My best round ever

[Doug Sobieski]

So where did you go, Stetson?  Or was it Rollins?  He was a few years behind me.  I played with him a few times.  He was pretty solid.  

Stetson. He works for the US Bank Championship in Milwaukee now, after many years working for the Brewers. I'm sure you'll agree that he had a FUNKY golf swing! He pioneered the double overlap long before Furyk.

Would the women forego a beer rather than drop their pants, or would they join in your "fun".

[Eric Smith]

Well played, Chris.

I'm guessing I'm the only poster who's lowest score came in a foursome where the other three members were born and raised in Curve, Tennessee (named after a curve in the Illinois Central RR).

A dozen to fifteen years ago we're holding a rare family reunion.   Me, dad and his two brothers - a virtual Hee Haw gang, in a cartball game at Rolling Hills CC, a converted cotton field in Ripley, Tennessee stretched to 6000 yards over nine holes played from two sets of tees.  The three stooges don't break ninety, yet I post a 68 notwithstanding a bogey at the last.  

Mike

Well played Kalen oops wrong thread.

Well played Mike!

[David Stamm]

Before my game went downhill from breaking my hand, I shot 77 from the tips at Torrey Pines (pre-Rees) the day after the final round of the Buick in '98. I've shot a few times a little lower, but this is my sole highlight from a scoring standpoint. But I've shot lots of 66's in my mind as I've dozed off to sleep!

[jonathan_becker]

A friend of mine made a 13 on the first hole of a junior tournament when we were sophomores or so in high school and shot 76....that must have been a great feeling...

Along those lines but not quite as good....me in dallas in '98 for a junior tourney.  83 with 16 pars.  Bogey on #1....8 straight pars....14 on #10....8 straight pars.  83.

Hole #10 was a 340 yd par four where I was trying to lay up with a 2 iron.  Wind was left to right at 20-30 mph.

2 iron - OB right, 2 iron - OB right, 2 iron OB right.  Now I'm hitting 7 and Im pissed. I grab driver and hit it 40 yds short of the green.  I blade shot 8 OB long into a street.  Drop 10 and fat it into a bunker. Hit it to 20 feet and three putt.  14.

I just tried to kill the ball the rest of the round and somehow parred the last 8 holes.  My playing partners were in disbelief and when I signed my card, the scoring table thought there was a mistake.  Sorry, no mistake!   

Best round ever was at Shaker Run in 2003 - 64 from the tips with a ball OB.

76 with a 13 is amazing!

[Chris Wirthwein]

Congrats, Chris...you did it! That 18th at Sahm is a tough one. As you no doubt know, Sahm Park (formerly Northeastway) is the lone Alice Dye solo design in the world.

I have a 69 and a few 71s, my most recent at Crooked Stick (first time under par there after a handful of 72s). It was with clients (not ordinarily the ideal situation for scoring) and not one of them had any clue I had a shot a good score -- and I never mentioned it. It just didn't seem important. Most golfers (me included) have trouble thinking beyond their own score, don't they?

My "best" is probably the 75 at Pine Valley a couple of years ago in my first of two rounds there. I listened to my caddie the whole way around and pretty much hit the shots and putts where he told me. Even snaked in a long one on 18 for birdie and what I believed got me somewhere close to breaking 80. I was having so much fun that I completely forgot my score and was delighted to discover it added up to 75. The next day I three-putt bogeyed 18 for a 76...which was just as much fun as the day before.

Is this a great game or what?

[Alex Miller]

It's funny how "best" doesn't equate to score all the time. My best score is a 66 on Los Verdes, my local, but my best was actually in competition. I shot a 70 at North Ranch GC in a local qualifier for the U.S. Open. My first and only attempt. Got me through to my next round where I played behind Jason Gore (the big name in the event) and had a different experience. I was +7 thru 12 and had nothing close to my normal game. Then I birdied 4 of the last 6 to shoot 75. Weird day. But considering the people watching and the course setup my two toughest tests might be my "best" rounds. Maybe the tougher the course and the more at stake, the more we concentrate!

[Wade Whitehead]

I like reading threads like this.

Among my memorable rounds: A 67 in a steady rain with 35 putts.

WW

[Sam Sikes]

I made 7 consecutive 3's on the front 9 at Kinloch in the Member-Member last weekend.  That was neat.

We won.

[Emil Weber]

-3 69 at a local "who hits it the farthest" course (worst course I've ever played but I keep returning to improve my handicap) but the best round was a -1 71 at Rustic Canyon

[Sean_A]

My best round as a tax paying adult was a 69 at Tenby in 20-25 mph winds back in 2000.  I had six 3s and a 2 and didn't make a putt all day with the blowing me about.  I have never come close to knocking down that many flags in a day since.  I also had a double after driving into a rather nasty lie in a hidden bunker.  The kicker is my net 60 lost in a count-back to a guy who shot 29 on the back!  He had two eagles.  Heavy sigh.

Ciao

[Scott Sander]

Congrats, Chris...you did it! That 18th at Sahm is a tough one. As you no doubt know, Sahm Park (formerly Northeastway) is the lone Alice Dye solo design in the world.

Say wha...?
I grew up understanding that to be a Pete/Alice collaboration.  If that's not correct, the story gets considerably more interesting.  What more do you know?

FWIW, I think 12 and 18 are outstanding holes.

And a belated congrats to Chris!  (In 2007 I stood on Sahm's 16th tee at +5 and failed -spectacularly- to bring it home in what would have been my first sub-80 round.  Grrr....)

[Trent Dixon]

My best two rounds weren't actually my lowest score, or even my best in relation to par, shot 66 first player to tee of, first group of the first round of the state amateur a few years ago, hitting every green in regulation and missing 5 putts inside 6 feet (I wonder why I'm using the dreaded long putter now???) and a 71 in a howling northerly at Victoria GC just after a Vic open in the late 90's. (before Mike Clayton took to it with a chain saw) Greens running at a stupid speed, the course playing so firm and so fast anything off line kept going straight into the tea tree. Lowest score was an 8 under 62 at the course I grew up on, Wynnum in Brisbane.

[Steve Kline]

These are great stories to read. Here are mine:

1. Shot 64 (-7), which at the time was the course record, in the first round of the Cincinnati Metropolitan Championship just after my freshman year of college. I had broken in a tournament for the first time about a month prior in a college tournament. I started the day with three birdies and six one putts. I birdied three of the par 3s, two of them from inside a foot. I was -7 through 14 holes and heard someone following the group say he might shoot the course record. My dad was caddieing and told them to be quite. I hit inside 10 feet twice in the last four holes but lagged the putts because I didn't want to make a bogey. For the day I made 7 birdies and 11 pars.

2. The same summer as above I played in the Southeastern Am. I parred the first 17 holes. On 18 I hit it to 20 feet. I was playing with Nicklaus' youngest son and as we walked to the green he said "Don't worry if you miss this because you will have done something you will probably never do again." I missed the putt and finished the round with 18 pars.

3. At my club's member-member I shot 65 (-7), which is still the course record I think, the second day to bring our team back from the middle of the pack to second place by less than half a shot (they didn't round off the handicaps). And, I missed a 3-footer for birdie on the 5th hole that would have won it for us. My partner and I split $1,800 bucks that day.

4. Two years ago I shot 64 (-7) at my new home club, missing the course record by 1. I made 5 straight 3s in the middle of the round. And, if you saw those holes (which I typically play +2 to +4) you'd be quite impressed.

5. Had a four round stretch two years ago that was 66, 67, 68, 67. If Shivas could have putter for me one of the 67s would have been 63 or so. I didn't think I would ever shoot over par again.

6. Shot -2 from the tips at Spyglass when it was revealed on the third tee that one of caddies bet my caddy lunch that I wouldn't break 80.

[Andrew Mitchell]

My best round is a 1 over par 73 at Silloth on Solway earlier this year.

It was in a stableford competition so I returned 42 points (equivalent to 6 under handicap).  I was somewhat deflated to find that I was only second, the winner returning 43 pts off a 15 handicap

[Brad Tufts]

Update to my over-eager post #5 or so on this thread:

Shot a 67 on my home course this summer, thought I'd never fare better after finally beating the three 68s I had over several years.

Until the next day, when I shot 66.  I even had a bogey in there!

Our course record was lowered this year to 64, so something to shoot for.....

[Scott Warren]

These are great stories to read. Here are mine:

2. The same summer as above I played in the Southeastern Am. I parred the first 17 holes. On 18 I hit it to 20 feet. I was playing with Nicklaus' youngest son and as we walked to the green he said "Don't worry if you miss this because you will have done something you will probably never do again." I missed the putt and finished the round with 18 pars.

How'd that feel afterwards? Stoked that you had such a great ballstriking round? Or a let-down feeling of what could have been?

[Carl Nichols]

Some great scores here!

My best score was a 70 (-1) when I was 16.  Unfortunately it was downhill from there even in high school, and these days I'm pretty happy with my 4.whatever index.  

[Scott Warren]

When I was about 20 I was -4 after five holes in a medal at my club, playing off a hcp of 10. I turned -2 and held that until we trudged onto the 14th tee to see two other groups on the tee, two in the fairway and one on the green. We sat there for more than 40 mins before the fairway was clear for us to tee off and I finished bogey, par, bogey, par, bogey to shoot +1 and have not looked like going under par since. I've had a few +3 or +4 rounds since then, but they have usually involved a great finish.

[Sean Eidson]

Lots of incredible scores and neat stories here.  Makes me worried for my wallet if I ever make it to one of these events.

I wouldn't post except for the fact that I shot my best score ever on Saturday, an 85 at my home course.  My handicap has been steadily going down from 22.1 a year ago to 15.3 today.  I got to share my round with a couple of very good women who played from the same tees I did (6700 yards, 71.7/128 for men).  I think I beat them, but it was very close and took closing par-par-par as they tired at the end of the round.

But my best "round" was a preview of Old Mac this summer where we threw away the scorecards because the wind was blowing 40+ and the course wasn't even rated.  I was playing with Grant Rogers as my partner and he made a two putt birdie to seal our victory...from 160 yards.  It was just a magical day of golf discovering that course in those conditions, with wonderful company and the ability to explore the place because we had it all to ourselves.

[Bill Brightly]

I've had lower rounds at my home course, but the best round I ever played was at the Garden City Mens Club.

I bought a thresome in a charity auction and had never played there before. The member (whom I had never met) liked to gamble so I ended up in the biggest nassau of my life.

I was really nervous, but the greens were SO good, every putt I looked at seemed to go EXACTLY where I read it. I was a 7 handicap and lighting it up, I later learned that member was grumbling to his partner (my friend )that I was a sandbagger! I came to the last hole, par 3 over water with my knees shaking, and I made a par for 70, at the time my first ever 70. I forget how much I won, but it made a dent in what I paid for the round!

[tlavin]

When I was a 20 handicapper in 1992 (now a 9),  I shot 84 at Shoreacres in a pro-am.  We played nine holes with Tom Purtzer and nine with Fred Couples.  One of my playing partners had incurable cancer at the time.  He shot 76 and was dead several weeks later.  That tops any of the four rounds in which I had a hole-in-one or any of the sub-80 rounds that I've had.

[Niall C]

My best round is a 1 over par 73 at Silloth on Solway earlier this year.

It was in a stableford competition so I returned 42 points (equivalent to 6 under handicap).  I was somewhat deflated to find that I was only second, the winner returning 43 pts off a 15 handicap

Its always a bugger when you find out someone else is a bigger bandit than you are !

Seriously Andrew, having been a member there for a number of years I know how good a score that is, well done.

Niall

[Jud_T]

Terry,

I shot one of my best rounds at Shoreacres last year primarily by holing out on # 11 and draining a 60 ft. putt through the swale on the biarritz.  Must be a dogtrack 

[JR Potts]

While not my lowest scores ever - my favorites:

I shot 67 at Whistling Straits three weeks ago with a 31 on the back side.  More importantly, I had two vodka lemonades and three beers on the back side.  Payed with three great guys and good friends.

Second best round was my 70 at Riviera with a 31 on the back side (Birdie, Eagle, Birdie, Birdie, Birdie - 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th).  More importantly, I had 7 Amstel Lites on the back side.  Was playing with my old boss and two friends/sandbaggers from Dallas and Phoenix who had us down $200 on the front nine when I barely had $200 to my name.   We won a lot on the back nine.

I think there is a trend...but one that I can't possibly keep up for both my physical health and marriage.    That said, both rounds were rounds where I never thought of my score, never thought about "ruining my round" with a bogey etc....it was just fun.

[Steve Kline]

These are great stories to read. Here are mine:

2. The same summer as above I played in the Southeastern Am. I parred the first 17 holes. On 18 I hit it to 20 feet. I was playing with Nicklaus' youngest son and as we walked to the green he said "Don't worry if you miss this because you will have done something you will probably never do again." I missed the putt and finished the round with 18 pars.

How'd that feel afterwards? Stoked that you had such a great ballstriking round? Or a let-down feeling of what could have been?

At the time probably disappointing but now I think it's pretty cool. I almost did again a few weeks ago in the Cincinnati Mid-Amateur. I parred the first 14, bogeyed 15 and parred the last 3. I think the total feet of putts I made was about 36. Extremely disappointing so I'm sure I was disappointed back then.