A Par on Hillcrest's 9th Hole

Also written on 9-15-22.

        I played 18 holes at Hillcrest yesterday, nine holes with C.J. and Hart, and the other nine with three strangers: Lance, Michael, and Troy.  After I played, I went to the range to hit more than a medium bucket, too.  It was more than a medium, because I scrounged a dozen or so from nearby.  

I came back happy and exhausted.  I didn’t play too well, but I played from the blues again, and that is a challenge on the back nine, and the last three holes on the front nine.  I shot a 94 or a 95.  I need to check.  My Garmin said 94, but I think I missed an extra push of the score button.  On the front, I only got one par.  On the back, I got three.  The back was better than the front, because I was tired, and it showed in my lack of concentration.

I tried something new, and it was affecting my contact.  I was making more of a turn on my backswing, and I was consciously trying to point my left shoulder at the ball.  I was thinking left shoulder down, let the club fall, and then hit it hard with my right hand that would make the essential divot.  I was gaining distance, but I was losing control.  

I played the par three #12 better, because I hit the green with my 6-iron.  I triple-putted, but I finally hit that green.

Written on 9-22-22.

I am at Newcomb Elementary today, and I am taking a break here at the end of the day to do some writing.  It was a busy day, and I am tired.  I just yawned.

I was writing about the good parts of the last round at Hillcrest.  This won’t take long then.

I wrote that I managed a par on my final hole on the front nine.  I don’t remember many pars on that hole, but I do remember the two bogeys I got there from the recent rounds.  I think bogey is a good score, especially with that tricky green, and it’s made harder playing it from the blues.  My tee shot fell short of the lone, front bunker, and I managed to pitch my ball onto the green, but it was far from the hole.  The hole was cut on the front left side of the green, so I didn’t have a lot of green to work with on my pitch.  

Lance had a putt of about the same length for birdie, so my putt would help him with a read.  I rolled mine into the hole, and he was calling it good when it was still five feet away.  He called it correctly!  It dropped in the hole, and I said something about not being able to give him a better read than that after I gathered my ball from the cup.

That’s all the time I have.  I am going to get on the road.  Next up, we play at Pagosa Springs on Saturday.  I am so looking forward to it!

Until next time…

High Expectations Yield Higher Results

Written on 9-15-22.

        I’ve gotten a lot done this morning, so I am taking some time to write.  I go back to McCoy and Newcomb next week, so I e-mailed both schools to remind them, and I also confirmed plans with teachers who set up times with me on my last visits.

I still haven’t gotten a call from the CORE, but I will remain patient.  Hopefully, by tomorrow?  

On to golf…

I played so well on the back nine, I thought I could handle playing from the golds.  I did okay, just three strokes higher than the front nine.  I stumbled a bit at the end with a couple of double bogeys.  

I did manage to be the only one to get a par on the first hole, and I did it with another masterful pitch and a putt.  Everyone else got bogeys, so it was a good start.  I hit a decent tee shot with my “turf buster” on the par three over the water after that, but everyone got a par to my bogey on that hole.  I did better than Tyler, because I don’t think he got a legal score.  Some of his tee shots went...

A New Discovery That Worked

Written on 9-9-22.

        I see 20 quail on our front yard.  John, our neighbor, is using a trimmer in their “oasis,” so they have come to our yard to hang out while he works.  They are so funny.  Heads bobbing about.  Skittish.  Always on the move.  Tiny legs.  And then, just like that, they are gone.

It’s a Friday afternoon, and it’s just past 3:00.  I was at Newcomb yesterday for my first visit there for this school year, and I don’t work again until I go to McCoy on the 20th and then back to Newcomb on the 22nd.  

I am in limbo until I hear from the ladies in charge.  I have no idea what I will do or where I will go for the next contract.  Hopefully, they will give me another contract!  It’s a little suspenseful, since they haven’t called me yet, and they said they have started calling coaches.  If I work for the CORE again, it will be my seventh year.

Written on 9-11-22.

21 years ago.  Never forget.  We have our flag out today to honor those who died.

B is in the living room, and I am in the computer room.  I just started Pandora, and I am listening to Running Up That Hill Radio.  It’s playing Sunglasses at Night by Corey Hart.  

Kody is resting in the cool grass outside my window.  We spoke to Dani-Girl this morning, and she is in Idaho for her final roll.  Hard to believe it’s her fifth year now, and it’s coming to a close.  We worry about her safety often.  I wonder if she will extend this year, since she doesn’t have a teaching position back at Cleveland Middle School in Albuquerque.  

On to golf…

I played with...

I Get My Parents to Myself-What a Gift!

Written on 8-27-22.

        I am back from Lakewood, and it was a fantastic trip.  Who wouldn’t want quality time with their loving parents?  It was just a marvelous three days, and I am so grateful that I had the time to go be with my folks.  They are slowing down, for sure, and I see it more and more on every trip.  I helped out with whatever they needed, but we mostly just visited and hung out this time.

It’s a Saturday, and I am fighting back yawns and sleepy tears.  My sleep schedule is off after going, but I am getting it back in sync.  It’s difficult to focus, but writing will line me out.  It usually does.  I just did some light house cleaning while B went to Hobby Lobby with Amanda.  Now, it’s 12:39, and she is lying down in our bedroom for a well-deserved nap after her third week of school. 

On to golf…

I wanted to write about Riverview with Melton and C.J. the last time, but we started dinner early that night after the BMW Championship ended.

I played well, and I was encouraged.  Melton shot a 77, and I shot an 88.  When we came to hole #18, I had outscored him on the previous five holes.  My score on those holes was 19, and his was 21.  I even scored a birdie on #17.

Riverview Golf Course-Hole #17-Birdie #10 of 2022

Yes, I made it to double-digits this year!  I used my pitching wedge, and I am wondering how I could have scored such a big number earlier this year on such an easy hole.  It was just over 100 yards to the pin, and I made great contact, so my golf ball landed on the green and short of the hole around 18 feet away.

When I putted, I thought I didn’t put enough speed on it.  It broke a bit from left to right, and it kept on rolling and rolling until it spilled into the cup.  Melton said something like, “Look at this guy.”

Unfortunately, I played #18...