Miracle On Grass

Thirty one years ago this week the US hockey team defeated the Russians in the 1980 Olympics at Lake Placid in what became known as The Miracle On Ice. Many argue that it was the greatest upset in sport's history. This past Friday, TFF witnessed perhaps an upset of such historic proportions that it could rival the US hockey team's win. In case you forgot that team K/M was having some internal strife, please refer to the last post. In the absence of LT as K,M, S*, and Ron drove to Falcon Ridge last Friday, Karl negotiated a partnership with Sam* in the backseat of The LTmobile. Karl later stated that it was the first time he had made a move in the backseat of a car in over 38 years. R and M quickly agreed to the guaranteed victory and the match was on. Sam's* history of team play in TFF matches is well documented and costly to any golfer willing to take him on as a partner. However, from the start, team K/S* dominated. After the match, Sam* had this to say: "This was my first time to ever partner with Karl. From my first drive to the final putt, I felt a sense of comfort and peace that I had never experienced on a golf course before. To know that Karl was behind me on every shot is indescribable. My only hope is that Karl will drop Mike and we can become a permanent team. In fact, I'll offer Karl right now to become my PFL(Partner For Life). After playing with Karl I can't understand how he and Mike ever lose." The first player rankings for 2011 came out this week and the obvious leader after captaining Sam* to his first team victory in TFF history was Karl. TFF caught up to the front runner for the 2011 Provisional Mulligan Cup Trophy and Karl had this to say;" I love a challenge and taking Sam* on as a partner looked like an impossible victory. Many experts said it couldn't be done. They also said that the human body could never run a sub 4 minute mile, but on May 6th 1954 Rodger Bannister did it. That's how I want to be remembered, as the Rodger Bannister of golf. In the future someone else may win with Sam* but I'll always be the first. I would like to thank Sam* for giving me this opportunity to make history. Besides, some of the credit should go to Sam, he made some occasional contributions to the team." Karl was perhaps referring to Sam's* 4 birdies and 33 on the front( he went on to shoot a 73 with 5 birdies). In other action, K lost to M and R in individual matches(R parred the difficult #18 to secure the victory by 1). Ron lost to Mike and seemed somewhat confused for most of the day about whether to give Mike putts or not. The latest rumor to be reported to TFF is that K is claiming to have a knee injury but most are speculating that it's a ploy to buy some time to negotiate a partnership with Sam*.

Scores-Birdies
S*-33/40-73-5
M-40/38-78-1
R-43/46-89-0
K-44/47-91-1

2011 Player Rankings
1. K
2. S*
3.R
4.LT
5.M

LT + RD = PFL

TFF Blog has uncovered evidence that Karl recently offered both LT and Ron an undisclosed amount of cash for one of them to leave their team and become his partner. To stop all such breakup rumors, team LT/R has officially announced that they are Partners For Life (PFL). Undefeated this 2011 season, team LT/R has developed a chemistry that has been unobtainable to team K/M. So, why can't team K/M reach the bond that LT/R have? The answer might be found in the March 2011 edition of Golf Magazine. In an article entitled "How To Be The Perfect Partner," the author (Josh Sens) describes what it takes to develop the type of synergy that we see with LT and Ron. You can't read the article without constantly thinking of how R and LT have come together. Paraphrasing (I mean really paraphrasing) the opening remarks we read; "Who says golf is a solitary game? Batman has Robin. The Lone Ranger has Tonto. LT has Ron, a middle aged insurance salesman with the pace of play of a snail on Ambien . But never fear! with LT and Ron combined, they can win any match. Why, because they are perfect partners!" The article talks about such topics as; how to pick the right partner, how to be a master at team strategy, how to cheer on the team when your game goes south, how to give your partner advise(useful), and how to lift a struggling teammate. When Karl was shown the article, his eyes teared up dreaming about what it would be like to have a partner that puts team first." If our team is getting killed but Mike is playing well, you can bet he's happy and singing that *#$% song he sings, but if the team is doing well but Mike isn't, then it's an entirely different story. I can't count the times in a close match that Mike has tried to quit just because he's not playing well. I think that one of the most important tips of team play comes from A.J. Bonar who states 'I don't care if he just duck-hooked it into some one's swimming pool - during a round is not the place for a lesson. It only makes him micromanage his swing, a recipe for disaster.' How many times have I addressed the ball for an important shot only to hear Mike start singing: Swing Slow Sweet....." When Mike was made aware of Karl's complaints, he was shocked; "I've supported Karl 100% throughout our partnership. If you ask the question why would LT and Ron agree to become Partners For Life the answer is simple, if they were to break up, one of them would have to be Karl's teammate and who wouldn't avoid that at all costs! Just read the section on How To Play Good Cop - Bad Cop And Psych Out Your Opponents, LT and Ron have PHDs in the mind game. However, when your partner has the mental game of a cantaloupe, it doesn't take much to shake him up." TFF will be following the next several team matches closely to see if K/M can overcome the internal team dissension and reunite to put up any challenge to the LT/R machine. Well we won't find out this week, as LT has gone south (Fla). The weather finally looks good as the first trip to Falcon Ridge is planned. In the absence of LT, the question is will anyone ignore his history of team play and pick up Sam* for a partner?