THW Golf Headlines

Monday, May 06, 2013

First Annual Housewares Invitational Wrap Up

by MacTHW

The invites are out for the first annual Housewares Invitational at TPC Louisiana. Special guest IWGCJoeCool is invited to play and throws down some low scores. Everyone’s scores, well mostly everyone’s, are still in flux so it ends up being anyone’s game, down to the last round. If you enjoy whining and pouting, this is the tournament for you. Here are your headlines for the first ever Housewares Invitational.

PointedMarlin is eager to continue his tournament streak after winning the Masters two weeks prior. binkdog, enderdog, MacTHW and special guest, IWGCJoeCool arrive at the tee box to try their own hand at winning a tournament, albeit a minor one.

Marlin and Joe start out strong along the front nine, pulling ahead of bink, ender and MacTHW, with MacTHW faring the worst. Things don’t look better for the trailing trio along the back and Marlin stumbles a bit, giving up two strokes to Joe who manages to eke out a three stroke victory for round one.

Round 1:

Round two sees another strong showing from JoeCool who is leading at the turn but is being closely pursued by both binkdog and Marlin. binkdog is determined to stay in the first chase group and signals that he is still in it to win it. No one, however, is a match for JoeCool and his trusty putter, which sends him to a second consecutive victory, besting both binkdog and Marlin by three strokes as binkdog and Marlin have to settle for sharing second place.

Round 2:

Round three, Moving Day, picks up on Saturday as the five contestants head out onto the links to engage in another match for supremacy. JoeCool’s putter seems to have cooled off a bit but he still maintains a two stroke lead at the turn of round three. It seems that when one putter cools off another heats up. In this case, enderdog’s putter in on the mark, missing PAR on the back nine by only one stroke. Marlin also takes advantage of JoeCool’s cooling and picks up six strokes on the back. binkdog spends his time hanging out with MacTHW in the caboose. Marlin draws to within two strokes of the leader as everyone heads into round four.

Round 3:

Round four sees the scores getting higher. Marlin needs to pick up two strokes on JoeCool but ends up moving in the wrong direction, giving up two strokes along the front nine. As the players head into the final nine of the tournament, binkdog’s wheels come off and he careens into the rough. No one stops to help binkdog get back on track and is eventually left behind, even by his trusty team-mate enderdog. The battle continues between Marlin and JoeCool, with Marlin needing to make up four strokes. He can only manage to take back two strokes, leaving the spoils of victory to JoeCool. enderdog passes up binkdog and comes in third, while binkdog trundles across the finish line in fourth place and MacTHW proudly brings it home in the caboose.

Round 4:

The final standings after four rounds:

TPC Louisiana | Course PAR: 72 | Tournament PAR: 288
POS	Player	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	THRU	TOTAL	SCORE
1	IWGCJoeCool	81	84	88	90	72	343	+55
2	PointedMarlin	84	87	84	90	72	345	+57
3	enderdog	92	90	86	89	72	357	+69
5	binkdog	92	87	91	96	72	366	+78
5	MacTHW	95	95	89	91	72	370	+82

Congratulations to JoeCool on winning the first ever Housewares Invitational and his first ever Team Housewares tournament. It was a good tournament, scores at the top close and a flank maneuver by enderdog to rout binkdog for third place.

To relax after tournament, the golfers, minus JoeCool head to TPC River Highlands. MacTHW holds the lead at the turn and manages to cling to it after the back nine, although some unfortunate bogies had him stumbling across the finish line.

Highlands:

And finally, MacTHW and enderdog head to Costa Navarino for a final showdown of the evening. enderdog, trying to make up for his third place showing at the Housewares Invitational, fires on all cylinders and only suffers one bogey along the front nine. His streak continues along the back nine, although, some bogies rear their ugly heads again. The performance is still stellar as he manages to turn in a 75 after the round is over and done. This is good enough to become the season low score and of course, record holder at Costa Navarino.

Costa Navarino:

There is no tournament next weekend so mostly likely everyone will go back to record hunting.

Monday, April 22, 2013

It’s That Time of Year Again—Course Pros Wanted

by MacTHW

A Course Pro is defined as the player who holds the lowest score for a particular course of the current season. At the beginning of each season, all stats are reset and all the courses revert to having a vacancy in the Course Pro position. A benefit of being the Course Pro is that players receive .5 bonus points toward overall rank for each course they are the Course Pro at. As Course Pro positions change hands, one player loses .5 points of rank and another gains .5 points.

This year we have 46 playable courses, the most ever we’ve ever had in a season. This is partly due to the fact that we have now split out Augusta records for each pin position. Last year, there was only one Course Pro at Augusta, no matter what pin position the record was achieved on. This year, there are four Augusta Course Pro positions—Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This year we also gained the historic Augusta 1934 course, and that one is also split out for each pin position.

In addition to Augusta 1934, we also gained the following new courses—Colonial CC, Mission Hills CC, Muirfield Village, Oak Hill, Pinehurst No. 2 Restored, Royal Troon, TPC Louisiana, and TPC River Highlands. Returning from previous versions is TPC Boston and Sheshan. But, alas, we also lost a few—The Greenbrier, Liberty National and Waialae CC.

While going through the course list, a few grouping of names stood out. There are the four Augusta 1943 courses, four Augusta Modern courses, four courses that are “Royal” and seven more that are TPC. This seems like it could lend itself to some competitive challenges. And so was born the idea of Course Pro Sets.

Any single player that can become the Course Pro for all courses in a particular group, additional bonus points shall be awarded to that player. The player must be the Course Pro at all courses in the set to receive the bonus points and should a player lose one or more courses in the group, those bonus points will then be taken away.

The Sets are:

Old Augusta Set

• Augusta 1934 Thursday
• Augusta 1934 Friday
• Augusta 1934 Saturday
• Augusta 1934 Sunday

Modern Augusta Set

• Augusta Thursday
• Augusta Friday
• Augusta Saturday
• Augusta Sunday

Royal Set

• Royal Birkdale
• Royal County Down
• Royal Melbourne
• Royal Troon

TPC Set

• TPC Blue Monster
• TPC Boston
• TPC Louisiana
• TPC River Highlands
• TPC San Antonio
• TPC Sawgrass
• TPC Scottsdale

The TPC Set is obviously going to be harder to keep intact than the others due to the number of courses in the complete set. Exact bonus points will be revealed and posted in a later posting.

Lastly, it was requested numerous times last year…the addition of the Augusta Par 3 to the stats page. Well, I am happy to announce that the Par 3 course, normally used to break ties in tournaments, was snuck in this weekend and is now available for regular play and a Course Pro record.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

The Course Record Hunt Is On

by MacTHW

No tournaments this weekend so our Pros are hitting courses in search of records. Players are trying to fine-tune their shots in order to bring scores down. Dude performs his mandatory weekend rage-quit while binkdog and PointedMarlin form the PointedMarlin Binkdog Juncture, otherwise known as Team PBJ, in order to take on Team Sandbag at the Augusta Par 3. Break out your Parnut Butter, these are your headlines for the golfing weekend.

The weekend kicks off at Oakmont where PointedMarlin will attempt to dazzle us with a hole-in-one but the effort fizzles. Although the hole-out fails to materialize, PointedMarlin still eats enderdog’s and MacTHW’s lunch, besting them by 11 strokes for the win. PointedMarlin takes the record at Oakmont with his respectable 87.

Oakmont:

Next up, enderdog has something to prove and we head off to Pebble Beach, where enderdog would like to note, he has won a tournament there. PointedMarlin does not fare as well on this course, running into problems hitting the fairway. MacTHW falls out of contention, PointedMarlin makes a charge but enderdog manages to hang on for a one stroke victory. enderdog takes the record at Pebble Beach.

Pebble:

PointedMarlin takes a off for the evening as glutons for punishment, enderog and MacTHW, head to Whistling Straits. enderdog runs into trouble and MacTHW manages a small lead at the turn. enderdog fails to make up any ground along the back, giving MacTHW a shiny new course record at Whistling Straits.

Whistling:

Three men and a boy step up to the tee on Saturday evening, looking for a record at Atlanta Athletic Club. Hopes and dreams are squashed early for dude, who somehow, someway, deep-within, managed to NOT rage-quit, even while 20 strokes back at the turn. binkdog, squarely in third place, takes advantage of MacTHW’s bad fortune along the back nine, slides into second place, being unable to catch up to enderdog by the 18th. enderdog takes another record and adds to his collection.

Atlanta Athletic:

enderdog, having won a major at TPC Sawgrass in the past, recommends a journey there to see how he will fare in the new season. binkdog and enderdog are tied at the turn. PointedMarlin occupies the caboose, which doesn’t sit well with our UK friend. He spends a few rage-filled holes hacking around the back nine before he gets his game together. binkdog loses his swing along the back nine and searches high and low to get it back. MacTHW attempts to flank the old dog but runs into his own troubles, having to settle for a tie for third place.

Sawgrass:

Pointed Marlin talks the group into playing an alternate shot team game at the Augusta Par 3. The night is young, so all agree. PointedMarlin and binkdog team up as Team PBJ to take on Team Sandbag. Team PBJ takes the early lead but the Sandbags manage to square the game back by the 6th. It’s all square heading into the 9th. It’s MacTHW’s turn to drive and he has bad track record for finding the green on this hole. Luckily, the ball stays dry and finds the green but leaves enderdog with a long downhill putt. Team PBJ is in the same position but binkdog manages an excellent lag, with a tap in from PointedMarlin to win the round. Team PBJ goes 1UP on the 9th!

PointedMarlin takes off for the evening and the remaining trio head off to Royal Troon in search of more records. MacTHW races to the turn, leading by three. binkdog gets stuck in the weeds while many a grunting and groaning noises emanate from the enderdog teamspeak. MacTHW manages to keep is game together along the back, an emerging nemesis for MacTHW, and walks away as the new course pro at Royal Troon.

Troon:

Last game of the evening is at Scottsdale, where enderdog has visions of going low. He must have been seeing someone else’s vision because he is down seven strokes to MacTHW at the turn. Unfortunately, a bogey streak that started on the 9th doesn’t let up for MacTHW until the 16th, allowing enderdog to catch up and pull even. Pars on the next two holes doesn’t shake the persistently tracking enderdog and a triple on the 18th finished the game tied, both enderdog and MacTHW having to share the record at Scottsdale. This is MacTHW’s second shared record. Apparently, he gets lonely having a record all to himself.

Scottsdale:

Stats at a Glance

Everyone maintained their respective ranking. enderdog opened up the widest points lead by winning three rounds and adding his name to 3.5 courses. There is only a 2.5 point difference between second and fourth places.

The average score this weekend was 101, down 5 strokes from last week’s 106.

Personal averages were:

dude averaged a 104, 20 strokes better than last week.

enderdog improved by an average of 6 strokes, averaging a 95 down from last week’s 101

MacTHW shaved off 4 strokes this weekend, averaging an even 100

PointedMarlin added one stroke to his average, shooting an average 95 this weekend compared to the previous week’s 94

Binkdog fared the worst, shooting an average 106 this weekend, up from last week’s 101.

Team PBJ enters the team ranking tied with Team binkerton for first place, each team winning one game and losing none.

Another great weekend at THW Golf. Seven courses have new records. The alternating shot team game played in shorter time than projected. And the stats may indicate we may be improving…slightly.

Thanks all, looking forward to next week’s tournament at TPC Louisiana. Ender, start practicing!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Hook, Line and Sinker—The ‘Marlin Reels In A Major Championship

by MacTHW

This past weekend our golfers took to the virtual links for the third annual THW Masters—one of the majorest of the Major tournaments here at THW Golf.  As MacTHW gets set to defend his championship, PointedMarlin looks to make good on an earlier threat to hand out beatdowns and bring the green jacket to the UK. Enderdog disputes accusations of excessive practice—claiming he doesn’t need to practice—he’s just that good. And dude shows up, but probably just so he can rage-quit. These are your major headlines for the THW Masters weekend.

MacTHW, the current and two-time THW Masters Champion, looks to defend his championship and make it his third consecutive victory at the tough playing Augusta course. The competition would be tough this year, as there were several competitors lining up with their eyes on the main prize—namely, the coveted green THW jacket. The ‘Marlin had signaled his intentions to compete a few weeks earlier, claiming everyone else was in for some trouble once he gained a few more attribute points. The dude gets in under the wire, having obtained a PS3 and Move just a day or so before game time.

Six eager golfers assembled at the tee box on Friday evening for the first round at Augusta using Thursday pins. With all players present, it was game on, round one! The difficulty of Simulation Mode was readily apparent as everyone shot forward, hacking their way up, down and criss-cross across the fairways. The rough was trampled, trees were hit and the sand was disturbed. Chips and pitches went further than expected and putts rocketed past their targets. Throughout the first round, one player kept a steady path, carding bogies, but not nearly as many as his competitors. PointedMarlin had an eight stroke lead at the turn and never gave any back on the last nine, despite a charge by binkdog along the back nine. enderdog started out hot, carding an Eagle on the second but he cooled off in an instant, going quad-bogey on the next hole. PointedMarlin wins the first round, eight ahead of the pack.

Round One:

Second round, Friday pins. Game on!

PointedMarlin once again takes the early lead on the front nine. enderdog and MacTHW are in the nearest chase group, down by six and four strokes, respectively. The rest of the field falls back as they spend time admiring the tall grass and undulating greens. PointedMarlin channels his inner 2012 MacTHW and opens up a further lead, establishing a torrid pace down the back stretch no one can keep up with—not MacTHW, not binkdog, not enderdog. PointedMarlin is the only golfer to finish all 18 holes with a score below 100 and now holds a very ender-esque 26 stroke lead going into Moving Day.

Round Two:

Normally, holding a 26 stroke advantage pretty much sealed the deal for the win. But with Simulation Mode, that lead can be quickly squandered over the course of three or four bad holes. This not to say the game is flawed. As seen during our real-world tournament counterpart, which was having it’s 77th tournament this year, the pros also heat up and cool down in an instant. Both Kevin Na and Bubba Watson put three balls into Raes Creek, each carding a ten on the 12th hole. The unpredictability, which exists in the real game (just ask Phil Mickelson), is a welcome addition to this year’s virtual TW franchise.

Heading into Moving Day, it was evident that the part of the course that saw the least amount of gameplay was the fairway. By now, the trees were scared and leaf-less. The rough had been mowed down or trampled so much it probably closer resembled the second cut. And in a reversal of roles, enderdog becomes a chaser, instead of being the chased.

Ash opts out of the tournament on Saturday and dude follows through with the rage-quit, albeit a soft rage-quit. Well, mostly quitting, without a lot of rage after two rounds because he’s from Texas, and in Texas it is worthless to play for anything other than first place. Four golfers remain and they head into the Bogey Buzzsaw that awaits them for round three, Saturday pins. The ‘Marlin is still warm from the night before and once again extends his overall lead as they head into Amen Corner. binkdog mounts a mini-charge along the back but comes up short after the 18th. PointedMarlin takes the third round.

Round Three:

Round four and PointedMarlin holds what appears to be an unsurmountable lead. Nonetheless, enderdog starts a charge along the front nine, grabbing back seven strokes from the leader. He can’t seem to buy a break though, as he immediately runs into trouble on the 11th, exceeding the shot limit and playing himself out of contention. Now it’s everyone else just jockeying for position. enderdog loses grip on second place by carding another 11 on the 15th, allowing binkdog to sneak by while MacTHW falls back to fourth.

Round Four:

Overall tournament results:

Augusta National | Course PAR: 72 | Tournament PAR: 288
POS	Player	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	THRU	TOTAL	SCORE
1	PointedMarlin	92	86	93	103	72	374	+86
2	binkdog	101	114	95	98	72	408	+120
3	enderdog	100	104	100	107	72	411	+123
4	MacTHW	108	108	101	108	72	425	+137
5	AshTHW	129	136	—	—	36	265	DNF
6	dude	117	131	—	—	36	248	DNF

The phenomenon known as Hurricane Enderdog is downgraded to a mere wind gust as he cedes a major championship to the newcomer and THW rookie—PointedMarlin. Congrats to the ‘Marlin on four well played rounds and his first major victory at THW Golf. Also, he brings the coveted green THW jacket across the ocean to the UK. MacTHW wishes he could have defended a little bit better but will be honored to present the jacket to PointedMarlin in a few weeks when the patch is finished.

Post Tournament Games

After the first two rounds on Friday evening, Team Awesome and Team binkerton renewed their rivalry at the old St Andrews course. With the pressure of tournament competition off his shoulders, a more relaxed enderdog focuses on leading Team binkerton to an early lead. They manage to get to 2UP but Team Awesome squares it back up by the 9th. binkdog takes over attacking along the back nine and Team binkerton goes 1,2,2,3,4 and eventually 5UP to clinch the first team game win of the season. enderdog manages to sneak in for the win for the single game, earning him a Course Pro record at St Andrews.

The gang also relaxed and took a sneak peek at TPC Louisiana, in preparation for the upcoming Housewares Invitational. MacTHW looks to put his name on a Course Pro record and manages to take the lead by the turn. binkdog and enderdog are in hot pursuit and manage to catch up due to MacTHW being un-sportsmanlike jinxed by binkdog, declaring “MacTHW always does worse on the back nine”. MacTHW manages to hold off enderdog but binkdog pulls even come the 18th. Neither binkdog nor MacTHW get the upper hand and they hand up having to share the Course Pro record at Louisiana. The tournament is coming up soon, so it’s a good bet the current record will not stand for long.

Fun with Stats

Here is how we performed as a group this past weekend.

Overall, including all games played, the average score was a 105
If we only look at the tournament rounds, the average score was 106

Broken down by individual players, it looks like this;

PointedMarlin averaged a 94 (from previous week of 94)
binkdog and enderdog each averaged a 101 (ender had averaged 93 the week before and binkdog a 99)
MacTHW averaged a 104 (up from the previous week’s 100)
Dude debuts at 124
and Ash averaged 131 (making the biggest gain from his 141 last week)

PointedMarlin gained the most rank, winning three single player games and winning the tournament, moving from 5th place to 3rd place, and collecting 17.250 total points so far.

MacTHW lost rank, ceding ground to binkdog who moves into second place and sends MacTHW down to 4th place.

enderdog keeps his first place rank, although, by only a small margin over binkdog who could easily make up lost ground on any of the upcoming non-scheduled Enderdog Book Club night.

PointedMarlin gained three Course Pro records while enderdog gained one. MacTHW stood in the way of binkdog gaining two records, instead only letting him gain 1.5, having to share TPC Louisiana with MacTHW, who now holds am impressive .5 Course Pro records.

That does it for the headlines. Many thanks to everyone who played and made the third THW Masters another success!

Friday, April 12, 2013

2013 THW Masters

by MacTHW

Get ready for four exciting rounds at Augusta for the 2013 THW Masters where the coveted green jacket will once again be up for grabs. Charge your controllers and get your Move on, it’s time for the first Major of the new season. Here is your official invitation…