September 6 - Round 31

Location - Blue Hill Golf Course, Pearl River, NY

Playing partners - Linda, Mike, Paula

In what has become an annual tradition, my wife and I drive out to play a round of golf with our friends Mike and Paula.  Mike, like me, is an avid golfer who has a weekly game.  Paula took up golf in recent years and plays often with Mike.

The Pearl River course is about 45 minutes from our home in Merrick.  But, on a Sunday morning, that time almost doubles - as it took us an hour and 15 minutes, door to door.

My biggest issue with Blue Hill is that there is no driving range.  This is especially important for us, as we are sitting in a car, stiffening up, for over an hour.  As soon as we got to the course, we put our bags on the carts and went to the first tee.
The course is made up of three 9 hole courses.  The Lakeside, Pines, and Woodlands.
Today we played Lakeside and Pines.

The course conditions were nice. Mike informed me that there were water restrictions in the area, so the greens were dry and fast.  (this also meant that my nemesis "sprinklers" would not be a problem)
The divots that I took came up dry as a bone!  It was amazing that the fairways were green!

The first hole, a par 3, had me hitting my 5 hybrid.  With no warmups, I promptly chunked the shot - and finished with a double bogey.  Linda, who hit the range in Merrick prior to our departure, hit a nice drive down the center of the fairway.

I played a pretty good Lakeside front nine, shooting 43.

The first hole on the Pines changed that completely.  I pulled my drive through the woods to the fairway on the hole next to us.  Mike pointed to the trees ahead and said I could try to get over them.
My mistake was listening.  I should have hit a pitching wedge over the trees back to the fairway, and go for a bogey-6.
But - no - I went for the glory.  Trying to "lift" my hybrid, I topped it, and the ball went 20 yards.  I then had to hit a low shot through the trees to the fairway.  It was a good shot.

Too good.

It passed through the fairway to the trees on the opposite side (the course is aptly named PINES).
I finally made it on to the green in 6, and triple bogey'd the hole with my first "snowman" in a while.
That hole set the tone for the remainder of the back nine. My drives were horrible, and I scrambled.
I finished the 9 holes with a 48, and a 91 overall.

Not bad, considering that I had 37 putts.

The good thing about playing a round with friends, is that it doesn't matter how good or bad you play.  It's about the enjoyment of the company.
The only downside is the distance.

The good news was that the drive home took 40 minutes (after a break for dinner).

And, Monday would be another round - with Vak!

Until then,

Keep it in the Short Hairs