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My brother and I played in an SCGA One Day Series four-ball net stableford event at Twin Oaks Golf Course, and it did not go the way either of us planned. We finished 54th out of 57 teams. The winning score was 48 stableford points. We had 35.
But I hit a 314-yard drive in 90-degree heat on the last hole and nearly eagled it to close.
So yeah. It was one of those days.
This is my honest SCGA One Day Series recap — the pre-round routine, what went wrong, what went right, and what that 314-yard drive means for the @115at56 journey.
How I Prepare for an SCGA One Day Series Event
One of the advantages of playing Twin Oaks is that it’s only 30 minutes from my house. That meant I could do my full 15-minute pre-round yoga routine at home before leaving — no rushing.
Mobility work before competition rounds is non-negotiable for me now. At 56, the difference between doing it and skipping it shows up fast — usually somewhere around the 4th or 5th hole when my back starts talking.
Car was already charged — I charge it at a Tesla destination charger before my rounds so I’m not thinking about it the morning of. Stopped at Starbucks for my oatmeal, grabbed a banana and a BBQ chicken musubi for the back nine, and I was on my way.
I arrived at Twin Oaks Golf Course an hour and twenty minutes before our 8am shotgun start off 1A. It was 55 degrees. Cold, clear, and the sun hadn’t come over the hill yet.
First thing I always do when I arrive at a course for competition: I putt. Not chip, not hit balls — putt. I want 20 to 30 minutes of feeling the speed of the greens before I do anything else. Green speed is information. The faster I can calibrate to it, the better my decisions are all day.
My brother was already out there. I got him on camera for exactly one second — just long enough to give the camera a shaka before heading back to his putting line. That about sums him up.
After putting, we headed to the driving range. It was packed — two deep on the mats. Twin Oaks has a small range and every tournament player was sharing it. We took turns once we got a mat. I worked through a short session: wedges, 8-iron, 5-iron, 9-wood, a few drivers, then finished with 40-to-70-yard lob wedge shots to lock in my touch around the greens.
Swing felt good. Not dialed in — but good enough. By the time we were ready to tee off, the sun had cleared the hill and it had warmed up at least 10 degrees. Perfect morning. Good energy.
And then hole 2 happened.
The Round: Water and Dirt Makes Mud
Hole 1 was actually fine. I pushed my tee shot right next to the bunker, had 90 yards in, hit my approach just off the green left of a front-left pin, and got up and down for par. Solid start.
Hole 2 is where the day turned. Par 5. Tight fairway. Out of bounds left. Lateral hazard right. Basically a hallway between two penalties.
I pull my driver left — out of bounds. My brother pulls his driver left — out of bounds. We both hit provisionals. We both make double bogey 7.
In an SCGA One Day Series net stableford format, double bogeys are killers. You score zero points on a hole that should be generating 2 or 3. Right there on the second hole we were already behind the 8-ball with no realistic way to fully recover.
My brother struggled to find his swing through the back nine. Couldn’t get it going. And this isn’t the first time we’ve done this together — about a month ago we played a two-man scramble at The Golf Club at Rancho California and had nearly the same result.
We didn’t ham and egg it. We didn’t bread and butter it. We didn’t even nickel and dime it.
We were water and dirt. Which makes mud.
I tried to carry it. I put together a decent stretch through the middle of the round — pars, a few looks at birdie — but I wasn’t doing enough, and the double bogeys were too costly to overcome in stableford.
The Highlights: A Birdie from the Weeds and a 314-Yard Closer
Two moments made the day worth talking about. Both happened under pressure, and both were the kind of shots you remember.
Hole 5 — Par 5, 500 yards. I flushed my drive 290 yards into a slightly elevated tee box and had 210 yards left to the green. Pulled my 9-wood and hit it a little right — it clipped a tree and my ball landed in a rooted area. Weeds. Tree roots underneath. Not a great lie.
I had a 20-yard pitch shot from the mess. I hit it past the pin, just off the green — 8 feet to the hole with the green running away from me.
I hit it perfect. The ball tracked the whole way and dropped in for birdie 4.
That’s the kind of shot that reminds you why you play.
But first — the brain fart on 17. I have to own this one because accountability is part of the game.
Hole 17 is a 163-yard par 3. I hit my 8-iron on the green and had a 21-foot uphill putt for birdie. Hit a good putt with good speed. Left myself a foot and a half for par.
I didn’t mark it.
I know what happened — I just rushed it. I had to straddle my playing competitor’s line and reach over for the putt. Hit it. It lipped out 180 degrees.
Three-putt bogey. On a hole I had won. That one stung.
I walked to the 18th tee still hot about it. And I think that frustration went directly into my swing — because what came out of the driver on 18 was the fastest swing of the day.
Hole 18 — Par 5, 534 yards. I hit the sweet spot. Pure. The ball flew 314 yards. And I want to be clear about the conditions: it was 90 degrees by that point. The ball was going to run. But 314 yards is 314 yards — that’s a real number.
I had 220 yards left to an elevated green. Pulled the 9-wood again and gave it everything. Hit it just off the fringe for a 15-foot eagle putt.
I didn’t hit the eagle putt clean. Left myself 2 feet for birdie. Made it.
Birdie to close. That’s the right way to walk off a course.
SCGA One Day Series Scorecard: What the Numbers Actually Show
I shot 80. 41 on the front, 39 on the back. Two birdies, eight pars, six bogeys, two doubles. One three-putt. Three penalty strokes on a course playing 6,114 yards with a 70.0 rating and 125 slope.
My brother shot 88. We finished with 35 stableford points — 54th out of 57 teams. The winning team had 48.
The SCGA One Day Series is competitive. The field is filled with low and high handicap players who know how to score in stableford format. To win, you need both players contributing all day. We needed that and didn’t get it.
But here’s what I keep coming back to: that 314-yard drive on 18.
Six months ago, I’m averaging somewhere around 240 yards on a good day. Maybe 250 if everything clicks. That slow, steady distance decline that happens to a lot of golfers in their 50s — I was right in the middle of it.
That’s why I started the Stack System overspeed training program. That’s what this entire channel and this site are about. I’m documenting the whole thing — every speed session, every data point, every gain and every setback — because I want other golfers over 50 to see what’s actually possible when you train for speed intentionally.
That drive on 18 — 314 yards, in 90-degree heat, on the last hole of an SCGA One Day Series event — that’s the training showing up when it counts. Not on the range. Not in a speed session. On the course, under pressure, when it matters.
If you’re a golfer over 50 who’s watched your distance fade and wondered if you can get it back, I’d encourage you to look at the Stack System. That link automatically applies a 10% discount if you decide to try it. I’ve been training with it for months and the speed gains are real.
Next event, my brother and I need to figure out how to ham and egg it. Or at least not be mud.
— Marino
Follow the @115at56 journey on YouTube.