Joey's Golf Bag

This morning, I played the Grapevine Golf Association tournament, an AD/BC 2 best ball event. Our “C” player didn’t show up. The weather was quite cold and windy, though the sun was out. At times, the wind was really howling. We went off just after our scheduled tee time of 8:52AM and finished up at 1:25PM. The first couple of holes were backed up, but it was pretty smooth after about the fourth hole. We played Pecan followed by Bluebonnet, from the blue tees. We were the seventh of 30 groups to play.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. Not good. I hit only four fairways and one par-3 hole in regulation. I had two penalties off the tee, one into the water on the third hole of Pecan, and one into the woods on the seventh hole of Pecan. My best tee shot was a 7-iron to 12 feet on the eighth hole of Bluebonnet; this shot had me closest to the hole at the time.
• Approach shots. Not good. I hit only one green in regulation on par-4 and par-5 holes. My misses were all over the place, but mostly short due to the wind. I had three penalties on approach shots, two of which were on the seventh hole (a grand total of three penalties on that hole alone).
• Wedges. I had very few wedge shots today, as I was usually chipping. I don’t really recall any bad ones.
• Chipping. What the heck? My chipping was very poor early (I had two dead shank chips within the first 3 holes). After that, my chipping was better and I managed to get up and down 4 times (one was a putt into the hole from the fringe). I was really disappointed, as I spend a great deal of time in the two weeks leading up to this tournament on chipping.
• Sand shots. I hit into two greenside bunker and got out cleanly from one and launched one over the green on the other. I also hit into two fairway bunkers, one was well-struck and the other a bit fat.
• Putting. My putting ranged from very good (putting into the hole from the fringe on the eighth hole of Pecan for par) to very poor (missed a 2 footer for bogey on the first hole of Pecan). I had three 3-putts and 34 putts total today.

I was really disappointed in how I played today, but considering the weather conditions, it wasn’t really bad, just bad.

Update: I finished one shot out of the money (104 was good enough for 4th place in D flight).

Update 2: Best ball tournament was cancelled as 42% of the 4-man teams had no shows. Tournament was transformed into a stroke play event.

Good to have you back in action, Tiger. See you at Doral.

Tiger Woods loses to Tim Clark at WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

One day after a ceremonious return to golf, Tiger Woods was on his way home.

Tim Clark of South Africa played 16 holes without a bogey and pulled ahead for good on the back nine Thursday, knocking Woods out of the Accenture Match Play Championship with a 4-and-2 victory.

Woods holed out a 50-foot bunker shot for birdie on the 14th hole and appeared to be making a run, but his tee shot on the 15th hole hit a cart path and went over a fence and out of bounds, costing him the hole.

Tiger Woods. Duh!

This afternoon, I took the afternoon off from work to play a practice round at Grapevine Golf Course. The weather was sunny and warm, with a variable breeze from almost none to two clubs. I didn’t get a chance to warm up or putt, and we went off on Mockingbird just before 1PM. We finished our round in three hours and 45 minutes, playing in a foursome.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. Today, I used my driver on any par-4 or par-5 where driver could be used. I hit five fairways and had two penalties off the tee. The first was a pulled driver that hit the cart path and jumped into the woods on the third hole on the Mockingbird course and the second was a shanked iron into the hazard on the 7th hole of the Mockingbird course. Most of my drives with the driver were well-struck, but I had a lot of difficulty with the 5-wood today. I didn’t hit any of the par-3 holes in regulation.
• Approach shots. I hit four greens in regulation and had another three penalties on approach shots. I didn’t strike my irons very good today, and my hybrid, though well-struck, was often pulled left badly.
• Wedges. I didn’t hit a lot of pitches or full wedge shots today. I had a nice approach wedge up the hill on the short par-4 2nd hole on the Bluebonnet course after a really good drive, though I narrowly missed the birdie putt. My main issue today was hitting the wedges too high and too short.
• Chipping. My chipping was pretty good today. I got up and down six times, but not always for par.
• Sand shots. I hit into two fairway bunkers and one greenside bunker. My first fairway bunker shot on the first hole on the Mockingbird course was pretty well struck with a 7-iron, but I had to lay up because the lip wouldn’t allow me to go for the green. My second fairway bunker shot on the 6th hole on Bluebonnet was plugged and I was happy just to get the ball out cleanly with a sand wedge. My greenside bunker shot on the 8th hole on Bluebonnet was terrible and didn’t get out, so I had to do it again. The second one flew the green. 🙁
• Putting. With the exception of two holes I three-putted, my speed was good all day. I even nailed a 60 foot putt for bogey on the 6th hole on Bluebonnet. I think that’s the longest putt I’ve ever hit, and I knew it was going in when it was 20 ft from the hole. I had a total of 33 putts today.

While today was not my best golf, at least I was able to get the driver going a little bit and hit a few good chips and a few good putts. I also broke 100 for the first time since I injured my shoulder (it didn’t really bother me today at all). We’ll see if I can get it going this weekend in the next Grapevine Golf Association tournament.

On Sunday, I played nine at North Texas Golf. The weather was warm and sunny, with a strong breeze from the east. I warmed up quite well, using Tour Tempo and hitting my short irons quite solidly. Unfortunately, it didn’t transfer to the course.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

My round:

• Tee shots. I hit three greens in regulation, though I really only consider one shot well-struck, the 8-iron into the wind to 12 ft on the fourth hole. I hit two other greens in regulation, the second hole, which was well short and below the ridge that runs across the green, and the ninth hole. On that hole I hit a worm-burner 7-iron that somehow came to rest 18 ft below the hole. It wasn’t a pretty shot at all, but at least I got my par.
• Chipping. My chipping was pretty good, except for the first hole, where I chipped over the green. My second chip on that hole was good, but I missed the three-foot putt. AAAIIIEEEYYY!!! 🙁 I managed to get up and down three times for par.
• Wedges. I didn’t hit any wedges as I was close enough to chip on all the greens I missed.
• Sand shots. None.
• Putting. Pretty good, except for the first two holes. On the first, I missed a three footer, and on the second, I completely misread the break and lipped out the second putt. Otherwise my speed was good. I had a total 16 putts.

I was OK with the way I played on Sunday, as my short iron practice and my short game practice before playing was quite good. Unfortunately, the short irons didn’t transfer to the course, although my chipping was pretty good.

The long drought without Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour is over. Tiger announced today on his website that he’s going to play the Accenture Match Play next week.

WOO HOO!!!

Heh heh!

Weekly 18: Michelle Wie’s first victory as a pro inching closer

Dustin Johnson. Though I haven't been able to confirm this yet, I've heard reports that of the 201 total strokes taken by Dustin Johnson at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, not a single one aired live on any of the television broadcasts. If that's true, I've got to wonder whether it's the first time this has happened in the era of televised golf.

Though he never incurred the pressure of a final round, never had to hit a shot with the spotlight directly on him, here's guessing that Johnson isn't exactly complaining about simply showing up Monday morning and being handed a trophy — regardless of what he said one day earlier.

“I don't want it to be called,” he said after Sunday's round was washed out. “I'd rather it be played [Monday] than not.”

Instead, Johnson didn't have to hit a shot since Saturday, collecting not only the winner's check, but berths in both the upcoming Masters and U.S. Open, as well. Those who don't think such rewards should be heaped upon a player who never had to play a final-round shot with a 4-stroke lead likely won't appreciate this notion, either: It may be time to include Johnson in any discussion about the best player under 30.

This afternoon, I played 18 at North Texas Golf, going around twice on a cool, breezy, but sunny, day. As the course was not crowded, I was able to go around in a little over 2 hours.

I’ve had very poor practices for the last two weeks, but this afternoon, I got out Tour Tempo and got things mostly straightened out with respect to getting the club on the back of the ball. I’m hitting off a pull, so my distance is about a club shorter than usual. I’ll get that worked out, now that I realize that tempo was the main issue for the last two weeks.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. For the first couple of holes, I came up short on many holes, due in part to hitting off a pull, and also due to the strong wind. I hit only two greens in regulation on the first nine, but improved after I clubbed up on the second nine to where I hit five GIR. I had one bad chunk on the front and one on the back, and also flew the green on the last hole, about two clubs long. My best shot of the day was one of my best ever, an 8-iron to 2 feet on the 4th hole.
• Chipping. I got up and down five times. My chipping was pretty good, except for the 2nd hole, where I hit the ball thin over the green.
• Wedges. I didn’t have any wedge shots today, as all my tee shots were close enough to use a chip shot.
• Putting. I had a total of 32 putts today. I didn’t hit any putts longer than 9 ft and didn’t miss any below 5 ft. My speed was good except for the two holes that I three-putted.

I was pretty happy with the way I played today, considering how poorly I practiced for the last two weeks on my long game. My tempo was off, and Tour Tempo was able to get my swing back to something resembling a golf swing. Once I get my swing path fixed (really, really don’t want to play off a pull, as that causes loss of distance), I’ll get back to hitting the ball like I did last summer when I was occasionally breaking 90.

Michelle Wie shot a disappointing 73 to lose by 3 to Angela Stanford at the SBS Open in Hawaii. Michelle had the tournament victory in reach until a double bogey at the 11th hole left her with a one shot lead over Angela. Two holes later, Angela reeled off three straight birdies and cruised home for the victory with a 2-under 70.

Go, Michelle!!!

Michelle Wie shoots to top of leaderboard.

Michelle Wie put herself into contention for her first LPGA Tour victory, shooting a 2-under 70 in difficult conditions Friday in the second round of the season-opening SBS Open.

Making her debut as an LPGA card-carrying member, Wie used a three-birdie run to surge to the top of the leaderboard and finish with an 8-under 136, where she was tied with Angela Stanford (71) heading into Saturday's final round.

“It feels good,'' Wie said of being in contention again. She will be in the final group for the first time since the 2006 Evian Ladies Masters, where she tied for second and picked up her biggest tour paycheck of her career.

Wie said she couldn't remember the last time she led going into the final day. It was at the 2006 U.S. Women's Open where she was tied with Annika Sorenstam and Brittany Lincicome. Wie finished tied for third, two strokes out of the playoff.