WRXers Scratch Amateur Tournaments Thread: Commitments, Results, etc....

[MtlJeff]

The second day of our club championship we had to play in 50km+ winds, heavy to standard rain, 10-12C weather and on our toughest course (75/140 rating). They moved a few tee boxes up and the greens were running normal --but it didn't matter it was a bloodbath. There were 5-6 p[layers who shot over 90. A guy who i would say right now is a borderline top 10 player at the club shot a 95

 

I do respect that my course tries though.

 

We had some club captains a while ago who liked carnage ---and things would get ugly. Our most recent captain was really great. He also would implement a drive-able par-4 most years like the US Open does. Which is kind of neat

[bilbry57]

On 10/28/2024 at 7:21 AM, Obee said:

Worst showing ever in the Ojai Senior Cup, by far. Back would not cooperate and even putting/chipping hurt. I decided I was not going to withdraw.

My previous years' scores:

66, WD
74, 72, 73 (11th)
71, 75, 70 (12th)

This year:

79, 84, 77 (don't even GAF what place I finished).

It's embarrassing and disappointing. I need to get fit and I don't know how to do it without a complete and total change to my life, which I simply don't have time, energy, or $$$ to do right now.

Wife and I exploring turning the garage into a work-out area and hiring a personal trainer.

And/or a microdiscectomy. I heard from another guy at the tournament who had one and it was like a miracle for him.

Thanks for listening. Back to work.

Hi David sorry to hear about your back acting up impossible to play good golf when in pain.  I definitely think a home gym would help you I spent about $3k

for mine which includes treadmill, concept rower, squat rack, free weights,

power block dumbbells and a True stretch cage.  I use the gym daily so it was definitely worth the investment. I was frustrated as well about hip pain I could not play 18 holes without hurting for days afterwards. Playing 2 days in a row was impossible. I went to an Orthopedic clinic they did imaging and  told me I would need hip replacement because of torn labrum, and bone spurs just a matter of time because of the pain  and trauma caused by golf.  Instead  I bought a used True stretch Cage found a great PT that gave me a stretching program to use with True Stretch Cage. I do my stretching daily I have been doing a stretching program and  1 year later my hip pain is gone. Another non Surgical option is guy name Joe Hippensteel he is in San Diego which is close to Riverside. He has great success with helping people eliminate pain without surgery through a stretching program he developed. I heard about him while listening to David Goggins on a podcast where he explained how this stretching fixed his body. Joe  is legit and it would be worth a call to see if they could help you.  The stretches are brutal but if helps you back it may be worth a try. Below is the contact information for Joe's company.

 

Good luck and please DM or call if you have any questions.

 

Bill B

 

https://truefitness.com/products/true-stretch-cage/

https://www.ultimatehumanperformance.com/

 

[getitdaily]

Round 1 yesterday...SUPER SLOPPY.

 

Shot 73 and am 3 back. 2 or 3 guys at 70. 

 

Just a sloppy round. 3putt bogey on 2nd hole on a fairly easy 2putt. Then birdied 3 of the next 5 holes to get to -2. Drove into a bunker on 8 that you cannot go in and made bogey. Then didn't birdie the par 5 9th. Turned in -1. Then more sloppy play.

 

Easy 2 putt on 10 and I 3putted it. Left an 8 foot birdie putt on 11 a foot short. Hit a slappy 5i on par 3 12th and made bogey. Birdie on 13 that burned the edge for eagle. Laid the sod over a pw from 130 on 15 that led to bogey. Then made 3 pars to card 73. 

 

2 3putts and a drive that led to bogey. Driver is my strongest club. 

 

Figure I need 67 or 66 today. Good news is it's on the course I shot 66 and 65 in the last year. But my swing is still a bit wonky. 

[getitdaily]

Well, found my swing today. Hit it super well all day. But my putter went bonkers in a not good way. Hit 14 greens, made 4 more birdies (8 birdies for the 2 day event) but had FOUR 3putts through 10 holes today and half bladed a 60 degree from 70 over a green you cannot miss long on. 2 over through 2 then crawled back with birdies at 4 and 6. Then 12 feet away for birdie on 7 and ran it 3 feet by and then missed. Hit it to 20 feet on the next hole and ran that putt 3 feet by and missed it too. Just stone hands with the putter today. 3 putt from 25 feet on 10. Birdie/bogey on 11 and 13 then pars until birdie on 18.

 

73-74. Good enough for solo 4th but 8 back of the winner. 7 3putts over 2 days...terrible. No doubles or higher. Just a ton of bogies.

[kiawah]

Played a two round tournament at my club in SC. Two very hard courses and have not been able to play much. Grinded out a very gritty +7 79 on the first day where I was -2 for the last six holes or so. One very good double in which I hit a tree lining a hazard, re-teed, hit it into a divot, flew the front ledge and two putted from just off the green from about 70 feet for 6. Then a brutal double two holes later where I hit a good punch shot into the front bunker from jail and then flubbed it out a few feet and three putted. The greens on the first course were much slower than usual at about 10 and then they were about 13 round 2 on the second course. Wind was gusting 30-50 at times on day 2 and it was virtually impossible to keep the ball on the slopey greens. Lies were so bare around the greens I was forced to putt a lot of the time and I just was not able to get the speed down. Had 8 3 putts from on or just off the green and two double chips en route to an 88, capped off by a 6 iron to 10 feet that slid into the water. Just a tough day. Hit it fine but just could not score. I was so worried about keeping my swing in playing shape that I really neglected lag putting and it showed, although there wasn't really much of a way to practice for such quick greens and such a dramatic change in green speed between rounds 1 and 2. The good news is I have a lot of time to work on things before my next tournament. Stings to put up such a jarring score but the reality is I wasn't all that far off, just need to be much more competent with speed control going forward, which was really an issue all year. Need to eliminate some variables with either length of stroke or firmness of stroke. Rolling it end over end fine but just got lost with the speed and slope of greens. Oh well. Learned a lot, which is the most important thing. 

[getitdaily]

Day 1 of the Florida state mid-am. 40-35. 4 back.

 

Made a course mgmt mistake and didn't cover the front edge of a raised green from 138. Ended up making double. But played steady otherwise. Tough scoring conditions. Fast slopey greens with some interesting pins. 

[getitdaily]

Day 2...opposite of day 1. Out in 36, in in 40. Even thru 12 then went bogey, double, bogey. Both bogies were 3 putts. Firet bogey 3putt sucked. Loud bang somewhere right as I took the putter back. Left it 8 feet short. Our group was falling behind a little so we needed to catch up. Rushed a driver swing on the next hole and got in a bad spot. 

 

Tough course today. 3 club wind most of the day. Greens running 12.5.

Edited December 14, 2024 by getitdaily

[getitdaily]

No bueno today. I've had off and on swing issues for the last 2.5 months. The bad side of them showed up today. Just super sloppy iron play. 

 

Fatted a 60 from 78 yards on 1. Left it in a bad spot. Made double. Misses an EASY 3footer on 2 for par. +3 thru 2. That kind of day. +5 thru 6. Day was shot. Hard to garner much care after that. Carded 82 and went from t12 to t28.

 

Course was very getable today too...grr

 

Course played to 74.8 148

Edited December 16, 2024 by getitdaily

[otto6457]

I'm doing something I haven't done since I was playing the mini-tours.  I'm planning out my entire tournament schedule for the coming competitive season.  Not only that, I'm putting it out there to hold myself accountable and focused for the entire 2025 competitive season.  My competitive career is in it's twilight and it's become harder every year to remain committed to the grind and doing the things I HAVE to do to remain competitive.  My game has been inconsistent at best for several years and the prostate cancer diagnosis, hormone therapy, and prostate surgery in late 2023 hit me harder than I wanted to admit.  It's been a struggle getting back to where I was before the surgery and hormone therapy.  The reality is that I'm losing out to father time even with all the exercise, healthy eating, and consistent practice and playing schedule I've tried very hard to maintain.  My optimistic prediction is that I have 2-3 years of competitive golf left in me.   It's possible 2025 will be my last competitive season depending on how it goes.  

 

So, for the 2025 season schedule:  

 

 North Texas Senior Amateur.  March 31-April 1. Sherril Park Golf Course.  Richardson TX

Texas Super Senior Amateur. April 22-24. Live Oak Golf Club, Abilene, TX

U.S. Senior Amateur,  Qualifying begins June 25th.  Location TBD.  Finals, August 25-28.  Oak Hills Country Club, San Antonio, TX

West Texas Amateur. July 18-20  Abilene Country Club, Abilene TX

Texas State Senior Amateur.  Dates and Location TBD.  Qualifying is usually in late July-Early August.  Tournament Finals around the middle of September.

 

If anyone else is considering playing any of these tournaments, or are familiar with the courses, send me a PM.  I'd love some company for practice rounds as I've only played two of these courses previously and it's been several years. 

 

This could be ugly, but ugly golf is better than sitting at home wondering if I could still shoot a score when it matters.  

 

Good luck to everyone in 2025.

[Ty_Webb]

9 hours ago, otto6457 said:

I'm doing something I haven't done since I was playing the mini-tours.  I'm planning out my entire tournament schedule for the coming competitive season.  Not only that, I'm putting it out there to hold myself accountable and focused for the entire 2025 competitive season.  My competitive career is in it's twilight and it's become harder every year to remain committed to the grind and doing the things I HAVE to do to remain competitive.  My game has been inconsistent at best for several years and the prostate cancer diagnosis, hormone therapy, and prostate surgery in late 2023 hit me harder than I wanted to admit.  It's been a struggle getting back to where I was before the surgery and hormone therapy.  The reality is that I'm losing out to father time even with all the exercise, healthy eating, and consistent practice and playing schedule I've tried very hard to maintain.  My optimistic prediction is that I have 2-3 years of competitive golf left in me.   It's possible 2025 will be my last competitive season depending on how it goes.  

 

So, for the 2025 season schedule:  

 

 North Texas Senior Amateur.  March 31-April 1. Sherril Park Golf Course.  Richardson TX

Texas Super Senior Amateur. April 22-24. Live Oak Golf Club, Abilene, TX

U.S. Senior Amateur,  Qualifying begins June 25th.  Location TBD.  Finals, August 25-28.  Oak Hills Country Club, San Antonio, TX

West Texas Amateur. July 18-20  Abilene Country Club, Abilene TX

Texas State Senior Amateur.  Dates and Location TBD.  Qualifying is usually in late July-Early August.  Tournament Finals around the middle of September.

 

If anyone else is considering playing any of these tournaments, or are familiar with the courses, send me a PM.  I'd love some company for practice rounds as I've only played two of these courses previously and it's been several years. 

 

This could be ugly, but ugly golf is better than sitting at home wondering if I could still shoot a score when it matters.  

 

Good luck to everyone in 2025.

 

Love this - good luck to you too and remember to enjoy it - I think that's the key for me at any rate. I got better once I had kids. Helped me to keep things in perspective and I put less pressure on myself and am playing better as a result. Just be happy to be out there and if you shoot a good score, great. If you shoot a bad score, great - you learned something and next time will come out swinging 🙂

[b.helts]

just got caught up on this thread and i have to say, kudos to all of you. tournament golf requires commitment and courage and i'm glad to see y'all getting out there.

 

i haven't been committed nor courageous for years. i just didn't really have the time to put into golf to get the results i'd have expected.

 

but, we've moved to New Zealand and life here is slower and i've joined a club and i am playing and practicing again. i'm still not very good, but i am getting better.

 

and, this weekend is my first tournament in a long while. Southland Stroke Play at Otatara Links at Invercargill. i'm not ready but i'm going to grind.

[Ty_Webb]

4 hours ago, b.helts said:

just got caught up on this thread and i have to say, kudos to all of you. tournament golf requires commitment and courage and i'm glad to see y'all getting out there.

 

i haven't been committed nor courageous for years. i just didn't really have the time to put into golf to get the results i'd have expected.

 

but, we've moved to New Zealand and life here is slower and i've joined a club and i am playing and practicing again. i'm still not very good, but i am getting better.

 

and, this weekend is my first tournament in a long while. Southland Stroke Play at Otatara Links at Invercargill. i'm not ready but i'm going to grind.

 

The days you don't have it are the days you really learn something. Good luck! And I'm guessing that "not very good" is actually "pretty damn good, but not as good as I want to be". 😉

[Mike_C]

16 hours ago, otto6457 said:

 North Texas Senior Amateur.  March 31-April 1. Sherril Park Golf Course.  Richardson TX

Texas Super Senior Amateur. April 22-24. Live Oak Golf Club, Abilene, TX

U.S. Senior Amateur,  Qualifying begins June 25th.  Location TBD.  Finals, August 25-28.  Oak Hills Country Club, San Antonio, TX

West Texas Amateur. July 18-20  Abilene Country Club, Abilene TX

Texas State Senior Amateur.  Dates and Location TBD.  Qualifying is usually in late July-Early August.  Tournament Finals around the middle of September.

Similar to my schedule this year too.

 

• I will be at the North Senior, never played Sherril Park before.
• Not quite old enough yet for the Super Senior.
• I haven't played a USGA qualifier probably since the early 80s....
• Would love to try the West Texas Am, it just quite a drive, have thought about it.
• And will give the State Senior a go again, missed the cut in 2024, got the yips in round two...

 

Also will play it the State four ball in August, it is at the Tempest GC, about 40 minutes away for me. They only give 20 spots to Seniors, you have to sign up quickly.  We finished 5th last year so we are automatically in.......

 

There is a fun four ball at Horse shoe bay in June, getting bigger every year and lots of seniors, I will probably do that again this year.... and my Club Championship and Club Senior Championship.....

 

The weather has been cold here, Have only played 2 times the past six weeks, and low temps are forecasted to be in the 20s for about a week starting Sunday, so not much chance to get out other than this Saturday.   Have been hitting the gym pretty hard the past month, hope I'm not over doing it, my knees are starting to hurt too much.....

[rwc356]

17 hours ago, otto6457 said:

I'm doing something I haven't done since I was playing the mini-tours.  I'm planning out my entire tournament schedule for the coming competitive season.  Not only that, I'm putting it out there to hold myself accountable and focused for the entire 2025 competitive season.  My competitive career is in it's twilight and it's become harder every year to remain committed to the grind and doing the things I HAVE to do to remain competitive.  My game has been inconsistent at best for several years and the prostate cancer diagnosis, hormone therapy, and prostate surgery in late 2023 hit me harder than I wanted to admit.  It's been a struggle getting back to where I was before the surgery and hormone therapy.  The reality is that I'm losing out to father time even with all the exercise, healthy eating, and consistent practice and playing schedule I've tried very hard to maintain.  My optimistic prediction is that I have 2-3 years of competitive golf left in me.   It's possible 2025 will be my last competitive season depending on how it goes.  

 

So, for the 2025 season schedule:  

 

 North Texas Senior Amateur.  March 31-April 1. Sherril Park Golf Course.  Richardson TX

Texas Super Senior Amateur. April 22-24. Live Oak Golf Club, Abilene, TX

U.S. Senior Amateur,  Qualifying begins June 25th.  Location TBD.  Finals, August 25-28.  Oak Hills Country Club, San Antonio, TX

West Texas Amateur. July 18-20  Abilene Country Club, Abilene TX

Texas State Senior Amateur.  Dates and Location TBD.  Qualifying is usually in late July-Early August.  Tournament Finals around the middle of September.

 

If anyone else is considering playing any of these tournaments, or are familiar with the courses, send me a PM.  I'd love some company for practice rounds as I've only played two of these courses previously and it's been several years. 

 

This could be ugly, but ugly golf is better than sitting at home wondering if I could still shoot a score when it matters.  

 

Good luck to everyone in 2025.

 

Best of luck for the 2025 tournament season. I was pleased to see the West Texas Amateur is sill on the books. I was lucky enough to play in it 3 times over the late 70's - early 80's. Always great fun and got to play with a few guys who later played on the PGA tour.

 

 

[b.helts]

OK day 1 in the books. Shot 70 - 79 and I’m pleased, really. 
 

it’s been a long, loooong time since I played 36 competition holes in one day. I got tired physically, but also mentally. Just couldn’t grind quite as hard. 
 

I’ll get better at it as I get back into the swing of things. Hahaha

 

Looking forward to day 2. 

[b.helts]

Day 2 complete. Beautiful day in Invercargill. No rain, just a little breeze. 
 

I shot 71 today which was a nice round and a good way to finish the tournament off. Finished at +4 220 which all in all I’m quite pleased with. 
 

it’s not where I want to be but it’s in the right direction. Keep grinding!!

[Obee]

3 hours ago, b.helts said:

Day 2 complete. Beautiful day in Invercargill. No rain, just a little breeze. 
 

I shot 71 today which was a nice round and a good way to finish the tournament off. Finished at +4 220 which all in all I’m quite pleased with. 
 

it’s not where I want to be but it’s in the right direction. Keep grinding!!

Love it, buddy!!!

[cardoustie]

@otto6457 … great idea … I’m copying you 

[cardoustie]

Just wrapped up 3 senior events in SW Florida, did Ok.  
 

Cold (relative for this area) and windy, pins ridiculously buried, 6650-6750 yard set ups.  Some stupid loose shots off Bermuda cost me in all 9 rounds.  Putter a disaster in 1 round.  Driver left misses 1 round.  Buried lies in traps one round, you get it .. crazy stupid stuff always happens in tournament rounds

 

iirc, I finished 15th, 19th, 11th

 

next event is at the end of Feb … Senior Jones Cup in Sea Island

 

after that schedule is based around me being back home in Canada

 

… looks like

 

Ontario Senior Match Play

Kawartha Senior Invite

British Senior

Ontario Senior

Canadian Senior

Senior Porter Cup

 

maybe another 1 or 2 invitationals sprinkled in 

 

should be a fun, and competitive, summer

Edited January 19 by cardoustie

[b.helts]

Day 1 Otago Stroke Play. Played really solid today with the exception of the last 6 holes in the second round. Played those in +3, quite frustrating. 
 

Im having a hard time keeping my mental game going for 36 holes. Physically, I’m ok. I can still swing the club and get through shots. But I check out mentally. It’s a skill I just need to hone it. Better this week than last. 
 

par 71, shot 70-73 for +1. Looks like we might get rained out tomorrow.

 

29200 steps. Course is quite hilly too. 

Edited January 25 by b.helts

[cardoustie]

When I played two tracks in England this past summer, we walked back and up into the dunes to tee off so often our steps both days were 36,000 plus

[b.helts]

Finished yesterday on a rainy, dreary day. I hit the ball like I used to. I hit it great. I putted awful. Maybe my worst putting performance in years.

 

Shot even par 71. If I kept strokes gained stats I imagine I'd probably be -4 or so. Maybe lower.

 

But, I played really good golf and I know that the scoring will come around. I'm not getting much out of my rounds right now but that's just rust and I'm not sharp.

 

It IS getting better and I feel it and I can see it. I have a few weeks off to get my son settled at university in Christchurch then some more end-of-summer and spring tournaments. The grind will continue.

[FuzzyKnuckles]

Anyone familiar with or played in a Golfweek Amateur Tour, Amateur Players Tour, The Grint Tour, or the US Amateur Tour?

 

I'm based in Dallas-Fort Worth and looking for some North Texas tune up events prior to qualifier season in late April. Sadly I missed the signups for the Texas medalist series events and the North Mid Am. If anyone has any experience with these tours, or knows of any other tournaments I should look into, that is much appreciated. 

[Ty_Webb]

38 minutes ago, FuzzyKnuckles said:

Anyone familiar with or played in a Golfweek Amateur Tour, Amateur Players Tour, The Grint Tour, or the US Amateur Tour?

 

I'm based in Dallas-Fort Worth and looking for some North Texas tune up events prior to qualifier season in late April. Sadly I missed the signups for the Texas medalist series events and the North Mid Am. If anyone has any experience with these tours, or knows of any other tournaments I should look into, that is much appreciated. 

 

I did the Golfweek Am Tour for a while. Then the Amateur Players Tour spun off of that. It's very much dependent on where you are though. Metro NY has a lot of other tournaments for good players, so they don't have great turnout in the stronger flights. Down in South Carolina though, they seem to have a lot less and the standard is pretty darn good (or at least it was 5-6 years ago). Some very good players who play around there - like think on the wrong week you can shoot 65 and lose. You should be able to check the website and see the scoreboards for events last year - that'll give you a decent idea of the strength of your local tour. The events are pretty well run in my experience. 

[FuzzyKnuckles]

19 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

 

I did the Golfweek Am Tour for a while. Then the Amateur Players Tour spun off of that. It's very much dependent on where you are though. Metro NY has a lot of other tournaments for good players, so they don't have great turnout in the stronger flights. Down in South Carolina though, they seem to have a lot less and the standard is pretty darn good (or at least it was 5-6 years ago). Some very good players who play around there - like think on the wrong week you can shoot 65 and lose. You should be able to check the website and see the scoreboards for events last year - that'll give you a decent idea of the strength of your local tour. The events are pretty well run in my experience. 

Great, thank you - very helpful!

[Liquifire]

Just found this thread and it's been really fun to look through the old posts and read the war stories. 

 

I'm coming back to full time golf after a long layoff.  I have plans to play in the qualifiers for the Utah Am, Utah Mid-Am, USGA Mid-Am, and as many local tournaments as my schedule will allow. 

 

I think I'm ready to go, other than debating on some gear choices. Questions for the group:

 

1. Preferred method for yardages? Seems like a rangefinder is the quick and easiest way but would love to hear from those that use watches, phone apps, yardage books...

 

2. Outside of the obvious gear requirements (balls, tees, etc), what are some essential items you won't go without for competitive rounds? Pain meds? Extras? 

 

Thanks

 

 

[Ty_Webb]

I use a rangefinder and have a watch too. The watch is more useful for things like what's the carry over that bunker, while the laser is more useful for how far is the flag. Watch is also good if you have a blind shot for some reason. Either works in a pinch though - I'm not good enough that it really matters whether it's 158 or 160 to the flag, so sometimes front middle back is as good as knowing what the flag is. I just view front as "must carry", middle as "about right" and back as "not a bad target" - more likely to come up short than long, so back yardage can be a good policy if you're not playing for a living.

 

Gloves, balls, tees, ball marker, scorecard holder, towel, rangefinder, umbrella if it might rain, bag hood if it might rain, and some kind of hydration supplement - LMNT or Nuun or similar. Then make sure to drink plenty of water and keep hydrated. Depending on your tee time, you might want some kind of snack to keep you going if you're playing through a typical meal time.

 

Other things I might do - if I don't know the course, I'll go on google maps or google earth and measure carry distances and trouble to trouble widths to decide on strategy ahead of time. I don't really make notes, because I can remember the handful of holes that are not driver. I'll also make sure I know if there's anything obnoxious lurking around like a lake I might not be able to see or something like that. Don't be afraid to change things on the fly though. A bunker you thought would be easily carryable, you find out when you get there it's actually 30 feet uphill and not carryable at all, or one you were planning to lay up to winds up being downhill downwind and you can fly it.

[Obee]

On 2/20/2025 at 10:03 AM, Liquifire said:

Just found this thread and it's been really fun to look through the old posts and read the war stories. 

 

I'm coming back to full time golf after a long layoff.  I have plans to play in the qualifiers for the Utah Am, Utah Mid-Am, USGA Mid-Am, and as many local tournaments as my schedule will allow. 

 

I think I'm ready to go, other than debating on some gear choices. Questions for the group:

 

1. Preferred method for yardages? Seems like a rangefinder is the quick and easiest way but would love to hear from those that use watches, phone apps, yardage books...

 

2. Outside of the obvious gear requirements (balls, tees, etc), what are some essential items you won't go without for competitive rounds? Pain meds? Extras? 

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Range finder here. Combined with the GolfLogix annual paid subscription -- best $$$ you will ever spend as a competitive golfer. Trust me. The green contours alone are worth hundreds of dollars.

[Obee]

Well, the competive season is upon us. I have my first tournament of the year coming up the first Monday and Tuesday of March, the SCGA Senior Foursomes (alternate shot). Can't wait. I have the perfect partner for me: A 62 year old who still hits it legit 300 yards. We should do well. 🙂

[Ray Jackson]

@otto6457and @Mike_C I’m up in the Argyle area of North Texas and play in a few Texas Golf Association events as well, but as I’m 52 don’t qualify for the Seniors yet. Let me know if your doing any of the events that have non senior and senior divisions and then could do some practice rounds together. 

have a good weekend 

Ray