2021 – Week 19
We left Barleycorn’s just before 11pm on Thursday. I could’ve sat there for another 3 hours that night. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you’re not coming out on Thursday’s after golf, you’re missing out. There’s been a lot of good conversation and spirited debate lately, and I love it.
It seems as if the majority of league members agree having a sudden death system put in place to eliminate ties is a good thing. NOBODY agrees on how it should be done, but since this will be a huge topic of conversation all winter long, I’m gonna let it go for now. Instead, I’m gonna bring up two other topics that were discussed that I could have debated all night long.
The six guys that showed up to Barleycorn’s (and their heavily scaled back menu) where Goldie, Palamino Nick, Roller, Dahm, Swiper and me (the Big Donkey). First let me say that I’m in no way stating that I’m right and the other five are wrong… to each their own. However, they day I start thinking like they do on a golf course is the day I put a gun in my mouth and pull the trigger.
Goal Setting: This topic came up because I shot a 75 last Sunday. Every time I step on a golf course, I have a number in mind. The number I come up with can depend on a number of things… The course we’re playing and the difficulty of that course. The tee boxes or length we’re playing from. How I’ve been playing or even how good I might feel from a recent range session. The weather can even be a determining factor. It doesn’t matter if it’s stroke play, match play or even a team event. I have a number that I want to shoot and if I don’t achieve that goal, then I’m not generally not happy. I think most can relate to that. Where I lost the guys at the table and what we would not or could not agree on, is that goals can change… that number I choose for any given day can and does change.
If you’re a salesman… and you exceed your yearly goal midway through the 3rd quarter… you don’t get to take the rest of the year off. You re-set the goal or you focus on still meeting or exceeding the 4th quarter goal… right?
Last Sunday, we played at Heatherwoode Golf Club in Springboro, OH. I had never played there before, so I took a quick minute and looked at it on-line before going up. The number I had in mind prior to driving up was a 78. Heatherwoode is a Par 71. That score allowed me 4-over on the front and a 3-over on the back. When we got there, I was surprised to find out that we were only playing from 6,000 yards… much shorter than the tee boxes I assumed we would be playing. At this point, in my head, I adjusted my number down 2 from 78 to 76… allowing me a 3-over on the front and 2-over on the back.
My goal was 76. I shot a 75. I was not happy.
I shot a 1-under 35 on the front 9 that included 3 birdies… so the goal needs to be re-set. Because I was 4 strokes better on the front than I had anticipated… the strokes don’t roll over to the total. I don’t get to shoot 6 over on the back because I shot 1-under on the front. In my mind I still need to shoot no worse than a 2-over 37 on the back. The goal for the round is now a 1-over 72. I was even par through 13 holes. I finished the next 5 holes 5-over par that included 3 straight tee shots I hit out of bounds.
Everyone at that table (besides me) agreed that the 75 I shot should have had me dancing in the streets with joy. They believe that goals should not change and that how you finish has no bearing at all on whether or not a round can be deemed successful. We’ll just agree to disagree. Thank god none of them having anything to do with sales for Prysmian. By the way, the day before Nick shot a 74 by double bogeying the final hole… and he was thrilled.
The second topic discussed was about knowing your score and where your stand in a match. This was more evenly divided between the group, but I’ll never understand not wanting to know your score or not knowing where you stand coming down the stretch. I will (and have) adjust my game based on my score or knowing where I stand against an opponent. If I have a good score going or I’m up several points on my opponent, then maybe I play more conservative over the last hole or two. On the flip-side, there are times I need to find a birdie or two coming down the stretch to hit my goal or come back on an opponent, and I play more aggressive. Why would you not want to know your score? Why would you not want to know if you were winning or losing a match with a hole to go? That thought process is mind-boggling to me, but several at the table have no interested in knowing their score or where they stand until the round is over. One answer was pressure. Not putting unwanted or un-needed pressure on yourself. That’s fine if that’s you. Me… I feel I play better under pressure. If gives me a sense of focus. I love knowing I need a birdie to win… and pull it off. I love the team setting when everyone else has missed the fairway, knowing I need to stripe one down the middle.
Again… I love the debate and I’d love to hear from more you as well. I hope to see everyone out next Thursday after the final scramble…. Which leads me to
TWIG NOTES
The final week is here. The final scramble.
The current standings are as follows:
Rollin’ 60’s: 400.0
Hoping to Tie: 395.0
Dustined to Fail: 379.5
Aces Ventura: 362.0
Good if Joe Shows: 356.5
Designated Drivers: 335.0
Based on the point distribution for this final scramble…
1st Place: 20 points
2nd Place: 17 points
3rd Place: 14 points
4th Place: 11 points
5th Place: 8 points
6th Place: 5 points
ONLY 2 teams have a shot at coming out on Top…. The Rollin’ 60’s and Hoping 2 Tie
Dustined to Fail has 3rd place locked up.
Depending on how each team finishes… Aces Ventura and Good if Joe Shows are fighting between 4th and 5th place.
The Designated Drivers are in 6th place with no hope of finishing higher.
If (Big IF) the Rollin’ 60’s finish either 1st or 2nd in the final scramble or finish no further than 1 spot behind Hoping 2 Tie, then they will win the title.
Hoping to Tie’s path to the title is simple… It doesn’t matter where you finish as long as it’s 2 spots higher than the Rollin’ 60’s.
Points Leaders (FINAL)
Dahm: 81.0 ($20.00 Winner)
Morell: 80.5
Ethridge: 80.0
Points per Match Leaders (FINAL)
Nill: 6.04
Kreyling: 5.96
Almeida: 5.95
Win Percentage Leaders (FINAL)
Nill: 0.833 ($20.00 Winner)
Kreyling: 0.792
Ethridge: 0.750
Morell: 0.750
Wins Leaders (FINAL)
Nill: 10
Ethridge: 10
Dahm: 10
Money Leaders (current)
Freeman: $58.66
Nill: $45.34
Goldenberg: $45.33
*there could possibly be a big shift in the Money leaders depending on 1st, 2nd and 3rd place payouts as well as the closest to the pin competition this Thursday.
The Low Net Winners were
A/B – Goldenberg, Harris and Nixon (37)
C/D – Freeman (35)
The MVP Race
I’ve always thought an MVP, while certainly having a fantastic individual season, was as much about being the best player on the best team, and since this is an arbitrary award, it will be interesting to see what others think about who should take home the title this year.
At the halfway point Mike Morell was the favorite. At the time he was the best player on the 1st place team.
Other players under consideration at the time were Mike Ethridge, Dahm and Ollie. By week 15, Kurt Kreyling, Jason Nill and even John Rayburn were being mentioned.
And now, with only the final scramble left… I’m down to two possibilities.
First let me tell you who’s out (and why).
If the Rollin’ 60’s finish with the team title, they still don’t have anyone worthy of the MVP. Rayburn and Almeida have both had really good seasons but not as good as others on the list. I led the league in wins (6) and points (41) over the last half of the season, but the 1st half was so bad, I cannot be considered. Joe Eiser had a good 1st half, but was not as sharp during the 2nd half.
Ollie led Dustined to Fail in total points, but even though he played more matches, he was behind 2 of his teammates (Nill and Kreyling) in Wins, Win% and Points per match. So Ollie’s out.
Kreyling had a great season, but was also edged out by his teammate, Jason Nill. On the final night, Nill moved ahead of Kreyling in total points, points per match, wins and winning percentage (by 0.08 points).
Leininger, although having led the league in total points and tied for wins… comes up just short because he played in more matches. He did not compare to the others in points per match or winning percentage. Dahm, in my opinion, is the Rookie of the Year.
Mike and Mike are in serious consideration. Their stats are almost indistinguishable.
Morell was 9-2-2 with 80.5 points and averaging 5.75 points per match.
Ethridge was 10-3-1 with 80 points and averaging 5.71 points per match.
If (Big IF), Hoping 2 Tie beats the Rollin’ 60’s Thursday for the title, then I think they’ve done enough to earn the “Co-MVP” award… especially when you consider they had to drag Pete’s ass (2-6-4) into the winner’s circle.
The other option is Nill. At the end of the day, in my opinion, Jason had the best season. He finished tied for 1st in Wins. He led the league in winning percentage and he led the league in points per match just edging out Kreyling. There’s also a really good chance Nill finishes with his GCCGL leading 5th money title.
So, for my MVP desert, I am down to either M&Ms or Cupcake.
Final Thought
The last time we played the back of the Willows I wrote this.
“The stat the stands out to me though is that out of 189 holes of golf played Thursday not a single birdie was carded. I couldn’t find evidence of that ever happening before in the 26 years of the GCCGL. I didn’t look long – but I did look”.
Well guess what… This week on the back of the Willows… Not a single birdie was carded (again).
Until next week…
Golf is Hard.
If it were easy, it’d be called “your mom”.
Big Donkey
