That Time of The Year

And what is meant by the title is that they plug the greens at the courses this time of the year.

The plug holes are not too bad, but they also top dress them with sand and or fertilizer.  The sand clings to the ball and you have to clean it before each putt.  The fertilizer is animal based and the fragrance is, shall we say, bullish!

The plug holes themselves have the annoying habit of kicking the balls to and fro.  You might make the putt or not; it's all in the whims and wills of the gods.

With that in mind, it is not the time of the year to work on putting or to be discouraged by putts that don't get to the hole or veer off like a drunk chicken.  It is a reasonable time to work on full swing.

I've played four times this week and have plans for tomorrow.  The rains have returned to this part of California.  The "Pineapple Express," aka, the atmospheric river is due tomorrow.  I've used the hourly rain forecasts this winter.  I've never been rained out, but they promised that I would have, and we are talking more than once.   Yogi Berra put it, "Prediction is difficult, especially about the future."

I've been very happy with my long game.  It continues to evolve as my "knowledge" changes.  Sadly, I'm not real sure that what I'm learning is what I need to learn.  If I were to take up the game from scratch, I would go to a golf camp for a week or two and make sure I knew what I wanted to do.  Maybe not know how to do it, but at least have the proper swing goals.

I've said before that the discovery and experimentation is part of the attraction to me.  Like learning a few words of the local language when traveling.

I had a couple of birdies today at Wente, which is the difficult course in my two course rotation.  We've started to play from the shorter tees, which suits my game and most of the others' too. We don't hit the ball real far and when the holes are too long it turns all holes into pitching and putting contests.  A little of that is entertaining, but not being able to play like the pros is a bit discouraging.

There is more to the enjoyment of golf than playing well or scoring well.  The scenery around Wente is wonderful.  You play through a couple of valleys and this time of the year the hills are as green as any in Ireland.  The Turkey Vultures, quail, jackrabbits, and the odd bobcat scamper the course.  While the scenery is not as good as Wente, the local muni is a great walk.  Wente requires carts due to the steepness and length of the course.  Las Positas is great for walking; there is not a lot of elevation change and the greens and tees are not very far apart.  It feels good to walk the fairways and contemplate the game and chat with the fellow golfers.

I'm still working on the usual things.  Mostly the longer clubs.  I've been getting better with them.  Perhaps more by swinging less aggressively than any technical issues.  If I swing with more control and less angst about distance, I am able to control my slide with the driver and everything gets better.

I had a nice front nine on Wednesday, with a short putt for a one under 35.  But the ball dove and ducked and was not going to go in.  Please see notes about the greens above!   It was a fun round of being able to control the ball.

So another round tomorrow.  I'm still looking forward to getting out and playing, walking, hanging with boys.

A shout out to Jimmy, who turned 90 the other day.  He is mentioned in a previous post or two.  A good chap and fun to be with.  He has stories that cross oceans and decades.