TheBigDog
TheBigDogBROWSE REGISTRIES

Member Since:
   June 2007


..at Encino with miguelgolf2007, yoondaman316, and LEWGVLINSURANCE
Saturday February 9, 2008 7:49am

First nice day of spring..temperatures in the 70's... 11:30 tee time, I wore shorts. Got to the course a little early to hit a bucket of balls - boy did it pay off. Started off 1 under after 5, even par after 7 and finished the front 9 in 2 over 38 - my lowest front 9 score ever. It was also the furthest into a round where I was even par or better. Fell apart on the back nine with a more typical score of 47 for a round of 85.  Yoondaman316 was on fire shooting a 37-38=75. Everything was working on the front - nothing on the back. With the nice weather it was fun to play in a foursome where everyone walked. Miguel shot an 87, Lew a 96.


Golf at Knollwood with Aikidomon, yoondaman316 and rtewfik
Friday January 18, 2008 8:02pm

Had a great time playing today at Knollwood in a fairly strong wind. We played all the games we're going to play at my tournament in two weeks. Shot 42-43=85 for my first round in the 80's for 2008. I think it was my second best round at Knollwood. I was actually tied with yoondaman316 thru 16, but he birdied #17 and I 4 putted 18. He finished with 82. Changed putters today and oh what a difference! 31 putts today after 39 last week with my other putter. Eight 1-putts. Drove the green on #14 (made birdie) for the second time, otherwise, not such a great day with the driver. Finished the round in just under 5 hours.


Golf at Woodley with miguelgolf2007, yoondaman316 and Aikidomon
Friday January 11, 2008 10:08pm

Started off the new year of golf with an awful putting display. 39 putts.Not the way I wanted to start off 2008. Would rate my drives a 'B' today. Iron play "D" and Putting was an "F".  Yoondaman316 and Miguelgolf2007 played well, shooting 79 and 82 respectively. Aikidomon and I struggled. Tried a new chipper today and didn't hit it well. My old one was easier to hit, but had to shelf it when I found out it was illegal. Just think I've got to get used to the new one. Also decided to try Titleist NXT Extreme balls after playing Callaway HX Hot for most of 2007. Again, I think I need to get used to them. Seemed like I was putting a rock - I had no touch. Driving distance seemed to be comparable to the HX Hot, but the cover seems more durable. 

Highlights of the day for me were a birdie on #2 after a great approach shot, and being CTP on two of the par threes.

 


Golf at Knollwood with Kviser, moneyoff, and "Mike"
Monday December 31, 2007 7:25pm

Played today at Knollwood. 10:44 tee time, but we didn't tee off until 11:00.  5-1/4 hour round in the worst wind I've ever played in. Kviser and I showed up at the same time and rolled up to the clubhouse with our matching Clic Gear push carts. On the first tee I asked our playing partners if they had ever heard of Greenskeeper. ....and wouldn't you know - one had , his GK name is moneyoff.

Kviser and I both got off to a rocky start. I popped up my drive and he pulled his toward the 18th. The round didn't get a whole lot better for us, but we had a really fun round playing with moneyoff and Mike. I had a couple of monster drives with the wind at my back. Hole #16 Par 5, I hit driver, then 8 iron to reach the green. Hole #4, another par 5 with the wind, I hit driver and 5 iron to the green. Other than the few monster drives, my golfing was forgettable, but I had an absolute blast. Mike, kviser and moneyoff were great putting up with me and my trash talk :-). I look forward to playing golf with them again.

This round was a really fun way to end the golf year.


Balboa on Christmas Day
Tuesday December 25, 2007 3:20pm

Played today with miguelgolf2007, his friend Ron, a walk-on Lawrence. Cold and windy 4 hour round. First time playing Balboa since they lengthened two holes. The first one, #3, is now a par 5 -  I hit a good tee shot into the wind, then hit one of my best shots ever - a 3 wood 220 yards with a tight draw, into the wind, to about 10 feet. Unfortunately my eagle putt was not even close, then missed the birdie and had to settle for par. The second lengthened hole, I was on in regulation. Unfortunately I was on the wrong green. Overall, a tough day for scoring because of the wind. Miguel beat me by 3 after saying he would give me 7 strokes, so I guess I won by 4.

A big thank you to the wife for okaying me playing on Christmas Day.


Woodley Lakes in the cold and wind with rtwefik
Friday December 21, 2007 2:49pm

Played Woodley this morning with  rtwefik, since yoondaman316, miguelgolf2007 and Aikidomon couldn't make  the tee time Miguel had previously arranged. "John" joined us for a round in the cold and wind and we all walked. The wind was so strong that even the best of our drives into the wind only went 200 yards.

Once again stupid decisions negated a day of pretty good ball striking and putting. Shot 48-44=92, which is not too good for Woodley, even for me, but given the wind, it could have been alot worse. The front nine was pretty forgettable. Started with an easy par, then three doubles. After the turn, I caught fire, if only briefly. I made birdie on #10 - the #1 handicap hole after hitting my approach 210 yards to the green, then made a 50 foot downhiller, then a birdie on #11 after another nice approach, then 2 routine pars, for a  2 under start after 4 holes on the back. Double, double, triple, double quickly negated the early birdies and a 3-putt on #18 after a beautiful approach straight into the wind sealed another mediocre scoring round with a final bogey.

Still, the consecutive birdies felt nice, so once again I feel there is hope for my game. It was great playing with rtwefik again - he struggled as I did, but he did make a nice birdie on #4. It was also nice talking Over 40 basketball and how we both wish the next season would start soon.


How I came to know about Greenskeeper.org
Wednesday December 19, 2007 3:02pm

Flashback - Thursday April 19, 2007:

Rtewfik and I decide to play Knollwood on a Thursday since rain was forcast for our usual golf day Friday. We're paired with a guy I'll call "Miguel". He's wearing tennis shoes, so I figure he's a beginner. I ask him what he normally shoots and he says "85". Ooooookay.

So he steps up to the tee and proceeds to pull his first tee shot onto the 18th fairway. Okay, so he's no "85". Things do get better for him and he ends up shooting at "86". See, I told you he was no "85".

At the end of the round I ask him if he would like to play in my tournament in 2 weeks. He agrees, and then tells me he knows this guy, I'll call him "John", that owns a golf website - something like "greenskeeper.org". He tells me I should check it out.

So, a month or so later I finally check it out and it's pretty cool plus it has a nice feature for tracking handicaps, so I sign up and come up with the screenname "TheBigDog" in honor or the fact that one out of 486 of my drives actually goes a long way down the center of the fairway.

Sometime later I post a thread inviting GK members to join me for my August tournament. Somehow JohnnyGK (the man himself), ringworld, swing18golf, and thingstodo all agree to come play. I put the 4 greenskeeper golfers together and for the first time at one of my tournaments we play a team format later to be named "The Man". The greenskeeper group shoots a 78 and beats all 7 other teams. Swing18golf shoots lights out with a 71.

The rest is history.....

I now play golf just about every Friday with "Miguel" (miguelgolf2007) and I think I've become a GK addict, attending every GK casual outing and meeting lots of greenskeeper members.

So, if you ever meet a guy in tennis shoes who says his name is "Miguel" and says he shoots 85.....

TheBigDog

 

 

 

 


Simi Hills with Fear, miguelgolf2007, and yoondaman316
Friday December 14, 2007 6:47pm

Played Simi Hills today. 11:40 tee time, but didn't tee off until 11:50 or so. 5 hour round. Shot 43-49=92 which is about what I usually shoot on this course, though I usually shoot better on the back than on the front. Birdied #9 after hitting the flagstick with my approach.  The driver was working pretty good today (hit a 320 yard drive on #6) as was the putting, but everything in between was horrible. Played the entire round with the same ball - even found it twice in water hazards. First time playing with "Fear" - once he shelved his driver his scoring improved dramatically.  Miguel had way too much fun in the sand on hole #17. yoondaman316 was his usual steady self, though it was nice to see him have to pull out the wallet at the end of the round even if it was only for $2.00. Course was in so-so condition. The fairways and tee boxes were pretty brown, but the greens were pretty good. Lookin' forward to Woodley next week and a round in the 80's.


Oak Quarry GK Golf Outing
Saturday December 8, 2007 6:51am

Golf day began by checking the website to make sure we were going to play (rain in the forecast). 8:00 Kviser picks me up and we're on our way. About 30 minutes out I realize I forgot my clipboards - no worries, I knew where an Office Max was right on our way (San Dimas). So we make a quick stop - I do some Office Max shopping, kviser a pit stop, then it's off to Oak Quarry.

We arrive right around 10:00 and immediately see Ricogo and Bernie14 at the bag drop. Off to the club house and there's JohnnyGK checking people in. I drop off the nametags, clipboards and scoresheets and sit down to have some breakfast.

Due to the inclement weather, the course allowed us to do a shotgun start. My group started on hole #11. Froze my butt off getting to the tee and proceeded to pull my first drive in to the junk. Dropped a ball there and pushed the next one into the junk. Fortunately found that one, but had to take an unplayable. Ended up with a snowman. What a way to start! Once the weather cleared, my game improved. Played my first nine 17 over, and the final nine 8 over, including 4 pars in the last 6 holes. Final scorecard shows 45-52, but actually played 53-44 since I started on #11.

What a scenic course. Hope to come back when the weather is better.


Over 40 Basketball Champions!
Monday December 3, 2007 8:17am

We (the Celtics) finally won the championship of the Sunday Over 40 Basketball league, beating the previously unbeaten Timberwolves 75-70. We finished the season 11-1. Revenge was sweet as they had given us our only loss (in week 2) of the season and they also beat us in the championship game two seasons ago. Okay, so they were missing their big outside threat, but we had two players suffer severe leg injuries during the game (we only have 6 players) ....and.... we were easily the oldest team in the league with 4 starters over 50 years old.

5 of the 6 players on my team are also regular golfers who play in my tournaments at Knollwood.

Old men rule!!!.........no basketball for me for a month.......I can focus on my golf game.


Nov. 16th at Woodley Lakes
Friday November 16, 2007 6:47pm

Played today with Aikidomon, miguelgolf2007, and yoondaman316 at Woodley Lakes. 12:00 tee time, but we didn't tee off until almost 12:30. Barely finished our round before dark.  Predicted I  would shoot an 88 and shot an 88. Drove the ball pretty good today, but couldn't make a putt. Okay, except for the putt I drained on 17 from the fringe to win 3 skins. Three penalty strokes killed an otherwise promising round that started with 2 pars. Played my first round with my new ClicGear cart - really enjoyed walking again (and even ran a little toward the end). Gotta figure out how to mount my GPS rangefinder to my push cart. Yoondaman316 made a nice return after a long layoff from being sick by shooting an 81. Miguelgolf2007 shot his usual 85 and Aikidomon ended with an 87.


USD Fundraiser at Meadow Lake Golf Club in Escondido
Saturday November 10, 2007 8:12pm

Played in a fundraiser scramble for the University of San Diego women's softball program thanks to "poundsand". Our group shot a respectable bogey free 6 under 65. Winner was 16 under. I almost won a Scion Xb on the 14th hole. My 5-iron tee shot at the 181 yard par 3 was tracking straight at the hole but came up 16" just short of the pin. Course was a nice layout, the greens were in great shape, but the fairways and tees were below average. Fun day.


Angeles National Golf with LEWGVLINSURANCE for my 51st Birthday
Tuesday November 6, 2007 10:43am

Took the day off work and played Angeles National on 11-05-07 for my 51st birthday with LEWGVLINSURANCE. Took advantage of the free birthday round offer, so we split his green fee and played for 1/2 price. Played as the first group, but we had to wait for the fog to lift before we could tee off. Had the starter point us in the right direction on the first hole since we couldn't see the fairway. Hit a nice drive on the 1st hole (my only good drive of the day) and hit a 6-iron onto a green that I couldn't see, then 3-putted and the slide began.  Don't want to talk about my score, but I did hit several good long iron approaches. Nice layout, but the course swallowed most of the balls in my bag. Finished the round in under 4 hours. I'll probably go back again, but only if I can play again for 1/2 price. I'll probably also bring cheaper golf balls .

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