2005 Golf Season Review

[TigerFrank]

With the official golf season coming to an end this is a great time to look back on the season and see how things went. I wrote about 2004 in my old blog at http://clapman.blogspot.com/ and folks seemed to like the write up - so here is a review of 2005.

2005 was an AWESOME golf season. I exceeded my expectations almost across the board and really improved my game. I worked hard to improve so its nice to look back and see all that hard work pay off. My goals for the year were as follows:

 

"Shoot even Par or better (72) at the Plat" - done! I shot a 71 at the Plateau Club on 10/15. Definitely the best round of my life! As a side note, I also shot an even par 70 at the Village Course at Kapalua in Maui.

"Make a hole in 1" - this sadly did not happen. I came within 5 inches on the Par 3 12th hole at the Plat. Other than that I had a couple within 2 or 3 feet but nothing dropped for the elusive ACE. Rick however made his 3rd ace in 3 years on #15 at the Member Guest tournament at the Plateau Club.

"Average 10 greens in regulation per round" - Not sure if I averaged 10 greens in regulation but I definitely hit a lot more greens this year. I had a bunch of rounds where I hit 10 greens or even 11 or 12. I think at the Plat 12 greens was my best.

"Get the handicap down to 2. This one will be the stretch…3 is more likely" - I finished the season with a 2.7 handicap. I would say I accomplished this goal! I started the season with a handicap of 4.8 and to finish with a 2.7 is awesome. I'm very excited about this one as it shows my increased consistency and overall improvement.

"Win 1 tournament at the plateau club (not likely since I’ve never played in one in my life but I’m sure going to try)." - I won 3 times this year at the Plat including the British Open (major) and the season ending Tour Championship. Chris Evans and I also won our flight tournament at the Member/Guest tournament.

Every year is filled with some great shots. Here are a few I want to remember from this great season:

- 4i to 5 inches on #12 at the Plat…so close to an ACE!
- Hitting the first green in 2 shots at the plat when my dad came to visit. I hit a huge drive and then murdered a 2i right at the flag. Missed the eagle and tapped in for birdie.
- 20 footer for birdie on second hole of horse race at the Member/Guest. I had 2 putts to play with knowing that if I made par, Chris and I would advance to the 3rd hole. I hit a great putt and sure enough if went in. Normally a birdie putt isn't a big deal but in such a big tournament with 100 people watching, it was a big deal
- 52* wedge to 3 feet on 4th hole of horse race. This may have been the shot of my life. Member/Guest horserace, Green surrounded, 3 teams left. I have 125 yards to the pin and nuke my 52* wedge right at the flag on #8 at the Plat. It lands and starts rolling along the green towards the hole. Ends up 3 feet, I make the birdie and Chris and I advance to the finals.

Tournament Highlights
I won my first tournament at the Plat in mid-July when I carded a +2 74 to win the British Open. I won by 3 shots.

2 weeks later, Chris and I would win our flight in the member/guest and go on to finish 2nd in the overall tournament. We got to play in the horserace in front of the entire membership. I played the best golf of my life during those 5 holes. I played them 2 under par and we came so close to winning. Definitely one of the best experiences of my golfing life.

The final event of the season was the Tour Championship at the Plat. I really wanted to win this event. I felt like I was playing great and had a great chance. I shot a +6 78 to win.

The 3 wins were coupled with few second place finishes, 1 third and a fourth landed me 9th on the Plateau Club money list. Considering I played in less than half of the events it was a great season. Next year I'll play a full schedule and hopefully finish in the top 3.

Equipment Changes
I made a huge equipment change this year moving to the Ping S59 Tour irons and Ping Tour Wedges. For the previous 2 years I played my Nike Forged Blades and Nike forged wedges but made the change this year to something I hoped would be more forgiving and helpful to my game. 1 year has passed (exactly) since I put them in the bag and I think its been a great year. No plans to change these irons out anytime soon. I am in love with the Tour wedges. I've never been able to spin the ball so much. These wedges saved me a ton of strokes this season.

I also changed balls to the Nike One Platinum. This is the best golf ball on earth. I can do anything with this ball and I've hit so many cool shots to save strokes I would never look back. I lose a bit of distance off the tee with this ball but its worth it for the control around the greens. I haven't seen a better ball out there.

My Buddies
Once again this year was so great because I got to play golf with my buddies. Rick, Chris and Dan were there for almost all the great moments. We had a ton of fun. Playing in the member/member with Rick was a blast (even though we sucked) but we will do better next year. Rick improved a ton this year. He is hitting the ball a mile now and his short game is much improved. More than anything we had so much fun this year - joking, laughing…truly good times.

Playing in the member/guest with Chris was just amazing. He was a great partner and I look forward to us trying to win the title next year (I'm sure there will be significantly more money on us next year).

2006 Golf Goals
I guess its time to come up with some goals for the 2006 season. Here are a few:
1. Win at least one tournament at the Plateau Club
2. Finish in the top 3 on the money list ($500 or more at minimum)
3. Finish the season with my handicap in the 1's.
4. Make a hole in 1.

2005 was an unbelievable golf season. Looking back I can't believe how many great things happened. I worked hard and it payed off. I got to experience some great things at the club and I met a ton of great people. Can't wait for 2006 to get underway.

 

 

http://spaces.msn.com/members/paulclap/