Nebraska to Cherry Hills: US Amateur Bound - Henry Shimp
The Night Before:
At The Tie Podcast, we talk a lot about our 3 tenets of culture, competition, and architecture. We’re never short on the culture side of things. There’s always something new, old, or zany for us to discuss in the world of architecture. And while we throw our takes in the hat on tour golf and have at least some leg to stand on in terms of our competitive backgrounds, let’s address the elephant in the room… The Tie Guys haven’t put the toes on the fire in a long time. For me, it’s been just over a year. For Mr. Simas, the question remains, will the man ever return?
Well, the first bit of this piece will serve as a pregame report on my thoughts the night before getting back in the game. Tomorrow, for the first time in some 55 odd weeks, I’m back. I sit in here in *literally the middle of nowhere Nebraska prepared to go try to qualify for the US Amateur tomorrow at Wild Horse GC. Ironically, I flew into Denver this morning, home to this year’s US Amateur host, Cherry Hills. Harbinger? Good mojo? Surely a couple of hearty No’s there, but let a man have a bit of hope.
The thing I look forward to and what gives me excitement as I write this piece is the uncertainty of competition. In fact, the only thing I do know about tomorrow is that some wild shit will be happening. Qualifying for the US Amateur? Yeah, that would be wild AF seeing as I don’t play more than a time or two a month these days. Snap hooking a few tee balls into some thick ass rough. Definitely a little wild. Not being able to make a 2 footer. It’s honestly all on the table. And that’s what I love. Because part of that offering is surprisingly good stuff. The stuff that makes you want to play and keep coming back. And the one thing I know for sure is that to ever get to that part, you better get in the game and put in the reps. So, with that, let’s see what we’ve got (or don’t got…) tomorrow. I’ll be back tomorrow evening, stroking the keys. That is assuming I play well enough round 1 to justify going out for round 2. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there… Nighty night.
Post Action Report:
Well… I qualified. As crazy as that sounds and feels, it’s the truth. 84 guys for 2 spots. 38 holes and 2 days total. A whole lot of typical and not so typical nerves due to not being in the game for so long. But here we are, headed to Cherry Hills next month for the US Amateur! Here’s the action:
I go out first round relatively anxious having not competed in a long time and being excited to get back in the game. I didn’t get to play a practice round, but barring knowing how to approach some of the greens most effectively, Wild Horse has wide fairways and I found to be quite intuitive to hit approach shots into, so it could have been worse. I slap a 2 iron down the first, shove cut a little 9 iron on the green, 2 putt from 30 feet with a serious tremor to my hands, and we’re off. Fast forward to the 10th green, Ive taken care of the par 5’s with good tee play, long irons, and putting. Only once have I 3-putted, and I’m looking at about 6 feet for birdie to get back to -2 on the round. And then, the delays come in. After already being delayed an hour from our original start, we now get pulled off the course for an additional 45 minutes, followed by yet another 30 or so on the 12th green. Fun stuff.
So, after we finally get out of delay land and are able to roll along, at this point there is going to be no break between rounds and rather my group will have 24 straight holes to play to try to get the day in. The end of my first round brought more good swings, some really frustrating putting, and a -1 start to the day. While I would have certainly taken this score going in, my game overall leaves me disappointed with the outcome as I certainly could have been a handful of shots better had I been able to curb a few loose swings (which are to be expected) and made a few more putts.
The second round began with a different mindset. I’ve been lucky to qualify a handful of times before the US Amateur, but generally speaking I have done the same thing when I’ve made it. Just cruise along for the day, shoot 1 to 5 under total, and just outlast the field with solid play. Never have I been somewhat behind the pace and needed to just go get it. With I believe 5 players already at -4 or better after round 1, the mindset was simply that I’m going to make one of these eventually by just going out and getting it in the second round, so why not do it right now? This is why I find qualifiers like this fun. If I got putt more aggressively and aim at flags, the worst thing that happens is I shoot even and don’t come even close to qualifying. Net-net it’s the same effect as shooting -3 and still not making. So why not just send it?
A par on the first gets the second round under way, and then, the putter comes out of a long (life-long) period of hibernation. I proceed to go birdie-birdie-par-birdie-birdie-birdie on holes 2-7 to rip into the lead and get myself right in position to make a go at this thing. Now for me, not only is this exciting because of the potential outcome at hand, but because playing the final stretch of holes under the gun, knowing what I can pull off is just exactly what I play for. Getting a bit of pressure in the game, going through the process on each shot and decision, and seeing what I can pull off is what it’s all about for me.
At this point, I proceed into a tougher stretch of holes where the goal becomes steady golf, patience, and sticking to my guns. What did we say on MBM Episode 93? Keep It Simple Stupid. Play the game you know you can play well, get your mind right to make confident swings, and then just go execute. Easy? Not exactly. Simple? Yes. It really is pretty straightforward.
One slight slip and one bounce back par 5 birdie leave me at 6 under total for the day with 4 holes to play. For the first time in a little while I have a look at the leaderboard. There’s one guy pacing everyone by a few at -8. I am tied with one guy I am playing with and our other playing partner is just one back. This changes things. The sub plot simply becomes to win the group. If I do that, I think I’ll be fine.
No 36 hole qualifier would be complete without some craziness, so here was mine: 16th hole I’m in the middle of the fairway 170 out. I pull 7 for a little sawed off draw into the wind to a back pin. I feel good. I swing. And I catch precisely 0 golf ball. Straight sod. 25 yards short to a tough perched up green off a tight lie. No chance I’m pulling wedge here so instead I pitch it too far with a 9, and proceed to 3 putt to fall one back of each of my playing partners at -5 to my now -4. Well shit.
This is where I am a huge believer of the power of just believing in good things. I truly had no doubt at this point I could get 2 or 3 shots back with a reachable par 5 and a standard 4 ahead of me. On 17 I rip a nice one down the middle to leave myself a 7 from 205. The only thing I am thinking on this shot is to make a super aggressive swing right at the flag. Literally nothing else. Just zero in on the goal and be aggressive. A good one comes out, I’m left with 15 feet for eagle, and the wings are engaged. Back to -6. One playing partner birdies to draw even with me and one makes par to remain just a stroke behind.
A lip out for birdie on 18 leaves me at -6, tied with one playing competitor and another player, which after 2 hours of waiting sends us to a 3 for 1 playoff at about 9:15pm. On the first playoff hole with light all but gone for the day, I face a 4 foot downhill slider to extend with one other player to the next morning as we have been informed (go figure) more weather is on its way and this stroke will be the last of the day. Not much to do here but jam her in, which is what I did to stay alive and push to 7am the next morning to see if that fairytale can come true. Not a lot of options in the middle of no where Nebraska at 10:30 on a Thursday, so a 24 hour diner will have to suffice for the night’s nutrition. This stacked with about 5 hours of sub par sleep will be the prep for the following morning.
This will be shocking to read, but we arrive the next morning to yet more conditions with rain and 30 mph winds. My mind immediately goes to the fact that I am good in conditions and that a couple committed golf swings could lead to a berth at Cherry Hills. My competitor ends up playing a fairly weak hole that leaves me looking at a 140 yard gap wedge to a tucked pin with the wind whipping off the left that I more or less know is likely an opportunity to hit a good shot to set myself up for 2 putts for the win. With my body feeling somewhere between somewhat and highly anxious, I make an aggressive move at a gap wedge and zip one in to about 9 feet to set myself up for 2 putts to advance. If you’ve watched Saving Private Ryan and recall what Tom Hanks’ tremor looks like, that’s about where I was at trying to roll this 9 footer up close on greens running at a minimum 12.5, if not a bit more. Fortunately, I am able to leave myself about 2 inches for par and the dream comes to fruition.
I’ll closely by saying this. I share this experience not at all to brag on myself or act as if I’m any more special than any of the other 311 players who will tee it up at Cherry Hills. My hope is that someone will read this and realize the power of playing golf with confidence and joy. The game is too hard to not believe good things will happen and to not have fun out there. Competing under pressure is what I love to do and the more pressure there is the more I embrace the challenge to perform. Coupled with a bit of self belief, even in the absence of practice or reps, anyone can play their best when it matters and that is all you can ask of yourself. While I fully realize the difference in qualifying for a US Amateur and actually playing well in one, although my expectations are not as high as they once were, with the proper mindset, who knows? Maybe the surprises to the upside will continue to occur.
Let me know if you want to continue the conversation with regard to your own game. I would love to help out.
Cheers,
HS
