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...

Troy (Casey’s step-dad) for the first time last weekend.  He invited me to play at the Canyon Country Club at Four Hills in Albuquerque.  They are members there, so that is why he chose that course.  I didn’t have to pay, even though I asked three times how much I owed him.  He would simply say we would worry about that later.  My plan is to pay for the golf when he plays in this area in the future.  Casey called it a “dad date.”  That’s cute.

It was brutal.  The golf was as difficult as hanging out with Troy was easy.  I didn’t care too much about the golf that day, honestly; I was more interested in getting to know Troy better.  I am betting we will have many more opportunities in the future, so it was awesome to spend those four hours together.

I think I shot a 106, and I don’t think he fared much better.  I glanced at my Garmin after the round, and I think that’s what it said, but I didn’t plan on recording it for my handicap anyway.  It’s a challenging golf course, and we played from the blues.  That’s what he wanted to play, but I would have played from the whites, since it was my first time.  It had many 400+ yard par fours, and some long par threes, too.  I know that I had many double bogeys, and a big reason was my putting.  It wasn’t intuitive.  Uphill putts raced past the hole.  Downhill putts stopped well short.  It was weird.  I did get one par, the one and only par for the day for the both of us on hole #7, a short par four.  Isn’t that sad?  On the back nine, I remember going double bogey, bogey for multiple holes.  I hope we get to play there again, because I am certain I could play it better after having this first round out of the way, especially after what I have discovered.

This past week, I figured something out.  Then I practiced with it.  Then I put into play yesterday at Riverview, and it continued to work.  I know that some things in golf are fleeting, but I am hoping this isn’t one of them.

Here’s what I figured out…I am not looking at the ball when I swing my irons.  I am looking a spot one or two inches past the ball when I take my swings now.  When I use my driver, I am looking at the back of the ball, however, because that is where I want my contact to be.

I tried it out earlier this week at Riverview’s range (I think it was Wednesday, because I didn’t work that day), and I had some of the best contact I have ever had, so much so that somebody on the range behind me actually noticed.  

It was super hot, so I moved the bench into the shade of the little shop out there to take breaks.  This guy came up to hit some range balls, and he said I had the right idea by staying cool in the shade.  I noticed his PXG clubs, and he told me he didn’t like the irons, but he did have their woods.  He was very friendly, and I noticed he was very skilled, too.  He was mid-60’s?

Fast forward to yesterday, and we met once more, but officially this time.  He was playing with Herman (not his real name), and they asked me to join them on the back, since it was just the two of them.  I usually don’t play on the weekends (Herman made sure to remind me that I said I never play on the weekends), but I decided to go and try out my new trick.  When I got there, the pro said I wouldn’t be able to play until 4:30 (it was 1:30).  I exclaimed, “Why did I even come out here?  Can you fit me in between groups on the back possibly?”

I know I should have called ahead, but I was pretty certain he could get a single out there.

He checked again, and he did have a threesome teeing off at 2:30.  There we go.  I took it, and I chose to hit a medium bucket while waiting.  When I was done, Herman saw me on the practice area, so he called my name.  I was so happy to play with someone I knew.  Also, playing with better players makes me better.

The other player’s name is Dan (not his real name), and he and Herman play often against each other.  Dan played collegiate golf in Texas, and he calls Herman “The Great (Hermoni),” because he is a golf magician.

They were playing from the blacks on the front nine, but when they told me about that, I must have looked bright-eyed.  Herman caught the hint and suggested we play from the blues instead, and I was relieved.  I have never played from the blacks.  How would I reach the fairways, I thought?  I saw my score in my head going up, up, and up, so it was a wise thing we switched it up for their back nine.

I didn’t have any birdies, but here are the great things about this round.  First, I lost to Herman by only one stroke, a 41 to his 40.  I have never scored so closely to Herman.  Second, I had four one-putts.  Third, I had amazing par saves on holes 11, 13, and 16.  Fourth, I had a super “out of the bunker” shot on hole #15 to manage a bogey.  I got high praise from Dan and Herman on that shot, and a sincere compliment from Dan after saving par on #16, too.  Herman is stingy with his praise, but he also said I was pitching and chipping it really well, which reminds me of how different my game was/is from theirs.  I’ll use hole 11 as an example.

Off the tee, they planned to cut the corner, and then they did.  I managed to get my tee shot on the fairway, but it was well back from theirs and on the right side.  My lay-up put me at the 200 yard range, but theirs got them closer to 100 yards out.  My approach was short and left of the green.  Theirs landed on the green and within 20 feet of the hole.  I pitched it to about three feet (thus the compliment from Herman about my pitching), and I made my par.  They made their putts for birdies!  See what I mean?  They played it beautifully.  I played it desperately.

On #16, I had a drive to just behind the 150 yard marker, but I thinned my approach.  From the rough, I used my new “look past the ball” strategy and hit a beautiful shot with my pitching wedge from 106 yards to 12 feet behind the hole.  I made that putt for the best par save of the day (thus the jubilant compliment from Dan). 

The best part was playing hole 18 better.  I almost got a birdie.  Herman pulled his tee shot and hit the tree on the corner.  He struggled to a seven, and I got my par.

After the back nine, Herman stuck around to play the front with me, so he played 27 holes that day.  Dan was still recovering from Covid, so he left.  At one point, he was leaning over his club, and he looked like he might topple over.  Herman said he was riding in a cart to help Dan out.

We had to wait for four groups before we could start, so we just sat in the shade and talked while we waited.  After about a half-hour, we teed off with two younger players, one of them was Tyler, an employee there.  I have seen him before when he was working at Pinon, but I never knew his name.  The other guy was named Devin, and they were both bombers.

We chose to play from the gold tees.  I will continue this later.

Until next time…