5-iron vs. 6-iron, Masters in November, and a Rare Birdie

Written on 11-1-2020.

It’s another Sunday, and I am seeing a pattern here.  I find time to write on Sunday afternoons frequently.  I feel like I need to get caught up on some things.  I played with Mike Goen last weekend, and it was fun.  It was just the two of us, and I shot a 106 with some handicap 7’s mixed in there.  I earned five bogeys and two pars during that round.  

I played nine holes after a practice session at the range one night, playing until it was just past dusk.  That also had mixed results.  I think I had a few bogeys and maybe one or two pars, but I can’t remember, and I didn’t keep a score.  When I played two days ago with Shawn, Tim, and Dan I shot a 110, and I earned six bogeys and two pars.

That’s the pattern with my rounds lately, not that I have been playing a lot.  I have a couple of pars, five or six bogeys, and the rest are blow-up holes or handicap 7’s, and that actually makes sense to me.  As I learn this new swing on the golf course, I frequently muff it up off the tee, and then I try to recover from there, and I am usually unable to do so, so it results in a terrible score.  When I do it right, however, that’s when I get a par or a bogey, because I get off the tee, and I get it closer to the targets I am aiming for, so I get a decent score.  

When I was at the range yesterday, I had success, but I was

not matching the model in my mind.  Because Shawn told me that I was still swaying off the ball on hole #13 (after two terrible tee shots there), I decided to lean to the left more on the range and really work on my 5-iron and 6-iron shots, especially off the tee.  I decided to have a competition between those two clubs.  If I had a great swing with one of them, it was like a “make it, you take it” contest.  The 6-iron lead for most of the way, but as I figured out how to swing them better, the 5-iron made a comeback, and it ended in a tie six to six.

Written on 11-12-2020.

It’s Masters weekend in November!  This is all so weird.  I am watching on my Mac, and I’m getting the entire broadcast from today at masters.com.  I am thinking back to the Saturday when Guy and I were there, and that was 2012 when Bubba won.  Eight years later, and they are hosting the tournament in November due to the pandemic.  I feel blessed to even be able to be typing and watching, yet here I am after a brain surgery and a stroke.  Belinda says lucky, and I say blessed.  We’re both right.

Guy has his second neck surgery tomorrow morning.  He is making more room for nerves again.  Last time, he got better, but he’s been noticing a numbness in his legs, and the same doctor feels it is attributed to the same thing, thus another surgery.  This one will have a longer recovery, he said.  I am worried about it, but it all seems fairly routine and standard.  

On to my single plane adventure…

When I played with Mike, I wanted to write that I challenged him to match play…in my mind, and I felt I was going to catch up to him on hole #10.  I hit the G.I.R. and was set to come back to only being two down, but darned if he didn’t make an excellent par save after having to pitch out to the fairway for his second shot.  He got up and in from around 100 yards after that to earn his par.  That was some excellent golf!

I had another opportunity on the next hole when I was left with a short putt for par, but it somehow missed below the hole.  I never really challenged after that again, so Mike won the competition he didn’t even know he was in.  Good for him.

I played nine holes by myself the other day after going to the range, and I earned a birdie!  What a bright spot in all of this darkness with the Covid-19 going on and all of my struggles with this swing change.  Here’s how it happened…          

Pinon Hills-Hole #3-Birdie #5 of 2020

Every shot on this hole was magnificent.  The drive from the blue tees went straight to the right side of the fairway, rolled out to the left,  and went down the hill to a spot just outside of 120 yards.  Drives typically don’t go down that hill or end up past the 150, but this one was huge.

Because of the downhill lie, I chose my gap instead of my pitching wedge, and I hit my approach with a satisfying downward blow that came out lower than usual, flew straight over the flag that was near the back of the green, and settled on the green just a foot from the fringe.  

The putt really wasn’t downhill like I thought it would be, and I gave it a good pop to make sure it got the hole.  It got to the hole all right, and I was so happy to get a rare birdie in November.  

I hope to play tomorrow.  I just booked a tee time at 2:10.  Greg asked me last week, but I dogged him, because I had planned to meet teachers at Twin Lakes today and Friday.  I ended up meeting most of them today, however, and I only have one meeting early tomorrow morning, so I will be free to play after all.  I feel it is too late to join Greg, so I am making my own plans.

I am working on keeping my spine in the same location (no swaying), and using my trail foot to mimic club impact.  That is what I will try to do tomorrow.  I am going to sleep now.  I would love to keep watching and writing, but I want to be sharp for my meeting tomorrow…and for the golf, too.

Until next time…