Written on 5-19-21.
I am relaxing in Room 301 at the Hampton Inn in west Gallup tonight. Wrath of the Titans is on HBO, and I am half-watching while I write this. I worked at Twin Lakes today, my first day of my last visit for this month. I go back tomorrow, and that will wrap up May for every school I serve. I hope to get in at least one visit at each school in June, but it’s looking like that will be difficult to schedule. I will do my best. I have one scheduled already, Newcomb, on June 11th.
I found some golf pants at the Wal-Mart here in Gallup, of all places. They are the Ben Hogan brand, and they are light and stretchy, just like I was looking for. I bought two pairs that were w38, l32, and one that was w36, l30. I wanted to see if w36 would fit better, so that is why I bought the smaller pair. I knew the length wouldn’t work, but they are not allowing customers to use the fitting rooms to find out due to the pandemic (how many more times am I going to write “due to the pandemic?”). The larger pairs worked well, so I hope to exchange the smaller ones for a different color in the size that works. They only cost, and this is the best part, $19.97. I am exchanging my Dunning pair for a w36, l32 to see if those will work. Those are obviously of higher quality.
Written on 5-22-21.
On to even more golf…
I want to recount how our last match went. It went...
well. I first want to add two thoughts I had recently, and an update.I will start with the update. I tried to exchange those smaller sized Ben Hogan pants in Farmington, but they didn’t sell Ben Hogan pants, so I ended up getting a refund instead. I will look to buy some online, and I was surprised the Farmington Wal-mart doesn’t sell them.
On to my two thoughts beginning with I want to have high expectations. I really do. I told Eric today that I just want to break 90 consistently from the blues at Pinon Hills. Then I thought I should aim higher than that than that. If things come into line with the new swing and my short game, I have the possibility to go much lower, but what makes me hesitate are all of the high scores after my stroke, and even more high scores after the swing change (partly because of learning the change).
It’s just difficult to picture getting lower scores when I have had so many high ones since I started playing at Pinon Hills, and I know it’s been a constant theme of my golf life and this journal, too. Every golfer wants to shoot lower scores. Not every golfer does. What I am really trying to say is I don’t want to get used to shooting high scores. I want to break the cycle so badly, and once I do, I hope to never look back. That’s where my expectations should be and, overall, remain.
The other thought I had was that I am like a first grader who thinks he can read, but when you actually ask him to read something, not so much. I can play good golf (I believe), but when I go play, the blow-up holes and high scores prove that I am not so great. I heard today, when talking with Tommy, who owns The Grill on the Hill, that he once shot a 65 from the blues, and Luke has the course record, a 62 from the gold tees! Now, those are great golfers, and they have proved it, and continue to prove it every time they play.
That reminds me of the time when I was five under after four holes. Four glorious holes. I do have the capability to shoot low scores consistently.
Okay, now on to the match. C.J. wanted to take us on in best ball match play when we played with him and his O.C.S. (Officer Candidate School) buddy, Robert (not his real name). Robert had a low ball flight, and not an awful lot of power, but his drives would roll out to the 150-yard marker fairly consistently.
Here’s how it went down. Eric won our first hole on hole #2, so we were one up after two holes. Robert got it right back on the next hole, though, and then they took the lead on hole #6 with a par from C.J., who hit it on the green and double-putted from the lower tier to the upper tier.
I made the only bogey on hole #8 to get us back to even, but Eric and I both had terrible holes on #9, so the front nine ended with us one down. I managed to break 50 with a handicap seven on only the last hole. I had six bogeys on the front, and I was pretty pleased with that. I helped our team on holes #4, #5, and #8.
On the back, I earned two pars and two bogeys on the first four holes to get us from one down to one up. Eric made it two up with a par on hole #14 with a sand save and a long putt.
C.J. made one final bogey on hole #15 to get his team back to one up, but he really had what he called, “the worst round of my life.”
Or, something to that effect. I managed a bogey to match Robert's bogey and keep us at one up on hole #16, and everybody had a lousy hole on #18, but it was Eric’s double bogey that ended the match two up with none left to play.
I ended up being the only player to break 100 with a 96, and I was just so happy that we won, and I played decently. I had two pars and four bogeys on the back, so I would have scored 14 points with that little game I play by myself where pars are two points and bogeys are one point. When I started that game, I always wanted to get at least ten points for 18 holes. Robert had the next lowest score with a 101, and it turned out to be quite the exciting match for a group of amateur golfers. Phew!
Stay positive, Pat. Break the cycle of high scores!
Until next time…
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