Written on 7-21-21,
I don’t have much time to write, because we plan on going out on the town here in Boise in just a few minutes. I will write as long as I can. We are coming to the end of our quiet/nappy time after the girls went to the lake to paddle board and kayak, and I played golf. I cashed in on my Father’s Day gift from Danielle and James when I played at Falcon Crest Golf Course this morning.
We spent a little more than an hour waiting for Danielle to get off of work yesterday, and then we took a mini-tour of their facility. I even got a new hat with their logo! I am so proud of Danielle, and what she does. She is so courageous. So full of grit!
She did hurt herself a little bit on this last “roll,” however. She has some tendonitis, but she has rested it the past few days. Her crew would not let her put any more strain on it, and that makes me happy to know they are looking out for her. We went out for dinner at a sports bar after she got off work, and it’s just fabulous to be here with her.
The only bummer part of this visit is that we learned that Danielle’s FB account has been hacked. She lost all of the pictures and memories she has ever posted or been tagged with, and there really is nothing she can do about it. She is taking it well, though. She will just have to start a brand new account. What else can she do?
On to golf…
I played all right. I was paired with...
a father and his two sons. His name was Jim, and his boys were called Stetson and Garrison. Garrison and his wife had a little baby boy three weeks ago. Stetson was putting for an even par round on the last hole, but he missed. He said after the round it was his lowest round there, so I was glad I could witness it. I didn’t much attention, though, to their rounds, but I do remember thinking Jim was getting a lot of pars.I shot a 96, and, of course, I could have played better. They were long-hitters, but I didn’t change anything to attempt to keep up with them. Normally I would not try and keep up with longer hitters, because it doesn’t serve any purpose except making me feel a little better.
The golf course, Falcon Crest, was gorgeous. It had an elevated green on the front nine, and unfortunately, I hit it out of bounds and got a high score there. I would ask to go play there again, if we end up going to Boise next year.
More later…time to go eat!
Written on 7-31-21.
It’s the last day of July, and Kody and I are sitting out front. I grabbed a cushion to help ease my sore back as I sit and type, and Kody is cooling off in the grass after our evening walk. I have played a lot of golf lately (not the reason for my sore back), so I will do a quick recap of my recent golf adventures.
*My back is still recovering from the 2,000 mile trip in the Jeep, despite the comfy leather seats.
On to golf…
I used my round in Boise at Falcon Crest after James and Danielle offered to pay for it as a Father’s Day gift. I wrote a little about that above. That was the last round I wrote about before we left for Grand Lake. There, I played with Guy and Carter at the Grand Lake Golf Course. If I had my way, I would not play there again, however, because the service was awful and rude, especially for Guy.
He rented clubs like he always has, but this time they were particularly picky, and it all started with the fire they had there in October. We saw much of the fire damage on every part of the trip. When we were taking our hike, we saw burned ridges and entire mountain sides blackened and thinned in the distance. When we rode in our rented pontoon, we saw even more of the scope of the damage. When we took our horseback ride, we rode right through some of the worst of it. And, of course, when we played golf, we saw even more destroyed areas, and it made the course feel more open.
It was like a curtain was lifted on many holes, but this was a beautiful curtain that you didn’t want to have lifted. It revealed other tragic things like chimneys and concrete slabs that remained after the houses were decimated. It revealed trailers that replaced some of those houses, and it showed the new construction going on, too. It was sad to see, but we also saw new growth, and the fairways and greens were unaffected. Another bright spot was that only two people died, and, unfortunately, it was a couple who refused to evacuate. Any loss of life is tragic, but after all of those fires, only two people is not bad.
Back to the rude service…the guy in the pro shop told Guy that the rentals were new Titleists, and they normally wouldn’t rent them, but the cheap rental clubs got all burned up in the fire. He warned Guy not to scratch them, and if he did, he would have to pay for any damaged clubs. Minor nicks and scratches on the soles were allowed, though. When we got back at around 6:24, he was upset for having to wait for Guy to return the clubs (other groups were still playing in carts behind us). He wanted them back by 6:00, but he never told Guy about that. Our tee time was at 2:10, so we didn’t see how it would have been possible. Guy and I both thought, “Whatever!”
We played with Carter for the first nine holes, and he could really bomb his drives. Guy and I were impressed. On the first hole, he hit one on a line that I would never consider. His second shot landed just short of the green, and that is a par five. It was amazing! He nailed another one on #2, but it went way right. He found it, but the couple teeing off on #6 told him it was rude to play across fairways. I said he should just wait until they left, and play from there, but he didn’t mind, so he just dropped, and we continued on.
His drives became more erratic as we played on, and after he used up five putts after hitting the green in regulation on the par three #7, and hooked his drive on #8, that I knew he would be “driving” home after nine holes. He thanked us and headed home at the turn.
Guy and I played on without him, and I loved having that alone time with my bother. I earned a par on the tough par three #11 with a decent chip and a putt after a pushed shot from the teeing ground. On #13, though, it started to rain, and that was when Garth, riding in cart with Anne just ahead of us, decided he was done. ShyShay was driving Annmarie in the other cart, and they considered heading back as well, but I wasn’t going anywhere. I figured it would blow over, and I was right…until hole #15 where we got a real dousing. It went away again after that, though, and it stayed away until we were done. Hooray! Guy and I got to play another 18 holes together. ShyShay and Annmarie left when it came crashing down the second time. We felt accomplished for sticking it out.
I played just okay. I shot a 98, so it was typical of my scores right now. No birdies, and only a couple of pars. Lots of bogeys and double bogeys, though. My fades looked weak next to Carter’s drives, but they kept my ball in play.
Back at home, I have played Eric two times, and I was more successful playing against him. I nearly made my goals of 4, 3, and 2. We played nine holes, because he had another lesson with Luke. I hit three fairways, two greens, and had only one three-putt, but I balanced that out with two one-putts. I beat him in our game of 1, 2, 3. In that game, a player earns two points for every fairway, three points for any GIR, and one point for winning the hole. Eric wanted us to have a chance to earn extra points for long drives on the par fives and closest to the pins on the par threes, so we said two more points if you got any of those.
In the end, I beat him with 19.5 points to 6.5. The .5 came from splitting the win on the last hole, because we both earned pars on the tough #18. He did it the way you are supposed to do it with the fairway and the green, and I did it the more difficult way with a missed fairway and a successful chip and a putt. I even beat Herman (not his real name) on that last hole, because he got a bogey. He joined us after hole #13.
We played again the very next day, which was yesterday, but this time we played 18 holes, and we took a cart to combat the heat. I defeated him again (that’s three times in a row), but I didn’t do well with the 4, 3, 2 goals. The score was 24 to 18 this time, so it was a bit closer. He is still figuring things out. I scored a true 95, and I never lost a ball. I had eleven bogeys, and one par, so I was pleased with that consistency. NO BLOW-UP HOLES! Hallelujah!
Speaking of figuring things out, I worked on my driver (by adjusting it) and my drives today when Eric and I went and practiced on the range. I adjusted the loft to 9º, and I moved the 16 gram weight back to the draw position. I beat Eric consistently after I made that adjustment. I could swing with more of a hammer effect and feel confident it would not fade and lose distance with that setting. We made an imaginary fairway between two of the flags, and we would take turns matching successful shots. If he hit it straight, and I missed, he would win. He was beating me at first, but after I made the adjustment, it straightened out, and I was winning more often.
After a quick snack and a drink at the Grill on the Hill, we moved to putting and chipping, and he beat me there. I squared the match at two apiece, but he made a long putt (20’?) on the final hole to beat me. It is so great to have a partner to go practice and play with, and he is going to make a tee time (or two) for next week. I hope I can meet that goal! It’s the only thing I am focusing on right now, and it should be a realistic goal for both of us.
Until next time…
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