Joey's Golf Bag

If I could putt.

This morning, Jack, John and I played 18 at the Cowboys Golf Club. We went off at around 10AM and finished 4-1/2 hours later. The day was mostly overcast, without much wind, with temperatures in the lower 70s.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. I hit only 2 fairways and had three penalties off the tee, two on the 18th. I also hit 3 of the 4 par-3 holes in regulation, though.
• Approach shots. Today was a pretty good day for approach shots. I hit 4 GIR in addition to the 3 GIR on the par-3 holes. I had two penalties, one off the second shot on the par-5 13th hole, where I hooked one left into the hazard, and another hooked into the pond on the par-4 16th.
• Wedges. I hit a couple of good wedge shots, one of which where I got up-and-down for bogey after hooking the approach into the pond on the 16th (wedge to 3 ft). However, my putting wasn’t good enough for some of my wedges or chips.
• Sand shots. I was in two greenside bunkers and didn’t get up-and-down on either one.
• Chipping. I got up-and-down for par from deep rough on the par-3 15th hole. I also hit a terrible chip over the green on the short par-4 14th hole.
• Putting. In a word, terrible. I had four 3-putts on the front, but did better on the back. I hit only one of my eight birdie putts and had 37 total putts.

How good could the day have been if I’d hit more than one of my eight birdie putts? Still, 43 on the front is my second best score ever on a par-36 nine. I was still pretty happy with the way I played, considering I’ve not practiced since before my last GGA tournament.

Yesterday, I played in the AJ Harper tournament in the Grapevine Golf Association at Grapevine Golf Club. We went off in a shotgun start around 7:30AM in the second group off the 4th hole on Mockingbird. The weather was quite cold, and a heavy dew covered the course. Due to heavy rain previously, the cart-path only rule was in effect, and that made play especially slow. It took more than five hours to finish the round. By the 10th hole we played, the sun had warmed things up enough that I was able to strip down to short sleeves and enjoy the nice fall weather.

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Off the tee. I hit seven fairways, but unfortunately, none of the par-3 holes in regulation. I had two penalties off the tee, both balls lost in the woods on big pushes with the driver.
• Approach shots. Because the course was wet and soft, there was no rollout at all, so I was hitting longer clubs into the greens than usual. I hit only one green-in-regulation, the par five 5th hole on Bluebonnet. In many cases, I was just off the green, so things weren’t as bad as it seems. I did have one penalty on an approach, from the middle of the fairway, a ball lost in the hazard behind the green on #7 of Bluebonnet.
• Wedges. I hit some really nice wedge shots, and wasted nearly all of them on missed short putts. Really short putts.
• Chipping. I hit only a few chips, but got up-and-down only twice. I wasted some good chips on missed short putts. Really short putts. On the short par-3 #7 hole on Mockingbird, I hit a stellar, downhill chip in the rough on the mound to the left of the green to 2 ft, and missed the putt for par.
• Sand shots. I was in three greenside bunkers. On Bluebonnet #1, I hit a really nice bunker shot to 6 ft, and on another hole, hit a really nice bunker shot to two feet. I missed those putts. My third bunker shot was well past the hole, but it was a long difficult shot and I wasn’t really that disappointed.
• Putting. Ah, putting! How bad can it possibly get? I turned a round of 92 into a round of 99. I had a 4-putt, yes, a 4-putt, from 6 feet on #1 on Bluebonnet after a really good bunker shot. I ended up with an 8 on that hole. I had four other 3-putts to go with my 4-putt, and at least two of those I missed 2 foot putts. 40 putts total, how pathetic is that?

Equally inexplicably, I came in 4th on gross score and 3rd on net. D flight, of course.

Why do I play this game?

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.

This morning, I played day 2 of the GGA Championship. I went off at 8:30AM and finished at 12:45PM. The weather again was warm and sunny, with only a slight variable wind. The greens had a thick layer of dew when we went off but had burned off by the third hole.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. Again, very mixed off the tee. I had two penalties off the tee, both lost in the woods. I hit a total of six fairways and also two of the par-3 holes in regulation.
• Approach shots. Again, very mixed bag. I hit two greens in regulation (in addition to the two par-3 holes), but also had a penalty (ball lost in the woods).
• Wedges. I didn’t have a good wedge shot all day, hitting several left short of the hole (and one in a greenside bunker).
• Chipping. My chipping wasn’t great today, but I did manage to get up-and-down four times, though not always for par.
• Sand shots. I hit into only one greenside bunker today, and I hit that ball well over the green on the first hole of Bluebonnet. I did manage to get the ball back out of the woods that time with a pretty nifty recovery shot.
• Putting. I hit two long putts, but also had a 4-putt (!) and two 3-putts. I had a total of 37 putts today, simply terrible. I lipped out at least 3 putts and left a couple an inch or two short.

Wow, what a weird day. I putted terribly, yet shot one shot better than yesterday. I turned a potential 92 into a 100 with poor putting.

Update: I came in 5th (gross) for the 2-day tournament.

This morning, I played the first day of the Grapevine Golf Association Tournament at Grapevine Golf Club. I went off at 11:30 and finished at 4:05. We played from the blue tees and went off on Mockingbird followed by Pecan. The day was very warm and sunny, not much wind, and the temperature was above 90F by the time we finished.

My score:

* Hit green in regulation.

Themes:

• Tee shots. Oh, boy, how bad can it get? I had 5 penalties, and three of them were off the tee. I hit only 4 fairways, although I did hit two of the par-3 holes in regulation (in fact, I played the par-3 holes at +1).
• Approach shots. If tee shots were bad, approach shots were worse. I didn’t hit any greens in regulation. I had two penalties off approach shots.
• Wedges. My full wedges were poor, but my pitching with the wedges was pretty darn good. I managed to get up-and-down six times (some of these were chipping), though not usually for par.
• Chipping. My chipping was pretty good today. I hit the pin on one chip and had two others within 3 ft.
• Sand shots. From one fairway bunker, it took me three shots to get out. I played the wrong type of shot trying to get out. I won’t make that mistake again. I got out cleanly on all greenside bunkers, but none were close enough to get up-and-down.
• Putting. Other than two three-putts, my putting was good today. I had a total of 32 putts. The Odyssey 3-ball putter is proving its worth (at Coyote Ridge last week had 31 putts).

Not my best day, but if I had been able to not three-putt twice and not hit so many poor drives, I would have had a good day.

Update: My score was good enough for 4th place (gross); I tied the 3rd place player, but he got me on tiebreakers.

Yesterday afternoon, I played 18 at Coyote Ridge Golf Course on a warm, sunny day. We went off at about 12:15PM and finished four hours later. I arrived early to warm up, and I was pretty pleased with it. I’ve been working, almost exclusively, on getting good impact on the ball, specifically, keeping my hands ahead of the ball at impact. I had varying degrees of success.

My round:

• First hole. I hit a 7-wood off the tee into the left side of the fairway, and hit a good 7-iron to about 35 ft left of the hole. Unfortunately, I three-putted for bogey.
• Second hole. I pushed a driver well right of the fairway. The ball ended up nearly on the 8th fairway. From there, I hit a pretty good 4-hybrid just short of the greenside bunkers. From there, I hit a good pitching wedge about 35 ft left of the hole. Again, I three-putted for bogey. Yeech!
• Third hole. I hit a 5-iron pin-high, but 35 ft right of the green. I used a sand wedge to chip onto the green, and the ball curled in for birdie. Woop!
• Fourth hole. I pushed my driver a bit right and ended up as usual in the big ditch to the right of the fairway. I chunked my first hybrid about 30 ft, then hit a good shot into the center of the fairway. From there, I had a 7-iron into the green, and I hit it to about 25 ft. I missed the putt and tapped in for bogey.
• Fifth hole. I hit a seemingly perfect drive right over the left fairway bunkers, only to find my ball about a foot to the right of the fairway bunker another 40 yds beyond the first two. I had no choice but to punch a ball as far as I could, as my feet were a good 2 ft below the ball. I chipped short and two-putted for bogey.
• Sixth hole. I hit another long drive, but it hit the second fairway bunker. I pulled my 8-iron over the green, chunked my first chip, then hit a second one to about 6 ft, but missed that putt and tapped in for double.
• Seventh hole. As I hit the shot, the wind strengthened in my face, and I hit the ball short left into the bunker. My bunker shot wasn’t close to the hole and I two-putted for bogey.
• Eighth hole. My drive was pushed well right to the right of the third bunker. I hit a 5-iron very thin short of the greenside bunker. I shanked my wedge into the bunker. I hit my bunker shot about a foot short of perfect, and it hung in the fringe (another foot, and it would have run down to the hole). I putted from the fringe long and hit my return putt for double.
• Ninth hole. I hit a very nice 7-wood off the tee into the right side of the fairway. My second 7-wood was about 40 yds short of the green. My pitch was well short, and then my putt was well short. I finished the front by three-putting for double.
• Tenth hole. I hit a very nice 7-wood perfectly into the preferred spot on the fairway. My next 7-wood was very poor, going through a small tree and ending up right of the cart path. I had no shot to the green due to another tree, so I hit a lay-up with the pitching wedge to just in front of the creek in front of the green. Here, I hit my worst shot all day, a topped pitching wedge into the creek. My next pitching wedge was hit into the deep greenside bunker. I hit another (nearly) perfect bunker shot that, had it gone one more foot, would have rolled right down to the hole. Instead, again, it hung on the fringe and I two-putted from there for a baseball team.
• Eleventh hole. My 5-iron was hooked well left of the green on a steep down slope to the green protected by a bunker. I used a lob wedge to pitch over the bunker, but the ball didn’t stop on the green but rolled down the slope on the other side of the green. I was left with a very steep shot up to the green. I hit a pretty good chip using a sand wedge to about 7 ft and made the putt for bogey.
• Twelth hole. My driver was hit well but right into the first fairway bunker on the right, up against the lip. I tried to get a pitching wedge on it, but the ball hit the lip and ended up between the second and third fairway bunkers. I hit a pretty good iron from there just short of the green. I chipped to about 4 inches and tapped in for bogey.
• Thirteenth hole. I hit a decent 7-wood just left of the fairway in the rough. I hit a poor 7-iron just short of the right greenside bunker. I hit a pretty good pitch with the sand wedge to about 15 ft and made the putt for par. Woop!
• Fourteenth hole. My 7-iron was hit weakly right into the deep greenside bunker. I shanked my sand shot and had to hit another one, this time going past the hole about 8 ft. I missed the putt and tapped in for double.
• Fifteenth hole. I popped up my drive but into the fairway. My second shot with the 4-wood cleared the two center bunkers, leaving me an approach wedge to the green. That shot was short and left. I chipped from there to about 10 ft and missed the par putt and tapped in for bogey.
• Sixteenth hole. My 4-wood hit a tree right of the fairway and dropped into the rough. My iron was poorly struck and ended up under a pine tree, so I had to take an unplayable. My fourth shot was not well-struck and ended up well short. I hit an approach wedge 30 ft short of the hole. My putt was nicely judged but missed and I tapped in for triple.
• Seventeenth hole. My 7-wood ended up just right of the fairway but with a clear shot to the green. I hit a 9-iron pin-high but just right of the green. My chip was left a little short, and I missed that putt and tapped in for bogey.
• Eighteenth hole. I badly chunked my tee shot with the 7-wood. My next 7-wood ended up at the top of the hill. My pitching wedge from there went just over the green. My chip was good, but my putt wasn’t, and I tapped in for double.

Fun day of golf, really only got irritated on the 10th, when I chunked the ball into the creek, and my series of bad shots on 16. I can see a bit of improvement, despite very limited practice time.

9-under 62 and seven shot lead.