Shot 76, Placed 5th, and Holed Out from 30 Yards in the Rain
By Marino | MyGolfSwing.net | February 2026
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to products I purchased with my own money. If you buy through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I personally use and believe in. My opinions are entirely my own.
Playing a Desert Falls SCGA tournament in February means anything can happen. Sun, wind, rain, you name it. This Desert Falls SCGA tournament gave me all three. And I walked away with a 76, 5th place out of 32 players, and a hole-out birdie from 30 yards in a downpour that I am still thinking about.
It was not how I started. It is how I finished. Here is the full breakdown.
The Scorecard
Course: Desert Falls Country Club, Palm Desert
Rating/Slope: 70.4 / 123
Score: 76 (+4)
Finish: 5th out of 32 players
Format: SCGA One Day Series, Net Stableford (34 points, winner had 40)
Fairways Hit: 71%
Greens in Regulation: 61%
Putts: 33 (1 three-putt)
Scoring: 2 birdies, 11 pars, 4 bogeys, 1 double bogey
The Desert Falls SCGA Tournament Pre-Round Routine
Left the house at 4:45 AM for the drive out to Palm Desert. I stopped at the Tesla Supercharger in Indio, about 15 minutes from Desert Falls. Same routine as always. Grabbed Starbucks oatmeal from just 125 yards from the charging car. Then I laid out my puzzle mat next to the car and did my 15-minute golf yoga vinyasa right there in the parking lot. People probably think I am crazy, but it loosens everything up and puts me in the right headspace.
I charged the Tesla from 30% to 80%, which takes about 40 minutes. That gives me enough juice to drive straight home after the round without stopping. The car computer tells me I will have about 15% when I pull in the driveway. It is a system and it works.
Got to the Desert Falls SCGA tournament site at 8:10 AM for the 9:00 AM shotgun start. Hit some balls at the range and worked the putting green to get a feel for the speed. The greens were noticeably slower compared to last week at Palm Valley CC. Good to know before the first putt.
I decided to take a cart today. Rain was in the forecast and I did not want my plantar fasciitis to act up. After what I have been dealing with the last couple weeks, protecting my feet on tournament days is non-negotiable right now.
A Rough Start: +3 Through 2 Holes
My shotgun start was on #6, a 183-yard par 3. I am not a fan of starting a round with a par 3. There is no chance to ease into it with a fairway wood or a comfortable iron off the tee. You are immediately hitting into a green with trouble, and that is exactly what happened.
I hit a 6 iron long. My ball ended up in heavy rough about 40 feet from the pin on a downslope with the green running away from me. The pin was about 5 feet from the edge. It was one of those shots where getting it close means landing it in the rough about 10 feet short and letting it trickle to the hole. I hit my chip 5 feet short and it stayed in the rough. Chipped again, left it 9 feet for bogey, and missed the putt. Double bogey to start the round.
Then #7, a 295-yard par 4. I pushed my drive right and got a free drop from the cart path near a bathroom. That left me 25 feet from the pin. My next shot I skulled past the pin, leaving a 90-foot chip from just off the green. Chipped it short, had 36 feet left for par, missed it, and tapped in for bogey.
Plus 3 through two holes. Not the start you want at a Desert Falls SCGA tournament. But this is where competitive experience matters. I told myself: it is not how you start, it is how you finish. Settled down and parred the next two holes.
The Course Management Mistake on #10
Although I played Desert Falls last year, I did not remember most of the holes. That bit me on #10 at the Desert Falls SCGA tournament, a 375-yard par 4 dogleg left with water on the left. I saw the water left and pushed my driver right to avoid it. What I did not notice was water on the right side too. Ball went in.
Took my drop from 145 yards out, hit a 9 iron to 12 feet, and missed the putt. Bogey with a penalty stroke. That is a shot you give away purely from not knowing the hole. Lesson learned: even if you have played a course before, study the layout before you play. A few minutes on the course map could have saved me a stroke.
The 356-Yard Drive on #11
This is why I train with the Stack System.
Hole #11, a 501-yard par 5, dogleg right. I caught my driver flush and when I got to my ball, I had 145 yards to the pin. Do the math. That is a 356-yard drive. I must have caught a sprinkler head or cart path, but either way, I will take it.
From 89 mph to 107 mph, and now hitting drives like that in competition. This is what the speed training is for. This is why I push through plantar fasciitis to keep my Stack System sessions going. You do not get drives like that by accident. You train for them.
Hit my 9 iron to 12 feet, an uphill left-to-right putt. Missed it, but tapped in for birdie on a par 5 after a monster drive. I will take that all day. Moments like that make every early morning drive to a Desert Falls SCGA tournament worth it
Driver Performance: Full Breakdown
Here is every drive I tracked that found the fairway:
- #2 — 265 yards
- #4 — 298 yards (downwind)
- #6 — 275 yards
- #9 — 278 yards
- #11 — 356 yards (!!)
- #17 — 281 yards
71% fairways hit with an average well over 280 when I found the short grass. At 56 years old. That is what speed training does for your game.
Rain, Wind, and the Hole-Out Birdie on #18
By my 12th hole of the day, which was #17 on the course, the rain started falling and the wind picked up. You could feel it coming while we were on the putting green. Game time.
I got my rain gear on: jacket, rain bucket hat, and most importantly my TaylorMade Rain Control gloves. If you have never played in the rain with proper rain gloves, you are making it harder than it needs to be. These gloves actually grip better when they are wet. They are the one piece of rain gear that makes the biggest difference and most amateurs do not even own a pair.
On #18, a 397-yard par 4, I did not hit my best drive. Hooked it left over a bunker. I do not want to blame the rain jacket entirely, but I definitely felt more constricted and did not swing as freely. Something to be aware of if you play in foul weather: practice a few swings with the jacket on before you step up to the tee.
I had 168 yards to the pin but a tall tree directly in front of me blocking my line. I was not confident I could carry the tree with a 9 iron, so I went with a full pitching wedge to the front part of the green. Hit it where I was aiming but missed the green left.
That left me a 30-yard pitch shot. I pulled my 60 degree, hit it about 25 yards, it took two bounces, and dropped straight into the hole.
Birdie 3.
In the rain. With a tree in my face. On the 18th hole. Those are the moments you play this game for. That shot turned a good round into a great story.
Plantar Fasciitis Update
For this Desert Falls SCGA tournament I took a cart for two reasons: the rain forecast and my plantar fasciitis. Good call on both counts. On the course, my heel did not bother me at all. The Powerstep insoles in my golf shoes and riding instead of walking kept the pressure off.
But the drive home was a different story. My right heel was aching the entire way back. Luckily I was able to use autopilot on the Tesla for most of the drive, because pressing the pedal was not comfortable. When I got home, the first thing I did was grab the heel ice pack wrap and ice it down.
The plantar fasciitis is manageable on the course right now, especially in a cart. But it is a reminder that it is not gone. My podiatrist appointment is March 2nd. I will keep documenting how it is affecting my game and what is helping.
How SCGA One Day Series Scoring Works
The SCGA One Day Series offers different formats depending on the event. This Desert Falls SCGA tournament was a Net Stableford, which is one of the individual formats. The other individual format is Individual Net, which is straightforward net stroke play.
For team events, the SCGA runs Two Person Net Scrambles and Four Ball Net Stableford.
Here is how Net Stableford scoring works. Instead of counting total strokes, every hole earns you points based on your net score:
· 0 points = net double bogey or worse
· 1 point = net bogey
· 2 points = net par
· 3 points = net birdie
· 4 points = net eagle
· 5 points = net double eagle
The higher your point total, the better. I finished with 34 points. The winning score was 40. That 6-point gap is basically the three holes where I gave away strokes early and the penalty on #10. Clean up the start and know the course layout, and I am right there.
Key Takeaways from the Desert Falls SCGA Tournament
It is not how you start, it is how you finish. Going +3 through 2 holes could have wrecked my round. Instead, I settled down and played solid golf the rest of the way. The ability to recover mentally after a bad start is something you build through competitive experience. You cannot practice it on the range.
Know the course. The penalty on #10 was avoidable. I did not notice the water on the right because I was focused on the water on the left. Spend 5 minutes looking at the course layout before your round. It could save you a stroke or two.
Speed training pays off in competition. A 356-yard drive on #11 does not happen without the Stack System work I have been putting in. Going from 89 to 107 mph is showing up in real tournament results, not just on a radar screen in my backyard.
Invest in rain gear. The TaylorMade Rain Control gloves were the difference between fighting the club and swinging with confidence in the downpour. A rain jacket and hat help, but the gloves are the piece that actually affects your grip and your swing.
Manage your body. Taking a cart protected my feet for the shots that mattered. The plantar fasciitis was a non-factor on the course because I made the smart decision before the round started. The pain came later, but I had my ice pack wrap ready at home. Plan ahead.
Gear Mentioned in This Article:
Note: Links above are affiliate links. I bought every item with my own money and only recommend what I actually use.
Shot 76. Placed 5th. Holed out in the rain. Not a bad Monday at the Desert Falls SCGA tournament..
Marino@MyGolfSwing.net