Oddsocks
Ryder Cup Winner
well it all started pretty well, was super chilled on Saturday, up early Sunday and on the range by 7:15, this left me 45 minutes practice time before hitting the clubhouse for breakfast and a bit of putting practice.
Range, yeah not to bad, wedges were fine, mid irons good, 3w like a heat seeking missile (note should have used this more), driver a bit sketchy but manageable, generally feeling good. So over to the club house done the formalities.
So onto the course.
1st, won with par 1 up.
2nd halved with a bogey
3rd, with a par
4th, lost with a 6 to a par - 1up
5th, lost with a bogey to a par - All Square
6th, lost with a bogey to a par - 1 down
Now the turning point. we was the first group out in our swindle and our group was made up of me and the other player in the final, our captain and the slowest 6 capper you have ever seen. We were slowly being pressured by the group behind and from the 4th green I kept saying to our captain, "we need to let these through" it wasn't that we were playing slow, but the group behind was in buggies so we were having trouble holding them off. the 7th they were waiting on every shot which in turn pressured all the players in our group apart from CAPTAIN SLOW, he wasn't bothered so us 3 were rushing to try and gap the group behind.
7th I won with a double bogey 6 against an 8 - All Square
8th won with par - 1up
9th lost to par - All Square at the turn.
10th halved with a par - All Square
11th lost to a bogey, 1 down (hes shot hole)
12th halved with a par 1 down
13th lost with a double to a par 2 down
14th halved with a par - Still 2 down
15th halved with a par - Still 2 down
At this point i know something needs to be pulled out the bag, not only am i 2 down with 3 to play, but the group behind have been waiting on their approach shot for about 5 mins, so we are feeling a bit pressured again.
So now its interesting, a peach of a 3 wood upour dogleg right 16, leaves me 125 yards in, my opponent only hit a 5i off the tee and he's about 160 in. He takes an 8i and with a bit of a fade (leftie) misses the green back right. The gps is telling me 125 to the middle, pin is right back so im thinking 140 yards, easy 9 iron with a nice uphill putt to the back of the green. Nope, i absolutely pure one, pitches and rolls of the back, so this hole is all down to who chips closest, i played a lovely little 58* over a gully & mound but the ball just would stop and rolled out to about 15ft, he fluffs it and leaves it on the fringe, putts on close enough for a gimme 5, so i need my 15 footer for the win, nice stroke, settle over the ball and WALLOP!, perfectly sank and now 1 down with 2 to play.
What happens next will haunt me all the time i am playing golf, and now doubt a few years after that.
We all get to the 17th tee, and unusually the yellows are right back and the whites are right forward, at most 2 metres difference between the two. Our captain is rooting around in he's bag for a ball and says " if your ready play as you won the hole. ". I tee'd the ball up about 1 meter back from the blocks thinking " bloody hell these whites are battered " a few practice swings and the only peach of a drive was laid down, and absolute beauty, smack bang down the middle with a bit of roll must have been 280/290, when my opponents voice says
" shame its no good look where you played from "
I looked down and to my horror id tee's off 1 metre back from the yellows, and 1 meter in front of the whites, obviously distance verses stroke penalty and 3 off the tee see a repeat drive down the middle, this is after he has oinked one left and short, he chips out for safety and is on the back of the green for 3, i play a peach of a 9i in and im there for 4. still fuming a half hearted w**ky put sees me 3 putt for a 7, and he 3 putts for a 6.
GAME OVER.
Now i have no grudge in losing a match, and to me assessing both games i would say he played better golf on the day, i was managing to score with a hot short game. My driving was absolute toilet yet he's 5i was sticking him at 200 yards down the middle every time, and he's 3wood at 230 wasn't doing any damage either. What im fuming about is he stood next to me on the yellows, let me play the shot only to say that it was no good. I've lost count the amount of times in a medal or even swindle friendly for money when people have tee'd up the wrong side of the Whites and I've nudged them to correct it before they play their ball, to me that is the sportsman like thing to do, but to lose a match in this manor has really gotten to me.
When we go back to the club house one of our committee asked how the game went, and when I advised the situation, he was appalled that my opponent watched me play from incorrect tee's before notifying me. I have never made a mistake like this in 20 years of playing (on and off). The mistake was made simply because we was rushing to stay in front of a group that I wanted to let through on the 7th, instead the pressure of staying in front of them cost me my match 10 holes later.
The captain called to me one side and was very sorry that he had asked me to play as he would of pulled it before the shot was played, as i said he was looking for a new ball, the 6 capper may as well have been jacking up in the bushes as he is away with the fairies, yet my opponent watched the mistake knowing it would win him the 17th and the match.
Rant over but the question is, Am i a sore loser? I couldnt win a match in this manor and wouldnt want to win one in this way either.
Range, yeah not to bad, wedges were fine, mid irons good, 3w like a heat seeking missile (note should have used this more), driver a bit sketchy but manageable, generally feeling good. So over to the club house done the formalities.
So onto the course.
1st, won with par 1 up.
2nd halved with a bogey
3rd, with a par
4th, lost with a 6 to a par - 1up
5th, lost with a bogey to a par - All Square
6th, lost with a bogey to a par - 1 down
Now the turning point. we was the first group out in our swindle and our group was made up of me and the other player in the final, our captain and the slowest 6 capper you have ever seen. We were slowly being pressured by the group behind and from the 4th green I kept saying to our captain, "we need to let these through" it wasn't that we were playing slow, but the group behind was in buggies so we were having trouble holding them off. the 7th they were waiting on every shot which in turn pressured all the players in our group apart from CAPTAIN SLOW, he wasn't bothered so us 3 were rushing to try and gap the group behind.
7th I won with a double bogey 6 against an 8 - All Square
8th won with par - 1up
9th lost to par - All Square at the turn.
10th halved with a par - All Square
11th lost to a bogey, 1 down (hes shot hole)
12th halved with a par 1 down
13th lost with a double to a par 2 down
14th halved with a par - Still 2 down
15th halved with a par - Still 2 down
At this point i know something needs to be pulled out the bag, not only am i 2 down with 3 to play, but the group behind have been waiting on their approach shot for about 5 mins, so we are feeling a bit pressured again.
So now its interesting, a peach of a 3 wood upour dogleg right 16, leaves me 125 yards in, my opponent only hit a 5i off the tee and he's about 160 in. He takes an 8i and with a bit of a fade (leftie) misses the green back right. The gps is telling me 125 to the middle, pin is right back so im thinking 140 yards, easy 9 iron with a nice uphill putt to the back of the green. Nope, i absolutely pure one, pitches and rolls of the back, so this hole is all down to who chips closest, i played a lovely little 58* over a gully & mound but the ball just would stop and rolled out to about 15ft, he fluffs it and leaves it on the fringe, putts on close enough for a gimme 5, so i need my 15 footer for the win, nice stroke, settle over the ball and WALLOP!, perfectly sank and now 1 down with 2 to play.
What happens next will haunt me all the time i am playing golf, and now doubt a few years after that.
We all get to the 17th tee, and unusually the yellows are right back and the whites are right forward, at most 2 metres difference between the two. Our captain is rooting around in he's bag for a ball and says " if your ready play as you won the hole. ". I tee'd the ball up about 1 meter back from the blocks thinking " bloody hell these whites are battered " a few practice swings and the only peach of a drive was laid down, and absolute beauty, smack bang down the middle with a bit of roll must have been 280/290, when my opponents voice says
" shame its no good look where you played from "
I looked down and to my horror id tee's off 1 metre back from the yellows, and 1 meter in front of the whites, obviously distance verses stroke penalty and 3 off the tee see a repeat drive down the middle, this is after he has oinked one left and short, he chips out for safety and is on the back of the green for 3, i play a peach of a 9i in and im there for 4. still fuming a half hearted w**ky put sees me 3 putt for a 7, and he 3 putts for a 6.
GAME OVER.
Now i have no grudge in losing a match, and to me assessing both games i would say he played better golf on the day, i was managing to score with a hot short game. My driving was absolute toilet yet he's 5i was sticking him at 200 yards down the middle every time, and he's 3wood at 230 wasn't doing any damage either. What im fuming about is he stood next to me on the yellows, let me play the shot only to say that it was no good. I've lost count the amount of times in a medal or even swindle friendly for money when people have tee'd up the wrong side of the Whites and I've nudged them to correct it before they play their ball, to me that is the sportsman like thing to do, but to lose a match in this manor has really gotten to me.
When we go back to the club house one of our committee asked how the game went, and when I advised the situation, he was appalled that my opponent watched me play from incorrect tee's before notifying me. I have never made a mistake like this in 20 years of playing (on and off). The mistake was made simply because we was rushing to stay in front of a group that I wanted to let through on the 7th, instead the pressure of staying in front of them cost me my match 10 holes later.
The captain called to me one side and was very sorry that he had asked me to play as he would of pulled it before the shot was played, as i said he was looking for a new ball, the 6 capper may as well have been jacking up in the bushes as he is away with the fairies, yet my opponent watched the mistake knowing it would win him the 17th and the match.
Rant over but the question is, Am i a sore loser? I couldnt win a match in this manor and wouldnt want to win one in this way either.
