I started off fine, considering I haven’t played since last Friday. Didn’t play Monday as it was Yom Kippur. After about the fourth hole, I started playing stupid and that was all she wrote. By the time we got to the front nine, I was playing like a total idiot.
I did have some nice pars, some nice shots, but it definitely was NOT my day! I shoulda stood in bed!
So, I totally blew this one…week two of the league tournament. Provided I do OK next week, I can throw today’s score out. If not, I’m stuck with it. I need to be stupendous next week to even have a glimmer of a hope of being in contention for third place…if I’m lucky.
I don’t know what else to say. I could carry out a bitch session on how poorly I executed the majority of my shots. I did have a few that I was happy with. I definitely thought too much about everything today.
I have to stop watching The Golf Fix right before I play. It adds a thousand new swing thoughts to the thousand I already have floating around in there. You can’t try new things during a game. You need to practice them first.
I will be playing Friday, so maybe this week’s kinks will be gone. I have to get some rest between now and then.
Golf is not a game of good shots. It is a game of bad shots.
Got a bug yesterday afternoon while driving past the course to play today. I called and got a 1036 tee time. There were just two of us and it rained overnight and was kind of drizzly this morning, so a lot of folks cancelled. We got out early. Good…that meant we’d get done earlier…NOT!!! It was cart path only but since I was able to get a handicap flag, I played. Had I not been allowed on the fairway, I would have turned right around and gone home.
Actually, the course was dry and it was perplexing why it was CPO. It was wetter Wednesday after they watered than it was after the rain.
We were behind two women…I knew one of them and she was fine. It was the gal she was playing with that was the problem. It became so problematic that I began counting the seconds out loud from the time she addressed the ball until she actually hit it…between 15 and 20 seconds – EVERY TIME she addressed the ball. Then, after all that, she maybe hit it well 1 out of 15 times…all other times it went 10 feet, if she was lucky. I can’t tell you how tediously slow it was waiting for them on every shot. Did they let us play through? Not on your life.
There was a foursome of men walkers in front of them but they were not the issue and I gauran-damn-tee had they let us play through, they would never have had to wait for us. We were praying they weren’t playing 18…and they didn’t. It was a painfully slow round and I should have had a better score. I ended up shooting exactly what I shot Wednesday. I parred 2 and 3 so I thought I was going to rock and roll…but I do believe, and I’m not making excuses, that the tedious pace of play today and the interminable waiting kept screwing with any type of rhythm that wasn’t able to be established.
I was still happy to be out there. I would have liked to have played better and Monday will be better…we’ll get out early, but it was good practice today. It was also a good day to be out. No sun beating down, a little cool. I’ll take it any day!
Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated.
The league tournament started today. Best two scores out of three. After two absolutely miserable weeks, including this past Monday, I finally broke 100 when it counted. Of course I still managed to mangle some shots, had a lot of three putts, but I had an amazing front nine. Too bad I totally screwed up the back nine. I could have had a fantastic score, again.
I managed to birdie my favorite league hole…#9, which was very nice. I had a nice putt that was probably 15-20 feet. I also had another on one of the other holes I can’t remember. The first 4 holes we played, the good Donna showed up. We started on hole 8, which I bogeyed. The the real Donna showed up and it was back to 3 putting. That other hole…#1 handicap 4, which gave me a bogey. I was quite pleased with that.
Amazingly, I played with the same ball for the entire round. I was going to use my cheap balls, since I was playing so poorly, but I really like them. I get them at Target and they’re called Cougar. They are really only good for a round because then the cover gets a little funky. Then I thought, “Hell, it’s a tournament, use a good ball,” so I played with a Titleist. I really like them, but won’t buy them because I lose too many balls. I even used it on the 17th hole and got on the green, over the “schmutz” in 3. I had a crummy tee shot and was gong to try to get over but I was a tad far back. I decided to use course management, so I hit a nice layup. So, instead of being stupid, I played it smart and it paid off.
It was supposed to rain, but it didn’t, so it turned out to be a beautiful day…blue skies and mid 80s. It was very humid, however. It was more like summer than fall. Again, I played with 3 very nice ladies, so it was a wonderful day.
Golf is the only sport where the most feared opponent is you.
It was a sad day….no energy…no strength (kryptonite must have been on the course), no umph! I felt like I should have stayed in bed….I was just that lethargic. There were only 2 of us, so we got through in great time, even though we really took our time, looked for balls and generally dawdled a lot.
We were supposed to play the back nine twice. When we finished the first nine, they told us to go to hole #1, since they were finished doing whatever it was they were doing on the front nine. When we got there, there was a group on the green, a group in the middle of the fairway, and a group waiting to tee off. We decided to go back to 10 and play the back nine again as planned. We did and had the entire course to ourselves. It was wonderful.
I did have a nice chip-in on #15 for a par, so I was quite pleased with that. It was the shot that will bring me back Wednesday to try again.
Wednesday is the beginning of the league championship. It will run for the next three Wednesdays. Since I’m in the A flight, I’ll have some tough competition from those gals whose handicaps are in the teens. Of course, if Supergirl doesn’t get her act together and start making some shots, it won’t matter.
Golfers who try to make everything perfect before taking the shot rarely make a perfect shot.
We had a bit of rain last night, so I called the pro shop this morning to see if it was cart path only. Low pressure system is hanging around and I wasn’t about to walk, but all was well. The gal in the pro shop thought I was calling to cancel like the 12 folks before me. Nope…just checking on the situation!
So I get there and it’s dry. The prediction was for sprinkles this morning, then stopping by mid-morning. I can play in sprinkles. As much as I love goolf, I don’t play n the rain!
It was spitting about 2 drops as we drove to our first hole – #12 (we started on the back nine). Oh yeah…the ladies 9 holers had their invitational yesterday which was why we were playing today. It was OK through 14, then it started to rain in earnest. It wasn’t a downpour, just a steady, medium hard rain. By 17 we were soaking wet and decided if it didn’t stop by 18, we were finished. We weren’t the only ones. Everyone had either already stopped or were coming in as we finished 18.
We did get a rain check…which was nice, but I really wanted to play, in spite of the fact I had a less than stellar start. I was looking forward to it today! Oh well…poop happens!
So I think it’s supposed to be nice Monday. There will only be two of us and we’re supposed to play the back nine twice again. Not sure why, but that’s the deal. I don’t care…golf is golf and I’m happy any time I play.
Sex and golf are the two things you can enjoy even if you’re not good at them. ~ Kevin Costner
Two weeks ago, when I made my tee times for two weeks ahead, I was told there was going to be a tournament, so I asked for a reciprocal. What that is, is they get us a tee time at another course we have a reciprocal arrangement with and all we pay are cart fees. Well, supposedly there were 3 folks who asked for them but only two groups got them. Guess which group didn’t?? I suspect, as has been the case in the past, although the pro shop will deny it, we didn’t get it because two male groups did. Pisses me off…
The supposed reason was all the other courses were having tournaments so it was hard. I just don’t think they try hard enough! And I’m not the only one who thinks this!
So…I made a tee time at a public course near here – Bristow Manor Golf Course. It’s a harder course than ours is. It’s also very linksy. Lots of tall grasses and very hilly. The front nine crosses Bull Run Creek, so you go back and forth across it for about 6 or 7 holes. There isn’t a flat fairway on any hole except the first two. All the rest have little hills dotting the fairways. It’s a very challenging course.
I like it because it’s such a challenge. I didn’t realize my body was still shell-shocked from a medical procedure I had Friday. I had no energy and my shots were puny, my chipping was way off and I generally sucked the big one today. I had the worst score I’ve had on the front nine since March. I did get better on the back nine, but there was really no excuse to play so poorly on the front.
ON the 15th hole, there’s a pond. There are also two hills off to the right of the fairway. Every time I play this course, I hit the ball at those hills. No matter how I think I’m aiming, the ball goes there. Today I got lucky and I wasn’t in the water. I had a nice 130 yard shot to the green. I hit it in a bunker. Normally not a biggie bust some a**hole groundsman left his machine in the bunker. He was no where to be seen and the machine was right there in the right side of the bunker. You know where my shot landed! Yupper…right behind the damn machine. I wanted to kill the putz!
So I moved my ball and hit onto the green. His boot marks were all ove the bunker…just a rude idiot who shouldn’t be working on a golf course!
It was an absolutely magnificent, September day. I was playing folf with my good friends so I won’t complain. Scores like i got today keep me humble. I don’t ever think I’m mastering this game…because days like this show me it’ll never happen.
Here are some shots of the course we played today.
It takes longer to learn to be a good golfer than it does to become a brain surgeon. On the other hand, you don’t get to ride around on a cart, drink beer, eat hot dogs, and flatulate if you are performing brain surgery.
Photos of the club we played at today – Bristow Manor
League day! We put our handicaps onto our cards (9 gazillion little dots everywhere). We played the best 2 NET scores of the foursome. Not only did we have to keep all the gross scores, but we had to keep all the net scores and the 2 best net combined scores. That was a lot of counting and adding. All that had to go in a little space where you usually just put your own score. With the dots, there was no room at all in that little block for anything else.
I have no idea how we did. Guess I’ll find out when they send the email. We shot a 118, which I don’t think was awful but it’s hard to compare. That score is lower than a lot of folks normally shoot…so we’ll see.
I broke 100…first time in about 3 outings, which made me a happy camper. I was hot and cold with the putter again and had a few iffy holes. On #14, I had a great drive and my second shot came off my 3 wood like it was on fire…and it just didn’t get as far as it was supposed to, so I lost a ball in the bog. My second shot, with a different club also went in the bog and it was a good shot. Losing two and having to add 2 penalty strokes was not a good thing…screwed up my score.
Only got in a couple of bunkers today. All that practice helped except once where I was too nonchalant.
I did Birdie my nemesis #11 hole. The pin was in the back, my tee shot was just a little beyond pin high and about 6 feet from the pin. I sunk the putt! It was a lovely 2…been several weeks since I’ve had a birdie. I guess I’ll have to check the league ringer board to see how I’m doing here. On mine (I keep a separate one since I play so much), I think I’m 4 or 5 under.
It was a fun day with 3 great gals. One of them was my Monday partner, so that was nice…and the other two were friends….so it was a lovely day. A bit humid, but fine.
You probably wouldn’t look good in a green jacket anyway! A sweatshirt will do just fine.
On the 12th hole, second shot. I’m in my most usual spot, in a bowl on the right of the fairway. My best shot is to hit up over a hill with a large tree a space and two smaller trees. From my angle, the left of the tree shot was going to be the best option. I used my 3 wood (it’s a long par 5). I hit it solidly…right into the big tree. It caroms right, hits another tree, crosses the cart path, hits another tree before it comes to rest out of bounds in someone’s yard. Wish I’d had a video camera. Had it not been slowed down by the two trees, I think it would have landed in this guy’s walkout which has 2 sliding glass doors. I know I would have broken one, so I guess I lucked out, even though I lost a stroke and distance because of the OB.
I played bunker ball again today, but did a much better job of getting out of them…not that I wanted to be in them in the first place…
I shot only a couple of strokes better today than yesterday, but I was puny. It was a strange day. It was extremely humid but very cloudy. Had the sun been out, it would have been a sauna, but when driving the air was cool so you had that weird cold/hot feeling.
Regardless, it was a good day to be on the course with good friends.
If there is a ball on the fringe and a ball in the bunker, your ball is in the bunker. If both balls are in the bunker, yours is in the footprint.
I got an invitation to play this morning. It was early enough that we could be out before the masses descended and slowed things up. We played in about 4 hours which is perfect. I played with a different group of women today…they needed someone to replace another gal who couldn’t play. I was delighted.
I was not particularly happy with my play but, unusually, I started to get better by about the 14th hole. That’s usually when I start pooping out.
It was a tad humid today and I thought it was hot, but it was a lovely day to be out on the golf course and I was happy for the opportunity.
Today was also bunker practice day. For the last couple of rounds that I played bunker free, I made up for it in spades today. Oh well…I need the practice.
It’s possible I will be playing a bit more on the weekends, but I don’t plan on making it a habit. I will probably be having knee surgery in December and want to be able to play until then. This all depends on my back and how it’s affecting me and how golf is affecting it. I plan to play as long as I can.
Sometimes it seems as though your cup moveth over.
I was able to play today…tentatively…now the hip is giving me fits. I swear I’m falling apart at the joints!
I did have a fairly decent day, in spite of my infirmities. Our event today was “Guess Your Score.” I was the only one who guessed it and it was a total fluke! The gal who did hers before me said 98. I said something ridiculous like 987. I had no idea what I was going to shoot….but I said 98 as well. I was hoping for an 89, but the Par 3s didn’t like me at all today…so I ended up with a 98.
I had one episode with my hip that almost had me quitting for the day, but I pressed on and was very careful with it. We only had a few more holes to play.
Still not hitting the new club well. I suppose a trip to the range might help me get used to it…and maybe I will do that.
I have to do something to be able to get the ball out of the rough as well. It’s really long and hard for us seniors to plow through all that fescue!
I played with a great group of ladies and had a good time. The day was glorious…so that’s really all that matters.
There are three ways to improve your golf game: take lessons, practice constantly — or start cheating.
