A Warm-up Practice Round Before Hillcrest

Written on 6-28-26.

        I am relaxing on our bed after a weekend in Vallecito with the Banashes and the Edgertons.  It was so wonderful.

  

*The LPGA is going on the TV in the background.  It’s the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and Brooke Henderson is leading at -10.

  

Golf has been very good to/for me lately.  I had a moment of despair, but it went away quickly. 

First, though, it is Matt Frings’ birthday tomorrow.  Kyle wished him a happy birthday today by mistake.  That was funny.  Danielle took out Rob for his birthday in Santa Fe last night.  They looked handsome and beautiful in the pictures she sent.  

Noah proposed to Courtney (Kelly and Rocky’s daughter) this weekend, too.  Those pictures were amazing!  He had a professional photographer standing by.  They make a beautiful couple.  Will there be a wedding in Rob and Danielle’s future?  Kyle and Mel’s?  Probably? Possibly.

On to golf…

*The TV has switched coverage to the Travelers Championship.  Scottie Scheffler is leading by one stroke over Viktor Hovland, -20 to -19.

Eric called me yesterday to go practice at Pinon Hills on Thursday morning before we played at Hillcrest.  It’s a real turnaround after what I thought about how he felt about golf lately.  He just needed to play to find out where...

his game was.  I was glad he asked me to join him.

We didn’t play a game for the first two holes.  I really was flippant about the scores on this day anyway.  Eric chose a game on the third hole, though, and it was simple.  Pars were one point, birdies two, and eagles three.  He had just nailed a long birdie putt on the second hole, so I wasn’t sure what I was in for.

On the first hole of the competition, we ended up side by side just within 100 yards, so Eric added something else.  He is known for this.  For the odd holes, he would add some kind of competition for an extra point, and I would do the same on the even holes.  It was closest to the hole on the green for this first one, since we ended up close to each other.  We both failed. 

Then we failed on the next hole.  And, the next.  And, the next. 

On hole #6, however, I had the longest drive on the fairway for one point, the first point in our little match.  Then I snagged another point on another long drive competition on the par five #8.  Despite these drives, I couldn’t score very well, unfortunately.

I thought I had a good chance to win.  He had to get a longer drive and a low score on our final hole.  I also had to help him by not getting any points myself.  He outdrove me by 10 yards, so that was one challenge met.  

We both played this very difficult and long hole fairly well for two guys who are getting older and don’t play as much, but that is why we compete.  We bring out better play in each other.  

I missed my par and settled for a bogey.  He was just off the green on the right side, but he had a long putt to get his ball back to the pin that was on the far end of the green.  He left his first putt short by 12-15 feet.  At least, he got it on the correct tier.  Once again, I thought it was looking good for me.  With great composure and confidence, however, he made that putt to end the competition with a tie.  I was impressed, and I was reminded to never count Eric out.

We stopped to have lunch at the Grill on the Hill.  I was worried I might see Herman (not his real name).  Chances were good, because he plays most every day.  

I don’t know why I was worried.  He doesn’t have exclusive rights to play golf with me every time I play, but it feels that way.  Of course, we did bump into him.  I explained we only played nine holes to get ready to play in Colorado.  Surprisingly, he wasn’t his usual self.  He didn’t say, “Why didn’t you call me?!”

He was cool about it.  It was a relief.  I know I have tried to play with him several times  this season, but it just hasn’t worked out.  I am not playing as much as I used to either.

Grant, Eric, and I played yesterday at Hillcrest.  That was the whole reason Eric and I went to have our practice round on Thursday.  It was a beautiful day there, but the wind did pick up on the back nine.

*They went back to the KPMG Championship at Hazeltine, because of a weather delay at the Travelers.  It’s been fun to watch both the men and the women in between typing.  Morikawa made it to the clubhouse at 20 under, but Scheffler was leading at -21 before the rain delay.  Brooke has fallen off the lead, though.  Someone whose name I can’t pronounce has won at -13.  Wow!  Lots of champagne being poured all over her.  Brooke finished at -10.

On the way to the golf course from Vallecito, Eric drove and shared memories of growing up at the Silver Stapes Ranch.  It was a girls’ ranch when they bought it, so it wasn’t set up well for winter conditions.  His job was to get the coal and bring it into the house when he was little.  They had five different wood or coal burning stoves throughout the house.  They moved there when he was three.  He and his brothers would climb all over the mountains, and Dori and Craig would not know where they were.  They had pellet gun battles with rival boys, the Smiths.  Dori allowed Eric to drive into Durango when he was 13!  Lots of freedom!  It sounded like Eric had a wild childhood.  It was interesting and fun to hear his stories.  Grant and I were entertained.

We let Grant choose the game for the day, and he chose Skins.  Each hole was one point, and ties would push points to the next hole.

I started well with a bogey and the first point of the game.  Oh, we played with John who chose to play using only his irons.  Because of this, he was happy when he heard we were playing from the silvers.  He wore red, white, and blue socks, which I complimented right away.  He was an accountant, and he was married with no children…yet.  He was a great companion for this round, but he didn’t play well.  He would get frustrated and take multiple swings on some of the holes.  Looked more like a practice round to me.

Back to the competition…I got skunked for the rest of the front nine.  Grant scored three points, and then he and I pushed points for Eric to snatch away on hole #7.  He earned the last points all on his own, though, for the final two holes.  The score at halftime was Eric, 5, Grant, 3, and Pat, a lowly point. 

Oh, before the round, Eric gave Grant and me a “gopher tee” each.  They were light brown, plastic tees molded into the shape of little gophers standing up.  He said Becca gave them to him, and we might want to use them during the match later in the day.