Written on 4-5-14.
The last time I wrote, I was telling the story of how Bruce blew me away in match play. He won seven holes when we agreed to switch to a different game. I had only managed to win two holes on the front nine.
We switched to the Reverse Handicap game with a twist. The twist this time was the winner of the previous hole gave a pop to the loser for the next hole. He was ahead by three points after winning hole #13, the hole we had started this new game. We tied on #14 even though I had earned a bogey to his par, but that was because of the twist and the pop. One big point was pushed to hole #15.
He won hole #15 with a double to my blow-up score. I got a...
nine. I had a chip shot that bounced twice off my club face along with some other malfunctions; it was embarrassing. He earned ten more points for that hole, the one big point that was pushed from the previous hole plus nine more for this hole.
He made a sweet birdie on #16. I managed a par, but with the twist and the pop, we pushed five points this time. We both knew it would come down to holes #17 and #18. Those two holes were worth 15 and 17 points respectively. No pops were given since we had tied on #16.
I played #17 my usual conservative way by teeing off with my approach wedge to set up my approach from the corner. And, true to Bruce’s style, he attempted to drive the green. I made a slick/slippery fast putt from about eight feet for a par, and that ending up being the putt I really had to make to keep this thing going. If he had won the hole, it would have been over. Despite his drive ending up in the waste area/bunker just patch the ditch, he also saved a par. It had come down to the last hole again.
On #18, his drive went well right, farther right than he wanted or expected. I went for #3’s fairway, and it worked out so nicely; I was in the middle of that fairway. We parted ways to go find our golf balls and eventually meet again later on the green. I used my 7-iron for my approach. My swing pushed my ball, but the distance was fine. I ended up past the tree on the right side of the green, a mere pitch/chip away. His approach landed his ball behind the green and on the right side.
Normally, I would say I had the advantage from where we had ended up, but I was playing against Bruce. With his short game, it was probably a wash from where we were. I went first since he was not sure how he was going to play his next shot yet. My pitch/chip worked out nicely. I was below the hole after my ball had come to a stop, and I had a ten foot uphill putt for a birdie. Advantage, Pat.
Bruce, of course, made a superb pitch, though, and his ball should have rolled down to the hole. We were both stunned when it stopped up at the top of the green. It had landed just before the fringe, bounced a couple of times onto the green, and then stubbornly came to rest at the top. His next putt was brilliant. He left himself a three foot putt for par that was a tad uphill with some right to left break.
I putted next. My birdie putt headed straight for the hole, but like Bruce’s ball, it also stubbornly did what it wanted to do, not what I wanted it to do; it lipped out of the hole and stopped just on the other side. I had a risky downhill-ish tap-in putt for my par, but I got it go in somehow.
Now, it was up to Bruce to end it, but he missed. For once, he was the one who thought he had won with a tie on this last hole, thinking he had earned a par, but it ended up being a bogey. I was relieved because I’m the one who usually thinks Bruce earns a bogey when he almost always gets a par instead. This time, though, it really was a bogey, and I had managed to get one of those especially rare wins vs. Bruce. Phew!
The last time I wrote, I was telling the story of how Bruce blew me away in match play. He won seven holes when we agreed to switch to a different game. I had only managed to win two holes on the front nine.
We switched to the Reverse Handicap game with a twist. The twist this time was the winner of the previous hole gave a pop to the loser for the next hole. He was ahead by three points after winning hole #13, the hole we had started this new game. We tied on #14 even though I had earned a bogey to his par, but that was because of the twist and the pop. One big point was pushed to hole #15.
He won hole #15 with a double to my blow-up score. I got a...
nine. I had a chip shot that bounced twice off my club face along with some other malfunctions; it was embarrassing. He earned ten more points for that hole, the one big point that was pushed from the previous hole plus nine more for this hole.
He made a sweet birdie on #16. I managed a par, but with the twist and the pop, we pushed five points this time. We both knew it would come down to holes #17 and #18. Those two holes were worth 15 and 17 points respectively. No pops were given since we had tied on #16.
I played #17 my usual conservative way by teeing off with my approach wedge to set up my approach from the corner. And, true to Bruce’s style, he attempted to drive the green. I made a slick/slippery fast putt from about eight feet for a par, and that ending up being the putt I really had to make to keep this thing going. If he had won the hole, it would have been over. Despite his drive ending up in the waste area/bunker just patch the ditch, he also saved a par. It had come down to the last hole again.
On #18, his drive went well right, farther right than he wanted or expected. I went for #3’s fairway, and it worked out so nicely; I was in the middle of that fairway. We parted ways to go find our golf balls and eventually meet again later on the green. I used my 7-iron for my approach. My swing pushed my ball, but the distance was fine. I ended up past the tree on the right side of the green, a mere pitch/chip away. His approach landed his ball behind the green and on the right side.
Normally, I would say I had the advantage from where we had ended up, but I was playing against Bruce. With his short game, it was probably a wash from where we were. I went first since he was not sure how he was going to play his next shot yet. My pitch/chip worked out nicely. I was below the hole after my ball had come to a stop, and I had a ten foot uphill putt for a birdie. Advantage, Pat.
Bruce, of course, made a superb pitch, though, and his ball should have rolled down to the hole. We were both stunned when it stopped up at the top of the green. It had landed just before the fringe, bounced a couple of times onto the green, and then stubbornly came to rest at the top. His next putt was brilliant. He left himself a three foot putt for par that was a tad uphill with some right to left break.
I putted next. My birdie putt headed straight for the hole, but like Bruce’s ball, it also stubbornly did what it wanted to do, not what I wanted it to do; it lipped out of the hole and stopped just on the other side. I had a risky downhill-ish tap-in putt for my par, but I got it go in somehow.
Now, it was up to Bruce to end it, but he missed. For once, he was the one who thought he had won with a tie on this last hole, thinking he had earned a par, but it ended up being a bogey. I was relieved because I’m the one who usually thinks Bruce earns a bogey when he almost always gets a par instead. This time, though, it really was a bogey, and I had managed to get one of those especially rare wins vs. Bruce. Phew!
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