One of those nights...

Last night my wife and I subbed in a league at Shadow Pines. This is a couples thing and many of the people are tennis friends of ours. Shadow Pines is not the easiest course around and I have to bring my A game in order to play well. Last night I had the A game working until the final hole...one of the toughest par 3's around.

I will now bore you all with the details:

- I narrowly missed birdie on the first hole

- birdied #2

- lipped out for birdie on #3

- rolled an improbable putt from off green from about 50 feet right in the center of the cup for
another birdie on #4

- lipped out again for birdie on the fifth hole

- slipped up a bit and three putted for bogie on #6 (still one under par however)

- parred the 7th

- hit an eight iron from about 145 yards to within 6 inches of the cup for another birdie to get back to -2.

Now for the painful part and why most of us don't play golf on TV.

The 9th is probably one of the hardest par 3's in the area. Its up hill so the 165 yards to the pin and last night played like 180...at least. There is a pond right in front of the tee and some pretty nasty sand traps at the green. No problem. I am swinging well and feel confident and comfortable as I carefully chose my weapon.

Moments later, after pulling my shot way left of the green, between two bunkers, on the wrong side of the green, I had to somehow chip over a mound and get that evil ball to stop on a cool, damp green somewhere near a pin that is cut just about 10 feet from the edge of the green. No problem. My chip missed being a very good one by about 2 feet as it landed just a bit too far beyond my intended landing zone. As it rolled and rolled across the green and on to the fringe on the far side of the green I began to think "just make four, just make four".

Well, I didn't. After I tapped in for a double bogie I kicked myself for finishing like that and then smiled because I had played 8 magnificent holes that night and for one fleeting moment in time I felt like one of those guys on TV whom we watch stick shot after shot close to the hole and roll them in the hole like nobody's business.

And probably the best part about it was that Joanie and I were playing golf together, it was beautiful.

Gotta go now, I have a tee time...thanks for listening.