I never had the chance to play Blue Heron Hills before it went private years ago. I finally got out there yesterday and I have to say that I enjoyed the course, the setting and the facility. We were guests of some members and it was a great help to have their course knowledge on some holes.
I made a few rookie mistakes, like hitting driver on a short par 4 that only requires a five iron and wedge, but other than that I played very well. I did have 3 penalty strokes in the first six holes, two of them caused by unfortunate bounces. As for the rest of my round: after bogeying the first six holes, I played the last 12 at two over for a pretty solid 80. In addition to the 3 penalty strokes, I had three 3 putt bogeys. Those can kill ya. I now have the desire to play there again and avenge my freshman mistakes. In fact, we are seriously considering joining the club as members.
The finshing hole is a very difficult par four. I got a bit lucky on my tee shot and landed in a soft spot in the fairway. Had it been dry it would have led to my 4th penalty stroke as this hole features water, water, everywhere. The par 5's are pretty solid and don't really lend themselves to going for the green in two accept for the really big hitters. The greens are slick, soft and somewhat pocked up from ball marks over time, but very puttable. A couple of the greens featured some very severe breaks, one to the point of slightly unfair. The par 3's are pretty good and feature varying lengths from 140-195. We played the blue tees at about 6400 yards. In some spots the houses are pretty close to the course and it was a bit noisy, but not so much that it was a bother.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Friday, August 05, 2005
How's this for a funky round.....subbing in a league
#1 --- two putt par from 20 feet (nice start)
#2 --- lip out for birdie, tap in par (tough par 3, lookin' good)
#3 --- 2 putt bogie, from the sand (not a good sand shot, but acceptable bogie)
#4 --- 4 putt triple (FROM 15 FEET!!!!!!!!)
#5 --- miss a 3 footer for par (GETTING PISSED)
#6 --- sink 15 foot birdie (some relief)
#7 --- 2 putt par from about 40 feet (nice job, tough par 4)
#8 --- tap in par after cutting 100 yards off the corner (one more to go)
#9 --- kick- in a 2 footer for birdie after stiffing a 7 iron, up hill, into the wind from 145 yards (feeling pretty good now, 4 putt all but forgotten)
Score 39, time to go home. Ho hum. So continues my love/hate relationship with Webster East.
#2 --- lip out for birdie, tap in par (tough par 3, lookin' good)
#3 --- 2 putt bogie, from the sand (not a good sand shot, but acceptable bogie)
#4 --- 4 putt triple (FROM 15 FEET!!!!!!!!)
#5 --- miss a 3 footer for par (GETTING PISSED)
#6 --- sink 15 foot birdie (some relief)
#7 --- 2 putt par from about 40 feet (nice job, tough par 4)
#8 --- tap in par after cutting 100 yards off the corner (one more to go)
#9 --- kick- in a 2 footer for birdie after stiffing a 7 iron, up hill, into the wind from 145 yards (feeling pretty good now, 4 putt all but forgotten)
Score 39, time to go home. Ho hum. So continues my love/hate relationship with Webster East.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
the final word on NJ golf
On our trip we also played the Bay Course at the Seaview Marriott Resort, the site of the ShopRite Classic tour stop for the LPGA. It was very short, in very good condition, had very small greens and was obnoxiously buggy. We purchased some pretty heavy-duty bug spray at the proshop at everyone's suggestion. It came in handy. We were warned that we must not spray the stuff unless we were on the cartpath or it kills the grass. Nice! What does it do to your body then?
The course was difficult only in that the greens were small and very hard to hit and hold. I found it very short, but in great shape. The 17th was a freakin' dogleg par 3 of about 220 yards. That hole was kind of a joke you could not see the green from the tee and of course I hit my tee shot i n the enormous bunker 30 yards short. On the 18th tee, we saw lightning and unwisely tried to play the hole out. We picked up near the green and took off for safety.
I took a lesson (the first that I have ever paid for) the next day and man it was cool. I focused on the 3 and 4 irons on the range and learned how to get my right hand through better. Also, the pro told me that amatuers should really be pretty happy with a long iron that ends up around the green and safe, rather than complaining about missing the green from 180+. This made a ton of sense. If you hit the green, great. If you miss it, trust your short game to get up and down.
The other part of my lesson was in the greenside bunker. He told me just to hit a few at first to see how I did it naturally. Of course I stiffed two in a row, really close, and he said, "my work is done". However, he gave me some great tips on how to make the proper moves from the bunkers and after hitting about 30 shots, I had improved quite a bit.
The pro gave me a great price to play nine holes on the other course on the property after my lesson. I only had time to play 9, but really liked the layout better than the other one and wished I could have continued on. I had 3 bunker shots in that nine holes (was I aiming for them?) and got up and down from one and blasted out of both of the others with reasonable results. I used the new technique on all three shots and what a difference.
The course was difficult only in that the greens were small and very hard to hit and hold. I found it very short, but in great shape. The 17th was a freakin' dogleg par 3 of about 220 yards. That hole was kind of a joke you could not see the green from the tee and of course I hit my tee shot i n the enormous bunker 30 yards short. On the 18th tee, we saw lightning and unwisely tried to play the hole out. We picked up near the green and took off for safety.
I took a lesson (the first that I have ever paid for) the next day and man it was cool. I focused on the 3 and 4 irons on the range and learned how to get my right hand through better. Also, the pro told me that amatuers should really be pretty happy with a long iron that ends up around the green and safe, rather than complaining about missing the green from 180+. This made a ton of sense. If you hit the green, great. If you miss it, trust your short game to get up and down.
The other part of my lesson was in the greenside bunker. He told me just to hit a few at first to see how I did it naturally. Of course I stiffed two in a row, really close, and he said, "my work is done". However, he gave me some great tips on how to make the proper moves from the bunkers and after hitting about 30 shots, I had improved quite a bit.
The pro gave me a great price to play nine holes on the other course on the property after my lesson. I only had time to play 9, but really liked the layout better than the other one and wished I could have continued on. I had 3 bunker shots in that nine holes (was I aiming for them?) and got up and down from one and blasted out of both of the others with reasonable results. I used the new technique on all three shots and what a difference.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
New Jersey golf
My wife and I just came back from a week in NJ. We played resort golf at 4 different courses.
The first was at Ballyowen in northern NJ. We took advantage of the twilight rates and only paid about $50 rather than the regular day fee of about $125!!!!! Ballyowen was a nice course, not really long from the blues (about 6200 yards), and they enforce the ridiculous rule of all cartpaths all the time. What joke. I like to ride when on vacation (although I ride most of the time anyway), but to be forced to ride on the paths creates times when you might have a 150 yard walk to your ball. Who hits the ball right near the path all of the time? Granted, we could have walked, but "paths only" sucks. Here is an idea, paths on both sides of the fairway!! This course was a nice layout and the fairways were great (no carts), but the greens late in the day were pretty messed up--not worthy of the full price greens fee that is for sure. The coolest part was the bag-piper that played on the patio at 7pm. Very cool. I played fairly well, but again could not break 80. I did par the last 5 holes (17 and 18 played pretty much in the dark as we finished at around 9pm). One hole on the back (12?) was a short dogleg par 4 that featured a large granite out-cropping as a target line and a farmer's field that had a bunch of sheep in it. It was very Scottish looking. The next hole was a par four with a viscious bunker right in front of the elevated green. Of course I hit my approach into that same bunker and took two to get out (instant double). I liked this course quite a bit. The 10th hole was a downhill par 5 that I reached in two with a drive and a 4 iron. I did not hit my drive particularly well, but it cut the corner a bit and made the hole shorter than the card showed. I suspect that with a well struck drive on the same angle you could actually have about 6 or even 7 iron to the green. (Note: I of course 3 putted from about 60 feet for par)
The second course was right down the road from the first. Wild Turkey came highly recommended and right out of the box -- NO CART PATHS ONLY RULE!! This was a great course. The par 3's here were tremendous. One of them was 180 yds. over a huge quarry, all carry. Leave it short, and get wet after it crashed into the 100 foot high granite wall that stares you down from the tee. I cleared it with a 4 iron, and then managed to 3 jam it for a bogie. But, hey, I did not dump it in the quarry. Number 10 was another long par 3 (about 215) straight down hill. I crushed a 3 iron onto the green and two putted for par. The 17th was about 210 over a pond/lake. I hit 5 wood onto the green and made par. The other par 3 was about 180 again and I parred that one too. That is the best I have played the par 3's in a while. This course was longer and tougher than Ballyowen. Several holes wind around a swamp that sometimes allows a bear sighting (there was one in the early morning, but we did not see one). I would play here again in a heartbeat. We paid full price ($125) for this baby, but we were on vacation and we came to play. The clubhouse here was stunning and we had a great lunch when we were done. We went back for dinner the next day and that too was very good, no it was a great meal.
The first was at Ballyowen in northern NJ. We took advantage of the twilight rates and only paid about $50 rather than the regular day fee of about $125!!!!! Ballyowen was a nice course, not really long from the blues (about 6200 yards), and they enforce the ridiculous rule of all cartpaths all the time. What joke. I like to ride when on vacation (although I ride most of the time anyway), but to be forced to ride on the paths creates times when you might have a 150 yard walk to your ball. Who hits the ball right near the path all of the time? Granted, we could have walked, but "paths only" sucks. Here is an idea, paths on both sides of the fairway!! This course was a nice layout and the fairways were great (no carts), but the greens late in the day were pretty messed up--not worthy of the full price greens fee that is for sure. The coolest part was the bag-piper that played on the patio at 7pm. Very cool. I played fairly well, but again could not break 80. I did par the last 5 holes (17 and 18 played pretty much in the dark as we finished at around 9pm). One hole on the back (12?) was a short dogleg par 4 that featured a large granite out-cropping as a target line and a farmer's field that had a bunch of sheep in it. It was very Scottish looking. The next hole was a par four with a viscious bunker right in front of the elevated green. Of course I hit my approach into that same bunker and took two to get out (instant double). I liked this course quite a bit. The 10th hole was a downhill par 5 that I reached in two with a drive and a 4 iron. I did not hit my drive particularly well, but it cut the corner a bit and made the hole shorter than the card showed. I suspect that with a well struck drive on the same angle you could actually have about 6 or even 7 iron to the green. (Note: I of course 3 putted from about 60 feet for par)
The second course was right down the road from the first. Wild Turkey came highly recommended and right out of the box -- NO CART PATHS ONLY RULE!! This was a great course. The par 3's here were tremendous. One of them was 180 yds. over a huge quarry, all carry. Leave it short, and get wet after it crashed into the 100 foot high granite wall that stares you down from the tee. I cleared it with a 4 iron, and then managed to 3 jam it for a bogie. But, hey, I did not dump it in the quarry. Number 10 was another long par 3 (about 215) straight down hill. I crushed a 3 iron onto the green and two putted for par. The 17th was about 210 over a pond/lake. I hit 5 wood onto the green and made par. The other par 3 was about 180 again and I parred that one too. That is the best I have played the par 3's in a while. This course was longer and tougher than Ballyowen. Several holes wind around a swamp that sometimes allows a bear sighting (there was one in the early morning, but we did not see one). I would play here again in a heartbeat. We paid full price ($125) for this baby, but we were on vacation and we came to play. The clubhouse here was stunning and we had a great lunch when we were done. We went back for dinner the next day and that too was very good, no it was a great meal.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Plugging along
Well, last Saturday we played a private course that is offering a great deal on memberships right now. I had played there, but it had been years. The course (Country Club of Mendon) was in great shape and it was nice to play on a course the is always in great shape. They only have 225 members right now so it can never be crowded can it?
I cruised around the front (short and tight) with pretty solid 38, but had 3 three putts. I did make two nice birdies, but two of the three putts were for bogey (I HATE 3 PUTT BOGIES).
The back is much longer and has a ton of water. The 11th hole requires a 250 yard carry from the white tees if you want to hit an iron to the green on this par four. I hit 3 wood off the tee and still had an uphill shot of some 220 yards. NICE HOLE. I of course pulled another amazing about face and shot 45 on the back for 83.
We really enjoyed our round at the club. But alas, we have decided not to join (this year). We have a lot of vacation scheduled over the next 6 weeks and won't be able to put the time into the course to justify the $3000 fee for the rest of the season. That price is less than some local semi-private courses are charging for memberships. That alone is enough to make you think twice about joining a private club.
On the 4th of July I played Victor Hills with an old golfing buddy. He talked me into playing at 6 AM!!! So off I went. I shot 76 with 4 three putts and a double. Nothing to complain about except the putting. I did miss two birdie putts from inside 10 feet and 3 putted a par five after getting home in two (I was about 60 feet out for eagle, so the three putt is somewhat less painful). My driver that I spoke so fondly of in the past has been eratic of late. My power fade has crept back to slice status to some extent. I will have to watch that.
I cruised around the front (short and tight) with pretty solid 38, but had 3 three putts. I did make two nice birdies, but two of the three putts were for bogey (I HATE 3 PUTT BOGIES).
The back is much longer and has a ton of water. The 11th hole requires a 250 yard carry from the white tees if you want to hit an iron to the green on this par four. I hit 3 wood off the tee and still had an uphill shot of some 220 yards. NICE HOLE. I of course pulled another amazing about face and shot 45 on the back for 83.
We really enjoyed our round at the club. But alas, we have decided not to join (this year). We have a lot of vacation scheduled over the next 6 weeks and won't be able to put the time into the course to justify the $3000 fee for the rest of the season. That price is less than some local semi-private courses are charging for memberships. That alone is enough to make you think twice about joining a private club.
On the 4th of July I played Victor Hills with an old golfing buddy. He talked me into playing at 6 AM!!! So off I went. I shot 76 with 4 three putts and a double. Nothing to complain about except the putting. I did miss two birdie putts from inside 10 feet and 3 putted a par five after getting home in two (I was about 60 feet out for eagle, so the three putt is somewhat less painful). My driver that I spoke so fondly of in the past has been eratic of late. My power fade has crept back to slice status to some extent. I will have to watch that.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Been a while
Here we are in mid-June and the sweltering heat of summer has come upon us. I have played a fair amount of golf, but not as much as last year. My game is been somewhat psychotic in that I have had a few rounds that look good in the final tally but the front to back scoring looks like this: 46/36 = 82, 45/35 = 80, 46/35= 81. It s kind of frustrating when the end results are ok and you shot like crap for 9 holes and then lights out for the other nine.
On Friday however, I shot a 2 over 72 on a course that I used to belong to. I was so in control over where I wanted to hit the ball, where I hit the ball and what I needed to do if I missed. It was a nice feeling to be there again. I shot 79 on Saturday on a much more difficult course. I birdied the last hole to get there. I had botched #12-15 (double, bogie, bogie, bogie) on the back nine after playing very well on the front.
On Friday, I played with the 15 year old son of a tennis friend ours. She has been asking me to play with him to see if I could help him with his game. Well, this self taught kid birdies the first hole right out of the box and two putted the 7th for birdie to shoot 38 on the front and then he bogied the last 3 holes to end up at 79 for the day. I told his mother that he was fine and did not need my help. He had shot 76 the day before on a much more difficult course. I will play again with him soon, but I will not offer any advise. He does not need it. I asked him if he was going to play golf in high school next year, but he said no because his basketball is more important and the seasons run together.
I have not posted in a while, and hope to get back to this blog more often. We are going to northern NJ in two weeks for golf and tennis, I hope that I can post some good stuff here afterwords.
On Friday however, I shot a 2 over 72 on a course that I used to belong to. I was so in control over where I wanted to hit the ball, where I hit the ball and what I needed to do if I missed. It was a nice feeling to be there again. I shot 79 on Saturday on a much more difficult course. I birdied the last hole to get there. I had botched #12-15 (double, bogie, bogie, bogie) on the back nine after playing very well on the front.
On Friday, I played with the 15 year old son of a tennis friend ours. She has been asking me to play with him to see if I could help him with his game. Well, this self taught kid birdies the first hole right out of the box and two putted the 7th for birdie to shoot 38 on the front and then he bogied the last 3 holes to end up at 79 for the day. I told his mother that he was fine and did not need my help. He had shot 76 the day before on a much more difficult course. I will play again with him soon, but I will not offer any advise. He does not need it. I asked him if he was going to play golf in high school next year, but he said no because his basketball is more important and the seasons run together.
I have not posted in a while, and hope to get back to this blog more often. We are going to northern NJ in two weeks for golf and tennis, I hope that I can post some good stuff here afterwords.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
lost post
A couple of weeks ago I was creating and new post for my blog here and when I hit enter, poof, it was gone. It was full of whitty stuff about our trip to FL in late March and full of great descriptive prose about my fabulous rounds. But alas, it is gone. I spend the better part of an hour going on and on about it. If I remember correctly the average for the 4 rounds played was right on 79 where it always is. Some good, some bad.
I played very well except for a couple of uncharacteristic water shots, penalties, and a mystery lost ball. I think I shot 77, 79, 80 and 81. The 79 included the mystery lost ball, a double on the 18th, back-to-back birdies, and a chip-in. Over the course of the four rounds, I was rock solid off the tee with the driver, missing very few fairways.
The driver has become an automatic swing for me since last summer. I have a routine and I stick to it. In one of the rounds back at home after the FL trip, I missed only one fairway with it and that was only by about a foot. I need to figure out how to incorporate the same swing thoughts into my long irons as they have been failing me as of late. Everything under 7 iron has been solid for a while now, but the long irons are hurting me. I will figure it out or else accept missed greens with those clubs and rely on the short game to keep things together.
I played very well except for a couple of uncharacteristic water shots, penalties, and a mystery lost ball. I think I shot 77, 79, 80 and 81. The 79 included the mystery lost ball, a double on the 18th, back-to-back birdies, and a chip-in. Over the course of the four rounds, I was rock solid off the tee with the driver, missing very few fairways.
The driver has become an automatic swing for me since last summer. I have a routine and I stick to it. In one of the rounds back at home after the FL trip, I missed only one fairway with it and that was only by about a foot. I need to figure out how to incorporate the same swing thoughts into my long irons as they have been failing me as of late. Everything under 7 iron has been solid for a while now, but the long irons are hurting me. I will figure it out or else accept missed greens with those clubs and rely on the short game to keep things together.
The season is here?
Here it is May 1st and I have played exactly 2 rounds of golf in NY so far. The first two weeks of April were as perfect as they could be, no rain and lots of sun. Well, the last two weeks made up for that little tease. No sun, cold, rain, wind, and no golf. As dry as the courses were early in the month, they are all pretty much swamps now. It is supposed to warm up this week and get sunny again. I am not counting my chickens yet.
In the mean time, my wife and I are doing something totally new and different this coming Friday: we are going to the drag races!! I have never done it, but have always wanted to. A lady from my last class and her family are professional drag racers and she invited us to come and see them this weekend at the local (one hour away) track. I am really looking forward to it. She said that if we seek her out, she will give us a tour of the pit area. Very cool.
Back to golf: we are staying over night near the track and on the way home on Saturday, we are going to play golf at Brockport CC. I have not played there in years and I am looking forward to it.
In the mean time, my wife and I are doing something totally new and different this coming Friday: we are going to the drag races!! I have never done it, but have always wanted to. A lady from my last class and her family are professional drag racers and she invited us to come and see them this weekend at the local (one hour away) track. I am really looking forward to it. She said that if we seek her out, she will give us a tour of the pit area. Very cool.
Back to golf: we are staying over night near the track and on the way home on Saturday, we are going to play golf at Brockport CC. I have not played there in years and I am looking forward to it.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Still Itching
My last post was on January 28th and I was complaining about 2 feet of snow on the ground. Well, here it is March 6th and we still have over a foot of snow on the ground. Now I am really getting inchy.
My wife and I are growing impatient with the weather and want to hit some balls at the range, but the only indoor range around is a 1/2 hour drive from here. And because it is the only one around, it is always busy. If the snow ever melts, some of the closer outdoor ranges have heated hitting booths. I guess we will have to wait a bit longer. Hey, it's only March.
As for now, I have suffer a bit longer. One the bright side, Phil Mickelson is going head to head with Tiger this afternoon at Doral. I hope that Phil can stay hot and win outright today. Tiger has to beat him by two to tie and three to win. I want Mickelson to show some moxy and hold him off.
My wife and I are growing impatient with the weather and want to hit some balls at the range, but the only indoor range around is a 1/2 hour drive from here. And because it is the only one around, it is always busy. If the snow ever melts, some of the closer outdoor ranges have heated hitting booths. I guess we will have to wait a bit longer. Hey, it's only March.
As for now, I have suffer a bit longer. One the bright side, Phil Mickelson is going head to head with Tiger this afternoon at Doral. I hope that Phil can stay hot and win outright today. Tiger has to beat him by two to tie and three to win. I want Mickelson to show some moxy and hold him off.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Two feet of snow on the ground and I have the itch
Well, here it is 1/28/05 and we now have been buried with 2 feet of snow since last Saturday. The high temperature yesterday here in chilly Western NY was 9 degrees!!!! On the bright side, I am beginning to get the itch to play again.
This weekend there is a golf show and convention in town. I scored a free ticket from a friend this year. I think that I should be able to get my fix by walking around the displays and talking golf with the vendors.
They have a hitting area where you can demo the newest clubs from various manufacturers. Last year I swung the new Mizuno and McGregor irons...both were very nice.
I get a kick out of people that demo clubs, or simply hit balls with their own sticks, at the local driving range. The range is full of "golfers" with grotesque swings and horrible stances swinging so hard that their shoes come untied. It seems that everyone wants to try the latest, greatest driver right out of the box. Nobody seems to realize that the driver is the hardest club to hit, period, yet they insist on grabbing the closest 550 cc , stiff shafted monster they can find and swatting balls in a gracefully high arcing slice into oblivion. They get angry when they cannot hit it straight, or get it into the air for that matter. They complain that that they don't like the club and grab another turbo-charged behemoth. Whack, slice, bitch, switch. Repeat.
Has anyone EVER seen a pro grab for the driver first at the range? I don't think so. Especially in the middle of the winter in Western NY. You must begin with a wedge or at the most a 7 iron to get some sort of groove working and work you way up to the driver. Then make some smooth swings with the driver without trying to hit it through wall or fence at the other end of the range.
My rant is over...Where is my driver? I have to go hit some balls.
This weekend there is a golf show and convention in town. I scored a free ticket from a friend this year. I think that I should be able to get my fix by walking around the displays and talking golf with the vendors.
They have a hitting area where you can demo the newest clubs from various manufacturers. Last year I swung the new Mizuno and McGregor irons...both were very nice.
I get a kick out of people that demo clubs, or simply hit balls with their own sticks, at the local driving range. The range is full of "golfers" with grotesque swings and horrible stances swinging so hard that their shoes come untied. It seems that everyone wants to try the latest, greatest driver right out of the box. Nobody seems to realize that the driver is the hardest club to hit, period, yet they insist on grabbing the closest 550 cc , stiff shafted monster they can find and swatting balls in a gracefully high arcing slice into oblivion. They get angry when they cannot hit it straight, or get it into the air for that matter. They complain that that they don't like the club and grab another turbo-charged behemoth. Whack, slice, bitch, switch. Repeat.
Has anyone EVER seen a pro grab for the driver first at the range? I don't think so. Especially in the middle of the winter in Western NY. You must begin with a wedge or at the most a 7 iron to get some sort of groove working and work you way up to the driver. Then make some smooth swings with the driver without trying to hit it through wall or fence at the other end of the range.
My rant is over...Where is my driver? I have to go hit some balls.
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