BISHOP'S PLAYHOUSE

I AM A CHAMPION!

On May 16 - 18, I competed in the 2008 Canyon Creek Country Club Match Play Championship.

Match Play:

The Way It's Played: In this sense, match play is a whole different game than stroke play.

In stroke play: golfers accumulate strokes over the course of 18 holes. The golfer with the fewest strokes at the completion of the round wins.

In match play: each hole is a separate competition. The player with the fewest strokes on an individual hole wins that hole; the player winning the most holes wins the match.

The stroke total for 18 holes simply doesn't matter in match play. Stroke play is more a player vs. the course approach; match play is directly player vs. player, or side vs. side. There is one opponent you must beat, and that's the opponent you're facing in the match you're playing right now.
Conceded Putts: In friendly rounds of golf, golfers often ask for and give "gimmies," very short putts that one simply picks up rather than holing out. Gimmies, needless to say, are illegal under the Rules of Golf, but many recreational golfers use them anyway.
In match play, however, conceded putts are perfectly legal. Your opponent can concede a putt to you at any point, whether it's 6 inches from the cup or 60 feet. But conceded putts almost always come, of course, on very short putts.
Conceded putts should only be offered, they should never be requested. That's why in some match play matches you'll notice a golfer lingering over a very short putt - the golfer is hoping his opponent will tell him to just pick it up.
Fellow-Competitor vs. Opponent: This is a semantic difference. In stroke play, the golfers you are playing against are your "fellow-competitors." In match play, the golfer you are playing against is your "opponent."

Friday: Was a shotgun start, where I started on hole #2. I was freaking out going into my first hole. I was really focusing on some negative thoughts. I was one of the Golf Pros at my country club for 7 years. I was worried I would get beat in the first round and get embarrassed. Then on top of this, since January I had developed a severe problem with my chipping game. I was really causing me some problems. So I knew I would just have to hit a lot of greens to avoid having to chip. It was a close match thru hole #9, then I proceeded to birdie #10, #12, and #15. I finished on hole #17 winning 3 & 2.

Saturday: I teed off in the morning on hole #1. We were tied thru 4 holes then I birdied #5, #6, #7, #9. He birdied #13 and then I bogied #14 to be up 2 thru #15. We tied #16, then he hit his tee shot to 2 feet on the par 3 #17 to birdie and take the match to 18. I was able to bogey the hole to win the match 2 up.

Sunday: I teed off in the morning as well. At this point I was no longer worried about getting embarrassed by not playing well. This match was probably the funniest competitive round I have played. I was very relaxed and was playing a very strong golfer. I knew him real well from when I was a pro at the course. We really had a good back and forth going on the front nine. I won #2 with a par, he won #5 with an eagle to my birdie. I was so laid back the eagle did not even phase me. Normally I would have taken that personal and tried to do something heroic, but that was not my game plan. We tied #6-8. I was able to hit it to 3 feet on #9 and make birdie to go 1 up after 9 holes. On #10, was the turning point of the match. I teed off first and hit my shot down the left side of the fairway and my opponent tried to play a smart shot with an iron and pulled his shot out of bounds. He had to re-tee hitting his 3rd shot from the tee box. He made a double bogey and I made a par to go 2 up. We tied the 11Th and 12Th holes them I made a par on 13 to go 3 up. On 14 we both hit good shots to tie with pars. We went to the par 5, 15Th hole with me 3 up with 5 holes to play. I hit my drive down the left side into the rough with a clear shot to the green for my second shot. My opponent hit a good drive down the right center of the fairway. He was farther from the hole, so he hit first, He tried to lay-up short of the green, but pulled his shot into the left rough behind some trees. I had my 3 wood out ready to go for the green in two from 275 yards. After seeing his shot I pulled out my 5 iron and layed-up to about 100 yards of the green. This allowed me to hit my third shot first. I proceeded to hit my ball 2 feet from the hole. My opponent did not have a clear shot at the green. the best he could do was to hit it slightly over the back and try to chip in to tie the birdie I was going to make. He missed his chip and then missed the putt he had left. He picked up my ball marker and conceded the put and the match. I won 4 & 3 on the 15Th hole.

I was such a high to be able to compete again and to be able to play so well was just the icing on the cake! I never thought I would be able to win and have so much fun doing it. It is nice to know I am as good as I thougtht I was. It has been so long since I competed I really have doubted my abilities. I look forward to a lot more golf in the future!

It is amazing what a homemade swing taught by my father, playing between the ears as taught by my mother and practiced repeatedly can accomplish!