Ace !

Golf is a funny game...
I was really looking forward to our 8:08AM tee this morning.
I always look forward to our weekend tee times - but yesterday
I thought several times about how nice it was going to be to
tee it up with our regular Saturday group.
I arrived at the golf course as I always do, just a few minutes
prior to teeing it up - and hit a few putts and few chips - and
off we went...My start was less than stellar. Two balls in the
woods off the tee. We found the first one - unplayable. Chipped
out, left my approach short, left my chip short and rammed home
a 12 footer for a double.
By the time I was done stickhandling through the first nine I was
nine over par and not particularly enamored with the state of my
game. I parred the first hole on the back thanks to a longer than
should have necessary putt so again; I was not feeling particularly
bouyed. Even when I birdied the next hole I was still pretty
discouraged by my performance.
Now it's interesting...in the past couple of weeks while playing
well I'd hit a couple of shots on par threes that looked like
they might have a chance. In one case my ball wound up four inches
past the hole, appearing to have lipped out. From 170 yards away
it's difficult to tell. And then there was Ken who was telling me
about his wife who'd taken up the game two years ago and got a hole
in one last week using her driver on a 140 yard shot...40 years
I've been golfing...and then there's Alice, a friend from Oakfield
who recently got her fourth hole in one firing her career best 75.
40 years I've been playing this game...
So this morning I stood up on the 3rd tee ( we started on the back
nine ) and set up to hit my fall back big draw...I don't remember
thinking about much other than it was windy and cold and that the
ball hadn't been carrying much so I took one more club than usual.
I put a good swing on it - it started well right of the green and
began to descend left toward the intended target.The ball hit the
right edge of the green and rolled forward, arcing left...and then
it disappeared...I turned to the others in the group and their
reactions confirmed what I had beleived I'd seen...It's in !!!
High fives all around. I think I laughed...I wasn't sure what else
to do...My first hole in one. The rest of the round seemed to be
happening in another place far removed from my own little world.
I missed a lengthy birdie putt on the next hole and the two footer
for par...bogeyed the next...topped a ball into the water on the
following hole and well - the rest of the round is best described
as surreal..One good shot I hit I had a four iron in my hand when
I thought I was hitting a six...I will say no more.
Pressure's off now thankfully. I no longer have to worry about
playing golf all my life without making a hole in one...
Til next time - hittem long and hittem straight...
Don

And Then The Slug Says.......

So I'm at the golf course Saturday morning - doing all the
things I know I'm supposed to do to properly prepare for
a good game of golf. Stretch for ten or fifteen minutes,
hit a few shots on the driving range to properly loosen
up - take at least that long to work on chipping and
putting - and then take a minute or two prior to
getting to the first tee to review the game plan and
get focussed...Okay...so anyone who knows me knows that's
a pile of ....bunk...to put it mildly. Roughly 95 percent
of the time I roll into the parking lot at the golf course
no more than 3.2 minutes before my tee time..just enough
to squeeze my carcass out of the car, get my shoes on, get
my clubs on my cart - and hustle on over to the tee. If I
get to hit three or four putts before I play, you see, I
find the whole exercise too mentally taxing. I tire easily.
But Saturday morning was different. Pre-game routine was
roughly the way I normally play except that one of the guys
playing in the group after us came over and asked the
always intriquing question..." Did I tell you the Slug
story ?" There is a multitide of ways one can respond,
but I chose the most direct and genuine..."No " I said.
So into the slug story he launched...
Guy was spending the evenning at the cottage and decided
he'd go out on the veranda to enjoy a little summer air.
As he approached the door he heard a faint scratching
noise coming from the other side. He openned the door
to find a slug which he promptly picked off the door
and hurled into the nearby bushes.
Three years later - the same guy was in his same cottage -
about the same time of day - when he heard a faint scratching
from the other side of the door...he openned the door and
found a slug - the slug looked up and him and said, " What
was that all about ? "
I have been chuckling about that since I heard it...now
that's funny.
No joke about Steve Stricker winning the second stage of the
PGA Fedex Cup Playoffs. Tiger had a great day but he was,
admittedly too long gone for it to mean much. Stricker on
the other hand has rallied very nicely from an earlier
"tough time" to become one of the tour's truly nice guys,
and as his record would indicate, a very solid, solid,
performer. Perhaps that is one of the sport's charms.
It's most attractive personalities are articulate,
genuine, humble, and respectful. It represents a refreshing
departure from the stars of any other sport...Stricker
now has the lead over Tiger in the Fedex Cup rankings
adding a little meaning to the waning days of the PGA
Tour season.
What a wonderful weekend...sunny and warm ( although there
is little doubt a change in season is rapidly approaching ),
there is a briskness to the air that I thoroughly enjoy.
My golf weekend was exhilirating with a 78 Saurday,
a 78 Sunday with consecutive birdies on the first and
second hole, and a 79 Monday with a birdies strung
together on holes one , two and three...on the third
hole, a 170 yard par three it appeared that I lipped
out...even I couldn't miss the three inch putt I had
left...for a moment I thought I had canned that elusive
ace...I have never had a one...but I've only been playing
thirty or thirty five years - and I only play 70-80
games a year...okay so now I'm depressed...well as
depressed as I can get - and that's okay by me.
Back to work tomorrow...
Til next time - hittem long and hittem straight.
Don