Winter Series #9 - First Round

* Before I get to this week's tournament, I must finish last week's. My final round last week - as Papago GC, which is a "muni" - was very boring. I hit the ball well, even better than I had in round 2. Unfortunately the better ball-striking didn't lead to a lower score. I only made 2 birdies all day. The biggest reason I didn't make more was my putting.

Final Leaderboard last week

Now onto my current tournament. I have continued my improved ball-striking, but only managed to shoot a 68. I'm not complaining about it, but it felt better than a 68. Plus one of my playing partners shot a 65 and he admitted that his round didn't feel like anything close to a 65.

Whatever the score was today, I'm happy to be hitting the ball as solid as I'm used to. It should only be a matter of time before everything clicks and I put up a really good number.

Leaderboard this week

Winter Series #8 - 1st and 2nd Round

Looks like I made the cut - but just barely. On Wednesday, my first round was an ugly one. I only hit a handful of truly solid shots, but I managed to shoot 73. In round 2 I hit the ball much better, with nearly 2 dozen solid shots! However, hitting it 400% times better than day 1, I only shot 2 strokes better.

Tough to explain that if you haven't played a lot of golf, but most golfers understand that scoring has nothing to do with how well you hit the ball.

During the 2nd round I was only in trouble twice, but I made a bogey and a double bogey on those holes. The other 16 holes were really positive. I had plenty of quality birdie chances, but couldn't convert many because the greens have become very fast and firm. I found myself hitting a great approach shot into the green, only to be left with a quick, downhill, sliding putt - not one you can get aggressive with.

Leaderboard

Neil

Winter Series #7 - Final Round

Probably not a surprise to anybody who follows my blog, but I forgot to post yesterday after my final round. There is a pattern to my absences. They are directly related to how well I play. If I played well, I don't forget to post. However, if I struggle - like I did on Friday - my blog conveniently "slips" my mind. I apologize for that. It's a horrible excuse because I do enjoy keeping my family and friends up to date.

As for Friday's final round - it was a poor performance. Only one birdie and it didn't come until the 17th hole (which on a side note, I birdied all three days!). One of my problems was my tee ball. I had been very accurate through the first two rounds, but in round three I started pulling my tee shots left and finding trouble. I managed to save pars on #1, #6, #7, and #8 with pulled tee shots. A pulled tee shot cost me a bogey on #13 and that was one of the easiest holes all week - and I played it +2.

I finally fix that mistake and hit the ball really well the last 4 holes, but it was too late to make a serious comeback.

Leaderboard

Neil

Winter Series #7 - Second Round

Now that was anything but a ho-hum second round. The perfect weather I mentioned yesterday changed into a breezy afternoon. We had steady winds around 20 mph and gusts reaching 35 mph. Despite the difficulty, I got off to a great start. Missed my first green long, but chipped it in. Made a good birdie on the short par-4, 14. Made a 18 foot birdie putt on #15 and made a 15 foot birdie putt on #17. A par on 18 and I made the turn at 4-under par. Biggest difference from round one was putting. I only made 60 feet worth of putts in round one. During round 2, I made 90 feet of putts (including the chip-in) on my front nine alone.

After my great front nine, I birdied #3 to reach 5-under. After that I stalled out. I bogied #4 and #6, which were both really tough par-3s. On #8, I was in the middle of the fairway and made a terrible swing, missing the green left and failing to get up and down.

It felt good to play a good second round. It's been 2 months since I scored better on day 2 than I did on day 1.

Final round is Friday morning. Leaderboard

Neil

Winter Series #7 - First Round

Another ho-hum first round - one under 71. I hit the ball well today, but couldn't make any putts. My stroke felt horrible for a majority of the day. I finished with 33 putts, which is a horrible number. I three-putted numbers 12 and 13 for bogies, but finished strong with a birdie, eagle, birdie run on 15, 16, 17.

Perfect weather down here - 70 and very sunny. Not trying to make everyone jealous, just stating a fact.

Leaderboard

Neil