jpcgolf

Well I was pretty calm, I think because I had to stay "in the moment" for about 8 hours that day, but my teammates were all jumping up and down and screaming, especially when I won in that playoff. It was hilarious. What made this even sweeter was that our team has had the same four core players for the last four years. We are all seniors now, and we finally won the whole thing--the goal from the start.

I've played in a few junior tournaments at Lake Presidential. It's a nice course, but plays really tough when it is late fall when the wind is blowing. I remember I played a tournament there the day Hurricane Sandy hit. Needless to say, that course played HARD. It also hosted, in a tournament, one of my first good chances at breaking 80, but it was an "attempt" of course, and that course beat me up badly in the end.

This is a lot of writing, so feel free to skip if you don't feel like reading. I went out with a bang. In my last time ever playing golf for my high school, in our league championship, we won all there was to win. There is no state tournament or anything like that because I go to a small school in DC, so our league championship is the climax of our season--one 18 hole round to decide everything. All the regular season matches do is decide the pairings for the league championship. The championship then decides the all league players (top ten in the final day), so even if you had a 33 scoring average, but then shot 83 in the league championship, you would not get any all league recognition. It also decides the team title; every team takes 6 players and the top 4 count. My team has gotten second for every single year of my high school experience, including a heartbreaking loss by two my junior year when we thought we had it all wrapped up, but a 6 seed on another team had the round of his life. Anyway, I was in the first threesome out, and we knew the winning individual score was most likely going to come out of our group. I started off really well, but then had a rocky stretch after hole 8 when I was right at the 5 minute mark trying to find a ball: I found the ball but for some reason, it really messed with my head mentally, and I stupidly let it get to me. I held on though, through some weird funky, swings on the back nine, and held it together enough to eek out a tie for the leading score after draining clutch 6 footers on 17 and 18. We tied, but since we went out first, out of courtesy to the kids shooting 115 in the final tee times, we had to wait over 3 hours for everyone else to finish before we could have the first playoff in our league's history. I kept occupied though, because I was much more invested in the team score than the individual. Our two seed, who is a girl and plays from the same tees as the guys, played great and got all league, our 3-4 seed played decent, but our 5 seed had a great round, another top ten and all league player for our team, and we trounced the rest of the field by 12 shots. Also our 6 seed who has never casually broken 100 shot a 93 in tournament conditions, even though that isn't competitive with the rest of the field, we were all so happy to see him do that. Since we had already won the banner by the time the playoff started, I was not nervous at all. I was in a great mood, and for the first time ever, felt perfectly relaxed in a high pressure situation. I also got to play in front of more people than I will ever play in front of in the rest of my life: all of the players in our league watched the playoff, so there was around 60 people walking the fairway behind us including other coaches and parents (they had to wait for the award ceremonies anyway, so they had nothing else to do). On number one, I hit it way left, and had to hit a low punch shot through trees over water. I hit it, and somehow it got through the trees, over the water, just short of the green. I hit a mediocre chip to 12 feet below the hole, and then drained the putt to tie the hole and keep the match alive. On number two, a par three, I tapped in for my easy par to win the league. This was an all around great golfing day. I went through a shaky stretch, but really competed and made putts when I needed to most, and I was so proud of the way my team played. This was a great way to end my high school career and what could be one of my last competitive rounds of golf for a while since I still don't think I want to play in college due to a variety of reasons, even if I end up at a small school. I guess I played pretty well.

Well it seems like you're figuring it out for yourself pretty well right now.

After a frustrating 38 on Monday's match, I came back today with a bogey free, two under 33, and this is the course our league championship is at: Bretton Woods. I have been hitting the ball long and straight, uncharacteristically straight for me lately, and I love the new confidence it gives me. I still struggled with making putts today, paring the first 7 holes, missing a few close ones for birdie. Then on the 8th hole, I got up and down for birdie with an awesome flop shot from over the green and above the hole to 6 inches. Then on the par three number nine, I rolled in a sweet 20 footer for birdie for a nice finish and a 2 under 33. I have been going back and forth with this one opponent, a friend, all season. In our first match against this school I beat him by one, in the second match he beat me by one, and today I beat him by two after we both parred the first 6 holes, then he doubled 7, and then we both birdied the last two including making matching 20 footers for birdie on nine which we both got a kick out of.

Another rollercoaster high school golf match (we got to play a very nice course today): Hole 1: Routine Par Hole 2: Bogey from the middle of the fairway from 100 yards (chunked a wedge just short because my ball was on a 50 degree downslope and missed a 8 footer for par) Hole 3: Driver up near the green. Chipped to 10 feet, hit a great put, but it somehow did not go in. It went all the way around the hole without touching anything. I have no idea how it did not go in. Hole 4: Stuffed an 8 iron 175 with a little breeze to 5 feet, birdie. 5: 530 yard par 5, driver to 210 yds, 4 iron to 10 feet, two putt birdie. 6: Ugly tee shot, ugly bogey. My par putt stopped right on the lip. 7: on a 315 yard par 4, I almost had a hole in one. My drive landed in the center of the green, then lipped out on the back pin, and stopped 4 feet above the hole. I yanked the eagle putt and had to make a 6 footer coming back for birdie. 8-9: Ugly bogey on an easy par three (missed another really short putt), but came back with a nice 20 footer for birdie on number 9. Overall, I had 4 birdies and 3 bogeys for a one under 34 but left the round pretty frustrated, even though it was one of my best scoring matches of the season, because If I could've just made a putt, I would of had at least another birdie and an eagle or two. I need to cut out the dumb mental errors that resulted in my bogeys because I can't always make this many birdies to make up for all my dumb mistakes. Overall though, I hit the ball pretty great, and the score was good, but I left the match feeling like I had just lost a chance for the nine holes of my life. I just added up that I had 7 birdies in my last two nine hole matches, but yet only had an aggregate 18 hole score of -1. Too many bogeys!!

I just had a rollercoaster nine holes in my highschool match. First hole I absolutely blasted a drive (downhill but no wind) that carried about 5-10 yards passed a pine tree lasered at 317 yards. Hit a wedge to ten feet, and then absolutely babied a dead straight 10 footer. It was a horrible putt that I left about 2 feet short. My coach said it looked like I was purposefully trying to lag the putt as if I had two putts to win a major, and he was not wrong. Second hole on a three shot par five that demands an iron off of the tee, I chunked a PW short, hit a chip all the way to the back of the green, and then three putted (pin was up front) and made double. Next hole I crushed a driver but never saw it come off the club face due to the sun being straight in front of us. I had no idea where it was, but then I saw a ball 50 yards left in another fairway, and it turned out it was my ball. I only had 115 in, so I hit a nice little gap wedge to 15 feet and drained the sweeping right to left put. Next hole, I drained a 60 footer for two in a row. Made a horrible bogey on a par three after that, but then came back with an easy two putt birdie on a driver-iron par 5. I then proceeded to lip out for birdie on the last three holes. It could have been a really nice round even with that double on #2 if I had a couple that dropped on those last three holes. I had one ugly double, one bogey, and three birdies that could have been a lot more. Overall though, I can't really complain about the score.

Often times the tournament directors will say that the embedded ball rule is in effect through the green, not just in the fairway, so any place that is not a hazard or a bunker, if your ball is embedded, you get to lift, clean, and drop the ball.

My coach told me to take the ball out of the hole in slow motion, so he could take this pic.

Hole in one! 115 yard par 3 with a little helping breeze. Pin was in the right hand section of the green tucked over a bunker. Anything over the green on the line of the flag bounces 30 yards down a hill. The greens were soft, and I knew I could spin one back. I don't like hitting full swing wedges, so I hit a really easy punch fade PW that was right on line, but when I hit it, I thought for sure it was going over the green and bouncing down that hill. Somehow, it landed a few feet from the back edge of the green, paused for a moment, then took off backwards down the slope, spinning back 40 feet into the hole!

I love it.

I miss the heat. I would take a 95 degree day over the 60 degree high wind downpour we had today. I was freezing and could barely hold on to the club. It has been cold all week. It's too early for October weather.

Is this number 11 from Sandpiper in Santa Barbara?

I played a course all summer that was soaking wet almost the whole time. Drivers bounced back a foot routinely. This was another huge ego deflator when you thought you really caught one good, but then lasered it back to the tee and wished you never were so curious.

Thank you. I never really seem to know how far I hit my drives. It would be good to know but will probably cut my ego down a good bit.

What App is this?

Tpc Potomac. Great course. Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

The putting green in the foreground with number one in the background. Hole number one. Ninety degree dog leg right. Number nine on the left and number one on the right. Number 10. Scary tee shot from all the way back. Only tee box on this hole with elevation.

Shot an even par 70 with some friends today on a very short course (there were two 450 yard par fives and I can get within 30 yards of about 4 of the par 4s with driver). Didn't hit the ball very well but short game was pretty decent. My distance control with my irons from good lies was absolutely awful. Shots were coming up way short. Like about 20 yards short, and I have no idea what is going on. There are 5 par threes on this course, and I was way short on all of them. But from the rough, I had perfect distance control maybe just because I was trying to swing harder to make sure I got it there? I'm not sure. But it sure was nice to play a course where I could hit it more than 150 yards out of the rough for a change. Not having an automatic bogey from the rough makes the round certainly more enjoyable.

I completely agree about the E6. My dad plays that ball because its the cheapest in the store, and he plays golf occasionally just to play with me. The other day I accidentally grabbed the E6 from his side of the cart, and realized only once I teed it up. It was straight into a good wind, and I hit my 2 iron off the tee. When I hit it it felt like a marshmallow off of the club face, and I left the club face a little open, so I thought for sure it was going to balloon straight up, but then I looked up, and it looked like a knuckleball kind of almost bouncing through the air. It carried 235 into the wind, 30 yards farther than I was expecting. I was completely bewildered because that wind had been killing me all day, and that was the only shot I hit close to my normal carry distance into it.

First round in two months! It was pretty ugly. I did not keep score because the greens were aerated, and I was just trying to feel things out and see where I stand. I was really wild off the tee which is pretty normal for me, but I need to get that more into the acceptable zone, and I had the hooks with my irons, but overall, I was pretty pleased with the way that I hit the ball. I had one pleasant surprise though. I have gained about 15 yards on every club, and I am not joking at all. I was out driving a scratch golfer in his mid twenties who played hockey in college. I think all of the basketball in the winter for my high school has really gotten me stronger. If I can just dial in my accuracy, this is going to be a fun season!

Nice round Kenny. I finally hit balls! First time in two months!

I envy you Florida people so much. I haven't hit balls in over a month, and I don't think i've played a full round in a long time. I'm stuck here in DC with ice everywhere.

Shot 75 in the high school league championship. The leader was at one under 70, and there were 4 kids at 73, and then there was me. I hit everything so well except for the driver. I was hitting trees that were not even in play in front of the tee boxes. On number eleven, I hit it 100 yards forward, and 100 yards right, and I am not exaggerating at all. It was horrendous. I had to bench it after the beginning of the back nine and even hit my 3 wood on the 450 yard par four 17. But I saved my round with my irons, my wedges, and my putter. I had 13 putts on the front nine with missing a 3 footer on number 2. I hit a lot of three woods off the tee, but on all of my five driver holes, except for number one which was crushed, I had to pitch out and make up and down from 50 yards. I hit almost every single wedge to within 2 feet, it was crazy. Overall, I had a pretty good season as a freshman, and I almost beat the superstar from flint hill who is playing D1 golf. I was one back of him going into 18, and we both had birdie putts, but I missed, and he made it. It was fun, and our team came in third overall.

I played a practice round for the high school league championship yesterday with three other players on the team at a place called montgomery village, which is a course which is about to get torn down, so it is not in the best of shape. It was freezing and rainy, but it was a lot of fun. I did not really keep my own score on the front because we were playing best ball, we were also messing around, and I think I shot 41, but on the back, I started to I started to focus and I shot a 37, but my team lost 2 and 1 on 17.