April 25 - Round 4

Eisenhower Park (red), Nassau County

Welł, I've played what should be my last round of April golf.   

Thank G-d!

Vak and I were a twosome.  No one wanted to play at 9:15 after listening to the weather report.   The driving range was cold and windy at 8:30am. I had a NY Giants winter knit cap over my USGA cap, 4 or 5 layers of tops (I lost count).  

I was thinking that this was a mistake.  

Of course, there was some guy a few stalls over in shorts and short sleeves.   Go figure....

Got to the first tee, and they pushed us up a spot.  I guess other golfers made the "smart" decision.

We joined up with a guy and his son-in-law.  

One of the great things about golf, is meeting people.  Yes, normally I have my regular foursome.  But going out to meet new golf friends is one of the best things about the game.

Saul and his son-in-law Jon, were nice guys.  Turned out we all had our roots in Brooklyn - always a plus.

Another coincidence is that Saul went to law school with my friend Ken (you tend to talk a lot over a 5 hour round). 

We actually talked so much that, at one point, Vak had to shush us (more on that later).  

With the wind blowing in, the first hole was going to be a longer par 5 than normal.  My drive went roughly 200 yards.  I hit a nice hybrid that the wind pushed off the fairway. With 115 to the green, I went up to an 8 iron.  Too much club - I rolled off the back.   A chip and a putt, and I was in for par.

Seemed like a nice start to the day.

I took off the wool cap!

2nd hole (par 3) looked like a par, until the ball did a 180 around the cup - one of about 4 for the day.

I was playing ok till the 4th hole.  They had a temporary green, as the regular green was 75% burned out.

My 3rd shot (I usually lay up on this par 4) went 20 yards over the temp flag. This is where I wish I had a laser rangefinder, rather than my GPS. 

Double bogey.

Around the 8th hole, I took off my outer layer.  

The wind started to drop, and the temps rose.  I made some stupid mistakes, but didn't chide myself over them.  The point is to enjoy the round, good or bad.

Vak on the other hand, was taking the round personally.  His back nine was pretty hard on him. He would have quit golf completely, but he has an upcoming trip Myrtle.  Walking up the 17th fairway with Saul - Vak was lining up his shot and gave us a shush. 

Trust me, silence wasn't going to help....

By the 18th hole, it turned into a beautiful day.  We had a light breeze in our face and it had to be 60 degrees.  The hole is a long par 4.  Only about 420 yards, but it's always into the wind and mostly up-hill.

I bombed my drive.  For me, this means it's over 225 yards.

On this hole, that's not so good for me.  At around 225 there is gully, so I'm now lieing on an upslope with 200 yards to the stick.  

Now, I know well that I can't hit my 4 wood on an upslope (one of the many flaws in my game) - but it was just so damn tantalizing!   

Normally I'd just lay up to 60 yards and pitch with hopes of a one putt.

So, I pushed the 4 wood way right to around 100 yards.  My gap wedge came up a bit short.  

A chip and a putt and I finished with an all to common bogey.

Vak (who would have sold his clubs on the 17th hole for $1), hit a great 5 wood from the rough and was on in 2.  

He parred the hole, and once again looked forward to his trip to Myrtle.

I finished with a 91 (45/46).  4 lip outs, 3-4 miss hits. Another 2-3 weeks of practice and I hope to be "right there". 

Unfortunately, no golf this week. Swamped with things to do, and a weekend of 2 weddings.  

So, the clubs are in the garage for 2 weeks.

A side note on meeting new golf biddies.  I downloaded a cool app on my iPhone called Golfmatchapp.  (There's a Google Play version too). It's a pretty cool app, a that lets you link up with other golfers and share experiences, make a foursome, etc.  A nice way to meet new golf friends. 

I recommend it. 

May 9th will probably be my next round.  By then, the temps should be up, and the wind speed down.

Hopefully. 

Another quick side note -  my wife and I passed through The Bronx today and I pointed out the new Trump Ferry Point. Looked like an oasis.   I've already discussed with some buddies that we will get over and play there - soon.

Until then,

Keep it in the short hairs

15th hole at Eisenhower Red

April 19 - round 3

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April 11 - round 2

The word of the day was "blustery".  Winds were a constant 20-30 mph out of the west (so it seemed).

My playing partners today were Vak, Dan, and Pete.

Out tee time was at 10:52 on Eisenhower Park - White.   

Week 2 was completely opposite from last week.  (Play wise, anyway)

First off - I walked.  Note that I don't carry, but use a 3-wheeled push cart.  This back wouldn't be able to take 50+ swings AND dragging around a bag for 4 hours.  

Gotta hand it to Vak - he carries.  Although as of late he's been complaining.  

(Note to Vak - I won't carry a bag, OR YOU!  So get a cart before you collapse)

So, back to golf. The range was PACKED!  Not a stall open.  I had to wait!  

I don't think I hit one decent shot at the range. Irons were shanking, drives were hooking, and my pitches were chunking.

GREAT!  On to the first tee!

We actually teed off a bit early.  My thought was that the red course had opened, and a few groups jumped over to play that more popular course.

The first hole is a par 5.  We were with the wind.

I drilled my drive down the middle with a slight draw. It rode the wind.  Landed on the left side of the fairway!

My 2nd shot I pulled off the fairway, and was about 10 yards off the fairway on the left.

Now came the first of many wind decisions of the day.

I was 135 yards from the elevated green (I have a Garmin GPS).  Pin was in the back.

I would normally take a 7 iron, but I felt that stiff 20 mph wind, and went for the 8 iron.

The hit was crisp.

The flight was perfect.

The wind died.  I mean, it was like a wall was put up behind me.

The ball dropped at the top of the berm in front of the green and rolled into the trap.  

Ugh

This is where walking helps.  As I strolled to my sandy lie, Vak mentioned the obvious - "the wind died". Duh!

But i got my annoyances at the golf-gods out of my system by the time I reached my ball.  Nice lie.

I hit it crisp again, trying to carry the ball to the back of the green.  

Well, I need a bit of sand practice and I carried it 5 yards over the green.

So, I started with a double bogey on the first hole.

The wind was playing a factor on all holes. At points, the balls on the tee were rocking due to the wind.

The course was in ok shape.  Fairways and bunkers were in good shape.

The greens (most of them) had that same burned out area at the center.  I assume most courses have the same issue, as Bethpage notes that many holes have temp greens.

The par 3's are all twin holes. Left/right (in an attempt to speed play)

All the "right" par 3's were closed for repair. 

As we approached the 18th hole, all,of us were pretty exhausted.  It tough walking into this stiff wind.

Fast forward 17 holes....

The par 5 18th is a pretty finishing hole.  My normal landing area is between two traps, about 230 yards out.

Pete commented that no one would get there today, into this stiff wind.

Well, I hit a strong draw, that was awesome.  Hit it right there!  

My 4 wood (I carry a 4 and 7 wood) I mis-hit a bit, as a golfer on the 10th hole struck his ball (20 yards to my right) just a split second before I struck mine.

I say this because we've all seen the pros complained about photographers taking a shot in their swing.  It can throw you off just a fraction.

I pulled the ball to the left. 

Not a bad lie. It left me 110 yards to the middle of the green.  Into that wind.

I pulled an 8 and hit a solid ball.

It barely mad it, and landed on the front of the green.  

2 putts, and I finished with a par.  

I finished the round with an 88 - a full 10 strokes off last week.  

My analysis of my game?

Driving was great.

Irons were crisp.

Woods - some good, some bad - needs a bit of work.

Putting was good (33 putts, and no 3 putts)

My pitches were off.  My 50/60/70 yard pitches weren't crips, and not on line.  This is where I'll need to practice most in the coming week.

If the weather permits, I'll go to the range with just my wedges.

As for the rest of the foursome - Vak had a bad round. The prior week of 88 was a memory as his short game was left in the parking lot.  (As was his putting).

96 today.

Dan, in his first outing of the year, shot 109.   It was apparent that his game was rusty, as his shots started improving with each hole.  

Pete?  Well, Pete (normally a good golfer), was trouble.   Shanks, hooks, thin hits, chunks, and whatever other bad shot names you can come up with.  

Pete stopped scoring after 7 holes.  

We all walked off the 18th green exhausted. Couldn't wait to get home, shower, and plop down and watch The Masters.  What a pleasure.  

There's nothing like a round of golf, followed by watching a major, and catching a few Z's.

A perfect Saturday 

Looking forward to next week.

Better golf

Hopefully calmer winds

Til then, keep,it on the short hairs

April 5 - first round of the 2015 season

I always seem to play one week too early, as the weather is somewhat inhospitable.

This year was no exception.

On Wednesday I was able to snag a 10:53 tee time at Eisenhower Park (Nassau County) for Easter Sunday.   My playing partners were my buddies "Vak", and Lloyd - and "Vak-jr".

Playing this week poses an additional challenge - food.  

After all, it's Passover.  So, I packed a few sheets of Matzo - with peanut butter, and cream cheese.  

Not what I'd call optimal golf snacks. 

Although I prefer to walk the course, my friend Lloyd requested we drive - so I obliged.  Walking is not only healthier, but it helps my mental part of the game - as it allows me to think about the shot I just made, and what my next shot will be.

Oh well....

We got to the range and I split a bucket with Lloyd, to warm up.  I only use 15-20 balls for warmups - I don't consider this practice.  Just warmup so I don't pull a muscle in this 57 year old body.

I do a handful of squats (to engage the glutes), and swing a club with a weighted donut.

I hit 3-4 shots with a wedge, mid-iron, wood, and driver.  

My shots were remarkably good, considering I haven't played since December.  Perhaps 10 yards short, but I attributed that to the 10-15 mph wind.  

It seemed the weathermen were right.  Mid 50's with 10-15 mph winds.

Well, so far.

As soon as we got to the starter, we were on deck.  So we quickly got our shit together and got to the tee. I had my only new equipment in my bag - my new Bolle sunglasses.  Very cool, if I must say so myself.

So, first shot of the year.  Par 5

Easy swing - my driver hits the dirt and the ball goes roughly 180 yards.  

Ouch.  

Ok.  Write it off to cobwebs, and move on.

This is where I like to walk, as I am able to get my thoughts together.

So, we drive up the fairway.

The course looked ok, so far.

The next few shots were all chunked - finally I realized that my new shades somehow affected my depth to ball, and as soon as I flipped them off during my shot, I hit it square.

So, I would put the shades backwards on my hat - for the shots!  As cool as Hunter Mahan!

We get to the green, and the center looks total burned out.   LOOKED is the key word.

As I tried to putt through it, it turns out it was dead, spongy green - that slowed your ball down to a crawl.  My guess is these spots (on all,the greens) was where the snow had accumulated.   Horrible.

Result - 3-putt

At this point, the winds picked up.  At some points it was a 3 club wind.   

My timing was off.

My balance was off.

So, my game was off.

I quit golf 3 or 4 times during the round. (That's 2 or 3 times more than normal)

The wind picked up as we played.   I had 4 layers on, but the wind just passed through me.

The two middle fingers on my left hand went numb (something like reynards disease). 

So, I'm swinging without feel.

The good news was that I couldn't squeeze the grip too tight!

By the 18th hole, there were 40-50 mph gusts (somehow, always in our face).   The par 5 played a par 6.

I took a 7....

By the end of the round, I (for one) was exhausted.   

Shot a 98 - which was depressing.   (The last round in December I shot 40 playing 9 holes at Merrick Park)

However, it was the kickoff to the new season. In 2014, I was unable to play until June, as I was doing PT to rehab a partially torn labrum in my left shoulder.

So, I was quite happy to just be out.  And yes. The shoulder did ache by the end of the round.

I assume more than a few foursomes walked off the course, as we didn't see a group in front of us.  We played in just over 4 hours.   

So, round 1 is under the belt.  

Looking forward to improvements and better weather.

In the meantime, be well - and keep it on the short hairs. 

Howie