A Night Gone Astray

Well I don't know whether it was the golf balls that were 'stray' or us golfers, but things certainly were not normal last night at City Park. The weather cooperated with us and we were able to get in a nice 9 holes of golf on a pretty empty golf course. Now it might have been because we were playing the back 9 which used to be the front 9, and if you are confused, I certainly was and still am. It seems that there have been some changes at City Park. The pro-shop has been turned around, the GHIN computer is not where it used to be, the 9's have been reversed, the scorecards have been replaced by generics, and the club house pub closed before we finished our round. Add to that the fact that though I hit 5 fairways, I only hit 1 green in regulation and carded a 54 for the round (ESC 53) and it was a confusing night. The best part was having Chris and Jason on the course with me and though it was their 1st and 2nd time out this year respectively, and they kicked my butt from a score standpoint, I at least wasn't that far behind. I did hit a spectacular 60 degree lob wedge on #7 (or was it #16) over a 25 ft tall pine tree and to within 12 feet of the pin to make me feel somewhat good. Chris shot a most excellent 42 his first time out, and Jason followed up with a 46. With Bogeys at City Park closing early, we headed to The Bank for food and to catch part of the NBA finals. The only problem with The Bank was that unlike most banks where you can hear everyone else, the place was so loud we couldn't (or at least I couldn't) hear either of the guys well enough to extend a good conversation. It may be a while before I head back to City Park given the experience. In any case I think we all had a good time, and Jason has already tentatively committed to next week. Chris may also be IN, depending on his work schedule. As for next week....

Our next tee time is next Thursday, June 12th 5:31PM at Kennedy golf course. As always it's first come first served, and to reserve your spot e-mail me at n3xt@arrl.net by next Wednesday, June 11th at 1:00 PM so I can adjust the reservation if necessary. It is entirely possible that we may have a full foursome or more going forward at least for the next 4 weeks or so given these are the longest days of the year.

In fact, if there is interest in getting out on the course by 4:00 PM, it may be possible to try to get 18 in. Let me know if you are interested in a 4:00 or earlier tee time. I'm flexible and I'm sure given the traffic in front and back of us last night that we could have easily gotten 18 in if we had started at 4:00. In addition, it should be entirely possible to get on the course on Thursdays at Wellshire if our tee times were moved up to 4:00. Just let me know your thoughts by commenting on this blog post (http://www.theurbangolfer.blogspot.com/) or e-mailing me at n3xt@arrl.net .

The next Wellshire Men's club activty is this weekend; the 2 man 2 day event. Saturday is the Scramble, and Sunday is a best ball format. I will at least come up with a postable score on Sunday, though the format precludes posting the scramble score. I will at least be out there both days which are shaping up to be beautiful and in the 80's. As long as I don't forget the sunscreen I should be OK.

Saturday is the deadline for entry into the next event, the Skills by Age Group Challenge. This format will take your 18 hole score and will subtract strokes for hitting fairways, and one putting, while adding strokes for 3 putting. Doing this all on a net basis against age group will be one wide open tournament. The date of the event is Sunday June 22nd, and I got my entry in yesterday.

Next week is US Open week and will celebrate the return of Tiger Woods after his latest knee surgery. Historically he's done well after having surgery done, and though I am hesitant to put his name on the trophy just yet, remember that he one at Torrey Pines earlier this year running away. Phil Mickelson as the world number 2 and a local resident of the San Diego area also has a rather impressive record at the course. Tiger and Phil are paired together for the first round of the tournament which should make for a fascinating Thursday and Friday couple of rounds before the cut. And don't forget that the chosen 10 handicapper will play with Tony Romo, Justin Timberlake, and Matt Lauer to see if he can beat Tiger's challenge of breaking 100. NBC will show how he does sometime next weekend. Given that 56,000 golfers sent in 100 word essays on why they should be the one chosen, and the event could pull in a record number of viewers. Make sure you have your DVR's set accordingly.

The women's second major of the year is this weekend, and it will hopefully have some compelling story lines as well. Will Annika prevail in her last season? Will Lorena Ochoa continue her dominance? Who will shine out of the new young superstars? Just keep the TV turned to the tournament to find out.

It will be interesting to see how I do this weekend from a physical standpoint. On Monday I'll get the results of an MRI on my ankle to see whether and/or to what extent I may need surgery. It's given me problems for several years, and a lot will depend on how long I would be laid up to determine when I get any surgery done. In addition, my shoulder has been in pain for some time now, and though it's early in the process, physical therapy has not helped one bit. I may need surgery on it to repair the rotator cuff if the PT doesn't start to work soon. I'll keep you all posted, but whatever happens, I'll continue to be playing golf.

Until next week, hit it straight, hit it long, and get it in the hole!

David C.