Post Masters Update...

Obligatory Masters Comment...

I enjoyed watching the Masters tournament on television and webcast. That Amen Corner Live was great stuff. Like most folks, I was hoping to see someone challenge Phil, but it didn't happen. Particularly enjoyable was watching Mediate try to get out of the sand, and Couples 3-putt from 5ft. I didn't find it enjoyable because it ruined their chances, but because it gives us hackers something we can to relate to. I mean these guys are good, but once in a while they suck like the rest of us. These guys flubbed their shots with real stuff on the line, and I think most of them handle it very well.

Green Caye Update...

I have now played twenty-nine 9-hole rounds at Green Caye. Most of those rounds have been at night. In fact, I've been playing so many rounds at night, daytime golf was a shocker this past weekend. I managed three rounds in daylight on Sunday and I set yet another record.

{RANT_MODE = ON}

Before I get to the record I thought I'd talk about a couple of guys that we got paired with. These guys were average golfers (they sucked like me), yet they would throw a fit when they missed a shot. I played with one of them before, and he threw his club on that day (and I had my 3 year old son with me). He apoligized for acting that way in front of my son.

I can't understand how some folks can get so upset when playing on a par 3 course. It's not like they were playing for money either. I'm thankful that most of us accept that we will make many mistakes out there on the course and simply move on when we do. Let's all just accept that we will not be able to hit like the pros. We can however, learn to behave like the pros (most pros... I know there are poor examples out there) when we make a mistake.

{RANT_MODE = OFF}

I played with Martin on Sunday. This was the fourth time I played with Martin, and this time we decided to play for money. Martin is 60 and retired and our skill on this course is similar possibly favoring Martin a bit due to consistancy and putting. We decided each hole won would be 25 cents for the winner. I had been wanting to play for money for quite some time. I think it's just another way to help me focus more on each shot. I wanted to play one loop from each tee, but Martin did not want to play from "the ladies tees" even after I insisted that those tees were simply there to offer another yardage choice. So we played tips-whites-tips. I'll skip the details and just move to the dramatic finish. With Martin up 2, I birdied the 8th with a green followed by a 15ft putt. Martin was 3ft from bogey on the 9th and I was just on the fringe after 3 seriously pathetic shots. My 60* wedge shot flew straight and high then bounced softly on the green and rolled slowly over the final 10 feet and dropped into the cup. Martin made his putt and I paid up ($0.25). It was very fun. Next time we'll be adding 0.25 for greens and 0.25 for closest to the pin.

Looking back, I'm going to say that I was pretty lucky because Martin was having a bad putting day. Being older and wiser, he played almost every hole short which is the best conservative way to play this course.

I hit eight greens over the 27 holes. Here are the stats on those holes:

First loop (tips)
#5 175 yards with a 7i
#6 167 yards with a 7i

Second loop (whites)
#2 106 yards with 52* GW
#3 143 yards with a 9i

Third loop (tips)
#2 125 yards with a PW
#4 150 yards with a 9i
#5 175 yards with a 7i
#2 139 yards with a 91

All of these hole have something in common. They are all on the edge of how far I thought I could hit that club. As a result, I took a full swing knowing that I would likely be short. I hit the greens because I'm hitting the center of the club face much more often, and the conditions were warm, light and dry (remember I usually play at night).

I came to this conclusion last Friday night when I pushed two 6i shots OB on the right on #5 and in disgust, pulled the 7i figuring I'd at least hit it straight. And I hit that 7i right on the green 4 feet from the pin.

It seems that when I try to take a little off of a shot, I stop accelerating before I hit the ball, essentially coasting through the ball, and subconsiously I'm trying to guide the clubface through impact. In addition, I don't complete the follow through. While I get a consistant result, it is not a disirable one (push - fade).

So how can this help my game? Well, I'm hoping it will help in one very specific place, the number 1 hole. You can review this hole in my first tournament report. I usually hit a 5i here (and usually push-fade it right), and I've only hit the green once in the last 29 tries. I think this hole has my number mentally. It's the elevated turtle back green, the water on the left, and the OB on the right. My plan is to go for it with the 7i and hope to hit the front of the green. If I can't get there with the 7i, I'm going to try the 6i even though I can't hit the 6i as straight as I can hit the 7i. I might get to put that plan into action tonight.

That leads me to my current weakness, my long irons. I have a hard time hitting the 4 and 5 irons off of the turf. I can hit them with marginal success off of a tee. I managed to hit my 4i about 200 yards off of a tee on my third try on the 9th hole from the white tees. The first two faded/sliced and I noticed I was fininsing with my weight on my back foot. I fixed that on the third shot, but still had a bit of fade and I missed the green slightly long and right on this 196 yard hole. I think my problem is that I instinctively feel like I have to swing harder. They offer lessons at Green Caye for an exceptional price of $25.00 per hour. I'm considering a lesson with the long irons.

Oh yeah, the new record? I shot 46 on the second loop (from the whites), besting my previous worst-round record by one stroke. I know I can do better, c'mon 47 :P Seriously though, it was pretty brutal -> 7 4 3 3 5 5 5 4 10.

Next Tournament...

BGA is hosting their biggest tournament of the year this Saturday. While I haven't played Bayou since February 18th, I'm going to head down there and see if I can get in on the action.

Days Till Dad Gets Here (DTDGH) = 52
-Greg