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.