Got to the links again this week. My friend and I had been promising a friends grandson since last year we would take him with us sometime. We went to a new course I had never heard of before. But must say it is in better shape than our home course. Yes my friend beat me again. (But, remember he is about 7 years younger, recently retired, just this year. So is in better shape. He also plays twice a week, compared to my one time when he has the time). He beat me by 7 strokes. But I got him on net score. My handicap is pretty high SO I have the advantage there. Good old handicap.
I am still somewhat erratic on my drives. But as when I played all the time my SHORT GAME, is my achilles heel. At least before I quit playing in 1988 my drives would usually give me an advantage by not having such long shots to be on the green. Now I don’t have that advantage. I really need to hit the practice green, the chipping green and driving range more.
We had a really beautiful day to play. We played 18 holes that day. The only holes I didn’t break a tee were the par 3’s, (which I can always find a broken tee to shoot from. don’t laugh that little broken tee helps. Not much more than a 1/4 inch up. But it helps.
I read that a round in the 120’s is a respectable score for anybody regardless of age. In fact that is where the majority of amateur golfers fall. The par for this course, is 72 with a slope rating of 122. Many big unprocessed tees out there. Water hazards on over half the holes. Even though we could use the senior tees, we don’t. We play on the second set of tees. Not the pro tees, the next ones up.
The friends grandson did pretty good had his good holes and bad holes. Hit one way off the fairway and entered a farmer’s barn. But we had fun with him. We told him he could lay out of the barn and back onto the course with no penalty. After all there should not be a barn with an open door on the course. We looked in the rule book and there was no rule about barns with open doors, (had it been a regular player we would have enforced the out of bounds rule). He gave the excuse that the barn door was painted white like a hole, He just thought it was an extremely large hole.
I wouldn’t mind playing there again, if it wasn’t so far out of the way. We originally planned to take him to a course that was only a few miles down the road where he lives. But when we got there we found it was closed, another victim of the diminishing golfing public. We played there last year. But like many small privately owned courses could not generate enough revenue to do the upkeep. One of the few around that still had sand traps. Great Hamburgers too. I was trying to figure how many courses near me have closed in the last 3-4 years. Ones that were premiere courses but fell victim to the economy. I counted at least 4 that were in a 20 mile radius of me.
Now down to the dirty facts. I had at least 4 penalty strokes. And shot a 116 which translates to a net 65. Told you I like my net scores best.
Final word. I never give nor expect a give me on any hole. I saw a scratch golfer miss a 6 inch putt. (can you say OVER CONFIDENT).
I think next week my sons and I are going to tackle my old home course, which was designed to someday host a PGA tour event. Never happened. But has always been well maintained , Sand traps, Lots of woods, and water and a par 4 that is 1 yard short of being a par 5. Love this course. although I am told they flipped the front to the back nine and the back to the front. Still looking forward to it. I did play a scramble there about 16 years ago. My team won. I was a guest and it cost me nothing to play. As it was a Companies annual event, As a courtesy I was asked to play. (No prizes were given except for long drive and closest to the pin. I did find out that I had the longest drive. But disqualified myself because one of the Companies workers was about a yard behind me and in the fairway, I was in the rough.
Until next time keep playing the COURSE and try to beat it not the other competitors. (More Fun), and easier to beat. Or so I have been told.