Way too much rain for the last couple of days. I am hoping it clears up for Tuesday golf. If not, we are still hitting the range (it’s covered). If we are able to play, I am going to concentrate on my short game, if we are at the range, fairway woods.

FORE!

My brother Mike has finally found a driver he likes...

I was three over. One over a house, one over a patio, and one over a swimming pool. - George Brett

I’m not saying my golf game went bad, but if I grew tomatoes, they’d come up sliced.
- Lee Trevino

Every golfer can expect to have four bad shots in a round and
when you do, just put them out of your mind. This, of course is hard to do when you've had them and you’re not even off the first tee. - Walter Hagen

The older you get the stronger the wind gets... and it's always in your face. - Jack Nicklaus

Wolf Creek Golf Club, Mesquite Nevada

This is an OUTSTANDING course to play if you head to Mesquite, Nevada. Great course, great staff, an all around great round! They take a picture of your group on the first tee with the 1st hole fairway in the background and it is ready for you at the turn. $20 or $25 for the picture mounted with the course name and date at the bottom (cheesey? YES, but it looks great on the wall!). The course is very hilly, but great fairways and greens. Lots of water, but it doesn't over challenge you by giving you multiple landing areas. Over half of the course could be used as their "signature" hole. One warning...August...HOT...Golf in the morning, or drink lots of water and Gatorade in the afternoon.

Hole #1 fairway from the tee

Hole #9 fairway from the green

FORE!

Golf is a puzzle without an answer. I have played the game for forty years and I still haven’t the slightest idea how to play. – Gary Player

Golf is the sport a professional can enjoy playing with his friends. Can Larry Holmes enjoy fighting one of his friends? – Chi Chi Rodriguez

If the following foursome is pressing you, wave them through and then speed up. – Deane Beman

I never really dreamed of making many putts. Maybe that’s why I haven’t made many. – Calvin Peete

My swing is so bad I look like a caveman killing his lunch. – Lee Trevino

To much RAIN! I need to go to the range!

OUCH! – Mike White and Joe Kintz (after watching me 3 putt)

Dammit! – Frank Spangler (after 3 putting)

I want to say “Great Job” to Tyler Fisher who won $800 in the Pro/Assistant PGA Championship. Though he feels that he could have done better, he still brought home money!

Had a great time golfing today! It was Mike, Big Joe, and I with Jim and my brother john following…way back…If you know Jim, you know why.

I had a decent round compared to what I have been doing. I am still having issues with my chipping, though there was some improvement. My putting is killing me! On long putts, I am stabbing at the ball instead of following through. This is causing the ball to come up short, or way long (I think I have long range yips, lets call the YIKES!). I am doing better on my mid range putts, I am just concentrating on getting the ball to the hole which is about speed and touch.

My drives started out rough (the 1st tee I just didn’t hit a tree, I tried to bring it down!), but I relaxed more as the round went on and ended up hitting some pretty good ones. I am doing well with my fairway woods, and I still need a lot of work mid range irons. Both Mike and Joe are pretty consistent from the fairway, and both have killer shots with their 3 woods.

Here are my totals from this round-

46 on the front nine (down 5 shots from last round)
Tied Mike for low score
$1.00 paid to ME by Joe

I had two bad holes, the one that hurt the most was a par 3 that I walked off with a triple (once again, a long putt killed me).

Mike and Joe say that I cannot count this as a win because Mike and I tied…I did not pay money so I AM COUNTING IT AS A WIN!

It was a great round; we played pretty fast, Joe though it was because we were mostly in the fairway (our scores were down, so he made a pretty good point). There were a couple of lost balls, but they were way out and we didn’t need to spend time looking. Joe and Mike both made long birdies back to back (Joe on 6, and Mike on 7). They were solid putts from about 20 feet. Mike, Big Joe, and I are committed to doing better. It is good to golf with them, they give good feedback, and better “jabs” when you screw up. (Yes Joe, I will remember that I did not make a long birdie while you and Mike did).

It was a great time and I look forward to my next round.

FORE!

The older you get, the easier it is to shoot your age. – Jerry Barber

Swing Hard in case you hit it. – Dan Marino

If you drive, don’t drink. Don’t even putt. – Dean Martin

You can talk to a fade, but a hook won’t listen. – Lee Trevino

Getting into the right mindset for golf tomorrow night. My goal for the 9 holes is working on cutting down the number of chip shots. I need to get it on the green and get it down in 2 at worst when putting. I want to work on my speed and touch for putts. I need to stop stressing and have fun!

Oh Yeah! I also need to get some of my money back from Mike and Big Joe!

Today was a good day.

Went garage selling with the wife but really didn’t find much so we stopped by “old faithful”…Goodwill! It is amazing what you will find there; I have found a couple of great clubs, an Adam’s fairway 3 wood ($2.00), an Orlimar 9 degree fairway wood ($1.99), a 17 degree Orlimar fairway wood ($1.99). I have also found numerous head covers, including a “Fighting Irish” driver cover for Big Joe…It looks more like a drunken Irishman…

But today I have found something that I just had to have…. A Par Aid Deluxe Ball Washer! It was sitting on the bottom shelf calling my name. I am not sure how or why someone would donate it to Goodwill…But “Thank You!” It is great shape, new brush’s, a new towel, no scratches or body damage. I picked it up for $14.99; used models like the one I bought are going between $150 & $200 on EBay. I am going to add it to my collection that I plan on using in a “golf” area I am setting up in the garage (my choice of location, not Darci).

Fore!

We must always be humble in victory and cocky in defeat. - Chi Chi Rodriguez

The more I practice, the luckier I get. - Gary Player

Caddies are a breed of thier own. If you shoot a sixty six, they say "Man we shot a sixty six!" But go out a shoot a seventy seven, and they say, "Hell, he shot a seventy seven!" - Lee Trevino

A prefect straight shot with a big club is a fluke. - Jack Nicklaus

"I suck!" - John Spangler (after a double bogy on hole 16 at Diamond woods)

Sometimes golf and beer do not mix…

Some Wednesday night thoughts and observations-

According to the “Golf Fix”, my hands are wrong, my take away is wrong, my swing is off plane due my shoulders, and my release is non-existent. On the bright side, I am using my shoulders correctly when I putt…I just miss…a lot… I have got to stop watching the golf channel.

Did you know that when you hit your 2nd shot in the water, drop to chip 4, then follow that with a 3 putt, the score is not a 6 but a 7…Mike did…

It is known science that beer taste good on the golf course…but it taste AWESOME when you are sitting after the round collecting your winnings…or at least so I have heard.

It is not always good to have a shot named after you…Right Mikey?

ProV1’s are better left in the bag when crossing a large body of water.

If the group in front of you waves you on, you shank it…twice…

I am frustrated when I am not golfing…and frustrated when I am.

Just when I feel cocky hitting a long drive, my friends clear me by 20 yards.

KP to me means “Keep Putting”...

The next time someone tells you “you need to let the club do all the work”, tell them yours are on vacation…

When your buddy is having a bad round, don’t give advice, give him a beer.

Best golf movie…Caddy Shack

Worst golf movie…Tin Cup (actually anything that Costner is in)

I learned that you can’t drink whiskey and play golf. – John Daly

2002 Moo Moo Tournament held at Fiddlers Green in Eugene Oregon- This is a 1 club event where you can only use an iron, no woods or putter. You have to putt with your iron. You have to wear the Moo Moo for shortest drive, lost ball, or whining.

This is the 1st Tee, Jim Kelly (red), Roy Scribner (pink), and John Spangler (blue)...the (un) lucky ones!

If you watch a game, it’s fun. If you play it, it’s recreation.
If you work at it, it’s golf. – Bob Hope

What a great day to golf, but then again, any day you can golf is a great day. Our 1st Tuesday Hack Fest gathering for 2010 with Mike, Big Joe, Byron, and Matt.

Since we had 5 we played “wolf pig”. Wolf Pig is where you select your order for teeing off, the first person to tee off is the wolf, the wolf then can choose his partner after each person tees off. If they want to partner with a person who hits a goof tee shot, that person is the “pig”. If they like a person’s tee shot, they must select them before the next person hits, or that drive is lost. What you have then is 2 against 3 playing a best ball format with Pushes rolling to the next hole.

Unfortunately I shot a 51 on the front. I am having issues with my chipping and putting that is driving me crazy. I felt good with my swing, but I got way to loose with my wrist on a couple of shots. On hole #6, I blasted a drive up the left side about 40 yards and smacked a pretty solid tree. It ricochet off the tree backward and landed on the ladies tee. To be exact, it landed 15 feet behind the red blocks…yeah we all had a good laugh!

Here are my totals from this round,

51 on the front nine
$4.00 Paid to Mike
Big Joe and I pushed (I will count that as a win!)

Might hit the range again this week….

1st Green, Diamond Woods, Monroe Oregon

“I’m about five inches away from being an outstanding golfer. That’s the distance between my left ear and my right” – Ben Crenshaw

"3 bad shots and 1 good shot still equals par" - Walter Hagen

3/14, Diamond Woods!

Today, Diamond Woods in Monroe, all I can say is not my finest outing. I golfed with my brothers John and Mike, and we had Big Joe and my best friend Mike in the group in front.

Here are the totals for my round,

52 on the front
51 on the back
$2.00 paid to Mike
$2.00 paid to Big Joe
$5.25 to Brother Mike
$4.75 to John

Yeah, I sucked…but I did have some good drives and fairway woods. Where I paid the price was with my short game. I could not chip if my life depended on it, and my putting killed me! One time I was on for birdie and walked off with bogey, two times I was putting for par and walked off with a doubles…Yeah, I was that bad around the greens.

On the plus side, because daylight savings is now in effect, we are starting our Hack Fest Tuesday night ritual of 9 holes starting at 5 pm at Diamond Woods. Good times with my good friends!

For you book readers out there, I have started, and highly recommend “Embedded Balls” by Peter Jacobsen (with Jack Sheehan). It is an outstanding read with stories of both on and off the course. There is an outstanding chapter on Payne Stewart, and insight on his parting with Fluff as his caddie.

I will update this Tuesday (3/16); hopefully I can make some of my money back!

Fore!