[Michael J. Moss]

Kudos to Patrick.

A solid performance among the 55 and older crowd. I have a great deal of respect for the guys who can still compete, and this is from someone (me) who barely missed qualifying for the US Senior Am by a mere 12 strokes! Trust me, when the MGA comes in to set up these courses, they take no prisoners. At this event, 2nd place was 4-over par, and as they say, these guys can play.

[JESII]

Especially when you consider Pat has grandchildren eligible for the Mid-Am...

[PThomas]

congrats Patrick!

[David Stamm]

To paraphrase Nicholson, "Pat, you make me want to be a better man, er, golfer."


Well done, Mr. Mucci!

[John Keenan]

Congrats Mr Mucci

[Steve Kline]

Congrats Pat. I really hope I can compete at that level at that age.

[Robert Emmons]

Pat,well done. How was Preakness Hills recieved by the players and what were the conditions? What are oyur thoughts on the 3-5-3 finish?...RHE

[Bill Brightly]

Very well done Pat!

Your truly,

Hands of Stone

ps, do think the Met made it a hard set up?

[Jerry Kluger]

Congrats Pat - what can I say, all of us old guys envy you.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Kudos to Patrick.

A solid performance among the 55 and older crowd. I have a great deal of respect for the guys who can still compete, and this is from someone (me) who barely missed qualifying for the US Senior Am by a mere 12 strokes! Trust me, when the MGA comes in to set up these courses, they take no prisoners. At this event, 2nd place was 4-over par, and as they say, these guys can play.

Mike,

Thanks for the kind words.

There's something about competition, especially tournament golf that's quite unique.

It's hard to explain, but, it's really quite different from competitive rounds with your friends or fellow club members.

At close to 68, I was one of the "older" guys in an event full of old guys.

The fellow who won was impressive.
He's got a great swing, hits the ball well and long, and has a good short game.

In the first round, despite hitting 15 greens I didn't have one birdie, three putted from 10 feet on # 2 and had three other bogies including one on a par 5.  For whatever the reason I found myself on the wrong side of almost every hole, having either downhill or sidehill putts, and on fast/firm greens, you have to putt defensively to avoid quick three putss.

In the second round I three putted the 1st and 6th, and was very sloppy off the tee, arriving at the 8th hole at 6 over par.
Fortunately, I was able to play the last 11 holes in 1 under despite two more bogies.

Not playing in competitive events more often hurt.
One gains a competitive edge with repetitive tournament play.

All in all it was a terrific event with guys who just love to play golf and have a good time.

[GBoring]

Pat,

I was John O'Keefe's assistant about 6 years ago when the Met Senior Open was held at Preakness Hills.  Do you feel that the work that Ron Forse and Jim Neagle did at the club has made the golf course more difficult?  If I can remember that far back the conditions for that event were also fairly fast/firm.  But as a hole is the golf course more difficult since the renovation.  I have not had a chance to play it since I left in 2004. 

By the way, Great Tournament. 

[Patrick_Mucci]

Pat,well done.

How was Preakness Hills recieved by the players and what were the conditions?

All of the players  who I spoke with raved about the golf course.
They loved its "sportiness" and the conditions.
The greens weren't lightning fast, as they can get, but, they were pretty fast and very firm.
The rough, like most rough in the Northeast was very difficult.
They didn't play all the holes from the tips, like # 1, # 4, # 6 and # 15 which can be very long, but, from the tips on the rest of the holes and back far enough on those four I listed.
The hole locations were fairly benign, especially in the final round, which surprised me.

The golf course is fun to play.  Tees close to the previous greens, 14 direction changes, doglegs left and right, uphill and downhill holes and great diversity in the four par 3's ( 130, 155, 180 and 210), all of the par 5's can be reached, but, with varying degrees of peril.

The wind was a factor for the tournament, especially on the second day when it was stronger and out of the Northeast, which is unusual as it usually comes from the west.

What are oyur thoughts on the 3-5-3 finish?...RHE

I like it, especially when you consider them in relation to the preceeding holes.

Par is:     4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 3, 4, 3, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 5, 3.
But, the way those holes are placed on the terrain is terrific, especially with all the creeks that parallel and or bisect the fairways to act tactically and functionally to keep the course dry.

# 16 usually plays at about 190 into a prevailing breeze to a green flanked left and front right by difficult bunkers.
    The green is sloped pretty good, back to front with the left shoulder elevated from the flanking bunker.
     It's a challenging green to putt or chip to due to its pitch

# 17 is a dogleg, 500 with OB left and a creek bisecting the fairway in the short DZ with bunkers at the long angle of the dogleg.
       A good size fairway buner is about 90 yards short of the green with the green flanked by bunkers, with a maze ike depression short left
       of the green.  The green has nice slope and gentle contour.

# 18 is about 140 yards downhill over water to a two tiered green fronted directly by the water and flanked by a
        horseshoe structure of bunkers.  The two tiered green has about a 2-3 foot differential, with the back tier being
        very difficult to hit.  That green also has a good deal of back to front slope.
        The scorecard yardage is a fooler.
        The wind is a major factor as the tee sits up high and the fronting pond offers no impediment to a good breeze

[Patrick_Mucci]

Pat,

I was John O'Keefe's assistant about 6 years ago when the Met Senior Open was held at Preakness Hills. 

Do you feel that the work that Ron Forse and Jim Neagle did at the club has made the golf course more difficult? 

Yes.
Modest length was added, but, more importantly, a good deal of putting surface was reclaimed, allowing for more tactical locations.

But, additional bunkering probably contributed most to the difficulty.

A new left side fairway bunker that juts far out into the fairway on # 4 is a material factor, as is the bunker short and left of the 5th green, right in the second shot landing area on the par 5 5th hole.

# 7 has a new bunker about 40 yards short of the green which prevents run ups from the left side of the DZ.
Since the right side of the DZ has a creek running parallel to the fairway and OB to the right of the creek, golfers tend to favor the left side off the tee..... enter the bunker left and short of the green.

On # 9 a bunker about 40-65 yards short left of the par 5, in the second shot landing zone makes a big difference.
It's a difficult bunker to recover from, to a two tier green flanked by bunkers with disaster long.

On # 11, two big, long bunkers were added to the left flank of the DZ with large mounds added to the right.
From a pushover, this hole remains short, but capable of producing big numbers.

# 13 was softened considerably.
I argued vigorously against altering the green, but was outvoted.
If the vote was taken today, my position would win, unanimously, or maybe 24-1.

# 14 had a bunker added short, right of the green, thus approaches must be aerial to right side hole locations, or, long putts or bunker shots will be required.  The existing bunkering in the left DZ was enlarged.

# 17 had a bunker added about 80-100 yards short right of the green and deep trenches short left of the green.

In total, the course is more difficult


If I can remember that far back the conditions for that event were also fairly fast/firm.  But as a hole is the golf course more difficult since the renovation.  I have not had a chance to play it since I left in 2004. 

By the way, Great Tournament. 

[ed_getka]

Well done Patrick.

[Robert Emmons]

Thx Pat,

We had two old boys from Huntington play and both raved about the course and conditions.I am sure the Met thanks the club for the hospitality of all the members for hosting the event. ..RHE

[Jerry Kluger]

Pat: It sounds like the routing dictated the length of the holes - do you think today's architects would use the same routing or would they feel it necessary to avoid back to back par 5s and a 3-5-3 finish? 

[Patrick_Mucci]

Pat: It sounds like the routing dictated the length of the holes - do you think today's architects would use the same routing or would they feel it necessary to avoid back to back par 5s and a 3-5-3 finish? 

Jerry,

I really couldn't say how today's architects would route the golf course especially with the number of waterways, streams, creeks and ponds that populate the site.

The 10th has always been a par 5.

# 9 and # 1 have jumped back and forth as par 4 and par 5's.

I happen to favor a soft par 5 as a starting hole versus a very difficult par 4 and I don't mind a difficult par 4 on # 9.

The 3-5-3 finish is sort of dictated by the location of the clubhouse and ponds.

Originally, the nines were reversed, with the current # 8 being a long  par 4 ending in the practice area with another par 3 hitting west up toward the clubhouse.   That finishing par 3 was abandoned, the 8th became the 9th.  It was shortened and a 160 yard par three was made from where the original 8th tee with the 9th tee short of and flanking the new 8th green.  However, that seemed to be a safety hazard so the 9th tee was moved up and subsequently converted from a par 5 to a par 4

A view on google earth doesn't show the neat elevation changes on both nines.

It's a very enjoyable course to play, fun, yet challenging.

Despite it being so short, it resists scoring exceptionally well.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Jim Sullivan,

I have ties that are older than you.

I'm most disappointed that a three putt on # 6 cost me shooting my age a few weeks ago on this course.

Jerry,

I don't know that the routing dictated the length of the course.
Remember, years ago/originally it was much shorter.

At the present time we're land locked and can't add much length except to a few long holes like # 4 and # 12.

[JESII]

Jim Sullivan,

I have ties that are older than you.

...that still see action on a regular basis, I'm certain...


I'm most disappointed that a three putt on # 6 cost me shooting my age a few weeks ago on this course.

...fortunately for you, striving to shoot your IQ presents the real challenge...

[Lou_Duran]

Congratulations Pat.  I am curious, how many times have you shot your age?

[Rich Goodale]

Well done, Pat, and you are very right that tournament golf is not only very different from all other kinds of golf--it has a special aura all its own.

[Jim_Kennedy]

Nicely played Pat.

[Bob_Huntley]

Pat,

You've convinced me, 'Thumbs up to thumbs up' is the way to go.

Congratulations on a great performance.

Bob

[Patrick_Mucci]

Congratulations Pat.  I am curious, how many times have you shot your age?

None.

I'd like to do it this year and continue the achievement every year until age 85.
After that, I'll start caddying for TEPaul.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Pat,

You've convinced me, 'Thumbs up to thumbs up' is the way to go.

Congratulations on a great performance.


Bob,

Thumbs up definitely works, especially when combined with a nice weight shift and accelleration through the ball..
I may be in the Los Angeles area in March of 2010.
If I do, I'm hoping to get up to your neck of the woods for 36 with you.

Rich,

That's a good word, "aura".
There is a unique aura about a competition, there's that special atmosphere, a combination of excitement, nervousness and anticipation of a favorable outcome.

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