The Duck Stays in Europe!

May 11, 2015May 12, 2015 / The Grateful Golfer / 12 Comments

After three years and on the fourth attempt, the duck finally changed hands. Last Thursday, my friend Kirk and I went head to head to determine who is the lucky person to carry the duck for the foreseeable future. Still giving him 2 stokes aside and using his son’s clubs, I finally put together a game that beat him on his home course at Northwood Golf Course in Middlesex.

As we teed off at 10 am, the sun was shining, it was dry and the wind was not a factor for the entire round. The course was in great shape, especially the greens. Overall, the outcome would be determined by how we would play and not by the conditions of the course. Fortunately for me, my wife as able to walk the course with us and witness my eventual triumph!

Making a tough shot!

During the first 9 holes, we battled back and forth. After six holes, I had eked out a 2 hole lead. But, in true golfing fashion he easily won two of the last three holes to even the score after nine holes. By his own admission, he thought that being tied after 9 holes and finishing so strong down the stretch was going to be my downfall. But, Kirk was not playing his best and he was having trouble finding the fairway off the tee.

Deep in the bush!

Well, as we started the back 9 something changed. I started to hit the ball in the fairway and Kirk continued to spray off the tee. I am not sure what happened, but he found every difficult spot on the course and my confidence started to grow. He made some amazing recovery shots from the bushes, behind a tree and out of the sand, but eventually his inconsistency got the best of him. It definitely was atypical of Kirk’s game and as a result I closed him out on the 15th hole – 4 and 3. As we walked toward the 16th tee box, Kirk, in true gentlemanly fashion, shook my hand and congratulated me on the win.

In the woods!

I was surprised that I won 4 of the first 5 holes on the back nine. However, when I looked at the scorecard after the round, I realized that I shot a 39 with a double on the 11th hole (we halved it).

More importantly, the duck will stay in Europe. It will travel around seeing different courses that most golfers only dream about! It took a few attempts, but I finally won a match against Kirk. After losing on three previous occasions, I was beginning to wonder if I was every going to beat him. But as fate would have it, last Thursday was my lucky day.

So the ball is in his court to carry the duck back across the pond for another challenge. Regardless of the future results, at least for now, the duck stays in Europe!

A visitor from Canada!

The duck challenge is always fun. We joke about it often, but more importantly, we both realize that the bragging rights is the real prize.

On a side note, another friend made its way to visit Kirk, just to keep the big prize company! I wonder if he found it in his house yet?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

The Duck is Coming Back To Canada

November 2, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 9 Comments

The duck will be staying in my hands for the near future! My friend and I had a fantastic four days of golf that culminated in a wet round played in two stages.

Today, we started playing in a light drizzle, but the weather quickly worsened. After 11 holes of playing in a down pour, we decided to stop, eat breakfast, and wait out the rain. Two hours later, we hit the links for the final 7 holes. Things were looking good for me, however the last two holes did not go well. My friend dug deep and played like a champion.

So, I will be carrying the prized duck for the time being! I plan to write a more detailed account of this adventure, but thought everyone would be curious as to the results of our match!

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

The Duck Stays in Canada!

July 21, 2014July 21, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / 4 Comments

Match-play is the most equitable competition in golf. If players have honestly built their handicap, it provides a fair means to compete . Among friends, as I found out yesterday, it provides endless entertainment, chances to rib your opponent, and light-hearted competition.

A match-play match consists of one side playing against another over a stipulated round unless otherwise decreed by the Committee. In match play the game is played by holes. Except as otherwise provided in the Rules, a hole is won by the side that holes its ball in the fewer strokes. In a handicap match, the lower net score wins the hole. The state of the match is expressed by the terms: so many “holes up” or “all square”, and so many “to play”. A side is “dormie’’ when it is as many holes up as there are holes remaining to be played. (if you want all the official rules governing match-play competitions go to RCGA.org)

This weekend was a perfect way to rebound from my poor showing at last-weeks Regional competition. Not playing well during the last two days of Regionals was quite disappointing, but that is golf! Immediately after the last round of Regionals, I headed to the airport to pick up my friend and his wife who had just arrived from the UK. They graciously planned to visit us for three days, so Kirk and I took advantage of the time and hit the links all three days.

Jim and Kirk before “Duck Match”

The last day was the competition for the “Duck”. This year we decided to have a match-play competition because stroke-play was too intense and not suited for a friendly! The negotiations about how many strokes a-side he would receive was hammered out in a two-hour discussion. The guiding factors used were his handicap – he is a 10 and I am a 4, his play over the previous two days, it was my home course, his jet lag and maybe a bit too many libations. Ultimately, we decided on four strokes a-side. It may seem a bit much considering his handicap, but I figure it was the right number for each of us to enjoy the round and keep the competition close.

Hitting to the second green from 150 yards out!

We were fortunate to have one of my regular playing partners, Jean, join us. His steady play and ability to arbitrate disagreements was a great addition to our group! As we started, I quickly jumped out up 2. I thought that this was going very well and if I could get through his four-stroke holes on the front, I could hold a commanding lead going into the back. Well something happened that I was not ready for – his short game. That was by far the best part of his game! He always chipped close and never 3-putted. Each putt was either in or a tap-in on the second shot! It definitely was a clinic on how to put pressure on your opponent during a match-play competition.

His second strength was his ability to get the ball back in play! He did hit a few wayward shots, but scrambled perfectly. Of the four situations where he had to play out of trouble, he played it safe by chipping expertly out from the woods or sand; Kirk made three pars and a bogey from trouble!

Out of the Cabbage on to the green. Another par!

Kirk out of the sand for par!

His ability to scramble was really hard to compete against. In a match-play event, the ability to recover can be demoralizing to your competitor! And in our match, he gave back as much as he received. He never bent to the pressure and kept firing back great shot after great shot!

I was not to be out done. My game was steady and relentless. I did nothing flashy, yet nothing disastrous. I figured that if I played my normal game (with a couple breaks) Kirk would not be able to stay with me over 18 holes. This strategy had worked very well in our stroke-play competitions, but not during our match-play event!

After seven holes, I was still one up. This was the last hole on the front nine that Kirk received a stroke. My plan was to tie the hole and head to the par 5 ninth hole, one up. Since the par 5, ninth hole was played straight up, I figured I had a good chance to be 2 up starting the back nine!

Well, in a movie, this is where the slow motion scene would start! After hitting a 260 yard drive, Kirk had 120 yards to the pin. He confidently stepped over the ball and hit a 5 iron (okay it was a wedge) and hit his ball to 1 foot! He sunk his putt and evened the match. He looked and smiled at me as if to say…’you’re in trouble my friend’!

The back-nine was a slug fest. Every time I would put the pressure on, Kirk would counter with pressure of his own. During his four holes where he received a stroke, his play was excellent. He won three of the holes and put me in a pickle being 2 down with three to go! Teeing off on the 16th hole, solved nothing. We were both in play. After hitting our approach shots, he was 30 feet away and I was 45 feet away. It was not looking good for The Grateful Golfer! Undaunted, I stepped up and drained my putt for birdie! No one was more surprised than me, but with some unexpected pressure, Kirk left his putt just short and putted in for par. I was now 1 down with two to go!

17th Hole at Roundel Glen Golf Course!

The 17th hole was a 120-yard par 3. There is a sand trap to the right protecting three-quarters of the green which usually comes into play during pressure matches. The pin was up front. Kirk hit to the middle of the green about 25 feet away. I was off to the left about 15 feet away. After Kirk made his second putt; the pressure was on to win the hole and push the match to the 18th. As I stepped over the putt, I felt confident that his putt was going in! After a smooth stroke, I came up six inches short! Yup, short! The match was over and Kirk defended the title of not having to carry ‘The Duck’

Jim keeping ‘The Duck’ for another year!

After the match, Kirk and I both agreed that match-play was the best competition for ‘The Duck’. It allows the higher handicapper more chances to be competitive. Overall, it was an awesome day and we are looking forward to the rematch in the UK on his home course or maybe The Old Course in St Andrews!

In case you were wondering, I shot a 73 and Kirk shot a 78. Next time he is giving me strokes! This was truly a fantastic match!

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

World Match Play Tournament

February 20, 2014 / The Grateful Golfer / Leave a comment

A World Golf Tournament is underway. Specifically, the Accenture Match Play Championship. Since 1999, players from around the globe have competed against one another in varied formats, representing their respective countries in memorable and exciting competition. Over the past decade, World Golf Championships have been contested on five continents and in 10 countries. There are four exciting World Match Play events throughout the season that offer unique and exciting golfing events for all enthusiasts.

This year, the Accenture field is okay. Without 3 of the top 5 players in the world, the normal hype is missing. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy watching McIlroy, Watson (Bubba), Garcia, Stenson, Rose and Els play, but for some reason the excitement just is not there. I wonder if that is a marketing challenge or an indication that match play is not really that exciting to watch. Personally, I like a match play event, especially if I am competing.

On the positive side of things, I like that many underdogs are rising to the top. At least in the first couple rounds anyway. I like to see journeyman players go head to head with higher ranked players and win. This reinforces why we compete because on any given day…..; in this respect golf is like all other sports. Most of the time the great players will win, but every once in a while a surprise happens.

I guess I like the fighting spirit of the journeyman! Much like the Olympics, never give and great things can a happen attitude is always there. Just ask the Canadian Women’s Hockey team who won golf in a come from behind win for gold – way to go ladies! Ultimately, the field at the Accenture is not that strong this year, but watching how the winner rises to the top is the real story.

For anyone interested, I picked Rory McIlroy to win. He is in a tough match right now, but time will tell how he does.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

The Road to the Final Four!

March 21, 2013 / The Grateful Golfer / Leave a comment

Is the road to the final four paved through golf? No, really!

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship is truly exciting. The top 68 teams play in a loose and go home tournament that lives up to its hype. The games are exciting, the coverage is fantastic and the bragging rights are out of this world. I love this time of year!

This year is a convergence of excitement for sports fans. The Final Four ends on Monday April 8; the Masters practice rounds start Monday, April 8. It is hard to believe that this coincidence was not planned….or was it?

Golf has a similar tournament; ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP. For most golfers it is as exciting as the NCAA Final Four. I love the format. It is a tournament where streaky golfers have an opportunity to rise to the top and beat top rank players; as evident when Charles Howell III beat Tiger Woods and Shane Lowery beat Rory McIlroy. I realize the media hype is not as great as the Final Four, but, hey, for golfers it is really exciting. Congrats to Matt Kuchar for winning this year.

A match play (an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal) competition is very different from stroke play. Match Play is very much a mental competition. You still have to play well, but you also have to opportunity to forget mistakes and take your lumps. Additionally, one bad hole does not eliminate you from competition (as John Daly has learned on many occasions in stroke play). Personally, I try to play at least one match play tournament a year. It is difficult, but most courses offer a match play competition to members.

Golf Match Play dates back to the 1500s. I would suggest that the Road to the Final Four is paved through golf. The structure and results of the basketball tournament can find its roots in our awesome game. Regardless, both events are exciting.

I am a grateful golfer. See you on the links!