Written on 7-18-19.
I’ve just finished up two meetings at San Juan College, and now I’m having a brunch (by myself) at the larger, newer Durango Joe’s on Main. I met with Frances first to figure out what the next steps will be now that our summer institute is over. The work continues online and in the anthology, so we coordinated on our calendars and our To Do Items. Then I met with Alexis, Coila, and Jessica to set dates and shore things up for the NES Workshops. Now that Michael has “rewired,” we need to see, understand, and figure out how that important work will continue, too.
Belinda is on her way to the cabin for her annual weekend with her women teacher friends, so I am a bachelor for the next couple of nights. I will stay busy, though. I’ve got plenty of things on my list that I want done, and I will play golf, too. Tomorrow, we have a tee time at 10:20, and this will be the first time we’ve played for weeks. The last score from Pinon Hills that I see in my notes is from July 8th. I will also fulfill a promise to play with Kyle at Civitan on Monday.
I must write about my round with Guy at the 1757 Golf Course near the Dulles Airport and his place of work at Raytheon. On the way to the course, he pointed out the building and his office on the fourth floor. It was the best, just the absolute best! I’ll start with the funny fact that I noticed he bought the exact same black Nike golf shoes that I bought. I chose to wear my tennis shoes to save space in our luggage, but it cracked me up that he had the exact same shoes I have. It was like the twins accidentally buying or wearing the same jacket.
I previewed the course briefly the night before on the 1757 app. It looked challenging with...
long par fours and lots of water. The starter, Walter, said water is found on 15 of the 18 holes. The fairways looked narrow on many of the holes, also. Is it better to preview a course before I play it? Or, is it more like reading the comments on the internet. Better not to go there. I just wanted to see what the course was like, but I didn’t use that information to help me know how to best play it. I was mostly curious about how it was set up and how tough it might be. It looked tough.
Although I did not get a birdie, I want to do a hole by hole recap of this round, because I played the best golf of the summer on this course that I had never played before, mostly thanks to my lesson with Troy and practicing the new swing on the range.
Hole #1-We did not warm up at all. It was not crowded, and Guy wanted to get started while it was cooler. I think he also wanted to make sure we weren’t going to be pushed. He teed off with his new driver (my old squarehead Nike), and he hit the best tee shot of the day right away, smacking it right out to the fairway. He was also trying my old Wishon irons for the first time during this round.
I chose my 5-wood, because it was a short hole, and we chose to play from the whites. I pulled it badly, and it curved up and to the left before it hit close to the top of a nearer tall tree and then disappeared. I hit a provisional, and although that shot was pulled, too, we could see it had landed near the cart path, so we were off.
Guy found my Kirkland ball, and I was shocked that he did. It was near the end of the driving range and well left of the cart path. It should have been out of bounds. So many golf balls were near mine, but that one was definitely mine. I was playing an assortment of golf balls I had found at Pinon Hills. I brought six of the best ones with me to save room and feel fine if I happened to lose any of them. I pulled out my 9-iron and escaped beautifully using my new swing, putting my ball back on the fairway. Then I put my ball on the green with my pitching wedge and that new swing again. Two putts later, and I had a bogey start.
Hole #2-Another hole, another tee shot that headed left. It was the beginning of a pattern that I would use for the rest of the round. I chose my 5-wood again, and my ball ended up in the rough near the water. Because of the taller grass, I clubbed up, and my ball ended up on the fringe at the back of the green. From there, I used only two putts to get my first par of the round.
Hole #3-For this par three, I chose my 8-iron, and I had another successful swing that sent my ball high and landed it in the middle of the green. This was my first GIR, and I earned my second par. Sadly, Guy started to really struggle, mostly with his full swing. His first tee shot landed in the swampy area to the right. He struggled from this hole on with his full swing, and I told him he could always and should always blame the new clubs.
Hole #4-According to the info on this hole, a safe play is a 170 yard shot, so I used my 5-iron to tee off. It worked, and I was left with only 90 yards to a front pin location from the fairway. My sand wedge put my ball just on the green, but I ruined my shot at a birdie with a weak attempt that stopped well short of the hole. Then I missed the longer par putt and settled for a bogey. It really should have been a par, but it was not my irons that let me down here, nor the newer swing.
Hole #5-I aimed my 3-wood at the right side of the fairway, but my ball ended up on the left side of the fairway, which made for a longer approach. I had my first full swing mishap here, and my 5-iron topped my ball sending it scooting along to a spot just inside the 100-yard mark, but at least it was still on the fairway. Another sand wedge landed my ball on the green, but this time I was able to make my first putt, so I saved a par on the #1 handicap hole. Hooray!
Hole #6-This hole was fun. The information on each hole kept talking about how a fade off the tee was the best shot, but I chose to keep hitting draws (not that I could hit a fade if I wanted), and those worked out just fine, too. This one was with my 5-wood again, and it gave me a great look at the flag. I don’t know of any other hole that I’ve ever played that had such a strong dogleg. It was 90º or less. Attempting to drive the green, however, was impossible due to trees that blocked the views of the green from all the teeing grounds. I had over 150 yards to the pin, so I chose my 7-iron and this was one of the best swings of the day. Guy commented on how smooth the swing looked, and the result was fantastic, putting my ball on the green and close enough to easily finish with two putts. Another par.
Hole #7-My 6-iron approach came out low and headed toward the left side of the green. I figured it was behind the green, but I couldn’t find it. I chose to take a drop, but after I took my drop and played my shot, I saw my original golf ball. So, I played it, and I pitched it across the green back to the hole that was closer to the front. The pair of golfers who were behind us caught up to us on this hole, so I hurried a bit, especially because I had taken some extra time to find my first tee shot. Despite the rush, I made that putt for another par. I was just two over at this point, and it was all taking place on a golf course I had never played before. I hesitate to write this, but it was all working out and coming to me so easily.
Hole #8-My tee shot left me with another short approach with my sand wedge, and I got the best bounce of the round with that approach. My ball landed on the left side of the green, but my lucky bounce directed my ball to the flag that was on the right side. I was left with my best shot at a birdie, too, but my ball trailed off and missed by a centimeter. I was certainly happy with tap-in putts for par this round, though.
Hole #9-I squandered a chance for a birdie here. I took my driver out for the first time on this hole, and I was left with just over 150 yards for my approach…on a par five. My ball came to rest just outside of a bunker in some taller grass. Because of the sidehill lie I had, I aimed left, but I didn’t need to do that. My ball headed for the trees and the rough on the left side of the cart path. It was gone. I took a second shot as a provisional, but I learned that the area left of the cart path was a hazard. My second shot would have been much better, though, of course. Second shots are always better. It ended up just off the green and behind the hole. I asked Guy to pick it up and toss it to me, though. After my drop, I pitched my ball onto the green and used up just two putts to earn a bogey. I was just +3 after nine holes.
I will finish this up later. Off to bed to get ready for tomorrow’s first round back at Pinon Hills at 10:20. Even Eric is going to play.
Until next time…
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