Monday, September 15

Today was absolutely beautiful. High temp of about 75, very light wind and almost no clouds. It doesn't get much better than that for me. Today I got a lot of things done on and around the course. I shot 68 today, which I would normally be happy with...it's just that my only bogey of the day came on the par 5 18th hole. The only thing I hate worse than bogeying the final hole is making a bogey on a par 5. To do both at the same time makes me want to vomit. I played aggressively all day...but on the last hole I was thinking about making par and saving the bogey free round. I let up, and it bit me in the ass. At least it was now and not later on. A reminder, I guess, to keep the hammer down for all 18 holes.

I'm not sure exactlt how ofteb bogey free rounds occur in a professional event. I'm sure somebody probably has one almost every day. I would assume that they're only about as rare as home runs in major league baseball. Some have more than others, but every day somewhere somebody's going to hit a dinger.

I've been working on a new shot this week. I ordered a 5-wood with an extremely stiff shaft (unusual for a 5 wood, I know) a while back. I almost NEVER hit it left because of that shaft. One less side of the golf course to worry about with that club. Anyway, I've been working on a shot from about 210 - 225 yards with it. I can hit it about 260 full out, so to hit the shorted version I choke way down on the club and basically swing it like a seven iron. The result is a low, penetrating ball flight that stops on a dime. It's one hell of a handy shot to have in the bag if you need it. I hit it a number of times out on the course today and never missed a green with it.

The putting and chiping are progressing nicely. I had a long chip in for birdie on a 197 yard par 3 today. I'm also beginning to get the distance dialed in with shots under 135 yards. There are so many variables to consider. It seems like every day now a couple of my birdies come from shots that slam to a stop about a foot from the hole.

After the round today I spent the usual time on the putting green and then worked on fading drivers and that 5 wood shot on the range for a while. I'll probably get in 27 holes tomorrow, working around the greens some while I play. Wednesday I'm off to play with my friend in Memphis!