Midwest USA GCA Knockout 2021

[Steve Salmen]

Thanks to Ken for hosting me yesterday at South Bend CC. We caught a very nice day in the mid 70s.


Ken birdied the 19th hole to advance. Good luck against Jason.

[Ken Fry]

Thanks to James for all his work getting this event organized and for traveling over to South Bend Country Club for our match.  It was a very enjoyable day.

Steve and I had a great day yesterday also.  What he failed to include was I was dormie with two to play and Steve pulled out a gutsy par on 17 (a very tough par 3 over water) and hit the 18th in two for an eagle putt.

Home field advantage certainly helped in both matches but I really enjoy showing off our course.  It's a fun old sleeper!

My old buddy, the Cincinnati Kid, Jason Thurman.  This match will need to be played somewhere epic!

Ken

[John McCarthy]

Joe Melchiors and I had it out at Flossmoor GC yesterday.  Flossmoor is always fun to play and I think I run more putts past the hole there than anywhere else.  It really pays to be putting uphill there. 


I took any early lead, Joe squared it at the turn, took the lead but I made a few coming in to make the handicap difference felt.  I won 1 & 0. 


So I wait for the other bracket to catch up. 

[Jeff Schley]

Me and Zach couldn’t get aligned and I have to head back from my summer visit. As I won’t be back anytime soon Zach will move on to play Dan Moore. Good luck to you guys and enjoy.  Thanks for setting this up and look forward to next year.

[Dan Moore]

Zach,


Let me know when you can play. I’m gone this week but around the Chicago area 8/3 to 8/10.


Dan

[Bill Seitz]

I'm afraid I'm going to have drop out this year.  New kid and new job making golf very difficult to pencil into the schedule for the next couple of months.  Drew Groeger moves on. 

[Anthony Fowler]

Congratulations, Bill, on the new kid and the new job! I'm sorry to hear that you had to drop out.

While we were waiting on the other match, Noah Weinberger and I got together for a home-and-home at Flossmoor and Black Sheep. We decided to play a 45-hole mega-match that would count as our GCA knockout match in the event that Noah advanced in the bracket. We had a fantastic two days of golf, and I was fortunate to come out on top.

All 27 holes at Black Sheep are really fun. The greens are interesting and different. We saw some really challenging/intimidating hole locations. And the exposed nature of the site means that wind plays a bigger factor there than at most Chicago-area courses.

Despite the fact that Flossmoor and Black Sheep were founded more than a century apart, Noah and I enjoyed discussing some of the similarities. Many of the greens are set at grade and move naturally with the land, which means an unusual number of greens running front to back on both courses. Both courses feature prairie grass and rugged bunkers that pose a significant challenge (unlike the manicured, fluffy, white bunkers at the clubs that have valet parking!).

Good luck to Drew and Noah in their match! 

[C. Sturges]

Hello Evan and George,


I hope you two are doing well.    Are you two planning on playing your match or should I contact Bill?   We are quickly loosing summer…


Thanks,
chris

[Evan Fleisher]

Hello Evan and George,


I hope you two are doing well.    Are you two planning on playing your match or should I contact Bill?   We are quickly loosing summer…


Thanks,
chris

Based on current logistical issues, might be best if y'all just move on.  I am happy to concede if George wants to play, or maybe just skip our match altogether?

[George Smiltins]

Hello Evan and George,


I hope you two are doing well.    Are you two planning on playing your match or should I contact Bill?   We are quickly loosing summer…


Thanks,
chris

Sorry for the delay! All my fault. Evan and I are planning to play 9/1.

[George Smiltins]

Evan and I played today at Canterbury in Cleveland and he prevailed 1 Up. Y’all better watch out for him at the Mashie. Rock solid play throughout the day. Perfect weather (whiff of fall in the air) and great company. Can’t ask for anything more.

[Evan Fleisher]

Evan and I played today at Canterbury in Cleveland and he prevailed 1 Up. Y’all better watch out for him at the Mashie. Rock solid play throughout the day. Perfect weather (whiff of fall in the air) and great company. Can’t ask for anything more.

You are too kind George, as I cannot ever remember anyone accusing me of "rock solid play". 


It was a hard fought battle for both of us, and it is true that I did tear it up (relatively speaking) on the front, but then George remembered his swing on the back and he came roaring back making it a fight to the bitter end as I had to make a 6 footer on the 18th hole to prevail 1-up.


As for the architecture...Canterbury is presenting itself better and better each time I play it.  Recent year tree removals have continued and vistas are wide open; turf conditions were as good as I've seen them.  We lucked out for a fantastic weather day, although a combination of strong-ish northerly winds and some unusual (according to George) pin locations made for tricky approaches and putts.


I know Canterbury is looking to secure some future USGA / PGA events, hope they are successful in those bids as they clearly have the logistical infrastructure and golf course "chops" to make it happen.

[Ken Fry]

This past week I had the pleasure to host good friend Jason Thurman at South Bend CC.  I've enjoyed some great rounds and had a couple wins on my home course this season but this was not to be my day.  This was an ol' fashion beat down.

The day was an enjoyable opportunity to catch up with Jason, not something we've had the chance to do much.  This season's Knockout brought James Reese, Steve Salmen and finally Jason Thurman to SBCC.  I'm grateful I got to play with each man.

I believe Jason's parting shot to me was something about taking down some Freeman guy.  Anyone know who he's talking about?  Apparently he's had past success in this thing??

Thanks again James.

Ken

[Drew Groeger]

I've been remiss in updating the thread. On the 1st, a picture-perfect day weather-wise, Noah graciously hosted me at Black Sheep Golf Club for our match. We started off going back and forth but I somehow eked out a 2 up lead at the turn. Noah came back strong, winning 3 of the next 5 holes to go 1 up himself. I leveled the match on 15 only to give it back on 16! I somehow found a way to curl in a 5-footer on 18 to finish all square. By virtue of a scorecard playoff (new to me) Noah conceded our match. How nice is that! So I move on to play Anthony Fowler and we've scheduled our match for this Saturday, the 18th.

Just a few words on the course: It was my first time at Black Sheep and I thought it was outstanding! The vibe is very relaxed and welcoming. The isolated setting is a big part of that, I think. The course has plenty of width so a player has options, however there's enough danger along the way to keep you honest. It was only mildly breezy the day we played, I can see this course baring its teeth if you catch it on a windy day. I really enjoyed the par 5s, tee shot-2nd shot combos are important to sort out if you want to get after them.

I had a great time at Black Sheep, much thanks to Noah again for hosting.

[Anthony Fowler]

Drew Groeger and I played our match at Flossmoor today, and I was fortunate to win. I really enjoyed the match and the conversation.

I'm looking forward to playing the winner of the top-left quadrant of the bracket.

[JReese]

[JReese]

My apologies for taking so long to get an updated bracket out.  If you know you won't be able to play a future match, please let your opponent know so we can hopefully get the ko completed this year.


Cheers,


James

[Dan Moore]

Zach and I are finally scheduled to play this Sunday. The winner will be sure to follow-up with John right away.

[Dan Moore]

Zack and I played today and he prevailed in 17 holes. We each gifted the other two of the first four holes but his 3 for 2 beat my birdie 3 on the 5th hole and he never let go after that. A couple more birdies and several stellar up and downs paved the way for his win. Zack hosted us at the old and improved Beverly CC and it was a joy to play and look at. Another example of width and scale being returned via the chainsaw and some great feature by Tyler Rae over the past few years. We’ll played all.

[JReese]

[C. Sturges]

Evan and I got out to play yesterday at Sawmill Creek.   If you are looking for a course with large push up greens, this is your place.   The course was still in great shape after a couple of days of rain, a testament to there continued work on drainage.   The course is surrounded by marshes and Lake Erie, and in the past was soft because of this.


I was lucky to pull off the win.  I played my best round of the summer and Evan struggled.


Thanks for the game and look forward to our next round.


Mr. Steele, it looks like we get to play next!

[C. Sturges]

Yesterday had the first indications of Fall in the air while Bill Steele and I battled over the rolling terrain that is the Flint Golf Club.   I had little to no knowledge of what is a splendid Willie Park course tucked away in a back neighborhood of Flint, Michigan.
The course lays very naturally along the ground with the majority of greens being an extension of the fairway.   This was in stark contrast to the push up greens I played on Sunday.  The one similarity was the size of the greens and they are large at both courses.   My favorite holes at Flint are the ones where the greens are on mounds and green contours get real bold and fun.   The course also has a nice selection of long and short par 4’s where it is more important to plan you attack versus swinging driver as hard as you can, which is how I played them.   I was also much more lucky than I deserved with my strategy.
For me, Flint Golf Club is a true hidden gem that I look forward to getting to play again in the future.   Thank you Bill for setting it up and hosting us.   I had a great time as always!!!
With that I was able to get the win from Bill.   Thank you Bill!   I look forward to our next game.


Next up, Mr. Thurman!   I look forward to getting to see you hit the ball long and far.  Let’s figure out a place and time.
chris

[John McCarthy]

I played with Zach at Beverley today. I have played Beverley many times over the last 30 plus years.  But the course sings nowadays and the tree removal is truly paying dividends. There is also an expansion of greens that includes, for the want of a better team, outside wings many greens .  We have a lot of Beverley guys here that can be done it better.


I lost 7 and 6.  It does not even describe the beatdown I got.  Zack hits his irons so well.


Zack tells me Bev has the par 3 course, plus a putting course goes online next year.  Good for them.

[Jeff Schley]

Going to get a 2022 bracket going?  Like to try and play this year.

[JReese]

I've heard from quite a few they'd like to play again this year.....I'll get the ball rolling. 

Going to get a 2022 bracket going?  Like to try and play this year.