First Round - Club Championship

Whew... now I know what the Wicked-Witch-of-the-West must have felt like when she was melting! It was so hot today on the golf course, by the 16th hole I was questioning my ability to keep standing. We were all seeking shade at every opportunity thoughout the day, but we were all pretty well in survial mode by the last three holes. Not sure what the temperature was but it must have been close to 100.

This is the group I played with today... all friends who are regulars with the Three Lakes Ladies 18-hole Division. From left to right: Linda Hinton, Mary Weatherman, Donna Jones, and... yours truly. Good thing this picture was taken on the second hole of the day. Had it been taken after the round, I would have been shorter than Donna.

Today was the first round of this year's (match play) Club Championship. My match today was with Mary. Linda and Donna also played a match. This was the scratch division which was really a bit unfair for Mary because she has a 27 handicap, whereas I have a 15 My handicap is up from an 11 a couple years ago, which is a result of not playing on a regular basis. It is very difficult for a 27 handicapper to play scratch golf against a 15. But, that's the way the brackets work and Mary was a great sport about it all. We are good friends and enjoy playing together under any circumstances. Now, Mary drops down into the "net" division where she will be on a level playing field with whoever she is matched with. Good luck, Mary. I'll be rooting for you!

I won the match 8 & 6. Meaning, I was 8 holes up with 6 to play. I was 7 up with 7 to play, which is "dormy"... meaning Mary would have had to win every hole to go into an extra hole play-off.

I played very respectable 41 on the front nine (before my body started it's melt down). Usually I can score better on the back 9 because it is shorter, but not today. I shot a 43 on the back for a total of 84. Overall, I played well but my drives were not as straight as I would have liked. With a few brain fart exceptions, my iron play and putting was quite good.

All-in-all it was a good day... and now that I've had a cold shower, I'm feeling much better!

Next game: Probably next Thursday for round 2 of the Club Championship. I play Donna Jones (next to me in the photo). Donna won her match with Linda, but it was very close and I think went up to the last hole.

-Carol

Guest Day at Wenatchee Golf & Country Club

It has become a tradition for my friend, Donna Long, to invite me to the Wenatchee Golf & Country Club's ladies division annual Member / Guest Day. Today was the day. The Country Club is a longer and more difficult course than my home course of Three Lakes, and the greens are much much much faster! The course was in excellent shape, but it was very hot today. We all pretty much had the energy zapped out of us by the last few holes.

We had a fun group to play with. From left to right are: Karen Schmitten, Kay Fuson, and Donna Long.

Donna and I met through team golf several years ago... she playing for the Country Club and me playing for Three lakes. Our skill level is very similar and we enjoy playing together. I had never met Karen before, but really enjoyed being around her. I had played with Kay once before at a Three Lakes ladies day event earlier in the season. Kay is a retired school principal, Donna is a 3rd grade teacher and I think Karen is in some field of education administration. We never really talked about that. Hopefully, we will play together again sometime and I can learn a little more about her career.

As for my game, I was hitting the ball well, but my score ( 91 ) wasn't all that great. Of course, the 6, 7, 6 on the last three holes shot down my hopes of breaking 90 for the day. My energy was pretty well gone and my ball control went with it. The good news is I didn't spend much time at all in the rough, which is a very good thing... because the Country Club rough is very thick and can eat up strokes in a hurry.

I came home and took a long cool shower.

Next game: Thursday - First round of the Club Championship for the Three Lakes Ladies 180-hole division.

-Carol

Three Lakes Ladies Guest Day 2006

Today was the Three Lakes Ladies Guest Day. Pictured here, with the par 3 #18 fairway and green in the background, are the ladies I played with today. The weather was hot, but I enjoyed playing with this group. Fortunately, the course has plenty of trees and we were seeking shade by the second hole of the day. We all ran out of steam the last few holes.


From left to right: Nancy Vail, Dorothy McIntire (my guest), and Sharon Nance. Sharon is also a member at Three Lakes and Nancy was her guest. Dorothy and her husband, Bud, live in Palm Springs, but come to Wenatchee in the summer to visit family (and to get away from the summer heat in P.S.). Dorothy and I play together quite a bit at Cathedral Canyon Country Club (where they live) when Max & I go to Palm Springs in February. Dorothy and Bud are also members of the Wenatchee Golf & Country Club in East Wenatchee.

My game today was the best I've had for a while. My final score was 82 but I added a stroke to my score for posting because I took a mulligan, which was allowed for the team best ball competition. I had a few duffed chip shots but, otherwise, played a pretty good game. I even got my fairway woods to cooperate. I forgot to count putts, but my putting was good.

My biggest challenge right now is calculating yardage with my irons. Steve Creps who fit me for some new custom irons (which I haven't ordered yet) showed me how to torque my body to get more distance and accuracy. When I do this properly, the ball flies a lot further and I haven't played enough this year to really figure out what the yardage is for each club. Heaven forbid I should get desperate enough to go to the driving range and work on that!

Next game: Next Tuesday at the Wenatchee Golf & Country Club for their ladies guest day

Team Golf At Leavenworth Golf Club

Pictured (left to right): Lola, Chips, Marianne

Friday was our monthly "Team" golf event which was hosted by Leavenworth this month. Our Three Lakes team played our matches against Lakeview (out of Soap Lake). The ladies to the left in blue are from Lakeview and our worthy opponents. They were playing pretty darned good and made Chippy and me work for every single point. When the day was over, Lakeview did very well against all three of our teams.

My score of the day was 87, which was decent considering I had played only one other game over the last month (in Chelan the day before). My drives were inconsistent but the rest of my game was decent.

Leavenworth is a beautiful course, with tight (tree-lined) fairways and the Icicle River running along the edges in places. It is a course where "control" is a key factor. It is, essentially, carved out of a forest of trees and there is plenty of trouble if you don't stay in the fairway. I am proud to say I wasn't in the trees one single time on this day. My first drive of the day on a long par 5 was a goofy shot pulled into the left rough. I managed to recover, though, and scored a 5 to save par. I had a beautiful approach shot from about 100 yards out, leaving me a short par putt. Oh... those 1 putts do cover up a lot of sins!

I love all the flowers they maintain on this course. To the right is just a sample of some of the flower gardens. Fairway 10 in the background. Makes for more pleasant waiting during slow play. Play, however, moved right along on this day. We were so pleased to get finished in about 4 hours and 15 minutes. Generally, team play take close to 5 hours which can get a little frustrating.

A fun day on a fun course, with pleasant company.
-Carol

A Day at Lake Chelan Golf Course

Score: 92

My golfing friends today:
Gail, Janet, Ruth (and me)

The score of 92 may not sound very good but, after a 50 on the front nine, a 42 on the back was somewhat of a redemption... and, I'm ashamed to admit, I was happy to get away with a 92. At one point I was just hoping to break 100. I was hoping the month long lay-off would do me good, but it didn't seem to help. Oh Well. My work has been keeping me too busy and I've got to figure out a way to play once a week or, at the very lease, once every two weeks from here on out. I worried that, before I know it, winter will be here and the season will be over.

Overall, my game wasn't glaringly bad today. My main problem of the day was adjusting to the speed of the greens. Each green seemed different and I just couldn't seem to figure out what to do about it. My putting stroke wasn't bad, but my brain was confused about what to do on the greens.

The score aside, I had a very fun day playing with this group! My friend, Ruth Collins, is the one who invited me to play as her guest in their annual Member/Guest Invitational. Ruth and I have gotten to know each other over the years from various events and always enjoy being together. She is one of those people who can keep golf in perspective as a way to get out and have fun with out regard to the score. Gail and Janet were great to play with too. We had more than a few laughs on the way around the course.

Lake Chelan Golf Course is in a beautiful setting overlooking the deep blue Lake Chelan. Rumor has it, the bottom of Lake Chelan has never been determined in some places. Anyway, this golf course is fun to play... with long par 5's and challenging par 3's. Even some of the par 4's require some strategy in ball placement. If you've never played this course, I highly recommend it.

Next game: Tomorrow at Leavenworth (July Team event)