Written on 7-20-14.
My family is on its way back from a trip to Las Cruces. I just spent the past weekend “bach”ing it. I cleaned the house, bought the groceries, did the laundry, mowed and trimmed the lawn, and watered all of B’s plants. Oh, and I played an insane amount of golf, but I am taking a break today. I was working very hard to improve my scores from the blue tees. I could manage a 45 on the front nine, just eight over and a 43 on the back nine, also just eight over, but I was unable to beat either of those two scores these past couple of days. I won’t give up, though. I can try again tomorrow. Ah, summer.
During all of those rounds, I managed to...
sneak in a few birdies, and from the blues no less. The birdie count continues.
Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #18-Birdie #18 of 2014
This birdie came during the round I secured the 43 on the back nine. It surely helped my score. From the blue tees, I noticed I was already lined up to go for the fairway on #3. I teed my ball on the left side of the teeing ground and swung my club straight ahead. It landed on the fairway I was aiming for, and I thought it was easier to hit #3 from the blues because it felt like I didn’t have to cut across the rough and natural area between the two holes.
I used my 7-iron for my approach and my ball landed just short of the green and in the middle. Thankfully, it did not roll down the hill; the grass is taller and thicker, so golf balls are not rolling down the hill like they do in the winter.
I had played the back nine earlier that day, and I had a birdie putt of similar length that I had missed left. That’s a tendency I’ve noticed since my putting lesson with Dana. With this new putting procedure, My putts roll faster and often move left of where I am looking, but I am adjusting and getting used to it as I go along.
I used my putter from off the green to roll my ball to the hole on the back left side of the green. My final putt was from three to four feet and below the hole this time. Earlier it was from the left side of the hole. I rolled this one true and it went right in. Or, I am fairly sure it went right in. Now that I do not look and I only listen, I just know that it ended up in the bottom of the cup. Just not sure how.
I earned this next birdie at the end of a round with the boys: Bruce, Rei, and C.J. I showed up late as they were already on the fairway on #1 when I got there, but I teed off immediately and caught up with them. We played best ball match play, because that’s what we do when it’s just the four of us and we’re not playing in a tournament.
This was a fun and exciting match, and it was very close. Here’s a quick synopsis:
Hole #1-We all took pars because they were aerating the green. If we were on the green or just off, we just added two strokes from there.
Hole #2-I was the only one who managed a par, and I did it the boring way. One up.
Hole #3-Reilly’s swing is looking fantastic. It’s smooth and easy, just like his father’s. He played the best I’ve ever seen him play, and this was his hole. He was on the fairway, and then he was on the green and below the hole with a four foot putt for his birdie. He didn’t think he had hit it hard enough, but it did fall in right when we all thought it would not. Even.
Hole #4-C.J. worked some short game magic with a chip and a putt and earned the only par. One up again.
Hole #5-Bruce showed that he is the short game master (and the long game) with two shots that left him a pitch away and a clever shot that rolled his ball down and just past the hole for an easy birdie. Back to even.
Hole #6-Bruce and I tied with pars. Still even.
Hole #7-Bruce and I tied with pars...again. They were aerating this green here, too, but Bruce and I were the only ones to be on in regulation. I wanted to putt for my birdie through all that stuff just to see if I could earn a birdie. I could not. Still even.
Hole #8-C.J. and I showed two different ways this hole should never be played. The father and son team earned bogeys. They went one up for the first time in the match.
Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #9-Birdie #19 of 2014
Hole #9-My drive was long, long enough to get past the cottonwoods for my approach, but not so long as to go in the ditch. It was one of the best drives I have ever had on this hole, and it put me in a super position. From the left side of the fairway, I chose my 6-iron, but I was still contending with the outer branches of the cottonwoods. My ball went over the outer edges of them, though, bounced ten yards or so before the green and then rolled up onto it. My ball stopped on the front and near the middle.
I worked hard to get my putt to be long and left of the hole that was on the right side, so it would have a chance of going in. It stopped short and right, though. I only needed to earn a par, but I really wanted the birdie, of course. I kept my head still. I listened. I heard my ball bouncing around in the cup. Yeah! We ended up with a tie due to this birdie. What a fun match.
Reilly shot a 43, outscoring me with my 46. That’s the first time he has ever beaten me outright. Way to go, Reilly! C.J. and I were raving about how Reilly had played after it was over. Bruce had just barely beaten him with his 41.
Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #2-Birdie #20 of 2014
While playing alone, I set out to beat my front nine score of 45. This birdie helped me get off to a great start. I had already parred #5, so I was one under after this hole. Too bad I ruined the wonderful beginning with a terrible ending, but that’s golf.
I must admit I tried something new and different for this round. The reason was because of something Dana had told me at the end of our last lesson. He said it was crucial to have a flat left wrist through impact, or at least up at the top of my swing. As I write this, I’m sure it needs to stay flat at impact, too. I looked online to see if a gadget was available to help swing with a flat wrist, and I saw a couple, but of course they were expensive. I figured I could find something on my own, or simply make something out of plastic. I just needed something to keep my wrist from bending up or down. How hard could that be?
I ended up buying an Ace wrist bandage with a metal insert from Wal-Mart. I put it on backwards and upside down on purpose, so the hole for my thumb was on my forearm instead. I did that because the metal insert worked best when it was on the back of my hand. It cost about $18.00, a little less than one of the gadgets I had seen online, but this way I could try something out right away.
So, I was wearing this wrist brace during this swing, and it was a sweet swing. The ball went click right off the club face of my 7-iron, and my ball headed directly towards the right side of the green, right where I had aimed. It had that glorious ball flight where the ball just keeps on climbing up and up and up until it reaches the apex of its trajectory and then falls gently to the earth. My ball then landed just off the green, bounced a couple of times to the left until it spilled out onto the green below the hole on the right side.
When I read my putt, I saw that I had eight feet with a right to left break and a bit of an uphill slope. With my new keeping my head still and my eyes down the entire time, I rolled my putt, but when I heard nothing at the expected time, I did look up just in time to see the ball fall in on the bottom side of the hole. Yahoo!
Sadly, the rest of the round ended up worse than I had hoped. I ended up blowing up on holes #6, #8, and #9. I shot an adjusted 50. Ugh.
My family is on its way back from a trip to Las Cruces. I just spent the past weekend “bach”ing it. I cleaned the house, bought the groceries, did the laundry, mowed and trimmed the lawn, and watered all of B’s plants. Oh, and I played an insane amount of golf, but I am taking a break today. I was working very hard to improve my scores from the blue tees. I could manage a 45 on the front nine, just eight over and a 43 on the back nine, also just eight over, but I was unable to beat either of those two scores these past couple of days. I won’t give up, though. I can try again tomorrow. Ah, summer.
During all of those rounds, I managed to...
sneak in a few birdies, and from the blues no less. The birdie count continues.
Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #18-Birdie #18 of 2014
This birdie came during the round I secured the 43 on the back nine. It surely helped my score. From the blue tees, I noticed I was already lined up to go for the fairway on #3. I teed my ball on the left side of the teeing ground and swung my club straight ahead. It landed on the fairway I was aiming for, and I thought it was easier to hit #3 from the blues because it felt like I didn’t have to cut across the rough and natural area between the two holes.
I used my 7-iron for my approach and my ball landed just short of the green and in the middle. Thankfully, it did not roll down the hill; the grass is taller and thicker, so golf balls are not rolling down the hill like they do in the winter.
I had played the back nine earlier that day, and I had a birdie putt of similar length that I had missed left. That’s a tendency I’ve noticed since my putting lesson with Dana. With this new putting procedure, My putts roll faster and often move left of where I am looking, but I am adjusting and getting used to it as I go along.
I used my putter from off the green to roll my ball to the hole on the back left side of the green. My final putt was from three to four feet and below the hole this time. Earlier it was from the left side of the hole. I rolled this one true and it went right in. Or, I am fairly sure it went right in. Now that I do not look and I only listen, I just know that it ended up in the bottom of the cup. Just not sure how.
I earned this next birdie at the end of a round with the boys: Bruce, Rei, and C.J. I showed up late as they were already on the fairway on #1 when I got there, but I teed off immediately and caught up with them. We played best ball match play, because that’s what we do when it’s just the four of us and we’re not playing in a tournament.
This was a fun and exciting match, and it was very close. Here’s a quick synopsis:
Hole #1-We all took pars because they were aerating the green. If we were on the green or just off, we just added two strokes from there.
Hole #2-I was the only one who managed a par, and I did it the boring way. One up.
Hole #3-Reilly’s swing is looking fantastic. It’s smooth and easy, just like his father’s. He played the best I’ve ever seen him play, and this was his hole. He was on the fairway, and then he was on the green and below the hole with a four foot putt for his birdie. He didn’t think he had hit it hard enough, but it did fall in right when we all thought it would not. Even.
Hole #4-C.J. worked some short game magic with a chip and a putt and earned the only par. One up again.
Hole #5-Bruce showed that he is the short game master (and the long game) with two shots that left him a pitch away and a clever shot that rolled his ball down and just past the hole for an easy birdie. Back to even.
Hole #6-Bruce and I tied with pars. Still even.
Hole #7-Bruce and I tied with pars...again. They were aerating this green here, too, but Bruce and I were the only ones to be on in regulation. I wanted to putt for my birdie through all that stuff just to see if I could earn a birdie. I could not. Still even.
Hole #8-C.J. and I showed two different ways this hole should never be played. The father and son team earned bogeys. They went one up for the first time in the match.
Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #9-Birdie #19 of 2014
Hole #9-My drive was long, long enough to get past the cottonwoods for my approach, but not so long as to go in the ditch. It was one of the best drives I have ever had on this hole, and it put me in a super position. From the left side of the fairway, I chose my 6-iron, but I was still contending with the outer branches of the cottonwoods. My ball went over the outer edges of them, though, bounced ten yards or so before the green and then rolled up onto it. My ball stopped on the front and near the middle.
I worked hard to get my putt to be long and left of the hole that was on the right side, so it would have a chance of going in. It stopped short and right, though. I only needed to earn a par, but I really wanted the birdie, of course. I kept my head still. I listened. I heard my ball bouncing around in the cup. Yeah! We ended up with a tie due to this birdie. What a fun match.
Reilly shot a 43, outscoring me with my 46. That’s the first time he has ever beaten me outright. Way to go, Reilly! C.J. and I were raving about how Reilly had played after it was over. Bruce had just barely beaten him with his 41.
Hidden Valley Golf Course-Hole #2-Birdie #20 of 2014
While playing alone, I set out to beat my front nine score of 45. This birdie helped me get off to a great start. I had already parred #5, so I was one under after this hole. Too bad I ruined the wonderful beginning with a terrible ending, but that’s golf.
I must admit I tried something new and different for this round. The reason was because of something Dana had told me at the end of our last lesson. He said it was crucial to have a flat left wrist through impact, or at least up at the top of my swing. As I write this, I’m sure it needs to stay flat at impact, too. I looked online to see if a gadget was available to help swing with a flat wrist, and I saw a couple, but of course they were expensive. I figured I could find something on my own, or simply make something out of plastic. I just needed something to keep my wrist from bending up or down. How hard could that be?
I ended up buying an Ace wrist bandage with a metal insert from Wal-Mart. I put it on backwards and upside down on purpose, so the hole for my thumb was on my forearm instead. I did that because the metal insert worked best when it was on the back of my hand. It cost about $18.00, a little less than one of the gadgets I had seen online, but this way I could try something out right away.
So, I was wearing this wrist brace during this swing, and it was a sweet swing. The ball went click right off the club face of my 7-iron, and my ball headed directly towards the right side of the green, right where I had aimed. It had that glorious ball flight where the ball just keeps on climbing up and up and up until it reaches the apex of its trajectory and then falls gently to the earth. My ball then landed just off the green, bounced a couple of times to the left until it spilled out onto the green below the hole on the right side.
When I read my putt, I saw that I had eight feet with a right to left break and a bit of an uphill slope. With my new keeping my head still and my eyes down the entire time, I rolled my putt, but when I heard nothing at the expected time, I did look up just in time to see the ball fall in on the bottom side of the hole. Yahoo!
Sadly, the rest of the round ended up worse than I had hoped. I ended up blowing up on holes #6, #8, and #9. I shot an adjusted 50. Ugh.
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