Another overdue update

Been a long time again, main reason I haven't posted is I've been fighting it really bad. I haven't played very well for a while, really poor contact, and I've been struggling mightily to score well. I've also been fighting an over the top pull move, been really hard to shake it. I've been having weekly lessons with Jeff and I am finally starting to see some improvement. Here's an update from just today. Here we go!

Played Las Colinas again, ended up playing the front twice so we could get it all in. Started on #1, 555 from the way back tee, but they were up about 20 yards today. Great tee shot down the middle, left me with 205 in, pin was way up front and I hit a dead straight 4 iron, no cut, just short of pin high left, pitch shot died in the fringe and I missed the 8 footer but made an easy par. Bombed it on #2, 373 yard par 4, probably playing 350 or so today. Had about 30 yards in (tee shot landed on a downslope, so not all me unfortunately). Pin is in between 2 swales, ended up about 8 feet behind the hole, chickened out and left it short, easy 4. 403 yard par 4 third, hit a bit of a hook and got a good hard bounce, in the left rough but only about 80 yards to the back left pin, I actually hit a 6 yard cut with a 3/4 SW (that's pretty tough to do, and no, it wasn't intentional), hit and spun right, about 15 feet away. Missed that putt for another easy 4. 444 yard par four 4th (that's a lot of fours). Blocked the tee shot a bit, had 155 left to the front right pin, into a breeze so I hit 6 iron, pulled it and hit the backside of a hump on the left side of the green, bounced over the path, ended up about 15 yards left and long. Hit a GREAT pitch to about 4 feet and missed it. I guess there really were too many fours on that hole.

Number 5 is a 532 yard par 5, hit what felt like a whimpy tee shot, but ended up 212 yards to the center. Hit my new 19 degree hybrid a bit heavy, landed middle left of the green and bounced into the fringe. Chipped that to about 2 feet and made birdie to get back to even. Sixth is a 186 yard par 3, playing only 167 to the hole, hit a hard 7 and pulled it, pin high left in the fringe. Hit the first putt up the hill and left it about five feet short, and missed the par putt. Gave it right back. Number 7 is a 339 yard driveable par 4 that I have never driven. Why I hit driver here I'll never understand, but I hit driver, about 15 yards short of the green, pin is right in front, slopes severely away from you, of course I end up 20 feet past. Missed the putt low but made par. Eighth is playing 181 yards, hit a pulled 5 iron pin high left, great pitch shot to 3 feet and made it for par. Number 9 is a 380 yard par 4, huge fairway, just licking my chops, and hit it dead in the heel. Stopped just short of the left fairway bunker, 120 yards left to the back left pin, took about 14 pounds of dirt with the fattest wedge ever, somehow made it into the middle of the green, two putt par.

We teed off on 10 back into the first fairway, had about exactly the same yardage in as before, so I hit 4 iron again. Not real solid, ended up just short in the fringe. Very bold with the chip shot and ran it past the hole into the fringe about 6 feet away, but made the putt for birdie to get back to even. Back on #2 again, wanted to hit this one extra hard, pull hooked it, got a really good bounce and ended up 80 yards away. If I'd have been 3" left of where I ended up I wouldn't have had a backswing due to the tree there, but as luck would have it, I was fine. I hit it 81 yards in the air, and got zero spin, ball kept running to the back part of the green. Hit the first putt and it immediately started hopping, you could hear it hitting the rocks and dirt on the green that I didn't see previously, about 5 feet short. To say my par putt was a pathetic attempt would be too kind, 3 putt bogey, gave it right back again.

Hit the middle of the fairway on #3 this time, and ended up in a 2" deep divot (you know, they give you sand to fill in your divots right?). 121 yards to the back left pin, pulled a 9 iron knowing I'd have to just punch it, but got a little too steep with it and ended up short. Hit a great pitch to about 2 feet and made it for par. Here's #4 again 444 yards, I decide I'm going to cut the corner, and I did, left myself 105 yards to the middle. Now, when I say "cut the corner" I didn't picture hitting a smothered hook that somehow missed all the trees and left me in the middle of the fairway, but I'll take it. A bit uphill and a little breeze, so I chose GW, and hit it like shit. But all is not lost folks, somehow that horrible feeling GW ended up 6 feet left of the hole, will wonders never cease. Downhill left to right, hit it just outside the left edge and it never moved. Amazing. No matter, par 5 coming up...

Hit another of basically the same tee shots on the par 5 fifth again, didn't feel all that good, but my ball ended up within 2 feet of where it was the first time around. This time I hit my hybrid perfectly on line, even though there was a good chance it would go over. As it turns out, the ball landed 8" right of the cup, on a downslope, and I end up in this barren, dirt patch over the green. Somehow I got that heavy and left it about 12 feet short. I really wanted this putt and had a muscle spasm (not good timing) and blew it 8 feet by the hole. I was too busy laughing at that poor attempt and never even really tried to make this ridiculous downhill right to left par putt. I of course immediately started to care after I made bogey to go 2 over now. Yay me. Ass. Hit 7 iron again on six, big sweeping hook this time instead of a pull, ended up in nearly the identical spot. Only came up 3 feet short this time (ass), but made the putt for par. Ok, back to #7, remember when I said I can't remember why I hit driver here? Well fool me once...you know the drill. I'm no dummy. So I hit driver again...no, I can't explain why, and put it about 10 yards short this time. Guess where my pitch shot ended up? Yep, 20 feet past the hole, missed it low, tap in par. This is getting repetitive.

I should have mentioned that by now the two of us had caught up to a single (yep, that's right) on #7. He took his sweet time filling in his divot, putting, putting the flagstick away. Ok, he's not used to seeing other people out here this late, he'll get it in gear. So we get to the 8th tee (17 for the day) and Mr. PGA (who had just gone off the tips mind you) was about 60 yards short of the green (par 3, 181 yards). He's plumb bobbing from 60 yards short, behind a tree. Surely this can't be real. After what seems like an eternity, he puts it 20 yards right of the green. From 60 yards. After plumb bobbing it. Ahem. Ok, well we're waiting now, so he'll kick it in gear. Yeah, not so much. Same drill, plumb bob, practice swing, step back to make sure he's lined up, plumb bob it again, then he goes back to the cart to get a different club. There is a twosome behind you, and you are switching clubs after a 90 second pre-shot routine and you are lying 3 on a par 3. Move it dude. So, new club, pre-shot routine again, he misses the green. From 20 yards. After missing it from 60. So he pulls the cart to his ball (about 15 yards from where he was) and goes through the whole damn routine again. Chip shot from 5 yards off the back of the green, survey says...short. So let's see, missed the green from 181, 60, 20 and 5. You have a twosome waiting for no bullshit, 5 minutes for you to play this hole, and it's getting dark. Time to pick up? No. Ben Crenshaw himself has never gathered as much information on a putt that this man is gathering. I'll spare you the details of this pre-shot routine, and the two additional ones that accompanied his 3 putt, and just tell you that he made, let me count...7 on the par 3, with no water, no bunkers, no penalty shots, just raw talent, from the tips, with a group waiting behind him the entire time. Bitter, party of 1, your table is ready...

Ok, so after waiting for at least 8 minutes on a single, I hit a fat 5 iron (yay me again!) that somehow, inexplicably ends up 8 feet left of the hole. Mmmmkay. Left it dead in the heart short, totally my fault. You see, just before I was going to pull the putter back, I thought I should step back and plumb bob it just to piss off my friend, but I kept it inside and laughed and smiled and forgot to hit it. 8 footer for birdie short? Yeah, a little pathetic. Get to #9, last hole, I'm going to bomb it. Nope, hit it in the heel again, this time into the right rough. 125 yards to the back right hole, over a bunker, no problem, I'll hit it fatter than I did from the left side and leave it just short of the bunker. Words cannot describe...so the pin is back right, I've got 8 feet of green to work with and a bunker between me and the hole. As I walk up I notice a small hump to the right of the hole, and figure that's a good spot to land it into to stop it. Hit a nifty little pitch right into that hump, one hop and stop, then just trickles out to the hole, ends up 8" away for a tidy closing par.

2 over 74 on the day, nothing exciting but no big numbers either. Finally hitting the ball out of my own shadow, which felt really good. I've got some impact position and swing path issues to work on in order to get the ball started on line properly and finally get rid of this pull. I'm going to practice for 4 hours or so tomorrow, no playing tomorrow at all. I'll see if I can get out Sunday. Not pleased with the score overall as I just give every damn birdie right back, but it's a hell of a lot better than I've been playing. One other note, the last couple of days I've actually gotten the slightest bit of soreness in my right shoulder, which for anyone who missed it, I just had surgery on back in September. We'll see how that goes, especially after a good practice session tomorrow. I have an appointment with my surgeon in April for a follow up, so I'll be able to get an x-ray and some face time with him to discuss. Until next time!

Played 9 holes, where did this come from?

So as I said last time, I'm done waiting. Hell, I'm only 8 days away from my follow up visit to the surgeon again (should be the last one). He stated that by this visit I should be back 100%. I've been practicing pretty hard and have had several lessons with Jeff in the past few weeks. Met up with a friend of mine and his son this past Sunday and played the back nine in the cold ass rain, here we go! (Been waiting a looooong time to say that again!)

Started out on #10, 426 yard dogleg right par 4 and SNAP HOOK, hit the downslope and made it into the lake at the corner. Crapola, welcome back. Took a drop and hit fat 4 iron about 10 yards short. Pitched it into the bank and instead of a one hop and stop it took 3, left me about 6 feet left to right down the hill for bogey, which I made. Nice bogey dude, wow. #11 is a 188 yard par 3, pin all the way back, hit 4 iron to the middle left of the green, hit the first putt down the hill, down down down down, about 8 feet by. Nice read, canned that for par. Interesting.

#12 is a 541 yard par 5, tee was up a bit though, hit a great tee shot down the right side into what is normally a chute that runs down the hill but with the wet conditions, it went nowhere. I'm right at 245 to the middle stick and promptly fatted a 3 wood about 25 yards short, on fire. There's a big backstop behind the stick as it's on the bottom of the 2 tiers, so I think "I should skid this in there and run it back down the slope" and I'll be damned if I didn't pull it off. Made the 3 footer for birdie, back to even after 3 holes. Thirteen is a 396 yard par 4 that never plays that far, and I just got a 19 degree Titleist hybrid for Christmas, pured that thing to the left side of the fairway, leaving myself 117 yards to the front pin. Since I just got the hybrid, I had to pull a club out, which of course was my gap wedge, which would have been perfect here. I decide on a little punch wedge but pulled it up on top of the slope left of the green. Now I've got a ridiculous downhiller through 4 feet of fringe to a pin cut what looks like 6 inches on, on a slope that is tilted about 20 degrees, crazy pin. Hit that 8 feet by, couldn't really expect any better for short siding myself, canned that one for par too.

14 is playing 151 yards to the stick, just over the bunker. I nearly whiffed a fatted 8 iron (in the cold too, that HURT), ended up pin high left, about 12 feet below the surface of the green, about 5 feet of green to work with. Hit a nifty pitch that landed in the fringe and ran out to 2 inches short, dead in the heart. I thought for sure that was in. Wow. 15 is a 535 yard par 5, again the tee is up a bit, good tee shot down the left side, but ended up in the left rough on a downslope. I have 210 in with a nasty lie, hey that's what they make hybrids for right? Didn't hit it all that well, but you really can't hit a bad shot with a hybrid, it hooked back into the fairway and when I got to the green I see I made it on the front, about 30 feet short. Missed the eagle putt (on the high side mind you) by no more than 3 inches, birdie to get to 1 under.

Blocked my tee shot on the 390 yard 16th into some trees and rough, but plenty of room to get out. I'm left with 110 yards (hey, great shot for a GW no? dammit...), it's a bit downwind so I pull SW, but no, leave it about 30 feet short. How this putt missed I have no idea, just turned right at the last possible second, tap in par. 17 is playing 151 yards (just like 14) so I decide to hit a better 8 iron. Well, it wasn't fat. Way out on the toe, comes up about 8 yards short left, hit what I thought was a too soft pitch but it bounced hard out of the fringe somehow and ended up about 8 feet past the hole. I surveyed the putt over and over and played it left edge, ended up 18 inches right of the hole, great read jackass, back to even.

18 is a 420 yard par 4, HUGE tree in the middle of the fairway, pin is left so I take the right alley and busted it good. Left me with 114 yards to the pin (anyone seen my GW? Oh yeah, it's in the trunk of my car...) so I decide on another little cutesie wedge, which I fatted to about 5 yards short of the green. Well, I've been chipping and pitching good during my practice sessions, so let's make good use of it. Pretty straightforward shot and hit it clean, viola, chipped it in for birdie, back to 1 under. Will wonders never cease?

We turn to go back down the front but there's quite a few players out and it's backed up so we call it a day. It's sort of official from a USGA standpoint as the 9 hole score counts, but most of all it was me back out on a golf course again. Pretty damn happy about getting the first tee shot wet and still keeping it all together. Just a friendly round but I was surprisingly calm throughout the day, never worried about making a put, hitting it offline, not scared of trouble / OB, just "played" and it felt great. It's great to be back!

Final pre-surgery round recap

I guess I never got around to documenting this out. I played with some good friends of mine on 8/31 for the last round of golf that I got to play before the shoulder surgery. Since it was special we splurged and went to Troon North, an extremely nice track up in North Scottsdale. We played the Pinnacle Course from the back, a rating of 73.0 and a slope of 147! Pretty good stats from back there. Here we go!

As a condition of playing, one of my friends insisted that I not speak at all about how badly my shoulder hurt cause he didn't want to listen to me bitch. So I hand him my ball and tee on the first box and ask him to tee it up for me as my shoulder hurts, ZING, right off the bat. Going to be a long day. #1 is 392 yard, driver up the left leaving me 126 to the back left hole, PW to the dead center of the green and left the first putt about 5 feet short, missed it but I was still talking shit to the boys, yeah maybe we should try concentrating now. #2 is 405 yards, driver up the left side, I backed it up about 18" in the fairway, hmmm, you know some roll might be nice next time. 8 iron about 20 feet short up the hill, KILLED the putt about 8 feet by, I guess we didn't feel like leaving any more short, but I center cut it for par, that felt good.

#3 is a 468 yard par 4, into the breeze and I hit it decent, but it upshot into the wind, and I backed it up about 12" this time in the fairway. 206 in, fanned a 3 iron into the bunker and failed to get it up and down. #4 is a 416 yard par 4 (getting sick of par 4's already), decent tee shot into the middle of the fairway, got about 3" of roll, thought I hit a perfect 8 iron all over the stick, but it kept climbing. Somehow it cleared the bunker and ended up about 9' away, but alas we didn't capitalize and made 4. The 5th hole is named Dos Caminos, or as I explained, Two Caminos (yeah, I'm bilingual), 541 yard par 4, not a great tee shot up the left, 260 or so in and hit a smooth fat 3 wood to about 70 yards, joy. Hit a great held off SW exactly 70 yards, and 15 yards right, 2 putt par. 206 yard par 3 6th, downhill and double crossed a 5 iron into the front left bunker, out to about 10 feet and missed the putt. Nice bunker shot jackass, 10 feet, wow Seve would be impressed, no?

7th is a 456 yard par 4, decent tee shot that again backed up about 18", 210 yards in with a huge bunker in front, hit a cut 3 iron that started at the stick, oops. Apparently I had plenty of club as when we arrived the pin was in the back left and somehow I was pin high about 12' right of the hole, but we missed it and made a solid 4. 8th is a 190 yard par 3, back into the breeze and a bit uphill, I settled on 5 and upshot it, short right but hit a great chip to about 2 feet and made par. 9 is a 404 yard par 4 by the card, I don't remember the hole other than I hit the fairway and made 4. 10th is a very appealing hole, 288 to the row of fairway bunkers and the fairway is HUGE. I'm pretty sure I want to bust one and reach the traps as I've been hitting it all on the fly all day with no roll, so we teed it up high and nearly fagged the driver, must have gone 200' up in the air, leaving me 205 yards in on this 407 yard hole, awesome. Uphill, hit a perfect 3 iron that one hopped stopped in the fringe, 15 feet below the hole, putt just died short.

11 is a 539 yard par 5, dogleg right, downhill, just screaming "come take me". We learned our lesson on the last hole and made solid contact, smashed the tee shot, never cut but it was bombed. Get to the ball and the fucker backed up 18" again. This is really getting old. So now I've got 270 in with a wash 20 yards short of the green, we elect to lay up to 125 and hit PW to 10 feet, not bad but not stony either. Miss the putt and settle for par, a bit of a letdown after how I felt after hitting the tee shot. 12 is a 416 yard par 4, great tee shot, dead stop in the fairway (ok, maybe 2" of roll), a fatted 9 iron that I tried to stand on to get it there, pathetic pitch and missed the putt for 5. 13 is a 177 yard par 3, back into the breeze and uphill, learned my lesson last time and hit 5, pulled it right through the wind, I'm on by about a foot back left, pin dead center, just missed it and made 3 the proper way.

14, wow, 609 yard par 5, good tee shot, nearly plugged in the fairway (who me, want some roll on a 609 yard hole? Nah), perfect 3 wood (that DID plug in the fairway) and a pathetic attempt at a 9 iron that ended up short, uneventful up and down for 5, but another 5. I can't remember 15, hit the fairway, that much I know, I made a par, that's all I can remember. 16 is a 140 yard par 3 over water, which is not in play. [Rant]Let me take a moment to digress, we live in the desert, stop making big ass lakes that aren't in play just so you can say you have X number of holes with water. If it's part of a water treatment solution like say, Ocotillo golf course, then fine, but just because you need a signature hole, doesn't mean you need to use water. [/Rant] OK, so perfect 9 iron to 4 feet and FINALLY made birdie, only took 16 holes. Walking up to the 17th tee, it dawns on me that I haven't missed a fairway all day, hit every one so far. "Ok, stop thinking about that" I say to myself, then I change my mind "No man, you've hit every fairway and you're going to hit the last 2. No fear, no tentative swings, you've done it 12 times in a row, 2 more is easy". Free wheeled it and split the fairway, 441 yard par 4 17th. Unfortunately it AGAIN stopped dead in the fairway, 185 yards left, pin is middle right, over cut it just a tad and hit it a bit too hard, about 30 feet behind the hole, great putt that somehow stayed out, great putt.

18, last hole for 4-5 months. I've been dreading this all day. I want to keep playing, I want to call in sick to work all week and play every day. It's been a ton of fun all day, my friends and I just killing each other with put downs all day, literally one of the best times I've ever had on a golf course. The only thing that I would wish for is a closing birdie. Something to sit back on and that just in case something went horribly wrong and I could never play again, I'd always be able to say "I birdied the last hole of golf I ever played". And what do the Gods give me? A 447 yard par4 into the wind with desert / ob left, thanks boys, love you too. One more fairway, freewheeled it, never a doubt, split it again, 14 of 14 fairways. Oh, and I backed that one up too, I'm left with 195 yards into a slight breeze, I pull 4 iron and nutted it, big high draw that one hopped and stopped, leaving me an uphill left to right 12 footer for the closing birdie I've been dreaming of. Struck the putt perfectly and missed it by 1/4", but I hit it perfectly, enough speed, enough break, just didn't go in. Ah well. Finished with 2 perfect swings and a perfect stroke, sometimes that's all you can do.

3 over on the front, even on the back for a 74, 1 over the course rating. Hitting every fairway was special, not by a little, there was never a doubt on any of the tee shots. Our group lost a few balls, pretty much when you miss a fairway here, it's gone, 5-10' drop offs into the desert and some really gnarly brush, it's visually intimidating for sure. The highest slope rating I've heard of is 154 (there might be higher on ridiculously tricked up tracks) and let me tell you, 147 is no cakewalk. That's a really good course, but fuck me do I wish I had made birdie on the last hole.

US Open Qualifier tomorrow

Played another practice round today for the Open Qualifier on 5/7. Shot 75 today in what was probably 40 MPH winds, so 3 over with a double on 14 after rope hooking it into a bush. Looking at the golf course and the conditions, I'd take 75 right now and take my chances. Played with a guy from the Nationwide Tour in today's round and had a pretty good time. I'm whipped now, going to bed early. Wish me luck tomorrow!

Intro to Rob Brauer - Friendly Round

I met a guy named Rob Brauer at the Phoenix City Amateur a couple of weeks ago and we hooked up to play some golf this past weekend. He is pursuing this in nearly the identical way as I am, check out his website when you have a chance - www.robbrauer.com. We played at LoneTree down by my house as he has a tournament coming up there in the next few months and the golf course where he'll be making his professional debut this weekend was booked for a scramble. Good luck Rob!

We start off on 1 with a fairly decent tee shot, and a pretty thin and weak 4 iron short and right of the green. Thinned the pitch a bit to about a foot, ahem, yeah I meant to do that. #2 is playing right at 190 or so, hit a 5 iron that felt like it just mushed off the face but when we arrived at the green I was about 12 feet just below pin high, putt broke more than I could stomach so we left that one even as well. Third hole is a good dogleg left, as I told Rob, you almost can't hit it too far left. We both hit driver well to the center, I tried to get cute with a knockdown 8 instead of a 9 and left it short. Chipped about 6 feet left and failed to make it. Fourth hole is nearly driveable in the right conditions, at 370 yards on the card it doesn't seem that way, but with a little wind you can almost get there. I always hit driver here, as does everyone else, you just can't be in too bad of shape. My first bout with a lack of concentration and I leave the pitch short, dead, 15 feet below the green, I stab it up to about 25 feet and two putt for another bogey.

The fifth is a good par 5, don't remember the yardage, 550+ I do know, the wind has turned a bit and we hit driver pretty good here. Blocked the 3 wood pin high right, hit the chip a bit too far right (I guess to avoid the bunker. On a chip shot. Yes. That just happened). Straight downhill, hit the putt hard and missed and walked away with a disappointing 5. Sixth hole is about 340 yards, bunker about 290 yards out on the right, I always hit driver just short of it, and I did again. 3 inches short of it, in a divot. Now I've got about 50 yards in, 1/3 of the ball down in this divot, I announce that I don't think I can hit it hard enough to get out of the divot and still stop it on the green. I advanced the ball, and this is where it gets touchy, I say 8 feet. Rob swears up and down it was 6 feet (just read his blog, yeah he claims "I'll take 6 feet to my grave"). That dude needs glasses, clearly it was at least 8 feet. I mean come on, 6 feet? What am I a chop? Obviously I can do better than that, puh-leeze. So anyway, I'm 8 FEET CLOSER to the green, in the bunker, hit a shot that just fizzled out about 10 yards short, chip to 3 1/2 feet and make bogey. NOTE - Not a double like Rob claimed. So he can't add, and he says only 6 feet? I call shenanigans on this one.

7 is about 470 yards into the wind, hit a pathetic tee shot, right up the gut. Sill have I believe 200 yards or so in. Hit a cut 3 iron into the bunker and failed to get up and down. 8 is playing 190 yards, into the wind, which is starting to back off a bit. Hit a good 4 iron that landed 1 foot left of the cup and settled 6 feet behind the hole in the fringe, which we canned for a 2. Ninth is a par 5, perfect time to hit a heeled cutter into the left side of the fairway. Ah no matter, I always try for the same shot here anyway, 90 degree dogleg left par 5, I put it 20 yards short and right of the green, up and down for back to back birdies. This game is easy. Hit the tee shot a bit farther right than I wanted to on 10 back into the wind, but pretty damn solid. We get out there to see that I'm 170 yards out. WTF? 255 yards, literally 40+ yards behind Rob who's in the fairway bunker left. Well, at least I'm hitting fairways. Again, I can't line up properly on this hole and in another brush with the concentration vortex I fan 5 iron right of the green. The 40 footer breaks 10 feet left, I played for 6, missed the 6 footer coming back for bogey.

11 has a lake all the way down the right side, hit another heeled cutter into the center of the fairway, 95 yards away. Rob and I both just knocked down this flagstick, me 8 feet right, him 8 feet left. I believe that flag is still shaking it was so scared of how close we hit it. This putt broke a full 12 inches, just more than I dared to play. 12 is sort of an island green, more fringe than that of the 17th at Sawgrass, but 176 yards, more like 17 at PGA West, without the rocks. I hit a held off cut 7 iron about 10 feet left of the hole and left it short, you know, because we lag them from 10 feet. Right? 13 is playing dead downwind, tees are up, hit it great, probably 100 yards farther than the last time I played here (not because I'm huge, because the tees are up 50 yards and the wind is in the opposite direction). Hit GW from 110 yards to I believe the exact center of the green (pin back left), you know, to "protect par" as we were saying, and we did. 14th is an uphill par 3, playing 145 yards, wind howling into us, I get the measurement, settle on 7 iron, ready to pull the trigger, wind dies down. I switch back to 8, get back in, and fan it right of the green. All that waiting to hit that shot? Could I concentrate for more than 30 seconds? Please? Hit the chip like a putt (I only wish that was intentional) to about 3 feet and made it for par.

Blocked the tee shot on 15, another 470 yard par 4, lame duck 4 iron into the bunker and failed to convert that one and made bogey. Hit my 2 iron hybrid Mizuno thing I have off of 16 tee, real poor, yanked it left and picking up my tee in disgust yelled for it to get right. I looked up and I'm in the fairway. Weird bounce to say the least. Put a 6 yard cut on a GW from 110 yards (I'm just commentating here, don't ask me how), left the putt literally hanging on the lip for birdie from about 20 feet. Blocked the tee shot on 17 into the fairway bunker, 160 yards left. I hit a pretty clean 7 iron out of there and as it's in the air, I remember that we're playing into the wind. Seriously? Get your head out of your ass. So we're about 5 yards short, I try everything to make the chip, 6 feet by, miss the putt for par, another bogey. 18 is another 550+ yard par 5, cross wind from right to left. Toe'd my driver dead straight into the heart of the fairway, easily 260 yards of bonecrushing power (yes, that was sarcasm). 3 wood to 110 yards and GW to 30 feet, yep, that's right, 30 feet. Birdie putt broke probably 3 feet more than I could have imagined, but made it for a closing par. 39 - 38, 3 over each way for a 6 over par 77.

So all in all a really fun round, was great meeting Rob. I've been sick and miserable for the last couple of weeks, hopefully not miserable enough to make anyone have a bad time. I look forward to being able to concentrate for a period of time longer than a commercial about enlarged prostates (Note to the Golf Channel, not everybody who watches the Golf Channel is 80 years old and afflicted with every health problem known to man, mix it up a little). I believe Rob shot even par for the day, beating my no-concentrating chop ass by a full 6 shots. Guess who's getting strokes the next time out?

Hurricane fun round

I played last Friday with Mike at Rio Salado. The forecast was for 35+ mph winds, and Mother Nature did not disappoint. Wow was it windy! Rounds like these are what seperates the men from the boys right? Here we go!

As I said in the title, this was just a round of fun. What it turned into however was a lesson in patience and concentration. Playing in wind this strong requires constant commitment to your shot and nearly perfect execution. I hit what felt like a blocked cut tee shot just to hold it into the wind, which turned into a 25 yard hook. Ended up perfect, just a small little pitch about 8 feet above the hole. I hit what I thought was a light put, ran it about 6 feet by. Yikes. Made the putt. #2 is a 155 yard par 3, dead into the wind. I SMOKED a 5 iron, all over it. Ended up about 12 feet above the hole, a great shot if I do say so myself. Just tapped the ball, downhill downwind, 8 feet by. Made the putt. #3 is a short par 4, now the wind is dead off the right. I hit a really really really low 2 iron that ran forever. Short little pitch to about 5 feet. Just tapped the putt, great distance control, just too lame to have any chance to go in. Tap in par.

The fourth is a 160 yard par 3, just turned a bit downwind, I thought I'd hit a little punch 8 iron below the wind, I think I hit it perfect, just yanked it into the bunker. Blasted out to about 4 feet and missed it. Number 5 is a par 5, but really a par 4, short on the order of like 480-490 yards. Hit a pretty good tee shot and it just ran and ran and ran. Had about 130 yards in, but sitting on some nasty hard pan. I thought I'd hit a little punch, but I don't know what I actually did. At any rate, I ended up right of the green behind a palm tree, but on a sprinkler box. Free drop, good pitch to about 6 feet, and missed the putt, just never broke. Toe'd the driver on 6, but with the wind it just stayed dead straight. Thought I hit a good little pitch shot, but it hit hard and ended up about 25 feet above the hole. This green was hard and fast, my putt went by about 10 feet, but I made the comebacker, even after Mike had announced that I was surely going to 3 putt. He made his 6 foot comebacker as well and said he was thinking if he didn't make his, he wouldn't hear the end of it. You got that right my friend!

I tugged my dead downwind 9 iron on 7, but got a great bounce and was able to get up and down. #8 is a par 4 / par 3 combo. As a par 4 you have to play around a fence constructed to keep tee shots out of the DMV parking lot (city mandate). So we played it as a par 3, I hit the most disgusting 3 iron but ended up just past pin high left. Here's the fun part. As I'm at the top of the backswing of my pitch shot, I see a tumbleweed blowing across the green at me. In an instant I think "Is that a tumbleweed? Sure, it probably is, I mean we're in the desert and the wind is blowing super hard. Jeez, I hope I don't hit it into the actual tumbleweed", thunk, leave it short and up on top of the mound in front of the green. It was actually pretty funny and I'm not sure what I actually made. I think I just putted from the fringe (didn't make it) and either made the next one for bogey or missed it. I was too busy telling Mike what was going through my head and laughing. Let's call it a double to be safe I guess.

Hit a great tee shot on 9 leaving just a short pitch. I even called my shot, that I would leave it right of the hole even if it killed me. Wind howling from the right, bunker short left, hit it to about 5 feet and made the putt. So we turn back and play 1 again. First shot, I actually blocked into the wind hard enough to hit it into the desert. Ah hell, re-tee and try again. Hit this one good, but into the right rough. Hit SW over the tree to about 20 feet and made the putt. The wind is dying down a bit now, so I take 6 iron on #2 instead of the 5 iron I hit earlier. I just let up a bit on this one and put it just below pin high on the right side, about 20 feet away. Missed it low but a good par. I hit another 2 iron on #3, although not as good this time. Had 110 yards and hit a great GW to 5 feet and made it. Back on #4, 160 yard par 4, hit the punch 8 iron online this time, but it ended up over the back of the green, just dead behind this hump. I played about 6 feet of break on this 9 foot putt, nearly made it, but it raced about 8 feet by (literally was about as close as I could get it). Almost almost almost made it, but alas, I did not.

We packed up after that and headed out as the rest of the course was getting backed up. In all, I played pretty damn well for how windy it was. I usually hate playing in the wind, but we approached this with a really good attitude and had really good results for the conditions.

1st Round Under Par with new swing

A friend and I played a round at Bear Creek on the short course (Par 59, 5 - par 4's, 13 - par 3's) as golf in Arizona is expensive during the FBR Open and SuperBowl weekend. I'm not paying 5 times the rate just becase the snowbirds are here, cheapskate? Yep. It's a nice little course, and since par 3's have always been my nemesis, it's good practice. I birdied the last 2 holes to shoot a 2 under 57, which if nothing else, is just really cool to say. Geiberger? Duval? Only 59's. Maruyama? Only a 58. I'm clearly better than those guys. Who cares that I played half the yardage?! Ok, only kidding, I'm in a good mood though. Even though it's a short course, you still have to hit the shots. I started out with 11 straight pars before finally making a birdie on 12. I hit a lot of really good shots today, pretty happy with the swing progress. Here we go!

181 yard 1st hole, hit it fairly bad down into a swale short of the green, chip shot stopped quickly, made the 6 footer for par. Pulled it ot the far left side of the green on #2, pin was back left (of course). The putt broke well right, which I didn't see, made the 6 footer for par there as well. Hit a real good 4 iron on the 209 yard 3rd to 8 feet, and somehow missed it. Absolutely pured a 5 iron on the 4th right over the flag, solid 2 putt there. Pulled my 9 iron a bit on the 5th, but got a great bounce to about 8 feet, straight downhill. I must have been pretty scared because I hit the putt so timidly that I actually apologized to my buddy for how heartless that effort was.

Number 6 is a 75 yard par 3, and it's tricky. I literally don't think I've ever hit the green as it looks about 3 feet deep. My buddy gives me a yardage of 70, and I hit a beautiful Stan Utley inspired pitch shot, 25 feet past the hole, ugh. 2 putts down the hill for par, but a bummer nonetheless. Hit a toe hook on the first par 4, 357 yards. I had nearly the same shot here as the last hole, but hit it real high in the face of the wedge this time, and left it short. Dead spot too, the green is pretty elevated, pin right up front. I hit a perfect Stan Utley inspired chip to an inch for par. Toed an 8 iron on #8, 159 yards, but still got it almost to the hole, solid 2 putt for par. Number 9 is 300 yards even, and I absolutely ripped a driver about 220 yards. God what a lame swing, I was cursing myself pretty bad on that. Another similar pitch shot, but this came out really low, just bad execution. Hit a great chip shot just a few inches past for par.

Number 10 is another par 4, 353 yards, great tee shot, just a short little pitch to the green, left it short. I said to the guy I'm playing with "I really need to work on this pitch shot more". Putt from the fringe to a foot, good par. I hit my new Vokey SW on #11, only 81 yards, thought I hit it perfect, but it spun back down the hill about 25 feet away, good 2 putt for par though. For those keeping track, I've been 25 feet away on the 2 sub 100 yard par 3's. Yay wedge game.

I blocked my tee shot a bit on #12, 315 yard par 4, but it ended up kicking left, stopping just a few feet short of the green, and I nearly holed the putt from the fringe for eagle, but finally a birdie. Another well hit SW on the 103 yard par three 13th, but it landed and spun back to about 20 feet (Yay wedge game again), nearly made that putt too. I hit 6 iron on 14, 170 yards and toed it pretty bad. Pin was in back, and my ball landed nearly in the middle. I got a flash in my mind of "well don't three putt this" and what did I do? Man, the mind is a powerful influence isn't it? First bogey, I was really gunning for a bogey free round here. Swatted at a 9 iron on 15, 141 yards but playing a bit shorter, not short enough for my swing though. Another elevated green, pin right in front, hit the chip shot perfectly to about an inch for a solid par. Hit a blocked 5 iron at the 191 yard 16th, but it kicked off the hill and ended up just past pin high, 20 feet away. I hit the putt exactly like I wanted, but somehow it didn't break, tap in par. 2 holes left and we're even, a good spot, but I'm hitting it on line, fairly solid, and putting well, I don't want to be greedy, but we have goals here and not going for the throat of the golf course won't get it done.

286 yard par 4 17th, I ended up hitting a little cutter off the bunker, preparing myself for a chip and run as the pin is on the far left, but I get down there and see that I got a favorable bounce and actually ended up on the green. About 35 feet away, a bug flew right over my ball as I hit it which really screwed my attempt at it, however it worked out well. Ended up about hole high, 3 feet left of the hole, center cut for birdie from there. 18 is a 129 yard par 3, a good PW for me, but I swatted at this one too, just didn't get any compression on the ball. Result wise, ended up about 8 feet away, which I jarred for the closing birdie.

So all in all, contact is coming around, I'm hitting a few on the toe, but that is a direct result of me still wanting to attack the ball shallow instead of steep, which frankly won't happen overnight. When hit well, it's really well. My putting was pretty darn good as well again, as was my chipping. Pitch shots need a little more work obviously. Overall, the swing shape is great. I think I'm doing a good job of sticking to what Jeff and I are working on, and that is putting me in good position to be able to attack golf courses vs. defend my score. It's supposed to rain here tomorrow, so I'll probably just focus on working out unless we catch a break in the rain. I'm hoping for it as I'd love to go practice for a couple of hours tomorrow.

Friendly round - ASU Karsten

My boss invited me out to play with him and several of his friends this past weekend. We played at ASU Karsten where I'm taking lessons from Jeff Ritter. For those that haven't played there, it's a links style golf course where you rarely find an even lie, pretty nice track. The greens were a bit slow, but it was a relaxing round. Of the group of 8, I believe 3 of us broke 100, 2 of us just barely. Fortunately I made it by a bit more than barely, but a ho-hum round of 75 was a little lame. I won't bore anyone with the details of each hole as a couple of them were just "hurry up and hit it to get out of the way of the 7 groups behind us", so nothing stellar. Here are some highlights however...

* Hit the new G10 driver pretty well. Longest of the day was paced off at 320 yards on the par 5 17th. Shortest of the day was paced off at 270, a far cry better than the old 905S.

* Hit 7 iron into the par 5 17th to about 8 feet, the putt went in the left edge then spun out 90 degrees, sitting on the lip. Amazing it didn't go in for eagle.

* Poor 3 wood on the lake lined 18th left me 177 yards over the corner of the lake. I hit the most gorgeous towering 7 iron to about 8 feet there, then went brain dead on the putt when we were all joking around about how hung over some of the guys were. Ah well.

* Nutted a 3 iron from 215 yards out of a fairway bunker into the wind to just off the front edge of the green on the par 5 sixth. Made a nice par from 3 yards off the green. Ugh.

* Put the ball even with the back right edge of the green on the 295 yard par 4 2nd (pin was in front of course) into some of the densest weeds/rough I've ever seen. Chopped it out to about 10 feet and made the putt for a great 3.

* Finished with 3 solid pars in a row (played the back side first). Mini goal every time I play is to finish even or better on 16, 17 and 18.

That's it there. While it was fun to play and just relax, at the end of it all, I regretted not playing for a lofty goal. My mistake, but hey, I broke 100!

Fourth round with the new swing

Remember when I said I was on the verge of a breakthrough? Well I was 9 holes off in a sense as I shot 40/35 for another 75 in round 4 here. I caught myself on the turn feeling like I really didn't care, it was weird, I opened par, bogey, double and just kind of kicked back after that for the remainder of the front 9. Anyway, I'll take you through it and my thoughts so you know what I'm talking about.

Opened with a good drive and 7 iron, 2 putt par, then hit another one of those blocked cut pushed tee shots, luckily far enough right that I was actually in the other fairway. Hit it just in front, great chip to about 4 feet and missed it. Nothing new, I haven't parred that hole in 3 rounds now, hit a great tee shot on the par 5 third and just went brain dead on my 3 iron. I don't even remember looking at the ball before I took the club back, hit it thin and right and lost the ball. Ended up with a double, a full 3 shots higher than the previous round on the same hole. Maybe that's where I lost interest, 3 over after 3, I just started going through the motions. Then I made a par on #8, 230 yard par 3, nearly made the putt for 2, and I got interested again. I hit a be-a-utiful cut tee shot DEEP on #9, par 5, but still 265 to the middle, hit a 7 iron to 90 yards and then thinned a smooth SW over the back. Bummer. Hit a lame pitch to about 15 feet and thought for sure I made the putt, bogey, there's a 40. As I moped to the house to wet the towel and get a cold Diet Pepsi (because Ben Hogan's 2nd favorite drink was Diet Pepsi baby), that's when I caught myself just going through the motions. I knew I had a tough tee shot at 10 coming up (snap hooked it the last 2 rounds in a row) so I needed to get something going.

I talked myself into the fact that I was going to hit a good tee shot on 10 and started to get jazzed up. I wouldn't call it a "great" tee shot, but it was serviceable, and most importantly, in the middle of the fairway. Tugged the wedge to the left side of the green, standard 2 putt par. Hit wedge to the front hole location on #11 to about 12 feet and made the putt. Hmmm, ok. Hit a decent tee shot, nowhere near as deep as yesterday, then put 4 iron onto the front part of the green, about a 25 footer for eagle. Didn't hit the first putt bad, to about 3 feet, then yoked it, nice 3 putt par. Don't get down on yourself, keep going. Hit driver into the fairway bunker (from which I made birdie 2 rounds ago), 106 yards to the back edge, full SW out of there, caught it thin, put it up above the back of the green on a big hill. Hit a great chip shot to about 4 feet and made the putt.

Hit a solid 7 iron about 15 feet past the stick on 14, nearly made it, easy 3. Good tee shot on the par 5 15th, then hit a horrible smothered 3 iron (not having good luck with that club eh?). Decent pitch to about 6 feet and actually 3 putted from there for bogey. What just happened? Ok, keep going, back to even on the back side. Good tee shot, a little right on 16, hit a great GW that landed on the front, pin in back. Thought it was stoney, instead it's about 40 feet, great 2 putt there. Hit 5 iron to #17, about 12 feet, just missed on the high side. As I'm walking off 17, I realize I played the par 3's one under, a marked improvement over the last 2 rounds where I played them 5 over and 4 over respectively. Good tee shot, weak short approach with the upright 6 iron (more on that later). Hit the first putt from the fringe, about 6 feet by and buried the putt for par.

Out in 40, back in 35, another 75. I'm taking tomorrow off from hitting balls or playing, going to go hit some chips and putts at lunch and get ready for the weekend tournament. Round one is at 8:30 AM. Oh, almost forgot, they finally mowed the greens, and while certainly not fast, they were probably rolling about 9 - 9.5. Compared with about a 7 (I wish I was kidding) the last couple of rounds, I had quite a few more legitimate chances at birdie. Let's see, makeable putts...

#1 - 10 feet
#8 - 15 feet
#10 - 15 feet
#11 - 12 feet (made it)
#12 - 3 feet
#14 - 15 feet
#15 - 6 feet
#17 - 12 feet

So I converted 1 of 7 legitimate birdie putts. Yes, I think I will go hit some putts tomorrow.

Third round with the new swing

More of the same from yesterday, albeit with a much more comfortable feeling about where the ball was going, how far it was going, etc. I ended up one higher than the last round with a 76, but post round analysis and walking the scores, it's clear I played much better than that. Here we go...

Nearly chipped in for birdie on #1, 3 putted for bogey on #2 (God these greens are slow, you would think I would know that by now). Made a solid birdie on 3 and parred my way to #8 where I hit one of the ugliest smothered 3 irons in history. Nearly got it up and down, alas it was not to be. Hit a weak 3rd shot on the par 5 9th and made another par, out in 37, 1 over. I was 2 over at the turn in the last round, but ball striking and putting wise, it was a much "easier" round of golf to this point.

Then we get to #10, the threesome of 25 year old Abercrombie boys were walking around in circles in the fairway. Hoping they weren't going to hold us up, I kept my optimism. Unfortunately I was wrong, the cover boys had no intention of letting us through, and we waited on every shot for the entire back 9. Awesome. Here's a tip, if you are playing and there is a group behind you, and they are waiting on you, LET THEM PLAY THROUGH. Jesus tap dancing Christ this should be rule #1 that is drilled into your head when you get to any golf course. I don't mind slow play in slow conditions, when there are literally 2 holes open in front of you, I have no tolerance. If this has offended you in any way while reading this, then you are probably that guy, and I don't really care if you get pissed off. Go read a book on etiquette, not this blog.

Ahem, anyway, back to the topic at hand. Last round I snap hooked driver off of #10, so being the course management expert I am, I pull 3 wood this time, and snap hooked it. Pulled a 9 iron left of the green, but made a great up and down. Routine par on 11, then SMOKED a driver on the par 5 12th, had 8 iron in. Of course, if I knew I was going to hit it so fat, I'd have probably hit 7, ah well. Anyway, tentative chip to 6 feet, miss the putt (short again, slow ass greens). Par on 13, then come to #14. Par 3, water right, junk left. The 6 iron in this set of clubs I bought is at least 2 degrees more upright than the others, and I'm thinking this as I'm pulling the club back, while at the same time thinking about not blocking it into the water. I'm really shocked to report a pull hook, ok not really. Anyway, we find the ball in a 3 foot wide cement canal with dirt in the bottom of it. We looked high and low and found no OB stakes. So I'm 30 yards left, in a concrete canal, with water over the green. As I'm about to hit the shot, I bump the ball with the wedge and move it 1/2". Great. I replace it, and hit the most ridiculous, miraculous and beautiful shot out of the canal to about 8 feet, and miss the putt. Enjoy your double Paper Hogan.

Make 2 more pars, then get to 17, remember the catalog boys? Well they just pull away as we get to the tee on 17. As we're waiting for them to find their balls and play out, I notice that one guy is holding the flag, the other guy is standing next to him, and the 3rd guy is off the right side of the green just standing there. Weird, he just keeps standing there. He finally turns a bit and I can see that he's on his freaking cell phone. There comes a time in everyone's life when they realize that they actually should have bought that sniper rifle they saw at the hunting store, this was one of those moments for me. That was it, my patience was shattered and I made back to back bogeys on 17 and 18 for a 76.

So all in all, minus 14, 17 and 18 I was 1 over and left so many makeable putts short. If I wouldn't have bumped that ball on 14, I would have had one of the worlds greatest bogeys there, 17 and 18 was nothing but a result of a complete meltdown of my composure. Make some putts and get my head back down to earth and I could have had a great round there. Encouraging to be sure. Short game was great, and I've never felt so good about my routine for short putts. We're on the verge of a profound breakthrough here, I absolutely feel it. Until next time!!!

Second round with new swing

Better, much better. Maybe I'm working myself into a happy medium between old swing and new swing, not sure, ball flight and sound of contact are completely different than before, in a good way. Much better results anyway. Shot 75 at Bear Creek in a practice round for the Chandler City Championship, 10 better than the first round with the new swing. How about 65 for round 3? As I'll be doing regularly, we'll break down the finer points.

Toe blocked my first 2 tee shots with the driver, probably hit them a whopping 200 yards each. Made a good par on the first hole, then fatted a 3 iron, hit a weak ass wedge, then 3 putted for double on #2. After that, I hit the driver REALLY well the rest of the round. Something clicked there, pretty upbeat about that. I made one birdie and one bogey after that on the front for a lackluster 38 at the turn.

Standing on 10, I say "Ok, that's enough warm up, now it's time to play". Snap hooked my driver (ooops, didn't I just say I hit the driver REALLY well?). Ball was resting on the cart path, next to the only patch of grass they haven't mowed in 3 years. Took a drop in a nice patch that was trampled down next to the deep stuff, but of course the ball took one good hop left into the deep stuff. Looks like the 7 iron goes back in the bag, where's that wedge? Pulled my SW a bit from just over 100 yards, up and down for bogey.

"Ok, that's enough warm up, NOW it's time to play". Pulled my 9 iron on #11, couldn't get it up and down, another bogey. But hey good news, I then made back to back birdies, the second one via an 85 yard fairway bunker shot to 3 feet. Excellent. On a roll now, here we go. Hit 7 iron to 25 feet on the next hole, 3 putt, bogey. Par, par, hit a 5 iron on 17 that got up into the wind, fell short of the green, hit a great chip to 3 feet then hit a putt that absolutely positively goes left. Aimed for the right edge, broke right, bogey. Driver 5 iron on 18, 2 putts, hey look, 2 over on the back as well. So much for grinding.

All in all, there are 5 par 3's at Bear Creek, and I bogeyed every single one of them today. Missed 4 of 5 greens on the par 3's, didn't get up and down once. The only one I hit, I 3 putted. Talking through it like that makes me feel better, I like walking the strokes, it gives me hope that I can fix the problems. Maybe a bit naive, but hey, we need to be in this game right? 2 more practice rounds on tap, stay tuned! I'm off to the backyard putting green for some late night barefoot 3 footers.

First round with the new swing

And boy was it a doozy. I started out 5, 9, 4, 6, with par being 4, 5, 3, 4. So 8 strokes in the first 4 holes, wow, welcome to your new swing Paper Hogan. How did I make a 9? Easy, hit a be-a-utiful cut tee shot off the tee through the 90 degree dogleg into some of the deepest rough I've ever played in Arizona. Those guys at Camelback should be proud of that stuff, wow. So anyway, can't find the ball, take a drop. Smoked a 7 iron out of that into the fairway, oh wait, make that into a 45 foot tall palm tree, SMACK, dead into a palm leaf, dropped straight down. Pulled my next 7 iron left into the trees, but hey, at least I found that one. Had to punch it out, SMACK into an overhanging branch. Hmm, ok at least I've now got a shot in a fluffy lie to get it up over the trees and onto the green. SMACK into another branch. A little flip wedge onto the green, tentative putt for 8, easy tap in, there's your 9 folks.

So after I'm 8 strokes down on the course, I do a little reflecting, take a couple of extra practice swings with the driver on the next hole, 440 yard par 4. Absolutely smoked the tee shot, down the right side, just in the fairway. Get to the ball, it's only 115 to the back right hole location, I knew that tee shot felt good, but wow that thing got out there. Alas, my happiness quickly vanished upon seeing that I had the ugliest overgrown pine tree overhanging the right 1/5 of the fairway. I decide on a smooth punch fade with the wedge, and I hit the most beautiful dead straight punch shot you've ever seen, right into the back corner of the left bunker. Feet outside of the bunker, amazed I even got it out. I actually hit it too far, luckily it spun and stopped short of the fringe, about 8 feet away. How the putt didn't go in, I'll never know, but what a good putt I hit. Ah well...

So 9 after 5. Hit another perfect tee shot on the next par 5, toe hooked a 3 iron into the left rough just short of the green. Hit a little wedge to the back edge and made the 10 footer. Welcome to your first birdie with the new swing Paper Hogan. I must have made another bogey on the front because when it was all said and done I was told 44 for the front, I wasn't keeping score, just playing. Maybe I should have kept a closer eye on the card, yikes.

Ok, so I play the last 4 holes even, hitting it good (nearly made a 8 footer right after the par 5 for back to back birdies, oh what a great putt, unfortunate). Feeling good going to the 10th, 360 yard dogleg right par 4. now this hole has water and trees left, a wide open corner with 4 humongous palm trees. Those trees are surrounded by a bunker / grassy knoll contraption, that is just no good, 241 to clear it. 3 wood lands me right there, I could hit an iron, but I've just hit 3 perfect drivers in a row. Easy call right? I hit this tee shot so far right and OOB, that I think I hit a house across the street from the houses that line the golf course. But boy oh boy was it DEEP. Two putted from 50 feet after I hit a 97 yard SW that somehow went around 115 yards (touch like a surgeon baby). All in all, a great 6.

It's pretty much a blur after that, this golf course has holes that all look the same. I bogeyed 2 more coming in for a smooth 85 on the day. So 9 after 5, play the other 13 in 4 over, ok not bad for the first round with the new swing. But let me tell you this, I hit 2 more of those wickedly blocked tee shots, one each with driver and 3 wood. That's not my historical miss, so I want to get that figured out. This is beyond just blocked, it's a blocked push cut that tails right at the end. I'm no swing guru, but I'm pretty sure you want to eliminate that type of a miss.

Oh, forgot the best part. I made par on 18, a par 5, after a lost ball that stopped just short of the left greenside bunker. Is it possible to make a positive out of something that made you utter the F word 17 times under your breath? If so, yay me for something positive.