Tags: tournament, scramble, foursome, divot, Talons Cove, putting, birdies, eagles
On Friday night, I received a call from Gasper. His son (who was supposed to be in our foursome) cracked his ribs in football practice, and was withdrawing from the tournament. I scrambled to find a replacement, and fortunately, my brother-in-law, Matt's brother, Chad, was available.

We arrived at Talons Cove Golf Club in Saratoga Springs just after 7 am. We hit range balls for a while, and then I attended the golf clinic. I got some great tips on grip, alignment, posture and standing on the balls of your feet. I was glad that the clinic had nothing to do with swing, and everything to do with giving yourself the chance to make good contact with the ball.

We were the first to tee off on the 8th tee, a par 3. Neither Gasper or I made the green, both of us coming up short, but Matt and Chad gave us decent positions to choose from on the green, but we couldn't get the putt to drop, and walked off the 8th green with a par.

The 9th hole is a par 5, and we were excited to record our first birdie, or even an eagle, but after coming up short on our second shot, and leaving ourselves with a 15 foot putt for birdie, which we missed, we settled for par again.

On the 10th hole, we finally made birdie. We faced a 12 foot putt, which I lined up and drained. My putting game was clutch from that range for a good portion of the day, which is more than can be said about the rest of my game.

For the next five holes, we birdied every other hole, bringing us to -3 as we walked off the 18th. It wasn't quite where we wanted to be, but we were having a blast, enjoying a fairly mild day on a course that was the most pristine that I have experienced. The fairways were immaculate, and there was hardly a divot on the course. When I see a course that is in a condition that good, I'm more inclined to make sure that I replace my divots and even seed them. If you're looking for a great lakeside course, Talons Cove is where it's at.

One through seven yielded the same results as the back nine, and when we turned in our card, we were at -6. If I had shot a 66 by myself, I would be exstatic, but with four of us together, we knew it wasn't going to be enough. The winning team brought in a score of 61 for -11. If we had sunk more of our putts, we would have taken home the trophy for a second year in a row, but luckily, golf isn't all about winning, as I would have given up a long time ago if that were the case.

Tags: tournaments, scramble, Talon's Cove, green fees

Tournaments are interesting. It usually costs a lot less money to enter a tournament than it does to play a round of golf at the course that is holding the tournament. Talon's Cove in Saratoga Springs, UT, the host club of the company tournament, costs $47 for 18 holes. That is without prizes, and without a cart. For the company tournament, it is $15 per person, cart included. There are also prizes! It makes me wonder how much of the cost tournament operators absorb. I know that the prizes are all provided by the company, but still! Golf clubs must love to host tournaments because it guarantees that they receive revenue even if the course doesn't fill up. Check out tournaments in your area. They are great opportunities to golf at a cheaper price, at a more competitive level than you're probably used to, and possibly take home some prizes.

I'm excited to play Talon's Cove. I've never paid over $40 for a round of golf, as there are several well-priced clubs in my area. It is supposed to be one of the nicest courses in the valley, and it is affiliated with other highly rated courses such as Sun River in St. George (Utah's golf mecca, as I have mentioned) and The Lodge at Cloudcroft, in Cloudcroft, New Mexico. I'll probably have one or two more blog entries on my preparations, and then on Sunday or Monday, I'll provide pictures of the course, and...the results of the tournament! I'm really getting pumped up!