Most difficult stretch of three holes, par 3, 4 and 5 ?

[JESII]

"Your response implies that the course lacks overall balance.  That, as a whole, the overall balance is lost should the wind shift in different dirrections.

Part of the genius of the routing and design of the individual holes at Seminole is the overall balance of the challenge, irrespective of the direction of the wind.

Are you saying that Sand Hills lacks that balanced challenge ?"



Pat,

I think your logic here is flawed and Gene brings up a great example. When the wind reverses at Shinnecock the challenge increases dramatically, and not because the long holes play into the wind, but because holes like #13 play downwind...I will disagree if you tell me Shinnecock's routing creates a weakness in its overall balance.

[Patrick_Mucci]

How does the breakdown appear in terms of percentages from the data you referenced?

Gene, the pattern is crystal clear and undeniable.
But, understanding your complete unwillingness to accept data from the summer of 2005, I'll also get the data from five additional years.

Was your se to nw a clear and significant majority?

Absolutely, although to be more precise, it was probably more of a SSE to NNW general pattern

Are the words "prevailing" and "predominant" one and the same?

NO

I would differentiate the two words in terms of a matter of degree.

Dominant would seem to indicate 50+% , whereas prevailng can mean well below 50 %

When I tee it up on the 12th hole at Shinnecock Hills, a 480 yd par 4, in July, I can bet the house I will be playing that hole mostly downwind.
When I turn around and aim for the fairway on #13 (360 yds) I am now playing directly into that wind. Flynn designed these holes with that clearly dominant wind in mind.

Was it Flynn or Macdonald, maybe TEPaul would know



That to my mind is a decisive, dominant prevailing wind.

Gene, stop.  Now you're creating additional categories for classifiying the wind/s
It appears that there are pevailing winds that sweep Sand Hills
There's nothing wrong with that, it's not a design flaw and it doesn't diminish the quality of the golf course or the playing experience.

Most all who have visited have noticed that this isn't the case at Sand Hills.

That may be because your visits are random, sporadic, whereas, you're not there every day and your focus isn't on the hourly and daily wind readings/records, which are scientifically recorded and retained as a record in a continuous process.

Secondly, when guys can't even keep track of their airline tickets in their pocket, how do you expect them to keep track of the winds on the golf course ?.

And, most golfers are unaware of the points of the compass when they're playing golf?

And yes, I am a man of science.

But I am not a meteorologist, and neither are you.

No, but, I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
And I did begin my college education as a chemical engineer.
When I started college I couldn't even spell chemical engineer, and now I our won 
I can assure you that I'm quite capable of reading data tables

The way the wind blows at an airport 60 miles away at a much lower altitude may not necessarily be the same as one subjected to the rise and fall of hot and cold air out of the valley in which the Sand Hills Golf Course rests.

The readings weren't taken from an airport 60 miles away, they were taken from a much closer location, and, the weren't taken from a lower elevation, they were taken from 2,925+ FASL.

Please stop trying to discredit facts with wild stabs in the dark 

There's nothing wrong with a site/golf course having prevailing wind patterns.
Why are you so, what did you call me ? STUBBORN on this matter ?
Just admit that I was right, again, and we can go back to the continuation of the story relating to our trip and my match with Ran

[Patrick_Mucci]

"Your response implies that the course lacks overall balance.  That, as a whole, the overall balance is lost should the wind shift in different dirrections.

Part of the genius of the routing and design of the individual holes at Seminole is the overall balance of the challenge, irrespective of the direction of the wind.

Are you saying that Sand Hills lacks that balanced challenge ?"

Pat,

I think your logic here is flawed and Gene brings up a great example.

My logic is geometric like in its soundness.

When the wind reverses at Shinnecock the challenge increases dramatically, and not because the long holes play into the wind, but because holes like #13 play downwind...I will disagree if you tell me Shinnecock's routing creates a weakness in its overall balance.

I don't need to, you just did.
You stated: "
When the wind reverses at Shinnecock the challenge increases dramatically"

That indicates a disproportionate challenge dependent upon the direction of the wind.

Whereas, at Seminole, while the challenge of the individual holes may change, the overall challenge remains intact, balanced, irrespective of the direction of the wind.

Thanks for prooving my point 

[JESII]

Fair enough...my intended point was really...what's the difference?

Are you suggesting it's a mark against Sand Hills or Shinnecock if there are certain winds that make the course play more difficult? If so, that's what I would disagree with.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Fair enough...my intended point was really...what's the difference?

Are you suggesting it's a mark against Sand Hills or Shinnecock if there are certain winds that make the course play more difficult ?

Let me convict you with your own words.

You stated: "When the wind reverses at Shinnecock the challenge increases dramatically,

If the overall balance of a course increases "dramatically" with a shift in wind direction, I believe it's a blemish against the golf course.

Certain winds can make a course more difficult or less difficult, but, when the change in wind increases the challenge "dramatically",
 I believe that that's a shortcoming in the design, one that the architect should have been keenly aware of, especially on windy sites



If so, that's what I would disagree with.

As with TEPaul, that AWOL idiot savant, if you disagree with me, I must be right.

[JESII]

Alright Pat, I'll dance.

Shinnecock seems to have an inordinant number of it's longer holes going in one general direction and it's short ones in the other...I've always thought it substantially changed the experience for the day...very few breathers...when the wind blew from the (you'd have to tell me which direction, which way do Easthampton Airports runways run...).

I never saw it as a flaw, but let's go with it.

You've often spoken of Seminole's #10 and the "dramatically" increased challenge when the prevailing wind shifts from the South / SouthEast to the North / NorthWest. #4 would be another than becomes substantially more difficult in that scenario. Frequently, a shorter hole that was built to be played into the wind becomes more difficult when the wind comes from behind. #6 might fit that criteria, #12 as well. What holes become measurably easier when the wind shifts to the North/NW at Seminole to compensate for #'s 4, 6, 10 and 12?

[Willie_Dow]

Kittansett #1 #2 #3 - Probably the best way to know what the day will bring. 

[Willie_Dow]

Sorry Pat - But I play #1 as a par 5 from the back tee - at my age !

[John_Conley]

MFTM (my friend the member) asked that I post this for him.  (Site lurker.)

I've played Sand Hills 500 times and can assure you there is no prevailing wind.

[Gene Greco]

MFTM (my friend the member) asked that I post this for him.  (Site lurker.)

I've played Sand Hills 500 times and can assure you there is no prevailing wind.

Patrick:

    That's 750 rounds of golf versus your 7.

The two individuals who have experienced playing Sand Hills greater than a multiple of  100 times over your limited exposure firmly state there is no prevailing wind down in that valley in which the golf course rests.

It's Christmas Eve, Patrick.

Put down the anemometer.

Santa has watched you misbehave for far too long on this website.

Go ahead and admit you're wrong yet again and maybe you will find a box of Titleists under the tree.


     Gene

[Sean_A]

Gene

I don't understand why a lack of prevailing wind prevents a club from creating a slope and hole indexes. 

I don't understand why a design gets a mark against it when the wind blows from a non-prevailing direction.

Ciao

[Patrick_Mucci]

MFTM (my friend the member) asked that I post this for him.  (Site lurker.)

I've played Sand Hills 500 times and can assure you there is no prevailing wind.

John,

Some might question the number of rounds, 500 ?  But, let's go with that number.
Some golfers play 36 and 54 holes a day.
If your friend plays 36 a day, that would limit his visits to 17 days per year if he began playing when Sand Hills opened.
That's not very many days when establishing a data chart.
And, like most golfers, at just a week removed from a round, I doubt that they can recollect the direction the wind was blowing, especially as the number of rounds increase.

For expample,  without prepping him, ask him, four years ago, on his third round and his seventh round, what direction was the wind blowing ?.
If he provides an answer, he's BS'ing you.

When you compare his observations limited to 17+ days per year to the nearby government weather station readings, a station which functions 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, I'll go with the official weather station readings.

So, do you put your faith in limited vague recollections, or scientific data ?

I"m opting for the scientific data

[Patrick_Mucci]

MFTM (my friend the member) asked that I post this for him.  (Site lurker.)

I've played Sand Hills 500 times and can assure you there is no prevailing wind.

Patrick:

That's 750 rounds of golf versus your 7.

Gene, how do you make the quantum leap from 500 to 750 ?
And, John's friend didn't say he was there 500 days, only that he played 500 times, which I doubt, but, was willing to go with.
At 36 a day, that's just 17+ rounds a year, and, I doubt he was keeping an hourly log on wind direction, which is what the weather station was doing

The two individuals who have experienced playing Sand Hills greater than a multiple of  100 times over your limited exposure firmly state there is no prevailing wind down in that valley in which the golf course rests.

First of all, the golf course doesn't sit in a valley.
If it did, you couldn't see 5,10,20 or more miles from the second tee and other locations throughout the golf course.
So let's dismiss that fairy tale.
You want us to believe that Sand Hills sits in a vacuum like area, totally UNIFLUENCED by local, and regional weather patterns, like a Bermuda Triangle of the plains
You're further willing to dismiss readings from an official US weather station, prefering to rely on the alleged memory of two golfers, who througout their rounds, don't keep an hourly log of wind direction and wind speed, like the weather station.

I thought you stated that you were a man of science, not hearsay and unreliable data gathering ?

It's Christmas Eve, Patrick.

Put down the anemometer.

Santa has watched you misbehave for far too long on this website.

Go ahead and admit you're wrong yet again and maybe you will find a box of Titleists under the tree.

Gene, I just spoke to Santa's workshop.  They indicate that he's going to be arriving in Central and Western Nebraska a little early  tonight due to the favorable prevailing winds

[Patrick_Mucci]

Gene

I don't understand why a lack of prevailing wind prevents a club from creating a slope and hole indexes. 

I don't understand why a design gets a mark against it when the wind blows from a non-prevailing direction.

Sean, I don't understand it either.

What difference does it make if prevailing WINDS sweep the property ?

Do they make Seminole, NGLA, GCGC or Shinnecock a lesser golf course ?

[Tom Huckaby]

I shall answer part of this....

A very large part of the USGA course rating process is "prevailing wind", at such places that have such of course.  And the stronger it is, the more it effects the yardages we use, which of course effects the rating.  One certainly could do the rating there (and anywhere) as if NO WIND EVER HAPPENED, but at a place like Sand Hills, Pat's weekend notwithstanding, that is a rare occurrence.

So yes, they could arrive at a course rating (and thus slope also) based on NO WIND.. but it would be quite wildly off from the reality.

Thus I completely understand why they'd choose not to have one at all.  No matter what Pat's data might indicate, the members (and management) believe that there is no one prevailing wind, and it does blow quite hard most of the time, from different directions very often.  So they choose to have no rating at all rather than an inaccurate one.

As for hole indexes, those are done by clubs, not USGA/local asssociations; they are two completely different things.  Advice can be given by the local association, but it's the CLUB that sets those.  So Sand Hills could set those out any time they want.  I believe they choose not to have those FIXED because again, the holes change so much on  the direction of the wind, it's not worth it to do... the system works quite well as Gene sets out... the members know based on the wind how the course is going to play, so they index the holes themselves for that round, or partial round, as Gene states.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing this, it works well there.

TH

[John_Conley]

Pat, as usual you get bogged down in the details and act like that affects the point.  I'm pretty sure he just pulled the number 500 out of thin air.  Anyway, I'll indulge you.

He has been a member since the first year.  Inception or shortly after.  Beginning in 1995, he's been playing the course regularly.  He goes down at least four times per year.  Sometimes more so I will say an average of 5 trips annually for 15 summers.  We are at 75 trips.

Each trip lasts 2 or 3 days of golf.  Somewhere between 150 and 225 days of golf.  Let's round down and say conservatively 175 days.  Two rounds per day is 350.

Okay, you win.  Does a sample size of 350 rounds somehow mean less than 500?  No.  Like he told me, sometimes there is no wind and it isn't as rare as you'd think.  Last trip his guest hit D-7i into #1 on the first day and needed D-3w-6i the next because of a 180-degree shift.  Wind patterns are all over the place.

Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Pat, as usual you get bogged down in the details and act like that affects the point. 

John, Let me see if I understand you correctly.  You want us to accept the word of someone who occassionally visits the site, one who doesn't record the hourly wind speed and wind direction readings, OVER an official weather station that records the wind speed and wind direction readings on an hourly basis, 24/7/365.  Is that right ?

Do you, your friend and Gene realize how stupid you sound ?
You're denying scientifically gathered evidence and accepting hearsay gathered at random by one or two individuals.

Now I realize that the scientific data is a trifling detail for you, and that your friend's alleged recollections are pure scientific fact, but, that's not what's acccepted in the real world.
[/color]

I'm pretty sure he just pulled the number 500 out of thin air.  Anyway, I'll indulge you.

He has been a member since the first year.  Inception or shortly after.  Beginning in 1995, he's been playing the course regularly.  He goes down at least four times per year.  Sometimes more so I will say an average of 5 trips annually for 15 summers.  We are at 75 trips.

Each trip lasts 2 or 3 days of golf.  Somewhere between 150 and 225 days of golf.  Let's round down and say conservatively 175 days.  Two rounds per day is 350.

175 days compared to 3,652 days ?  ?   ?
And, I'm sure that while he was playing golf he was logging the hourly wind directions, wasn't he.

Okay, you win.  Does a sample size of 350 rounds somehow mean less than 500?  No.  Like he told me, sometimes there is no wind and it isn't as rare as you'd think.  Last trip his guest hit D-7i into #1 on the first day and needed D-3w-6i the next because of a 180-degree shift.  Wind patterns are all over the place.

What you, and evidently others, don't understand is what the term,  "prevailing winds" means.
A site can experience winds "all over the place", as you say, and still have prevailing winds.
Do you and your friend understand what "prevailing winds" means ?

Ask your friend, "where does the weather at Sand Hills come from ?  Or, does the weather in the U.S. originate in Sand Hills and get dispersed by winds from all over the place ?.

What you, he or his guest  hit on a particular hole/day is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things when compared to 8,760 readings taken over the last ten years at n official weather station

Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas.

You too.

P.S.  I know what you can get Gene and your friend for Xmas. 
A book on logic and a book on structuring scientific data bases while out playing golf with friends

Did you ask your friend the question I asked that you pose to him about his rounds in 2005, his third and seventh rounds in particular. ?

[JC Jones]

What is lost in all of this is the labeling of Sand Hills as the "Bermuda Triangle of the great plains."

[Patrick_Mucci]

No matter what Pat's data might indicate, the members (and management) believe that there is no one prevailing wind, and it does blow quite hard most of the time, from different directions very often.  

How did you arrive at that conclusion ?
Did you poll all of the members ?

And, who ever said that there was "ONE" prevailing wind ?

As far as management, their official position differs from what you've stated.
Management believes that "due to varying wind CONDITIONS and DIRECTION, handicap rating is intentionally omitted" from the scorecard.

Management is SILENT on the issue of prevailing winds
 

So they choose to have no rating at all rather than an inaccurate one.

As for hole indexes, those are done by clubs, not USGA/local asssociations; they are two completely different things.  Advice can be given by the local association, but it's the CLUB that sets those.  So Sand Hills could set those out any time they want.  I believe they choose not to have those FIXED because again, the holes change so much on  the direction of the wind, it's not worth it to do... the system works quite well as Gene sets out... the members know based on the wind how the course is going to play, so they index the holes themselves for that round, or partial round, as Gene states.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with doing this, it works well there.

So, is it your position, like Gene's, that once you tee off the wind is set for the day and it never varies ?

I thought others said that "it blows all over the place"

[Patrick_Mucci]

In addition to the orientation of nearby airport runways and the statistics from a nearby official U.S. weather station, the following quote comes from a scientific review published in 2009, entitled, "Modern and late Holocene wind regimes over the Great Plains"

"Strong northwesterly winds, most frequent in winter, dominate potential sand transport in the Nebraska Sand Hills at present Ainsworth, Alliance, Brewster, Broken Bow, Cozad, Mullen, North Platte, O’Neill, Ord, and Valentine, NE).

A weaker south–southeasterly component is present mainly in summer.

A weaker south–southeasterly component is present mainly in summer

A weaker south–southeasterly component is present mainly in summer

A weaker south–southeasterly component is present mainly in summer[/b]

An average RDD for all of the stations around or near the Nebraska Sand Hills was calculated at 128 (net hypothetical sand transportfrom N52W). A hypothetical dune forming under the present winds would be oriented southwest–northeast (65 and would be classified morphodynamically as oblique  



128 Degrees is SSE, which is what I had indicated previously.

Do you now want to refute this report, with data recorded since 1974, as well

We now have local data, and regional data to rely on, versus two GCA.com'ers who are there sporadically along with one anonymous third party.

Fellas, the FAT LADY HAS SUNG.

Abandon your keyboard, and go and Enjoy Christmas with your families and have the Happiest and HEALTHIEST of New Year's

P.S.  I'll post my match with Ran over the weekend

[JC Jones]

In addition to Pat's 7 rounds, I have 0 rounds but I will nonetheless stick my head in here.  From the ever reliable wikipedia:

In meteorology, prevailing winds are winds that blow predominantly from a single general direction over a particular point on the Earth's surface.

Knowledge of the prevailing wind allows the development of prevention strategies for soil erosion of agricultural land, such as across the Great Plains.

In the Great Plains, soil erosion of agricultural land is a significant problem, and is mainly driven by the prevailing wind.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prevailing_winds

[John_Conley]

Pat, I went to school at the University of Minnesota.  Lived on the East Bank (corner of 5th & 10th) and took classes on the West Bank.  My two choices were to either walk 15 minutes across the 10th Avenue Bridge - it runs alongside the stretch of 35W that collapsed a few years ago - or walk 15 minutes to the Dinkytown bus stop and take a 15 minute bus ride.  If it was real cold, by my Minnesotan standards (which was a raw temperature below zero), I opted for the latter because of the ferocious wind as you crossed the bridge.  No idea which direction it blew, I just recall it being cold.

On days I rode the bus my walk back took me past the House of Hanson (a convenience store) and around a high-rise apartment complex.  No matter what the weather, the wind HOWLED through that chute. 

The point is that the wind you feel on the ground is affected by landforms and, in a city, buildings.  Golf is played on the ground.  An avaiation man's concern with "prevailing" wind direction is probably concerned with altitude, no?  If Sand Hills sits such that wind curves, swirls, and crosses over the few hundred acre golf course site it is entirely possible our learned members experience variable wind patterns while instruments scattered throughout the region indicate a consistent air flow.  This may not be as scientific as you desire, but at least it uses common sense.

Nobody has argued that Hooker County pilots should go by these arcane manuals you reference.  Conversely, your assertion that everyone should dismiss the playing experiences of two members is petty and condescending.

Science is wonderful, when applied correctly.  If my hair gets wet I don't need a meteorologist to tell me it is raining.  Why should these guys borrow manuals from air traffic controllers when they already know the wind varies?

[Jim Nugent]

Gene

I don't understand why a lack of prevailing wind prevents a club from creating a slope and hole indexes. 

Hole indexes are supposed to show how hard the holes are, for bogey compared to scratch.  If changes in the wind change that a lot, the hole indexes don't really serve their purpose, do they?  i.e. the higher handicap players often won't get strokes on holes where they need them; and other times will get them on holes they don't. 

[Patrick_Mucci]

Pat, I went to school at the University of Minnesota.  Lived on the East Bank (corner of 5th & 10th) and took classes on the West Bank.  My two choices were to either walk 15 minutes across the 10th Avenue Bridge - it runs alongside the stretch of 35W that collapsed a few years ago - or walk 15 minutes to the Dinkytown bus stop and take a 15 minute bus ride.  If it was real cold, by my Minnesotan standards (which was a raw temperature below zero), I opted for the latter because of the ferocious wind as you crossed the bridge.  No idea which direction it blew, I just recall it being cold.

Irrelevant

But, It is obvious that you should have taken more courses in science and logic.

On days I rode the bus my walk back took me past the House of Hanson (a convenience store) and around a high-rise apartment complex.  No matter what the weather, the wind HOWLED through that chute.  

Irrelevant

If Sand Hills sits such that wind curves,  It doesn't.   Whats's the next lame excuse you want to use ?
                                                                                               You're wrong and your friend is wrong, but, your egos won't
                                                                                                let you admit it

swirls, and crosses over the few hundred acre golf course site it is entirely possible our learned members experience variable wind patterns while instruments scattered throughout the region indicate a consistent air flow.  This may not be as scientific as you desire, but at least it uses common sense.

It's not common sense.
The readings are taken at hourly intervals with scientific instruments.
Please stop your absurd desperate grasping at straws, it makes you look foolish

Nobody has argued that Hooker County pilots should go by these arcane manuals you reference.  

This has to be one of the dumbest things you're ever stated, and clear evidence that you don't know what you're talking about.

1   Pilots aren't taking these readings
2   These are not atmospheric readings
3   These are ground level readings
4   The readings are taken by stationary scientific meteorological instruments
5  The readings are not taken by golfers preoccupied with their games

Conversely, your assertion that everyone should dismiss the playing experiences of two members is petty and condescending.

If accepting scientifically gathered information, by scientists, over decades, on an hourly basis, from mulitple studies and sources, over the word of two or three golfers who've played a few random rounds is condescending, that''s a pretty stupid choice of words on your part, and an indication of how desperate you are to defend your friend's alleged recall of wind direction on his few visits to Sand Hills.

But, you're going to stand there in the face of overwhleming scientific data, from mulitple reliable sources, and insist that you and your friend are correct and that all of these scientific facts are to be dismissed.

Please, you're making a fool of yourself

Science is wonderful, when applied correctly.  If my hair gets wet I don't need a meteorologist to tell me it is raining.

Why should these guys borrow manuals from air traffic controllers when they already know the wind varies?

They DIDN'T, you've got your facts WRONG again

"We studied modern winds across the Great Plains using data on
wind direction and speed from 35 modern meteorological stations....
Where possible, the last 35 years
of data (1973–2007) were used"

35 years of data, taken hourly, from 35 scientific sets of meteorological instruments, monitored by scientists, compared to your friends vague recollection over a few trips,  please spare us your insane insistance that the science is wrong, but, that you and your friend are right.  It makes you look very foolish, if not egomaniacal

You're so out of your league on this.  Wouldn't it be simpler for you to just admit that you don't know what you're talking about and are on an ego trip to defend your friend ?

Are you aware that most of the airports in the area DON'T have towers ?
They DON'T have air traffic controlers

Are you also aware that ATC's don't record weather readings ?

Are you sure that global air traffic control in the area isn't mostly under Denver ATC ?

Do yourself a favor, stay out of topics where you don't know what you're talking about, and are only serving as a shill for an anonymous source[/b][/color]

[Patrick_Mucci_Jr]

We wake up the next morning and it's another beautiful day, unfortunately, there's little in the way of wind, not even the slightest prevailing wind from the SSE  

We have breakfast, assemble the herd, and head off to the practice tee.

After hitting balls for 15 minutes and a few putts, the foursomes are selected and we head to the first tee.

On the first tee I notice that a strange metamorphosis has taken place overnight.

Last night, Ran was all bravado, crowing about his destruction of the unsuspecting Huckaby, and his pending crushing of yours truely.
This morning, high pitched whining has replaced baritone/bass bravado from Ran.

He's insisting on an inordinate number of shots, so many shots that the match would be over shortly after the turn.
One outrageous request suggests that a shot a hole would be fair.  I tell him it would be more than fair, it would be great ...... for his bank account.

The whining continues unabated.

Ran has now done a 180.  Instead of telling me about the great shots he hit yesterday against Huckaby, which I had already heard about at dinner, he's now telling me about his poor shots, unfortunately for him, he can't recall many, but, he keeps repeating the few he hit during the course of his round, trying to expand them to universal status.

Ran eventually sees that I'll not yield to his initial, outrageous,shot proposal and now alters his strategy, fixing on 14 shots.
This proposal is immediately rejected.  Ran now drops, not one, but two shots, down to 12, thinking that I perceive the two shot drop as a real bargain, while forgetting about the insanity of giving him 12 shots.  To add some context to the matter, I think Ran is a six handicap at the time.  He could be a little lower or higher.  Even at 12 it's a bad bet for me.

He now changes tunes, and starts telling me how lucky he was to beat Huckaby the previous day.
Was it the orange juice and pancakes that made him change his tune ?
This revelation on his part is greeted with disbelief by everyone on the first tee who attended dinner the previous night.

Seeing the look of disbelief on the surrounding faces, he immediately sees the wisdom in changing tactics, this time opting for the obsolescence of his equipment, versus my equipment.

I then remind him that his hickories were made within the last year and that my Ping Eye Two's were made twenty years ago in 1985.

He then claims that hickories don't perform as well as steel shafts, and if they did, everyone would be using them.
I agree, but tell him that Tom Huckaby is "Exhibit A", that Tom Huckaby used steel shafts to no avail, because the hickories carried too much in the way of additional shots.

I remind him that we're playing the same golf ball.

I then make my first and final counter offer.
I'll make three matches with you, one at 10 shots, another at 11 shots and the final match at 12 shots.
Ran leaps and accepts all three matches without further negotiation.
That's not a good sign for me.
This tells me that he's far more proficient with his hickories than we know.
It also tells me that he believes that he and his hickories are adjusting well to the windless conditions at Sand Hills

We start off on the first tee and I'm very surprised to see how well he's swinging and how good of a drive he hits.
I'm not so much impressed by the accuracy of his tee shot as I am by the distance of his tee shot.
It's rather startling and not what I had expected.
As if in one motion, as he completes his follow through on his drive, he turns and impishly smiles at me, implying, "Take that, you've been had".

Ya know, there's just something really, really, really special about competitive golf amongst friends.
I love the gesture, it ignites the afterburners of my competitive spirit.

As I prepare to drive, I tell myself, now, don't try to kill it and blow it well by him, just swing smooth, but with good acceleration.
I kill it and blow it far by him.  I turn and return his smile, and off we go, down to the first fairway.

Ran and I have had a good number of matches at some wonderful courses over the years and both of us are looking forward to this match.  We've always enjoyed each others company, the comraderie, the spirited needling, disecting and discussing the architecture, the golf course experience, and other topics not fit for print.  This match has been long anticipated.  I was getting weekly calls to make sure that I'd show up.  I would counter his jabs by telling him that if he's having difficulty getting to Sand Hills from North Carolina that I would send limos and private jets to make sure he shows up.

I hit my second shot to the base of the green, wedge up, make birdie and halve the hole with Ran who, as part of all three matches is getting a shot on all par 5's.  I feel that that's a victory for me, for if I can halve the shot holes, I stand a good chance of beating him on the non-shot holes, and winning all three matches.

But, I must say that I'm impressed by the distances he's hitting these hickories.

As we walk to the 5th tee we hear strange noises, yelling and screaming.
We look around and spot a white pickup truck riding the ridge with the cab and back filled with GCA.com'ers.
They are retracing, examining and analyzing the "Constellation Routing",  the one that hangs in the clubhouse.
Ran and I look at each other in disbelief.
Given the opportunity of playing this great course, they've chosen to ride around in the back of a pickup, over difficult terrain, to examine a phantom golf course, and, they're yelling and hollering the whole time.  This is the ultimate in GCA.com geekdom.
But, we understand
They ask, how is the match ?  Since there are three matches, it requires a more complicated answer, one which neither of us is prepared to give, so we say, all even, which was probably pretty accurate.

The 6th hole proves very enlightening.
The hole is tucked left.
I hit a good iron to the middle of the green, and I'll be damned if ran didn't hit a terrific shot inside mine.
I'm again, surprised and impressed.
Ran's swing, contact and the flight of the ball are all impressive.
He asks me, smiling, if I want to try his hickories.  I decline, but, I am impressed

We make the turn and at the halfway point we're asked how our match stands.
Not wanting to get into detailing three matches and the differences in standing, we say, all even, and we're probably pretty close to that.

As the match flows from the 1st tee, we're also discussing the golf course, certain features and how best to play them.

We notice how differently the 5th hole plays from the back versus the regular tee.
It's not so much the difference in yardage as it is the flight of the ball and the slope of the terrain in the DZ

All three matches are very close, but, my birdie on 16 ends the 11 shot match, I won the 10 shot match earlier, so now, only the 12 shot match hangs in the balance, and, I'm one DOWN, with two to play.

On # 17, a wonderful par 3 where missing the green is a fatal mistake, I hit a good iron about 20 feet behind the hole which is favoring the front of the green.  Ran hits a good shot, but, it's about 35-40 feet from the hole, on the SAME line as my ball.
As we arrive at the green, I'm thinking, he could easily three putt this, making the match all even  with just one hole to go, the difficult 18th.  I like my chances if I can just win # 17

Ran takes an inordinate amount of time lining up his putt, which I like.
He addresses his ball, and makes his stroke.
Three feet off the putter blade I know that I've won this hole.
Ran has hit his putt very hard and well to the left of the proper line.
I am delighted.
He screams, oh no, slow down.
As his ball goes speeding past my marker, I immediately get behind it to watch his ball, which will probably end up 15 feet left and past the hole.

Now, the worst possible thing that could happen, happens.
About 10 feet from the hole, His ball hits a pebble, not just any pebble, but, a small rock, which not only deflects his ball to the right, but, slows it down quite a bit.
Horribly, his ball hits the back of the cup, still at speed, jumps up, and goes into the hole
All I can think is, are you f'in kidding me ?
Ran is ecstatic, jumping and flitting across the green, now claiming that he hit the perfect putt at the perfect time.
If anyone thinks that anyone can do a better impression of "Tinker Bell" on steroids than Ran, they're mistaken.
The man is euphoric, telling everyone within earshot what a perfect putt he hit.
I still can't believe it, I saw that stone, but never gave it any thought in terms of influencing play because if was so far out of our line.
Now, I get over my putt, steel myself and say, just knock this in and you'll go to extra holes with "Tinker Bell".

I hit my putt and it looks perfect from the moment it leaves my putter.
It's on the line I read, at a good pace and breaking slightly left to right into the hole.
I take a quick look at Ran and a look of horror has come over his face.
I glance back, to see my ball, it's slowing down and breaking into the hole when suddenly, it stops breaking, catches a good deal of the hole and spins out.  I can't believe it, I thought I had hit the perfect putt, especially given the circumstances.
Ran is still airborne, having leaped as high as he's physically capable of, and shouting with glee.

This is definitely one of my most bitter defeats since I've been playing golf.
The other two matches I won are of no consequence, I wanted to win all three, and I was so close to winning this one as well.

Fate, in the form of a small rock, would bring about a terrible reversal of fortune, and make Ran's golfing year, if not decade.

As someone once said, "What a revolting development this turned out to be"

I congratulate Ran on his win, pick up the stone, and ask him if he wants to have it "bronzed"

I am really, really, really pissed.
I had him, he was choking, he hit that putt a thousand miles an hour and pulled it, he would have three putted and we'd have gone to the 18th tee all even, that's like putting a good meal in front of me after I haven't eaten in a week.

While Ran was incredibly lucky on # 17, his play for the day was outstanding.
As we head to # 18 tee, Ran needs a par to break 80 and shoot 79.  A birdie gives him 78.
With a par on 18 I'll be in the 60's

Ran pulls his tee shot into the large left bunker and bogies the hole.
I drive to the right center of the fairway, hit my approach on the green and make par, certainly a good score on the hole and for the day, but, I'm totally unsatisfied with the results, especially that putt of his on # 17.  That putt had to be one of the worst putts under pressure that I've ever seen.

All through out the day and for the rest of the trip, Ran is telling everyone who will listen how he used that rock as a backboard to bank his putt into the hole.  Of course he fails to tell them that the putt could have made it to North Dakota at the speed it was traveling.

To this day, I'm still annoyed at that putt, rock and result.

And, you can bet, that I now remove any pebble, stone, rock anywhere remotely near my opponents line.

Time for lunch, but, I'll continue with the final part of our journey shortly