I am including excerpts from my Golf Diary this month, because we decluttered Mom and Dad's house to get them ready for a possible move to Colorado Springs, I had CORE work, my dad got very ill so he ended up in the hospital, and I had more CORE work. In other words, no playing golf, therefore, no writing about golf.
Written on 12-4-02.
Hello! The children are at CCD. B is at her school doing some grading. I am at home typing. The Christmas tree is decorated and lit. We did that together as a family on Monday. I even missed my other family’s chat night on AOL Instant Messenger to spend time with my family here at home. Our cat Raichu, or “Fat”chu as I call her now due to her small overeating problem, went right under the tree as soon as it was put up as if to say the tree belongs to her. We adopted two new cats this year after our other two, FastFeet and Angel, disappeared. We had left them out at nights sometimes and sadly we don’t know what happened to them. We keep our two new cats inside every night now. They are Raichu and Pikachu, named after the Pokemon characters they resemble. Pikachu has half of a tail with two kinks in it. Raichu has a longer tail with only one kink on the end.
I am caught up with all of my grading. Today my class watched the movie “Spirit” as a prize for filling up the “marble bus”, a small metal bus I fill up with marbles for the class’s good behavior. I used that time to get caught up. I have also done my workout already tonight, so I have some time here alone to catch up in the diary! Here goes.
I played in my second tournament ever, and was quite humbled by the whole experience. I did have a great start with a bogey and a par on Saturday, but after a disaster on hole #3 and some terrible weather, I couldn’t pull myself or my game back together. I shot a Saturday score of 107! Yuck!
On Sunday, Chris drove Eric and me, and I was trying to be optimistic. The weather looked worse the closer we got to Durango. I said it would clear up, but they wouldn’t believe me. I told them to think of me when the sun came out later, though. I even joked around by singing “The sun will come out tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that…” You know the rest of the song. Anyway, they teased me and called me O.P., which stands for Optimistic Pat. Nice nickname. I like that.
Sunday was better, but I had mostly shot myself out of the tournament on Saturday. I scored a 100 on Sunday. I was proud that I could better my score from the day before.
Even this terrible tournament performance with its terrible weather had some bright moments. Here are the holes I played very well. By the way, no birdies at all in a tournament yet! I’ll get one next summer.
Dalton Ranch-Hole #2
This hole is the first par three hole and it’s a pretty short one. We played from the gold tees, which is only one away from the farthest tees. This hole is about 141 yards from the gold. I hit two great tee shots, one on Saturday and the other on Sunday. I double-putted both days to earn my pars.
Dalton Ranch-Hole #8
On Saturday, I hit the best drive of the tournament on this hole. This hole is a long par four at 436 yards. I hit it to about 150 yards out, but the pin was on the back, so I chose my 6-iron to go for the green. The younger partner I was playing with said I had crushed my drive. If my math is right, I hit my drive approximately 286 yards. I never once used my driver in this tournament, so that was with my 3-wood! Wow, that is a big drive. Then I hit a smooth 6-iron right onto the green and double-putted again. I was very proud of my play on this hole, the #3 handicap hole on the course.
Dalton Ranch-Hole #12
This hole is the longest par three at 187 yards. I played this hole the best on Sunday. I used my 4-iron instead of my 5-wood from the day before, which had gotten me in a real fix in the trap behind the green. My 4-iron was the right distance, but I pulled it substantially to the left of the green. I was stuck in some fairly thick grass about twenty feet from the green. The ball was on a hill that sloped down toward the green. I hit my best recovery shot here. I used my Cleveland Sand Wedge to chop down through the ball and it shot out perfectly and landed on the green about ten feet from the hole. From there I made my putt for par.
Dalton Ranch-Hole #13
I like par fives. Especially beautiful ones like this one. It has the train tracks and some water running down the left side, traps all along both sides, and the fairway looks gorgeous when you stand on the green and look back on it. It is also a very tough hole. On Saturday, I hit the trap on the right side on my tee shot. Then I hit another trap with my second shot. Then I found the trap up next to the green for my third. I would have loved to have made a sandy par, but it wasn’t meant to be. I splashed my fourth shot short right back into the bunker I was already in. Bummer!
On Sunday, though, pure perfection! I hit my drive to the left of the trap on the right side and on the fairway. Then I hit my lay-up shot in between all of the traps along the fairway. From there I hit a great approach right onto the green. One of the guys I was playing with, a much older gentleman, said I was playing this hole like a pro! I double-putted for my only back-to-back pars of the tournament.
Dalton Ranch-Hole #15
This is another long par four that has given me fits in the past, but not on Sunday. I hit a decent drive, but I missed the fairway on the left side. My lie was not great, and I still had 170 or so yards to go, but I went for it with my 5-iron. This was my best approach of the tournament. I was behind a hill too, so I couldn’t even see the flag. It landed right on the green, and I double-putted again for another par.
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