Tags: exclusive, course, florida, trinity fl, heritage springs, realestate
I was invited to go to an exclusive golf course in this retirement community in Heritage Springs Community in Trinity, FL. It is beautiful!!!  I did some searching and found a website that has a bunch of images on it. www.sellingheritagesprings.com just click on the golf ball and it takes you to a photo gallery. This site is a realators website that specializes in selling homes strictly from this community. His name is Gil Herman.@import url(http://www.golflink.com/community/js /rte/); @import url(http://www.golflink.com/community/js /rte/);

Tags: course, round, golf, tee, golf ball

..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.

 

Tags: resort, course, golf, putt

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.

Tags: course, range, golf, practice, resort

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.

Tags: golf, course, range, practice, round

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. 

Tags: Round, Golf, Handicap, Course, Prizes, Committee.
It has been some time since my last edition, and there have been some advances in my game.
I played in a club comp on Saturday gone and managed to finish in 4th position.  The Handicap Committee made a reduction to my handicap of 3.5 strokes.  This is a reflection on how my game has progressed over the past mnth or so.  I played again on Sunday, the end result was a 7th place finish which showed the reduction was correct.  Our H/C committee are very astute in their approach and can be heard sharpening their knives on a Friday night in anticipation of the coming weekend.
While I constantly strive towards a lower score, there are those who will do anything to protect their handicap.  These are the fellows who usually play within their own circle of friends and play for small purses.  They know who they are, every club has them in their ranks.  They then come out and play in tournaments where there are big prizes.  I think the term is "Sand-bagging".  Deservidly, this is frowned upon by decent golfers.

I believe a TRUE golfer is one who aims to perfect his game and acheive all he can by regularly entering the weekly comps & monthly medals.

In all I am well pleased with myself and my game. 

Tags: course, practice, golf, range, driver

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.

Tags: golf, course, range, practice

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.

Tags: Golf, Range, Course, Practice

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.

 

Tags: Golf, Round, Play, Carnoustie, Course, Championship, Scotland, Stableford, Birdie
As I write this edition, my mates & I have just finished booking 3 days play at Carnoustie (Scotland) in May 2008.  This is in the form of a package deal with the Burnside on the 3rd, Buddon Links on the 4th, finishing on the 5th with a round on the Championship course.  Caddies are a must for the whole experience.  (we are also getting older, bag getting heavier).  The cost to each of us is a staggering £145.00 ($299) Cheap as chips! 
I hear tell if you manage to play to your handicap (stroke play) on the Championship course you are presented with a medal in celebration of the achievement.
http://www.carnoustiegolflinks.co.uk/ind ex.php

A £1 coin & a Pro V1
I played with a friend on Wednesday, he insisted we play Stableford.   He is reluctant to give any shots if he can help it.  It started out as a frosty morning, cold but no breeze.  Wrapped up against the weather, I tee'd up on the first, pulling the shot to the left.  Second shot went straight into the heart of a collection of gorse (ball gone) I was not looking for that one.  From then on it was all good.
My card.
Hole           1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18    Total
Par             4   4   4   4   3   5   3   4   4    5     3     4     4     4     4     4     3     4       70
Score         7   4   4   5   4   5   4   5   3    6     6     5     4     5     5     5     4     3       84
Points        0   4   3   2   2   3   2   2   4    2     0     2     3     2     3     2     2     4       42

To cut a long story short, he won the £1 for overall points (beat me by 1), but I took his Pro v1 with my birdie on the last.

Tags: Instruction, golf, Friend, course, swing, putt, chip, pitch, Glayva
As I post this latest addition to my blog, Vic & I are demolishing a bottle of Glayva (sorry for any future  spelling mistakes).  We are venturing out to the course tomorrow (Saturday) and he is picking elements of my game in need of redevelopment. (all of it he says) 
He has identified several key areas where I could "easily" shave strokes from my handicap.
1) When chipping/pitching, I have a tendancy to be 'handsy' (his words) instead of turning though with my body towards the target, I flick my wrists over causing inconsistancy in my distance/direction control.
2) We agreed I have not been positioning the ball directly below my eyeline at address when putting & am positioning the ball slightly behind centre of my stance. 
3) I am not completing the follow through and am finishing my swing short. This is due to me not turning fully towards the target with my belt buckle facing just to the left. As a result I am pushing the ball to the right.

I have now found that so long as he is keeping the Glayva flowing, I will listen to every word of his advice.
He has just told me it will be evident in my game tomorrow, remembering that the 1st Tee shot is over a burn.

Vic is currently playing off 7 and is a sincere playing partner who would only inpart sound advice if it were truly required to enable me to reduce my current handicap towards its former status. (he is sitting beside me at present)

I will update this blog upon my return.  If he is as wise a sage as his years predict, then I shall be in line for a drastic cut to bring me down to size.  If I remember what he told me!

Tags: Medal, Round, Tourny, Comp, Golf, Score, Course, Prize, Partner
After playing golf every day last week, and very well I might add, THE GOLF GODS took their pound of flesh.
On Saturday gone, I played in the Major Club Medal.  There was £500.00 worth of prizes up for grabs, with the main prize being a Flat Screen TV.  I won't go into each hole but will say I returned a net 72 after recording 2 x 8's & a 9 on my card.  I cannot blame the weather, I cannot blame the course even though they have top-dressed them.  It was the same for everyone.  I just blew out on three holes.  The only consolation was that my usual playing partner Vic, won the TV with a net score of  67.  I was still  on the prize table in the end. 
I did predict they would take it back but in the middle of the major competition, so malicous.

Tags: Stableford, Par, Birdie, Bogey, Golf, Course, Card, Round, Score, Points
Today I arranged to play with a couple of friends who had time off work.  We made the 1st Tee at 09.00am with great weather, no wind, none of the predicted rain, broken sunshine.  We decided to play Stableford format.  Now this is something to my advantage as I am currently playing off 20 while they are off 10 & 16 respectively.
My drive off the 1st was ugly, in the light rough to the left of the Fairway.  I thought the Golf Gods were going to take their revenge for my previous outing, but I managed to scrape a bogey for it.  From then on all went well and I finished with a very impressive 44 points.  However, we were all square on points on the 17th when John pulled off an incredible Chip-in for Birdie.  I thought OKay, I am the only one of the group to have a shot on the 18th and usually not far away, so might pull off the draw.  Sadly it was not to be as John again pulled out another Birdie.  I ended up losing a £1 coin & my Pro V1 to him as did Gary our other companion.  John carded 47 points & Gary had 39.  All in all, it was a very good mornings golf.

My card.
Hole           1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18    Total
Par             4   4   4   4   3   5   3   4   4    5     3     4     4     4     4     4     3     4       70
Score         5   4   5   5   3   5   3   5   3    6     4     5     6     4     5     6     4     5       83
Points         2   3   2   2   3   3   3   2   4    3     2     2     1     3     3     1     3     2       44

Tags: Round, Score, Shot, Par, Bogie, Birdie, Course, Golf
Well here it is, Todays round.  The weather was very good, sunny with no wind.
I played with 2 other guys one of whom brought a new twist to the game.  He explained that when he plays with his usual squad, they play for the ball on the 18th.  I had never heard of this before, it was either beers, coffee, or lunch, even a quid.  I noticed he teed up with a different ball when we got there.  But he won the lot any way.

Hole    1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18   Total
Par      4  4  4  4  3  5  3  4  4    5    3    4    4    4    4    4    3    4     70
Score   6  5  5  5  3  5  4  5  4   7    3    4    5    6    4    5    3    6     85

It's a strange game!

Tags: Round, Result, Score, Course, Card, Golf
Looking back on the weekend, it has been a time of mixed fortunes. 
On Saturday, with the exception of the the 1st hole, I had a great round.  Playing off the yellows, I carded a round total of 81.  It seemed I was able to see all the shots in my mind before I played them.  My club selection was very accurate for a change.  My putting was good also.  So finished in a very happy mood.
Then along came Sunday.  We played in a Stableford comp.  All seemed well going along scoring on all holes (either 1, 2, or 3 points) to have 21 at the turn.  Then the course took its revenge for the day before.  I carded 10 points on the back nine for a total of 31.  My companions were 43 & 45 respectively.  needless to say I was very quiet over my Pie & Pint.  It's is a cunning game we play.  We have high expectations of how our game is developing only to be brought back to earth with a resounding crash.  The plus side was the weather, Dry Warm & light cloud.