Just Me

It started out fairly comfortable…but then the humidity started to build and whew! It really got icky!

I played with 3 ladies I’d not played with this year yet, so we had a very nice round. It’s always nice to play with folks you know and to meet new friends. This was a great group and we had a nice time on the course. I managed several pars and a birdie on #9. Mostly, though, my putting left me today. I think I was not keeping my head down. I had several GIR so I should have converted all of them, but , alas, I didn’t

I didn’t get into one bunker today. It’s been a long time since I had a round that was bunker free!

All in all, it was a lovely day to be out on the golf course, enjoying the day with good friends and good comraderie.

I only mooned the ball once( the famous 300 yard drive – 100 up; 100 out; 100 down)…on the last hole. How dumb!

I’d been having problems with the 70-80 yard distance. I really didn’t have a club for that distance. My sand wedge didn’t work…not enough club. My pitching wedge was too much club. So, I bought a gap wedge…54 degrees. It’s a Ping and a bit heavier than my other clubs, but it feels substantial. They also had a Cleveland, which is what my lob wedge is, but it was really heavy. I think I’m going to like this Ping. It feels good in my hand. Maybe I’ll sneak out tomorrow and take it to the range, just to see how to hit with it, before I have to use it Friday, in the Superintendent’s Revenge.

Notice, I’ve been painfully silent about baseball. My heart is broken…what else can I say

This was my problem today, I think:

Never try to keep more than 300 separate thoughts in your mind during your swing.

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That was me today. If I could shank the ball, I did!

I started out stupendously! We started on hole #15, which is the #2 handicap hole for the women. I parred it. I had 4 amazing shots, especially for 8am! I had another opportunity on #16. My putt missed the hole by millimeters, so I got a 5. I had a little trouble on #17…nothing new there, but parred #18. I mean it really felt good. I did fine until the real Donna showed up on #5 and the good player disappeared. I was heading for an amazing round until the real me showed up. Such is life…or such is golf!

I hit 6 GIR, which for me, is amazing! I did break my prior record, set last week when I broke 5 tees in a round! Today, I broke 7. It’s starting to get expensive!!

As poorly as I played, I still shot under 100, with my handicap. It’s just when I think of what score I could have had. I coulda been a contender!!

I had a shot on #14, our last hole (I hate ending on a par 5). The only thing anyone saw was my tee flying off to the left. Of course the ball must have stayed in the clods because we never saw it. 4 people looking for the ball and it never came down. My theory…since the tee went left, so should have the ball…so it must have gone into the creek on a fly. I scanned the fairway and never saw it come down!

You can’t lose an old golf ball.

You’re noticed I’m not talking about the Mets this year. Between the injuries and the losses, my heart has been breaking all Spring…and now into the summer. They lost all the games in last weekend’s Subway Series…so there’s notmuch to write about except disappointment after disappointment!

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Thursday the Retired Men’s League plays their tournaments against other clubs. They played here today so we couldn’t get out on the course until the afternoon. At least I was free to run some errands.

So we went out at about 1:15. We stared with a neighbor and her son (they paired us because we were a twosome and obviously, so were they). She’s a beginner and was practicing, so we played the first hole with them and then we moved out alone (which they said we could do).

I played the first hole like a rote amateur. It was like I’d never picked up a golf club in my life. It was embarrassing.

I got better on the next hole and all was fine until we got to hole #4. We were behind a foursome of men. Sometimes they hit from the white tees, sometimes they hit from the blue tees. Every time they hit from the blue tees, their tee shots barely made it past the forward (red) tees. We waited for them on every hole. They were rude…had no idea what the rules of the game were, they were hitting two balls just because they could. Once one guy hit two balls because the ball went into the trees but it wasn’t out of bounds and then the a**hole played his second ball, then found his playable first ball and hit it as well. Once you hit the second ball, you can’t play the first one, even if you find it (which you should do first before you hit a provisional…if that’s what that ball was, which I doubt). One guy hit his ball either way to the left or way to the right and they spent an inordinate amount of time looking for his ball…not to say they didn’t futz around looking for other guy’s shots as well.

Of course, they wouldn’t let a twosome of ladies play through, even though we were pretty much on their butts the entire round. Then there was a single guy walking behind us who hit his damn ball into us on the 14th hole that landed about 10 feet from my partner’s ball. We were standing there waiting for the putzes in front to hit and get the hell out of the way.  I wanted to toss it someplace where he couldn’t find it, but was talked out of that. I swore if he did it again, I’d hit his ball back to him, but he stayed away from us the remainder of the round. Good thing though…

So with all the waiting, and the mowers who didn’t mow this morning so had to do it this afternoon…and sometimes they stop and sometimes they don’t…it was a very crappy round.

That said, I was outside in the sun, it warmed up nicely and it was a beautiful day to be out on the golf course and NOT inside the house, which is where I would have been had I not played.

So…there’s always Monday…

And tomorrow they’re going to try to relieve some of my back pain, so if all is well, I should be really good to go on Monday.

The Mets, BTW are killin’ me!

You can put a draw on the ball, you can put a fade on the ball, but no golfer can put a straight on the ball.

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Nothing better than getting up on a Monday and finding the weather temperate, the ground dry, the sky dry and the knowledge that golf is imminent. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Actually, it was a tad chilly when I walked out of the house, but that changed with the first swing. It was supposed to be sunny, but it was overcast. That’s not necessarily a bad thing…but sunny would have been preferred.

Lots of things are starting to work for me. I took some lessons late last winter. My biggest issue (other than my short game which was non-existent) was that I could drive the hell out of the ball, but I’d lose 10-20 yards laterally. The ball always went to the right. I wanted to gain that distance straight down the fairway.

Well, its taken a year but now, I’ve about lost most of my slice, if it slices at all, but when I hit it, it rolls straight down the fairway. This has made a huge different in my game. I am always thrilled to see the ball rolling straight.

My short game is also starting to come together. The guy who gave me the lessons is a wonderful teacher and what he said made a lot of sense. He was very deliberate in his approach and even though it took my mind a year to actually “get it,” I’m thrilled that it has.

I didn’t have any monster drives today. My longest was only 186 yards (I measured all of my drives today, except the par 3’s) but they were straight. I did have one snowman on the par 5 #3 hole. My tee shot headed straight for a large maple tree on the left. It stopped in a hole near a root. My only shot was to hit it onto the fairway as a lefty. I’m not a lefty…..so I got my 5 iron and just tried to pop it out where I could get a good swing.  That didn’t happen but at least on my next shot I could hit as a righty. Then, I hit right to the edge of the hazard (an environmental area). It was outside the hazard by inches, but in tall grass. Got the 5 iron again and put it in a good spot…finally. It just seems sometimes when you get in trouble, you keep getting in trouble. That’s what happened on the third hole, hence my snowman (an 8).

I made up for it on the 4th hole (#1 handicap hole). I bogeyed it…so it didn’t screw up my head.

Actually, I played a consistent game today. As per usual, my putting sucked the big one, but I played the course well. Shot a 48 on both the front and back nine…so ended up with a 96.

Last week in league, I was first in my division. We have a tournament every week of some kind. Last week it was the even holes (they only counted the score of the even holes to determine a winner). I shot a 43 last week on the even holes…but I had a couple of pars and the birdie I got was on an even hole. Not a bad start for the year. I was happy.

It’s not looking good for golf Wednesday. Rain is predicted and I won’t play in the rain. I’m hoping it stops by them…fingers and toes crossed. Friday is another tournament. It’s a two person best ball….and I’m playing with a good friend. Hopefully, we’ll do well. Sun is predicted for Friday.

The Mets have their first game at Citi Field tonight. They’re at .500 3-3. We’ll see how this all plays out!

Golf is the only sport where the most feared opponent is you.

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Today the sun was out, we had gentle breezes and temps near 70. Hard to believe we froze our butts off yesterday.

Since it was such a beautiful day, we played golf   You can’t expect me to not golf on such a beautiful spring day! Wish I’d had my camera. It was yummy out there today.

I didn’t play as well as I did yesterday…had several serious cases of the stupids, but my score was decent. I birdied the same hole I did yesterday, hit one drive about 233 yeads, and hit two others that were over 200 yards each (about 213 and 208). For me, with the bad back, it’s pretty extraordinary that I regained my distance.

Oh yeah…I got lots of bunker practice today…it’s good to get the practice, but I’d rather not!

Tomorrow  I get another epidural so my back pain should no longer be a hindrance. We’ll see if I can beat that distance

A par and a birdie can help turn a bad score into a palatable one. That’s what happened today. Regardless…it was a beautiful day and we took full advantage of it.

The Mets are 2-1.

Golf’s a hard game to figure. One day you’ll go out and slice it and shank it, hit into all the traps and miss every green. The next day you go out and for no reason at all you really stink.

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But then, when isn’t it windy when I play golf? It was about 38 when we started at 8:30 this morning. The wind was blowing at a good clip. The sun, that was supposed to be out was hiding behind some clouds. It was not a nice golf day.

Surprisingly, most everyone showed up. We had a pretty full roster of players going out. Nice to see no one wimped out. I think everyone has cabin fever since we couldn’t get out that much this winter. Everyone complained but went out and played and had a good time, even if they were bundled up with far to many layers to do much with.

I started out with my winter gloves because my wittle fingers were frozen. I had a headband on to keep my ears warm (didn’t need that kind of headache this morning). I had a short sleeve polo, a sweatshirt and a down vest which I only wore on a couple of holes when the wind got colder. Too many clothes for me.

I had a good day. I actually had an opportunity (a serious one) to break 90! I was playing that well. My putting, which usually fails me and did again today, got me, most of the time, close to the hole so I only 3 putted a couple of holes. Two putts were the order of the day for me (which is so unusual). I was quite pleased with my putting today…even if I missed the hole by milimeters a lot of the time.

Of course, I screwed up the last two holes. Had I at least bogeyed them, I would have broken 90. As it was, I had a birdie (a long time coming) 3 pars and 8 bogeys. That’s not a bad day for a broken down old fart! I broke 100 by a few strokes…and I’ll take anything under 100 on any given day. Maybe this year will be my year! Who knows??

BTW, that 17.5 handicap I saw last week that I thought was going to give me Tsuris was adjusted back to where it should have been…25. I can play to a 25 handicap, I can’t play to a 17 handicap (at least not yet). I would like to but that was really going to screw me in tournaments. Thank goodness the program made the correction.

So, all in all, even though it was very cold and ridiculously windy again, I did OK. I was happy with my play, in the grand scheme of things…even if I had an occasional case of the stupids.

Baseball season is finally here! Mets won their first game! YIPEE!!!!!

Golf is the only sport where the most feared opponent is you.

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Well…none of it today. Got ready to walk out the door and the sirens went off. We have them to notify players when there are thunderstorms in the area. Golfers are supposed to get to safety when they hear that. The operative word here is supposed…because most don’t. They just keep on playing. Last thing I’d want in the air on my back swing or follow-through is a bolt of lightning to strike the highest thing in the area…my 6 iron! When I hear that siren, I take cover!

Anyway…so no golf because right after that it started raining again. Looking at the radar, lots heading this way…so we canceled. So, to make up for it, I have a couple of (very old) jokes to share, in case you haven’t heard them. I’ve gotten them several times in emails, but this comes from Golf Styles magazine’s April 2009 issue. BTW, you have to be a golfer to appreciate these jokes:

#1

Verne was teeing off from the men’s tee. On his downswing he realized that his wife Lucrecia, was teeing up on the woman’s tee directly in front of him. Unable to stop his swing,  he nailed it, and hit her in the head, killing her instantly. A few days later, Verne got a call from the coroner regarding her autopsy.

Coroner: Verne, your wife seemed to have died from blunt force trauma to the head. You said you hit a golf ball and hit her in the head. Is that correct?

Verne: Yes sir, that’s correct.

Coroner: Well, inexplicably I found a golf ball wedged up her rear.

Verne: Was it a Titleist 3?

Coroner: Yes, it was.

Verne: That was my provisional.

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#2

Fred got home from his Sunday round later than normal and very tired. “Bad day at the course?” his wife asked.

“Everything was going fine,” he says. “Then Harry had a heart attack and died on the 10th tee.”

“Oh, that’s awful!”

“You’re not kidding. For the whole back nine it was hit the ball, drag Harry, hit the ball, drag Harry.”

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Baseball season started yesterday! Spring is officially here and the Mets are back in the game! Let’s hope we’re off to a rousing start, although from what I’ve read, Citi Field (gawd, I hate that name) is neither a pitcher’s or hitter’s field. That could be a good thing!

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As a member of my golf club, I expect for the money I pay, to have balls available on the driving range when I go out there to practice. I got there today with a friend and there were none. So…the two of us and 3 older guys took the ball holders (little golf bags…awwwwwwwwww that looked something like this only ours have a logo of a famous golf company on it).

Anyway…here we are, the 5 of us carrying these miniature golf bags walking out on the driving range, shagging balls so we can practice. I was not happy (but then, seems I never am, eh?) I filled it about 1/4 full and then had to sit to catch my breath. Bending hurts a lot!

The good news is I practiced with my 60 degree wedge, 7 iron and 5 hybrid (26 degree). I was hitting the ball very solidly and quite far. Of course, hitting off the pad that doesn’t take a divot is easy, but I was looking for stroke and style. I found that if I use a higher tee (for Par 3’s where I use an iron, and for our 17th hole where I use the hybrid to hit to the end of the fairway before I hit over the bog), I was consistently hitting the ball solidly and getting a good piece of it. I’ve been working on that for 3 years.

I also found that by not being afraid of taking a full swing with the 60 degree, hitting off the back foot and keeping my hands forward, I got some beautiful 30-40 yard shots. I’ve been telling myself to do that for months now, but when it came to actually hitting it, I didn’t take a full swing. Standing closer to the green, taking a shallow back swing but a full follow-through created similar, but of course, shorter distances and results. I was ecstatic.

Now…will that translate to a better shot tomorrow on the course? Time will tell.

I really only wanted to rant about having to shag my own balls.

I did find, however, that if I pull the ball, which I tend to do thinking I’m going towards the left field fence, it hurts the dislocated clavicle something fierce. It’s certainly incentive not to do that, but it’s easier said than done sometimes. I will be working on that a lot more because that is most uncomfortable.

Golfers who try to make everything perfect before taking the shot rarely make a perfect shot.

Not sure how the Mets are doing in Spring Training, especially since a lot fo the guys are gone playing in the World Baseball Classic. Besides, it’s what happens in the season that’s most important. I did get some more sad pictures from the Mets website taken in December 08. These shots are aerial shots taken before the other photos i showed y’all. It’s so sad….

Shea Stadium being torn down

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I walked the entire 9 today!! What a wonderful feeling to have been able to do this. I got winded at times, but I tried to sit before teeing off, at every hole so I got a little respite. I was able to swing the club without any discomfort in my shoulder, so I’m a happy camper.

And, I did OK. I was on track to break 100 so I can’t complain. Several of the holes are definitely a challenge, as they’re up hill. Once I get a better cardio output, they’ll be a piece of cake.

The new cart is wonderful. I had absolutely no problem moving across the course, up or down hills. It was very easy to push and I didn’t even feel the weight of the clubs, so it worked out well.

Once of the other pluses is that you’re right there for the GPS to give you an exact distance to the hole. I, for the most part, hit the ball pretty well. Today was a day to concentrate on keep the head down and I did that most of the time. In some situations, I find it hard to keep my back down…like when the ball is below my feet, but I was mostly happy with my play today. Going to try to walk again Monday, if the weather cooperates again.

And, the Mets won their first Grapefruit League game. YIPEE!!

I think I’ve finally figured the game out: if it goes right, it’s a “slice.” If it goes left, it’s a “hook.” And if it goes straight, it’s a miracle!

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It had to dip into the 60’s because it was a perfect day for golf. I really felt crappy this morning and was questioning whether or not I wanted to play, but I couldn’t pass up another wonderful winter day. I’m so glad I did. Yes, my back hurt, but I felt so much better being out there and moving around. This game is such a life saver for me. As an athlete who thought she’d never be able to play another sport, this game is my savior. I don’t ever want to lose the ability to play it.

I should have broken 100 again today, but I pooped out again on 16. By the end of the round, I do really start to have back issues…more so than at the rest of the game…so I kinda FUBARed two of the last 3 holes. That’s OK…low 100s is still OK with me.

The course was a bit soggy, even though we’ve not had any rain or snow in over a week. There was a frost delay so I guess that helped add to the problem. Also, in the winter we have other issues…Geese! There was goose poop all over every hole. In some places, it’s really disgusting. Unfortunately, there’s not much they do about it in the winter. In the summer, there’s a dog…and something they put down on the course…but in the winter, the dog must be on vacation

On another note, I have some pictures of what’s left of my beloved Shea Stadium. As I write this, it must be gone…and it’s so sad. There was an article (and picture) in the New York Daily News about how many fans feel about the loss of Shea…so it was comforting to know I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. It will be sorely missed!

When your shot has to carry over a water hazard, you can hit either one more club or two more balls.

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