Tuesday night mens league, managed to shoot a 44 with two lost balls. 1 birdie via a miracle putt, so that was fun. Overall, not a bad round, but certainly room for improvement. One lost ball was a duff on a 150 yard par-3 over water (SPLASH!); ended up with a double there. Next lost ball was on a long par 4: duffed a tees hot with my 5 wood, next shot took a 4h and blocked it into the houses lining the course. Ending up taking a nine on the hole after dropping, hitting into a trap, two strokes to get out, 7 iron to 5 ft, 2 putts. The rest of the round was fairly uneventful and I feel like I could save an easy 4 strokes. Regardless, seeing progress. Fingers crossed this continues into the playoffs...

Round 14 of league last night. We've had one bye and I've been gone 3 weeks so I've played 10 matches. 2-7-1 record; not good, Bob!

My partner is a bit over 50-50 and on team matches we're about even so I'm really bringing us down.


Most weeks go like last night; I'm giving between 3-6 strokes and I made 5 pars (sometimes a birdie), 3 bogies and obsoletely **** something up and make a double/worse (generally on the 8th or 9th hole) and lose 2&1. Frustrating as I'm not getting boatraced or playing that poorly imo

First 'real' 18 hole round of year .. 92 with about 7 shots given away via short game issues with 60 degree leaving short or long. Overall my game is exactly 3-6 shots exactly where I left it a few years ago when I stopped playing regularly and that's just fine with me. Definitely would be stressed/pressed if I had to play from long blue or black tees, but my 'white' game is just fine.

Highlight was #1 handicap Hole #9 .. 441 dog-left, down hill at corner. Pushed drive a touch and flushed a 196 5-iron fade that rolled to 4 feet under the pin. Right-edge firm putt was good and the corner Brat tasted that much better! GL


PS .. getting kind of depressed that the Dealers/some Players don't ask me to join their group outings when they know I'm available. I'd say it's a separation of work, but there are Players involved. Not going to force my way in by any means. They probably think I'm better off at the casino to keep the games going!

44-38-82 +12 70.3/127


So, my golf game as gone to pot recently. Tee time was 8:20am. I rock up and pay and we are straight off with no warmup. About 25 people watching us on the first tee. I snipe it left. I'm thinking oh great this might be a long day. Ended up getting a bogey on the 1st which isn't all that bad. 2nd hole block it way right and go 3 of the tee. Ended up getting a triple 8.

After that I sort of settled down a bit. Ball striking got so much better drives were going far and straight. I'd say I was sort of let down by my putting today. I had 1 to many 3 putts, On the back 9 I went with a different approach with my putting and looking at the putts in more detail. This place has so many subtle breaks and can be very hard to tell.

1 poor shot and that was on the 16th which is a par 5. Hit a semi decent drive but when into the short rough. Crap lie so I couldn't get anything other than a mid-iron on it. I had to carry it around 140ish to get it over a ditch. Even with a 6 iron this was a risk, I'd probably lay up short if you ask me to hit again now. Probably carried it 142 and just got over. Left me 100 in. Little 48° and I've pipped it into this knee high rough. Get a lob wedge and just hit it as hard as I could and come out to front edge. Ended up getting a 6.

Last hole, Par 4 335 on the card probs playing a bit more than that today tee's were way back. Hit a good drive. I have about 90 in but got to hit it over a tree in the fairway protecting the green. Hit a good 54° played a bit forward in the stance. Got the height and the carry and I have about 8 feet for birdie. Super slippery putt I know I'm 8 feet away, but this isn't a putt you want to be too aggressive with. Hit a solid putt and ended with a birdie.


I know 82 isn't the greatest score around here but to get it round with the start I had is just as good imo, could have quite easily just given up and just slapped it around and carded like an 89 or 90 etc. I think I get like 11 or 12 shots around this track so played to my handicap.


Playing in a 9 hole roll up later at my local.

We did a Captain vs Vice today. They picked teams and then you get paired with someone on your team. First 9 was a scramble format 2nd 9 was alternate shot. I was paired with a 30 HC. We lost the scramble but won the alternate shot so we ended up halving the match. Overall we lost as a team.

The funniest part was on the 15th Par 5. My partner has to tee off. Hits it in the crap. So I hit a provisional. The other team hits it into the crap on the other side. We find my partners original ball but I take a unplayable and go back on the line and I'm in the 1st fairway and a long way back. I hit a rescue but goes way right. I said to my partner you need to come hit a provisional as it was over some tall trees I didn't have a clue where it landed. So he comes over and hits a provisional puts it right back where he hit his tee shot. So I now have to take a drop in the same place and I think we are taking shot 7 ... We look over and see the other 2 can't find their ball so they take a 2 shot penalty and play. We go to look for our original in some knee high rough and thankfully our opponents find it for us. It was my partners turn, I see him super uncomfortable with the shot whilst he is standing over it. I stepped and said hit it down the 2nd hole fairway it becomes a much easier shot (Less to carry to get to the fairway and also the grass is going that way so should be able to make contact with the ball) He plays a really good shot out of it and leaves me with 130ish. I hit a really good iron to about 10 feet. He missed the putt but some how we ended up winning with a 7.

member/member/member today and man did I suck.....

52-46-98. My worst round of the year by 3 shots.

I burned the edge on soooooo many putts. So let's say that cost me 4 strokes. Still absolutely terrible.

I've had a bad case of the shanks all season, especially on the range. I'll easily shank half a bucket of balls in a session. Grinded it out on the range yesterday and "found" something that worked for me, went out and shot a shank free 77 today (although I topped 1 120 yard wedge shot). Let's see how long this lasts lol.

Funny you say that. I went to the range Wednesday and "found" something with my driver. First range session in over 2 months for me. Too scared to try it in my bigger $ game yesterday. Tried it today and just ****ing smoked it.

Haha I “found” my 30-80 yard shots again on the range. Testing it out on the course tomorrow.

Played my club championship this weekend. First round lost a ball off the first tee, made double. Second hole cold topped a 5 wood off the tee into the crap, made another double. Doubled 9 to go out in 44. Played well on the back for 36 to finish with 80. It was a weird year where a lot of good players just blew up. Finished the day in 3rd place behind a 74 and 77.

Second day on 1 hit a full wedge fat and 40 yards short to make bogey. Had a nice birdie on 6 but doubled 9 again for 40 on the front. The guy who shot 74 opened with a bogey and a quad and blew up. The guy with the 77 wasn't playing well and made triple on 8. After 9 I was one back of a guy (that I was playing with) who started a shot behind me.

On 10 the leader makes a 25 footer for birdie, I make a 20 footer on top of him to stay one back.

11 I pull my approach long left and make bogey to go 2 down.

12 is a par 5, I smashed a drive, then hit a 4 hybrid from 241 into a light breeze to the fronge. Make it from 30 feet for eagle. A have a rare fist pump. Now tied.

13 the other guy makes a 30 footer for birdie, and I make a 25 footer on top of him to stay tied.

Now the wind cranks up and stays up for the rest of the round. 14 is a par 3 and I hit a shot that the wind destroys and I come up 20 yards short in the rough. Hit a great flop shot to a front pin to 3 feet and save par. Other guy bogeies and I'm up 1.

15 is a par 5 and we both make 5.

16 is a par 3, I hit would I think could be a perfect shot but the wind eats it up and I'm like 15-18 yards short in the rough. Other guy hits it in an awful spot, hits a great chip and almost saves par but doesn't. I make a solid up an down and now I'm up 2 with 3 to play.

17 is a drivable par 4 and pretty easy hole. Wind isn't favorable and we both lay up. I have 122 straight into the strong wind, I pull it some, and it dives just short and catches the corner of a bunker. They are rebuilding the bunkers and this is my first shot out of the new, fluffy sand. I leave it in the bunker, in the front face. I'm thinking I might really **** this up... I blast out onto the fringe. From 20 feet with ~4 feet of fringe to putt through I drain it for birdie. Second fist pump of the day. Still up one going into 18.

On 18 we both hit it in a fairway bunker. We have 165 into a strong wind, over water. I catch a break and am 6" ahead of him and can second. Sand is super fluffy so foot stability will be an issue, with the wind mis hits will get eaten up. He knocks it in the water. I come out sideways, hit is full SW on the green and two putt for bogey. Finished with 75 and a 2 shot win.

It wasn't even close to my best golf. Over the two days I made more mistakes than I can count. But it may have been the toughest golf I've played with all the clutch putts and up and downs.

Wow congrats!

Nice - way to go!

CO National?

great stuff campfire

Congrats! Filthy to make 3 birds and an eagle in one nine, all from 20+ feet!

Yes. Home if the Buffs…. Let me know if you ever get out this way. (Same goes for anyone else)

Thanks all! It’s funny I took a lesson a few weeks ago. Booked an hour so we wouldn’t be rushed. He just made a few tweaks to my full swing so I asked him to look at my putting even though I didn’t think it was necessary but we had time. Turned out I was aiming way way right and didn’t realize it. No way I make all those putts without that lesson.


Just realized how many typos I had in my post. Was 2 up with 2 to go and the putt from the fringe on 17 was for bogey.

Well, played a tee back from normal so didn't have many of these, only two. The good news is the first one from 55 yards I hit to 10 feet. The second one from 70 yards I dunked for an eagle on the last hole of the day. Uh, a little better than skulling them all over the lot like I had been!

Swing/setup adjustments were mostly good, hit the last 5 GIR. Started with a gross 9, and my putting speed control and my chipping were quite mediocre. But -2 over the last 5 saved me from the dread triple digits, in with 94.

Played a second time in Cabo at Campestre golf course, a Jack Nicklaus design that is a fantastic layout but in terrible shape - patchy fairways and greens, water hazards smelled rotten, a literal herd of goats roaming the course. Tricky, tiered, challenging greens, and in true JN style there's a bunker everywhere you want to be. Unfortunately, these bunkers were full of hard dirt, which made for some interesting greenside shots.

It was very, very hot so some of the grass struggles could be due to late season weather but I've played plenty of resort desert courses where the grass was mostly alive.

Shot 52-54 for a smooth 106. Swing speed struggles with the wrist recovery, had a hard time hitting any shots over 200 yards, "pured" a 3 hybrid and it went 175. Sea level, compared to normal distances in Colorado. Frustrating day.

Got back on the launch monitor at home and my driver is topping out around 86 mph, about 20mph lower than before the injury. I'm chalking this up to grip weakness in the injured trail hand. Nothing to do but to work on it and build back, and try to squeeze out as much efficiency as I can at a low speed by working on my strike and delivery..

UGH. Played absolutely terrible in men's group. Struggled off the tee and ball striking was abysmal. I will share the first hole for clarity, and then forget this round ever happened:
477 Par 4 up and down a sizable hill with an elevated tee complex. eucalyptus trees lining the left. [video for those that care: https://youtu.be/5aJn_KUx2x0]
Push slice my drive. Second from a bare spot, top the ball into fescue covered dune. Chop out. Push my next one right of the elevated green. Chunk a wedge halfway up, then thin the next one past the flag. Two putts for a 9. $%^#!

Won my latest match. Really worried about this one just because I've been struggling a lot lately.

I went down the range and that didn't really help matters either. It was actually funny I was in the pitching area protected by this massive net from the range. The guy who I was playing turns up on the range. He shanks a ball and thankfully the net stopped it from hitting me. Well next shot I shank it as well right back at him

Once we got to the course we both played pretty decent. He gets 6 shots vs me. I go 1 up on the first, Halve the next 2 and win the 4th to go 2 up. Halve 5 and lost the 6th. Won the 7th and halved the 8th to win the match. 2&1.

I know that keeps me at the top but I just don't know what the stats are as the guy who is running it doesn't give us updates for some reason. I know the guy who could catch me dropped points since though so that's a good thing.




On another note regarding this below, I saw him for the 1st time since it happened, I was sat down chatting to one of our other mates. He was coming off the 3rd to go to the 4th they were backed up a bit so they would have to wait on the 4th tee. He walks past and we both say "Hey" and then he just walks to the tee and waits by himself whilst his playing partner stood there chatting to us. I just can't believe this is a thing. I have 0 problems with him on my end he just has a problem with me about it but won't actually mention it to me.

Won a match last night! Guy punted a ball OB on the 1st and 3rd holes but otherwise played solid and I won 2&1. Birdied a hard ****ing hole which is always nice.

Been putting it great the last month - helps so much.

Idaho/Washington golf trip just completed.

Circling Raven - 73

4 birdies, 1 double. Greens were fast and immaculate since there is an Epson Tour event there next week.

Black Rock - 73

4 birdies, 1 double. Course was great, especially the back 9 which has views of Lake Coeur d'Alene along with a couple of (man-made) waterfalls. Hospitality at this place was awesome. They have the little deals down like an abundance of free snacks and non-alcoholic drinks.

Gamble Sands - 73

3 birdies, no doubles. Played good early, turning in 35, but then the winds kicked up a bit and I struggled coming home. You can play the ground game here really well which helps when the winds are up.

thoughts on all three, particularly interested in gamble sands?

Circling Raven

I think this is my favorite of the three, in particular because of the shape the greens were in. Layout was great Fairways were the most playable of the three, mostly because the other two were so tightly mowed. I was never in a bunker all day so I can't really comment on those. There were a number of risk/reward shots which makes the course more interesting to me. One par 5 played around 520y or so and it wrapped around marshy area. Cut off as much or as little as you want. I went big and had 148y left. If I don't make it I am hitting 3 from the tee. I think we saw the cart girl 5 times during the round. Pace of play was excellent, never waited and we were a threesome.

Black Rock

First off this is a private course so it is difficult to compare to the other two, especially since this is a super high end private. Initiation fee is $130k, I didn't find out how much the monthly dues are. You almost have to have properly on the course to get in, otherwise you are on a wait list and you can get jumped if someone buys a house there. These houses are not cheap either. We saw "cabins" that they rent. They are $20k/month. Our host for the outing winters in Scottsdale and Palm Springs and is a member of Silverleaf and La Quinta. I will say we are glad to know him now for sure. For being a high end CC the members are super down to earth as far as I could see. Super friendly even though they are worth hundreds of millions.

Now to the course. The greens are excellent and are just a touch slower than Circling Raven. Fairways are bent and cut super tight. It took be a few holes before I started striking my irons well. Rough is Kentucky bluegrass. Honestly I wasn't in the rough much so I couldn't tell you how tough it was to hit out of . Front nine is kinda meh IMO but the back nine is one of the better I have ever played. The first par 5 on the front has an elevation drop of at least 100 feet. You just have to hit your tee shot around 200y before the huge drop. I clipped a tree and wasn't sure it would make it but it barely cleared. Member says wait for it, and literally 20 seconds later it appears at the end of the fairway. The course is really player friendly, almost to it's detriment. You can hit a good or bad shot and it could wind up in the same place around the green. I will have to throw up some pics of the back 9 when i get back home. Great mix of holes. Overall this course has the best set of par 3's I think I have ever played.

Gamble Sands

talk about in the middle of nowhere. You go through the middle of an apple orchard to get to the course. It's about a 2.5 hour drive from Spokane. Accommodations are limited but I assume they are building more. The second course is currently being built and they have a 14 hole par 4 course. I guess I am spoiled with Bandon's par 3 course but this one is not nearly as good. I did take putter off of two of the holes and it ended up better than my regular shot.

The course is really good. It sits on the hillside overlooking the Columbia River valley. Fairways are super, super wide and it really did remind me a lot of Bandon (same designer). Tee shots and approaches to greens have one good side and one bad side to approach many of them. If there is a bunker sitting on one side then there is a mound on the other kicking balls to the green. You can play the ground game on this course if you follow the right path. For example one of the par 3's was 216y. I hit 6 iron about 10 yards short of the green (big elevation drop) and it took the mounding and would up 15 feet away. There are three legitimate holes you can drive the green. The 2nd hole was 307y downhill. You just need to clear a bunker about 240y from the tee box with a little left to right action. I wound up having 30 feet for eagle. The next driveable one I hit driver over the next tee box left of green and never found it. That one I think if you hit it 230y it would roll on. After seeing that hole I would play it totally different. The last driveable one was around 285y but there is a bunker fronting the green. I hit a perfect drive pin high just off the green to the right. The par 5's were a good mix including a 633y hole. Hit a great drive and my best 3 wood of the day and had 50y left. Probably as close as you can get. The tee shot you hit over a hill and then the elevation drops. Reminded me of 10 on Pacific Dunes.

If I had to rank them I would put them in the order I played them, Circling Raven, Black Rock a close second, then Gamble Sands. I will def come back to Gamble Sands once they build the second course.

thanks for the gamble detail, the description not surprising for a mclay kidd design
i'll be starting a multi-year project in grand coulee, only an hour away.

got out yesterday
5900 par 72 68.8/123
quirky course with some short par 4s, but hardly drivable

-5 net, +10 gross, all bogeys
8 FIR, 5 GIR (no par 3s), 30 putts, 4 one putts (one to save bogey)
three pars came on under 300 par fours, two on par fives.
steady diet of smothered drives and chunked irons