Lake Powell National Golf Course

Continued from 10-18-21.

    Eric and I played at Lake Powell National Golf Course two days ago, and we can now say we have done it.  We talked about playing there for years.  Pretty much any time we drove by it.  I remember wanting to play there when Kelly and I were doing Spike Doctor clinics, so that’s been over twenty years ago.  We did one clinic in Page one summer, and we brought Stacey (last name) to help, since we had so many girls signed up in advance.

Eric wanted to play a different game, so we chose skins while we were driving.  He and I came early in their RV, the Compass, and the girls came later in our new Jeep towing the Safari Condo.  We decided on $10,000.00/hole, and we included the usual bonuses for $5,000.00 each.

He beat me pretty soundly.  He won six holes, and I only won two.  We pushed on the last hole, so nobody won that one, because Eric decided to switch games for the back nine.  He wanted to go back to the game we play most of the time, the 1, 2, 3 game, and I was fine with that.

We both had two blow-up holes on...

#16 and #17.  It was like we had brain lapses at the same time.  We both got snowmen on #16, and then he beat me with an eight to my nine.  Ugh!  He won the battle of the high scores and our first nine holes.  Well played, Eric.  Sigh.

I would have been fine with continuing the game we were playing, but it really was better to shift to having more of a focus on hitting fairways and greens again.  It helped me play better on the back nine, which was really the front nine, because they had us start on hole #10 due to a tournament.

Written on 10-19-21.

We had a wonderful surprise last night!  Danielle came here early after Shawn and Addy’s (not their real names) wedding.  She called and asked which campground site we were at, so we came outside with our iPhone flashlights to flag her down.  It has been a heartwarming reunion, of course, and she was able to tell all the Swoperton parents about her adventures down in the Grand Canyon the past few days.  A and E came over with their box of wine to listen to her stories.  I only feel bad that James, Kyle, and Becca and Matt aren’t here to join in on the fun.

I haven’t written about how we ended up in spot #78, the oversized and extravagant handicapped spot, yet.  As we were driving by and counting the numbers to our spot, we came to #33, the original spot we had reserved.  However, an RV was still parked there.  B said she would hop out to speak with them while I made the loop a second time.  

They had lost their keys, and that was why they were still there.  It had snowed about nine inches earlier this week, and the husband said he got out of the driver side and walked to the passenger side, and that was when his keys disappeared.  They thought they would find them after the snow had melted, but nothing was found.  They had someone back at home overnight the spare key, but those ended up going to Kentucky.  Poor people!  

We noticed they were gone today, so they must have figured something out, but I think they were stuck here for an extra four days.  Not a bad place to be stuck, but B said they sounded frustrated and tired.  They had to borrow a generator to keep their RV going.  

Anyway, the camp host really did us a favor, because he gave us luxurious spot #78 instead, and it has been amazing.  It is close to the rim, the bathrooms, and two drinking water spots.  Danielle has plenty of room to park her King Ranch, and we have a signal for our phones and plenty of sunlight for our solar panels.  Score!  B said it would normally be something Eric would end up getting, but somehow we gained the deal this time.

Back to the golf action…

As I wrote above, Eric won the first nine holes we played (the back nine on the course).  He got a par on hole #13, a par three, by getting up and down out of a bunker there.  He wisely putted it out, and he got it right next to the hole, so he won two skins there.  I managed to win hole #11, the par five with the best views of the dam and the lake.  We stopped to take some pictures there.

The only other hole I won was hole #14, a short par four.  He hit his tee shot OB, and I got up and in for a par on that one.  We pushed on the next two holes, and then he won it big on the second to last hole.  We both got discouraged after our big numbers on #16 and #17.

The last nine we played (the front nine) was better for me, and Eric lost his focus, claiming he was tired.  I shot a 43 on those nine holes, and I ended up winning 17 to 13.  It was close, though.  It wasn’t like he turned completely belly up, and we both had a chance to win on the final hole.  He was only down by one point when we got there.  Here’s how it happened…

Hole #1-I got three points by hitting the fairway and earning the long drive on a par five.  Like C.J., it wasn’t super long, but I hit it in the middle.  Eric missed right and hit the cart path for added distance.

Hole #2-We both barely missed the green, and we could see where our ball marks were, but the slope caused our balls to roll off the front.  This was an uphill par three, and I grabbed the wrong club for my tee shot.  I thought I had my 5-iron, but when I put it back, I noticed it was my 6.  Would the 5-iron have reached?  I’ll never know.  I got a par to his bogey, so I won one point there.

Hole #3-We both got bogeys, but I hit the fairway, so I got two points.  I was ahead six to zero.

Hole #4-He came charging back with G.I.R. and a par, so he gained four points here.  I earned a bogey, but no points.  He had a long putt from the front to the back, and he nearly holed it.  It lipped out barely, and it was from around 80-100 feet away.

Hole #5-I got a bogey to his double, so I got one more point.

Hole #6-I got a bogey to his double, so I got one more point again.  I was ahead eight to four now.

Hole #7-We both managed to hit the fairway and the green, but I double-putted, and he triple-putted, so I gained one point here.  The score was 14 to 9 now.  

Hole #8-He scored four more points by hitting the green and winning the hole with a bogey.  This made it interesting for the final hole with a score of 14 to 13.  He didn’t seem too tired to me at this point.

Hole #9-This hole was gorgeous.  It had one rock formation in the middle of the fairway, and another protecting the green with a bunker making it even more difficult for wayward approaches.

I drove our cart up to the fairway before we teed off to help get an idea of where to hit our tee shots.  I wanted to see where the larger part of the fairway was, but it didn’t look too inviting anywhere.  The biggest section was left of the huge rocks that were in the middle of the fairway.

I drove back, and Eric teed off first with his 5-wood.  I didn’t see it, but he said it went left and might be in the fairway.  I was set to tee off with my 3-wood, but I paused.  Something didn’t feel right.  I used my Garmin, and it was saying 157 yards would allow for a 150-yard approach.  157 yards?  Why would I hit my 3-wood with such a short distance?  I walked back to my bag and grabbed my 5-iron, making certain this time it was really my 5-iron.  I made a smooth swing, and it landed left of those large rocks.  I thought it would be very good, and I was right.  My ball was in the fairway, and I had about 131 yard to the middle.  

I believe that shot gave me the win.  Eric had missed the fairway, but he still had a shot at the green.  Unfortunately for him, his 7-iron put his ball past the green and into the desert rough.  

My 9-iron approach looked dead on, and I was certain it was on the green.  When we drove up, however, I saw that it had rolled back onto the collar on the front.  I had hit the middle of the green, but unfortunately for me, the middle of the green had a downward slope on it.  How was I to know?  And, if I did know, would I have aimed differently?  I doubt it.

I left my putt short, but I nailed the eight to ten footer for my par to win this hole.  I scored three points, and that was enough to win the final game.

Epilogue: Of course, I wanted to see if we had continued the game from the front nine, would I have won that, too?  Yes, but just barely.  I would have won by only $5000.00, and that was from the only bonus either one of us earned that day, the long drive on hole #1.  Phew!  That final score would have been $95,000.00 to $90,000.00.  All in all, it was a great match and a beautiful day.  We both agreed it would be special to play there again, especially now that we know the course better.