2011 Mystic Creek Club Championship

Two weeks after playing the Michigan Publinx State Match Play, I was considering playing the Mystic Creek Club Championship, at Mystic Creek near my house. The draw was that it would give me an excuse to play 36 more holes of competitive golf. When deciding to register, I got more tournament details from a guy in the Pro Shop (not the pro). The tournament will flight you after 18 holes (you can essentially pick your partner the opening round), and then the final 18 holes would be the next day. I was told two very key details, (1) That if I shot 80 I would not likely be in the Championship flight, and (2) the scores reset after the first round. Knowing these details I decided to go for it.

The first round was brutally hot and humid, and I teed off at 10am, which put me in the middle of it. We were scheduled to play the Woods then the Meadows. My favorite side is the Lakes, which wasn't being played on day 1, and the Woods is by far my least favorite, given several holes that make playing a draw like I do very difficult. My playing partners was a very young employee of the course, and a middle aged guy who just seemed happy to be golfing. On the first hole, I piped a drive down the middle, and hit a sand wedge to about 4 feet. I missed the putt but got an easy par to start things off. I was 2 over after 6 holes before 3 putting the par 3 7th for double, and then bogeying 8 and 9, both from the middle of the fairway. So I went out in 42, after playing what I felt was very good (with 20 putts on the front). The back 9 started off bogey, par, then I made a triple on the par 5 3rd (my 12th hole). I had 115 in for my second shot and missed the green by about a yard to the left, which in turn kicked into a wooded area where I had to take an unplayable lie. Then I chili-dipped a chip, and 2 putted for 8. I alternated pars and bogies coming in until the par 5 9th. I smoked a drive down the left hand side, and only had 185 in from the fairway bunker. The shot was straight uphill so I went with my hybrid and hit it very flush, but a bit right of the green. It proceeded to hit the cart path and kick into what I later found out was a hazard. Before I knew it was a hazard I went through the debacle of playing a provisional from the bunker, where my drop plugged. When all was said and done I had carded an 86, which was complete with 39 putts and 2 penalty strokes. I had amazingly not 1 putted a single green. The reality was that I hit the ball fairly well, hitting 9 of 14 fairways, and 10 of 18 greens. I figured this kind of round ensured I wouldn't make championship flight.

The next morning when I arrived at the course, I found out that the pro put me in championship flight, as the last player out of 10. This immediately made me think I would have to shoot low, this being a 1 day shootout and all. Then I found out the scoring was cumulative, which demoralized me. I was 12 strokes behind the leader, and 3 strokes behind even 9th place. This was amazingly frustrating to me, and I played like it, shooting 42 on the Woods side again, which included some really bad play, and also a 4 putt. Despite this, I was still beating my playing companions, who had all shot 83 the first day. Heading into the Lakes side I just decided to have some fun, and try to shoot a good score on a side I really enjoy. I parred 1, made a good up and down for par on the long par 5 2nd (my first 1 putt in 29 holes). Then I rolled in a 15 footer for birdie on 3. After bogeying 4 and 6 (both long par 3's), I was 1 over on the side. I then parred the difficult 7th, which the rest of my playing partners totally butchered off of the tee. On 8, which is the par 4 with the super elevated tee and the water on the left, I made sure to not hit the water, and aimed way right, shooting my ball into some trees behind a hill. According to the GPS I had 114 to the hole. But it was a difficult shot as I had to go over the hill, and under a tree, on a blind shot. I decided on hitting a very easy 7 iron, and hit a beauty, landing it 10 feet short of the hole and rolling 15 feet by. I rolled in the putt for a fantastic birdie and after parring the 9th, I had closed with a 36 on the very difficult Lakes side. The rest of my group shot an 84, 91, and 117 (I know, how did he shoot an 83 the 1st round??? Makes you wonder). So I had beaten everyone in my group for the 2 day tournament, but I had no illusions about the rest of the field.

The other 2 groups were following me in, and the scores surprised me. In the end I had passed 7 players to finish in 3rd place, and had the low round of the day by 5 strokes!!! For my work I got a $40 gift certificate, which meant I paid $60 for 2 rounds of tournament golf, not terrible at all.

The tourney taught a pretty valuable lesson, one which you would think I would already know. The first was the importance of managing your game throughout a tournament. I know there were 4-5 strokes that I left out there just by being careless with a few shots. The second is to make sure you understand the tournament format from the beginning, and to make sure you speak to the right people to ensure your information is adequate.

2011 Michigan Publinx State Match Play write-up

It's been over a month, so I should probably write about the Michigan State Publinx Matchplay championship that I played in during July.
The tournament was at Bedford Valley and Stonehedge North golf course in Battle Creek. The tournament consists of 36 holes of qualifying, one round at each course, and then players are divided into flights based on their 36 hole scores. I played in this tournament back in the late 90's, and was always in the first or second flight (both below championship flight). But looking at past scores it appears that enrollment is down, and the senior division is now 50 and over, so the flights have become more watered down. In any case, I determined looking at 2009 and 2010 results that a 2 day score of 157 was right on the borderline to making championship flight.

Championship flight was not my goal, as I know that the best players typically shoot under par, and my game is nowhere near that, nor has it ever been. My first round was at Stonehedge North, the course that I had never played, but had deemed easier judging by the course rating. My group had 3 players total, one of them was a 30 year old guy from Livonia, who wore a hearing aid. He was a nice enough guy, but a bit of a close talker, and very loud, talkative and repetitive on the golf course. He said he had played in the tournament 7 times but had yet to win a match. The other player was a guy around 38-40 from the Lansing area, who also had played before in the tournament, though I'm not sure of his results.
The first days forecast was ominous, and play was predictably slow. I bogied an easy par 5 to start, and after doubling the 7th (tee shot in the trees forcing me to punch out to the fairway, and then a 3 putt after my wedge to the green) and I was +4. The 9th was a long par 5, which I reached the front of in 2, and managed to get up and down to go out in 39. I parred 10, 3-putted 11 for bogie, birdied the par 5 12th, and then bogied the 13th with yet another 3 putt. On the par 5 14th I drove the ball through the fairway and had 240 to the green, going straight downhill. The green was guarded on the left by water, and the right hand side was guarded by trees. Even the flight to the green was guarded by an overhanging tree limb, making going for it a stupid idea. But the frustration from my two recent 3-putts must have made me go for it, and in making sure to not go left into the water, I blocked it right into the trees and never found it. I played from my provisional ball, and chunked a chip shot, and when it was all over I made an 8, when it was almost a sure par had I laid up. I made 1 more bogie on 17, and then on the 18th fairway the rain and lightening hit us, and we were hit with a 45 minute rain delay. After the rain delay I had to hit my first shot out of the fairway bunker, and then my approach went into the greenside bunker. I managed to get up and down from the bunker for par to shoot an 80, but I felt I left an awful lot of shots on the course.

That night I went to Firekeepers to play some poker and hang out. There I hooked up with Chris, who I played with on the high school golf team (he was 2 years younger). He had shot 76 and was also disappointed. I ran very cold at cards, and made some very good brute plays to get ahead early, but by the end of the night people started making strong hands against me and I finished down about a buy-in.

The next day was at Bedford Valley, where I had played a practice round 2 weeks earlier and shot 77. The course was very straight forward, but forced you to hit the ball straight, or miss badly to have shots into the green. Prior to the round I calculated my position in the field to be somewhere in the upper 50's, meaning Championship flight was a legitimate possibility. However, before the round started there was word that they may put less than 64 in that flight. I started very poorly, 4 over after 4 holes, missing fairways to the left, and never got it together on the first nine (playing the back first) and made the turn in 42. After parring #1, I piped a drive down the center of the fairway on #2, however when we got to the area where the ball should be, my ball was nowhere to be found. We finally saw a ball way left of the fairway (like 30-40 yards left) and it turned out to be mine. The only possible explanation was that it hit the 150 yard marker, a sprinkler head, or an animal grabbed it and took it away. Regardless, it made my shot much more difficult, and I didn't handle it well, shanking my approach and making a double. I rebounded with a birdie on 3, and played average the last 6 (despite missing every fairway) and finished with back to back 80's.

My thinking after the round was that it wouldn't be good enough to make championship flight. The guys in my group shot 79-87, and 85-92 or something to that effect, so I was the low score in the group. When I returned to the course later that evening and saw the scores, I counted and saw that I was in 64th place all by myself. In other words, the bottom seed of the championship flight, which means that if they do a 64 person flight, I have to play the medalist of the whole tourney, who shot 67-70 for the 2 days. Sure enough ,an hour later when the brackets came out, that was my fate. At least I knew that I had no pressure on me, and I would likely not have to worry about hotel accommodations beyond that night.

That evening I again went to Firekeepers, playing 1/2 and 1/3, turning a small profit, including playing the nut flush very trickily at a 1/3 table to make some decent money.

The first round of the matches was a shotgun start, with my match starting on the 1st hole. My driving woes continued as I snap hooked it into the trees, though my opponent (Steve) made birdie to go 1up early. On #2 I drove down the center and Steve drove left and was partially blocked. He hit a good recovery shot, and got up and down for par, and I parred to halve the hole. The third hole was similar, in that I was in the fairway and he was under pine tree on the left. He hit a phenomenal recovery shot to 20 feet, and I pulled my approach about 30 feet left. I proceeded to 3 putt and he 2 putted and I was 2 down after 3 holes. On #4 we both barely missed birdie putts and halved the hole. On #5, a long par 3, he hit the green and I proceeded to shank a 4 iron, and was now 3 down after 5 holes.

The 6th hole I had a ray of light as he pulled his drive into the trees, but I proceeded to do the same thing, and we both had to punch out to 155 yards out. His approach ended up on the fringe, about 15 feet away from the pin, mine landed about 20 feet short. I rolled in my par putt, and he missed his, and I was back to 2 down after 6. The 7th hole was more of the same, as I immediately hit a monster hook into the greenside bunker of the next hole, effectively eliminating me from the hole. 3 down after 7. His tee shot on the par 3 8th landed just short in the same bunker I was in the previous hole. I hit a good safe shot onto the green, and 2 putted, and he failed to get up and down and I was again 2 down. But I just couldn't hit the driver straight and immediately hooked it into the trees on #9. He made that moot by making birdie, and just like that I was 3 down at the turn. I managed to win 2 holes on the side, but instead of building on that momentum with a good tee shot, I immediately left the door open and gave back the hole I had just won, which you can't do in any match, let alone against a guy as good as Steve.

On the 10th I missed the green with my approach, but got up and down with a great flop shot to save par and halve the hole. On 11 we both hit the green but I was only 8 feet above the hole. After he missed his birdie putt, my putt hung on the edge and I missed an opportunity. The long par 3 12th was more work for me, as I missed in the left bunker, however I hit a good bunker shot and made a nice putt to halve the hole and stay 3 down with 6 to play. The par 5 13th I went with my plan (the one I didn't follow the previous day when I hit the water with a driver) and laid back with my hybrid. Steve piped driver right to the waters edge, and could reach the green from there. I hit a good layup and wedged to 15 feet. His 3 wood approach clipped a tree limb, but it fortuitously stayed out of the woods or bunker, and he pitched to 2 feet for a gimme birdie. My birdie putt lipped out and I was now 4 down with 5 to play. I made another very good up and down on 14 for par to halve the hole, and go dormie 4. After we both missed our birdie putts on 14, I conceded the match and lost 4&3.

It was a respectable score considering that he was the medalist, but I played so awful that I couldn't help but be disappointed. He was 1 under par for the round, but I really felt that I didn't make him work at all. In looking at the results online, he won his next 3 matches to make the semi-finals before losing.

It was a fun tournament, and I learned a lot playing with the medalist. I learned that I am really not that far away from him in terms of skill. The difference is the consistency in ball striking, and the short game. His chip shots were all very close, and every putt he hit felt like it was going in. It also reminded me to think a little more around the golf course, and not give up as many strokes as I did, as I could have earned a better seed and perhaps played a worse player in the 1st round.

Oakland Hills - take 2

Just like last time, we had a shotgun start. This time we started on 16, the signature hole, and a very difficult one at that.

16: Drilled driver down the left-center of the fairway. Wedge to the front right of the green. First putt about 4 feet by, missed the comebacker when I felt that I hit a good putt, just missed it low. 3 putts for BOGIE

17: Long par 3 playing about 215, uphill and into the wind. Chokedown 3 wood to pin high left of the green. Shank a flop shot, then flop onto the green and lipped out the 8 footer. DOUBLE BOGIE.

18: Drilled driver down the LH side of the fairway. Drilled another 3 wood from 235 to just left of the green. Flop shot to less than a foot. BIRDIE

1: Good drive down the LH side. Very good wedge to a tucked pin to 15 feet. First putt 4 feet by. Missed comebacker as the putt broke opposite of my read. After I missed it, the caddie told me the putt breaks the other way (no shit!). BOGIE

2: Snap hooked driver left (start of a trend) just short of a bunker. From a bad lie, chunked an 8 iron into the middle of the fairway. 7 iron to 10 feet, and just missed the birdie. PAR

3: Medium length par 3 playing into the wind with a cross-wind. Good 5 iron gets blown to the right pin high. Very good flop shot to 8 feet, but missed the putt. BOGIE

4: Hooked driver down the LH side deep into a fairway bunker. 170 yards in I was only able to hit a wedge to the RH side of the fairway. 40 yard wedge went off the back of the green about 10 feet away. Putted to 2 feet. BOGIE

5: Best drive of the day down RH center of the fairway. 7 iron to about 15 feet. Birdie putt just missed on the edge. PAR

6: Tees were up, playing only 300. 3 wood just barely cleared the LH bunkers and barely went into the rough on the RH side. 60 yard lob wedge to 10 feet, and made birdie putt. BIRDIE

7: Kinda skied a drive down LH side of fairway. 6 iron to about 30 feet. Another disappointing 3 putt. BOGIE

8: Pull hooked drive down LH side. 3 wood from 240 uphill left 25 yards short (and way short sided. Hit a really bad and stupid flop shot, leaving it in the bunker just left of the green....ball was plugged in the bunker, with only 5-10 feet of green to work with. Good shot to get out ran all the way to opposite side of the green. 2 putts from there. BOGIE

9: Shot of the day. Playing 210, into the teeth of the wind. Choked down on 3 wood and knocked 2 feet above the hole. Before I hit my putt, another member of my group hit a 4 footer on my same line about 30 feet by. Make the putt for my third birdie of the day. BIRDIE

10: Pulled drive down the left side into the rough. From a bad lie, knocked a 7 iron onto the green about 30 feet short. Another 3 putt (they are starting to run together, I don't remember the details of it). BOGIE

11: Totally skied a driver into the fairway. 3 iron uphill from 200 pin high in the RH rough. Flopped next shot about 8 feet above the hole (intentionally above the hole to avoid going off the green). Missed the par putt low. BOGIE

12: Driver into the LH rough (somehow between 2 bunkers). 3 wood pulled left into the rough under some trees, but with a good angle in. 60 yard wedge to 15 feet. Ho-hum 2 putt for par. PAR

13: Into the wind with a cross wind, 3 iron pin high in the RH rough. Terrible lie with an impossible shot to the pin tucked in back, ball rolls down to the front of the green. Good 2 putt for BOGIE.

14: Tried to cut a drive and blew it way right. Caught a break and had a clearing between some trees. Punched a 3 iron from 200 just short of the LH greenside bunker. Pin was up front, and green is heavily sloped front to back. Got too cute with a flop and left it in the fairway a few yards short of the green. Made the putt from off the green (might have gone 20 feet by if missed). PAR

15: Needing a birdie to break 80, hooked drive way left into the trees. Wedge caught the top of a tree and stopped near the trunk. Abbreviated backswing, knocked it to 10 feet. Missed the par putt. BOGIE

I really struggled with my driver for the last 10 holes, and almost the last 14 save for one good shot. Fortunately almost all of them were snap hooks to the left, so I could manage them. My irons were still solid coming in, but it was definitely a chore. The wind was howling for most of the round, up to about 30mph, so all in all an 81 is a very good score.

Having only 4 pars in a round is odd, but sneaking 3 birdies in always helps the final result. Too many 3 putts, but that is excusable given the difficulty and speed of the greens.

As always, I would love to have another shot at the course.

Oakland Hills Country Club

I was fortunate enough to get a chance to play golf at Oakland Hills country club last Monday through a contact at work (see scorecard pictured in post). It has only been 1 month since the PGA Championship was held there, and I was anxious to see how I would handle the lightening fast and difficult greens, as well as the long, gnarly rough.

Surprisingly, the greens were not anywhere near as fast as I expected them to be. It's difficult to comprehend some of the extreme contours on the greens, and I left several putts very short (like miles). I didn't hit many fairways, so I definitely got to visit the rough a lot. The areas where the gallery had been during the PGA was considered ground under repair, as it was being re-seeded. But the rough close to the fairway tended to be long and thick. When against the grain, it was very difficult to get much club on the ball, however, downgrain I was able to get a good amount of club on the ball, and still hold the greens (though they were softer than I imagine they were during the PGA).

All in all, a potentially once in a lifetime experience to play there. Here is a hole-by-hole recap of my round, at least as best as I can remember all of the details.

#12: Long par 5. Driver into trees on the right. Punch-cut 5 iron into fairway, 9 iron to green from 135, 2 putt for PAR.

#13: Short par 3. Pin at the back, 9 iron to front of green. First putt a mile short. 3 putts for BOGEY.

#14: Very long par 4. Driver into right rough, 4 iron into front bunker, bunker shot barely cleared lip and left in the rough, excellent chip rolled 20 feet past pin. 2 putts for DOUBLE BOGEY.

#15: Short dogleg left par 4. Driver nearly topped, 3 wood into woods on right. Wedge onto front of green. 3 putts for DOUBLE BOGEY.

#16: Signature par 4 you see on TV. Blasted driver in fairway near waters edge. Missed green short left with 110 yard wedge. Putted from off the green to barely on. 2 more putts for a shitty BOGEY.

#17: Uphill par 3. Beautiful 6 iron to 15 feet. Lipped out birdie try. PAR.

#18: Played as a very short par 5 for members. Drive over dogleg into right rough. Chunked 6 iron way short. Chunked wedge to short of green. Pitched up and 2 putts for a terrible BOGEY.


#1: Medium length par 4. Crushed driver in center of fairway. Pitching wedge from 110 to 3 feet. Made putt for BIRDIE.

#2: Uphill par 5. Crushed driver to right side of fairway. Choked down on 3 wood from 220 into trees on right just off green. Pitched up and ball went over green into chipping area that I didn’t originally see. Putt up hill almost rolled back to me. 2 more putts for another terrible BOGEY on a par 5.

#3: Medium par 3, misjudged wind as I left an iron 10 yards short. Chili-dipped a chip, and then 2 putt for BOGEY.

#4: Downhill par 4. Drive into right side of fairway. 9 iron to 25 feet. 2 putts for PAR.

#5: Drive a foot away from creek. Awkward stance and punched a 6 iron up the mouth of the green and into the rough (pin tucked on a ridge on opposite side). Putted from off the green, didn’t make it up ridge and left with 30 feet. 2 putts from there for BOGEY.

#6: Crushed driver into right rough. Chunked lob wedge from 65 yards. Flop shot to 2 feet and made putt for PAR.

#7: Short par 4 into wind. Don’t remember much other than the rain starting. DOUBLE BOGEY.

#8: LONG par 4. Made a nice up and down for PAR.

#9: Long par 3. 4 iron was pin high but right of the bunker (pin tucked on RH side so I was short sided). Flop shot left in the deep bunker. Beautiful bunker shot from there to 4 feet. Made putt for BOGEY.


#10: Medium par 4. Driver into RH rough. 7 iron onto green 30 feet past. 2 putts for PAR.

#11: Short par 4 with tough sloped green. Driver into RH fairway bunker (close to lip). Had 150 in, and I hit nearly the shot of my life, a 7 iron that cleared the lip and cut around the trees blocking me out. Wind caught it though and ended up 10 yards short of green. Chunked a pitch short of the green. Pitched again 15 feet past pin and made downhill putt for BOGEY.

Golf Trip report (Long)

The trip started out with business in Monterey, CA. Quite a beautiful area to live I would imagine. Moderate weather...rarely getting into the 80's, and never really getting very cold either. Great views all around, with green mountains and nice valleys. They are right in the middle of wine country too, so there are plenty of nice options to drink. It's also a great place to eat seafood. It's not my cup of tea, but I tried calimari as an appetizer, and had some crab ravioli at dinner. Now on to the good stuff...

Wednesday:

I arrived in Vegas via Phoenix at about 11:00am. After getting my bags, Sonny picked me up and dropped me off at my hotel. After a shower and a few minutes of relaxation, I was ready to fire it up. I had about 10 hours to kill before my other buddies (Greg and Jim) were to make it in. Since I was on a full comp from the Rio I tried to give them a little bit of play. First I sat down at Pai Gow, and played for a little over an hour, making about $200. Since I didn't bring a very big bankroll with me this was a nice start. Then I headed off to the poker room to play some 2/5 NL, as I heard their room had some very poor players (I fit right in since my NL cash game is pretty average). After about 3 hours of play, I had pissed away about $250. Sonny and his friend Joe showed up, so we decided to grab some dinner before we played the $230 Mirage tourney at 7pm.

Dinner that night was at the All American Grill, I got a nice New York Strip and a baked potato. As usual, the meal was excellent there. Following dinner we headed to the Mirage. Sonny and Joe were both out in the first 30 minutes or so, and I soon followed. On a flop of KJ7 with 2 diamonds, I check-raised all-in from the SB with K7 for bottom two pair. The button was priced in and looked me up with Ad4d for the nut flush draw. The 9d on the turn gave him the flush and the river missed me so I was out as well. Since it was only 7:45, we had the whole night ahead of us, so we went to Bellagio to play a little bit more poker. Sonny stepped into the big no-limit game there (5/10 NL) and I went over to the 15/30 limit game (again, bankroll considerations). The play was terrible, but I could never get it going, and ended up down about 180 in the game.

By that point, Jim and Greg had landed and were at the Rio, on the way out Sonny and I shared some hands of Pai Gow. I was a 20% partner in this venture as he bought in for 2500. After a nice start, we lost 4 straight hands to bust us and suddenly I was down a good chunk of my bankroll.

Tally's for Wednesday:
Money: -$960ish
Drinks: 20+ beers

Thursday:

Despite a long night and little sleep, we were ready to start golfing and got to the course (Legacy Golf Club) over an hour early. The weather was great, it was in the low 60's with very little wind. Judging from the forecasts, this was going to be our best day to play.

On the putting green, I thought I found a correction for my poor putting from the last year. I felt as if I was pulling quite a few putts. I tried an exxagerated closed stance, and suddenly the ball was finding the cup. This excited me to get on the course and try it out. I wasn't disappointed with the results. I shot an 81, which was ballooned by 2 big scores I had. My putter was dead on, and I had 2 birdies on the round. We also played teams. Day 1 had me and Jim (Cobra Kai, we both have Cobra drivers) against Greg and Sonny (team Polo, both wearing the same polo shirt). In a spirited battle, we came out ahead. Sonny shot pretty well on Day 1, carding an 82, with a big score on 17. Greg and Jim struggled pretty evenly for the most part.

The course was nice, but the greens were unbelieveably slow, I hardly got a putt to the hole all round. The layout was nice however, and for the first round it was a good course selection, as the fairways were generous.

After the round, we had Jack in the Box, as usual it was stellar, and was the last food I had all night (it was only 4:30 or so). After watching our bets in the Sportsbook, we showered and got ready for the night. I took an awful loss on a sports bet at this point. I had Washington -5 over Sacramento, and had a 17 point lead with about 6 minutes left. They proceeded to blow it, and were up by 3 with 0.7 seconds left. After a full court inbound pass by Sacramento, John Salmon's caught it, stepped back and nailed a triple as time expired. This gave me a chance to win the game in OT, but upon instant replay, the shot was hit just a tic after the clock reached 0:00.0. -550 right there!!! I'm sure there was something we did in the early/late evening, but at this point it escapes me.

We ended up going to "Crazy Horse Too", which many will recognize as a popular adult establashment. We had a good time firing up the beer pretty hard, as well as making fun of some of the annoying bitches that were bothering us. Overall it was a very good time.

On the way home we tried to convince Sonny to take us to In-n-Out burger, but he declined.

Tally's for Thursday:
Money: -$600ish (sports bets)
Drinks: 20+ beers

Friday: The carnage the night before definitely took it's toll. I felt horrible, and it didn't help that our tee time at the Badlands was 9am, as when I booked it I planned on getting 27 holes in. The weather wasn't going to co-operate today, as the temperature was very low 50's, with winds gusting to near 40 mph's. The course is also very penal, if you miss the fairways, you are in desert waste area that is pure rock. You can hit out of it (and I did) but you will likely gouge the hell out of your clubs). The greens were extremely fast, especially if you were above the hole. This required a big adjustment from the day before's slow greens. Fortunately I never adjusted very well and was able to handle them. I ended up shooting an 84, which killed everyone in our group (there may have been a 99, and two scores over 110 in the rest of the group). Me and Greg (team name I don't recall) also pummelled Jim and Sonny in team play. Greg had an excuse for his round though, as he had to shit and nearly didn't make it to a bathroom, as the first one was on the 7th or 8th hole. The round was difficult to take, as the cold and wind made it pretty miserable.

We were in no condition to play 27, so after the round we packed up and headed over to Red Rock Station. Red Rock is an absolutely beatiful casino, with an awesome sports and racebook. We ate dinner at the the Salt River bbq, where we had all you can eat ribs, brisket and sausage. Food was very good, and after stuffing ourselves we headed to the sportsbook to unwind. I had the Knicks -3 against Milwaukee, and after trailing for most of the game, the Knicks grabbed a 3 pt lead with 35 seconds left. That was tied on a 3 ptr with 24 seconds left. The Knicks held for the last shot and Marbury missed at the buzzer, sending the game to OT and giving me a chance at a win in OT....but I looked back at the screen 2 minutes later and Channing Frye was at the free throw line. Apparently they called a late loose ball foul on the play (looked like good D to me) and I was screwed out of a chance at the win. A loose ball foul called on a last shot at or near the buzzer???? That never never never happens!!! I had a small bet on the Pistons that day that won, but again another loser.

Following that, Sonny and I headed over to the Orleans to play in their 60+40 rebuy tourney. I played like a total donk, and was out after 45 minutes or so. After that it was on to the 2/5 NL game. I bought in for 300 as it was a new table and that's what everyone else had. I had lost a bit from that and then had 250 left when this hand occurred. This hand was one of the turning points of my trip. An early position player raised to 15, I called from MP with 99, and one of the blinds also called. The flop came a beautiful A95, and both players checked to me, I led out for 30, and both the SB and EP called. The turn was another A, making the board AA95. Checked to me and I led out for 75. The SB called and then EP moved all-in for about 100 more. I then moved in for the rest of my stack and got a call from the SB. The SB had AJ, and EP had KK (?????). I had to dodge an A, K, J or 5 (9 outs) to win the pot, and I did. That tripled me up and put me up about 500 at the table. After Sonny busted out we headed over to the Rio to play some more 2/5 NL (Sonny refused to play at the Orleans).

At the Rio both Sonny and I bought in for 500. Since he generally plays higher, he played like a complete maniac. Basically 75% of the hands were raised PF to $25, and he managed to make all of the other players play far worse. I was able to capitalize on this and finished the night about a $500 winner (was up $800 or so until I caught a few cooler hands).

Tally for the night:

Money: +300 or so
Drinks: 20+ beers

Saturday:

If Friday was the turning point of the trip, Saturday morning confirmed it. Prior to leaving for golf, I placed 3 basketball bets, winning 2 of them in close fashion (I lost the third bet barely, but it was a smaller bet). Our tee time was for 11am at Aliante. I forgot there would be little traffic, and got us there at about 9:50am. Since we had time to kill and were hungry, we went to the clubhouse for some breakfest. Greg got there first and after inquiring about breakfest, was told they didn't have anything, so he ended up with a turkey sandwich. I then went in and asked a middle aged woman behind the counter, and she said no, I then said "Nothing like waffles." She replied, "Well if you have time, I can make some pancakes or waffles." As she said this, the look on Greg's face was priceless, as he was taking his second bite of his sandwich. The french toast I got was 4 of the best pieces I've ever had in my life, and coupled with bacon and OJ made for the best breakfest of the trip. Bad beat for Greg.

The course was beaufiful. It was in a remote area I had never been before, and there were snow capped mountains in the distance. The winds were relatively calm. The only downside is that the greens were unbelievably fast, and if above the hole damn near impossible to putt. They also had their pins tucked in some absurd "Sunday" pin locations. I shot 40 on the front, and was fairly convinced I would break 80 on the round. I caught the waste area on a few holes and eventually the wheels came off for an 86. Teams were me and Sonny against Greg and Jim, with me and Sonny giving them 16 strokes in best ball. I knew this would be an impossible spot, and Greg played fairly decent, while Sonny didn't, so they ended up winning fairly handily with the spot.

After golf, Jim and Greg wanted to see downtown. We saw signs for a Lobster/Steak special and went into Tony Roma's for dinner. Dinner was good...not great, and then we headed over to Binions to roll some craps. Nobody could quite get it going, and I dropped about 300 there. We decided to head back to the Rio and determine what we were going to do. After changing clothes, I went back downstairs to meet with Sonny. He was getting his ass kicked at blackjack, and all of this reminded me why I hate that game now.

Then we proceeded over to Pai Gow. It was there that fateful decision was made. Sonny wanted the anchor/corner seat, but I told him that I wanted it. I bought in for 1K, and started playing 100 per hand. The dealer made a full house on the first 3, and I was down a quick 300. Sonny was down a quick 2K probably at this point. Finally things started turning around. I went with a slow progression in bet size as I was on a winning streak, and went on about an hour long tear. My bet size went 100-200-300-500-600-800-1K-1200-1500-2K-2500-3K. I won all of the hands until the 3K, and was suddenly up a nice 7K or so. I sent Jim to cash out 5K and decided to start over, with my base bet at 200. Then my progression was something like 200-400-600-800-1K-1300-1600-2K-2500-3K. Again I won everything until the 3K hand. After that run I raised my bet size higher. I started at 500, then basically added 500 every hand that I won. That progression made it up to 4K (easily my biggest bet ever) before finally losing. When it was all said and done I won 23K or so at the table, dwarfing my biggest casino win.

In all of my life playing that game, I have never seen a run like that. My cards were for the most part great, while the house was pulling the biggest garbage hands I have EVER seen. The amazing thing is that I never could win when I had an awesome hand, like 3 pair. I had 3 pair in back to back hands for 2K, and pushed them both. Then I won the next hand with a pair of 5's.

After the run ended, it was 3:30am, and after cashing out and taking most of the $$$ back to the room, we grabbed a taxi to find an In-N-Out burger. They were closed, so we had to make due with Carl's Jr. After buying the cab driver a burger (she was really cool) and Jim and my food, and paying the fare, I spent $41 on that late night meal. Small price to pay for that kind of chow.

Tally for the night:

Money: +23000
Drinks: 15+

Sunday:

After the night of destruction at the Pai Gow table, it was very difficult to focus on golf. Part of the problem was that I had 22K in cash in my golf bag, so I never wanted to let it too far out of my sight. If for some reason the zipper slipped open, $100 bills would have been flying everywhere due to the extreme wind conditions present. Plus, the golf got a little tedious. Having the course as windy as it was makes the round very taxing. We also were watching Jim struggle with his game so much that he said he was quitting (it's not the first time I've heard this, but it was pretty convincing). So basically everyone was disinterested in the round, aside from Greg, who played his best of the trip. We were close to quitting at the turn to fire it up one more time, but Greg wanted to keep playing, so we obliged him. Jim did not play on the back 9, as he was a beaten man.

Following golf, we headed out for one last meal, as my flight wasn't until 10:55pm. We went to Pampas at the Aladdin, which is a Brazilian grill, all you can eat, in which they bring you several different types of meat on skewers throughout the course of your meal. The selections included spicy chicken, filet mignon, flank steak, turkey with bacon wrapped around it, sausage, ham and pineapple, lamb, and I'm sure there was a fish though it never made it to us. If you have ever eaten at the Samba Grill in the Mirage it's very similar. Meal was good and made sure to eat my $35 worth of it.

Given my big win, I sprang for all of us (Sonny brought his kind of girlfriend as well). Following dinner Greg and Jim left for the car, with a 5 hour drive to San Diego ahead of them. I hung out at the Aladdin, killing time before my flight, which was uneventful except for a 1 hour delay, though I only arrived 30 minutes late.

Those redeye flights are killers though, as after the flight I slept until 2pm. I'm still not back on a regular sleeping schedule, most likely due to me hardly sleeping at all in Vegas.

Summary:

All in all my most successful trip to Vegas (all due to a few short hours). This win cures a lot of ills, and pays some nice bills off. It also lets me add a nice chunk to Abby's college fund.

As far as golf, it's a great destination. I think I would rather do it in March next year though, as the February weather is a little dicey. I also don't know if I'd select the Badlands again, unless I had a group of golfers with handicaps below 10, as it can be downright frustrating for the common golfer.

Overall though, a great success!

Orlando Trip Report

Wednesday

Flight was supposed to leave at 7:45pm, out of the Northwest terminal. Got to the airport early, and decided to have a few drinks at a bar I don’t remember. We go to the gate to board at 7:15ish, and they say the plane is having a problem with the “Reverse thruster” and we will have to wait another hour before they decide what to do. This is worse than an hour delay, as this is an hour and then decide. I wondered what the significance of the reverse thruster was, as we were likely to be flying forward the entire way. Apparently it is a big problem as they determined we would be taking off from a different gate at 9:00pm. We went back to the bar and played two small games of poker. Since none of us had chips, sugar packets had to suffice. Out of the 2 games we played, I won 1 and finished 2nd out of the 3 of us in the other. Profit of $5!!!

On the flight I sat in the middle, it was miserable trying to get my armrest position comfortable, and was a very long 2.5 hours. After waiting to get our bags, and car, we finally got out of the airport. By the time we checked into our condo, it was 1:30am. Too late to go to the bar. Fortunately we picked up beer and played some poker with far more important stakes. With a 3 bedroom condo and 4 of us, 2 people would have to share a room. Since Jim wasn’t coming in til Thursday, he lost by default. The winner would get the big bedroom with a double bed, it’s own bathroom and a TV. We dispatched Greg and Dan and I went headsup. I managed to survive him hitting trips on me twice, and I caught him on a bad bluff when I had trips, and managed to win around 4am. (Golf tees were used for chips) It was time for bed and a 9am tee time.

Thursday

Damn that alarm went off quick. Pretty warm day, 70-75ish, but overcast. The finger I hurt in flag football was somewhat painful, but didn’t affect my game. I played god awful and shot 89. Greg birdied the first hole but that was among his lone highlights. Dan struggled mightily if I remember. The course was Forest Lake (I believe). Tale of two different 9’s…front 9 was links style, back 9 was cut out of the forest. I putted absolutely horrendous (a recurring theme throughout the trip).

After golf we played some tennis. First I played Greg, and since it was only my second time playing this year (and in the last 4 years for that matter) it started ugly, as I went down 2-0. I came back and won that set 6-2. Then I played Dan and waxed him 6-0. After Dan and Greg played, me and Dan played again, and it was a game of runs, I was down 1-0, up 4-1, down 5-4, then won 7-5. At that point we were pretty exhausted and decided to take a nap. I couldn’t really sleep as I was enthralled in “Titanic”, so I was tired when we got ready to go eat and drink.

Dinner was at Longhorn Steakhouse. Got a tasty filet and then it was off to the festivities. We went to Rachel’s, a strip club / bar near the airport. We went there 2 years ago but I didn’t remember much of it. Apparently Orlando is notorius for having terrible titty bars though. The girls were very attractive, but the law requires them to cover their nipples, so they wear tan round band aids over them. How I failed to notice this 2 years ago is beyond me. Other than the band aids their boobs just hang out like any other titty bar. So what is the point of the band aid???? Must be conservative bible thumping law making at it’s finest. Jim got in and we picked him up at the airport and it was back to the titty bar. Stayed til close to 2am, then went back to the condo. Also watched the basketball…amazing comeback by UCLA against Gonzaga.

Friday

Damn that alarm went off quick for another 9am tee time. It was incredibly windy, and a little cooler, probably only 65 or so. Played Stoneybrook, in the middle of a housing development. My putting was again dismal, as was the rest of my game, and I struggled to an 85. I did get my first birdie of the trip, rolling in a long putt on a par 3. Everyone else struggled again on the course, could have been the booze, etc…. On the 2nd hole Jim couldn’t find his sand wedge. He started blaming Northwest, etc….it turns out the group behind us found it on the first tee. I remembered after the fact him chipping around the tee with it while we were waiting, and I even commented on him “chili-dipping” a chip. He had no recollection of this.

After golf, went back and played some doubles. It was me and Jim against Dan and Greg. Jim and I won in 2 pretty close sets, and it was quite a few laughs.

After attempting a short nap, it was off to eat. We all craved seafood, so we first went to Joe’s Crab Shack, longer than an hour wait…next we went to Captain Nemo’s all you can eat buffet, smelled shady and had quite a wait, so we tried a place called Boston Lobster Feast, for a seafood buffet. As far as seafood, I only eat Crab legs, and occasionally lobster, so that’s what I focused on. For $32 you can be sure I was going to get my money’s worth. The food was ok, but a little nauseating having to clean the lobster yourself…fortunately the waitress did mine. After what seemed like a dozen trips to the buffet, we were finally full (and they were shutting down the buffet). After that we went to Universal Studios City Walk, a big group of bars/clubs/etc….first stop was Pat O’Briens…by this point Greg and I were both having major intestinal issues, and in a race to the bathroom he beat me to the only stall. Waiting for him I nearly sharted myself, and finally was able to relieve the pressure. While at the bar, all 4 of us had to visit the restroom multiple times. Needless to say, Boston Lobster Feast would not be a repeat destination. Watched the end of the basketball at Pat O’Briens and in the courtyard, then went to dance club that was a sausage fest, then went to a Cigar/Martini bar, and bought some cigars for the course and home. Following that it was to Margaritaville to close out the night. Pretty good times aside from the crappy seafood.

Saturday

Again the alarm came fast for our 9am tee time. It was chilly and windy, and I was the only one in the group smart enough to wear pants. The course was the worst and easiest of the bunch, I shot 79, with 1 birdie. Everybody played better, but I think it had a lot to do with the course. I did 3 putt a par 5 I hit in 2, and then 4 putt a par 3 that I hit in regulation….all on back to back holes. Jim lost his camera on the course, although based on his incident yesterday, we weren’t sure whether to believe him or not. It still hasn’t turned up, and somebody at the course likely gained a camera. I think Jim is losing his mind, or early Alzheimers is setting in.

After that we went on a snipe hunt trying to find a Sonic Burger joint, or any other place that we can’t get at home (as I generally do with Jack in the Box any time I go out west). The trip was fruitless, so we went to Steak and Shake. Went back to the condo and took a nap through the Texas/Louisville game. For dinner we played it safe and hit Hooters. After Hooters we went to the Boardwalk (lame) where we were accosted by girls on a Bachelorette party. Jim got conned into giving the chick a $1 to suck some beads on her neck. Unfortunately for us, it was all he could talk/think about the rest of the night. We went to House of Blues next at Pleasure Island, and listened to a blues band headed by a 15 year old kid. Incredible guitarist, and pretty good voice too. He tried to sing/portray body language with a little too much soul, but in time he’ll learn substance over style. I was a mess that night as I was dead tired, so I just kinda sat there and watched.

Sunday

Last day of our trip, we moved our tee time back to 11:40, giving us a few more hours of sleep. Packed our stuff in the car and left early for breakfast. I had been craving Waffle House, but they were packed….2 Waffle Houses and 1 IHOP later, we were eating Shoney’s….a real downer to Waffle House.

The course was Shingle Creek, on a resort and conference center which hadn’t opened yet. Very nice course and area. I played terrible, and lost interest on quite a few holes, shooting 89 with 2 birdies. But they did have some pretty good Bloody Mary’s.

For the trip my putting was awful, and the rest of my game wasn’t much better. It was my worst stretch of golf in years, bar none.

After the golf, we got to the airport, ran into Chris Collinsworth, but didn’t get a picture, just said hello. We were welcomed to the airport with a 1.5 hour delay…..perfect, just what I wanted, to get in at 1:30am and have to work at 8am. Jim decided to get a Fantasy baseball magazine, and proceeded to buy a Sports Illustrated. He started reading it and exclaimed “Why is everything in Spanish???” It turns out he bought an SI Latino. The flight was pleasant though, as we got an exit row. I sat in the aisle and had the seat in the middle empty, so I sprawled.

As a wonderful side note to the weekend, I left my car in the street at Dan’s house, and his paper delivery woman backed into it, scratching the back bumper and misshaping it slightly. You know how those Envoy’s like to hide in a blind spot.