Written on 3-15-13.
This past week was C.J.’s week. He had an incredible two outings, playing the best golf he has ever played, and although it was it was no fun to be on the punishing end of his play, it was certainly a pleasure to watch it taking place.
It started on Tuesday when Bruce, C.J. and I played at Riverview for a change. It was my turn to choose a game, so I thought it would be fun to play the Reverse Handicap Game at a different course. It was, especially for C.J.
While I struggled to find my game, C.J. went about the business of...
kicking out butts. We gave him four pops per nine holes, and he took full advantage of them all. Bruce scored four 3s in a row during his recent round of three under, and with his four pops, C.J., although he did not score four in a row like Bruce did, did get four net 3s on his scorecard on the front nine. It wasn’t even close. C.J. Earned 102 points on the flatter, older front nine. Bruce managed to steal the last two hole’s points, just 16, and I got a big, fat zero.
We decided to start over on the back nine. It came down to the last hole. I started playing better. Bruce shot a 42 on the front, and I did the same on the back. For this nine, the points came down to the last hole. After overdriving the fairway while trying to cut the corner, I took a drop and saved a five. C.J., however, casually did things the old-fashioned way, hitting the fairway, the green in regulation, and then finishing up with two putts. He earned his par, and with his final pop, defeated us both with a net birdie. He beat me by one point on the back, scoring 31 points to my 30. The final scores for both nines were C.J., 133, Bruce, 36, and me, 30.
It was breezy, sometimes even gusty and chilly during this round, especially for the front nine, but what really stood out for all three of us were the incredibly fast greens. Although it took us a while to figure them out, we agreed that we liked the greens this way. They presented a challenge to us that was different from the greens at Hidden Valley. We wondered what the Stimpmeter readings would have been.
Sometimes when Bruce or I make a great shot, C.J. will compliment us by saying, “Ooooh, you devil!”
Well, for his round yesterday, I say to you, “C.J., ooooh, you devil!”
We witnessed C.J. play the best nine holes of his life when we went back to Hidden Valley, and it was an honor and a pleasure to see it. I won’t recount all the details, but it was quite easy to figure out his score.
He started with a birdie on #1 and he ended with a bogey on #9. The rest were, of course, all pars in between. When he was teeing off on #7, I got Bruce’s attention by pointing at the scorecard. He knew what I was trying to show him, but he chose not to look. We both continued to be quiet as C.J. went on about his business.
I can compare it to watching a rare, wild animal or bird. We were afraid of making a noise or a comment for fear it might hear us and run off or fly away. We must have startled it on the very last hole, though, thus the bogey. Either way, we were so happy for him. Tom even came out of the pro shop as C.J. was leaving to shout out and ask for his autograph. It didn't look like C.J. understood what he was saying, but he nodded, smiled, and waved anyway. Then he drove away with a big smile on his face. What a devil.
This past week was C.J.’s week. He had an incredible two outings, playing the best golf he has ever played, and although it was it was no fun to be on the punishing end of his play, it was certainly a pleasure to watch it taking place.
It started on Tuesday when Bruce, C.J. and I played at Riverview for a change. It was my turn to choose a game, so I thought it would be fun to play the Reverse Handicap Game at a different course. It was, especially for C.J.
While I struggled to find my game, C.J. went about the business of...
kicking out butts. We gave him four pops per nine holes, and he took full advantage of them all. Bruce scored four 3s in a row during his recent round of three under, and with his four pops, C.J., although he did not score four in a row like Bruce did, did get four net 3s on his scorecard on the front nine. It wasn’t even close. C.J. Earned 102 points on the flatter, older front nine. Bruce managed to steal the last two hole’s points, just 16, and I got a big, fat zero.
We decided to start over on the back nine. It came down to the last hole. I started playing better. Bruce shot a 42 on the front, and I did the same on the back. For this nine, the points came down to the last hole. After overdriving the fairway while trying to cut the corner, I took a drop and saved a five. C.J., however, casually did things the old-fashioned way, hitting the fairway, the green in regulation, and then finishing up with two putts. He earned his par, and with his final pop, defeated us both with a net birdie. He beat me by one point on the back, scoring 31 points to my 30. The final scores for both nines were C.J., 133, Bruce, 36, and me, 30.
It was breezy, sometimes even gusty and chilly during this round, especially for the front nine, but what really stood out for all three of us were the incredibly fast greens. Although it took us a while to figure them out, we agreed that we liked the greens this way. They presented a challenge to us that was different from the greens at Hidden Valley. We wondered what the Stimpmeter readings would have been.
Sometimes when Bruce or I make a great shot, C.J. will compliment us by saying, “Ooooh, you devil!”
Well, for his round yesterday, I say to you, “C.J., ooooh, you devil!”
We witnessed C.J. play the best nine holes of his life when we went back to Hidden Valley, and it was an honor and a pleasure to see it. I won’t recount all the details, but it was quite easy to figure out his score.
He started with a birdie on #1 and he ended with a bogey on #9. The rest were, of course, all pars in between. When he was teeing off on #7, I got Bruce’s attention by pointing at the scorecard. He knew what I was trying to show him, but he chose not to look. We both continued to be quiet as C.J. went on about his business.
I can compare it to watching a rare, wild animal or bird. We were afraid of making a noise or a comment for fear it might hear us and run off or fly away. We must have startled it on the very last hole, though, thus the bogey. Either way, we were so happy for him. Tom even came out of the pro shop as C.J. was leaving to shout out and ask for his autograph. It didn't look like C.J. understood what he was saying, but he nodded, smiled, and waved anyway. Then he drove away with a big smile on his face. What a devil.
1 comment:
It's a good thing that you fellows made no comment as CJ worked his way through that great round!
Long before Swope and Dingwall entered CJ's world, probably in 1972, he and I were playing the prairie course in Farwell, Texas with a couple of other dudes. One teebox featured a straight-away shot to the fairway and offered no "trouble," unless one were to flub the shot close to 90 degrees to the right and into a pond. CJ still blames me for all of his golf woes, because, as he readied for that tee-shot, I said, "Watch that water on the right!" Yep; he drove the ball into the pond! So, 40+ years later, I yet am responsible for his loss of $.40 or $.50 that day...
KB
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