Rick Bouchard

Got in 9 holes after work today in some really windy conditions. Shot a 43 with 3 pars, 5 bogeys and double on my 8th hole. The wind was definitely playing a factor and helped me to make some poor decisions with club selection on a couple of occasions. However, there was a highlight during my round with only 14 putts. Definitely pleased with that part of my game today. 

Played only 9 today after a brutally hot 18 yesterday.  Shot 39 (par 37).  Birdied the #1 hdcp hole number 1.  Bogied number 2 with a pulled tee shot that I had to punch out.  Then par, bogie, par, bogie, par, par, par. 6 GIRs and 6/7 FIRs, 16 putts.  
Todays warmup was abbreviated by the lightning sirens but did get to hit some. Still trying to figure out some best uses for my new RTX6 52* and 56* when turf is abnormal/tight or if buried in Bermuda rough.  For being buried in Bermuda, my 48* set gap wedge does much better. I hit a 80% gap wedge about 90 yards and same as full swing 52*.  Nice to have choices.   
And again, my new Ping G430 woods (7w and 4/5w) are game changers for me (previously didn’t have any woods), and knocking 2-4 strokes off my 9 hole scores.  Eg, hole one, had a good tee shot but second shot was uphill about 175 yards and pin in the back.  My 7w was about 15’ past the hole - previously was undoable.  My 4/5 wood gets me 20-50 yards from the green, and possibly closer on really good strikes, and I’m pretty good with wedges. 

 

On a bit of a nice roll of late, with another nice round that won the day, altho I did have one stupid double jump up out of nowhere that put a bit of a frown on an otherwise clean front.

I can not think of a better feeling when all of the hard work finally comes together. Put together a personal best 9 hole score the other night. Could have easily been a couple strokes under had I not missed a few 5’-10’ putts. Overall though, I’m pleased. Driver was on, irons were only slightly off, and short game was pretty solid. Coming off the course with that kind of high, is what makes this game so special. We have have to just remind ourselves that through the hard work, and tough rounds, there’s a personal best out there for us, just waiting to be shot. 
Keep on grinding and Hammer on! 

After the less-than-stellar play the last few rounds, I decided to hit the range Monday evening - I've had a suspicion for a while that when things start going sideways (sometimes literally), my alignment and ball position are getting out of whack, so I worked only on those things and it seemed to work out well, at least for the swing I had that day and it fortunately carried over into league last night.
So last night was our final competitive league night. My teammate and I won the first half and came in 2nd the second half. Our opponents for the championship were my good friend's team in a rematch of last week (where both me and my teammate lost). Because of the way things worked out, I was actually playing two matches simultaneously - one match for 1st and 2nd and another for 3rd and 4th. Starting off the first tee, I got a great break. Below is an image of the first hole. I've drawn the approximate area of OB. I have discussed with a couple other guys that if my miss was a hook, I would hit driver on this hole all day long as the area that is not OB is well within reach as long as you don't catch any of the trees. As it is, this hole does not set up well with my fade, so I always hit a hybrid to stay short of the bunker. As it turns out, I toe-hooked my hybrid but cleared the trees and ended up in play about 10 yards past OB (about where the yellow dot is). I took that as a sign that luck was on my side for the evening.

My primary opponent had a rough night - he was feeling under the weather, clearly had a fever as sweat was pouring from him in places that people don't normally sweat, but he was a trooper and gutted it out, shooting a 47 (4 over his handicap). My secondary opponent shot at his handicap. I ended up shooting a 37 (+2) for a net 32 with 3 bogies, a birdie, and the rest pars (with a missed 4-footer for another birdie) while my partner shot a net 34 winning his primary match, but losing his secondary match, so we ended up winning 1st place and 4th place. We will win a little bit of money, but it is mostly about bragging rights.
In other news, my league handicap has now dropped to a 4. I don't know how I feel about that - I like that it means I played well this year, but don't like that I am giving more strokes to people, a couple of which I don't feel like I should be giving any strokes to. Here is an updated chart of how my handicap has progressed since the beginning of 2020:

... I just not haven't been getting a chance to play due to heat, work (no complaints) and rain (really no complaints) but got out for 18 today. I think the next 6 days are gonna be oppressively hot ... again. Only had one 5 on the scorecard but also had two 4's on the par 3's. 🙄  Added 2 more birdies on the front and 3 more on the back to shoot a 67 so a nice day to end on, before a week of no golf. 

I do have a bone to pick with @cnosil because after rolling in a 15 footer and a 20 footer I stuck my wedge to 1.5' and just as I was getting ready to tap it in, his video of a short missed putt and this thought flashed in my head "Sure you roll in a 15 and 20 footer then miss a 1.5" gimmie just like the video cnosil posted" I don't ever have negative thoughts with a putter in my hand so this was a first so NEVER post another video of a missed short putt! 😱

Amazing how a couple of days and poor weather can impact a round of golf.  As some may remember a couple of days ago I shot a 46 for 9. Today, 100% humidity and constant drizzle I shot 40. Irons generally went where I was pointing. The wetness did impact distance. And of course, I was too thickheaded to accept that and adjust properly.  No 3 putts but no 1 putt either. Tried not to use the line on the ball as a guide. Just tried to visualize where I thought it should go before it breaks. I'll give that "feel" a few more chances to see how it does. 

That's the beauty of the game, we can be miserable one day and willing and ready to go back the next.
It's supposed to be 95+ tomorrow with a heat index of 105 and I'm going to the range for the first time in a while. I'll just be chipping, but a buddy invited me and I can't resist hitting balls for the first time in a long time. 

Shot an 84 on Saturday with 4 balls OB on the front... oh what could have been! Either way it was a fun round and was able to work on some stuff with driver. Iron's were crisp with a shorter back swing. Driver was just a lot of pull hooks that I figured out a little on the back. I have another round next week so hopefully I can get a round to come together!

Played in a high school match yesterday, shot a 42 with two 8s 😂. Drained some putts all around it was fun!

I had the same muscle strain a few weeks back and just finally getting back to normal.  

Felt like playing in a sauna last night. Opened with an 8, finished with an 8, shot 46. So I was striking the ball a lot better than my final Score showed. Was getting two strokes, ended up halving my match.

First real test with the Caley 01CB irons (see link in signature).
Played a quick round after work tonight. As usual, I rarely shoot good scores after a workday: 43 (+7) & 46 (+10) for 89 (+17). I lacked fuel in the tank on the back-9.
However, my game off the tee was in a place it had never ever been before: Pure confidence. I drove great and my shallowing journey has been paying off in the last 3-4 round. No spinny carry eating cuts or slices anymore; only straight bullets and tight draws. Usually, my iron and wedge play carry the dead weight that is my driver play. Today, it was the complete opposite.
Golf being golf, I was straight up bad inside 100 yds and an absolute nuisance around the greens. I also couldn’t hole a single putt longer than 3’ (37 putts). That being said, the irons were completely fine and performance was once again very surprising (link to my commentary).
No birdie despite many chances.
Looking forward to rounds where all the components of my game will show up at the same time.

Played leagues last night. Had a good 9 while still aggravated by that muscle strain in my ribcage. First 7 holes was no pain, just swinging about 70 %, playing 1 more club. Last 3 holes had a couple swings that made me wince, but not as bad as before. Anyways, I ended up with 5 pars, and 4 bogeys, 38. Won my match and my son won his match too so we're moving up. Only 3 weeks left in the season. 

Played leagues last night. Had a good 9 while still aggravated by that muscle strain in my ribcage. First 7 holes was no pain, just swinging about 70 %, playing 1 more club. Last 3 holes had a couple swings that made me wince, but not as bad as before. Anyways, I ended up with 5 pars, and 4 bogeys, 38. Won my match and my son won his match too so we're moving up. Only 3 weeks left in the season. 

Played leagues last night. Had a good 9 while still aggravated by that muscle strain in my ribcage. First 7 holes was no pain, just swinging about 70 %, playing 1 more club. Last 3 holes had a couple swings that made me wince, but not as bad as before. Anyways, I ended up with 5 pars, and 4 bogeys, 38. Won my match and my son won his match too so we're moving up. Only 3 weeks left in the season. 

Played leagues last night. Had a good 9 while still aggravated by that muscle strain in my ribcage. First 7 holes was no pain, just swinging about 70 %, playing 1 more club. Last 3 holes had a couple swings that made me wince, but not as bad as before. Anyways, I ended up with 5 pars, and 4 bogeys, 38. Won my match and my son won his match too so we're moving up. Only 3 weeks left in the season. 

Played leagues last night. Had a good 9 while still aggravated by that muscle strain in my ribcage. First 7 holes was no pain, just swinging about 70 %, playing 1 more club. Last 3 holes had a couple swings that made me wince, but not as bad as before. Anyways, I ended up with 5 pars, and 4 bogeys, 38. Won my match and my son won his match too so we're moving up. Only 3 weeks left in the season. 

Played leagues last night. Had a good 9 while still aggravated by that muscle strain in my ribcage. First 7 holes was no pain, just swinging about 70 %, playing 1 more club. Last 3 holes had a couple swings that made me wince, but not as bad as before. Anyways, I ended up with 5 pars, and 4 bogeys, 38. Won my match and my son won his match too so we're moving up. Only 3 weeks left in the season. 

Played leagues last night. Had a good 9 while still aggravated by that muscle strain in my ribcage. First 7 holes was no pain, just swinging about 70 %, playing 1 more club. Last 3 holes had a couple swings that made me wince, but not as bad as before. Anyways, I ended up with 5 pars, and 4 bogeys, 38. Won my match and my son won his match too so we're moving up. Only 3 weeks left in the season. 

Played leagues last night. Had a good 9 while still aggravated by that muscle strain in my ribcage. First 7 holes was no pain, just swinging about 70 %, playing 1 more club. Last 3 holes had a couple swings that made me wince, but not as bad as before. Anyways, I ended up with 5 pars, and 4 bogeys, 38. Won my match and my son won his match too so we're moving up. Only 3 weeks left in the season. 

Played leagues last night. Had a good 9 while still aggravated by that muscle strain in my ribcage. First 7 holes was no pain, just swinging about 70 %, playing 1 more club. Last 3 holes had a couple swings that made me wince, but not as bad as before. Anyways, I ended up with 5 pars, and 4 bogeys, 38. Won my match and my son won his match too so we're moving up. Only 3 weeks left in the season. 

Played leagues last night. Had a good 9 while still aggravated by that muscle strain in my ribcage. First 7 holes was no pain, just swinging about 70 %, playing 1 more club. Last 3 holes had a couple swings that made me wince, but not as bad as before. Anyways, I ended up with 5 pars, and 4 bogeys, 38. Won my match and my son won his match too so we're moving up. Only 3 weeks left in the season. 

39/40 in men's league today for a first flight T7.  Three 3 putts, one DB on the best drive of the day 🥵, and several missed birdie putts tells the tale.  But... but... I had an eagle on the #6 par 5 😍  A PW from 114 to a blue flag position. Ball flight looked great from my POV but for which I couldn't see the hole.  The others had already made it to the green and saw me walking up with my putter.  "You don't need that Bill, nice eagle".  It's been some time since I carded a double circle.

Really warm out there today so I couldn't convince Owen to join me.  I walked the front nine at River Heights with the heat index well over 100°.  Usually when we finish around 10 or 11 the course is pretty full.  Today when I left there were five cars in the lot.  I was pretty damp when I got in the car.
My run of bad/good fortune on the first hole continues.  This time, rather than pulling my tee shot into the fairway on 18, I pushed it onto the fairway on 9.  But once again my 7 wood bailed me out; I put it on the back right of the green and two putt for par.
That was just about the end of the good news for the day.  While it generally didn't feel as such in the moment, I think the heat really got to me, and quickly.  Most of my tee shots were pretty crummy, and the rough was much longer than it has been most of the year.  I just couldn't make decent contact.  Lots of poor shots that didnt go very far, and I even had two shanks that went basically 90° right rather than forward.  
Shot a +15 51 with five doubles and a quad.  Supposed to be hotter tomorrow and I'm thinking about doing it again!