Played Shepherds Crook early yesterday. I couldn't believe they have tee times as early as 5:30. My course doesn't go any earlier than 6.
I got off to a bit of a shaky start getting up to +5 after 7 but got it settled down after that point and shot -1 the rest of the way in for a 75.
I am not completely convinced that my game is back so I am going to get out and play this afternoon before my state qualifier tomorrow.
This round felt pretty lucky. I got up and down 4 out of 6 times from around the green which is pretty good and I had 7 one putts total which
is great but atypical. 9 fairways and 11 greens were pretty good as well. Tomorrow is going to be a real grind and I just want to not
embarrass myself and try to avoid the huge blow up holes. The course is really tight with teeny tiny greens.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

4th time out and shot a 92 on one of the toughest courses in the area. I was pretty happy. A couple of OB's kept me from breaking 90. I had 4 "pick it up" chips around the green which made me very happy.

Good luck on the qualifying, T-Bone.

Nice shooting for just the 4th time out Matt and thanks for the well wishes.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Great weekend of golf and hockey and drinking in South Bend. Played the amazing South Bend CC twice and despite having played hockey a couple hours earlier I played really well. 83 on day 1 and then yesterday we played it as a par 72 (par 71 on day 1) and I shot a 84. Very happy with my new 60 degree, its nice to have grooves again. Got up and down with it 8/13 times yesterday and it wasn't because of putting. Most of those were within 2 feet.

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Well I think my competitive golf career may be over with. Yesterday did not go very well at all. Some low lights included
topping the ball off the first tee in front of dozens of competitors, managing to get the ball up to the green in two more
shots and then lipping out a 30 yard chip. I actually didn't play all that bad for the first 14 holes. I was +9 on a par 70
course and I thought if I could string together 4 pars going in I could card a 79 which would have been very respectable
at this place. Then disaster struck. I have no idea what happened or what I was doing wrong but on the 15th tee I
got a case of the shanks. I hit 4 balls out of bounds off the tee. Once you get the shanks you can't get them out of your
head and I had no idea what had changed between then and the last hole. I managed to top one in bounds and then topped
another. Shanked another out of bounds. Dropped and hit one up the left side. Shanked the next one badly and hit a tree
and stayed in bounds. Needless to say it took 5 more shots to get it in the hole from there. There is not much you can say
or do after you card a 19. I am proud of myself that I didn't get mad or slam a club down. I was just dumbfounded.
The next hole was a par 3 and I shanked the tee shot and managed a double bogey. Got off the tee on the next hole and
then hit a dead right shank with a PW 75 yards into the next fairway. I finished up, shook hands with the guys and left
without turning in my card. I have never had something like that happen to me in the 30 plus years I have been playing the
game. I look back now and can kind of laugh about it but I would say it was one of the most heartbreaking and embarrassing things
that has ever happened to me. I don't have any interest in playing anymore tournaments after that.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Sorry to hear T-Bone. Golf is a tough game and you clearly are very good. It is very humbling sport.

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

That sounds awful, TBone. There is nothing worse than having that sort of thing happen to your game, regardless of it being a tournament or a friendly round with some buddies. I think we have all been there and done that. Golf is maddening enough and when you could throw the ball further than you are hitting it, well that is certainly not a good time.

Hopefully you can turn things around and still enjoy the game this summer.



I played in an outing last weekend, and continued to hit the ball fairly well. I jumped at a few iron shots trying to hit them farther than I can, which caused me to loose them to the right, but overall I was pleased with how I played. We probably used more of my shots than anybody else's in the group, but everybody in the 4some contributed. I also was able to drain 3 or 4 mid length putts, which hasn't really happened for me this season. Saved par for us on a long par 5 with an uphill 75' putt that I was able to lag to about 4-5'. Then the next hole was about a 130 yard par 3 that I stuck an 8iron about 6" from the cup. We ended up at -2 as a group with 3 birds and 1 bogey, but really shot ourselves in the foot on holes 8-12 with some good scoring chances wasted with poor second, and in some cases, 3rd shots. -7 ended up winning the thing, and our group absolutely could have gotten to that point with a couple of better approach shots. Oh well, I still had a great time.

Damn, that is brutal, T-Bone. Glad to hear you were able to keep your composure.

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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

Sorry to hear that, T-Bone. I don't think I could have even finished. I went through the shanks a few years ago but worked my way out of it. Hope it's a one time thing for you. Keep plugging.

Sometimes it's hard to play well when you have a big breakfast with your buddies before hand.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

T-bone, as I've mentioned in the past, I've battled the shanks for years. last year I had it for a month. Couldn't figure out how to stop it. Then this year I focused all my pre season lessons on creating a swing that would stop the dreaded shank. First off you need to learn how it happens. For me, it happens when I get tired or lazy and start diving at the ball. As a result I change the plane of my swing and start striking the ball with the hozzle creating the dreaded shank.

Now, to combat that I strike all my irons from the outside in, that way I am consciously pulling the hozzle away from the ball on impact. It has helped immensely. I still have an occasional shank, but now I know exactly why I do it and how to stop it.


ON the plus side, good job keeping that one hole score under 20

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Got out to Shepherd's Crook yesterday with a few buddies to use up our free round of golf that expired yesterday. Very windy day. My game inside 100 yards and especially inside 20 continues to amaze. Started the round by putting a 60 yard quarter swing SW to 4 inches for a tap in birdie on 1. Got up and down with my 60 degree 4 more times on the front. Also lipped out 4 putts on the front. Ended up with a 37. Fell apart on the back and started shanking my driver and hybrids for a couple holes. Was 5 over on the back through 4 before I straightened it out. On #16 I fatted a 52 degree off the tee and was 40 yards out in the fairway. Pulled out the trusty 60 degree and chipped in for birdie. My 3rd chip in in this month. Of course I triple bogeyed 17 before lipping out another birdie putt on 18. 44 on the back to finish with a 81. A little disappointed that I blew such a good chance to break 80, but no big deal, the way I'm playing now its only a matter of time.

My last 10 rounds have been...81, 84, 83, 85, 82, 81, 85, 84, 83, 86. I finally have some consistency in my game.

Time to pat myself on the back a bit. Before the season started I decided my one goal was to have a better attitude on the course. In the past i would get angry when I made a bad shot, throw clubs and even break clubs. I'm not even going to say how many clubs I broke last year. This year I decided that was all going to stop and I wasn't going to get upset at all. The first few weeks I had to keep reminding myself to resist the urge to get angry. But, after that I no longer had to remind myself, I was no longer getting mad at anything on the course. Don't get too excited when i do something good and I never get mad when I screw up. As a result I've found that I'm not having as many blow up holes. I'm recovering from bad shots because I'm not spiraling out of control. I've gone several rounds where I don't even get a double bogey. I now have a very simple mindset on the course....instead of focusing on the last shot, I only focus on the next shot. Its done wonders for my game and I've never played better or been happier on the course.

Oh yeah, got my CDGA revision today, I'm at a 9.9, first time in my life in single digits!

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Yeah, I left a putt hanging on the lip for 18! I am sure it had something to do with being tired and lazily lunging at the ball. It was a 5-1/2 hour round and so that was about the 4:45
minute mark and my mind was scrambled eggs. I'm playing Friday and will need to hit the range to just make sure it went away. I play Erin Hills next Tuesday and I don't need that
shit popping back in. Looking back at it I think I may have bringing the club too far outside on the takeaway which happens to me sometimes and is a bad habit. On the reroute back
down I was obviously putting it in a bad place.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Congrats shakes. The course was in great shape when I played Sunday. I love that course and the greens were a very nice speed. Unfortunately the wind was blowing from
the wrong direction and it smelled like shit.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I gotta be honest, I was disappointed in the greens yesterday. They must not have cut them since the weekend cause they were much slower and bumpier than I've ever experienced out there. Last year I called them the best greens in the Chicago area.

i was thankful that they moved the black tees up on many holes due to the wind. #4 was only 175 yards into the wind as opposed to the usual 210.

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60 yard approach shot? Are you playing from the ladies' tees?

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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

Hole #1 at SC is 335 yards and it has a big hill that crests about 120 yards out. And it was a two club wind with the wind at my back. Do the math.

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Were you wearing a pretty skirt?

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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

Yes, this..

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Nice. Hawg has the same outfit.

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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

Except his is in a smaller size. *shudders*

Chus and Cicero "insert name here"

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

Rory McIlroy screwed up his ankle playing soccer this weekend. Its not quite as bad as JPP burning his hand lighting off fireworks, but its still a shitty thing to have happen.

Got in a round on Friday and played much better than the state am qualifier meltdown. I managed a 74 ( par 70 ) with a double on the last hole.
Local public course had free caddies so we each took one. I guess that was an experience. I enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to mess with my
clubs but these kids didn't know too much about golf so it was really awkward. Hit the ball better and had an enjoyable walk before my wedding
vows later in the day. Tomorrow I try to tackle Erin Hills with my dad and knock one off the bucket list. Should be nice.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

What a great time with your father, enjoy. The wedding pictures looked very nice also.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

Thanks Hawg, it should be memorable which is the whole idea. My dad is looking forward to it and I think it will be a close to 6-7 mile walk from what I have heard.
Temps supposed to be mid 70s thankfully after a hot one today.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

congrats on the nuptials Tbone and have fun at Erin Hills. FYI, its more like an 8 mile walk, not a 6 so be prepared.


I had another great weekend of golf up in Green Lake. Played with the wife at Lawsonia Links and Mascoutin and managed to post 83s in both rounds. Then yesterday, got out on the Links as a single with no distractions and shot my all time low round there (and in the state of wisconsin), a 79!

Wedge game inside 90 yards continues to be outstanding. 3 chip ins in June and over the weekend I hit the hole twice but they didn't go in.

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Nice shooting shakes!

Edit : Yeah I just saw 8.5 miles if you hit the ball straight.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Looking for a full T-bone report here.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins