Kreyling Korner – Week 14 – July 22, 2021

THE LIPSMACKER MATCH OF THE WEEK   

I feel like I haven’t “blogged” in forever.  Mike’s kind of on fire and has tons of new material, so I’m going to try step up my game.  The faithful members of the GCCGL need a reason to click on the blog twice in a week!  Overall MOW record stands at 3-2.

Week 14 MOW – Joe “Cousin Joe” Cook vs. Nick “Potter” Duer – If I’m reading the results correctly, Nick Duer is playing in his first match play event since week 7.  That’s a long time without locking horns in the battles of the GCCGL.  Nick comes into the season with an overall record of 1-2-1, averaging 4.3 points a match.  Not exactly the season Nick has wanted following back-to-back championships.  However, Potter has been battling a wrist injury and, if his return to play last week is an indication that his ailments are behind him, he is poised to take the fourth place Ace’s Ventura on a championship run (only 17.5 points out of first).  Cousin Joe on the other hand is amassing a respectable season with a record of 3-2-1 and averaging 5.3 points per match.  His team, Good if Joe Shows, currently sits 25 points out of first place and needs to start an incredible run now if they want a championship trophy. 

GLOSSY PREDICTION – Cook owns the overall record between these two at 6-4.  Of the 10 total matches, 4 of them have been held on the Willows front.  Of those 4 matches, Joe is 3-1.  Joe gets 2 strokes on a course he likes, and Duer is coming off an injury, I like Cook this week.  CJ wins 6-4.

THE KREYLING KORNER

The picture above is of Open (don’t call it the British Open) winner Collin Morikawa.  Morikawa won by 2 strokes with a score of -15 at a windless Royal St. George’s in England.  As I was struggling to come up with content to write for Kreyling Korner this week, Cupcake sent me an article on what a tour pro would shoot at a normal public golf course.  Naturally, I thought about what Mr. Morikawa (or any pro for that matter) would shoot at Kenton County.  The article went on to say that with limited handicap information that is available for tour pros, on average they estimate a tour pro would be a +5.  I know the math isn’t perfect when looking at handicaps, but that means on the Willows, a tour pro would shoot somewhere close to a 67 (-5).

Originally, I thought this was complete BS.  Surely a tour pro could shoot -5 on the front of the Willows.  Walk through the front nine with me here for a second (all yardages are back tees).  Keep in mind the driving average of PGA tour pro is 295 yards.  On average they hit approach shots to about 20 feet from 100 yards out.

• Hole 1 – 392 yards. Average drive, a 100 yards out from the fairway.  Hit two 20 feet, two putt par. Even
• Hole 2 – 154 yards. Again, let’s assume the tee shot goes to about 20 feet – two putt par.  Even
• Hole 3 – 304 yards. Either drive the green, or somewhere close to get up and down. -1
• Hole 4 – 398 yards. This one is tricky with the green being so hilly, so I’m just going to assume a par. – 1
• Hole 5 – 192 yards. This is a tough shot and you might be able to assume a bogey is in play here.  Still I think its middle of the green.  Two putt par. -1
• Hole 6 – 506 yards. This is where I think tour players clean up on a public course.  Bomb a drive, bomb a 3-wood/long iron to be on in two, or around the green.  At a minimum up and down for a birdie. -2.
• Hole 7 – 389 yards. Play out the averages. 295 yard drive, approach shot to 20 feet.  Two putt par. -2
• Hole 8 – 402 yards. Rinse and repeat hole 7.  -2
• Hole 9 – 527 yards. I don’t know what to think of this hole.  For my money it’s the worst hole in the greater Cincinnati area, but again lets assume a tee-shot to the middle of the fairway.  A shot close to the green – up and down for birdie.  -3.

Now, I’m playing the averages on this.  Surely a pro doesn’t par most of the par 4s like I say.  And I’m making an assumption they birdie hole 9, which actually probably isn’t a guarantee because that hole sucks.  Regardless, -5 on a normal course might not be as far off as the article suggests?  Hopefully this spurs some conversation on the 9^th hole tonight.

One other thing to discuss in this week’s Kreyling Korner.  Slow play has been a hot topic in the 2021 season.  More so than I can ever remember.  Most likely people are taking notice because there is a league behind us and they do seem to be waiting quite a bit.  I agree with the Big Donkey’s take – screw ’em.  It’s Kenton County’s fault for trying to cram a league behind us starting at 6:00 PM.  Regardless, it’s no secret that I have always thought our league plays slow (it’s been well documented).  So, I’m trying something new tonight with the tee times.  Each group will have A/Bs and C/Ds.  I want to see if a mix of low and high handicappers balances groups out and at least keeps everyone closer together.  It’s like a science experiment!  Start the timers when you finish 9!  We are going to have a lot to talk about tonight!

Until next week – fairways and greens my friends.