3Jack Golf Round - 9.24.12 - FSGA Mid-Am Qualifer

Course: Legacy Club @ Alaqua Lakes
Stimp: 11
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Driver: Wishon 919THI 10-degrees
3-wood: Wishon 949MC 15-degrees
Hybrid: Wishon 775HS 18-degrees

4 iron: Wishon 555C (cavity back)
5-iron thru AW: Wishon 555M

SW: Edel Golf digger grind 55-degrees
LW: Edel Golf digger gring 60-degrees

Putter: Edel Golf Columbia (34" long)

This was my 2nd time playing in the FSGA Mid-Am qualifier, having qualified last year with a 74 (+2) at Shingle Creek. Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes is a very nice golf course. If I have one gripe against it it's that it's a private club. One can get a tee time on TeeTimesUSA.com, but it's a $92 green fee. So what happened is that there were about 10 golfers playing in the qualifier who were members of the club and have a lot more experience playing there than the rest of the field.

The course came a long way since my Saturday practice round. I tend to believe that September is the most difficult time for Central Florida course due to the daily rainfalls never giving courses time to recuperate from all of the precipitation. On the practice round Saturday it was still fairly soft and a lot of shots were plugging, but we didn't have a problem with that today and I thought the course and the greens were in excellent condition for this time of year.

I played in a 2-some with another golfer and we started on #10. My driving was much improved since the state amateur qualifier and I shot 69 (-3) in a practice round. However, I was a little shaky with the putter.

#10: This was a bit of a toe-hook that went up against the lip of the fairway bunker. I then hit a SW to just get it into the fairway, but I hit it too far and went into the rough. I then hit a LW to about 20 feet. I just missed the first putt, but missed a 2-foot comebacker and 3-putter for double bogey (+2)

#11: This was a bit of a pull with the driver into the woods. I had 2 avenues that I could take, one that would be a pitch shot that would leave me with a 150 yard approach shot. The other would be a tougher shot thru some trees, but would be me to about 90 yards. I took the latter route and hit a nice shot that wound up 88-yards away. I then hit a LW to 10-feet and made the birdie putt, even though I pushed the putt a tad (+1)


#12: I could not see this one fly, but the yardage said 171 and I felt like I hit it well and it came up short. The weather was 'only' 69-degrees and from there I could gauge that the lower temperature along with the humidity was causing the ball to fly a little shorter.

Thankfully, I walked up to the flag and I noticed that the ball was going to bank hard off right side of the green. So I played the pitch well to the right and wound up to about 3-feet and canned the par save (+1)


#13: Another crappy swing with the driver and I hit a low pull draw into the rough. This was important because the hole played about 450 yards, thus it was likely the drive was going to end up in the Danger Zone.

It did and I hit a 5-iron pretty well, but a bit of a closed face caused the ball to draw and miss left. A decent chip with a LW to 5-feet and this was a putt I had at inside left edge as the % of slope on the putt was almost perfectly flat and sometimes those are the most difficult to read. However, I hit the putt perfectly and drained the par save (+1)


#14: Worst swing with the driver, yet and hooked it into the woods. Pitched out, but again; too hard and into the rough. Caught a SW fat and missed the green short. I then nuked a SW on a pitch shot about 15-feet bye and 2-putted for double bogey (+3)


#15: finally hit a nice driver. I pushed it a little, but it carried the trees and found the fairway. I then crushed a 3-wood from a downhill lie over a tree and it...hit the lip of the bunker and stayed there. If it goes about 1-foot further, I'm up near the green. I then hit it as hard as I could and got it out.

Then pitched to 10-feet and just missed the par save and made bogey. A real heartbreaking 2-stroke swing (+4)


#16: Blasted a driver down the middle. Then a 9-iron to 10-feet. Just missed the birdie putt because I pushed it, but missed the 2-footer coming back and made bogey. Real lousy job there (+5)



#17: Poor swing with an 8-iron and missed the green right. Weak chip to 15-feet and hit a great putt that hung on the edge and made bogey (+6)


#18: At this point I was just like 'screw it' and trying to make birdies, so I took driver out on a hole that I would usually hit 3-wood off the tee. I hit this one well, but pushed it into the woods. Hit out to 90 yards. Then a LW to 15-feet. First putt was on line, but 3-feet short. Made the bogey save (+7)


#1: I think my ball position was a problem off the tee as I noticed after this tee shot that my ball position was too far back. And I wound up hitting an ugly steer push into the woods. Chipped out, but again, too far and into the rough.

Of course, I wasn't paying attention too much as the palmetto was scraping against my leg. Now I had no shot as I was in the long rough and on a sidehill lie. I hit that shot out there to 50 yards to the flag. Hit a SW to 10-feet, but made this bogey save (+8)


#2: Another ugly swing and pulled it into the bunker, short siding myself. Hit a nice bunker blast to 6-feet and made the par save (+8)


#3: Best drive of the day ripped down the middle. I choked up on my gap wedge and hit a nice shot to 10-feet. Putt never broke as much as I thought and made par (+8)


#4: Another good driver down the right side. Had a semi-difficult lie, but hit a 3-wood pretty well to about 50-yards to the pin. They had a very difficult pin position and I thought I hit a good LW, but could not get it to stop and wound up with a 20-foot putt. I had this breaking at 21 inches to the right and drained the birdie (+7)


#5: Smoked a driver down the middle. Little weird shot because the lie was slightly downhill and it was difficult to gauge the wind which had just picked up. I hit a 9-iron that felt a little high on the face and it went to 30 feet. I was near the low anchor and had the read, but I pulled it and 2-putted for par (+7)


#6: Flushed a 4-iron to 20-feet. Hit a good putt, but too hard. Missed a 3-footer coming back and made bogey (+8)


#7: Hit this drive well, but pushed it a bit and went into the right rough. Hit it out with a 7-iron. Had a 9-iron with an uphill lie into the wind. I think it went so high that it came down with frost on it. I then drained a 25-footer to make birdie (+7)


#8: Smashed a driver down the middle. Choked up on a 8-iron and flushed it to a few inches and kicked in for birdie (+6)




#9: Pushed a driver a tad into the right rough. It was not an easy shot with the lie, but I hit it over the flag, just too far and all the way to the back of the green. Slick, downhill putt from 35-feet that I hit to 5-feet short, but made the par save (+6)


THOUGHTS: Obviously disappointing, but I did make a nice comeback. My last 2 rounds of competitive golf have been my highest scores of the year, so it was nice comeback here and avoid that from happening.

That being said, my nerves really got the best of me on the first 9 holes and if those cannot be controlled, I'll continue to run into the same issues. I think it requires a lot better mental preperation starting with more mental focus in practice and casual rounds of golf. Furthermore, I think I need to take my blood pressure medication before the round instead of taking it at 10 am when I usually take them.

I think putting wise I have some issues going from my typical slow greens to the faster greens I play in these tournaments, but still it's some nerves issues. I hit a lot of good putts and make a lot of good putts, but then miss too many easy putts.

35-43=78 (+6)
7/14 fairways
9/18 greens
31 putts
7 impeded shots

-2 on par-5's
+2 on par-3's
+6 on par-4's







3JACK