the GOLF BLOG of HYPE....by one man

My handicap just dropped back down from a 7.1 to a 5.8....finally moving in the right direction once again. It all happened in only 6 rounds over 4 months. That's not a lot of golf and there was no practice during that time period either, so let's count 'em down...in January I played only one round but I shot a 76, it was a very good round; in February I played twice and posted rounds of 82 and 81, they were ok rounds but I definitely felt I left 4 or 5 shots out there each time; in March I played only once and shot another 81, not good at all considering the course was pretty easy, but not that bad either; and in April I played two more times playing very well both times shooting a 77 and an 80, with the 80 coming at a tough course and only my second time playing there, that was Roddy Ranch (Saddle Up..see below). That round very easily could have been a 74 or 75 and that was only due to my putting that day; I missed 5 putts, 3 birdies and 2 pars.

In each of these rounds I reviewed my game later in my head remembering each shot and what I did good and what I did poorly. It's actually fun to review your round in your mind and remembering what your thought process was on each shot, and what routine you performed before hitting each shot. You can really learn a lot by doing this. For starters you're able to review where you probably "should" have hit the ball and definitely "how" you should have hit the ball. You also can "see" the course again and get a better look at where you can place the ball next time you play there. I started doing this a long time ago when I started to get more serious about playing better.

Metrics or Statistics; whatever you want to call them, you have to "Count 'em Down" when you keep your scorecard.

I keep track of 4 things on my score card -

1. Score for the hole
2. Fairway hit yes/no - Fairway missed left/right
4. Approach shot distance to hole, did I make it yes/no
5. Putts per hole

My overall score per hole minus my putts per hole tells me if I hit the green in regulation. My distance to the hole for my approach shot tells me how well I'm hitting my drives. And my putts per hole tell me a lot about my short game, when compared to my approach shots hit.

I know my game a lot better because I do this. It gives me confidence when I play my favorite courses. And I'm far better prepared mentally when playing a new course or one I may have only played once or twice. When I started keeping track of these different areas of my game my handicap dropped from a 14/15 to a 6/7 in less than a year. I've been able to maintain that level of play still with minimal play last year and improve it once I started playing again this year because I know where my strengths are and I play to those as much as possible. Keeping in mind that this is Golf and you get good and bad bounces, keeping track still will make a vast improvement in all areas of your game and your attitude towards continued improvement.

We are all driven by numbers in our lives in almost everything that we do daily. This is simply another one of those areas but one that's far more fun to keep track of.

Count 'em down and you'll be counting up the better scores and having a whole lot more fun doing it!

I won't tell you that I belong to a country club because simply put I don't. I have played at a number of them though over the years, mostly in tournament play. They are pretty and they are in great condition....at least most of the ones that I've played.

Recently one of my best friends stepmother passed away. She lived on one of the oldest country clubs in California, San Jose Country Club. I think it's the second oldest course in the state at about 108 years old (give or take a year). Her backyard overlooked the 8th green and the 9th tee. After the luncheon we had gone back to her house and had drinks and talked. There were three of us, all lifelong friends and we were watching all the players come through late in the afternoon.

There was a shotgun tourney finishing up and we were watching the last few groups go past. From the yard we had a straight shot looking from behind the 9th tee to the green. It was a par 3 marked 190 yards from the white tees to the center of the green. No one had hit the green from any of the groups that played through for over 2 hours. It wasn't long before the tournament was over so us being us and having known each other for 36 years we thought let's go get some clubs from the garage and play a couple holes. We usually didn't play by all the rules growing up so why should this be any different. And it was a beautiful afternoon/evening.

My friends father has passed away about 6 years ago but his clubs were still in the garage, which by the way is cleaner and neater than most peoples homes, and we found the key to the gate that let us out on the course. No one was around so we went to the 10th tee. Again, marked 190 to the center, slightly up hill to a well bunkered green with a slight breeze back towards us to the left. I took out this old 3 wood (metal) and a ball that had been in the bag for over 6 years and teed it up. I had come back to the house from work and was still wearing my dress shoes, suit pants, and my dress shirt. I took a few practice swings and hit a perfect shot about 12 feet past the pin. My buddy who was playing with me shanked one nasty one right, over the fence between some huge redwoods trees and just absolutely nailed this house. We laughed pretty hard of course and he teed up another one. He played the next one up near the green and took a 6. I putted down hill past the hole about a foot and then sunk the par putt.

We then went back the other direction towards the house and walked over to the 8th tee. It's a flat par 4 about 353 yards, pretty narrow fairway with big redwoods lining both sides (remember this is a very old and historic course). I pulled the old driver out, used the same old ball and smacked one down the right side of the fairway just inside the first cut of rough. My buddy was able to shank another wild one right, over the shorter redwoods. I was just about 145 to the flag, pulled an old 7 iron and hit it stiff about 8 feet above the hole. I sunk the putt for a birdie. 2 holes played, 1 under par, old clubs, old ball, even older course. Easy game. Yea, right. It was karma that day and we were all feeling good to be with each other, despite the circumstances.

San Jose Country Club is a very well known golf course and still a favorite for high caliber celebrities from all walks of life. Since its' creation a long time ago, many golf celebrities have also enjoyed the challenge and subtle design of the San Jose Country Club golf course, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Walter Hagen, Babe Didrickson-Zaharias, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Patty Berg, Gene Sarazen, Johnny Miller, Julie Inkster, Patty Sheehan, and Fred Couples, just to name a few.

My friends father Bob, was a very well known attorney and had lived there and was a member there forever, and he loved to play golf there. I remember about 15 or 16 years ago I was visiting him with my friend (his son) and I told him I would love to play there. He asked me what my handicap was and at the time it was about a 15. He said "when you get down to a 10 call me", well I was well below a ten but never called him to play in time before he died. But I did finally get to "play" the course and it was great. I even got to play with the same clubs he played with at the time. They sure don't go very far compared with todays clubs. But it was awesome. I guess I can honestly say that when I played San Jose Country Club I played it 1 under par. Bob would have enjoyed my "little joke".

I thought of him when I played those two holes and in my heart dedicated my score to him and the lifelong great friendship I have with his son. Golfing with him would have provided more pressure but certainly would have been more fun. It would have been great to have played a round with him... because without him.... like the title says, country club golf is easy. I'm looking forward to getting out there now and playing the other 16 holes. But I think I'll use my clubs and balls this next time.

http://www.sanjosecountryclub.org/