Bruce Almighty

12-18-10

     Bruce, C.J., and I got to play one more time this past Sunday.  I talked Bruce into coming out, because he hesitated.  Our weather has been fantastic the past few weeks with above normal temperatures.  The high was going to be 58˚.  I also had that $40.00 I wanted to spend for my second place finish in the first flight of the Club Championship.  I ended up buying a short sleeve, red, button up Hidden Valley shirt and one sleeve of Titleist NXT golf balls. The shirt was on sale for $30.00 and the golf balls cost $9.00, so Tom and I called it good. 

   Bruce only wanted to play nine, and I was okay with that.  This was the Sunday before the last week of school before Christmas break, so I had other things I should have been doing, too.  On the #1 tee, Dean joined us.  Dean owns a pawnshop, and I had played with him once before in a previous Club Championship.  He smokes cigars.  He’s small.  He talks to himself when he plays his shots.  He says things like, “Okay, Dean, let’s not mess up this birdie putt this time.”

   Every time I play, something happens that is worth writing about...  Even if I play badly, something happens that I want to record.  I thought of this when I was in the porta-potty near holes #2 and #6.  Probably too much information there with that last sentence.  My round had not started well, so I wondered what I was doing out there.  Why was I even playing besides the weather and the prize money?  I had a triple bogey on hole #1 after I chose not to play my mulligan, but this is what I found worth writing about this time: Bruce is amazing.  He is unbelievably good at golf, and I am so glad I get to play with him.  We chose to play match play this time, my choice because I thought I might have some high scores after not playing for a while.  I should not have thought that, but I did.  Stinkin’ thinkin’, I know.  We kind of included Dean.  C.J. told him what we were doing, and Dean started with a par, so he won the first hole, but it was all Bruce after that.  Bruce won the next four holes in a row, all with pars.  Dean got a par on #6.  In all, Bruce won six holes, Dean won three, and C.J. and I got skunked.  The only hole I got a par on Dean won with a birdie.  That was hole #8.

   The conditions were not ideal.  The greens were hard and fast.  The fairways were crunchy and brown.  I think that is what impressed me so much about Bruce’s play.  Bruce was only two over with three bogeys and one birdie.  How does he do that?  I am a firsthand, up-close witness, and I still don’t know how he does it.  He even complained of a sore back on the first tee.  It must have loosened up.  It ended up working just fine.

   C.J. and I talked about “Bruce Almighty” on hole #7.  He and I were so far left on that hole that we were near #16’s teeing ground.  Bruce, of course, was on the fairway.  C.J. talked about his nephew who was a 5 or a 6, and how Bruce would probably beat him, too, or at least it would sure be nice to see them go head to head. 

   So, to sum up the main idea from this round: Bruce is awesome.