The Flush

Big Beaver Creek Golf Club #2, a 90 degree dogleg left. After a pulled drive into the trees and a duffed layup/pitch out shot, I holed out for birdie from 105 yards out using my AW. I didn't see it go in. When we got the green I expected to be on the green, but couldn't see my ball so I assumed it rolled off the back. My league opponent asked if I looked in the hole and that's where I found it. Other than a par 3 on the last hole, the rest of the round was poor, although I had my best league result of the year. I had to give my opponent 8 strokes and then he shot his best round of the year, so I didn't get a lot of points.

The par 4 hole #5 is the #1 handicap hole at Big Beaver Creek Golf Club. From the white tees it is not too bad for better players, but for high handicappers who need to avoid the water it can leave you with a 200 yard second shot if you don't slice it further away or pull it into the water anyway. The second shot can then have water left and trees/OB right for the high handicapper to avoid. If you can carry a drive 230+ you can get your second shot under 140 and it is not too bad. However you can also drive it through the fairway if you hit it a long way. You have to choose between going for the shorter second shot and the longer carry over water and that possibility of going through the fairway. The green itself if not too bad, but it is elevated above its surroundings, so you are less likely to have a short shot roll onto the green. I usually aim for the middle of the trees across the fairway which requires a 200 yard carry over the water, but still gives me room for error with way. My good drives go through the fairway and leave about a 150 yard second shot. I am not consistent enough to aim further left and force a longer carry over water.

I am not sure how old my son was in my avatar picture, but I'd guess around 10. He will be 17 in 2 days and he is a lot better than me now. I did beat his score in the first week of league play this year, but I haven't come close since and have been beat by 10 strokes in 9 holes. But he does practice a lot more than me. Our course sets up 9 holes as a par 3 course every Monday. While it is a money game, anybody play the course and I think that is a good way to introduce kids to the game. A couple weeks ago a friend invited my son and I to play with him and his 6, 8 and 10 year old sons along with another guy and his 6 year old. We teed off after 6:30 when the course was mostly empty and played a 2 man scramble with each kid with an adult partner. The 6 year olds teed off from the 100 marker, the 8 from the 150, and the 10 from the 200. It made for a fun evening and I was impressed by the kids. My 8 year old partner made our only 2 birdies and drove the green from 150 out on one hole. We only used my drive on par 3s and the last hole where he put his in the water. We finished even par to win a candy bar.

I golf because I have more time and money than I have brains, and I don't have much time or money.

I use a 10" x 30" Country Club Elite® Golf Mat Hitting Strip. I dug out about 2" of soil so that it sits flush with my lawn and I just stand on the ground when I hit. But I have a 2 acre yard out in the sticks, so no one can really see where I dug it up.

The courses I play reflect the lack of diversity of the area in which I live. I think the last data I saw showed this county being 97% white.

18 holes with cart $27 Fri/Sat/Sun $30 (& Holidays) 9 holes with cart $19 Fri/Sat/Sun $20(& holidays) For 2020-Senior & Active Military & Correction Officer Discount $25 18 walking $22 9 walking $15 All day play with cart $45 Customer Appreciation Special for 2020 Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs before 10am 18 holes and a cart for only $22

I played with an older guy (said he had been retired 11 years) in league play last week. It was great. He walked up to the ball and knocked straight down the fairway on every hole with no practice swings or other time wasting. I think he shot a 42.

First hole last night was a short par 3 playing about 135 and I hit PW to about 2 feet.

I took a 10 on a par 5 in league play this week. But a big part of the reason for that is I hit my driver too far and through a dogleg and into water. Yes, that really onluy accounted for 1 extra stroke and I made mental and physical mistakes after that shot, but I am focusing on how for the second time in a row on this hole I have hit it through the dogleg. I am hitting my driver better than ever. Now I have to either learn to hit a fade on purpose or start hitting a hybrid off the tee. I still had my best round of the year in league play even with the 10.

In southern Ohio everything is just about back to normal.

I walked 9 after work yesterday and it about killed me as well as affected my score. It was my fault because I am an old, fat, out of shape guy who did not eat or drink anything before or during the round on a hot sunny day, which was the first time I had walked in almost 3 months. But walking 9 after work is part of my fitness improvement plan, so I plan to continue to do it, only with more hydration.

I got my new Mavriks yesterday and promptly took them to the range. I hit them very poorly with my signature hook. I sort of figured it out (poor weight shift) by the end of the bucket and my last ball was the best 6 iron I have ever hit. I went back today hit in light rain and it was much, much better. I hit them almost 10 yards better today than I did in the fitting. The ball really jumps off the Mavrik club face and has a much better, higher ball flight than my old Adams Idea A3. I am not upset that our league got rained out for tonight because it is going to take some time to figure out my gapping. Even after adjusting for the stronger loft of the Mavriks, I am hitting them further than the Adams. I hit the new 6 iron further than my old 5H even though they have the same loft. I ended up with the Mavrik Max 4H, Mavrik std 6,7,8,9,PW,AW,GW, and MD5 SW and LW. Now I need to figure out my distances, remember that the AW is lower lofted than the GW and when to use each of the 5 wedges in my bag. I am going to go with 12 clubs in the bag until I figure out if I need something longer and if I can even hit it. I will probably have to wait until COVID is over before I join the Champions Tour.

Just throw strikes! Sorry, just getting ready for baseball season to start. It looks like my son is having a 5 week American Legion season this year, even though there is no AL state or national tournaments.