From: Scott Woods [nittanylion96@hotmail.com]

Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2012 2:24 AM

To: danhoelke@hotmail.com; Dan Hoelke; Eric A. Drossner; Paul S. Rovner; Scott

Subject: MBBC XVI Trip Report

The benefit of playing the 2011 Myrtle Beach Birdie Championship in August was that the players only had to wait 9 months for the 2012 event, as MBBC XVI was moved back to its rightful place in mid-May.  The problem with holding the MBBC in May is that the long winter months limit the number of warm-up rounds that can be played.  Scott Woods was probably the most active of the foursome in the nine months between tournaments, as he managed to play approximately once a month, including a round while he was on vacation in Aruba in November, a round which featured a birdie and an eagle.)  The rest of the players remained largely inactive until a couple of months before MBBC XVI.  Paul Rovner was the guest of Gregg Sterling for a weekend trip to the Bahamas during which he was able to play three times.  Eric Drossner was only able to play 2 rounds and Dan Hoelke only managed to play 27 holes after one of his warm-up rounds was shortened to 9 holes because of rain.  The lack of preparation and warm-up rounds certainly did not dampen any of the enthusiasm for MBBC XVI.  There were the usual discussions/arguments regarding whether or not to move back a set of tees at the Barefoot courses, whether Eric Drossner could capture his sixth consecutive title (he did not), whether Scott Woods could capture his first title since 2003 (he did not), whether the old Dan Hoelke would show up (he did for portions of the trip) and whether Paul Rovner had any chance at all to win (turns out, he very much did).

The major change in this years trip was a change in accomodations.  As creatures of habit and tradition, the members of the foursome are reluctant to make any significant changes.  However, after much discussion and "shopping" by Eric Drossner, the group agreed to switch from the Barefoot Villas to the Myrtlewood Condos.  There were a couple of solid reasons for the change:  1.  a fairly significant difference in price and 2. the proximity to Broadway By the Beach, which would make it a much cheaper cab fare the 1-2 times that the group decided to go there.  Dan Hoelke booked his flight through U.S. Air, with both of his flights going through Charlotte.  Eric Drossner and Paul Rovner also booked their flights through U.S. Air, but were able to get a direct flight into Myrtle Beach.  Drossner and Rovner would also upgrade to first class ont he flight to Myrtle Beach.  For the second year in a row, Scott Woods panned his family vacation tot he Outer Banks around the MBBC.  Woods and his family left Maryland for the Outer Banks on Thursday morning, and he spent all day Friday there, before leaving early Saturday morning for Myrtle Beach.

Woods left his in-laws' house in the Outer Banks at 5:45 a.m. and began his 6+ hour trek to Myrtle Beach.  He negotiated the 20 minute drive on the beach without any problems and was on his way as the sun rose over the Atlantic (a pretty cool way tot start the trip if you have to do it...)  Within the hour, the rest of the foursome were awake and the text messages were flying. Hoelke got dropped off at the airport by his wife and son, with his son screaming for him to bring home the Big Woody.  Because Rovner and Drossner had a direct flight, they left much later in the morning, and were able to take their time before leaving for the airport.  Woods arrived in the Myrtle Beach area shortly before noon, and was able to pick up the condo keys at the office.  Woods then headed to the airport to pick-up Hoelke, but Woods actually missed the turn into the airport as the entrance to the airport has been reconfigured.  Woods picked up Hoelke, and they parked and went back into the airport to grab a beer at the restaurant near baggage claim while they waited for Drossner and Rovner's flight to arrive.  The Philadelphia contingent arrived on time, all bags and clubs were collected and the foursome walked out to overcast skies and cool temperatures of Myrtle Beach in May.  The year before Woods had brought a roof bag for his vehicle, which the players used for their suitcases.  Woods and his wife elected not to bring it with them this year, and that created a bit of a packing problem for the players when they arrived.  The players were able to pack the car with some minor difficulties and were on their way.  Because of the scheduled tee time, and the lack of any flexibility in that tee time like in August, the players idd not have time to stop for their traditional fast-food lunch (something that frustrated Woods and Hoelke, who had not eaten lunch in anticipation of the traditional meal, while Drossner and Rovner ate in first-class...) and headed directly to the opening round:

Saturday, May 19, 2012

For the second year in a row, defending champion Eric Drossner had tried to arrange a return to River's Edge for the opening round, and for the second year in a row maintenance issues prevented the group from playing there.  So, Drossner selected the underrated and somewaht unfamilar King's North at Myrtle Beach National.  The group had played King's North twice before, their first year, and again in the final round of 2005.  The players arrived to a fairly crowded parking lot, took their clubs out of their travel bags, loaded up and the few remaining tees from Rovner's mega-bag of tees, and were sent off the back nine rght away (one of the themes for the trip).  While the players were excited to be in Myrtle Beach, there was not the usual talk of a barrage or plethora of birdies in the build-up to the tournament.  Surprisingly, there were 3 legitimate birdie opportunities on the first hole (another theme of the tournament) although no one was able to convert their chances.  There were a handful of birdie opportunities over the first few holes with no conversions.  Any concerns over King's North ending the group's consecutive courses birdied streak were put to rest on the 473 yard Par 5 15th hole.  Woods, Hoelke, and Rovner were all able to put their second shots just short of the heavily undulating green.  All three chips left were nothing special and all had difficult birdie putts.  After Hoelke and Woods missed their putts, perrenial doormat Paul Rovner stepped up with his new belly putter and drained an extremely difficult bending 12 foot putt for the opening mark of the tournament.  The group would not have to wait long for the second birdie.  On the Par 4 18th hole (the group's 9th), Woods managed to avoid all of the sand bunkers with his tee ball, and found the green with his second shot, although still 20 feet from the cup.  Woods hit a decent putt that found the cup for the birdie.  After grabbing hot dogs at the turn, a third birdie for the group was not far off.  Defending champion Eric Drossner joined the party on the short Par 4 3rd hole.  Drossner hit an exquisite wedge to approximately 6 feet and was able to make the putt to move to the top of the leaderboard by virtue of the Champion's tie breaker.  Dan Hoelke also had a decent look at birdie on the hole but was unable to convert.  Things largey fell apart for the group for the rest of the round.  Drossner and Rovner spent a significant amount of time trying to escape a large bunker fronting the extemely short Par 4 5th hole, and efforts on The Gambler were laughable, especially by Woods and Drossner, who lost a combined 5 balls on the hole and each recorded 9's.  Woods also lost his phone on the hole, and was lucky to find it when he went back to look for it after completing the hole and realizing it was gone.  Hoelke was unable to find a birdie, which would have been the first time that all members of the foursome birdied the same course.  The scoreboard after the opening round was 1-1-1-0.

The group left the course and made the short drive to the Myrtlewood Condos.  They were somewhat disappointed to find a less then luxurious and dated condo with single beds similar to the beds from the Penn State dorms.  The players showered and called a cab for the short trip to Broadway.  The players agreed that Italian was a safe bet and the cab driver recommended Capriz Italian Feast.  The players agreed and it would make it the second consecutive year that the groups opening dinner left a lot to be desired.  Capriz was rather dead on an early summer Saturday night, which probably should have been a clue to the group that something wasn't right.  They were seated right away and informed that the restaurant was a combination of Brazilian and Italian food with a buffet and table-side carving stations all-you-can-eat style dining for only $19.99 a person.  The food was not horrible and certainly satisfied everyone's hunger, but it was probably not the opening night dinner the players were looking for.  During diner, Dan Hoelke announced that wife Nicole was pregnant with their second child.  No one else announced that their wife was pregnant.

At Woods' suggestion, the group left Capriz and stopped off at The Tilted Kilt, described as the Irish Hooters.  Unfortunately, whoever is doing the hiring at this location may need to be fired, as the majority of the waitstaff should not be wearing the restaurant's haltertop uniform.  The players managed to have a couple of beers and a shooter before heading over to their favorite bar, Crocodile Rocks.  The bar was packed on Saturday night.  The group paid $10 each at the door and had some difficulty finding a spot to stand, before finally grapping seats at the tables.  There was some minor haggling from another group that the players were sitting in their seats, but a third group was leaving and offered their seats to the players.  The group searched and searched for new favorite waitress Erica before finding out that she was across the way at Revolutions.  The group stayed pretty late, before going across the way to ogle Erica and take pictures of her looking better then anyone remembered.  The group grabbed a cab home and were asleep by 1:30 a.m. for an early start to Day 2.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

The players woke up shortly after 6:00 a.m. for Day 2.  All of the players, but especially Paul Rovner, were feeling the effects of the previous nights festivities.  The group piled into the car and made the short drive to Pine Lakes, although the entrance to the course is not located where the GPS claims it is, a mistake Woods and Hoelke realizeed they had made the last time they played there.  The foursome was the first group off of the front nine.  After shaking out the cobwebs over the first few holes, Scott Woods fired a solid approach to four feet on the Par 4 fourth hole and drained the putt for his second birdie.  There contnued to be birdie opportunities without any conversions over the next few holes, before Dan Hoelke was finally able to join the party on the short Par 4 9th hole.  After a short tee ball, Hoelke fired an absolutely beautiful approach shot to three feet and drained the putt for birdie.  After a brief delay because of double-teeing, the fireworks continued on the Par 5 10th hole.  Woods hit a decent approach to 10 feet, and again managed to drain the putt for his third birdie and to suddenly give himself a commanding lead.  That lead would not last very long, as ont eh very next hole, a short Par 3 over a pond, Paul Rovner nearly holed his tee shot, instead hitting the stick and bouncing 8 feet away.  Rovner continued to impress with his new putter, draining a difficult downhill putt to pull back within one of Woods.  There were no birdies for the foursome the rest of the round and Eric Drossner was unable to birdie, as for the second round in a row the group missed out on the opportunity for all four players to birdie the same course.  After the second round the scoreboard was Woods-3, Rovner-2, Drossner-1, Hoelke-1.

Lunch was at Quizno's before the group headed to the grocery store to pick up some necessities.  Normally, the group picks up a case of beer, which usually goes unfinished.  This year, the group made the smart decision to onyl get an 18-pack.  Sadly, it would also go unfinished.  Essentials of water, coke, candy, chips, cereal and donuts were picked up and Eric Drossner schooled the other members in the art of the self checkout.  The players returned to their condo to relax for a little while.  It was there that they learned that a tropical storm had developed off the coast and was threatening to douse Myrtle Beach with rain for the final day or two of the trip.

The group headed to one of their favorite venues, Grande Dunes, for the afternoon round.  Once again, they were sent off the back 9.  Once again, it did not take long for a birdie to be fired, although this one came out of nowhere.  Defending champion Eric Drossner barely found the green on the Par 4 12th hole, and was 50+ feet away.  His putt found the bottom of the cup for his second birdie of the trip.  Rovner and Hoelke had decent efforts to make birdie on the now favorite Par 5 13th hole, but could not convert.  Woods had legitimate birdie opportunities on 14 and 15, but could not make the putts.  Woods and Drossner also had good looks on the Par 5 17th that went begging.  The players struggled over the first few holes after making the turn, but lightening struck on the Par 4 3rd hole,a hole that had never before been birdied.  Dan Hoelke hit a poor tee shot and an even worse second shot.  His third shot, from 69 yards away, took one hop before dropping into the cup for the birdie and possibly one of the most memorable birdies in MBBC history.  Efforts on the short Par 4 6th hole were disappointing.  There were no birdies the rest of teh round and after the Day 2 (3 rounds) the scoreboard was pretty tight - Woods - 3, Drossner - 2, Hoelke - 2, Rovner - 2.

The players ordered their traditional night 2 dinner (pizza) on the ride back to the condo.  The pizza was nothing special, although everyone ate their share.  As in years past, there was some discussion about going to get ice cream.  The group actually rallied and headed out to find some.  Finding ice cream proved to be more difficult then expected even with a GPS and Siri, but a decent ice cream parlor was evetnually found and everyone was happy that they made the trip.  The players returned home by 9:00 and one by one headed to bed for the best night of sleep during the trip and an early wake-up call.

Monday, May 21, 2012

The players woke earlier but refreshed for a longer trip south to True Blue.  Drossner and Rovner enjoyed watching Old School on the video monitors in the back seat.  The players arrived in plenty of time for their tee time, and, not surprisingly, were the first group off of the 10th tee.  True Blue would prove to be a struggle for the foursome, at least in terms of birdies.  The players seemed to struggle to adjust to the quicker then expected bermuda greens, and could not find the range on any of the few birdie opportunities.  Woods fired a great shot on the Par 3 3rd hole, but could not make the difficult putt.  Eric Drossner hit a spectacular wood from the fairway of the Par 5 4th hole to reach the green in 2, but could not make the diffult 2-putt for birdie.  As the holes went by, it became very clear that the group's consecutive courses birdied streak was in grave danger.  Drossner tried to give the group a collective pep talk on the Par 3 7th hole and it actually paid off a hole later on he short dogleg right Par 4 8th hole, when Dan Hoelke hit a perfect wedge to 1.5 feet.  Hoelke barely managed to make the tap in for his birdie and the group breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The players enjoyed lunch in the True Blue clubhouse while watching other groups play the 18th hole and "gambling" on where shots would end up.  After lunch, the group headed over to Caledonia with temperatures still comfortable, but starting to climb.

For the fourth round of 5 played, the foursome was sent off the 10th hole at Caledonia.  Once again, the players seemed to struggle a bit with the greens, but the overall play was improved from the morning round at True Blue.  A birdie did not come until the Par 4 16th hole, when Eric Drossner drained a 10 footer (on video) to suddenly vault himself to the top of the leaderboard.  There were very few birdie opportunities after that.  Things got very interesting (and ultimately disappointing and frustrating on the Par 3 6th hole.  All four players found the green with their tee shots and Drossner, Woods and Rovner were inside of 10 feet.  Photos of the players standing by their balls ont he green were even taken to document the birdie conversions.  However, all four players missed their putts, with Woods and Rovner hitting especially dismal efforts on very makeable uphill putts.  There were no birdies for the rest of the round.  The highlight of the remainder of the round may have been the crocodiles spotted on the tee of the 7th hole and the ensuing debate about whether they were real or not since they were not moving... The scoreboard after Day 3 was as follows:  Drossner - 3, Woods - 3, Hoelke - 3, Rovner - 2.

The players made the drive home with Drossner and Rovner still enjoying Old School.  After showering, the group agreed to head to Outback.  Outback was pretty wide open on the Monday before Memorial Day weekend.  The players sat at a table in the bar area in order to watch the Sixers blow a lead against the Heat in the NBA playoffs, the group put away 4 Outback Specials.  After dinner, the group had another drink at the bar with Mr. Myrtle Beach sitting nearby.  After the game ended, the players balked at going out and headed home for another solid night of sleep, and looking forward to "Moving Day" at Barefoot.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

The group awoke early once again with little trouble and made the short drive to the Barefoot Report.  The course was fairly crowded, but the group's bags were loaded up and they were the first group off of the Fazio Course.  The starter yelled at the group on the first tee as they conducted the tee flippy.  Temperatures were starting to climb and would probably be the hottest day of the trip with temperatures in the upper 80's, but there were no concerns about the tropical storm that had developed earlier in the week.  Eric Drossner had a golden opportunity to take command of the tournament on the short but elusive Par5 4th hole.  Just short of the green in 2, Drossner hit a great chip to approximately 3 feet and appeared poised to convert the birdie.  However, Drossner hit a dreadful putt and missed out on the birdie.  The tournament likely took its most dramatic turn at the Par 4 9th hole.  Woods, who was struggling mightily off the tee, managed to put his tee shot in the faiway.  He then completely skulled his second shot, but it rolled onto the green and 2 feet from the cup.  Rovner also hit a good approach shot to 8 feet.  Rovner drilled his putt to create a log jam ont he leaderboard, and Woods completely blew his easy putt and opportunity to regain the lead.  Suddeenly, things were very interesting.  There were very few birdie opportunities the rest of the round, and the final birdie of the round came out of nowhere.  Woods was off the green in two, and once agai skulled his chip, but it hit the pin and dropped into the cup for an improbable and undeserved birdie.  With that birdie Woods took a 4-3-3-3 lead.

The group headed to Martin's for golf balls BEFORE going to TGIFridays for the traditional Barefoot Day lunch.  While at lunch, Paul Rovner had to deal with a pressing issue at work.  Lunch was good as always and the group headed back to Barefoot for thier afternoon round ont he Love course.

There were rumbles of thunder and a few lightening strikes as the group teed off on the first hole.  The group pressed on and "lightening" struck on the Par 5 second hole.  Woods hit his approach shot to 8 feet and drained the putt for his 5th birdie and a seemingly insurmountable lead.  Efforts on the Par 4 4th hole were somewhat disappointing.  Drossner hit a massive drive that found the green, but rolled down the severe slope on the right side leaving an extremely difficult up and down that he could not convert.  Immediately after the 4th hole, the players were forced off the course because of the weather.  They returned to the clubhouse, sat on the porch, ordered some drinks and played hearts for about an hour until the weather cleared.  When they returned to the course, Eric Drossner made things interesting once again by marking on a diffcult hole that had never before been birdied by the foursome, the Par 4 7th hole.  Drossner hit a great approach shot to about 8 feet and converted the putt for an impressive birdie.  Paul Rovner refused to go away, as he drained a putt on the Par 4 10th hole for yet another birdie.  Once again, Drossner and Woods had opportunities to make birdies on the Par 5 13th hole.  Woods was just short of the green in 2.  His chip shot did not make it onto the green and Woods could not convert the putt from the fringe.  Drossner was pin high with his second shot, but once again failed to get up and down for what might have been a crucial birdie.  There were no birdies the rest of the round and the scoreboard heading into the final round was:  Woods - 5, Drossner - 4, Rovner - 4, Hoelke - 3.

The players headed back to the condo, showered, had a few beers and then grabbed a cap to Broadway.  There had been some talk of going to the Pelicans game, but the weather was iffy, so the players agreed to just go to dinner.  Dinner was at Amici's Bistro (How can we not remember this?  It's named after one of Penn State's best basketball players), a place where the group had been years before and knew was a solid meal.  The foursome were the only peopke in the restaurant, but were treated well and enjoyed their final meal.  After dinner, the group went to Goodtime Charley's where they had a few drinks and fed quarters into the Mega Touch machine at the bar.  The players also enjoyed the waitstaff at Goodtime Charley's much better then at the Tilted Kilt.  After a few drinks, there was not much enthusiasm to stay out any linger, especially with an MBBC title seemingly up for grabs.  A peek into Crocodile Rocks revealed that the place was dead and likely not worth the effort.  The players grabbed a cab home and were in bed surprisingly early before the final round.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The players awoke very early to make the fairly long trek across the border ot North Carolina for the final round at Crow Creek.  The group had managed to secure a late check-out and was able to leave their suticases in the condo until after the round.  The course was surprisingly crowded, and Woods narrowly avoided an accident at the bag drop.  The payers were the second group off of... you guessed it... the 10th hole.  A photographer took a group shot on the tee and also individual shots of each player's drive.  The pictures actually turned out pretty well, but only Rovner agreed to buy the package.  There had been some minor concerns about the group's ability to birdie Crow Creek, since it had been played twice before without a birdie.  Any concerns were put to rest on the first hole (the 10th), when Paul Rovner fired his approach shot to 3 feet and drained the birdie to suddenly move into a tie for the lead.  Rovner was so confident in his play that he actually got sucked in to paying for a a Par 3 charity challenge that gave him money off of clubhouse merchandise (which I dont believe he ever used) and a discount on a wedge (which he quickly realized was a rip off and I don't believe he ever bought).  Rovner's confidence really came through on the Par 5 18th hole.  Rovner refused to lay up with his second shot and hammered a wood into a bunker fronting the green.  However, Rovner hit a spectacular flop shot out of the bunker that rolled inches from the cup and did not even require that Rovner put it out.  Suddenly, Rovner was alone at the top of the leaderboard, with no one else even sniffing a birdie opportunity.  Rovner basically put the tournament on ice on the Par 4 4th hole, when he stuffed another wedge, and knocked in his 3rd birdie of the day and 7th birdie of the tournament.  As happens most years, the tournament ground to a halt with a series of anitclimatic eliminations, and Paul Rovner claimed his first solo title 7- 5 (Woods) - 4 (Drossner) - 3 (Hoelke).

The players loaded up their bags and headed back to the condo to pick up the suitcases and make the short drive to the airport in plenty of time for the the 2:30 flight to Charlotte and then on to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.  After dropping the other 3 players off at the airport, Woods grabbed lunch and went back to the condo to grab his stuff.  Woods dropped the keys off at the office and then began the long drive back to the Outer Banks.  Woods got a speeding ticket, as he had expected, about an hour away from the Outer Banks.  Upon arriving in Philadelphia, Drossner had to change a flat tire on the side of I-95 before finally making it home.  Woods stayed int he Outer Banks for two more nights before heading home on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, and bringing an end to the 2012 Myrtle Beach Birdie Championship.