12+ miles walked
3 hour round of footgolf
675 miles driven
9 hours and 45 minutes sitting behind the wheel
All in less than 24 hours
What a day.
Making the trip to and back from Meridian, Idaho on Friday the 13th for the AFGL Rocky Mountain Qualifier was tiring, humbling, so much fun, amazing, unforgettable and so many other sappy adjectives.
There is so much I want to cover, so I'll categorize if folks want to skip to read about something specific.
My Wife
First and foremost, I can't believe how lucky I am to have a wife like Lindsea that would support me in this crazy dream of testing my limits in footgolf. She made the trip with me, and was the lone spectator that watched our foursome play the course on a hot day in May.
What a trooper.
She provided encouragement to me, took some pictures to document the round and sent text messages back and forth to those back home who wanted to know how I was doing.
She's the best.
Without getting too sentimental, I want to make sure that's it known how much of this trip was enjoyable because she was by my side the entire way. Being with her made the experience that much more enjoyable. We went to a park nearby the course to take a nap before the tournament and it was serene. Sure, I was a nervous wreck at the time, but I was with Lindsea.
I freaking love her.
The Results
I finished with a score of 75, which was three over par and good enough for 4th place. I was two strokes behind 3rd place, five behind 2nd place and eight strokes behind the winner.
I started out strong with a stroke lead over the would-be winner, but ran into trouble on the third hole. On my birdie attempt I had a tree in between me and the hole. It wasn't in my line to the cup, but it was close enough that my errant putt hit the tree and my ball ended up against a fence line. With no relief options, I tried to toe poke it at an angle with my right foot to try and spin it towards the hole. Physically, the easier option would have been to use my left foot to attempt the shot, but I didn't trust it at the time.
In retrospect, I should have.
My awkward kick pushed the ball well passed the hole, and it took two more putts to get in for a double-bogey.
There were two or three putts that were right on the money but were left a few feet short. There were also two or three more putts that had the right strength, but lipped out at the last second.
I believe I only bogeyed one hole twice (remember, there are only nine holes and we played them twice), and it was the last one. Listed as a par four, the yardage was listed around 160, but I swear it felt more like 200. I had decent attempts at par on the hole but couldn't get it done.
Looking at the final results, my errors cost me in a big way. Only the top 30% in these tournaments qualify for the regional championships later in the year, which would be the top two in this case. Since there were less than 20 players in the field, only the top 55% receive points and at 50% of what they would receive normally towards their national ranking.
Here's the thing. There were eight people signed up but only seven showed. Four is obviously in the 55th percentile of eight, but four is in the 57th percentile of seven. I don't know how the AFGL handles situations like these, and the national rankings have not yet been updated.
The Players
In my foursome there was Edgar Escobar, a man from Ohio who flew out to participate in the event. He ended up being the winner of the tournament and absolutely dominated. He's already qualified for his regional championship, is currently ranked 13th in the country and will continue to bounce around the country playing in tournaments. He absolutely crushed the ball off the tee box. My approach is slower, more focused on the technique. Escobar, on the other hand, is practically at a dead sprint when he approaches the ball and just rips it. His approaches and putts were also very accurate, obviously. It was great to see and play with a footgolfer of his caliber. I feel like I can get there someday.
It was also great to see the only other Utah player there. Casper, as I know him, has only been playing footgolf for three months, but loves it so much that he's planned out an extensive summer tour to participate in several qualifying tournaments in the western United States. He came in dead last but had a great attitude about being a part of the tournament. He's a great guy and I'm anxious to see how he develops. I see him every now and again at Riverside and have even played part of a round with him and some of the footgolf junkies that work at the course.
Bobby was a local footgolfer that was familiar with the course. He was just two strokes behind me when the day was over. Nothing against him, I just don't have much to say about the guy. He's a good footgolfer who had great control over the spin of his approach shots.
I can't speak to much for the other three players either, since, you know, they were in a different group. They seemed like nice guys. Although I think they all rented their balls from the course and two of them beat me. Not sure what I'm supposed to make out of that, if anything.
The Course
The layout of Lakeview Golf Course is similar to that of The Barn in North Ogden only for the aspect of the backyards of homes lining just about every hole.
The fairways were wide open with little to no obstacles. One hole was tucked behind a line of rolling hills, but other than that, long hard drives and approaches were the name of the game.
Then why was this course ranked as a Category "B" (Courses are ranked on an "A" through "C" scale to determine difficulty and point earnings with "A" being the most difficult) by the AFGL?
Length.
Why do you think the round took three hours or how I got 26,000 steps in?
Normally, an 18-hole footgolf course is laid on the front or back nine holes of a golf course. This footgolf course was laid out with only nine holes, meaning we had to play through two times. The layout allowed each hole on the footgolf course to be as long as needed.
Additionally, the grass around the cups was not trimmed like I was accustomed to at Riverside, my home course. For the most part, the grass was the length of a normal about ready to be mowed. That meant putts had to be stronger in order for the ball to get to the cup.
It was the warmest day of footgolf I've experienced this year and I felt it. By the end of the round my body was done. Not exhausted, but just spent from walking and kicking for so long in the hot sun. It wore me down.
Management at Lakeview was great. This was the first AFGL tournament in Idaho, but they went with it and did well.
The Lessons
Overall, I'm pleased with how I performed. I was more consistent that I have been and put on a little bit a pressure on the leader down the stretch. I feel like the final results were an accurate representation of where I am compared to those who were there competing. With that said, I know I can be better and shoot a lower score.
I need to work on my ambidexterity, or at least in confidence in it. I can kick with my left foot, it's just not as strong or comfortable. I need to be able to be comfortable so that I can more easily get out of tough situations like the one I found myself in on the third hole.
I need to be able to better adapt to the conditions of the greens (or lack thereof) for better putts. I lost a couple of strokes that way. That's a hard thing to simulate, because every course is going to be different. I can go to a park and practice my technique on my drives and approaches any time, but
I need to be stronger. I started out the calendar year hitting the gym all the time. That's since stopped and it's time to get back on the wagon. I'm not just talking about leg strength at the tee box. Endurance is a big thing that will help me get an edge. While others tire down, I need to have strong stamina to push through and finish strong on these longer courses.
I'm optimistic about where I am and the improvements I can make between now and the next qualifier. For now, that's set for Chipeta Golf Course in Grand Junction, Colo. on July 8, but Riverside is also finalizing details to host a qualifier there as well. That means just two more chances to qualify for the regional championship.
Let's do it.
-BG
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