Back to golf…
So, that round yesterday was another fantastic one. I was the one who suggested the points game, knowing Bruce typically enjoys this one more than others. Like I had mentioned, he was ahead after the front nine, but not by much. He faded on the back, however, getting some double bogeys, and C.J. won the highest number of points for one hole after winning hole #11.
This was the hole that we had a bit of a controversy. The tees were where the ladies’ tees usually are, so we all were faced with a new decision. Bruce and I chose to go for the green, but his tee shot went right and most likely out of bounds. Mine, however, headed straight for the green, a smooth and high 3-wood shot that soared over the trees. I was confident we would find it. C.J. played for the fairway, and he was the only one who ended up receiving a “real” score.
After the three of us spent an overly extended time searching for my ball, I chose to use the “leaf rule” and drop. From there, I earned a par, too. Bruce thought C.J. should earn all of the points, though, and I agreed. So, he earned 21 points on that hole, and it was so high because...
we had pushed the three points for each hole we had tied starting way back at hole #7.
Bruce later said, though, that if it was his tee shot he would have kept the par and pushed the points some more, but I just wanted to do what was fair. I felt like I was getting away with the par for my overall score because a lost ball is really like hitting a shot out of bounds, and with C.J. winning that hole it had burst the bubble that had steadily been building. I was frustrated at not finding that ball, though, of course. Where did that thing go? I even found one ball that had been embedded in the mud in the lower, wet area just before the green at about the same spot where my ball could have been. We found plenty of range balls around this green and the practice green, too, but none of them were mine. Argh!
We continued on, though, and plenty of points were out there for the taking to catch up and still possibly beat C.J. who was now clearly in the lead. I won hole #12 with a par, so I got six points right away. Bruce got ten points on hole #13 with a birdie, too, so it really was anyone’s game still. Then C.J. and I tied with birdies on hole #14.
Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #14-Birdie #54 of 2016
The tees were way up and the pin was in the bowl, so this was a birdie that was ripe for the picking. I overdid my swing and pulled my tee shot over to #7’s fairway, though. Not the best start. I chuckled to myself when I realized that I like to play #14’s fairway when I play #7 and vice-versa. We let Damon Abbot play through on this hole, because he was moving fast and this was the hole where he caught us. His tee shot nearly hit me, but his warning gave me time to move out of the way. After he ran up to hole #15’s teeing ground, I used my 8-iron, and the goal was to get it to land above the green and roll down into the hole for a tap-in eagle, but despite the ball resting above my feet and my aiming to the right side, I still pushed my shot to the right side, a small chip shot away from the green.
C.J. had a pitch shot from the same side, and he played it beautifully. It landed on the green, rolled slowly to the top of the rim and then fell in, curving towards the hole. When it stopped, he had less than two feet for his birdie. My chip shot was similar, but I thought it had an even better chance of going in. Mine came in at a higher point, closer to the front of the green compared to his, and it rolled in even more slowly, but it just missed, too, and I had a foot and a bit more to make my birdie. We both earned seven points for this hole and pushed the points to #15.
On #15, I got 12 points with a par and a win, and they only earned one point each for being on the fairway. That helped me get into second place. At the end of the back nine, the scores were C.J., 65, Pat, 57, and Bruce, 48. We decided to do a playoff for the last points (we had pushed points from #16, and we all got pars on #18) by making up a par three hole from near #18 over to #11’s green. Bruce and C.J. tied with pars, so I wanted to keep going. Bruce was done, so he left. C.J. and I continued on to play #10 and #11.
A couple came up to us on #10, so we skipped that hole and headed to #11 again. I was thinking right away that if I did’t win this play-off, please let me at least find that silly golf ball that was lost from earlier. It would be easy to identify. Eric had given me a sleeve of Titleist golf balls with the Istleta eagle on them after attending a Big-O event in Albuquerque. That ball, the one that I lost earlier, was the last one from that sleeve.
I chose my 5-wood this time, thinking my 3-wood went too far the first time and that was the reason I had lost it, but I pushed my tee shot over to the warm-up area for The First Tee. I played a provisional, but I ended up not needing it. My ball was near the gate, but not so close that I couldn’t use a full swing. I missed the green, though, and my ball came to rest on the hill on the back left side over there. C.J.’s approach put his ball just off the green on the front right side, but he had a long putt to get his ball close to the flag on the back left side.
When I walked over to C.J. to get my provisional ball back, we met at a spot where he spied the top of a white ball embedded in the muddy area there just before the green. He said, “There it is!”
I dug it out, and I said, “We’ll know if it’s mine if it has the Isleta…”
And, as I said that, the Isleta eagle was revealed.
Like I wrote earlier, and I truly believe this: every round of golf has a story…or two…or even more.
C.J. putted his ball to a tap-in range, and I was unable to get up and down for my par, so C.J. won the play-off. The final scores ended up with C.J. earning 87, Pat, 57, and Bruce, 51. C.J. not only won the game, but he also beat us both in stroke play with an 84 to our two 86’s. It was some of the best golf C.J. has played, and his win was well-deserved. I was just happy to have that ball back. Would it have made a difference in the outcome had we found it when we first played that hole? We will never know.
Until next time…
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