Tomorrow I will get to play golf with my family, a rare treat since A. They live so far away and B. They actually all want to go to the golf course. Guy, Annmarie, Shylah, and Mom and Dad are all going to join up with me at Hidden Valley, my home course. It's good that they are all here to visit; it's keeping our minds off the fact that James has started college and is no longer here at home. I am so excited for tomorrow! I borrowed Eric's clubs for Guy and Chris's clubs for Annmarie (Chris and Annmarie are both lefties). We will let Shylah chip and putt every once in a while and Mom and Dad will ride along in a cart as our mini-gallery and to enjoy the day and the conversations. I will write about it later, but until then here are some more descriptions of this past summer's eagle and birdies.
Written on 8-10-12 (the rest of eagle #2's description)
The teeing ground was moved well over to the left, so the angle of my tee shot was...
different; it was easier to see the corner. I aimed for a leaf on a tree at the end of that corner, and it was a good target. My ball ended up just past the cart path up there, and I had a shot to go for the green in two. My 7-iron got the call, and its circular swing launched my ball up in the air and over the cottonwoods where it landed on the right side of the hill there, and it conveniently rolled towards the hole that was on the front right side. The teeing ground was moved well over to the left, so the angle of my tee shot was...
I was looking at eight feet of dangerous downhill putting that would break sharply to the right. I got one of the best visuals I have ever had to be able to put the ball in the hole, though. I saw a rushing river that led right to the hole, and all I had to do was put my ball into the river and let it flow on down. My first part of my putt was a tiny stream off to the side of the larger river, so I just put my ball into the small stream where it was quickly gobbled up and carried down to the hole. Eagle!
Fred was moving carts, and I had to tell someone, so I yelled out, “Fred! Eagle!”
He said something like “sweet” or “cool.” It was suddenly anticlimactic after telling him, but I was truly happy inside. I got to add another eagle to my resume.
Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #8-Birdie #28 of 2012
Most of the times I see Fred in the pro shop, I say, “Let’s go.”
I want him to come out and play with me. He is going to NMSU, where James will be going this fall, but he is almost done, and he is hoping to become a PGA professional. He takes his playing test for the first time this fall. I have wished him well.
For this birdie and the following one, I was playing with Fred. He was finished with his day of work, so he chose to come out and join me. He met me on hole #3, and on #4 he got his own birdie with a high tee shot and a confident putting stroke.
I was not scoring well, so I chose to go for the green. It turned out well. My ball was just off the green on the front left side, so I was able to putt onto the green to earn my green in regulation. The flag was on the middle tier over on the right side, and just over the hill. My putt went up over the hill, but stubbornly stopped after just passing the crest. I still had four feet to earn this birdie, but it was mostly straight and slightly downhill, so putting it on the right line and keeping it there was not so difficult. It rolled in for a birdie.
Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #14-Birdie #28 of 2012
Ricky (not his real name), another of the employees at HVGC and a high school golfer, came out and joined us on hole #10. The last time I played with C.J. and Terry, C.J. suggested that they take me on in match play. It turned out to be an even match; we were all square after ten holes, and we chose to leave it that way since I was going to eat lunch and they had already played extra holes that they hadn’t planned to play.
It was because of that match that I suggested Ricky and I take on Fred. I thought that would be fair, but it didn’t turn out that way.
When we got to this hole, we were two down. Fred was playing well, and I had a lousy start with my first three holes.
My tee shot was long and to the right. It ended up to the right of the cart path, but I could still go for the green in two. I chose my pitching wedge, and I picked my ball cleanly off the white and gray dirt/clay over there. I still had a pitch from the fairway just before the hill on the right side to get my ball on the green and close to the hole which was up on the top right side. The pitch was a miss that just turned out well. It was a thin pull. It stopped six feet from the hole, though, stopping short of it.
Before I putted, I conceded Fred’s birdie putt (with Ricky’s permission). Fred had taken a free drop after removing his embedded ball from the mud at a spot farther back and to the left of where my ball was. He had less than two feet, so we gave it to him, and then I made my putt. So, even though I had earned a birdie, we still did not gain; we were still two down. I won the next hole, but he won the next two, so it was over 2 and 1. Then we stopped so I could go home and start dinner. That, and it was starting to storm.
It was because of that match that I suggested Ricky and I take on Fred. I thought that would be fair, but it didn’t turn out that way.
When we got to this hole, we were two down. Fred was playing well, and I had a lousy start with my first three holes.
My tee shot was long and to the right. It ended up to the right of the cart path, but I could still go for the green in two. I chose my pitching wedge, and I picked my ball cleanly off the white and gray dirt/clay over there. I still had a pitch from the fairway just before the hill on the right side to get my ball on the green and close to the hole which was up on the top right side. The pitch was a miss that just turned out well. It was a thin pull. It stopped six feet from the hole, though, stopping short of it.
Before I putted, I conceded Fred’s birdie putt (with Ricky’s permission). Fred had taken a free drop after removing his embedded ball from the mud at a spot farther back and to the left of where my ball was. He had less than two feet, so we gave it to him, and then I made my putt. So, even though I had earned a birdie, we still did not gain; we were still two down. I won the next hole, but he won the next two, so it was over 2 and 1. Then we stopped so I could go home and start dinner. That, and it was starting to storm.
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