6.8.22

Golf Update: I was fortunate enough to play two more rounds since the last post - however I feel like I am in the midst of a slump. For whatever reason, I have really struggled the last 3-4 rounds; I am going to attribute it to the ebbs and flows of golf, not get too discouraged and just keep plugging away.

I got the call from my friend Zach to play in the Garden City CC member/guest in the last week of May. It also happened to be my first week of paternity leave. Yes, I realize arranging a baby sitter on my third day of dad duty to spend the day at the country club is not the best look. No, I do not regret this decision. This was my first time playing GCCC and I was very impressed. Similar to a lot of Long Island country clubs, GC doesn’t have a ton of room to work with, in fact a Long Island Railroad line bisects the course. Despite this, there is plenty of variety in the layout, and I found myself completely engaged for 18 holes. The grounds were immaculately maintained and the amenities were top notch. I drove the ball really well, but couldn’t quite adjust to the speed of the greens, and probably cost myself 4-5 shots on chipping and putting. Regardless, we had a great day, and finished up with a delicious dinner on the patio overlooking the 18th green.

Knowing we were spending Memorial Day Weekend with Loral’s parents on Long Island, I decided to take a peek at the tee times at Bethpage, since its been about 2 years since I have played any of the 5 courses there. Through some miracle, a spot opened up at the Black for Sunday morning at 930 AM, so I scooped it up without a second thought, knowing I could fill in the remaining spots later on. I try and play the Black course at least once a year, but usually I play in the early spring, late fall or dog days of summer - just because of tee time availability. Mid May to Mid June is the perfect time of year to play the Black, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity - and neither could my buddy Ed, who joined me for the day. The weather was absolutely spectacular, and the course was in superb conditions; I don’t think you could ask for a better day to play the course.

The Black is a beast, and it certainly played that way on this day. Even though we played from only about 6500 yards, it felt much longer, as any ball hit into the fescue was a wedge back to the fairway (assuming you could find it, which was about 50/50). Even hitting from the first cut was a challenge, as the thick grass just grabbed the club head, making it difficult to get a shot in the air and online. To score, you absolutely needed to be playing from the fairway, something I was not doing. The only real highlight of the round was the birdie on the par 3 3rd hole. I hit a nine iron from about 150 yards, it came off super thin, but right at the pin. It rolled up to about 6 inches for a tap in birdie.

95 is honestly a little bit generous, as there were 2-3 DNFs (notably on the par 5, 4th hole, where I might still be in the green side bunker had I not picked it up). The Black is just too punitive to scrape together a sub 90 round, if you aren’t hitting it really well. I really lost confidence with the driver on this day and it was just too much to overcome. Still, its an awesome walk across an amazing golf course.

Birdie Tracker Update: 10 down, 40 to go!

One birdie in my last two rounds isn’t going to cut it. Time to pick up the pace…

Handicap Update:

I haven’t played since the round at the Black, but I’m hoping to get out somewhere local this weekend. As a way to get my fix, I’ve been riding my bike to the public park about 3 miles north of where we live. They have all the typical stuff you would see at a town park - a track, tennis courts, softball fields, etc. But they actually also have a semi-decent turf putting green, inside the track. It’s pretty cool to hit putts with the sun setting over the Manhattan skyline in the distance:

I have also made the switch back to a blade style putter, with an old school slim grip. Previously, I was gaming the Odyssey Stroke Lab 10 putter, with a mid-size pistol grip. As I have mentioned before, I have really struggled with my putting, so hoping the switch can give me a confidence boost. I think my putting stroke has a fair amount of arc and with the mallet style head, its a bit hard to see it. The blade has more toe hang, and I like to see the club face open up a bit on the backswing. Its a work in progress, but I’m committed to sticking with the new putter - a Scotty Cameron Newport 2.5. Hey if it won 15 majors for Tiger, it must be decent, right?

More to come this week!

6.9.22

5.24.22