Still struggling

I played with Nick from 3:30pm to dusk and we got in one round before he had to go. I am still struggling with my game, as I am holding on too long to some of my drives (causing them to go hard right and short), and adjusting to my new putter. The second nine holes I started to get it back together, only to have #8 bite me and push my round well over par. I would like to think I am a better player than my current double digit handicap would suggest... but if I don't start posting better scores (or doing more practicing) I may have to re-think that.

Round
5*, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4 = +7
3, 3, 3**, 3, 4, 3, 3, 5, 3 = +3 +10 Total

* Held on too tight and the drive went dead right into a tree
** Missed a 15 ft. putt uphill for birdie, my closest try all day

After Nick left I did some practice putting, and that was ugly. I may have to go back to "Gumby" or just figure out why I am pushing everything.

Finally, I had some good luck - As when I was getting ready to leave I decided to go and look for Greg's lost disc on #2 and found it and a disc of Scotty's as well. I think I could probably make a decent living finding Scotty's lost discs though... :D

Golfing in the rain

Well Scotty, JB, Greg and I tried to get some golf in before the rain at Moraga today - but no such luck. I have never tried to play in these kinds of conditions, and so figured it was worth a shot. We only made it 3 holes before giving up - which was the smart thing to do as it was much to slippery...

The good news is I was able to get Greg a couple of discs in Santa Cruz on Friday and give them to him today. I just hope he has a chance to throw them in the next couple of days.

Still playing bad!

I played this afternoon, and was joined by "hippie" Greg and his dog on #2. I have just been playing so badly lately... I have been hanging on to my drives and/or shanking it hard OB. Just not playing the way I was a few weeks ago - when par rounds seem routine. You will see by my score that par was not in any danger today. I just seemed to make either par, or big numbers! Not so much fun. I hope that spending less time on the web site (as it is getting closer to being finished) will help and I can practice more. Anyway, here is my bad score for today:

Round
3, 3*, 3, 5, 3, 5, 3, 5, 3 = +6
4, 3**, 5***, 5, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4 = +7 +13 Total - YUCK!!!

* - Had a great drive on #2 and put it on the hill
** - Had by biggest drive on #2 (to backside of the hill) - still missed putt
*** - Got up on top of the hill (pin high) only to hit the basket twice and roll farther away each time.

Monday practice and close call

I went out late this afternoon, as I spent a considerable amount of time on the web site. It was such a nice day I did not want to spend it all inside. I met up with Scotty and Makey... and saw Nick, Brian, Ron, Matt and a few others around the course.

We did not play a real round, but instead played some mystery holes and skipped around. One hole we did play was #8, and I had a great drive and was only about 25 ft from the hole (on the road). I had a legit chance for birdie and it hit the top of the basket and fell off and behind the pin. I almost had a birdie on #8 before Scotty... and I think he may have been rooting for me to miss (and who could blame him?). Still it was nice to get so close, and I will get it someday.

New Putter?

I have been seeing Greg and others putting with harder plastic putters, rather than the gummy one I have, so figured I might want to try one as well. I had seen/heard about this Discraft putter (174 gms) with a ring on the top for your thumb and thought it was a good design - and so decided it was the one I would try. I am not sure it will ultimately replace my trusted gummy, but it seemed worthy of experimentation.

Sunny round

Well the weather was good, so went out and played a round (between working on the web site). Below is my score for the 18.

Round
3, 3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 = +1
4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 2, 4, 3 = +3 +4 Total

While I still was not able to get many birdies, I kept my damage minimal and so my round was better than yesterday.

Moraga round

I played with a few of the regulars today, and I lost track of how many rounds we played. Below are the scores I know were right...

Round One
3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3 = +5
3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 5, 3, 4, 3 = +3 +8 total

I should be able to do better than this... but was just off my game as evident by the lack of birdies.

Quickie

I went out to Moraga for a "quickie" round before the UNC Tarheels (my favorite basketball team) played at 4:30 PM on ESPN2. They won, but this is not a basketball blog so I won't go on about their game.

My round was more practice and I just did not have it today. My timing has been a little off and so a few of my drives went astray. At hole #4, I met up with some guys from San Francisco. They played well and said that the course in the city is going to add more holes to make it 18, then add another entire course making 36 holes in all. That would be awesome and I did not ask them when it would be ready... They also said they were developing a new back-pack style disc golf bag. it sounded nice and they said it would be out in a few months and that anyone interested could buy one on Ebay.

As for my round, see scores below. I was unimpressed with it, but did make a few longer putts (holes 1 & 2). I hope I can play a few more times before my next project starts.

Practice One
3, 3, 4, 3, 3, 4, 3, 5*, 3 = +4 - Yuck!!
* She did it to me again!! Hit off the basket on par putt and rolled some 30ft. (went from 3 to 5)

Napa Adventure

I went out and played Napa with "the Gregs"... (Greg, and "hippie" Greg) and it was quite an adventure. The course was tough, and very wooded. Many holes seemed as though there was no real way to get it close, but then one of the Greg's would park it and prove it could be done.

The first time I went around the first nine I was a million over and joked I was only count pars (which I had like 2 of). But from 9 on I kind of caught fire and had 2 birdies, including one that Greg said was a few feet from being an ace (see photo below). Greg actually had one that hit the chains and was almost a hole in one. It was amazing to watch. I ended up shooting like 1 or so over for that back nine, and thought I was on my way to pulling my game together.


Another Greg arrived and so we played the course again. I got off to a good start, but it was not to last, as I took a 9 (yes, a NINE!!!) on #4. I threw a bad tee shot and then, on the advice of the Greg's, threw again from the tee pad for my third shot which went to the left and into a tree only 100 ft. up the fairway. I was in a rush to play, and go find my first disc that I took 2 more shots just to get out into the fairway again - Yuck. In hindsight, I probably should have played from where my first drive was, but oh well live and learn.

The round just seemed to get worse from there and you can see my scores below. I just fell apart and got tired from climbing all the hills. I still had a lot of fun and think that playing harder courses helps improve a person's game, and figure out what you need to work on. For me that it is alot!! :D

Round Two
4, 2, 3, 9, 4, 3, 4, 4, 5 = +11
4, 3, 3, 3, X, 4, 4, 3, 4 = +15 Yikes!

X - We missed a hole and so did not complete 18, but played 1 again and I took a 5.

Oh and we saw some wild turkeys (see below).

First under-par 18!!

I went out and played with Scotty, JB and Laner and shot a one under for 18 holes. I was proud of the fact I was able to continue to play at that level for the entire second 9. after finishing at one under for the first nine. Below is how I shot the best round of my life.

Round One
2*, 2**, 3, 3, 3, 4***, 3, 3****, 3 = -1
* Had a drive straight at hole to 5 ft.
** Had a drive between trees but hole high
*** Great drive, but second shot rolled away 20 ft.
**** Great drive past last tree to 25 ft.

Round Two
3, 3, 3, 3*, 3, 4**, 2***, 3****, 3 = 0 Total = -1
* Drove past road to #7 had great "up" shot
** So So drive, and then overshot "up" shot to 20 ft.
*** Great drive to within 3 ft. behind hole (DX Eagle)
**** So So drive, "up" to within 10 ft. and made great putt

So needless to say I was very excited about my play. I threw my Star Sidewinder for most drives, and it was going straight and long. I tended to try and focus on smooth throws with 85% of my full force, and it seemed to work. I also started putting like Greg does (the feet spread method) from in close (10 ft or less) and that seemed to work really well. I can't wait to play again.

Also everyone seems excited about the web site and I need to try and finish it soon.

Getting back out there

I went out and played disc golf with Greg, then Scotty and Paul (friend of Nicks). Greg and I started at around 1pm, and played 18+ holes and I could not believe how rusty I was. I think I had only one birdie and many more bogeys... not good. Both of our play was kind of loose and not so good - but it was just nice to be able to play again! After like 20 something holes we decided to go and grab some lunch in preparation for our rounds with Scotty.

After lunch, we proceed to play some "P-I-G" putting on #1 while waiting for Scott to arrive. Greg got me with 2 straight PIGs before I got one back on him. His putting was much better than mine as I just could not seem to get my feel back.

Paul showed up before Scotty, and once he showed we played 2 more rounds before darkness fell. I kept track of those two rounds (as you can see below). I think Greg got tired as his score for the last nine got much higher than it had been. My drives started to improve over the last round or so and I hope that I can continue it for Santa Cruz this weekend.

Round One
4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 4*, 3, 4, 4 = +6 Yikes!
* I had a great putt for bogey and got everyone fired up!

Round Two
3, 3*, 3, 3, 3, 3**, 3, 4, 3 = +1
* Had my farthest drive and was on the hill
** Out-drove both Scotty and Greg

Rain getting in the way

Well the rainy season has officially arrived and so I have not been able to throw or play in awhile. I am hoping that it clears up soon. In the mean time, I am working on a web site for the local course in Moraga. I hope to have it done in the next couple of weeks - as it is taking longer than I thought it would.