If you have read some of my previous posts, you will start to see a bit of a trend going on. For the first time, I attended the Ottawa Hickory Open Championship. Organized by Chris Hawes, the Hickory Open Championship is in its third year and has grown to 50 players across 4 divisions. The championship uses the Stableford system of scoring in order to eliminate the high hole errors most hickory stick players experience. Held at the Stonebridge Golf Course in Nepean, this course was perfect and the 5100 yard distance fit well for the Open category of the Hickory Open Championship.
The 27 hole Championship was played over two days. With 18 holes on the first day and 9 holes on the second, this 27 hole stroke event was great fun. It has been awhile since I played in a stroke tournament and it makes sense that it is a hickory event where I rejoined competitive golf. Regardless, the Hickory Open Championship is a fun event and offers an opportunity for all golfers to play in a stroke event with hickory sticks.
My first day I was paired with three fun players. Each offered different strengths and as individuals we all exceeded in different area. In my case, I played fairly consistent on the first day. I shot a final score of 90 on a par 70. That seems a bit excessive considering my handicap, but I shot a 10 on a par 5 and a 9 on a par 4. You can do the math. Yup, two bad holes causes a challenge unless we are playing the Stableford system. I laugh about my foolishness and I will let you know how I achieved such high scores. In both cases, mental errors were the challenge. More on that later.
The Stonebridge Golf Course was a great facility for the Ottawa Hickory Open Championship. It was a perfect blend of challenging holes and some easier ones to birdie. I found this course fun and full of challenges, yet easy to navigate. It was in great shape and Chris chose wisely by playing the Open at Stonebridge.
The first day, I shared a cart with Chris Cade (image on the left). He and my friend Lorne Emery have been friends since high school. Chris was a steady player. He scored one more point than me on the first day because he played steady golf. In my case, the wheels fell off on two holes.
The first challenge was that I had was on a par 5 over 150 yards of carry from the tee. I hit my ball poorly to 147 yards. So, I was in the cabbage, but I found the ball….unfortunately. I decide to try and dig out my ball and failed. My first shot was crazy as I hit another ball (which I did not see) and it popped up in the air. I know this sounds crazy, but this ball popped out of nowhere and my ball only moved one foot. Still seeing the ball, I decided to take another hack at it with no success. Three strokes later, I was sitting on the fairway hitting my sixth stroke. I will say that two of these strokes were made out of frustration, but I did learn a lesson. Hickory clubs may not be the best for hitting out of deep grass. After all the fun, I recorded a 10 on this par 5.
My next faux pas was on a 90° dog leg left. All I had to do was place a ball out 175 yards in the fairway. Instead I pulled two balls into the woods first before hitting the fairway. After looking for the allotted time, I was lying 5 off the tee. Four strokes over and the hole was over. After digging out my calculator, I scored a smooth 90 on a par 70 course. Actually, the score did not bother me because of the great foursome I played in for the first day.
The second day was just as fun. I was teamed with three ladies. Many players would blink about playing with them, but I have the attitude that it is important to play with anyone at any time. I was not disappointed because I had great conversations with all the ladies and played some decent golf. We had a wonderful time in the final round of the Ottawa Hickory Open Championship.
The Ottawa Hickory Open Championship is a must attend event. It provides that level of competition that many golfers seek. I had a wonderful time and look forward to playing in next year’s event.
Thanks to Chris Hawes and his team for taking the lead on this event!
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!