The 72-Hole Mini Golf Tournament - July 1, 2005

Not everyone thinks a full day of miniature golf is a cool thing to do.  Fortunately, my roommate is the sort of person who does.  We decided that on July 1, which he had off from work, we would go out and play 72 holes of mini golf (which ended up turning into 90; more on that anon).  This would simulate a full weekend of real golf, even though it would only take about as long as a single round on a real 18-hole course.  We decided to play 36 holes at Twin Links in Mount Prospect (which neither of us had played before), then move on to Traveler's Quest in Skokie, and wind up at Novelty Golf in Lincolnwood, where the ever-patient Alma would join for the last round.

"Thursday" - Twin Links North Course

The two courses at Twin Links were both quite fun and playable, much to my relief.  The front nine of the north course saw us battling back and forth with nothing but twos and threes on the card; I took the lead as Drew bogeyed four and five, giving a shot back at the ninth to lead by one at the turn.  Drew then surged ahead with a birdie at 10 and a par at 11 as I bogeyed it; my approach shots on the back nine left a lot to be desired, but I kept myself alive by draining long putts at 13, 14, and 16, the latter two for birdies.  The birdie at 16 put me back up one; an ace at the par-3 17th left me two-under for the back nine and two ahead of Drew through the tournament's first round.

"Friday" - Twin Links South Course

I came into "Friday" up two after my strong two-under showing at the north course, but Drew turned the tables as we exactly reversed our final scores.  Drew surged into a one-shot lead for the day with a stunning front nine 19 that featured only a bogey 3 at the first as its sole blemish.  Birdies at the fourth (an ace) and sixth left him one-under, while I limped out with a two-over 22, no thanks to a four, the second I'd recorded at Twin Links.  Drew now led the tournament by one stroke and the course by three, but gave away his advantage on the back nine, bogeying 10 and 12.  He was still one up on the south course, but I was back up one for the day.  However, I bogeyed 14 while he birdied it, a two-shot swing that left him up one overall and three on the course.  I birdied 16 to even the total score; we both came in under par to even my score on the south course at a par 43, while Drew's two-under 41 made sure things would be even as we headed to Lincolnwood.

Intermission - Traveler's Quest

Initially it had been my intention to include the Skokie round in the tournament, but I should have known better.  By the time the first hole was completed with Drew looking aghast as his birdie putt popped out of the hole and forced him to settle for par, I had decided that this round was only going to be an exhibition that would not count in the tournament, as Traveler's Quest is far too par-busting.  I managed to shoot a "mere" 53 thanks to a solid back nine (the fact that three-over is solid should tell you all you need to know about Traveler's Quest); Drew ended up five shots behind and none too happy with the course.

"Saturday" - Novelty Golf Course 1

The third round turned out not to be a particularly inspiring round for anyone.  Alma, playing with us, recorded the threesome's only hole-in-one, at the fourth, but cumulatively the three of us racked up 24 bogeys to just seven birdies (plus Alma's eagle).  I went out in 30, two shots worse than my last attempt at the course, not helped by double-bogey fives at both the third and the eighth.  The back nine was much better, a solid even-par 25 with no score higher than a 3 and only two bogeys (threes at the par-2 fourteenth and eighteenth).  Drew matched me on the back nine, but had taken a 37 going out (probably due in large part to his unfamiliarity with the course's design) and so was seven shots behind going into the final 18, which led him to declare that the tournament was over.

"Sunday" - Novelty Golf Course 2

As it turned out, the tournament was not over yet, as I tried very hard to blow the whole thing.  The seven-shot lead evaporated, mostly on the back nine - although really, with the exception of double bogeys at 13 and 17, I was right on par, so it was as much Drew playing as well as he needed to as it was me blowing it.  The front nine was acceptable but mediocre; I shot 26, just one over par and one better than my last round on the course, but one shot worse than Drew, whose birdies at 1 (an ace), 5, and 8 gave him par despite bogey fours at 4, 6, and 7.  He was still only within six shots with a mere nine holes to play, but while in a match play tournament this might have been all but over, in stroke play it was anything but.  Drew birdied 10 to pull within five strokes for the day, then came within three as I doubled 13.  Another birdie at 15 pulled him to within 2, and I completed the near-unthinkable (at least if your name was Drew) collapse with another double at 17, sending us into our 72nd hole dead even, a dramatic turn of events.  I actually had jitters on the 18th, but managed to pull out a par two; Drew's ball was hung up by the hole's obstacle, leaving him with a very long par putt that he knew he needed to tie when he hit it.  It was too much to ask, sadly, as a tie would have been fitting; instead, Drew carded 4 on the final hole and I survived to win the tournament by two strokes.

Because I like both match play and what-if scenarios, here's how the tournament would have gone if we'd played a 72-hole match play series (the scores are through the end of each hole, in case you didn't know)...

As you can see, it would have gone to the 72nd hole regardless, which doesn't really prove anything except that it's hard to get too huge of an advantage in stroke play when no one can score worse than six on a hole, even during their biggest tank job.   Anyway, it would have been fun regardless of how we played it, and it was.  I hope to do it again sometime; maybe next time we'll do the whole thing at Twin Links, since it's cheaper than the others and spending the day there would make the drive a little more justifiable.  Plus it's just a good course for competition.  Anyway, I think I've gone on long enough, as though there's more than two people who would even read this far.