Two Fall Birdies

Written on 9-22-18.

     Belinda, Kody, and I are sitting out on our front porch, “Haven.”  I am about to go barbecue some chicken.  I can hear our neighbor, John, talking on his phone with a friend in the background.  Belinda went on a hike today out past Purgatory and Cascade Village with some of her school friends, and she saw some wonderful colors; it’s that time of year.  I relish this time of year.  C.J. and I got to go play golf in this fantastic weather this morning, and it was wonderful.  The high was in the mid-’70s.  Gorgeous golf weather right now.

     I earned two birdies during today’s round.

Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #4-Birdie #37 of 2018             

     We were playing a version of a points game that was slightly different.  I believe it was 3 points for a G.I.R., 3 points for a par, 5 for a birdie, and 7 for an eagle.  Getting up and in from off the green for a par was worth 2 points, and fairways were worth 1 point.  

     On four par three holes today, I hit my tee shots thin, causing them to fly lower and farther than I wanted.  This was one of those holes.  The white tees were in the middle, and the hole was down on the bottom.  My thinned 9-iron put my ball just off the green and below the hole.  I chose to putt from there, and when my ball was three feet away, I thought it was going to stop, but it just continued its slow march until it dropped in gently, not even tapping the flagstick.

Aztec Municipal Golf Course-Hole #11-Birdie #38 of 2018             

     Our front nine scores were embarrassing.  We did not play well at all, except for my skulled birdie on #4.  That’s why it was so gratifying to turn things around and play up to my potential on the back nine.  

     For this birdie, I drove my ball over the wash where it settled into the bunker on the far left side.  The hole was cut on the far right side and near the middle.  C.J. got up and in from just off the green on the right side for his par.

     My second shot was the most difficult and the most impressive.  It was a long bunker shot, and the lie was not great.  My ball was sitting down on a small track, and that made the contact much more difficult, but I splashed my ball out just like a pro!  It popped up, landed on the green near the hole, and stopped on the far side.  The putt was not an easy one either.  The greens had been aerated, so I was putting through a bunch of tiny holes.  Just before I putted, I could clearly see six inches of break from right to left, so I just put my ball on the line that I saw so clearly in my head.  It worked so well.  My ball curved and dropped right in the hole. 

     When it was all over, the stretch of the first four holes gave me enough points to hold on until the very end of the round.  The final score was Pat: 40 to C.J.: 30.  I shot an 85, and that was with a 37, just +3, on the back nine.  

Until next time…