Tournaments

Oberkirch Tournament Results

By Jamie

Updated on August 1, 2025

13 min read

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Another tournament done and dusted.

This one was great, but also stings a little.

One of my main goals this year was to win a tournament. I know this isn’t a small task, but it was one that I felt was achievable and something I really wanted to accomplish. Today was a golden opportunity for that on a course I generally like, but it is tough—fair, but tough.

For today, we had pin position 2. I don’t know the pin positions here very well, so I can’t really say if this was good, bad, or otherwise.

We played from the tips, which is about 6500 yards—long enough, but not too long by any means.

It wasn’t too cold or too warm, and there was some rain in the forecast, but it never ended up hitting us.

So, let’s get into the round before I spoil the full results.

Hole 1: Index 12 – 347 meters

This is a tricky hole as it plays uphill the whole time. Left is basically a goner, and right has long grass with the fairway running out. Then the green is elevated to the point where you can’t see the bottom of the flag. Out of bounds is long and around the green as well.

I hit my mini-driver up and a bit right, but still in the fairway, and then had about 130 meters in, which is my 9-iron. Unfortunately, I chunked it short right, leaving me a bit short-sided, but I took my medicine, hit a chip to 15 or so feet, and made a slightly tentative putt down the hill. These greens are slick, and it is so easy to make mistakes.

Either way, it was a bogey to start, but I was fine with that as I made a bad shot and it got punished.

Hole 2:

This hole is a beast. No other way to put it. It plays uphill the whole time, and the fairway pinches in. OB all up the right, and it’s truly not often you have a flat lie.

I hit a great drive up the right side of the fairway, but pull-hooked my approach nowhere close to the green. Thankfully, it wasn’t in the long grass, and I was able to make a good up-and-down for par. The chipping on the practice green felt really good, so this definitely helped with some confidence in making a good up-and-down.

Hole 3:

Now we get to go back down the hill!

This is a wonderful hole with a crazy-good view. While it looks easy, I think there’s enough trouble that you can get your hand caught in the cookie jar, so to speak.

I hit mini-driver again, as using a driver could bring in way more bunker trouble than it is worth. I pushed it a bit left, and it found the long grass, but thankfully, I had a decent lie.

I took a 54-degree and tried to play it a bit punchy and short so it would run/chase up. Which it did, but unfortunately to the back of the green, leaving me an awfully difficult and fast putt, which I butchered and blew way past the hole. The comeback putt didn’t quite have the pace, so it’s a three-putt and another bogey on the card.

Hole 4:

This hole asks for a different type of challenge. The tee shot not only needs to have the distance, but if you get too far left or right, you are completely blocked out by trees and unable to have a clear shot at the green.

My drive was stellar and right down the middle. It left me with about 140 in. Now, my iron play has been terrible and just embarrassing. This shot was really no different. I hit it off the toe and into the left bunker. The pin was on the far right, so it wasn’t a bunker shot and out of some heavier, wet sand. That said, I was up to the task and made a truly great up-and-down from there. This was a big boost, as I didn’t feel terrible about my game, but getting that par instead of a bogey was just a big confidence booster.

Hole 5:

This hole plays a lot longer than it shows. I think it plays closer to 430 meters. The drive I hit was pulled a bit right, but still okay, and not too much tree trouble. However, it left me a good 200 meters out, and here is where I made my biggest mistake of the round with a hybrid that flared off to the left and into the hazard. There’s miles of room right, and even though there are bunkers, it is still entirely playable.

So, I took my drop, hit a solid approach, but left myself with that 15-footer again, which grazed by the hole, meaning a double on the card.

This was more annoying than anything—an avoidable mistake, and maybe playing too cute cost me.

Hole 6:

Onto the next, which is… I don’t have many nice things to say about this next hole.

This is just a cruel hole. Truly. Not only do you see all the OB up the left, but if you go that way, you are kind of screwed anyway in the long grass, and it plays uphill again and again.

Left here is just an immediate bogey. Right isn’t great either, but at least it is playable, so I errored that way and managed to be 154 meters to the middle. This may have been my best shot as I hit a great 7-iron from an awkward stance up the hill and had it run up to 12 or so feet on the green.

The putt didn’t drop, but I gave it a good run, and that meant I parred this hole for the first time ever!

Hole 7:

Hole 7 is another nemesis hole on this course. It plays downhill and isn’t overly long, but has a sharp falloff after the green, which is doom.

My 7-iron was a bit thin, but okay, and it rolled up to 18 feet or so. Nowhere close to being the closest to the pin, but close enough for another decent birdie look, which again wasn’t quite there and didn’t drop. However, another par on the card was the start of a great run.

Hole 8

I think hole 8 may just be the signature hole on the course. You are far above the fairway from the tee box, hitting down to an angled green with long grass that will swallow up your ball on the right and OB left. Thankfully, this plays well for my draw, and I hit a nice, lower draw that found the fairway.

Rather than go for the green, I hit a 6-iron layup. It was fine, but it drew too much and found the rough. However, I had a good lie and ended up airmailing the green by a few feet on a bit of a flier. So, the chipping needed to be on point once again, and it was solid. A good chip and a good putt meant yet another par on the cards.

Hole 9

So, what you don’t see here is that they actually added another tee box, which is another 30 meters back… yup, a 200-yard par 3 where the pin is hidden by the water and a shorter front-to-back green.

Given I was playing well and didn’t want a dumb mistake, I played a 5-iron out to the left, and if it ended up drawing in, so be it. If not, I had a chip up and down for par, which is exactly what I did.

I hit it exactly where I was aiming and then hit a lower skippy runner chip that went to less than a foot for a tap-in par.

So, after a bit of an up-and-down start, I managed to finish off with a string of pars to end the front 9 at 4 over.

One of the things about these tournaments is they have a decent snack/lunch after 9, so you sit and have about 10-15 minutes built in for this. I always find it a bit tricky to restart, but I managed a half-decent hole.

Hole 10

There is miles of room to the right, but of course, for this one, I went left. Thankfully, I was short of the main water and over the other water, so I had to just hit a 7-iron up and over the reeds to a good layup spot.

This worked well, and I had another 7-iron into the green. The putt was maybe a bit too aggressive, but given I had been a bit tentative on others, I was happy giving it a good run for birdie and made the comeback putt for par.

Hole 11

is another tricky hole that I have struggled with in the past. The wind swirls a bit, and I just don’t have a good feel for it overall.

The tee shot went left, but a bit short of the left bunker and in an okay spot. My chip was about as good as it could have been, as the whole green runs away from the flag. I was a bit fortunate to watch both my playing partners not quite make their putts, albeit from different angles, but it gave me confidence in my line. I hit it with authority and made yet another up-and-down par.

Hole 12

And now we go to this monster of a hole. I never know what to play here, truly. Go over the corner? Take on all that risk? Play it smart and short and play it as a true three-shot hole? Yeah, that’s what I did with a hybrid, then 5-wood to about 160 meters. A long way out, but given I didn’t want to take on too much risk, it was okay.

My 6-iron was chunky and fat, but it ran up closer enough for a long pitch shot that I just misread.

I thought it would run out and landed maybe a full pace short and stopped at the front edge. Unable to make the long 24-foot putt, I two-putted for bogey. The par streak ended, but I was still happy overall with how I played the hole, and given I made two poor-ish shots that only led to a bogey, it was okay.

Hole 13

This is the last quirky and dumb hole. Yes, dumb.

For starters, the OB all up the right has long grass, so if you hit it anywhere close, it gets stuck there. Anything left rides down that ridge and is just in a terrible spot. Thankfully, with a 5-iron, I found the fairway and was in a good spot. But here’s the thing—the green is some 50 feet above you. Or more.

So, I hit a 7-iron up, and just didn’t hit it well at all, which meant I was half on the hill with a chip up and just needed to make it to the green, which I did. But I misread the putt, and as soon as it was off the putter, I knew I had missed low. Unfortunate after a good tee shot, but it could have been a lot worse, and I walked off with a deserved bogey.

Hole 14

is fantastic. Yes, there’s a lot of OB, which sucks, but it asks a tough question on what you want to do to get in the fairway and where you hopefully want to be. The closer you get to the left, the more you get blocked out by the tree; the closer you get to the right, the worse the angle in is.

I was center-right after a solid drive in a good spot but had a weird distance and picked the wrong club.

My 9-iron scooted to the back of the green, leaving me 40-plus feet for birdie. I tentatively made a lag putt that wasn’t really close, and I ended up making another three-putt. I’ll have more on why I feel this happened in a second, but overall, just a bit unfortunate and an approach I wish I could have had back. Another bogey, making it 3 in a row.

Hole 15

tricked me here as I hit a good strike, but apparently had the wrong club, as it hit the green and hopped over. So again, another stroke that I could have had back, but more on that again.

Thankfully, I found it in the rough and was able to chip onto the green and have it run down to 12 or so feet. But again, I couldn’t get that slightly longer putt to drop, so another bogey and a fourth in a row. Sucks, but these were the little mistakes I was able to make up before they just came back to get me.

Hole 16

What would you do here? The fairway is sloped severely left to right, and you play from about 60 feet up going down. It’s driveable (a playing partner did and made par after pumping one OB on his first).

I chose to just take the slow road and played a 6-iron, leaving me 110 yards or so from the middle of the fairway.

My approach wedge was again right with too much draw and was just off the green, but pin-high.

A putt from the fringe and a short tap-in meant I was off the bogey train and back onto my par ride.

Hole 17

is a wonderful hole. The tee box is slightly elevated, and the green could be driveable for those really good players. But the goal here is just to get something in the shorter grass, as where the trees are is long and gross grass.

I was just in the right rough, but okay. I made a bad chip, but it still made the green, and I had maybe my best putt at birdie, which just didn’t quite have enough legs. I made an easy par.

Hole 18

is a great finishing hole because there is trouble everywhere, and really, you should avoid taking driver, as it brings all that water into play.

I took mini-driver and pulled it just a bit, but thankfully it stopped just short of the water. I had a great approach and a chance at a finishing birdie, which I, of course, left a bit short… again.

So, a string of pars to finish off, and my first round breaking 80 in a tournament in some time with a 79.

Now, here are some of the excuses.

My rangefinder broke when I was in the US, and I didn’t have one for this round. Why does this suck? Well, I think my Garmin watch was off on more than one occasion and led to maybe not the best picks of clubs. There was also a level of second-guessing, as I rely on that a lot, so I kind of felt a bit naked without it.

Finally, I need to get my irons bent flat. They are standard, and that just isn’t what I need. I am fighting to hold off draws, and the confidence just isn’t there with them yet.

So, what were the end results?