These are your golf headlines for Saturday, Oct 30th.
With their ever increasing distance off the tee, our golfers took on the very formidable Wolf Creek, with it’s long yardage and crazy greens. Our trio of awesome duffers included binkdog, MacTHW, and ashthw.
Ash came out firing with an opening birdie, then quickly hopped aboard the bogey express. Mac didn’t fare much better and soon joined ash in bogey-land. Meanwhile, the planetary played steady golf and even managed a couple of birdies on the front 9. Mac continued to struggle, carding a couple of elways and a snowman on the front, gaining a little redemption with a birdie at 9. His 51 was good enough for the caboose. Ash made out better with another birdie before running into trouble with a snowman and his cousin the 11. Ash made the turn in 49, just ahead of mac. Binkdog managed to avoid trouble and took a commanding lead at the turn with a 36. Ash would crank it up a bit after the turn, going -1 for the first 3 holes before running into a twin elway sighting. He got the ship corrected wth a birdie at 15 to finish with a 41 on the back and a final score of 90. Mac could only find bogies on the back to go with his sparse par collection for a score of 44 on the back and a final tally of 95 to find the caboose. Binkdog manged 2 birdies and an eagle at his nemesis 17th hole, but they were offset by a pair of elways, so he finished with a 38 on the back. Binkdog scooped up another record with a final score of 74! Wolf who ???
In their quest for another record, our players headed on over to South Africa to take on the Gary Player country club, the site of many a poor rounds in the past. Binkdog came out of the gate firing with mac, each grabbing birdie on the part 5 2nd hole, while ash camped in bogey-land. The rest of the front yielded only 2 birdies at the par 5 ninth. Thanks to an elway on the 8th, binkdog lost his lead to mac at the turn, with mac firing a 37, followed by bink with 38, and ash at 39 - a close battle!! The back 9 would see all our golfers get a birdie on the par 5 10th. Ash ran into trouble on 11 and 12 to pick up bogeys. Bink was steady thru 13 with 3 pars, picking up 1 on mac, who bogeyed the 12th. Ash ran a string of 3 pars to gain on the leaders who both bogeyed the par 5 14th. The match remained very tight right into 17, with bink and mac tied and ash only 2 back. Bink and Ash both got a par, while mac saw the round slipping away with a bogey. The 18th hole turned into a true waterloo, with water causing all kinds of trouble for mac and ash, not to mention penalty shots. Binkdog managed to escape the trouble and came home with a par, while mac met up with elway, and Ash ran up to the max score of 11. Once again a record falls as bink’s 38/37 was good for a 75, followed by Mac with a 79, and Ash with an 84.
Feeling confident they could conquer any course, our trio moved next to pebble beach. Mac set the tone right off the bat with a birdie, while ash bogeyed and bink doubled. Bink tried to come back with a birdie on the next hole, but gave it all right back with a double on the next hole. Mac was steady and on fire, carding -2 thru 7 holes before he ran into trouble on 8 and 9 to give a couple back to bink and ash. Ash didn’t find the green circle on the front, but did find 5 bogeys for a 41. Mac led at the turn with a 36, and bink in pursuit with a 38. Mac would beat back the bink attack with birdies in the first 5 holes to take a 5 shot lead into 15. Ash matched bink on the first 5 holes on the back but couldn’t gain ground on mac. Mac provided a slight opening as he got bogey-itis on 15 for 3 straight bogeys. Unfortunately bink and ash couldn’t take advantage as bink also bogeyed 15 and ash found trouble and elway on the par 3 17th. Down 3 going into 18, bink needed a miracle and almost got one, as he birdied on the par 5, along with ash, while mac found trouble. Mac managed to barely make a putt for bogey, squeaking out a sparkling new record by 1 shot!! Mac’s 36/38 was good for a 74. Bink trailed by 1 at 75, with Ash at 81.
Great rounds golfers - see you next week at the world golf championships at Sheshan !!
binkdog Talks Smack And Backs It Up, Much To The Dismay Of Mac And Ash
by MacTHW
Excitement is in the air as our players look forward to the 2010 THW World Championship, scheduled for Nov. 5-6th at Sheshan. This week, to test the waters a bit, the golfers played a few rounds at Sheshan and then headed to TPC Blue Monster for some record setting fun. I’m writing the headlines…again, as binkdog is too busy winning golf matches, so here they are…your headlines for October 23rd, 2010.
The first round at Sheshan on Saturday did not bode well for neither Ash or Mac. Ash gets off to a terrible start with a 7 bogey streak on the front nine, two of those being an 11. Mac is not too far behind. Things don’t get any better on the back nine when MacTHW’s Wii freezes on the 12th, disqualifying him from the round. Ash tries to get his game together but the 55 he put up on the front allows binkdog to easily stroll in for the win with a 71 to Ash’s 94.
Mac wants another crack at binkdog and Sheshan so the players reset and try again. Ash can’t seem to stay out of Bogeyville while binkdog and Mac battle for the lead…but end up tied at the turn, each with a one-over-par 37. Determined to destroy the playing field, binkdog turns on the afterburners and puts up five consecutive birdies on the back nine, setting a new record for consecutive birdies. Mac attempts to stay even but only manages four birdies on the back nine and falls three strokes behind binkdog. Ash can not escape his prison cell in Bogeyville and finishes the round with a 91. binkdog leads with a 71 and Mac comes in second with a 74.
Next, our golfers return to the United States to play at TPC Blue Monster, where binkdog goes on the warpath, laying waste to all sorts of course, personal and overall records. binkdog plays a six-birdie, bogey-free front nine, setting a new course record of 30 for the front nine. MacTHW hits the turn at even par while the wheels come off for Ash on the 9th, putting up an 11. The back nine sees a lot more birdies, Ash getting a three birdie streak starting on the 10th. binkdog bogies the 13th, ending his bogey-free streak while MacTHW unsuccessfully tries to cut into binkdog’s lead. All three players finish the back nine at under par, but binkdog’s commanding lead at the turn keep him in the lead and put him into the record books with a 62 for the round, which sets a new record low for the course, a record low for binkdog personally and finally, the overall THW Golf low score, once held by Jared’s 64 at Oakmont.
Down but not out, Mac immediately wants a re-match at TPC Blue Monster. binkdog wants to call it a night, but gets talked (taunted) into one more round by Ash. binkdog attempts to repeat his stellar performance from last round, but plays more like a normal, non putting-robot assisted person this time around. All players start off the round with birdies but Ash just can’t break his addiction to Bogey-ville. MacTHW looks like he’s in it to win it, playing a bogey-free front nine and coming in at 4 strokes under par at the turn. binkdog, now three strokes behind, takes advantage of two bogies by MacTHW on the 11th and 13th and pulls even with a birdie on the 14th. Neither player can gain the upper hand so the round is a tie between binkdog and MacTHW, both players carding a 69. Ash brings it home with a double-snowman.
This weekend’s action was streamed live at http://www.livestream.com. If you’d like to catch binkdog’s record setting five birdie streak or overall record setting 62 at TPC Blue Monster or if you just want to see the awesomeness that is MacTHW, catch the replay below:
The title of this post is all you really need to know. But…other things did happen this past Saturday. And for those things and more, here are your THW Golf headlines.
Three golfers took to the links at East Lake GC. While Ash and Mac had no trouble finding BogeyTown immediately, binkdog took his time, avoiding the dreaded square box until the 9th hole. Fortunately, his eagle on the par 5 5th would let him keep the lead at the turn. Not content to let binkdog run away with the game, MacTHW matched binkdog scorewise along the back nine. Ash ventured way off-course and would finish with an 84. Not able to make up the three strokes lacking from the front nine, MacTHW finished with a 70 and binkdog takes the win with a 67.
Next, our golfers headed to Bay Hill, where MacTHW was already plotting to take down the ‘dog. Ash strays off the path much further than normal and hits the turn with a 50, while binkdog and MacTHW battle it out on the front nine, with MacTHW holding a small, two stroke lead over binkdog at the turn. Ash corrects course on the back nine, but alas, the damage was too great on the front nine. MacTHW puts up three birdies which allows him to snatch victory from the jaws of the binkdog, who trails by three strokes at the finish. It would be MacTHW 75, binkdog 78 and Ash 87.
A fourth player joins the fun and off to Hazeltine they head. A smack-talkin’ Jared lights a fire underneath Ash, as the two of them battle for supremacy along the front nine. binkdog and MacTHW have a battle of their own going…the battle for the caboose. Unfortunately, MacTHW wins that battle and hits the turn with a 38. Ash leads the pack with a 33. Jared hopes that Ash will stumble along the back nine, but Ash holds strong. The stumbling is done by binkdog instead, as he falls off pace handing MacTHW a few strokes along the way. Ash edges out Jared by one stroke for the win with a 68. MacTHW comes home with a 73, while binkdog is choking on everyone’s dust with a 77.
YEAH! ASH BEATS JARED!
A disguntled binkdog throws down a team challenge to Team Awesome, forming a new team with Jared, known as Team Jdog. Team Awesome accepts the challenge and off to Harbour Town they go.
Fully expecting to finish off Team Awesome on the front nine, Team Jdog was in for a surprise as they found themselves 1 down at the 10th. A small charge would see Team Jdog at 1UP, but Team Awesome brings them back to Earth on the 18th, finishing the round All Square.
Team Jdog immediately ask for a re-match despite knowing that Team Awesome was tired from mountain biking all day. Since being awesome is what Team Awesome is all about, they accept one final game. Team Jdog go to 3UP at the turn, hoping to finish the game early. Team Awesome valiantly holds off Team Jdog until the 16th, when exhaustion overwhelms them, handing a 3UP win to Team Jdog.
Great games. Nice to see a fourth player. More action next weekend.
In An Attempt To Break Records, binkdog Breaks Nothing and Ash Breaks Wind
by MacTHW
What’s this? Headlines on a Saturday? Are they for Friday night’s hot, golfing action? Well, not really. From the “Better late than never” department, here are your headlines for last Saturday night…
The pros were still hanging out in Europe after their participation in the Ryder Cup played at Celtic Manor in Wales. When in that part of the world, I believe it is mandatory to play a few rounds at St. Andrews, which is what the pros did.
Seeing it’s good enough for the pros, the THW Golfers also headed to St. Andrews and proceeded to play two rounds of very excellent golf. binkdog starts off by birdieing the first hole. Mac answers with a birdie on the second and Ash answers both of them with a birdie on the third. Only two bogeys marr the front nine, where binkdog leads going into the turn with a 34, but both Ash and Mac are close behind, off by one stroke at 35 apiece. binkdog attempts to assert his lead with an eagle on the 12th par 4. Both Ash and Mac run into trouble of the bogey kind on the 18th, handing binkdog a win. Round one ends with binkdog 72, MacTHW 76 and Ash 78.
binkdog starts out round two with two consecutive birdies and the intention of breaking Jared’s record of 65 on this course. binkdog is on fire with 6 birdies on the front nine, taking a commanding lead over Ash and Mac with an impressive 31 at the turn. binkdog continues the onslaught on the back nine, having Jared’s record in the bulls-eye. Ash stops off to get an autograph from Elway on the 14th and builds a snowman on the 18th. Meanwhile, binkdog birdies 4 holes on the back nine and is on track to break Jared’s score…and if it were not for the double-bogey on the unlucky 13th he would have. binkdog finishes the round tieing the current record-holder with a score of 65, while Mac turns in a 71 and Ash an 80.
Someone else besides the “normal three” joins the action!
Yes, Jared decides he wants a piece of the action and joins binkdog, Ash and Mac at Sheshan. binkdog, still wanting to take down the record-holder starts off strong. Ash and Jared both spot an Elway early on while everyone but Ash finds trouble on the 8th, especially Jared, who cards an 11. binkdog is at even par at the turn, leading by two strokes. There are birdies aplenty on the back nine and all players turn in very good scores for the back nine. binkdog would emerge as the victor with a 71, Mac trailing behind by two strokes with a 73, then Jared with a 77 and Ash a 78.
MacTHW beats Jared!. You read it here first. Booyah!
A groggy Ash reluctantly agress to play one more round and the gang heads off to Pinehurst No.2. Surprisingly, the players are still firing on all cylinders, although Ash does take an unfortunate stroll into BogeyTown near the end of the front nine, where binkdog leads with three strokes. It’s still anyones game until 12th, where Ash veers off-course and back into Bogey-Town, where he takes up residence for six consecutive holes. Mac bows out of the race next and now the game is between binkdog and Jared. Jared playes a four-birdie, zero-bogey back nine and edges out binkdog with a 67 for the win. binkdog is two strokes behind with a 69, Mac a 72 and Ash an 81.
Great games, golfers. And thanks for stopping by, Jared. Remember, Shop smart, shop S-Mart. These rounds were not televised, so you will not find them at livestream.com.
Lack of player participation marrs the very first THW Smoothie Cup, where Team Europe (played by Ash and MacTHW) hands down a drubbing to Team USA (played by a lone player - binkdog). These are your headlines for the Smoothie Cup weekend.
The part of Team Europe would be played by Ash and MacTHW. Team USA had trouble finding anyone to play, so binkdog went valiantly into the tournament alone, attempting to take on the powerhouse of awesomeness that is Ash and MacTHW. Since team play was a huge part of the tournament, the players improvised and would play singles matches, that also counted as team games.
Three rounds would be played Friday evening.
binkdog’s tour started out with equipment troubles. Unfortunately, unlike the Jim Furyk situation at The Tour, he was not able to run out to a pro shop and purchase a $39 replacement putter. On the singles front, MacTHW was on fire and had a blistering 32 at the turn, twelve strokes ahead of both Ash and binkdog. As for the team effort, the match ended on the 14th as Team USA succumbed to a score of 6 down. MacTHW takes the singles win a 71. binkdog follows with an 87 and Ash a 90.
Round two saw Ash and binkdog pick it up, each player turning in a score in thirties at the turn. In the team effort, binkdog hung in there nearly to the end, losing the match 2 down. In singles scoring, MacTHW once again puts up a 71 to win the match, despite binkdog’s four birdies on the back nine. binkdog crosses the finish line with a 74 and Ash a 79. All scores in the 70’s. Well done!
The last round for Friday night would see binkdog gunning for victory, going bogey free for the entire front nine. Team Europe definitely has had the advantage all evening, where Ash and MacTHW perfectly backed each other up, with one player being to cover for the other. binkdog has no such luxury, being hung out to dry by fellow players and finally throws in the towel on the 16th, where Team Europe goes 3UP. In singles play, Ash makes a run at victory but runs into some bogey trouble along the back nine. binkdog has victory in his sights as well but falls apart on the 18th, scoring a 9 on the intimidating par 5. MacTHW eeks out a victory with a 73. binkdog follows with a 75 and Ash an 81.
The players are refreshed for action continuing on Saturday evening. Still no one wants to join binkdog, so he goes it alone again on Saturday.
Round one starts out with binkdog (Team USA) looking for redemption, but Ash is there to match him point for point on both the front and back nines, tying binkdog for the overall score of 77. MacTHW is off the mark and follows behind with an 81. As far as the team effort is concerned, binkdog bows out on the 17th. Team Europe wins it with a 2UP.
Ash and MacTHW start out round two strong, putting binkdog on the defensive, struggling to hold off Team Europe from ending the team effort early. A strong performance by Ash on the back nine gives Team Europe a decisive 5UP victory in the team effort. In singles action, MacTHW fending off the bogey monster allows him to end the round with a 69, beating out binkdog by 4 strokes and 8 ahead of Ash.
All these rounds of golf were taking their toll on the players, as is evident by all the bogeys seen during round four, especially the front nine. Ash and binkdog battle during the front nine, both putting up a 39 at the turn. binkdog hangs in there for the team effort, but a par by Ash on the 17th wins it for Team Europe with a 2UP. As for the singles effort, binkdog takes advantage of a triple bogey by Ash on the 16th and a triple on the water-ball 18th by MacTHW, binkdog sneaks in a singles victory with a 74. Ash comes in second with a 76 and MacTHW’s snowman on the 18th leads to a 76.
When adding up team scores:
Team Europe - 6
Team USA - 0
Singles scores:
MacTHW - 444
binkdog - 460
Ash - 480
Although, score-wise the Smoothie Cup should go to Team Europe, it seems a bit unfair. Therefore, this will be called a no-contest. All three players should be considered champs, merely for competing. Perhaps a Player Participant trophy is warranted in this case.
If you want to catch some of the action from the Smoothie Cup, you can watch at livestream.com
THW Golf is a private online golf league that plays Tiger Woods PGA Tour on the Wii. Membership is not open to the public and one must be invited by a current member in order to join. THW Golf was formed during the Tiger Woods 2010 season and provides for a family-friendly environment where known friends can get together and compete in challenging and cheat-free golf sessions. We think that not opening ourselves to the trolls and cheaters and hackers of the greater World Wide Web is key to maintaining that environment.
Although we are closed for public membership, please feel free to check out our stats, headlines, tournaments, promotional videos, and heck, even our by-laws. As you can see, while we may be a small group, we like to think BIG. But more importantly, we like to have FUN.
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