I played Eagle Glen today, up in Anchorage, Alaska. It was my first round of 18 holes this year, and I didn't really feel that great. I shot a 107 which, by my standards at the moment, isn't all that bad, but I feel I could have done better. A few things were not to my advantage right away.
First, I had never played the course before, and right away I was caught guessing on the first hole, not knowing exactly where the multiple water hazards were. Second, I had to rent clubs. My wife and I traveled up to Alaska from Denver, and I wasn't able to bring my clubs with me. For a great portion of the day I just didn't feel great about how I was lined up, and how the clubs felt. I don't think I would have done a great deal better with my own clubs, but there is definitely something to say for familiarity. Third, right from the get go, the group in front of us was really slow. I'm usually not one that gets fussy about the group in front of you playing a bit slow, but these guys were ridiculous. On pretty much the whole front 9, they let their kids, there were 2 young kids, play a good deal of the holes. Not to anybody teaching their kid the game of golf, good for you, but teaching them how to swing is something you should do on the driving range, not on the 18 hole course. The last thing didn't really happen until hole 14, but on this par 3, I caught my tee shot fat, and it felt like my body was still trying to go through, but the club caught in the ground. My back felt kinda weird the entire rest of the round, and still does.
Other than that, there were some good things. My short game was alright. Most specifically, my putting was quite good. I made a few pretty long distance puts, a few great pars, but the greens were a bit slow and choppy. The balls hopped a lot. At the end, one of the guys I was playing with said his round would have been quite a few strokes better if he had me putting for him. That felt nice. I had some really bad fortune on a couple holes, just plain stunk a few others, and then played a few really well. This is all part of the consistency issue that I'm hoping I'll eventually be able to overcome. I managed to get a par on probably the longest par 5 on the course, where my second shot just managed to get over the creek, took a bit of an extra bound, thanks to the cart path, and sat up for me in the rough. Hit my third shot just off the green, pitched to about 3 feet, and putted it right in. The things that bring ya back!
Perhaps my favorite quote of the day was my father in law cursing the creek on the long par 5. He said that he's never gotten less than a 10 on that hole, and, after putting a couple in the creek from not far away, could probably be heard back in the clubhouse yelling "I HATE THIS HOLE!" I had done not so much better the hole before, knocking two into the creek and getting a 10.
All in all, it was a great day. Gorgeous weather, good company, a bit frustrating. I definitely felt a bit cranky with the really slow group in front of us, and crankiness can affect me. I'll be interested to see how I do the next time I get out for 18. It will be in Colorado, and it will be with my own clubs. Hopefully that will help my confidence and comfort level. But who knows. I'm certain that I will still suck, but will hopefully be able to get out of the 100s. Until next time!
Showing posts with label alaska. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alaska. Show all posts
Monday, July 5, 2010
Golfing Journal
"Golf is a nice walk spoiled." "When ancient man threw sticks on the ground and screamed unintelligible words, they called it witchcraft; when modren man does it, the call it golf." I think that most people can agree, golf is an acquired taste. A lot of people have a taste for it, a lot of people don't. I happen to have a taste for this game, and I enjoy it quite a lot. Something that I've decided to do as an addition to this blog, is to include my own journal about my experiences golfing.
When I first started golfing, I was a kid. A teenaged who didn't really like it when he wasn't good at something. Naturally, I both liked and hated golfing. I liked the challenge, but hated how bad I was. So naturally, the only thing to do was get better. Around college, I stopped playing. I like to try and pretend that it was because I was focusing on my studies and all that, but I think it was more because I knew how bad I was and didn't care to be reminded of it every time I went out. I did go a few times, saw the clubs in the basement and figured it was better to give them a little bit of use instead of just letting them sit there and collect dust. Let me back up a bit. There was actually a summer, I want to say right after my freshman year of college, where I was actually decent. My best round ever came in that summer, as well as what would have been my best round, had the damn lightning not come in. My best round ever was an 84. Honest to God, 84. Ever since then, I've been fighting to be able to break 90, and sometimes 100.
I think what first got me back into the game was my father in law. He is an avid golfer, and probably the most honest golfer that you will ever see. What he puts on his score card is absolutely, positively, exactly what he shot. He knows every rule there is, and applies every penalty that happens to a pro, to himself. He kind of sounds like the type that might really annoy people to golf with, and I suppose to some people, he might be, but I, personally, love golfing with him. You'd have to meet him to fully understand, but if you want a truly irreverant good time, then you'll have to play with him. True, he takes it seriously, and gets mad at himself, but both of you can't really help but laugh when he swears like crazy, and then the next hole it's like it never happened. I definitely felt more comfortable, knowing that if I wanted to just let an f-bomb fly when I got mad at myself, I could and it wouldn't matter. It started to help me relax. Since then, I have done my best to make sure that I go golfing with a buddy or a relative, somebody I'm comfortable with, which is really the best way to golf anyways, in good company.
I've been out a couple of times this summer, and am going with my father in law again tomorrow. Played a par 3 course with a friend of mine that I'm trying to teach the game, and a 9 hole executive course with my dad on father's day. Good company, nice and relaxing. I'm actually at a point where I can expect that I can shoot a few pars each time out. I'm excited to get out and play 18 for the first time this summer. My hope is that I can hit it in the 90s. Only issue is that I'm up in Alaska and don't have my own clubs. This is both good and bad. When you rent clubs from a place, you usually get some really nice clubs from the pro-shop, but it's hard to know. I'm quite comfortable with my clubs, especially my driver and my putter. It's hard to change those up. I'll let you know how things go.
To conclude my first entrance of this, I am a big fan of golfing. I think I've developed the right attitude towards approaching it, and just go to enjoy myself. As long as I'm enjoying myself, I'm sure I'll get better. My eventual goal, I want to get my actual handicap figured out, and move towards breaking 80. Long term goal, definitely, but I'm hopeful that it can happen.
See ya on the links!
When I first started golfing, I was a kid. A teenaged who didn't really like it when he wasn't good at something. Naturally, I both liked and hated golfing. I liked the challenge, but hated how bad I was. So naturally, the only thing to do was get better. Around college, I stopped playing. I like to try and pretend that it was because I was focusing on my studies and all that, but I think it was more because I knew how bad I was and didn't care to be reminded of it every time I went out. I did go a few times, saw the clubs in the basement and figured it was better to give them a little bit of use instead of just letting them sit there and collect dust. Let me back up a bit. There was actually a summer, I want to say right after my freshman year of college, where I was actually decent. My best round ever came in that summer, as well as what would have been my best round, had the damn lightning not come in. My best round ever was an 84. Honest to God, 84. Ever since then, I've been fighting to be able to break 90, and sometimes 100.
I think what first got me back into the game was my father in law. He is an avid golfer, and probably the most honest golfer that you will ever see. What he puts on his score card is absolutely, positively, exactly what he shot. He knows every rule there is, and applies every penalty that happens to a pro, to himself. He kind of sounds like the type that might really annoy people to golf with, and I suppose to some people, he might be, but I, personally, love golfing with him. You'd have to meet him to fully understand, but if you want a truly irreverant good time, then you'll have to play with him. True, he takes it seriously, and gets mad at himself, but both of you can't really help but laugh when he swears like crazy, and then the next hole it's like it never happened. I definitely felt more comfortable, knowing that if I wanted to just let an f-bomb fly when I got mad at myself, I could and it wouldn't matter. It started to help me relax. Since then, I have done my best to make sure that I go golfing with a buddy or a relative, somebody I'm comfortable with, which is really the best way to golf anyways, in good company.
I've been out a couple of times this summer, and am going with my father in law again tomorrow. Played a par 3 course with a friend of mine that I'm trying to teach the game, and a 9 hole executive course with my dad on father's day. Good company, nice and relaxing. I'm actually at a point where I can expect that I can shoot a few pars each time out. I'm excited to get out and play 18 for the first time this summer. My hope is that I can hit it in the 90s. Only issue is that I'm up in Alaska and don't have my own clubs. This is both good and bad. When you rent clubs from a place, you usually get some really nice clubs from the pro-shop, but it's hard to know. I'm quite comfortable with my clubs, especially my driver and my putter. It's hard to change those up. I'll let you know how things go.
To conclude my first entrance of this, I am a big fan of golfing. I think I've developed the right attitude towards approaching it, and just go to enjoy myself. As long as I'm enjoying myself, I'm sure I'll get better. My eventual goal, I want to get my actual handicap figured out, and move towards breaking 80. Long term goal, definitely, but I'm hopeful that it can happen.
See ya on the links!
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