2019 Golf Association of Philadelphia Major Schedule

[Noles]

Looks like they really regionalized divisions B-E...which is a great move. Also Division D has 32 sections which is not the norm. Not sure why they did that unless it was to be able to regionalize in which case it was brilliant.

 

GAP eliminated Division F which had 28 teams last year and added new member clubs:

Hershey (two teams)

West Shore (two teams)

Atlantic City

Bon Air

Carlisle

Chambersburg

Elmhurst

Foxchase

Frosty Valley

CC of Harrisburg

Irem

Lebanon

Olde Homestead

Out Door

Pocono Farms

RiverWinds Golf & Tennis Club

Scranton Canoe Club

Scotland Run

Scranton Municipal

Westwood

Wyncote

I saw that but now Division E is just the new Division F. Im guessing they made D so big just to be able to continue regionalize. Going forward it will be interesting to see how they handle these clubs. Most of those clubs would be a nightmare to have in your section.

 

Unless they change the rules, that will be an issue next year. They placed most of the new clubs in Division C, Section1 to 5. The winners of those sections will move to B next year and as of now they do not regionalize in AA, A and B.

They definitely regionalized B this year. AA and A were the only ones that went by the rules.

[ZBUCK]

Anyone qualifying for the mid-am at Olde Homestead?

[Drudersh]

Anyone qualifying for the mid-am at Olde Homestead?

 

I signed up but switched out when I realized it was 2 hours from my house and I'd be gone all day the next day for a GAP Match. Now signed up for Coatesville.

[Benzo]

North Hills qualifying here...hoping to make it 2/2 there!

[Noles]

Hopefully the weather is not too bad on Sunday for the first GAP matches. I fell to team 4 this year. The regionalizing of the sections brought out more players at my club this year.

[Drudersh]

The forecast isn't promising. Looks like the further south you are the better your chances of getting it in. Of course I'm headed up to Berks county where it looks more tenuous.

The regionalizing actually did the opposite for us, we're having trouble fielding our 4th team because no one wants to go and play clubs so close that they've already played or have no interest in playing.

[TUGolfer06]

Anyone who is playing in the GAP Matches at the CC of Scranton on Sunday will be doing so on a composite course. The routing will be Falls 2-9; Pines 2, 3 and 4; Willows 13, 14, 12 then Pines 5, 6, 7 and 8. Several of the Old Course greens are recovering from minor winter damage.

 

[Drudersh]

The regionalization of divisions B-E led to some lopsided results yesterday. Ton's of scores in the 40's leading their section. I can't remember it being like this in the past. There's always a few teams that get blown out of the water but it seems to be the norm as opposed to the exception for 2019.

[Noles]

I think the regionalization also brought out more players at certain courses.

[Drudersh]

I just ran the numbers quickly. For week 1 of 2019, there were 9 teams that hung up at least 48 points on their opponent, 3 of those scores were 50 points or higher. For 2018 there were 3 teams that put up 48 or more, with 2 of those scores being an even 50 and 1 score of 48.

I know this will work itself out in a year or two with re-shuffling, but that is rough. At a quick glance it appears worse if you lower the bar for a "blowout" win to something like 42-44 points which really is probably closer to what should be considered a severely lopsided victory in this format.

[Noles]

Speaking from the viewpoint of someone who plays down in the lower levels where most of those blowouts occurred, no one really cares about the results down there. It's all about what courses we get to play. I would rather play a desirable course that is nearby than be asked to drive over an hour to play a course that I have no desire to play. Even if that means my team gets blown out. My club is now considering a 5th team since participation was so high this year and many of the people I talked to about it sited the convenience of the matches this year. I hope the regionalization in the lower levels continues.

[Noles]

Some intriguing matches Sunday in the final week of the GAP matches. My home club needs some help but its not out of the question that they could win their section and get a challenge match into AA. I guess the LuLu/Cricket match is the one that everyone will be paying attention to. I think LuLu has a real chance.

[Drudersh]

We played LuLu 1 a couple of years ago. I played #1 away, shot 68 and managed a half point out of it. My partner and I scratched out the better ball and he won his match and we ended up taking 5 points in the first group out. We thought we might have a chance but ended up getting absolutely hammered. That team is so deep and now they've added Ault and Feld as well. Should be a great match.

 

If we can scratch out a win on Sunday we should draw a favorable AA challenge match given how many points we've racked up in the first couple of weeks. Hopefully the weather holds off and conditions are playable.

[Noles]

So LuLu pulls the upset and beats Cricket 1. So since Cricket 2 is in the playoff, can guys from Cricket 1 play for that team? I was looking at the rules and it seemed like it gets based on handicap and some guys can but I guess that would be up to the club. I'm sure when writing the rules, this scenario was not considered.

[rahatbmc]

> @Noles said:

> So LuLu pulls the upset and beats Cricket 1. So since Cricket 2 is in the playoff, can guys from Cricket 1 play for that team? I was looking at the rules and it seemed like it gets based on handicap and some guys can but I guess that would be up to the club. I'm sure when writing the rules, this scenario was not considered.

 

I suspect that GAP will apply the rule for the Challenge matches to the Playoffs:

_Clubs with Second or Lower Team Involved in Challenge. If your second, third or fourth team has a Challenge Match, then the course handicaps of the players involved must not be lower than that of the lowest Course Handicap player to participate on that team during the three weeks of the BMW GAP Team Matches.

 

_

The highest handicap on Team 1 was -1 and the lowest handicap on Team 2 was also -1. There were three -1s that played matches for both Team 1 and 2

 

 

 

[Drudersh]

> @Drudersh said:

> Full schedule has been posted including qualifying locations for losers like me who aren't exempt this year.

>

>

>

> Mid-Amateur - Olde Homestead Golf Course - never heard of it but from the hole by hole it looks like the hardest golf course in PA (4/13)

>

> Coatesville Country Club - I haven't played it for a few years but I remember a mix of truly great holes and really bad holes (4/23)

>

> North Hills - Never played it but have heard it's tight and short (4/30)

>

> Elmhurst Country Club - Never heard of this one either but google tells me its up in Scranton (5/1)

>

>

>

> Am Qualifying - Hartefeld National - Good layout, fun course, heard they were having a lot of trouble with conditions last year (5/7)

>

> Glenmaura - Never played it, hear it's awesome but it's a hike, north of Wilkes-Barre (5/9)

>

> Brookside (Allentown, not Pottstown) - Have never played or heard anything about it. Hole by hole is uninspiring (5/18)

>

> White Manor - Awesome course, one of my favorites, will probably be the venue most of the better players choose (5/20)

>

>

>

> Open Championship - Golden Oaks - All around decent course, always seems to give up crazy low numbers in qualifying (6/19)

>

> Wyoming Valley - Played a GAP match there a while ago, this is Tillinghast's **** of a layout. Also in Scranton (7/1)

>

> Bluestone - Very average course, on the tighter side but not bad overall (7/1)

>

>

>

> Patterson Cup - Great Bear - Never heard of it, hole by hole looks pretty cool though. Poconos course and looks tight (7/23)

>

> Green Valley - Co-host of the AM last year, supposed to be good but I haven't played it (7/24)

>

> Riverton - Never heard of it but the hole by hole looks really, really good. Might be worth checking out (7/25)

 

What is it about Golden Oaks that it gets eaten up in these qualifiers? They seem to host one every year and every year the numbers are stupid low. I've played it and didn't find it to be that hard but certainly not that easy either. With 27 spots available for the Open it looks like the cut is going to be even par at worst. Unreal.

[Noles]

My son qualified for the Patterson Cup. Very excited for him. Heard great things about Applebrook. Saw on the GAP site that they are not allowing practice rounds? WTF? Why have a tournament like this at a place that won't allow practice rounds? Kind of puts a damper on the excitement of playing the tournament.

[Drudersh]

> @Noles said:

> My son qualified for the Patterson Cup. Very excited for him. Heard great things about Applebrook. Saw on the GAP site that they are not allowing practice rounds? WTF? Why have a tournament like this at a place that won't allow practice rounds? Kind of puts a damper on the excitement of playing the tournament.

 

Congrats! That's very exciting for him. Applebrook is a wonderful course and I'm sure he'll enjoy it.

 

I'm always disappointed when they won't allow a practice round for one of their majors but this is kind of becoming a rule as opposed to the exception. There were no practice rounds for the Pat Cup last year at Gulph Mills, or the Amateur when they held it at Cricket and nothing when they did the Am at Merion either. It makes it tough if you've never seen the course. Applebrook does have a caddy program, and I'd suggest calling up ASAP to reserve one of their guys. The course is definitely not right there in front of you on some holes and it's crucial to know where to hit it off the tee.

[C-Law]

Does seem to be trending in that direction. Even the Riverton qualifier did not have practice rounds through GAP, although I would think its really just a matter of what the club decides to do. Gulph Mills did have practice rounds for the Mid-Am they held there back in '14 (i think that was the year), although I did actually have someone drive up to me on the course and asked my name mid round - so seems they swung the other way for last years Pat cup.

 

As Drudersh mentioned, an Applebrook caddy certainly would help if no chance for a practice round before the tournament. Since Applebrook is walking only, their caddies are way more than bag carriers, and can help guide you around. Dan the caddie master there is great and can help you out.

 

 

[Noles]

I took the advice and called the caddymaster and reserved a caddy. Hopefully it works out well. It will be his first round with a caddy since I caddied for him in US Kids tournaments over 4 years ago.

[Noles]

Good news: My son went to the qualifier for the AJGA open at DuPont CC on Monday and qualified his way into the tournament. Bad news: He had to withdraw from the Patterson Cup. Sucks that they conflicted but at age 15, he had to choose the AJGA open.

[dmecca2]

> @Noles said:

> Good news: My son went to the qualifier for the AJGA open at DuPont CC on Monday and qualified his way into the tournament. Bad news: He had to withdraw from the Patterson Cup. Sucks that they conflicted but at age 15, he had to choose the AJGA open.

 

AJGA is definitely the way to go. It seems to be the only way to get noticed by college coaches outside of usga events.