well we have another event behind us, thank goodness. this was certainly a fun round, with some really regular guys! the more i play golf with groups the more i appreciate the game and friends. most of you know it was a tad bit cool yesterday morning, my mercury was right at 27 when i left the house. we already knew there was going to be a frost delay, so meeting at the farmers market restaurant was more of a leisurely breakfast than a bite to eat before the round. i had never eaten there before and was quite surprised at the size of the place as well as how busy they were. the staff was absolutely regular! great service, lots of smiles and the awesome food didn't hurt much either. during breakfast i think we solved the gun control problem along with many of the other pressing issues our country faces. we have a new regular guy who was introduced to us by the lawnmower guy, i did not get to play in his group, but look forward to the next time he gets to play...he will be know as the colonel. i do know that the colonel managed to pull in a closest to the hole, which is a great thing on your first event! meaning of course, there is now a target on his back.
the regular folks at lonnie poole had the frost delay under control; they shot gunned everyone and got us out as soon as it was safe to walk on the greens! a great group of professional guys working in the pro shop, hats off!
both of our groups started on #11 and the game was teams, front - back - overall and closest to the hole on all 5 par 3's... the closest to pins went to the colonel, the marine, the air force guy, the insurance guy and myself...we all rock! the teams were once again very fair and it was extremely close. the lawnmower guy's group managed to edge the concrete guy's group out by one hole, winning one side and the overall. the course was in great shape and the greens were rolling good, but extremely difficult to read, or at least everyone in my group had challenges. there were several 3 putts and even a few 4 putts...no names will be given...other than i think i four putted at least one.
when you play lonnie poole, you really don't even realize that you are in the middle of raleigh, except for the fact that you can see the skyline from several holes. it is a very long course and would probably be a great venue for a professional tournament. i do remember seeing 3 baby fawns on one of the holes and could hear the resident hawks screaming at us several times. i think the only way it would have been better is if the pirate would have brought some beer!
i think the group is on the grow and looking forward to our next event, which will be at chapel ridge on february 9, if you are interested, shoot me an email and i will make sure you get in on all the fun. i have played chapel ridge a couple of times in golfweek amateur tournaments and always had a good time; they boast to have the best greens in the area.
until next time, don't forget to golf your balls!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
olde liberty
well it's a rainy day here in the downeast portion of nc, so thought i would let you guys know about the round from yesterday. this was one of those hey it's going to be a nice day lets play rounds.
the marine sent me his weekend schedule and listed a few options of when he could play, thank goodness we went with yesterday, otherwise we would have ended up sitting in a clubhouse somewhere drinking cold ones...which may have been a better scenario than yesterday.
after we decided on yesterday i sent the cow farmer a text to see if he could play and since he is membered up with the fred smith courses we chose olde liberty. after some back and forth got a 0920 tee time. i totally forgot that i would be up the night before late working with my west coast clients, so not much sleep for me; while working i get a text from the cow farmer...he is sick...not his normal mental sickness, a real physical sickness. he was hoping to be better the next day but i had some concerns. unfortunately he was unable to attend this round, due to not being able to be more than about 25 - 30 feet away from a bathroom...gross details will be withheld due to some of you probably have weak stomachs and might not find it as funny as i do.
so we arrive at olde liberty, this being my first round there, found it to be like numerous courses in eastern nc. built with great plans of having a golfing community, large houses and all the amenities...but seems like the course got built and then the housing market collapsed. i can think of few others that are in the exact same situation: formerly known as fords colony...golf club of rocky mount, formerly know as innsbrook...scotch hall preserve and one of every one's favorites cutter creek.
the marine was on the practice tee whacking away at range balls when i pulled up, he told me the clubhouse had informed him that we could go when ready...i think there were 5 cars in the lot. so i hit a small $5 bag of balls and off to #1...the marine mentioned that the group of 6 gentlemen who were heading for the #1 tee box as i went into the clubhouse to get checked in were not going to let us play through and would be slow...or at least that is what the pro told him.
we pull up to the #1 tee box and 4 of the six are about 180 yards from the tee and the remaining two have not even teed off yet? seriously that was like 25 minutes from when they got to the box? after another 10 minutes of waiting we went back to the house to get permission to start on #10...permission granted...off we go again.
those of you who are familiar with this course and know its history...closed, reopened and all that mess, heard bad things, heard good things...well the layout is awesome, it is l...o...n...g! some really nice scenic holes, just enough sand to make you cuss and a little less water, did notice one interesting thing...since i did spend quite a bit of time "at the beach" there was at least 3 different types of sand? first one i was in was a red coarse sand...and plenty of it in the bunker, the second one was a white sugar like sand...like you find in florida and yet another had some nasty brown sand and was a bit scarce, nevertheless it was interesting. the marine found the bunker on the first hole (#10) and found it again and yet another time and one more time for good luck...all in the same bunker. i think he said he got a 14 on that hole, but we only play trip max, so not too bad.
fairways were in pretty good shape for this time of year, the rough was iffy. in some places the rough was just thick bermuda (dormant) and in others it was wet red clay, the later was horrible to play from.
greens were in very nice shape, again for this time of the year, apparently they had spray painted them? not sure but nice and green. the ball rolled well, no hopping or bouncing and they were not too fast and not too slow.
overall a great time on a nice course, i will certainly go back, especially since the cow farmer handled the greens fees! he is such a good guy...nothing better than free golf!
just one word of caution if you do decide to go play olde liberty, there is a square parking area behind the clubhouse (single wide trailer), well it is not a parking area, the marine got chewed out by the super for parking his cart there...apparently that is their grand ball room, you know the area for events and wine tastings...not very regular.
don't forget to check out the upcoming events, next scheduled event is at lonnie poole, but there is now an events calendar on the right side of the blog. until next time, don't forget to golf your balls!
the marine sent me his weekend schedule and listed a few options of when he could play, thank goodness we went with yesterday, otherwise we would have ended up sitting in a clubhouse somewhere drinking cold ones...which may have been a better scenario than yesterday.
after we decided on yesterday i sent the cow farmer a text to see if he could play and since he is membered up with the fred smith courses we chose olde liberty. after some back and forth got a 0920 tee time. i totally forgot that i would be up the night before late working with my west coast clients, so not much sleep for me; while working i get a text from the cow farmer...he is sick...not his normal mental sickness, a real physical sickness. he was hoping to be better the next day but i had some concerns. unfortunately he was unable to attend this round, due to not being able to be more than about 25 - 30 feet away from a bathroom...gross details will be withheld due to some of you probably have weak stomachs and might not find it as funny as i do.
so we arrive at olde liberty, this being my first round there, found it to be like numerous courses in eastern nc. built with great plans of having a golfing community, large houses and all the amenities...but seems like the course got built and then the housing market collapsed. i can think of few others that are in the exact same situation: formerly known as fords colony...golf club of rocky mount, formerly know as innsbrook...scotch hall preserve and one of every one's favorites cutter creek.
the marine was on the practice tee whacking away at range balls when i pulled up, he told me the clubhouse had informed him that we could go when ready...i think there were 5 cars in the lot. so i hit a small $5 bag of balls and off to #1...the marine mentioned that the group of 6 gentlemen who were heading for the #1 tee box as i went into the clubhouse to get checked in were not going to let us play through and would be slow...or at least that is what the pro told him.
we pull up to the #1 tee box and 4 of the six are about 180 yards from the tee and the remaining two have not even teed off yet? seriously that was like 25 minutes from when they got to the box? after another 10 minutes of waiting we went back to the house to get permission to start on #10...permission granted...off we go again.
those of you who are familiar with this course and know its history...closed, reopened and all that mess, heard bad things, heard good things...well the layout is awesome, it is l...o...n...g! some really nice scenic holes, just enough sand to make you cuss and a little less water, did notice one interesting thing...since i did spend quite a bit of time "at the beach" there was at least 3 different types of sand? first one i was in was a red coarse sand...and plenty of it in the bunker, the second one was a white sugar like sand...like you find in florida and yet another had some nasty brown sand and was a bit scarce, nevertheless it was interesting. the marine found the bunker on the first hole (#10) and found it again and yet another time and one more time for good luck...all in the same bunker. i think he said he got a 14 on that hole, but we only play trip max, so not too bad.
fairways were in pretty good shape for this time of year, the rough was iffy. in some places the rough was just thick bermuda (dormant) and in others it was wet red clay, the later was horrible to play from.
greens were in very nice shape, again for this time of the year, apparently they had spray painted them? not sure but nice and green. the ball rolled well, no hopping or bouncing and they were not too fast and not too slow.
overall a great time on a nice course, i will certainly go back, especially since the cow farmer handled the greens fees! he is such a good guy...nothing better than free golf!
just one word of caution if you do decide to go play olde liberty, there is a square parking area behind the clubhouse (single wide trailer), well it is not a parking area, the marine got chewed out by the super for parking his cart there...apparently that is their grand ball room, you know the area for events and wine tastings...not very regular.
don't forget to check out the upcoming events, next scheduled event is at lonnie poole, but there is now an events calendar on the right side of the blog. until next time, don't forget to golf your balls!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
what a great start to the new year
well the marine and i got the new year started off with a bang! just had to go play somewhere... trying to avoid embarrassing myself at lonnie poole, so i got a good deal on golfnow.com for the river golf club in bunn, nc - not bad only $25 per player.
those of you who have read my good bad and ugly post know that i am not a fan of the service received at this course, but in their defense the guy who checked me in was a pretty nice guy! when i started to load my clubs on the cart, i remembered that i was going to add another category in the gbu, and that was carts and their condition...it would be toss up between the river and bull creek on who has the dirtiest carts...lol. it really doesn't bother me, but these things look like they were purchased brand new in 1970... and again just like bull creek, i love to get a bucket of range balls that i just paid $5 and they are all muddy...what exactly is the $5 for? picking them up? it sure isn't for cleaning them...come on guys, how long and how much could it cost to clean them off? whatever...
the course was obviously a bit wet, it has rained so much lately i was considering purchasing some gopher wood to build a large boat. even with the wet conditions the course was really not in too bad of shape, the greens look good but were deceivingly slow, as evidenced by numerous putts coming up way short for both myself and the marine.
like most rounds with the marine, we solve the majority of the countries problems and wonder how these solutions are not as evident to the folks who actually could make some changes. the conversations get a bit more in depth when the round starts to fall apart, and when you realize that this is just a practice round and not really serious golf...well that is when we usually have a few cold ones, but it was mid 40's for most of the round and bag bottle was no where to be found?
long story short...we have no way to go but up! really looking forward to then next couple of weeks, supposed to get warm and lonnie poole is coming up fast. until next time, don't forget to golf your balls.
those of you who have read my good bad and ugly post know that i am not a fan of the service received at this course, but in their defense the guy who checked me in was a pretty nice guy! when i started to load my clubs on the cart, i remembered that i was going to add another category in the gbu, and that was carts and their condition...it would be toss up between the river and bull creek on who has the dirtiest carts...lol. it really doesn't bother me, but these things look like they were purchased brand new in 1970... and again just like bull creek, i love to get a bucket of range balls that i just paid $5 and they are all muddy...what exactly is the $5 for? picking them up? it sure isn't for cleaning them...come on guys, how long and how much could it cost to clean them off? whatever...
the course was obviously a bit wet, it has rained so much lately i was considering purchasing some gopher wood to build a large boat. even with the wet conditions the course was really not in too bad of shape, the greens look good but were deceivingly slow, as evidenced by numerous putts coming up way short for both myself and the marine.
like most rounds with the marine, we solve the majority of the countries problems and wonder how these solutions are not as evident to the folks who actually could make some changes. the conversations get a bit more in depth when the round starts to fall apart, and when you realize that this is just a practice round and not really serious golf...well that is when we usually have a few cold ones, but it was mid 40's for most of the round and bag bottle was no where to be found?
long story short...we have no way to go but up! really looking forward to then next couple of weeks, supposed to get warm and lonnie poole is coming up fast. until next time, don't forget to golf your balls.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
the good | the bad | the ugly
well we have 2012 safely behind us now, don't think we are falling off any cliffs and the mayan calendar was incorrect...phew! seems like we are always having some end of the earth threat, wonder what is next.
thought i would put together a list of the highs and lows of the past year in regards to golf...my favorite subject.
last year i played a lot of regular courses with regular people running them, but a few tend to stand out in my memory...and many of you know i don't usually remember a whole lot about courses or rounds. for instance the cow farmer can tell you what club he hit on an approach shot into the 17th green at any given course last year...seriously. i couldn't tell you what club i hit the last hole. for some reason i can remember who has the best hot dogs, coldest beer and the friendliest staff...probably has something to do with my background?
so on to the awards...
golf courses -
*** the good - tobacco road
** the bad - preserve @ jordan lake
* the ugly - riverwood
food -
*** the good - duke
** the bad - riverwood
* the ugly - tigers eye
staff -
*** the good - siler city country club
** the bad - prestonwood country club
* the ugly - the river golf club
with the format i have chosen, unfortunately a lot get left out, but it was either sink or swim.
tobacco road was in the best shape, has the most demanding holes and it is just awesome.
the preserve @ jordan lake is not too bad, but we played in some really crappy conditions and they should have not even let us out.
riverwood is just ridiculous, the greens are too fast for the undulations...used to be good, but now it is on the bottom of the list.
duke has the most awesome chicken salad sandwich on the planet.
riverwood serves you cold buns with a hot dog...really? and now if you want chili you get a little paper ramekin with a spoonful of chili.
tigers eye...you have to wait like 45 minutes to get the special...which was a hamburger?
siler city country club is run by regular folks, good course, good hot dogs and just a pleasure to play.
prestonwood is run by non regular people, don't think i saw one smile or had one person be polite the entire time i was there.
river golf club, not sure if i just catch them on bad days, but the dude behind the counter should be a taxi dispatcher...not someone in the hospitality industry.
well there you have it, my take on the entire year... this list would not be complete without mentioning the absolutely awesome regular guys i have had the pleasure of meeting playing golf with and becoming friends. as you know everyone has a nick name based on their job and or life...some may not sense to you, but once you meet them you will begin to understand how they acquired the nick name.
i encourage everyone reading this to come out and play a round or two with us, you will have a ton of fun and meet some really great folks...2013 will be better than 2012 and until the next time, don't forget to golf your balls!
thought i would put together a list of the highs and lows of the past year in regards to golf...my favorite subject.
last year i played a lot of regular courses with regular people running them, but a few tend to stand out in my memory...and many of you know i don't usually remember a whole lot about courses or rounds. for instance the cow farmer can tell you what club he hit on an approach shot into the 17th green at any given course last year...seriously. i couldn't tell you what club i hit the last hole. for some reason i can remember who has the best hot dogs, coldest beer and the friendliest staff...probably has something to do with my background?
so on to the awards...
golf courses -
*** the good - tobacco road
** the bad - preserve @ jordan lake
* the ugly - riverwood
food -
*** the good - duke
** the bad - riverwood
* the ugly - tigers eye
staff -
*** the good - siler city country club
** the bad - prestonwood country club
* the ugly - the river golf club
with the format i have chosen, unfortunately a lot get left out, but it was either sink or swim.
tobacco road was in the best shape, has the most demanding holes and it is just awesome.
the preserve @ jordan lake is not too bad, but we played in some really crappy conditions and they should have not even let us out.
riverwood is just ridiculous, the greens are too fast for the undulations...used to be good, but now it is on the bottom of the list.
duke has the most awesome chicken salad sandwich on the planet.
riverwood serves you cold buns with a hot dog...really? and now if you want chili you get a little paper ramekin with a spoonful of chili.
tigers eye...you have to wait like 45 minutes to get the special...which was a hamburger?
siler city country club is run by regular folks, good course, good hot dogs and just a pleasure to play.
prestonwood is run by non regular people, don't think i saw one smile or had one person be polite the entire time i was there.
river golf club, not sure if i just catch them on bad days, but the dude behind the counter should be a taxi dispatcher...not someone in the hospitality industry.
well there you have it, my take on the entire year... this list would not be complete without mentioning the absolutely awesome regular guys i have had the pleasure of meeting playing golf with and becoming friends. as you know everyone has a nick name based on their job and or life...some may not sense to you, but once you meet them you will begin to understand how they acquired the nick name.
i encourage everyone reading this to come out and play a round or two with us, you will have a ton of fun and meet some really great folks...2013 will be better than 2012 and until the next time, don't forget to golf your balls!
Saturday, December 29, 2012
wil mar
last round of the year today...i played so bad i am not going to play again until next year! okay that was lame. wil mar is tucked away in north raleigh...i had heard the name but never played the course, so when the marine made the invite i jumped. of course i did not know that it was going to rain the entire night before our tee time and that it was going to be in the high 30's...well more like 40.
nice little course, not able to comment on condition because it was basically flooded today. i like the layout, you have to think your way around the course, some demanding tee shots, long par 3's and 2 par 5's that are over 500 yards. greens were in very good condition and quite fast for this time of the year and being saturated.
i am looking forward to going back to wil mar when the conditions are a bit better, but even with these conditions it was a good time.
i hope everyone had a great christmas and i wish you a happy new year. 2012 was a great year, but 2013 will be better. would like to get 2013 kicked off the end of the january with a group going to lonnie poole, a couple of foursomes would be great, so watch your inbox for details...until then don't forget to golf your balls.
nice little course, not able to comment on condition because it was basically flooded today. i like the layout, you have to think your way around the course, some demanding tee shots, long par 3's and 2 par 5's that are over 500 yards. greens were in very good condition and quite fast for this time of the year and being saturated.
i am looking forward to going back to wil mar when the conditions are a bit better, but even with these conditions it was a good time.
i hope everyone had a great christmas and i wish you a happy new year. 2012 was a great year, but 2013 will be better. would like to get 2013 kicked off the end of the january with a group going to lonnie poole, a couple of foursomes would be great, so watch your inbox for details...until then don't forget to golf your balls.
Monday, December 10, 2012
remedial math needed
once again the stage was tobacco road, and for a good reason - it is awesome. the kind of course that just makes you think all day and gives you lots of great scenery. the weather forecast was for partly cloudy skies and a temp of around 70 degrees...on my way to the course i drove through some rain...ugh! did not even want to play yet another round in the rain, but it was just mother nature saying, "psych". it was foggy most of the way there so i just hoped the sun would come out and burn off the fog...which it did on about the 4th hole. we were drenched in sun the rest of the day.
i finally got my shafts replaced and have not had a lot of time to get used to them, so I did have some off the tee fears, which really diminished after the first drive. but as usual on the tobacco road course, it is all about placement, not distance. if you don't stay in the fairway or land shots in the appropriate places, you are in for a long day and a high score.
since this group had handicaps as low as 3 and as high as 23, decided to play a couple of different games to help level the playing field. front nine was a team event, them against us, counting your two lowest scores.
i finally got my shafts replaced and have not had a lot of time to get used to them, so I did have some off the tee fears, which really diminished after the first drive. but as usual on the tobacco road course, it is all about placement, not distance. if you don't stay in the fairway or land shots in the appropriate places, you are in for a long day and a high score.
since this group had handicaps as low as 3 and as high as 23, decided to play a couple of different games to help level the playing field. front nine was a team event, them against us, counting your two lowest scores.
team 1
lawn mower guy
marine
pirate
air force guy
team 2
concrete guy
insurance guy
me
now i have to give props to the concrete guy, he played from the tips, now that is what i call a stand up move, so it is obvious that he is a regular guy...lowest handicap and plays from the tips. as the air force guy would say in his best john houseman impression..."well played concrete guy, well played" and the best impression is adequate at best.
the foursome teed off first, so we followed and kept them in sight most of the day, but could really not tell how well they were playing. i was keeping score and driving the cart...two things that i am never allowed to do, but on this day i only missed one hole on the card and kept all 4 wheels on the ground...however, there was on instance on #13 when the insurance guy reached over and grabbed my forearm and said too fast, too fast... i assured him that since the cart paths were dry, he was safe.
so as the round progressed through the front nine, i thought we may have a chance, at one time we were 3 under, mostly due to back to back birdies by the insurance guy! when we arrived at the #9 tee ( i hope you are starting to see a pattern on the ninth hole, i am) we were even and thought for sure we would need a birdie to possibly win. the concrete guy crushed a drive into the forest on the right, the insurance guy hit the fairway...as usual and i drilled one down the left side into the grass bunker, leaving myself about 115 in to the pin. i will not go into the details of what happened after the tee shots as it would certainly lessen your opinion of all three of us, but we did finish 14 over.
the front nine is done and its a new 9! we lost $10 on the front and would have won if we would have bogeyed the hole...go figure...but we are not thinking about that...now it is individual play and we are playing for skins and the closest to the hole on the two par 3's. our back nine is not too bad, but we could just not score, it seemed like all 3 us were on the bogey train...which in this format was a train to "pay me some money".
i will say that the negative side of formats with more than 4 is that you miss out on all the stuff going on in the other group, and from what we heard after the round, we missed quite a bit. the first par 3 that was eligible for a closest was number 14, with a front right pin and now card to be seen on the green, we decided we only needed to hit the green to get some $$. concrete guy went left, insurance guy went wet and i went left in the sand. first thing i thought was...carryover! next par 3 will be worth double...until we arrived at the green to find a card placed ever so neatly pin high, tucked up against the fringe, with the marines name boldly printed on the card...
carding only a few pars on the back we all just figured this round was toast. the last par 3 was once again a dismal failure for us, we could see the card this time, which was neatly placed about 10 feet left of the stick, by the lawn mower guy.
after the round we all gathered in the clubhouse and had a cold one to figure up the scores...this is where the remedial math part comes into play. i think that in my spare time (like i have any of that) i will go back to school and take a high school math class...i think it took us an hour to just figure out who got what. and with the team score pretty easy to figure, it only left paying 2 closest and 4 skins.
now i was not going to mention this, but after rolling this over in my head again and again, i know why we had such a difficult time...there was one guy sitting at the table who would quietly give math answers...that were incorrect and they went unchallenged until the lawn mower guy got out a calculator. i think it ended up correct, the marine possibly is short $3, but i will get back to you on that after the math class.
going to be an event at lonnie poole in raleigh, the n c state course in late january, if you want to play let me know. i should have the math class done by then, so no worries there. i will send out an email with dates and tee times to those who express interest, and until then don't forget to golf your balls.
Monday, December 3, 2012
# 9 @ #5
okay, a little confusing title but it will make sense as you read on.
as you know there are a few of us who play cga events and as you also may know a few of us won tournaments this year.
i won a 4ball event with the cow farmer at prestonwood
i won a 4ball event with the marine at 12 oaks
the marine won a singles event at greensboro national
so as a "treat" we were all invited to play in the year end cga champions event at pinehurst #5; which quite frankly put me in a rather tedious position. i won with two different partners and they would not let a single play in the 4ball event. decisions, decisions. i made my decision the only fair way i could think of...play with the first person i won with - the cow farmer. i was extremely glad when the marine won at gbo national, so he would be able to play in the big event as well!
it worked out well, the marine played in the singles event on saturday and the cow farmer and i played on sunday. i also feel like it was an honor and a priveledge to just be able to play in this event, so up at 0500 to drive to the cow farmers ranch and then off to the meca of golf, the holy grail if you will, the pinnacle of...well you know what i mean. team golf is fun and at the same time a royal pita if you don't play well, and i had not been doing so. i was a bit nervous because you certainly don't want your partner to carry you around the course. the cow farmer and i get along great and i always enjoy playing golf with him, a good friend and a person that just gets along with everyone...so that all sounds great but in reality it adds pressure to the game, because i did not want to let him down. and if you have not figured it out yet, i know how to pick a partner!
we obviously had the inside scoop since the marine had played the day before, so i felt a little more prepared...the whole pinehurst thing can be a bit on the intimidating side. the weather was great, the other team that we were paired with was awesome, a couple of old geezers that had high handicaps, but super regular guys. i would say the course was very nice, not a big "wow" factor, but a challenging course that was in pretty good condition. we played from the white tees, which brought a lot of trouble into play, so if we ever go back, would probably move back to the blue tees. as the round progressed we both seemed to be playing about average, with moments of brilliance. the cow farmer hit a 3 hybrid from around 215 to about 2 feet, out of the rough, which carded him a birdie net eagle. i had 2 birdies that netted eagles...and as far as the rest of the round went, i will not bore you...except for #9; our next to last hole. we both kind of thought that we may be in the hunt and possibly could scare place. only two holes left, just need to stay even or take net birdie...no pressure, none whatsoever. i stand up on the tee box and proceed to pull a driver out of bounds, the cow farmer pipes one right down the middle! i play my provisional ball and put it about 20 feet from the first one...now i don't like to brag about my superior driving abilities, but i very seriously doubt anyone reading this could put two balls within 20 feet of each other...not just out of bounds, but across the road and in some dudes driveway! so knowing that was covered with such a great drive from my partner, i just shook my head in frustration and moved on. we get to the cow farmers ball and determine that he is 147 from the pin and about 130 to the front edge. he decides to play it safe and go to the middle of the green versus shooting at the pin that was neatly tucked behind a bunker that was previously a rock quarry i think...deep! i agree that is the smart play...go get it! so the cow farmer proceeds to fan it out to the right and short...into the cavernous bunker. from the bunker he skanks it across the green and down the hill, he then pitches it up to the top of the hill, he then pitches it on the green and two putts and ends up with a 7 net 6. we have determined that our stellar play on this hole was our demise. but one could argue that it may have been the par 3, the one that i landed my tee shot on the front edge with a back pin, leaving myself a 45 foot uphill putt, that i hit so hard it ran off the back of the green and up a hill, but i did manage to two putt from there.
so although there were as mentioned before moments of brilliance there were also moments of wtf? we ended the round 78 net 65...thinking we should slam the trunk and make the pilgrimage back to reality. but we opted to stick around and see the cards come in...and in they came oh so slowly...i wanted a cheeseburger so bad, i almost bought one there for $17.50. i did notice one thing as the cards came in...we were the lowest net? could it be? could we have pulled off a miracle? could we have actually earned the coveted silver plate? the cow farmer was not optimistic, i secretly was hoping everyone else had the worst round of the year...oh to bring home the hardware would have been such a grand thing to do! my wife would be proud, my kids would jump for joy, the small town i live in would have a parade, i would be on the front page of the local newspaper, on tv...there could even be a possible endorsement from one of the major club manufacturers...okay, that's not happening, but at least i would be happy.
and of course to bring me down to reality once more, the last score card the last two cards that come in are 64 and 65...damn! i am not going to disneyland! but we did t2 and get to have a ton of fun...but we were beat by one freakin stroke...so yes #9 would have been the hole to have played well on, we would have won.
it was a great weekend! not only did we place, but the marine came in second as well! so over the winter there will certainly be golf played, but secretly we will all be preparing for next year, we all want the silver plate.
here are a few quick snapshots of the resort, course and the tournament:
as you know there are a few of us who play cga events and as you also may know a few of us won tournaments this year.
i won a 4ball event with the cow farmer at prestonwood
i won a 4ball event with the marine at 12 oaks
the marine won a singles event at greensboro national
so as a "treat" we were all invited to play in the year end cga champions event at pinehurst #5; which quite frankly put me in a rather tedious position. i won with two different partners and they would not let a single play in the 4ball event. decisions, decisions. i made my decision the only fair way i could think of...play with the first person i won with - the cow farmer. i was extremely glad when the marine won at gbo national, so he would be able to play in the big event as well!
it worked out well, the marine played in the singles event on saturday and the cow farmer and i played on sunday. i also feel like it was an honor and a priveledge to just be able to play in this event, so up at 0500 to drive to the cow farmers ranch and then off to the meca of golf, the holy grail if you will, the pinnacle of...well you know what i mean. team golf is fun and at the same time a royal pita if you don't play well, and i had not been doing so. i was a bit nervous because you certainly don't want your partner to carry you around the course. the cow farmer and i get along great and i always enjoy playing golf with him, a good friend and a person that just gets along with everyone...so that all sounds great but in reality it adds pressure to the game, because i did not want to let him down. and if you have not figured it out yet, i know how to pick a partner!
we obviously had the inside scoop since the marine had played the day before, so i felt a little more prepared...the whole pinehurst thing can be a bit on the intimidating side. the weather was great, the other team that we were paired with was awesome, a couple of old geezers that had high handicaps, but super regular guys. i would say the course was very nice, not a big "wow" factor, but a challenging course that was in pretty good condition. we played from the white tees, which brought a lot of trouble into play, so if we ever go back, would probably move back to the blue tees. as the round progressed we both seemed to be playing about average, with moments of brilliance. the cow farmer hit a 3 hybrid from around 215 to about 2 feet, out of the rough, which carded him a birdie net eagle. i had 2 birdies that netted eagles...and as far as the rest of the round went, i will not bore you...except for #9; our next to last hole. we both kind of thought that we may be in the hunt and possibly could scare place. only two holes left, just need to stay even or take net birdie...no pressure, none whatsoever. i stand up on the tee box and proceed to pull a driver out of bounds, the cow farmer pipes one right down the middle! i play my provisional ball and put it about 20 feet from the first one...now i don't like to brag about my superior driving abilities, but i very seriously doubt anyone reading this could put two balls within 20 feet of each other...not just out of bounds, but across the road and in some dudes driveway! so knowing that was covered with such a great drive from my partner, i just shook my head in frustration and moved on. we get to the cow farmers ball and determine that he is 147 from the pin and about 130 to the front edge. he decides to play it safe and go to the middle of the green versus shooting at the pin that was neatly tucked behind a bunker that was previously a rock quarry i think...deep! i agree that is the smart play...go get it! so the cow farmer proceeds to fan it out to the right and short...into the cavernous bunker. from the bunker he skanks it across the green and down the hill, he then pitches it up to the top of the hill, he then pitches it on the green and two putts and ends up with a 7 net 6. we have determined that our stellar play on this hole was our demise. but one could argue that it may have been the par 3, the one that i landed my tee shot on the front edge with a back pin, leaving myself a 45 foot uphill putt, that i hit so hard it ran off the back of the green and up a hill, but i did manage to two putt from there.
so although there were as mentioned before moments of brilliance there were also moments of wtf? we ended the round 78 net 65...thinking we should slam the trunk and make the pilgrimage back to reality. but we opted to stick around and see the cards come in...and in they came oh so slowly...i wanted a cheeseburger so bad, i almost bought one there for $17.50. i did notice one thing as the cards came in...we were the lowest net? could it be? could we have pulled off a miracle? could we have actually earned the coveted silver plate? the cow farmer was not optimistic, i secretly was hoping everyone else had the worst round of the year...oh to bring home the hardware would have been such a grand thing to do! my wife would be proud, my kids would jump for joy, the small town i live in would have a parade, i would be on the front page of the local newspaper, on tv...there could even be a possible endorsement from one of the major club manufacturers...okay, that's not happening, but at least i would be happy.
and of course to bring me down to reality once more, the last score card the last two cards that come in are 64 and 65...damn! i am not going to disneyland! but we did t2 and get to have a ton of fun...but we were beat by one freakin stroke...so yes #9 would have been the hole to have played well on, we would have won.
it was a great weekend! not only did we place, but the marine came in second as well! so over the winter there will certainly be golf played, but secretly we will all be preparing for next year, we all want the silver plate.
here are a few quick snapshots of the resort, course and the tournament:
clubhouse and putting green
learning center
clubhouse up close
payne stewart
plaque for payne stewart
donald ross (l) and other dude (r)
#2 18th fairway
#2 18th green
croquet (wtf)
seriously, this is a sport?
main pro shop
2014 us open shop (where i spent my gift card)
maniac hill
we won! (not so fast young man)
Have fun, life is short, play golf with good friends and don't forget to golf your balls!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
tobacco road - cga
after today i am moving tobacco road to my number one most favorite course i have played. you should run there tomorrow, don't walk, don't put it off, don't wait...it is in amazing condition! fairways are green and lush and look like a carpet. the greens are fantastic...just fast enough to make all the undulations a bit tricky. this place is freakin' awesome. i can't wait to go back and play a non tournament round.
the entire staff is just as regular as they can be, the ladies behind the grill counter were super nice, the guys in the shop were super helpful, all the guys helping us with carts and bags... all great! i would have to say that if you are in pinehurst and don't drive up to tobacco road...well, you have missed out on one of the best courses in the country. i am not going to list all the awards they have won, you can just go to their site and see for yourself, just click here.
the tournament was a 4 ball and the team was myself and the marine. the other team in our foursome was a couple of great older gals! the marine and i were a bit concerned how this would end up if the ladies beat us. we started on #14, which is the par 3 you see as you drive in...playing about 170 into the wind over the lake. this is the hole that marked the end of my driving golf carts. I am not allowed to drive the cart any longer due to a very small incident the last time we played tobacco road...it was a bit damp from some rain and the marine was the passenger, as we approached the tee box for number 14, i slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel...a perfect 360! except i threw the marine out...it was hilarious.
back to current...both of us had a slow start, the marine first tee shot in the water, then his second on the cart path, me on the cart path...it was ugly. our fears of being beat by the older ladies was starting to look possible! We both managed to pull it together and play some pretty decent golf. hard to play bad with such a beautiful golf course, you just walk around with a grin on your face the entire time. We saw an eagle flying around screeching while we were warming up...then on my approach shot into a green, i look up and coming over the tree line is a c5 military cargo plane...wow, it did a pretty steep banked turn and off it went...almost like they did it just for our foursome to watch.
i know you are thinking as you read this that we won, since i am so excited about the course, but we did not, the marine shot an 83 and i an 84. please note that the marine shot yet another 83...it appears that his quest to beat my best tournament score of 79 (of which i have 3) has gone yet another year with no results. however, i do have confidence in his ability to break 83...just not this year.
out next outing was supposed to be the mike strantz tournament at tot hill farm this weekend, but the air force guy pulled out of our three man team...thanks air force guy! until next time, don't forget to golf your balls.
the entire staff is just as regular as they can be, the ladies behind the grill counter were super nice, the guys in the shop were super helpful, all the guys helping us with carts and bags... all great! i would have to say that if you are in pinehurst and don't drive up to tobacco road...well, you have missed out on one of the best courses in the country. i am not going to list all the awards they have won, you can just go to their site and see for yourself, just click here.
the tournament was a 4 ball and the team was myself and the marine. the other team in our foursome was a couple of great older gals! the marine and i were a bit concerned how this would end up if the ladies beat us. we started on #14, which is the par 3 you see as you drive in...playing about 170 into the wind over the lake. this is the hole that marked the end of my driving golf carts. I am not allowed to drive the cart any longer due to a very small incident the last time we played tobacco road...it was a bit damp from some rain and the marine was the passenger, as we approached the tee box for number 14, i slammed on the brakes and turned the wheel...a perfect 360! except i threw the marine out...it was hilarious.
back to current...both of us had a slow start, the marine first tee shot in the water, then his second on the cart path, me on the cart path...it was ugly. our fears of being beat by the older ladies was starting to look possible! We both managed to pull it together and play some pretty decent golf. hard to play bad with such a beautiful golf course, you just walk around with a grin on your face the entire time. We saw an eagle flying around screeching while we were warming up...then on my approach shot into a green, i look up and coming over the tree line is a c5 military cargo plane...wow, it did a pretty steep banked turn and off it went...almost like they did it just for our foursome to watch.
i know you are thinking as you read this that we won, since i am so excited about the course, but we did not, the marine shot an 83 and i an 84. please note that the marine shot yet another 83...it appears that his quest to beat my best tournament score of 79 (of which i have 3) has gone yet another year with no results. however, i do have confidence in his ability to break 83...just not this year.
out next outing was supposed to be the mike strantz tournament at tot hill farm this weekend, but the air force guy pulled out of our three man team...thanks air force guy! until next time, don't forget to golf your balls.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
riverwood golf course
if you have not heard me say it before, please listen this time...i do not like riverwood. don't let my disgust for their incompetent "rebuild" make your decision though. they changed the greens out a while back to a faster grass, but did not remove or flatten out their numerous undulations; which for a slow grass were challenging. now they are just absurd. you can barely get a ball to stay on the green and here is to you if you are above the hole.
but even with all that the cow farmer got me to play there again with puddin, the bean counter and a new player who will be known as the bug squasher. we played a skins/closest to between six of us...i know you are only counting five, but for the life of me i cant remember who the sixth was? whatever.
even though the greens are as bad as they are, it was still a fun round. there were a couple of things that happened during the round that are worth mentioning. one of the guys in the group behind us hit into us while the cow farmer was in his back swing, not very friendly or smart. thought that might cause some issues, since the person doing the hitting is always in such a freaking hurry...it could have happened a second time. then there was the "new" ruling about plugged balls in a hazard. according to puddin you are allowed to just drop another ball and play it instead of identifying the plugged one and not taking a penalty. i believe this is due to the fact that the mud was so soft and the ball sank so far?
the round ended and the money was distributed, we sat on the porch and enjoyed a cold frothy one or three and as i sat there thinking...wow this is awesome! playing golf on a friday afternoon and watching the sun slowly sink in november when it was 72 degrees...i realized that some of the guys we play with are so far behind in the technology department...i mean seriously look at the phones:
this is the cow farmer's phone...if he ever texts you and every word is extremely abbreviated, you now know why.
but even with all that the cow farmer got me to play there again with puddin, the bean counter and a new player who will be known as the bug squasher. we played a skins/closest to between six of us...i know you are only counting five, but for the life of me i cant remember who the sixth was? whatever.
even though the greens are as bad as they are, it was still a fun round. there were a couple of things that happened during the round that are worth mentioning. one of the guys in the group behind us hit into us while the cow farmer was in his back swing, not very friendly or smart. thought that might cause some issues, since the person doing the hitting is always in such a freaking hurry...it could have happened a second time. then there was the "new" ruling about plugged balls in a hazard. according to puddin you are allowed to just drop another ball and play it instead of identifying the plugged one and not taking a penalty. i believe this is due to the fact that the mud was so soft and the ball sank so far?
the round ended and the money was distributed, we sat on the porch and enjoyed a cold frothy one or three and as i sat there thinking...wow this is awesome! playing golf on a friday afternoon and watching the sun slowly sink in november when it was 72 degrees...i realized that some of the guys we play with are so far behind in the technology department...i mean seriously look at the phones:
this is the cow farmer's phone...if he ever texts you and every word is extremely abbreviated, you now know why.
this is puddin's phone...don't look at the cleanly shaved legs that are crossed, look at the phone, yes it is a phone.
and for you guys who have heard me talk about my dog...the high dollar watch dog that is guaranteed to pee on your carpet if someone rings the doorbell...well here she is in all her glory:
i think the cat can kick her ass.
tobacco road has a cga event next week that i am playing in with the marine, so that will be the next post...until then golf your balls.
northgreen country club
i am running a little behind on this post, you know i talked about northgreen earlier this year and how they are making great efforts to get the course back into good condition. i can now let you know that although they are not done, they have come a long way. greens were in great shape and rolled nicely. fairways have grass and bunkers have sand!
as most of you know the layout is phenomenal and the acc played their tournament at that course for many years, so for just $20 any day of the week you can come to rocky mount, nc and play a hidden gem of a course.
if you decide to play northgreen, which i would urge you to do, contact me and if i am not busy, would love to join you!
until then, don't forget to golf your balls.
as most of you know the layout is phenomenal and the acc played their tournament at that course for many years, so for just $20 any day of the week you can come to rocky mount, nc and play a hidden gem of a course.
if you decide to play northgreen, which i would urge you to do, contact me and if i am not busy, would love to join you!
until then, don't forget to golf your balls.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
greensboro national golf club
its hard to believe that sandy just wiped out a major chunk of the east coast and just a short week ago we played at myrtle beach while she cruised up the coast...because today was beautiful! i think all of us who have lived through the devastation of a hurricane feel for the folks up north.
but as i mentioned today was a great day for golf, and a cga event took place at greensboro national golf club. once again a fantastic cga event at a fantastic course. as usual i do a little research on the course before arriving and i must say i was concerned. i was concerned because their website mentions that they are going to replace all the greens next year...that usually means that the current greens are not very good. i was pleasantly pleased to see that although there was some damage they were manicured and rolling nicely. they were quick and true...the way most of us regular guys like them.
the folks running the greensboro national golf club were also regular folks. the guys in the pro shop were helpful and friendly, the cart guy was friendly, there was a nice fellow at the first tee handing out divot repair tools who was fun to talk too. but, the most regular guy in the place was in the grill...not sure of his name, but he is not from around here. his hospitality skills were noticed right off the bat, his attention to detail and courtesy make him a very regular guy in my book!
i have to brag for just a minute...it was #3, par 5, 515 yards with a slight breeze in our faces, dogleg right with a lake at the dogleg and running up the right side after the turn. I nailed a drive to about 230, a fairway wood to about 6 feet and a smooth roll for an eagle! have not had one of those in quite some time....golf clap.
i played with the marine and two other humans...one was regular the other...well he was there. the marine brought his a game today and smoked the front nine with a 38, it was fun to watch...the pressure got to him a bit on the back nine, but an overall 83 (the marine can't break 83 in a tournament, he has done it many times...only one of us has shot a 79 in three separate tournaments) was enough to put him on top of the heap!
overall a great course with fabulous people running it, if you live in the triad area and your not playing this course, you are not regular!
next tournament is tobacco road...one of my favorite courses and also we will be attending the 2nd annual mike strantz tournament at tot hill farm. until then don't forget to golf your balls.
but as i mentioned today was a great day for golf, and a cga event took place at greensboro national golf club. once again a fantastic cga event at a fantastic course. as usual i do a little research on the course before arriving and i must say i was concerned. i was concerned because their website mentions that they are going to replace all the greens next year...that usually means that the current greens are not very good. i was pleasantly pleased to see that although there was some damage they were manicured and rolling nicely. they were quick and true...the way most of us regular guys like them.
the folks running the greensboro national golf club were also regular folks. the guys in the pro shop were helpful and friendly, the cart guy was friendly, there was a nice fellow at the first tee handing out divot repair tools who was fun to talk too. but, the most regular guy in the place was in the grill...not sure of his name, but he is not from around here. his hospitality skills were noticed right off the bat, his attention to detail and courtesy make him a very regular guy in my book!
i have to brag for just a minute...it was #3, par 5, 515 yards with a slight breeze in our faces, dogleg right with a lake at the dogleg and running up the right side after the turn. I nailed a drive to about 230, a fairway wood to about 6 feet and a smooth roll for an eagle! have not had one of those in quite some time....golf clap.
i played with the marine and two other humans...one was regular the other...well he was there. the marine brought his a game today and smoked the front nine with a 38, it was fun to watch...the pressure got to him a bit on the back nine, but an overall 83 (the marine can't break 83 in a tournament, he has done it many times...only one of us has shot a 79 in three separate tournaments) was enough to put him on top of the heap!
overall a great course with fabulous people running it, if you live in the triad area and your not playing this course, you are not regular!
next tournament is tobacco road...one of my favorite courses and also we will be attending the 2nd annual mike strantz tournament at tot hill farm. until then don't forget to golf your balls.
Monday, October 29, 2012
hurricane golf day 2
i feel the need to let you inside the ropes of this; 1st annual not going to hilton head tournament. this event was spawned on golf carts playing in tournaments by several of the regular guys. we got fed up with sand baggers and corrupt tour directors that would cheat to get their "guys" in better positions to win. i wont get into this topic because i don't like to capitalize letters...and if i talk about this subject i capitalize. anyhow...we all said that we would like to play nice courses away from home for a long weekend and have some competitive fun with no worries of cheaters or sandbaggers...thus the name of the tourney.
so our humble beginnings are 4 extremely regular guys:
the marine - a guy that you want on your side. a stand up dude who served this country for 30 years! he did the stuff that we don't want to do, so we can do the stuff we do. they come no better.
air force guy - this guy has never met an enemy and if you have ever met him you will know why, another stand up guy who i want on my team. impossible to be around him without laughing until you hurt.
insurance guy - a guy who stands in the face of adversity and grins and keeps on keeping on. he eats slow and drives slow...but he will take your money on the golf course in a big hurry.
if you are regular, like to drink a few at night, watch sports on tv, eat good food, talk about everything under the sun, eat beef jerky, act a fool and don't mind a little snoring at night...you can join us next year. until next time don't forget to golf your balls.
so our humble beginnings are 4 extremely regular guys:
the marine - a guy that you want on your side. a stand up dude who served this country for 30 years! he did the stuff that we don't want to do, so we can do the stuff we do. they come no better.
air force guy - this guy has never met an enemy and if you have ever met him you will know why, another stand up guy who i want on my team. impossible to be around him without laughing until you hurt.
insurance guy - a guy who stands in the face of adversity and grins and keeps on keeping on. he eats slow and drives slow...but he will take your money on the golf course in a big hurry.
the marine | regular randy | the air force guy | the insurance guy
four days and five rounds of golf with these guys you may start drinking, just look at the size of beers on the table.
you also may meet a famous big time wrestler from the 80's:
good times had by all, memories made and already looking forward to next year. so now for the grand finale, the last day and the big time money game. this was a straight up handicap round on tigers eye (the best course of the four). the remnents of sandy remained or at least the wind, she stuck around to reak havoc on our fun. the constant 25 mph winds with gusts up to 50 mph started to subside on the back 9. i hit a few eye opening shots on the driving range...i crushed a driver right into the teeth of the wind, a ball struck very well that landed just beyond the 150 flag. after a few of those you start wondering if you will be able to break 100. the course was in great condition and the greens were quite a bit faster than the previous 4 rounds on the other big cat courses. saw a few putts run by 6 - 8 feet, and if i am not mistaken most of them were mine? it was a hard battle on the back nine, but we were not going to leave with an all square...and the air force guy and the insurance guy were tied for the lead on the 18th tee...the pressure was intense and only one would come out on top. congratulations to the insurance guy the first champion of the not going to hilton head tournament.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
hurricane golf
hurricane sandy loomed off the coast of south carolina when we woke this morning at 0500. after calling the good folks at lions paw, we determined that the course was open and we were playing! with winds gusting up to about 40 mph and rain pelting down...we were off! the game today was a modified stableford format. the insurance guy starting at 10, air force guy at 14, myself 19 and the marine at 25. which means the insurance guy had a target on his back, all against him. conditions were probably as bad as it could get at times...and with 200 yard par 3's into the wind several of those tee shots were with drivers...for the short knockers.
as the round progressed the numbers started getting closer to even and the weather got worse. the temps dropped and the rain continued. everyone was soaked to the bone and since we were the only 4 golfers on the course...we were not rushed, but at the same time we were in kind of a hurry. not sure about you, but playing golf in wet underwear is a bit difficult. although the air force guy seemed to be having some sort of weird fun.
just to give you an idea of how bad the wind was...on an approach shot to a par 5, my third shot was about 129 yard to front of the green, which normally would be a smooth pw for me. i hit a perfect 6i and came up short!
it came down to 18 a long par 5 with trouble left and ob right. after hitting my 3rd into the greenside pond, i thought for sure i was toast...but as usual all square. the insurance guy and myself tied with a 27, the marine came in 3rd and the air force guy brought up the rear.
the air force guy, the marine and i can now cross off the played in a hurricane from our bucket list. we already played in snow storm, what will be next?
tomorrow is last round, straight up handicapped singles at the tigers eye. check back on monday for the results...until then golf your balls.
as the round progressed the numbers started getting closer to even and the weather got worse. the temps dropped and the rain continued. everyone was soaked to the bone and since we were the only 4 golfers on the course...we were not rushed, but at the same time we were in kind of a hurry. not sure about you, but playing golf in wet underwear is a bit difficult. although the air force guy seemed to be having some sort of weird fun.
just to give you an idea of how bad the wind was...on an approach shot to a par 5, my third shot was about 129 yard to front of the green, which normally would be a smooth pw for me. i hit a perfect 6i and came up short!
it came down to 18 a long par 5 with trouble left and ob right. after hitting my 3rd into the greenside pond, i thought for sure i was toast...but as usual all square. the insurance guy and myself tied with a 27, the marine came in 3rd and the air force guy brought up the rear.
the air force guy, the marine and i can now cross off the played in a hurricane from our bucket list. we already played in snow storm, what will be next?
tomorrow is last round, straight up handicapped singles at the tigers eye. check back on monday for the results...until then golf your balls.
Friday, October 26, 2012
panthers run | lions paw
we have hurricane sandy breathing down our back...so we played 36 today just in case we spend the day at the bar tomorrow.
got the day started off at big stacks...steak and eggs! great service and a little known hang out for vanna white, she is from mb.
panthers run was dots game and th marine kicked ass...30 dots! He knows how to play the game...here is the tally:
marine - 30
the air force guy - 16
insurance guy - 18
me - 15
so after it all said and done the marine had enough quarters to buy dinner!
course was in good shape, greens were better today than yesterday.
lunch at the course was awesome, cheeseburger was off the hook and the cole slaw was bangin'
the guys at the course were all regular as they could be, and we really appreciated the assistance.
2nd round...lions paw...ryder cup format, teams the marine and the insurance guy vs. the air force guy and me. course was in good shape, greens were also rolling great. first 6 was best ball, marine team wins. second 6 was alternate shot, marine team wins. last six was singles...
the air force guy vs the insurance guy - insurance guy wins
marine vs me - all square
great day, great weather, much fun!
dinner at outback and much drinks, tomorrow we play lions paw if it is not pouring down the rain.
golf your balls
got the day started off at big stacks...steak and eggs! great service and a little known hang out for vanna white, she is from mb.
panthers run was dots game and th marine kicked ass...30 dots! He knows how to play the game...here is the tally:
marine - 30
the air force guy - 16
insurance guy - 18
me - 15
so after it all said and done the marine had enough quarters to buy dinner!
course was in good shape, greens were better today than yesterday.
lunch at the course was awesome, cheeseburger was off the hook and the cole slaw was bangin'
the guys at the course were all regular as they could be, and we really appreciated the assistance.
2nd round...lions paw...ryder cup format, teams the marine and the insurance guy vs. the air force guy and me. course was in good shape, greens were also rolling great. first 6 was best ball, marine team wins. second 6 was alternate shot, marine team wins. last six was singles...
the air force guy vs the insurance guy - insurance guy wins
marine vs me - all square
great day, great weather, much fun!
dinner at outback and much drinks, tomorrow we play lions paw if it is not pouring down the rain.
golf your balls
leopards chase
what a beautiful day for golf...shame i had to waste it.
everyone drove down this morning for a 12:30 tee time, sun and puffy white
clouds. golf course was in very good condition...a couple of greens had some
issues but they all rolled great.
the obvious singles match would have been the marine against
me and the insurance guy against the air force guy...but when we pulled up to
the 13th tee i asked the insurance guy who he wanted...i want the marine...i
think i can take him. a battle began...and at the end and after the dust
cleared...it was all square.
Tomorrow is panthers run and it is a dot game
Friday, October 12, 2012
bull creek
you ever play a round of golf with people that just make you laugh? i played with the cow farmer, puddin and the bean counter today at bull creek. first i will say that for the small amount of money you pay to play at bc....it is worth it. the guy who runs the place is real regular. the course is in great shape and the greens were rolling good...a bit slow but good.
i introduced you to the bean counter a few months ago at a riverwood blog. the bean counter is a big guy, 6' 4" probably 240ish, with this deep, loud resonating voice..and a very regular guy...very fun to play golf with...just don't want to watch his swing. so on number one tee the teams are determined, puddin and the bean counter against us... also on the number one tee the onslaught of verbal abuse began, i'm gonna kick your ass, you cant spell golf, your mother is ugly...you name it...funny thing about the abuse, it was from the bean counter...directed at puddin...his partner. i would have spit milk out my nose have the round. i really enjoy playing golf with a bunch of guys who just want to have fun. now don't misunderstand that; i like to get serious and compete...but i have not really played enough this summer to get serious.
so if you want someone on your team that can talk major junk, you want the bean counter. and if you want someone on your team that can take major junk, you want puddin.
we have a foursome going to myrtle beach in a few weeks that will be fun, i will try and blog after each round if i am sober enough, so keep tuned for more on that...also if you are wanting to get some club work done, don't go to the guy who has a shop in the popular driving range on capital boulevard in raleigh...word is he will make you some crappy clubs and then laugh at you after he takes your money. of course i am referring to the last post, but keep tuned for more on that as well...don't mess with my wife, kids, car or clubs, unless of course you want me to go irregular on your ass.
until next time... golf your balls.
i introduced you to the bean counter a few months ago at a riverwood blog. the bean counter is a big guy, 6' 4" probably 240ish, with this deep, loud resonating voice..and a very regular guy...very fun to play golf with...just don't want to watch his swing. so on number one tee the teams are determined, puddin and the bean counter against us... also on the number one tee the onslaught of verbal abuse began, i'm gonna kick your ass, you cant spell golf, your mother is ugly...you name it...funny thing about the abuse, it was from the bean counter...directed at puddin...his partner. i would have spit milk out my nose have the round. i really enjoy playing golf with a bunch of guys who just want to have fun. now don't misunderstand that; i like to get serious and compete...but i have not really played enough this summer to get serious.
so if you want someone on your team that can talk major junk, you want the bean counter. and if you want someone on your team that can take major junk, you want puddin.
we have a foursome going to myrtle beach in a few weeks that will be fun, i will try and blog after each round if i am sober enough, so keep tuned for more on that...also if you are wanting to get some club work done, don't go to the guy who has a shop in the popular driving range on capital boulevard in raleigh...word is he will make you some crappy clubs and then laugh at you after he takes your money. of course i am referring to the last post, but keep tuned for more on that as well...don't mess with my wife, kids, car or clubs, unless of course you want me to go irregular on your ass.
until next time... golf your balls.
Monday, September 24, 2012
club fitting
if you go back in the history of my blog you will find a post "club review" that I told you about my irons...and how i was fitted for them. I continue to be impressed with the performance of these irons. i mentioned in that post that i thought there were bad clubs and good clubs; with most of the major brands being good.
a lot of you are aware of the club fitter that was playing on gwat in d flight...who offered a free spining as a raffle that i won. i had my irons and woods spined, noticeable difference. a lot of you are also aware that this particular club fitter had some issues, a head came off of one of the marines clubs as well as one of mine. due to this, i would not recommend this club fitter.
i am a self admitted tweaker...i like to tweak my car, swing and clubs. i have been through a few drivers in the 6 years of me playing golf...and finally i found a driver that i was actually hitting well...the titleist with the rip shaft. well on my trip to mb to tweak my swing, it snapped the shaft...omg, i did not just do that!
most of you know that i have also had several different pga teaching pro's... one who stole $300 from me, one who changed my swing about 12 times, another who stole $100 and one who wanted to change everything about my swing...and then finally joe bernat, who was gold...
all of the above is to preface this...
cow farmer suggests i go to his "guy" to get my titleist re shafted. so that is what i did. i go to see the shaft guy who's shop is located at a popular driving range on capital boulevard in wake forest, nc. he tells me that he is not just going to slap any old shaft into my club, he is going to have to "fit" the shaft to me. he interviewed me for about 30 minutes and then had me hit one of his demo clubs. i hit the demo club like a pro! he used a gizmo on the shaft to determine my swing speed...204, 206, 209, 211 and 214. we then went back to discuss the results and he told me that the shaft for me was a certain model...not the one that i just hit very well, but one that was similar in flex and weight. he is the club fitter...so ok. i decided to have him do my fairway woods and my hybrid as well...as this type of shaft is matched so all of them would "feel" the same. i went home that night and decided to not have the titleist re shafted but rather have him build me a club with the same head as the demo club...all in all an order of over $800. he told me it would take a few days to get the shafts and then a few days to build...i could not wait! i hit that demo club about 280 at the range with a nice little draw.
i got the clubs to the driving range as soon as i could...to find out that there was something bad wrong...short left, short right, low, high, a good one. I hit about 40 balls and would say 3 were good. omg, this has to be me...bad day. come back next day, same result. very frustrated, these shafts are not "fitted" to me...possibly a mistake in the fitting process? not sure...one more trip to the range...same result. I could pull my back up driver out in the middle of this mess and hit one right down the middle.
i call the club fitter and schedule a meeting...telling him the results of my 3 trips to the range. i get there today and he has a guy hit the club to prove to me that there is nothing wrong with the club...it is a good club. well the guy is a pga teaching pro that could probably hit any club in the entire place...i am thinking to myself, what the hell does this prove. i never said the club was bad, i just said i cant hit it... so i hit it...not bad but still not good. the pro then tells me that i have adapted my swing to fit my crappy back up driver an now that i have a good club all the defects in my swing are evident...he would be more than happy to help me with my swing. really did he just say that to me? so the club fitter takes me back to show me how crappy my back up drive was by putting it on the bench and flexing it..a bit of wobble...and i am sure he thought it was going to be more than it was. then he put on the new club and showed me how straight it was. i explained to him that i was a bit disappointed that i was being told that the problem was my swing not the club. he told me i should take up the pro on his offer to give me lessons...i told him i was not driving an hour to get some guy who i don't know and at this point don't like to show me how to swing to hit these clubs...he said it would be beneficial and worth the time. i told him i was not going to do that...he then looked me in the eye and told me that i would need to get my swing fixed if i wanted to be able to hit his clubs.
i guess i will need two swings one for my irons and one for these super duper special clubs that can only be hit by people with super duper special swings...what a load of bs.
not once did the club fitter think that maybe he made a mistake or that we should check to see if the fitting process was correct, it is a shame that people cant admit mistakes, but instead go on the defensive and point fingers at other people. i don't have a perfect swing, not even close...i want to get better and will, but really a club that cant be hit unless you have a good swing...but my cheap tm driver i can? i don't think i missed a fairway at prestonwood with my cheap tm.
you can go to this place if you want, but my suggestion would be to run in the opposite direction as fast as possible. typical poor customer service, smile and be nice as long as everyone is happy, a little issue arises and treat you like poo poo.
until next time don't for get to golf your balls.
a lot of you are aware of the club fitter that was playing on gwat in d flight...who offered a free spining as a raffle that i won. i had my irons and woods spined, noticeable difference. a lot of you are also aware that this particular club fitter had some issues, a head came off of one of the marines clubs as well as one of mine. due to this, i would not recommend this club fitter.
i am a self admitted tweaker...i like to tweak my car, swing and clubs. i have been through a few drivers in the 6 years of me playing golf...and finally i found a driver that i was actually hitting well...the titleist with the rip shaft. well on my trip to mb to tweak my swing, it snapped the shaft...omg, i did not just do that!
most of you know that i have also had several different pga teaching pro's... one who stole $300 from me, one who changed my swing about 12 times, another who stole $100 and one who wanted to change everything about my swing...and then finally joe bernat, who was gold...
all of the above is to preface this...
cow farmer suggests i go to his "guy" to get my titleist re shafted. so that is what i did. i go to see the shaft guy who's shop is located at a popular driving range on capital boulevard in wake forest, nc. he tells me that he is not just going to slap any old shaft into my club, he is going to have to "fit" the shaft to me. he interviewed me for about 30 minutes and then had me hit one of his demo clubs. i hit the demo club like a pro! he used a gizmo on the shaft to determine my swing speed...204, 206, 209, 211 and 214. we then went back to discuss the results and he told me that the shaft for me was a certain model...not the one that i just hit very well, but one that was similar in flex and weight. he is the club fitter...so ok. i decided to have him do my fairway woods and my hybrid as well...as this type of shaft is matched so all of them would "feel" the same. i went home that night and decided to not have the titleist re shafted but rather have him build me a club with the same head as the demo club...all in all an order of over $800. he told me it would take a few days to get the shafts and then a few days to build...i could not wait! i hit that demo club about 280 at the range with a nice little draw.
i got the clubs to the driving range as soon as i could...to find out that there was something bad wrong...short left, short right, low, high, a good one. I hit about 40 balls and would say 3 were good. omg, this has to be me...bad day. come back next day, same result. very frustrated, these shafts are not "fitted" to me...possibly a mistake in the fitting process? not sure...one more trip to the range...same result. I could pull my back up driver out in the middle of this mess and hit one right down the middle.
i call the club fitter and schedule a meeting...telling him the results of my 3 trips to the range. i get there today and he has a guy hit the club to prove to me that there is nothing wrong with the club...it is a good club. well the guy is a pga teaching pro that could probably hit any club in the entire place...i am thinking to myself, what the hell does this prove. i never said the club was bad, i just said i cant hit it... so i hit it...not bad but still not good. the pro then tells me that i have adapted my swing to fit my crappy back up driver an now that i have a good club all the defects in my swing are evident...he would be more than happy to help me with my swing. really did he just say that to me? so the club fitter takes me back to show me how crappy my back up drive was by putting it on the bench and flexing it..a bit of wobble...and i am sure he thought it was going to be more than it was. then he put on the new club and showed me how straight it was. i explained to him that i was a bit disappointed that i was being told that the problem was my swing not the club. he told me i should take up the pro on his offer to give me lessons...i told him i was not driving an hour to get some guy who i don't know and at this point don't like to show me how to swing to hit these clubs...he said it would be beneficial and worth the time. i told him i was not going to do that...he then looked me in the eye and told me that i would need to get my swing fixed if i wanted to be able to hit his clubs.
i guess i will need two swings one for my irons and one for these super duper special clubs that can only be hit by people with super duper special swings...what a load of bs.
not once did the club fitter think that maybe he made a mistake or that we should check to see if the fitting process was correct, it is a shame that people cant admit mistakes, but instead go on the defensive and point fingers at other people. i don't have a perfect swing, not even close...i want to get better and will, but really a club that cant be hit unless you have a good swing...but my cheap tm driver i can? i don't think i missed a fairway at prestonwood with my cheap tm.
you can go to this place if you want, but my suggestion would be to run in the opposite direction as fast as possible. typical poor customer service, smile and be nice as long as everyone is happy, a little issue arises and treat you like poo poo.
until next time don't for get to golf your balls.
cga | 12 oaks | 4-ball
what a wonderful day to play golf! the marine and i played as a team today at 12 oaks in holly springs. those of you who have not played the course would like to know that it s a nicholas design...which translates into really hard. i am just thankful that nicholas and donald ross didn't team up to design a course...then you would not be able to hit a fairway and all your putts would be downhill...
so after a warm up on the best practice facility in nc, we were off for our round! i have played 12 oaks a few times in the past and have come to the conclusion that there are at least $50K in out of bounds, red hazard and yellow hazard stakes on the property. also i am still playing with my back up driver and woods..woot!
the marine and i ham and egged our way around this incredibly difficult course like pro's. i even went birdie/birdie...and that is a first! we had the pleasure of playing along side some other guys who were almost regular...one was a real talker and thank goodness was not in my cart.
the marine had just purchased a bran new hybrid, which he wielded successfully on all attempts...and at the end of the round we finished with a net 63. enough to put a flag in both of our hands (cga version of 1st place trophy) and two gift certificates for $80 each. the marine has a new shirt and i a new vest!
i now have a delima... you see on december 2nd this year the cga is holding its annual, tournament of winners, a large event held in pinehurst. to enter this tournament you must have won during the season...and now i have won twice...with different partners. first win at prestonwood with the cow farmer and now a win with the marine at 12 oaks. so i asked the td (joe), what do we do? he confirmed that the 3rd gets to play by himself or find another single winner of 4-ball from this year.
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next time i am going to tell you about my driver and woods...so until then, don't forget to golf your balls.
so after a warm up on the best practice facility in nc, we were off for our round! i have played 12 oaks a few times in the past and have come to the conclusion that there are at least $50K in out of bounds, red hazard and yellow hazard stakes on the property. also i am still playing with my back up driver and woods..woot!
the marine and i ham and egged our way around this incredibly difficult course like pro's. i even went birdie/birdie...and that is a first! we had the pleasure of playing along side some other guys who were almost regular...one was a real talker and thank goodness was not in my cart.
the marine had just purchased a bran new hybrid, which he wielded successfully on all attempts...and at the end of the round we finished with a net 63. enough to put a flag in both of our hands (cga version of 1st place trophy) and two gift certificates for $80 each. the marine has a new shirt and i a new vest!
i now have a delima... you see on december 2nd this year the cga is holding its annual, tournament of winners, a large event held in pinehurst. to enter this tournament you must have won during the season...and now i have won twice...with different partners. first win at prestonwood with the cow farmer and now a win with the marine at 12 oaks. so i asked the td (joe), what do we do? he confirmed that the 3rd gets to play by himself or find another single winner of 4-ball from this year.
next time i am going to tell you about my driver and woods...so until then, don't forget to golf your balls.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
the river
another great day on the golf course, today was the river golf club, and in pretty good shape. today it was the cow farmer, puddin, the counter and myself...with a special guest...the cow farmers wife...more about that near the tail end of the story.
so puddin and i were a team and puddin was playing well today...as usual. the cow farmer struggled all day, but the counter and i believe that there was some self imposed pressure that was not normal...the toe is a little better but performance anxiety got the better of him today.
so puddin and i make the turn one up, not feeling like we are winning but rather we are being given chances. there were two highlights of the day..puddin chipped 3 times for birdie...three times! the highlight came at the tail end of the round, you should have been there.
after our drives on seventeen, puddin realizes he is supposed to pick up his kid...like in 5 minutes...so he is rushed to the parking lot, leaving me to play the last two holes by myself. thanks a bunch puddin...leave the c player against two a players! needless to say i lost the lead and ended up losing the back and the overall. the 18th was the best hole of all, the cow farmer finally came through with a birdie...we had been hoping he would do so the entire round...truth be told we were hoping he was going to have the round of his life and shoot a 59...but the birdie alone was worth the trip to the river.
so for those of you wanting to play a good course with some relative good greens for under $20...check out the river golf club. until next time don't forget to golf your balls.
ps tails we win
so puddin and i were a team and puddin was playing well today...as usual. the cow farmer struggled all day, but the counter and i believe that there was some self imposed pressure that was not normal...the toe is a little better but performance anxiety got the better of him today.
so puddin and i make the turn one up, not feeling like we are winning but rather we are being given chances. there were two highlights of the day..puddin chipped 3 times for birdie...three times! the highlight came at the tail end of the round, you should have been there.
after our drives on seventeen, puddin realizes he is supposed to pick up his kid...like in 5 minutes...so he is rushed to the parking lot, leaving me to play the last two holes by myself. thanks a bunch puddin...leave the c player against two a players! needless to say i lost the lead and ended up losing the back and the overall. the 18th was the best hole of all, the cow farmer finally came through with a birdie...we had been hoping he would do so the entire round...truth be told we were hoping he was going to have the round of his life and shoot a 59...but the birdie alone was worth the trip to the river.
so for those of you wanting to play a good course with some relative good greens for under $20...check out the river golf club. until next time don't forget to golf your balls.
ps tails we win
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
prestonwood | cga | 4 ball tournament
prestonwood is the location of the sas championship a champions tour; so of course you have high expectations of the conditions...and we were not disappointed. We were not allowed to hit from the grass on the practice tee, just mats...guess they were saving the grass for the pros. i must admit that a regular guy who has not been there would be a bit thrown off by the enormity of the place. there are three 18 hole courses that all start from one huge clubhouse, not sure about the square footage, but a small walmart could move in. absolutely beautiful building and surroundings...cant comment on the food, although there were two separate tournaments going on...the restaurant was closed?
the cow farmer and i were a team and the marine and the concrete guy were a team; and by the luck of the draw we were paired together...what are the odds? we also got to start on hole #9, so we toured the front nine on our way to the starting hole. so before we get started i need to let you know that the cow farmer broke the pinkie toe on his left foot the day before the tournament and I am still trying to get the swing changes from joe down pat, not to mention i am still with my back up driver. so my anticipation was a fun day in the sun with some buds. the marine let me know that he had packed a few pbr's for refreshments during the round...really pbr?
after both the cow farmer and myself had managed to hit some less than desirable shots on our first hole, the marine says, "hey, you guys want to play for our usual bet"? really? isn't that like kicking you while you are down?? but we still accepted. cow farmer struggled most of the day with the toe hurting and for some reason i brought my a game...thank goodness. seems cow farmer and i had each others back all day, i screw up....he would par or birdie and vice-versa. we ended up winning the thing...and that gives us an invitation to the year end tournament of champions, where we will wear our matching shirts we won at prestonwood!
winning is always good, but either way having fun is what it is all about. the next cga event i play in is at 12 oaks with the marine...we both have a special appreciation for that course, so it will be fun, with lots of refreshments! until then don't forget to golf your balls.
the cow farmer and i were a team and the marine and the concrete guy were a team; and by the luck of the draw we were paired together...what are the odds? we also got to start on hole #9, so we toured the front nine on our way to the starting hole. so before we get started i need to let you know that the cow farmer broke the pinkie toe on his left foot the day before the tournament and I am still trying to get the swing changes from joe down pat, not to mention i am still with my back up driver. so my anticipation was a fun day in the sun with some buds. the marine let me know that he had packed a few pbr's for refreshments during the round...really pbr?
after both the cow farmer and myself had managed to hit some less than desirable shots on our first hole, the marine says, "hey, you guys want to play for our usual bet"? really? isn't that like kicking you while you are down?? but we still accepted. cow farmer struggled most of the day with the toe hurting and for some reason i brought my a game...thank goodness. seems cow farmer and i had each others back all day, i screw up....he would par or birdie and vice-versa. we ended up winning the thing...and that gives us an invitation to the year end tournament of champions, where we will wear our matching shirts we won at prestonwood!
winning is always good, but either way having fun is what it is all about. the next cga event i play in is at 12 oaks with the marine...we both have a special appreciation for that course, so it will be fun, with lots of refreshments! until then don't forget to golf your balls.
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