I Did It! Part 2

Written on 7-3-25.

Jordan, Herman's brother-in-law, turned 52.  Herman told me yesterday when we played again.  He looked older to me, but that is his age.

We are up at the Vallecito cabin for the 4th of July weekend.  James, Casey, Rowan, Eric, Amanda and I are here now, but the others are coming later tonight.  We have four dogs, but Penny is coming, too, so she will make five dogs here.  That’s a lot.

Back to golf…

Hole 10-We tied with bogeys.  My drive ended up on the upslope of the grass bunker on the right side, and I hit a really high approach because of that.  It ended short in the second bunker on the left side.  My third shot came up short again, but I was able to two-putt after that.  

Hole 11-We both got pars here.  My drive went the right side of the fairway, but I usually go left.  I even mentioned that to Herman.  I found the green from there, and I used two putts again for my par.  The hole was on the middle tier, and I putted from the lower one.

Hole 12-I pushed my approach out to the right side of this green.  I used my Sandy Andy again, because...

the rough was thick over there to get it onto the green…just barely.  I putted it from there, and it was around forty feet to the hole.  I was just trying to get it close to earn my bogey, since Herman got his par, and I didn’t want to give him any more strokes.  I ended up not giving away any.  It went in!  I heard Herman exclaim with an exasperated voice, “What the hell!”

I didn’t know how to react, especially after my long putt on #8, so I just laughed incredulously.  How did I do that again?

Hole 13-I slipped up here by using three putts for a bogey.  Herman got a par, so I lost one stroke to him.

Hole 14-We both parred this hole, too.  I was playing well.  I actually began to think I could beat him straight up.  I knew I was very close, and I was making an impression on him with how consistent I was playing, but I didn’t want to get ahead of myself.  Always stay in the present, right?

Hole 15-I am seeing a pattern on this hole lately.  I don’t really connect and compress the ball with my tee shot, so it lands short and left in the taller grass.  I pitch on close enough to get use two putts and get a bogey.

That’s what happened this time, but I caught a huge break with my pitch shot. I overhit it, and it was blazing over the hill towards the left side of the green.  It looked like it would roll out to the huge grass bunker behind this hole, but the tall grass grabbed it and dumped it out onto the green.  Herman used two amazing putts, the first from just off the green from the back, and the second from about ten feet for his par.  The first putt stopped right on my line, but he went ahead and putted first. Mine drifted left, so he gained another stroke on this hole.  That was an incredible par for him! 

Hole 16-I popped up my drive.  Good thing we were playing from the whites, because I had a chance to get it close to the green from outside of 200 yards.  My ball ended up left of the green in the tall grass with one of the hills blocking my view of the hole.  I could barely see the top of the flag when I addressed the ball.  I made a decent pitch shot, and my ball drifted past the flag.  Jordan's ball ended up on the green after practicing his pitch shots, so I had him give me a read.  He nearly holed it, so he taught me a lot.  I aimed a bit left and let it go.  This was another great putt.  It was intuitive, and I rolled it correctly.  The greens were very fast and smooth.  I really enjoyed how they were rolling.  I saved an unlikely par after a very poor tee shot.  Herman got his par, too, though. 

Hole 17-We both managed bogeys, so I was down two strokes on the back and one stroke for the whole round.  I only beat him by one stroke on the front, so it came down the final hole.  It should always be that way, however.

Hole 18-Normally, I would be the one to score a double and Herman would get a par on this last hole.  Somehow, it was reversed on this day.  I had a pitch from 71 yards for my third shot, and I pitched it to a spot that was even with the hole but out to the right side.  This could be argued as the best shot of the round.  As I walked up to the green, I watched Herman putt from the left side.  Mysteriously, his ball rolled past it and nearly went off the green.  He finished with two more putts for his double bogey.  

I had truly lost track of the score (I was exhausted from walking, and it was hot), but I thought I would have to use only two putts to beat him.  That would have only tied him, though, so I had to make it to beat him.  Maybe it was better that I didn’t know.  My ball ended up past the hole and not even with it like I had thought, so it was all downhill.  I did my best to keep it short after watching what happened to Herman.  I was shocked into laughter again when it hit the stick and fell in.  My putter was on fire, and I kind of regret ending my Arrcos subscription.  It would have been fun to see how many feet of putts I had made.  

Well, that’s how I was able to beat Herman straight up.  I did it.  It’s done.  That’s two victories against him, one with strokes given and one without.  I imagine it must have stung him.  He did say when we played yesterday that he was distracted because of Jordan, but what can I say?  Bummer, dude.  I still got him.  

I also believe he was happy for me…a little bit.  He wondered what I was doing differently, but I had only had two workouts with Matt.  That probably played a small part, but I also credit Erica Larkin with her ‘true swing’ idea.  Let the club do the work and keep my arms relaxed.  I should also give credit to Tom Saguto with  his crispy contact and explosive power when he hits the ground well after the ball.  I do my best to establish a “relationship with the ground” as I play along.  The better the relationship, the better the golf.  Those two things have really helped, too.

Of course, I was immediately humbled by Herman yesterday, but I don’t care.  He shot a 76 (one under on the back nine), and I went the complete opposite direction with a 96.  

I was spent, though.  Mentally, I was not there.  He wasn’t riding in a cart to help me ride along this time, and I had just had another workout with Matt, my third one, the day before.  I need to spread those out.  I should never play in the hot sun after doing one of Matt’s workouts.  We even beat the heat by starting at 8:30.

Okay, next weekend I play with Greg and our team at Hillcrest (I don’t know who else is on our team).  I might take a break from playing with Herman next week to rest up for the tournament.  Okay, I am going to socialize with family here now.

Until next time…