36th Excerpt From My Original Golf Diary!

Written on 4-23-02.

     I have some time to write tonight.  I am downloading the music video that goes with Star Wars Episode 2, Attack of the Clones.  It came out today on MTV, but I don’t have MTV, so I am downloading it instead.  I have so much to write about, but it seems so little time to write.  I will just get started.  I have three birdies to recall.

Civitan-Hole 1

     Eric and I played at Civitan a couple of Saturdays ago.  We played nine holes, and I played rather well.  I shot a 34 on the front nine.  I was doing pretty well on hitting greens.  Anyway, we had time to play four more holes before I left to meet B, the kids, Kelly, Rocky, and Courtney at the Outback Restaurant.  On hole #1, I used my gap wedge this time.  I had used my sand wedge the first time and ended up short.  This time I was above the flag about fifteen feet.  I had a downhill putt that would break from left to right.  I putted it true, and once again I had to get Eric’s attention when it was about two feet from the hole.  I knew it was going in, so I called his name like we so often do to each other on putts we know are going to go in.

Civitan-Hole 3

     This hole was shorter than hole #1, and the flag was on the front this time, but we were hitting into a pretty stiff breeze.  I used my pitching wedge, but it didn’t feel like I used a full swing.  It was more like a little past three-quarters.  I hit it pretty high, but not too high.  It landed right next to the flag on the left side.  I got up to the hole, and as I walked, I tried to...
burn the image of the ball right next to the hole into my head.  My ball.  Small, white, but almost black in the shadows of dusk.  Flag casting its shadow directly back at me as we walked up to the green.  I stroked that in for another birdie.  On those last four holes we played, I was even par with a birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey run. 

Pinon Hills-Hole 1

     Okay, this isn’t a birdie, but it is a very memorable drive.  I used my 5-wood to tee off.  I was playing with Eric again just this past weekend.  It was on Saturday again, but the weather was not really cooperating.  It was very windy and even cold at times, and then the sun would come out and the wind would stop.  I hit my best drive on hole #1 ever.  The wind was coming from behind us and moving slightly right to left.  I hit my tee shot perfectly.  I hit it into the wind with a slight draw, and the wind pushed the ball so that it followed the natural arch of the fairway.  It bounced and rolled past the 150-yard marker by twenty-five yards.  I won’t write about my second shot (this diary is for building confidence! ), but I will tell you about my putt for bogey.  It was about a fifteen footer, and the greens were bumpy and sandy, but I rolled it right in.  

Pinon Hills-Hole 4

     I have done very well on par threes.  I birdied this hole again with a great tee shot.  Just like I had birdied hole #3 at Civitan again with a great tee shot.  The hole was cut in the front this time.  I used my 9-iron from 158 yards.  It landed just next to the hole on the right side, leaving me with about a three-foot putt.  I followed my routine, and kept my head down.  The putt caught the bottom or left side of the cup and fell in.  I think my count is now sixteen birdies and one eagle for this year.  

     I ended up scoring a 46 on the front.  That score is really good considering I shot a 9 on Hole #5, the par four with the valley you have to shoot over.  Short game fell apart there.  I also lost a ball on my drive.  I was next to the hole, just off the green in four shots.  I should have gotten over and in with two shots from there, but I over-chipped and then putted very poorly.  I didn’t let it affect the rest of my round, though.  I was very proud of my effort on hole #9 again, a previous “nemesis” hole for me.  I hit 3-wood, but it was knocked right down by the wind and didn’t go very far.  Then I hit two 5-woods, the second one reaching the green!  I hit those very smoothly and they cut through the wind nicely.  From there, I three-putted, but only missed par by looping the putt out around the back edge of the cup.  That was the second bogey I had earned, and was very pleased with, on this long par five.  I also just missed birdie on hole #7.  I hit another huge drive.  My sand wedge, with a little help from the wind behind me, landed the ball just past the hole.  I missed the putt, but once again by only a little tiny bit.  It was a well-earned par.  I love golf like that.  Big drive, hit the green, make your best effort for birdie, (make as many as you can most of the time), and then tap in for par (if you happen to miss the birdie).                      

     I’ve been reading Golf is Not a Game of Perfect again. It has helped remind me of some things I had forgotten.  First, accept the results of your shots.  This is extremely hard, especially as I begin to get better.  He also says make it a part of your routine.  It’s the last and most important part of a solid routine.  Second, have a selective memory.  I truly feel I do very well with this part, but I need to keep it up.  I am writing in here right now in order to remember all of my good shots and to forget the bad ones.  Actually, I do believe you can still learn from bad shots too.  Mike told me this also.   Third, pick a small target and trust that your body and club will take the ball there.  This is similar to the thought I remember reading that when it is time to play golf, it is time to play golf.  In other words, think only about focusing on each shot, but not on mechanics!  If you start thinking about mechanical aspects of your swing, it can only ruin your round.  Trust your swing, no matter you’re your swing is like that day, to get the job done.  Fourth, short game is critical to good success in golf.  Luckily, I love the short game.  Guy and I played a lot of short game “games” when he was here.  Fortunately, I can say that I beat him each time.  I am not bragging, but I know how good he is at stuff like that, so I knew I was playing well in order to be able to beat him.  We played a skins game with eighteen holes, taking turns which hole to go to and from where.  In the first nine, I was down $70,000.00 to $20,000.00, or something like that.  I came back and won on the back nine.  It was really fun!  When I played Eric, we played match play at Pinon.  I won every hole except two, I think.  I can’t wait for this summer to really play and practice more.  A lot more!  Well, I need to go.  The video is done downloading.  I haven’t watched it and it’s late.  Until next time…