2-19-11
I played my first nine holes of the season this morning. Bruce called; he wanted to beat the bad weather that was heading this way. It’s here now. I am on my bed, and as I look out the sliding glass door I see gray skies and rain. B and I planned on doing our taxes together, but when faced with doing taxes or playing golf before the weather gets bad, I choose golf. She didn't mind. She had some other stuff she wanted to do. C.J. joined us, too.
I played well. I am trying something new this season. I am trying to shorten my backswing. Watching videos that Guy took of my swing with his iPhone at Grand Lake, especially the ones facing me, I noticed that I go past parallel on my full swings. What feels like a full swing is really an overly full swing. I just watched it again, and my clubhead falls well below my left shoulder as I load up, just before I change the club’s direction on the forward swing. I think I am giving up accuracy when I do this, so my swing thoughts today were to do a three quarter swing instead, and I am betting that even though it feels like three quarters, it’s probably closer to parallel.
I shot a 43 today, and it was not ideal conditions. I also earned my very first birdie of this season!
Hidden Valley-Hole #3-Birdie #1 of 2011
I teed off with my 6-iron. My 7-iron was just right on the hole before, so I considered using it again on this hole, but changed my mind.
My ball was on the line of the fairway and the first cut on the right side. C.J. Told me the yardage was around 110, so I chose my gap wedge. For every shot, there’s the picture in my head before I take my swing and then there’s the real result. For my pre-shot vision, I saw my ball landing short of the hole below the hill and rolling up close to the hole. Instead, my ball flew over the hole, landed off the green where there was a slope, rolled back onto the green and then rolled close to the hole.
I had about a ten-footer for my birdie putt, and it was slightly downhill. I picked a spot short of the hole, and it ended up being the correct spot. My ball fell in on the right side.
I ended up with one birdie, three pars, four bogeys, and one bad hole, hole #7, where I got a 9 by hitting a couple of trees and having a short game malfunction.
When we got to hole #9, the wind really started gusting, so it made that closing hole both difficult and fun. As we walked off, we talked about playing again next weekend, but I remembered that I am teaching the Educ 593 Class through UNM and the Bisti Writing Project all day Saturday, so I asked and hoped that Sunday would be better for them as well. I also asked what they had shot. C.J. had a tough round, but Bruce played well. I never heard C.J.'s score, but Bruce earned a 44, so I had won by one stroke. Phew! What a fantastic way to start my 2011 season; I had earned my first birdie, and I had earned my first victory. The sun is shining outside my sliding glass door now.
I played my first nine holes of the season this morning. Bruce called; he wanted to beat the bad weather that was heading this way. It’s here now. I am on my bed, and as I look out the sliding glass door I see gray skies and rain. B and I planned on doing our taxes together, but when faced with doing taxes or playing golf before the weather gets bad, I choose golf. She didn't mind. She had some other stuff she wanted to do. C.J. joined us, too.
I played well. I am trying something new this season. I am trying to shorten my backswing. Watching videos that Guy took of my swing with his iPhone at Grand Lake, especially the ones facing me, I noticed that I go past parallel on my full swings. What feels like a full swing is really an overly full swing. I just watched it again, and my clubhead falls well below my left shoulder as I load up, just before I change the club’s direction on the forward swing. I think I am giving up accuracy when I do this, so my swing thoughts today were to do a three quarter swing instead, and I am betting that even though it feels like three quarters, it’s probably closer to parallel.
I shot a 43 today, and it was not ideal conditions. I also earned my very first birdie of this season!
Hidden Valley-Hole #3-Birdie #1 of 2011
I teed off with my 6-iron. My 7-iron was just right on the hole before, so I considered using it again on this hole, but changed my mind.
My ball was on the line of the fairway and the first cut on the right side. C.J. Told me the yardage was around 110, so I chose my gap wedge. For every shot, there’s the picture in my head before I take my swing and then there’s the real result. For my pre-shot vision, I saw my ball landing short of the hole below the hill and rolling up close to the hole. Instead, my ball flew over the hole, landed off the green where there was a slope, rolled back onto the green and then rolled close to the hole.
I had about a ten-footer for my birdie putt, and it was slightly downhill. I picked a spot short of the hole, and it ended up being the correct spot. My ball fell in on the right side.
I ended up with one birdie, three pars, four bogeys, and one bad hole, hole #7, where I got a 9 by hitting a couple of trees and having a short game malfunction.
When we got to hole #9, the wind really started gusting, so it made that closing hole both difficult and fun. As we walked off, we talked about playing again next weekend, but I remembered that I am teaching the Educ 593 Class through UNM and the Bisti Writing Project all day Saturday, so I asked and hoped that Sunday would be better for them as well. I also asked what they had shot. C.J. had a tough round, but Bruce played well. I never heard C.J.'s score, but Bruce earned a 44, so I had won by one stroke. Phew! What a fantastic way to start my 2011 season; I had earned my first birdie, and I had earned my first victory. The sun is shining outside my sliding glass door now.
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