2014 Phosphate Feathery -- MINIMALISTS DEFEAT MACRAYNORS

[Powell Arms]

Howard,

Thank you for setting up a wonderful event. I know you did a ton of work to make sure everything went smoothly and hat everyone enjoyed themselves, and the four days exceeded expectations.

I enjoyed meeting everyone and the matches worked out great (says the captain of the winning team). Many people really enjoyed how a diverse group of primarily strangers could instantly enjoy each other's company. That immediate connection is in part because folks did not have anything to "deal with" because of the work you did to make the logistics seamless.

Best regards,

Powell



#feathery2015

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Howard
Once again THANK YOU for putting togteher such a superb weekend of golf and freindship.
Tremendous job roomie.
Next year I would prefer my spuds to be cooked and chicken warm on the inside so please add that to your list of "to do" in the future

But seriously thank you so very very much.
To all who where there, great to meet new faces and put names to writings I so admire, lets do it again!!!!

[Jason Thurman]

Oh please don't tell me Streamsong still hasn't gotten their dining situation under control...

Looking forward to reading some details and seeing some photos.

[Michael Whitaker]

Howard... As usual your planning and attention to detail was exceptional, which resulted in everyone having a marvelous time. This is truly a great event and I hope it becomes a fixture on our calendar like the Dixie Cup, KP, Buda Cup and Midwest Mashie. I hope you continue to be the lead planner for this event, but I'm sure several of us will volunteer to accept the baton should you decide to pass it.

To all the participants... it was great spending time with you, on and off the courses. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing food, fun and frivolity with you all... well, almost all!!!  

Streamsong is still experiencing a few growing pains, but "operations" have greatly improved since last year. There are still issues in the restaurants with their ability to handle "waves" of customers, but that should be fixed with time and experience. As for golf operations... there is a fine line between good customer service and over-the-top attentiveness. Streamsong pushes that line to the snapping point at times with so many pleasant, smiling faces volunteering to help you have a "magical" day that one might think they were at DisneyWorld. I'm not a "do everything for me" kind of guy, but I'm sure others LOVED the super-personal attention.

As for the courses... they are magnificent. I still prefer the Red on a 6-4 split to the Blue, but both are true works of art. I wish they would slow the greens down just a bit. We experienced three and four-putts galore... so many that often 30 minutes or more were tacked onto our rounds as guys struggled to get the ball into the hole. Other than that, I'm not sure how the courses could have been any better.

As I said, I hope the Phosphate Feathery becomes an annual fixture. If so, I;m sure I'll be there every year. It is a great winter getaway.

[Tom_Doak]

I wish they would slow the greens down just a bit. We experienced three and four-putts galore... so many that often 30 minutes or more were tacked onto our rounds as guys struggled to get the ball into the hole.

In match play?  Don't you guys concede putts?

[Rich Goodale]

Sorry to be a pedant, but shouldn't this be the "Phosphate Pheathery?"

[Peter Pallotta]

I wish they would slow the greens down just a bit. We experienced three and four-putts galore... so many that often 30 minutes or more were tacked onto our rounds as guys struggled to get the ball into the hole.

In match play?  Don't you guys concede putts?

This is gca.com, Tom - we don't concede ANYTHING!

[Chris Shaida]

Sorry to be a pedant, but shouldn't this be the "Phosphate Pheathery?"

I was thinking the same thing, what say you commissioner Riephs?

[Jon Stein]

Again thanks to Howard for setting up a very memorable weekend.  I had a great time meeting new friends and putting faces to names.  I loved both courses - great routing, risk/reward on many holes.  I was impressed on the how difficulty is not measured by distance.  I actually found some of the shorter holes to be the most challenging.  Who knew a 110 yard par 3 could play so difficult based on wind and pin position.  Blue #13 measured only 270 to the front of the green.  A good drive will leave a great chance at birdie, but any miss is a sure bogey or worse.

I look forward to a return trip to Streamsong in the near future.  It is an exceptional facility.  

[Bryan Izatt]

It's hard to concede putts that end up 20 feet from the hole.  I  four putted 11 Blue.  The pin was on the right nearer the back on the back side of a ridge.  My brilliant birdie putt barely trickled over the ridge, burned the lip while trickling and then trickled on another 20 feet.  Downwind and down grain the stimp was essentially infinite.  One of the assistants was watching after complaints from previous groups.  I believe they recut the hole after we passed.

On the 12th from front left to a back right pin, with a good caddie doing the read, I missed by 20 feet left.  That putt was conceded because my opponent was having some other issues.  I retried the putt slightly more right over the knob and missed 15 feet right.  

On a lot of the holes if you missed the line or pace a little bit, you can end up quite far away, especially downwind and down grain.

The greens are fun but can quickly turn to frustrating.

[Bryan Izatt]

Lest I forget, my thanks to Howard too.  A great job of organizing.  I particularly enjoyed our singles match.

The 8th Blue was a fine example of the beauty of match play.  Howard dumped his second in the pond. Advantage me. I flair my second to the native area right. Oops the door is slightly ajar.  Howard covers the flag with his 4th shot leaving a slick 15 footer..  Did I mention I was giving him a stroke.  My lie in the native sandy waste area featured a 2" sand ridge behind the ball.  Advantage Howard.  So, I blast it out of there and in a miracle carry the bunker and hold the green.  Looks now that we will push the hole.  In another turn of the worm l sink my one putt in 5 rounds - a neat 30 footer - to save an unlikely par.  Advantage me.  What does Howard do but sink his 15 footer for a 5, net 4.

I don't think you could find a pair of bigger smiles than ours coming off that green.

[Powell Arms]

Lest I forget, my thanks to Howard too.  A great job of organizing.  I particularly enjoyed our singles match.

The 8th Blue was a fine example of the beauty of match play.  Howard dumped his second in the pond. Advantage me. I flair my second to the native area right. Oops the door is slightly ajar.  Howard covers the flag with his 4th shot leaving a slick 15 footer..  Did I mention I was giving him a stroke.  My lie in the native sandy waste area featured a 2" sand ridge behind the ball.  Advantage Howard.  So, I blast it out of there and in a miracle carry the bunker and hold the green.  Looks now that we will push the hole.  In another turn of the worm l sink my one putt in 5 rounds - a neat 30 footer - to save an unlikely par.  Advantage me.  What does Howard do but sink his 15 footer for a 5, net 4.

I don't think you could find a pair of bigger smiles than ours coming off that green.

Bryan, your up and down you describe above on Blue 8, from a sandy waste area 60 yards right of the green, deserves its own thread! Wonderful shot amidst a lot of good ones and a few bad ones for all of us.

[Howard Riefs]

Lest I forget, my thanks to Howard too.  A great job of organizing.  I particularly enjoyed our singles match.

The 8th Blue was a fine example of the beauty of match play.  Howard dumped his second in the pond. Advantage me. I flair my second to the native area right. Oops the door is slightly ajar.  Howard covers the flag with his 4th shot leaving a slick 15 footer..  Did I mention I was giving him a stroke.  My lie in the native sandy waste area featured a 2" sand ridge behind the ball.  Advantage Howard.  So, I blast it out of there and in a miracle carry the bunker and hold the green.  Looks now that we will push the hole.  In another turn of the worm l sink my one putt in 5 rounds - a neat 30 footer - to save an unlikely par.  Advantage me.  What does Howard do but sink his 15 footer for a 5, net 4.

I don't think you could find a pair of bigger smiles than ours coming off that green.

Bryan, your up and down you describe above on Blue 8, from a sandy waste area 60 yards right of the green, deserves its own thread! Wonderful shot amidst a lot of good ones and a few bad ones for all of us.

Agreed. It was an absurd up-and-down. Plus, I noticed that your caddie said that the putt would break two feet left-to-right and it was relatively straight. Smart of you to shake him off. An amazing recovery for par.

[Michael Whitaker]

I wish they would slow the greens down just a bit. We experienced three and four-putts galore... so many that often 30 minutes or more were tacked onto our rounds as guys struggled to get the ball into the hole.

In match play?  Don't you guys concede putts?

Tom,

You know first hand that I can putt... I can't always do much else, but I can damn sure putt. We conceded EVERYTHING that was within the "Circle of Friendship"... which grew larger as the weekend progressed. Even if it was an opponent's third or forth putt it was hard to concede a 5 footer that would win the hole, but we had to at some point to keep things moving along. In my groups there were a lot of holes won or tied with three putt bogey.

[Bryan Izatt]

I'm not sure I shook off the caddie's read so much as I missed the line in the right place.  Anyway, the putter just got traded in.  Too many 3 and 4 putts over 5 rounds.  Who says you can't buy a game.  Yours was a pretty nifty bogey too.

One more Howard story - I hope you don't mind.  On 17 Blue with the match on the line, Howard apparently decides to try to hit a heroic shot to carry the cross bunkers on his second shot.  Sadly he pulled it a bit and ended up flirting with Doak's a$$hole only to find himself in the roots of the old oak above the bunker.  From there he slashes a low runner out through the Spanish moss to the back left fringe of the green.  Of course from there it was a guaranteed 3 putt and a concession of the match.  Such is the price of flirting with Doak's a$$hole.

Which reminds me of terms added to the SS lexicon.  We teed off from Mt doak on the first hole.  My caddie told me I was going Doaky in the hot sun if I tried to pull off a risky shot.  And I was Doakified a good number of times on lag putts that ended up 20 feet from the hole.

Another memorable hole was Jon Stein's first go at the difficult 1st on the Red while complaining of winter rust.  what's so difficult - from the front edge of the green he rams in an 80 footer for birdie.

Or, Steve Wilson, playing with hickories gets up and down from far over #1 Blue in the native area to save par whilst my partner and I are 3 putting to lose the hole.

Or, Powell Arms, pitching in on Blue 14 to rescue a par while Bill goes from certain victory on the hole to devestating defeat in one stroke.  Golf is a funny game.

Or, ........................

[Jason Thurman]

Wow. You put GCAers in a friendly tournament after a long cold winter, and three days later they come back wanting greens softened.

You guys need to stop watching so much Golf Channel in the offseason.

[jeffwarne]

Wow. You put GCAers in a friendly tournament after a long cold winter, and three days later they come back wanting greens softened.

You guys need to stop watching so much Golf Channel in the offseason.

Greens softened?
or something else much cheaper and more obvious.......

[Bill_McBride]

Wow. You put GCAers in a friendly tournament after a long cold winter, and three days later they come back wanting greens softened.

You guys need to stop watching so much Golf Channel in the offseason.

Greens softened?
or something else much cheaper and more obvious.......

Please elaborate!   Change the height of cut?

[Michael Whitaker]

Wow. You put GCAers in a friendly tournament after a long cold winter, and three days later they come back wanting greens softened.

You guys need to stop watching so much Golf Channel in the offseason.

Greens softened?
or something else much cheaper and more obvious.......

Please elaborate!   Change the height of cut?

Bill,

No one suggested softening the greens... just slowing them down a bit to avert so many multi-putt greens, which would also speed up play.

[Bill_McBride]

Wow. You put GCAers in a friendly tournament after a long cold winter, and three days later they come back wanting greens softened.

You guys need to stop watching so much Golf Channel in the offseason.

Greens softened?
or something else much cheaper and more obvious.......

Please elaborate!   Change the height of cut?

Bill,

No one suggested softening the greens... just slowing them down a bit to avert so many multi-putt greens, which would also speed up play.

So changing the height of cut is correct.  Bingo!   

[Steve Wilson]

Howard,
Thanks a lot for all the work you put into organizing the Phosphate feathery (that's my preferred alternate spelling.  Actually my preferred would be ffosffate ffeathery but Vanna wouldn't sell me that many ffs).  It was great to have my impressions of Streamsong confirmed, great to meet a lot of old friends, and greater still to meet some new ones.  Good times.

[Pete_Pittock]

Howard,
Thanks a lot for all the work you put into organizing the Phosphate feathery (that's my preferred alternate spelling.  Actually my preferred would be ffosffate ffeathery but Vanna wouldn't sell me that many ffs).  It was great to have my impressions of Streamsong confirmed, great to meet a lot of old friends, and greater still to meet some new ones.  Good times.

Jasper Fforde appreciates this.


Any overall results?

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

Minimalists scraped a memorable victory...and not because yours truly helped any the last round

[BHoover]

Where are all the photos and how come we didn't get a real-time, play-by-play analysis?

[Tom_Doak]

Minimalists scraped a memorable victory...and not because yours truly helped any the last round

Aw, you buried the lede ... there ought to be a headline:

MINIMALISTS DEFEAT MACRAYNOR