Month 121 - Pittsburgh National Golf Club - 3/22/2014

As winter refused to leave Pittsburgh, March offered very few days to golf.  Other than a few nice weekdays, the weekends had been cold and miserable. 

With the end of the month approaching, we decided to hit up Pittsburgh National on a 47 degree day.  Pittsburgh National had been our March round in five years of the streak including 2013, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2005 when it was called Deer Run.  It was also a November and January round so it has a special spot in the eyes of the streak. 

A rather uneventful round playing through a foursome on #4 and floating through the rest of the round listening to the Penguins game on Nutt's phone.

Hopefully, it was the last chilly round for a while.

Month 120 - Grandview - 2/22/2014

The Polar Vortex carried over into February and there were no days that snow was not on the ground in Pittsburgh. After record lows, the weather nearly broke the week of February 17th. Forecasts indicated rain, but more snow came. On Wednesday, February 19th, the weather started to flash a sign. Sun, rain and above freezing and the snow started to melt. Quat and Nutt had eyed Sunday the 23rd, but as a storm approached and a 50 degree day arrived, we called the staple of the streak, Grandview. Snow and ice covered the greens on the back 9, but she was open on the front. The round started late around 2:45 and sunlight and a crowded February course became the concern. As we forged through a slow front, the course opened up on the back. Nuttall killed in the Ryder Cup format, but on #6 on the back 9, Nuttall finally drove the green. Quat finished out the hole and Nuttall buried a 23 foot putt to eagle the hole en route to a 4 over round. Quat and Nutt finished out the round at 5:45. A three hour round paled in comparison to the magnitude of the round. 120 months. 10 years of golfing once a month. A celebration Pizza at Napoli's in Squirrel Hill after the round. There was never a goal for the streak, but this one felt really good.

Eagle Putt

On line.. good!

Month 119 - Kenny Perry's Country Creek - 1/30/2014

In January 2014, we were introduced to the term “Polar Vortex.” As you can imagine, Polar Vortex and golf are not a match made in heaven. As the month progressed, there may have been 1 playable day, but work and travel schedules did not match. As the month drew to a close, the due had 3 possible days. The weather on Monday January 27th was playable in places like Richmond, VA or Charlotte, NC, but the schedules did not match. On Tuesday January 28th another storm hit the US and snow started in Knoxville, TN and wiped out the south. As the duo checked the weather in Boonville, NC, Charlotte, NC, Richmond, VA, Columbia, SC, Atlanta, GA, the concerns grew. After some more tracking, we started to look west for openings which lead us to Louisville, KY and south. After many calls to courses as far as Nashville, TN, the plan was set. We left Pittsburgh on Wednesday night and made it near Cincinnati. The early morning temperatures were not much better and we hit the road by about 7 and continued southwest through Louisville. The snow was still on the ground and as we continued to drive, we had crossed into the central time zone. The temperatures were at 28 when we arrived at the course in Franklin, KY so getting off the tee was still in doubt. Greeted by some classic southern hospitality, we were able to tee off at Kenny Perry’s Country Creek Golf Club. The logo ball had been signed by Perry the day before and we had a new favorite golfer. The greens were frozen and the ground was almost too hard to get a tee in, but that was hardly a deterrent after the effort that was just made. On a par 3, Quat flubbed one into the water, but a friendly winter bounce off ice landed him close to the green. Nuttall shot a solid 80 in some less than ideal conditions and after an eight hour drive, the round lasted 2 hours and 10 minutes. Just your old fashioned story of 2 Penn State grads playing their 1st round after the hire of James Franklin, sneaking in a round close to Vanderbilt, but in the town of Franklin, KY. We headed home and stopped off for a nice meal in Cincinnati at a place called The Senate. A stop at Tim Horton’s in Columbus and a west coast Penguins game carried us for the last hour. Home just before midnight our toughest month came with a great reward, 119 was in the books.

A sign we never thought we would see while heading to just golf.

Month 118 – Grandview – 12/22/2013

After a very cold streak to start the month, the weather began to turn on 12/21. With about 5 inches of snow, the warmer weather rolled in with some rain for a melt needed. A very wet Saturday limited the courses that would be open. Quat made some foolish calls to North Park, South Park and Pittsburgh National only to realize there would be 1 reliable course open, Grand View. The Ryder Cup match was a battle and Quat pulled within 1 on 17, but couldn’t make a simple chip and Nuttall won and post round Aiello’s was on Quat this month. No turkeys on #10, but Quat hit an awful tee shot that skipped 4 times across the water to safety. Nuttall's tee shot on 14 is pictured and yes, he made the birdie putt.

Nutt's shot

Month 117 – Grandview – 11/03/2013

Nutt and Quat jumped out early on the month on a chilly fall day. Once again playing the Ryder Cup format in a dual to see who would pay for Mineo’s Pizza after. A back and forth battle ended when Quat won on 15 after Nutt’s putter had failed him. The main event of this round occurred on the 10th hole. As Quat approached his 2nd shot, a group of turkeys were behind where the ball was. After Quat stung a 7 wood and walked back to the cart, the turkeys began to charge the cart. Quat and Nutt drove away but the turkeys were in hot pursuit. Quat veered off into an area that the GPS on the cart stopped the cart so the due had to bail. The turkeys began to surround the cart and peck at it. Fearing the round wouldn’t get complete (and their lives), Nutt charged the turkeys with a 5 iron and began to swing. They backed off and the cart drifted down so they jumped in and took off. They led the turkeys around a small pond and then were able to finish the hole. A truly bizarre moment of the streak and a picture to prove it.