Just Me

I’m taking up shuffleboard, even though I was told i wasn’t old enough. Golf is not my game…at least lately!!

Tournament! How to screw up a totally decent handicap? Screw up majorly in a tournament…where the score lasts longer and affects you longer!! Oy Vay!!

The ONLY thing I did right yesterday was drive, and they weren’t perfect either. I could do nothing else. The greens were lightning fast and I just couldn’t figure them out. That and the fact that my eyes are crooked and I need a tiny screwdriver to adjust them. If I went over the edge of the cup withour going in once, i did it 10 times! It’s so damn frustrating!!

But…I’ll try again. I always do!! I am not a happy camper

If you really want to get better at golf, go back and take it up at a much earlier age.

But I still screwed up! I totally died on the last hole…oh well. Story of my life.

I had a decent round…played mostly OK. Of course, I got a case of the stupids on several holes. I also was very stiff…my back wouldn’t loosen up so I wasn’t staying down on the ball like I should have. I really had to concentrate on that.

I did have a couple of nice pars, which always helps.

I learned a new acronym today that cracked me up. We have a lot of them while playing golf, but this one was totally new to me. It was so good, I wrote it on my scorecard so I wouldn’t forget it: BIPSIC.

Now, let me explain, for those of you who don’t play golf. If you maintain a handicap, which we all do because we play in a league (that’s the Wednesday thing), you have a maximum number of strokes you can take for that handicap. So, let’s say your handicap is in the 20s. Your maximum number of strokes is 8. Basically, except in league or tournament play, when you reach 8 you pick up the ball to speed play. So you’re on a hole, have hit your eighth stroke and you’re still not in the cup. You pick your ball up and put it in your pocket. Hence, BIPSIC - Ball In Pocket, Sulking In Cart!! :)  I love it!!

Anyway…I didn’t do that today. No BIPSICs for me….but I did sulk anyway on a few holes. I also made some monster divots…but none landed on top of the golf cart, so I wasn’t too much of a menace today.

And, I did not play at the beach at all today. I managed to avoid all of the bunkers…YIPEE!!! There’s always something to be happy for

As usual, I had a wonderful time because I was on the golf course and I ended up with a decent score (for my handicap). I just hope I still have some good shots left for tomorrow’s tournament. The course we’re playing on is LOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG!!

When you look up, causing an awful shot, you will always look down again at exactly the moment when you ought to start watching the ball if you ever want to see it again.

But alas, it’s not to be. Today was the last day of the three session league championship. I wasn’t awful…I wasn’t good. I couldn’t putt. The course was so soggy and smushy and awful, when you hit, the divot was twice as heavy as normal. I hit a ball in a low area by a stream. Needless to say, it was my second hole and I played the remainder of the round with wet, soggy socks. It’s after 8pm and they’re still wet! That’s how wet it was.

Makes it very difficult to get a good stance as well. You want to find one that keeps you on the driest land possible and that was most difficult on several holes today.

I also had such fun at the beach…but I must say that every time, except once, I got out in one swing. Today I was determined to get out. It’s normally hard to get out for us hackers and duffers, but when the sand is do wet, it’s hard to grab the sand so the ball will come up with it. You usually end up with too much sand and dirt. It’s all in the game.

I played with one gal I played with last week and another friend. We had a great day and it was a beautiful day for golf. We finished just in time. Black, ugly clouds were rolling in and big drops started falling as I was driving home. Then, the heavens opened up. It didn’t last long, but it was nasty.

We had no one behind us but we caught up with the foursome in front of us. We had to wait for them on every hole. The marshall told them to pick up the pace, which they did, but there were only 3 of us, so we played pretty fast. Life on the golf course!

Since my playing partner for Friday finked out, I cancelled my tee time. No reason to be a fool about this. I’m playing in a tournament next week so I don’t want to be too pooped to pedal. Last time I played this course we’re playing on, it was cold, about 35mph winds and it was before the shot in my back…so I played horribly. It’s a long course and I want to give it my best shot to play it well.

If you’re afraid a full shot might reach the green while the foursome ahead of you is still putting out, you have two options: You can immediately shank a lay-up or you can wait until the green is clear and top a ball halfway there.

Oh yes…lost two more. I think I’ve lost more golf balls this season than I’ve bought. Hmmmmmm…that means I have no more….but alas, I do.

Had another intersting round today. We were supposed to play 9 but when I got to the club, the ladies had decided to play 18. Had I known, I would have eaten something, turned off the computer, taken a nap…oy! So we played 18. The rain I did the rain dance for didn’t work. I have so much work to do….so…

We had a wonderful time. The ladies are great fun and my friend from here is a delight to play with as well. We really had a wonderful time, but it didn’t make my workload any lighter.

I played fair to parly clousy. I had several cases of the stupids, so I managed to mangle another possibly good round. I won’t use the excuse I was exhausted from all the walking I did yesterday, but I was tired. I still hit the ball OK, but I was tired.

And the good news is I get to do it again tomorrow, if the weather holds. We got a hellatious storm earlier this evening…so if it’s cart path only again, I’ll have to beg off. I can’t do it.

If I don’t play, at least I won’t lose any more balls

No matter how bad you are playing, it is always possible to play worse.

Three words I dread more than “It’s Still Your Turn!” Just thinking about it exhausts me!!

We had 3″ of rain over the weekend. I knew I’d be walking all over the place today…and I did. Do you think I could keep the ball close to the cart path? Me?  NEVER!! I was all over the place and getting more and more tired as the round went on.

I keep telling myself the walking is good for me…and it is, but boy, when your back, hips and knees hurt, all that walking doesn’t seem beneficial! And to add insult to injury, I didn’t have my pedometer on the correct place on my belt so I didn’t get a true accounting of how far I’d walked. I was averaging about 5 1/2 miles a round (and that’s with taking the cart all over the course. You could add another two or three miles to that when you can’t take the cart.

I tried walking 9 holes at the beginning of the season. I’m so out of shape, I couldn’t catch my breath. I had no idea the front nine was all uphill. Seemed like I was pushing that cart up hills all the time…never down. That lasted for 6 holes when the gal I was playing with thought I might die (I didn’t feel I was in imminent danger of doing do, but I sure did sound like it), so she went and got the car and we quit. It was OK with me…I was exhausted.

Anyway…I did have a bright spot. I birdied 11. The 11th hole and I have not been friends for a very long time. It’s my least favorite hole on the course. It’s a long par 3 and it seemed no matter what club I used, I couldn’t get the damn ball on the green. I’d either be in the hills on the right of the green or in the left side bunker. On the rare occasion I hit the ball straight, it’d land in the throat on the fairway.

Today, I had a sweet shot. First time in probably over a year I had a sweet shot on that hole. It was a bit far…left myself with about a 10 or 12 foot putt. From somewhere, I managed to put the ball right in the center of the jar!! It was sweet!! It was also my only bright spot…but that’s OK.

What wasn’t OK was all the time I spent in the sand. For every lovely shot I had, most landed in a bunker. I got a lot of practice playing at the beach. It’s always a challenge. I have to get better at it, but it wasn’t awful!!

It was a beautiful day, I played with a good friend (only the two of us today) and I was on the golf course and not behind the computer…so life is good and I’ll try again Wednesday to excel!! Playing 9 hole tomorrow, but that’s a warm up for me.

Of course the Mets crapped out. They were tied yesterday for the wild card with the Brewers. All they had to do was win yesterday…the final game at Shea Stadium. The last game to be played there after 44 years. I was there at the second game ever played in that stadium….but couldn’t get up to New York to see it one more time So….how did they honor that beloved ball park? They blew it and lost the final game ever to be played there. Milwaukee is the wild card. They should have done it! They should have won! But, again they slid off into the night, but not gently!

Well, there’s always next year!

Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe.

We started on 18 today. That’s a short par 3. I parred it!! Whoda thunk!! Then, on to hole #1. I parred it!! I thought I was on a roll…NOT!! Forget what I did on #2.

Bottom line…I didn’t dig too big a hole for myself. I ended up with a decent score. Still got several cases of the stupids. Sometimes I’m just not sure what I’m doing wrong. Other times, I know and can correct. At leaast I partially came back and got a fair score. I need to get better…I’m playing in a tourney on the 8th.

So…if we don’t get rained out by the upcoming Nor’easter, I try again Friday. Chances are though, we;ll get rained out. they’re calling for an 80% chance…that doesn’t bode well. Plus, it’s supposed to rain tomorrow as well, so it may be too wet to even think about going out. Time will tell.

The Mets just aren’t going to do it! I’m sad they won’t win the division. They should be the wild card team, but they should have won the division again this year. Another crash and burn. This is getting depressing. That and the fact that Sunday’s game will be the last ever for my beloved Shea Stadium. I attended the second game ever played there. I’m going to try to get tickets for the second game at the new ballpart - Citi Stadium. What a stupid, dumbass name that is. Corporate hackney suits owning a ball park. I HATE that!! The new Yankee ballpark will still be Yankee Stadium (don’t even get me started on them tearing down Yankee Stadium, even though I’m not a Yankee fan, I am a Noo Yawker). So why can’t the new Mets ballpark still be Shea? If I were Queen for a Day!!

Since bad shots come in groups of three, a fourth bad shot is actually the beginning of the next group of three.

Oh my…started off with a bang. Started throwing clubs and aggravating myself. Does that tell you how I started?

Then, I got a new attitude and just played the game and quit trying to be super girl!! I got better. That’s not saying I still didn’t screw up, but I started settling down and playing better.

I ended the round with 2 pars (in a row…who’da thunk??) and a bogey. Now…why can’t I do that all the time? That was a total rhetorical question which I won’t even try to answer…it’s golf. That’s all that needs to be said!!

When you look up, causing an awful shot, you will always look down again at exactly the moment when you ought to start watching the ball if you ever want to see it again.

I’ve given up on the Mets…I love them to death but they’ve broken my heart again this year. Talk about choking!! They will probably be the Wild Card in the National League, but unless they get their act together, they won’t last very long! I’m sad…very sad.

Oy Vay I did awful today. I kept asking myself why I even got out of bed.

I thnk I’m really tired…not sure why but I just can’t seem to muster the energy to do well. It’s an effort to hit the ball and it’s definitely not going as far as it used to. I’ve probably lost 40+ yards on my drives alone.

So why am I doing this? Sure, I love the game, but I hate not playing it well. It’s so frustrating.

I’m not playing again until Monday. Maybe by then I will have rested up and I’ll feel spunky and ready to attack the course with a vengence. Or, I’ll still be tired and play like an old poop again!

Time will tell!!

If you really want to get better at golf, go back and take it up at a much earlier age.

Crash and Burn time again. They’re breaking my heart!! 1/2 game out of first, losing to the Nats!! They better win tonight and especially tomorrow! I don’t want to go all the way into DC to see them lose. BWAAAAAAA!!

I think today I was just tired. My shots didn’t go anywhere and I felt, well, tired! I just don’t bounce back the way I used to in my 20’s. Darn!!

We played at another course because they were having a tournament here and I didn’t want to play 18 at 3:00 - nor did anyone else. Then two of my foursome dropped out so two of us played. We were behind a twosome of guys but the foursome in front of them, who were tediously slow, let them pass. Would they let us? Never!! Let two women play through a foursome of men? Never happen in a gazillion years.

They stopped at the club after nine to use the facilities. They were drinking beer at 9:00 in the morning…so they had to go. We didn’t, so we were able to get on the 10th tee before them. They were way behind us and we probably would have quit (which wouldn’t have necessarily been a bad thing) had we not gotten in front. We did a lot of sitting and waiting for them to find balls.

Not that we didn’t have to look for balls as well. I lost 5 I only found 1

This course is a links course. The front nine has you crossing a creek back and forth from hole 5 to 9. Of course there are all kinds of things growing in front of the water to make it difficult.

The back nine is totally different. There is water but you should be able to avoid it…yeah right!! But the creek is gone, so it’s mostly long fairways.

The course was in the best condition I’ve ever seen it…for a public course. Regardless, it was fun and we enjoyed ourselves.

There are two kinds of bounces: Unfair bounces, and bounces just the way you meant to play it.

The Mets are a game in first place. They’re in town this week to play the Nats. I’m going to see them Thursday and it’s supposed to be a beautiful day. Can’t wait!!

I only played 9 holes today. Played with a friend whose husband can only play 9 due to physical limitations. That was fine with me. We played at 3pm, the temp was about 94 with a gazillion percent humidity! It felt like the middle of July. Today is even uglier, so I’m glad we did it yesterday.

There was a tournament in the morning (that I wanted to play in, but glad I didn’t try to do both). That was why we went out so late. I’m not an afternoon player. By mid-afternoon, I’m ready of a nap, not a round of golf.

So who knew I’d play so well. I did get a case of the stupids on one hole (as I usually do), but I still managed to pull out a decent score - for me. All my other scores were bogeys or doubles, except for the last hole - I managed to par it.

I also managed to get into my fair share of bunkers. I decided, however, not to get stuck in them, so I go out on all of them and didn’t hang on any edges. This made me happy…and I hope I can remember it next time I’m unfortunate enough to get into one!

We played the back nine, which was nice for the usual 9 hole players as they don’t get to play it that often. With the morning tourney, the course wasn’t that busy, so they let us go out there. It felt like we had the course to ourselves, which is always a wonderful thing.

Tomorrow, it’s back to reality.

The Mets lost 2 to the Braves and the Phillies beat the Brewers. Looks like we’re only 1 game in first place. This is not good. The Mets had a great comeback from losing the first game of a double-header yesterday(they were rained out Fridays as were the Phillies). But they’re 3 runs down in the bottom of the 9th. Of course, I know they can score 4, but will they? Nope…they lost 7-4

It’s not a gimme if you’re still away.