A buddy texted me at 6:30 this morning that he and his brothers were going out to play. I jumped out of bed and met them out at Gleneagles, White/Woodlands course. Chilly, but certainly not unbearable. Had my winter hat off by the 3rd hole, and would have been fine in short sleeves for the back 9. Took a few holes to loosen up and I flubbed a couple of chips early, but played the final 5 holes of the front 9 at -1, for a nice 42 on the front. 9th hole par 5, I had popped my drive up and barely made the fairway, so my 3rd shot is 188 yards out. I took a 4 iron as it was slightly up hill and into the wind, hit it about as pure as I can, and it ended up about a foot from the cup for a tap in birdie. Easily the shot of the round for the group. I've stuck some shots pretty close to the pin, but I don't think I have ever been that far out and ended up with a tap in.
Kinda lost it with my driver on the back 9 as I was in a bit more trouble, but my short game was pretty damn good for the most part. Got up and down with my 60 degree and a putt 5 different times-- twice for par and 3 times to save bogey-- on the back 9. 17th hole was about a 170 yard par 3, but it was probably playing more like 190 as it was into the wind. Put my trusty 4 iron 20-22' from the pin, about 10' off the green. I ended up pulling the pin, and one of the guys jokingly said, "Oh look at Phil Mickelson over here." I ended up sinking the putt
. Two birdie rounds are pretty rare for me. Bad shot into a bunker followed by a poor putt on 14, and a horrible tee shot lead to a double bogey on 18, but all in all I was pretty pleased to shoot 44 on the back.
Couple lessons I had really are paying off. I'm hitting and chipping the ball better so far this year than at any point last year. I can only hope that I get a job soon so I'm able to play a couple of times a month to keep my game in check. Except the final tee shot of the day, every single one of my irons (non-chip shot wedges included) was really a pure hit. I keep thinking if I am hitting the ball this well in March, there is some real potential for some killer scores this coming summer.
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Joe Orr Road Rod wrote:
It's more fun to be a victim
Caller Bob wrote:
There will never be an effective vaccine. I'll never get one anyway.