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’04 SPC PLAYER FEEDBACK

Contestant’s individual responds are confidential and randomly identified by letter.

The questions posed are in blue with actual responses in red.

Many players responding did not respond to all questions.

All responses are included and unedited except for certain grammar.

The ’04 SPC players responding in alpha order are as follows:

Jeremy Alcorn (from Texas & Baylor)

Brandon Beck (Cal Berkeley from SoCal)

Casey Boyns (mid-am from Pacific Grove)

Ben Bryson (from Reno & Washington State)

Ryan Carter (from SoCal & Fresno State)

Brandon Christianson (going to UCLA from Valencia)

Bill Coleman (mid-am from SoCal)

Andrew Dresser (from Texas & Texas Tech)

David Fern (from WA & WSU)

Aaron Goldberg (from San Diego & San Diego State)

Randy Haag (mid-am from Los Gatos)

Scott Hardy (St Mary Head Golf Coach)

Taylor Hobin (from Antioch, plays for USF)

Jeff Hood (from Atascadero & Cal Bears)

Keith Kinsel (mid-am from Glendale)

Joe Lanza (from WA, played for St Mary’s)

Steve Lass (UCSB Head Golf Coach)

Spencer Levin (from Elk Grove & UNM)

Dustin Mills (from Arvada, CO & UNC)

Mark Modglin (from SoCal and Fresno State)

Taylor Neal (from SoCal)

Brian O’Flaherty (from SoCal & Pepperdine)

Jason Preeo (UOP Head Golf Coach)

Eric Restrepo (from UC Davis)

Doug Sager (mid-am from Piedmont)

Jason Stone (mid-am from Brentwood)

Peter Tomasulo (from Long Beach & Cal Bears)

Brent Viboch (from Moraga)

Greg Wells (from Glendora & UCSB)

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1) What’s your opinion of the Bayonet course?:

Player A: great course. The greens were not in great shape, but they got better as the week went on.

Player B: Absolutely awesome golf course. Almost the best I’ve ever played….fell in love with it despite bad golf

Player C: A true, true test of golf

Player D: Honestly, a true test, but not an enjoyable one. It’s not a scenic as other Monterey venues, and it’s just an absolute grind tee to green.

Never lets up for a breather, and the greens take time to figure out.

Player E: The course was great, hard, and good.

Player F: Very difficult. Good site; the player playing the best golf won.

Player G: Great golf course; a little bit too hard for the way I was playing.

Player H: it was alright; much different type of golf course than I like and a little different than I’m used to.

Player I: I loved it. A great test of golf and great location.

Player J: The course itself is a great place to host an event but hope I never need to see it again.

Player K: tough course, good test

Player L: Great for Tournament

Player M: DIFFICULT. Would like to play it more to fairly judge it. Definitely wasn’t a bad choice.

Player N: The course was absolutely wonderful and a great test of golf for a championship.

Player O, Z: great venue

Player P: good course

Player Q: The course was a true test of golf.

Player S: awesome.. except for the bumpy greens at times which made it difficult to putt. other than that… awesome course

Player T: Bayonet is challenging and a good track

Player U: Awesome

Player V: "10"

Player X: I like the course, very tough but for the most part fair.

Player Y: Love it!

Player II: Great course, probably the hardest I’ve ever played

Player III: tough course, very demanding off the tee

Player AA: The course is perfect for the event. The course is very difficult and fun to play.

2) Was the course set up appropriately?:

Players A, E, F, K, M, P, U, V, Z: yes

Player B: yes, good tourney setup.

Player C: Yes, very tough.

Player D: Yes, but with one practice round, its very tough to determine which PARTS of the greens are soft and which are harder.

A lotta chance comes into play. The rest of the course was in fantastic condition.

Player H: very much so

Player I: yes. you even could have been a little more tough on us.

Player J: Aside from some of the pin locations on 3rd round being just crazy

Player L: Fine with me

Player N: The course was set up very appropriately and as fair as possible

Player Q: Some of the pins were a little ridiculous.

Player S: could have been tougher, even though I played like shit

Player T: Course was set up well

Player X: Yea, except the last day the pins were all on the fronts of the greens it seemed like and that made if hard with the greens firming up.

Player Y: i think so absolutely

Player II: Yes, tough, rewarded good shots

Player II: yes, greens could have been faster

Player AA: Yes, except for hole #8, which is probably impossible no matter where the pin is located.

3) Was the range set up appropriately?:

Player A: if possible, free range balls during practice rounds

Player B: yes, range balls were average but that is of little importance

Player C: Yes, good range

Players D, E, F, H, K, M, P, Q, S, U, V, X, Y, Z: Yes, yup or sure

Player I: yes, except you needed a clock on the range to let players know what time it was. I thought the range was horrible though; bad grass and uphill

Player J: Range was/is just fine nothing special just a range

Player L: Include balls for practice round and after play each day

Player N: The Range was also fine

Player T: Range was good

Player II: Yes, perfect

Player III: during the tournament was fine, but we had to pay for range balls before the tournament started

Player AA: No problem

4) Were the venue facilities adequate?:

Player B: most definitely

Player C: Yes, nice facilities

Players D, E, F, H, I, K, M, P, Q, S, U, V, X, Y, Z, II, III: Yes or yup

Player J: Sure could use some bigger restroom facilities in the main clubhouse unless I just could not find the others aside from down that hall in the front area of the restaurant. And the restrooms on the course are just short of being an outhouse and they for sure should spend some $$$ and fix them up to at least 2004 standards.

Player L, AA: Fine

Player N: The venue and facilities were also very adequate

Player T: facilities were good

5) Were field size & cut lines appropriate?:

Player A: maybe have more players playing the final round. Players could have made a big jump that last day with an even par round and got into the top 10 or 15

Player B: field size was big…i guess that’s ok, cuz that’s how i got in i guess. honestly i don’t care for a 2 cut system…..something like a 3 day cut maybe, even 2, (cutting to last 30 players or so) would be my recommendation

Players C, F, H, K, M, P, U, X, Z, III, AA: Yes

Player D, Y: I thought so.

Player E: There should be just one cut

Player I: yeah, sort of. I might eliminate the first cut because if you miss that you make that trip only to play one day of golf.

Player J: I never liked events with a cut but after my 3rd round I was toast and ready to go home.

Player L: 4 rounds, 1 Cut, to 45 and ties within 10 and then two more rounds

Player N: The field size was good, but I don’t like the fact that there are two cuts; maybe cut at low 48 and ties and only cut once.

Player Q: maybe a little more for the last round.

Player S: yes although its extremely difficult to make the last cut after making the first cut on the number, should be tough but not that tough.

Player T: tough to cut players after one day even though it is 36 holes, and how about 35 for final cut

Player V: Yes, as long as I don’t miss cuts

Player Y: i think so

Player II: I thought the cuts were a little extreme, I made them all, but felt I had to play great just to keep playing

6) Any comments on carts?:

Player B: glad to see use the first day…definitely should have to walk last 2

Player C: Carts were very nice the 36 hole day.

Player D: They should be allowed throughout the championship, not just part of it.

Players E, F, M, U, Z: No [comment]

Player G: Why not make everybody walk the entire tourney?

Player H: definitely needed for 36 holes on that course

Player I: I don’t think players should be able to use carts for any round, but I’m just a traditionalist.

Player J: my dad/caddie used a cart and he enjoyed getting to see me play a few rounds of golf as most events don’t allow carts and my dad has trouble doing 36 holes in one day , so thanks for the carts.

Player K: kept pace of play moving

Player L: A must for 36 hole day

Player N: I don’t like to use carts but on a 36 hole day they are very appropriate

Player P: necessary for the 36 holes

Player S: love em

Player T: carts were fine

Player V: Carts help the speed of play

Player X: I don’t think carts should be allowed, for caddies only maybe

Player Y: i think there should be no carts period…..but that’s just me

Player II: I liked being allowed to take them

Player III: carts were great because we played so fast. They should be required on the 36 hole day

Player AA: You should probably make everyone walk and forget carts.

7) How was the pace of play?:

Players B, E, F, K, P, Q, V, III: good

Player C: It was very good for a national tournament.

Player D: Pretty good, given the possibilities.

Player G: If you want the best amateur field possible, that means college kids, and pace of play will suck.

Player H: little slow going through the turn at the 1st group

Player I: it was really good

Player J: No issue for me seemed to move just fine, had about 40 min between rounds and time to eat some lunch.

Player M: A little slow the first 2 rounds

Player N: The pace was fine

Player O: slow play 1st two rounds

Player S: good other then a few slight backups

Player T: pace of play was fine

Player U, Z, AA: fine

Player X: good for the most part

Player Y: acceptable

Player II: awesome, a lot of fun to finally play a fast tourney

8) Did Rules Officials act appropriately?:

Player B: yes, they were very kind actually

Players C, E, H, M, Q, S, U, V, X, II, III: Yes

Player D: Sure

Player F: never needed one

Player I: yes, perfect!

Player J: Nothing came up with me but I sure was seeing some very generous ball drops due to roots from trees.

Player K: did not apply to me

Player N: Yes, as far as I am concerned

Player P: no, (they need to understand that if I am waiting on the group in front of me I should not be put on the clock)

Player T: rules officials were fine

Player Y: yes, the asian guy….Bob??? I think, was awesome!

Player Z: John is great

Player AA: No problems

9) Any issues with scoring?:

Players B, C, E, H, I, K, N, P, U, V, X, Y, Z, II, III, AA: no or nope

Player D: The leaderboard needed a lil penmanship.

Player F: only with my own game

Player J: Yes I scored to high on 3rd round and my dad had issues with me.

Player L: Good

Player M: I had trouble getting the ball in the hole. I wanted to, but I just couldn’t

Player S: no… Spencer is amazing

Player T: scoreboard could have been neater

10) Any issues with exemption criteria?:

Player B: no, thanks for the "red herring" handicap exemption…..hahahaha, hopefully now i can get in now based on a good resume

Player C: Don’t weigh somebodies college ranking on how good of a player they are.

Players D, E, F, H, I, K, N, P, U, X, Y, Z, II, III: no or nope

Player J: Sure seemed like you pretty much covered most of it but to be honest my dad took care of my application.

Player M: I am grateful I got one and appreciate it much but thought I should qualify through U.S. Public Links until that wasn’t an option for me anymore, but I thought merit exemptions were given to too many weaker golfers. I.E. Me with the scores I shot.

Player S: no.. please accept me next year

Player T: [name of player deleted] should have been in field

Player V: No, as long as I qualify & make the cuts

Player AA: No, I appreciated being invited.

11) Any issues with qualifying criteria?:

Players B, D, E, F, H, I, K, M, N, P, S, U, X, Y, Z, II, III, AA: no, nope or none

Player C: No, its very fair.

Player J: Dad took care of this trying to figure out which event to try and Q through I think he would have liked a simple event where you just say the top 10 or 15 get spots and its that simple and no formulas come into play. He picked LA City as was simple to understand as finish in top 10 then see if any others chooses same location . The Pub links one looked to confusing for him.

Player L: What are the chances you can hold a qualifier of your own to eliminate the hassle you have the few days prior to event.

Player T: qualifying is fine

Player V: Yes

12) Did you like the Monterey area?:

Player B: yes great area, i had a great time hanging out there

Player C: Love the area.

Player D: Yes, absolutely.

Player E: Very much.

Players F, K, P, S: yes

Player H: i wish i would have gotten to see more of it

Player I, Y, II: I loved it

Player J: Yes super nice and just a little cold weather for June but really nice area.

Player M: Not as much as the setup at Stevenson

Player N: Yes, very much so.

Player Q: Seaside is not great, but Monterey is nice

Player T: I love Monterey

Player U: of course

Player V: What is not to like?

Player Z: i like it so much that i live here

Player III: very cool

Player AA: Monterey is the best!

13) Were your accommodations acceptable?:

Player B: yes cheap hotels very nice, a requirement for a poor college kid

Players C, D, F, G, H, P, Q, U, V, X, AA: yes or yep

Player E: I stayed at the Hyatt. It was fine.

Player I: yes. I only wish the hotel had a workout facility.

Player J: We stayed at the Hyatt for $43 a night from Priceline so dad was happy.

Player K: moved from host hotel, too noisy

Player M: Absolutely

Player N: Yes, the De Anza was great.

Player S: yes love the hospitality suite

Player T: accommodations were good

Player Y: ya it was fine

Player Z: i hope so

Player II: Yes, would like to have been able to do private housing next time

Player III: excellent, i especially like the Denny’s next door

14) Was the SPC conducted properly?:

Players B, E, F, G, H, I, K, N, P, S, U, X, Z, III, AA: yes

Player C: Yes, I liked the hospitality room at the host hotel.

Player D: It was one of the best run tournaments I have ever played. It’s right up there with NCAA Championships.

Player J: No complaints from me or dad on this

Player L: Perhaps start formal check in before practice rounds, practice round day seemed to be chaotic

Player M: Definitely

Player T: spc was conducted well

Player V: Great job

Player Y: totally

Player II: Awesome

15) How convenient was getting to SPC?:

Player B: awesome, absolutely great…shuttle service by Maciel was sooo nice….really a great thing to do in my opinion

Player C: A 5 hour drive.

Players D, I, L, V: fine

Player E: Very convenient.

Players F, M: easy

Player J: Drove up 101 from Los Angeles stopped at Chumash for couple hours no issues at all for us.

Player K: very

Player N: Not as convenient as it could be, but the area and the course more than make up for travel convenience.

Player P: yes

Player S: 5 hrs away drive… well worth it even though I missed first cut

Player T: location was convenient

Player U: no problems

Player X: 3 hour drive, not bad at all

Player Y: fine for me, just a 4 hour drive

Player Z: 20 minutes

Player II: very easy, directions from site were good

Player III: the shuttle was easy

Player AA: This is the only problem for us Southern Cal guys. However the location would not preclude me from playing.

16) Was the shuttle service good?:

Player B: see above

Players D, E, F, I, J, K, S, T, U, V, X, Y, Z, II, AA: n/a, did not use, don’t know or shuttle service???

Player H: Jim was great

Player N, III: Excellent

17) Were the meals provided sufficient?:

Player A: Needed more snacks out on the golf course. Possibly breakfast or something. If you had snacks at the turn and at some spot on the golf course I think that would really help

Player B: yes, a few free meals were great, can’t ask for more

Player C, S, II: Yes very good.

Player D: The banquet was delicious and plentiful

Players E, F, G, I, K, M, N, P, U, X, Z, III, AA: Yes, yep or yea

Player J: Meal’s were ok, but the main dinner on Registration was overpriced for my Dad so he didn’t cough up $30 for it.

I think he would have paid $15 but at $30 not a chance.

Player L: Fine, just include the info in the brochure before the event so everyone know what to expect. Much less hastle for you that way.

Player Q: yes, more than enough

Player T: didn’t eat meals

Player V: The food was just OK

Player Y: EXCELLENT food!!!

18) Were the prizes provided appropriate?:

Players A, B, C, F, K, N, P, Q, U, V, Y, Z, III: yes or yup

Player D: didnt get any, but it seemed that there was no money prizes (certs.) for finishing well. If that’s the case, I think it’d be nice to be rewarded for good play with needed equipment.

Player E: I would rather receive a gift certificate so I can pick out my own merchandise (instead of the Srixon balls I received).

Player H: I have no idea

Player I: we don’t play for prizes, at least I don’t.

Player J: I guess you mean the sleeve of balls and the shirt since that’s all I got. They were special and shall get much use out of the shirt and I gave the balls to my little brother as they weren’t my type.

Player M: Ask me when I play good enough to get some

Player S: didn’t get any

Player T: prizes are fine

Player X: yea, I was just disappointed I fell out of the top [x]

Player II: yes, nice

Player AA: I thought they were great.

19) Should there be more non-golf functions?:

Player B: honestly i would say yes…only for those who miss the first cut, they might feel left out of tourney…I’d suggest a horserace or something fun….bowling, whatever

Player C: No not really

Player D: whats the point?

Players E, F, K, Z, III, AA: no

Player H: possibly

Player I: not really. I thought the hospitality suit was a great idea and enough for non-golf functions

Player J: Only being 18 I don’t think I really need anything more to do. Perhaps a skins game should have broken out on the putting green but most these people just finished their rounds and bailed.

Player L: No need

Player M: Maybe, maybe not

Player N: Not Necessarily

Player S: yes… kegs are always welcome

Player T: no more non-golf functions

Player U: no, don’t think there would be much of a turn out.

Player V: Not necessarily

Player X: no opinion

Player Y: i thought it was fine

Player II: I enjoyed the hospitality room

20) Did you like the SPC yardage books?:

Player A: definitely

Player B: very very much so……excellent idea, very necessary at bayonet

Player C: That was a very nice touch.

Player D: Yes, but the pin locations lacked an important element- the distance to the edge of the green

Players E, F, G, M, P, V, X, Z: Yes

Player H: most definitely, those were nice

Player I: they were the best

Player J: Iiked the book but don’t think the time you spent to put players names in them was needed. I guess you. I would have just handed them out on first or tenth tee during 1st rd with the scorecards

Player K: very much

Player L: Good, but I would prefer a standard pin sheet as well, to see how far on, from back, from left or right, etc.

I can do the math with just the standard sheet

Player N: YES, very handy

Player Q: yes, maybe next year put the number for how far the pin is from the side of the green.

Player S: yes.. pin positions could have had the distance from sides of greens

Player T: yardage books were great

Player U: yes, however pin sheets would have been more accurate

Player Y: yes, except I prefer normal pinsheets so you can see how far the pins are from the sides of the green.

Player II: very good

Player III: yes, they were above and beyond what I expected

Player AA: Yes, they were a nice touch.

21) Is the “Hospitality Suite” a good thing?:

Player B: hell yes…a necessity after a shitty round if you know what I mean

Player C: Very

Player D: Yeah, I like the camaraderie it promotes

Player E: I didn’t go to the hospitality suite this year, but I think it is probably a good thing.

Players F, G, K, N, P, V: yes

Player H: O yah

Player I: yes, awesome

Player J: Never went so not sure

Player L: Probably

Player M: Haha God YES

Player Q: of course

Player S: YES.. Kettle One next time

Player T: didn’t see hospitality suite but heard it was good

Player U, Z: don’t know or did not use

Player X: if people act responsibly

Player Y: ya, that was sweet

Player II: Yes, very different and fun, eased a lot of tension

Player III: Yes, I think it was one of the highlights of coming to the scratch players. The committee is layed back and fun to be around.

"The Hospitality Suite" is something unique to the Scratch Players that makes it fun

Player AA: Unfortunalety I did not partake in the suite.

22) Were pre-event communications adequate?:

Players A, C, E, G, H, I, P, S, U, V, X, Z, II, III, AA: yes

Player B: yes, maciels # was available so was fred’s

Players D, K: Very

Player F: excellent

Player J: I only got in a couple days prior to event so it was crush time for my dad to get to stuff back to you asap

Player L: fine

Player M: very adequate

Player N: YES, great!!

Player T: communications were good

Player Y: absolutely

23) Were event communications adequate?:

Players A, B, C, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, M, N, P, S, U, V, X, Y, Z, II, III, AA: yes, yup or yeh

Player D: Very

Player T: communications were good

24) Did you like them player photo/bios?:

Player B: yes, kinda cool. can say I looked at them for an hour or so

Players C, F, K, M, N, P, U, V, II, III, AA: Yes.

Player H: kinda

Player J: Yes I liked them and my parents both enjoyed them

Player L: Also, feel free to ask players what to include, they do know more about themselves than you.

Player S: yeh except mine only had 1 thing

Player T: player bios are nice to look over

Player X: yes, except [a certain player]’s was wrong

Player Y: yes, very up to date!

Player Z: did not see

25) Provide any other response not covered?:

Player A: thought it was fun, a good week. in order to get any players to come out west, i think there needs to be less or no cuts. It’s tough to get guys to come out if there is a chance they will only be there for a day. Thanks for the week Fred, I had a great time. See you soon

Player B: please understand i feel strongly about the cut system. i think 1 cut is good…..but hey, i understand that the western amateur does it the same way so i can see why you do it…..also i really did enjoy bayonet and the 6 or 7 players i have talked to since the tourney have felt the same way. they all said it was a "10"….do anything possible to get it back there. have a good summer yourself.

Player G: Fred – You have the finest field of any tourney in the Western US. While it may seem trivial…here’s how it works for the US Amateur.

Yes, it’s the most prestigious amateur tourney in the world. We all want to play, and hopefully do well. We also want everyone to know that we played. Therefore, when we do make it, we buy a few hats and a few shirts. When we’re feeling down about our game, we wear those items with pride, and everybody knows, "whoa, this guy played in the ‘Am’ ". If you want your tourney to be one of the finest in the country as opposed to just the western US, give yourself some free publicity. Have someone design a great looking logo to put on shirts and hats.

When a guy is wearing it, other guys will say, "I want one of those. How do I get in that tourney. What’s that tourney all about?", etc., etc.

As it is with the shirts this year, not only will I never wear it, I don’t think I can even give it away. For all anybody knows, it stand for Smith’s Plumbing Company. Thanks for letting me play. Worst performance I have ever witnessed.

Player I: just a simple little comment; there needed to be more drinking water on the course. I only saw one water fountain and on the 36 hole day I needed more

Player J: How about allowing multiple qualifier events to try for ——— like let me send in $20 for LA City Q and $20 for Pub Links Q and its sort of like a saver bet and would still require me to come up with the $175 but just gives me another shot at getting in, or I guess I could transfer to Cal.———this survey was done in part by both me and my dad and since dad is the bank go easy on him ———Hope to see ya next year and if you have any Tournament Committee merit exemptions available please save me one for 2005!

Player M: I think maybe if the cut wasn’t after the first day, more people would be willing to travel from southern california and other nearby states, drawing a stronger field. Again this was my favorite tournament of the year. I just wish I played good enough to be able to stay for more of it.

Hope to see you next year.

Player N: The event was great and I hope to be back again at next year’s, hopefully at the same venue!!!

Player O: Great tournament, great venue, slow play 1st two rds…., too many players, 12 less would speed up play, and make tournament more exclusive

Player R: As much as I love competition and playing on the Monterey Peninsula, I hate missing a cut. My only criticism on the tourney is the fact that……. if I shot between 70-72 in the final round I would have gotten golfweek amateur points….these are hard to come by. I had a great time at the tourney, however, this low 25 cut has to go if you keep holding the venue at a course as difficult as Bayonet. For me, I live within a few hours of the course so it was not a huge deal for me to go home, however, for some of the players on the east coast I do not think this idea of 2 cuts is such a great idea. After the 3rd round I was 4 shots out of 6th place and missed the cut, that is just not acceptable for a highly ranked amateur tourney in which you expect many of this high ranked players to attend. I would greatly appreciate your rebuttal to this statement … Anyhow, as for everything else- great work- it was really well done with the exception of the cuts.

Player S: you run a great event… wouldn’t change much except maybe 2 days for the 36 holes instead of all in 1 day, and please invite me back I will not embarrass myself next year

Player T: You ran a solid event fred, I was happy with the tournament and did not hear any complaints!!

Player U: I wish I would have played better, see you next year!

Player V: You did a great job. Bravo

Player W: Hey Fred, the tournament site was great and in good condition, however, next year I would like to see the rough deeper regardless where the tournament takes place. Bayonet was a good venue.

Player X: Thanks for a great tournament!

Player Y: it was fun

Player Z: only thing i already told you is on last day let players keep each others score and you don’t need mandatory cart.

Player II: I loved the tourney and would love to play again next year

Player III: I want to thank you again for all your efforts at the Scratch Players Championship. The course, as you promised, was really challenging.

Your tournament is really well run in every regard. I’m sorry my game was not competitive at the time but I will be back again. Congratulations on another successful tournament.

Player AA: I think you are doing a great job with the event, I know there is plenty of competition with other tournaments. My only comment would be that if you want more mid-am participation the event would be more successful on the weekend. Talk to you soon.

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