The Optimist

[cmill2112]

Anybody qualify this year>

Well i tred to Qualify for the Optimist today and i qualified. There was only 4 spots to qualify and i came in 3. I shot 76. i really didnt play that well but whatever i qualifed. IM going to be playing PGA National the Champion coures. it should be alot of fun.
So has anybody else qualified for it this year and if anybody has played PGA National befor.



Cody

[sean10]

I also qualified today....didn't play great.....but I got the job done....I guess I will be seeing you at PGA National!

 

Sean

[nchladek]

What's the Optimist

[cmill2112]

Its a International Junior golf Champioship. People from around the world come to play in it. Its one of the Biggest tournaments you can play in.

[DRGJR72]

Hey Cmill,

 

Congrats on the good job getting into the Optomist......That is a great acheivement. It is an awesome tourny and you will have a blast.

 

I was a golf pro at PGA National for the better part of 8 years. Worked that tourny almost every year. There are a ton of good players and it is a good time.

 

The weather can be a little touchy, so be prepared for weather delays if they happen. Other than that, the courses are usually in pretty good shape, and being able to play tourny golf on the Championship course is not a bad thing either.

 

If you have any questions feel free to shoot me a pm.

 

Sorry....great job Sean10 as well.....you too will have a blast.

Dan

[VegasGolfer]

I played at Optimist twice and it was two of the best experiences of my life. When i was 13 it was on the Haig course and the Champion course when i was 15. The whole week is awesome. The resort is first class the golf courses are sweet and the competition is really good. The only problem was the weather. The two years i was there we had probably 5 or 6 rain delays. Still an awesome time....

[Sandpiper3]

Congrats on qualifying man, I played our qualifier for CJGA and ended up missing out, i had the lead mostly all throughout the first day playing wit the defending champ of our local tourney who attended the Optimist last year and the tourney fav both trailing me sweating it out on MY home course. As per, I kinda effed it up, but gota take the bad sometimes.

 

Good luck out there man.

[Ditty_72]

I don't know if it's the same tournament but I have a tournament called The Optimist coming up soon. It's a qualifier. It might be to get to the same one you guys are all going to. I moved on when I was 11 (now 17) with a 2nd place finish, then just missed out on making it all way after coming in 3rd at the next leg of qualifying (top 2 advanced). If I would have made it there I would have been at the final tournament which was somewhere in the states. Could be the same tournament. That would be to move on like I did all those years ago :D

[BILL12x]

Congratulations to all that qualified!

 

I am a member and Club Champion at PGA National, (both stroke and match play). I am also a volunteer for Optimists and for AJGA Tournaments that are here.

 

If you have any course questions, I'd be happy to help answer them, as would DRGJR72, who was once a Pro here.

 

Good luck!!

[BILL12x]

For those playing the Champion course - Here are my suggestions to play this course well. I hope it helps. Good iron play is more important than anything on this course, except maybe strategy. Good Luck!

 

Hole

#1 - Position more important than distance. best to leave yourself about 130-140 out.

#2 - Distance is everything. Be careful of left pins. Shoot for the middle.

#3 - Reachable par 5. keep tee shot left. if going for green, don't miss left.

#4 - If you're great form 40-60 yards, bomb driver over bunkers, otherwise hit iron or fairway wood down middle and leave yourself 125-140 in. (Suggested method).

#5 - middle of green.

#6 - Reachable par 5, (was par 4 for Honda), Water left, nasty deep bunkers right, usually best to hit three irons. If you need eagle, or hit it very staight, it's a reachable par 5.

#7 - Long par 3. Green is about 40 yards deep with swale in the middle. avoid bunkers. best miss is left.

#8 Anything short of the water is good with drive. Water starts at about 110 from middle.

#9 Driver left of fairway bunker. Don't miss left.

#10 Reachable par 5, (was par 4 for Honda), Bomb drive over leftside of bunker if you can, or keep it left if you can't.

#11 Keep drive short of the water, (at about 150 from green). Some go left for a shorter approach, but it is not worth the risk. Best to leave 160 to green, all carry. Nasty deep back bunker, but better than water. Add yardage if pin is on the right. Hardest hole on course.

#12 Keep left of right fairway bunker. It sticks out farther than it looks from the tee. If back right pin, don't bite! go for middle.

#13 Leave yourself 120 to 150 from green for best approach. You can get closer if you are driving perfectly. Lots of bunkers and trees if you try to push too much off the tee. Err to the right, as long as it's enough to carry the water. Green is surrounded by deep bunkers. Middle of green only!

#14 Bomb away. Don't be long or left with approach. Avoid bunkers.

Now entering the Bear Trap

#15 Be perfect

#16 Keep drive short of Left fairway bunker. Period. Fairway gets narrower the longer you hit it. Water on right comes in more than you think, or can see from tee. I usually hit iron or utility here and leave myself a longer approach. If you miss fairway, you will have to lay up and still leave yourself 150-155 in.

#17 Be perfect

#18 Keep second shot left for an approach from 110-135, or a longer approach from the right side, short of the water. Plenty of room between sets of bunkers for an approach from 110-135. More room left than you think. Avoid the water right.

[Ditty_72]

Sweet guide. I'm one tournament away from qualifying! I shot a 73 this morning to take 3rd place at a local qualifier, I've got one more in about 2 weeks, and if I get top 2 there (I think it's top 2) I'm in the optimist as well. I wasn't sure earlier if it was for the same tournament, but yeah it is. A friend made it last year, said it was the best experience of his life. Also ,what was really cool for him was that he got to play with Curtis Thompson (I think that's his name), the younger brother of Nicholas Thompson on the nationwide tour, and older brother of Alexis Thompson, the 12 year old who qualified for the US women's open. Me and him are both headed to the next round of qualifying, hopefully things go well there :)

[Jer-Jer]

Yeah one of my friends qualified at Mill Quarter Plantation in Virginia. He played sweet but only shot 72-73...and won by 5. I think he shot like 33-39 and 35-38. He had already been to the Optimist last year so he decided to go to the Big "I" Junior Classic (that day was qualifying for the Optimist and the Big I...you could pick either one). The Big "I" is a bigger tourney anyway.

[jimbonecrusher]

Is the Optimist the same tourney as the Optimist Junior World that I gather used to be held all over La Jolla, CA? If so, I play in it in both '92 and '93. I was awe struck the first year and didn't play well, but the second year I had a bad first round and missed the cut by a few shots. We played the South course and that this can eat your lunch if your not careful. Congratulations on quailifying. Enjoy the time and make sure that you talk with the college coaches while you are there. They are there scouting, so let them know that you are there.

[cmill2112]

yea its the same tourney. now its just played at a different course.

[felsteinb]

I played back when I was 15 or 16 at the PGA National Resort. It's such a great time I would say it's the most memorable experience in golf I have ever had, I will never forget it. Such a nice place to play and relax. You will have a blast!

[Ditty_72]

Ugh, F*CK! F*CK, F*CK, F*CK, F*CK, F*CK, played the worst f*cking round I've ever seen in my life and missed the cut by a mile.... no optimist for me, damn it :cheesy: :tongue:

[Boyle572]

not to toot my own horn but ill be joining you guys this week at the optmist and anyone else the following week at the BIg I

 

....tooot tooot

[BILL12x]

To Boyle and others -

 

I hope the guide I posted on the smartest way to play the Champion course was helpful.

 

Let me know how you did at the Optimist Tournament. I'd like to hear it.

[BridgestoneGolf59]

Thx for the helpful tips they helped on quite a few holes!! Although i didnt do as good as i should have, it was still a blast down there, considering we only had one rain delay!

 

I struggled with the bermuda grass down there as for im from MN and play on way diff stuff,

 

anyways I made the cut and finished t-40th or so.

[teeman2116]

I know this is an old topic, but congrats to all those who qualified.

 

I've been to the Optimist International tournament at PGA National twice and it is amazing. I missed qualifying for this year in a playoff. I still have one more year though.

 

I would like to hear how those who qualified did in the actual tournament at PGA National.