the preserve at jordan lake

just got back from a triangle seniors golf tournament at the preserve at jordan lake and had a blast. played with the cow farmer, puddin and another guy who i will just call the country western singer...if he ever reads this he will know why.

let me start by telling you about the tournament and the regular folks at triangle seniors golf and what a great job they did for all that turned out.

quite a few old dudes at this event and all were treated with some great hospitality. the tour director bill stone knows how to make you feel right at home and welcome. we even saw him on the course as he was driving around to all the golfers offering water and snacks...i was impressed.

i managed to leave my golf game at home for this event but was treated to some spectacular golf by the cow farmer, who shot a 75 to tie for first, only to be beaten by a score card playoff...pretty sure the cow farmer would have rather gone head to head with the other dude. puddin played but i think he was more concerned with his phone and text messages today...oh wait, that would be any day...if you ever get puddin as a partner you should take his  phone and make him play golf...cause the littler dude can play. but today was not his day as the cow farmer played 16 holes very well...the last two are the reason he did not win outright...which he certainly should have.

all this on a course that was probably not in its best shape. i know if they knew i was playing and relaying this information on to all my readers they would have tidied up a bit. in their defense they have received quite a bit of water over the last few days; so the fairways were soft and you got carry only, with lots of casual water...casual versus formal? i never did understand that term. how about water in a place where it is not supposed to be...guess casual is shorter...moving on! the greens had been punched recently so they are not rolling...more like dribbling, they also have quite a bit of common bermuda encroaching on the bent grass. to make a birdie today you had to be real good. Oh wait, I got a birdie...cow farmer got 3 and puddin got 1...birdie count out of the way.

                                                     cow farmer in purple.

                                                 lots of "junk" on this course

with all the issues, still pretty course

the course has lots of elevation changes and lots of uneven lies, it will certainly test your ability to hit shots. i think most of the par 4's were normal but two of them stretched out over 400 yds...and that is from the white tees. i think if the greens had more time to grow back in and the course had some time to dry out...it would be better.

i like the fact that the triangle seniors golf plays on monday's and tuesday's...i like to spend my weekends with the family, besides there are too many non regular guys on the course on weekends.

one last thing, we say this guy almost eat one of the cow farmers golf balls, then he just sat in the tree looking at us. if you look close it looks like he is wearing a checkered thong?

until next time! don't forget to golf your balls.





                                                   

bull creek

i don't think i have reviewed bull creek, but it certainly time... i play bull creek frequently because it is a pretty good layout and usually have good greens. it is a reasonable price and the folks that work there are just as regular as they get. brian and david are the two guys that you will probably meet the most...seems like they are always working. never hard to find a pick up game, usually quite a few guys just waiting for the opportunity.

i played there this past week and broke 90 for the first time in a while, i'm telling you that joe bernat knows what he is doing. if i could have putted i would have broke 80...but at least it is all coming together now.

here are some of the interesting things about bull creek...i don't think they have cleaned a cart in...well...maybe never and the range balls are about the same. does not bother me or any of the guys i play with, but if you have some sort of dirt phobia, be prepared.

i don't remember what the price was...but it was around $20 during the week...and you know that is the best time to play, less golfers and less money!

have fun at bull creek and get a dog...not bad. until next time, golf your balls.

2 day golf school

most of the time i would think that a school or clinic that is conducted by someone or a club that you will probably never go to again would be a waste of time and money; so i was very hesitant to sign up for one. first i thought i would do one at pinehurst, but then i thought it would be good to combine a golf school for me and a vacation for the rest of the family...so i started looking in myrtle beach.

i did find many and since i am about 3.5 hours away...it was a little hard to do some research. i went through a national company that "hosts" schools in different locations all over the us, they hooked me up with the joe bernat golf academy which is located at tpc myrtle beach. since the national company did not tell me who the instructor was or anything about the process i did not have the opportunity to do any research...they just told me to show up and the instructor would be expecting me...so i did.

i showed up a little early (as usual) and after a while got hooked up with joe, who was a fabulous host as well as instructor. joe has the personality and patience that makes it hard to not really like him. he is a real regular guy who really wants you to improve. most of you know that i am a little on the hard headed side and changes in the golf swing come a bit slow, so joe's patience was tested. i spent two days from 8am to 3 pm with joe and another student. i cant begin to tell you all the different things that i learned that will certainly help me lower my handicap. joe helped me make some slight changes to my swing that will help with accuracy, distance and consistency. nothing major, no swing rebuild, or something crazy that would be hard to remember or groove. joe's classes are limited to 2 or 3 students, so the amount of time you get with the instructor is great, you can ask all the questions you like and get more than enough attention. after the morning session, working on the range or putting green its out to the course, to work on bringing it to the course.

i cant wait to get to the driving range to work on the things i learned, want to get them grooved in so they start to become natural. i can't relate to you how beneficial these 2 days were, so much that i will be visiting joe again this winter and if you think about it, anyone who could put up with me for 2 days has got to be a regular guy!

you can check out joe at his web site, just clck HERE


Don't forget to golf your balls.

finally

well after the hottest summer i can remember and the most work i have ever had to do...i got to go hit balls today! it has been like 2 weeks and have not even put a club in my hand.

it is just fantastic to get back to swinging a club, kind of like when you see an old friend you have not seen in years!

i have a trip planned to the east coast mecca of golf (myrtle beach), for a quick vaca and i am attending one of jeff symmonds golf schools for two days...should be fun, will report back on how they do. i do know the school takes place at tpc myrtle beach, so at least i get a good course, right?

going to be putting together a couple of outings in the late summer and early fall. hoping to make one a 3 day tournament in the southern pines area and the other will be a one day either cutter creek or scotch hall preserve. also want to get a foursome to hit siler city cc; that was a fun track and the folks were real regular. so if you any interest in these events just shoot me an email and i will put your name on the list.

don't forget to golf your balls.

lonnie poole

well i have certainly been busy, sorry to post this so late, but life has once again got in the way of this regular guy! played in a cga event last sunday at lonnie poole, which is the nc state university golf course. this course has got to be one of the coolest courses in raleigh, you are on the campus of the university and really in the middle of town but you would never know it...except for the views

the course was in good shape and once again another really well run tournament. the greens were faster than they looked but rolled out nicely. had a really fun foursome this tournament, regular guys, you know ones that are not all uptight and "professional". the picture above is from a par five that i personally have never played well, it is a tricky hole, not too long but bunkers and slope all over the place.

not sure what they charge during the week but they do put some deals out there on golfnow. here are a few more pics i snapped while playing:

if you get the opportunity, it is a fun course and best of all you dont have to be a wolfpack fan! yeah i had to go there.

temps have dropped a bit and hopefully the rain wont interfere, so go out there and golf your balls.

riverwood

played riverwood yesterday with the cow farmer, puddin and wolf (he is new, will fill you in later). those of you who have not had the opportunity to play riverwood, it is located in clayton, nc and is a 27 hole facility. yesterday the course was in good condition...fairways were green and plenty of grass and the greens were rolling true...with emphasis on rolling. a while back the folks at riverwood replaced their greens with some sort of new super grass...not sure if it a champion bermuda or if it is the new hybrid strain of rollyourballofthegreen bermuda. whatever it is...it is challenging and for most regular guys, it sucks. yesterday the cow farmer hit the first 5 greens in regulation and was 5 over and he is a good putter. i don't want to bash the course, but you just have to be prepared for a grind to say the least.

now me tell you about the new guy...wolf. I am not sure why they call him that...gray beard and hair? similar attitude? or possibly its his real name? have you ever played with someone who is in this big freaking hurry? like they have to hurry up and get off the course so they can take a dump...that is wolf. it to be the most annoying trait of a golfer. golf is supposed to be a relaxing sport. he was constantly complaining and wanted everyone to play at his pace...at one point this regular guy lost his cool. i was standing over a 3 foot putt while wolf stood 3 feet away, flag in hand waiting eagerly for me to finish...well of course i missed the putt and he says, "you pulled it, off the heel the whole way". that was the proverbial straw... so i told him it might have been due to the fact that he was standing over me waving the flag. he says, i told you it was good. well, i paid my $35 dollars to play golf, not pick up on every hole and wonder what my "real" score would have been...guess i am funny like that...you know getting what you paid for and all.

so with the crazy greens and the excellent attitude of one member of the group it made for one of those days...although puddin and i did end up on top of the match. so in conclusion, go play riverwood prepared. until next time don't forget to golf your balls.

siler city country club

if i remember correctly andy and barney used to go to siler city to a dance club? siler city was certainly mentioned on many occasions during the span of that awesome tv show.

i drove to siler city, but not to dance, but to play in a cga tournament. with this being another day with the heat index close to 115 i was very concerned about the conditions of the course and my hydration. you know how some courses seem to not care about us regular golfers and forget about the water?

well i am pleased to announce that siler city country club has a group of regular people running the place...and they know what they are doing! the course was fantastic, the fairways were in good shape and the greens were great. i think a sign at the clubhouse said they were rolling at a 9.5; and for 100+ days that is pretty darn fast. i got there a little early, as usual to find the folks had set up a hot dog buffet, do i need to say anything else? i mean these dogs were not your usual skinny little red dogs, they were big beefy dogs along with all the fixings. they had ice cold water on holes 1 and 10, not to mention all the other water that is usaully on the course...and they even gave us a sheet that told us where the water was located...and on 1 and 10 they had a cooler of frozen towels...i know right? frozen freakin towels, yes i did say siler city, not one of those fancy high dollar country clubs that we sometimes play and get the looks down the nose from the members... who obviously don't know they need our money for whatever reason. none of that in siler city, all regular people. i spoke with several of the folks who work there as well as some members who were there for the pool or whatever...all of them were 100% regular. hospitality is obviously a very important key to the success of the siler city country club.

not sure who the tour director was for this event, but he was a hoot! i have never been announced before i teed off on the first hole...until this event. he certainly knows what he is doing and made for a very fun tournament.

i would make the 2 hour drive again to play this course or just hang out in the clubhouse and eat a hot dog and drink a cold one.

goign to riverwood in clayton tomorrow, will report in on their conditon, until then dont forget to golf your balls.