Above is a picture from the 2nd tee at Wolf Creek Resort in Eden Utah. This is definitely “Eden.” I’ll have a review of Wolf Creek posted here soon.
Today was my first round of the tournament of champions. Though I was even par after about 5 holes, I had a couple of swings that cost me a ton of strokes. I played my worst round of the year, and had my worst ever score on a hole in a tournament. For the first time this golf season (and perhaps even last season), I knocked a tee shot OB.
I didn’t expect to be in contention in this tournament to begin with. The players in this tournament are all “flatbellies” and are either the winners of their club championship or the local amateur champs from various tournaments. These guys can all stick. Many had caddies. Speaking of caddies, I’ll have a rant post about them shortly.
I did expect to be “respectable” and represent my club well. I did neither. The one thing a did accomplish was cleaning out the old golf balls out of my bag.
There was a funny comment one flatbelly I played with said. He was a bomber. Who isn’t these days? So I knock a decent drive down the fairway about 290. He blows it by me about 30 yards. I told him I just couldn’t try to keep up with him on the drives. He said “it helps to be young.” So what…am I old? That’s the first time someone has implied that I’m old other than my kids. #40 is coming up next month so I guess he’s right.
I do get a chance to redeem myself during the 2nd day tomorrow. I’m sure I’ll be starting very early since the leaders start late. I’ll be up at the crack of dawn…
Jason Gore has put himself in the final group tomorrow at the 84 Lumber Classic with a 67 today.
What a great story it would be for Gore to break through and take advantage of his 2 stroke Sunday lead.
I’m still wondering when the Gore/Nike commercials will be hitting the airwaves. You know they will eventually.
I’m in three men’s clubs here in town. Two of the three clubs have a year long match play tournament to determine the club champion. You play about 1 match per month over the summer golf season and if you win every match you get into the finals. I actually got into the final match in BOTH clubs this year! The previous match (27 holes) I lost to a guy who caught fire with four birdies in the last 5 holes.
Yesterday I played in the 18 hole club champ final of club #2. Here’s the hole by hole match:
1. Par 5: Opponent birdies and I par with a ball in the hazard. One down.
2. Par 4: I nearly jar my approach shot and hit the flag stick. 1′ birdie putt. Even.
3. Par 3: Both miss the green. I don’t get up and down. One down.
4. Par 4: I par, he bogeys. Even.
5. Par 5: I par, he birdies. One down
6. Par 3: Pars. Still one down.
7. Par 4: He knocks his tee shot into hazard and I par. Even
8. Par 3: Pars. Even
9. Par 4: I make 35 foot birdie. One up.
10. Par 4: He knocks tee into hazard and I par. Two up.
11. Par 4: Pars. Two up.
12. Par 3: Pars. Two up.
13. Par 5: He birdies and I par. One up.
14. He pars and I bogey. Even.
15. Par 4: I par, he bogeys. One up.
16. Par 4: I double, he bogeys on a terrible green. Even.
17. Par 4: I almost drive green, chip lips out. He chips close and we both birdie. Even
18. Par 3: I knock tee shot to 5 feet and birdie for the WIN!
CLUB CHAMPION!!!
As club champ I get to play this weekend in a two day “tournament of champions” which is sponsored by the local state golf association. It is at a great resort course called Wolf Creek. This is not the Wolf Creek I mentioned in Mesquite Nevada, but one up in Northern Utah.
I’m back from the longest golf blog break I’ve had since I started this thing. Much has happened since I was last here 5 days ago. Though I had posts on Monday and Tuesday this week, they were automated. What a week:
I moved out of my condo on the 17th hole at my home course on Monday. I somewhat illegally moved into my newly constructed house Monday night. “Illegally” because the house wasn’t quite done, and I didn’t have permission from the bank and builder to occupy it yet. So my family and I “gained access” and slept on the floor for 3 nights, rather than living in a hotel room. This situation was a total pain because all of my clothes, equipment, undies or whatever was in my portable storage pod.
I was so thrilled to find a fresh pair of socks after going 3 days in the old ones. Then that excitement was dashed away by the fact that the water was turned off at my new house for the construction. So over the last two days my daily shower has consisted of splashing my face and other “crucial” areas with my new neighbor’s hose.
The new area I’m in is a very “hot” real estate spot. Houses are going in amazingly fast and my kid’s elementary school is the fastest growing in the country. I’m up on the side of a mountain which overlooks the Salt Lake valley. I have a heck of a view of the mountain and the valley. I’ve even had some interesting visitors, like a tarantula I found on my front door step.
I didn’t spend much time on the web because I had no internet connection of my own. But I was able to check my email a couple of times by driving around the neighborhood and piggy-backing myself on someone’s unsecured wireless connection for a few seconds. I’ll throw an anonymous buck in their mail box later. I’m amazed at how many people have wireless routers, and at how many of them are unsecured. I must have found a good 40-50 wireless connections, and half of them were wide open. Even more entertaining is the names people give them, like “hepnet airlan,” “skidnet,” or my personal favorite “nucking futs.”
To make a long story longer, I’m now sitting in my favorite green chair in my new living room. I’m surfing with my own new high speed internet connection through my own unsecured wireless connection. I’ll be securing it shortly and giving it a funny name though. Any name ideas are welcomed.
Hopefully many a good golf blog entry will be written from my new digs in this green chair. Read the next entry to find out.
With all the talk about golf clubs, bags, balls etc, not many people seem to think a lot about other items you need to help you with your game and improve your score. These accessory items may not be directly responsible for hitting a great shot like a wedge would be, but can be just as important to your game.
I’m going to attempt to put a list together here of the accessories a golfer should have handy in his bag. This list is in no particular order. And if I miss something, feel free to comment it in for me.
Umbrella
You need a good umbrella
, not a tiny one that is falling apart. Keep the gear and the player dry!
Rain gear
Along with the umbrella you should have some gear. Pants, jacket, vest and even a Gilligan type hat for keeping the rain from doing down your neck. Your back should also have a rain cover. If it does not, you can throw in a poor man’s rain cover: a plastic shopping bag.
Warm clothes
If you live in an area like me, sometimes the temperature can go from 80 to 50 in a few minutes. It’s always a good idea to keep a wind jacket, sweater, vest or whatever you like to keep you warm. In the colder times of the year I also keep some winter gloves
in the bag. There’s nothing much worse than hitting a 3 iron a little thin in cold weather.
Winter golf
In the winter my die-hard golf buddies and I play on the frozen tundra. If there’s no snow on the ground, we play. So there are a few items you’ll need when you play in the tundra: Some may include a propane golf cart heater, golf cart cover, winter golf beanie or a golf cart windshield
.
Cart tools
If you have a pull cart or one of the new fancy 3 wheeled push carts you may need a few items. I have a friend who has to carry a wrench for when his wheel falls off his motorized push cart. I also have an air pump I carry with my Speed Cart.
Ibuprofen
Ibuprofen is like a lube oil and filter for a golfer.
Club tools
Speaking of tools. How about the tools/wrenches you may need to change the weights around on your movable weight technology based clubs? Of course you’d change the weights before the round, right?
Extra golf gloves I don’t wear a glove. But if you do wear one, keep 2-3 extras in your bag in case of rain or heavy sweating. You can switch them out every hole or two, and hang your wet ones up in your umbrella or on your bag to dry.
Golf towels
I usually carry 2-3 towels. One is mostly wet for cleaning clubs. One is dry. One is a backup. In rainy conditions carrying a few more towels is a good idea. Hang the wet ones in your umbrella to dry.
Tees, ball markers, green repair tools
Yes, totally obvious but essential. I have a neat little tee bag which I carry spare change, tees
, markers, divot tools in.
Shoe Maintenance
I carry extra soft spikes in my tee bag as well. I need to make sure I have good traction, and sometimes I change out spikes on the course. Of course you’ll need a spike tool in your maintenance kit as well. Why don’t we include an extra set of shoe laces too. I’ve snapped a lace retying my shoe. Golfing with one loose shoe is not good. Just in case you have the room, throw in a pair of fresh socks too. You never know if you’ll step in some mud or have to stand in a wet hazard to hit a shot.
Fuel
Keep your body fueled up with some food and liquid. Keep some energy bars in your bag. Or throw some fresh fruit in before the round. Water and/or a Gatorade type of drink is essential as well. When your body starts to run out of fuel, you will not be able to concentrate as well.
Club brush, groove cleaner
I need full control over my shots. I especially need my grooves nice and clean for those crucial short game wedge shots. You can’t impart the correct spin on your ball with a bunch of debris on your club face. I keep a brush which hangs off my bag which cleans my grooves very well. The back side of the brush has a metal point which can really dig that dirt out of the tougher grooves.
Extra cash
I always have some backup bucks in my bag (hidden in a secret compartment). You never know when you might need a few extra bucks out on the course. You may need to buy a hot dog at the turn. You may want to buy a drink from the cart babe. You may feel the joy and want to get out for another 9. Unfortunately, you may need to settle up on a wager or two.
Rule book
For those times when you’re not sure what to do in a certain situation, carrying a small USGA Rule Book in your bag is advisable. Keeping that book handy just might win you a match or a bet. You can nail your opponent on his illegal drop.
Score cards, pencils
If you play certain courses frequently it’s not a bad idea to keep some spare score cards for those courses in your bag. Also be sure to carry an extra pencil or two.
Ball marker
I always carry a ball marker in my bag to mark my golf balls. Marking your ball can help eliminate the possibility of someone else hitting your ball or picking it up.
Extra car key
I keep an extra copy of my car key in my golf bag just in case.
First aid
I keep some band aids and some medical tape in my bag just in case I or someone else need them. They’ve come in handy on more than one occasion.
Bug spray
I tiny squirt bottle of bug spray can be extremely useful when you’re playing “the swamp” in the heat of mosquito season.
Sun screen
I’m Greek and have darker skin and don’t sunburn easily. But it’s a good idea to keep some sun screen handy. Skin cancer is not your friend.
Lotion, chapstick
Not a bad idea to keep one of those travel sized lotions and a chapstick handy. Dry, cracking skin or lips can bring your game down.
Cigar anyone?
Better keep a cigar cutter and a lighter handy.
Ball retriever?
I personally don’t carry a ball retriever. But if you can’t stand the pain of knocking a $4 ball into the lake, you might need one.
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