Kennedy Golf Course in Denver is quite a nice course. For those of you who haven't played it, they have three regulation sets of 9 holes that they mix and match throughout the week so that the various players that come to play regularly get as unique of an experience as possible every time they are there.
This time around, I played on the East Course (called Bett Lind I think) and the Cherry Creek Course.
All in all, things were quite good, again. I still love my Burner Irons and driver. The only real trouble that I had came with my 3 wood. It is a new burner 3 wood that I am still trying to get used to. It has a very light shaft which I am trying to find control of. I hit a couple decent shots with it, but also lost a lot to the right.
My irons are still making good contact, but I'm just slightly off with them as far as my aim goes. That is just something I have work on as much as I can over time, it'll come.
I shot 45 on both the front and the back 9, for an even 90 on a par 71. About average for me right now.
I felt like I probably could have shot in the 80s, but my chipping and pitching were far below average. That is a little weird for me, actually, as chipping and pitching is usually one of my strong points. I just kept catching things heavy coming through, which made the ball go nowhere near as far as I wanted.
I putted quite well, with only two 3-putts all day long, which is very nice.
I only lost one ball all day. Part of that is that Kennedy really doesn't play towards a lot of water hazards, and those that do are in the direction that I do not lose my shots, so I was pretty good to go on that.
The only one I did lose was on the last hole. One of the guys I was playing with convinced me to try and shoot over the small water hazard that ran really close to my driving distance. We both agreed that I should be able to get over it, and I hit a great drive but didn't see it come down and couldn't find it on the other side.
I hope to hit Kennedy again this summer and possibly do better, find my handle on that 3 wood, and bring my average down into the 80s.
So far, I've been out 3 times this year. I've shot an 82, a 93, and a 90. Not too bad, and I am feeling good about playing more golf this summer.
Showing posts with label golf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label golf. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Golf Journal: Cheyenne Shadows
I'm pretty amazed that I have already managed to get out on the golf course twice in the spring. This one I have to thank my neighbor, Bobby, for inviting me to. He is stationed at Fort Carson and some of his buddies were getting together for a round, and they needed a fourth, he kindly asked me to come along.
First off, again, this course was much like Valley-Hi, in that it was suffering from a cold, but very dry winter. A lot of dead grass, and even just dirt in the fairways. Nonetheless, quite a course to behold. It's very picturesque, and also a very challenging course. Not one that you want to walk 18 holes on, as there are a lot of hills.
All in all, a good round. Not quite as solid as my previous 82, but I had some decent moments. I scored par on 2 of my first 3 holes. I drove the ball well, chipped okay, putted pretty decently with only a could of 3 putts. I had trouble with my irons today.
As I had mentioned before, I have a new set of burner irons that I love. I wasn't as consistent with them this time out, for the majority of the round, but found a decent hold of them before the end.
The shot of the day came on the fifth hole. It is a 153 yard par 3 that plays about 40 feet straight down hill. So it's more like a 120 yard hole. Plus, we had a strong wind at our backs. I pulled out my 9 iron and got under one pretty well. Wind took it, but it was drifting a wee bit to the right. It looked as if it was going to land straight in the bunker, but then the most amazing thing happened. The ball landed right outside the bunker, was about to jump to the right, then hit the rake dead on and ricocheted right back. It rolled to about 10 ft of the cup. All four of us could not believe what we had just seen. Sadly I don't have a video of the event to prove it, but I do have 3 good eye witnesses. One of them even called home to tell somebody what they just saw. Sadly, I missed my birdie putt. Had a good roll on it, just sorta rolled over the edge of the cup and off. Nailed a par though.
Again, not as awesome as my 82, but it was still a solid 93. A pretty challenging course that I'd never played before, I'll take it. I still have to enter these rounds into my "handicap tracker" to see what it does for me, but I think that I'll be much lower than I was last year, which is a good thing.
Hoping to get out again here in the next couple of weeks, especially once my play is done. Here's hoping for more good golf!
First off, again, this course was much like Valley-Hi, in that it was suffering from a cold, but very dry winter. A lot of dead grass, and even just dirt in the fairways. Nonetheless, quite a course to behold. It's very picturesque, and also a very challenging course. Not one that you want to walk 18 holes on, as there are a lot of hills.
All in all, a good round. Not quite as solid as my previous 82, but I had some decent moments. I scored par on 2 of my first 3 holes. I drove the ball well, chipped okay, putted pretty decently with only a could of 3 putts. I had trouble with my irons today.
As I had mentioned before, I have a new set of burner irons that I love. I wasn't as consistent with them this time out, for the majority of the round, but found a decent hold of them before the end.
The shot of the day came on the fifth hole. It is a 153 yard par 3 that plays about 40 feet straight down hill. So it's more like a 120 yard hole. Plus, we had a strong wind at our backs. I pulled out my 9 iron and got under one pretty well. Wind took it, but it was drifting a wee bit to the right. It looked as if it was going to land straight in the bunker, but then the most amazing thing happened. The ball landed right outside the bunker, was about to jump to the right, then hit the rake dead on and ricocheted right back. It rolled to about 10 ft of the cup. All four of us could not believe what we had just seen. Sadly I don't have a video of the event to prove it, but I do have 3 good eye witnesses. One of them even called home to tell somebody what they just saw. Sadly, I missed my birdie putt. Had a good roll on it, just sorta rolled over the edge of the cup and off. Nailed a par though.
Again, not as awesome as my 82, but it was still a solid 93. A pretty challenging course that I'd never played before, I'll take it. I still have to enter these rounds into my "handicap tracker" to see what it does for me, but I think that I'll be much lower than I was last year, which is a good thing.
Hoping to get out again here in the next couple of weeks, especially once my play is done. Here's hoping for more good golf!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Golf Journal: Valley-Hi
Now that we are back into Spring, almost, I'm looking to get my golf journal going again! I went out today, for the first time this year, thanks to the fact that I'm currently on spring break.
I was very uncertain about how things would go, first time playing since about August, but was also kind of excited. I was getting to try out my brand new set of golf clubs that my wife allowed me to buy myself for Christmas. I got a set of Taylor Made Burner irons, and added a 3 wood burner to my collection, so I'm completely burnered up!
At first, I wasn't too happy with things because of the driving range. This particular course has mats set out to hit off of right now, and I HATE hitting on mats. They don't give you really accurate feedback on how you're hitting the ball, unless you absolutely catch it clean. My swing still felt a bit rusty, but after the about 30 minutes of hitting off of the mat, I felt okay about things. Still unsure, because it was a mat, but good enough to give a round a go.
I had been kicked out of the apartment by my wife while she cleaned so I had all the time I wanted to burn, essentially. So I went and signed up for 18 holes and got out. I was joined by a couple other gentleman, and I'm glad I was. They were very fun, laid back, and I really enjoyed the front 9 we all played.
Front 9 started off a bit rough, topped my first tee shot, which happens when it's your first time out for the season, but managed to have an okay next couple of shots. Ended the first hole, a par 5, with a 7. Meh, but I'll take it for now.
As the front 9 kept going, I got into a pretty good rhythm, and I was LOVING the way my new irons were striking the ball. I hit about 3 regulation greens in a row, which NEVER happens, and ended up with a couple good pars on the front 9. Ended with a 44 going out.
Then started the back 9. Something crazy happened to me on the back 9, I was playing really well. First 2 holes were both four pars and I scored a 5 on both of them. On the 12th hole, the shortest hole on the course, I absolutely destroyed my drive and put it to about 65 yards from the green. I've seen this book before, great tee shot, now I have a really short approach which I will no doubt duff off to the right and start swearing for a bit. Nope, caught it clean, with my new approach wedge (Taylor Made, did I mention that?) and landed it about five feet from the cup. Naturally, now I would do my usual 3 putt from 5 feet, right? No. Center of the cup, and a birdie. I'm usually good for a couple birdies every few rounds or so, but on my first time out? Pumped my fist, pulled the ball out, and quickly wrote down my 3 on my score card.
Moving forward, I expected to fold like a cheap suit, because that's what I do. NOPE. Holes 13 - 17 I parred all the way. Making a few pretty solid up and downs along the way. 17 was a short of short par 5 with a water hazard right in front of the green. I was feeling very peckish after a really good drive, and pulled out my 5 wood. I wasn't terribly concerned with hitting the green, just wanted to try and muscle it over the water, which I did! The stars were aligning, or something, because everything was going right.
18 had just an evil green. I was on in 2, and had a downhill putt from about 15 feet. I gave it a pretty gentle stroke and it went by the hole about 25 feet. 2 putted back for a 5 to close out my round. A back 9 38. That's right, 38 on 9 holes of golf. That is something that I have NEVER done. Gave me a grand total of 82 for the round. I was stunned! 82 is my all-time low round. Allow me to say it again, I LOVE my new golf clubs.
There were a couple negatives on the day. First, the driving range mats. Second, I couldn't find my sunhat before I went, so my neck is now totally red (curse you Irish skin!). Third, I lost a few balls along the way, only one into a hazard, but the others because this course was so poorly maintained that the majority of the course was dead grass. As many of you are aware, sometimes when you hit the ball into large areas of dead grass, and don't see EXACTLY where it landed, it is like searching for a needle in a hay stack trying to find your ball. I don't count myself for penalties on that, just drop another one by where I figure it went out, and go from there. Last, first time out, and I walked 18 the whole way. My legs are still yelling for this. Oh, well, I'm joining a roller hockey league that starts in like two weeks, they'll just have to get used to the abuse.
If any of you are avid golfers, and you're in the market for a new set of clubs, get yourself some burners. Those things are amazing. I've never hit so many clean shots before. I'm totally sold on the Taylor Made brand. If they let me do commercials, I would. I have never driven a ball farther or straighter, I've never hit so many greens in regulation. I've never played golf this well, until I got some Taylor Made Burners. Everything I get, from now on, will be Taylor Made, and I will continue to sing their praises.
Thanks for reading. Tell me some of your low golf scores so we can all compare!
I was very uncertain about how things would go, first time playing since about August, but was also kind of excited. I was getting to try out my brand new set of golf clubs that my wife allowed me to buy myself for Christmas. I got a set of Taylor Made Burner irons, and added a 3 wood burner to my collection, so I'm completely burnered up!
At first, I wasn't too happy with things because of the driving range. This particular course has mats set out to hit off of right now, and I HATE hitting on mats. They don't give you really accurate feedback on how you're hitting the ball, unless you absolutely catch it clean. My swing still felt a bit rusty, but after the about 30 minutes of hitting off of the mat, I felt okay about things. Still unsure, because it was a mat, but good enough to give a round a go.
I had been kicked out of the apartment by my wife while she cleaned so I had all the time I wanted to burn, essentially. So I went and signed up for 18 holes and got out. I was joined by a couple other gentleman, and I'm glad I was. They were very fun, laid back, and I really enjoyed the front 9 we all played.
Front 9 started off a bit rough, topped my first tee shot, which happens when it's your first time out for the season, but managed to have an okay next couple of shots. Ended the first hole, a par 5, with a 7. Meh, but I'll take it for now.
As the front 9 kept going, I got into a pretty good rhythm, and I was LOVING the way my new irons were striking the ball. I hit about 3 regulation greens in a row, which NEVER happens, and ended up with a couple good pars on the front 9. Ended with a 44 going out.
Then started the back 9. Something crazy happened to me on the back 9, I was playing really well. First 2 holes were both four pars and I scored a 5 on both of them. On the 12th hole, the shortest hole on the course, I absolutely destroyed my drive and put it to about 65 yards from the green. I've seen this book before, great tee shot, now I have a really short approach which I will no doubt duff off to the right and start swearing for a bit. Nope, caught it clean, with my new approach wedge (Taylor Made, did I mention that?) and landed it about five feet from the cup. Naturally, now I would do my usual 3 putt from 5 feet, right? No. Center of the cup, and a birdie. I'm usually good for a couple birdies every few rounds or so, but on my first time out? Pumped my fist, pulled the ball out, and quickly wrote down my 3 on my score card.
Moving forward, I expected to fold like a cheap suit, because that's what I do. NOPE. Holes 13 - 17 I parred all the way. Making a few pretty solid up and downs along the way. 17 was a short of short par 5 with a water hazard right in front of the green. I was feeling very peckish after a really good drive, and pulled out my 5 wood. I wasn't terribly concerned with hitting the green, just wanted to try and muscle it over the water, which I did! The stars were aligning, or something, because everything was going right.
18 had just an evil green. I was on in 2, and had a downhill putt from about 15 feet. I gave it a pretty gentle stroke and it went by the hole about 25 feet. 2 putted back for a 5 to close out my round. A back 9 38. That's right, 38 on 9 holes of golf. That is something that I have NEVER done. Gave me a grand total of 82 for the round. I was stunned! 82 is my all-time low round. Allow me to say it again, I LOVE my new golf clubs.
There were a couple negatives on the day. First, the driving range mats. Second, I couldn't find my sunhat before I went, so my neck is now totally red (curse you Irish skin!). Third, I lost a few balls along the way, only one into a hazard, but the others because this course was so poorly maintained that the majority of the course was dead grass. As many of you are aware, sometimes when you hit the ball into large areas of dead grass, and don't see EXACTLY where it landed, it is like searching for a needle in a hay stack trying to find your ball. I don't count myself for penalties on that, just drop another one by where I figure it went out, and go from there. Last, first time out, and I walked 18 the whole way. My legs are still yelling for this. Oh, well, I'm joining a roller hockey league that starts in like two weeks, they'll just have to get used to the abuse.
If any of you are avid golfers, and you're in the market for a new set of clubs, get yourself some burners. Those things are amazing. I've never hit so many clean shots before. I'm totally sold on the Taylor Made brand. If they let me do commercials, I would. I have never driven a ball farther or straighter, I've never hit so many greens in regulation. I've never played golf this well, until I got some Taylor Made Burners. Everything I get, from now on, will be Taylor Made, and I will continue to sing their praises.
Thanks for reading. Tell me some of your low golf scores so we can all compare!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tiger and the Ryder Cup
With most of the season of golf gone, the last major of the year passed, we now have a pretty obvious picture of the Ryder Cup teams. The Ryder Cup being, of course, the showdown for international golf supremacy. Tiger Woods is usually a mainstay on this team because he has always had the tendency of just winning 5 tournaments every year and finishing very high in all the majors.
This year, however, has been quite different for Tiger, this being about the understatement of the century in regards to Tiger's life. All the infidelity stuff thrown everywhere, taking a few months away from golf to do some rehab, coming back and struggling through the majors and other tournaments, seems to be hiring a new swing coach (a bit later than most people think he should have), and just not the Tiger that most people are used to seeing.
Yet, the US Ryder Cup captain, Corey Pavin has stated that Tiger Woods is high on his list for a Captain's pick for the team. Now, obviously, Tiger is Tiger, and you obviously assume that his presence would help to intimidate the other team and stabilize your team. Except for this, Tiger right now, is not the Tiger that most people would want on their team. He's erratic and inconsistent at best, his putting is off, his "Buddhism" practices don't keep him from throwing hissy fits and swearing on the course even after he pledged to be a better person at the birthplace of the game of golf.
So what does all this mean? In my opinion, this means that Tiger shouldn't be selected for the Ryder Cup team. True, he's still the world's number 1, only because Phil Mickelson keeps dropping the ball any time he has an opportunity to over take him. Still, he hasn't played that way, and would probably not help out the team. So it would be better for the US Ryder Team to not have Tiger, (this Tiger, not the Tiger that everybody seems to think will magically come back) and it will probably be better for Tiger to not be part of this team so that he can work on his game, and work on his personal life. Though I do seem to be in the minority on this.
Leave Tiger off, Tiger, stay home.
This year, however, has been quite different for Tiger, this being about the understatement of the century in regards to Tiger's life. All the infidelity stuff thrown everywhere, taking a few months away from golf to do some rehab, coming back and struggling through the majors and other tournaments, seems to be hiring a new swing coach (a bit later than most people think he should have), and just not the Tiger that most people are used to seeing.
Yet, the US Ryder Cup captain, Corey Pavin has stated that Tiger Woods is high on his list for a Captain's pick for the team. Now, obviously, Tiger is Tiger, and you obviously assume that his presence would help to intimidate the other team and stabilize your team. Except for this, Tiger right now, is not the Tiger that most people would want on their team. He's erratic and inconsistent at best, his putting is off, his "Buddhism" practices don't keep him from throwing hissy fits and swearing on the course even after he pledged to be a better person at the birthplace of the game of golf.
So what does all this mean? In my opinion, this means that Tiger shouldn't be selected for the Ryder Cup team. True, he's still the world's number 1, only because Phil Mickelson keeps dropping the ball any time he has an opportunity to over take him. Still, he hasn't played that way, and would probably not help out the team. So it would be better for the US Ryder Team to not have Tiger, (this Tiger, not the Tiger that everybody seems to think will magically come back) and it will probably be better for Tiger to not be part of this team so that he can work on his game, and work on his personal life. Though I do seem to be in the minority on this.
Leave Tiger off, Tiger, stay home.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Tiger and The British Open
Well, we're 3 majors into the golf season and people are still surprised that Tiger has not won a major. Rumblings have begun that the once foregone conclusion of Tiger demolishing Jack's record of 18 major titles has now become a question of if, and is no longer a question of when. People are beginning to see Tiger as "mortal" now. I suppose it's hard to argue with the whole question of him being beatable now. We're talking about a guy who made a habit out of eating the competition for breakfast.
At the same time, though, can we really be all that surprised at Tiger's regression? I mean, sure, professional athletes of Tiger's caliber have been able to tune out the outside world no matter what, but how much can you tune out when literally everything is going against you. Don't mistake me, in now way am I condoning Tiger's multiple mistresses and the way he handled his family life. I find it repulsive how a man who is given everything, through endorsements and prize money, still manage to screw their life up completely and wonder how it happened. To Tiger's credit, though, he has been very up front and loud about accepting the fact that he screwed up. But I digress. This is a guy who took a significant of time off from golfing. Dealing with family issues, going to the rehab clinics, trying to salvage a once pristine image. Why do so many people seem so shocked that he would come back and not be the dominant force he once was?
Anybody who has played golf will tell you that taking that much time off will affect the way you play. Your body won't be in the same shape, you lose that muscle memory that comes with the constant repetition of swing after swing, your vision slows down and you begin to second guess yourself, and your confidence will take a dive as a result of all of this. If you are wondering if Tiger's confidence is lacking, all you have to do is take a look at his putting. After 13 majors with the same putter, he changed at the British Open this year. You don't change putters unless your confidence is low. I guess the bottom line with all of this is that, as machine-like as Tiger has looked in the past, he's obviously still human, and won't be the same Tiger that goes out and dominates everybody before he even tees off. He probably won't reach that level ever again. But most people would agree that Tiger at 85%, is still better than most of the field at 100%. So now we just have to wait for him to get back up to that 85%.
As for the rest of golf itself, the fact that Tiger is no longer in that dominant mode is great for the game! We still got to see somebody dominate St. Andrew's this year, and it wasn't at all who we thought it would be. I mean, I'm still working on how to pronounce this dude's name! Louis Oosthuizen, if you find out, please tell me! But now we get to see all the other player's playing their best and bringing out the excitement, yes the excitement, that golf has! It is no longer people playing for second. Sure, it's exciting to see Tiger pull of the shots that he's capable of, but it's just as exciting seeing 3 or 4 others go down the back 9 and not knowing who's going to win like with did at the U.S. Open.
At any rate, everybody needs to calm down about all this Tiger stuff. He'll figure it out. The rest of my take on Tiger is to just leave his personal life alone. I know all that I ever wanted to know about his sex life, and then some. Don't get me wrong, he deserves his lumps about what he did, but he's going to get them whether I give him a hard time about it or not. If you've ever been divorced, you know how rough that would have to be; but now imagine that you had to pay half a billion dollars and have every single detail of that divorce advertised and spelled out to every person in the world whether they wanted to hear about it or not. As I said, he'll get his lumps. Plus, throw into it that he's managed to lose this, a smoking hot Swedish Super mode, to come home to, and life is pretty rough.
I look forward to when Tiger regains all of his form, but until then, I will enjoy all of the great drama that will come with each tournament. Golf remains an exciting game, regardless of what Tiger does.
At the same time, though, can we really be all that surprised at Tiger's regression? I mean, sure, professional athletes of Tiger's caliber have been able to tune out the outside world no matter what, but how much can you tune out when literally everything is going against you. Don't mistake me, in now way am I condoning Tiger's multiple mistresses and the way he handled his family life. I find it repulsive how a man who is given everything, through endorsements and prize money, still manage to screw their life up completely and wonder how it happened. To Tiger's credit, though, he has been very up front and loud about accepting the fact that he screwed up. But I digress. This is a guy who took a significant of time off from golfing. Dealing with family issues, going to the rehab clinics, trying to salvage a once pristine image. Why do so many people seem so shocked that he would come back and not be the dominant force he once was?
Anybody who has played golf will tell you that taking that much time off will affect the way you play. Your body won't be in the same shape, you lose that muscle memory that comes with the constant repetition of swing after swing, your vision slows down and you begin to second guess yourself, and your confidence will take a dive as a result of all of this. If you are wondering if Tiger's confidence is lacking, all you have to do is take a look at his putting. After 13 majors with the same putter, he changed at the British Open this year. You don't change putters unless your confidence is low. I guess the bottom line with all of this is that, as machine-like as Tiger has looked in the past, he's obviously still human, and won't be the same Tiger that goes out and dominates everybody before he even tees off. He probably won't reach that level ever again. But most people would agree that Tiger at 85%, is still better than most of the field at 100%. So now we just have to wait for him to get back up to that 85%.
As for the rest of golf itself, the fact that Tiger is no longer in that dominant mode is great for the game! We still got to see somebody dominate St. Andrew's this year, and it wasn't at all who we thought it would be. I mean, I'm still working on how to pronounce this dude's name! Louis Oosthuizen, if you find out, please tell me! But now we get to see all the other player's playing their best and bringing out the excitement, yes the excitement, that golf has! It is no longer people playing for second. Sure, it's exciting to see Tiger pull of the shots that he's capable of, but it's just as exciting seeing 3 or 4 others go down the back 9 and not knowing who's going to win like with did at the U.S. Open.
At any rate, everybody needs to calm down about all this Tiger stuff. He'll figure it out. The rest of my take on Tiger is to just leave his personal life alone. I know all that I ever wanted to know about his sex life, and then some. Don't get me wrong, he deserves his lumps about what he did, but he's going to get them whether I give him a hard time about it or not. If you've ever been divorced, you know how rough that would have to be; but now imagine that you had to pay half a billion dollars and have every single detail of that divorce advertised and spelled out to every person in the world whether they wanted to hear about it or not. As I said, he'll get his lumps. Plus, throw into it that he's managed to lose this, a smoking hot Swedish Super mode, to come home to, and life is pretty rough.
I look forward to when Tiger regains all of his form, but until then, I will enjoy all of the great drama that will come with each tournament. Golf remains an exciting game, regardless of what Tiger does.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Golf Journal: Eagle Glen
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!
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!
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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