Hillcrest Round Breakdown

Written on 7-19-18.

     It’s a Thursday evening, and I have just enjoyed a day off.  I am finished with The First Tee for this summer; yesterday was the final day.  We held a tournament for the players to practice what they had learned in a culminating, competitive activity.  They played nine holes, each hole averaging close to 25 yards away.  A wonderful time was had by all, and it was a successful exclamation point to the end of our summer sessions.

     Tomorrow, I go to Riverview to help out one final time with the Special Olympics group.  It’s time for their area games, and I look forward to going and helping again.  I love those kids.  I enjoy it so much, I would do it for free.  Oh, wait a minute.  I already do it for free.  

     I said I had a day off, but I did get some stuff done for Time to Teach, and Belinda and I also finished some important things to get ready for our upcoming trip to Cancun on the 23rd.  I’ll have another new training coming up next month, and it will be the first one I’ve ever had outside of my home state of New Mexico.  I’m going to Carver Elementary in Colorado Springs on August 18th.  I’ll be training at my nephew Daryl’s wife’s school, and I am super excited about it!

On to golf…

     We had our annual summer round of golf at Hillcrest yesterday afternoon, but it wasn’t just Eric and me this time.  Bruce and C.J. came to play, too, and we also had all of our ladies meet us at Cuckoo’s downtown for dinner when the round was over.  After the last session with The First Tee in the morning, it ended up being a long day, but it was also a fabulous day, so I am happy it was so long.  While we played, we got...

rained on four or five times, even though it was a partly cloudy day.  It even rained, sometimes when the sun was out, enough to make me look up and wonder where the rain was coming from.  It rained on holes #3, #7, #10 and #11, and once more on #16.  Between the short bouts of rain, though, we had the sun and a breeze to dry us off and warm us up again.  This off and on crazy type of weather helped to make this round unique and special.  

     It was one heckuva an outstanding match, too.  We did our usual Best Ball Match Play with Eric and I taking on the dynamic duo of Bruce and C.J.  It was so close, it deserves a hole by hole breakdown.  

Hole #1-With some visualizing beforehand and my new pitching wedge, I was on the green and used only two putts for the only par and a one-up lead.  Bruce commented that this was the first time he did not knock his first tee shot into the water.  I had forgotten about that, but it was true.  He usually starts his rounds here by putting his first ball in the pond on the left.  Not this time, but unfortunately he did miss his par putt.

Hole #2-Even with my tee shot going left and behind some trees, I hit two greens in a row (visualizing helped again), and I was even closer this time.  My birdie putt broke just below the hole, though, and Bruce hit the green and got a par, also, so we stayed one up.

Hole #3-Eric’s and Bruce’s pars kept the score the same.

Hole #4-I should have gotten up and down from just behind the green, but I skulled my chip.  Bruce hit the green again, but his first putt was far away from the hole.  It didn’t matter.  He made his par putt to get their team back to even.

Hole #5-Eric hit the green, but he triple-putted.  My chip came up short, and I barely missed my par putt.  C.J. earned an amazing par after making a pitch with his second shot to just below the hole.  Bruce got his par, too, so we went one down for the first time.

Hole #6-I hit the green in regulation after my drive went left and down the hill a bit.  Going to the range at Pinon Hills helped me with that approach.  I was about 80 yards out, and that was the perfect distance for my sand wedge.  Darned if Bruce didn’t scrounge a par with an approach that was even farther away and a little more amazing than C.J.’s pitch on the hole before.  His ball stopped just left of the hole, a foot away.  He tapped in for his par, so they stayed one up.  Remember, never count Bruce out…ever.

Hole #7-Bruce got another par with a decent chip and an even better putt.  We got soaked on this hole with the rain, but I spent part of that time under a tree until the majority of it passed.  We were now two down.

Hole #8-Using only his irons, Eric earned a par.  He struggled with his driver, so sticking with his irons was an excellent choice on this shorter hole.  We were back to one down again.

Hole #9-Eric got the only par again with a tee shot that hit the green (excellent irons).  We were back to even with Eric’s super play.

Hole #10-Despite Bruce shooting a 38 on the front, we were even, so things were looking good.  Eric and I were complementing each other well to keep them in check.  For this hole, it was my turn.  Eric lost his ball somehow on the right side.  After a long drive, I was able to get my second shot right up next to the green on the left side.  I got soaking wet on this hole, because it was really coming down.  I got my par after three more strokes, but Bruce just nearly missed his birdie putt.  We stayed even with my score tying Bruce’s and C.J.s pars.  

Hole #11-Eric helped us tremendously on this hole and the next one.  He pitched in for a birdie from the right side.  We were now back to one up for the first time since hole #3.  

Hole #12-Eric hit the green with a smooth 8-iron, and then he controlled his downhill putt by rolling his ball just past the hole.  Go, Eric!  We were two up for the first time.

Hole #13-Eric earned a bogey with a pop.  We were giving Eric and C.J. three pops on each side.  C.J. was also playing the Blue/Gold Tees to make it fair.  I earned a bogey outright, but C.J. earned a net bogey, too, so we stayed two up.

Hole #14-Bruce earned the only par.  Eric and I failed to counter, and I had some real trouble getting off the tee.  We were back to only one up.

Hole #15-Eric and C.J. earned pars.  C.J. got up and in from off the collar on the front of the green.  Eric put his first putt way past the hole (nearly 15 feet), but he made the next putt for par.  My chip actually hit the flagstick and bounced to four feet away, but my putt for par stayed just out on the left side.  Bruce got a bogey, too.  We remained one up for another hole.

Hole #16-Bruce got his only birdie of the round on this hole with an approach that landed nearly eight feet away.  Oh no!  We were back to even again with only two holes left.  It was getting exciting!

Hole #17-I was feeling frustrated and sorry for myself for not helping out more on the back nine.  Eric was playing so well on the holes that really counted, and I had not done much at all.  Thankfully, I got a chance to help our team on this hole.  We could not find my drive after an uncomfortable amount of searching.  Eric saw that it had taken a big bounce off of the fairway to the left, but we never would have thought it bounced far enough to go into the water.  That was where we were looking, though.  
     Finally, Bruce found it 75 yards back from where we were searching. I really overestimated my drive on this hole.  After that, my utility club put my ball past the corner, on the fairway, and almost exactly 100 yards away.  I am going to say that all of my work on the range at Pinon Hills paid off with this approach, too.  The flag was on the back right side, and my approach wedge put my ball on the front middle of the green.  Bruce skulled his approach and ended up off the back, but just behind the hole.  He chipped it to within five feet, though.  Eric was out of it on this hole after his third shot went out of bounds, so it was all up to me.  

     My putt was at least twenty paces long, but my ball settled just past the hole four feet away leaving me a tricky downhill par putt.  C.J. had a long uphill putt for his bogey.  If he would have made it, it would have been a net par.  Bruce’s putt turned left just before the hole, so he got a bogey.  

     It was my turn, and I aimed a full hole out to the right.  It felt like I barely tapped my ball, but it rolled quickly and curved just enough to fall into the hole.  Phew!  We were back to one-up with one to play.

Hole #18-I wish I could say I earned another par to close out the match.  Or, I wish I could write that Eric saved us again with another par to end it with a victory.  Sadly, it was the other way around.  C.J. got a bogey with a pop to earn his par, and Bruce got a par, also.  Eric and I blew up on this final hole.  My drive looked fantastic until it continued to turn left and then stopped stubbornly behind and under a tree.  I ended with a double, and Eric used his driver again, so he got a triple.  Ugh.  After eighteen holes, we ended all square.  It turned out to be a really fun, competitive, off and on rainy, gorgeous, Colorado round of golf.

     Since we lost to them at Riverview last time, this felt like a victory, though.  In stroke play, it ended up Bruce: 79, Pat: 88, and C.J. and Eric tied with 98 each.    

Until next time…