6-30-15
Two days left before the end of our first summer session, and for that matter, the first ever session of The First Tee here in Aztec with yours truly as coach. It’s been spectacular. I have joked that it’s like setting up a carnival, but that’s not too far from the truth. What follows is a list of just some of the materials/supplies I have bought and/or used for this session: soccer balls, frisbees, foam noodles, decorative duct tape, cones, hula hoops, Nerf footballs, plastic baseball bats and small foam baseballs, badminton rackets and birdies, small nets, and more. I have also utilized the SNAG equipment on more than half of the days.
A typical day includes...
Belinda dropping me off about 45 minutes before the players arrive to get everything set up, two identical sessions in a row which both include the warm-up, the core lesson, and the wrap-up, and some children sticking around to play and practice some more when it’s all done. Then I clean up all the “stuff,” take a look at the next day’s lesson to see what I need to get ready, and then I go play nine holes alone, or with anyone who is willing to play with me like Shawn did last week.
I’ve had a super volunteer to help me both weeks, Mike Goen, and I honestly could not have done it without his help. It did make things easier when I split the groups into a younger and an older group, but even with those smaller numbers in each session, it would have been impossible to split up and do different activities if Mike were not there. He’s kind, knowledgeable, and reliable. I did just get back from Farmington where I bought him two gift cards as a huge “thank you” for his service.
I did get another birdie this past weekend when C.J. and I gave our all to beat Bruce and Reilly in another best ball match play match. We did have success this time…sort of.
I hit the green in regulation on #1, but I triple-putted for a bogey, so we were already one down after the first hole. Bruce got a par. On #2, we went two down when Reilly earned his par to our bogeys. Despite a shank on #3 with my approach wedge, I managed a par with a decent pitch and a long putt to stay two down. Then I earned this birdie on #4.
Riverview Golf Course-Hole #4-Birdie #18 of 2015
I used my driver, of course. They have foot golf now at Riverview, and I was the last one to tee off on this hole, but we had joked about how everyone else was aiming for the flag for the soccer or foot golf course, which was on the right side, just off the fairway. Bruce pulled his first tee shot left, but his second one headed toward the soccer flag, too. My drive was one of the best of the day for me, and my ball was almost within 5-iron range for my second, but I clubbed up to Bruce’s former utility club. The 5-iron would have never made it, but the utility club landed my ball just a pitch away near the front left side of the green. The flag was also on the front left side, so it was a fairly short pitch.
I’ve been experimenting with different chipping and pitching motions. Sometimes I use a chip that is more like a putt, where the club head stays more square, but lately I’ve used less handsy, more “body turning through” type of motion. That was the kind I used for this pitch. It worked well. My ball landed just on the green and it rolled just short and right of the hole, close enough for me to get the bird! We were only one down after that, but would that be enough to help us get past hole #14 at this golf course?
Well, it did, but just barely. Instead of the match ending on the green on #14, it ended on the green on #15. We lost 4 and 3. A small improvement, no doubt, but improvement nonetheless.
After the match was over, I foolishly suggested we do combined stroke play for the last three holes. It wasn’t even close. Bruce and Reilly won the last three holes easily as C.J. and I limped in with higher scores than the father-son dynamic duo. Winning or losing, we all agree that it’s great to see Reilly not only playing, but playing well! Golf is something that has captivated him more than ever lately, so every time he goes out (and whether they win or not), I smile when I see Reilly out there.
Two days left before the end of our first summer session, and for that matter, the first ever session of The First Tee here in Aztec with yours truly as coach. It’s been spectacular. I have joked that it’s like setting up a carnival, but that’s not too far from the truth. What follows is a list of just some of the materials/supplies I have bought and/or used for this session: soccer balls, frisbees, foam noodles, decorative duct tape, cones, hula hoops, Nerf footballs, plastic baseball bats and small foam baseballs, badminton rackets and birdies, small nets, and more. I have also utilized the SNAG equipment on more than half of the days.
A typical day includes...
Belinda dropping me off about 45 minutes before the players arrive to get everything set up, two identical sessions in a row which both include the warm-up, the core lesson, and the wrap-up, and some children sticking around to play and practice some more when it’s all done. Then I clean up all the “stuff,” take a look at the next day’s lesson to see what I need to get ready, and then I go play nine holes alone, or with anyone who is willing to play with me like Shawn did last week.
I’ve had a super volunteer to help me both weeks, Mike Goen, and I honestly could not have done it without his help. It did make things easier when I split the groups into a younger and an older group, but even with those smaller numbers in each session, it would have been impossible to split up and do different activities if Mike were not there. He’s kind, knowledgeable, and reliable. I did just get back from Farmington where I bought him two gift cards as a huge “thank you” for his service.
I did get another birdie this past weekend when C.J. and I gave our all to beat Bruce and Reilly in another best ball match play match. We did have success this time…sort of.
I hit the green in regulation on #1, but I triple-putted for a bogey, so we were already one down after the first hole. Bruce got a par. On #2, we went two down when Reilly earned his par to our bogeys. Despite a shank on #3 with my approach wedge, I managed a par with a decent pitch and a long putt to stay two down. Then I earned this birdie on #4.
Riverview Golf Course-Hole #4-Birdie #18 of 2015
I used my driver, of course. They have foot golf now at Riverview, and I was the last one to tee off on this hole, but we had joked about how everyone else was aiming for the flag for the soccer or foot golf course, which was on the right side, just off the fairway. Bruce pulled his first tee shot left, but his second one headed toward the soccer flag, too. My drive was one of the best of the day for me, and my ball was almost within 5-iron range for my second, but I clubbed up to Bruce’s former utility club. The 5-iron would have never made it, but the utility club landed my ball just a pitch away near the front left side of the green. The flag was also on the front left side, so it was a fairly short pitch.
I’ve been experimenting with different chipping and pitching motions. Sometimes I use a chip that is more like a putt, where the club head stays more square, but lately I’ve used less handsy, more “body turning through” type of motion. That was the kind I used for this pitch. It worked well. My ball landed just on the green and it rolled just short and right of the hole, close enough for me to get the bird! We were only one down after that, but would that be enough to help us get past hole #14 at this golf course?
Well, it did, but just barely. Instead of the match ending on the green on #14, it ended on the green on #15. We lost 4 and 3. A small improvement, no doubt, but improvement nonetheless.
After the match was over, I foolishly suggested we do combined stroke play for the last three holes. It wasn’t even close. Bruce and Reilly won the last three holes easily as C.J. and I limped in with higher scores than the father-son dynamic duo. Winning or losing, we all agree that it’s great to see Reilly not only playing, but playing well! Golf is something that has captivated him more than ever lately, so every time he goes out (and whether they win or not), I smile when I see Reilly out there.
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