*Please know that I am not heartless or cruel (quite the opposite) to include how my dog died and golf descriptions in the same post. Writing and staying busy help me keep my mind off of the inconceivable tragedy that took place. This tournament took place on the weekend before the Friday Zen died.
6-21-10
I am doing better with what happened with Zen.
Going home to mom and dad’s in Lakewood and seeing family really helped. I am still upset, but not quite as much. I still replay what happened in my head, especially the shock of my dog running directly under our truck and that awful sound and physical feeling of him getting run over. I think it was the back right tire, but I’m not sure. I was in immediate disbelief. It was an awful impact sound, a muffled crunching and bumping sound and feeling. Writing about it now makes me feel queasy and mad. Why did he do that? He came out from behind three parked cars right there in front of Carmen and Linda (last name)’s house. I thought he would keep running straight ahead, not turn left so suddenly.
I was going too fast. I thought if I sped up and went past him, he would leave the black dog and his owner that were standing there. I think he went to the left so sharply to see where I was. He found me. Poor damn dumb dog, but I’m the really dumb damn one here. I should have never let him out to run, even though we’ve done it safely hundreds of times before. I could have taken him for a walk when I got home. We were in no big hurry to leave. I had warning bells sounding in my ears and my head. Why didn’t I listen? My family was super nice to me. They told me that it wasn’t my fault, that I meant well, but the guilt is thick, and it all comes from me alone. That’s enough. I don’t want to write about it anymore. I might tell more later, but that’s enough for now.
On to golf…
Hole #9-C.J. had the best ball score with his par compared to my bogey.
Hole #10-I got a bogey. Don’t remember this hole, but the scorecard shows that I hit the fairway and that I was short and left with my approach.
Hole #11-This hole began the best stretch of scoring for me during this tournament, and it’s a string of holes that really helped us earn our second place prize. Belinda and Danielle showed up when we were out on the fairway, and we waved to each other when I saw them. After that, they walked with us from this hole over to the tee box on hole #13 when they chose to head back home. Danielle had been out in the sun all day the day before for her volleyball tournament in Bayfield with Autumn (last name) where they took second place in their age group, so they did not want to stay for very long. I was so very happy that they came. This was the first time anyone from my immediate family came to watch me play in a tournament.
I had a nice drive that got me in position to go for the green. I was off the fairway on the left side. The hole was on the front on the left side of the green. My approach came up short and right. I used a nice, even tempo, relaxed swing with my sand wedge, and I aimed for the middle of the green. My ball landed close to the middle, rolled across the green, and stopped below the hole. It was a super little pitch shot. I made the putt for par #1 on the back.
Hole #12-My tee shot was pulled to the left side, but it was even with the hole. It was so sweet to get a par on this hole after the debacle from the day before. On that day, my first pitch hit the green, but it rolled off on the other side. I tried to putt from there (chipping probably would have been better since the grass was pretty thick), but my ball went almost off the green again on the side I had just come from. I ended up with a double par, and C.J. actually did worse, getting a seven. Yuck! This hole on that first day probably cost us the victory. Or it was hole #17 from the second day. Either one.
On the second day, I did a relaxed pitch again with my sand wedge that worked out perfectly. My ball landed on the green, rolled a bit, and this time stopped right near the hole, slightly behind it. I had to wait for everyone else to finish, but when it was my time to putt, I put it right in for par #2. I was showing off for Danielle and Belinda. I have always liked showing off for Belinda, but now I was doing it for both my wife and my daughter. That’s probably why I did what I did on the next hole, too.
Hole #13-The girls were walking over when I teed off. I was feeling confident enough to go for it with my driver. I hit a decent shot that barely made it across the wash. My ball was in the hazard, but it was just a few feet away from being all the way across and out of the hazard. I used my pitching wedge from there, and I put my ball on the green past the hole on the right side. The putt was not an easy one. It was really fast, and it moved quickly from right to left. I played it well enough to get it close for par #3, though.
Hole #14-I should have earned a birdie on this one, but I just missed with that first putt. My third shot was from above the green on the right side. I did a pitch with my pitching wedge that was similar to the one on the hole before, but the ball was on a bit of a slope causing my right foot to be higher than my left. The hole was in the bowl again, an easy position for everyone, just get it in the bowl and your ball will be close. My birdie putt missed by an inch on the right side, but I had a tap-in for par #4.
Hole #15-This was a well-earned par. Tee shot was fine and on the fairway. Approach was pulled enough to end up in the bunker. Hadn’t been in there for a long time, but the hole was close. I chose to putt out for my third, and it was the best shot for this hole. I aimed for the fringe, and my ball popped up and out of the bunker. It rolled to a spot very near the hole, and I putted that one in for par #5 in a row.
Hole #16-This was the last hole for the tournament for us since we had started on #17. I put my ball just off the green on the left side. I could easily putt it, so I did. I put it past the hole just enough to make a comment that I couldn’t have given my brain a rest with an easy tap-in here on the last hole. I had to tax my brain one last time with a difficult putt, but this putt like some of the other tougher par putts I had that day also fell in. That stretch of six pars in a row gave me a 40 on the back. I had a triple bogey on #17, and I had two other bogeys on holes #10 and #18 for my five over par. The front nine was almost as good. I had four pars and five bogeys for a 42 on that side for a total score of 82.
We took second place net in the first flight. We both earned $85.00 to spend in the pro shop. I haven’t spent mine yet. I was thrilled, and I kept thinking that I should savor this moment and this win. Victories in golf are fleeting. I know how hard it is to place in a golf tournament of any kind, so to play well enough to place in this one was a fantastic thing. I was proud of us.
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