Two days till my golf trip to Orlando and the cold streak continues. 100 at Balmoral Woods on Saturday. Played like crap on a really tough course. Lots of fat and thin miss hits. Played better yesterday at Settler's Hill and shot a 90. My usual inconsistent game. Played holes 3-6 at 9 over and holes 11-12 at 5 over. So, 14 over on 6 holes and 4 over on the other 12 holes.

Did have one amazing stretch of 3 holes. 165 yard par 3, struck a 6 iron to 12 feet. Settled for par. next hole, good drive and then stuck a 175 yard 5 iron to 10 feet. Sank the birdie putt. Next hole, par 5, great drive. Then fatted a hybrid about 30 yards. Was 200 yards out to an uphill blind green. Hit a hybrid to 8 feet pats the cup. Sunk the birdie putt. Consecutive birdies, can't remember the last time I did that or if I've even done that at all. Did go eagle-birdie last year once though.

Stil had 10 miss hits. But, driver was much better and hit about 60% of the fairways. also hit 50% GIR as opposed to 0% on Saturday.

Gonna sneak out this afternoon after work and play Deerpath, one last practice round before my trip.

Inconsistency is maddening. After going through a 2 week stretch where all my scores were between 81-88 my last several round have been 90,100, 93, 97.

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Hole #11 is a bitch.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Went out yesterday and shot a 98. Anyone who has ever golfed with me can attest to the fact that anything under 100 is great for me. I think I have finally embraced the fact that I'll never be a long hitter. I'm playing just boring old man golf now and I'm much happier for it. I just need to clean up the putting and minimize the blow up holes (an 8 and a 9 yesterday).

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Going through the same thing after 3 weeks of really solid play in the low to mid 70s and even a 68. I am now striving
just to break 80 again after last two weeks. Too many blow up holes and I think I have too many swing thoughts going
through my head, have to simplify things again and improve the short game.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

What sucks about my performance on #11 is I fucked myself and the hole had nothing to do with it. Executed a perfect draw up the right side of the fairway off the tee. Then just needed a lay up 6 iron and snap hooked it into the trees. Dropped and chunked an 8 iron into the creek 10 feet in front of me.

I've had a few of those lately, holes where I have perfect drives and somehow walk away with a triple bogey.

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yea it sucks...been having the same thoughts. Starting to get it back a bit. Played today after work and shot a 86 with a 40 on the front. Played the first 10 holes at 4 over and then played terribly the rest of the way and somehow managed to get an 86 and not worse.

I'm realizing there are just 3 things I should be concentrating on with my iron play (my weakness these days).....slowing down my tempo especially on my backswing, striking the back of the ball and shifting my weight to my left side through the finish. That's it, yet I would say on 90% of my swings I'm forgetting at least 2 of those.

When I slow it down, relax and just concentrate I hit perfectly struck irons that go dead straight.

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Got out for the 2nd time this year on Sunday. 44-49 at Wedgewood. Really good for me considering my playing partner was a 7 year old with the attention span of a gnat.

Speaking of gnats - I'm certain they could take over the Earth this year if they could just find a way to work together. I've eaten more of those things than I can count already this season. Golf is only second worst to mowing the lawn.

Getting out Thursday to play Red/White at Carillon. I'll update with any reports of dead animals.

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That might be the toughest hole that I have ever played. I have played that course dozens of times, and the best that I have done is a bogey.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Headed to Orlando tomorrow for 5 days of golf. Best part is most of it is free since my buddies down there have all sorts of hookups. Playing Red Tail, Ritz Carlton and Champions Gate for free.

Wish I was going down there with more confidence in my game, but it will be a great time regardless and hopefully I rise to the occasion and play well.

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9 holes in Michigan with the wife this weekend. I played 2 balls, shot 46-38. Off the tee was pretty good, putting and chipping was also pretty good. Approach shots were so-so. They were either right on the money in the middle of the green, or just awful. On a short, downhill par 3 over water, put a PW about 2' from the pin, and on the 9th hole par 5, i was 208 out in the middle of the fairway and put my hybrid onto the green so those were two nice birdies.

My wife has some trouble where she will swing and miss or dub some shots, but she also had a few got about 100 yards so she was happy about that. I kept telling her to be patient because this was her first real time out since her lessons. She putted very well. Sank about a 25-30', and two putted twice from over 40'. She really enjoyed it, but says she would not like doing 18 holes just yet.

Overall we had fun, I hit some good shots, and a course that was really in excellent condition. Felt pretty well about my score, especially the 2nd ball. Perfect weather too.

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My struggles continued the past three days. Shot 84 - 86 on Friday / Saturday. Wasn't
hitting the ball very crisply but my main problem has been blow up holes. One bad shot
on a hole just screwed me. First round I had 3 double bogeys in a row on a number of
bad bounces and luck. The next morning I parred the first 3 holes and then took a triple
bogey after shanking one straight right out of bounds and then 3 putting the green. Two
more doubles later on just killed me. Yesterday I had an 80 on a tougher course. I hit
the ball much better and had no blow up holes. Have a practice session scheduled for
Friday so that is much needed. I signed up for the county open again this year and I
really don't want to play badly like I did last year.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Had a great week of golf in Orlando. Rained every day, but only had one round ruined because of it. Got down there Wednesday, arrived a couple hours late due to the plane i was on breaking and everyone having to get off and get on a new plane. Squeezed in twilight 9 holes at Dubsdread, 7 of them played in the rain. Shot a 40. Dead straight of the tee. Next day we started our little 2v2 tournament with a free round at Red Tail. Poured for an hour before teeing off so we decided to do a 18 hole scramble/shamble just in case it started raining again and we couldn't get the round in before sunset. Played well, once again throwing darts with the driver. We ended up tied after day 1.

Day 2 we went to Venetian Bay, started pouring and lightning as we teed off. After 3 holes we waited it out in the rain shack till someone came out and told us the course was closed. So we went back to Red Tail cause I had left my credit card there the day before, but they had an outing. SO down the street to Eagle Dunes. Perfect weather. I shot an 84, once again everything straight off the tee. Hit 71% of the fairways and 61% GIR. We ended up a few points after the round. Highlight is I chipped in for birdie from 20 yards. Unfortunately it was my only birdie of the week as my putting was not good, not terrible but not good.

Next day was a free round at the Ritz Carlton. Last year I had my worst round of the season there with a 98, been waiting a year for revenge. Got it as I shot a 87. Didn't play as well as I had the previous days and all of the sudden the tee shots started having a slice in them. Not a really bad one, but enough where I was losing 20 yards on my drives and missing some fairways. Still hit 64% fairways and 50% GIR. We ended the day as champs as we held off a furious late round charge to close it out on #18.

Next day we played a free round at Champions Gate. A different 2v2 match vs one of the guys and his dad. Beat them on #18 as well. I shot a 86 with a great front nine 41 and then I really struggled and had to par the last 3 to save a 45 on the back. More slices, but still managed to hit 71% fairways and 44% GIR. Highlight was us almost getting into a car accident with an 8 foot alligator as we came around a bend between #1 and #2 and had to swerve to avoid the gater crossing the cart path. Came a foot away from his jaws, but he didn't really seem to care.

Overall a great trip and great time. Mostly happy that I played well. Not happy that I lost the driver for reasons I have no idea. Putting could've been better. Chipping on the bermuda went better than I could've hoped for.

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Ain't that the truth. Played Bonnie Dundee over the weekend. The gnats were everywhere. One of my playing partners had Off. Sprayed my hat, thinking it would help. Didn't do a thing, and now my Expos cap has a whitish dust all over the bill

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-- source

GreatGreenFees has two great deals today. Three rounds at Old Orchard for $99 (normally $234) and $25 at Mission Hills for one round (normally $79).

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-- source

Why do you hate buryman?

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

You lost me there, Spank.

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-- source

buryman was a poster from years ago that used to post a lot of golf stuff. He worked for GolfNow.
He and his wife started a family and he got busy with work and haven't heard a thing from him for
years now.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Ahh, okay. I use GolfNow frequently as well. Just got the e-mail today from GGF and thought I would share. Also, #DeathToBuryMan

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-- source

$25 for Mission Hills is not a great deal, its what it should cost. Never played Old Orchard, but I hear it sucks so also not a great deal.



$79 for a round at Mission Hills is probably the most overpriced round of golf you could possibly get in the Chicago area.

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I'll let you know after I use my Mission Hills coupon next month. Unless there's an active volcano on the course that burns 80% of my buddy, I'm going to be hard pressed to complain about a $25 round of 18 with a cart in the Chicagoland area.

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-- source

Anyone have a tip or link for short pitching/chipping or flopping better? This is my personal hell. At the moment I am going to start in my yard going into a hula hoop.

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Elections have consequences.

Just watch the World Cup, yo.

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-- source

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Elections have consequences.

I don't know a lot of people that use this method, but for short shots around the green and within
maybe 15 yards of the green I will use my putting grip to hit the chips and flops. It seems to give me
more feel. I don't do this in the sand of course. Might be worth trying to see if you like it, although
I wouldn't recommend it if you putt crosshanded

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Let G-Mac show you the way:

http://www.srixon.co.uk/?utm_medium=ema ... 20software

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Sex isn't dirty, sex isn't a crime. It's a loving act between two or more consenting adults.

-Hank Kingsley

Pretty cool, thanks for sharing. He used a putting grip with the bladed and hybrid shot.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

My wife bought four 1/2 hour lessons for me, for father's day/birthday. Had my first lesson this morning. He worked on my grip mostly. Apparently, my hands are too big to play an interlocking grip, so now both of my hands are turned in a bit more. It feels a bit weird, but it will come around.

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Did he move you to an intermesh or overlap grip then?

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Not sure. I am turning my left hand enough to the right, so I can see the first two knuckles on my left hand.

_________________
Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way