The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer

No new courses this week but a very good week none the less. On Wednesday we went back to what I call golf heaven, Mill Creek in Boardman Ohio for a 36 hole day. It was a perfect day for golf and the course was in great shape. Again we only paid 37.50 for 36 holes and a cart.  We played the North course in the morning and the South in the afternoon. I hit the ball really well in the morning but a bulky putter kept me from shooting any better than a 4 over par 74. I felt really good going over to the South course but then my brain went into stupid mode, started off with 2 double bogeys and never really recovered and shot an 82. I could shoot 90 on this golf course and still walk off the course a happy man. It was just another great day in golf heaven. On Sunday we played Murrysville, and I had a really up and down. After I bogied the easy first hole I righted the ship made a couple of nice pars and then birdied the par 3 fourth hole. After I parred the fifth hole I then proceeded to butcher one of the easiest holes on the course and double bogey a very short par 5. Then I settled down with 2 more birdies to be even par after 12 holes. Then I went into another funk and bogied 4 straight holes. I parred the last 2 holes to shoot a 76. I usually don’t go into such detail on a round but I think this is a good prelude to the next step into finding the answer. I am 95% sure I have the answer to the physical side of the game. This is the longest period in my golfing life that I have been swinging the club the same way. So now it’s time to go after the mental side of the game. Like the physical side of the game the mental game has had a lot written about it. We that play the game know the drill. Stay in the moment, stick to your routine, one shot at a time, and blah blah blah. Again, like on the way to hit a golf ball, I strongly feel that something is missing. I started this blog 2 years ago out of desperation to try and keep playing this game that was driving me nuts. It has taken me this long to find the swing thing. Hopefully I can find the mental key sooner. Speaking of mental, I may be slowing down on playing new courses subconsciously to give me more time to find the answer. Think about that for awhile. The search continues.

With grand kids and family in town for the week it was a welcome slow week on the circuit. I played 2 rounds this week both close to home. On Wednesday I shot 79 and today I had a big fat 83. This “little tweaking” I am doing with this swing is causing more problems than I thought it would. After shooting a 4 under par about 3 weeks ago it makes me wonder if this tweaking is the right thing after all. This does remind me a little of the problems I was having with the swing in the spring. So I will be still doing the same thing for awhile longer. One thing about today I did finished pretty strong. I started doing some of the drills that I use to do for the swing which I had got away from because I had been hitting the ball so well. My concentration has not been as good because of the slight change and that has contributed to some of the higher scores.  This week will get back to normal and we will add some more courses. Hopefully we are getting closer to the answer as there are only 24 more courses to go. Do golf clubs float.

This was a busy week, as three new courses were added. On Wednesday i went to Lake Vue North, in Butler Pa which is a 45  minute drive. This course plays 6100 yards from the back tees to a par of 72. The greens were running a 5 on the stimp and the course was in good shape overall. The course had a good variety of holes with lots of tree lined fairways and water that came into play on about 4 of the holes. There were a few unique things about this place. First the course did not have a course rating or slope. Even though the course was only 6100 yards the third hole was a 600 yard par 5. Finally they had the best sand traps of any course I have played so far. The sand was that nice fine white sand and there was plenty of sand in all the traps. The back nine is easier than the front and I was able to take advantage and shoot a 2 under 34 which gave me a 73 for the day. The hot dog at the turn was good with some good condiments. On Thursday I went retro at Rose Ridge in Allison Park Pa which is about a 50 minute drive. The reason I said I went retro was this was just like playing golf back in the 60’s. There was no watered fairways so everything was brown. The front nine greens were like concrete but the back nine greens were like a sponge. The greens had some burned out areas but were smooth, even though they barely made a 4 on the stimpmeter. The course did have a good design with some interesting holes and some water that came into play. This course needed some tender lovin care and I,m sure it would have been in better shape if I had played during the sping or the fall. The hot dog at turn was ok. Even the scorecard reminded me of the scorecards from the 60’s, very small with no frills. Despitie having to bang putts all day I had a consistant ball striking day and with the help of lots of roll was able to shoot a steady one over 73. The course played about 6500 yards from the back tees to a par of 72. On Sunday the group went to Lenape Heights in Ford City Pa. which was a 70 minute drive. This was a newer modern course which is having the typical delusions of grandure. The normal green fees on the weekend are 55 with a cart although they do have a senior rate even on Sunday of 45. The course plays 6250 from the back tees to a par of 71. The greens were running a 5.5 and were very smooth. The course was in very good shape. I suppose because of the green fees the course was not crowded at all for a Sunday. The course is hilly but has a good variety of holes with some very narrow conditions. There is some water on the course which comes into play on about 5 holes.  The $3.13 hot dog wss like everything else about the place nothing special but overpriced. I shot 78 thanks to playing the par 3’s 7 over. The rest of the group did all right with Tony shooting 76, Pete 82, and John 85.None of these courses were worth the trip. Lake Vue was the most enjoyable and had the best value. The shot of the week for me came yesterday at Lenape at the 2ond hole a short par 5. I pulled my drive which inadvertantly cut the dogleg. I hit a 5 iron from the rough that was able to hop a bunker on the left onto the green and hit the pin to stop about 4 feet from the hole. On Saturday I shot a mediocre 77 at South Park. Overall though the game is coming along and I am about as comfortable with my golf game as I have ever been. Next week there will be no new courses as the grandkids are in town with some less golf overall. Seventy six down and twenty four to go.         

Even though no new courses were added this was an interesting week of golf. Had a bit of a decline in my play but I think this was due to some,hopefully,final tweeking of the new golf swing. I was finally able to do a little anatomy reasearch and I think I have the golf swing down to some very specific muscles that controt the entire action. On Wednesday,I played an outing at St. Clair Country Club and really stunk out the joint. I think besides just starting the new tweeking of the swing the format contributed to some awful scoring on my part. The next day I played in the South Park Men’s Championship and shot two solid rounds of 78 and 75. I had terrible luck on the greens all day, and then just terrible putting the last nine holes, but all in all, I hit the ball really well, especially off the tee.The rounds could have easily been 4 to 6 shots better. Then yesterday went to Riverview with lots of confidence and laid a big 80 egg. It was a very bad ball striking day that was kept from being worse by some very good putting on some pretty tough greens. I hope I am right about this latest move I am working on with golf swing. It is no change from the basic principle I have been doing since around late September of last year. This year so far my index has gone down from about 5.2 to its current of 2.5. I have hit the ball better at times than I have ever hit it. Yesterday’s 80 ended an 11 round stretch in the 70’s. Earlier this year I had had a 12 round stretch in the 70’s. So I think I may be getting closer to the answer. Only time will tell. Next week I should be adding some new courses which will take me either closer or farther away from the answer.

Another busy week, with two new courses added to the list. On Wednesday we played two courses in Ohio about an hour and 20 minute drive. The first course was Pine Lakes in Hubbard, Ohio. The course played about 6500 yards from the back tees to a par of 72. The greens were running a 5.5 on the stimp and were very smooth. The fairways were perfect and the rough was grown in well. The golf course was in excellent shape and was one of the most enjoyable courses we have  played so far. It had a great variety of holes with water and trees and the course was fairly flat. There were some holes that were fairly narrow but others had a more forgiving driving area.  The hot dog at the turn was good but it may have tasted better than what it really was, because this course just put me in a really good mood. It was a beautiful sunny day and the course just added to the nature of the day. I shot 79 with Pete shooting 81. I was coming off my big 4 under par round and I think I was thinking a little too much about that round. My ball striking was not that bad, but some unfamilarity of the course contributed to a higher score. Then we went about 10 miles south, to a course called Knoll Run in Lowellville, Ohio. This was another very nice golf course but just slightly below the quality of Pine Lakes. The course played 6400 yards from the back tees to a par of 72. The greens were running a 5 on the stimp and were again in very good shape. This course was not in quite as good of shape as Pine Lakes but still was very good. This course was a little tighter and had more doglegs. Again it was beautiful with many tree lined fairways and some water that came into play. The hot dog at the turn was better here than at Pine Lakes. The hot dog had a little more snap to it and the condiments were better. Or maybe it tasted better because I had it with a big cold 16 oz can of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. I shot 77 and Pete an 83. These two courses were definitely worth the trip. With the weather being perfect this was one of the best days of the 100 golf course trek. Yes, its official I will be playing 100 courses now instead of 90. All courses no more than 90 minutes from my house. The rest of the week was rounded out by playing in a 4 man scramble event at Turkana where we shot 12 under which was not anyway good enough to get in the money. Our biggest problem was that we could not hit good second shots into the par 5’s and never made an eagle. Then on Sunday I shot a 75 and Meadowink. Kind of a blah round, although Meadowink’s greens were very bumpy which was surprising considering the time of the year. I also did some research on the golf swing this week and I think I have narrowed it down on what group of muscles control the golf swing. That could have contributed to the downturn in scoring. Overall a very good week. Probably no new courses next week as there are some events to be played in, which includes the 36 hole South Park Mens Championship on Thursday. We will see how the swing holds up under the gun. Seventy three courses down and Twenty seven to go.

Even though no new courses were played this week, it was a busy golf week with two 9 hole rounds played, and 4 18 holes rounds played. My play was pretty steady if not spectacular for the first rounds of the week. I shot 37, 36, 75, 73 and 74. The last 2 rounds were at South Park which I am playing more than I really want to but that’s the way it’s just been. My 74 was one of my most up and down rounds, I have had in a long time. I had one double bogey, 5 bogies, 3 birdies and an eagle. I also 3 putted for a par on another par 5 from 8 feet.  Today we went to Rolling Acre a course I have already blogged and is a course that I really like. It plays to a par of 73 and after making an opening bogey on a fairly easy par 5 yours truly went on to birdie the next 3 holes and make 4 more birdies against 2 more bogies to shoot one of my best rounds in years a four under par 69. Obviously the new muscular control of the swing is working out very well. But the big differnce is I have been able to finally apply the same controling factors to my putting and my short game. I did not need a lot of short game today since I hit 15 greens in regulation and had 29 putts. So am I on to something? I think so. Even though I have played as well as I have ever played for the last 4 to 5 weeks I am still not ready to say this is the new way to play this game. Remenber this is not a method I am doing here. You can apply what I am doing to any form of golf you like, ranging from the stack and tilt, the one or two plane swing. natural golf or the Jimmy Ballard technique. What I have been doing since about last October is I am letting a specific group of muscles control my entire golf swing. Before I get into more specifics there are 2 things that are going to have to happen. One I will have to continue to play well and will have to get into a little neuro anatomy reading to see exactly why this method is working so well. There is a part of me that still thinks this could be nothing more than swing number 306. I have played this game for 54 years and have had hot streaks before. The difference here so far, is my consistency, while still learning and trusting the method. Twelve straight rounds between 75 and 78 and now I seem to have taken it to the next level of 73 and 74. Even though this round was one of my best in a long I have been making steady progress with no major setbacks. In the coming weeks there will be some team tournaments and one individual event. It will be interesting to see how this method will hold up. Next week I should be able to get in some new courses. The other thing which I hinted at in some previous blogs, is I think I am going to go for a nice round number of 100 courses because there are a 100 within 90 minutes of my house.  Since the play is getting better I give my clubs at least a 50/50 chance of staying out of the lake at the end of the one hundreth course. Till next Sunday hit em straight. THE SEARCH CONTINUES

Another busy week with 4 rounds played, and course number 71 completed. We went to Donegal Highlands in Donegal Pa. a 65 minute drive. The course plays 6400 yards from the back tees, and the greens were slow but smooth running barely a 4.5 on the stimp. This is a golf course that has the 2 most contrasting nine’s I have ever played. The front nine is wide open plays to a par of 35 and is 3243 yards long. The back nine has trees,water, tight fairways and plays to a par of 37, but is only 3157 yards long. The course was in excellent condition with the rough grown in and fairways in great shape. Even though the course is in the mountains the course is relatively flat. The only negative were the slow greens. The holes are well designed and is a very fair but challenging golf course. The course is worth the trip. The hot dog at turn was good but nothing special. Maybe I am getting hot dogged out, but things have pretty bland in that area lately. I want that meatless chile sause. Had my first bad stretch of golf in a long time. I was cruising along at 2 over par after 13 holes then proceded to go double bogey, bogey, bogey, double bogey, bogey, and staggered home with an 81. Most of this was due to some poor ball striking and even poorer or dumber thinking. Pete also had a bad back nine and shot 85 and David came in with an 88. In the other 3 rounds I played this week I shot 81, then followed that up with my best round of the year a 71 at South Park and had a 78 today at 3 Lakes. Part of the reason for some less than steller scores this week, is that I think I have applied to what I am doing with my full swing, to my less than full swing and to my putting. In other words the anchor as I call it for my full swing, is now working for my less than full swing and my putting. I have never been able to do this before and like any new thing it is taking a little time to have confidence, and it has caused me to lose some concentration on my full swing. I wasn’t quite sure if what I was doing with my full swing, could be applied to those other aspects, because when I tried to do this previously I met with some gigantic failures. But now it looks like I able to use the same anchor on all three aspects of my game which could turn out to be a major plus, but time will tell. The round at South Park was not as good as it sounds. South Park is very wide open and driving is not a premium. You have to do things to score, get the ball on the green and putt. I hit 14 greens and made 29 putts. Made two great sandies and got some breaks and wahla one under par. Seventy one courses down and 19 or more to go.    

A busy week endend by playing course number 70 today, Buffalo in Sarver Pa. about a 50 minute drive. It was a gorgeous day in May and Buffalo was a real treat to play. The course plays 6500 yards from the back tees to a par of 71 with many interesting and challenging holes. The greens ran a 6 on the stimp and were very smooth. The course is very flat with  many trees, and the fairways are wide and lush with the rough a little heavy but did not have any bare spots. This has to be one of the fairest golf courses I have ever played. With the exception of one short par 4 the holes are layed out where you can see where you are going and there are no false fronts on the greens. The flatnes of the course is a real treat here in Western Pennsyvania. My only suggestion would be to move up the tee on the first par 5 on the back and make it a more challenging par 4 and play the course to a par of 70.  The hot dog at the turn was nothing special but the staff was friendly and the hot dog tasted good because of that. Won’t make the top ten but will be far from the bottom 30. The price was right for a Sunday as we paid 38 dollars with a cart. This course is worth the trip and if I lived a little closer I woud go to this course more often. In fact I think I will go to this course more often anyway.  We had a threesome today with Tony shooting a very nifty 69 which included only 23 putts. Wow. I shot a nice smooth 76 and John an 83. On Wednesday I went to Indian Run and kept the streak going to 12 rounds in the 70’s with a 75. But on Thursday playing from the blues at South Park I staggered around and shot 81. The next day in the 2 man scramble at the same Park, Pete and I had a very respectable 66 and finished 7th in about a field of 60 teams . Not bad for a couple of old farts. Stil hitting the ball very well as I am pretty confident that I have found the answer to the physical side of this game and the controlling factor in the golf swing. But the mental game is looming large and that will be the next step in the answer to this goofy game. Speaking of goofy I think we need to get rid of the term short game. Just what the hell does that mean. I think golf should be divided into 3 parts. 1.  The full swing which includes trying to work the ball. 2. Less than the full swing which is what the “short game” is. 3. Putting. So from now on I am not going to use the term short game any more. Well, we have 70 courses down with 20 or possibly more to go. Update on that later.

Added two new courses this week as the solid playing continued. On Wednesday we went to Champion Lakes in Ligonier, Pa., which is an 86 minute drive. This course is owned by two former Pittsburgh Pirates Jerry Lynch and Dick Groat. They bought the course sometime in the mid to early 60’s and last updated it in 1970. The golf course is a solid layout and has a beautiful setting with the mountains in the background. The course played 6300 yards from the white tees to a par of 71 and the greens were the old bent and ran a very fuzzy 5 on the stimp. The fairways were a little long and the roughs was grown in fine with little or no bare spots. The course has many tree lined holes and can be very tight in some cases. It has a lot of up and down holes but over all is an enjoyable course to play. It is a very old facility that could use a little updating both inside and out with the golf course included. There was no hot dog at the turn and we made the turn at 12:45 and I do mean in the p.m. So 88th place for Champion Lakes for the hot dog at the turn. I turned a spectacular ball striking front nine into a mediocre 39 with horrible putting. I putted a little better on the back by making some par saves and shooting a 77. Rich had a 75 with Pete coming in with an 81 and John an 82. A pretty good day for the group as this is not that easy of a golf course. Champion Lakes is worth the trip even though it is a brutal trip and would be better as part of a 36 hole day. On Thursday I went over to South Park with supreme confidence that my rounds in the 70’s streak would continue and when I birdied the first hole it looked like I might have a really good round. Then I bogied the next 4 out of 8 holes and made the turn 3 over thinking am I going to blow it on this course. But then I rattled off 8 straight pars and even with a last hole bogey shot 76. Today we went to Olde Stonewall in Elwood City Pa which is about a 50 minute drive. This is a course that I thought would not be on the list because it is a very high end course and the green fees are 150 dollars. Let that sink into your budget for awhile. But one of the guys in our group got a coupon for the month of May for 50 per cent off the green fees. So the guys were game and so I said what the hell why not. This golf course has some spectacular holes on it and the stretch of holes on the front 4, 5, and 6, may be the finest stretch of golf holes I will ever play but it is not and never will be worth 150 bucks to play the joint. This is also the home of the 5 dollar hot dog and it was very good and had the best bun I have ever had at a golf course,but it still is not worth it. Come on 5 dollars for beef intestines at the best. The course is in great shape with the fairways very tight and the roughs were good. This is also another example of a links course is Western Pa. where they allow a lot weeds grow up and call it heather. In the case of Olde Stonewall, they call it native grass. NATIVE GRASS!!. The greens ran a 6 on the stimp and were very smooth. Its these greens that make this course as difficult as it is. The greens are not very big but they have many small undulations which makes reading them very very difficult. This course would be worth the trip if it was a little more reasonable. Sixty five on the weekend would be just about right. I shot 77 and the streak remains alive. Tony shot 81 with Pete coming in a 88 and John a 95. We had a gorgeous day to play and it was nice to include a course that I thought would be left out. The course plays 6700 yards from the tees we played, to a par of 70. There are some spectacular views and holes that have greens surrounded by three sides with water and many many sand traps. This course without a doubt has the best conditioned sandtraps. I will say if you really like golf and live or visit Western Pa. you should play this course at least once. Well the streak is at 11 and the Memorial weekend is on the way and a 2 man scamble tournament is this Friday. Sixty nine courses down and twenty one to go.

Another weekly wrap up a day later as I had a busy Mother’s day. The golf for the week continued to be pretty solid. There were no new courses this week but the week was interesting none the less. I had rounds of 78, 76, 78, and 78. The highlight of the week was  a 2 under par back nine at St. Clair Country Club, which gave me the round of 76. I had two nines at Mt. Lebanon of 37- 41 and the other two 78’s were at Scenic Valley and Riverview respectivaly. The ball striking was good all week and the short game continued to make strides. I had putting issues at Scenic Valley and the weather yesterday was a little rainy with some lost concentration contributing to some bad bogies.  The new method, which is not that new any more continues to get better and I am getting more comfortable with it every time I play. It continues to be a little difficult to totally trust it and believe that it could be this simple. Now that the physical side of the game seems to be solved for the time being it is freeing  me up more to think of the mental side, particularly with the short game. If the scores are really going to come down then this will have to be the next step. I have broken 80, nine straight times and all the rounds have been between 75 and 78. To say the least this has been one of my most consistant periods of solid play, and I am still getting use to the swing. This week coming up we are going to add two more courses to the list and both are challenging lay outs so we will see if I have just jinxed myself. The keys will be continued improvement on the ball striking and getting the short game to click. We will see what this week will bring.