Today HAD to be better than yesterday, right?

Well, yes, and no. I started off with an 'On in Four', and carded a 6; it certainly wasn't looking good. Then another 6, followed by a dreaded 7. Uh-Oh. Is it time to hang up the spikes, and sell the clubs on ebay? Maybe.

Next up, the fourth hole. Short par 4 (283 yards), straight up hill, with a pretty narrow fairway, but only a few real trouble spots. I hit a tee shot with a 5 wood that was straight as an arrow. The only problem was the archer was pointed in the wrong direction, and it landed a little left of the fairway, but clear of any trouble (trees, bunker, etc.). I had about 60 yards into the green, and I pulled out my 60 degree lob wedge. A great man once told me to "Trust my swing", and so I did. The pin was tucked in the front right, and it was tempting me. I took a full swing, landed on the green right at the flag, and rolled about 6 or 7 feet past. It was a thing of beauty.

As my foursome putted out, I was standing over a down hill, but very make-able putt. It broke ever so slightly to the left, and I needed to hit the right edge for it to drop. I struck it cleanly, but maybe a little too soft. It rolled true, and was headed right to the hole. I was sure that at any moment it was going to stop dead. Then as it got closer, it just kept going; dropping in just on the front right edge. A BIRDIE! I stood there almost in disbelief. After a terrible showing yesterday, and a pretty bad (but typical) start, I had my first birdie in weeks.

I then proceeded to hit my next tee shot just right of the fairway on 5, and hit a second shot back in the fairway to within 70 yards of the green. Of course, I bladed the third shot, manged to get on in four, and two putted my way to a six.

I actually managed a par on 6 (on in two!), and then went back to my normal slice, shank, pull, topped, pop-up, FOUR-PUTT!, for the next three holes.

I ended the day with a way-too-high, 50, but all things considered, it was 9 strokes lower than the previous day.

On a side note, I did go to the doctor a little later in the day, and found out that the reason I feel like crap is because I have strep throat. Not that it's an excuse for my poor play, but at least I know why I ache all over, and my throat is KILLING me!

Maybe I can knock a few more strokes off my game tomorrow, and get back in the mid-40s. I would love it to be another 9 strokes, but the golf gods are never that kind. I'll write more later, and let you know how I fare.

Holy Crap!

I can't believe how bad golf was this morning. It started off with a great shot right up the left-hand side, and in the fairway. I even followed it up with a decent second shot that landed just to the right of the green. Then it happened; it all fell apart. I don't know where it went, and I don't know how it happened, but it did. I was no longer 'on in four'; hell, I was lucky if I was on in SIX! I put sevens and eights ALL over the card today. I even had an eight on a par three! No kidding; it was that bad. I can only imagine what tomorrow will bring, but for today, I have to live with the fact that I shot a...wait for it...59! I might want to think about therapy at this point.

Withdrawal

It's been three full days since I swung a golf club, and I think I am suffering from withdrawal symptoms.

I am playing tomorrow morning no matter what, so I should have more to write then.

Until then, I hope you are playing, and I hope you hit 'em straight.

Kevin

July 11th, 2008

This morning hurt. It started with a 7 (remember yesterday? The first hole was a 4), and didn't get much better throughout the round. Overall, the score on the card was a 51. OUCH! Not a good morning.

I had one par, three bogeys, two double bogeys, and three triple bogeys. Gotta get rid of the triples. They really, really kill the scorecard.

The one bright spot was hole number 5. It is 437 yard par 4, and that was my one par today (I can't remember ever shooting par on this hole). I hit a decent tee shot, just right of the fairway, then hit another decent shot for my second, putting it 40 yards from the green, a little short and right. My third shot landed about 6 feet from the cup, then I actually had the nerve to one-putt. What a great hole; four solid shots in a row.

I just wish the remaining holes had been somewhat similar. Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

July 10th, 2008

A pretty typical round today. Sunny weather, a little humid out, but not too bad at 6:00am. I played nine holes today, the first six with Bill McClelland.

I opened up hole number one with a par (4). Surprise, surprise. It was a decent tee shot, in the fairway on the right. My second shot actually was also dead straight, and landed right on the fringe and rolled just on the green (on in two!). It was a really long putt that I read pretty well, and left it about one and a half feet from the cup for a pretty simple tap-in. What a great way to start the morning.

Unfortunately, it didn't last.

On the second hole, I hit my tee shot a long way, but I pulled it, and it hit off a tree. I think it must have bounced into the woods, because I didn't see it, and I couldn't find it. Ouch. I took a drop, and was finally on the green in 5, then I two-putted for a 7.

The rest of the round was pretty typical. I put three 6's on the card, three 5's and a 3.

Total for the day = 47.

btw, I found this really cool site called wireless18.com, and it allows you to score your round on a BlackBerry, and then post them online right from your phone. It's completely free, and is a simple way to track your scores.

About this blog

I decided to write this blog in an attempt to document my golf experiences. I'm not sure how it will help (if at all), but it will certainly give you all something to laugh about. I have been playing golf on a regular basis for three years now, and unfortunately, I haven't seen a significant amount of improvement in my game.

I guess I am a pretty typical golfer in that I've played on and off for years, usually a few times a season in different outings, etc. For the past three seasons, I have played pretty regularly; starting out on weekends, then progressing to weekends and a weekday here and there. Currently, starting about four months ago, I joined a local golf club (Flourtown Country Club), and I play just about every morning. It's just nine holes that I'm able to get in before work, but it's enough to provide a decent amount of relaxation (and unfortunately stress at the same time).

The blog is titled On In Four because that is about how I am playing right now. I find that if I hit a decent shot off the tee, then I proceed to miss-hit my next one, and sometimes even the shot after that. Depending on how bad the miss hits are, I usually end up on the green in four, and then follow-up with two putts for a 6 on the scorecard. Not good. I would love to put fours and fives on the card all day long, and this blog will track my progress.

Sometimes the postings will be detailed, and tell you about each hole and how good (or bad) it was, and sometimes I will just post a score. I'll try to keep up with this everyday, so feel free to stop back, and let me know what you think.

Also, if you have any suggestions on how to improve my game, I'm all ears.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to seeing all your comments.

Kevin Mogee