Playing Catch-up...

I've been playing so much golf, I have had little time to blog. That's a good thing. I have a few minutes, so I'm going to post an update.

It's in the Statistics...

Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. 14% of people know that.
- - - Homer Simpson

Ah Homer... Ya got to love him.

STATS UPDATED - 03/07

Here is a comparison of the stats from my current rounds at Green Caye and those from Last September. I think the improvement shown is a little better than the numbers suggest because this time I played from the tips (hey, it's a par 3 course) and for completeness, I've shown the yardage difference. I recorded 12 9-hole rounds in September and 7 rounds recently. I may play tonight and if I do, I'll update the data in this post. <- Yep, note the big red "UPDATED" above.

Hole ... Whites ... Golds
1 ...... 160 ...... 180
2 ...... 106 ...... 125
3 ...... 143 ...... 161
4 ...... 112 ...... 150
5 ...... 148 ...... 175
6 ...... 146 ...... 167
7 ...... 100 ...... 113
8 ...... 107 ...... 139
9 ...... 197 ...... 216

Stats ....... Current .. Sept '05
--------------------------------
Greens ...... 1.89 ..... 1.75 . (per 9 holes)
Up and Down . 24 ....... 21 ... (percent parred of greens missed)
Ave Pars .... 3.00 ..... 2.5 .. (per 9 holes)
Ave Score ... 35.33 .... 38.25
3 Putts ..... 0.89 ..... 1.33 . (per 9 holes)
4 Putts ..... 0.22 ..... 0.00 . (per 9 holes)
Ave Putts ... 17 ....... 17 ... (per 9 holes)

Not the improvement I was looking for, but improvement nonetheless.

Daddy's Little Girl...

I took my Daughter to Green Caye last Wednesday. I left work early, picked her up from school, and we zipped down to Green Caye. The range and course were surprisingly busy, but we managed to have a great time on both the course and the range.

We started off with a bucket of balls on the driving range. I figured one bucket would be plenty, and you only have two choices large ($3.50) and bottomless ($7.00). I set us up on the far end and there was one gentlemen a couple of slots in front of us. I showed her how to use a tee thinking that she would have an easier time getting the ball into the air, but she became frustrated knocking the ball off of the tee while addressing the ball. Other than helping her line up her shot, I just let her swing away. She kept running out to get the balls she hit since that's what she does in the backyard. She hit many balls at a considerable pace and emptied the bucket in record time. Since the tee thing didn't work out, she did not hit her driver much, but her 9/P saw a good bit of action.

Next, we tapped a few putts in the putting room. She was having fun putting so we went out to the 9-hole par 18 putting course. She felt that starting at the marked "tees" was too far away. Her technique was to take a drop near the hole and tap in from there. On the few holes where she played from the tees, she had a polo-like technique where she kind of held the putter out and made contact with the ball as she walked past it toward the hole. Most importantly though, she had a great time.

We still had plenty of time left, so I decided to take her on the course. Rather than make her carry her bag, I just put her 9/P and putter in my bag and off we went. As we approached the first tee, there were four girls teeing off. I would estimate their age at about 12 or 13. They all seemed quite focused and it was a great experience for my daughter to see these girls playing. A father/son pulled up to the whites (mid tees, we were playing the green, forward tees)while we were waiting and we let them play ahead of us. Once they were off the tee box, my daughter hit a couple and finally I took a swing. She required several more shots to get on to the green and she used a combination of the polo and drop techniques to hole out. While I was lining up my 40 foot putt she said, "Daddy, I have to pee".

As most parent know, you get your kids to pee prior to anything. Movies, playing outside, dinner, shopping, anything... Have the kids pee first. And I did. The first thing we did when we arrived was pee. I should have had her pee again before we went out on the course.

So we went back to pee and then back to the course. First hole, good. Second hole, good... On the third tee box, "Daddy, I have to pee again". While this time I was a little irritated, it was a good time to head in if we were to stop for something to eat on the way home.

So, Daddy's little girl's first day golfing was a real treat for the both of us. Green Caye has plenty of different stuff to do (range, indoor putting, outdoor putting, chipping area, and golf course), so we get more out of the day. Next time, I'll be taking my son. While my little girl has a smoother swing (and more consistent results), my son is all about swing speed. He hits the ball so hard, we can no longer let him hit those wiffle balls in the house.

Two rounds at San Jac...

I played two rounds at San Jac Yesterday. I shot 97 and 95. I was hoping to break 90 again, but a couple of bad holes, a couple lost in the water, and poor driving kept me from meeting that goal. On a good note, my flatter, slower swing is amazing. I just can't get used to the distance I've gained with my irons. My draw trajectory didn't work out too well, but the result was just a straight shot (often just right of the fairway/green). It seemed that when I tried to draw the ball, to avoid sand or water on the right, I pulled and drew the shot too far left. The right thing would be to aim for the target instead of to the right.

I'm pretty happy with my irons. I need to work more with my driver and I should be in good shape to bust 90 again.

Golf Outlook...

I'm thinking about signing up at Green Caye again.

The next BGA tournament will be March 18th. My wife has to work that afternoon so it's very unlikely that I'll be able to play. I'm not too happy about that because she has to be in around 4:30 and my tee time is 9:30, yet she's insisting I cancel. Why can't women be more logic oriented and less what-if oriented?

I have a few specific lessons learned to post, but this is getting long enough. I'll post them in the coming days.

-Greg