Got out for 9 today. Windy and humid.

Parred 5 holes, two bogeys, but two bad holes, one double and one triple. Missed every putt. Had three of four good looks at birdie and missed them all.

Did hit the longest drive I have ever hit on the first and again on the third hole. Hit some really solid irons, but bladed one and chunked a couple.

Another weird round. The first nine was hook city. I just couldn't break the hooks, with all clubs. I hit 1 green, the 9th, and birdied it. 42 (par 35 again for a while due to repairs from the earlier floods).
Second nine was much better, 38.
Only 5 greens total, and 30 putts. The short game was much better today, partly because I missed in better place and partly because I used less loft whenever I could.

I hit 3 fairway bunkers, all from drives that curved 30 yard left. I sandied one of them and missed a short straight putt that would have been another one. I chunked an approach into a bunker that is well short of the green and was left with a 40 yard bunker shot. Honestly in 3 years I have never been in that bunker. I used a 49 degree gap wedge with a normal greenside shot and put it pin high. That was fun. I just missed the 20 foot putt though.

The 4th hole has become my nemesis hole. It's an elevated par 3 that requires a 160 yard carry most days. 4 ,5, 6, and 7 are my Amen Corner. 6 is also a par 3, and currently 7 is too. Very little in the way of safe miss areas. If I could get through those four holes in +1 or +2, I will have a great round. Yesterday I went +5, today +4. I'm only shooting +9 or 10 for 18, and half of that is on those four holes.

I need to think better.

Giphy - psychic adult swim GIF by HULU

Shot 83 today and 87 yesterday. Drove it great Saturday but crooked with irons. Tried the Ai Smoke driver today and struggled a bit but irons were better. Left a lot of shots out there both days. Hopefully I can get it going for the next tournament.

43-43 for an 86 this morning…finished by noon

Tripled #1 and then doubled #2 next…but then pulled out of the funky nosedive start.

Ping iE1 5-PW were back in the bag…and went with 3 & 5 hybrid combo…my gapping seems best with this setup. The Pings have won the starting job until further notice.

Best putting round I have had for quite some time…went with the HB Soft Milled 11S for its first ever 18 hole round…staying in the bag for now.

Damn near got my first HIO on #12…par 3 @ 172 yards…flushed a 6 iron…missed by only a few inches…got the birdie.

@Mattyv made his no longer usual pilgrimage to SoCal, and I was able to join him and his son and a friend for a round before they headed back to the Oven State (AZ). Always great to play with you Matt! This makes 5 or 6 summers that I have gotten a round in with Matt, always a good time.

Coming off a 4 year worst score last time out, I had low expectations. We played Hidden Valley in Norco CA, which is a peril filled adventure through the hills. My driver has been a mess lately, so much that I picked up a new PXG Black Ops driver this week, and I brought extra balls.

And of course, my game was rock solid today. 10/14 FW, 13 greens. Only driver blemish was a pull on 18 into the gunk. Greens were shaggy and really slow as the course combats summer heat, and I couldn't get any putts over 10 feet to the hole. Ended up with a surprise 75.

MattyV won the chunk-off, I didn't have any chipping issues today. 😁

    Sparky

    Fun round today. I knew you were shooting well. I made the cardinal sin of making a birdie on the 1st hole. It downhill after that. Had a nice mix of pars and quadruple bogeys with some doubles and singles mixed in. I don't even think I can card this round with the number of unplayable drops I took. I had a great time and the course is so much fun that I didn't care about my score much. I need to practice and get my game squared away. Steve picked a winner for lunch. Badlands BBQ was rock solid and kept our bellies full all the way home. Nice shooting today Steve! I seem to be your good luck charm!

    Played our back 9 today in -2. Driver fine, irons still poor for the most part. After work tonite I’ll hit the range maybe

    39-38 today. Irons, fairway woods, and short game were working well. I hit 11 greens but had 35 putts, including three 3-putts from long ranges. One of those was for a par on a par 5. I crushed a drive and then hit a beautiful 7 wood onto the green. But since I played to the fat side of the green, I was 60 feet away, putting up a hill and then down and curving hard. Had I known how pure I would catch the 7 wood, I would have taken the chance of aiming over the giant bunker. 🙂

    I didn't feel like I putted badly, but the numbers say differently.

    Unhappy golfer today.....I'm sitting out playing in my travel group today, and won't play at the home course Thursday either. My back has been giving me problems for 3 weeks (a "knot" or "charlie horse" right between the shoulder blades that prevents me from swinging effectively) isn't getting any better, so maybe R & R together with ice and then heat and then stretching will do the trick. I tried "playing through it," and that just made it worse. I hope this is the answer, b/c sitting here on a beautiful summer day with a gentle breeze is no fun! 😞

      fatshot she said she thinks is muscular, so I'll try anything!! 😆

      I would find a reputable massage therapist and give it a try! Maybe you will even get to experience the little electrical shock pads to help loosen up your muscles prior to the therapy session.

        Typhoon Yeah, she did.....actually gave me an extra 10 minutes. But that was 2 weeks ago, and for whatever reason it didn't seem to do much good.

          fatshot ugh, I know that spot you’re talking about. Feels like a lump behind your shoulder blade area. Tender to touch.

          Shot 42 in league last night and lost. Had I played the person I was scheduled to I would have won. My partner couldn't make it so I got a sub. He's a much lower handicap so he became the A player and I was the B. The 2 A players shot 43, I shot 42 and the other B player shot 39. He actually missed 2 short putts to let me win 2 holes lol. On the plus side the rain stopped right before our tee time.