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Today we played course number 8 Riverview in Elizabeth which is about a 30 minute drive from my home. This course is very nice, plays about 6400 yards from the tips and was in pretty good shape. The greens were about a 6.5 and putted very smooth. This course is typical  of a lot of golf courses in this  area, in that the first hole is one of the more difficult on the golf course. It is the number 3 handicap hole. This breaks a basic architectural rule in that the first hole should not be the toughest or the easiest hole on the course. I always thought one way to solve this problem was to reverse the nines. The first 6 holes at Riverview are pretty challenging and then after that the course plays much easier. Those first holes would then be 10 through 15 and I think it would speed up play because players would be more warmed up to play the more difficult side. The greens at Riverview are the biggest challenge. They have a lot of undulations and sometimes they can be quicker than 6.5 which can make them down right treacherous. The hot dog at the turn was very tasty. In fact I would say it would be placed in 2ond  at the moment,only to Firestone Farms. Is this course worth the trip. No no more than a 40 minute drive.  Everybody played pretty mediocre today. I shot a 79, Pete shot 78 and Donna 94. For me it was it was just a plethora of mistakes. A pulled 8 iron on 4, 3putt on 6, pulled 9 iron and skulled sand shot on 7, 3 putt on 9, bad chip on 10, horrible duck hook drive on 13, major block to right at least 50 yards on 14, and fat 5 iron on 15 for a 79. I had one birdie. My swing thing as I will call it, I am still doing it but modifying just a bit. One thing I do know, is what not the answer is. The swing is not the thing. There are so many swings on tour and every one is looking for what’s common in the swings of the pros. I can tell you right now, nothing. You will here people talk about how impact position is so important and how everybody looks the same. Even if that was true which it is not, of course they are very close because these guys hit the ball solid and straight. Everybody worries about their swing but believe me once you get the basic concept of the swing which is to turn the body away from the target on the backswing and turn your body toward the target on the downswing then how you do it is very unimportant. My putting pretty well stunk today but that is another story all together. Well we have 8 down and 82 to go.  Certainly no closer to an answer.       

Today we went to the local county course South Park. This course is only a 15 to 20 minute drive from the house. This was also the South Park senior championship which the 3 of us played. The course is about 80 some years old and almost takes care of it self and that is the key word almost. We have had a really hot and dry spell and the course was certainly paying the price. The greens were browning out and the fairways were brown and sparse.  The course played about 6400 yards today and the greens ran about a 5 on the stimp. This course is not worth the trip unless your trip is very short like mine.  The group did pretty well today. Pete shot a 73 and finished 2nd overall and 1st in our age group. I shot 79 and while I did not strike the ball well my putter and chipping were the main problems today. Donna had 91 and finished 3rd in her age group. The park has always been a course that has had condition problems but at times has been in excellent shape. This was not one of them. The course is fairly open but it is hilly with lots of uphill blind shots. Pretty boring and not the most enjoyable course to play but their rates are reasonable. Needless to say the search continues and now it is for some short game answers. If your just starting to play golf I would recommend the 9 hole course there. It is not crowded on Friday or the weekends and is good place to start to learn golf, that is, if you want to learn this game. I would not recommend it myself. The hot dog was pretty good but nothing special. Well 7 down and 83 to go.

Yesterday August 27th we played golf courses 5 and 6. This time at least we did stay in Pennsylvania but again we headed about 75 minutes north of Pittsburgh to play Tam O Shanter and Castle Hills golf courses. This was by far our most enjoyable day. The weather was perfect and both of these golf courses were in excellent shape. Both courses were very similar. Tam O Shanter played about 6500 yards and Castle Hills played about 6300 from the tips. We started with Tam O shanter in the morning. This course is fairly tight with lots of tree lined fairways and some excellent par 3’s. The greens were running little faster than 5 and were very smooth.  The pro shop at Tam O Shanter has to be one of the most well stocked of any public course. If your looking for clubs I would suggest to play and look at this good selection. The only negative of the day was that the hot dog at the turn stunk. It was basically uneatable. In fact it was worse than having no hot dog like at Kensington. The hot dog at Castle Hill was fair at best but it tasted like filet mignon compared to the other piece of garbage. I only ate  half of it and I only ate that much in disbelief. I thought maybe my mouth was dry and it was making it taste bad. As my Dad use to say” It was enough to make a buzzard puke”.  Off we went to Castle Hills and again another pretty course with some excellent greens . The best we putted so far. They ran a solid 6.5 and you paid the price if you got above the hole. This course was not as tight as Tam but it made up for it with quicker and more undulating greens. [ To show you how similar these courses played, I shot 77 and 76, Pete shot 80 and 80 and Donna shot 92 and 93. I hit the ball very well today and I am working on something that may  have a lasting effect on my golf game,we will have to wait an see. The most interesting thing about my play today was how the way the ball was lying on the grass affected the shot. Tam’s fairway were more lush than at Castle. This made iron shots particularly short irons fly farther at Tam and this cost me about 3 times during the round. When we got to Castle Hills the fairways were shorter just a little sparse in places and the short irons did not go as far. If you can play these courses as a tandem they are definitely worth the trip. The greens were spectacular and there is a good variety to the holes. My game has been improving and we will see if this new process with the swing will continue to progress. It could just be temporary solution number 387. The biggest thing I came away with from these 2 rounds because of the difference in the fairways is to pay attention to how that ball is lying and how much grass is underneath it. It can make a difference of 20 yards even on a pitching wedge. It was a great day and with some hope on the horizon. 6 down 84 to go.