1st First Tee Activities

Written on 3-14-17.

     I helped with The First Tee at McCoy with Tom and Coach T. today, and it was super fun!  Instead of being a teacher and dropping off my students to hurriedly head back to my classroom and my prep time in order to do my best to get one task done (or maybe two), I got to stay to teach and play golf. My one or two tasks did not include, however, going to the bathroom and having a snack.

     I’ve set my dates for this summer’s program, and I am working on getting certified again.  I’m really looking forward to this summer and doing another session.  

     I have one new birdie to report, so here I go.

Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #8-Birdie #5 of 2017

     The day before this birdie, I saw Pat Otero, and I told him that C.J. and I were going to be playing at 10:30 the next morning, but I didn’t expect him to show up.  He did, though, and that was great.  So, C.J., Pat, and I played nine holes before I played another nine holes with Whitney and Cutler for The First Tee.  

     We decided on the skins game, the escalating one, and off we went.  It was close, but this birdie gave me the win, even though we all tied on the last hole.  Pat won the second greatest amount of money when he won hole #6 with a par.  He ended up with $170,000.00 for his total.  C.J. won the first bonus with the longest drive on hole #1, and he shared the money on the last hole, too.

     I attempted to drive the green, and my ball flight ended up being a slight draw that floated over the trees on the right side of the fairway.  Pat said he would have liked to have seen that drive with a pro tracer.  I ended up on the left side in the rough, a short pitch from the green.  The pin was on the middle tier this time, so I knew I had to get it to stop on that section.  I used my approach wedge, and it worked.  It came out low, but it bounced on the bottom tier, and it rolled up to the left of the flag.  My putt was an 18-footer, and it was straight.  Making this birdie helped, but I only needed a par; my partners both made bogeys.  I ended up winning $190,000.00 when all was said and done.  

     I ended up shooting a 40.  A long putt on hole #2 pushed the money after Pat put his putt from just out of the bunker right next to the hole for his par.  I might have had an even lower score without the double bogey on hole #3.  I wanted to drive the green again and get a birdie.  Pat found my ball on the right side of the green on #4 when we played that hole.  Enough for now.  I need to eat dinner and get ready for a church meeting.

Until next time…

A Second Rare Birdie on #3

Written on 3-10-17.

     Belinda is driving our GMC truck back home, and we just had lunch at Griego’s with Nan, Greg, Amanda, and Eric.  It was wonderful to catch up with Nan and Greg.  She’s in her first year of retirement, and he continues to work up at Fort Lewis.  They are doing extremely well. 

     I played golf yesterday with two of my First Tee kiddos and C.J.  We shortened every hole on the back nine to make it less frustrating, and this is all a part of my remaining certified as a Birdie coach.  I have four more rounds to go, and I play again with Kyle and Quentin this afternoon and Whitney and Cutler tomorrow afternoon.  I will also need to contact my four Birdie players to see if they can participate in a practice certification soon.  

     After the kids left, C.J. and I continued on and played the front nine alone.  C.J. wanted to try a different version of the G.I.R. game we usually play.  He wanted a G.I.R. to be worth three points this time, and he wanted those to be the only points a player could earn.  As we went along, however, he tweaked it to add two points per hole if one of us earned a par, and three points for a birdie, and four points for an eagle.  We talked once more about taking a point away if a player triple-putted, too, but we didn’t make that change.   

     I earned another rare birdie on hole #3.

Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #3-Birdie #4 of 2017

     C.J. was beating me already after the first two holes.  He had hit both greens, but he triple-putted both, so he had six points.  I nearly missed the green on hole #2, so I had no points yet.  With visions of my last drive and birdie on this hole, I pulled the driver out again to go for the green.  The vision, however, did not match the reality.  This drive, although fairly long, ended up heading left over the trees.  We did not see it or hear it hit the tops of those trees, so I was worried that it might have ended up in the ditch.  

     It almost did.  My ball came to rest in the dirt just out of the ditch right next to hole #1’s cart path.  Although it was in the dirt, it was close to the green.  I used my approach wedge, and my ball shot out low heading toward the green. It smacked the hill, popped up higher than the flag, and stopped on the green left of the flag.  I was past double the distance of my last birdie putt.  The hole was in the same spot on the front right side.  Half of the putt was fuzzy and slow, but the other half had been trampled and was slick.  My target was a spot right on the edge between the two different surfaces.  I cannot lie.  I did not expect to make this putt at all.  I was really hoping it would stop fairly close to the hole and not end up 12 to 16 feet past it.  Instead, however, my ball rolled directly in.

Birdie on Bev's Birthday

Written on 3-5-17.

     C.J. and I played yesterday, my sister Bev’s 53rd birthday, and the weather was decent.  We both played in shorts, although he wore a sweater the entire time, too.  I got a little sunburned on my face.  Bruce was in Durango, and C.J. wanted to play the medal game again, the same game that he and Bruce had played recently.  It simply meant to subtract our handicaps when we were all done.  Bruce came out ahead the last time by two strokes, according to an e-mail that C.J. had sent.  Would I be able to beat C.J., too?

We played the back nine first.  A group that had driven all the way from Pagosa Springs was getting ready to go off the front, so we chose to avoid a slow start.  

     As I write, B is napping on the couch right next to me, while I watch the professionals playing in Mexico.  Dustin Johnson is tied with Rahm for the lead, but Snedeker is making an incredible run on the back nine.  If he hadn’t shot a 75 on the first day, he would be in a commanding lead.  The weather is not so great today, with a high only in the low 50’s, a slight chance of rain, and some dreary skies, so I am glad we got our golf in yesterday.  The fire is going in our gas fireplace, and it’s the perfectly cozy complement to the bleak looking weather outside our windows.  It’s incredibly cozy in here right now.

     C.J. kicked my tail on the back nine, shooting a consistent...

Papago With Brother Guy

Written on 2-20-17.

     Well, this is heavenly.  Belinda and I are in a casita, Casita #17 to be exact, at the Abiquiu Inn, and this is the second trip in a row where B has joined me for a work-related school visit.  B is in love, and I don’t just mean with me; she loves this little place, and what’s not to love?  Authentic southwestern design.  Gas fireplace.  King-sized bed.  Sun room with hammock.  Rich, dark reds, greens, and browns.  Ceramic tile floors.  Vigas and latillas.  Peace and quiet.  Ahhhh.  Breathe in.  Breathe out.  Life is great!

On to golf…

     Guy and I played 18 holes on Super Bowl Sunday at Papago, a Phoenix public golf course, and it was wonderful.  On its website, they say it’s a hidden gem surrounded with incredible views, and it is also considered the finest public golf course in the state.  Not sure if that’s true, but...