How'd you play?

[Rickp 28,700]

Exec 9 this morning, 65* and HEAVY FOG.  We didn’t think they would let us out, could not see a green all morning. 
We all played great, don’t know how. 
Played 2 over with 2 Bogies and missed 2 make-able Birdies.
Hope we have more Fog tomorrow

[Kenny B 32,490]

42 minutes ago, Rickp said:

Exec 9 this morning, 65* and HEAVY FOG.  We didn’t think they would let us out, could not see a green all morning. 
We all played great, don’t know how. 
Played 2 over with 2 Bogies and missed 2 make-able Birdies.
Hope we have more Fog tomorrow

I've played in thick fog.  I think it makes you focus more, so not so many errant shots.  Nice round!

[Kenny B 32,490]

3 hours ago, Syks7 said:

Got a chance to play Braemar CC yesterday (West 9/ US Open 9) via a charity scramble for an organization I'm on the board of. 

Played with one buddy I play with regularly (9.5 index) and two random Architectural services reps we got paired with.  (Guessing 25+?).  It was a very good time and we carded a totally honest 68 together on a 70.3/130 course that none of us had seen before.  We got a little help from the other guys (gave them the first crack at the short birdies, because who doesn't like holing those out) but for the most part I think it was my buddy and I that put it together.  We didn't win because charity scramble   (63...)   .   Not as egregious of a scramble score as I've seen but also not believable unless Brad Faxon was putting.  We also didn't use any of the purchase mulligans, though we did donate to purchase an eagle, which we then actually eagled via play.  Downhill Part 5 --  my drive to 220, my buddies 3 iron to 12 ft, and my putt.   

Play wise:

Off the tee:  I was inconsistent with driver, three wood, and hybrid.  The course is narrow, hilly, and technical and it was feast or famine.  Some of that is being highly aggressive one we had one in play but some of it is also just mishits.  I did manage to hit two of  the best intentional draws I've ever attempted: one with a 5 iron on a short uphill dogleg par 4 with a hill blocking any chance of cutting the corner and one with Driver on a severely sloping left to right fairway on a long par 4.  I was much better with my irons hitting 3 of the shots we used on the 4 par 3s.  

Long Irons:  Great off the tee, not as good off the fairway.  Not bad, but not as good as I would have liked.

Short Irons:  Stellar.  We probably used my 8 iron to 54 shots 75% of the time yesterday.  I was just dialed and seemed to also be able to shape at will to get it close on very difficult greens.  

Short wedges:  Pretty good but I only need to hit a short chip 3 or 4 times yesterday as we only had 3 bogies.  I did manage to get a lot of them pretty close though.

Putting:  I had an excellent day putting the highlights of which were a 41'-10" (We measured for closes to the pin) right to left uphill to downhill putt for birdie, the 12 footer for eagle, several long lags that helped us save par, and a couple more birdie putts.  I felt confident with it all day. I wish muni's could get closer to that speed it's so much easier to putt well when you're confident that the ball will stay on the line you putt it on without having to take a full swing.  

I know it was a charity scramble but I felt like my buddy and I would have carded decent rounds even if we'd been playing solo.  It was a blast and a great way to spend my 39th birthday.  

One of the widest fairways of the day...

My approach

The Tee that I sponsored

My buddy Rory and I after finishing our last hole.

Nice job!!  And a great birthday present.  Congrats!!

[Rickp 28,700]

1 hour ago, Kenny B said:

I've played in thick fog.  I think it makes you focus more, so not so many errant shots.  Nice round!

Thanks,  definitely an interesting morning.  You could be right about “focus”.  I usually don’t get excited about Execs.

[Haro 530]

Don’t like to play this late in the season our course is sometimes closed for frost warning. But it was nice day and there many players out today. I have been practicing my new putting and chipping stroke and wanted to test it out   One three putt on the 2nd green but rest putting was was really good Made all my putts inside 10 feet and every lag putt was within 3 feet except for that 3 putt on 2nd green 
My tee ball sucked though.  Oh well  

[chisag 17,721]

... I am still amazed that swinging a driver causes more elbow tendonitis pain than taking a divot. But the real surprise is just hitting a normal sand shot. Pain is just silly from green side sand. So I take the ball out and chip/pitch which often leaves a more difficult shot from Bermuda rough. Only happened 3 times in 4 rounds though. Seems none of that matters as I am stuck on 74. I have played 4 rounds now just teeing off with my 2 iron and shot 74 every single round. 

... 3rd round I was 2 under going to the back and the elbow started hurting worse and I suffered 2 bogies, so even par with 2 holes to go. Easy little par 4 and had an in-between yardage for either pw or 9i and took a 9i, chocked up a little and ... decelerated into the ball and barely hit it fat but enough to hit the wood planks that guard the front of the green. Dropped and made a double to get me back on track for a 74. Silly, silly mistake as the play is accelerate with a 3/4 swing and take long and back of the green over short and in the water. 

... Played yesterday and managed to have 12 straight pars before 2 bogies in a row. Then had 3 birdie putts on the final 4 holes and didn't make any of them because it would have meant a 73 or less and evidently I am only allowed to shoot a 74. 

[fixyurdivot 16,636]

Our Yuma group did our annual stay & play at Emerald Canyon in Parker, AZ.  While not that long in yardage, the course winds through the canyon and demands some precision off the tee on a handful of holes. The course is in outstanding condition and, like so many AZ courses, creates an amazing contrast in both colors and topography.  

40/44 on day 1 and 42/44 on day 2.  No one had their A games and my short chipping game was AWOL, but we had a great time as always.  Plus, two years ago, I scorched the track with a B2B 78 and 79... so I'll always have that memory recall to soften the blow .  

Hole #16 is one of our favorites.  Drivable at 243 but plenty of pain if you miss.  I was about 5  feet off the green on round one and my woeful chipping, thankfully, went away on this one hole stopping just a few inches short from an eagle. 

#16 from the tee box

Hole #15... we tried in vain to get this guy's game turned around .

Hole #6 requires a blind, uphill drive between two rock walls. They use a spotter at the crest to signal to the group on the tee when it's safe to hit.

Spotter station

View over the crest and down towards the hole.

Hole #4 is another one that can reach out and bite you.  Something other than driver is the "smart play", but the course architect also had a masters in golfer psychology . 

The Bluewater Casino nearby offers a great place to stay at a reasonable price.  Marina views from the rooms.

Brian's final approach shot into #18.

RB looking back up to the elevated tee #5 par 3 tee... and for his ball that failed to clear the wash.

[fozcycle 15,093]

 Shot 47/43:90 with 7/14 FIR and 5/18 GIR. Both were under my season stats but my up & down was 44% versus 32% ytd.  Had difficulty putting as I played with my regular progressive lens glasses that are pretty flat causing probs when putting. Usually I wear rx sunglasses that are curved and allow me to get a better eye 9n the putting line.

We were scheduled to get new carts in January but they were ready to go this morning…..brand new Club Cars..

 

 

[Syks7 943]

Twice in a week.  I'm feeling a little spoiled.  We had a men's club tournament scheduled for this morning that got canceled about an hour before I was supposed to tee off.  It was canceled because of 'inclement weather' -- a light drizzle and periods of rain.  I went out anyway.  Winter golf sure is rough in Southern California.  The periods of light rain and drizzle almost made it impossible to play -- not really but it cleared out the golf course for me.  I decided to play from the tips just so I could get a different look at the golf course and the rain (mostly wind), at times, made it slightly more challenging.  The front 9 was pretty solid, but I made a mess of 9 and doubled it.  Then on the back 9 I could not get off the bogey train until 17.  There were also a couple 3 putts in there today so I'm not super happy with that.  But all things considered I did 41/44 in the rain from the tips for an 85.  Still helping the handicap fall.  

Driver -- Really good on the front.  I'm starting to be able to get some shape on the shots and had a couple nice low draws today that helped get good distance in the wind and rain.  I think 267 was my best today and I was pretty happy with it.  The back was a different story.  The rain picked up and I think I started swinging too hard to compensate.  I almost really cost myself with a pull hook on 18 and luckily the tree line saved me.

Woods -- Pretty solid.  It actually performed better on a few holes because it has a more penetrating flight.  I didn't throw any darts with it, but I helped myself play for bogey more than a few times on the back with a good recover shot.

Hybrid -- Also pretty good, though it only came out of the bag twice.  Hit the front of a long par 3 from 220 with it (then three putted). 

Irons -- Long irons are still feast or famine (more feast lately) but I got to hit them a lot more today playing from the tips.  Short Irons, still really solid.  I did find out it's a lot harder to get good movement on the ball in the wet.  I expected it, but I also didn't expect how much less I'd be able to generate.

Wedges -- Pretty good.  Saved my bacon on more than one occasion.  Still not as close as I'd like, but good enough to give opportunity for a one putt.

Putting --  Weird day.  Two three putts both of which occurred because of bad lags.  I just left myself too long and couldn't convert.  Pretty frustrating.  There's also several scramble opportunities from inside 6 ft that I let get away from me.  The one putts were from close range.  Those are much more indicative of a save with the wedge than with the putter.  It just felt a little sloppy today.

Overall -- Good day in different conditions.  It was also delightful to be out on an empty course.  I had a couple of the other members playing in front and behind and while we could have played together I think we were all enjoying not being on a jam packed golf course for once.  I am still a little frustrated because of the miscues, but at least they're not as bad as they were a few months ago.  Hopefully my miscues will keep getting smaller.

http://www.gamegolf.com/player/jgilliam77/round/3124634

[CarlH 7,959]

Played the course a bit better Wednesday -- only 3 holes where I struggled with the wedge.  Shot an 81 with 3 doubles.  Progress!. Scheduled to play today, but anticipate some weather issues rolling in before we finish.

[Rickp 28,700]

Wednesday played Big Boy 9 with Fog again.  Driver is continuing to be a problem but irons/hybrids bailing my chubby butt out. 
2birds both on the Par 3’s but gave the 2 shots back on the Par 5’s of all things. 
Finished up +4 40, which is great for me.

[ncwoz 2,643]

My brother and I "played" a round on a simulator - realized that between spraining my ankle and the cold weather setting in I hadn't hit a ball in almost 7 weeks!

We played Bay Hill, and I actually hit the ball way better than I thought I would. Nice to see there wasn't too much rust to knock off. And I almost "Bryson-ed" the green on #6 as well!

[CarlH 7,959]

My wedge issues continue to plague me with the tight, wetter lies here, but I'm seeing some progress.  Shot a very disappointing 46 on the front 9 followed up by a 38 on the backside for an 84.  Not where I want to be, but seeing improvements.  

[Rickp 28,700]

Friday Bacon Boyz 9, still foggy but nice mid 60’s.  Driver still not happy but irons are OK. 
The King of the Bag right now is 5 Steelhead hybrid.  Saved me on both Par 4’s.  Ended up +5 with a nasty double that was just pure stupid, try to make a career fareway bunker shot and landed in the green side bunker.  OOPS.

[Kenny B 32,490]

6 minutes ago, Rickp said:

Friday Bacon Boyz 9, still foggy but nice mid 60’s.  Driver still not happy but irons are OK. 
The King of the Bag right now is 5 Steelhead hybrid.  Saved me on both Par 4’s.  Ended up +5 with a nasty double that was just pure stupid, try to make a career fareway bunker shot and landed in the green side bunker.  OOPS.

Not bad to get to a greenside bunker from a fairway bunker.  We don't have very many fairway bunkers; only on a couple of par 5's and one par 4.  I'd be happy getting to a greenside bunker from any of them!!

[Rickp 28,700]

5 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

Not bad to get to a greenside bunker from a fairway bunker.  We don't have very many fairway bunkers; only on a couple of par 5's and one par 4.  I'd be happy getting to a greenside bunker from any of them!!

Thanks, it was a good try but definitely overreach with the 5 hybrid.  There’s also water that can come into play so at least I didn’t push it into the pond. 
Taking weekend off give my elbow some rest.

[chisag 17,721]

... After 4 rounds in a row hitting irons off the tee and shooting 74, I played round 5 yesterday and came to 18 and I was 2 over of course. I decided to hit a big 2 iron hoping for a birdie to end the streak and pulled it leaving me a 205yd approach but had to get up and over one of the few trees on the course. Sitting down a little and I could not elevate my 4 hy from the rough enough to completely clear the tree. Just caught the right side of the top and it careened my ball to the right and back in the rough. 45yd pitch and it just didn't run out like I expected leaving me a 20 footer to save par and again shoot a 74 and sure enough it rolled right in the middle of ... a ball mark about 6" right of the hole leaving me a 1 foot tap in for a 75! Jinx finally averted. 

 

 

[Shapotomous 4,841]

It's SWMBO's birthday today and she is a bigger golf nut than me so we played 18.  Temp is warm for mid Dec at 59* but it was very windy...15mph at least for most of the day.  She is hitting the early birthday present G410 irons real well and shot a 79.  

For me two's were wild today but not on the scorecard...2 doubles, 2 bogeys and 2 birdies for a 76.  Putting stroke has made an appearance after taking 1-1/2 months off.  One of those doubles was a 4 putt because the wind blew the ball back to my feet twice after i hit an uphill 15'er.  Same thing happened on another hole but only once for a 3 putt.  Even with those I was still thrilled with my putting overall with 31 putts.

Shot / hole of the day was a pulled drive that the wind did not bring back ending up on the edge of a steep creek bed, had to swing left handed, 7 iron toe hit that moved the ball about 30 yards into the fairway and I nipped a wedge to about 5' and saved par by sinking the putt!  

It was a fun day...done in 2:54 since we jumped around a couple times to escape the slow play in front of us before circling back around to get those holes in.

[sirchunksalot 15,694]

8 minutes ago, Shapotomous said:

It's SWMBO's birthday today and she is a bigger golf nut than me so we played 18.  Temp is warm for mid Dec at 59* but it was very windy...15mph at least for most of the day.  She is hitting the early birthday present G410 irons real well and shot a 79.  

For me two's were wild today but not on the scorecard...2 doubles, 2 bogeys and 2 birdies for a 76.  Putting stroke has made an appearance after taking 1-1/2 months off.  One of those doubles was a 4 putt because the wind blew the ball back to my feet twice after i hit an uphill 15'er.  Same thing happened on another hole but only once for a 3 putt.  Even with those I was still thrilled with my putting overall with 31 putts.

Shot / hole of the day was a pulled drive that the wind did not bring back ending up on the edge of a steep creek bed, had to swing left handed, 7 iron toe hit that moved the ball about 30 yards into the fairway and I nipped a wedge to about 5' and saved par by sinking the putt!  

It was a fun day...done in 2:54 since we jumped around a couple times to escape the slow play in front of us before circling back around to get those holes in.

First off, happy birthday to your wife and if she's a bigger golf nut than you, you got a good one.

That left handed 7 iron shot is hard to pull off and that's impressive! I'm glad the two of you were able to get out and enjoy the day together. 

[Rickp 28,700]

50 minutes ago, Shapotomous said:

It's SWMBO's birthday today and she is a bigger golf nut than me so we played 18.  Temp is warm for mid Dec at 59* but it was very windy...15mph at least for most of the day.  She is hitting the early birthday present G410 irons real well and shot a 79.  

For me two's were wild today but not on the scorecard...2 doubles, 2 bogeys and 2 birdies for a 76.  Putting stroke has made an appearance after taking 1-1/2 months off.  One of those doubles was a 4 putt because the wind blew the ball back to my feet twice after i hit an uphill 15'er.  Same thing happened on another hole but only once for a 3 putt.  Even with those I was still thrilled with my putting overall with 31 putts.

Shot / hole of the day was a pulled drive that the wind did not bring back ending up on the edge of a steep creek bed, had to swing left handed, 7 iron toe hit that moved the ball about 30 yards into the fairway and I nipped a wedge to about 5' and saved par by sinking the putt!  

It was a fun day...done in 2:54 since we jumped around a couple times to escape the slow play in front of us before circling back around to get those holes in.

Happy Birthday Mrs SWMBO!!