Had a hell of a night in my golf league last night. First round of the playoffs, we are the first place seed. It's 2 man team match play, but individual matches (handicapped).
Anyway, our opponents had one guy out on vacation, and another had to bail last minute to take his wife to the hospital. So we're playing 2 fill ins in the first round of the playoffs. These are guys who have played/filled in before, and we're all friends, but it's definitely a little weird. Naturally, they play with no pressure and go out and play well. My brother and I are up most of the match, but I'm giving my opponent strokes on 4 of the last 5 holes, and he wins 2 of them with the via way of the extra stroke. So we come into 18 (we played the back) all square in the match. I'm down 1, my brother is up 1. I fly my tee shot well over the uphill par 3, my opponent (who is about a 20 cap) miraculously puts it to 10 feet. My brother and opponent both miss the green. I have a brutal downhill, breaking, flop shot with a ridge/false front behind the hole, and I hit a great shot to get it to 6 feet. My brother and his opponent both make bogey. My opponent 2 putts for par, so I have to hit this 6 footer to keep our season alive. On to sudden death playoffs we go.
We now have about 12-15 guys following along in the playoffs, and ostensibly rooting for us because it's going to be a shitty situation for the league to have the 2 fill ins advance and have the other guys come back and play without having won a match. I hit a good drive on the short par 4 10, and have a flip wedge in from a good angle. My opponent is behind some trees, and both my brother and opponent are in decent spots. They both miss the green. The opponent gets up and down for par, my brother makes bogey, so I need to win the hole to stay alive. My opponent hits a skulled wedge through the trees that somehow misses a green side bunker, hits a hill, pops up, and goes to about 7 feet from the hole in the rough. I'm borderline shaking over my wedge shot, and I didn't dare go at the pin, so I hit a weak but safe shot to the front of the green, probably about 30 feet away. I hit a putt that tracks the entire way to the hole and JUST falls off at the end, leaving about 3 feet for par. My opponent makes bogey, so again, I hit a putt to extend the match.
I lose the par 5 11th with a bogey to his par, and my brother wins easily with a par to my opponents concession (he was lying 7 or 8 and not even on the green yet). So we're on to the island green par 3 12th. Everyone still watching. My nerves were actually gone now, my adrenaline was pumping, and it was actually quite fun. It's about a 150-155 shot, but always plays longer than you'd think. There's a creek all around the green, with a bank on the front sending balls back into it. I had hit 8 iron the last 3 times I had played it and just got onto the green or hit the bank. The tees are a little further up (maybe 5-8 yards) and I had hit 8 iron earlier in the match and been pin high. I debated hitting 9, but I would never have forgiven myself if I came up short. Naturally, I flush one over the green that finds the little bit remaining of the creek that runs behind the hole. My opponent hits one fat, it carries to the top of the bank...and somehow stays there. I'm flabbergasted. I take a drop, hit a chip to about 5 feet, barely miss my putt, and he chips on and 2 putts for bogey. My brother has a 4ish footer tester, downhill breaker for par, with his opponent in for bogey. He nestles it down..and it catches the low edge of the hole and lips out. Devastating way to lose and end the season.
After getting over it though - man that was fun. I hit some great shots under pressure, and the adrenaline of that competition was unlike anything I've felt in a while. And I'm still fired up thinking about the up and down on 18. I knew I needed to have it, it was insanely difficult, and I got it. Pretty rewarding. Most of the guys in the league think we got screwed by playing fill ins, but they beat us fair and square which I don't mind. I do mind that the guys who missed the week get to play in the semifinals next week though, that's the only thing that annoys me. But in the end, it was still a ton of fun.
Anyway, figured I'd share.
Anyway, our opponents had one guy out on vacation, and another had to bail last minute to take his wife to the hospital. So we're playing 2 fill ins in the first round of the playoffs. These are guys who have played/filled in before, and we're all friends, but it's definitely a little weird. Naturally, they play with no pressure and go out and play well. My brother and I are up most of the match, but I'm giving my opponent strokes on 4 of the last 5 holes, and he wins 2 of them with the via way of the extra stroke. So we come into 18 (we played the back) all square in the match. I'm down 1, my brother is up 1. I fly my tee shot well over the uphill par 3, my opponent (who is about a 20 cap) miraculously puts it to 10 feet. My brother and opponent both miss the green. I have a brutal downhill, breaking, flop shot with a ridge/false front behind the hole, and I hit a great shot to get it to 6 feet. My brother and his opponent both make bogey. My opponent 2 putts for par, so I have to hit this 6 footer to keep our season alive. On to sudden death playoffs we go.
We now have about 12-15 guys following along in the playoffs, and ostensibly rooting for us because it's going to be a shitty situation for the league to have the 2 fill ins advance and have the other guys come back and play without having won a match. I hit a good drive on the short par 4 10, and have a flip wedge in from a good angle. My opponent is behind some trees, and both my brother and opponent are in decent spots. They both miss the green. The opponent gets up and down for par, my brother makes bogey, so I need to win the hole to stay alive. My opponent hits a skulled wedge through the trees that somehow misses a green side bunker, hits a hill, pops up, and goes to about 7 feet from the hole in the rough. I'm borderline shaking over my wedge shot, and I didn't dare go at the pin, so I hit a weak but safe shot to the front of the green, probably about 30 feet away. I hit a putt that tracks the entire way to the hole and JUST falls off at the end, leaving about 3 feet for par. My opponent makes bogey, so again, I hit a putt to extend the match.
I lose the par 5 11th with a bogey to his par, and my brother wins easily with a par to my opponents concession (he was lying 7 or 8 and not even on the green yet). So we're on to the island green par 3 12th. Everyone still watching. My nerves were actually gone now, my adrenaline was pumping, and it was actually quite fun. It's about a 150-155 shot, but always plays longer than you'd think. There's a creek all around the green, with a bank on the front sending balls back into it. I had hit 8 iron the last 3 times I had played it and just got onto the green or hit the bank. The tees are a little further up (maybe 5-8 yards) and I had hit 8 iron earlier in the match and been pin high. I debated hitting 9, but I would never have forgiven myself if I came up short. Naturally, I flush one over the green that finds the little bit remaining of the creek that runs behind the hole. My opponent hits one fat, it carries to the top of the bank...and somehow stays there. I'm flabbergasted. I take a drop, hit a chip to about 5 feet, barely miss my putt, and he chips on and 2 putts for bogey. My brother has a 4ish footer tester, downhill breaker for par, with his opponent in for bogey. He nestles it down..and it catches the low edge of the hole and lips out. Devastating way to lose and end the season.
After getting over it though - man that was fun. I hit some great shots under pressure, and the adrenaline of that competition was unlike anything I've felt in a while. And I'm still fired up thinking about the up and down on 18. I knew I needed to have it, it was insanely difficult, and I got it. Pretty rewarding. Most of the guys in the league think we got screwed by playing fill ins, but they beat us fair and square which I don't mind. I do mind that the guys who missed the week get to play in the semifinals next week though, that's the only thing that annoys me. But in the end, it was still a ton of fun.
Anyway, figured I'd share.
