WiiGA Playoff Match - Round 1 vs. TheBeezer

I just finished my 1st round playoff match in Season 5 of the WiiGA. In the playoffs we use a match play format, so your goal is to win more holes than your opponent. In round 1 I was to face TheBeezer. I've played TheBeezer before in WiiGA World War, and I know he has a solid game. Anyone in the WiiGA can beat anyone on any given day, and I knew I'd have to bring all I had today.

The course was Wolf Creek. Our settings were black tees, easy pins, slow greens, slow fairways, long rough, and windy. I think I've pretty much mastered Wolf Creek in sim play to the point where I routinely shoot 43-45 now. It's a much different course from the black tees though, and these settings weren't going to help matters.

Hole 1: I drive into the fairway and have to hit a 3 iron into the green. The winds were high and I guessed wrong on my approach shot and it lands short of the green. I forgot about the slow fairways. Beezer finds the green in 2 and it looked to be about 30 feet short of the pin. I get my pitch shot up and down for birdie. Beezer hits his eagle putt and he just missed the hole. He hit it pretty hard as it sailed by the hole and left a long one coming back. He missed the bird coming back and makes par so I'm 1 up after 1. Not the start I was looking for but we'll take it.

Hole 2: From the blues it's a D4 but not from the blacks and not with slow fairways. We both find the fairway and get up and down for birdie.

Hole 3: An uphill par 3. I hit my tee shot and it lands just on the green and it's about 50 feet short. I can't seem to get in my head that the greens and fairways are slow. I guess that's what too much SIM will do to your brain. I'm able to make the putt and Beezer makes a long birdie too.

Hole 4: It's a par 4 that is driveable. I'm about 50/50 to find the green lately, and with the winds strong at our back, I'm going for it. I see Beezer hit first and he lands in a bunker short of the green. Not the greatest shot, but he is safe, which is key. I want to go for the jugular early in the match so now I'm committed to going for it. I loft my driver and hit a 90% swing. Unfortunately my ball lands in the OB mountain, I swear, a foot short of landing on the fringe, and cozying onto the green. I hit again, and this time I take a full swing. My ball lands on the green but I can't hold it. It rolls to the rough in the back. Beezer gets up and down from the bunker for birdie while I get up and down for bogey. All square thru 4.

Hole 5: A short par 5 that isn't driveable from the blacks. I drive my ball through the fairway and into the rough but I don't have a tough shot. I find the green with my approach and make the eagle. Beezer makes an eagle here too to remain all square.

Hole 6: An un-driveable par 4 from the blacks with a vicious green. We both find the fairway and I'm left with about 72 yards. A pitch shot will be too short as the wind is hard in our faces. I take my lowest wedge which goes 77 yards, and I loft it down to fight the wind. The wind still grabs my ball though and makes it it's bitch as I miss the green on the left. Beezer finds the green and he seems to be about 12-15 feet away but he has a nasty putt. I get up and down for a par. Beezer hits his putt and makes a great effort, but the green proves to be too tough and he has to settle for a par also.

Hole 7: A D4 that has water in front, OB in front, and OB behind. What a fun hole lol. We have a 15 MPH left to right wind. I loft my 5 wood and hit a full swing. The ball looks like it's going to be a perfect shot, maybe a little far so I putt some backspin on it. It lands on the fringe and spins back into the rough, and my dog learns a new word. Beezer appeared to find the rough in front of the green also. We both get up and down for birdie and we're still even through 7.

Hole 8: A par 3 with a huge dropoff. I club down and loft my club. 7 iron I think? I guess I should have used the 5 as my ball lands short of the green. Beezer hits his approach to within 10 feet and makes his birdie. I get up and down for par and find myself 1 down through 8.

Hole 9: Another D4 that Beezer and I both fail to find. I can't really recall what happened here but I know we both made birdie. The front 9 ends with Beezer up 1. Neither of us seem to be playing our best but it's still a dogfight.

Hole 10: A very straight forward par 4. We both find the fairway. I hit my approach to within 10 feet and make birdie. Beezer gets the 1st AHO of the match for eagle and takes a 2 UP lead.

Hole 11: It's another par 3 that drops off, similar to #8. I make the right club selection this time and hit it to within 10 feet and make the birdie putt. Beezer hits his approach well short of the hole, to what appears around 40 feet away. I'm thinking I may be able to pick up a hole here, but Beezer hits a great putt for birdie to maintain his 2 hole advantage.

Hole 12: A par 5 with a tight fairway. I can't find it but I'm left with a decent enough lie to make the green. It's a 90% lie from about 215 yards. I hit a 3 iron though to within 10 feet and make the eagle. Beezer seemed to come up short and has to settle for an up and down birdie. I breath a little sigh of relief as the holes are running out fast and I get back to 1 down. 6 to go.

Hole 13: The infamous mountain hole. It's a D4 from any tee though. I see Beezer hit just before me, and he takes the "bomb it over the mountain" approach. I prefer to use the "slice it around the mountain" approach and I hit an OK shot but it can't hold the green and I'm in the rough in the back of the green. Beezer finds the green but he has a long tricky eagle putt. I manage to get up and down for birdie. Beezer misses his eagle putt and has to settle for birdie. Still down 1, 5 to go.

Hole 14: A D4 from the blues, but there's no chance to reach this green from the blacks. To make matters worse, the landing spot in the fairway is severely sloped which makes approach shots very tough. I hit an absolute garbage appraoch shot that finds the rough to the right of the green. I have to settle for a par here. Beezer followed my approach shot to the right rough though and also gets up and down for par. 4 holes left.

Hole 15: A very short par 3 that poses no challenge. We both make a routine birdie here.

Hole 16: A par 4 where we also make routine birdies. Nothing out of the ordinary. I can't seem to get AHO's to kick in, so I have to look for Beezer to miss. He's playing a very solid game though.

Hole 17: A par 5 with a severe drop off. There is a creek that runs through the fairway and I'm confident I can clear it, even from the blacks. I hit a booming drive and leave myself about 115 yards from the hole. I'm able to stick a wedge within 5 feet and make my eagle. Beezer hits his approach well past the hole. I'd guess it was about 45-50 feet past. He just misses the eagle putt and has to take a birdie. Wow, all square with 1 hole to go!

Hole 18: A D4, with trouble everywhere. I remember the wind was 13 MPH crosswind. My 5 wood would come up about 10 yards short here, and I don't carry a 3 wood. I have no choice but to hit a driver here. I loft it fully and adjust for the wind. If I hit it full, it would be too much so I try for a 95% shot. I actually hit it 97% which would have been a great shot except I find the bunker front right of the green. 5 yards to the left and this shot would have cozied up beatifully. I get up and down for birdie. Beezer left his tee shot short of the green too but he manages to match my birdie. What a great match. 18 holes wasn't enough to decide this.

After a quick check of the rules, we find out that it's sudden death from hole 1. The first one to win a hole will win the match.

Hole 19: The wind is an 18 MPH headwind. The hole is long enough to start with, so it's going to take a very good approach shot to have an eagle putt. I find the fairway, and am left with 242 yards. My 3 iron goes 252 so there's no way it would reach a slow green with 18 MPH headwind, uphill. My 1 iron goes 272, and my 5 wood goes 304. I debate for about 5 seconds and decide to go with the 1 iron. I hit my shot and it's long enough to reach the green. I put max topspin on it, and it finishes about 25 feet short. I know I was outdriving Beezer by about 15 yards at least each hole, so I know he has to hit a 3 or 5 wood if he wants to hit the green. My putt is long, but it's very straight. It's a foot uphill so all I need to do is hit it. I have enough power and I make the eagle putt. I see Beezer's ball roll up onto the green and he's hit a great shot. It looks to be about 10 feet away to the left of the hole. What a great shot by him and I found out later he did indeed hit the 3 wood. I'm already thinking ahead to hole 2, although he did leave himself a bit of a sidewinder putt. I see him hit his putt, and it lips out the top of the cup. I was in a bit of disbelief and truly felt bad for Beezer. He hit a fantastic approach but got rewarded with a very tricky putt.

That was definitely a hard fought match by both competitors. We both had the lead at some point of the match and neither would give up. With a little bit of luck from the TW gods this thing could've gone over 30 holes. Thanks Beezer for a great match. I know it's always going to be a tough one against you.