{ personal }

First Round at the "TPC" Harding Park

Bit of an annoying round at the brand new "TPC" Harding Park.  Took forever to checkin because the pro-shop guy had to handle last minute checkins.  It's like those guys who are late for their flights so TSA brings them to the front of the line, delaying everybody else. 

First hole I knew we were in for a long day.  Stuck behind 4 old Asian men.  I can say this because I'm Asian: in general, Asians, especially 50+, are slow as hell.  Maybe in Korean/Japan 6 hour rounds are the norm so they think they're not slow? 

These guys all hit their drives 100 yards.  So they're a 280 yards out but wait for the group in front to clear the green!  There is no chance in hell they are going to hit their 3-wood 280 yards.  Just lay up and move it along. Got to give the starter credit.  He was on them and radioed the marshal to keep tabs on them.

I was actually playing pretty well until the 6th when we got into a verbal altercation with them.  Flustered me a little, missed my first fairway of the day and made a double.  Back nine I was playing pretty well until I got rattled on the 14th walking off the green.  This lead to my first triple of the day on the 15th.  All and all, a rather disappointing round.  A couple of mental mistakes/distractions cost me a potential good round.

I will say this, the conditions were great.  The greens were in awesome shape.  Harding Park today was a $200 course.  Luckily for us it was $62.

2010 Golf Season Report Card

Looks like the rainy season is here, which means golf every weekend is in jeopardy.  So I'll take a moment to grade my 2010 season.  From tee to green,

Driving A-

On a good driving day I'll miss 2 fairways.  Not a "long" hitter but enough distance that I can play most courses comfortably. On an off day I'm still able to keep the ball in play, not get myself in too much trouble with the driver.  Gone are the days of whiffs, 50 yard pop flies, OB slices.  While good driving doesn't guarantee good scores it does make the game so much more enjoyable.

Fairway Woods and Long Irons/Hybrids C+

If I can commit to making a full, good shoulder turn I'm pretty happy with my fairway woods and long irons/hybrids.  But I'm still pretty inconsistent with these clubs.

Medium Irons B

5, 6 and 7 irons I'm pretty happy with.  My biggest problem with these clubs is I try to "muscle up" to get a few extra yards instead of just clubbing up and making a smooth swing.

Short Irons and Wedges B+

8 iron down to my lob wedge I'm very happy with.  The main problem I have with these clubs is distance control.  Sometimes I'll fly the green 5 yards with these short clubs.  Straight, right on line, just too long.  Not sure if I'm de-lofting them too much or if my impact is too consistent.

Pitching and Chipping B

Having played with some pretty good golfers, I see the main difference between their pitching/chipping and my pitching/chipping is about 5-10 feet.  They'd pitch/chip to 10 feet, I'd pitch/chip to 20 feet.  They get it to 5 feet, I get it to 10 feet.  Difference between 1-putting and 2-putting, 2-putting and 3-putting.

Bunker Play B+

I used to joke that the bunker shot is the easiest shot in golf, it's the only one where you don't have to hit the ball.  It's no longer a joke.  I really do think the bunker shot might be the easiest shot in golf.  Sometimes when my approach shot misses I'm hoping it goes in the bunker.  As long as it's not plugged or against an extreme lip I'm pretty confident I can get it out close enough for a decent look at a 1-putt.

Putting C

This is probably the worst part of my game right now but I think I've cracked the secret.  A very, very, very loose grip and a shorter follow through.  Grip is everything in golf as in putting.  My grip is so loose with the putter it almost feels like it's going to fall off. 

The other key change is my follow through.  The textbook putting technique says to have a good follow through (1/4 back, 3/4 forward).  But I've been watching some old school golfers and they have very short follow throughs.  Gary Player, on one of those "playing lessons," says he wants to keep his follow through very short, a few inches.  I've been experimented with this and it seems to let me control both distance and line much better.

Mental C+

Still let too many external things affect my play. 

Awful Shots Avoidance B

An "awful" shot is one that costs you (on average) 1-stroke.  For example, penalty for going into the hazard; a 50 yard 6-iron that's suppose to go 150 yards; a chip that goes 5 feet; failure to get out of the bunker in 1.

Overall B

Overall 2010 has been a good season.  Beginning of the year, before a round at a new course, my mental state would be,

Hope I don't lose 10 balls today.  Hope I don't have a horrible day.  Hope I don't look like an idiot on the tee in front of these strangers. 

Very negative thoughts/energy.  I'd still enjoy the round, the beautiful course, etc., but it was a very "play to not lose mentality."  These days, before a round, I'm thinking,

Stay loose.  This is a challenging course, should be able to par holes 2,4,5,12,14,17.  14 might be short enough for a try at eagle.  Play smart and should be able to break 90.  If I do miss the green I hope I land in the bunker-it's really fun playing out of the bunkers.  Stay loose. 

Play to win.  Each round, even when I'm not scoring well, I feel like I'm making progress in one area of my area or another.  It's incredibly satisfying seeing/feeling like you're making progress. 

Can Already Taste Thai Osha

My big decision this week, whether to combine my 2 free Thai Osha lunches into one big feast.  Maybe some spring rolls to start then volcanic beef for the main course.  Wash it down with a cold Thai iced tea.  Tasty.  Forgive me if I'm gloating a little, but after my 0-2 record at Harding Park against my playing partner it feels good to finally win one.  And it was a good win, broke 90.  Switching to stroke play definitely worked to my advantage.  Minimized mistakes, grinded out a shit load of bogeys, sneaking in a few pars for a final 88.  Gave 2 strokes away, so was looking at a realistic 86, but I'll take an 88.

Went all out to prepare for today's round.  After the Oregon-Stanford game I took a Tylenol PM help me sleep.  Was knocked out by 10 PM.  Woke around 5 AM.  Wanted to give my body time to acclimate to the early tee time (8:16 AM).  Caught a bit of the Ryder Cup while I made last minute mental preparations.

So I'm feeling pretty relaxed driving to Daly City, enjoying a good cup of coffee, until suddenly it starts raining around the Mission exit.  WTF, are you serious, rain?  This is why I hate Daly City.  Not in a good mood.  I'm wearing shorts and a cotton sweater.  Didn't bring my rain gloves, umbrella, bag rain hood. Luckily it stopped raining before we started.

At first I was a little worried that the conditions would put me at a disadvantage.  Wet fairways, I'm not going to get much roll.  I'm going to be at least 10-20 yards shorter.  And my playing partner is already 20-30 yards longer than me.  Going to be hitting at least a club or two longer coming in.  In hindsight, maybe it worked out to my advantage.  Softer, receptive greens to hold my approach shots and slower greens help my mediocre putting.

As Rickie Fowler would Tweet, go time!  First hole I found the bunker then made a bad out.  But luck was on my side as I chipped in from about 25 feet.  Par, zero putts.  2nd hole I made the 1st of 11 bogeys.   That's a lot of bogeys.  But I was OK with bogey.  Given the wet/damp conditions I had a feeling that whoever shots bogey is going to win.  Meanwhile my opponent is off to a bad start, +4 through 2 holes. 

As quickly as I was up 3 strokes I gave 2 back on the 3rd.  Par 3, I hit a poor 6 iron.  Left with a pretty routine 60 yard pitch.  Only problem was there's two intimidating bunkers protecting the front pin location.  So I played safe, made sure my pitch was long.  Better a 30 feet putt for par then trying to get out of a deep bunker.  Horrible putting left me with a 26 inch putt for double.  4 inches outside our agreed upon gimme zone.  Missed my 26" putt for a triple.  Opponent carded a bogey.

So after 3 holes I was +4 and my opponent was +5.  Then I went on a 5 hole bogey streak.  My ball striking wasn't very good today so I was scrambling to get up-and-down on every hole.  Just couldn't get a single putt to drop.  8th hole I finally hit a green but 3 putted for another bogey.  So through 8 holes:

E, +1, +3, +1, +1, +1, +1, +1: +9

I hate the 9th hole.  It's a short par 5, straight as an arrow, wide fairways, no trouble.  With my opponent's distance advantage I'm basically spotting him a stroke.  He can literally muff his 2nd shot 5 yards and still get on in 3.  Luckily he didn't take advantage this time.  I got on in 3 and 2 putted for par.  With that, the front nine:

E, +1, +3, +1, +1, +1, +1, +1, E: +9 (with 18 putts)

Exactly bogey golf.  My opponent is +12, also with 18 putts.  One Nassau in the bank.  3 strokes is a sizable lead but two weekends ago he shot a 39 on the back nine so I was fully expecting a charge.  Sure enough he goes par, par, par to start the back nine.

I went par, bogey, bogey.  Back-to-back 3 putts from inside 15 feet and I gave 2 strokes back.  I finally stopped the bleeding on the 13th after I drained a 12 footer.  So through 13 it was

E, +1, +1, E: + 2

Two more bogeys on 14 and 15.  I was giving myself a lot of par putts while scrambling but just couldn't get a putt to go in.  Through 15:

E, +1, +1, E:, +1, +1: +4

Was disappointed with the 2 3-putts earlier, but as long as I'm less than bogey golf I'm happy.  16th I had another up-and-down for par.

17th is a short little par 3.  I hit a perfect 9 iron but I think the wind pushed it right.  So I'm pin high with not a lot of green to work with.  Number 1 priority:  get it on the green to give yourself a putt for par.  Doesn't matter if it's a 3 feet putt or a 10 feet putt, get it on the green is always the number 1 priority.  Always. 

All day I've been chipping/pitching with my gap or sand wedge.  But I knew that I need to par the 17th for any chance at 39 so I got cute.  Took out the 60 degree lob wedge to try to get it close.  Wasn't trying to play a flop per se, but wanted a higher chip so it could land softer.  Huge mistake.  Chunked it 5 feet, still not on the green.  Ended up doubling the hole.  So with 1 hole left I was

E, +1, +1, E:, +1, +1, E, +2: +6

18 is damn hard hole.  I hit a pretty good drive but the wind again pushed it right so I was left with 210 to the center with lots of trouble left.  I normally would have laid up but my opponent said I couldn't get it on in 2, so I pulled out the 3 wood to prove him wrong.  He clarified that his comment wasn't directed toward me, but that thought stuck in my head, so I went with the 3-wood anyways.  Caught a bit of a break.  Hit a pretty bad low screamer but it somehow rolled onto the green.  First putt was horrible.  Second putt from 15 feet almost went in but too much pace so it bounced off the back of the cup.  Left with a tap in for yet another bogey. 

So here's the final scorecard. 

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out
Score	E	+1	+3	+1	+1	+1	+1	+1 (GIR)	E (GIR)	+9
Putts	0	1	4	2	2	2	2	3	2	18

Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In
Score	E	+1 (GIR)	+1 (GIR)	E	+1	+1	E	+2	+1 (GIR)	+7
Putts	1	3	3	1	2	2	1	2	3	18

  88 with 36 putts.  I really need my Bobby Grace AMG Triump putter to come ASAP.  That missed 26" putt on the 3rd, the back-to-back 3 putts on the 11th and 12th (both inside 15 feet)...that's 3 strokes right there.  Another 3 putt on the 18th.  Plus that huge mental mistake on 17th.  That's 5 strokes I could have realistically saved.

My opponent played better on the back, +9, for a total of 93.  Not his best day.  If we had stuck to the old par or better match play format we would have tied so I'm glad we switched to stroke play.

Definitely not a good ball striking day for me.  Only 5 GIRs.  The worst part, I only got 1 par from those 5 GIRs.  I averaged 2.8 putts per GIR today.  That's horrible.  Got to work on my lag putting.  

The first hole chip in was very lucky.  Would have gone 10-15 feet by the hole, and I would have started with a double.  Really changed the round for me.  But luck is part of the game.  Take your good breaks with your bad breaks.   Finally got a break at Harding. 

I swear, every round my opponent gets at least 1 or 2 pretty good breaks, typically a tree kicking his ball back into play.  So I don't feel too bad that I chipped in from 25 feet--was due for a good break.  But seriously, I think he must be doing some volunteer work with blind children on the side, because I've never seen trees give as much love to any golfer as they do to him. 

On the 13th he hits a big push and I'm thinking that thing is either gone or it'll be stuck behind a tree.  Next thing you know his ball kicks 30 feet back into the fairway as if somebody was standing in the trees and threw it back into play.  Time for me to do some volunteer work.

All and all, good round.  Pretty focused round.  Didn't have my usual Jack-n-Coke at the turn, needed to stay focus.  Maybe I'll get one at Thai Osha, they have a full bar.

New Low Round - 81 @ Metro

A round for the memory bank.  New low round today: 81 (41/40) @ Oakland Metropolitan.  When I went to post my score GHIN flagged it as unusual.  Love it.

In the zone, in the flow, whatever you want to call it, I was in it.  I had my first legit eagle putt on the 17th and almost broke 40 for the first time except a bad club selection on 18th cost me.  The best part of the round, my putting was just average.  19 putts on the back nine (didn't keep track on the front).  This means I have a lot of room for improvement and it wasn't one of those fluke rounds where I was making 30 foot putts.

The key: a tension-free swing.  If I can get my body in this tension-free state there is no doubt in my mind that I will break 80 before the end of the year.  I have to thank that big guy at the range for reminding me that tension is the ultimate swing killer.  As I'm warming up I can hear the guy next to me, a big dude, probably 6'2", 200 pounds, panting.  The guy is trying to kill the ball.  I'm thinking, dude, relax, just make a good swing, you don't need to try to kill the ball every time.  I took my own advice and had a great warm-up session.  Absolutely no tension in my body.

Go time.  It's a twosome, a single and me.  The single I can tell is a hardcore golfer.  He's got the laser rangefinder, the scorecard holder, NCGA bag tag, etc.  The other two guys I can't make out.  They're dressed like hackers but their clubs say single digit.  They're going to play from the blues (middle), the single from the whites (forward).   No wind (unusual for Metro), hot day, I kind of wanted to play from the blues but decided to join the single.  On some holes I felt a little guilty hitting short iron/wedge in but I'm glad I played from the whites because I got my first legit chance at eagle on the 17th, more on that later.

Things started out great.  Fairway, GIR, 2 putt for par.  2nd hole got even better.  Fairway, GIR, 1 putt birdie.  I was swinging so smoothly, with such great tempo.  Absolutely no tension.  3rd hole, par 5.  Perfect layup to about 80 yards.  Now, normally I try to hit a full sand wedge for 80 yards, but lately I've been trying to play more of a runner, so I went with a 3/4 gap wedge.  Unfortunately I caught it so clean and my 3/4 was more like 4/5 that it flew the green.  The one thing you did not want to be on this hole was long.  Salvaged a bogey.  So through 3 it was

E, -1, +1: E

4th hole my putter let me down, 3 putting for +2.  But I bounced back with GIR par on the par 3 5th.  Another par on the par 5 6th.  The first bad hole was the 7th.  I blame it on the cart girl.  I order a Jack-n-Coke.  For some reason I assumed it'd be about $6 but it was $9.  I had $8 in cash, no credit cards accepted.  So I'm feeling like an idiot ordering a drink I can't pay for.  But she was cool and told me I could pay at turn in the club house.  So I ended up rushing through the entire hole, losing focus and carded a double after 3 putting from 10 feet.  So, through 7:

E, -1, +1, E, +2 (3), E, E, +2 (3): +4

8th hole I hook my drive and had no angle to the pin.  Bogey.  9th hole I hit a perfect drive then a perfect 7 iron to 10 feet.  Missed the birdie but a par ain't bad for the number 1 handicap hole.  Front nine:

E, -1, +1, E, +2 (3), E, E, +2 (3), +1, E: +5

41, not bad. 

Normally the back nine at Metro is tougher than the front because the wind really picks up.  But today was perfect for scoring.  Absolutely no wind, hot weather (ball goes farther) and soft, receptive greens.

I couldn't have played the 10th any better and was robbed of a birdie by an inch.  11th I got up and down for my 3rd straight par.  13th I three putted for bogey.  So through 12:

E, E, +1 (3): +1

I par the 13th then it was on to my favorite hole, the 14th.  Caught a bad break with the drive so I was left with this awkward 185 shot over a ravine.  Absolutely could not afford to be short. I thought about laying up, but I was hitting it so well that it made no sense to layup.  I missed left.  No easy up and down, but I 3 jacked for a double.  So through 14:

E, E, +1 (3), E, +2: +3

If I'm scoring well around the 14th/15th hole I kind of want to get it over so I don't have a blow up hole and give it all back.  But today I was so tension-free and so confident of my game I wished there was another 10 holes.  That's a great sign for me.

I par the 15th after making a clutch 5 feet putt.  Bogey the 16th after a bad pitch.  Entering the last two holes I was +4.  Would need a birdie...or maybe an eagle.

E, E, +1 (3), E, +2, E, +1: +4

The 17th is a pretty easy par 5 as long as you can find the fairway off the tee.  After that it's just a med iron, wedge.  I absolutely crushed my driver.  Was left with about 230 to the pin.  The smart play was to layup, but it's not often that I get a 230 look at eagle with a perfect lie.  Hit the perfect 3-wood "off the deck."  Needed to carry about 185 over the the pond, probably carried 195, took two good hops and rolled onto the green.  About a 20 footer for eagle.  My first legit eagle putt.  Wasn't going to leave it short.  Rammed it pass 3.5 feet.  Made the tricky 3.5 footer for birdie, though  OK, 39 here I come.

E, E, +1 (3), E, +2, E, +1, -1: +3

18th I normally get in trouble off the tee because the prevailing wind tends to take my ball into the right side fairway bunker.  But just a slight wind today, so I hit a perfect drive.  122 was the number in.  Pitching wedge, no problem.  But then I second guessed myself and thought maybe smooth, choke down 9 iron instead.  Hit the 9-iron pretty much exactly how I wanted, slightly left of the pin, hoping the slight breeze would take it right.  But the breeze didn't and it also went about 3 yards more than I wanted so I was left with a tricky up and down.  Missed the 8 foot par putt and had to settle with a bogey to end the back nine.

E, E, +1 (3), E, +2, E, +1, -1, +1: +4

39 will have to wait.  Still, an incredibly satisfying round.  No lost balls, no penalty strokes, no muffed shots.  There was literally no shot that I was really upset with.  The two 3-putts on the back nine was disappointing.  But like I said earlier, I'm actually pretty *happy* that I shot a 40 with 19 putts.  Lots of room for improvement.  If I had shot a 40 with 12, 13, or 14 putts, that would have been a fluke.  Tour players average 14 putts, no way I can 14 putt consistently.

My previous low round was an 82.  The huge difference between that 82 and this 81 is I feel this 81 is repeatable.  That 82 came out of nowhere.  But this 81 I feel like I can go out tomorrow and shot another 81. I actually understand my swing enough now that I can repeat it.  Before it was just hope and pray. 

Now all I need is for my handicap to travel over to Harding Park.  

Oh, the single broke 80 for the first time with a 78.  Back nine he was on fire, shot even par.  The other two guys were not hackers.  One guy was able to hit his 3 wood probably 240 straight as an arrow.  They weren't really playing for score and were semi-drunk by the 16th hole.  But they were pretty good, probably low singles at their peak. 

I think it definitely helps playing with better plays.  Their good play kind of forces you to "step up" your game.  Also, seeing how smooth and balanced their swings are, you naturally also swing smoothly and balanced.  The absolute worst is playing with guys who want to hit 300 yard drives every hole when they average 220.  They try to kill the ball on every shot.  It's an ugly sight and really throws me off.  I think if I played with Ernie Els I'd probably just skip 70s and shot a 68.

Not Taking Relief and My No Fear Chipping Philosophy

So it's Monday morning, we're shooting the shit about Sunday's round, and my boss says he thinks one of the turning points was when I decided to not take relief from the sprinkler heads, turning a relatively straightforward 2-putt par into a bad chip, 2-putt bogey.  It was a complicated decision, one that combined the intricate rules of golf with some a "no fear" approach to golf.

I hit a pretty good shot that leaks right and rolls off the green into the fringe.  The lie is great, in some extremely short grass.  This green happens to be pretty flat and not very tricky, so it should have been a pretty standard 2-putt from about 20 feet.  There was one problem, though.  My ball was surrounded by two or three sprinkler heads.  Now the fun process of assessing the situation starts...

If I want to putt it (the smart play is always to putt when you can) I would not get relief because my ball was not on the green.  It didn't matter that I would be rolling my ball over the sprinkler head, since I wasn't on the green I cannot get relief.  But, I do get relief because the sprinkler heads interferes with my shot (my stance and the fact that I'd be chipping into the sprinkler head itself). 

Now the question is, should I take relief?  I decided not to.  My nearest point of relief, no closer to the hole, would be in some thick stuff on an uphill lie.  The uphill lie didn't bother me as much as the tall grass.  One thing I could not do is drop it then replace it so the ball was sitting up.  I could only place the ball if after dropping it rolls 2 club-lengths from the drop spot.  In this thick stuff it wasn't going to roll anywhere.

That's why I decided not to take relief.  Ended up trying to chip it.  Horrible chip.  My short game sucked Sunday so I won't say the sprinkler head was the reason, but it probably didn't help.  There you have it, the rules of golf claims another victim.

Now, my boss is not as anal as I am about USGA rules.  The real question was why I decided not to putt when I was just barely off the green.  I actually get asked this question quite a bit by playing partners because I chip almost everything that's not on the green.  It literally could be 4 inches off on the collar and I'll still chip instead of putt.

I'm not delusional, putting is almost always better than chipping when you're a few inches/feet off the green and it's just short grass.  But I read this article once that says you should never be afraid of any club in your bag.  There will obviously be clubs you are more comfortable with, but you should never be scared of a club. 

So in these situations I force myself to chip.  I can't be afraid of chipping, I tell myself.  I'm going to chip these type of shots until I'm completely comfortable, I tell myself.  Then, and only then, will I start putting.  So, the day you start seeing me putt from off the fringe is the day you know I'm completely confident with my chipping.  It might be a while...

Managing Expectations

I think I need to re-read Dr. Rotella's chapter on expectations.  Today's back 9 clearly shows that I'm having major problems managing expectations.  So I get to the 16th hole, a par 5 that normally plays really long because of the wind but today there was barely a breeze.  I take a peak at the scorecard, big mistake.  Holy shit, +2 through 6 on a relatively challenging course.  I have a real shot at breaking 40.  Last time I finished bogey, par, par...like my chances.  And now that I'm really confident with the 3-wood off the deck the par 5 should be a piece of cake.  Probably one of my best 9s ever, scoring well w/o any crazy 25 feet birdies.

Naturally I pull hook my 3-wood OB on a fairway that's easily 100 yards wide.  Think I ended up with a +5 (I stopped after ESC +3).  The realization of reaching a milestone got the worst of me.  I've been pretty good at playing one shot at a time, one hole at a time, but at some point the realization that this could be the day I break 40 (or whatever other goal I have) hits me and it's tough to play one shot at a time.

This is why Charlie Wi and Dustin Johnson don't perform well.  They're very strong rounds 1-3, then the realization that they could win, the expectation to perform, gets them.  And this is why it's so tough for professional golfers to win in front (except for Tiger Woods, who loves to run away with the victory).  I don't have any stats in hand, but I would be willing to bet that most victories on Tour are come from behind because the expectation is too much for most golfers to sleep on Saturday night.  

Feel the Putt

Think I've figured out my putting.  I need to putt like I swing.  I need to putt by feel and not be so mechanical.  My swing is very home grown and I basically ignore all the proper mechanics.  It ain't pretty but it feels right and it works (most of the time).  For putting I have a tendency to be a more mechanical, worrying about taking it back 25%, following through 75%, making sure everything is aligned, etc.

Today I said fuck it, don't worry about the aim line, stop worrying about how far back and through--just putt, just make a good stroke.  I almost birdied the 2nd and 3rd hole from 15-20 feet.  On the back nine I was +2 through 6 thanks to some more good putting.  Thought I was going to break 40 for the first time on a 9 but I tripled the 16th.  Expectations, it's a real killer.

Think I tweaked my right shoulder though.  Not sure if it's from work, sleeping wrong or golf, but it feels very tight.

 

Had To Call My Buddy Out - Losing It Part 2

Think I need to give Dr. Rotella a call to work on my mental game.  I "lost it" again today.  Played a round with my buddies at Crystal Springs early today.  This would be my third round in as many days. 

Things started out shitty, 2 3-putts in the first 4 holes.  3-putting is for definitely the main reason I'm not consistently shooting 85-88.  But then I settled down to make par on the 5th and 7th.  8th hole we played closet to pin and I hit very good 5-hybrid to about 15 feet.  Not only did I win a Jack-and-Coke I have a good chance to get 1 back.  But then I 3-putted again.  Third 3-putt on the front 9.  Still, I wasn't *too* upset; front 9 is salvageable and maybe I'll get hot on the back 9 with the putter. 

Then I lost it on the 9th hole. 

9th hole I hit a decent drive but was left with a hook lie for the approach in.  Sure enough my approach shot goes left, probably lost/OB.  OK, let's keep calm, hit a good provisional in case the 1st ball is gone--double at worst.  No triple.  No quad.  So I say to my buddies, "I'm going to hit a provisional."  Apparently they didn't hear it because as I'm hitting two of them are fucking around hitting these range balls that had found their way into the 9th's fairway.

I hit a terrible shot, goes half the distance I wanted to.  So I say, "dude, what the hell are you guys doing?!?"  Now I'm annoyed, frustrated, worked up.  I shank my next shot and ended up with a +4 ESC adjusted.

I lost it mentally then.  I went from birdie to bogey on the 8th and now disaster on the 9th.  In hindsight, I obviously overreacted but when you're out there in the 100 degree trying to salvage a bad hole and people are fucking around as you're hitting your provisional it's tough to keep the emotion level down.  A single +4 effectively ruins any chance at a decent score.

On the 10th I was still fuming and hit 2 tee balls 30 yards into the crap.  Another +4 ESC adjusted.  Another +4 on the 12th hole.

13th hole I reached my boiling point.  I hit a horrible 6-iron on a pretty easy 150 yard par-3 (16 handicap) after a long wait.  Buddy hits an even worse shot into this crap on the right side.  He makes a great shot out of the crap to give himself a 7 footer for par.  But I clearly saw that he foot wedged it.  He moved his ball out of a crappy lie before he made his great recovery shot.  WTF, you can't move your ball like that.  This was so blatant.  Incidentally, here's a funny Phil Mickelson foot wedge commercial: Barclays Commercial.

I mean if you hit a perfect drive down the middle and it ends up in a fairway divot, OK, I can live with you improving your lie because you caught a bad break after a good shot.  But when you slice one into the crap you can't be improving your lie to give yourself an easy (easier) recovery shot. 

So I had to call him out on it, saying that no "fucking" way that was a par.  He can take an unplayable lie and it'd be a *great* bogey, but definitely not a par.  If we're going to keep score for comparison purposes then we have to play by the same rules, especially rules that have such huge effects on scoring.

As for me, another +4.  That's right, 4 +4 in a 5 hole stretch.  Awesome. 

It was tough playing the rest of the holes out.  But I did manage to calm myself down enough to finish pretty strong.  Almost went on a 4 hole par streak except I 3 putted the 16th. 

14: +1 (2 putt)
15: E (2 putt)
16: +1 (3 putt)
17: E (2 putt)
18: E (2 putt)

Ended up shooting a +14/+15 for a 101.  Not including those 4 disaster holes I had 4 3-putts.  I'm going to seriously break my putter soon.  That's 4 strokes I'm just throwing away.

The best part of today's round was my 3-wood "off the deck."   I normally only hit the 3-wood when it's on a tee.  But yesterday, before my round at Harding, I told myself, "WTF, why aren't you hitting your 3-wood from the fairway?  Sure, it's a little longer than your 3-hybrid, but the head is so large and forgiving.  It should be *easier* to hit the 3-wood than the 3-hybrid."

With that mentality I was hitting the 3-wood from fairway lies great.  And it wasn't a fluke because I was hitting the 3-wood great again today.  Makes par-5s so much easier.  Driver, 3-wood, lob wedge.

A Round with Kim Jong-il

I finally "lost it" during a round.  My last two outings at Harding Park have been a bit disappointing.  I felt like I played pretty solid but couldn't score because of 2-3 disaster holes.  Figuring third time's the charm,  I was back for one more discounted round before my residency card expires next week. 

I got paired with this older Korean man for an 10:06am start.  3-putted the 1st hole for bogey then got a little sloppy on the 2nd and 3rd with doubles.  But then I settled down and went par, par, bogey (3 putted), birdie.  OK, +5 thru 7, feeling good about today's round.  Maybe I can finally get the better of Harding Park, which for me is breaking 90. 

The Korean guy is playing bogey and half golf: bogey, bogey, double, double, bogey...He's cordial and we make small talk here and there.  I could already tell that he's one of those guys who likes to give unsolicited playing tips because he kept making these little remarks after I miss a putt.  But so far nothing too annoying.

The 8th hole has given me a lot of trouble the last two times and sure enough I carded a +4 after I pulled my 4-hybrid straight into this huge Cypress tree.  My recovery chip sucked big time because I was still thinking about how bad I pulled my hybrid.  So he starts telling me how I need to keep my head down for my chips, how all his good friends keep their head down when they chip.  I was still fuming from the +4 so I just ignore him and tried to finish the front 9 strong.

+1, +2, +2, E, E, 1, -1, +4, +1

When I started the back 9 I was feeling really good about my game.  Sure, there was the 8th hole blow up, but otherwise I felt very much in control of my game, playing these little controlled fades.  Wasn't pretty, but it got the job done.

So I went par, bogey, par, par to start the back 9.  Even though I was playing really well the Korean guy keep making these little comments and giving me these little tips about my putting and my chipping.  WTF.  But I was able to ignore him because I was playing well.  When you're playing well it's easy to ignore annoying people.

Then on the 14th hole I lost it.  I made a bad pitch out of some thick rough into a bunker.  So I'm trying to re-focus, prepare for the next shot.  I wasn't too worried because my bunker playing has been great the last two rounds at Harding.  Double at worst.  But as I'm going into the bunker to get a look at my lie he tells me I'm moving my legs too much, I need to keep my legs still for my chips. 

I fucking lost it.  Told him to shut up.  WTF is he doing telling me to keep my head down and not move my legs when I'm trying to play.  Fuck, at least wait until after the hole to make a comment, not right after I hit a bad shot, not right before I'm trying to make my next shot.  Told him how for the last few holes he keeps giving me all this unsolicited tips and it's really annoying, that unless he's Tiger Woods don't be giving me tips while I'm playing.

So he says sorry, that he used to play with a pro who would give him advice during a round, blah blah.  Fuck, this ain't playing lessons with the pros, and you ain't no pro.  I don't know you, you're not a good golfer, why are you giving me tips?!?!

I did manage to calm down to finish decent, +8 for a 90 (ESC adjusted after the 14th hole disaster).  I can't and won't blame him for not breaking 90 but it really ruined my round having this guy tell me to keep my legs still right before I'm trying to recover from a bad shot.

Seriously, what compels a person to give golf tips to golfers they don't know?  Mind you, he was not a good golfer.  He wanted me to keep score for him (because my push cart  has a score holder) so I knew exactly what he was shooting. +13 on the front 9, not a single par.  Back 9 he got 1 par for a 98 total.  

If he was really good--shooting in the low 70s--I can swallow him giving me some tips here and there.  Or if he just wants to chat about swing techniques that fine too.  But after I hit a bad shot and I'm trying to prepare for my next one, fucking do not tell me how I need to keep my head down or my legs still.

Harding Park Golf Course, Revisited

The last time I played Harding Park Golf Course was the weekend before the 2009 President's Cup.  The weather was shit: wet, misty, foggy, muddy.  The grandstands and other tournament construction were eye sores.  So I left Harding Park thinking it was soooo overrated, especially since I'm not a fan of tree lined courses to begin with.  The best muni course in America (Stewart Cink tweeted), seriously?  I ranked it 31st in my list of courses played.

Well, I've had a change of heart after today's round with some coworkers at Harding.  Harding Park jumps from 31st to 12th.  If I had scored better it might have cracked the top 10.   The weather was great.  Overcast to start with, but not too cold or wet or foggy.  Then the sun came through for perfect golf weather.  The course just looked amazing.  The same Monterey Cypress Pine trees I bitched about when I played Olympic Club's Lake Course looked great, framing each hole so nicely.  Conditions were great.  Apparently they fired the ground crew after the President's Cup disaster.  The new crew has done a great job in getting it ready for the Charles Schwab Cup.  Kudos.

The other thing I liked about the course was there's a marshal riding around telling groups to pickup the pace.  A lot of courses are too afraid to tell slow golfers to hurry the fuck up, probably fearing lost of business.  It's hard to tell guys in your group that they're slow, so it's easier when a marshal comes by and uses his authority. 

I was pretty happy with my game, just couldn't score.  We started on the 10th, a par-5.  GIR, 2-putted for par.  Then it was a grind.  5 straight bogeys.  I was having the same issue I had yesterday, couldn't hit my 4-hybrid.  3-hybrid, 5-hyrbid no problem, but the 4 gave me all kinds of problem.  And as luck would have it, this stretch of holes I was using the 4-hybrid a lot.  And the greens were deceptively firm.  I couldn't get a lot of my irons to hold.  And when I tried to club down to play more of a release type of shot I got too tentative.  Putting was decent, no 3-putts.  So it was

E, +1, +1, +1, +1, +1

Then the 16th-18th got me.  I should have just punched out and walk away with another bogey on the 16th.  But I was so sick of bogeying the last 5 holes I decided to go for the career shot, trying to squeeze a pitching wedge through a 15 feet gap in the trees.  Double.  Absolutely no course management/strategy. 

The 17th is a great little par-3.  I suggested we play closest to the pin for drinks at the turn.  Not sure if it was that pressure or I was still upset from the 16th, but I ended up chunking a 7-iron 50 yards.  Then somehow my sand wedge came up short to find the bunker.  I did have a nice out of the bunker, but then 3-putted for triple.  Ouch.

The 18th, what a great finishing hole.  I hit a great drive, then played my approach shot safely to the right.  A  mediorce chip should have carded me another bogey.  But I 3-jacked for a double.  Ouch.  Back-to-back 3-putts.  So after +5 thru 6 holes I go +7 thru the 3,

+2, +3, +2

Back nine (holes 1-9) was pretty lackluster.  No triples, but 2 more 3-putts for a couple of doubles.  Caught a couple of bad breaks, like a 5 footer lipping out.  47 in.  I think fatigue also started setting in because we were hurrying to catchup to the group in front after we fell behind. 

I'm not sure if Harding's greens are normally this firm, but next time I play I'll have to use more of a bump and run than high pitches.  Was a little frustrating thinking you hit a really good shot to only see it roll off the green.

But overall, pretty happy with today's 95.  I hit the shots I wanted for the most part, just couldn't score.  That round changing putt to save par didn't fall; instead of kicking right onto the green it kicks left into the bunker.  What can you do...

Speaking of bunkers, I think I've figured out how to play out of the bunkers.  I was in the bunkers 3 times today.  One great out that almost went in.  The other two were also pretty damn good for the lie that I had.  The key is a lot of weight shift.  I need to keep my weight moving left a lot.  This is true of all shots but especially out of the sand.  It's almost a swaying motion.  I think this works because with bunker shots it's all about rhythm.  You just need to make a good, rhythmic thump into the sand.

With this weekend's scores looks like the index will jump to around a 16-17.  Hopefully September will produce some better scores.