tried to play each shot the best I could and look for my opportunities to get a birdie when I could. The starting holes were all fairly similar and not too long, which was a good warm up for the rest of the day. I felt like I was one of the better guys in my group and just as I did, I found myself taking a few bogies. I didn't let it phase me really as I knew that it was bound to happen and the key was to not try stupid shots to try and get it close, but take my medicine and just lose one shot (if any).
This course had a couple of really easy holes and I was just not able to capitalize on them and had to settle for pars. I tried to not let it get to me and tell myself that par was a good score for me and move on. There was two water shots on this course, back to back holes where you threw over the same lake. Luckily I had practiced the first shot with Brian the day before and I knew it was easy to get across the lake. My throw was actually a bit long, but it was the best of our group (as a few guys found the water) and while I was too far to expect birdie, I did manage an easy par. The next hole the drive was a little farther and the basket right on the edge of the lake. I went second on this hole and stopped to take a picture.
My drive was well over the water, and really a little too far and left. I ended up having to crawl under a tree and had to come up with a pretty difficult upshot to save my par. Another guy in our group was not as fortunate as he tried to throw a "thumber" over the lake and from the tee it looked like he made it - but once on the other side and after a considerable amount of searching we realized he didn't and he had to throw from the drop area. In the end I was glad to make my par and avoid any big numbers on the water holes.
The rest of my round was pretty steady, as I avoided any big numbers, but was unable to get much going or take advantage of the shorter holes. I ended up with no birdies and only a few bogies and one double for a round of 61. It was a long walk back to the tournament central and by the time I got there I was starting to feel pretty tired. It had been a long couple of days and so I just hung out and chatted with the local guys I knew,. I was not really sure how I was doing in the tournament overall, but figured I was in the middle somewhere as I had not been the best of worst in my group. I caught up with the Santa Cruz gang, and we hung out and talked about how they were doing and what was happening there. I chatted with Rob about how he was doing, since he was playing in my division and had in fact been in the group right behind me.
Finally about 2:00 the cards were posted and Karen and I drove back over the Mark's Meadow course. She was still in good shape in her division, and the girl who had been such as distraction the day before was not playing today, which made her very happy. As we got to the course, we were one of the first people there and took advantage of it by throwing drives down the length of the park. The course appeared to be set up the same way as it had been the day before, with the pins in the same place, so I was looking forward to shooting a pretty good score.
When I got to the tee I realized I was playing with Rob Harpner, Marty's brother, which I was excited about. We had never played together and I was anxious to see how he played. The other two guys I did not know, but before I knew it we were getting ready to start. This time I started on the 7th hole, rather than the 8th as I had the day before, and I ended up parring the first three holes. As we made the turn onto the back nine, I kind of fell apart, as I had a few bogeys before turning it around with a nice birdie on hole #14. Unfortunately on my very next hole I took a unfortunate 5, as my drive was not bad and by the next tee. I was only about 60 ft away and so thought I could easily save par. Well my upshot hit and bounced away from the hole instead of towards it and so I was left with about a 25 footer. Well this hole had a bad basket, it was put together upside down, and so had a smaller than regulation opening. I still made a good putt, but as I hit the basket in the front the disc hit and rolled away to about the same distance. Unfortunately I missed the come back putt for a five, when by all accounts I should have gotten a par.
Never-the-less I managed to shake it off and get back on a nice par run. Rob was playing about as well as I was, except that he throws everything sidearm (or forehand) which I thought was kind of interesting. He is just as nice as Marty and it was a pleasure to play with him. As we headed down the home stretch, I began to get really tired. It had been a long, long couple of days and my conditioning was starting to show (as I am SO out of shape). I tried to stay focused, but I was more interested in getting the whole thing over with rather than continuing to worry about my score. As a result I finished rather poorly with a number of bogeys and one double, before getting one last birdie. Unfortunately I followed that up with two more 5's, as I really was having trouble keeping my focus and so ended up shooting a 62... much worse than my 57 of the day before. But heck I was pleased to be in the middle of pack, given that this was like my 4th tournament and I have still been playing less than a year. Most of the people I had been playing with all week-end had been playing for years and I still managed to beat quite a few. I got back to the tournament central in time to say goodbye to a few of the guys from Santa Cruz and see how Geo, Mack and the local Berkeley boys had done. Everyone seemed to be pretty happy with their results overall, and no one seemed too excited... Everyone I spoke with had a great time and that is the most important thing!!
I can't wait to play again next year. The courses they set up were for sure challenging, but at the same time there were some easy ones too. It reminds me of how easy Moraga is and that I should be able to play better there. But it gets hard to really worry about your lines out there when everything is for the most part wide open. I think this is the secret to shooting low, and hopefully I can do it on a more regular basis. In the meantime, I will savor my good rounds and special shots, and forget about the ones I could have done better on. I am proud of the way I played and my putting and up shots were really good all weekend. I am looking forward to seeing how good I can get in the months and years ahead.
posted by Scott at
10:18 PM
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