A Trip to Lakewood for Dad's Eyes

Written on 9-29-22.

        It turns out that we are not playing with Greg this Sunday, but Eric and I chose to play anyway.  Greg texted us to let us know that Nan’s sister suddenly died.  He gave no details.

*Eric and I chose not to play either.  We woke up to rain, and the forecast predicted thunderstorms later in the day for Durango, so we chose to pass on the golf that day.

Written on 10-16-22.

It’s been a while.  It’s a Sunday, and that’s the reason I’m writing.  Have I had time to write?  Yes, but I haven’t taken the time. However, I have been busy, too.  I recently took a trip to Lakewood to help out with Dad’s second cataract surgery.  It all went well, and we had the whole family together for a day and a night when Bev drove up for the surgery day.  It was complete with a visit with Joe and Tammy at Tacos Selene (a new place Joe had discovered and recommended), and I got a lot of chores done for Dad, too.  Guy and I played golf at Troy’s golf course again, and I will write about that later.  We played the full 18 holes this time. 

We had a relaxed conversation with James and Casey this afternoon.  We are just beginning to have discussions about their wedding day (10-14-23).  I don’t think I have written about it in here yet, but James proposed to Casey at a Rare Americans (a Canadian band) concert.  We are super excited to have Casey join our family!

Danielle is back in Albuquerque after completing her fifth fire season, her third at Boise.  We were unable to make the trip this time, but we are so glad she is home and safe again.  I am hearing she applied for and got the job of being a nanny on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and she is applying for yet another nanny position.  She would be very good at that. 

On to golf…

I have played three times since the last time I wrote, so I will catch this up chronologically.  First, I got to play 18 holes with Guy as I wrote above, which is always a dream.  I decided to have us work together this time instead of competing.  We were a little wrecked after I picked him up at 2:15 AM at the airport, but we both caught up on sleep the day after, sleeping in until around 10:30.  Despite that, my sleep schedule was now off, so I was tuckered out.  

We chose to get eight pars and...

ten bogeys collectively.  A birdie could be exchanged for five pars, and we later decided that a par could be exchanged for three bogeys (since we thought we might not make the bogey goal at a certain point on the back nine).  We played at Littleton Golf and Tennis again, but Troy told me in a text that he was on his way to Arizona, so we didn’t get to see him.  

We got a bucket of balls and shared it.  I showed him my Kalassy Swing Trainer and how I was doing my best to continue to take a divots with my irons.  After that, we played some chipping and pitching games while we waited to start.

I got a scrambling par right away on the first hole, and Guy managed a bogey, so we were well on our way.  Guy got the next par on the par five #3.  I struggled with my driver hitting two straight pulls OB on that hole!  I did the same thing on #1, but it hit a tree and came back onto the golf course.  Phew!

I earned a par on the next hole, and Guy got another bogey, and then…Guy managed to get the only birdie on the very next hole.  He hit one just off the green on the left side, and then he putted it in for his two.  It was sweet!  He even did it with the group that let us play through watching.  Wow!  That gave us eight pars after just five holes.  

By the end of the front nine, we had earned eight pars (five from Guy’s birdie) and four bogeys.  Not bad for two tired boys.

On the back, I started par, bogey, double bogey, bogey.  Guy managed two bogeys on the last two holes in that stretch, also, so we now had nine pars, and nine bogeys.  We had met our bogey goal, but we were short the final par.  Thankfully, I was able to get the last par on the par three #15.  Phew!  We had met our goal, but it was Guy’s birdie that clinched the deal.

All in all, it was great fun, and I was glad we were able to play 18 holes.  That’s a rare thing when we go to Lakewood.

Another thing to note was that Guy hit my Ping driver better than I did.  He didn’t hit them far (on that golf course, one doesn’t need to), but he hit them straight.  I could see that he was chuffed about it, too.  

Similarly, he hit my 9-iron better than I did on #17.  A bunker guards the front of the green, and my ball landed just short and rolled into the bunker.  He swung my 9-iron, and his ball landed on the green.  We both earned bogeys on that hole, but I was impressed (and a little torqued off) that he had hit the green when I hadn’t.  I even took a great divot there.  Okay, maybe I hit it a little fat.  In summary, we made our goal!

Next up, I played at Pagosa on Monday on the way home.  I was getting stiff and sore from driving, so I thought why not?  Eric and I still had a $30.00 credit there, so I finished that up.  It cost $33.00 to play nine with a cart.  The guy in the pro shop was miffed that I wanted to play so late.  I “teed” him off at around 3:00, and I think I teed off at around 3:15.  He warned me to get my cart back by 5:30, or better yet, before 5:15.  He set me out on the Ponderosa course, too, because he knew it wouldn’t take as long as the two courses.  I knew it wouldn’t be a problem, because I was alone and there was no-one ahead of me.

I did okay.  I had some blow-up holes, but I really enjoyed the scenery, and I got a break from the drive and breathed in some fresh mountain air.  

In the nine holes I played, I managed two pars and three bogeys.  I saw an empty beer can on the teeing ground on hole #4, and it looked like it said “James” on it, so I took a picture.  After reviewing it, I saw that it said “Jams” instead.  I sent that picture off to James, and we had a good laugh about it.  It was so random.  

On hole #7, I had a gallery of around eight deer and two bucks.  A lady yelled from her back porch that she noticed I had an audience, too.  I captured some video and played on.  I finished bogey, par, and that gave me some encouragement.  The second to last hole is a par three, and I was just short of the green with my tee shot.  Unfortunately, I skulled my chip across and over the green, so I had a longer uphill pitch just to get it back on.  I managed to pitch it well and make the putt for my bogey.  To get a par on the long par five finishing hole made me feel happy and satisfied.  I had a swell approach with my 6-iron, and I could have easily three-putted, but my two putts were steady and true.

After that relaxing break and stretch, I drove the rest of the way home.  It was so relieving to be in my bed again and begin to get back to a normal sleep schedule.

Until next time…