Written on 6-12-16.
Belinda is out on a kayak on Jackson Lake. I’m in our GMC truck writing while she motors around out there. She is happy, so I’m happy. Dave and Julie chose not to come to the cabin home this weekend, so Belinda and I spontaneously drove up here last night. I went to the 5:15 mass, and I learned our priest, Father Kingsley, will be moving to Oklahoma City in August. This was very upsetting news to the congregation; some cried. I am sad, too. Father Kingsley has done so much for our church, and he has brought us all closer to God, in my opinion. Isn’t that what all priests should do?
This morning, we learned of even more sad, and honestly, tragic, news. A gay bar in Orlando was attacked, and our country now has its worst mass shooting…ever. Good grief! Sigh. What the heck is the world coming to? At this point, it has been reported that there are 50 dead and 53 injured. Speculation is that it was an...
anti-gay/hate crime shooting, but it might have been for other reasons, too. Why can’t we all just get along?
People are lining the streets to donate blood, though, and I am reminded of what Mr. Rogers said about tragedies like this: Look for the helpers; there are always helpers. I will pray for the victims and their families. I’ll even pray for the shooter. Sigh again.
Back to golf… (just to help me think of something positive)
Hole #15-With Richard, the new pro/instructor watching, I gave the green a go. My drive slid to the right, though, and ended up at the end of the fairway. We chose that drive, but the pitch was tough and awkward with a downhill lie and very little green to work with. I managed to pitch on, but we had a long putt for our birdie (a theme that lasted throughout the day). None of us could convert. Still two under.
Hole #16-We saw the group behind us drop a high drive on #15 that landed softly about three feet from the hole. Then, because of the slow play, that group drove up to watch us tee off on this hole. They said they got their eagle, and it makes sense that they were the eventual winning team. I was the last to tee off with this audience, and thankfully I put my ball on the green past the hole. It was the best shot, but we had another long putt that nobody could convert. Still two under.
Hole #17-From the tees across the bridge, I attempted to drive my ball over the cottonwood to the open area before the green, and it worked. From there, C.J. had the best pitch to a spot just on the back collar of the green where we all had some more attempts at another long birdie putt, and we all missed. Two under still.
Hole #18-This hole was the beginning of our best stretch of scores. My drive, although I was aiming for #3’s fairway, ended up just left of the fairway on this hole. We had to go for the green over the cottonwood on the left side of the fairway, and that’s where the hole was cut, too.
My 7-iron was too long, and it was just off the back. C.J. had a shot that was just short and left of the green, so I used up a mulligan to try and get my 8-iron closer. My second shot landed on the green, but it was past the hole and farther away than C.J.’s. We chose to try and chip or putt in from where C.J.’s ball was. Mike later said we should have used mine because I was on the green, but I thought we had a better shot of getting an eagle from just off the green. Either way, we earned our birdie. Three under on the back. Not bad.
Hole #1-We used most of my tee shots during this round, which is great, but I could have done better still. On a few holes, C.J. chose to save energy and not bother to tee off after I made my drive. This drive went right up next to the 150 yard bush on the left side of the fairway, a super position. My 7-iron slung my ball just off the back of the green and in line with the hole that was front and centered. A chip and a putt later and we were four under.
Hole #2-Pat put his ball on the green, and I made the putt (our team’s second putt attempt), a straight uphill putt from 15 feet. Five under now! We had just earned three birdies in a row, but we got off the birdie train permanently after this hole.
Hole #3-The tees were back, so that made this hole longer and harder. My drive ended up on the left side of the fairway close to the 100 yard marker. Mike had fun teasing me about my comment on it being a de-lofted lie, but it was! After an approach and two putts, we got our par.
Hole #4-Mike had the best tee shot to a hole that was down on the bottom tier. We all made putts that ended up close to the hole, and we earned another par. Still five under.
Hole #5-This was one of my tee shots that was not so good. It was left, and it was blocked by the trees. We used Pat’s, and it was just short of the ladies’ tee markers. After we had two safe shots up there, I chose to swing my driver off the deck. This was my favorite, and maybe best swing of the tournament. I put my ball within pitching range, less than 50 yards out. My pitch was closest, too, but it was on the collar (another theme of the day). We got another par.
Hole #6-We all fell well short of winning $10,000.00, way short. From off the green, we got up and in with only two shots and got another par. Judy and Dede were the witnesses who had to sit there all day in case someone got the hole-in-one. Nobody did, but we heard later that Adrian Quintana got it within a few feet.
Hole #7-My drive ended up over the hill but under a tree. Using our one club length (Mike’s long putter), we were able to make our full swings and go for the green. Pat’s second shot gave us the best “go for the green” pitch, and then he had the best pitch, too. His putt, our team’s first attempt, rolled right over the hole with too much speed. We used a mulligan, but we still couldn’t get it done.
Those two par fives would have helped our score, but it wasn’t meant to be. It was on these holes where I didn’t have my best drives and where I thought I should have helped out more. Mike teased me on my first tee shot on #10, a chunky attempt that missed the green short, “Not your best effort.”
These two par five holes were not my best effort either.
Hole #8-We used C.J.’s drive. It was near the irrigation ditch. Pat’s mulligan attempt landed on the green on the bottom tier, and then darned if he didn’t nearly hole his putt to a hole cut on the middle tier. I had a great view of that putt, and it missed my a millimeter. We got our par. Stuck at five under since hole #2 at this point.
Hole #9-My drive went right up to the ditch near a sprinkler with 157 on it. We used our club length and a tad more liberty to put our approach spot on some grass since the fairway still had plenty of ground under repair going on out there. We had only two mulligans left, and I used one of them to put my 8-iron just off the green again on left side. After four attempts for eagle, we used our one last mulligan to let Pat give it a go, and he made it! He chipped it in! We whooped and cheered, and we knew some people were watching us from the patio. It was a fun way to end our round.
Seven teams scored better than we did, but our score was lower than the 11 remaining teams. All in all, a great effort and a fun day. I look forward to using my certificate for a free round at Hillcrest later this summer.
Until next time…
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