Written on 5-6-02.
Buddy Day was this past Friday. Belinda and I now always get each other. Buddy Day is a day for third graders to get a whirlwind tour of Park Avenue. May always goes by so quickly. This year, May will be different, though. No more Spike Doctor. I have a lot more time on my hands this spring and it is a very nice change. On Sunday after church, Eric and I got to go play at Civitan. What a deal Civitan is! It only costs $5.00, and you get to play eighteen holes. Granted it’s a par three course, but what a great deal. It’s very helpful for your short game also. On every hole, you are pitching, chipping, or putting. I played extremely consistently this time. Usually we can only play nine or sometimes twelve holes, but this time we got in a full eighteen. Belinda and Amanda took the kids to Durango. B wanted to buy some pants, and all of the kids got to go play at a park. I shot 32, 32! I had all pars and bogeys (Notice the correct spelling this time.) on the front nine. On the back nine, I was all pars and bogeys and one double-bogey, which means I got one more par than on the first nine holes. Here are the most memorable shots and holes.
Civitan-Hole 5
Twice this day, I had pulled my drive on this hole. The first time, I was left and long, but the second time, I was left and longer. I had an awkward pitch between the trees to an elevated green. I thought that my 7-iron, toe-up, toe-up swing would bounce the ball off the hill and hopefully keep it on the green. I hit it lower than what I had pictured, but it was a good thing I did. The ball rolled...
through the thick grass more that way, and I ended up closer to the hole, about ten feet. From there, I made the putt for par. Eric was just off the green, but pulled his pitch and ended up making a bogey. I guess I was impressed that even though I had a tougher lie than he did, I ended up getting the par instead. I was very proud of my short game, especially my pitch shot, on this hole.
Civian-Hole 6
With my confidence high, I hit a low 8-iron onto this green. The flag was back and closer to the fringe on the right side than any other flag I have ever seen at this golf course, about five feet. Lately, my lag-putting has been laughable. I’ve been leaving some of my putts from outside twenty feet extremely short, sometimes just barely making it past halfway to the hole! This putt was no different. I left it twelve or fifteen feet short! I remember saying to Eric that my putt was terrible, just terrible. Anyway, I didn’t leave my third putt short! It broke just slightly from right to left and banged into the back of the hole. It hit the back side and actually jumped up into the air about two inches before landing back in the cup again. I was lucky it hit the hole, or it might have rolled right off the green. On the next hole, I lagged my putt much closer! Phew! I made par again. On the hole after that, I left it a little short, but trickled in my putt from about six feet for another par. It was great fun making four pars in a row. I hit five greens on the second nine, and four greens on the front. I was most impressed with my steady play again. Even on the last hole, I didn’t explode like I did at Dalton. I was very consistent.
Tomorrow, I am playing in a scramble at Hidden Valley. Eric and I are looking for a tournament to play in, but so far no luck. I have a handicap, 22, and I have set a goal to cut that in half by the end of this summer. The Hidden Valley Two-Person Best Ball is on a Friday and a Saturday this month. I can’t play because I work. Moab has the same kind of tournament on June 1st and 2nd, but it costs $220.00 per team, and with a hotel, that’s just too much money. I will find a tournament or two to play in this summer. I will.
Written on 5-8-02.
I played in the tournament and my team won yesterday! Eric and I weren’t on the same team sadly, but we had fun practicing short game stuff before it started. I played with three other guys whom I had never met before. Their names were Darrel, Marion, and Ernie. Ernie and I rode together in a cart. He is retired now. He used to work for PNM. He and his wife are raising their sixteen-year old grandson. Marion is seventy-three years old. He was a very steady putter. He also hit an incredible 80 yard shot on the last hole we played, which ended up being hole #1, to about two inches away. That shot helped us save par again. We didn’t have a single bogey! Darrel was our “A” player. He had taken lessons recently with the pro at Riverview. He was complaining that the lessons had screwed up his game. He did well some of the time, and sometimes he didn’t do so well. On the par three #6, he hit a great shot to within six or eight feet. It was our last chance to even get a ball on the green. Marion made the putt for birdie. They were very nice to play with, and I felt very comfortable for my first time playing in this tournament, which is played every Tuesday.
I had some of the best balls which I will write about now.
On hole #3, I hit the best second shot just past the green. We had a small chip from there and got par. On hole #4, I made the putt for birdie! Darrel hit the best tee shot just next to the edge of the green. It was the first time I had even gotten a chance to putt. I thought it was going to go past the hole on the left side, but it caught the hole and fell in. They all high-fived me. I think they were happy to have me on their team after that shot. On hole #5, I hit the best drive, but it was on the fairway for hole #1. I just hit it farther than anyone else. From there, I had the best ball hitting it back to the correct fairway. Hole #7 was my best hole. I had the best drive with my 3-wood hitting it over the hill and on the correct fairway this time. Marion hit the lay-up shot, so I was feeling very confident that I could make the green with my second shot. I used my 5-wood and crushed it. It felt great. It was a little low, but it rolled right up onto the green. We thought it might have rolled off the green, but it was on! We all missed the putt for eagle, but we got a tap-in for birdie. We only earned three birdies, but somehow we ended up winning. Eric’s team was three under also, so it didn’t make sense to me that we won. I ended up making $30, though. I also had a great time and made some new friends.
I did have some bad shots too. Most of my drives and shots toward the greens went left. Actually, I think they all did. I don’t remember hitting one shot to the right. I had a pulling problem. Next time I play, I will see if it happens a lot again. If it does, I’ll need to take a look at it.
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