dustin88thewind

Shot an even par 36 at my home 9-hole course. Hit 7 of 9 greens, 5 of 7 fairways (two I missed just off the short grass). +2 going into 6, but birdied 6 and 9 to get it back to level.

Shot the most unsatisfying 42 (par 36). Hit 6 of 7 fairways and 7 of 9 greens, but I putted waaaaaaay too aggressively. Still, better than leaving them short like I did all year last year...

I agree totally. I'm just thinking the gut reaction has to be, "Are you kidding me?!"

I came across this story this morning: http://tiny.cc/avznww Great way to finish a high school career, but how gutted do you think the other kids in the playoff must have felt? I mean, I would hope they respected what an awesome shot that was. Still, I have to believe there's that feeling at the pit of their stomach when it drops...

This is a day late, but I'm still in recovery mode from yesterday's 54-hole marathon (can't pass up $50 for unlimited golf). Played Castle Course at Northern Bay here in Wisconsin (6419 yds, 72.7/125). Rounds of 88, 78 and 83. Concentration finally kicked in during round two, but waned in the third (probably thanks to the frosty adult beverages and hours of sun exposure). 27 pars, only one birdie, and the battery in our cart died on hole 44. Thanks a ton to the dude at the pro shop who brought us a new one and limped the old one back to the clubhouse. Now the forecast calls once again for snow over the next two days. C'est la vie.

Shot an 87 in my first round of the year earlier this week (and it's snowing on and off once again here in Western WI). Not up to my standards from last year score-wise. However, I felt my overall game (fairways, GIR, recovery shots) is at a better starting point, so the score doesn't bother me. Just really hard to putt when the greens are so deceptively slow.

Shot an 80 (+9) with one really disappointing triple-bogey.

Played a round of 9 with the Velocity today. Shot a 3-over 39 (missed some easy putts). Great distance. Some of my longest drives of the year. And as far as wedge play goes, the ball does release a little, but not enough to make it a problem for me. As far as cost vs. effectiveness is concerned, I'd take the Velocity over the new NXT Tour.

Shot the most disappointing 81 of my life yesterday. I was playing The Castle Course at Northern Bay (a replica course that includes holes like the 17th at Sawgrass, 13th at Augusta and 18th at Bay Hill) and carded a 42 going out, but started off the back going par-birdie (on the aforementioned "Island Green" and "Amen Corner Finale," respectively). I continued to shoot lights out on the back nine, going -2 (+4 for the entire round) into 17. I yipped that par putt to put me back at -1 for the back and just wanted to come in at even. The finishing hole is a replica of Bay Hill's 18th. I put my drive in the left rough and had just a wedge to get home. Scared of the water right, I pulled the shot left of the green into a bunker. That's when I lost focus, and six-shots later, I'm home in 81.

Ian Poulter, -14 Steve Stricker, -12 Keegan Bradley, -11

This is something of a catch-22 when it comes to sports journalism. I'll use an example I ran into this past year. During the Packers-Rams game, many of you may have seen Green Bay linebacker AJ Hawk flipping off his own sideline post-sack on national TV. Well, you can almost guess what every other question was for him in the locker room afterward. That said, there were a few of us (myself included) asking questions about the game itself. You can also probably guess which questions got a better response from Mr. Hawk. The paradox of the whole thing is while the players would much rather talk about the game, and as a sports journalist it's our job to discuss the sport, better ratings often come from the little controversies surrounding the sport. It gets people, hardcore and casual fans alike, talking. So, going back to the Tiger-Miceli exchange, Alex did a fantastic job generating buzz about yesterday's presser. Is it good for his business? Yes. Is it the right thing to do in terms of sports journalism? I would say no. But, would we be talking about this presser as much if he hadn't pestered Tiger about this topic? Probably not. Hence, catch-22. All that said, I also think Tiger did a good job handling the badgering. He certainly could have said much worse.

True, but I give him points for "Boom-shakalaka!" in lieu of everyone always yelling "In the hole!"

I'll also throw in a plug for rockbottomgolf.com . They tend to have pretty solid deals on new clubs. I've always been satisfied with my purchases from them, too.

The drama is with Tiger. Drama equals ratings. Ratings sell advertising. I would guess the only way you could try to change it is by convincing a good chunk of the viewing public to turn off the TV when Tiger's playing. I for one, will keep watching.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7608360/ryan-braun-wins-appeal-50-game-suspension Thoughts anyone?

Happy Birthday, Steve Stricker!

Great up and down FTW!

I don't know about that. I'm watching golf on Wednesday. I'm quite content.

Well, so much for my runner-up. Poults really needs to start getting it together this year.

True enough. I still thought he might have a chance riding that high.

3 matches done, 3 wrong picks. This is worse than my typical NCAA bracket.

Highlight of the tournament so far: DJ and Furyk both chipping in on 13. Awesome. Aaaaaaaand now he's back to AS. Good for my bracket.

+1 After last years first-round debacle, I'm pulling for Poultergeist to return to form this year!

As far as scoring, I'd like to shoot par a couple of times this year (came close a few times last year, but couldn't close). To do so, I plan on trying to lock in a consistent tempo and spend a lot of time on my course's chipping/putting green.