Yeah, pardon the mispelled play on words, but it seems an appropriate title for this.
So I play in a 9-hole casual captains choice scramble on Tuesday nights where you get to play the most exclusive and best maintained privae golf course in town, that includes dinner for $27.50. We average 30-some guys from around town, and you can pair up with people you know, or just tell them to pair you with whomever. Sometimes I have friends I ask to play with, but sometimes they don't come so I end up playing blind. We have a good time either way.
I am usually the "A" player in any group I am in, as a 7 handicap. Sometimes I play with some friends who are about as good as me, which is fun because you get 2 or 3 really good chances to hit it close or make the putt. The one thing this group casually asks is that 8 handicap or better play the back tees, and seniors get to play the forward tees. Everyone else plays the regular tees.
Tonight in my foresome it was me on the back tees, one guy on the regular tees, and two seniors. I honestly don't usually pay much attention to my drive distance because I've grown used to being 250 or so off the tee. I'm actually happier if the ball is in the fairway, versus being longer and off target. Well, out of curiosity I measured my drives tonight, and discovered that I am averaging about 270 off of the tee. We do have a long drive hole, which I absolutely nutted my drive on that hole tonight, which after looking at the yardage, turns out that I hit it 310 yards. Now granted, it's an elevated tee and the fairway slopes towards the green, so if you hit it down the left side it can catch the hill, and roll for a bit. But still, I'm 48 years old with a bad back, and I can't remember the last 300 yard drive I hit.
As a side note, it's next to impossible for me to win longest drive, because chances are one of the guys from the senior tee will hit one past me. Sadly, they don't distinguish between tees, so a senior can win it, even though he starts off with an 80 yard advantage. Again, this is a friendly casual group of guys, and it's all about the fellowship and the chance to play this fabulous golf course.
The drives that really took me by surprise though were on some of the par 4s. I'm discovering that my drives were all in the 270 yard range, and these are on non-elevated tees with flat fairways. Maybe I'm swinging harder knowing my drive is only one of four and may not be needed, especially when I am playing with seniors who only need to hit it 200 yards to outdrive me. That was the case tonight on multiple holes. But I guess it's nice to know that I can still get some distance when I need it. Good times!