Planet VickiJoan

7-5-10


The following post tells the story of my first visit to Planet VickiJoan last year.


7-8-09


   I played at Civitan the week before the Classic with Vicki and Joan, two of my friends from the Bisti Writing Project, part of the National Writing Project that encourages teachers to see themselves as writers in order to become better teachers of writing. This was the first official golf outing for what we members affectionately call 'The BWP', and it was delightful and refreshing. We played a different version of golf that day, and it was a jolting reminder of what it was like when I first started playing golf. We went to a planet I’ll call Planet VickiJoan.
 

   Lipped out putts didn’t count, at least not all of the time.  It all depended on if Vicki or Joan thought it should have gone in.  Mulligans were in abundant supply.  A player started a hole only after a sufficient tee shot was made.  All other attempts were considered practice.  Catching air (getting the ball to fly above the ground) is a goal comparable to getting it in the hole. 

7-20-09


  Breezes that were non-existent blew golf balls way off course, not bad swings.  I hit two out of bounds on hole #4 during our second nine, both of them with my dreaded pull.  No hook, just a straight pull that sent my golf balls rocketing over the fence.  The shots were nearly identical.  When I teed up for my third time and my fifth stroke, they both insisted that there had been a strong breeze.  I looked at the top of the huge trees that are below the green, the ones I try to avoid so my ball does not go down the hill there.  The leaves were motionless.  Nothing.  No movement.  No breeze.  I even said so, but they were adamant they both saw a breeze, a strong breeze, a breeze that blew both of my balls over the fence.

   I liked playing on Planet VickiJoan.  I pulled another tee shot on hole #5 during our first nine.  It soared over the pond up there and landed on the small brown beach across the way.  I teed it up again, put my next shot near the green, and rolled in my putt for a bogey four, but they were impressed with my birdie!?  I told them it was really a bogey, but they thought that my first shot shouldn’t count, of course; it did go over the pond after all.

   At the beginning of the second nine, I did make a birdie, a real birdie!

Civitan Golf Course-Hole #1-Birdie #9 of 2009

   I used my gap wedge.  My ball went right over the flag and stopped just past the cup on the right side.  I had about twelve to fifteen feet for my birdie putt.  It was slightly downhill and slightly right to left.  I rolled it in, and my partners made all the appropriate comments!  I had lived up to my reputation of a non-beginner. 

   I gave one piece of advice for each partner.  For Vicki, I noticed she moved her head around a bunch during her backswing and forward swing.  I recommended she keep her head steady to help her consistency.  It helped, especially on the second nine.  For Joan, I noticed her chip shots were backwards.  Instead of having a smaller backswing with an accelerating blow, she would have a big backswing (hip high) that would slow down, and sometimes almost stop on top of the ball.  She did not get a chance to really have success with it, but she seemed pleased to hear any advice.

   I hope we have another outing soon.  When we were done, I was treated to lunch at the bright orange brick restaurant on 20th called Riverside Pizza.  We shared a large vegetarian pizza.  They treated me because of the tips I had given them.  What a great day!  I felt like a golf guru, a genius!  Sadly, my genius did not shine through when I played in my third Pinon Hills Classic.