| Notemark Tradition at Renditions, Renditions Golf Club |
| Davidsonville, MD, 21035 |
| November 14-15 2009 |
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| Director: Gelenberg |
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Summertime in November!
Saturday's cloudy conditions with temperatures in the mid-50s were pretty decent, but 70 and bright sunshine on Sunday? Who would have seen that coming? What a treat!
FAQ
Q: Can you explain Renditions?
A: Each hole is an exact replica of a famous golf hole. By the time the round is complete, players have navigated 18 of the most difficult holes in golf. Most courses have a few challenging holes - Renditions has 18 of them! That's why the course rating off each set of tees is among the highest these players see all year.
Q: How did the Boys 12-13 Division and Girls 12-14 Division handle the challenge?
A: The field of players worked through the challenges of Renditions on Saturday and looked forward to a drier, sunnier course on Sunday. By day's end, Steven Segrist shaved 12 strokes off Saturday to earn fourth and Elliott Johnson took third. Both Jacob Leavitt and Bennett Wisner shot impressive 79's on Sunday, with Bennett taking the title and Jacob earning second. Meanwhile, Liza Freed teed it up from a long set of tees with zero roll and navigated her way around the course, bringing in approach shots with hybrids and woods to tricky greens that tested every player. She handled herself very well and took home a well-deserved winner's trophy. Nice job!
Q: The Boys 14-15 Division is always competitive. How about at Renditions?
A: No exception! After Saturday's round only six strokes separated third from 10th places, with Cas Dickerson's 78 and Mason Stutler's 75 leading the field. Sunday brought some more good golf that didn't end at 18 holes. Ben Martinez and Ty Herriott went head-to-head in a playoff and, after two rounds, Ben took fourth and Ty earned third. Michael Chanaud took his first trip to the podium as he followed up a solid Saturday round of 84 with a field-tying 80 on Sunday to propel him to second, while Mason Stutler grabbed a three-peat as his Sunday 80 earned him the victory. Great!
Q: What does "scores are relative" mean?
A: Scores are a function of the course and conditions. Tour players who go low on some courses (where 15+ under routinely wins events) struggle to break par at the US Open or the Open Championship. How a player scores is only important relative to how the rest of the field scores. Players sometimes forget that as they come to the scorer's table lamenting a score that wasn't "as good as I've played in the past". Rounds in the 80's at Renditions are every bit as solid as rounds in the 70s are at other courses. Don't believe it? Play Amen Corner or Sawgrass #17!
Q: What happened with the Boys 16-19 division?
A: For starters, more sub-80 rounds than in any other division (5)! There were only a half dozen shots separating third from ninth place after the conclusion of Saturday's round, with Jay Dove (76) and Eric Mathias (78) leading the field. Sunday's scores saw some impressive scoring and leaderboard moves, including Tanner Welsh's 80. Three players caught fire on Sunday, as Brantley Kushner fired a 76 and a third place finish. Scott Davidson and Jay Dove both played lights-out and shot a pair of one-under 71's, with Jay earning first (and Weekend Medalist) and Scott taking second. Impressive!
Q: And the Boys 8-9 and 10-11?
A: Graham Hutchinson fired an impressive round of 79 on Saturday and looks like a force to be noticed this season as he took home first. In the Boys 10-11 division, a field of eight players tackled Renditions with only four strokes separating first from sixth after Saturday's round. Sunday's round in the sunshine saw some impressive shots with Ben Gelenberg and Brandon Berry shooting Sunday low scores of 84. Even after playing 36 holes together, Teddy Hoffmann and Ben Gelenberg wanted to keep going, as a tie for second put these two friends head-to-head in a playoff for second. In the end, Teddy drained a putt to earn second, with Ben taking third in his first PJGT event of the season. Brandon Berry earned his first win of the season, as well as Weekend Medalist. Great!
The best judge of the quality of play on a course is usually the PGA Professional who runs the course. In this case, RC Fahler, the general manager at Renditions put it best, when he said, "These are some very impressive rounds of golf. Mid-80s on our course represents some skillful play. Your players did well." Add to that great pace of play and, as always, impressive sportsmanship, and the Tradition at Renditions was a wonderful weekend.
Thanks again to everyone for playing. We look forward to sharing Thanksgiving weekend with everyone.
Best regards,
Phil, Pené & Ben
