I played in two local Club Championships in the past month. Although I finished third in both, the first tournament was a disappointing failure, while the second was a huge success!


Tiger and Stricker at Presidents Cup by 44Diaries

In the first Club Championship, I was tied for the lead after the first day. I had nearly given up after throwing up a triple bogie on the 8th after grinding so hard to get through the first seven holes just 1-over. A bogie on nine just frustrated me further. I figured I was out of the hunt at 5-over, but after finishing with 3 birdies on the final 4 holes, I rallied back to actually finish tied for first, with the defending champion just 1 back. The fourth player was 3-back.

We played together as a foursome in the final round the following day. We were all friends who enjoy playing together, and although we all wanted to win, each of us would genuinely be happy for whoever played well and earned it that day.

Interestingly, our place in the pack all changed on the very first hole!

The other co-leader tripled while I doubled the first hole and the fourth place player parred and the third place player bogied. So I was now tied with the defending club champion, the other two players were 1-back. But scores widened over the remaining holes on the front nine. The day one co-leader stumbled on several more holes as did the fourth place player. After nine holes, it appeared to be a match between the defending champ and me. I was 1-up after nine.

Steady grinding helped me stay at 2-over through 12 holes, maintaining my 1 stroke lead.

I'd been grinding hard for two days now since my driver was still proving to be unreliable. I'd hit a big booming drive on one hole, then flair one right on another. Then on thirteen, I hooked one hard left. I punched out into a fairway bunker, the barely got my next shot out. I finished this hole with a double bogie. The defending champ 3-putted for bogie so we were now tied for lead. We both bogied 14 to remain tied.

On the back nine, I'd not only become tired from two days of grinding for pars, but I started thinking about my chance to win a Club Championship. I also got caught up in my individual match with the defending champ instead of continuing to just take each shot one at a time and let the results simply happen.

I felt tense on the tee for most of the back nine, still void of any real trust in my driver. It cost me another poor drive on fifteen resulting in another double bogie! I fell 2 behind. I got it back together on the difficult sixteenth. But my par was matched so I remained 2 back. Then on the downhill par 3 seventeenth, the defending champ pushed his tee shot into the trees right of the green, making bogie a likely result. Unfortunately, I hit my 5-iron to the same spot! We both double bogied seventeen!

I'd just shot 7-over on the last 5 holes and my opponent had shot 4-over! We were hoping to redeem ourselves on eighteen.

I managed to par eighteen after hitting a poor drive into a fairway bunker, but finishing with a impressive chip to 1 foot for an easy tap-in par. The defending champ actually bogied, so I finished 1 back. However, both of our hiccups down the stretch apparently allowed the 5th place player, who had played well in the foursome in front, to win the championship by 1 stroke! I therefore fell back to finish 3rd.

I wasn't unhappy about not winning, only with how I played those final holes. It was a huge disappointment, but also proved to be a valuable lesson.

Fortunately, I had another chance to test myself in another Club Championship this past weekend. Given another opportunity, I was determined to remain positive, allow myself to make mistakes, and simply play my best. This Club Championship would also prove to be a better test because of the size and talent of the competition. Any expectations of winning were frankly unrealistic. My goal was to play well. A top five finish would be a very satisfying outcome.

I started off nicely. Although I hit a poor drive on the very first hole, leaving me 200 yards out in the rough, I hit a good second shot just short of the green. Unfortunately, I scalded my chip well past the hole leaving a long putt over a large mound. I accepted my fate, remained calm, and sunk the breaking putt for par!

My ball striking and putting were solid over the next few holes and I remained even through five. I then hit a perfect drive on the par 5 sixth, leaving me only 220 yards from the green. After waiting for the green to clear, I then hit a 4-wood that barely left the ground and failed to carry a lake by about one foot. I finally got on the green, but missed a makeable bogie putt to give me a dreaded double bogie. I was now 2-over. Amazingly, I let it go and didn't let a single thought about the overall outcome enter my mind. I just kept playing one shot at a time. I parred seven and eight and bogied the difficult ninth to finish the front 3-over.

Although I'd hit the one ball in the lake on six, I was very satisfied with how I was playing. I was especially happy with my putting. I was making everything within 5 feet - no 3-putts so far!

My solid ball striking and putting, and attitude, kept up on the back nine. I scored my only birdie of the round on twelve along with 2 bogies to finish the back 1-over and an overall 4-over 75.

I found myself alone in 5th place! Two scratch golfers had shot rounds of even-par and 3-over. Two other golfers were also 3-over. The leader played college golf at Fresno State with Nick Watney and several others who turned pro. As far as I could tell, he could play professionally as well. The rest of us were playing for 2nd place. The leader was much more likely to shoot under par on day two than come back to the field. That turned out to be the case. He shot a second round 68 to win.

Regardless of the fact that I didn't have a realistic chance to win, I stuck with my goal on day two to just play my best and let go of the outcome. The four players in front of me, and several behind me, were undoubtedly more talented and experienced. A top 10 finish would be very respectable.

I decided to walk on the second day. It turned out that 3 out of the 4 golfers who walked that day were in my final grouping. We played in front of the top 4 players from day one.

I got off to a rocky start again on the 1st hole, but managed to make a good up and down to save bogie. I was now 5-over for the tournament. But more solid ball striking and putting, and a birdie on the par 5 fourth got me back to even for the round after the front nine. The other players in my group finished the front nine at 2-over, 4-over, and 6-over. My fifth place standing overall was likely still intact.

I stayed even for the round through 13 after scoring a bogie on 11 and birdie on 12, but I was starting to feel tired. The ongoing grind of trying to get up and down and make 4-5 foot putts was draining, and I was even getting tired just from walking. Realizing that I was tired and that I was at the point were my round crumbled in last month's Club Championship, I focused hard over my tee shot on 14. I hit my best drive of the weekend, a 300 yarder that overran the end of the fairway, stopping just short of a bunker in some length fescue. Unfortunately, I took too much grass with my wedge and only advanced the ball half way to the green. I failed to get up and down and bogied.

I then hit my 6-iron fat on the par 3 fifteenth and failed to get up and down again from the hazard to bogie again. I was now 2-over for the round.

I gathered myself and focused even more for the remainder of the round, determined to stay present and just finish the round one shot at a time. I succeeded. I finished with 3 pars and came in with a very satisfying 2-over 73!

I soon learned that I overtook 2 players from the leaders group to finish in third place! The only two players to beat me were scratch golfers in their 20's!

My third place finish in such a talented field was certainly my most successful competitive effort! More importantly, I learned how to play my best golf in a competitive event. It was a very rewarding weekend -- along with getting to watch the President's Cup!

Labels: Club Championship, Rounds

As of this month, I've now played golf for exactly 4 years. It took me a year to reduce my index to 8, another year to get down to 4, and as of today, another 2 years to get down to 2! I shot my first 4-under 68 today and finally broke through the 2 handicap barrier to a get to a personal best 1.6 index! The key? Lots of golf and making lots of putts!


Desert Willow Golf Resort, Palm Desert

Last week, my wife and I drove to Palm Springs for a small vacation. She spent the mornings at the pool, I headed out for golf. We then enjoyed the afternoons and evenings together. We planned to stay for a week, but after spending four days in 100+ degree heat, we headed home early and continued our vacation at home here on the California Central Coast. I just finished playing my 8th round of golf in 10 days!

While in Palm Springs, I played Tahquitz Creek, Terra Lago, Cimarron, and Desert Willow. Tahquitz Creek's Legend Course provided a nice, affordable warm-up for the following rounds. I shot 78, loosing all my strokes to par in the middle of the round after pushing practically every drive right. I finally found my driver on the 450 yard par 4 18th where I finished with a birdie. Terra Lago's North Course beat me up on the front nine where I found myself in sand on practically every hole! My driver was on all day, but I just couldn't score. I found every possible way to follow up an incredible drive with a bogie! I doubled 18 to finish with a disappointing 83. But the following day, I played the tips at Cimarron and finished just 3-over, even after loosing a ball on the final hole!

But I saved the best for last. I played my final round at Desert Willow's Firecliff Course with a pleasant couple from Vancouver. I was even par on the front nine, but managed to throw in 3 double bogies on the back nine thanks to a few errant drives. With one birdie on the back, I came into the 513 yard par 5 18th at 5-over. I hit a bit of a hook off the tee, leaving a hefty 250 yards to reach the green in two. There was a narrow opening to the green with a lake to the right. After letting my good round get away from me, I decided to go for it.

I hit a 3-wood right where I was aiming, leaving me just short and left of the green. As I walked to my ball, I observed that we had quite a gallery seated outdoors at the restaurant in the clubhouse up on the hill above. I got my focus back on studied my upcoming shot, a 60-70 foot chip breaking hard to the left near the hole. I picked a spot, looked down at my ball, and took the club back slowly. I made crisp contact, but started the ball a little right of my intended line. After watching the ball get started though, the speed looked good. The ball rolled towards the mound located right of the hole, took a hard left as I anticipated, then continued to roll towards the hole and dropped for eagle! An applause erupted from the restaurant! Not only did I eagle the final hole, I had a gallery to enjoy it with me. The couple I played with even treated me to a beer after the round to celebrate!

My wife and I headed home the following day, but I continued my vacation by playing local courses on Wednesday and Thursday, then returned to work on Friday. I planned to just practice and check out a demo day on Saturday, but ran into three friends and joined them for a late afternoon round from the back tees. I shot a solid 4-over 75 and one of my friends shot his career best round, an even par 71 with a birdie, birdie, eagle, par finish!

Today, I finished my golf marathon, playing in our monthly Men's Club tournament. We played the same tees where I shot my 3-under 69 just 2 weeks ago, but I let go of any expectations of repeating this success and decided only to enjoy the round and hit some good shots.

On the first hole, I hit a horrible hook to the left on this par 4 dogleg right, leaving a lengthy approach. My subsequent shot came up short and right of the green with a back-left pin. I hit a perfect lob wedge that stopped pin high and spun left and rolled in for birdie! Another player in the foursome then chipped in from well off the green for another birdie, and another player then chipped from below the green to within 1 foot! We had a nice start to the round!

I managed to par the next 5 holes, then birdied 7 to get to 2-under, but then came the difficult par 4 eighth!

My drive hit the large eucalyptus tree at the inside corner of the dogleg right, leaving a 210 yard approach. Like the first hole, my approach came up short and right. This time though, instead of holing my chip shot, I came up 15-20 feet short. My long putt for par was on line, but also came up short. Somehow, I missed my 2-foot bogie putt and walked way with a discouraging double bogie to get back to even par!

I let her rip on the par 5 9th, leaving only 220 in. I hit a 5-wood to just in front of the green, pitched to 2 feet and made my putt for birdie! I finished the front 1-under.

Pars on 10 and 11 kept me 1-under, but a horrible wedge from 80 yards out on 12 put me in a deep greenside bunker. A good bunker shot gave me a shot at par, but I settled for bogie and got back to even par. I had 5 holes left to get back under par!

Another good drive on the par 5 13th gave me a chance to reach in 2, but I missed a little left from 220 yards out. I got up and down for birdie to get back to 1-under!

I had a decent chance at birdie on 14, but read too little break and tapped in for par. But on 15, I made a nice downhill breaking putt from 10-15 feet for another birdie! Back to 2-under.

I gave myself another good chance for birdie on 16 after hitting a pitching wedge to 8-10 feet. My right-to-left putt dropped and I was now 3-under!

I missed the green on the challenging par 3 17th, but chipped to 1 foot and saved par.

I walked up to 18 at 3-under with 6 birdies, 1 bogie, and 1 double bogie. Two weeks earlier, I was also 3-under when I approached 18. I often reach this par 5 in 2, but 2 weeks ago, I 3-putted for par. Today I planned to birdie!

I hit an acceptable drive, leaving a 200+ yard carry over a lake to consider going for the green in two. Instead of protecting a good round, I decided to give it a go. I hit a choked up 5-wood, but pulled it left. It didn't look like the ball would carry the lake, but we didn't see a splash. We also didn't see a bounce. Most likely, the ball had come up short and landed in the lily pads bordering the lake.

The twosome in the other cart rode to the other side of the lake to take a look for me. They found my ball just 2 feet over the lake, in the hazard, but playable! I had a pretty good lie and a clear shot at the flag. I stayed relaxed, looked at the flag, visualized my shot, and made my swing. Like my chip on 17, the ball rolled right towards the hole and stopped just 1 foot short. I walked up and tapped in for my 7th birdie of the round, finishing 4-under! I'd just birdied 4 out of the final 5 holes!

My round beat the next best round for the day by 6 strokes! This was not only my first 4-under round, but my first tournament round under par, and my first first-place finish in a tournament! I posted my score and learned I'd finally reached my goal for this fourth year of golf - to break the 2-handicap barrier! My index is now down to 1.6! In my last 20 rounds, I've shot 2 rounds in the 60's, 15 rounds in the 70's, and only 3 rounds at or above 80!

My game doesn't seem that much better than it did one or two years ago. But one difference is my putting! I'm finally putting with trust, and without an attachment to the outcome. I'm just stroking the ball with trust and accepting what comes. The more detached I become, the more my putts are starting to drop!

Labels: Detachment, Rounds

My normal week of golf consists of 9 holes in my Tuesday night league and another 9 or 18 holes later in the week, then an 18-hole round on the weekend, which is often a tournament. This weekend however, I played two full rounds -- no tournaments, just golf with my friends... and I shot my best back-to-back rounds ever! These rounds also bumped my "under-80" streak to an all time high 13 rounds, a streak which started with my 500th round!


Golf with friends by Michael Vaughan

On Saturday, I played with my regular playing partner on one of the easiest golf courses I've ever played (70.8/112, 6642 yards). It's only about 45 minutes from home, but I've never played it before. It's a links course -- wide open, windy, firm fairways, good greens, and no houses! However, the greens were recently punched, so putting was a challenge. Winds were down though, so hitting fairways and greens was relatively easy. I learned quickly to just hit my putts firm, right at the hole.

I started off with a string of easy pars. I hit the fairway, hit the green, made my 2 putts. I finally got a birdie after 4 or 5 holes, then hit a par 5 in 2 from 200 yards out after a good drive and made the putt for eagle! After a couple more pars, I finished the front nine 3-under -- my best ever nine!

I missed a 4 foot birdie putt on 10 to get to 4-under, but a punch mark veered the ball away from the hole with 6 inches to go. I kept my string of pars going until the middle of the back nine, where I failed to get up and down for par on a 220 yard par 3. I then bogied the following par 5 with a poor drive, poor second shot, too much club on the approach, and a poor chip shot. Pars on the final two holes limited the damage on the back nine and got me in with a 1-under 71.

This was my second time ever breaking par on a course I'd never played before!

The next day, I joined some buddies from my hockey team for a round at one of my two home courses. We played the "combo" tees - half white, half blue tees (70.0/126, 6140 yards). It's still a challenging course from these tees, but moving up to the white tees on some of the harder holes certainly makes the course more scorable.

I started the round with a bogie on one (3-putt) and bogie on 2 (chip and 2 putts). On the par 5 3rd, I hit my drive right into some trees, clipped another tree trying to punch out, then clobbered a 3-wood from the rough to get within 40 yards of the green. A perfect shot from a hilly lie in the rough with my lob wedge put me 4 feet from the hole. I made the putt for par. After a poor lag putt, I made a 6 foot putt for par on four to stay 2-over.

Then things got going.

I birdied five by sinking a 20 foot putt, barely missed an 8 footer for birdie on six, but tapped in for birdie on seven after driving the par 4 green and barely missing my eagle putt. My two birdies got me back to even, but a plugged lie in a greenside bunker on the difficult par 4 eighth and failing to get up and down after my next shot resulted in my first double bogie. I then hit an errant drive on the par 5 ninth but recovered nicely with a strong 3-wood from the rough. My following approach came up just short of the fringe in front of the green, but close enough to putt. I drained the 15 footer from off the green for birdie to finish the front with 3 birdies and a 1-over 37.

I parred ten and eleven, then birdied again on twelve from about 12 feet to get to even par. I missed a 4 foot birdie putt on thirteen, but then birdied fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen! Now 4-under on the back nine and 3-under for the round, I hit my 7-iron into the trees on the long downhill par 3 17th. Fortunately, I had an opening to the pin and pitched to about 10 feet where I then made a slippery breaking putt for par!

So I walk up to the par 5 eighteenth 3-under for the round with a career high 7 birdies (I average about 1.5 birdies per round), and I often birdie this finishing hole! I hit my drive 285 yards leaving about 200 yards to the back left pin over a large lake. I decide to go for it. But I bailed right during my downswing with my 4-hybrid to avoid the long carry over the lake, leaving a long 60-70 foot putt from the right fringe. From here my lag putt came up short of the hole, leaving me with a left-to-right breaking 6-foot putt for my 8th birdie and career round of 4-under! I made a good stroke but read too little break and had to settle for a tap-in par.

I finished the back nine with a 4-under 32 and the round with a 3-under 69!

My artful weekend included 36 holes at 4-under par with 10 birdies, 7 birdies in a single round to beat my prior record of 5, my first 3-under 33 for nine holes followed by my first 4-under 32 for nine, and my second-ever round under 70! These two scores also got my index back down to my career best 2.4! A couple more good rounds and I may finally break the 2.0 barrier!

Going back over my Sunday round, I found that I only hit 7 fairways and 13 greens in regulation, but I 1-putted 8 greens! I 3-putted the first and last holes and missed a very makeable birdie putt on thirteen.

An artful round is rarely a perfect round.

Labels: Rounds

I did it, I finally broke 70! My goal for this forth year of playing golf and my last year before turning fifty is to shoot my first round in the sixties. It happened this weekend at Glen Annie Golf Club in Goleta, CA. I shot a tidy 3-under 68, recording 4 birdies and only 1 bogie! I didn't even drive the ball well. But I was hitting my irons solid and finally making putts!


Glen Annie #2, by Aidan Bradley

I've flurted with the 60's on many occasions over the past 2 years, once even from the back tees on my home course (6810 yards, 73.0/137). But I've always fallen short down the stretch, usually on the final hole. I do however play very challenging courses nearly every round, where much better golfers than me rarely break 70. It's not like I've been making it easy on myself to reach this goal. I'm confident that I would have broken 70 much earlier if I'd been playing shorter or easier courses. That's what I did this weekend.

We played Glen Annie from the white tees (5945 yards, 68.9/125). Although the course is short, it isn't easy. The course has a ton of elevation changes, just enough trees, and some narly rough. It's short overall length is primary due to a handful of short par 3's and 4's. There's plenty of long holes too. In our group of eight solid golfers, only one other player broke 80 that day. It was especially challenging for me, being my first time playing the course. I usually tack on a few extra strokes the first few times I play a course. But I let go of any expectations of playing well and just played.

I got away with a wayward drive on the 1st hole, then hit my 4-hybrid from 190 yards way uphill to a bunker left of the green. I got up and down for par. I birdied the short par 3 2nd and short par 4 3rd to get to a quick 2-under. My only hiccup on the front nine was when I tried to reach the uphill 504 yard par 5 7th in 2 and hit my long approach into a lake bordering the right-side of the narrow fairway. I dropped 120 yards out, but came up short of the green with my gap wedge. I then rattled the pin with my chip, nearly holing it, leaving me an easy tap-in for bogie. I finished the front nine at 1-under.

I started the back nine with another poor drive that never really got airborne and ran to about 220 yards out, barely reaching the fairway. I then cut the right dogleg with an impressive 2-hybrid over some trees, leaving me about 100 yards out. I tucked a lob wedge to about 10 feet and sunk the putt for birdie. My best shot of the day came on the short downhill 270 yard par 4 12th. I hit my driver right over the pin, landing the back of the green and bounced about 1 foot to the back fringe. I had a testy downhill putt for eagle. I just had to get the ball moving or I'd run down to the front of the green. My speed was good, but my line was just off. I settled for an easy birdie. I made an impressive up-n-down from above the hole in some deep rough on 15. I continued making pars through 17.

On the final hole, I hit the fairway and landed the middle of the green on my approach. I knew I had a good round going. I didn't know I was 3-under. I didn't know I had a chance to break 70. I knew I had choked in similar situations in the past. I decided to let go of the results and stayed calm and relaxed over my lengthy putt. I still came up a little short, leaving a testy 4 footer for par.

All day, I'd avoided 3-putts and managed to 1-putt on 8 holes!. Just the day before, I tried out a new putting stance on the practice green on my home course. I got down low and really put some extra weight on my front foot. For some reason, it helped me not only to make a solid stroke, but to see the line better and get the ball moving along that line. It was obviously working! Standing over my 4-foot putt on 18, I relaxed and decided to keep trusting my new putting stance. I picked the right edge and made a solid stroke. It turned slightly left and dropped! I came in 2-under on the back nine with no bogies. I'd just shot my first round of 68! The next best score from our group was 79.

What surprised me about the round is that I didn't feel like I was playing any better than usual. Like always, I made a couple bad shots. But I got up-n-down when I needed to and didn't miss any putts I felt I should make. And my ball striking with my irons was excellent. Like any round though, I left shots on the course. I lipped out 2 makable birdie putts and never should have hit that ball in the water on 7. Regardless, the experience was very rewarding - especially learning that I could actually putt!

This was truly an artful round. I never felt anxiety over a single shot. I just stood over the ball, picked my target, and swung the club. I trusted my swing, accepted the results and moved on. I let go of the outcome and stayed open to the possibility that this could be an artful round! It really was that simple.

Labels: Glen Annie, Rounds

My wife and I just returned from our first trip to the Big Island! We stayed at Wyndham's Kona Hawaiian Village and enjoyed lots relaxing, sight-seeing and good dining. I also snuck out on my own several mornings for a total of 4 rounds of golf.


Hawaii Golf

I played my first round at the nearby Kona Country Club's Beach Course. I hooked up with Ed, a local from Hilo who moved to the Big Island about 5 years ago from Minnesota after a divorce. He looked to be about 60. He told me he missed being married and just having someone to argue with. He wasn't having a lot of luck finding love on the island, but at least got to enjoy a lot of golf. However, he didn't have any local course knowledge to share here. He'd only played Kona Country Club once, many years ago when visiting the island on vacation with his wife. We played the middle tees which only played to 5976 yards (70.0/130), a very short course by my standards. I found the course easy to play. Fairways were generous, greens receptive. However, the greens were very fast and undulating! I made the mistake of leaving my approach above the hole on too many occasions and paid the price with 3 or 4 3-putts. I was barely off the green above the hole in 2 on one of the par 5's, looking at an easy up-n-down for birdie. I then watched my delicate chip run right past the flag, down and off the green. My return putt from the fairway was pitifully short and I 2-putted from there for bogie. I still managed to come in with a 76, even with some poor putting an OB on 18 to end the round. I enjoyed the course, especially the natural settings along the Pacific Ocean and gorgeous mountain views. Ed gave me a lot of good advice about what to see on the island too.

Next up was Mauna Lani, the recipient of Golf Magazine's Gold Medal Award as one of America's Best Golf Resorts every year since 1988 and host to the nationally televised Senior Skins Golf Game for 11 years. I was planning to play the North Course, but they setup the "Classic" Course the day I arrived. Last month, Mauna Lani began offering golfers its original 18 hole layout on select days. The "Classic Course" is comprised of 9 holes on the South Course and 9 Holes on the North Course, providing the golfer with 2 signature holes! I hooked up with a Japanese couple from Honolulu, who moved to the island several years ago from Orange County. The wife had just competed in a women's golf tournament that was held that week on several courses on the island. This tiny 100-poundish woman won the long-drive contest on the 2nd day. My driver was off this day, costing me several shots in penalties. I ended up using my 2-hybrid off the tee most of the round. Although the couple played from the whites, I moved back to the blue tees (6436 yards, 170.5/128). I really liked this course, chiseled into a vast lava flow and providing breath-taking views along the ocean. Despite more poor putting and an errant driver, I hung in there for a tidy 78.

I then moved inland and up the mountain to Pete Dye's Big Island Country Club. I hooked up with the owner of Sunshine Helicopter Tours, a 35-year island resident who flew helicopters in Vietnam. Big Island CC happens to be his favorite golf course on the island. He was joined by a friend from Virginia who inspects Helicopter Tours around the country. Again, I joined my fellow golfers on the white tees, only 6041 yards (69.0/126). This was your typical Dye course - lots of water, sand, and railroad ties. It also was home to what seemed like thousands of turkeys, pheasants, geese, quail, and other birds! I found I preferred this rural mountain setting to the manicured resort ocean settings. Although I lost 3 balls to its ever-present water hazards, some impressive chipping and putting led to my best round in months - a 1-over 73! I grinded for several pars after landing in lakes and fairway bunkers from the tee. I didn't manage a birdie until 15 and 16, then barely missed another birdie from 10 feet on the island green 17th. I'm usually a risk taker, but I played this course conservatively most of the round, aiming for the middle of greens instead of pins tucked next to lakes and large bunkers. I need to implement this approach to more of my rounds!

I wanted to end with Mauna Kea, but it was closed for a renovation by Rees Jones, son of original architect, Robert Trent Jones, Jr. Instead, I played another RTJ design, The Waikoloa Beach Course. I was a little disappointed with this course. It wasn't until late in the round that we even saw the ocean. Condo's lined much of the course, obstructing most views. It really wasn't very challenging, even though I played the back tees (6566 yards, 71.6/134). I wish I'd played the King's Course instead. I joined two sisters about my age who were also on the island to compete in the same women's golf tournament as the Japanese woman I played with days earlier. Interestingly, one of these sisters won the long drive contest on the first day of the competition! All three women were great golfers and could really hit the ball! We played behind a slow foursome made up of older men. They never offered to let us play through even though they saw us wait on practically every shot and the course was pretty open in front of them. Perhaps they didn't want to play behind women, but these gals were much better golfers than they were! I finally got my driver working for my final round in Hawaii, but messed up a couple holes and finished with a 6-over 76.

I had a wonderful time and enjoyed great weather and good company. I played pretty well too. I'm looking forward to a return trip to the Big Island. There's so many more courses I want to play!

Labels: Golf Destinations, Golf Vacation, Hawaii, Rounds

My golf game of late hasn't been something to write about, thus the lack of blog entries. I've managed to work in a few good rounds each month to keep my handicap in check, but way too many rounds lately have included a bunch of dreaded double, triple and quadruple bogies. My ball striking has simply been weak and inconsistent -- very frustrating!

Fortunately, during a recent round with a regular playing partner, we pinpointed when my swing went south. Since we often play in 2-man best ball events together, he's been motivated to help me figure it out too! He shared that it seemed to start the week I began experimenting with the Stack and Tilt swing, the popular new "Tour Swing" covered last year in an article by Golf Digest Magazine.


Stack and Tilt Swing

I only used the swing for about a week, so I didn't think much of his comment at first. However, after giving it more consideration, I determined it wasn't actually the Stack and Tilt swing that caused the problem, it was an inadvertent lesson I received during that same week.

I had mentioned to our local pro that I was trying out this new swing, then a few days later he saw me on the range while he was waiting for a student to show up for a lesson. While he was waiting, he asked if I'd like him to take a look at my swing. Nearly an hour later, I had three new swing changes to work on, and had abandoned the Stack and Tilt. That's when I began making changes to my swing that gradually led to my poor ball striking. It's not that his instruction or observations were wrong. It just got me focused on technique instead of just swinging the club, and I'm sure I didn't implement the swing changes correctly or thoroughly.

Anyway, it was during our club championship that my frustration reached its peak. I managed to shoot 2 rounds of 79 to finish 4th, even with what seemed like a ton of double bogies and worse. In the first round, I nearly gave up after getting to 10-over after 11, but an incredible lob shot on 12 after scalding my approach way over the green inspired me to hang in there. I finished just 8-over. The second round started off okay, but a quadruple bogie on the 6th led to another bad hole on 7 and another big score. Again, I pulled it together to finish 8-over. But these rounds had become the norm - grinding just to break 80.

I got to play in the final foursome in the final round of the club championship with the golfer who ended up winning in a playoff. Although I was struggling, I enjoyed getting to watch his solid ball striking. He shot 1-over in the final round, scoring only 1 birdie. When I made a comment about his swing, he shared that he's always tried to just keep his left (leading) arm in line with the shaft of the club at address, like Tiger.


The Natural Golf Address

The following week I decided to play less and hit the range instead. I started experimenting with this address position. I lined up the club shaft with my left arm using each of my clubs. I started hitting the ball solid. I was then inpired to strengthen my grip and even changed my hand position so my club shaft lined up with my arms from behind, moving my hands slightly away from my body. My artful ball striking returned! I gained considerable yardage, my ball flight improved, and the ball went where I was aiming. I even incorporated this new address for my chipping and pitching. The resulting swing was very much like the one I had before my unexpected lesson.

During one of my sessions on the range last week, I ran into an x-tour player who frequents our club and I mentioned my new swing change. After observing my swing, he told me I was demonstrating Moe Norman's "Natural Golf" swing. I'd heard of Moe and Natural Golf, but didn't know any specifics. Simply by changing my address position, I'd indirectly discovered "Natural Golf" and the Single Swing Plane all on my own, and I'm here to tell you -- it works!

I played in a Ryder Cup type event over the weekend against another local men's club, then a scramble tournament on Monday and played some of my best golf in months! I nearly won the long drive contest in the Scramble tourney and made some great golf shots throughout the round. I can't wait to get out and play again!



It turns out that Moe Norman won dozens of amateur tournaments in Canada during the late 1950's, including the Canadian Amateur two years in a row. After 1979, Moe won seven straight Canadian PGA senior championships, tied for fifth in the eighth, and won the ninth. He set more than 30 course records, including three shooting 59 and four shooting 61. The Royal Canadian Golf Association inducted him into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame in 1995 and he was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. Many consider Moe the best ball striker of all time.

You can learn more about Moe Norman, Natural Golf, and the Single Plane Swing at swinglikemoe.com, naturalgolf.com and switchtonaturalgolf.com.

There's also some great video to learn from at YouTube.com too. Just search for Moe Norman. Below is one of my favorites - from a series of videos by Mike Maves. Also, make sure to read Mike's (Sevam1) popular thread at GolfWRX.com about Moe Norman and Ben Hogan's move!



What is Happiness?
"Golf is happiness for
Happiness is achievement.
The father of achievement is motivation
The mother is encouragement.
The fine golf swing is truly achievement
Man may lie, cheat, and steal for gain.
But, these will never gain the golf swing
To gain the golf swing man must work.
Yet it is work without toil
It is exercise without the boredom.
It is intoxication without the hangover
It is stimulation without the pills.
It is failure yet its successes shine even more brightly
It is frustration yet it nourishes patience.
It irritates yet its soothing is far greater
It is futility yet it nurtures hope.
It is defeating yet it generates courage
It is humbling yet it ennobles the human spirit.
It is dignity yet it rejects arrogance
Its price is high yet its rewards are richer
Some say it's a boy's pastime yet it builds men
It is a buffer for the stresses of today's living.
It cleanses the mind and rejuvenates the body
It is these things and many more.
For those of us who know it and love it
Golf is truly happiness."
-- Paul Bertholy (golf instructor and friend of Moe Norman)

Labels: Moe Norman, Natural Golf, Rounds, Single Plane

I had the pleasure this week of attending the Grand Opening of "The Challenge Course" at Monarch Dunes. The Challenge Course, designed by Damian Pascuzzo and Steve Pate, is a unique collection of 12 par-3 holes that presents a fun, and very challenging, alternative for players of all abilities. It's a great place to get a little more golf in after 18 or a quick round in when you don't have time for 18. It's also a great place to learn and improve your game! I used just about every club in my bag to reach these 12 large, undulating greens. It was certainly a "challenge."


The Challenge at Monarch Dunes, by Aidan Bradley

The holes range in length from 82 to 242 yards from the back tees. The course is 1858 yards from the back, 1640 from the middle, and 1377 from the front. The tees are arranged on each hole, not only to vary the shot length, but to vary the angle of attack. Players teeing off from the back tees will face the most difficult shot, while those playing from the front tees will have a far easier line to the green. Each hole has at least 5000 square feet of tee space with three sets of tee markers giving players plenty of choice. For opening day, the superintendent presented us with all the toughest pin placements. It was like playing the U.S. Open in miniature. Not one golfer avoided at least a few bogies.


The Challenge at Monarch Dunes, by Aidan Bradley

The greens are what make this golf course so unique and memorable. I challenge anyone to find a course of any length with such large, undulating greens! You'll encounter ridges and swales running through the greens that may change 3-4 feet in elevation. The 12th hole must rise 15-20 feet from left to right! It reminded me of the famous 16th at Pasatiempo, only sideways! To accommodate this type of movement, the greens are about 8000 square feet (or about 30% larger than normal greens). This vast movement in the greens let the designers create some areas on the green that are quite challenging when approached from the back tees. Players will have to think hard about how they want to attack the hole. The challenge isn't just to land the green, but the end up on the tier where the pin is located. Otherwise, 3 (or even 4) putts isn't unlikely. The greens are so large that the superintendent could probably locate pins in a rotation of 8 or 10 instead of the traditional 4 or 6! We found the greens very playable - both receptive and not overly fast.


The Challenge at Monarch Dunes, by Aidan Bradley

The links style golf course has a natural, rugged appearance, which is enhanced by the dunes that were shaped throughout the fairways and around the greens. The golf course was completely constructed by shaping the native sand into the desired features. There are five lakes which come into play. The residential development uses these golf course lakes to handle 100% of the project's storm water. The golf course uses the same turf grass as found on The Old Course, a blend of fescues for the fairways and roughs and velvet bentgrass greens.

It was pretty fun to record a classic like Pasatiempo as my 50th course, then follow that up by making my 51st such a unique new course! In both experiences, the courses won the 1st round. With those tough pins on opening day, I came in with 5 pars and 7 bogies! But I returned the next day and shot 2-over and finally got my first birdie! I'm pretty sure I can shoot an even par round here, but the onshore headwinds on the 5th and 12th require my fairway wood or even driver to hit the green. And they're no easy greens to 2-putt. I'm pretty sure that these 2 holes are tougher par 3's than I've ever encountered on any 18 holer. But I'm up for the challenge!

I encourage you to take "The Challenge" too. In fact, if you're in the area during the week, and my schedule permits, I'll treat you to a round! Afterall, the green fees are only $12 for Royal Rewards members and $18 for non-members. And if you beat me, I'll treat you to a round on the "Old Course" at Monarch Dunes! Just drop me an email.

Labels: Courses, Monarch Dunes, Rounds, The Challenge

After much anticipation, I joined a group of artful golfers yesterday to play Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, CA - in an event hosted by The Shivas Irons Society. The event celebrated the Society's 16th anniversary, with "The Secret to Golf Revealed" by guest speaker, Fred Shoemaker. Having never played Pasatiempo, this historic Alister Mackenzie masterpiece became the 50th golf course added to my career course list. In case you were wondering, it's not my "artful 50th" birthday yet. That's still 5 months away.


Pasatiempo Golf Club - 13th Hole, by Rob Babcock

Pasatiempo, ranked #30 in "Golf Digest's 2008 America's Greatest Public Courses" and #55 in the "Top 100 Public and Private Courses in the U.S." by Golf Magazine, recently completed a 10-year, multi-million dollar restoration effort led by Tom Doak and Jim Urbina of Renaissance Golf. Doak's team overhauled Pasatiempo's 18 holes, relying on hundreds of old photographs and drawings to bring back original MacKenzie bunkering, green complexes and tees that had been lost for decades.

The course was incredible - seemingly short, but hard!

The event was a shotgun start and my foursome was assigned to start on the first hole, playing the middle tees (6125 yards, 70.5/136). I was grouped with Ron (a local retiree who had never played Pasatiempo even though he had a 2nd home in Santa Cruz), Todd (the story-telling owner of The Mackenzie Golf Bag Company in Portland), and Dave (surely the friendliest and most competent caddy at Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill, who was carrying his own Mackenzie golf bag).

We were among the few who decided to walk the course. I thought I was in for an easy walk since the greens and tees were situated close by. But, not only was it a particularly hot day out, I'm convinced that every hole went uphill! Anyway, after little sleep the night before followed by a 3-hour drive the morning of the event, I was zapped of energy early in the round. Fortunately a breeze helped cool things off later in the round.

Tired or not, I had no excuse for poor play since the round was preceded with Fred Shoemaker telling us all about "The Secret." According to Fred, the secret is that we already know how to make a perfect golf swing. We don't have to read books or hire experts to help us "find" our swing, we simply need to look inward to "discover" what's always been there. Fred shared experiences and stories to provide evidence that by simply being present and aware, that which lies hidden beneath our mental noise and emotional interference awaits our discovery - perhaps at Pasatiempo. I was thinking the course name might even provide a tip to untap this hidden ability - to simply take a "pasa" at the ball with good "tiempo."

Inspired by his talk, my round got off to a good start with solid drives on the 2 opening par 4's and an artful chip to within inches on the challenging long uphill par 3 3rd to save par. But I guess I failed to take a pass at the ball with good tempo with my drive on the 4th. A duck hook put me in long grass under a tree, where I stubbornly tried to reach the green with a punch shot that would have had to go under some branches, over a bunker, then stop quickly on the green. Instead, the ball lunged forward about 10 feet. My next shot didn't fare much better. I then tried to lob the ball over the bunker to a tight pin from a tight lie. I ended up in the bunker. I finally got on and 2-putted for a triple bogie! I think I rediscovered my mental noise and emotional interference.

I quickly let go of any thoughts of self-pity and returned to the present moment, taking in the beautiful setting and artful course design. I went on to play a pretty decent front nine, finishing 4-over, with help from a tap-in birdie on the short downhill par 3 8th.

But the challenging back nine proved tougher.

I failed to get up and down from just off the undulating green on 10, but then hit 2 solid 4-woods on 11, leaving a 6-footer for birdie - which I barely missed. Four consecutive bogies followed and put me 9-over after 15. I was particularly disappointed with my bogies on 13 and 15. On 13, a 280 yard drive left me an easy sand wedge in. Somehow, I ended up well over the green from 115 yards out. On the 120 yard par 3 15th, I choose to take an extra club due to a strong headwind. I hit an excellent 9-iron right at the pin, but landed on the back of the green and rolled into the rough, leaving me with a quick downhill chip.


Pasatiempo Golf Club - 16th Hole, by Rob Babcock

But it came together again on the infamous 16th. I hit a perfect 4-wood off the tee that drew a little left and rolled to the end of the fairway, leaving me 105 yards out. With the pin tucked up on the edge of the upper tier near the left side of the green, I took a little extra club. I'd heard horror stories about balls rolling back down to the front of the green. My shot landed 1 foot from the pin, but bounced well over the green, leaving me nearly out-of-bounds with a testy downhill pitch that could easily roll past the pin and down to the bottom of this severely sloped green. I visualized the shot, let go of any fear or tension, and relaxed my arms and grip. I opened my lob wedge way up, opened my stance, and took a perfect pass at the ball with good tempo. I barely landed the green and rolled downhill to just 4-feet past the pin, barely short of the point where the ball would have rolled over the edge to the lower tier. Making the comeback putt made for a welcome recovery.

I made another bogie on 17 from inside 100 yards after another good drive (where our entire foursome teed up alongside each other and hit our drives at the same time). But I finished with a par, finally choosing the correct club on the downhill 143 yard par 3 finishing hole. My pitching wedge and 2-putts got me in with an 80.

Although I'd like to replay a few holes, I did par each of the 3 hardest, made some remarkable shots, and thoroughly enjoyed my friendly foursome, the clear skies and awesome views of the Monterey Peninsula, the challenging Mackenzie design, and of course, learning "The Secret."

But part of uncovering "The Secret" is looking inward to determine "why" I hooked that drive on 4, "why" I didn't just accept that mistake and punch back out to the fairway, "why" didn't I sleep well the night before, and "why" did I consistently pick too much club on my approaches. The biggest reward from this day will come from finding these answers and learning from them. The answers won't just help my game, they'll tell me more about who I brought to the course that day and where I still need growth, in golf and life.

Following the round, the entire group met for cocktails and dinner and enjoyed discussing the course, their rounds, and their challenge to discover the secret and their perfect swings. I think it's safe to say that a few imperfect swings found their way into everyone's round!

To top things off, I found it particularly rewarding that on this day that I played my 50th career course, I found myself seated next to a participant - Larry Berle - who has played all of the Golf Digest Top 100 courses! During 10 years that spanned from 1992 to 2002, Larry found his way on to 117 top U.S. courses (the list of top 100 courses is a moving target over a 10 year span). Larry was introduced to the game by his wife Annie in 1990. She took him to Pebble Beach for his birthday in 1992, where on the 18th hole his caddy informally told him that "you are standing on the greatest finishing hole in golf!" This is where his dream to play the Golf Digest Top 100 was born. Larry has written a book - A Golfer's Dream - that tells the story of his inspiring quest and what he learned along the way. I'm planning on buying a copy!

It was a pleasure to play such a great course and to meet so many interesting golfers like Larry, Fred, Ron, Todd, Dave, and so many others. I highly recommend attending a The Shivas Irons Society event if you're interested in meeting some truly artful golfers. Thanks Steve and Jo for putting on such extraordinary events!

Labels: Alister Mackenzie, Books, Courses, Fred Shoemaker, Pasatiempo, Rounds, Shivas Irons Society

My wife and I just returned from a 2-week trip in our small motorhome, traveling to one of our favorite destinations - Colorado. Over the years, we've traveled to Colorado several times with our children on summer "hiking" vacations. One vacation was spent in the San Juan Mountains, visiting Ouray, Telluride and Durango. During another trip, we stayed in Glenwood Springs and visited nearby Aspen. Two other trips took us to Rocky Mountain National Park, staying once in Estes Park and the other in Grand Lake. We also spent time in Steamboat Springs during one of those trips. I've also traveled to Colorado on several ski trips with friends, each time staying in Summit County and skiing or boarding Arapaho Basin, Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, and Vail. This was my first trip to Colorado that included golf!


The Golf Club at Redlands Mesa, Grand Junction, CO

We spent 2 long days driving there to get through the brutal California, Nevada, and Utah desert heat, stopping in St. George, UT or first night, then in a quiet State Park campground just outside Grand Junction the second night. The following morning, I headed over to The Golf Club at Redlands Mesa, a Jim Engh design incorporating wonderful views of the Grand Mesa, the Bookcliffs and the Colorado National Monument. I got an early start to beat the heat and ended up playing alone. Along the way, three twosomes let me play through and I finished in only 2 1/2 hours. I played from the blue tees (6486 yds, 69.9/133) and found the course relatively easy from that distance, hitting 8 fairways and 12 greens in regulation. My biggest challenge was club selection, not only due to the higher elevation near 4500 feet, but due to so many elevated tees. I managed to par every par 3, and avoided double bogies except for one on the par 4 6th where my drive carried 300 yards into a lake beyond the dogleg. Fortunately, my only birdie of the round came on the prior hole, so I still finished the front with a 39. If it weren't for that double bogie and overall poor putting - 37 putts including 3 3-putts - my round of 79 could have been closer to 75. I thoroughly enjoyed the course, the setting, and my initiation into high desert golf.


Lakota Canyon Ranch Golf Club, New Castle, CO

After the round, we traveled along I-70 to to Glenwood Springs, where we stayed two nights in a campground along the Colorado River. The first morning, I headed back 15 minutes on I-70 to New Castle to play Lakota Canyon Ranch Golf Club, another Jim Engh design. Like Redlands Mesa, Engh provides the golfer with many elevated tees, with drops up to 100 feet to the fairway below. The setting however, had transitioned from high desert to rugged mountain canyons near 5500 feet. Again, I headed off by myself and played through a couple twosomes, but met up with 3 locals about my age from Eagle on the par 3 9th and finished the round with them. I was having a good round on the front, finishing 1-over with 1 birdie and 2 bogies. The course knowledge shared by these locals helped me keep up the good round and I finished with a 3-over 75 from the blue tees (6369 yards, 69.5/126), despite another 37 putts! I hit 14 greens in regulation this round along with 9 fairways. I found these 2 Engh courses fun to play, but might tire of all the elevation changes if played regularly. Plus, both courses are best played with a cart, and I prefer walking. We finished the day with a drive south of Glenwood Springs, including a nice hike along the Maroon Bells Creek, followed by dinner in the quaint village of Aspen.

The following day we drove east, then headed north to Steamboat Springs. The next morning, I played Haymaker, a challenging links-style course designed by Keith Foster, with sweeping views of Yampa Valley and nearby Mount Werner. I joined a local named Steve (who broke 80 that day for the first time ever) and 2 visitors from Austin, TX, one of which appeared to be quite an accomplished golfer. He was tall and lanky, with a fluid swing providing a long straight drives. It wasn't long before I found myself swinging for the fences from the gold tees (6728 yards, 70.9/129), not only to keep up (and surpass) his drives, but to fully take advantage of the warm air and elevation approaching 7000 feet. I was absolutely clobbering my drives here, with carries around 300 yards rolling out to 315 to 325 yards. I nearly cleared a hazard 260 yards out trying to reach the 280 yard par 4 8th from the tee with a 4-wood. After a long drive on the 525 yard par 5 13th, I hit my 5-iron well over a green from 210 yards out. I cleared most of the lake bordering the 406 yard par 4 10th, leaving me with only 83 yards to the pin. Steve told me he'd never seen anyone that close to the green! Unfortunately, my aggressive play and sometime poor club selection (flying greens from 140 yards out with my PW) led to a slew of double, triple and quadruple bogies! For instance, I tried to drive the 318 yard par 4 11th, but failed to carry the 300+ yards required to get over the lake in front of the green by about 2 feet. I then made a mess of the hole after that. Several wayward shots during the round found the long, dense native grasses lining the fairways, where I failed every time to find my ball. I was also the only golfer walking in my foursome, and it was hot. Anyway, what proved to be my worst round in well over a year, my round of 92 was as much fun as I'd had playing golf in some time. I wish I'd had time to play Haymaker again to redeem myself (and swing a little easier), but next up was 3 golf-free days in Colorado wilderness. I still find it hard to believe that I followed up a round of 75 at Lakota Canyon with a 92 at Haymaker!


Haymaker Golf Course, Steamboat Springs, CO

After enjoying a night dry-camping along a 30-mile stretch of gravel road starting near Rabbit Ears pass and passing through Buffalo Park (and only seeing 4 other vehicles all day), we made our way to a campground near Bear Lake in the Flat Tops Wilderness. Here, we found the best campsite we'd ever stayed in, surrounded by pine and aspen, along with a perfect view of Flattop Mountain. We spent 2 nights here and enjoyed an incredible hike up to the Mandall Lakes. This is just what our trip needed. It was very rewarding to get away from towns and people - and golf - for a few days.

On the day we left the Flat Tops, I wanted to get on the private Red Sky Ranch (Norman) course, but failed to do so. Instead, I headed over to Eagle and played Eagle Ranch Golf Club, the course recommended by the 3 locals I played with at Lakota Canyon. This Arnold Palmer design was long and included nice mountain views. I joined a local pro who played the tips (7530 yards, 74.4/138), but I played the gold tees (7151 yards, 72.7/135). Although I was hitting some more long drives, his drives were right next to mine in the fairway even though he was 20-30 yards back on the tee. I got off to a rough start on the front with the long irons in and way too many 3-putts and found myself 9-over after 12. But then the rain started coming down, along with some impressive thunder and lightning. My partner decided to call it quits and headed back to the clubhouse. That's when I started playing some golf! I finished the last 6 holes even par in a pretty good downpour to finish with a respectable 82.


Breckenridge Golf Club, Breckenridge, CO

After spending that night in an RV Park along the Eagle River near Gypsum, we headed to Breckenridge. Here, we stayed 2 nights in an upscale RV Park just north of town, alongside million-dollar Prevost motorhomes. Our little Winnebago View looked like a Mini-Cooper. Before heading into town to finally do some shopping, I played a round at the Jack Nicklaus designed Breckenridge Golf Club (Bear/Elk, 6642 yards, 71.5/132). I joined a single named Greg vacationing from Los Angeles and an older couple in their 80's, Ken and Eleanor, from Kansas City. After Ken parred the opening hole with a strong drive and fairway wood, I asked him if he shot his age on a regular basis. He'd obviously played a lot of golf over the years and didn't seem to loose much distance or talent. He said he didn't, but after watching him make some quality chips and putts too, I think he was just being humble. Greg and I walked the course and I found the Bear nine both easier to walk and easier to score than the Elk nine, however I shot 3-over on Bear thanks to failing to get up and down from 3 bunkers and shot 2-over on the Elk after getting my first and only birdie on its 540 yard par 5 8th. On the uphill 274 yard par 4 6th, I drove the ball over the green and nearly ended up in the forest well above the green. I made a Phil-like lob shot back down to the green and 2-putted for par. I found this to be my most enjoyable round of the trip. My 77 was a satisfying score and the course, setting, and scenery were simply beautiful.

The next morning, I put my clubs on my back and rode my bicycle to the course so my wife could sleep in and stay in the RV Park to read and scrapbook. This time I hooked up with 3 guys about my age from Washington D.C. and played the Elk/Beaver course (6542 yards, 71.1/136). The sloppy drives I experienced at Haymaker returned for this round. Instead of shooting 2-over on Elk like the day before, I shot 9-over. That even included a birdie on Elk's par 4 6th where I landed the green from the tee this time instead of ending over the green. Like Haymaker, errant tee shots at Breckenridge turn into lost balls. The native grasses are just too long and dense to waste anytime looking for your ball. I managed a slightly better back nine on Beaver with a birdie on it's par 5 2nd, but still came in with a disappointing 85. The other three avid golfers in my group struggled even more. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed Breckenridge and mountain golf in general, and look forward to a return visit soon.

I managed to drive home from Breckenridge in 2 days. Then, probably due to exhustion, played one more horrible round a couple days later in my travel league. Fortunately, I quickly regained my form and shot 1-over this week in my Tuesday night 9-hole league, then a 1-over 73 2 days later at Cypress Ridge Golf Course (6443 yards, 71.2/129). I spent a little time on the range after that last poor round and got my driver back under control. Over vacation, I just started swinging too hard to take advantage of the elevation and attempt those 300+ yard drives. I think I've finally learned that straight is better than long!

In response to my prior post on making short putts, everyone's advice really helped and was very appreciated. Even though I had trouble adjusting to new greens while on vacation, my putting began to improve over those 2 weeks and was instrumental in my last 2 rounds of 1-over. A regular playing partner recognized immediately how much better my putting stroke looked. Still holding out hope for a sub-70 round before turning 50 next February!

Labels: Colorado, Courses, Golf Destinations, Golf Vacation, Rounds

Today I played my best round ever, scoring 5 birdies to shoot my first-ever even-par round from the tips at Monarch Dunes (73.0/137). I've scored 1-under and even-par rounds before, but never from the back tees. In fact, my best prior score at this course from the challenging back tees was a 6-over 77! And today's 71 could so easily have been my first sub-70 round.


Monarch Dunes 1st

After playing my last few rounds in unusually cold and blustery winds, today I joined two of my favorite golfers for a round that turned out to be sunny, warm, and breezy. The pace of play was perfect too. We never waited once for players in front of us to clear a fairway or green. Golf on the California Central Coast was at its best today! And so was my game.

My biggest struggle lately has been getting off to a good start. I recently played a round with a triple bogie on the 1st hole, followed soon after by 2 bogies. Instead of giving up though, I fought back from 5-over and finished the round just 3-over par after scoring 3 birdies! Today, things changed. I started right off with a birdie on the 3-handicap par 4 1st from 200 yards out!

This dogleg left tempts you to hit your drive towards the 150 marker, but a slight mishit left or short finds the lake. Instead, I played well right today, leaving a 3-hybrid approach into this well-guarded green. I put my hybrid right on line, landed just short of the green and ran up 8-10 feet past the hole. Using my new Odyssey Black Series i#9 putter, I drained the putt!

I just bought this putter a couple weeks ago at a 70% discount from my x-brother-in-law, who works in the IT department at Callaway. I absolutely love it! I can assure you, that's the first time I've ever said that about a putter! It's made me a good putter.

I gave myself another good birdie attempt on 2, but barely missed and happily tapped in for par. I then got up and down on 3 from just off the green, but missed an easy 2-foot putt on 4 to 3-putt, producing my first bogie. Even with this new putter, those short putts can get me.


Monarch Dunes 6th

I got that stroke right back on the 140 yard par 3 5th, sinking a 20-footer for my 2nd birdie! I parred 6, then made an impressive up and down again on 7 to stay 1-under par. On the 200 yard par 3 8th, I landed the difficult upper-left tier of this green, rolling to about 12 feet from the pin. I made a good putt, but had to settle for par.

I then hit a perfect 6-iron into the 9th green from 190 yards out, landing short of the green as expected, and running onto the green to leave me with another makable 10-12 footer. I took my time reading the putt and decided to aim a ball outside to the left. The downhill putt tracked perfectly and went right in. I was now 2-under on the front nine, hitting every fairway and 7 of 9 greens in regulation while recording only 14 putts!

I was relaxed and enjoying the round. My playing partners, who knew I'd been struggling with my game over the past month, were certainly giving me a hard time for saving my best golf for beating them. I was just grateful for the good company, perfect weather, and speedy pace of play. They figured I'd come back to earth on the back nine. I decided to just keep playing one shot at a time and enjoy myself, detached about whether I could keep it up or not.

The back nine starts off even harder than the front with a 2-handicap par 4 dogleg with a split fairway. I hit a monster drive, but caught a bad lie in the mounds between the two fairways. I had to punch out with a wedge. This shot caught another fescue-covered mound beyond where the fairways meet. I managed to get my 3rd shot up close to the green. I then got up and down from there for a respectable bogie.

The downhill 200 yard par 3 11th is a real test. Others in my group decided to hit 3-irons, but I tried to smash a 5-iron into a mild headwind. Unfortunately, I pushed the shot way right into a ditch that borders the green. I was left with a testy downhill lob shot over a large mound. My lob landed just short of the green as planned and barely rolled off the upper tier to continue down to the lower tier just 8 feet right of the pin. The putt was exactly like the one I had on 9, a downhill putt, breaking right about a cup out. I drained another one for an impressive par.


Monarch Dunes 11th

Three great shots on the par 5 12th led to another par, but my 8-iron approach on 13 drifted left, leaving a difficult pitch to a tight left pin. My shot was near perfect, but I barely missed the return putt, resulting in my 3rd bogie, letting my round get back to even par.

But another huge drive left me just 130 yards out on the par 4 14th. I put my pitching wedge just 6 feet above the hole and made another breaking downhill putt for birdie, getting me back to 1-under!

At this point in the round, I knew I was playing well and was probably under par, but I really had no idea of my exact score. I did know that this was only the second time I had ever scored 4 birdies in a round at this course. I only average about 1.5 birdies per round and depend on pars to keep my scores under control.

I followed my birdie with a poor 5-iron into the 200 yard par 3 15th. The shot was so bad that it didn't even make it to the bunker on the right-front corner of the green. But from the rough, I made another excellent pitch shot to a tight front pin and made the easy 2-footer for another par. Still 1-under.

Another good drive on the par 4 16th left me just over 100 yards out. A strong lob wedge left me with a 12 footer that I misread but left me with an easy tap-in in for par.

Over the past month, in addition to shanking short lobs and chips, it's been these long wedge shots that have given me the most trouble. Just last week on the range, a local pro saw me shanking some shots with my wedge and came over of offer some help. He noticed I was not only swaying too much, but was rerouting my downswing too far inside, bringing that hosel into play. He had me practice hitting balls right up against the 2x4 board separating each practice tee. I tried to keep the club in line with the board on my backswing and downswing. It felt weird at first, but I'm now using this new swing with all my irons. I'm just letting my hands and the clubface fall naturally from the top of my backswing. It's almost effortless.

But as solid as my wedge play was today, this was proving to be one of my best driving rounds ever. Up to this point in the round, every drive had been long and straight. I'd only missed 1 fairway so far, the one that barely missed on 10. I kept my drives going on the 490 yard par 5 17th, leaving me with a 6-iron in from 190 yards! I had to hit my 6-iron uphill and well right of the green to avoid a big eucalyptus tree in the middle of the fairway. The shot ran up the fairway and hooked nicely left as it rolled up onto the green, past the hole. This left me a steep 30 foot downhill putt breaking a few feet to the left. I ran my eagle putt just past the hole, but made the 3 foot comeback putt for my 5th birdie, getting me back to 2-under par!

This was the first round I'd ever scored 5 birdies at Monarch Dunes. I'd shot 5 birdies 3 other times on easier courses, but doing so here was quite an accomplishment for me.


Monarch Dunes 13th

So, I approached 18 knowing I was under par, and had a sense I was on track for my first-ever sub-70 round. I knew I had 5 birdies, but couldn't remember whether I'd bogied 2 or 3 holes. I knew a par on 18 would probably get me under 70. I think it was here that I left the present moment and let myself drift into the future. I knew better, but it had been quite some time since I'd had such an opportunity to make such a breakthough.

I stayed calm and hit a strong drive. But tension must have crept in because I pulled my drive a little left. A subsequent bad bounce to the left then threatened to even put me out-of-bounds. Fortunately, I found the ball near the cart path, just 5-6 feet in bounds. I was about 105 yards out, downhill to the green. My lob wedge came up a little short out of the rough, leaving me with 10 feet of fairway to putt or chip across to reach the green. I decided to putt. I underestimated how hard I needed to stroke the ball to get through the longer grass. I did get on the green, but came up at least 15 feet short, leaving another testy downhill putt with a few feet of break. I was feeling my nerves at this point and could tell I'd lost the relaxed and confident putting stroke I'd enjoyed all day. I putted 3 feet past the hole. 3-footers always give me fits, but other than the single miss on the 4th, I'd avoided any other 3-putts. But frustrated that I'd already let par get away, I lost my relaxed focus and missed the comeback putt. I'd actually 4-putted from just off the green, giving me a disappointing double bogie from only 100 yards out!

But I was quickly lifted from the despair I felt when these good friends reminded me what a great round I'd just played! They didn't let me dwell for a second on how it ended, but helped me celebrate a great accomplishment! After all, I beat my best-ever score from the back tees by 6 entire strokes. I finished the round hitting 11 greens, 11 fairways, and with only 29 putts. With the difficulty of the course, my even-par round added a score of -1.6 to my handicap, which for the first time has now broken through 3, to 2.7!

Although, like every round, there were plenty of opportunities to score even better, I played my best-ever round, stayed present for practically every shot, and was able to share it with good friends on an extraordinary day. For that I am grateful. It was a lot more fun getting 5 birdies than it was hitting 5 shanks a few weeks ago!

So, after 3 years of play, I finally got down to a sub-3 index and shot my first par round from the back tees on a championship-level course, and even flirted with my first 69. Before I turn 50, I'm hoping to break 70 and perhaps get down to a 2-index. Whether I reach that goal or not, I plan to focus entirely on just being present and enjoying the game. It's been an extraordinary journey of growth and learning, a journey that certainly doesn't stop here.

Labels: Monarch Dunes, Rounds

A very frustrating slump that began with the shanks nearly 3 weeks ago may have finally ended. Although I've had a few rounds now where I've avoided hitting the ball with the hosel, my scoring has continued to suffer. After 6 straight rounds over 80, with more double and triple bogies than I care to remember, I finally made a breakthrough yesterday.


Sun setting on my slump, by Claudio Marcon at flickr

But my poor play continued as the windy round began.

After an excellent drive and approach, I 3-putted the 1st for bogie. I came up short on the 2nd and 3rd with wedges and failed to get up and down, adding 2 more bogies, then 3-putted again on the 4th to go 4-over.

My gap wedge from 125 yards on the short par 3 5th drifted left with the strong cross wind and my subsequent chip ran past the hole by 10 feet. I settled down and carefully read the putt, slightly downhill with a small right to left break. I relaxed and made a confident stroke, holing the putt for my first par.

Then I managed another bogie on the following par 5 6th. I pushed my 2nd shot a little right, into a fairway bunker, leaving me with a difficult uphill shot from 110 yards. A poor shot from there was at least followed up by a good lob shot from the rough, ending 15 feet from the pin, barely staying on the top tier of the green. A nice putt nearly saved par, but I tapped for bogie to go 5-over after 6.

An impressive birdie on the difficult par 4 7th followed by a par on the 177 yard par 3 8th got me back to a respectable 4-over.

After playing through a threesome on the 3rd hole (which contributed to that bogie), my friend and I caught up to a twosome waiting for the fairway to clear on the 9th tee. We joined them and played as a foursome for the remainder of the round. Apparently, some friendly chatting with our new playing partners helped me get my mind off my scoring and the success on the past 2 holes continued. I shot a ho-hum par on the par 4 9th, hitting the fairway, landing the green, and making the expected 2 putts. I managed to finish the par 35 front nine with a 4-over 39.

An impressive drive down the left side of the split fairway on the dogleg left par 4 10th left me with 160 yards uphill to this well guarded green. I hit such a good 7-iron into the wind that I landed past the pin and rolled over the green. A very poor chip preceded a 2-putt bogie. Still, as anyone who has played this 2-handicap hole will tell you, walking away with a bogie is nothing to complain about.

I pulled out my 7-iron again for my tee shot into the strong headwind on the 180 yard downhill par 3 11th, overlooking the Guadalupe Dunes and Pacific Ocean. Again, I hit my 7-iron so well, it landed the front of the green and rolled all the way off the back. My return chip to the upper tier of the green ran 10 feet past the pin and I missed the comeback putt for another bogie, putting me 2-over on the back and 6-over for the round.

But a rare birdie on the par 5 12th got me back to 5-over. Then after making a nice par on 13, another 3-putt on 14 put me back to 6-over. I walked up to 18 still 6-over after hitting each fairway and green and 2-putting for pars on 15, 16, and 17.

With a 240 yard carry or so, you can get some impressive distance off the tee on the 387 yard 18th. I ended up about 30-40 yards out. I used a big backstop behind the hole to funnel my chip back to the pin, leaving me with a 4-foot putt for birdie. Staying relaxed, I made another confident stroke, sinking the putt to finish the par 36 back nine just 1-over.

This 76 was my first sub-80 round since shooting a 76 in my first pro-am nearly 3 weeks ago. It was pretty rewarding to finish the last 12 holes in even par, especially in such windy conditions. Getting my attention away from scoring and simply enjoying the company of my friend and the twosome we joined seemed to be the key to rediscovering some artful golf.

This round marked my 40th round of the year, the most golf I've ever played in a 3-month period (averaging 3 rounds/week). I finished with 28 rounds under 80 and 12 at or above 80, with half of those high rounds coming in the past 3 weeks.

Labels: Rounds

I thought I'd share an update to yesterday's post about my recent bout with the shanks. I decided to head out to the range after lunch today to hit a large bucket of balls using only my lob wedge to see if I could just make them go away. My full swings, pitches, and chips we're working fine. The only shot that resulted in shanks was when I opened up the club face to get more loft.


Celebrating no more shanks by 70sgolf7 at flickr

After getting through about half the bucket, a friend walked up who've I've played with quite a bit in the past month who played professionally at one time and currently plays to a 2 handicap. He immediately spotted my problem.

It turns out that the technique I developed on my own to hit a lob shot, thanks to not taking any lessons, required too much precision and increased the odds I'd hit the ball with the hosel instead of the clubface.

When I opened up my clubface to hit a lob shot, instead of opening my stance and aligning the clubface with the target, then swinging the club along the line of my stance, I opened my stance, but aligned my clubface well right of the target, then tried to strike the ball with the open toe of the club while swinging on line with the target. This essentially gave me a clubface that was about 1/2 the width of a full clubface and increased the chance that I'd hit the ball with the leading hosel.

After a few swings along the path of my open stance with the clubface pointing towards the target, the shanks were gone and I was hitting amazing lob shots! I quickly figured out this "intuitively obvious" discovery will help my sand game too. I won't even go into all the trouble I get into in bunkers.

Anyway, my friend was headed out to play nine holes, so I joined him. I shot 3 birdies and 1 bogie to come in 2-under par! You have no idea how relieved I am! Following up 7 straight nines in the mid to high 40's with a 34 made my day. It's actually pretty amazing that I made this dangerous lob technique work for as long as I did.

I guess this is a good example of where I could have pursued lessons and learned how to hit lob and bunker shots much earlier, and avoided this issue altogether. But honestly, I like figuring it out myself and then trusting that the right person will show up at the right time to point me in the right direction when I do need help.

Labels: Rounds

I've apparently hit a wall in my efforts to improve. For the third time now, I've flurted with my goal to break through a 3 index. This time I've been holding steady, breaking 80 in 3 out of 4 rounds, but in my last four rounds I've bounced seriously backwards, shooting anywhere from 41 to 47 for nine holes in each round. I've developed the shanks!


A Wall at St. Andrews by WjButt at flickr

Just a week ago, I played in my first Pro-Am, an annual scratch 2-man best-ball tournament at a local private course I'd never played before. I was invited by a local pro who I've done some volunteer website work for. I was told we had a shotgun start at 10:00 am, so I arrived an hour early to get in a little warm-up. I was the only golfer there when I showed up. Turns out tee times were scheduled for 11:00 am.

I headed over to the range where I found a dozen nicely stacked pyramids of balls. As the first golfer to hit the range, it was my job to begin dismantling the first pyramid. I hit a few pitching wedges, then my 7 iron, then my hybrid. I was hitting the ball okay, but didn't feel comfortable and my swing felt tense. I then picked up my 60-degree lob wedge. After hitting a couple mediocre shots, I began shanking everything to the right! I'd had this happen on the range several other times in the past and learned that when I kept hitting more balls, it just got worse. Instead of giving up immediately, I tried hitting my 7-iron again and even shanked a couple of those shots. I decided to stop hitting balls and just go get some chipping and putting practice in. Later, after everyone else showed up, I went back to the range and hit a few more balls, but avoided my wedges to prevent starting the round with images of shanks in my head.

Amazingly, I got through the entire round without shanking a single shot! My driver was long and straight with the exception of one tee shot. My irons were solid, giving me some great opportunities for birdie. Unfortunately, my putter wasn't as hot. They'd just punched and sanded the greens, so that added to the challenge, but my stroke was timid and I nearly missed every putt for birdie. I missed a 3-foot birdie putt on our very first hole after nailing my gap wedge from 115 yards out, but sank a 40-footer on the following long 215 yard par 3 to record my first and only birdie. My pro partner struggled all day off the tee, but put on a display of recovery shots and managed three birdies. He pulled off some incredible shots from behind trees that I'd never even attempt. I fought for some impressive pars on the holes he didn't recover from and we came in without any bogies, finishing 7th in a field of over 20 teams.

I played well, coming in with an individual score of 76, playing from the tips on a new course without recording anything worse than bogie. but I was especially happy that those early morning shanks were behind me.

The next day was the opening day of our Tuesday night 9-hole men's league. I joined a teammate before our match to play a practice round of 9-holes on the front nine to check out pin positions and get some warm-up. My good play continued. I came in 1-over, shooting all pars and one bogie. Again, no shanks!

My match was against one of the course employees who had a matching index. We started on the par 4 dogleg right 9th. The tee box is located about 100 feet above the fairway which dead ends about 230 yards out into a lake. I hit my 3-hybrid solid, landing the fairway, but rolled into the lake. I dropped and then hit a poor 9-iron short of the green. My opponent landed well over the green on his approach, but pitched to 5 feet and made his putt for par. Down 1.

I hit a good drive on the difficult par 4 1st, but pushed a 5-iron well right of the green on my approach and hit the cart path and nearly bounced to the 2nd tee. My lob shot landed on a downslope and ran across the green, just short of rolling into a greenside bunker. My opponent's par put me down 2. We both hit perfect drives on the par 4 2nd, but my approach barely reached the green, while he had a 6 foot birdie putt. He missed his putt, but I 3-putted! Down 3.

Things went downhill from there when the shanks reappeared on the 120 yard par 3 3rd. My gap wedge tee shot went 45 degrees right, ending up short and right of the green. My opponent came up short of the green so I still had a chance to push the hole. I then shanked my lob wedge directly right, leaving me in the rough, still right, but behind the green. I chipped up well beyond the hole and went down 4 after 4!

I finally parred the par 5 4th hoping to keep the match going, but my opponent got in close and made birdie! He closed me out 5 and 4! I may be the first player in our league to ever to loose a 9-hole match with 4 to go! Our match consists of points for match play and stroke play, so we were still playing for strokes. I was already down considerably, but fought on. Unfortunately, I hit 5 shanks by the time we finished and lost all 9 holes! My opponent came in with a 1-over 36. I shot a 12-over 47! I was numb from the experience, but figured these shanks would quickly pass.

But later in the week, I joined some friends at another local course and the shanks continued. I came in with an incredibly ugly 90! By this time, I was really frustrated. The shots I didn't shank seemed to hook wildly left. One of my playing partners told me he thought my weight was on my toes, so later in the round I focused on weighting my heels. The shanks seemed to pass, but I'd totally lost all confidence and touch by then and barely recorded a single par.

I then played a round over the weekend at San Juan Oaks, a difficult course near San Jose, another course I'd never played before. Not only is this course rated very difficult (7100 yards, 74.6/140), but the winds that day were gusting to at least 40 mph! On one hole, I hit a solid 5-iron into the wind from 155 yards out and came up short. I'd normally have hit 8-iron. I needed 4 more clubs to reach the flag! I had a great day off the tee and again struck my irons well. I made some stupid decisions, getting overly aggresive on a couple holes, and recorded some big numbers, but came in with only a single shank!

The highlight of the day though was that my 22 year old son joined me! He had only played 5 rounds of golf prior to this, his last being over a year ago. I was a little worried that such a difficult course might spoil things for him and prevent him from ever taking up the game, but he wanted to try it. I took him out to the range the day before and was simply amazed by his ball striking ability! He was hitting incredible shots with his 7-iron, 5-iron and 3-hybrid. He even came up with some great shots with his fairway woods and driver. However, we both agreed it might be best to increase his chances of keeping the ball in play on the course by avoiding these clubs. He played the entire round with his hybrid and irons.

On the front nine, I shot a 45 thanks to a quadruple and triple bogie. My son managed bogies on almost every hole and shot a 46! After duffing a few tee shots and recording a few penalty strokes from hazards on the back, he limped in with a 51 on the back nine, but did record a couple pars and came in with an impressive 97 overall! My 41 on the back at least kept me from shooting another 90. We had a fun day and plan to play more this summer after he graduates from college. I have no doubt that he'll be shooting in the 80's within weeks, just swinging naturally, staying relaxed, and focusing on the target.

But this story ends with another disastrous round yesterday in our weekly scratch skins game. I was playing well through 5 holes, although I'd missed 4 easy putts that would have gotten me to 2-under instead of 2-over. I hit a great drive on the par 5 6th, then barely got over the lake on my 2nd shot after hitting a thin 4-wood. I was still in good position to hit a lob wedge on and go for birdie or par. But I shanked my wedge into the trees right of the green, then hit a tree on my attempt to get out. My next shot barely got out of the trees and left me with a downhill lie in the rough with a shot across a ditch to the green. I managed to get on and 2-putt for a triple bogie!

After a week of abuse from the shanks and poor play, I'd had it! Instead of keeping it together and grinding it out, I just gave up. I clobbered my drives for the rest of the round, but just couldn't score. I hobbled in with another 90, swearing I was done with golf. I asked a teammate to sub for me tonight in our Tuesday night league and plan to take at least a week off and regroup.


Handicap History - June 2006 to April 2008

I'm especially disappointed since I was getting so close to breaking through the 3-handicap barrier. But I feel like I've really hit a wall and bounced way off it. My ball striking has been strong. Only putting has held me back. Now I can't even stand over a ball within 100 yards of the green with any confidence that the ball will even go forward! I guess I realize now that I just want to get back to where I'm having fun and forget all about scores and handicaps!

Labels: Rounds

Our early morning Super Bowl Sunday golf tournament was canceled yesterday due to rain, wind and cold. But just after noon, the sun started to peek out. Even though the winds were still howling, I decided to head over to the course to at least hit some balls and see if anyone was in the clubhouse to watch the Super Bowl. I arrived to an empty parking lot.


Rackham by DaddyNewt at flickr

I went inside and found a couple employees and a handful of patrons in the restaurant, but the golf course was completely empty. One of my friends from the Men's Club was at the bar. I asked if he wanted to go play a few holes, but he wasn't interested in leaving the comfort of the bar for the cold winds outside. I decided I'd carry my bag and play two or three holes, then head back home to watch the game.

With a monster headwind on the par 4 1st, I somehow got on in two with a driver and 4-wood and 2-putted for par. I hit another good drive on the 2nd followed by a 95 yard lob wedge to 15 feet. I then sank the putt for birdie, aiming well outside the hole and letting the wind bring it back! After a ho-hum par on the par 3 3rd, I got into a rhythm and decided to keep playing. I got a few sprinkles on the 4th, but could see blue skies beyond the black clouds moving southeast. With pars on the 4th and 5th, then a bogie on the difficult par 5 6th, I was back to even. The winds were blowing hard from right to left on the 177 yard par 3 8th. I hit a 6-iron over the green and over the backside bunker, leaving a steep downhill pitch out of long fescue. Amazingly, I should have hit 8-iron off the tee! My pitch ran down and across the green and barely stayed on the fringe, keeping it from rolling into lake below. I nearly made the long putt for par, but tapped in for bogie. I got up and down from just off the green on the par 4 9th to finish the front 1-over, and in only 1 hour.

Although I was playing a good round, I was mostly enjoying the pure joy of being out in the weather and having an entire golf course to myself! I also found myself taking note of the birds and my surroundings more than I usually do. Fast moving cumulus, western bluebirds, tule swans, ducks, kestrels, meadowlarks, red-tailed hawks, and even those messy coots added to the experience.

I caught a bad break on my drive into the wind on the par 4 10th, punched back out to the fairway and bogied, then bogied the par 3 11th after watching the wind carry my 180 yard 7-iron 40-50 yards left. I hit a solid drive and 4-wood on the par 5 12th, but came up short with my wedge and failed to get up and down for par. I made a good par on 13, but bogied again on 14. I missed good birdie opportunities on 15 and 16 and stayed 5-over. I 3-putted the huge green on the par 5 17th to go 6-over and salvaged par on 18 to finish with 77.

I felt a little stiff and tired from carrying my bag on the back nine, but finished without any double bogies. Mostly, I just enjoyed the unique opportunity of having a course to myself and finishing in less than 2 1/2 hours. When I arrived at the clubhouse even the restaurant was empty, so I headed home to watch the halftime show and 2nd half of the game. I was treated to one of the best finishes in football I've seen in a long time! Way to go Eli! Then I watched a recording of Tiger's back nine in Dubai and got to witness his long birdie putt on 18 to secure another win. What started off as a nasty day outside turned into a pretty artful day.

Labels: Rounds

During the last month, between December 14th and January 13th, I played 12 rounds of golf and broke 80 in every round. For me, that's quite an accomplishment (and for this time of year, quite a luxury). I usually sprinkle in a couple rounds in the low 80's for every few rounds in the 70's. I never seem to keep my good rounds going. My previous streak in the 70's ended at 7. But something changed in the last month - my short game. I also got back down under 4 and shot my second hole-in-one!


The 12th at Augusta, by winkman at flickr

Last weekend during a Men's Club tournament, I aced the 140 yard par 3 11th at Cypress Ridge Golf Course! Interestingly, my first ace, which occurred just over a year ago on the 5th at Monarch Dunes, was also from exactly 140 yards. And, like my first ace, I had to buy drinks for nearly 30 golfers after the round, which were thankfully funded by my skins winnings. I got to witness my first ace where I hit an 8-iron straight into the wind and watched my ball land on the green, bounce twice, then disappear on the third bounce. On the 11th at Cypress Ridge, the hole was hidden from view by a hill and frontside bunker. After hitting a solid 9-iron right at the pin, we all jumped up to see how close I got. We saw my ball in line with the pin, but with such a momentary peek, we were unable to determine how close it was or even if it was in front of or behind the hole. The next golfer got up and actually hit the pin on the fly! We saw his ball bounce hard off the pin and roll 20-30 feet from the hole. When we got up to the green, we only saw 3 balls. We soon found my ball in the hole! We finally determined that the best explanation was that my ball had rolled up against the pin but didn't drop until the other player's ball hit the pin.

More importantly, the ace got me to 4-under par! We had a shotgun start beginning on the 5th hole. I birdied the par 4 7th and par 5 9th to get to 2-under. The ace on 11 then put me 4-under - after only 7 holes! This was the first time I'd ever gotten to 4-under during a round. The first time I got to 3-under, which was also after 7 holes, I dashed my hopes for a career round with a quadruple bogey on the 8th hole! This time, although I managed one more birdie later in the round, I threw in too many bogies and finished with a 1-over 73, still tying the lowest score for the day.

My 73 finish also gave me back-to-back 73's. Just 2 days earlier I had shot a 2-over 73 at Monarch Dunes after going 3-over after 7 holes. I finished that round a little stronger, finishing the last 11 holes with 1 bogie and 2 birdies. I finished both rounds with 31 putts, hitting 14 greens and 10 fairways in one round and 13 greens and 12 fairways in the other. Amazingly, my 73 at Cypress Ridge included 4 3-putts! So, although my short game improved, my putting, and one or two poor shots, is all that kept me from that elusive round in the 60's.

In my prior 10 rounds I had kept my scores in a small range between 75 and 79. I had 2 rounds of 79, both scored from the back tees at Monarch Dunes (73.0/137) - quite a challenge - where I also shot an 81 just prior to and ending the 12 round streak of 70's. So, although the streak ended on a challenging course, shooting an ace in the round prior certainly softened the blow!

The streak included 3 different golf courses and 6 different tee locations, one on a course I'd never played before. During the holiday while visiting family in San Diego, I played Encinitas Ranch with my brother-in-law, which was highlighted by driving the green on a 285 yard par 4 and hitting 2 lengthy par 5's in 2. I nearly shot even-par for the round, but immaturely slapped at a couple putts after missing easy birdie opportunities and turned them into 3-putt bogies. Argh!

It was quite satisfying to get the new year off to such a great start, and to so easily identify where I still have work to do - putting and patience! Also, I'm making some decisions to stick with my goal to maintain balance. I've decided to keep playing hockey next season even though it interferes with my Tuesday night golf league and I'm passing up a Men's Club tournament next month to go see Wicked in Los Angeles with my wife and daughter - again!

Labels: Ace, Rounds