On a day with many notable scores, it was Irondequoit CC stealing the spotlight. The course, which was unanimously praised for its meticulous conditioning and challenging layout, provided a fair but stern test. Competitors who fared the best seemed to have one thing in common: when they didn’t play a shot as intended (which happens frequently, as we all know…) they left themselves in a decent scrambling position with a reasonable chance to save par or even bogey.
Too often the brave golfer will attempt the heroic shot instead of playing to the percentages. The 16th hole at Irondequoit presented a classic example. This short hole, measuring 354 from the blue tees, was the third most difficult hole of the day thanks to it's treacherous green, constructed to frustrate and infuriate golfers of all abilities. The green slopes severely from front to back, and just beyond the back fringe the hole slopes down towards the next tee box. With the day's hole location positioned on a shelf in the back right portion of the green, players would often take dead aim at the flagstick only to see their ball bound over the green into the deep rough beyond (in a position fondly referred to as 'dead'). The more studious player, knowing a well struck shot may result in a bogey or worse if played too confidently, would play to the center of the green. More often than not, the firm green would cause the ball to bound forward towards the hole, but the worst the player would have was a reasonable, uphill putt from the center of the green.
Al Belair reacts to missing his putt on the 17th hole at Irondequoit on Monday
Check out the course statistics, including each hole’s relative difficulty, here
There were many holes at Irondequoit that are defined by their strategic design, of which course architect Donald Ross is well known for. The day’s top finishers, including flight net winners Dave Ayoub (67), Jerry Byrwa (68), Stephen Poplarski (62), and Jeanne Kay (77), were able to capitalize on these design elements in order to gain an invitation to the 2012 State Days Championship. Also gaining invites for winning their respective flight’s low gross awards were Marais Lombard (72), Charlie Sharlow (80), Fred Merz (85), and Nancy Holzerland (97). The complete prize breakdown, including gift certificate amounts, can be found here.
To view the final net and gross results, click the links provided
The NYSGA’s State Days Tournament Series will take a brief hiatus until the June 4th tournament hosted by Buffalo’s Transit Valley Country Club. In order to learn more (and to register!) about future State Days tournaments, visit the State Days homepage at www.nysga.org/statedays.
Many thanks to the staff and membership of Irondequoit CC for graciously hosting Monday's State Days Series Tournament!
