Training Log Archive: PGIn the 1 days ending Dec 14, 2009: |
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Monday Dec 14, 2009 #
Note
Much much more than usual about one of my pastimes....
Up early this morning, wanted to be the first one out on the course so I wouldn't have any traffic. I've been to the place before, when Gail and I were in the area a couple of years ago, and it had the best greens of the courses we played, so I figured I'd go back for what was most likely my last round of the year (though you never know...), even if it was a half hour in the wrong direction (toward Cape May).
Got there at 8:30, checked in and paid the fee, hit a few balls at the range and then headed off to see what sort of game I had today.
And got the answer pretty quickly: not much! Hit my drive in the trees on the right. Hit a provisional -- one way golf and O' are different, no provisionals in O' -- deep in the woods on the left. Hit a second provisional deep in the woods on the left. Hit a third provisional in the trees on the right. Decided that a change in tactics was in order, pulled out my 5-wood and hit a fourth provisional right down the middle. Normally at this point my mind would be totally fried, but I was quite mellow, partly because it was a really beautiful morning and I had a beautiful course to myself, but mainly because I figured the odds were pretty good I would find the first ball, and therefore would not be using my fifth ball and already lying 9.
So off I went. The legs weren't so bad and I figured a good walk would do them a lot of good.
Got to the area where my first and fourth balls had gone and there they both were, excellent. Also in the area were a couple of guys from the maintenance crew, and one of them came over to me, a cell phone in hand, and asked what I was doing out there.
I said I'd checked in, and hit a few balls, and was now just playing the course.
Well, he said, I just called the pro shop and the guy said no one has been in. And furthermore, there's a frost delay.
Say what? So I recount my conversation in the pro shop, and there was clearly no mention of a frost delay, and in the process I'm feeling quite insulted, my honesty is being questioned, but I stay pretty mellow, just recounting my version, and as a clincher, pulling out the receipt I got when I paid.
So he calls the pro shop again. I can't hear the conversation but it only lasts about 15 seconds, and then the guy is back, apologizing, some story about how he (and this guy is actually the course superintendent, in charge of the course, so he's got some authority) has caught the pro shop guy lying a bunch of times.
So I'm in his good graces now, and we finish up with a friendly chat about the course, the frost delay is forgotten about, and I'm off. And very glad I was mellow, because the situation -- two guys, one questioning the honesty of the other -- could have fairly quickly degenerated into a serious spitting match. Which would not have been a good thing no matter how it turned out.
But it was still a very weird five minutes.
So anyway, I continue on, my driver occasionally behaving, more often totally wild, hitting provisionals on many holes but somehow always finding the initial drive. With the rest of the clubs it was the usual mix, some brilliant, some terrible (the way some folks orienteer), though more in the direction of terrible than usual. 48 on the first nine, could have been much worse except I never actually lost a ball, so no penalty strokes. But hardly pissed at all, the weather was fine, and slow as I was playing (2 hours for the 9, so much time spent looking for balls, and hitting and retrieving provisionals), it was still just fine to be out there.
And things even got better, more brilliant shots on the back nine, fewer terrible ones. Some pars, some bogies, came to the 18th needing a bogey to break 90 (playing the course at about 6400 yards, no roll, so a little bit long for me), submitting myself to both the curse and the challenge of round numbers. 390-yard par 4. Drive into the trees, of course, the provisional was perfect, but once again I found the first. Unfortunately the plan for the second shot (slice a 5-wood around a couple of trees, hopefully on or just short of the green) was much better then the execution (hit it real fat, still in the trees). The plan for the third shot -- what can I possibly do now to get a 5? -- 130 yards to the green, only possible shot was a low running 5-iron, keep it under the branches and between the couple of tree trunks, try to find the gap between the traps. And the execution? Exactly the same this time, what a strange game.
Pin was in the far right corner, I had maybe 65 feet, the first putt was good but still ended up about 4' away. And I looked at it and thought how I was going to be pissed when I missed it, so I said to myself, forget about the result, think about the process, keep your head still and put a good stroke on it, and when I looked up the ball was rolling dead center into the cup. So 48-41=89 it was, and I packed away the clubs with an extra good smile on the face, blew off any thoughts I might have had of stopping in the pro shop to give the guy a piece of my mind, and headed home.
Just as with the O' marathon, a nice end to the season.
And nice to be home.
Up early this morning, wanted to be the first one out on the course so I wouldn't have any traffic. I've been to the place before, when Gail and I were in the area a couple of years ago, and it had the best greens of the courses we played, so I figured I'd go back for what was most likely my last round of the year (though you never know...), even if it was a half hour in the wrong direction (toward Cape May).
Got there at 8:30, checked in and paid the fee, hit a few balls at the range and then headed off to see what sort of game I had today.
And got the answer pretty quickly: not much! Hit my drive in the trees on the right. Hit a provisional -- one way golf and O' are different, no provisionals in O' -- deep in the woods on the left. Hit a second provisional deep in the woods on the left. Hit a third provisional in the trees on the right. Decided that a change in tactics was in order, pulled out my 5-wood and hit a fourth provisional right down the middle. Normally at this point my mind would be totally fried, but I was quite mellow, partly because it was a really beautiful morning and I had a beautiful course to myself, but mainly because I figured the odds were pretty good I would find the first ball, and therefore would not be using my fifth ball and already lying 9.
So off I went. The legs weren't so bad and I figured a good walk would do them a lot of good.
Got to the area where my first and fourth balls had gone and there they both were, excellent. Also in the area were a couple of guys from the maintenance crew, and one of them came over to me, a cell phone in hand, and asked what I was doing out there.
I said I'd checked in, and hit a few balls, and was now just playing the course.
Well, he said, I just called the pro shop and the guy said no one has been in. And furthermore, there's a frost delay.
Say what? So I recount my conversation in the pro shop, and there was clearly no mention of a frost delay, and in the process I'm feeling quite insulted, my honesty is being questioned, but I stay pretty mellow, just recounting my version, and as a clincher, pulling out the receipt I got when I paid.
So he calls the pro shop again. I can't hear the conversation but it only lasts about 15 seconds, and then the guy is back, apologizing, some story about how he (and this guy is actually the course superintendent, in charge of the course, so he's got some authority) has caught the pro shop guy lying a bunch of times.
So I'm in his good graces now, and we finish up with a friendly chat about the course, the frost delay is forgotten about, and I'm off. And very glad I was mellow, because the situation -- two guys, one questioning the honesty of the other -- could have fairly quickly degenerated into a serious spitting match. Which would not have been a good thing no matter how it turned out.
But it was still a very weird five minutes.
So anyway, I continue on, my driver occasionally behaving, more often totally wild, hitting provisionals on many holes but somehow always finding the initial drive. With the rest of the clubs it was the usual mix, some brilliant, some terrible (the way some folks orienteer), though more in the direction of terrible than usual. 48 on the first nine, could have been much worse except I never actually lost a ball, so no penalty strokes. But hardly pissed at all, the weather was fine, and slow as I was playing (2 hours for the 9, so much time spent looking for balls, and hitting and retrieving provisionals), it was still just fine to be out there.
And things even got better, more brilliant shots on the back nine, fewer terrible ones. Some pars, some bogies, came to the 18th needing a bogey to break 90 (playing the course at about 6400 yards, no roll, so a little bit long for me), submitting myself to both the curse and the challenge of round numbers. 390-yard par 4. Drive into the trees, of course, the provisional was perfect, but once again I found the first. Unfortunately the plan for the second shot (slice a 5-wood around a couple of trees, hopefully on or just short of the green) was much better then the execution (hit it real fat, still in the trees). The plan for the third shot -- what can I possibly do now to get a 5? -- 130 yards to the green, only possible shot was a low running 5-iron, keep it under the branches and between the couple of tree trunks, try to find the gap between the traps. And the execution? Exactly the same this time, what a strange game.
Pin was in the far right corner, I had maybe 65 feet, the first putt was good but still ended up about 4' away. And I looked at it and thought how I was going to be pissed when I missed it, so I said to myself, forget about the result, think about the process, keep your head still and put a good stroke on it, and when I looked up the ball was rolling dead center into the cup. So 48-41=89 it was, and I packed away the clubs with an extra good smile on the face, blew off any thoughts I might have had of stopping in the pro shop to give the guy a piece of my mind, and headed home.
Just as with the O' marathon, a nice end to the season.
And nice to be home.