It was like heaven on earth to have Mom and Dad back at Hidden Valley to follow along and watch the golf. They had the orange flag on their cart again to be able to drive around just about everywhere except on the greens. It was difficult for any of us to see the golf balls in flight, though. The course has different shades of brown right now, mostly light brown like pistachio shells. The bright sky didn’t help either. Mom would get out near the greens and take some photos.
The boys played better than I thought they would, but I can honestly say that it was not easy to watch. James whiffed on the very first tee, so I said that whiffs would not count. To summarize, Daryl had...
the majority of the better full swings and James had the majority of the better short game shots, but James would make a few exceptional full swings and Daryl would make a few decent short shots. Overall, Daryl earned more of the shots they used (they kept track), and James could have cared less. He does not like golf; this is no secret.
They were tied with me after the first six holes. I had a six on the par three #2, though, and that did not help. Hole #7 stands out to me as an example of how they were all over the place, but would then somehow end up with a bogey. Daryl’s tee shot went out low and left; I never saw it after that. James topped his tee shot. We never found Daryl’s tee shot, so I said they could drop behind the ditch. After they both made two more bad swings, they ended up a little better off than before. Then James got a hold of one that ended up near the fence, but they were closer to the green.
James had the “shot of the day” from over there. His club was clanking against the fence on his practice backswings, so I told him to bring his club back inside and then swish it away from his body. It worked. His ball hit the little white plastic chain that keeps the carts off the grass, slowing it down considerably, but it kept going, made it through the trees, trickled out onto the green and stopped about four feet from the hole. Daryl made the bogey putt. Good grief! I was tied with two incompetent golfers.
On the next hole, James whiffed twice before making a swing like a pro. His high tee shot put them just off the green on the back. He followed that up with a putt that stopped just three feet from the hole, and he wanted so badly to earn his own par, but Daryl finished up for them.
I finally pulled ahead for good starting on #7 when I earned a birdie.
Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #7-Birdie #6 of 2013
My drive was longer than it’s ever been on this hole. I had another bomb of a drive on hole #5 where I was just outside 150 yards. The drive on this hole was past the island of taller grass on the fairway. It was over in the trees, but I still had a full swing. The wind was blowing towards the hole and the ground was so hard from it being so dry. I chose my 9-iron to go for it. My contact was thin, but that was a good thing because it helped make my ball go farther. I was just short of the green, in the fringe. I chose to putt. It broke more than I thought it would, moving right to left. The hole was in the middle on the left side this time. Even though it broke more than I pictured, it left me with an uphill putt to make the birdie easier.
Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #9-Birdie #7 of 2013
Why could I have not birdied this hole on the day I had a shot at even par? Oh well. I’ll take it. I chose my 5-wood for my tee shot. My ball flew high, and it landed right on the fairway at the corner. Earlier, we had stopped and visited with Chris and Jeff on hole #14. When I took my approach, Chris yelled something at me from the fairway on #17. It was a super approach. I was on in two, and my ball was on the correct side (the left side), rolling towards the hole. It stopped above the hole. My putt for eagle was not an easy one. I told Mom and Dad about the bet Bruce, C.J. and I have for the first eagle of the year. We have each put in $5.00 and the first person to get the eagle gets the money. One of them is probably getting it right now as I am typing this. Anyway, my putt was downhill with a bunch of break from right to left. Just like #7, the ball broke more than I thought it would and that was just fine because I was left with a straight uphill putt for my birdie, which, of course, I made.
It was a fabulous Easter weekend and a super visit with James and the family. Last night, before the Easter Vigil we had a combo Easter/Char’s birthday celebration over at the Edgerton’s down by the river. Char turned 50. Eric brought out his green, one gear only, military-looking “Kilroy” bike and many of us took turns riding a course that started with a woodpile, went up the hill, around their trailer, down the hill, around a tree and back to the woodpile again. It was a hoot.
The boys played better than I thought they would, but I can honestly say that it was not easy to watch. James whiffed on the very first tee, so I said that whiffs would not count. To summarize, Daryl had...
the majority of the better full swings and James had the majority of the better short game shots, but James would make a few exceptional full swings and Daryl would make a few decent short shots. Overall, Daryl earned more of the shots they used (they kept track), and James could have cared less. He does not like golf; this is no secret.
They were tied with me after the first six holes. I had a six on the par three #2, though, and that did not help. Hole #7 stands out to me as an example of how they were all over the place, but would then somehow end up with a bogey. Daryl’s tee shot went out low and left; I never saw it after that. James topped his tee shot. We never found Daryl’s tee shot, so I said they could drop behind the ditch. After they both made two more bad swings, they ended up a little better off than before. Then James got a hold of one that ended up near the fence, but they were closer to the green.
James had the “shot of the day” from over there. His club was clanking against the fence on his practice backswings, so I told him to bring his club back inside and then swish it away from his body. It worked. His ball hit the little white plastic chain that keeps the carts off the grass, slowing it down considerably, but it kept going, made it through the trees, trickled out onto the green and stopped about four feet from the hole. Daryl made the bogey putt. Good grief! I was tied with two incompetent golfers.
On the next hole, James whiffed twice before making a swing like a pro. His high tee shot put them just off the green on the back. He followed that up with a putt that stopped just three feet from the hole, and he wanted so badly to earn his own par, but Daryl finished up for them.
I finally pulled ahead for good starting on #7 when I earned a birdie.
Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #7-Birdie #6 of 2013
My drive was longer than it’s ever been on this hole. I had another bomb of a drive on hole #5 where I was just outside 150 yards. The drive on this hole was past the island of taller grass on the fairway. It was over in the trees, but I still had a full swing. The wind was blowing towards the hole and the ground was so hard from it being so dry. I chose my 9-iron to go for it. My contact was thin, but that was a good thing because it helped make my ball go farther. I was just short of the green, in the fringe. I chose to putt. It broke more than I thought it would, moving right to left. The hole was in the middle on the left side this time. Even though it broke more than I pictured, it left me with an uphill putt to make the birdie easier.
Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #9-Birdie #7 of 2013
Why could I have not birdied this hole on the day I had a shot at even par? Oh well. I’ll take it. I chose my 5-wood for my tee shot. My ball flew high, and it landed right on the fairway at the corner. Earlier, we had stopped and visited with Chris and Jeff on hole #14. When I took my approach, Chris yelled something at me from the fairway on #17. It was a super approach. I was on in two, and my ball was on the correct side (the left side), rolling towards the hole. It stopped above the hole. My putt for eagle was not an easy one. I told Mom and Dad about the bet Bruce, C.J. and I have for the first eagle of the year. We have each put in $5.00 and the first person to get the eagle gets the money. One of them is probably getting it right now as I am typing this. Anyway, my putt was downhill with a bunch of break from right to left. Just like #7, the ball broke more than I thought it would and that was just fine because I was left with a straight uphill putt for my birdie, which, of course, I made.
It was a fabulous Easter weekend and a super visit with James and the family. Last night, before the Easter Vigil we had a combo Easter/Char’s birthday celebration over at the Edgerton’s down by the river. Char turned 50. Eric brought out his green, one gear only, military-looking “Kilroy” bike and many of us took turns riding a course that started with a woodpile, went up the hill, around their trailer, down the hill, around a tree and back to the woodpile again. It was a hoot.
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