We Play One Time at Hidden Valley Again

     That was fun!  I’ve been on the receiving end of a beating from Bruce and C.J. at Hillcrest many times before, but Mike and I had come back from being two down.  It felt good.

     We played at Hidden Valley on Thursday, too.  I went early to get breakfast and get warmed up.  I saw Randy, and I ordered a breakfast burrito.  We talked about how things were going with the golf course, and he said he is still looking for some people to step up and take over with a non-profit.  It sounds like things are still in limbo.

     Bruce and C.J. showed up, and we were off.  I chose escalating skins, and they agreed.  I won’t go into detail, but it did come down to the last hole again.  Bruce never really got anything going, so this contest came down to C.J. and me.  I won the front nine, but all the big money comes on the back side.

     When we came to the last hole, I figured C.J. had the edge.  He had won four skins on the back, but I had a chance if I played the last holes well.  I finished par, par, par, but it wasn’t enough.  I won #16 and #17, but C.J. finished with a par of his own, and with a pop on the last hole, he gained a net birdie and won the the skins game.  Even my hitting the fairway on the last hole for the last big bonus could not beat him.  The final scores were Bruce: 250K, Pat: 770K, and C.J.: 990K.  

     Although I took second place it felt like a win with my strong finish.  C.J. had to get that net birdie to beat me, which to his credit, he did.  I shot an 82.  Bruce shot a 91, and C.J. earned a 90.  He really had a brain break on hole #6, where he piled up multiple strokes with bad pitches.  I gave him a handicap seven on that hole.  

     I feel good about my game right now.  I am killing it off the tee.  I go back and forth with my new Warrior driver, which I am calling my driver/3-wood, and my Wishon driver, or the White Knight.  What I struggle with is my irons.  I fail to find the bottom of my swings on some of my approaches.  If I could figure that out, I would get some really low scores.  

     Enough for now.  I wrote a lot today, but I have my cardiologist appointment tomorrow, so I am going to go to bed.  

Until next time…