..but I thought this was hilarious. So I'm out on my weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) round. This time it's Fort Brown Memorial Golf Course, billed as the 'Southermost Golf Course in the United States', although I still have my doubts about that. It does sit just north of the Rio Grande River at the southernmost tip of Texas, and you can literally hit a golf ball into Mexico, with a pitch wedge, I might add.

But anyway, first hole, it's go-time so to speak. Having not warmed up,  I pull out the big dog, as it's a long par 5. Well, as is usually the case, my ball ends up in the adjacent fairway. !$&%en ball. There's a group of five at the tee box. Yeah, five! So I wait. After they tee off I drive myself to my ball, locate it, and wait for them to take their second shot. After they do I drive to my ball, but just before I get there, this grumpy old man beats me to it. Having already taken his second shot, he picks up my ball, as if he really thought it was his. And in case he really thought is was his, I told him, "Excuse me, that's my ball." He ignores me and proceeds to pick up my ball. Again I try to get his attention. Without even a glance in my direction, the grumpy old man blurts out, "My ball!," and drives away with my ball.

Now isn't that funny? "My ball!"

What a grumpy old man.

So I'm looking down the fairway of hole number one at La Cantera's Resort Course. Man she's a monster, about 613 yards from the middle tees. Longest hole I've ever played by far. I thought to myself, "man this is going to be a long day." My drive wasn't the best I've hit. It went about 260 along the right side. The hole dog-legged to the right so the drive was perfect. After a second shot mi#@!$, I hit a beautiful six iron about 170 yards to land five feet from the hole. Now I'm thinking this ain't so bad afterall. Thought maybe I'd break 90 for the first time. And then....I two putted! I don't think I ever recovered, two, three, and sometimes four-putting. I hit only one other par that day, but in my defense it was really, really cold (about 45).

The course was beautiful even in the miserable weather (posted some pics if you're interested). Hole number seven was beautiful, from the elevated tee box to the green, carefully placed in front of the rattler at fiesta texas. There was plenty of sand guarding fairways and bunkers. There were ponds, streams and even waterfalls. About the only that stunk on the course was my scorecard, man what a disgrace. Well I guess that's why they say there's always next time. I'll keep you posted.

Hello everyone! Me again.

So, it's been a while huh? Well, I've played a few rounds since my last post. Nothing new really. Hit some very solid iron shots. I'm not yet completely satisfied with my iron play, but it has seen some significant improvements in the last two or three months. I shot a 92 in my last round. I could have easily broken into the 80's (for the first time) had it not been for a quadruple, a triple and a couple of double bogeys. Man those high scores are killing me. On the brighter side, I managed five pars, a birdie, and what seems like a plethora of bogeys.

The problem, to be honest, is my putting game. It is lacking, to say the least. It needs a lot of work. Seems like I spent too much time at the range, working on iron play, and not enough time on the putting green. I've been meaning to do it, just haven't gotten around to it. I will though, soon enough.

So the real reason for this post is tomorrow (1/17/2008). See I haven't really played any "nice" courses, resort courses. I've spent my entire golf life on inexpensive courses. Now don't get me wrong, we do have some nice courses here in the Rio Grande Valley, and plenty of them. Let's just say that noone comes down here solely to golf. So anyway, tomorrow that all changes. I'll be playing at the Resort Course at La Cantera in San Antonio, home of the PGA Tour's Valero Texas Open. And man am I excited. I know it's not Pebble Beach or Augusta, but to me it will be the best I've ever played. I just hope it all goes like I envision it. And who knows, maybe I'll break 80 while I'm there. Wish me luck! I'll keep you posted.

What's up fellow golfers? I think this post is long overdue.

Well, I finally played a round. After what seems like a lifetime of range sessions, I finally did it. And let me tell you, the range works. Although my scorecard doesn't indicate it, my iron game was right on the money. I still hit a few errant shots. I think that was mostly due to a lack of focus and concentration. I mean I was hitting greens from beyond 150. The longest green I hit was about 175 with a 6 iron.

Now don't get me wrong, I am by no means a great golfer. I realized I was spending too much time at the range and not enough time at the putting green. I left four par putts and two birdie putts out at the course. That really kills me. I shot a 99 on a par 71 course. Those putts would have really lowered my score. I could've broken the 90 mark. Never done that. But I think I'm on my way.  I'll hit the putting green for a while and see what happens the next time out.

I'll keep you posted. 

So here's my dilemna. I'm at the range and have been for the past few days. Been working on my short iron game. Things are going great for the most part. I think I got my wedges figured out. So I thought I 'd try and work on another part of my game. That's when I got to thinking.

See, I can hit my driver a mile. Problem is, my drive usually ends up further from the hole than when I teed off. So obviously my drive needs some working on. So I reach for the big dog and I pause for just a moment. And I thought to myself about all of the articles I've read about Driving at the range. And how it's frowned upon. And how the real practice is with your short irons. I didn't want to be "that guy" at the range.

My question is don't I have to be? Isn't that the point of the range? To work on what needs working on? Well my driving needs working on. And I don't necessarily think it's such a bad thing.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you see "that guy" at the range, you know, "that guy" that looks like he's out there just to have fun, "that guy" that looks like he's not really practicing, "that guy" that could've just stayed home and accomplished just as much on his Wii, well, if you see that guy, give him a break. "That guy" just might be me. And gosh darnit, that guy just might "really" have to work on his drive. And he might "really" be trying to work on his game. Just try to remember that there's more to the game of golf than just short iron play.

So here I go again. Another day at the range. What can I say, I've nothing better to do. Besides, I'm starting to really enjoy this. The thing is, I have a really bad feeling about all of this. I'm sure my next outing will be no better than my last. As a result, I'm going to curse the driving range and having spent so much time on it.

So about the range. I'm still trying to perfect my wedge shots. I read somewhere that wedge play is one of the most important facets of the game. I figure that if I can be a consistent wedge player, then I'm a better golfer for it. Who knows, maybe I'm on to something. When I feel confident about my wedges, I'll then move on to longer irons. For now it's all wedges, all the time. I'll keep you posted.

So I was back at the range today. Nice day. Really nice day. We get a lot of those in South Texas this time of year. Must of been a high of about 75. Nice and sunny though. Absolutely no wind, which is why I decided to hit the range.

So, about the range. It was a very productive session, for the most part. I hit all of my wedges today. My goal was to know exactly what their yardages were. Mission accomplished. I think.

Today, I was hitting my 60 degree wedge about 65-70 yards. My 56 degree wedge is going about 80. I hit a 3/4 PW about 90 and a full PW about 100. Thats about as far as I got today. Quick question to anyone reading this. Are these yardages about right for the respective clubs? Are they short, long? What do you hit with these wedges or something similar? Just trying to see where I stand.

Overall I was very satisfied with my outing. I'm sure this will go a long way in my next round. We'll just have to see. I'll keep you posted.

Today was a beautiful day! Temperatures in the low to mid 70's. Nice and sunny. A little windy, but nonetheless, a beauty of a day. So I took myself to the range. Big mistake! See, I've been playing for a little over a year now. Played my first round on Thanksgiving Day, 2006. That had to have been the most fun I've every had at the golf course. Never having recorded a round, I had no score to beat, no shot to perfect; I had nothing. My goal was just to have fun. I guess I must have had fun; I bought my first set of clubs about a week later. It was a used set of Dunlops.

Meanwhile, back at the range. Man, was it enlightening. I realized for the first time just how bad my game is. I mean, I knew how bad it was, but bad was magnified today at the course. I usually shoot somewhere between 90 and 105. You know how it is, some good days and some bad days. After today, it's a mystery why I'm not consistently shooting in the 130's. My iron play sucks! I can't nail a fairway to save my life! My putting is worse than my five year old daughters! And I'm doing nothing but tearing up the golf course everytime I go out!

Ok, so it's pretty bad. That's just it. This is just what the range is supposed to do. It's supposed to #@!$ you off. And somehow, through the madness, you're supposed to get better. I don't know, maybe i'm better now than I was before my little adventure. I guess I'll find out this weekend. I'll keep you posted.