Sonoma County Golf Summer Fun
June 22nd, 2009 categories: Entertainment
Lately I have been playing a lot of golf. Does this mean I am a good golfer? Not really! I am serious about the game, play the ball down, and score OK, but I just more enjoy being out there. Even in the latest heat wave, I am out there most days; if not playing a round (which happens maybe twice a week), then I am on the range working on shortening my backswing, my alignment, my follow through, or I am on the putting green rolling in 12 footers.
A round of golf is not cheap; unless you play during the week. Most people do not have time during the week, so premium prices are charged for high in demand tee times.
Personally, I hate playing bad golf. This is financially in a sense a blessing, as it forces me to spend time on the range or putting green. An $9.00 bucket of 90 balls last me about an hour. Some people make it through a bucket much faster, but I really take care to set up each shot, work on alignment, etc. I really do not even get a large bucket even more…sometimes less is more as less range balls means more time to think about each shot and what I am doing.
The practice green is even cheaper. These are usually free, and you can easily spend 45 minutes on the green…time well spent if you ask me. I think time on the green is so important I made the picture of this article to reflect that…I chose to take a picture of my Odyssey Putter and my new favorite Titleist Pro V1X balls…the balls are expensive, but allow for big distance and ultra soft feel around the green.
If you think about it, 1 and a half putts per hole is a great average, most people average 2 per hole. 1.5 putts per hole would be 27 putts per round and 2 putts per hole would be 36 per round. This looks like an easy way to save 9 strokes per round. Many people hit driver at the range for an entire bucket of balls…if you think about it, you hit driver at most 14 times per round, and on shorter dog leg holes you would hit a 3 wood, meaning you drive 12 times per round in a likely scenario. The time spent chipping and putting seems a lot more valuable in terms of lowering your scoring average.
Anyway, enough about my golf game. There are some great places to play here in Sonoma County. I will get to 4 of my favorite Sonoma County Golf Courses in tomorrow’s installment of the Sonoma County Grapevine…I am going to watch the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. Lucas Glover just rolled in a 4 footer to win by 2. What happened to Ricky Barnes? Ricky Barnes had Eagled hole 4 in the 3rd round to become only the 4th player ever to be 10 or more under in a U.S. Open. He was at -11 and then hit a gorgeous drive on hole 5. Barnes folded over the next 27 holes to finish 2 back…how did he lose that 6 stroke lead? The U.S. Open strikes again.
See you tomorrow!
