My Pretend Golf Championship

     I shot another 95 on our home course today, our home course.  Good grief! I just entered all of my recent scores online, though, and it feels good to just own them.  I am not proud of them, but they are mine.   In the past two rounds with C.J., I did earn two birdies, one today and one the time before.

Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #8-Birdie #43 of 2016

     C.J. and I were competing in match play, and even though we extended the match two extra holes, I still lost on hole #9, so we called it quits.  

     I definitely won this hole, though.  I attempted to drive the green, and darned if I didn’t almost do it.  My ball was so close to the green, just a few yards away, that I chose to putt it up onto the green to get it close to the hole.  My ball rolled and stopped less than three feet away on its left side.  The hole was cut on the lower tier this time.  I made that putt to narrow the gap with C.J., but it would sadly not be enough on this day.

Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #13-Birdie #44 of 2016

     Today, we chose to play the G.I.R. game.  Then we played some of the worst golf we have seen at the Aztec Municipal Golf Course since they switched it over to 18 holes.  My consistency has disappeared, and I’ve had some major blow-up holes recently, many coming in today’s round.  My game is going south like the geese.  Hopefully, this is only temporary.

     For this hole, I received a temporary break from my uncharacteristic bad play.  My drive headed for...

How I Was Hired and Terrible Golf

Finished up on 9-29-16.

     Belinda and I head to Prescott tomorrow to watch Emily play in a soccer match.  They will play Simpson University from California.  I have two meetings in Flagstaff tomorrow afternoon for Time to Teach and then two more in Prescott on Monday.  We will see what happens with those.  I had a meeting with the assistant principal at Ignacio Elementary yesterday, too, and that was an encouraging one.  He seemed impressed, but who knows.  I did not realize Rocky (last name) was still working there for the Ignacio School District; he’s their athletic director.  I did not know Alfonso (last name) was the Dean of Students or Melanie (last name) was the principal of the high school either.  Bayfield was not interested in a training.  I called again when I was in Ignacio to see if I could stop by, but they made it clear I should not waste my time.  They were not interested.

Written on 10-12-16.

     I’m sitting on our longer couch again in our living room, “Refuge.”  This time, though, I’m on the far left side, the side that is near the gas stove fireplace.  B is having dinner tonight at her mom’s, and they are having soup.  B had made some homemade chicken rice soup, and we’ve eaten it multiple times, so I am hoping she doesn't come back with any of it, even though it is delicious.  I made homemade chili for my dinner, and to...

A New Job Opportunity and an Amazing Eagle!

     In news outside of golf, I may be offered a job for either a full-time specialist or a part-time coaching position through C.O.R.E. (Collaboration for Outstanding Readiness in Education) through N.M.S.U.  It’s a grant, and it involves traveling to schools in northern New Mexico to help teachers.  Gee, that’s what I’m all about now.  It’s a perfect fit for me, in my opinion, and the only remaining issues are whether I’ll be offered the job or not and whether or not I’ll take the specialist or the coaching position.  We have discussed it mightily these past couple of days, getting opinions from our parents and others.  

     At this point, I’m leaning towards the full-time position.  Might as well.  What else am I doing right now?  I would have a greater impact, make a better salary, and could include some of my marketing for Time to Teach.  Wow!  Almost sounds too good to be true.  I have sent my resume to the coordinator and am waiting to possibly speak with the hiring committee today or tomorrow.  I will report what happens the next time I write, of course.

     In other golf news, I took some time to catch up some more on my official birdie and eagle count recently, and I am up to 286 birdies and 15 eagles through Golf Diary Part 11.  I am now working on Golf Diary Part 12, which is the year 2014.  I am getting closer and closer, and that is very exciting to me.  I am motivated to know what my current total of birdies and eagles is.  I earned another birdie and another eagle playing with C.J. this Tuesday.

Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #8-Birdie #42 of 2016

     C.J. and I chose to take on the Bogey Man again.  Hopefully, he wouldn’t be laughing at us by the end of this round.  This birdie helped.  We managed to meet our goal of +4 on the front nine, but in order to beat him on the back, we had to get +3 or better.  +8 on the entire round would result in a tie.

     The drive was pretty, a slight draw that started straight up the right side of the fairway and curved to the left near the end, settling just off of the fairway, a mere pitch from the green.  The flag was on the middle tier and it was close to the edge of the first tier.  C.J. made a comment about how tough this position was.  Many were in difficult positions we noticed.

     C.J. made a fun par here, going driver, then driver again (to go under a tree) to get his ball on the green in regulation.  Then he showed some great putting skills to use up only two putts from the bottom tier despite the hard pin position.

     I wanted to make sure I erred on the side of being long rather than short this time.  So, I added some extra oomph with my pitch/approach.  It worked.  My ball landed on the correct tier, but it was long.  I now had to putt back towards the edge of the ridge, but it wasn’t so bad.  I thought the putt was mostly straight, but C.J. claimed it moved a bit to the right.  Either way, it went in.  It was about a 15 foot putt.

Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #14-Eagle #3 of 2016!

     We were not doing so well on the back against the Bogey Man.  Right away, we were +2 after the first two holes.  I hit the green on #12, close enough to secure a par, and then C.J. got a bogey on #13 after I earned a double with some weed trouble and a chunked chip.  So, we were already +3, and we had only played four holes.  Then I made this eagle.

     My drive was similar to the one on #8, a beauty that went up the right side, but with less of a draw.  Boy, great drives sure make a difference in my scoring.  I know I gain strokes when I make drives like this one.  I was just past the 150 yard marker.  Earlier in the round, I spied the flagstick, and it was on the top right side.  Since that time, somebody had moved the hole locations, probably preparing for Taco Tuesday later that night.  My approach landed my ball on the green very close to where the pin was earlier that day.  Now, however, the pin was on the opposite side of the green.

     This putt confounded me.  I didn’t know what to do, honestly.  I considered going down into the bowl and back up and out again.  I was also looking at going way high above the bowl, thinking it could break as much as 20 feet to the right.  It looked impossible to even get it on that side and keep it on the green, no less near the hole, but as Luke Skywalker said, “It’s not impossible.  I used to bullseye womprats in my T-16 back home, and they weren’t much bigger than two meters.”

     C.J. was trying to picture it, too.  I think he went and stood at a spot off the green where he thought I should aim, and that’s close to the spot I finally settled on.  Just before pulling the trigger, I picked a spot where some fungus had been dug out, and it was the one closest to the bowl.  I noticed many other similar spots above that one, and then I let it go.

     My ball stayed out of the bowl as it headed towards the left side of the green, and then it turned as it continued along the rim.  I was asking it to stay up as it rolled along, and it was kind enough to listen.  After it turned right, it straightened out and headed for destiny.  C.J. talked about how it looked like it was going to go in, and as it got closer, he sounded more and more confident, “It’s going to go in!”

     When it was four feet away, I was certain, too, and then it rolled directly into the hole.  Wow!  What a putt!  I whooped!  I dropped my putter.  I pulled my hat and sunglasses off of my head and threw them onto the green.  C.J. cheered and headed over to congratulate me.  It was a fun moment!  I was elated.  Some guy up on the teeing ground from #18 hollered down, “I bet you couldn’t make that again!”

     I yelled back, “I know I couldn’t make that again!”

     We went from +3 to +1 after that, just like that.

     I ended up getting a par on #15 (no P.E.F.U.), and I got another par on #16.  C.J. had a miserable time on #17, and I got another double, so were +3 after that, but I ended with another par on #18, so we beat the Bogey Man.  It had been a long time, but this time we got to laugh at him instead of the other way around.  I shot a 45, 39 for a respectable 84.

A Grand Day of Golf

Written on 9-29-16.

     I’m sitting on the right side of our larger couch, my huge feet propped up on the foot rest.  The skies are a depressing, miserable gray color today, and I spy a drip, drip, drip, coming off of our roof near our dining room.  The bleak sky helps add to the cozy feeling in here, though.  Belinda is subbing for Valerie (last name) today, but it’s just for a half-day.  I’m catching up on some writing in this wonderfully cozy atmosphere.

     When I won the raffle for the free round for four at Hillcrest, carts included, it was easy for me to pick the other three.  I wanted our Guzman Tournament team back together once more to celebrate our successful, although unrewarded, second place finish. Playing at Hillcrest would be our reward, I figured.  

     It was a grand day!  C.J. and I talked about it again on Tuesday when he and I were walking up the fairway on #9 at Hidden Valley.  He mentioned how Bruce, normally shy and quiet, continued to go on and on and on about how wonderful that round was.  We agreed.  

     What made it so grand?  The reasons were numerous.  Incredible fall weather.  Sunny skies.  Not too hot, but not too chill either.  Gorgeous golf course.  Recently remodeled, Hillcrest is better than it’s ever been.  Perfect playing partners.  All four of us love golf, and we have a healthy respect for the game.  Amazing competition!  Mike and I took on Bruce and C.J. in best ball match play, and it was so fun and so competitive.  I don’t have the scorecard with all the details (Mike kept score), but I do remember some of it.  Mike and I got as far as two up on the front nine, and we maintained that lead throughout the majority of the back nine.  Mike and I both earned pars on hole #16 to match Bruce’s par and keep us one up.  I made an unlikely putt from off the green for mine.  Then I made an even longer putt for par on #17 with a substantial break from left to right that came in on the back side door of the hole.  This did not rattle Bruce, however, who made a pressure-filled putt for birdie to win the hole, extend the match, and get his team back to even for the first time since the first couple of holes on the front.

     I got into some tree trouble on #18, and Bruce secured his par putt, another long one with a ton of pressure.  Mike had a putt for par to halve the hole and even the match, but it broke just below the hole and Bruce and C.J. had won the match right there at the end.  I remember watching them smile and congratulate each other after Mike missed, and my normally competitive side surprisingly could not have cared less.  I was truly happy for them, and I was thrilled for such a great day together with four of my favorite golf buddies.  Despite the loss, it was still a grand day! 

     Mike reported that Bruce had shot a one under on the back when we were done, but Bruce set the record straight with a text later saying that he had gotten a couple of bogeys that Mike must have thought were pars, so he was actually one over, but it was still an amazing performance, and I was impressed that Mike and I were able to lose only one down after such an incredible nine hole performance from Bruce.