I was out of my mind with golf goodness on Sunday. +12 on the front 9 at Tashua is a new record - and I had a solid chance of actually making my goal this year of breaking 100. Unfortunately, I had a softball game to coach and had to leave after the 11th hole after 2 more bogeys. I added it up as if I played all 18 assuming I played a little worse on the back 9 and came up with a 96… holy cow! 96 is good! Sweetness!

Figures I had to leave early (or maybe it was a good thing?).

Meanwhile, I had coffee with someone this morning who totally HOOOOOOKED me up with some golf books that I cannot wait to read…

Putting Out of Your Mind - Rotella
Golf is Not a Game of Perfect - Rotella
Golf is a Game of Confidence - Rotella
The Scorecard Always Lies - Lewis

What should I read first????

Wow! What a great round of golf with my daughter. We played in a scramble/best ball tourney together today. We had to use at least 2 of her drives and she had to play from the green tees, which I think are the women’s tees.



Some notable action from today:

Hole 1, Par 4.
I totally mis-hit my drive and barely made it past the green tees. Julia hit a decent shot just off the fairway about 100 yards forward and we played her ball. We had a chance to get on the green in 3 but I chunked a wedge badly and we ended up with a triple bogey. It would get better, thank god.

Hole 3, Par 4.
Julia drove her ball into the woods and I hit a big time drive off the fairway, but up about 100 feet on a huge hill. Oops. Thankfully, I found the ball and made an amazing recovery, hitting a 7 iron about 140 yards to just off the green. We made bogey after Julia just barely missed her par putt.

Hole 5, Par 3.
I hit a too long 9 iron but Julia hit her longest drive ever - about 150 yards. Too bad it hit the cart path and bounced out of bounds. Bogey.

Hole 6, Par 4.
I hit a perfect drive, and Julia matched my effort within 15 yards. We played her ball and ended up with par after I hit a 7 iron on the green.

Hole 9, Par 5.
I hit a good drive with my 5 Hybrid. The guy we were playing with took his turn and when he hit the ball, the club head flew off his club. We were all shocked - it was funny as hell, but we managed not to laugh too hard. Then, his kid (a 6th grade boy) drove out about 140 yards. Julia stepped up and in a pure moment of girl power nailed her drive about 15 yards past his, just off the fairway. Unreal! I flubbed a short wedge and we made bogey.

We finished +10 with a 43 and had an amazing, terrific time.

I’m playing with my 9 year old daughter in an adult/youth tournament at Tashua Glen tomorrow! She’s played twice on the course before, but has been getting much better at hitting the ball.

Given the fact that it’s best ball, and my best ever on that course is +8, I’m not sure we have a shot. I can’t wait to hang out with her though. How cool is this!

Shot 107 today. Lots of possible excuses: heat, humidity and more. Bottom line was I simply didn’t drive well and lost tons of balls. It was very frustrating and I struggled to keep my zen on. I played the back nine first (54) and had a good run on the front, but 2 late disaster holes really killed me.

A guy we played with on the last hole took 4 shots just to get out of the sand trap. Whoo - he was so pissed! He tossed his club like 20 yards. If not for golf etiquette, it would have been funny. What can you do?

I have noticed though that with the lesson I took I am finally starting to drive the ball a lot further than ever before. On 2 different holes I really let it go - hitting one at least 250 if not further. With golf, there is always a silver lining!

I set a goal and I made it - though just barely. Played today and shot a an even 100 - which is supposed to feel great!

But not quite.

I want to go lower now (darn it!).

I chunked a 4 easy pitches and putted like garbage - I can do 95 - I know it :)

I played last Friday with a guy who used to be a golf pro - he gave me what amounted to on course lessons - and ended up changing my swing and my grip. Needless to say, I played lousy, shooting 110. On Sunday, I took the girls back out and shot a horrible 46 on the par 33 Glen course - struggling with grip, swing and swing speed.

That said, I realize that I’m on to something because when I hit it, I hit it a lot further than before, and a heck of a lot straighter. Perhaps a tiny light at the end of the tunnel? Doubtful, but we’ll see.

I add a 52 degree wedge to the bag as well, and played the hell out of it. Problem is, I don’t have sense of distance with the thing - I need to hit the range with it.

My first lesson is coming up Friday - I have very high hopes which are most likely totally irrational.

Both my girls have been doing a Girl Scout golf program for a few months and we decided that it was time to hit the links.

For me, seeing them on a golf course was pretty incredible - they seem to get it immediately; from teeing off, to chipping and putting. We played Tashua Glen, which incredibly includes markers at 150 yards for kids. We spotted them after driving off the women’s tees and realized that without those markers, playing 9 holes would take forever. Instead, the course immediately became manageable and fun for the kids.

My 9 year old (between eating snacks and yelling at me for trying to help her swing) parred the 4th hole. She was so excited it was incredible. She sank a 15 footer for par and when she realized it, she was jumping up and down.

Teaching green etiquette was equally interesting, the kids kept stepping on everyone else’s lines - not a big deal given how lousy the greens were (so slow, so bumpy).

All in all, an amazing experience for all of us!

As for me, I was +1 after 3 holes before it all fell apart. I literally cannot drive the ball. I shot 42 (+9) with 2 birdies.

Most importantly however, both kids want to go again as soon as possible!

Played my first round of the 2007 golf season in chilly weather this morning at Tashua Knolls. We had a delayed 7:30 AM start time and finally tee’d it up at 9:30 as a shotgun start. Teeing off on 18 to start the round was odd, but gave us a short walk. I started the season with a decent drive, but tripled the hole for an 8.

I’ve mentioned how much I love my new hybrid before, and the club continues to perform as I hit it from just about anywhere on the golf course. I had 3 solid pars on the day and shot a 102 - not terrible. I would have saved a few strokes but continue to slice most every drive. I also need to shake the rust off, as I chunked at least 4 shots that most certainly hurt my score.

It was a GREAT day though - I’m so glad golf is back!

Meanwhile, the Masters is terrific - I’m just now watching the end of the 3rd round and loving every second.

It was gorgeous out yesterday (12/17/06) so I hit the links one last time for the year… shot an unimpressive but very typical 44 on Tashua Glen. However, after shooting double bogeys on the first 5 holes, I par’d out the rest.

The hybrid I bought is really amazing - I blasted it almost 200 yards - it didn’t even feel like a full swing.

I played with a chinese couple - the guy was hysterical running around yelling BIRDIE BIRDIE every time he had a chance for birdie. He even did this when he was in the rough 150 yards away from the hole. That guy ruled.

I resolve to play more golf on full-sized courses next year… and to break 100 consistently, even it it means more mulligans (just kidding).

I’m in love with my new Walter Hagan hybrid club! Today I:

• Drove with it
• Chipped with it
• Played bump and run with it
• Even hit it from 15 yards off the green to within 3 feet of the hole!
• I considered putting with it, but didn’t :)