GAP Team Match Practice Round

“We have 14 confirmed for golf tomorrow morning. Let’s play the best 2 balls of 4 at 80% handicap from the white tees since that is where GAP matches will be played from. Play preferred lies throughout the course. Scoring will be for the Front 9, Back 9, Overall, and Scats (natural birdies or better). The two teams of 3 will each blind draw a 4th at the end of the rounds. Buy-in is $20/player. The teams and starting times are as follows:

10:50am: Gaughan, Potter, & Zimmerman

11:00am: Fischer, Baxter (Hack), & Carey

11:10am: Hajjo, Long, Marchand, & Maute

11:20am: Shevland, Armstrong, Foster, & G. Hook

The forecast is for temps in the mid-50s and mostly sunny with winds at 10-15mph.

Bring your “A” games!”

It’s a Sunday practice round at our home course - Cripple Creek Golf & Country Club - for some members of the club’s Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) BMW Team Championships squad. Andy Z., our team captain, organized the practice. Our first team match is scheduled for April 19th. Cripple Creek’s 1st Team plays, Rehoboth Beach CC, Kings Creek CC, and Bayside Resort over the three (3) week tournament, while our 2nd Team plays Back Creek, St. Anne, and Southern Delaware. The Cripple Creek 1st Team went undefeated last year (2025) and was moved up a division within the GAP tournament. Your Hack missed the matches last year because of health issues and I’m looking forward to competing once again.

You can read about the GAP Team Matches here: GAP BMW Team Matches

Sunday morning was beautiful with a chill in the air and bright sunshine everywhere. Winds were light, but expected to pick-up later in the afternoon with gusts up to 25-30 MPH. Temperatures were right around 50 for our 11AM tee time.

Starting on #10, your Hack’s round began quietly with two (2) bogeys and a birdie through the first seven (7) holes. Unfortunately that’s when things begin to go awry. Hitting into the wind on #17, I had a 3-wood left for my third shot which was promptly pull-hooked into the water and we carded a smooth double bogey. Adding a sloppy bogey to the total on #18, I made the turn in 40, 4 over par.

The back nine just got uglier as I kept missing greens and, more often than not, blading, shanking or chunking chips. Only one 3-putt however - a bogey on #10.

One of my partners, Mike, came through with a solid 68 that included 4 birdies and missed, makable birdie putts on four (4) other holes. He shot his age and walked away with a handful of scats. Based on his strong play, we were able to win the first nine and I broke even for the day.

Overall, I’d characterize the round as sloppy. I’d better tighten the straps before our first GAP match if I hope to be competitive.

Score: 82

Birdies: 1

Putts: 34

FIR: 9 of 14 (64%)

GIR 9 of 18 (50%)

The first day of the “official” golf season was April 1st and it was beautiful - sunny in the mid-to-upper 70’s with light winds. I was excited to post the first score of the year under real conditions. No gimmes, no preferred lies - just golf. Nick S. and I played in a cobbled together 4-ball with Gerry T. (from Ireland) and Walter.

In my practice on warmer days this Spring, I’ve been getting a little of my distance back which is encouraging. Still, my practice sessions have focused more on chipping and putting. Your Hack has a tendency to miss-hit or shank chip and short wedge shots - score killers.

Starting off the round with a decent drive, just into the right rough, I had a 9 iron into the green, but missed short right, hitting the ball off the toe. Bogey. Pars on #2 and #3 settled things down as I stood on the 4th tee, a 483 yard par 5. The swing felt great and I pounded a driver carrying the corner and leaving an approach shot that had a good chance of reaching the green. I stood over my ball in the middle of the fairway, 203 yards to a back right pin and chose 3-hybrid, as I could hit it high and land it soft, hopefully over the ridge crossing the front third of the green. The strike was pure, the ball flight high and, straight carrying the ridge, and leaving an uphill putt of 25 feet for eagle. The putt was dead straight and dropped with good speed - first eagle of the year.

After a routine par on #5, I stood on the 6th tee at 1-under thinking about posting a great score to begin working my handicap down. I know, thinking about what you are going to post while standing on the 6th tee is not good! Stay in the moment and only think about the next shot. Unfortunately, it’s much easier to listen to advice after the round is over. Trying to cut the corner on #6, I left the drive out right - out of bounds. In a daze after the double-bogey, I shanked my 7 iron into the pine trees on #7 and added another double.

A routine par of #8 followed by a good drive on #9 left me 125 yards out in the middle of the fairway. A shanked wedge and a stubbed chip resulted in another double bogey. A missed green and shanked chip on #1 and a shanked sand wedge into the pond on #2 resulted in 2 more double bogeys. For those counting, that’s 5 double bogeys (10 over par) in the last six (6) holes. What a round killer.

Thinking about the last 6 holes while waiting on the 12th tee, your Hack decided to eliminate those thoughts, accept that today’s score would be bad, and focus on finishing out the round strong. The acceptance must have worked as I hit driver to the front fringe on #12 and lipped out a 5 foot birdie putt. A gap wedge on #13 left me 6 feet to burn the edge for another missed birdie. A 3-wood on #14 left me pin high right in 2 shots, thinking up and down for birdie. The chip was decent - to about 6 feet - but resulted in another missed birdie.

Another bad strike on a chip on #16 led to the only bogey in the last seven (7) holes and I was able to finish the round with pars on the last two (2) holes. An 81 is not what I was thinking when we teed off, but I was happy to right the ship and play the last seven (7) in 1-over. Here is the scorecard.

Thanks for following along with your Hack. My next round is planned for Friday. Can I break 80 like I should? We’ll see.