Bruce Takes a Break

Written on 9-11-18.

     I can’t type that date and not think of its significance.  I’m one of those who will never forget.  We had a delay at school due to electrical problems that day.  Belinda and I watched it all as it unfolded on the Today Show while we were waiting for the two-hour school delay to end.  We chose to go to school after the delay, but very few students were there.  It ended up being a wasted day.  Many parents, afraid that something might happen at school, chose to keep their children at home.  That was 17 years ago.  

On to golf…

     C.J. and I are going to continue playing without Bruce for a while.  When I last texted Bruce, he said he had several other projects he is enjoying right now, so I don’t know when he will join us again.  We miss him, certainly, but C.J. has taken over beating me lately, so I’m having no problems remaining humble.  

     We played nine holes on Thursday last week, and then we played the other nine on Friday.  I chose to play only nine holes both times mostly due to our new puppy, Kody.  I didn’t want to leave him alone for such a long time in our backyard.  Today, however, I felt he would be okay for an entire round of 18 holes, and he did...

really well.  I left out plenty of fresh water and some food to help him make it.  Mostly, he is spending those morning hours sleeping anyway.

     On Thursday, we chose to play the Reverse Handicap Game on the back nine, and since it was for only nine holes, it was easy to choose the difficulty of each hole quickly before we teed off.  I won the first, and I jumped ahead with 14 points.  Then he earned 11 points on #11.  I jumped ahead once more with 13 points on #12.  Then he took his turn by winning #13, and that was worth 16 points.  My ball, after a gorgeous tee shot over the cottonwood, was never found on that hole.  

     We were tied at 27 points after the first four holes.  After that, we pushed the points for the next three holes.  C.J. burst the bubble, though, and he won the match after getting a combined total of 47 points on hole #17 with a par to my bogey.  He rubbed it in even more by winning the final hole’s 15 points, too.  It is getting very tough to beat C.J., and he has a new shorter swing that he is perfecting, and it’s working really well…most of the time.

     On the next day’s round, we played the same game, but we were joined by Bob Ward this time.  On Thursday, we had seen Bob and Don playing when we were on the green on #10, so I told them we planned on playing the next day.  Don couldn’t come, because he was driving the football team to Taos, but Bob wanted to know if he could play.  Of course, he could play.

     I got the better of C.J. this time.  Bob didn’t earn any points, even though we gave him pops on five holes.  When it was all over, the final score was Pat: 84, C.J.: 42, and Bob: 0.  I did the points differently both times, because we were only playing nine holes, so the toughest hole, #1, was worth 18 points, but the easiest hole, #8, was worth 10.  Normally when we play a full 18 holes, #8 would only be worth one point.  That’s why the point totals were so much higher for each round.

     Today, C.J. beat me in the Escalating Skins Game, and he did it with a crazy comeback on the last two holes.  He had to hit the green on #17, and be closer to the hole.  He did that.  Then he had to have the longest drive on #18.  He did that, too.  That one, however, included a wacky, lucky bounce.  He hit a tree that lined the ditch, and his ball bounced out to the right, stopping on the fairway.  My tee shot went into the ditch, so he won the final two bonuses, and he needed them both to earn his victory.  He also earned a par with a pop for a net birdie on #18 to seal the deal.  The final score was C.J.: $1090K, Pat: 980K.  It was a great match, and once again it came down to the last hole.  I had a lousy front nine, shooting a 51, but I bounced back nicely on the back with a 38, just 4 over.  C.J. ended with a 96.

     I need to stop and go to bed now.  Tomorrow, it’s my turn to wake up when Kody gets up to take him outside to let him go to the bathroom, and that’s usually right after 6:00 AM.  Good night.

Until next time…