2016 Golf Year in Review

2016 Golf Year in Review

I've played my last round of 2016 so like I've done the last several years here a bunch of my stats.  I like to look back and see what I did well and what I did worse at.  This has been an interesting golf year. 2015 wasn't a good year and 2016 became even worse.  I lost 40 pounds in the last year and a half and the weight loss really affected my swing.  I'm still learning almost a new swing since I don't have to swing around my body as much as I used to. 

So here goes, my year in statistical form:

Fairways: Best 100%, Worst 22.43%, Average 56% (2015 average was 63%)
GIR's: Best 66.67%, Worst 11.11%, Average 34% (2015 ave. 40%)

GIR+1: 75% (2015 - 82%)

GIR on Par 3’s: 32% ('15 - 43%)

GIR on Par 4’s: 33% ('15 - 35%)

GIR on Par 5’s: 41% ('15 - 50%)
Putts: Best 29, Worst 40, Average 35 ('15 = 33)

Putts after GIR: 2.15  ('15 - 2.05)

Putts after GIR+1: 2.00 ('15 - 1.87)

Low Round: 78

High Round: 99

Average round: 89.28 ('15 - 84.24)

1 Eagles
50 Birdies
421 Pars 
479 Bogies
336 dbl Bogey+ 
23 OB penaltiesn (12 in 2015)
128 Penalty strokes (112 in 2015)
Average score on Par 3's - 3.90 ('15 - 3.54)
Average score on Par 4's - 4.99 ('15 - 4.78)
Average score on Par 5's - 5.95 ('15 - 5.58)
10 sand saves
207 sand shots (does not differentiate between greenside and fairway bunkers)
Scramble Percentage - 16% ('15 - 25%)

3 Putt Percentage - 15% ('15 - 11%)

GHIN high 14.1 ('15 - 10.8)

GHIN low 9.6 ('15 - 5.4)

GHIN on Jan 1, 2016: 10.1

GHIN on Dec. 15, 2016: 12.7
Up & Down: 166 (any green side chip, regardless of score that is up and down) ('15 - 272)

 Here is my courses played list for 2016.  Number of rounds are listed for courses that I played more than once.

Total Rounds played 71.5 (includes combined 9 hole rounds) ('15 - 92.5)

Mirror Lake - Lake - Villa Rica, GA 

Mirror Lake - Mountain - Villa Rica, GA 

Chapel Hills - Douglasville, GA 

Kinderlou Forest - Valdosta, GA 

Stone Creek - Valdosta, GA

Olde Atlanta - GA

Bears Best - GA

Georgia National - GA

Flat Creek - GA

Eaglewatch - GA

RTJ Grand National both courses - AL

Ak-chin Southern Dunes - AZ
We-Ko-Pa Cholla - Ft. McDowell, AZ
Grand Cypress North/South - Orlando, FL
Metrowest - Orlando, FL

Champions Gate International - FL

Trophy Club - IN

Praireview Golf club - Carmel, IN

Devil's Ridge GC - Raleigh, NC

Firestone South - OH

Firestone North - OH

Firestone West - OH

Barefoot Resort - Dye Cub - Myrtle Beach, SC

Rivertown - Mt. Pleasant, SC 

2015 Golf Year in Review

I've played my last round of 2015 (thanks rainy weather!), so like last year I've compiled a bunch of my stats.  I like to look back and see what I did well and what I did worse at.  This has been an interesting golf year.  I played just ok over the winter.  By spring I was playing much better and was playing great by the end of June.  In July though my game took a slow downward spiral that has lasted the second half of the year.  I fell out of Single Digits for the first time in a while.  There are glimpses here an there of the old form, and my last round of 2015 was a very good one.  Hopeful a return to better golf in 2016!

So here goes, my year in statistical form:

Fairways: Best 100%, Worst 14.3%, Average 63%
GIR's: Best 72.2%, Worst 5.6%, Average 40%

GIR+1: 82%

GIR on Par 3’s: 43%

GIR on Par 4’s: 35%

GIR on Par 5’s: 50%
Putts: Best 28, Worst 38, Average 33

Putts after GIR: 2.05

Putts after GIR+1: 1.87

Low Round: 73

High Round: 100

Average round: 84.24

0 Eagles
90 Birdies
717 Pars 
568 Bogies
272 dbl Bogey+ 
12 OB penalties
114 Penalty strokes 
Average score on Par 3's - 3.54
Average score on Par 4's - 4.78
Average score on Par 5's - 5.58
17 sand saves
266 sand shots (does not differentiate between greenside and fairway bunkers)
Scramble Percentage - 25%

3 Putt Percentage - 11%

GHIN high 10.8

GHIN low 5.4

GHIN on Jan 1, 2015: 8.0

GHIN on Dec. 15, 2015: 10.8
Up & Down: 272 (any green side chip, regardless of score that is up and down)

 Here is my courses played list for 2015.  Number of rounds are listed for courses that I played more than once.

Total Rounds played 92.5 (includes combined 9 hole rounds)

Mirror Lake - Lake - Villa Rica, GA – 15.5 rounds

Mirror Lake - Mountain - Villa Rica, GA – 38 rounds

Chapel Hill - Douglasville, GA – 3 rounds

Kinderlou Forest - Valdosta, GA – 2 rounds
Club at Savannah Harbor - Savannah, GA - 2 rounds
Rivertown - Mt. Pleasant, SC - 2 rounds
The Frog - Villa Rica, GA 

Planterra Ridge - Peachtree City, GA

White Oak - Newnan, GA
Braelin - Peachtree City, GA
Bentwater - Acworth, GA

River Forest - Forsyth, GA
Southern Hills - Hawkensville, GA
Hard Labor Creek - Social Circle, GA
Curahee Club - Toccoa, GA

RTJ Capitol Hill Judge Course - Prattville, AL

Talking Stick North - Scottsdale, AZ
Desert Forest - AZ
Gainey Ranch - Scottsdale, AZ
Lookout Mountain - AZ
Whirlwind Cattail - AZ
We-Ko-Pa Saquaro - Ft. McDowell, AZ
We-Ko-Pa Cholla - Ft. McDowell, AZ
Tucson National Catalina - Tucson, AZ
Balboa Park - San Diego, CA
Torrey Pines North - San Diego, CA
Torrey Pines South - San Diego, CA
Old Silo Golf Club - Mt. Sterling, KY
Grand Cypress North/South - Orlando, FL
Lake Jovita North - Saint Leo, FL
Golden Bear Club at Keene's Point - Orlando, FL

Pinehurst #2 - Pinehurst, NC

Golden Bear at Indigo Run – Hilton Head, SC

Snee Farm - Mt. Pleasant, SC
Seabrook Island Crooked Oaks - Seabrook Island, SC

Wachesaw Plantation - Myrtle Beach, SC

2014 Golf Year in Review

I've likely played my final round of 2014, so like last year I've compiled a bunch of my stats.  It's handy to have these all in one spot for quick glances during the season, and to look back and see where I've made improvement and areas where I've regressed.

So here goes, my year in statistical form:

Fairways: Best 85.7%, Worst 21.4%, Average 57.4%
GIR's: Best 72.2%, Worst 16.7%, Average 39.9%

GIR+1: 82%

GIR on Par 3’s: 45%

GIR on Par 4’s: 38%

GIR on Par 5’s: 48%
Putts: Best 25, Worst 39, Average 32.4

Putts after GIR: 2.02

Putts after GIR+1: 1.85

Low Round: 72

High Round: 98

Average round: 83.8

1 Eagle
138 Birdies
840 Pars
647 Bogies
327 dbl Bogey+
14 OB penalties
179 Penalty strokes 
Average score on Par 3's - 3.52
Average score on Par 4's - 4.74
Average score on Par 5's - 5.55
24 sand saves
296 sand shots (does not differentiate between greenside and fairway bunkers)
Scramble Percentage - 27%

3 Putt Percentage - 11%

GHIN high 9.9

GHIN low 4.9 (lowest ever)

GHIN on Jan 1, 2014:  9.0

GHIN on Dec. 15, 2014: 7.5

 Here is my courses played list for 2014.  Number of rounds are listed for courses that I played more than once.

Total Rounds played 108 (includes combined 9 hole rounds)

Mirror Lake - Lake - Villa Rica, GA – 37 rounds

Mirror Lake - Mountain - Villa Rica, GA – 33.5 rounds

The Frog - Villa Rica, GA – 5 rounds

Chapel Hill - Douglasville, GA – 3 rounds

Championsgate - International - Orlando, FL – 3 rounds

Championsgate - National - Orlando, FL – 2 rounds

Georgia National - McDonough, GA – 2 rounds

Kinderlou Forest - Valdosta, GA – 2 rounds

Planterra Ridge - Peachtree City, GA

TPC Sugarloaf - Duluth, GA
Olde Atlanta - Norcross, GA
White Oak - Newnan, GA
Healy Point - Macon, GA
Braelin - Peachtree City, GA
Traditions of Braselton - Braselton, GA
Bentwater - Acworth, GA
Cherokee Town & Country Club - Roswell, GA

River Forest - Forsyth, GA

Eaglewatch - Acworth, GA

Stone Creek - Valdosta, GA

Stone Mountain - Lakemont – Atlanta, GA

RTJ Grand National - Lake - Opelika, AL
RTJ Magnolia Grove Crossings - Mobile, AL

RTJ Magnolia Grove Falls – Mobile, AL

Troon North - Monument - North Scottsdale, AZ
Troon North - Pinnacle - North Scottsdale, AZ
Bay Hill - Orlando, FL
Grand Cypress North/South - Orlando, FL
Rum Pointe - Ocean City, MD

Rio Secco - Las Vegas, NV

Palmetto Dunes Fazio – Hilton Head, SC

Palmetto Dunes RTJ – Hilton Head, SC

Palmetto Dunes Hills - Hilton Head, SC
Wildwing - Avocet - Myrtle Beach, SC

Willbrook Plantation - Litchfield Beach, SC

Long Bay - Longs, SC

Tega Key – Rock Hill, SC

2013 Golf Year In Review

2013 Golf Year In Review

Looks like I've played my last round of 2013 so it's time to put the year into review.  I'm a golf stats geek and keep all my stats through my Skycaddie SGX and their on-line stats program.  So here are

some highlights of what was my best year of golf.
 

Fairways: Best 92.9%, Worst 28.6%, Average 59%
GIR's: Best 77.8%, Worst 11.1%, Average 38%
Putts: Best 28, Worst 42, Average 33.5
Low Round: 74
High Round: 100
average round: 86
3 Eagles
91 Birdies
774 Pars
691 Bogies
403 dbl Bogey+
21 OB penalties
175 Penalty strokes
Average score on Par 3's - 3.64
Average score on Par 4's - 4.85
Average score on Par 5's - 5.81
Only 18 sand saves
291 sand shots (does not differentiate between greenside and fairway bunkers)
Scramble Percentage - 21%

3 Putt Percentage - 12%
GHIN high 11.8
GHIN low 7.3
GHIN on Jan 1, 2013:  10.9
GHIN on Dec. 15, 2012: 8.9

 Here is my courses played list for 2013.  Number or rounds are listed for courses that I played more than once

Total Rounds played 115

Mirror Lake Golf Club: Lake Course - GA        29 rounds
Mirror Lake Golf Club: Mountain Course - GA  27 rounds
Chapel Hills Golf Club - GA                          7 rounds
The Frog Golf Club - GA                              7 rounds
White Oak Golf Club - GA                            3 rounds
Bay Hill - FL                                                  3 rounds
University Park - FL                                      2 rounds
Stone Creek - GA                                          2 rounds
Oasis Canyons - NV                                     2 rounds
Falcon Ridge - NV                                        2 rounds
Monroe Golf & Country Club - GA             2 rounds
Trophy Club of Atlanta - GA                        2 rounds
Bentwater Golf Club - GA                            
Sun City Peachtree - GA                            

 Bear's Best Atlanta - GA

Wolf Creek (Atlanta) - GA
Planterra Ridge - GA
Olde Atlanta - GA
River Pines - GA
River Forrest - GA
Long Bay Club - SC
Preserve at Verdae - SC
Coosaw Creek - SC
Charleston National - SC

The Links at Stono Ferry - SC
Wolf Creek Golf Course - NV 
The Chase at Coyote Springs - NV

Oasis Palmer - NV
RTJ Magnolia Grove- Falls - AL 
RTJ Magnolia Grove- Crossings - AL
RTJ Capitol Hill- Judge - AL
RTJ Highland Oaks - AL
Old Fort - TN
Greystone - TN
Reunion - Watson - FL
Reunion - Nicklaus - FL
Reunion - Palmer - FL
Shingle Creek - FL
Waterlefe - FL









ACCOMPLISHMENTS  -

• New Personal Best - 74
• New low GHIN - 7.3
• First sub par round for 9 holes - 35 on a par 36
• Bracket winner for flight in Canongate Golf League
• Flight winner for Canongate Golf League
• Team winner at The Hackers Paradise Atlanta Invitational
• Team winner at unofficial The Hackers Paradise "The Gauntlet" event
• Played in The 2013 Mesquite Amateur in Mesquite Nevada
• Contest winner for The Hackers Paradise #theking event for team spot in the April '14 event

Thanks for reading!

Index watch 2013: Back into the singles!

Just a quick update to note that as of the June 15th USGA GHIN update I'm now back in the single digits!  Hooray!  Officially a 9.2 after a couple of weeks of real solid play in early June, which included setting a new personal best of 76.  Lets see how long I can keep this going!

Mesquite Am 2013 Day 5: Oasis Canyons

My second Tourney round of 2013 took me out to Oasis Canyons, a course I had never played before.  This course really fit my eye!  Here are a few pics from the course.

Bryan and I arrived early and took advantage of the full length driving range and I felt like I worked out a few of the kinks from my swing the day before there.  I started on hole number 1 this round and was playing with two other guys, one from Washington state and one from Ohio.  We were all at the very bottom of the flight so we just encouraged each other to have a good time.  We all started off with drives down the middle but then proceeded to show why we were at the bottom.  Two of us hit shanks on our approaches and the other hit in the water.   I managed to salvage bogey with a nice 5 footer.   The first few holes were ok for me and then I had a big number on the somewhat tricky par 4, 6th hole.  I got into a rhythm on the 8th hole and except for an OB drive on the11th, played very well the rest of the way.  Shot a respectable 86.  I missed a lot of fairways and even more greens but scrambled very well.  Short game was very good with great chipping and solid putting. One of my playing partners shot an 89 and the other a 99!    I improved my standing a bit but was still in the bottom third of the flight after round 2 of the Mesquite Am.

After the round I went over and played in the Texas Hold 'em tournament that was set up for Am participants at the Eureka Casino.  65+ players were in the tournament but I only lasted about an hour.  Had pocket Queens and got beat by a pocket King pair.  A lot of fun though, and recommended. The Eureka is newer and really seems like a nice place.

Mesquite Am 2013 Day 4: Opening round of Tournament play

Opening Round: Falcon Ridge

Tuesday arrived and it was time to head back to Falcon Ridge for the second day in a row, this time for the first round of the tournament.   This was a shot gun start and my round started on the 7th hole, a long par 5.  Here is my scorecard from the round:

The tees were back on a few holes from the day before so yardage was probably closer to the rated distance.  I went in feeling confident from the round before.  I started with a nice par, then bogey on the next 2 holes.  I had a miraculous par on the 10th hole.  The 10th has a creek that runs right down the middle of the hole dividing the fairway into two. (See picture below).  My drive was drawing and looked like it landed right in the creek.  The one time, not to hit it up the middle!  Getting to the creek, I find my ball resting on some grass just on the edge of the creek.  It's in the hazard and there is water seeping through the grass.  I take care not to ground the club and use a 7 iron and chip it out and up the fairway.  I took a 5 iron and hit a great shot to about 5 feet and then made the putt for par.

Par 4 10th

I played pretty well on the round expect for four holes.  The 12th, 16th, 4th and the 6th hole. The 12th I wasn't too concerned about, it was a triple bogey on a par 5 where I had a penalty stroke.  The 16th hole hurt badly.  Its a narrow par 5 with out of bounds on both the left and right side of the hole.  My drive was short of the fairway and rolled back down the hill toward me and I hit a decent second shot to get to the fairway.  This left 260 yards to the green.  I planned to hit my 3 hybrid to get  down the fairway a bit.  However I pulled it left OB, dropped then hit another left and likely OB, dropped again and finally kept it in the fairway.  In hindsight, should have just taken a 7 iron and got down the fairway a bit playing for bogey.

I bounced back ok from the bad hole but had another on the 4th.  My approach plugged in a bunker.  My attempt to get out stayed in the bunker and rolled back into my foot print.  I again failed to get out from there.  On my third bunker shot I finally escaped.  On to an 8 for the hole!

The 6th and my final hole was a total disaster.  Sliced my drive into the water right of the fairway.  Took a drop, then proceeded to bump the ball through a couple of bushes.  My 6th shot finally got near the green, but found a fairway bunker.  Took 2 to get out, another shot to get on the green, and 2 putts.  Finally in for an 11.  Just a case of losing focus.  I felt uncomfortable with my club selection after the drop and should have changed clubs, but didn't.  Yikes!  Not the start I wanted to the Am.  

The good news was Bryan had a great start to his Am and was tied for 3rd after day 1!

I witnessed something I'd never seen before on the 18th hole.  One of the players in my pairing hit two OB off the tee, then hit a greenside bunker.  On his shot out of the bunker he skulled it over the green, took one step then snapped his wedge over his knee!  Wow...talk about uncomfortable.  Was not sure what to say.  He apologized a few holes later and bought a round of drinks in the clubhouse.