In my last post I shared some highlights from 2023. In this post I cover the worst performances from that year. In both cases I used my copy of the Game Caddie Record Book, which contains all of my APBA Golf rounds dating back to June 2020.
I’ve recorded 2,115 rounds since then, including those of other people I have played against. The rounds are spread unevenly across 19 APBA courses and one from ASG (East Lake). A total of 783 rounds were added last year (37%) for all but two of the same 20 courses.
The average score for all rounds played is 71.8 at 0.6 strokes over par. The chart below shows the worst scores for each course, with Match Dates in 2023 highlighted in red:
Most of the “better” of these worst rounds are on courses I have hardly played. For example, I’ve only recorded two rounds each on Acorn Hill (+4), Bluegrass (+3), and East Lake (+3). With more playing time, I’m sure I could do far worse!
It’s hard to say which of the courses on the list are toughest. As a general rule, the more wind, the more scores go up. As such, courses with more difficult wind ratings tend to play harder, especially if the consequences of missing fairways or greens is significant.
I’d put “J-rated” Seaside (Pebble Beach) and many of the British courses (e.g., “I-rated” Ayrshire) in that category. Seaside has OB’s, cliffs, and water to contend with, and many of the British courses are vast fields of deep rough surrounding narrow fairways. The exception to this is Birthplace (St. Andrews), where it’s almost all fairways and the wind effects are determined in advance of each shot.
Cameron Smith (2019) holds the record for the worst round at Seaside with a 13-over par recorded in 2020, while Stuart Appleby (2006) logged a 9-over at Ayrshire in January of last year. Among rounds played in 2023, the worst relative to par were by Chi Chi Rodriguez (1971) and Ryan Brehm (2022), both at 12-over par. Rodriguez had his comeuppance at Angus Links (“I-rated” Carnoustie) and Brehm was humbled at Sooner Hills (“I-rated” Southern Hills).
In ascending order, here are the worst rounds relative to par since 2020 with Match Dates from 2023 highlighted in red:
As you can see, Tom Watson (1977) remains unchallenged at 14-over par with an agonizing 86 on a Calm day and Normal course conditions at Gopher Lakes (Hazeltine National) back in December 2022. In fact, two other players made this list under similar Day Conditions: Thongchai Jaidee (2016) and Tiger Woods (2020), both shot rounds of 11-over par despite Calm winds. As I always say, the absence of wind doesn’t guarantee a good round (but it usually helps).
Some other notorious performances in 2023 include:
- Ángel Cabrera (2007), Bob Goalby (1971), and Luke List (2022) all recorded rounds of 11-over par.
- Ten players made a “snowman” (i.e., a hole score of 8) but no one had a hole score worse than that. Since 2020, a hole score of 8 or higher has happened 42 times. Brooks Koepka (2019) has the all-time worst hole score–a 10 on hole no. 18 at Seaside in 2020.
- Keith Mitchell (2022) set a record by 5-putting a hole in January, only to be tied by Luke List (2022) in August. Ten other times players 4-putted. Mitchell was one of them.
- The “shortest” longest putt made for a round was 5 feet. Minjee Lee (2022), Inbee Park (2022), and Aaron Wise (2022) pulled off that feat (pun intended). The record is held by Shane Lowry (2020) at 3 feet recorded in 2021.
- Daniel Berger (2022) had the “shortest” Total Distance of Putts Made in a round at 35 feet. The all-time record is co-held by Shane Lowry (2020) and Joe Campbell (1962) who only made 34 feet of putts in rounds they played in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
- The record for most putts in a single round is 40 by Bryson DeChambeau last January. I have written about this disaster previously. Notable mention goes to Gary Woodland (2022) who turned in rounds with 38 putts twice last year.
- Brian Harman (2022) was the only player in 2023 to have as many as 4 penalty strokes in a round. Abraham Ancer (2020) holds the record at five, set in April 2021. Sixteen other golfers besides Harman have four.
By this time, you are probably feeling pretty good about your own APBA Golf playing abilities. May the Dice Roller gods always be with you.
Great stuff Scott. Are you planning on adding any other courses? North Empire, Empire, and Steel City are al REALLY hard. Tbo
Thanks, Gilles! I’ve got at least four more courses to add to the list in 2024. Yesterday, I played Maui for the first time. I was fortunate to have Calm wind conditions (which I converted to Moderate per the course notes). That contributed to both golfers, P. Lawrie (1999) and B. Tway (1986), shooting under par (-2 and -1, respectively). I was given three other APBA courses for Christmas, but I haven’t had time yet to play them: Palm Beach, Bell Tower, and Hoylake. I do look forward to it, though! You are right about Empire. I have recorded 42 rounds on it with an average score of 1.71 strokes above par (70). North Empire and Steel City are not in my “library.”