Joey's Golf Bag

This afternoon, we played golf at Firewheel on the Old Course. The weather was breezy, heavily overcast and muggy, with the temperature in the upper 60s. The course was very wet and muddy from all of the rain we’ve had recently. We went off in a fivesome at 3:30PM. The course had only a few groups on it, so the pro shop let us go off as a fivesome instead of two groups.

We ran out of daylight and only finished 16 holes.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. Pretty pathetic, as I hit only 4 fairways of the 12 par-4 or par-5 holes. On the other hand, I did hit 2 of the 3 par-3 holes in regulation, the closest of which was a 7-iron to 6 ft on #4. I missed the birdie putt.
• Approach shots. Not very good. I hit only one green-in-regulation, other than the two par-3 holes I hit in regulation. I tended to be short today, or hit into bunkers. On the other hand, I was nearly on in two on #13, where I just a 4-hybrid into the green and had just a chip onto the green on that par-5 hole.
• Wedges. I didn’t hit many wedges today, I was mainly chipping or hitting from greenside bunkers.
• Chipping. Other than a chip-in for par on #12, my chipping was atrocious. I either left the ball well short, or I hit it thin well past the hole. It was stunningly bad considering how much time I spent chipping yesterday. I got up-and-down only once other than the chip-in.
• Sand shots. I hit into several greenside bunkers. I got out cleanly except on #9 where my first bunker shot never got out, but I got up-and-down on my second. I hit into one fairway bunker. I should have just pitched out, but I went for the green with the hybrid, but the shot didn’t clear the lip and the ball went only about a 100 yds down the fairway.
• Putting. My putting wasn’t good today, either. I left a lot of putts short and missed all three of my birdie putts, including an easy 6 foot uphill putt. My only one-putt green was number #9, where I holed a 6 footer after a bunker shot.

I didn’t play well on the front, but recovered nicely on the back, making 3 pars in 6 holes.

This morning, John and I played 18 at Coyote Ridge. We went off about 11:30AM and finished around 3:40PM. The day was cool, mid-60s, cloudy and windy when we went off. The clouds parted and we enjoyed partly sunny skies after the 10th hole.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. Other than one 7-wood hooked into the hazard on the 9th hole, I had a good day off the tee, hitting nine fairways and one par-3 hole in regulation. I also had to take an unplayable on #5 from under a small pine tree, but I still managed a bogey on the hole.
• Approach shots. I hit three greens in regulation today on par-4 or par-5 holes, plus the par-3 third hole from the tee. I was pretty irritated with myself today, as I was in the middle of the fairway and chunked short- or mid-iron shots, one into the hazard on #10.
• Wedges. I had a decent day with the wedges, getting up-and-down three times with wedge shots. I tended to be a bit long today on the wedges.
• Chipping. My chipping really let me down today; I left so many chips well short and only managed to get up-and-down with a chip once.
• Sand shots. I was in only two greenside bunkers today. On the 16th hole, I hit a 7-iron into the bunker, leaving a long bunker shot to the flag. I hit a pretty nice bunker shot about a foot short of my target, and the ball plugged hard up against the lip. I closed the face of my sand wedge and swung very hard. The ball popped straight up and ended 3 ft from the hole. I made the putt for bogey. On the 18th hole, I had another very long bunker shot. This time, I flew the ball to the pin but it rolled just off the green. I putted from off the green and finished that hole with bogey.
• Putting. Putting was pretty mediocre today. I missed all four birdie putts, had two 3-putt greens and got up-and-down five times, so I had a total of 33 putts.

I was pretty happy with the way I played today. My driving was pretty good, though my short game and putting suffered from lack of practice. Still, I won 7 holes to Johnnie’s 5, so it was a good day. My 4-wood from 220 yds on #3 was one of the finest shots I’ve ever hit.

Tiger rolls in the last putt that matters in the 2009 golf season as team USA wins the President’s Cup. Sure, there’s the Fall series, but who watches those tournaments? Not me, as I don’t have Golf Channel (otherwise, I’d never leave the media room).

Bring on the Silly Season!

Unbeaten Woods leads Americans to dominant singles showing and Presidents Cup victory

The final score wasn’t indicative of the last-day whupping. The U.S. won the Cup, 19 1/2-14 1/2, but it wasn’t really that close.

How much of a rout was this? The Americans won the five matches they needed to clinch the Cup before the Internationals managed to score a single point. This time, Yogi Berra was wrong — it was over before it was over. The U.S. had the Presidents Cup wrapped up by 1:30 p.m. Pacific time. Woods did the honors himself, rolling in a putt for his fifth birdie to easily finish off Y.E. Yang, 6 and 5. Woods was a perfect 5-0 for the week.

This afternoon, I played golf on a cold, cloudy afternoon. There was a one-club breeze from the north. We played skins (no carry-over); I only won 2 holes.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. I was booming the driver, but the ball wasn’t always going straight. I hit four fairways and two par-3 greens in regulation. I had one penalty off the tee, on the 11th hole, where I pushed one into the hazard.
• Approach shots. Not very good. I didn’t hit any greens in regulation, apart from the two par-3 holes. However, I did hit some pretty respectable approach shots, but my short game was completely non-existent today, so my scoring was terrible. I had two penalties on approach shots, dunking two balls in the water on the ninth.
• Wedges. I wasn’t pleased with my wedges today at all, hitting a couple over greens or into bunkers.
• Chipping. Chipping, usually a strength, was poor today as well; I got up-and-down only twice all day.
• Sand shots. I hit into one fairway bunker and two greenside bunkers. I hit a pretty good 4-hybrid out of the right bunker on the 15th hole, leaving me a simple approach wedge to the green. I got out cleanly from the greenside bunkers, but not close enough to the hole to get up-and-down.
• Putting. Simply terrible. I had three 3-putts and only two 1-putt greens.

Well, not a good day on the course. After all the rain we’ve had for the past week, the course was cartpath only. I would have preferred to walk, but Coyote Ridge doesn’t allow push carts and carrying a bad is too hard on my back. The course was playing very long due to the wet fairways, as the ball didn’t roll out at all. I haven’t been able to practice for more than a week, and it showed.