Written on 4-21-19, Easter Sunday.
We just had a very pleasant Easter dinner here at our house, but it just wasn’t the same without Dale here. I miss him. We all do. Life goes on…differently.
It’s early evening now, and it’s quiet time. We did a completely different meal, too, just to try and keep our minds off of his absence. We miss his hams, too. Wow! That guy could prepare a ham. Yummy. We ate chicken enchiladas for a complete change, and we are relaxing and digesting now. It was good, but once again, it just wasn’t the same.
On to golf…
The last time I wrote, I had recalled the front nine, but I ran out of time to get to the back, so here’s what happened after we made the turn.
I started hot. I won the first hole with a par and a pop, so I had a net birdie there. Then I was the only one to get a birdie, a real/gross birdie on hole #11, my first birdie ever at that hole.
Pinon Hills-Hole #11-Birdie #4 of 2019
We did have a group ahead of us, and because I had won the hole before, I had to wait a moment until they were farther up the fairway. Once they made it past the point where the cart path angles back toward the hole, I asked Bruce and C.J. if they thought it was safe, and they thought it was. I did, too. Then I smashed the longest drive I’ve ever had on this hole. It rolled up just behind them, and I think one of them turned to see what it was.
From the blue tees, this hole is 397 yards, according to the scorecard, and my ball stopped 90 yards from a pin that was in the middle of the green this time. My ball was just ever so slightly in a divot, but nothing like the one that was on hole #6 in another recent round. I chose my sand wedge for the approach, and it was the best choice. My ball stopped left of the hole and settled just 20 feet from the hole that was on the right side. I saw a lighter green mark that was on the line of my putt, and I started thinking I should roll it just to the right of that mark to get it to go in, but after further inspection, it was farther from the line of the putt I really needed, so I chose to focus on the hole more than anything else. That worked. I rolled it right in for a birdie and a win. I had just earned the first two points on the back.
It kept going, too. I won the next hole with the only par, and on that one, I nearly chipped in from...
the left side to a pin that was placed in the middle back part of the green.
My winning bubble burst when C.J. got a par with a pop on the next hole. C.J., sadly, would not win another hole for the rest of the round and ended with only two points for the entire game.
He did push the point for hole #14 with Bruce, though, and then I won that point and the other point from #15 with a nifty par save from up on top of the hill that was directly above the hole location on this gorgeous par three. I had earned five points on the back nine, and I was heading towards winning the entire game if I could continue this type of play.
We all got pars on hole #16 when our second shots all collected short and right of the green. C.J. nearly holed his third shot, and it unfortunately popped out hitting the flagstick. Then we all tied again on hole #17 with bogeys, but with our pops, it turned out that he and I tied with our two scores. It all came down to the last hole for Bruce and me. Who would win?
My tee shot went left again, but it was in the grass just off of the fairway, and it was just over 200 yards away. Bruce was in the fairway and just 20 yards or so right of my ball.
My approach put my ball in the front left bunker. Bruce’s second shot ended up going short and to the right.
My third shot out of the bunker caught too much ball and not enough sand. It shot over the green and went into the trees. Bruce pitched onto the green around 20 feet or so away. He would probably get a bogey after a two-putt.
My fourth shot popped out beautifully, and my ball came to rest just on the fringe. I was in a fine spot to get in with two more shots now, also.
Bruce did double-putt, so he was in with a legitimate bogey, a very respectable score on this long and challenging par four. My fifth putt from the fringe stopped four feet below the hole. If I make the next putt, we tie with my pop. My ball rolled right at the hole, and then it turned right at the final second and stopped an inch away. Ugh. Bruce won the last three points and won the game. Those were the only points he earned on the back, and he really needed them.
The final scores were Bruce: 9, Pat: 7, and C.J.: 2. I was very pleased with the turnaround I made in order to play better on the back. I shot a 91 with that lousy front nine score (with a 42 on the back), Bruce shot an 86, and C.J. shot a 94.
We play again tomorrow at 12:30.
I played nine holes on Friday, too. It was Good Friday, and I had finished up some meetings in the morning at UNM on 30th and San Juan College for Project Alpine. Since I knew I had a free afternoon, I brought my clubs. I ended up playing nine holes with three other teachers, two from Farmington High School and one from Animas Elementary. They all coached baseball, and they were all very respectable golfers. I held my own, but I had a couple of bad holes. I had pars on #1, #4, and #7. I also made a cool bogey after having to pitch out after my tee shot on hole #8.
They were fun to play with and very encouraging. They would say things like “hurry,” “nice par,” “Pat can hit it,” and “we should be able to find that one.”
Because I had purchased a small bucket before I teed off, but never got to use it, I left them at the turn to go work on my swing at the range. The clubs I worked on the most were my driver, my sand wedge, and my utility club. I straightened them all out, so I hope they work really well for me tomorrow.
Until next time…
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