World Amateur Handicap Championship Day 2: More Beers than Bogeys

There were more dirty jokes told than birdies made late Tuesday morning and early afternoon at Myrtle Beach National as two flights, including mine (Number 8) were rained out after four or five holes because of severe weather that surrounded the area and refused to leave. I'm also assuming more beers were downed than bogeys recorded but that could be a stretch. People drank a lot of beer but there were a lot of bad golfers out there, even if it was only for a short period of time.

Oddly enough the stoppage of play came immediately following my first birdie of the tournament and one of the best-played holes of my below par golfing career. The birdie came on the par-5 535-yard sixth hole. I hit 3-wood, 5-wood to within 155 of the front edge and then stuck a five iron to within six feet; and of course, I caressed the ball into the cup for a birdie. After my drive on the next hole, which sailed into the woods and out of bounds, the horn sounded calling for a return to a clubhouse. 

Three hours later the round was called, meaning the tournament for my flight will only consist of three rounds.

I wasn't opposed to cancelling the round for the day because we'd been sitting there for three hours, a steady rain had fallen for the majority of that time and most participants had done their fair share of drinking which should be expected. If the weather had cooperated, the finishing 13 holes or so would have been a sight to behold. Nothing like 235 (estimated) half-drunk men and a few ladies with considerable handicaps playing cart path only golf.

The way the round was going and the way my swing was feeling, I would've made up some ground today at the Myrtle Beach National South Course which isn't terribly long, even from the back tees, and doesn't lend itself to a lot of lost golf balls as a result of wayward drives. On a side note, I would definitely like to tee it up at this Arnold Palmer design again. It's a beautiful, well-manicured course that is very enjoyable for mid- to high-handicappers, even from the tips.

As it stands, I'm tied for 94 with a net score of 99. I know that's not very good. At least you didn't have to shoot it. But after playing by the USGA rules and counting all of my penalty strokes, I think I need to rethink my handicap index.  I'd like to finish about 49^th, so I'm 16 strokes back of that at the moment. Tomorrow we head out to Barefoot Resort where we'll be playing the Dye Course .

Thunderstorms are expected again. It could be another long day. Another trip to Hooters might be necessary when the day is over. 

To view the tournament scores and more information about the event, visit www.worldamgolf.com

Email (will not be published)

Name

Title

Comment
 remaining characters

Post