On the back nine, it just continued to get better. C.J. chose the points game for this round, and that’s the game that both Bruce and I enjoy because it forces us to hit fairways and greens in order to score well. Bruce liked it well before I did. He is good at it, and he usually wins because he is so consistent.
Well, I was not consistent on the back nine, especially with my full swings. I would miss fairways, and I would miss greens, but I would save pars.
9-28-10
After the front nine, I was losing...
C.J. earned a par to Bruce’s and my bogeys on hole #6. We had tied up to that point on the wins, so C.J. took a huge lead by getting 23 points on that hole alone. At the end of the front nine, the score was C.J.-51, Bruce-41, and me-27.
I had a rough start, getting a bogey on #10 and a double on #11. Then I got another double on the difficult par three #12, but I started saving pars from then on up until the final hole. For this competition, this game, C.J. got hot at the beginning of the round, Bruce played well in the middle, and I played better at the end, especially when it counted the most on the back at hole #17.
On #13, I tried to drive the green, missed right and ended up near the cart path and a railroad tie near the #8 tee box. I pitched away from it, but my ball ended up on the hill and I was stuck with a pitch with the ball above my feet. I pitched it well enough to get it to within less than three feet, though, and below the hole to boot, so that was par save number one.
On #14, I pulled my tee shot, but it was long enough to make it to the bunker on #7. I yelled, “Fore,” when I saw a cart over there. Turns out it was John, Melanie, and Misty again. I apologized for not calling him this time, but he was okay with it. The girls had their own clubs, so I think he was letting them play a few shots from time to time. It was probably best that we did not play with them on this round.
I played a terrible shot from the bunker. It shanked out low and right. It went all the way across the fairway, but it did end up on some grass on hole #15. Bruce helped me line up my next shot, but I pulled it left a bit, and because I wasn’t sure of the yardage, I overclubbed and ended up on the left side of the green. The hole was on the top right side. I made another great pitch with my sand wedge. My ball went just past the hole on the right side, and I made that putt for my second par in a row. I had missed the fairway, the green in regulation, but we all got pars, so nobody won the points for winning the hole.
On holes #15 and #16, I did it the right way. I hit the fairway and the green on #15, and I hit the green on #16, earning a par on both of those holes, but tying Bruce on them again, too. The points for winning the holes were adding up just like they did on the front nine when C.J. came along and stole them all on hole #6. Who would get all the points this time?
C.J. ended up with a 7. I am not sure what trouble he got into, but he did not do well on this hole. Bruce, I remember what happened with him. A similar thing happened to me once when I drove my ball up next to the green recently, but it happened to Bruce in a different way. After a perfect drive, he chunked his wedge approach, and his ball landed in the ditch. Then he pulled his next shot and ended up on the left side of the green, and then he went off the green on the right side, and then he went back across the green to the left side, and then he got up and in for an incredibly rare double par.
This is what I did on #17. I pulled my gap wedge low and long. It ended up too far to be able go between the trees, and it was also too close to go over the farthest tree. I saw Bruce’s ball go into the ditch, and I knew C.J. was having a hard time, so the pressure was intense. I was deliberating what to do. I got relief from the cart path. I chose to go low, but with what club? I chose my 5-iron. My goal was a low pitch that I hoped would end up next to the green on the left side, and I was thinking bogey or better from there. My ball came out lower and “lefter” than I wanted it to. It actually hit the cart path. It’s a good thing it wasn’t to the left or the right, or my ball might have also ended up in the ditch. My ball stopped even with the hole, and with another confident little pitch, I put my ball less than two feet away. I finished off my par and won a ton of points, but I had no idea if it would put me close enough to win on the final hole or not. I ended up getting 21 points on that hole.
I did not want to know the score before I teed off, so I handed over the card purposefully and told them not to tell me where we all were. When we were done, though, Bruce had won again. His less than Bruce-like final two holes, an 8 and a 7, did not make a bit of difference. He earned the points he needed to win by consistently hitting more fairways and greens than C.J. and me. The final score ended up: Bruce-78, Pat-65, and C.J.-62. We had pushed each other to some great play and some great scores. Our final stroke play scores were: Bruce-82, Pat-84, and C.J. had a great front nine and a less than great back nine, shooting a 41, 52 for a 93.
Next time I write, I will recount the scramble we played in for the golf team where I earned one birdie by myself. I’ll also talk about an epiphany I had about playing better when I am caught up with writing. I also have the club championship coming up this weekend, but I have not taken the time to practice or get ready for it yet. I also want to get in here the weird thing about Qwest, and how they left a comment about my blog.
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