Aaron's 2011 Golf in review

First complete round of the year -

2011-04-26T18:51:00.001-07:00

Monday I decided to head out to the course for a quick round of 9 holes but what I found when I got there was a different story.

It was a great afternoon - Mid 60's temp, slight wind and I figured that the course would be pretty open as it was Mid afternoon on Monday and most people would be at work.

As I pulled into the course I was surprised to see the lot FULL! I knew at that point it was going to be a long 9 holes. I went in and got my player card punched and headed towards the first tee. My push cart was nice and clean and I spent the evening on Sunday cleaning up my gear and lubing up the bearings. I also attached a make-shift bracket to the handle to that I can display my Sky Caddie. With anticipation of a good round in my mind I hit a few putts on the practice green, there was a two-some playing the tips in front of me and I was hitting putts on the green I watched one guy shank his first drive. I immediately knew that the day just got longer but the weather was great and I was still in high spirits. By the time I finally tee'd off I launched a dart straight down the middle of the 1st fairway. I ended up making par on the first hole and was ready to wait on 2nd tee for the knuckleheads to hurry up. 2nd drive again was a dart down the middle of the fairway. Again, made par.... This time the knuckleheads in front of me have not even tee'd off yet as they were waiting on a group to clear off the par 3, 3rd hole. They did the polite gesture and asked me to play with but I was not interested in playing with 2 guys who were playing the tips but had no business playing anything longer than the whites, so I politely declined and waited. Just as they were finishing up on the green the group behind me that had not even started playing 2 when I started waiting on 3 caught up. I invited them to join me as I recognized them from leagues last year. Mike and Spike were their names - Playing with those guys was nice, we were all of equal ability and we all didn't waste anytime zig zagging the course. I ended up shooting a 39 on the first 9 and as we were walking up the 9th fairway Spike asked if I was going to make the turn. I thought about it for a second and accepted. *Btw - after hole 3, the knuckleheads in front of us kept pace and our 3 some rarely waited longer than a few minutes on each shot.*
Fast forward to hole 12, sank the first birdie of the year, pushed tee shot to the right rough, 123 yards out and hit my gap wedge to what would have been perfect with no wind, the wind did hold up my shot and I thought for sure I had landed in the green side bunker protecting the pin however I just cleared the bunker and landed on the down slope and that pushed my shot onto the green where it rolled to within 5 feet of the cup. Yay!

After that birdie, I went on a run of 5 bogies and finished up with a par on 18 to land a 40 on the back. 39 on the front, 40 on the back = 79 on my first 18 holes. Great warm up for leagues that start on Thursday. Looking forward to another great year on the links.......

Golf 2011

2011-04-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

Again - Were going to try this again for blogging for the 2011 season!

1 Round under my belt with a 46 for my first 9 holes. This year I used some reward points from work and redeemed them for a Sky Caddie SG5. So far so good, I used it with my range finder to save some time and I liked it.

I joined the mens league again at Tanners this year. Looking forward to Thursday's again and earning some more $$ on the course.

Also the mens trip again is scheduled for June 21-24th This year we are going to stay at Craguns and play Deacons, Legacy and the Classic I believe.

Where did the summer go?

2010-09-19T21:29:00.001-07:00

Geez -

It's September 20th already....

Lots of golf stories to share but no time to share them...

lets hear some of yours..

2nd and first place!

2010-05-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

Been a few weeks since I posted about leagues - Time to give a quick snapshot -

For the week of 5/16 the game was best 2 scores of the 4 players - I ended up shooting a 41 personally and our team shot a total of 59 - remember 2 scores were counted per hole. Our 59 placed us in 2nd place behind Steffen and his boyz.

For this last week, it was best score of 2 players. We broke our group up into the following 2-somes, Jim and I - Stenny and Meyerz. Jim and I ended up shooting great and we really complimented each other on the holes. For example, I started off with Birdie on 10 while Jim had an 8 - and we ended up with my 7 on 18 and Jim's Par - After bumps we ended up shooting a 29 and took the victory.

Each week of leagues, I have not been in the money with my mates - I know that people are starting to get suspicious but when you think about it, if the other teams shot to their handicap - they would be in the money as well. Actually - last week I found out that were not supposed to post our league scores in the GHIN system because Craig does that for us - so we have been double posting our scores - if anything we are actually playing to a lower handicap because of that due to shooting great scores during leagues - So we have been actually putting ourselves at a disadvantage.

last week I hooked myself up with some nice Nike Golf Shorts - 70 bucks worth! I figured since I was spending the clubhouse's money *Winnings* that I would treat myself to a nice pair.

This next week we will have 2 subs as Meyerz and Stenny are out. Game is best 3 of 4 balls on par 5's and 3's and best 2 of 4 on par 4's

Should be interesting!

2 weeks ago -
Thursday Results
Two Best Balls of Four.
Chad,Stanius, Chad Schillinger, Todd Steffen, Jesse Fiddle.
56
$20 each
J Meyer, Dustin Williams, Aaron Viehauser, Blind
59
$16

Last week -
1 Best Ball of 2
Men's Club Results.
A Viehauser,J Ball S Stanius, T Jensen,
29
$19 each
D Suneson,Spike J Meyer,S Stensrud
30
$11.50

Leagues Week 2

2010-05-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

Just got the E-mail from Tanners Brook.

Thursday Results
One best ball of Four
J Wagner,J Wagner, J Dustin, Blind
26
$18 each
J Meyer, J Ball, Blind,A Viehauser
27
$13 each
C Schillinger,C Stanius, L Douglas, T Ashton
27
$13 each
M Price,S Stanius, T Jensen, J Furlong
28
$7.50 each
M Peterson, P Dillion, P Berg, C Berg
28
$7.50 each

Ended up with a tie for 2nd place!

The game was best 2 of 4 scores per hole

I ended up shooting a 40 this week, Played the back 9 of Tanners and started on hole 15. Had a good round and finished up on hole 14 with a scramble Par. Starts off like this: Tee'd off with 3 wood and sliced it hard right, I spent about 5 minutes hunting for my ball over by the 12 Green in the natural rough and found 3 other balls except my own. Just as I was going to give up looking Jim found my ball in woodchips in a lightly wooded backdrop to the 12th green. I actually had a shot of about 170 yards to the pin from this position. I took my 5 iron and choked down on the club and tried to punch out from where I was. I made it out clean and ran my ball up to roughly 40 yards of the green but on the side of the embankment going down to the swap just to the left of the 14th green. I chipped up and ran my ball past the cup by about 50 feet. At this point I am just hoping to 2 putt and make a 41 with a bogey. The putt had a huge Left to right break as it was a 2 tier green and I was on the top tier and it was going to break hard on the roll. Well as I am sure you can gather, I ended up making the putt center cup. Good thing I hit it center cup as this ball was moving and if I would have missed the hole, I would rolled past the cup probably 10-15 feet "If I was lucky"

Still trying for the elusive round in the 30's Hopefully this week coming up will be it! Noel will be subing for Jim as he will be at the Doc's office!

I'm Back

2010-05-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

Greetings blog readers

I am going to attempt at blogging about my golf game again this year.

Quick recap up to this point,

The courses have been open for roughly 3-4 weeks already and I have roughly 5-6 rounds under my belt. Highlight for the upcoming season is that I joined the Thursday Men's league at Tanners Brook this year. Previously I had played in a smaller make-shift league but this year I graduated to the big boys league!

Last Thursday was week 1 of leagues and I have to admit. I think I am a part of a great 4-some.

This year we got Jim Ball back on the course and we are teamed up with "MeyerZ" and "Stenny" We played an individual game for week 1 as everybody is still working on establishing their MGA handicap. It was Low Gross, Low Net. To get into the side games, everybody that wants to play has to put in 5 bucks towards the game and with 13 4-somes playing in this league it turns out to be a pretty good chunk of change. For week 1 I was very happy with my performance. I ended up shooting a 42 before handi bumps and a 34 after handi bumps.

Leagues start out shotgun style and we tee'd off on #7 to start. On hole #9, a long 561 yard par 5, I hit my 2nd shot to within roughly 40 - 50 feet of the pin. Putting for Eagle I ended up lipping my put and had a tap in Birdie. That was the highlight of my first week of leagues.

Week 1 I placed 3rd for Gross and 5th for low Net - Made 20 bucks out of the deal! not to shabby..

I have a few goals for myself in leagues this year, Goal #1 - Establishing a handicap in the single digits. I will be happy with 9.9 as long as I am in single digits!

Goal #2 - Getting my putts per green under 2.0 - I am a consistent 2 putt per green golfer and I have to admit that my putting has really improved this season after the purchase of my New Putter towards the end of last year! However I really want to start hitting more 1 putt greens. I am confident that if I get my putts to around 1.7 or 1.8 I should get my handi down into the single digits. I leave so many shots on the putting surface that it makes me sick.

As far as equipment goes, I did purchase a new Driver this year - I purchased the Taylor Made R9 and so far I love it! I have the head tweaked in 1 degree and also weighted at the heel as to close the face faster and prevent the slice. Much more consistent off the tee and my distance has actually improved as well.

Quick update on the Brainerd trip this year. I am in for the entire golf portion this year. Planning on hitting Deacons Lodge for 18- Legacy for 36 - and Golden Eagle for 18 - The dates are June 24-June 26

I figure it's time to get to work so I am going to cut this post short, but I promise you this much. I will be better about posting blogs in the future.

New Putter

2009-07-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

I finally got off my ass and bought a new putter. I had been playing with a Ping putter that I had won in a sales contest about 7 years ago. Putter was crap and I putted like crap with it but could never muster up enough courage to put it down and get a new one, UNTIL.... I was at Golfsmith one evening and putting and I was just lights out inside Golfsmith with a Odyssey Tour putter. I decided to pick it up, paid $130 for it due to me having a 15% off coupon from the net with me. As I drove home, I called a buddy of mine and he told me that the Black series was a much better putter but they normally ran for about $250-299 and I told him that was out of my price range. He quickly interrupted me and stated that Golf Galaxy had them on clearance for $194 and that right now you can also take a additional 33% off all clearance products, so I turned around the vehicle and headed for the Galaxy. Sure enough, $133 dollars later after discounts I was the proud new owner of a Odyssey Black Series 1 putter. Back to Golfsmith I went to return my Odyssey Tour putter and after I was asked "Why I was returning it" and I told the guy the price I had just gotten the Black Series for, he pretty much told me I was lying to him. Too funny, I actually went out to my truck and brought it in with the receipt and showed him and he actually asked if they had any left cause he was going to run over there and get one as well!

The first time I used this putter was when I was up north in Brainerd and I love this thing! Sure I am still getting used to it, but my speeds are really getting dialed in and anyone who knows the golf, knows that speed is crucial in putting. Great putter and I really am glad I made this purchase.

Forgot about June

2009-07-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

June has come and gone and not 1 post from myself... If I re-read one of my entries I would be sure to have noticed that I was going to blog as much as possible about as many rounds as possible. I have broken one of my own rules, is that possible?

Time for a quick monthly recap:
Played in 1 scramble so far, it was the Joe Sensor tournament held at Deer Run in Victoria, MN. I played with my buddy Chris and 2 of his buds. That tournament was a benefit to help bring awareness for adoption and assist parents in adopting kids or something... None the less, Golfing was good, won some prizes in the raffle and had a great time. I believe we ended up at -8 for the tournament and the winning team was -15. Highlight was I was about 3 yards short of long drive, I am not sure if that's a highlight or not, but none the less.

Weekly leagues are going good, I am still winning more than I am losing out there so I am happy with that. This past week we played a game were we took 2 of 3 scores per hole and added them together and played against the other teams, The team I was on shot a 75 on 9 or +3 and won of course.

The big news of the month however was the Brainerd Trip. This year I was invited by Todd and Meyer's (Golfing buddies and Todd Owns Corner Express gas station) to go up to Crosslake and hang out with about 1o other guys and golf the Brainerd courses. Now in the past I have done similar events to this but I don't roll as hard as Todd so this was a treat! To start things off, Todd rented a home right on CrossLake, about 3 doors down from *The Wharf* Now this home was a new construction home and the owners had just started to rent it out during the summer. This house was built in '08 and no lie, probably went for about $500,000. Needless to say, I would have been happy to just hang at the house and be in awe but we had to golf. It started off by my good buddy Tony getting me, Todd, Meyers, Walsh, and Stenny on the legacy with Tony for 25 bucks. We got all 36 holes in that afternoon/evening and had a great time. That night everybody else rolled into the home by midnight and several Sailor Jerry's were drank. The next morning we were up and at the Classic by 7am for our 7:30 tee times. Again, there were 12 of us playing and to be honest, I don't recall what game we even played. All I know is that the Classic is probably my 2nd favorite course to play. After we finished playing the Classic, we had to haul ass up to the Preserve to hit our 2nd tee time of the day. This time we played team best ball - 6 two man teams. I was teamed up with Troy A. We both were given a 10 Handicap so we both had bumps on the same holes, Kinda sucked but what really sucked was the fact that I played to a 103 and we didn't win Crap. That night, we had Sloppy Joe night at the cabin and then went back to the Sailor Jerry. For those who do not know Sailor Jerry, It's the bomb!!! Look for it at your local liquor store, it will be located right next to the Captain Morgan. That night we all went to the Wharf where I decided that it was time to break the Knob off and take it up past level 10. The highlight *I Guess, I don't remember* was me trying to get the bouncer (who claims to be training for MMA and has arms like tree trunks) to wrestle. I guess he was going to charge me 50 bucks to wrestle him because he was a professional or some shit! hehe. I also put Stenny in a choke hold and was about 1.5 seconds from having his light shut out but I would not let go until he tapped or so I was yelling! Anyways..... Was a lot of fun at the Wharf that night. Next Morning - We have 9:45 tee times back at the Preserve and I think I was still intoxicated as I stood on the first tee. However I play better that way and actually played a great game! This time the game was - Out of the 4 some, 2 people play best ball and the other 2 play scramble. The entire 4 some was 1 team but it was broken up after the tee ball to decide how the rest of the hole played out. A very fun game, hard to understand until you start playing it but it was great. Handicaps play a big part of this game as to see who gets a bump and who does not. Great game actually, however you need at least 3 groups to really get a good grasp on it. Of the 3 groups we had, the group I was in came in -10 under, Todd's group came in -14 and the 3rd group with Stenny came in +25. After the first round that day, I had to haul ass back to Crosslake and get both of my phones as I had left them at the cabin that morning, That was great... only like 25 missed calls and 36 emails and texts to respond too as I hauled ass back over to Deacon's to make the 3pm Tee Time. About 12 of the missed calls were from Tony as he was trying to get a hold of me as I talked him into playing with us at Deacons that day and he was trying to get a hold of me to confirm me being there!
So- Get to Deacon's *My fav. Course of all time* just in time to get into the cart and head to Hole 1. Tony was there so it was all good, we had 13 people in our 3 tee times this time. The game this round was Man in the box, 2 people per hole were in the box or their scores counted, the 2 that were not in the box that hole played each other for best ball. Basically it was 3 of the 4 scores counted with mandatory box players having their score count. I played pretty decent at Deacon's shooting a 93 with 3 holes where I scored 8 and a par 3 with a score of 6 for me. My highlight was hitting the green on the Par 4, 14th hole a 297 yard dog leg left that is reachable by few but you must clear about 27o yards of shit. I cleared it on accident as I pushed my drive way left but none the less drove the green. Tony laughed his ass off at me stating really loudly that any other hole anywhere else in the world, that ball would have been O.B. that's how much I blocked it left! But it was a straight bomb in my book. I also came in on the 18th and birdied out after reaching the par 5, 556 yard hole in 2.

After playing Deacon's I got into the ride and drove home. I figured that 108 holes in 2.5 days was enough for me :) Great trip and I am excited to get my butt back up north and do that again. Even after almost choking out one of our group members, I was invited back up next year. I think it's cause I make them feel young again. BTW I was the youngest guy there, they are all in their upper 30's to mid 40's.

I am back to posting and will continue to post now that I am back in the saddle

My next post soon to follow... like 5 minutes from now!

few rounds in with new irons

2009-05-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

I am hitting the new Taylor Made R7 Irons very good after playing just 27 holes with them. I am still a little unsure about the yardage that each club is good for as the wind has been out of control lately, however I am guessing that I am getting at least 1 more clubs worth of distance out of them. Today I went and golfed 18 holes, however I golfed 9 this morning at Oneka and then this afternoon I went to Tanners Brook for another 9. I ended up getting paired up with a father son combo at Oneka this morning, that worked out fine, I remember why I don't like Oneka, It's a crowded course and the players that shoot there kinda hack the ball around. Needless to say, I was glad when 9 were done and I was in no mood to make the turn. I ended up shooting a 43 and I lost about 8 strokes on the greens missing putts.

I went to Tanners this afternoon and shot another 9, I called and asked how packed they were and for a Memorial day Monday, they were EMPTY. I teed off at 3:30 and got 9 holes in just under 2 hours. This round by far was my best round of the year so far! I ended up shooting a 37 +1 on the round. Highlights started on hole 3, a 172 yard par 3. I had a nice tail wind today and I used my 7 iron and hit a dart right over the pin and stuck it within 4 feet. The shadow of the pin was farther out than my tee ball. Birdie!! Very next hole, Par 5 dog leg right! Slight tail wind, more of a right to left wind! I put my tee ball about 295 out, over the bunker that protects the dogleg, sitting 238 yards out, I pulled my 3 wood out and actually mis-hit my 2nd shot but still put it on the green. Left my eagle putt just a little right but none-the-less, had a tap in birdie. fast forward to the 8th hole, 200 yard par 3. took my 6 iron and hit a power fade, wind assisted, shot over the pin, but rolled off the back of the green, Chipped close and hit the par putt. Hole #9, par 5 over 560 yards, blasted my tee ball up the left side of the fairway and had 224 yards to the cup. Took my 4 Iron and actually ran it over the green, chipped on for GIR and 2 putted for Par.
I was very happy with my play today and am getting very excited to get complete control of my irons.
Looking forward to June 8th when I am going to be in a scramble with a buddy of mine and also the 25th of June when I am going to Brainerd to play the Classic and deacons as I was invited to go by Meyers and Steffen from leagues!

Exciting times.....

New Irons

2009-05-16T19:42:00.000-07:00

Just made a new purchase, I got a set of Taylor Made R7 Irons.

I went down to GolfSmith and swung them for a while and was fitted for this set but instead of buying them from GolfSmith, I went home and checked out http://www.rockbottomgolf.com/ and purchased them for 60 dollars cheaper including tax.

Planning on swinging them either Sunday afternoon after our softball tournament or Monday afternoon after conference calls.

I am sure it will end up being Monday as I am beat tonight after playing 3 games of softball today.

League update -

Ended up taking first place last week with Todd, game was 2 man scramble. With both of our handicaps, we also were able to take off 5 strokes after our scramble. To give you an idea of the competition, most of the other groups were getting from 8-14 strokes. Needless to say we were at a disadvantage. Well, we shot a 31 before bump and ended up netting a 26 and first place.

cashed a few times already in leagues and cannot wait to see what the new irons do to the game..

OOBGOLF

2009-05-01T14:54:00.001-07:00

Meyers sent me a link today for a sweet golf site where you can track every possible thing you can think of about your game *For Free*

http://www.oobgolf.com/

Here is a link to my stats

http://www.oobgolf.com/golfers/aaronv

I have all my equipment listed as well as my scores and a updated Handicap! 9.2 baby. Yeah Yeah Yeah.... How low can she go?

Costco tourny - update

2009-05-01T08:29:00.001-07:00

Due to funding issues...

The costco golf tournament has been cancelled.

Bummer dude.

:(

Leagues Week 4

2009-05-01T08:10:00.000-07:00

This week at leagues was questionable at best. Weather was gloomy and we encountered rain almost every other hole. However This was also the first real week of league play with us playing "Man in the Box" and handicaps being put into play. Ron and I were teamed up together as usual, Ron was given a handicap of 10 and I was given a 6. The principal of Man in the box is that your score is basically counted every other hole. I had holes 10,12,14,16,18 and Ron had 11,13,15,17,18. You play both balls on the last hole! It is a fun game none the less.

My long game is my strong point as of right now, I am piercing the ball consistently now and splitting the fairway. I hope that I keep that all summer. I feel very confident also with my short iron play especially after buying that range finder. Just knowing the exact yardage is a very big mental boost. Even if I cannot play my clubs to a specific yardage yet, Just knowing makes me address the ball with a higher amount of confidence. Putting is hit or miss. I am never WAY off on putts, I just need to gain consistency on the greens. As they say, drive for show, putt for Dough.

However We did putt for the dough this week and Ron and I won the first week of leagues. We ended up shooting a 37 even after counting both strokes on 18 which is a par 5. Ron actually birdied the hole and with his handicap bump gave him a eagle. I bogied the hole after my putt sat on the lip and didn't drop. None the less. We won a combined 40 bucks! Not much but 20 a piece covered Green fees and a beer.

Did I mention that I am very glad that I bought that 20 round pass. Good investment.

After leagues, Ron and I went to Wiseguys and had some pizza fries and a beer or 2. We chit chatted about golf more and some potential tournaments that we could play in! Should be fun.

As for actual scores go. I ended up shooting a 45 myself, horrible score. I pulled a few balls into the woods, sculled one out of a bunker into the woods as well.

I blame it on the rainy conditions, Looking forward to my first 39 of the year. Next time I always say.

Costco Tournament!

2009-04-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

OK, Here is the Deal....

Costco in previous years has sponsored a Charity golf tournament for the "Children's Miracle Network" The did not have one last year, but in 2007 I participated in it with Noel, Jim, and Josh "A Veriozon Rep."
Well they are having it again this year and it is going to be at a course that I like very much, Majestic Oaks in Blaine. I found out about this about a week ago from Tom Pitt when I stopped into SLP Costco to get some stuff.
The Tournament is going to be held on June 4th 2009. It's a Thursday.... I was super pumped when I heard that.... I called Noel right away and basically told him to sign us up. Noel called Jim and Jim actually showed interest in wanting to play. "Just lost a dollar to myself" hehe.... and I called Tony to see about playing.... Tony was being Tony and is all cranky at me cause I was too hung over to play a couple Saturday's ago even though he shoulda expected that as he was boozing with us that night at Robblers. Anyways... we have a few people who will step in and be our 4th at the first opportunity so no worries about getting a complete team....

Here is the bummer part. I just got a E-mail from my boss stating that I need to clear my calander from May 31st - June 5th as I am going to be having meetings in Vegas that week. The meetings will only be 3 days, however the sucky part is he is not sure what 3 days they are going to be. My thought process has the following scenario..... Fly to vegas on Sunday the 31st of May and have meetings Mon the 1ST thru Wed the 3rd and fly home that night. If that is the case... WOOHOO I can play in that tournament. The other scenario is, Still fly out the 31ST but have meetings till Thursday the 4th and fly home that afternoon/evening! That would SUCK...

I love golfing in 4 man scrambles and especially with my good buddies.

I guess the bottom line is, we shall wait and see for the final details on my work meetings. Whatever the case is, I still have the Jack Daniels tourny in Sept. and we also started play in a autism tournament in mid season.

However this year I have made a personal commitment to play in as many as possible. Especially if they are for good causes.

More info to come as I find out the details.............. Hope for the best.

Leagues week 2 and 3

2009-04-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

Forgot to post about last weeks league... actually thought about it during the week but was too lazy to "get er done"

Last week in leagues was another solid round as I posted a 40 with the highlight being a Chip-in from off the 8Th green for a birdie 2. It is a 194 yard par 3 and I hit 6 Iron pin high but off the right side of the green and down into a sink area! I have about a 30 yard chip up onto the green to a hidden flag as I was basically chipping from a hole. Of course the Pin was on the far left side of the green and I had to fly the ball about half way across the green and let it roll the remaining 15 yards or so to the cup. Since I was below the hole I didn't actually see the path of the ball nor did I see it hit the cup but I did hear it and the other 3 guys from our group were on the green and cheering it in the entire way. The best part of that chip in was that 2 holes earlier, my partner Ron had chipped in for par from a much closer distance and he was cranky that I had to show him up like that.

Other highlights from the 2ND week.... Jeez.. it's hard to remember, it was a whole week ago.

I can now reach the 4Th hole, a par 5 slight dog leg right with water in front of the green in 2 shots. I have actually done that now each week of leagues, including tonight. I have birdied that hole 2 of the 3 weeks of leagues! and its the #1 handicap hole on the course.

Absolutely murdering my ball off the tee with consistency now too. I feel very comfortable with my tee ball.

Weather is warming up, I actually had shorts on 2ND week! Summer is Close.

Week 3

Shot a 41.... Birdied #4 again.

This week we played a game called bingo, bango, bongo... Its a point game where the first person on the green gets a point "Bingo" The first person in the cup gets a point "Bango" and the longest put gets a point "Bongo" I ended up winning that game and collected a cool 9 bucks in winnings. I had 9 points... Dustin had 8 points, Brian had 6 Points and Ron had 4 points. 1 dollar per point. Do the Math.... The course really started to Green up over the last week. I am predicting 2 more weeks till it's looking Fantastic.

After the normal 9 holes of leagues, we decided to try and get another 9 in off the back before it got dark. My first time playing the back 9 at Tanners this year! I like the back actually better than the front as it is a little more challenging. My first tee shot off of 10 I pulled down the left side of the fairway and actually lost in the tall grass! First lost ball since week 1. ended up taking a double bogy 6 on that hole.... that was my worst hole of the Back as I ended up shooting a really good back 9 however I am not going to count it as we played speed golf and gave each other gimmies on the greens and kept the pins in when putting just to hurry everything up.

I walked all 18 tonight! Normal pace on the front, Speed golf on the back and I feel good! I feel very comfortable about walking all 18 at any time now. I was a little skeptical if I could walk all 18 and still have the stamina to make solid shots and not have to club down! No worries now.

Looking forward to the next couple of weeks when we start playing games based off our handicaps. I am guessing that will happen within the next 2 weeks as we have 3 rounds under our belts now and should be able to start playing handicap games. O well, we shall see.

Territory Golf - St. Cloud

2009-04-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

On Friday I had the chance to get together with my great friend Tony and play a round of golf up in St. Cloud at the territory golf course.

http://territorygc.com/

This was a great chance for Tony and I to get together and share many laughs as we always do when were together. We decided to meet up in St. Cloud for a Late afternoon tee time and try to get at least 18 in.

I made sure that I got my store visits in early on Friday to ensure that I would be able to get up there in time for our tee time.

I love golfing with Tony as he is a "Big Deal" in the golf circuit and is able to get free tee times at pretty much any course in the state. Big incentive for me. Now calm down Tony, that's not why I like golfing with you! I do enjoy our companionship and friendship too! Does that make me sound gay?

Anyways - It was a little windy and about 53 Degrees! Perfect early April golfing weather.

This was Tony's first time swinging clubs this season and my 3rd tee time if you include Jamaica.

I started out strong again and feel very comfortable with my golf game for April Golf. Hitting Fairways off the Tee, being on the green in Regulation! Even having some nice sand saves when I did enter the sand box.

I anxiously await the greens and fairways to gain life and regain that vivid color that every golfer loves.

Territory Golf course is a decent course, Links style on the front while the back is a little wooded. I ended up shooting a a 43, 41 for a grand total of 84. I was very pleased to shoot a 84 on a unfamiliar course especially when I know I lost about 4 or 5 shots by not lining up my putts and rushing myself. Towards the end of the round a few Mich Golden lights were starting to affect my judgement and the temp was dropping fast which created some missed opportunities.

My big win of the day was the fact that I hit my first tee shot and sank my last putt all with the same Ball.

I also landed my first birdie of the year.

As far as my game against Tony, I'll leave that out of the Post! I'll let Tony start his own Blog and describe his details.

I will say that I do look forward to playing with him many times this year!! We know the score between us.

I have a lot of respect for Tony's Golf game and look forward to utilizing his best practices and improving my game even further.

Leagues.... Week 1

2009-04-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

The anticipation is over.... Leagues have started!

Tonight as I drove up to the course, anxiously awaiting to get to the first tee box, I pondered what this year on the golf course would bring?

First things first..... Green fees..... I decided that this year I was going to buy a 10 round punch card for 290 bucks! This card gives me 10 rounds of 18 to use anytime during the season, I can also separate that into 20 rounds of 9 (leagues) No brainer purchase as that boils down to $14.40 a week compared to the 17 that I would pay if I didn't buy the card... Bottom line.... Tanners Brook buys me a free beer every time I play! See you have to put things into perspective! Might I also be more willing to run out and shoot 9 on a Sunday afternoon now, absolutely!!

OK Green Fees taken care of... Now If you know me, you know that I am EARLY for everything.... So we were supposed to tee off at 5:22PM tonight.. Yeah... I was in the clubhouse at 4:30! So I bellied up to the bar and ordered a Jack/Coke and waited for everybody to get there.

Time passes -

First tee Box... Excited is the word..... Ready is the feeling..... On the tee... First tee shot of the year in the states..... pulled down the left side of the fairway and in play in the 2nd cut just short of the fairway sand trap on #1. Not bad..... Approach is 163 yards away... I know this because of the best purchase ever... My range finder! I leave my approach about 5 yards short... Chip on and am putting for par.... Leave my Par putt short and settle for Bogey on the first hole... I am OK with that!!!

Fast forward to the 6Th hole.... I have made par through 5 including the par 5 #4 hole which I thought I lost my ball and took a drop and put my 3rd shot onto the green from 253 yards with a 3 wood only to find my original tee ball Farther up the hole in the rough... I ended up taking my drop as the lie was questionable at best from my tee ball and the rest of the group had already drove off... Remember, I am walking! So none the less, I had about a 65 foot putt for Birdie, left it about 15 feet short but however did save par with a double breaking putt that I had no business making!

6Th hole at Tanners has a green that slopes like the face of a cliff.... Hit 3 wood off the tee to about 93 yards from the pin, left my approach to the right of the green as there is a huge tree that blocks the green from the front, chipped my 3rd shot barely on the green as I was not trying to run the ball down the slope of the green into a swamp! left my par putt short, and rimmed my Bogey putt! Double Bogey!!

+3 through 6! Not bad.... Bogey 7.... Bogey 8... Putting is the main fault.....

+5 through 8 sitting on a 36 right now, need a birdie on the par 5, 9Th to shoot a 40 on my first round of the year! Playing like it's my 15Th round of the year, not the 1st!

Mind you, it's about 45 degrees so you need to add at least 1 club to all shots as the ball isn't traveling as far!

So I tee off of 18, Push my tee ball to the right and it comes to rest about 1 foot into the rough, Good thing, this time of the year there is no rough at Tanners Brook! I use my range finder and determine that I am sitting 283 yards from the pin! It is a slight dogleg right with a pond off the right side of the green! I decide to take 3 wood and go for as much yardage as possible! The ball is in a lofted lie on some dead 2008 rough grass and I undercut the ball and get about 50 yards of advancement! So Now I am roughly 230 yards out, I take my 7 iron and just put my ball into the fairway with a good angle to the pin. So I need a up and down to hold par and shoot a 41.
As I stood over my ball I checked my yardage, 123 yards to the pin... A normal pitching wedge for me! However with the temp dropping I decided to take a 9 iron, trusting my instinct and full swing it! I hit it flush and the ball took off with the pin in it's sights! According to the group in front of us and my ball marks on the green I was right on in my club selection! I ended up checking my ball about 5 feet from the pin and having it spin back about 2 yards!
Walking up to the ball, The group ahead asked how our team was playing, I of course had carried the team for the better part of the round and we were sitting at +3 for the round! We were tied with that group watching us for the lead! So no pressure, I just needed to hit about a 21 foot uphill putt to tie them at +3.
I HIT IT!!!!!!!!!!! we tied.... I shot a 41..... I am very happy with a score of 41 in about 41 degree weather...... My partner Ron ended up shooting a 51 and Jon didn't mention what he shot.... They were the other 2 in our group!

After golf, Jon, Ron and I went to Wiseguys and had some pizza a few beers and chatted about the season ahead! talked about what games we would play and what kinda anties we would put up each week.

The only thing I am a little on edge about is... It's a whole week till next Wednesday!

Range Finder update

2009-04-05T17:10:00.000-07:00

As I wrote this morning my first blog entry I got excited about this years golf season ever more!

after softball practice this afternoon, I made anther trip to Dick's!!! Low and behold, there she sat... Staring me directly in the eyes... Gleaming that CLEARANCE Price that she knows I am a sucker for!

The Bushnell Medalist Range Finder $229.97

I could not resist! I am now the proud new owner of a Range Finder! Bring on the first tee of the year!!!!!!!!

It's that time of the year again!

2009-04-05T08:26:00.000-07:00

April....... The best month of the year. Every April for the past 15 years has always gotten my excitment flowing. The snow is melting, Robins have returned, I am usually fresh off a March vacation from a warm destination and most importantaly..... Golf is about to start. This year is no exception.
It all started early however in 2009. Tracy, my girlfriend of the past 8+ years and I went to Jamaica this year for our yearly vacation. This year while in Jamaica I decided to go golfing! A retreat on our retreat that in previous years have wanted to do, but never actually followed through and completed.
Golfing in Jamaica was a absolute treat. Even with rented clubs, limited ammo (Balls) no golve, and kids begging for money on every tee box, I still had the time of my life. I actually shot well too. I had 92 strokes under my belt until my approach shot on the 18th green fell short and ended up in the drink. That's important as that was my final ball. So I concluded my round with a score of 94 including penalty! Not bad for not swinging a club in over 5 months and then jumping right onto the tee box with foreign clubs and very little preparation.

This year I have started to upgrade my equiptment! Before my trip to Jamaica I was browsing through my favorite store, golfsmith in Roseville, MN when I stumbled through the shoe section. I already have 2 pairs of golf shoes, however I needed to get a better lighter pair as Last fall for my birthday, Tracy gave me a very nice Sun Mountain push cart and I have decided that my cart riding days are for the most part over! So back to the shoes, I was caught up in the moment in early March and gave into temptation and purchased a pair of FootJoy DryJoys shoes! Very lightweight and Look damn good too.

As any self proclaimed *Good* golfer will tell you, Balls Make a huge difference in your game.

This past weekend Tracy and I were in my 2nd favorite store Dicks Sporting Goods checking out their always great specials and like every trip to Dicks, it was just a matter of time until we hit the golf section. Late last year I came accross a new ball that I enjoy hitting almost as much as the Titleist Pro V1 and that is the new Bridgestone B330X Tour ball! Sure the price is out of control, $44.00 a dozen but in my mind, It is money well invested! So Dicks had a special on of buy 2 dozen and recieve by mail a Bridgestone windbreaker! Long story short, I have balls for the year now! On the way to the checkout I also walked past some closeout golf bags, Again I already had 3 golf bags sitting in the garage however I did need a new one to go with my new Sun Mountain Push Cart so I did also Purchase a new Slazenger Cart bag! Black and Orange.

I also am very in the market for a range finder or a Sky Caddie! I am up in the air as to what direction I will end up going! probably the Range finder as it is more versitile and can be used at any point on the course to find any distance. Example, How far away bev cart is? How much further I outdrove my partner! You know.... The important stuff! As the Sky Caddie is will only tell me yardages to the green and other important obstacles like water and bunkers.

OK to the point.

I play in a mens league up at TannersBrook which is located just south of Forest Lake, MN on highway 61. This will be my 3rd season playing with this group! I really enjoy my Wednesday evenings. We are planning out first week of golf to be this next week. April 8th! I have a golf meeting to attend on Monday the 6th at Wiseguys to discuss the details! However as of this morning when I woke up, we have about a inch of snow on the ground! Good news, it is going to be in the 50's tomorrow and going forward.

My goal is to update this blog after golfing dates! Leagues, Tourny's, trips, Sundays, or anytime anything golf related takes place! even planning a trip will be blogged about.

Side note - I will forward this blog to my golfing partners in hopes that they will start one of their own. I am enjoying this and hope that my buds will also take the same enthusiasm to this as I am.