The Comeback Kids

Finally!! After 15 weeks all 5 of TFF were able to make the short drive to Jackson National to engage in a fierce battle of spades.Since nobody wanted to be partners with Mike, Karl sent Mike out in the rain to work on his short game.(that's the only game he has- a Short game, get it?) Anyway, team LT/R took on team K/S. Team LT/R got off to a fast start, bidding and making 10 for 200 on the very first hand and actually winning 11 tricks. However, superior play by team K/S who have faced much tougher competition in international play in Panama, went on to an easy win. After cards, the rain was looking worse, so TFF drove to Community Grocery for breakfast. After the meal, the rain began to slow down and with all 5 eager to play, they returned to the course to give it a try. Despite a steady drizzle with an occasional down pour on an already soaked course, playing conditions actually weren't too bad. The big question of the day was what Ron accomplished at Mirimichi for real or was "The Miracle at Mirimichi" just that; a miracle. Just like in spades, team R/LT came out strong. Ron rolled in a 5 footer for birdie on #1 and after the first 4 holes the red hot team went up 8 on team K/M. It was at this point that K took charge and by grinding out an impressive 10 over on the next 4 holes slowed down the LT/R express to only being up by 9 after 8. It was obvious to K that M was having difficulty handling the pressure of not winning in 17 straight weeks. K knew that if team K/M were to have a chance, he would have to carry the team and forget about the individual glory of personal victories. K parred #9 winning 2 points and cut the lead to only 7. After 9 holes: R and M had 42's, LT and S had 44's, K stood alone with a 53. It was at hole #11 that K really got things going, chipping in from above the green for a birdie which brought a deafening roar from K's fans(often refereed to as Karl's Karavan.) Not only did K's chip-in( now known as the shot heard around Jackson National) seem to wake up his basket case partner M, but it struck fear in team LT/R. Mike who was down 8 to R at the turn, would go on to beat R by 10 on the back. By hole # 15 the team match was all square and despite R's dramatic chip-in bogie on #18(which allowed him to beat K by 1 with the 4 strokes that R had to give K), team K/M went on to victory snapping their long losing streak. S, who had his worst 9 of the year on the front and despite being tutored in math 2 days a week, couldn't manage to add up his 44. Lacking in math skills, he attempted to keep his back 9 math simpler, he just missed having all 4s with a 5 on the par 4 #16. S did pick up 2 birdies on both par 5s and was able to tie M with an 81. The story of the day,however, had to be the team performance and leadership that K exhibited in this come from behind match. It was overheard by one TFF voter speaking about K's performance:"What K did today turned some heads as well as some voters onto his bandwagon and he vastly improved his rankings for this year's Provisional Mulligan Cup."

Scores/Birdies
M-42/39-81-0
S-44/37-81-2
LT-44/46-90-0
R-42/49-91-1
K-53!/43-96-1

Notes of Interest
K owes R 2 lunches and K gets 5
R owes M 1 lunch and R gets 9
LT and K are even and K gets 1
Team LT/R get 15

Only 15 Weeks Left In 2009 Season

5-1, that's it. After 37 weeks of the 2009 season, team K/M lead team LT/R by the score of 5-1. Team K/M started the year strong going undefeated the first 20 weeks of the year. It was at that point that LT( sometimes referred to as The Nostradamus of Golf), predicted that they would not lose again this year. True to his word, team LT/R have not lost in 17 weeks, picking up 1 win during the streak. Now, with only 15weeks left in the season, is there any chance that team K/M will ever win again?? Also, time is running out for players to make moves in the race for The Provisional Mulligan Cup. So, who is the current leader? Mainly due to lack of play as a result of injuries and work, LT's hopes of maintaining the coveted trophy look slim. Karl's hopes are all but gone(as if there ever was any hope.) Ron, on the other hand, has come on strong after a slow start and could become a leading candidate if his play continues to improve. Many, however, are predicting that it could come down to the winner of the Mike-Sam duel which is currently being won by Sam in scoring average by .97 strokes per round. Although Mike would have trouble overcoming such a deficit in only 15 weeks, he still could pull off the head to head matches against his Nemesis. So, best of luck to everyone as we enter the stretch run for TPM Trophy!
Last Friday, K,S,and M went to Jackson National for the first time since its' redesign. All were very pleased with the improvements and it could become a regular stop for TFF.
Scores-Birdies
M-37/40-77-1
S-40/38-78-1
K-41/43-84-0
SEASON TOTALS

Rounds Played:
K-23
S-22
M-20
R-17
LT-13

Birdies:
S-31
M-23
R-14
K-12
LT-11

Birdies per round:
S-1.41
M-1.15
LT-.85
R-.82
K-.52

Scoring Average-Change since last stats.
S-77.98-improved by .63
M-78.95-improved by .9
R-87.00-improved by 2.2!!!!!!!!!!
K-88.61-improved by.77
LT-89.00-went up by .56

Team Victories:
K/M-5; LT/R-1

Notes:
LT and K even on lunches and will play even
R-K K-owes R 1 lunch and K gets 4 strokes
M-R M-owes R 1 lunch and R gets 8
Team LT/R get 14 from K/M

Mirimichi

This past Friday Sam, LT, Ron, and Karl traveled into Millington to play at Justin Timberlake's new course Mirimichi. Mirimichi is getting national recognition with predictions that it will become the #1 ranked public course in America. Also, there is talk of it someday hosting a U.S. Open. Since all 5 of TFF have now played the course at least once, TFF will reflect on their impressions. First, Mike believes it's the greatest thing since the invention of the Bell's hamburger. According to Mike, the English translation of the Indian word Mirimichi would be :"Almost Heaven." Sam, who has played the course twice, said: "There's no doubt that it's a great course, however, it will never host a US Open. There is not enough room to handle the crowds." Sam's translation of Mirimichi is:"Great course that costs too much." Perhaps the most knowledgeable opinion of how this course ranks, would be that of the reining Provisional Mulligan Cup holder, LT. LT's travel experiences of playing elite courses is unsurpassed among TFF. Although LT recognises that Mirimichi is a very good course, he would rank Spring Creek ahead of it. He also feels that Ross Creek is also a better course. For LT Mirimichi translates:" You could have played Ross Creek twice for what you just payed to play here." Karl was impressed with the course, but a little disappointed after all the raves from Mike. He agrees with LT that Ross Creek is a better course, especially if they could spend the money that was spent on Mirimichi. He also agrees with Sam that it will never host a US Open. Not only would it not be able to handle the crowds on the course, but there are no hotels, restaurants, and traffic would be a big problem. For Karl, Mirimichi translates:"overrated" Finally, there's Ron who played his best round of the year and would naturally love the course. Ron's translation of the Indian word Mirimichi was:"Man plays from women's tees."(we'll explain shortly)
K and S parred #1 then S birdied #2. Karl then pulled off what might have been the shot of the year on #3 with a 38 yard chip-in birdie. After 4 holes Karl was 7 strokes up on both LT and Ron. (R gave him 3 and LT gave him 1). At this point Ron declared that he was moving up to the gold tees. Karl was forced to go with him due to the lunch wager. It would prove costly to K, while giving Ron the boost he needed. Ron played even par for the next 14 holes. Both LT and Sam birdied #6. On #7 Ron hit the shot of the year. He holed out a blind 31 foot chip-in that had to be seen to believe. He then followed that up with a birdie 2 on #8. After 9: S-36,R-41,LT-44,K-44. By the way, K got out of the deep bunker on #9 with 1 swing and left the ball 10 feet from the hole( His ball wasn't in the bunker, he just dropped a ball to see if he could get out. In fact, much to the dissatisfaction of LT, K was only in 1 bunker all day.)
Although Sam continued to play well on the back, (and unlike R and K he also continued to play from the men's tees) the rest of the day belonged to Ron. He got his 3rd birdie on #12. Karl got his second birdie on a par 3 on #13 but it was too little too late. Ron coasted to victory and topped it off with his 4th birdie on #18 and a 1 under 35 on the back nine!! After lunches were bought, Karl owes Ron 1 lunch and will get 4 strokes. LT and K are even and will play even.
SCORES-BIRDIES
S-36/39-75-2
R-41/35-76-4
K-44/40-84-2
L-44/46-90-1

The Final Four??

With a devastating loss to Ron at his home course, Karl(with a K) may be on the brink of elimination from this year's Provisional Mulligan Cup. Last week he suffered defeat in a close match with LT, and finds himself clearly behind both LT and Ron at this point . Ron, Sam, K, and K's son in law, Ryan went to Humboldt this past Friday. Ron had to give K 2 strokes. Karl was quickly up 3 with a par on #1, but when Ron birdied #7 it was all square. Ron's par on #8 put him up 1. Meanwhile, Sam despite bogies on #1and #2, went on to record a one over 36. When he birded #15 he was back to even. A disappointing bogie on #16 was costly, but Sam went on to record a 1 over 71. Karl started the back with 2 pars and was back up 1. However, Ron birdied #12 to even things up. As they approached the difficult #17 (a 310 yard monster par 4), Ron held a 1 stroke lead. Ron was happy to get a 6 while Karl managed to only take 4 shots from 55 yards out for a 5 and to square the match up. Karl hit his tee shot on #18 into #17's fairway, so he took his mulligan and hit it into the green side pond. He dropped by the ladies tee box on #17 and hit his 3rd shot 3 feet from the hole. Ron took an easy par, but despite the penalty stroke, all Karl needed was to hit the short putt for a tie. It wasn't even close. When asked about his experience of getting to play with the Friday Fivesome, Ryan had this to say:"Without a doubt, it was the highlight of my life. What amazing athletes! You can read the blog all you want, but until you actually experience the intensity of these matches, you really are clueless." Karl owes Ron 1 lunch and will get 3 strokes next time.

Scores-Birdies

S-36/35-71-2

R-40/4o-80-2

K-43/40-83-0

Rule 14-4

Rule 14-4 proved costly to Karl today as K,LT,M, and LT's friend David made the long trip to Ross Creek. It was probably the hottest day of the year but the course was in excellent condition. LT got off to a 5 stroke lead over Karl as he parred the first two holes while K doubled and tripled. Karl was badly misled by Mike's distance calculation on #2 which by itself cost him the match , but Mike was giving LT putts all day and forced Karl into reluctantly giving them also. Mike played well all day and finished with 3 birdies. His 1st was on # 5 where he hit the shot of the day to within 3.5 feet and was even par after making the putt.. His only mishap was a double on #8, but he followed it up with a birdie on #9 and finished with a 38. Mike inflicted the greatest pain to Karl on #7.(other than when he hit Karl's bag after a missed putt, breaking Karl's priceless Maui Jim glasses case.) LT was in the bunker laying 4. His 5th shot was miss hit and would have gone 20 yards off the green, leaving LT with a 7 at best. Instead, Mike stops the ball and knocks it back to LT giving him a 6. When they got back to the cart an irate Karl confronted Mike about giving LT a 6. His response was " I felt sorry for him." Karl's response was" ****! Why didn't you feel sorry for me when I was getting an 8 on #2?? I'm 2 strokes down!! "After 9: LT 45, K 47. Karl got to with in 1 as they teed off on # 14. Karl hit his 8 iron on the par 3 way short an apparently into the ditch. He hit a provisional mulligan to within 5 feet. LT who seemed to enjoy the beach all day was in the sand and would take a 5 on the hole. All Karl needed was to not find his ball and he would have at least a 1 stroke lead. (2 if he hit the 5 foot birdie) Of course Mike is determined to find Karl's ball. The ball is found and Karl proceeds to hit his 2nd and 3rd shots with one swing of the club. Rule 14-4 states : "If a player's club strikes the ball more than once in the course of a stroke, the player must count the stroke and add a penalty stroke, making two strokes in all." Karl would get a 6 and would go on to lose by 1 to LT. Mike birdied #17 for his 3rd birdie of the day. Karl will get 1 stroke from LT next time, and they are even on lunches.
SCORES--BIRDIES
Mike-38/39-77--3
LT-45/46-91--0
K-47/45-92--0

"That's Good"

"That's good" are words every player loves to hear, even if they don't hear it. (I'll explain later.) S,K,R, and M traveled to Dyersburg to play The Farms on an unseasonably cool and beautiful Friday. Although a little wet,(cart paths only), the course was in excellent condition. Mike was feeling frisky and demanded that we play from the back tees. M gave R 10 strokes and R gave K 2. Ron hit a 22 foot putt on #1 for birdie. Karl hit the shot of the day on #2, a 215 yard 5 wood into the wind to within 6 feet. He hit the putt to go 1 under. His stellar play continued and despite having two 5 foot putts lip out, was 2 over going into #8. Karl hit a perfect drive over the lake, He took his trusty 5 wood and hit a good shot pin high but left. Unfortunately, the ball had apparently hit the cart path and was just out of bounds. Karl went to drop where his drive was and completed the hole. However, as he stood over his putt for an 11, the rest of the group had departed for #9. Karl hit what he thought was a perfect 5 foot putt only to have it go 365 degrees around the hole, so he tapped in for a 12. While Karl struggled on the hole, Sam had his only birdie of the day. At the turn: S-37,M-40,R-41,K-46.Ron putted well all day and sank a nice putt for his second birdie on #12. Karl fought his way back but was only able to get within 3 going into #18. Karl laid up his second shot to 138 yards. Ron, however, hit his second into the water. Ron's 4th shot just made it over the water(thanks to encouragement from Karl) and was to the left of the green. Karl's 3rd was about 14 feet from the hole. He hit an absolute perfect birdie putt, only to see it lip out. Ron was able to get on, 2 putt, and get a 7 for an apparent 1 stroke victory over Karl. Mike hit a nice 9 footer for his only birdie of the day, but Ron was able to beat Mike by 2. Now, back to "That's Good". As the four players headed to Neil's for lunch, Karl was reminiscing how many putts he had lip out, and especially the one on #8 for a 12. His partner Mike then asked: "You mean you counted that missed putt? Ron had already said "That's Good". So Karl went from the depths of despair to the sweet taste of victory(or at least a tie).
Scores: birdies
Mike-40/39-79: 1
Sam-37/43-80: 1
Ron-41/47-87: 2
Karl-45/44-89: 1

Mike owes Ron 1 lunch and will give 9. Ron and Karl are even and Karl will get 2.

Darby Celebrates Early Birthday

Today, Ron takes one step closer to the senior tees and TFF wishes the Yankee Doodle Dandy a happy birthday! Yesterday, he hit drives like he should have already been hitting from the white tees, and his ability to keep score showed early signs of Alzheimer's. S,K,LT, and R went to the newly reopened and renamed Chickasaw GC. It was in good shape and had the best crowd playing that TFF had ever seen. However, TFF fears that the green fees are too high and will hinder many from playing. TFF would highly suggest lower fees, promotions, advertising,anything they could do to increase play. Anyway, the weather was perfect, but the score keeping was not. The problem occurred on #1 where R hit his second shot in the water and somehow managed a bogey 6. Four hours later, on the way home, R confessed that he should have had a 7. It was too little too late for K. K birdied #3 and was playing well until hole #8 where he took a double. Ron was all over the course, but thanks to Sam finding his ball on every hole was scoring well. His drive on #8 just missed the hole for an easy birdie and a 3 stroke swing with K that would prove to be the difference in the match. Sam hit the ball well all day and made the turn with a 37(1 bogey 3 putt on #8). He was feeling pretty good about himself until Ron announced that he had a 38.(This would be later changed to a 39) LT was struggling but was only 4 strokes behind K at the turn. However, his start on the back appeared to do him in. His first drive appeared to be in the ditch. His mulligan went deep into the woods. He dropped and hit his third shot into the woods. While crossing the ditch LT was prepared to drop and hit his 5th shot. Guess what he ended up getting? That's right a birdie! Only the current Provisional Mulligan Cup holder and creator of "LT Rules" could pull off such a score. He found his drive across the ditch, knocked it up onto the green then hit a 29 foot putt for birdie! K took a bogey 5 and suddenly LT was within 2 strokes of K. However,LT was right back out of it with a 8 on #12 and never regained any steam. Sam's good play continued paring the first 2 but took a double on the par 3 12th. He got 1 back on the tough #17 with his only birdy. and finished with another 37. Karl believing that he was 2 strokes down (with 1 stroke R had to give) hit the drive of his life on #18 and was 115 out. His 2nd shot was 14 feet from the hole. When his birdy attempt was just short, he gave Ron a 5 footer for par thinking the match was over. This brings us back to the controversial scoring by R on #1. Oh well, it's too late now, Happy Birthday Ron!
Scores and Birdies:
S-37/37-74--1
R39/39-78--1
K-41/39-80--1
LT-45/46-91--1

K will be gone next week, be sure to save the card.