7-18-12
This is big! I have dreamt about doing this and writing about it since I started playing golf thirteen years ago. My previous best score was two over after nine holes; I shot a 37 on Hidden Valley’s back nine when Joe and Laura came out to visit years ago. I just checked the actual scorecard (I’ve kept it in our computer room closet all these years), and it was dated 8-31-02. A decade is a long time to wait to have another super score.
To put it in the most plain terms, I played...
the best round of my life (so far) two days ago. I shot a 74, just two over after eighteen holes this time. I met a personal goal to break 80 this summer, and I broke it wide open. To make it even sweeter, I had three witnesses playing with me that day: Chris, Cameron, and Ben. Sadly, Bruce and C.J. were not there to see it, but they were among the first I called when it was over.
Since this is my best round ever, I must (for my own sake) go hole by hole to recount the details. As I go, I will include the six birdies like I always do, and some other stuff as well.
Hidden Valley-Hole #1-Birdie #20 of 2012
I am going to start by admitting that I used some brand new golf balls that my best friend Joe gave me as a late birthday gift during James’s graduation weekend. The Nike golf balls I was using were becoming tired. I mark my golf balls with a small orange Sharpee by making two large PS’s with two dots each. Danielle came up with that little design years ago. My Nike golf balls had been used and wiped off so much that I had marked them more than once.
The new golf balls I used are supposed to be a gag gift, but they are also for real. They are USGA legal, and I read from some of the testimonials at their site that this brand is as good as any other golf ball out there, and now I would certainly agree. I am embarrassed by the name, so I will keep it PG here; I’ll just say that the name comes from a certain Saturday Night Live skit.
So, I tee off with this brand new golf ball, and it’s long. I can usually get my ball to go up next to the cottonwood that’s in the middle of the fairway, and that’s with a good swing. This drive, however, put my ball fifteen yards or more past that tree, easily the longest drive I have ever had on this hole. On this par five, I end up using a pitching wedge for my approach. My new golf ball then lands to the right of the flag about fifteen to twenty feet away. My eagle putt ends up short (a common theme for the round), but I make the easy final putt of about three feet for birdie #1 and a swell start to this magnificent round.
Hole #2-My ball ends up in the bunker. I putt it out too far. I double putt for a bogey, and I am even after two holes.
Hole #3-I use the club I bought from Bruce to tee off. I am right in the middle of the fairway. Cameron and I are both out there. I use my new approach wedge, and my ball lands on the green past the hole. The hole is on the bottom, and I putt first since my ball is a bit farther out than Cameron’s. It goes past the hole this time, and it’s about three feet away again. I make my par and stay even after three holes.
Hole #4-The hole is cut down at the bottom, so I choose my 9-iron. My contact is not perfect; it’s a bit thin, so the trajectory is lower than usual, and it doesn’t have that familiar (and better) grassy/dirt sound at impact; it’s more of a “click.” Ben’s ball is about six inches away from mine (we are both about eighteen feet away and above the hole to the right), but mine is farther from the hole, so I go first. My putt is short of the hole, but it ends up level with it. I have another three foot putt for par, and I make that one to stay even after four holes.
Hole #5-My drive comes out low, and it’s bad. My ball bounces directly into the ditch. We can’t even find it. I take my drop, and Cameron is talking to me, getting me ready to do my best to at least get a seven. I use Bruce’s old club again, and it’s a great swing. My ball goes way up the fairway. I now have about 130 yards and a bit more for the uphill, so I choose my pitching wedge again, but it gets pushed; my ball is in the thick grass on the right side of the green, and it’s above the hole. I use the pop shot that Gary taught me to carve it out, and it pops out nicely. It goes well past the hole, but it stays on the green. I am thinking about what Cameron said a few minutes earlier about making a seven, but lo and behold, this long uphill putt goes into the hole! I have saved a bogey after a terrible drive. I am one over after five holes.
Hidden Valley-Hole #6-Birdie #21 of 2012
I choose my pitching wedge again. The pin is on the right side towards the back, and I know my 9-iron will be too much. My club selection is as good as it gets, and my ball lands just past the hole. I have a putt that goes uphill and slightly to the left that I not only read correctly, but I roll it the way I want to, also. Cameron and I were both close to the cup, but his birdie putt misses. He is scoring really well, too. I am back to even after six holes.
Hole #7-I am not messing around. I aim well to the left to make sure I do not go over that fence. My ball ends up on #14’s fairway, but it’s out there. I use my pitching wedge to get back over to #7, but the contact is fat, and my ball does not go as far as I want it to. I am slightly behind a tree on the left side of the fairway, and I still have 150 yards to go.
It’s here that I make what I feel is a smart course management decision. Instead of using my 8-iron, I switch to my 9. I know my 8-iron will be too much if I hit it straight and my ball might hit the cart path and go out of bounds or just fly over the fence.
It works. My ball does not draw around the trees like I had pictured, and I’m not sure how it misses them. It looks like a super line to me, though, and I hear Cameron praising this shot loudly. He is impressed by it, and I am very pleased. My ball ends up even with the hole and just off the green on the right side. I putt it short of the hole again, but I make the four foot putt for par. I remain even after seven holes.
Hole #8-This is a bad hole for me. My tee shot with my 5-wood goes towards the trees, but I do end up with a clear view of the green. My approach ends up short and right, though, which is not good for this way up on the top hole location. My pitch does not quite get up to that top tier, so my ball rolls down and settles on the middle one. It takes three putts (the first putt goes past the hole five feet) to finish with a double. I am now two over after eight holes
Hidden Valley-Hole #9-Birdie #22 of 2012
My tee shots have been lousy here lately. I’ve ended up either in the ditch or over on hole #17. This one, in contrast, is fantastic! My ball goes straight down the middle, and I can see it bouncing in the fairway. When we drive up to it, though, it’s nowhere in sight. I realize that it might be in the ditch, so I walk in that direction.
Thankfully, it’s right on the fringe, and I do have a go at the green. My 7-iron puts my ball on the hill that is past the green on the right side over there. It’s sitting right on top of it. My little pitch shot (not a pop shot this time, but a normal pitch) lands on the green and rolls to the left stopping about four feet above the cup that is on the right side. I simply put the ball on a line since it’s a downhill putt, and it falls in. That’s three birdies on the front nine, a definite first for me, and I am back to one over after nine holes, another first for sure. My score is a 38.
This is big! I have dreamt about doing this and writing about it since I started playing golf thirteen years ago. My previous best score was two over after nine holes; I shot a 37 on Hidden Valley’s back nine when Joe and Laura came out to visit years ago. I just checked the actual scorecard (I’ve kept it in our computer room closet all these years), and it was dated 8-31-02. A decade is a long time to wait to have another super score.
To put it in the most plain terms, I played...
the best round of my life (so far) two days ago. I shot a 74, just two over after eighteen holes this time. I met a personal goal to break 80 this summer, and I broke it wide open. To make it even sweeter, I had three witnesses playing with me that day: Chris, Cameron, and Ben. Sadly, Bruce and C.J. were not there to see it, but they were among the first I called when it was over.
Since this is my best round ever, I must (for my own sake) go hole by hole to recount the details. As I go, I will include the six birdies like I always do, and some other stuff as well.
Hidden Valley-Hole #1-Birdie #20 of 2012
I am going to start by admitting that I used some brand new golf balls that my best friend Joe gave me as a late birthday gift during James’s graduation weekend. The Nike golf balls I was using were becoming tired. I mark my golf balls with a small orange Sharpee by making two large PS’s with two dots each. Danielle came up with that little design years ago. My Nike golf balls had been used and wiped off so much that I had marked them more than once.
The new golf balls I used are supposed to be a gag gift, but they are also for real. They are USGA legal, and I read from some of the testimonials at their site that this brand is as good as any other golf ball out there, and now I would certainly agree. I am embarrassed by the name, so I will keep it PG here; I’ll just say that the name comes from a certain Saturday Night Live skit.
So, I tee off with this brand new golf ball, and it’s long. I can usually get my ball to go up next to the cottonwood that’s in the middle of the fairway, and that’s with a good swing. This drive, however, put my ball fifteen yards or more past that tree, easily the longest drive I have ever had on this hole. On this par five, I end up using a pitching wedge for my approach. My new golf ball then lands to the right of the flag about fifteen to twenty feet away. My eagle putt ends up short (a common theme for the round), but I make the easy final putt of about three feet for birdie #1 and a swell start to this magnificent round.
Hole #2-My ball ends up in the bunker. I putt it out too far. I double putt for a bogey, and I am even after two holes.
Hole #3-I use the club I bought from Bruce to tee off. I am right in the middle of the fairway. Cameron and I are both out there. I use my new approach wedge, and my ball lands on the green past the hole. The hole is on the bottom, and I putt first since my ball is a bit farther out than Cameron’s. It goes past the hole this time, and it’s about three feet away again. I make my par and stay even after three holes.
Hole #4-The hole is cut down at the bottom, so I choose my 9-iron. My contact is not perfect; it’s a bit thin, so the trajectory is lower than usual, and it doesn’t have that familiar (and better) grassy/dirt sound at impact; it’s more of a “click.” Ben’s ball is about six inches away from mine (we are both about eighteen feet away and above the hole to the right), but mine is farther from the hole, so I go first. My putt is short of the hole, but it ends up level with it. I have another three foot putt for par, and I make that one to stay even after four holes.
Hole #5-My drive comes out low, and it’s bad. My ball bounces directly into the ditch. We can’t even find it. I take my drop, and Cameron is talking to me, getting me ready to do my best to at least get a seven. I use Bruce’s old club again, and it’s a great swing. My ball goes way up the fairway. I now have about 130 yards and a bit more for the uphill, so I choose my pitching wedge again, but it gets pushed; my ball is in the thick grass on the right side of the green, and it’s above the hole. I use the pop shot that Gary taught me to carve it out, and it pops out nicely. It goes well past the hole, but it stays on the green. I am thinking about what Cameron said a few minutes earlier about making a seven, but lo and behold, this long uphill putt goes into the hole! I have saved a bogey after a terrible drive. I am one over after five holes.
Hidden Valley-Hole #6-Birdie #21 of 2012
I choose my pitching wedge again. The pin is on the right side towards the back, and I know my 9-iron will be too much. My club selection is as good as it gets, and my ball lands just past the hole. I have a putt that goes uphill and slightly to the left that I not only read correctly, but I roll it the way I want to, also. Cameron and I were both close to the cup, but his birdie putt misses. He is scoring really well, too. I am back to even after six holes.
Hole #7-I am not messing around. I aim well to the left to make sure I do not go over that fence. My ball ends up on #14’s fairway, but it’s out there. I use my pitching wedge to get back over to #7, but the contact is fat, and my ball does not go as far as I want it to. I am slightly behind a tree on the left side of the fairway, and I still have 150 yards to go.
It’s here that I make what I feel is a smart course management decision. Instead of using my 8-iron, I switch to my 9. I know my 8-iron will be too much if I hit it straight and my ball might hit the cart path and go out of bounds or just fly over the fence.
It works. My ball does not draw around the trees like I had pictured, and I’m not sure how it misses them. It looks like a super line to me, though, and I hear Cameron praising this shot loudly. He is impressed by it, and I am very pleased. My ball ends up even with the hole and just off the green on the right side. I putt it short of the hole again, but I make the four foot putt for par. I remain even after seven holes.
Hole #8-This is a bad hole for me. My tee shot with my 5-wood goes towards the trees, but I do end up with a clear view of the green. My approach ends up short and right, though, which is not good for this way up on the top hole location. My pitch does not quite get up to that top tier, so my ball rolls down and settles on the middle one. It takes three putts (the first putt goes past the hole five feet) to finish with a double. I am now two over after eight holes
Hidden Valley-Hole #9-Birdie #22 of 2012
My tee shots have been lousy here lately. I’ve ended up either in the ditch or over on hole #17. This one, in contrast, is fantastic! My ball goes straight down the middle, and I can see it bouncing in the fairway. When we drive up to it, though, it’s nowhere in sight. I realize that it might be in the ditch, so I walk in that direction.
Thankfully, it’s right on the fringe, and I do have a go at the green. My 7-iron puts my ball on the hill that is past the green on the right side over there. It’s sitting right on top of it. My little pitch shot (not a pop shot this time, but a normal pitch) lands on the green and rolls to the left stopping about four feet above the cup that is on the right side. I simply put the ball on a line since it’s a downhill putt, and it falls in. That’s three birdies on the front nine, a definite first for me, and I am back to one over after nine holes, another first for sure. My score is a 38.
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