Bruce and I chose to keep going. The weather was swell, despite all the warnings of afternoon thunderstorms and gusty winds. He and C.J. were signed up to play the next day in the Irish Open, but Bruce wanted to get in as many holes as he could, and I was happy to oblige.
Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #12-Birdie #10 of 2014
We headed over to #12, he in his cart because he had just been playing with Reilly, and I walked/jogged over with my push cart.
I had honors because C.J. and I had won on #10, so I teed off with my utility club and made the best swing I can ever remember making on this hole. It was high, mostly straight, and it landed, get this, on the green. Yes, on the green. Don’t remember ever doing that before either, although I might have done it once or twice. I’ll have to check the journal on that one. My ball was... hole high and on the green. It was probably 20 feet or so away.
I took some pictures of my ball with the flag off to the right (gorgeous full moon in the background included) with my new iPhone 5c. Then I took a couple more (had to record it; it’s such a rare thing) of the ball with the flag in the distance. Bruce was kind enough to oblige me this time. I read the putt as left edge, but I think I pulled it a little, causing it to go outside the line I had pictured. Either way, it worked. We’ve always said that making a par on that hole feels like a birdie, so making a birdie on this hole felt like an eagle. Sticking around and playing more had paid off instantly. All of my bad swings were forgotten immediately after just two strokes.
And, it got even better, including some incredible play from Bruce. He birdied #13 with a drive that just made it over the wash. From there, he made a great follow-up pitch and putt. Then he eagled #14, ending the bet for who would get the first eagle of the season. During that same hole, I earned another birdie.
Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #14-Birdie #11 of 2014-Bruce’s Eagle
We had our own little shot group with our drives. His went straight up the fairway and kicked to the right to end up just in the fringe. Mine faded from the left side of the fairway all the way over to the right side, stopping about two or three feet ahead of Bruce’s.
His approach to the flag that was up on the top of the green on the front left side, came out high and left. I thought he was off the green on the left. My 8-iron put my ball just off the green on the right side. His ball was below the hole and six feet away. Before I finished, he wasted no time, lined it up and rolled it in. I owe him $5.00.
We high-fived, and he said that the high-five counted for my birdie back on #12, too. We pondered which was better, a birdie on #12 or an eagle on #14. We agreed that both were awesome and rare.
To finish my birdie, I rolled my putt from off the green way over to the left, where it arched five or six feet before it settled just outside of a foot behind the hole. After Bruce got his eagle, I putted my ball in for my birdie.
What fun! Bruce had just gone birdie, eagle, and I had just gotten my second birdie. I was so happy we had stuck around, but the sun was headed down, and we weren’t sure if we would be able to finish. We debated going straight to #18. Then Bruce decided we should give it a go, so we continued on to #15. I called Belinda and got the green light (it was a mellow Friday), so off we went.
We both earned pars on #15 the proper way: fairway, green in regulation, two putts.
Then I had a short game miscue on #16, leaving my first putt from off the green short enough to just miss my par on the follow-up putt. Bruce got a par by hitting the green and two-putting again.
We both attempted to drive the green on #17. His was better. Mine was a big slice that curved as much as the left side of the full moon we were playing under. It managed to fly over the water and through the branches of the cottonwood, where it actually settled on the fairway. He managed another par despite a pitch that rolled back off the green. My chip stopped just off the green, so I got a second bogey in a row. I did make a clutch putt for that bogey, though, with a tough, slightly downhill left-to-right putt on a crusty brown green that was as slick as a tile floor.
I know I am not supposed to pay attention to the score, but I knew exactly where I was. I knew I needed a birdie to get my first ever even nine hole score. I almost did it, anyway. My drive sliced again, so it was a good thing I was aiming for #3’s fairway. Bruce and I were right next to each other on the fairway again, my ball just a foot ahead of his this time. My 6-iron put me on the green in two; the problem was I was on the wrong side. I did my best to read the putt with the darker conditions, and I did a decent job. After that though, my 8-footer for birdie stopped short and right. I had just shot one over. Bruce finished with a 34, one under.
That’s it for now. I did want to add another birdie Bruce earned on #14. C.J. left after making 68 strokes on his 68th birthday, when we played on March 9th. A guy with a St. Louis shirt named Charles (not his real name), joined us on the very next hole, hole #14. When we got to the green, Bruce had a slightly uphill putt of about ten feet to a hole that was cut down in the bowl. This was a bizarre putt that I doubt will be repeated. His ball hit a small ridge just in front of the hole that moved his ball over to the right side, where it stopped. Or, so we thought. With bummer voices, we all said, “Ohhhh.”
Then his ball fell in backwards on the right side. I say “fell in backwards” because that’s what it looked like to me. If his ball would have had little arms, those little arms would have been swinging large, rapid circles to keep it from losing its balance. We laughed and congratulated Bruce on his miracle putt.
