During the 20 minute commute to Pease Golf Course this past Sunday, I played over and over in my mind what my round would look like. In my head I knew every shot I would need to hit, where I would need to place it in the fairway and I was assuredly going to score somewhere close to par.
Unfortunately my swing did not agree with my imagination. I knew the shots I wanted to hit but failed in every respect to execute them. Luckily the day turned out to be quite beautiful weather wise, else it would have been a wasted day. I cannot quite place where it happened but somewhere in the last two week I have acquired the dreaded shanks. I simply do not feel confident with any club right now. I am especially not confident with either of my wedges which used to be my two go to clubs. Almost every shot was darting straight out to the right. I would almost be OK if it were instead a slice, but these are just simply mis-hits entirely. If it were a slice I would at least know where to begin in fixing it. I see long frustrating hours at the range in my future.
To cap off my Sunday afternoon I sat down with a frosty beverage and enjoyed the final remaining holes of the Travelers Championship. Nothing finishes off a dismal day of golf better then a playoff. Bubba Watson, Corey Pavin and Scott Verplank. It seemed that Bubba would take it on the first playoff hole after very nearly holing his 124 yd sand wedge to the green, but Verplank made a clutch put to keep him in the game. Corey Pavin made a either a poor club selection or a mis hit off the tee leaving him too far back to really be a contender in the playoff, although he was very useful in offering advice to Bubba who was a little confused as to whether or not to mark his ball or tap it in once he reached the green. It goes to show you that there are situations that even tour pros get into where they need advice.
On the Second playoff hole, Par 3 154 yds, both Bubba and Scott were off the green with their tee shots, but it was Bubba who was able to get up and down to secure his par and the Win. What followed was an emotional hug from his girl friend and an awkward interview with David Feherty. Poor Bubba was still so choked up he could barely answer the commentators questions. It was evident that a lot of emotion had been building over having not won and finally being in a position where it could and did happen. Congratulations Bubba on a great win, it could not have gone to a more deserving golfer.
For more details on previous rounds of the tournament and an interesting take on advertising at a golf tournament check out Golf Girls's Diary.
Until the next Round,
Cheers to All!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
The sun shines for Camp Sunshine
The normal team of myself, my father and Golf Grammie were joined by the Director of Special Events for Camp Sunshine, Mike. (Sorry Mike if I got your title wrong, I did not take good notes :)) Most every year we play with someone who works for the camp and it is always a great pleasure to hear how the camp is going.
As seems to be the case every year the turn out was very good, filling nearly every hole with two foursomes. Our group started on the 17th hole, which in our case seemed to be just what we needed for we started our round with 3 straight birdies. On the first hole, Golf Grammie with her first swing of the day hit a fantastic shot up to the green leaving her 6 feet 6 inches and assuring her the closest to the pin for the ladies on that hole.
In the end we bogied the last hole to finish at 6-under, capping off the lowest round we have ever shot in the 6 years we have played in the tournament. That 6-under snagged us the 2nd overall net score for the tourny and a 4 pack of greens fees with cart to Sunday River Golf Club. First for overall gross went to the team sent out by the MSGA (Maine State Golf Association) with an astounding 58!
When it comes to prizes given out, the Camp Sunshine Golf Tournament "shines" above most others. Their goal is to make sure that everyone walks away with something at the end of the day. They get so many donated rounds of golf that they are able to give away a round to almost every foursome that plays. On top of that they always have a great goodie bag and this year added a silent auction with some great items
Point Sebago did a wonderful job preparing the course for us. The area received nearly two inches of rain the day before and yet we were still able to play a 90 degree rule in our carts. The greens were a bit on the bumpy side due to being plugged not that long ago but I think in some cases that may have been helpful in keeping the ball from running too far on the green.
At the beginning of the awards ceramony we were able to hear from a Camp Sunshine family who came over to speak to us direct from camp. This week is the single organ transplant session and the little girl that we heard from had had a liver transplant three years prior. The family was very appreciative of everything that the camp has done for both them and their daughter and gave myself and the rest of the crowd a more personal view of what were really playing for, a great cause.
The Camp Sunshine Golf Tournament will always be one of the things I look forward to every year. From the wonderful course to the company I get to play with and most importantly the cause it represents, it really is one of the best tournaments is the state, if not the country.
Until the next round...
Cheers To All!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Camp Sunshine Tournament
On the morrow I tee it up with Golf Grammie for a charity golf tournament played at Point Sebago Golf Club on the Shores of Sebago lake in Casco, Maine. The Tournament benefits Camp Sunshine, a place where family's with children affected by Cancer and other diseases can go and enjoy a great summer vacation, free of any medical expenses during their stay. We have been playing in this tournament with a Volunteer from Camp Sunshine for the past 5 years. I look forward to bringing you pictures and outtakes from the tournament as soon as I can.
More Information on Camp Sunshine can be found at: http://www.campsunshine.org/
Cheers To All!
First Lesson, "Dude Where's my Ball Marker" and an Electric Ending
Holes 9
Par:36
Location: Portsmouth, NH
Playing Partners: None - Playing as a Single
Playing Partners: None - Playing as a Single
For my upcoming birthday my wife surprised me with a trio of hour lessons starting with my first one today. As previously mentioned I have never had a true professional lesson. I have been nervous about it all week not knowing what to really expect. I think my biggest fear was that my instructor would try to change my swing, making me have to almost start over in learning a new swing.
The lessons were set up at one of my favorite courses, of which I was a member a few years ago and am familiar with many of the staff. I was pleasantly surprised to find a brand new club house and a huge new practice putting green upon my arrival.
Tim (My Instructor) started me out hitting 8 irons. Although I was nervous I could not seem to hit an off shot. I felt as though I was wasting Tim's time as I hit shot after shot nice and smooth. I switched over to my driver and started to show my true colors as i sprayed shots both to the left and the right. Tim was able to determine that a lot of my problems with errant shots come from being too quick at the top of my golf swing. He never once asked me to change my swing, only to slow down at the top and save my speed and power for the hitting zone. I am not sure I was as good a student as he would have liked but I feel that I made some improvements and now have something to work on at the range.
The next part of the story comes from the first green of the first hole I played after my lesson. I was joined up with three friends out trying to get some golf in before it stormed. All of us were lying on the green, I had chipped up to the green leaving myself a 12 footer. The three others were in similar positions but I was the only one who had marked my ball, in this instance I used a quarter. One of the guys had mentioned to me that this was only the second time playing the game, to which I said he was playing well and moved on.
So here I am, leaning on my putter waiting for the others to finish putting out and this new player to the game starts to eye my ball marker. I don't say anything as he walks over, and starts to look quizzically at my marker. After thoroughly checking it over he bends over and picks it up. I am laughing on the inside, but I very casually get his attention and say, "Ahh, you realize that's my ball marker?", then he looks at me funny and I say, "That quarter, I use that to mark where my ball is.". His face went white as he let the quarter fall back to the green. I am pretty sure that his friends are never going to let him live that move down.
To finish off my golf day a severe thunderstorm caught us off guard. We heard the thunder but it sounded distant. As we approached one of the tees it was as if someone flipped a switch and turned on the wind machine. We rode as fast as the governed cart would allow back to the club house, in the process getting completely soaked and narrowly being missed by lightning all around. Watching a thunderstorm from a window at the clubhouse can be exciting, seeing lightning strike within yards of you while sitting in a golf cart, not pleasant.
I look forward to future posts on my next two lessons and future rounds from Pease Golf Course.
until then...
Cheers to All!
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