So I looked at my watch at 1:30 today then checked the weather radar and determined that I could squeeze in 9 and get back to work before I was missed.

I’m in the tee box at 1:45 I take two practice swings then smack one about 225 yards down the right side of the fairway in the rough. 6 Iron into the tree in front me of the ball shoots directly right into another tree and comes straight down - net gain, 20 yards. 7 iron to the fringe, putt to within 6 inches, tap in for bogey. Hole 2 (number Handicap), after a phone call from the wife I tee up and hit one about 250 yards into the trees on the left. I pull out my three iron take an easy swing and place the ball dead center 4 feet inside the 150 marker, 7 iron up the hill, lob wedge hit perfectly and the ball slowly rolls into the hole - Birdie!! Hole 3, 275 yard drive into the rough on the right, 9 iron to the back of the green, long putt, 2 short putts Bogey!

Hole four, which turns me facing the oncoming angry golf Gods and with a seven iron in hand I watch a bolt hit the ground which sends electricity through the air. I drop my ball anyway on this 150 yards par three and put it 15 feet from the cup. I look up another lightening strike. Hmmm, I think to myself - “I’m in great shape to be 1 over par after 4 holes and the next hole I traditionally play very well”. So as I walk to putt I call the pro shop and ask about the weather, to which they say we’ll come and get you what hole are you on. Damn - Surely the good lord wouldn’t interrupt what is shaping up be the best round of my life! Well as I hearkened back to the Caddy Shack movie I remembered how that one ended.

So to answer your question, Yes, the golf Gods know when you’re playing well!

So yesterday after watching some of the open at work (lucky me I’ve got a TV in my office) I decided I was going to try and squeeze in a quick nine. So I loaded up and drove over to the club, strapped on my spikes slung my bag over my shoulders and started the trek. I figured Tiger or Rocco would win or loose without me and I would almost always choose playing over watching.

I’ve got to off the back nine because it’s league night. My first hole is a par five, which I boogied, next hole a par four as I start the short walk I hear some rumbling of thunder off in the distance. But one thing I’ve learned is that the weather doesn’t mean anything anymore so I’m gonna keep on playing. Off in the distance I hear a little more thunder and a golf cart speeding towards me I start my swing anyway and proceed to hit what was probably a 300 + drive. The next thing I here is Ron (from the pro shop), get in, I’m getting everybody off the course. Fine!!!

We get back to the shop in time for the 18th hole and watch Tiger push the US Open to a play off. Now granted Rocco collapsed but Tiger! Damn, what the hell is he made of. I really think he’s an android that can swing a club. Seriously, he’s not human.

Okay, in my last post I spoke about the distance and accuracy in which I was striking the ball. I won’t be writing about that anymore! As soon as I finished the post it all went away!?! I don’t know why it went away, it just did. Here’s the thing - it went away so badly I was concerned that my new Cobra Driver was busted!

I had played in the morning with Gorty and couldn’t hit a lick out of the tee box. I didn’t handle my irons too badly and I putted well but the driver presented such a problem I was getting concerned that the club was broken. I check it for a flat spot, I examined the face of the club for a dent, seriously - it went away that badly. And because I have this bulldog nature about me it bothered me all day, so I went to the range to see if I couldn’t work it out.

I grabbed a large bucket with about 100 balls in it and walked up to the range. Out of 100 I maybe hit two balls well - TWO!!! I was topping everything or snapping it all left, extremely frustrating. Well, that obviously didn’t work and now I’ve got it in my head that I can’t hit the ball anymore, so what to do… Sometimes you just need to take a lesson!

I stopped in at the Club the next day and spoke with Eric Sandstrum (our clubs pro), and told him my story and scheduled an appointment. Of course by the time the lesson came around I had begun striking the ball well again but because I didn’t know why it went away or even why it came back I wanted Eric to take a look. You know when your car has been making that funny noise and you being it to the mechanic and it stops, same thing happened with my golf swing.

We couldn’t figure out why the swing went away, but he helped by changing a few things like slowing down, widening my stance and finishing in balance - things that I had gotten away from. By the end of the lesson I was striking ball effortlessly with distance and accuracy. The moral of the story kids - Golf is like a fickle woman - sometimes you just need to buy it something to make it happy.

So here I am about a third of the way through the regular golf season and I have to say, I’ve been pounding the snot out of the ball. I still have the arrant moments that send sacrifice up a new to me Pro V1 to the tree fairies. But overall I’ve been very happy with the way I’m coming out of the tee box - long and on the fairway. But then comes my second shot and that’s just where it seems to fall apart. Not always mind you but more often than not I find myself taking a six to seven inch divot (not in length, rather in depth - seriously, if you stepped in one of these bad boys unwittingly you’d break your ankle). I’m not sure where my new found fattness has come from but it’s aggravating as hell.

If I really buckle down and stay super focused on keeping my head down, I end up skulling it. Again not all the time, actually about 30 percent of the time (if we’re putting numbers to things). I should be happy because that leaves me about 70% of the time hitting a decent shot, that would put put me in the front of the class at Cooperstown - but that’s a different sport all together.

Now I did go through a stretch were I was chipping the ball really well, but now that’s gone. I either chip it 2 feet when it needed to fly for 15 or I needed it to fly for 15 and it went 45. I don’t get it! Then I played as part of a 5some (yes 5, don’t tell the club it ticks them off), of them was fellow 3 guys golfer Tom. He said. “Fish, do you practice?”. That’s what I love about Tom, he always cracks great jokes - “Do I practice?” That killed me - funny stuff. Then I started to think about. Practicing wouldn’t be such a bad idea I could get the feel of the wedges that weight down my bag and really learn how to use them. With me driving the ball so well I’m often a wedge away on most holes. So you know what I’m going to do? Swing harder - who’s got time to practice!

Until next time - Hit ‘um straight!

I had the opportunity to test this putter out. For me the only way to test new equipment is to actually take it out in the field and play with it under actual conditions. Yes I took it to the practice green so I could get a feel for it and if I wasn’t a fair guy I would have left it in the car after I was done on the practice green.

I like a heavy putter, which is why I gravitate towards the mallet style putter. This putter looks like it should weigh a ton but it’s extremely light but it strikes to the ball like a heavy flat iron. Anyway I was on the practice green taking a few practices putts and I was sailing everything a mile past the hole. So I made an adjustment (like I was in Arizona on fast, fast greens), I took a little off the stroke and found the ball really comes off the club face very smoothly. But I still wasn’t convinced that this was a putter I would invest in so I took it out into the field.

On my second hole I actually retrieved it from my bag and wanted to see what it could do on a 40 foot par putt. I did it because I remembered how far past the hole I was hitting everything on the practice green. My putt was a little up hill so I took a few practice swings, lined up my putt and effortlessly got the ball within 12 inches of the cup. I pulled my old putter out and dropped approximately where the other the ball was and found I had to take a much harder swing which meant i didn’t have enough control of the putter and place the ball about four feet short.

So I started off not liking the putter, but in the end discovered that it would probably bring more control to my game in the end so I may consider making this purchase because I think this putter could get me into shooting in the low 80’s. You can check out Rife Putter by going to their website www.rifeputters.com/. Enjoy!

So today I had the esteem pleasure of playing one of the top rated public access courses in these here United States The Golf Club of Estrella. This is another fantastic Troon Golf course and once again I wasn’t disappointed. Unlike at it’s sister course Devil’s Claw where I played yesterday, I actually played fairly well today.

That being said the picture above illustrates my misfortune on the third hole. If you look at the bottom of the photo and go to the top and to the left you will see that I eventually took a seven on this par three. I picked my head up in the tee box and topped my shot to it’s first position at which point I really did want to play it safe and punch out and I did I just didn’t get enough ball so it hit the edge and rolled back in. The rest the say is history. This bunker runs the entire length of the fairway so when teeing up on this hole staying left or putting it on the dance floor is the order of the day.

I’m a guy a that likes to walk a golf course, especially if I’ve never played it before. I get a better feel for the landscape, a better sense of roll, bounce and even carry. But like the the Whrilwind course the day before the vista’s and wide open space was absolutely my favorite part of this day. Estrella oddly enough reminded me a bit of my home course, it offered up more mountainess terrain and hills for me to climb but the occasional 12 foot cactus reminded me that I was indeed still in Arizona.

I am quickly becoming a fan of Troon Golf courses and I will make sure that I play as many as I can in my life time. You can check out all Troon Golf courses by going to www.troongolf.com. Oh, for the record I shot an 89 today and that includes that blasted 7 I took on the third hole. Troon Golf rules!!!

Today I had a great opportunity to play golf at one of Troon Golf’s finer courses. Whirlwind - Devil’s claw. Unfortunately all I really did was ruin a good walk. I shot a 98 (and that’s even forgiving some things I shouldn’t forgive). In any event let’s forget about the many errant shots, topped fairway woods and skulled chips… oh yeah I should mention the 8 or ten hooked tee shots. Anyway let’s forget all of that and talk about the course.

From what I understand Devils Claw is the lesser of two evils that this Troon Location has to offer (Cattail being the harder and newer course). This course is beautifully manicured from start to finish. I honestly felt blessed to be a part of this course today. Devil’s Claw offers allot of bunker opportunities that’s for sure and the greens are fast (at least by my standards). But at no point did I feel that I couldn’t buckle down and play well here. In fact once I got the feel of the greens down I started to sink putts which kept my score from entering the 110 - 120 range (like I said I did not play well).

The picture above is the par three 13. From the golds it’s a 191 yards, I found the way this green slopes (back towards the tees and to the right), playing it long and left was the best way to go. This hole, I decided to par today. I ended up about 4 feet off the green then two putted for par. It turned out to be my favorite hole, not because I had a par, rather it played very true. After that I started to pick up my play a bit and hunker down an start playing smart.

I play with a couple from Tokyo. Very nice people that had to suffer through my game with me. Remember I told you about how much time I spent in bunkers? Well it’s funny because when ever my shot started to drift towards one they would both start saying “Hiieee, Hiiee… Bunkha”. It kept it light for me and allowed me to remember that it’s just a game and one your supposed to relax at when playing. Very easy to do if your playing this course. To quote Seinfeld - “Serenity Now”.

From the kids that great you to the cart girl that offers you beverages The Whirlwind is a great way to spend a morning. Everyone smiling and very pleasant. In the pro shop you’ll find a wide array of goodies that will fit into just about everyone’s budget. The best part my wife took advantage of the Aji Spa that’s attached to the resort and came away from that raving about it. So the next time you find yourself in the Phoenix area you should give them a call and book a tee time, you won’t be disappointed (unless they make you play with me, but then you’ll have more time to take in the beauty).

So, I’ve been in Arizona for 4 days now and have played 54 holes of golf. I gotta tell ya, if you are a UV addict then this is the place for you it’s freggin’ sunny every single day here - Sunny 90, Sunny 93, Sunny 99, Sunny 89 (oops better bring a sweater).

Anyway, today I played the Wigwam Gold course. I decided to tee of at 1:00PM so I could chill out in the morning and spend some time with my wife (who for the record has been a champ and allowing me to play tons of golf - also I have snatched some of her hair for DNA/Cloning purposes. If it works you’ll be able to buy my wife at golfwidowandhappyaboutit.com). Once again I digress. The Wigwam has it’s challenges. The killer on the Gold course is it’s elevated greens. You can hit a great approach shot but unless it land on the green you’re chipping on. Once your on the greens themselves are fast, not Oakmont fast but you shouldn’t load up on the Redbull prior to teeing off.

The picture above is a sand trap on the back 9 called the Oasis. This I can tell you - it ain’t no Oasis. There’s not one belly dancer, and no easy way out of it. I landed right in the front of the trap, at this point you can only go two ways hero or safe. Because I’m dumb I went the hero way and actually got lucky. The front of the trap puts you about 165 yards from the hole so I ventured in there with a 7 iron and a dream of catching the ball cleanly - I did and wound up about ten yards off the front of one of those elevated greens I was telling you about earlier. Dumb luck, but like I said, I’m kinda dumb.

The course itself is groomed very well. The ranger that patrols the course is a nice older gentleman who I saw about four times and each time he made sure I was getting enough water. I had purchased a water container at a local sporting goods store prior to going out since I knew staying hydrated was going to be extremely important, and I filled it every chance I got. Funny thing was I only saw the cart girl three times and that would be the only knock against The Wigwam. If you’re playing 18 holes in 95 degree heat you should see this girl allot more than three times if you’re playing 18.

As of now I don’t have a tee time for tomorrow and I think I’ll keep it that way (I don’t want to abuse my situation too much). So maybe I’ll just go shopping with my wife (I’m pretty sure I saw a Callaway Store in a strip mall just down the road). Fore!!!

So I’m used to lush, soft fairways. When your ball hits it rolls another 20 feet or so. Today I figured out something I like to call the desert roll. My driving was Jeckle & Hyde today but when I hit the fairway I couldn’t believe where my ball stopped. I hit 5 drive today that went over 300 yards! It’s pretty funny because I would be looking around around the 250 yards and my ball would be 75 yards further up the fairway (a fella could get used to that in a hurry).

Putting - you can factor in the desert roll their as well. Sometimes it was trying to get a golf ball to stop on a marble stairway case. The green were decent it wasn’t like they were dried out, just fast and zero break. I finished up today with a 92 (I three putted on at least ten holes - that was a killer).

The wildlife was different. They have these little things called antelope squirrels which for the most part look like chimpmunks that have been in the sun too long. And rabbits… these little things are everywhere:

Well, I’m looking forward to golfing the Wigwam Country Club on Sunday. But for now I’m going to light a Cigar pop the top off an adult beverage and bask in the AZ sun. It’s sunny and in the mid 90’s here everyday, I wonder if they ever get sick of it?

Hole 7 @ Brattleboro Country Club - Par 5

Tee’s are back

Titanic Drive (est. 300+)

5 Iron to the fringe

Lob Wedge perfectly hit two bounces and a three foot roll… click, clack, click — then the mighty screech of the EAGLE!!!

I should have walked off the course right then and there. Took a 7 on the next hole (Par 3).