We've launched the new forums! Read more here

1st Amateur Golf Tournament. TheGrintTour.

A great read and thanks for sharing. Would love to have a go at this at some point.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Steve2100 said:
@CobraX51 it was great reading about your adventures this weekend! One day when I feel I'm more consistent I would love to try that. But until then I guess I'll keep my breakfast ball:D
Click to expand...
I hear what you're saying. I did this on a complete whim. Literally last Wednesday I got the e-mail, the deadline was Wednesday night and I entered. Had I given myself weeks to prepare, grind to Golf/practice, or play a practice round like some people did, I would've done worse. No doubt about it.

Probably more since I would've had an expectation to play well since I was preparing for a tournament, but instead I was like "well I'll just show up Saturday and whatever I shoot, it is what it is." I easily could've dipped out to the range Thursday afternoon or play 9 holes, but I just didn't care enough to do that.

So for those saying they don't feel their game is ready or not good enough, trust me, I didn't think I was ready to do this or feel I was at my best, far from it. You just Golf. I didn't let the pressure of a tournament get to me because I was care-free about the whole thing.
 
I just got an email that they are still going on with the world woods event next Sat. I was interested but think I will sit this one out and wait for a less stressful time to start down this rabbit hole.
My Grint handicap is sitting at 16 with the high scoring rounds at Innisbrook and just some bad play since joining so that would be a plus I guess, the last round 74 was not really legitimate with the raised cups but felt legitimate since you still had to be inside the hole but speed wise who knows which ones would have bounced off or lipped out.
World woods is not a particularly easy course if memory serves me right either.
 
it looks like Cobrax51 and I will play The Grint Tournament next Sat at the Innsbrook Island Course. This will be my 1st official type Golf Tournament and I am excited and terrified at the same time. I can play up a set of tees since I am over 55 so that might be a good thing depending on where they play from.
By my present Grint cap I am 11.7 so the Eagle flight. Which is 8-12 I believe. I have been playing right around that cap score wise so I feel like it is pretty accurate. If the putter shows up and the nerves don't it might be a lot of fun.
 
Cool. Enjoy and make sure you post up here how you did!
 
Had no idea this even got bumped, hah.

Unfortunately we will not be playing in the Innisbrook tournament Saturday for a scheduling conflict, but we will be teeing it up Saturday at a different course.

August 1st TheGrint will be at Fox Hollow and I hope to enter that one. I just played it Saturday and it was in excellent condition.
 
I have signed up for a Grint Major at a Local Course that is semi Private and about the most expensive in town. (to keep the rift raft out I imagine) I have played it a few times and it is not a seriously hard Course and depending on the tees then intend to play I may have a shot at playing well.
I read in the rules that over 60 folks can move up a set of tees in their handicap bracket, I am seriously considering doing that at 61 and playing in the 8-11 I think bracket could be from 6,697 so moving up one would put me more in my comfort zone of 6,316.

My question is would you move up if you are the only senior? I would think there will be others in my age group so if they are up I would certainly move up, but I hate to be the guy waiting to hit on every tee box. As prep I have been putting out everything, no breakfast balls and playing it down no matter what or take the penalty and move it.
Our regular bunch play by old man rules, such as no hitting off roots and if the course has bare dirt spots we will move it to grass so very liberal but not out and out cheating (well depends who you ask)
 
jim54 said:
I have signed up for a Grint Major at a Local Course that is semi Private and about the most expensive in town. (to keep the rift raft out I imagine) I have played it a few times and it is not a seriously hard Course and depending on the tees then intend to play I may have a shot at playing well.
I read in the rules that over 60 folks can move up a set of tees in their handicap bracket, I am seriously considering doing that at 61 and playing in the 8-11 I think bracket could be from 6,697 so moving up one would put me more in my comfort zone of 6,316.

My question is would you move up if you are the only senior? I would think there will be others in my age group so if they are up I would certainly move up, but I hate to be the guy waiting to hit on every tee box. As prep I have been putting out everything, no breakfast balls and playing it down no matter what or take the penalty and move it.
Our regular bunch play by old man rules, such as no hitting off roots and if the course has bare dirt spots we will move it to grass so very liberal but not out and out cheating (well depends who you ask)
Click to expand...
If the rules allow for it why not take advantage of it? The biggest reason I don't play any tourneys if because my HC forces me back to yardages I can't score from. (I won't get into that as that is for another thread.)
Take advantage where you can when allowed.
 
I am inclined to agree with you, I hate it when because we are older we have to compete with the same cap that is 20-30 yards longer on a longer Course. Being this is my 1st real play it down, putt it out Tournament I want to have fun and if my game is sharp have a outside chance to put up a decent number. I think the 8-11 cap range is a bit odd, a true 8 cap can go low and if they are used to real golf (not much nerves) it will be a blood bath.

I have looked over some of the previous Grint Tournaments in the area and some of these 10-12 caps are putting up sub 80 rounds on tough courses. If my putter is on I can go sub 80 with some good bounces but I expect to have some nerve issues..
 
My 1st Tournamant was today and it was canceled on our 7th hole due to weather. We teed off at 11:30 in light rain and had to go back in after putting out due to heavy rain and lightning. We delayed for an 1 1/2 hrs then went back out and played 3 holes and it started raining again which made it miserable and CPO which is death on this course for an old guy.

I was chugging along pretty good making Pars and Bogies but I was not disappointed when it was called off and will be rescheduled at a later date. The ball striking was pretty good and putter was on fire which could have lead to a good round under normal conditions but I started slipping pretty bad after 4 and instead of aiming for the proper line I was trying to get on the cart path side which is not conductive to good golf.

Looking forward to the next one, I can see how this could be addictive and of course I was the oldest guy out there but opted to play from the same tees as everyone else and I could hang with one guy with the driver, the other two were 20-30+ yds ahead on every drive or in some case their 3 wood was still 15-20 yds longer.
 
jim54 said:
My 1st Tournamant was today and it was canceled on our 7th hole due to weather. We teed off at 11:30 in light rain and had to go back in after putting out due to heavy rain and lightning. We delayed for an 1 1/2 hrs then went back out and played 3 holes and it started raining again which made it miserable and CPO which is death on this course for an old guy.

I was chugging along pretty good making Pars and Bogies but I was not disappointed when it was called off and will be rescheduled at a later date. The ball striking was pretty good and putter was on fire which could have lead to a good round under normal conditions but I started slipping pretty bad after 4 and instead of aiming for the proper line I was trying to get on the cart path side which is not conductive to good golf.

Looking forward to the next one, I can see how this could be addictive and of course I was the oldest guy out there but opted to play from the same tees as everyone else and I could hang with one guy with the driver, the other two were 20-30+ yds ahead on every drive or in some case their 3 wood was still 15-20 yds longer.
Click to expand...
Glad to hear it went well even though it got canceled. Tourney golf is a different beast altogether.
 
CobraX51 said:
Well that was a lot of fun. Although playing a Pete Dye designed course in windy conditions was pretty tough, even the guys in the lower flights were saying how much they struggled but that’s golf. This course is hard enough without wind.

What I first want to say is credit to those of you who play real Golf, by the rules and no gimmies. It surely isn’t easy but it tests your ability and that’s a great challenge. I’m happy with how I played, but pressure 4-5 footers, tough chips that are deep in the rough, it was tough.

It’s no surprise 3 times in the next 2 weeks Southern Hills will be having Valspar Championship Qualifiers, and that’s from 7500 yards hah!!

The best things I can say is I didn’t have any nerves or uneasy moments, and I played the same Z-Star for 18 holes. I putted way more than I do prior to the round, and even though 38 putts is quite a bit, including an epic 4 putt to go along with two 3 putts, I did have two 1 putts and the rest 2 putts. These are greens and slopes I’m not accustomed to playing. Left to right sliders killed me today, so many left short and right but able to clean it up for a 2 putt, lag putting was tough because of the slopes, and factor in the speed it was championship greens.

On the range I felt fantastic and walked off way earlier than I usually do to go back to chipping and putting. Chipping was tough because of how much release these greens had, you can yell bite all you want for your shot or a playing partner and it wasn’t happening.

We have our foursome on the tee box and the other guy in our flight went off two groups ahead of us, the Live Leaderboard was a really cool feature to see the guy ahead of us and of course our scores.

Starter calls my name and well here we go, I’m teeing off first with tailwind. I blocked a drive so far right I was in the 2nd fairway 175 out. I knew you couldn’t miss left and I accomplished that haha. The next guy was a player, 59 year old stick. A great swing, he had a small wedge for his 2nd shot, he made divots on full swings and chips, it was really nice compression. I hit a 7iron short of the green, chip up and have myself a Par putt, walk off with bogey and exhaled.

This though is where I was immediately humbled. A player in our group bladed his 2nd shot into the water followed by shanks and bad everything leading to a 12.

He shot 99. 87 won our flight. He had 6 pars. 2 birdies. 2 bogeys. 10 holes at Even Par. He made an 11 on 17. His birdies were the only ones and he took all the skins. He wins our flight if not for 2 horrible holes. It can happen to anyone and unfortunately that’s the dark side of golf.

Hole 2 I smash the long drive in the group but had trouble deciding which club to hit in this wind. 9i to the center of the green and a 2 putt par. Nice!

I’m not going to go hole by hole but Hole 7 hit a good drive. I was within 1 stroke after 6 holes. Top a hybrid but it rolled down 2 hills and I was in the right rough, I could only see the top half of my golf ball. Stuck the wedge and then 3-Jack. I really wanted the birdie for a skin and #1 handicap hole and crushed it past. Greed!

Next hole I miss the green on my approach but had a downhill chip. Zero comfort. I chutted and smacked the middle of the flagstick and it spat the ball out leaving me a 8 footer for Par. Walk off with bogey.

Hole 9 is when my implode occurred. It’s a short Par 4. I didn’t hit a good wedge and had about 20 feet for birdie. Crushed it past. Then my Par putt misses left and keeps rolling left and the wind takes it more left, I’m still away. Miss the bogey and tap in for a 4 putt double, brutal.

I was very happy with my drives today I just couldn’t get comfortable with having downhill or side hill lies from the fairway, it’s just not what I’m accustomed to playing but it was a challenge.

I stayed with bogeys and 3 doubles on the back 9 but did make a Par with my shot of the day.

Par 3 hit a fat 9iron landing in the hazard, ahead of the water. My ball is literally in front of a small plant. I can’t move any impediments in the hazard but the practice strokes did nothing for me because of this plant. I grab the AW and just smacked the ball out giving me a look at Par, I couldn’t believe it. Hit the putt in the middle of the flagstick and it drops in.

Stupid double on 18 but whatever. So while I lost by 5 strokes I was stoked to be around. And like I said earlier, the 59 year old guy should’ve been sub 80 had he been able to putt, that killed Him, including a 3 putt bogey in the playoff which cost him.

Nice to key in my score and see my trending handicap stay at 11.8! I just didn’t want to throw up a 110 by playing for real and get exposed.

Competitive Golf is very different. I’m glad I did it, and am not against doing this again. Some cool giveaways and I won a free swing evaluation from GolfTec in the raffle.

Thanks everyone for the well wishes and words of encouragement prior to, during, and after today’s round. That means a lot to me and nice to have some internet friends on THP who care enough to post in this thread.

Thank you!!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Great write up!!
Even though I would be in the last flight and have no shot at winning I want to try one of these next year.
 
Good read...nice to get some insight into your first experience(s)
 
I played in a similar local event once. Once.
The guy I was paired with didn't have a matching club in the bag and must have shot 200. No joke! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
I forget which "tour" that was. It was hilarious and painful. :LOL:
 
Well we got the Tournament in today in 20-30 mph wind and some rain, I was in the eagle flight of about 16 people.

Had a good day and placed 2nd, lost by 2 to the guy riding with me who was a 6 cap but after some bad weeks played as an 8 cap. He was a stick and drove it by me 50 -100 yds every driving hole, but I was a pain in the butt and hit a lot of good fairway woods and had 28 putts with no birdies to shot 80 @ 6,400 yds.

I am very happy to have played well and since I was the oldest in the field by 20+ years it was fun to do well and scramble around a hard Course.
 
jim54 said:
Well we got the Tournament in today in 20-30 mph wind and some rain, I was in the eagle flight of about 16 people.

Had a good day and placed 2nd, lost by 2 to the guy riding with me who was a 6 cap but after some bad weeks played as an 8 cap. He was a stick and drove it by me 50 -100 yds every driving hole, but I was a pain in the butt and hit a lot of good fairway woods and had 28 putts with no birdies to shot 80 @ 6,400 yds.

I am very happy to have played well and since I was the oldest in the field by 20+ years it was fun to do well and scramble around a hard Course.
Click to expand...
Way to grind it out! Did you get some shop cred for the 2nd place showing?
 
MattyD-MPLS said:
That is a heck of a haul. When are we playing? Haha
Click to expand...
I wish you weren't in the Frozen North my friend, I would love to see you kill a golf ball again. Maybe someday, somewhere..
 
jim54 said:
Well we got the Tournament in today in 20-30 mph wind and some rain, I was in the eagle flight of about 16 people.

Had a good day and placed 2nd, lost by 2 to the guy riding with me who was a 6 cap but after some bad weeks played as an 8 cap. He was a stick and drove it by me 50 -100 yds every driving hole, but I was a pain in the butt and hit a lot of good fairway woods and had 28 putts with no birdies to shot 80 @ 6,400 yds.

I am very happy to have played well and since I was the oldest in the field by 20+ years it was fun to do well and scramble around a hard Course.
Click to expand...

Wind was absurd today. Absolutely absurd!
 
MWard said:
Wind was absurd today. Absolutely absurd!
Click to expand...
It made me feel manly down wind..every other direction was a beotch
 
CobraX51 said:
I don’t know what I’m getting myself into but here it goes. So I’ve been apart of TheGrint for several years and it’s nice. Emails always come about joining TheGrintTour but I don’t have the time nor patience to do that, I don’t care to golf competitively either.

I got an email today about TheGrintTour Tampa will be making its debut this Saturday in Brooksville Florida. Southern Hills Plantation, a Pete Dye designed golf course.

Now I’m a very casual golfer, very casual. Breakfast Ball on the opening tee box. If your ball is in a divot you can move it an inch or two off the divot. Move your ball away from tree roots. Everything is a lateral hazard. Rake up some 4 footers for bogey. Rangefinder with Slope. Did I miss anything else?

So my 11.8 handicap could be considered a vanity cap by some, which is whatever, I play my game you play yours.

But this intrigued me because I’ve never done an Amateur Stroke Play Tournament. This will probably be my 1st and last tournament but just wanted to see how I’d do by playing by the USGA and local rules of golf with random people.

Obviously their will be no breakfast ball, no moving your ball off a fairway divot, putt everything out, hit provisionals if need be, and while a rangefinder is allowed, the slope feature must be off, which sucks because this course definitely has value for slope!!

Of course it would be nice to play an easier course than Southern Hills but whatever. Most courses I play have a slope of 112-120, this Saturday the slope will be 135 with a lot more undulation and hills than I’m accustomed to playing. I golfed here last year and shot an 89, but by my rules of golf.

I’m going into it with zero expectations and hope to grab a skin and see what happens.

I registered today and will be in the Eagle Flight!

10:30am. To say I’d be a little nervy about the opening tee shot would be an understatement since this isn’t a shotgun start, we have a blocked set of tee times, and no breakfast ball! Hah!!

I’m going to enjoy this and see what I got.

8f06c0e3e6f2089773b3213de199ac52.jpg






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I wish you the best of luck. I’ve played on the Golf channel tour for 10 years and now the Golfweek tour and US AM tour. The one thing I’d say is to play loose and have fun like you are playing with the guys. Don’t press yourself. Just have fun! You will do well!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
jim54 said:
It made me feel manly down wind..every other direction was a beotch
Click to expand...

Hit a 5i today from 153 and came up short, and had 173 center on a 510yd par 5. Great bogeys 🙄
 
I did the same, 157 straight into it and hit the 5 a bit thin and got a good break that it rolled up to 15 ft. Next hole hit a solid drive that went maybe 180. Fun stuff, but for some reason I was scrambling my butt off making pars from all over. Hooked one into the trees on the second shot then duffed the 3rd short and chipped in for par. 28 putts is the lowest I have put into the grint in a lot of rounds and they were fast but real true.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top