Friday, May 20, 2016

The Worst

Think about the most memorable (good or bad) shots you've personally had in league play. I bet they're all amazing. Now think about the most memorable shots by other people. You can probably only remember the blow-ups. When other people suck at golf, it gives you hope that you aren't the worst.

But we are all, collectively, the worst. And below is a list of your worst rounds to par (gross) in league history. Keep in mind, multiple people had to suffer through watching these turds.

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Steve P. - Summer 2012, DPT Masters (rd 2) - Turtle Run (Sebring) - 61 over par
The gold standard in terrible. Our first ever stroke play season, Steve shoots a max 72 on the back nine. He had 13 max double-pars in all. His net score? 98! Steve played one event with us after this round, shooting a much improved +51 at Southern Hills. Gorecki is the godfather to Steve's kid... so go ahead and connect the dots.

Gorecki - Spring 2016, Jamaican Open - Pebble Creek - 50 over par
It was a tough day for everyone, but Gorecki rode the struggle bus the entire time. After making a par on #2, his dad gave him a shout-out on the leader board, encouraging him to "keep it up." Mike went +46 on the remaining 16 holes. Seven double-pars in total. Zero bogeys or better on the back nine. And yet, he only tied for last (net).

JW - Spring 2015, Faz Match Play - Lexington Oaks - 49 over par
The Dub was actually on a pretty good run in the league, with seven "top 4" finishes in his first 13 tournaments. But this day he had a ton of penalty strokes (mostly OB). Five double-pars, with three 9s... he was +14 on the par 5s alone. Also, being match play, he lost 10&8... the worst result possible. After the turn he went to the parking lot with the intention of going home, but instead bought beer and finished the round. Lately his league results have dramatically improved, with three 2nd place finishes in the last 9 starts.

Darren - Spring 2013, Just the Tips - Pebble Creek - 47 over par
Sure, we played the tips this day, but Pebble Creek's back tees are only 6,400 yards. Darren failed to record a single par, and only had two bogeys on the day. Surprisingly, he didn't even finish last in the tournament. It was also his 2nd ever league event, so he did rebound nicely to go on the most dominant run in league history. Pebble remains one of Darren's worst courses, although he finally broke 90 there last week (on his 5th attempt).

Geoff - Spring 2013, Geoff Skins - Heritage Harbor - 43 over par
Two pars, 5 double-pars... THREE 10s?!? That will raise the score quickly. Just like Darren's worst round (in the same season), Geoff didn't finish last in the event. But he almost bought two pitchers. He also went on to win the Cup in the following spring. Geoff once shot about 130 at El Diablo, but that course shut down and I no longer have the scorecard.

Tall Mike - Spring 2014, Faz Match Play - Plantation Palms - 43 over par
Plantation Palms was a beast of a course, and I'm kinda sad to see it shut down. Mike had 7 double-pars, all on par 4s. Which means he only scored better than an 8 on three of them. But he only lost to Dave 5&4 in his match, thanks to a 28 handicap. Mike has come a long way, and now has a seat at the Champions Dinner.

Big John - Spring 2015, DPT Masters - Cypress Creek  - 43 over par
Cypress Creek destroys everyone. They closed the course for the summer to replace all the greens and allegedly make it easier. I'm looking forward to going back there. John probably isn't. Four double-pars, zero pars, and two pitchers bought after this stinker. Distance isn't everything, as the course is only 5,900 yards. John has only one top 3 finish since this round.

Brendan - Summer 2014, DPT Masters - Waterlefe - 40 over par
You can blame this round on Waterlefe's challenging layout through the Manatee River. Or you can blame his playing partners: Darren who withdrew after some rain and Guest who had about 50 putts on the round (9 on the final two holes). Either way, Brendan was consistently bad throughout, shooting 56-56. It's well past time for Brendan to challenge for a league title. But so far he's had one of the tightest score ranges in our group. And in this case, that's not a good thing.

Reid - Summer 2012, DPT Masters (rd 2) - Turtle Run (Sebring) - 37 over par
Back to our first ever season of stroke play... Reid made his only par on the final hole. The 59 on the front is really the only reason his score was so terrible. And he's much better today, so golfing every week has helped. But Reid should easily have a DPT Cup title by now. Instead, he's just leading the league in children.

Faz - Spring 2013, Tips AND Skins - Pebble Creek & Heritage Harbor - 34 over par
While one of the most skilled players in the league, Faz is also prone to long slumps. Spring 2013 was especially nasty, with 6 of his 10 rounds at gross 95+. In these two rounds combined, Faz only had 3 pars. He also lost to Darren's and Geoff's worst rounds... granted that's due to net scoring. You can safely assume Faz transformed into Mussolini and severely punished his wedges during both of these rounds. It must have worked because he won the Cup the following season.

Gary - Spring 2014, Chandler Classic - Heritage Harbor - 31 over par
His only league round over 100 came on a day when everyone played terribly, mostly due to difficult conditions. The winning scores were net 76! Gary had only two pars on the day, both on par 5s, which is decent for Heritage Harbor. But a 7 on the easy opening hole, followed by an 8 on the easy 2nd hole, set the tone for the day. With both nines in the 50s, he was one shank away from the double pitcher zone. Or, as our league is aptly named... Double Pitcher Territory.

Chandler - Summer 2013, Geoff Skins - Crescent Oaks - 29 over par
The final two holes of this tournament played into 30+ mph wind gusts that seemingly came out of nowhere. Too bad my round blew away long before that, with an opening nine 50. One par and one birdie means I averaged almost a double bogey on the remaining 16 holes. It was the start of a tournament scoring slump that lasted until Summer 2015.

Dave - Spring 2015, DPT Masters - Cypress Creek - 29 over par
It's kind of hard to rip on Dave for this round. It was at a difficult course and he beat two other people (net). But Dave was safely in the points until he just completely imploded on the final three holes, making double-par on all of them. I got to watch him limp across the finish line on 18, and he just looked completely deflated. What is amazing though... this round is 9 strokes higher than his next worse round. If Dave ever plays a full schedule, he's likely to win the title.

Buchert - Spring 2016, Geoff Skins - Heritage Harbor - 28 over par
As one league member remarked after the round: "I've never seen Buchert so drunk on the course." He actually tied this number last week at Pebble Creek. If Buchert's golf game were a stock, you should consider selling it.

5 comments:

  1. There you go...we are now known as the DoublePitcher.com Tour and our logo will be the silhouette of 2 clanking mugs instead of the high-5ing dudes.

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  2. The Double Pitcher Tour, does have a nice ring to it. Great write up! You guys are all terrible golfers

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