While on vacation I bought and read the book “Consistently breaking 90”. Good book. It wasn’t the burning bush of knowledge because most of it made sense but they did put all of the steps in place (yes, play better). Also while I was on vacation I studied the course, both through their score card and through my app “Swing by Swing”. I had a plan to not only break 90 but to also to kick this course’s ass.

The first hole is an easy par 3 if you hit it straight. I am a little right, chip and 2 putt for 4. Ok, I’m playing bogey golf and by that alone I can get to 90.

Me and Leon head to what I thought was the 2nd tee box. After much yelling and confusion I realized that Matt and Dan were telling us to take cover. Mill Valley had moved the tee box back and across the street and Leon and I were right in the line of fire.

After finding cover among the trees and bushes with Matt and Dan, we watched with amusement as the group in front of us (Dave, Andy, Rock and Joe) tried to stay on (near) the fairway. When we got to the tee box you could now see just how long and narrow this hole was going to be. Dan got a 7, I got an 8, Leon got a 10 and by some miracle, Matt got a 5.

The front 9, at least for me was extremely painfully and frustrating, after all I had a plan!!!. I had two 8s, a 9 and two 10s for a 65 on the front. Dan had a 65 too, Leon had a 56 and Matt had a 55. Now I was afraid. I can live with Leon beating me after all he has been constantly getting better. I could live with Dan beating me, after all we did tie in week 2 at Agawam with a 109… but I could not let Matt beat me. Hell, he beat me in a practice round before the season even started and he still talks about it as if it was a lifetime achievement award.

The truth was, I was in serious trouble. My driver was erratic and my putting was so bad I should have used my 4 iron to putt

The other group didn’t seem to be having a merry old time either. They were sooo slow and spent quite a bit of time in the woods. On the front 9 Dave had a 51, Andy a 57, Rock a 62 and Joe a 63.

At the turn I figure beer can’t hurt this round so I buy beer. I also decide that I am just going to try and keep the ball in front of me or at least do my best. Dan and I play much better on the back. Leon continues to play his game and then we have Matt…

Just saying that the wheels fell off on Matt’s game would be telling a lie.

Matt was the opposite golfer that we saw on the front 9. He lost 2 balls on almost every drive. He was bad. When he threw his club in disgust it would go further and straighter than his golf ball. To be honest with you, I don’t know how he finished the round; I mean he could not have brought that many golf balls. After the final 9 Matt had shot a 74, that’s with two 8s, a 9, two 10s and an 11. Hell, he even got a pair of 6s on both Par 3s. Matt had a score of 2 over par just on the back 9.

I, on the other hand, made a comeback worthy of a past Winter Classic Champion by scoring a 47 on the back 9.

Dan played much better on the back shooting a 54. Leon remained the same as the front with another 56.

Joe – 112

Leon – 113

Dan 119

Matt – 129

It did help on the back 9 when we were finally able to play through the other group when Dave had to make an emergency pit stop at a port a john.

Dave seem to have his own troubles with the back nine getting two 7s, an 8 and a 9 finishing with a 53. Rock played better keeping the damage to a minimum and shaving off 5 strokes to finish with a 57.

In the end Dave finishes with a whopping 104, Rock with a 119, Andy with a 118 and Joe with a 125.

Handicap Scores:

Leon – 78 (+6)

Dan and Rock – 84 (+12)

Joe – 86 (+14)

Dave – 86 (+14)

Matt – 93 (+21)

Weekly Points:

Leon – 8

Dan – 6.5

Rock – 6.5

Joe – 5

Dave – 4

Matt – 3

Chris – 0

Jake – 0

Total Points:

Leon – 67.5

Joe – 52.5

Dave – 47

Rock – 43

Jake – 35

Dan - 30.5

Chris – 29.5

Matt – 28

After a discussion at Mill Valley, I decided to move the Rider Cup (Alternate Shots) that was scheduled for this weekend to the following weekend. This weekend I think we should stay close to home and try to regain a little pride and dignity. I will make 2 tee times for early Saturday at Vets on Wednesday.

New Handicaps:

Chris – 27

Dan – 35

Dave – 17

Joe – 26

Jake – 25

Leon – 36

Matt – 36

Rock – 36

See you on Thursday if you have any questions.