My old friend and the 103

[Bravo]

OK - so I tee it up with my old friend on Saturday. He is 50 yo and has been playing for three years..

Background: He has never been married or had children - confirmed batchelor living in San Francisco for 25 years. About three years ago - his uncle goaded him into trying it.

As you can imagine - with nothing but time on his hands after work - he immersed himself in it. Lessons and practice, practice and lessons at the Palo Alto Golf Club, a municipal facility there.

So he tells me he has a 20 handicap and we tee it up. Of course, he has never played at our place...

We are playing the IV tees which are a bit under 6300 yards 69.7/135...

Dammit if he doesn't make solid contact every time. Always gets it airborne and has a very respectable short game. Our greens which frequently befuddle guests are fairly easy for him..

His problem is juice. He needs more power and hits his average drive a bit under 200 yards - but it is usually in the shorthairs or close to it. He never hit it sideways.

So he comes in with a 103 and in our Nassau bet won two holes outright and halved four others. He carried the banner well...

I really had to hand it to him...in the meantime one guy had a 74, I came in with 85 and we also had a 99. It was a blast for everybody...

[Rockford35]

Sweet.

Great story. I love hearing good times stuff like that. Sometimes, after a shitty range session, I drive home and remember that no matter how crappy you play, it's all about having fun.

Nice work Bravo. I appreciate stories like this.

R35

[Bravo]

One of the great things about this round: It shows that by using the handicapping system properly - high handicappers can play very comfortably with lower players.

We "threw up balls" on the first tee to determine teams. As it ended up - the two low guys (the doc and myself) played the two high guys...Our team had a 74 and an 85 and their team had a 99 and a 103.

We played a $2 Nassau and the low guys ended up winning $2...my buddy made a key up and down for bogey (net par) on the last to keep it close. He felt great about it.

I hope the higher cappers here will read this and feel comfortable and welcome this Fall...

[Youngun5]

ya know, i've kinda been getting caught up in the competitive aspect of the game, i need to take a sec and realize its all about having fun or you'll never do well, i look at the gore fellow at the open and see how everyone loves him, i don't wanna be that serious jerk with no personality

That is a mature attitude for you to take...once you are out of school and into your career - people will not want to play with you if you are a jerk about it. It is all about having a good time...and the guy who had the 74 (missed two eagles or would have shot even) was as nice and easygoing as anyone....

[bdcrowe]

Originally Posted by Bravo

Background: He has never been married or had children - confirmed batchelor living in San Francisco for 25 years. About three years ago - his uncle goaded him into trying it.

Context is everything, B...

That was a great story Bravo. Nice how golf is an "everyman" sport. If you respect the game and your partners, you're good at it despite scores. Kudos.

[Rockford35]

Originally Posted by Bravo

I hope the higher cappers here will read this and feel comfortable and welcome this Fall...

We should pick teams out of a hat in the fall for each course. That way, everyone would randomly get the chance to win or lose. Plus, great mixer material, coming up with team chants and slogans....

"Dave, I think you're in the trees."

R35

[Joe]

Originally Posted by Bravo

Background: He has never been married or had children - confirmed batchelor living in San Francisco for 25 years. About three years ago - his uncle goaded him into trying it.

Originally Posted by bdcrowe

If you respect the game and your partners, you're good at it

Originally Posted by bdcrowe

Context is everything, B...

I agree.

[DaveE]

Originally Posted by Rockford35

We should pick teams out of a hat in the fall for each course. That way, everyone would randomly get the chance to win or lose. Plus, great mixer material, coming up with team chants and slogans....

"Dave, I think you're in the trees."

R35

We'll just have it printed on a sign so everyone doesn't lose their voice repeating it.

[Bravo]

Originally Posted by Rockford35

We should pick teams out of a hat in the fall for each course. That way, everyone would randomly get the chance to win or lose. Plus, great mixer material, coming up with team chants and slogans....

"Dave, I think you're in the trees."

R35

This is a great way to do it. As we get closer, we can start a discussion of how we will do the betting and teams.

My friends who just came back from Scotland (and I) are in a group called "The Mouthwedge"...I have posted about it here before.

Our playing format and betting system is fantastic. It consists of 2-man and 4-man teams that rotate around. Everyone gets to play with everyone else at some point or another. And money is paid out after each round...it gives everyone something to strive for - no matter how poorly they played the previous round.

Lots of high fiving, mouthwedging and swaggering going on....bring on the beers and the cigars.

I shared the format with the other doc who played with us last weekend. He took a group down to the coast and they used it. He mentioned the afternoon Scrambles were a hit - so we need to see if everybody wants to do this too.

[DaveE]

We have a member scramble the last Sunday of every month and I think they're a lot of fun. Depending on how many people come, we could mix up the teams differently each day to keep it interesting.