Brian Quackenbush Golf

I’ve started my 2006 donations to the Capital Hospice. 10\% of my current year earnings amounts to $423.75. I hope this is a big year for donations!

Another interesting day at Rock Hill. I shot 72 in the final round…no two shot penalties this time around. However, the day was full of rulings and bizarre shots. My fellow competitor buried his ball into the lip of a bunker just above the sand. It was debateable whether he got relief and we waited about 15 minutes for the ruling (he got relief). I hit a ball so close to out of bounds that three of us had to sight the line for several minutes to determine it was in bounds. About 1/8″ of the ball was in bounds. Me and my fellow competitor both hit flagsticks causing bad bounces…within 3 holes of each other.

Also, I injured my back and shoulder in the 5th fairway. I hit a stock 8 iron and felt something pull. I was in a pretty good amount of pain for the next few holes and it lingered for the rest of the round. I’m taking today and tomorrow off to let the muscle recover.

So, my second round 72 was an improvement, but it still left me a shot out of the money. But, for the first time on the Tar Heel Tour I entered the Shootout. This is a one-day extra event for players who are outside the projected cut after the first round. My score was good enough to tie for first place which earned me $800. So, despite a weird week where I basically missed the cut, I almost broke even financially.

I setup a lesson with Jack Lumpkin for next week. It will be a short one since I feel like my full swing only needs a checkup at this point. My short game and putting are fine.

I had an interesting situation today in the first round at Rock Hill. On the 13th hole (my 4th of the day), I had hit two shots on the par 5 to a perfect layup 59 yards from the flag. It was cut on the front behind a bunker and I needed to spin it a lot to get it close. We were playing lift-clean-place due to the wet conditions. I replaced my ball on a very good lie, took my stance and grounded my club, and then the ball moved. I told my playing partners that my ball moved, marked the ball, moved it again and then hit my shot. I hit it about 8 feet and hit a great putt that lipped out.

Now, I thought that I had proceeded correctly and assumed that I had incurred a one stroke penalty resulting in a bogey six. I was understandably upset since I had just hit 4 great shots on the hole. However, it wasn’t over. I ran into a rules official on the 16th tee and asked if I had actually incurred a penalty since we were playing lift-clean-place. We went through how I proceeded and figured out that I actually made a mistake. I was supposed to replace the ball after it moved and I didn’t. This was an additional two shot penalty, but it’s a situation where the maximum penalty I could incur is two shots. So, I went from lipping out for birdie to double bogey on the hole. At the 16th tee, I figured I had played 6 holes without a mistake and was 3 over par.

Unfortunately, today was a day where things weren’t going my way on the green either. I was hitting good putts on the lines that I read. But, a combination of slight misreads and bumpy greens kept me from making anything. So, I felt like I played well across all aspects of my game, but shot 75.

I’m still encouraged by all aspects of my game and know this was just one of those days. I’m looking forward to bringing it back tomorrow.

I’m in Rock Hill, SC this week playing the Tar Heel Tour event at Rock Hill CC. Unfortunately, the first round was cancelled today due to rain last night and this morning. The event will be shortened to 36 holes tomorrow and Thursday.

I just realized that I never updated the site with the results from the Tar Heel Tour Match Play event. I lost in the third round to an eventual Finalist. I had a difficult start and was 3 down after 4 holes. I won the 10th to get back to 2 down and then birdied 11 and 12. However, my opponent matched my birdies, so I was still 2 down. We halved the 13th and then he made an unbelievable birdie on 14 and another birdie on 15 to close out the match 4 and 3. Despite a poor start, I played the match 2 over par on a difficult course. I felt like I did the right things to get back in the match. But, I give credit to my opponent who birdied 4 of the last 5 holes in the match.

I was happy with every aspect of my performance for the week…I just ran into a very difficult third round match.

Because there are no hole-by-hole stats or final 18 hole scores for my matches, the results section only includes a note about my finish and earnings.

I’m in Hilton Head this week playing the Match Play Championship on the Tar Heel Tour. I’ve made it into the third round which starts tomorrow morning. Of the remaining players, I’ve easily played the most holes. Both matches went into overtime. The first went 19 holes and today went 23 holes. Today was a real roller coaster. I built a 4 up lead after a double Mongolian reversal on 11 (that’s when you win a hole that you don’t seem to have a chance at even tying). Then, for some reason, my brain stopped working on 12 and 13. The 12th is a driveable par 4…not really a difficult shot, but it’s definitely risk-reward. Instead of laying up, making a par and forcing my opponent to get aggressive, I went for the green, hit it in the water and made bogey. Then, on the next hole, instead of hitting a safe 5 iron to the middle of the green, I tried to stuff a 6 iron into a pin fronted by water. The wind caught it and I ended up short giving away another hole. I gave back three of the next 4 holes to actually go one down into the 18th. But, I pulled it together and made a clutch birdie on 18 to force extra holes. I played well in the playoff and eventually finished it off on the 5th extra hole.