2 OB's and a 3-Putt

After starting out so well with 3 pars on the first 4 holes... my body and brain revolted for the next 3 of the next 5 holes.

I ended up with a score of 87 inspite of two out-of-bounds (#4 & #5) and a three putt on #8. I figure the two OB's cost me 4 strokes so, other than a few brain farts, my game wasn't too bad today. I had a total of 31 putts, so that was acceptable.

It was a beautiful classic Spring day and my playing partners (at right) were very good company. From left to right: Jan, Velma, & Kay. Kay has recently retired and I had never played with her before. It was nice riding in the cart with her and getting acquainted.

First 2006 AVWGA Golf Event

Today was the first Apple Valley Women's Golf Association event of the 2006 season. I've mentioned this group before. This month's event was held at the Yakima Elks course in Selah, Washington.

There are 8 golf clubs from around the region that participate: Three Lakes Golf club (my home course), Wenatchee Golf & Country Club, Lake Chelan, Leavenworth, Ellensburg, Yakima Elks, Lakeview, and Apple Tree. Each ladies club sends the 6 lowest handicap players that are available for competition once a month from April through October. It is a 2-person best-ball match play format, making three 2-person teams from each club. Each club competes against each of the other teams throughout the season. Each hole is worth 1 gross and 1 net point. There are no monthly winners, but the team(s) accumulating the most gross, net, and overall points at the end of the season wins money to donate to their favorite golf charity. Many of the clubs donate their winning to their local youth golf association.

Even though we don't have actual winners each month, we do have a KP prize each month. This years KP winners are awarded two free rounds of golf at the new Bear Mountain golf course at Chelan. We also have a monthly honey pot which is divided among the 2-person teams who win the most points (against their opponents) for the day. It's all for fun and is a great way to meet other women golfers and play some courses we wouldn't otherwise play.

This month, Three Lakes competed against the Lake Chelan Ladies. The picture is of my group: Chippy (my partner), Linda & April (from Chelan). We all had a really good time playing together and the weather was fabulous. You can click on the image to enlarge.

I played pretty well, carding a score of 89... not bad for playing a course I've only played a few times in the past. In an event like this, though, it's not about the score but rather the hole-by-hole points. Overall, I was pleased with the days play... except for the fact that I had to play in a pair of "slippers" for the first few holes. That's a story for another post. Some days just get off to a bumpy start.

Spring On The Golf Course.

Today's foursome included (from left to right) Chips Hewlett, me, Sherry Perleberg, and Donna Pershall. What a fabulous day it was, until the wind came up the last few holes.

These are the kind of days you stand on the tee box and marvel at the beautiful scenery we enjoy... and thank God for being alive. I'm always fascinated, this time of year, to watch the flowering trees and bushes come alive after winter.

My game today felt pretty good. I was hitting the ball well, but the final score wasn't anything to brag about... a respectable 87, but still two strokes higher than my handicap justifies. There weren't any glaring problems in my game. My greatest accomplishment today was a par on #12 which is a very difficult par 4, not because of length but because of the slope of the fairway and green. It is very difficult to hold the second shot on the green, but I managed that today and 2-putted for par. I almost made the birdie putt. Also, I parred the very difficult #4 hole.

I think my putting will come back around after the greens heal from the plugging and sading. I had 34 putts today... 2 putts better than last Thursday but not as good as before the greens were plugged and sanded.

For the most part I drove the ball well today, with the exception of one slice into a lateral hazard that cost me a stroke on the par 5 #13. My iron game has definitely improved from earlier in the season.

Overall, I've been pretty consistent with my scores so far this season: 85, 86, 86, 87. There was also one 80 thrown in there but that was when we played the back 9 twice and the back nine is shorter and easier than the front nine. I usually shoot 2-5 shots better on the back.

Next scheduled game is our first Team event at the Yakima Elks course on Thursday. The "team" events are once a month from April through October. Eight different clubs from around the region each bring their top 6 players. It's a 2-person team best ball format, with each club fielding 3 2-person teams.

Stay tuned for the next report...

Das Puttermeisters

Last night I had a (belated) birthday dinner with my "Puttermeister" golf team friends. We have a 6 year tradition of celebrating each others birthday at Garlini's Italian Restaurant in East Wenatchee.

The birthday celebrations started when Karen turned 50. We all turned 50 within a few years of each other and have been celebrating every birthday ever since. This means we meet 4 times per year just to socialize and reminisce and laugh about the great times we've had playing golf together as a team. Sometimes we leave the restaurant with sore stomachs from laughing so much.

We were trying to figure out last night how long we've been playing together and decided it's about 8 years. Sadly for us, Barb and her husband Leonard are retiring and will be moving to Arizona this June. We will sorely miss Barb because it's been so much fun being a "team". We hope to still play together in the future when Barb and Leonard come back to town, and have talked about Barb finding a tournament in Arizona that we could all play in. This would be so much fun. Max's sister lives in the Phoenix area, so I know he would be entertained while I'm off playing golf.

The name "Das Puttermeisters" came about during one of our first tournaments together when Barb and I were goofing off, trying to talk German, as a way of making jest at Lisa's 100% German Heritage (I am 25% German). Lisa works at Cashmere Valley Bank and can certainly count perfectly well in English, but she always counts up the scorecard in German. It's pretty funny to witness. So, after much ado, "Das Puttermeisters" was born and has been a force to reckon with ever since.

Team members from left to right are: Lisa Schmidt, Carol Williams, Karen Madison, Barb Keeler.

Long live Das Puttermeisters!

Irons Only - Plugged Greens

Today I played with my friends (from left to right) Mary, Claudia and Jan. Mary isn't really as tall as she looks in this picture. She happens to be standing on the upper part of an incline. Likewise, Jan is standing on the lower part and it makes her look shorter than she is. Just thought I should clarify that so you don't think Mary is a giant (or that Jan is a midget). They're all quite normal in size. *Remember, you can click on the picture to enlarge it.

Today's game was to play with irons only (and the putter). This makes some of the holes, especially the par 5's, a bit longer but not that big of a difference for me. I pulled my 4 iron out of the garage and it functioned fairly well, except for one OB on a par 5. I can hit the 4 iron about 180-190. My driver hits between 200-225 (sometimes more, sometimes less). Some of the ladies don't really use their long irons much at all and it's more of a challenge for them. Our longest par 5 is 484 yards and that is very long with irons only. Claudia can really nail a 4-iron too, though!

It was good, though, to concentrate on the iron game because I've been having a lot of trouble with them lately. It's been the worst part of my games so far this season.

The putting was my biggest challenge today. The greens were actually worse than on Tuesday. There were a lot of holes on the green with no sand in them and it made the greens very bumpy and difficult to judge line and speed. I had 36 putts today, which is my worst so far this season. I had one birdie on a 267 yard par 4.

My overall score was 86 for low gross of the field. I wasn't too unhappy with this considering the "iron only" game and my putting troubles. Besides, it's good to get a little higher score once in a while to keep the handicap in check. Don't want it to get too low before any tournaments.

Next Thursday is our first "Team" event. We belong to a group called the Apple Valley Women's Golf Association, which consists of 6 players from each of 8 clubs around the region. Participants include Lakeview (near Ephrata), Chelan, Leavenworth, Three-Lakes (that's us), Wenatchee Golf & Country Club, Ellensburg, Yakima Elks, and Apple Tree (Yakima). The low 6 handicap players from each club get to participate on their team. We play two person team best ball at each of 7 events from April - October. It's a lot of fun and we get to play courses we probably wouldn't otherwise play during the season. Anyway, I'll tell you more about that next week after we play.

Next scheduled game: Tuesday

Doctor's Orders

Another beautiful day in the Wenatchee Valley. As a result of my recent medical tests, the doctor has ordered me to get more exercise... so I'll be an obedient patient and play more golf! He is giving me three months to get my cholesterol down, so it will mean playing as much golf as possible and eating lots of fruits and vegetables. If that doesn't work, we'll resort to something more drastic (drugs). I've been needing some prodding to get back on my diet... so this is it!

My foursome today consisted of me (left), Janet, Linda, and Darlene. They all know I'm blogging (or is that flogging?) my way through the golf season. I always promise not to write about anyone's game except mine... unless they want me to. Linda gave me permission to tell you she birdied #10 (a long par 5) and Darlene parred #18, with an excellent one putt.

We played the back nine twice today because they were plugging and sanding the front nine. The back nine had been sanded yesterday, so they were pretty rough but still playable.

I've convinced myself that I didn't putt as well today because of the rough greens. It's MY story, so I'm sticking with it. I had 33 (16 + 17) putts today, which is more than the last two rounds but my overall score was better. 42 the first time around, 38 the second time around for a combined 80. I struggled through the first nine, with only two pars (#17 & #18). I had several pars on the back nine, and birdied the par 3 #18. I didn't have a single double bogey today which is great!

I was definitely doing better on the fairway shots and I wasn't getting in "trouble". The one tree I did get behind had a ribbon on it, so I got a free drop, giving me a clear shot to the green.

Had a good time. Next scheduled game: Thursday's regular play day.

No Golf Today

Took the day off from our regular Thursday ladies golf play day to let my stiff neck and shoulder rest... and to catch up on alot of miscellaneous details. Taxes are done. Yippee!

Bingo, Bango, Bongo

Today I played golf with my friends Sherry (on the left) & Janet. The picture in the upper right is Sherry (on the left) and me. I thought it would make a nice picture since we both had about the same color scheme of blue and black.

When you play golf with Sherry, there is always a game involved... usually a game called Bingo, Bango, Bongo. Bingo is for the first ball on the green. Bango for the closest ball to the pin. Bongo for longest one putt. This game goes from hole to hole. The first person with their ball on the green gets a "bean". The person closest to the hole (after hitting on the green from the fairway) gets a "bean". And then the person who makes the longest one putt gets a "bean". If nobody makes a one-putt the "bean" carries over to the next hole, or whenever the next one putt is made. If you three-putt you lose a "bean". The person with the most "beans" at the end of the 18 holes wins. We usually play for a dime per bean.

Bingo, Bango, Bongo is fun because everyone, regardless of skill level, really has an equal chance to get beans. If you're truly serious about the game (and not your final score) there is strategy involved, such as laying up just short of the green to try to get it closest to the pin on the next shot, which gives you a better chance to one putt. We have a lot of fun with it. Today, I was the "bean queen"!

Janet is amazing. I think she's about 70 years old, but she doesn't look it nor does she act it... and I mean that in a good way! She is out playing golf several times a week and sometimes she plays more than one round a day. I first met Janet many, many years ago when I played in the women's fast-pitch softball league in Wenatchee. That was when I was young and single in the early days of living in Wenatchee.

On days like this, and there will be more, I question my decision to log every single golf game this season. Golf, I've decided, is like a good marriage... some times there are things you just need to forget about, let go, move on.... let it breathe.

Again, I putted well with 30 putts total. I drove the ball fairly well but not great. Again, my fairway game was extremely inconsistent. I can't put my finger on the problem other than my timing is off with the irons and fairway woods.

The end result scorewise, though, is close to the last two games. I shot an 87. I should be happy to have broken 90, but I'm just not pleased with the overall game. I'd certainly hate to get desperate enough to go to the driving range. When I go out I prefer to play a real game with my friends. But, practicing wouldn't be so bad if it would give me more confidence for the next game.

Next scheduled game is Thursday. I've got a little twinge in my left arm, so may give it a rest. Will check in later and let you know.

No Pictures On A Scorecard

Today I played with my friend, Karen Madison. Karen is a financial planner at Piper Jaffray, so if you've got some money you'd like to know how to invest call Karen. Karen is a very good player (with a 5 handicap) but she, like me, was struggling today. We also played with a guy named Bruce and his teenaged son, Eon (or it might be spelled Ion). It's pronounced E-un.

Thankfully, there are no pictures on a scorecard or someone besides me would know how truly ugly my game was today. Despite scoring an 86 (net 73), I didn't feel as though I played as well as Thursday when I scored an 85, a mere one shot better. The ball was consistently pulling to the left, which means I was trying too hard to hit the ball. I was successful on a slow takeaway but as much as I tried I couldn't stop myself from speeding up on the downswing. The ironic thing about golf is the easier you swing, the farther the ball goes. Even knowing this didn't seem to help.

The good news is I did putt well again today. I had 31 putts today, compared to 30 on Thursday. That accounts for the one stroke difference in the score. But, like Thursday, I had one 3-putt which I hate.

I'm still wrestling with whether to order that new set of Ping irons. If I don't do it soon, I'll wait until the end of the season or beginning of next. The way I've been hitting the irons is certainly making a case for going for the new set.

Overall, it was a good day. The weather was on the chilly side, but it wasn't windy so very pleasant for an early spring game with a friend.

If you click on the picture (to enlarge it) you may be able to see the snow on the mountains in the background. It rained considerably here yesterday, with snow in the mountains. As Spring progresses, the pictures I post will give you a better idea of how truly beautiful it is here in the Wenatchee Valley.

Next scheduled game... Tuesday.