World Amateur Handicap Championship Day 3: Negative Nancy Serves Up Rudeness at Barefoot Dye

As a new day dawned in Myrtle Beach it looked like more of the same weather wise as ominous storm clouds encircled the Grand Strand, but the rain held off and all 37 flights completed their rounds during Day 3 of the PGA Superstore World Amateur Handicap Championship.

Today my flight played The Dye Course at Barefoot Resort , which is one of four courses on the resort's property and commonly regarded as the premier layout among the group. The course was very natural with dramatic sloping and undulation in the fairways, sprawling waste bunkers and other pitfalls that have become the designer's trademark like native grasses and difficult angles. Our group started on the 15^th hole, meaning we finished on the 14^th which was the first hole on the golf course where residential homes came into view and there were only three. 

A day after being rained out and two days removed from being deluged throughout the opening round, the typical humidity and heat South Carolinians are accustomed to in August returned. The heat combined with the treachery lurking around every corner that is expected when playing a Dye Course made for a long day.  A wayward drive wasn't necessarily an accurate predictor of a large number because things could get messy at any moment if your ball settled against the lip of a pot bunker, in some thick grass or behind a mound creating a blind lie. Typical of a Dye Design, it was easy for a player to turn what should've been a 3 or 4 into a 6 or 7 in a hurry.

The Dye Course at Barefoot lived up to the hype. It was a really unique, almost links-style course that combined a lot of different elemtents without sacrificing its intended character. The course was in great shape and was absolutely a fair challenge for the mid- to high-handicappers from the white tees. I'd definetely recommend this course and would certainly like to play it again, and hope for a better score. 

I am happy to report I bettered my score from Round 1, posting a 122 as opposed to my opening 123. With my Handicap Index of 20, which should be substantially higher judging on this week's numbers, I netted a two-day score of 199. Here is the really depressing part; that is good enough to put me in 100^th position out of 104 players. Not my finest moment.

Bringing together people from all walks of life, many of whom are meeting for the first time, and having them compete for four consecutive days and keep track of each other's scores has led to some physical altercations over the years at this tournament. You can't expect people paying a substantial amount of money to play competitive golf to overlook what they deem to be cheating without any type of confrontation. There have been some complaints and the normal bitching associated with anything, but overall, the competitors seem to be getting along just fine.

I've enjoyed meeting people from all over the country and world for that matter and sharing stories and frustrations associated with the game of golf. That's really what this event seems to be all about; at least from the perspective of players who aren't all that good but really love to play.

The lowlight of Wednesday's round had to be the cart girl. When my playing partner John asked her if she'd be around a lot today, she replied, "Well it's really slow out here. I have to wait such a long time because these amateurs aren't very good putters."

This young lady proceeded to plant her beverage cart under a tree for the majority of a day and read; I'm guessing it was Glamour or Cosmo or something else girls would read when they're stuck on the golf course. She didn't make many friends among the golfers who were out in 90-degree heat and humidity. If you're working for tips it's not a good idea to insult the players, especially if you're not that cute. I mean honestly, you have a bunch of men down here on vacation for a week playing golf and spending money. They're all out on your course and you're the lone beverage girl, so you stand to make bank from this event but you squander it by acting like Negative Nancy. Well played.

Entering tomorrow's round, which will be played at the Gary Player-designed Blackmoor in Garden City, S.C., I am only six strokes clear of last place. I don't plan on finishing last so I'll have to play as mistake free as possible and avoid big scores. Today I carded two 10's, one coming on a par-3 which really hurt.

I hope a good night's sleep and some new Callaway golf shoes can keep me out of the World Am basement.