Interesting golf day
It was a very interesting day on the course. Saw some interesting wildlife. A buck deer ran across the first fairway while we were walking up to our shots; we got a really good look at him. Then on the 14th hole, a great blue heron took off behind one of our foursome squawking like crazy in the middle of his backswing! Also saw some fish jumping in the pond, and a few turtles.
It wasn't just the wildlife that was interesting; my game was fascinating as well. I'll skip the lowlights except to say that the score wasn't too great. However, I had several really good holes. I parred 1, 16, 17, and 18; which I can assure you is unprecedented in my experience at Duke. I also parred the two par 3s on the front nine, which is also pretty rare. Hopefully I can keep some momentum next week. The handicap-countable score shows more why I enjoyed the round (97)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 51 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 49 | 100 |
I really need to remember to keep my backswing in line, let my hips turn, and let the large muscles do the work and the arms and hands just go along for the ride.
Not bad again, golfing is fun!
I thought I was returning to my bad golfing ways on the front 9. However, I pulled it together on the back to stay comfortably under 100. If only I could combine today's back 9 with last week's front 9, then I'd have an 87!
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 53 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 43 | 96 |
Key swing thought is to keep wrists relaxed; it really helped my iron game on the back 9.
Once again on the Duke course.
It can't be true
That I haven't logged a golf score in 18 months! I knew I'd taken a break from golfing, but can't believe it was that long...
Anyway, this was certainly a nice way to get back into the game. I had a great day! A birdie, pars on some difficult holes, and being just off the green in 2 on 17, which is long...
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 44 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 49 | 93 |
Once again on the Duke course.
Argh. I thought I was better than this
The Duke course is looking good, I'm not...
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 54 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 47 | 101 |
Once again on the Duke course.
Another consistent week
Still missed a few putts I should have made, but made a couple that were good (especially my birdie putt on 7.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 51 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 45 | 96 |
Once again on the Duke course.
Starting to get comfortable
Another decent week, although I missed a lot of putts and generally had a weak short game. For example, I drove about to about 175 yards on the first hole, and the pin was tucked way right, which makes for a shallow green with big touble in front and back. I landed the 2nd shot on the green, and rolled up into the rough just above the green. I'm about 20 feet from the hole in 2, way better than anyone I'm playing, and it takes me 4 strokes to get in from there.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 46 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 49 | 95 |
Once again on the Duke course.
Second good week in a row
This was the second decent week in a row! Aside from two consecutive bad holes on the front where I had problems in the sand (sailed the green on the first and took two more strokes to get back on; visited three consecutive fairway bunkers on the second), it was really good! Second consecutive week with a birdie.
The birdie hole was great; it was #14, which is a relatively short par five. From the blues, my tee shot was about 203 from the green in the fairway (a ~280 yard drive). The pin was back right, and I put it into the bunker guarding that side of the green in the air with my second shot. I couldn't see the putting surface from my stance because I was so far below the hole; my third shot from the sand was about 8 feet from the pin, and I made the putt for birdie! Felt like a real golfer on that hole. Parred the next hole (a long par 3) with a sandie too.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 48 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 46 | 94 |
Once again on the Duke course.
By the way, the course is now in really good shape except for the 10th tee. It seems like they really were deferring maintenance until the hotel was done enough and the new pro shop was open. I like the new pro shop, I don't like the new practice range as much; it is a longer walk with a lot of stairs. However, it is starting to look like a high-end golf course again. The greens were great today.
Lastly, I went back and updated my Handicap Manager for Excel spreadsheet with the scores I can find for this year, and it's calculating a handicap of 18.5. Amazingly enough, this program seems to work in the Mac version of Excel too (although clearly the dialogs weren't tested there, since they look pretty bad). Mini-kudos to Microsoft for having VBA on both platforms be mostly compatible.
Golf felt good today!
Any day when you have two birdies on the back nine is a good day. I wish I'd have played a bit better on the front so I had a really good score, but I can't complain too much.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 51 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 45 | 96 |
Once again on the Duke course.
Nice to have a good round
This was a good round, for a change. Starting to figure out what is wrong with my swing. Don't think about your wrists, don't try to hold your arms or wrists stiff, don't try to control the clubhead. Just get the body rotation right and let it bring your arms and hands through the ball. Easier said than done!
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 49 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 44 | 95 |
Enjoyed the highly rare occurance of birdiing the 16th hole!
Once again on the Duke course.
Worst round of the year?
I stopped scoring after a while, because it was so bad. First I was peeved because I found out when I got there at 7:00 that there was a shotgun start at 7:05, so I didn't get to hit anything first. I started off tired, I played with a someone who was warming up for the Junior PGA next week, and never got out of a bad mood that started with my second shot disappearing into the trees.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 58 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 54 | 112 |
Once again on the Duke course.
First decent round in a while
Amazing what a difference warming up can make. Today was the first day I've played at Duke in over a year where the practice range was available. Amazing what a difference being able to hit a few balls before you start the round can make.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 48 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 47 | 95 |
Once again on the Duke course.
Bad rounds all around
Maybe I need to go back to golf school...
I was so out of it that I actually took Phil's sand wedge home with me by mistake.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 54 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 53 | 107 |
Once again on the Duke course.
Another bad round
Man have I got some work to do on my game.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 52 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 55 | 107 |
Once again on the Duke course. Which, by the way, was in really crappy shape so far this year. Poanna on the greens, clay in the sand traps, dead grass in the fairway and rough, etc. I've been seriously considering playing regularly at Finley instead of Duke because the conditions are so bad.
First decent round of the year
and not coincidentally, on the first well-maintained golf course I've played on this year. The Duke Children's Classic is happening on the Duke course right now, and I hope the awful conditions there don't keep people from coming back. The range should be open to the participants (for the first time in forever), and the rest of us should get a chance to use it starting next week. That doesn't fix the poanna on the greens, the missing fringes, the bare spots on the throats of the fairways, the bunkers with a veneer of sand over clay, or various other deferred maintenance issues. Hopefully they've just put off maintenance until the hotel construction finishes, but if not I'm definitely playing somewhere else.
While I do like the way that Finley is being maintained, I also really miss the old layout (not the old maintenance). The old layout was like Duke in that each hole was generally isolated from the others. When they re-designed it a few years ago, they put it on a lot smaller acerage, and the cost is not much more than a line of trees between various fairways. That really took away some charm.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 45 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 47 | 93 |
This time on the UNC (Finley) course.
Don't even talk to me about this round
For the most part, I should have just stayed home. OK, it was a beautiful day, but I was the only one of my group who showed. I started OK, and had a birdie, but screwed up a bunch of holes. Argh!
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 58 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 47 | 105 |
My handicap stayed the same at 17.4. Once again on the Duke course.