Question:
Well, I ended my 2001 golf season on both good and bad notes. Early in December I had tied for my flight in the club championship and the sudden death play-off was scheduled for Dec. 27th, at San Juan Oaks. I had to give my opponent 6 strokes, including holes #1 and #2. Fortunately for me, SJO switches 9’s on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we started on the 10th hole, a 380 yard narrow, but straight par 4, which is the 9 handicap hole. I wanted to make sure I kept the ball in play, so I teed off with my 3 wood, leaving about 160 yards to the green from just into the right rough. My opponent hit his driver thin and while it was straight, it just barely made it to the fairway, leaving him well over 200 yards to the green. He laid up about 30 yards out and I hit a 7 iron about 5 yards short. He then pitched over the green and I chipped to about 10 feet below the hole. He left his chip short and then overpowered his putt, going a good 15 feet past the hole. It took him 2 more to get down, for a triple bogey. My 1st putt came up just short and I tapped in for a bogey and the win. IMO club selection on the tee was the key. By going with the 3 wood I ensured that I would get a respectable distance and keep the ball reasonably close to the fairway. He hit driver, but because he missed it just a little, he put himself in a bad position and took all the pressure off me. I knew when he hit his tee shot that a bogey would probably win and would at worst tie. As it worked out, I won the hole and the playoff with 2 strokes to spare. The bad note is that on the 3rd hole of the tournament (#12) I was playing out of a greenside bunker and suffered a back spasm. I needed help to get out of the bunker and had to make my putts standing fully upright. I swallowed a handful of ibuprofen and then tried stretching, arm swinging, walking and anything else I could think of, but the tightness and pain were too great and I had to drop out of the tournament. This was really disappointing for em, because I love the course, but don’t get to play there very often, due to distance and cost. I was also playing relatively well, given the conditions (soft and wet) and was enjoying the round. The pain and tightness did subside considerably over then next few days and I had planned to play on New Year’s Day, but everyone else canceled and since it was raining when I woke up to go to the course yesterday morning, I went back to bed instead. I’ll try to restart my annual New Year’s Day outing in 2003. — Dan Driscoll Member USGA, NCGA RSG FAQ: http://ttsoft.com/thor/rsggolf.html RSG Roll Call http://u1.netgate.net/~kirby34/rsg/driscolld.htm
Response:
"DJD" wrote in part … Well, I ended my 2001 golf season on both good and bad notes. Early in December I had tied for my flight in the club championship and the sudden death play-off was scheduled for Dec. 27th, at San Juan Oaks. I had to give my opponent 6 strokes, including holes #1 and #2. Fortunately for me, SJO switches 9’s on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so we started on the 10th hole, a 380 yard narrow, but straight par 4, which is the 9 handicap hole. I wanted to make sure I kept the ball in play, so I teed off with my 3 wood, leaving about 160 yards to the green from just into the right rough.
<snipped for space Sounds like you had a good round going there. Too bad the back problem stopped ya. Arnie – RSG Roll Call: http://u1.netgate.net/~kirby34/rsg/macya.htm
Response:
Sounds like you had a good round going there. Too bad the back problem stopped ya. Arnie –
Yeah, if I had been able to shoot net 72 I would have tied for 1st in my flight. But the real bummer for me was that I really, really like that course. It is tough, but fair, and if you play smart and get a few good bounces, you can score. Unfortunately, I don’t get an opportunity to play there very often, it is a 2 hour driver from my home and it costs $80 on weekends. Even the weekday tournament fee was $70, so to have the injury happen on the 3rd hole was just more salt in the wound. 
— Dan Driscoll Member USGA, NCGA RSG FAQ: http://ttsoft.com/thor/rsggolf.html RSG Roll Call http://u1.netgate.net/~kirby34/rsg/driscolld.htm