I had a really interesting round today.

I've recently started tracking my short game with shotbyshot.com as well as analyzing my error rates for my approach shots.

Today was the first day that I went out on a mission to try to do the best with my ballstriking and I went and hit 17 GIR.

I only shot -1 because I had 34 putts (1 3putt...2 bogeys, 3 birdies). Not that my putting was poor - it was actually really good, but my course notoriously has poor greens and they're really difficult to read. So I stroked a lot of great putts and hit my mark, but it was the wrong read - can't complain when the read is wrong and you hit a perfect putt like you wanted to.

So, I'm really happy.

Yesterday was really bad (+6 but with 2 OBs). Ballstriking (full shots) was 8.9% avg error, pitches were 11.2% and chips were 24.2% (they weren't nearly as good as usual).

Today, striking was 8.0 and my 2 pitches (1 rough, one fairway) were 16.2%. The biggest difference, I guess, was that although the average error today wasn't a tonne lower, I was missing better.

Goin out tomorrow too

Brag: Low score of the year!
Beat: It was 100.
Variance: I did that despite an 8 on the par 3 18th. (Yeah, par 3 18th. Weird.)

It's been over a year since I broke 100. I had 6 doubles and 3 bogeys (par 35) on the front and had a quintuple, quadruple, triple, 2 bogeys, and 4 pars on the back! (3 penalty strokes in the round) What a crazy round. I definitely have some really good shots and good holes so I'm on the right track but sometimes things get off track.

Pretty irritated that I didn't get in the mid 90's.

I'm on vacation this week, so I played 9 holes with the missus at Eagle Glen in Farwell, MI. Doubled the first two holes thinking my drives would go left because, you know, 95% of the time they do. Ended up shooting 46 from the blues with two birdies, on 7 & 9. Was banging my driver 200-210 yds. (!), so on #7 I hit a 2I 210 into the wind to 3 feet, and hit a 52 deg. wedge to 10 feet on #9.

My swing is so bad, when I'm not hitting a draw off the tee it feels like I'm bunting it.

2 penalty shots and 4 missed putts inside of 6ft, shot 77 at Chase Oaks Golf Club

Tom,

I played at Raisin River East this morning. Hadn't played there since I was a teenager and I remembered it as being fairly easy. Whoa. Maybe from the white tees.

From the blue it is 6,928 yards par 71! I think this is the longest I have ever played. Shot 83 with two in the water and one out of bounds.

Par 3's played 204, 236, 197, 204. Brag: I hit the green on the 236 hole into the breeze with my driver!

http://www.raisinrivergolf.com/EastCourse.htm

If it's been a while since you played there, you may be thinking of the west course. It is pretty straight-forward, easy to score well. I play 2-3 outings a year on the west, 15-17 under usually wins.

Playing on my own ball, I like the east a lot better.

Nice shootin', Tex. You must have been hitting it pretty well to hit a 236 par 3 green. Was one of the water balls on #5? I almost always drown one or two on that hole.

I plopped it in the water on both par 3s on the back nine taking a 5 and a 6. Both water shots were off the toe of the club. (Weather was beautiful.)

I was feeling scared at the sight of number 5. I pooched a drive about 220 and hit 5-iron onto the green. Only three putt of the day for bogey. There are some very large greens back there as well.

I was just hitting it smooth and steady. 39 on the front, 44 on the back thanks to the water balls and a hook onto the West course on 18!

The white tees at 6200 make it so you could hit 4-iron off every tee. But then the blue tees need a little more variety. It seemed every hole was the same length.

102 at middle bay on long island. worst score in 18 months. couldn't get off the tee. par'd 18 to halve the back, thank god.

Shot a really good 86 by my standards today, was striking the ball so crisp with my irons. I putted really well too, but I pooched a few birdie putts.

*played at braeben in mississauga, canada.

107 at Carolina Nation (Egret to Heron). As seems to be common place now, I was surprised I scored that well given how I felt I played. I had a few pars and a few greens in regulation (but 3 putted all 3 times I did - ugh) but also had some 45 degree to the right pitch shots and flew the green a time or two with some pitches as well. Putting was up and down. 3 wood may have been the best club in the bag and I managed to keep all of my drives in play (though short and often in the rough). Will probably play again Monday - vacation with the in-laws.

Shot a crappy round today, 113.

On a side note, I got hit by a golf ball for the first time ever today (7th year playing golf). It was an errant drive that somehow sliced its way to the green my group was on. I got hit in the right chest (close to the armpits), and somehow it didn't really hurt as much as I thought. It's bruised and purple, but I was expecting a lot worse. I picked up the ball and kept it.

47-53-100 from the blues using irons only. I am so horrible on par 3's, the last 3-4 rounds I've played played bogey golf on par 4's and 5's but usually triple any par 3 I encounter. Its pathetic, I need to find a par 3 course and start playing there to work on my short game.

Poppy Ridge, whites, 70.8/130. Chardonnay/Zinfandel nines. Started triple-triple-triple, finished 47-40. Golf is stupid.

Shot 39 on a course I used to play a lot when I was younger. My seven-year old daughter shot 77 (her best) for the nine holes, scoring her first 5 on a hole (tying me on that hole). She was excited.....in between reading her book while not hitting.

I am arithmetically challenged. I shot a 117. That seems more consistent with how I felt I played. Goal tomorrow is low 100's. Just automatically taking the easiest way out of any bunker (whatever direction that may be) should save me a good number of strokes.

Played in my first tournament today, just a 4-man scramble though. We shot an 18-under winning by a couple strokes... Also made my first eagle using all my shots

2008 Rounds

50-63-113 Primm Valley Resort
53-46-99 Bear's Best
48-56-104 Revere at Anthem Lexington
50-53-103 Wolf Paiute
45-59-104 Lost Canyons Sky
55-62-117 Lost Canyon Shadow
54-54-108 Badlands
50-50-100 Rio Secco
46-53-99 (43) Revere at Anthem Lexington
45-51-96 (37) Paiute Sun Course
38 (19) Durango Hills par 30
50-49-99 (38) Revere at Anthem Lexington
51-50-101 (39) Bears Best
37-32-69 (31) Durango Hills par 58
53-48-101 (36) TPC Las Vegas
52-63-115 (36) TPC Las Vegas
36-39-75 (33) Durango Hills par 58
54-49-103 (41) TPC Las Vegas
53-55-108 (37) Arrowhead
53-45-98 (42) George W. Dunne National
53-51-104 (40) Bears Best
51-48-99 (35) Red Rock Arroyo
50-45-95 (35) Bears Best
50-47-97 (38) The Lakes
56-48-104 (40) Wolf Paiute
51-47-98 (37) Rhodes Ranch
43-49-92 (34) Revere at Anthem Concord

Played great on the front, with a workmanlike double bogey, 5 single bogey, 3 par front nine. Lost my tee shot on 10 and really really struggled off the tee the rest of the back, taking 4 penalties and really grinding to get a 49. Had an eagle chip on 18 to shoot 89, missed by about 20 feet, then of course 3-putted to shoot the 92. But still, played well and my best round of the year by 3 shots. Weather was nice and cool too. Really had some great chips from just off the green today which kept me in the game on the back 9.

92 (par 70) today which is a personal best! 9/14 FIR, 2/18 GIR, 34 putts

Flatirons Golf Course Boulder, CO 70.3/128 from blues

Had a chip in birdie today which felt awesome. I feel like I should have broken 90, but I kept hitting my approach shots a little thin on the last few holes. Was playing very well for my standards after 4 months of play now.

Congrats Larry, great round especially considering the GIR. Nice!

The sick thing is those two GIR's went par, bogey I also only recorded 1 penalty today which may be my lowest ever. Clark, I see you are shooting similar to my scores, how many penalties do you average a round?

Man, it's all over the place but I'd say I average about 4 penalties a round.

88. No swing. Experimenting with putter, results not good.

On the plus side, I did find a 60 degree wedge in my collection that fits my game. Basement = cheaper than eBay.

Played on Sunday at Lochness Links near Niagara Falls Canada-side.. First hole, my short game was a bit wonky, drain a 25 footer for bogey. Second hole, miss the green, come up short on a fail of a chip shot, drain a 25 footer off the green for par. Third hole, 2 amazing shots with my hybrid, i'm 60 yards off the green on a par 5 looking good.. sky opens up and it pours on us and we decide to take a rain cheque My putting was so hot, it killed me to leave the course, but I won some money on hold-em at the B&M right afterwards, so all was not lost.

ever since going left-hand low putting grip i've been making a tonne of putts.

Got a quick twilight9 in tonight at Rend Lake here in So. IL....shot a 41, which is my best for the summer. There are 27 at Rend....played 19-27....with the 1st/3rd 9 it's 70.3/128...with the 2nd/3rd it's 71.2/130 from the whites.

Brag: Shot 77!
Beat: That was the front nine. Back nine was 67. 144.

Carolina National. I just couldn't find my swing at all. I actually chipped and putted well. It just took forever to get to the greens.

I am keeping my confidence up with the following rationalization. I am badly out of shape. I played golf Thursday and Saturday (5 hour round in 90 degree weather), spent Friday and Sunday on the beach and otherwise chasing my niece and nephew around. So by the time we played the Monday round in more than 90 degree heat plus no breeze I was exhausted. Hard to hold onto a swing that isn't ingrained when you're that tired. My arms and quads are still sore this morning. I think I'm going to start a thread on fitness for golf.