Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! Had a dream last night I was at the driving range...hitting it pretty straight too ;)

Not golf related

But Jane's 12 weeks pregnant!


Jane is due in May so most of my 2010 golfing will be in April methinks :)

Very exciting!

i think the golf season is over

Well it's been a month since I golfed and it's raining outside today so I think I am going to officially declare the end of my golf season. I thought it was great! I am so much better than I was last year and I had a lot of fun this year. We are planning (maybe) to go to the golf show, but to also go to the Golf Simulator at Homestead over the winter, maybe March or so to get ready for this year. In any case thanks to anyone and everyone who has clicked this past year and we'll see you in 2010 (or maybe earlier if any golf-related happenings occur)

End of the Bull Tour

Tonight I went golfing with Roland from work and we had a good time. I've never golfed with him before but it was quite enjoyable...he's a *lot* better than me and he basically golfs on one knee because he has had knee damage. It was a lot of fun. My drives were decent, I hit some good second shots, my chipping and putting were inconsistent and it got dark too fast ;) but i played better than i did on thursday and i definitely enjoyed myself. I had been hounding Roland to come out for at least a month and he finally did and I think he was glad he did. We did 1-5, then cut over and did 11-14, then cut back and did 6 and 7 and then did 18 so that's 12 holes which isn't so bad considering we started after 5pm...of course we did take a cart because of his knee. i'll have to bust out the Spongebob Square Pants glow in the dark golf balls next time :)

Total Holes : 210
Total Yardage : 66090
Pars : 7
Birdies : 1

if you told me before the season started that i would do over 200 holes, mostly 9 at a time i would have thought you were nuts. even if i don't get out again (which I'm sure i will) i had quite an enjoyable season and particularly liked the bull tour

out of semi-retirement :)

Today, for the last Mix 106 Golf Tour, me and Dad went to Sauble Golf and Country for an enjoyable 11 holes of golf. it was absolutely gorgeous out. I hit well off the tee, I chipped fairly well, I putted well, but I was not good with the irons...the rust was showing. I did get one par, I shanked it off the tee with my 9 iron and put it in the sand trap, then chipped it about 30 feet out of the sand trap to about a foot from the hole. Dad was definitely eating his wheaties...he played a lot better than me. We both ran out of gas after 9 and only ended up doing 11. Can't wait to get out again.

Warning to players at SGCC...be careful where you step! On the 9th hole we saw a family of four cats using the sand trap as a litter box...be warned :) We were playing behind one of the doctors from the hospital and Brad Underwood which was kinda cool :)

Total Holes : 198
Total Yardage : 62658
Pars : 7
Birdies : 1

i heart cobble beach

me, Chrystelle, Patricia and Bryan went to Cobble Beach this evening and ended up doing 9 holes for $50 (with gps cart) and it was unbelievable. i really felt like I was on Entourage. I will have a hard time going back to Scenic City. Everything was shiny and exquisite. We got out of the car and they took our clubs and put them in a cart and let us drive over to the club house. The GPS was wild...it told us how far we hit it, how far to go, it honked at us if we were speeding. I'm a little simple, but i thought it was great. The course was in great shape. It was challenging. On the 5th hole the marshall came up and told us to look for some turkeys on the right side. Patricia took some great pictures. I loved it and can't wait to go back. It was a deal today for $50 for 18 holes and a cart, but we only got 9 holes in and "regular price" after 4 for that is $45 so maybe I'll take Dad or Dale there next summer for 9.

When you drive in it's almost like a sales pitch because they have the beautiful houses and you drive by them all and everything's for sale. Before we started the guy warned us that the greens were fast and there were no straight greens and they all slanted towards the water. We thought he was exaggerating but he was right. I had a great time. I didn't play particularly well...my two best clubs were my driver and my pitching wedge. The last shot of the night was a 20 foot putt so it ended up good. No pars or birdies but I am getting better. I hope I get some pictures from Patricia it was spectacular.



Me and Chrystelle trying to get out of the sand trap at the same time. Check out how far it is above my head to shoot out :)




There were some really beautiful holes

Total Holes : 187
Total Yardage : 58845
Pars : 6
Birdies : 1

here comes the sun

This morning me, Dale and Blaine went to Wiarton Golf Club. it was a very difficult course i thought. some long holes, some big blind dog legs. and it was damn hot. i played okay but i didn't chip or putt very well. once again my 5 iron was my best club by far. dale got a birdie on the first hole...it was a par 4 and he hit his second shot 3 feet from the cup. blaine got a birdie on 6 i think. no pars of birdies for me. the view was beautiful but the course wasn't in great shape. nice warmup for cobble beach tomorrow. i didn't get into too much trouble so the round went okay...i hardly got into the bush and not into the sand at all

Total Holes : 178
Total Yards : 55765
Pars : 6
Birdies : 1

Two pars, one birdie and a partridge in a pear tree

Today for the Bull golf tour, me and Brüno went to Chippewa in Southampton, which I had never been to before. We were supposed to go with Chrystelle and Patricia but Chrystelle had to work late and we were supposed to meet Patricia at 10 to 4 but didn't end up getting there until 4:20 so I assume Patricia did the smart thing and left :)

It was a very nice course and although it sounds like a broken record, I had the best game of my life. It's good to see all the practice and lessons paying off. First hole I was on the green in 2 and missed a birdie putt (badly) and got a bogie. Parred the second hold on a 20 foot putt. Got a birdie (which I never thought I would do in my life) on hole #5...i hit a 6-iron off the grass...hit the green and tapped in a 15 foot putt. It was great. Then I got another par on #8 (par 5). I was off to the side on my first shot. Not a great second shot. Third shot put it over the green and into the bunker. Chipped out of the bunker 2 feet from the hole and parred it. I was okay off the drive...I hit some really good ones but i hit a few bad ones. I was pretty good with my irons...i'm figuring out the distance better. I was much better at chipping and putting than I have been the last few times out...Uncle Lorenz gave me a compliment yesterday that I hit the putts hard enough to "give it a chance to go in" as opposed to keeping it short which I used to always do. I was very happy with my round. i got a 47 on the front 9 which was +12 which doesn't sound great, but for me it was. I'm literally seeing improvement from week to week.

We did the 10th hole then which was a par 5 with the ladies tee being a par 3 on the other side of the water. The 9th hole was actually longer for the ladies (a par 4) then the men to mix it up a bit. It was a good 200 yards to the water and probably the water was 50 yards so I hit the 3 wood and didn't get it near far enough to get to the water and then hit the 5 iron good but not far enough and I landed in. All in all a good day...I got a birdie :)

I also got a buy one get one free at Chippewa so if anyone wants to golf at Chippewa let me know :)

Total Holes : 169
Total Yardage : 52790
Pars : 6
Birdies : 1!!!

Scenic City with Dad and Uncle Lorenz

Today me, my dad and Uncle Lorenz went to Scenic City. My aunt and uncle were up for a couple of days and he was interested in going out so we did. Man he can hit it. He didn't do fabulous off the tee (he did hit some good ones) but man he hit the 5 wood off the fairway fantastically! Also he hit some great shots from 80 to 100 yards right at the pin and was an excellent chipper. That's the kind of golfer I'd like to be.

Dad was easily the best driver tonight...he played really well. I played pretty good...we did the front 9 and I hit some bad shots but I hit some pretty good ones too. I am definitely getting better. I tried putting the tee down a little bit because I was getting them way in the air off the drive...not sure if it made a difference. I hit some good iron shots...got in the sand once and took 3 swings at it to get it out. I played pretty good and I had some fun.

Total Holes : 159
Total Yardage : 49474
Pars : 4
Birdies : 0

Scenic City with Dale

Me and Dale did 9 holes today at Scenic City. I hit decent with the driver, decent with the irons, inconsistent chipping and not good putting but I still did pretty good. Miles ahead of where I was a month ago.

Total Holes : 150
Total Yardage : 46457
Pars : 4
Birdies : 0

Ottawa trip

This past week my wife and I made our yearly trip down to Ottawa, to visit friends, family etc. We went to Golf Town with my aunt and I tried out some Callaway drivers. I didn't hit worth a crap (I was wearing sandals) but it was still a lot of fun. If I ever win the million I'll totally get a golf simulator...the guy said it cost like $50 grand.

Me, my buddy Kevin and my uncle were supposed to play on Monday. My uncle ended up rolling his ankle at the Bluesfest, which may or may not have been alcohol related but he was out. Me and Kevin were going to play at a course called Falcon Ridge but it was so wet that they had closed the 18 hole and it was Ladies night when we tried to go, so we ended up playing at Capital Golf which was about 5 minutes away from my buddy's house. It was a par 3 but a lot of fun. I still can't figure out which iron to hit to get it 108 yards :) I hit about 3 greens off the "tee" (i didn't use a tee just hit off the grass) but was mostly short with the irons. I did everything okay but nothing spectacular. My buddy played excellent on the first 4 holes but he is a terrible putter. And he gets mad at himself. And on the last hole (the "big one" of 165 yards) he tried a couple with his driver and everything was 45 degrees to the right. He says he loses at least one ball a hole. We did 12 holes and once again I didn't lose any...of course it was a little par 3 but a streak is a streak. It was a wet mess...in Ottawa they got like 23 days of rain in the month of July so I got a couple of soakers. It was fun though and I would play again.




Total Holes : 141
Total Yardage : 43957
Pars : 4
Birdies : 0

"You guys are pros"

Me and Dad went to Scenic City and did 14 holes on a dreary, rainy evening but we had a good time. It took us 2½ hours which is pretty good i think. I easily had the best round of my life (thanks Andy if you're reading). My irons were superb...i used Dad's 3 iron instead of my hybrid and it went pretty good. My chipping was pretty good, not perfect but significantly better. My drives were much straighter...i didn't even lose a ball which is some kind of record for me. My putting was not great, but all in all it was a good round. I don't think I had anything worse than a double bogie. No pars, but most holes I had a long putt for par (which I missed) but I definitely struck the ball very well. Dad played a lot better too...we raced through. We did the back 9 first then did 1 and 2 and cut across to 7 instead of playing #3. We butted in front of these guys who were out for the first time ever and we both hit decent tee shots (Dad almost killed the group in front of us) and it caused the drunkest guy behind us to exclaim "you guys are pros"...it must have been their first day (ha!). I was on the whole extremely pleased...i doubt i even hit 4 bad shots out of 14 holes (not counting putts). We're heading down to Ottawa for a couple of days and hopefully will get a chance to do some golfing with Kevin and Dave. We'll see.

Total Holes : 129
Total Yardage : 42648
Pars : 3
Birdies : 0

Chipping

Today was my last lesson and we worked on chipping, pitching and a little bit of putting. The important thing that I learned was to swing like a pendulum...as much follow through on the chips as back swing. Also angle my feet about 45 degrees, keep the ball by my back foot, have the club pointing back so I hit the ground before the ball. Also I am supposed to "bounce" the club out of the sand and on the pitch shots so I get better lift. I almost killed a couple of kids with some wild shots but I definitely learned some stuff. Putting I am supposed to keep my eyes directly above the ball and be sure to follow through. I still move my wrists too much and don't let my club do enough of the work but I can see the improvements already.

Sunday afternoon Hybrid blues

Me and Blaine went up and hit a bucket of balls after he was done work today at Scenic City. I brought my pitching wedge and the hybrid and was not very good with the hybrid. I still need to slow down. Last lesson tomorrow...we're working on chipping.

GBHS Staff Golf Tournament

On Thursday, me, Brüno, Brad and Philip joined forces as the Red Hot Techie Peppers to take place in the GBHS Staff Golf Tournament. The idea was that we were to all wear red, but unfortunately Phil missed the memo and wore a faded, almost pink t-shirt...i'll have to send out a proper meno next year. The winners were below



We were playing ahead of them and they almost hit us on the last hole but it was fun. I had played at Saugeen Golf club last year with Janet and Blaine. We did the Sunset course (I think...I forgot to grab a scoresheet). It was a lot of fun. I didn't play particularly well...it was best ball, they used my ball about 1/5 or 1/6 of the time which wasn't terrible. Brüno hit some great shots! including a 45 foot putt for our only birdie of the round. We ended up even. I didn't really like playing best ball because I didn't get a chance to work out my kinks if I hit a bad shot but it was still fun. I was basically terrible off the tee, and didn't do that great on any particular area...I hit some good 5-iron shots and I think only one decent hybrid shot. Philip is a terrible golf cart driver :)


Total Holes : 115
Total Yardage : 35554
Pars : 3
Birdies : 0

Up The Irons

Tonight me, Brüno, Dave G and Steve (the latter two I had never golfed with before) went to Pinewoods for the Bull tour. It was a very short course, but a lot of fun. It would have taken about an hour and a half to do if it wasn't for all the people. I wasn't fabulous with the driver...I need to slow down. I was tremendously better with my irons...even Brüno said so :) I had a really good day putting and not so great with the chipping. I had a par where I dinged my tee shot (off the grass) with my hybrid, put it just off the green, chipped on and dropped it in. The course was immaculately kept...it seemed longer than when me, Jane, Janet and Blaine went 2 years ago...maybe the holes have been switched. Dave has a very nice set with Taylor Made drivers and Calloway irons. He said the irons were the old rental set from Cobble Beach so he got a deal. He was really good on shots from within 100 yards. I did most of the stuff Andy mentioned at the lesson...i took lots of warmup swings...i slowed myself down...used tempo. I didn't follow through as much as I should/could have, but I learned to trust myself. I didn't lose any balls until 9 but all in all it was a good day and a good warmup for the hospital golf tournament tomorrow. My best shot of the day, I chipped one in from about 40 or 50 feet on the 8th hole...which was great because I had chipped it from 10 feet on the one side to 40 or 50 feet on the other side :) I am definitely seeing improvement.

Total Holes : 106
Total Yardage : 32533
Pars : 3
Birdies : 0

Lesson #2

Today I went back to Stone Tree for my second lesson with Andy. I was joking with Kathy that I was so happy with the last lesson that I wanted to give him a hug but I didn't want to get banned from Stone Tree :) It started off slowly...they were out of balls at the driving range. We focused on a lot of the same things. He wanted to make sure I slowed everything down, so we focused on tempo and follow through. The other thing he mentioned was keeping the ball closer and trying to put about 60% of my weight on the front foot. I asked (again) about the hybrid and he said just to practice with it and take it slow and make the club do the work. Wednesday is out at Hepworth and Thursday is the work one. It should be a lot of fun. Next Monday is the next lesson...it's going to be all on the chipping green.

driving range

Went to the driving range tonight with dad to "perfect" my swing. i hit okay but i played too fast...i shot only with irons and hybrid...i still need to slow down.

What a great night of golf

Jane's aunt Janet was going for surgery tomorrow (and will be on the shelf for 6 weeks) so me, Blaine and Janet went to golf at Scenic City so she could get 9 holes in..i used my gift certificate from my parent's so it was a cheap night :) what a difference the lessons made. i didn't hit it particularly well off the tee, but I was spectacular with the irons (for me). i even hit a couple good hybrid shots. i did everything Andy told me to do consistently except rotate the club on the back swing. it felt good and i was very happy with my golf. not sure if i scored any higher than usual but i did not hit many bad shots...it was a lot of fun.

Total Holes : 92
Total Yardage : 28838
Pars : 2
Birdies : 0

Drats! Mother Nature spoiled golf again...

We were supposed to golf at Homestead in Durham and it was overcast as we headed out of Owen Sound. Jane dropped me off at Rockford and me and Peggy drove and it started raining as soon as we hit Williamsford. Boo-urns! We came back and had breakfast in Owen Sound and the ground was dry. Boo-urns!

Maybe I'll still get out tomorrow

1st Golf Lesson

So I had my first golf lesson this morning with Andy at Stone Tree. It was a lot of fun. I was worried about the rain so I got there early and i got a bucket of balls to warm up. He got me to change quite a few things and I think it made a difference.

The first thing he got me to focus on was my stance. He wanted me to have the same stance all the time. Standing almost straight up so the ball would have to be closer. Then on my grip he wanted the end of the club to be out further so i would "choke up" a little bit. He also wanted my hands to be almost like a fist as opposed to holding the whole grip. THe next thing he wanted me to do was make sure I use my legs to turn...keep my left foot down when I swing, but put my right heel up after I swing and hold it until the ball lands. Also I was rotating the club the wrong way...hard to describe but I was twisting it forwards instead of to the side. THe last thing he said was to slow down my backswing, so do the backswing, hold for a count, follow through then hold until the ball lands. I hit some good ones, but there's a lot to remember. The key thing is to make the swing the same every time. It was different but I think it was working.

I asked about the hybrid...he said he had a hybrid...he could never hit with the 3 iron and he thinks the hybrid is great. I had to do the same I was doing except move my legs a little further apart. The shots were quite straight and not curving to the right as usual. I learned a lot, the weather held up and my next lesson is Monday at 5pm.

Probably golfing on Wednesday with work (depending on weather) and Thursday with Janet and Blaine after work so I'll have a couple of cracks at it.

Golfing with dad at the Mix 106 Tour

Went out with Dad tonight to Scenic City. It was a blast. The weather looked like it was gonna be crappy so it wasn't that busy. We got rained on on the 4th hole after I hit a rocket that went like 230 yards (which is good for me) but it was beautiful after that. That was my drive of the night - Pam, Bruno and Steve were playing in front of us and I didn't figure I could hit that far but it didn't come far from Bruno. Me and Dad had a good time. He hurt his elbow a couple of years ago so it doesn't bend all the way so all his curved left, while all mine curved right. He kept one ball the whole round...he thought he lost one on the last hole, but he overshot the 9th (we played the front 9) and went into the carts and we found it after the round. I started off strong with the irons (hit some trees) but ran out of gas near the end. My chipping and putting were terrible. Me and Dad were about the same...i hit the long ones further than him, but he chipped a lot better and had less bad shots. I didn't play as well as I did yesterday, but I can still see some improvement. I even hit a couple good ones with the Hybrid. I'm looking forward to my lesson next Monday (weather permitting). I'm on holidays for the next couple of days so I'll see if I can get Jane or Jane's dad out. I almost had a par...hit it right at the green on 6 but chipped like an idiot...ah well. Nothing to get upset about. One of the guys who were playing behind us got real excited and took a swing at his golf cart like he was trying to chop down a tree. Me and Dad just laughed. We're gonna try and do it again in July or August. I have golfed there so much this year I never noticed that really every hole was 300 yards except the first one and the par 3's. I still enjoyed myself :)

Total Holes : 83
Total Yardage : 26018
Pars : 2
Birdies : 0

Walkerton GCC - Hot but fun

Tonight, me, Brad and Phil went to the Walkerton Golf and Country Club and did 9 holes for the Bull Tour. I wanted to do more but it was hot and humid. We even took a cart. With the Bull Tour it cost us $18 including the cart, but the Monday-Thursday deal (before 3pm) is $20 (including tax) for 9 holes with cart, so I think when I'm off I'm gonna grab Dale or Blaine some morning and go and play. I thought I had never played this course before but I did play it with Dale last year. I had a pretty good round....got a par on a par 3 with a 15 foot putt or so. I only hit about 5 bad shots...I had some pretty good drives, mostly under control. I had easily my best round with my irons. I didn't use my hybrids much (it was a pretty short course) but I did fairly well. Worst was chipping...inconsistent. There was a water hole and I successfully shot over the water. All in all it went pretty good. Phil is a lefty (I had never played with him before) and a big hitter. It's neat playing with all these different people and all their styles. Walkerton was one of my favourite course I've played on this year...I'm definitely going back again (and it's cheap!) Looking forward to tomorrow with Dad. Brad said he called for a tee time and "all he could get was 4:30"...we're teeing off at 4:58 so it sounds like it will be a zoo. We'll see

Total Holes : 74
Total Yardage : 23198
Total Pars : 2
Total Birdies : 0

golf lessons scheduled

I got a call from Andy this morning at Stone Tree and my first lesson is scheduled for Monday, June 29th at 10 am. I told him I wanted to work on irons and chipping. I told him I get the ball up with the irons about 80% of the time (which thinking about it is an outright lie...50% is probably closer). This is my lovely wife's birthday present and man I can't wait. I'm taking dad golfing on Thursday and *maybe* going golfing on Wednesday is I can get back from Walkerton.

Here's the writeup on my instructor from the Stone Tree website

Andy O'Leary, CPGA
Assistant Professional
andy@stonetree.on.ca

Andy, a long time Stone Tree employee enters his 1st full season as a certified CPGA Golf Professional. Born and raised in Owen Sound, Andy is well known to the numerous golfers that frequent Stone Tree on a regular basis. His likeable and popular personality make him a perfect addition to our professional teaching staff. Andy's qualifications are validated and thorough as a result of his completion of the CPGA Teaching and Coaching Certification Program Levels 1 and 2.

Northern Dunes It Is!

Today, me and Keith went to Northern Dunes in Hepworth. It was a lot of fun. Keith had a hamstring issue so we took a cart and went and tried to do 18 holes (for $60/piece...yikes...a far cry from the $10 golf "tours" i'm used to playing). We played for almost 5 hours...it was slow on the front 9 and faster on the back, but Keith only brought 3 balls so on hole 16 we had to quit because we ran out of balls (!) Of course, we were both zonked...i need to find more balls...off to Walmart I go tomorrow. I was consistently a little better...fewer "worse" shots. I still need to work on my irons and particularly shots from 50 feet and in...so when I get lessons I will ask about that. I drove fairly well but I did duff a couple. We both lost quite a few balls (see above). My shot of the day was on 8 I believe. I hit a 6-iron out of the sand trap at least 150 yars and within 10 feet of the hole. It was a great shot. We had a lot of laughs...I started getting low around hole 10 so I grabbed a sandwich and I was fine. Keith picked up some guy's ball when we were coming down the back 9 and denied it up and down. It was good for a laugh. We decided when we go again it will be to the small golf course on the other side of Sauble Golf and Country Club...I figure it will be cheaper. Note to anyone who goes to Northern Dunes...wait until 1 to start...it cost us more because we started at noon. I relaxed tonight in my parent's hot tub to ease my shoulders and legs. Can't wait until I get out on the course again.


Total Holes : 65
Total Yardage : 20139
Pars : 1
Birdies : 0

Money ball

Just got back from doing 13 holes with Chrystelle and Bruno. Keith said he was going to come but he bailed, but he said he would probably golf on the weekend which was sweet. I did consistently better than I have in the past. Not great, not terrible. I swore a lot at my hybrid but I ended up taking some better shots. Bruno mentioned that maybe the ball was too far away from me, so i moved the ball in a little closer which made me stand up a little bit more and that made a noticeable difference hitting the irons...until i hit it too close in which case it would go the right. i am getting better though. we started at 5 to avoid the rush and it was a beautiful day for golf, and played right through till dark. i found a ball with MONEY ($$$) enscripted on it...will take a picture and post it later. Chrystelle borrowed some of Kathy's clubs including a Taylor Made driver. Man that thing was sweet. I tried it on two holes...Chrystelle asked me if I wanted to shoot more with it, but I told her I only had about 36 holes experience with my clubs so I shouldn't be trying others. It was sweet though. No birdies or pars, but a lot of fun.

Total Holes : 49
Total Yardage : 14958
Pars : 1
Birdies : 0

Happy Birthday To Me!

I was supposed to go golfing with Dale today, but he called me up and he was really sick so we didn't end up going. Kirk and Dana got me Tiger Woods 2009 golf game for the Wii, Mom and Dad got me a gift certificate for Scenic City...jeez I golf so much there I should get a membership :) And Jane got me a couple of lessons at a TBD place. It's all very exciting.

First Bull Tour Round of the Year

Tonight after work me, Chrystelle, Bruno and Pam (whom I had never golfed with before) made the short trek to Scenic City and paid $9.45 for a round of golf. It was absolutely packed. A couple of guys from work had a tee time 35 minutes before us and they were still waiting to tee off by the time we did. I got a chance to try out my new shoes and man are they worth it. My feet feel fine, I was worried my first picture on the blog would be my blistered feet :) I love them. If you removed the first three holes I did not so bad today, but unfortunately you have to count all the holes. The first hole is the longest one on the course and of course you're cold so that was my worst hole. I drove okay, I generally did terrible on the irons but they got better, I used my hybrid on every hole, including off the tee on the par 3s and it was still bad but my best 9 holes with it yet, and the putting was generally bad. I had fun though. It took us 3½ hours to do 9 holes but that was mostly because there were so many people there. I don't remember there being as many last year but I never played at Owen Sound on a Bull night. Highlight was Chrystelle dumping her beer in her golf bag on the third hole :)

Total Holes : 36
Total Yards : 10840
Pars : 1
Birdies : 0

damn you mother nature!!!

foiled by mother nature again...oh well it's cheap at Scenic City again on Wednesday :)

"Best beer ever"

Me and Chrystelle went and did 9 holes after work today. It was a lot of fun. We did the back 9 at Scenic City and it was a beautiful day, about 27 degrees. We were almost the only people there. I laughed, it was really hot and since the place was dead the beer cart didn't come around. On the 15th hole I hit a great tee shot, overshot the green, chipped on to within about 7 feet and got my first par of the season. We were thirsty by that part, so the beer cart came by and my old neighbour was driving it. I was joking at the clubhouse after that it was the ugliest beer girl I had ever seen, beard and all :) Once again I was fairly good off the tee, terrible with the hybrid, worse than i remembered with the irons and decent with the putter. It took a little over 2 hours so I was home by about 6:30 which will probably work out better with my wife :) I didn't want to give up on my hybrid, but I did after about 4 holes. I am quite sore after golfing today and doing the driving range yesterday. Next time I will try and use more irons if I can, I can hit it far enough with the 5 iron. I literally almost killed Chrystelle on the 18th hole. She was standing about 45 degrees to the right of me at the tee box and I hit it off the toe and missed her by less than a foot. She said we were even because she almost hit me last week, but I think my tee shot was going significantly harder than her one that dribbled by me. In any case, it was a good time. Hard to tell if I'm getting better or not...i hope i am :)

I'm going to keep a little running total for how much golf I've played and how I've done. The idea is that eventually I'll get so many pars that it won't be worth keeping track.

Total Holes : 27
Total Yardage : 8020
Pars : 1
Birdies : 0

Driving Range with my dad

Me and Dad went out to Scenic City after work and hit a bucket of balls each. It was fun. I did about the same as every time, terrible with the irons, mostly awful but a couple good ones with the hybrid and consistently consistent with the driver. Dad mentioned I might want to put the ball further ahead on my drive so I will try that the next time out, which may be tomorrow. He mentioned that he would come golfing with me one time on a Thursday when I mentioned the $10.65 round. Yee hah!

Mix 106 Golf Tour

There's another radio station in the area and there's another cheap golf "tour" in the area on Thursdays...

http://www.mix106.ca/promotion.php?PromoID=33

Thursday, May 14th at Monterra Golf Course, Blue Mountain
Thursday, May 28th at Scenic City Golf Course, Owen Sound
Thursday, June 11th at Scenic City Golf Course, Owen Sound
Thursday, June 25th at Scenic City Golf Course, Owen Sound
Thursday, July 9th at Scenic City Golf Course, Owen Sound
Thursday, June 23rd at Scenic City Golf Course, Owen Sound
Thursday, August 6th at Scenic City Golf Course, Owen Sound
Thursday, August 20th at Scenic City Golf Course, Owen Sound
Thursday, September 3rd at Scenic City Golf Course, Owen Sound

*** NEW ADDITION as of June 21, 2009 ***

Thursday, September 17th at Sauble Golf and Country Club, Hepworth

It will be good to go to Sauble Golf for $10 :)

***

Scenic City is just around the corner from my house so this will be great when a) i have a course on Wednesday nights or b) one of the Bull tour events is over an hour away. $10.65/round...very exciting.

Whispering Hills and wings

So today, after missing out on at least 3 rounds because of Mother Nature, me, Brad and Chrystelle went to http://www.whisperinghillsgolfclub.com/ . We played the back 9, which was about 2500 yards and took us about 2 1/2 hours to play. I thought that the back 9 was a lot longer than the front 9 but it turns out that I was mistaken. It was fine until about the 14th hole, when the mosquitos almost ate us alive. I played...okay. I sucked at the beginning, hitting into the water off the tee twice on hole 11, but after that I was good off the tee. On hole 13, i killed it off the tee, and then you have to hit it over the water and up at least 50 feet in the air to the green. I must have put 4 balls in the water there. It was funny...it was so steep that even the birds, which left all kinds of "obstacles" on the greens, couldn't walk up the hill properly, reminding me of the Simpson's episode where Homer was trying to climb Mount Springfield and the mountain goat fell off the mountain. I was pretty good off the tee, decent on the green, 1.5/2 with the hybrid (although one of them was out of the sand trap) and crappy with short irons. I definitely need practice. Then we went for wings. It was a lot of fun for me, I was glad to get out again and I'm pretty sure that the practice is starting to pay off. It's a long drive to Hanover though for 2 1/2 hours of golf...but as Jane reminded me, she makes that drive to her work every day so I can't complain.

No golf on this beautiful weekend...

Me and Jane went to London this weekend, and we stopped and visited our friends Pat and Dawn. Golf was promised, but it was real wet Sunday morning and they were renovating their living room, so it didn't work out. Here is the course we were going to go to... http://www.bearcreekgolf.ca/

In any case, I went to the wonderful Golf Town in London and wow was it nice. I'm not good enough to spend $700 on a set of drivers (yet) but once I am I'm going back. I did pick up a nice set of tees for $2 though :) Also I checked out some golf shoes and I'm going to pick some up this week sometime.

We're potentially going golfing as a group on Thursday, weather permitting.

Bull Golf Tour

For the second year in a row, me and some people from work are going to take part in the "Bull Golf Tour"

http://www.945thebull.ca/events.php?area=spotlight&event_id=1159

The idea is that they let you do 18 holes for $9.45. I think it's a great idea as it let's you go to a bunch of courses you would normally never go to, and it's cheap :) I'm going to stick to the ones that are (relatively) close to Owen Sound, so no trips to Pike Lake or Listowel, but it still will be a lot of fun and a chance for me to go out regularly. I should get out to 8 or 10.

May 6/09- Listowel Golf Club
May 13/09- Pike Lake Golf & Country Club Resort, Outside Mount Forest
May 20/09- Woodlands Links Golf Course, Clinton
May 27/09- Seaforth Golf & Country Club
June 3/09- Scenic City Golf Course, Owen Sound
June 10/09- Sauble Golf & Country Club – Hepworth
June 17/09- Mt. Forest Golf Club
June 24/09- Walkerton Golf & Curling Club
July 1/09- Homestead Golf & Winter Resort, Durham
July 8/09- Pinewoods Golf Centre, Sauble
July 15/09- Northern Dunes Golf Club, Hepworth
July 22/09- Bucks Crossing Golf Course, Hanover
July 29/09- Listowel Golf Club
August 5/09- Chippewa Golf and Country Club, Southampton
August 12/09- Pike Lake Golf & Country Club Resort, Outside Mount Forest
August 19/09- Bluewater Golf Course & Campground, Bayfield
August 26/09- Wingham Golf & Curling Club
September 2/09- South Port Golf Course, Port Elgin
September 9/09- Ainsdale Golf Course, Kincardine
September 16/09- Chippewa Golf and Country Club, Southampton
September 23/09- Scenic City Golf Course, Owen Sound

April 18, 2009 - Scenic City

Today, I golfed for the first time all year. I had previously been to the driving range, but this is the first time I did 9. It was kinda cold, but it felt good. I went with Keith. I was okay off the tee, nothing special. I was absolutely horrid with the hybrids, inconsistent with the irons and decent with the putter. I used my pitching wedge the most out of all my clubs which was good because i was worried that I'd be stuck using the hybrid most. Maybe I did better off the tee than I remebered :) I didn't keep score, but with the exception of the first hole I wasn't awful. I need more work with my irons and particularly my hybrid clubs. I got new clubs for Christmas (thanks honey) and Keith had almost the same set which was funny. I've got to go out on the driving range and work with the hybrid and my irons and slow down my swing. It's fine off the tee, but I've got to slow down. All in all a good day. My best shot of the day was probably on the 9th hole. I had hit it to the right off the tee with the 7 iron and it was almost behind a tree, but I hit it dead on with the pitching wedge and it went about 10 feet past the hole on the green. If I was a better putter I would've had par :) The only hazard I got into was the water on 6. It was a short par 3 and the water was well to the right, so I said to Keith "you'd really have to duff it to get in the water" and of course, the golf gods heard me and I put two into the water. Third shot was nice though :)