I played two 9 hole rounds this weekend with the best partner a guy could ever ask for. Way better than playing with Tiger or Bob Hope or any chummy celeb for sure.

I’ll take this partner over any in the world, in a tournament or just for fun. She’s a joy to be with, hits the ball straight just about every time and never loses her cool.

My 8 year old daughter is an absolute pleasure to play with - she’s so calm and funny. She plays quickly, lines up her shots and really watches what’s going on. It’s amazing to see her learn quickly, avoiding stepping on peoples lines and thinking through her club selection.

We played with two different pairs this weekend - both father/son duos and I know they were blown away by my kid. Not because she’s so great, but because she seems to be having so much fun.

I’ll take her as a partner any day and am looking forward to the day we can hit a full size course together.

Like many of my readers, I’m not a professional golfer. I make my living as a marketer working for Microsoft. My current role has me managing a web site for CIOs (if you are a CIO, drop me a line). In order to keep up, I read trade magazines like CIO and InformationWeek.

This month’s issue of CIO has a terrific article on how the PGA does data management. There is a ton of great insights in the article, but the thing that jumped out at me was ShotLink’s accuracy:

ShotLink averages about 27 inches of deviation (i.e. ShotLink is within 27 inches of being exactly right on the fairway). On the green, the deviation is 2 inches. Think about those numbers and then remember that a golf ball is an inch and a quarter wide. That’s amazing! The system manages more than 32,000 shots over a typical 4-day tournament resulting in some errors of course - but the team prefers to have the data flowing as fast as possible.

The article also points out that players have full access to the system and are able to use the data to refine and understand their game.

Separately, while I’m on the CIO/Golf connection, if you are wondering if Golf is good for your career, check this out.

I got a copy of “The Rotary Swing” from the publisher who apparently, thought I’d love to read it and review it here on my blog. Luckily, for both of us, that turned out to be true! I read the book on a flight to Seattle last week and absolutely fell for it - hook line and sinker.

In my hotel room, I was practicing my turn, feeling the “bump” and working on my legs and body with the hope that my swing will get less “handsy” and I’ll start to hit the ball more consistently.

I had intended to get to the range this weekend, but my 9 year old convinced me to play 9 holes with her earlier today. I knew I was risking it by going out on the course without trying out the new swing, but what the hell… why not.

I was nervous at the first tee, but hit an amazingly solid shot with my hybrid and proceeded to par the first hole! Unfortunately, the rotary swing can tend to make shots go left if you don’t do it right… the next two holes proved that. I realized that I was over-turning and corrected my swing on the 4th hole by sticking an 8-iron from 140 yards to 20 feet. I was shocked!

I hit the ball so pure, I hardly felt it. Over the next 6 holes I shot 2 over with 4 pars and 2 bogies.

The book is written in a simple, conversational style and while there are illustrations, the quality isn’t great. That said, I do believe I’m a rotary swing convert. The companion web site and drills are terrific - I’d recommend this book, especially for high handicappers like me. I’m really looking forward to digging into some of the drills and working on this more as I try to improve my game.

I played in a best ball charity tournament a week or so ago at Whitney Farms Golf Course in Monroe, CT. My friend Dave invited me to play because his company, Hudson Valley Bank was a sponsor and for some reason, there were extra spots (can you believe it?).

The course was in great shape, and we had a chance to play with Dennis, a course ranger who is 75. Not only did he know the course inside and out, the man was supremely consistent and knew exaclty how to play his slicing 150 yard drive every single time. I was amazed!

The winning team shot something like a net 57. C’mon!

I played OK - and as a team we did decently shooting 4 over with 4 bogies. It was a bit frustrating not to close out any birdies, but truth be told, we only had 2 legit shots at them, and the putts simply didn’t drop.

After the round, we had dinner and heard a lot of good stuff about St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport… I’ll be sure to go there if something bad happens!

It’s a great time to be a golf addict. Tiger and Rocco’s playoff at the U.S. Open was simply stunning.

I used Live maps to try to see where I might improve my course management on my home course. It’s interesting to take a bird’s eye view and see where I might be able to attack different holes in new ways.

On this map, I plotted our a 200 drive from each hole to the center of the fairway and 100 yards out from the center of the green (my favorite spot to play from).

Check it out and map your own attack!

The weather was perfect.

The work week was over.

I had to play some golf.

When I entered my score, the handicap computer told me that the score was much lower than normal and was I sure I wanted to submit it… uhh… yea I want to submit it!

I played out of my mind. I have never, ever felt the way I felt on golf course as I did today. I wish to god I played with one of my friends (so they’d believe me) and played a full 18. But that said, the +5 (41) I shot on the back 9 at Tashua Knolls is a round I’ll remember for a long, long time.

I made par back to back TWICE!

I sunk a 20 foot putt for par!

I chipped up with a lob wedge twice to within 10 feet!

I channeled my inner Tiger Woods (hmm, maybe not - when was the last time Tiger shot +5 on 9 holes?). Back to regularly scheduled suckfests soon, don’t worry.

Seriously though, here’s what I think I did differently. I slowed everything down by 20 or 30% and took an extra club. I tried to keep my swing smooth and to stay “long” in my back. I’ve been feeling like I have been dipping down to hit the ball (lots of chunks) - staying long in my back worked for me today.

When I got my first ever handicap (18.7), I knew it was too good to be true; or rather, I wasn’t that good at all. I was right. I got my updated number today:

USGA HCP Index: 23.3

Shooting 104’s isn’t going to get me where I want to be. I need to get to the range today and get some practice.

I played in the annual Father’s Club tournament to benefit my kids school at Whitney Farms in Monroe. It’s not an easy course!

I managed to remember to snap a pic on one of the nicer holes. I played OK - not great, shooting a 104 (adjusted for handicap).

Full disclosure, I got an e-mail from the guy who invented “Swing Reminders” asking me if I’d review his product. I’m happy to do so and am thrilled to finally (yes!) have a moment to write up my review.

What are they? Swing Reminders are a bunch of hardwood tokens with golf swing tips to help you improve your game. In my hands, they feel like poker chips (that’s a good thing, especially if I’m holding a bunch of them!).

I stalled at first before using these, they sat in my bag for a few rounds before I pulled them out. But I really wanted to try them out and sure enough, I grabbed a few and thew them into my pocket along with tees and some balls a few weeks ago.

On the first tee, I went to pull a tee and ball out and instead, had a token in my hand that said “No Sway.” Because swaying is my biggest issue right now, I was surprised to myself. I dropped the token back into my pocket and hit a nice tee shot.

Throughout the round (and subsequent rounds since), I’ve been using the reminders every few holes. I think it helps if you don’t overdo it - there is no reason to look at 5 or 6 tips right before you take a shot. That said, I have found that glancing at a single swing reminder is a nice way to get my head back into the moment.

My favorite 3 reminders so far are:

• no sway
• quiet legs
• pick your target