cougar978

I think the high yesterday was 68, not a cloud in the sky. Only problem was I couldn't wear a hat (would need a chinstrap because it was so damn windy) and I'm bald over the top - got a pretty nasty sunburn. I had people in the blitz yesterday tell me I look like a cross between Dilbert and Bozo the Clown with no hat.

77 today, one birdie on a short-ass par 5. Three-putted 16 and 18. I suck.

If I were Rickie Fowler, my response would be as follows: Mr. Grant: No one gives a f*** what you think. Sorry none of your kids look like you. Sincerely, Rickie Fowler Juvenile, yes, but it would definitely rattle that prick's cage.

I shot 75 at Glenwood Golf Club in Richmond on New Year's Day - it was about the only course open in a 100 mile radius after we got a shitload of snow on 12/26.

Damn that was fun - could have been 70 if some putts fell. Best I've struck the ball all year.

He began to question DJ and his caddy about the penalty during the round. Had he waited until after they were done, it probably wouldn't have been as big a deal. A reporter walking up to a player and his caddy during a round and asking about the penalty they took is tantamount to a shoving a mic in someone's face during a perp walk, there's absolutlely no place for it in a professional tournament. I wish Pete Rose would have laid a beatdown on him for the stunt he pulled in '99. Gray is someone who needs to be put in his place in the worst way.

It's not bad at mine - the only thing they use to seed players is their previous scores in events held at that course, so the only way you could 'sandbag' is be a first time player who said he sucks and then go out there and throw up a low number. If you do that, you're a captain next week so it evens itself out. I have been playing terribly of late (80, 78, 80...) and have went from a captain to a low B or high C player depending on the field we have. I know when I go out there and put up a 65-66 I'm gonna get a hard time over it from some people, but those who know me know I'm not sandbagging, my game just goes on hiatus from about mid-January to March every year.

One of my friends is a +4 and tried to qualify for the one at the University of Maryland course last year - played a course up by Frederick and shot 80. It's a whole different game out there, not many people can handle it, I'm pretty sure I couldn't.

Last year at the 11th hole at Deer Run during the Peninsula Amateur. 11 is about 400 yds, par 4, about 30 degree dogleg right, trees right off the tee till about the 200, bunkers and woods left, and a big-ass pond right in front of the green (handicap 2 hole). I usually like to just plunk a 2-iron down to about 150-170 out and then get on with a short iron (in the summer anyway, I lose 20+ yards per club when the weather gets cold). Anyway, I lose my tee shot a little right into the rough, about 160 out. Pin is WAY up front, so I've got no more than 150 out of a flyer lie. I decide to put the turbo boost on a 9-iron and it flies at least 50 yards over the pin, about 20 yards behind a 100ft tall pine tree. Ball is kinda sitting up in the rough, so I open the blade on my 60, swing as hard as I can, pop it straight up over the tree, and the ball lands no more than 2 ft. Routine par.

I thought I was the only one that spit to clean their ball after marking it on the green - now I feel better. However, my bag towel looks pretty nasty from the tobacco being mixed in with the spit. Back to the original post, I don't see any problem with spitting on the course, especially if you don't smoke and have a nicotine fit every now and then on the course.

Since all courses on the lower peninsula were closed on 1/1 thanks to snowmageddon on 12/26, I drove up to Glenwood GC in Richmond (a course I've never seen before) and shot 74 with only one birdie, made a ton of up and downs. I thought the temperature was going to be mid 50s so I just wore a golf shirt and windbreaker (it never got above 45 - nearly froze to death). Got rained out on 1/2, then played in the blitz on 1/9 (riding with a guy with a cart cover and propane heater) - shot 80 after parring the first five holes. I got bored on Sunday 1/10 and decided to head to Woodlands (where it's $10 to walk 18 holes after 12pm in the winter) - temp never got above 35, wind chills were probably in the teens, wore long johns, a heavy wool sweater, and windbreaker. I walked the course in about 2 1/2 hours and only played through one group. I shot 71 with four birdies. I think I play better when I expose myself to the elements rather than ride in a covered cart - I don't get that.

If I recall the rules correctly, all scores are considered final after the close of competition (and verification by the tournament committee).

Yes - it sucks what happened to Camilo today. However, it's not fair to the rest of the field if he breaks a rule and isn't penalized. I didn't see what went down, but if you make any modification to a ball's lie before it gets there, it's an obvious infraction and he should have called himself on it.

As long as the course is open, I'll be there. However, we just got a foot of snow Sunday so I'm pretty sure I played my last round of 2010 last Thursday (did birdie the last hole though - finished on a good note).

1) Top 10 finish in a tournament. 2) Go lower than 65 (best score last year) 3) Average 30 putts or less per round. 4) Stop being a dumbass when things don't go well on the course. 5) Be less impulsive when making decisions regarding shot selection.

1) I hit a tee shot into a greenside bunker on a par 3 today - the bunker was full of leaves and I could not locate my ball. I had to dig through the leaves in order to locate and identify my ball. While identifying my ball, it moved and I replaced it. If I were in a tournament, would I be subject to a penalty? 2) I hit an approach shot on a par 4 where the front end of the green and part of the run-up area was frozen. The ball was sitting in ice and snow off the green so I took relief under the casual water rule - however, there was still ice in my line of sight (the ball was off the green). I proceeded to putt the ball over the ice after taking relief (my stance and lie at that time was unimpeded by the casual water so I was under the impression I took full relief). Did I proceed correctly or should I have taken relief to cover the line of the putt as well?

Don't feel bad - I think I shot 63 (for 9 holes) in my first tryout when I was 14.

It's been windy and cold here for the better part of two weeks. I shot my worst round of the year (87) two Saturdays ago because I wasn't closing off my follow-through, hitting shots fat, and the ones I struck well, got up in the jetstream and went way off line. I followed that up with a 76 on Sunday. I made some changes the week after, and went 74-71 on the same course last weekend (the 71 was in 40 deg temp with 20-25mph wind). To me, it's all about cutting your swing down to be able to control the ball flight as well as making good decisions in club selection, if you can do that, you'll do okay, if not, you'll get killed.

I brought this on myself in a tournament in July (I may give myself away if someone from around here reads this - oh well): I was playing in the Hampton Amateur - shot 36 on the front with three three-putts on the front (a three-putt par when I drove the green on a par 4 and two three-putt bogeys with a birdie on 8) - also missed two birdie putts inside 5 ft. We get to 10, which is a 480yd par 5, straight away (it should be a par 4) - anyway, in the summertime, 10 is usually a driver-7I for me. I get up and jackhammer one to 150y out - only one problem - ball hits a sprinkler on the way down and ends up right behind a tree. I have to chip out sideways, ball ends up in a divot (we're playing it down everywhere for the tournament). The pin is tucked back left, I pull a PW into the left bunker, ball plugs. Gouge the ball out and 3-putt for a 7. Hit driver-LW to 4 ft on 11, birdie putt doesn't even touch the cup. 12 is a short par 3, I hit PW to about 20 ft, another 3-putt (after missing a par putt inside 2ft). Anyway, after this last transgression, the putter decides to leave my hand and fly back toward the cart. Instead of landing in the rough, it decides to land on the cart path. Fast-forward to 13 - I hit a good tee shot, draw a horrible lie, wedge into a greenside bunker, blade lob wedge over the green into cabbage, machete ball to about 5 ft for bogey. I get set to line up my putt, and I realize the putter head is misaligned - the throw on 12 broke the epoxy, rendering my putter unusable. I go back and try to putt with a 2-iron and 3-putt for a 7. Waiting for the next hole, I pull my 8-iron out and putt with the head turned around backward (which puts a lot of topspin on the ball, but it stays straight if you hit it in the middle of the back of the club) and I end up shooting 1-under on 14 through 18 for a 76. A guy in my group complained about my club-throwing and I got yelled at by the tournament director, and it really made me feel bad for doing it - I haven't thrown a club in a couple months at least, trying to stop for good.

I bet there are a lot of people that work for Sun Mountain's R&D; and marketing departments that are getting their resumes prepared as we speak..

I've had plenty of eagles, a double eagle on a par 5 last summer, but I've never had an eagle on a par 4 until today. I flew a lob wedge from 60 yards right in the cup!! Also, on the front nine, I ended up parring a hole with two shanked shots (shanked tee and shanked approach about 30y right of the green on a short par 4). Also made $150 today. Today was cool

I shot 69 at Arroyo Del Oso my senior year of high school and won. That f**ing ruled, man I can still remember how it played out, even though it was in 1996. 1st hole (par 5) - hit on in 3 and 3-putted, bogey. 2nd hole (par 4) - driver, wedge to 10 ft, birdie 3rd hole (par 4) cock-blocked my drive into a pond, dropped, hit my third onto the fringe, chipped in for par. 4th hole (par 3) - par 5th hole (par 5) - hit over the green in two, got up and down for birdie 6th hole (short par 4) - almost drove the green, birdie 7th hole (downhill par 4) - hit one in the desert, 2nd shot to 5 ft, made a downhiller for birdie 8th hole (LONG par 4) - driver, mid-iron, up and down for par 9th hole (par 3) - I think I hit my tee shot short and made bogey - 34 on the front 10th hole (par 4) - hit a cruise missile on the front fringe - birdie 11th hole (par 5) - par 12th hole (par 3) - hit a pansy-ass 5-iron short, couldn't get up and down, bogey 13th hole (par 4) - driver, wedge to 15 ft, birdie 14th hole (par 4) - par 15th hole (par 5) - driver, 4-iron to 20 ft, eagle putt hit a f***ing spike mark and came up short, tap-in birdie 16th hole (par 3) - 7-iron to the wrong side of the green, made a 50ft birdie putt - did a Beavis and Butt-head headbanging impersonation with my putter as the guitar! 17th hole (par 4) - par 18th hole (par 4) - hit a slapdick drive into the shit, hit my 2nd short, chunked my 3rd, ran my 4th 10 ft past, missed the putt, double. 35 on the back - 69, 1st place by two shots. Got my name in the paper and everything. I could have shot 64 or 65 that day, no shit.

James River CC in Newport News is really nice (I think the dues are $30k/yr, ridiculous) - the only reason I get to set foot out there is I know some of the guys that work there. On the other end of the spectrum, there's a 'country club' in Rio Rancho, NM (I think it's called Chamisa Hills now, used to be called Rio Rancho Golf and Country Club) that was in worse shape than most of the public courses in Albuquerque. I don't know how the members didn't revolt against the people that maintained that place.

12 years ago, I was in a pretty bad accident that caused a shattered left radius as well as crushing several bones in my left wrist which required a 4 pins and a screw to correct. For the past couple years, I do 300 reps per hand on a power grip to build up strength in my forearms to counteract the weakness in my left wrist. This has led to being able to play golf relatively pain-free up until a couple days ago. I can still make a golf swing with little to no pain, but when I close my left hand around something, I feel a sharp, shooting pain in my wrist that hasn't been there before. Any idea what it might be and would a trip to the doctor be a good idea?

Practice from the hole, and work your way back to the driver. What I mean by that is, work on your putting first - screw hitting full shots, chip shots, any of that - spend a lot of time on the putting green until you're confident you can get the ball in the hole. Next, go to chipping (which is just a scaled-down version of the full swing). After that, work on your wedge game and short irons. The longer clubs basically use the same swing as the short irons. If you go to the driving range and just try and knock the shit out of everything you see, chances are you won't do well. When you go to the range, don't even worry about hitting woods, just focus on your irons. There's a lot more to it than that, but hopefully that gives you a good start.