It is the last day of the year and clients are scrambling to close real estate transactions and take tax losses because of the federal tax law allowing businesses to offset losses in 2009 against gains in the prior 5 years and receive cash refunds for taxes paid in those prior years. In a simple example, if a homebuilder sells property with a basis of $2 million for $1 million, which is its fair market value today, it realizes a $1 million loss, but will receive approximately $360,000 as a tax refund from the federal government if it paid at least that much in taxes over the prior 5 years. Therefore, the homebuilder actually receives cash of $1.36 million and reduces its loss to $640,000. This creates a potential bonanza for investors or others that can buy properties at distressed prices, with possibly even a larger discount because of the tax benefits to the seller.
But back to important things like golf! While waiting to confirm that closing documents have been recorded and wire transfers have been received, I was looking at the Arizona Golf Association website and it has a trip from July 18-26, 2010 for up to 20 people to St. Andrews to see the final day of the 2010 Open Championship and then stay for 7 rounds of golf in Scotland, including the Old Course (by daily ballot), Carnoustie, Kingsbarns, The New, The Jubilee, The Dukes and the new Castle Course, including breakfast daily, three hosted dinners, first class 5-star accommodations at The Fairmont Hotel in St. Andrews, all land transportation by private luxury coach, valet and gratuities. This looks promising!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Festivus for the Rest of Us
This week is very busy with year-end closings, getting ready for my son's wedding and having family in town, so my golf game is suffering. I am going to try to get out and play sometime this week if my deals get done in time and the weather is reasonably good.
Since my children are the product of a mixed religion marriage, my son decided that we should celebrate "Festivus for the rest of us", which was popularized by the television show, "Seinfeld". Of course, in my family, we call the show "Kramer" (and we have a cat named "Cosmo")!
I cleaned up this year at "Festivus". In addition to some cool non-golf presents, I received
Since my children are the product of a mixed religion marriage, my son decided that we should celebrate "Festivus for the rest of us", which was popularized by the television show, "Seinfeld". Of course, in my family, we call the show "Kramer" (and we have a cat named "Cosmo")!
I cleaned up this year at "Festivus". In addition to some cool non-golf presents, I received
- a gift certificate for the PGA Tour Superstore.
- six sleeves of Titleist Pro V1 golf balls.
- a gift certificate for a round of golf at a nice golf course.
- a compression sleeve for my aching elbow (more about that later!).
- an external battery charger so that my GolfLogix GPS does not run out of battery power on the 16th hole!
- some gag golf balls as a stocking stuffer.
- "Harvey Penick's Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime in Golf".
- "Five Lessons: Modern Fundamentals of Golf" by Ben Hogan.
- golf tees and replacement golf spikes.
According to Ben Hogan, any golfer with average coordination can learn to break 80 if he applies himself intelligently. I am going to take Ben up on his challenge!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Selling My Car and Golf
I have been trying to privately sell my 2000 BMW 528i for almost one year! Previously, I bought used cars from the dealer and traded in my car. This time I bought a used car from a private party and had to sell my car myself. We listed the car in the auto trader magazines and once in a blue moon we would get a phone call or e-mail and when we returned the phone call or e-mail, the person never responded.
This week we finally had a real buyer! Mr. and Mrs. Canuck (this pseudonym was affectionately penned and approved by Mrs. Canuck) from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They have a second home in the Valley of the Sun and wanted a car for Mrs. Canuck rather than renting one each time they came for vacation. When SO returned Mr. Canuck's phone calls or e-mails, he actually responded! Mr. and Mrs. Canuck came to the house to test drive the car and they were a very nice and friendly couple. Mr. Canuck and I hit it off right away because all he wanted to talk about was golf and I was right there with him. He told me that he lives about a 5-iron off of a certain street and I confirmed that he hits his 7-iron about 150 yards so I could calculate the exact location of his house (it is better than a GPS!). I showed Mr. Canuck the Giant and I think he was a little jealous. I complained about my poor putting and Mr. Canuck told me that he swears by the cross-handed (or left hand low) putting style and that it took 5 strokes off of his score.
I had never sold a car privately. Mrs. Canuck drove the car while I talked golf with Mr. Canuck. She loved the car. Then Mr. Canuck got in the car to test drive it and quickly asked his wife to come for the ride. Uh Oh! As the car left the driveway, SO and I looked at one another with the same panicked thought: "Mr. and Mrs. Canuck are con men (or to be politically correct, con persons) and we are never going to see the car again", followed by "Mr. and Mrs. Canuck are too nice to be con men; of course they seem nice dummy because they are con men!", followed by (putting on our attorney hats), "is it theft if we gave them the car keys?", followed by "is this covered by our automobile insurance or homeowners' insurance", followed by "how long do we wait before calling the police?" Luckily, Mr. and Mrs. Canuck actually were nice people and were back in the driveway in no time at all!
Mr. and Mrs. Canuck bought the car and I am going to play golf with Mr. Canuck and a potential business referral from Mr. Canuck when they are back in town during the Spring! Golf is the universal language!
This week we finally had a real buyer! Mr. and Mrs. Canuck (this pseudonym was affectionately penned and approved by Mrs. Canuck) from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They have a second home in the Valley of the Sun and wanted a car for Mrs. Canuck rather than renting one each time they came for vacation. When SO returned Mr. Canuck's phone calls or e-mails, he actually responded! Mr. and Mrs. Canuck came to the house to test drive the car and they were a very nice and friendly couple. Mr. Canuck and I hit it off right away because all he wanted to talk about was golf and I was right there with him. He told me that he lives about a 5-iron off of a certain street and I confirmed that he hits his 7-iron about 150 yards so I could calculate the exact location of his house (it is better than a GPS!). I showed Mr. Canuck the Giant and I think he was a little jealous. I complained about my poor putting and Mr. Canuck told me that he swears by the cross-handed (or left hand low) putting style and that it took 5 strokes off of his score.
I had never sold a car privately. Mrs. Canuck drove the car while I talked golf with Mr. Canuck. She loved the car. Then Mr. Canuck got in the car to test drive it and quickly asked his wife to come for the ride. Uh Oh! As the car left the driveway, SO and I looked at one another with the same panicked thought: "Mr. and Mrs. Canuck are con men (or to be politically correct, con persons) and we are never going to see the car again", followed by "Mr. and Mrs. Canuck are too nice to be con men; of course they seem nice dummy because they are con men!", followed by (putting on our attorney hats), "is it theft if we gave them the car keys?", followed by "is this covered by our automobile insurance or homeowners' insurance", followed by "how long do we wait before calling the police?" Luckily, Mr. and Mrs. Canuck actually were nice people and were back in the driveway in no time at all!
Mr. and Mrs. Canuck bought the car and I am going to play golf with Mr. Canuck and a potential business referral from Mr. Canuck when they are back in town during the Spring! Golf is the universal language!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Christmas Wish List
Christmas is coming up (I already missed Hanukkah) and I have given my golf gift list to SO who is distributing it to my children and other family members. My list is pretty mundane. It includes Titleist Pro V golf balls, a couple of golf books, gift certificates to the PGA Tour Superstore, an external battery charger for my blackberry (more about that in a later post) and maybe some golf training devices (no clothing!). Any of my followers should feel free to send me golf gifts as well.
However, in perusing some of the golf sites I have a few more ideas for only the most avid golfers. First, and best, is the uro club. The uro club looks like an ordinary golf club, but is actually a container to store urine if you have to pee on the golf course! It even has a built-in towel over the handle to be discrete. The uro club commercial is very funny. When I was playing with Ace at Arizona Country Club last week we drove up to a tee box and right in front of us, in the middle of the course, was an older gentleman relieving himself for all to see. This golfer needs a uro club for Christmas! For my followers that abide strictly by the "Rules of Golf", I wonder if you need to count the uro club as one of your allotted 14 clubs under Rule 4-4?(you need to scroll down the middle bar to get to the Rule.)
Another Christmas golf gift for the trailer trash golfer or the euro trash golfer is loudmouth golf clothing. This brand is endorsed by John Daly. Do I need to say more (that was a rhetorical question)? If so, other celebrity spokespersons are Jim McMahon, the former Chicago Bears quarterback, and Alice Cooper. PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem must cringe whenever he sees John Daly in loudmouth golf clothing (but the masses still love Big John!).
There are a number of other golf gag gifts (I bet you can't say that one 5 times fast!) including the Potty Putter, exploding golf balls, etc. that are stocking stuffers and are perfect for re-gifting or Secret Santa.
However, in perusing some of the golf sites I have a few more ideas for only the most avid golfers. First, and best, is the uro club. The uro club looks like an ordinary golf club, but is actually a container to store urine if you have to pee on the golf course! It even has a built-in towel over the handle to be discrete. The uro club commercial is very funny. When I was playing with Ace at Arizona Country Club last week we drove up to a tee box and right in front of us, in the middle of the course, was an older gentleman relieving himself for all to see. This golfer needs a uro club for Christmas! For my followers that abide strictly by the "Rules of Golf", I wonder if you need to count the uro club as one of your allotted 14 clubs under Rule 4-4?(you need to scroll down the middle bar to get to the Rule.)
Another Christmas golf gift for the trailer trash golfer or the euro trash golfer is loudmouth golf clothing. This brand is endorsed by John Daly. Do I need to say more (that was a rhetorical question)? If so, other celebrity spokespersons are Jim McMahon, the former Chicago Bears quarterback, and Alice Cooper. PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem must cringe whenever he sees John Daly in loudmouth golf clothing (but the masses still love Big John!).
There are a number of other golf gag gifts (I bet you can't say that one 5 times fast!) including the Potty Putter, exploding golf balls, etc. that are stocking stuffers and are perfect for re-gifting or Secret Santa.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The Tiniest Violin
Chad Feldheimer and I played the Legacy Golf Resort course today. The course was rated as one of the top 10 public golf courses to play in Phoenix by Golf Digest and ESPN.com/travel. The golf course was designed by Gary Panks, who designed a lot of the top public and private golf courses in Arizona, including Chaparral Pines, Firerock Country Club and the Talon Course at Grayhawk. It is a very "playable" course with wide fairways and very large greens, but it also has some well-placed and deep fairway and greenside bunkers and elevated greens that require you to carry the ball all of the way to the hole or risk the ball rolling back into the fairway off of the false fronts on the green. The course has great views of Camelback Mountain, Squaw Peak and the downtown Phoenix skyline.
Chad Feldheimer made me play from the "big boy" tees, which are over 6,900 yards. From the back tees, the golf course is a par-71 and has a course rating of 72.1 and a slope rating of 128. Our tee time was 8:44 a.m. and it was still brisk. I was dressed with long pants, a long sleeve rugby shirt and a jacket. The other locals were dressed similarly. The "snowbirds" and vacationers were dressed in shorts and short-sleeve shirts! By the turn, the weather warmed up to about 70 degrees, but there was still a breeze and it was a little overcast.
I was striking the ball really well. From tee to green I played very consistently and hit a lot of good shots. I hit 5 of 7 fairways and 4 of 9 greens in regulation on the front 9, but I had 21 putts (four 3-putts!) and shot a 48. Other than my putting, the hole that killed me was the par-3, 150 yard 7th hole. I hit what looked to be a nice tee shot but the ball rolled off of the false front of the green and into a monstrous greenside bunker with very little sand! I blasted out of the bunker and skulled the ball over the green into the desert brush, banged my club on the metal fence on my next shot and picked up for a triple bogey maximum 6 on the hole! If I have 18 putts and make par on the 7th hole I would have shot a 42 (Chad is playing the tiniest violin in the world for me)!
I continued to hit the ball well on the back 9, but still had problems scoring. I played bogey golf on the par-3s and par-4s, but was 4 over on the par-5s. The par-5s were long, but easily reachable in 3 strokes for me. That is where I should be making up strokes to bogey, not losing them! On the par-5, 580 yard 14th hole, I hit my third shot into the greenside bunker and took 2 shots to get out of the bunker for a 7 on the hole. On the par-5, 545 yard finishing hole, I hit my drive out of bounds and made a 7 on the hole. I did improve my putting and had 18 putts on the back nine for a 47 and a 95 for the round.
Chad was whining after shooting a 40 on the front 9 and going bogey-bogey-bogey to start the back 9, but then he caught fire and had back-to-back birdies on the par-5 14th hole and the par-3 15th hole and finished the back 9 with a 37 for a 6 over par 77.
Realistically, as well as I hit the ball tee to green, I could easily have shot an 85. After the round, Chad Feldheimer worked with me on my sand game at the practice facilities, but my confidence out of the sand is pretty low. If I can improve my play around the greens, I should be able to shave 5 or more strokes off of my score. I need to find a convenient short game practice facility to work on my game.
Chad Feldheimer made me play from the "big boy" tees, which are over 6,900 yards. From the back tees, the golf course is a par-71 and has a course rating of 72.1 and a slope rating of 128. Our tee time was 8:44 a.m. and it was still brisk. I was dressed with long pants, a long sleeve rugby shirt and a jacket. The other locals were dressed similarly. The "snowbirds" and vacationers were dressed in shorts and short-sleeve shirts! By the turn, the weather warmed up to about 70 degrees, but there was still a breeze and it was a little overcast.
I was striking the ball really well. From tee to green I played very consistently and hit a lot of good shots. I hit 5 of 7 fairways and 4 of 9 greens in regulation on the front 9, but I had 21 putts (four 3-putts!) and shot a 48. Other than my putting, the hole that killed me was the par-3, 150 yard 7th hole. I hit what looked to be a nice tee shot but the ball rolled off of the false front of the green and into a monstrous greenside bunker with very little sand! I blasted out of the bunker and skulled the ball over the green into the desert brush, banged my club on the metal fence on my next shot and picked up for a triple bogey maximum 6 on the hole! If I have 18 putts and make par on the 7th hole I would have shot a 42 (Chad is playing the tiniest violin in the world for me)!
I continued to hit the ball well on the back 9, but still had problems scoring. I played bogey golf on the par-3s and par-4s, but was 4 over on the par-5s. The par-5s were long, but easily reachable in 3 strokes for me. That is where I should be making up strokes to bogey, not losing them! On the par-5, 580 yard 14th hole, I hit my third shot into the greenside bunker and took 2 shots to get out of the bunker for a 7 on the hole. On the par-5, 545 yard finishing hole, I hit my drive out of bounds and made a 7 on the hole. I did improve my putting and had 18 putts on the back nine for a 47 and a 95 for the round.
Chad was whining after shooting a 40 on the front 9 and going bogey-bogey-bogey to start the back 9, but then he caught fire and had back-to-back birdies on the par-5 14th hole and the par-3 15th hole and finished the back 9 with a 37 for a 6 over par 77.
Realistically, as well as I hit the ball tee to green, I could easily have shot an 85. After the round, Chad Feldheimer worked with me on my sand game at the practice facilities, but my confidence out of the sand is pretty low. If I can improve my play around the greens, I should be able to shave 5 or more strokes off of my score. I need to find a convenient short game practice facility to work on my game.
"I am such an Idiot"
Golfchannel.com is running on-line surveys of the decades "best" putt, clutch shot, record setting performance, etc. A recent survey was the best "quote" of the decade and it brought back not-so-fond memories.
Phil Mickelson, one of my favorite golfers and an Arizona State University alumni, is nothing if not candid! Phil wears his emotions on his sleeve and is not afraid to show his feminine side. He is the anti-Tiger Woods. Sometimes Phil seems bored shooting a run-of-the-mill, unimaginative 68 or 69. Phil would rather try the spectacular shot and bogey the hole instead of hitting the mundane shot and parring the hole. But sometimes he just has a brain freeze (too much ice cream or something!).
The final round of the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York was his most dramatic brain freeze. After being known as "the best golfer to have never won a major championship" for quite some time, Mickelson finally broke through and won the 2004 Masters at Augusta National, the 2005 PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey and the 2006 Masters at Augusta National. He was playing for his third straight major championship win and was leading the U.S. Open on Sunday with one hole to play. Mickelson only needed a par on the 18th hole to win the championship. Amidst some gasps on the tee box, Mickelson pulled out his driver and promptly pushed his tee shot far left. Instead of pitching out into the fairway, Mickelson played an aggressive shot from the trees and clipped a tree branch only advancing his golf ball 25 yards. His third shot buried in the bunker and all of America buried its head. Mickelson double bogeyed the hole and lost the U.S. open by one stroke.
To Phil's credit, minutes after signing his scorecard, Phil spoke to a small group of reporters and said "I am such an idiot". Never had more honest words been spoken. Tiger Woods should take note of Phil's words. This is a great link, but if you only want to see the meltdown (and only watch NASCAR for the crashes) go to 3:30 of the video.
Phil Mickelson's meltdown at the 2006 U.S. Open brings back memories of the most inexplicable meltdown of our time, Jean van de Velde at the 1999 (British) Open Championship. If you follow this link, you may want to avert your eyes because it is so sickening!
Phil Mickelson, one of my favorite golfers and an Arizona State University alumni, is nothing if not candid! Phil wears his emotions on his sleeve and is not afraid to show his feminine side. He is the anti-Tiger Woods. Sometimes Phil seems bored shooting a run-of-the-mill, unimaginative 68 or 69. Phil would rather try the spectacular shot and bogey the hole instead of hitting the mundane shot and parring the hole. But sometimes he just has a brain freeze (too much ice cream or something!).
The final round of the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York was his most dramatic brain freeze. After being known as "the best golfer to have never won a major championship" for quite some time, Mickelson finally broke through and won the 2004 Masters at Augusta National, the 2005 PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey and the 2006 Masters at Augusta National. He was playing for his third straight major championship win and was leading the U.S. Open on Sunday with one hole to play. Mickelson only needed a par on the 18th hole to win the championship. Amidst some gasps on the tee box, Mickelson pulled out his driver and promptly pushed his tee shot far left. Instead of pitching out into the fairway, Mickelson played an aggressive shot from the trees and clipped a tree branch only advancing his golf ball 25 yards. His third shot buried in the bunker and all of America buried its head. Mickelson double bogeyed the hole and lost the U.S. open by one stroke.
To Phil's credit, minutes after signing his scorecard, Phil spoke to a small group of reporters and said "I am such an idiot". Never had more honest words been spoken. Tiger Woods should take note of Phil's words. This is a great link, but if you only want to see the meltdown (and only watch NASCAR for the crashes) go to 3:30 of the video.
Phil Mickelson's meltdown at the 2006 U.S. Open brings back memories of the most inexplicable meltdown of our time, Jean van de Velde at the 1999 (British) Open Championship. If you follow this link, you may want to avert your eyes because it is so sickening!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Wow, Those Greens are Fast!
My friends and clients, Ace and Freddy invited me to Arizona Country Club to play golf. Arizona Country Club is nestled in a residential neighborhood at 56th Street and Thomas Road in central Phoenix. The club was established in 1946 and was probably on the outskirts of town at the time. Arizona Country Club hosted the Phoenix Open (alternating with Phoenix Country Club) from 1955 through 1973. Arnold Palmer was a three-time winner at Arizona Country Club and other notable champions include Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.
The golf course is a typical midwestern course with a lot of grass and some trees bordering the fairways. The fairways were overseeded and cut very close, but the rough was not overseeded and is dormant bermuda grass. The distinction between the green fairways and wheat-colored dormant bermuda grass is very striking and pretty and also helps you to visualize the fairways. By not overseeding the rough, the club saves water during the winter months. However, what truly distinguishes the Arizona Country Club golf course is the greens. The putting surfaces are very large and undulating and the greens are lightning fast! If you hit the ball above the hole, three putts would not be unusual (this is known as foreshadowing). We teed off at 9 a.m. and it was overcast and a little windy. By the time we made the turn, the sun was out, the wind had died down and the temperature was in the high 60s or low 70s (in December!). This is why we live in Phoenix!
Ace has only been playing golf for a few years and last year she had a hole-in-one on the 130 yard, par-3 9th hole at Arizona Country Club. Ace has a beautiful swing, is methodical (or as she put it, OCD) and hits the ball right down the middle. She was the long driver all day long. Her husband, Freddy, also has a nice swing, but he does not play as much as Ace and likes to peek up on his swing.
Country Boy, Ace and Freddy's business partner, also joined our foursome. Country Boy has promised to take me to Paradise Valley Country Club forever, but I think he is embarrassed to be seen with me at his club! Country Boy plays a consistent big left-to-right fade (since he is a client I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and not call it a slice) and is very good around the greens. He made some nice putts to save par or bogey during the round and he also made some great sand shots, but it was usually after he left the first sand shot in the bunker!
We played a rotating high-low game. We changed playing partners every six holes. In a high-low game, on each hole, each team's low score is compared against the opponent's low score and each team's high score is compared against the opponent's high score. So, if one team has scores of 4 and 5 on a hole and the other team has scores of 5 and 5, the first team gets a point for the low score (4 to 5) and the teams tie for the high score (5 to 5) and no point is awarded. This game can be played with or without handicaps.
We played the white tees at Arizona Country Club which are only 6,319 yards. The course rating is 69.9 and the slope rating is 124. I drove the ball great all day, long and straight (although it was disheartening to be continually out-driven by Ace!). I had one horrible tee shot on a par-3 that I hit out-of-bounds and made a six! On the same hole that Ace made the hole-in-one I hit the ball to about four feet from the hole and made a birdie 2. I shot a 45 on the front and a 45 on the back for a 90. I played much better than my score indicates. The greens killed me! Although I did not keep track, I bet that I three-putted at least five holes (and that was with generous gimmes!).
Two holes typified my round. On the par-5 480 yard 8th hole I hit a nice straight drive and then I hit my 1-hybrid pin-high about ten feet off the green in a swale below the hole. I am now cocky and thinking about a birdie. Rather than chipping the ball and risk chili-dipping or skulling the chip shot, I elected to use the Texas wedge and putt the ball to cozy it up to the hole for the tap-in birdie. Well, the ball rockets past the hole and off the other side of the green and I then three-putt for a bogey 6. Then, on the 401-yard par-4 14th hole, I hit a mediocre drive and was about 180 yards from the flagstick. I hit a beautiful high 4-hybrid shot that I thought was going to land softly on the green in birdie range. Instead it caught the lip of the bunker guarding the green. I blasted out of the bunker and three-putted again for a double-bogey 6!
However, as the old adage goes, the worst day on the golf course is better than almost any day in the office! I really enjoyed this course and I hope that I have another chance to go low!
The golf course is a typical midwestern course with a lot of grass and some trees bordering the fairways. The fairways were overseeded and cut very close, but the rough was not overseeded and is dormant bermuda grass. The distinction between the green fairways and wheat-colored dormant bermuda grass is very striking and pretty and also helps you to visualize the fairways. By not overseeding the rough, the club saves water during the winter months. However, what truly distinguishes the Arizona Country Club golf course is the greens. The putting surfaces are very large and undulating and the greens are lightning fast! If you hit the ball above the hole, three putts would not be unusual (this is known as foreshadowing). We teed off at 9 a.m. and it was overcast and a little windy. By the time we made the turn, the sun was out, the wind had died down and the temperature was in the high 60s or low 70s (in December!). This is why we live in Phoenix!
Ace has only been playing golf for a few years and last year she had a hole-in-one on the 130 yard, par-3 9th hole at Arizona Country Club. Ace has a beautiful swing, is methodical (or as she put it, OCD) and hits the ball right down the middle. She was the long driver all day long. Her husband, Freddy, also has a nice swing, but he does not play as much as Ace and likes to peek up on his swing.
Country Boy, Ace and Freddy's business partner, also joined our foursome. Country Boy has promised to take me to Paradise Valley Country Club forever, but I think he is embarrassed to be seen with me at his club! Country Boy plays a consistent big left-to-right fade (since he is a client I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and not call it a slice) and is very good around the greens. He made some nice putts to save par or bogey during the round and he also made some great sand shots, but it was usually after he left the first sand shot in the bunker!
We played a rotating high-low game. We changed playing partners every six holes. In a high-low game, on each hole, each team's low score is compared against the opponent's low score and each team's high score is compared against the opponent's high score. So, if one team has scores of 4 and 5 on a hole and the other team has scores of 5 and 5, the first team gets a point for the low score (4 to 5) and the teams tie for the high score (5 to 5) and no point is awarded. This game can be played with or without handicaps.
We played the white tees at Arizona Country Club which are only 6,319 yards. The course rating is 69.9 and the slope rating is 124. I drove the ball great all day, long and straight (although it was disheartening to be continually out-driven by Ace!). I had one horrible tee shot on a par-3 that I hit out-of-bounds and made a six! On the same hole that Ace made the hole-in-one I hit the ball to about four feet from the hole and made a birdie 2. I shot a 45 on the front and a 45 on the back for a 90. I played much better than my score indicates. The greens killed me! Although I did not keep track, I bet that I three-putted at least five holes (and that was with generous gimmes!).
Two holes typified my round. On the par-5 480 yard 8th hole I hit a nice straight drive and then I hit my 1-hybrid pin-high about ten feet off the green in a swale below the hole. I am now cocky and thinking about a birdie. Rather than chipping the ball and risk chili-dipping or skulling the chip shot, I elected to use the Texas wedge and putt the ball to cozy it up to the hole for the tap-in birdie. Well, the ball rockets past the hole and off the other side of the green and I then three-putt for a bogey 6. Then, on the 401-yard par-4 14th hole, I hit a mediocre drive and was about 180 yards from the flagstick. I hit a beautiful high 4-hybrid shot that I thought was going to land softly on the green in birdie range. Instead it caught the lip of the bunker guarding the green. I blasted out of the bunker and three-putted again for a double-bogey 6!
However, as the old adage goes, the worst day on the golf course is better than almost any day in the office! I really enjoyed this course and I hope that I have another chance to go low!
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