Decidedly Dominating Day

Written on 8-27-17.

     I am sitting up straight and tall on my new computer room chair at my new computer room desk, and it’s marvelous.  This desk has a dark redwood color, and it even matches the colors of the frames on Belinda’s Newsweek tribute displays.  We didn’t plan that, but it worked out.  This desk is the same size as the dreary white plastic card table we had in here, but it looks oh so much more professional and just…better.  It’s even called a writing desk, and that’s perfectly appropriate, especially considering that I am typing away on my keyboard "write" now.  Belinda is taking her mid-afternoon nap out on our couch in our living room/“refuge,” and it’s a lazy Sunday afternoon here at the Swope’s.  

     That amazing golf continued after the Solheim Cup was over last weekend.  I also watched the end of the USGA Championship between Doug Ghim and Doc Redman at the Riviera Country Club.  Down two holes, Doc came back to win with a long eagle putt on #17, a birdie on #18, and a clutch tee shot to the front of the green on the first playoff hole on #10.  Wow!  Impressive.  My takeaway is that the match is never over until it’s over, and it was proven with Lexi, Ann, Doug, and Doc on that day.  Incredible comebacks and superior golf!

     Speaking of superior golf, Bruce had a dominating day at Pinon Hills this past Thursday when we managed to get Eric to come join us for at least the first nine holes.

     Eric and I took on Bruce and C.J. in best ball match play, of course.  It was over in...

a blink.  They won the first five holes, so it wasn’t even close.  C.J. contributed with two pars on the par threes, too.  Bruce earned two birdies on the front nine, and with only two bogeys and the rest pars, he was even for the front nine.  On #3, he dropped in a smart bomb from somewhere beyond 200 yards to a spot just three feet from the hole that was cut on the back right side.  He asked me if it was my ball; that’s how far away he was.  I laughed and told him that it was definitely not my ball.  Eric and I did manage to tie them on one hole, hole #8, but not only was the match completely over by that time (despite a weird bet Eric made and won with the longest drive on #7), but Bruce got his second birdie on the very next hole, too.  Eric’s long drive bet was quickly negated.  For this birdie, Bruce chipped in from a spot that was very close to where I played my 8th stroke.  He popped his ball up, and it landed just on the green, rushed to the flagstick, and hit it right on its nose where it fell right in.  Somedays are better than others when it comes to golf.  Today was decidedly Bruce’s day.

     Eric left me after that (he had already made plans, but he probably didn’t want to stick around after our drubbing), and maybe I should have gone with him.  C.J. read my mind and suggested that we take on Bruce on the back nine.  As I write this, I’m wondering why I would want to do that.  For anyone who is reading this and does not understand match play, you really only need to know that a match can be over even before all of the holes are played.  For example, if you and your competitor are playing nine holes, it can be over in five.  C.J. and I managed to make it six.  So, what I wrote about above, about the match not really being over until it’s over, I’m pretty sure (even though I hate to contradict myself) both of these matches were over soon after we had started, or they were over when Bruce decided he was going to make some birdies.  

     Bruce topped his two birdies from the front nine with three in a row on the back.  Good grief.  He made a long putt on #11 for his first one.  Then he had this super tee shot on #12 that landed on the green on the right side and curled around below the hole where it settled over on the left side.  That putt wasn’t so short either.  On #13, C.J. and I got to watch his approach from just off the green, and it assaulted the area around the flagstick.  He made pars on the next two holes, so he was three under for five holes.  Cool!  
     What makes this even more outstanding, in my mind, was that he had a little hitch in his routine for most of his tee shots and full swings.  On #14, he shushed me on his tee shot (even though I didn’t say anything) just before he took his swing, because he knew I had noticed that he had done it again.  He would start his club back like he was going to pull the trigger, stop, bring his club back down behind the ball and then take his swing.  It did bite him on #15, the par three next to the small canyon.  He chunked his shot over to the fairway, but he got up and down from 50 to 75 yards for his par from there.  Gee whiz!

     As much as I hate losing, watching Bruce play like this is still fun, and it always will be.  Next time, though, I want to be on Bruce’s team.  Can’t we work that out somehow?  Or, if I have to play against Bruce again, could I at least play better and make it a little bit interesting? 

    My swings and putts weren’t bad, but I could not score well at all.  We started over one final time for the last three holes, and although I know there was no way Bruce was taking his foot off the accelerator, C.J. and I managed to win those last three holes.  I tied Bruce on #16 with a bogey.  C.J. tied him with a bogey on #17, and I managed a bogey on the tough closing hole to win the tiny, but final match.  Bruce ended up three over on the back nine with his sluggish finish, so he ended up shooting a 75, one stroke off of his best score ever at Pinon Hills.  Thank you for the thrashing and the show, Bruce!

Until next time…