171. Winning Your First Club Championship With Phyllis Haberer T-Time With Tori Totlis podcast

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171. Winning Your First Club Championship with Phyllis Haberer

9d ago 39:02

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"Down the middle, down the middle, chip one putt." That was the mantra Phylly sang in her head throughout her breakthrough club championship win at Durand Eastman, Rochester's notoriously difficult municipal course.

After years of close calls, including a tough shank into the water on the 16th hole during a Florida club championship, Phylly finally broke through. She entered day two tied for third, grouped with three-time defending champion Deb Wood, who had just dominated at Wanakah Country Club days earlier with a 76.

The mental game nearly derailed her before she started. Coming off a brutal 92 at Wanakah (where Wood won), Phylly arrived with zero expectations. She didn't even warm up or practice putting. Instead, she treated it like any other league day rather than the championship finale.

While Wood and the other leaders shot 44s on the front nine, Phylly fired a smooth 40. Her strategy was pure consistency: "I can't get on par fours in two 'cause I only hit my drive like 160, 170." So she chipped and one-putted her way to pars and bogeys while others chased birdies.

The 18th hole loomed as her "arch nemesis": a par five so treacherous it was featured in Golf Magazine. "I thought, oh, second place isn't so bad," she admitted, already accepting potential defeat. But when Wood failed to reach the green in three, Phylly knew she had it.

The celebration was subdued. She didn't even realize she'd won until others confirmed no one ahead had caught her. After decades of trying, her 82 delivered the breakthrough, proving that sometimes the best strategy is simply playing your own game!

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