Fall golf = bonus golf

I killed myself in my yard on Saturday 11/13, raking leaves and cutting the grass one last time, knowing full well that Sunday was going to be a beautiful day, sunny and 48 degrees for the high. Not bad for mid-November. Remember, I live in Western NY and winter is just down the street. So this is our silly-season, bonus golf as I like to call it.

I met my buddy, Ron (he is a fall golf junkie like me) at 10 AM, but we had a frost delay, go figure. We did get on the tee at about 10:30....it was still only about 38 degrees. With winter gloves and woolen hats we headed out. I managed a solid triple bogey on the par five first hole, it came complete with two tree shots and a three putt. I fell behind to Ron by three when he parred the hole. I managed to three putt the next hole for bogey, and it was on baby!

I just could not get anything going. I did manage to par two holes and after three great shots on the eighth, a tough par five, I blasted my 15 foot birdie put about 10 feet past and three putted for a really bad bogey. After yet another bogey on the ninth, I carded a poorly crafted 45 to Ron's 46....up by one at the turn.

I realized that I had been gripping the club way too tightly and made a conscious effort to lighten up on the grip. It worked. I just missed my par putt on the par five 10th and grumbled a bit, but it was not the putt, but the yanked 7 iron that hit another tree that led to the bogey. Then things got interesting.........

I nearly aced the 11th from about 140 yards and made a four footer for bird. I actually thought that the tee shot was going in, it did not miss by more than a foot or so as it rolled by the hole. I then parred the next four in a row and bogied the 16th go to one over on the back. Our seventeenth hole was a par 3 playing uphill to a three tiered green. The pin was in the back right and it was playing about 210 to the pin as best as we could tell. Ron hits a five wood with a big hook and it landed on the edge of the green and stopped about 15 feet from the hole, GREAT SHOT on that hole. I hit a 3 wood to the middle of the green, about 60 feet away. No problem, up and over a ridge and if it goes too far by it is off the back of the green. Hit it and hope.............

My birdie putt rolled in the heart of the hole and I could not believe it. Ron just shook his head. His fifteen footer just got a lot longer. He calmly rolled his in to cancel out my birdie. We looked at each other and thought that it is a rare feat the both players in a group birdie that tough, tough hole. I was back to even par on the back and parred the 18th to shoot 36 on the back.

After a pretty poor front nine, I hit the ball very well on the back and ended up with a respectable 81 in the cold sun. By the way, I kept my winning streak alive against Ron.