Course Review: Comanche Trails, Tomahawk Course

"Well, some say it's the easiest way to play in the winds of west Texas...some say it's because I never finish anything in my life. You can decide. But the point is...every finishing position is unique."

  -Roy McAvoy (Tin Cup)

I love that movie, and now I have the chance to play in the winds of west Texas.  So once I had wrapped up my work day, Lisa and I headed over to the local course at Comanche Trail.  There are actually 2 courses, and we randomly picked the back 9 of the Tomahawk course.  The winds of west Texas did not disappoint.  This is a pretty straightforward course, but it has lots of hidden trouble and the winds were howling.

We had a lot of fun, but it is one of those courses where local knowledge goes a long way.  But for $11 dollars (walking) it is hard to complain.  When traveling through Amarillo, take a stop here and walk in the steps of Tin Cup.  I did and I had a Shiner Bock afterwards to make it official.

Course Review: Raton Country Club

So Lisa and I were in Raton, NM and wanted to play a quick 9.  Since there was only one choice and it is a 9-hole course, we were a bit concerned:

Much to my surprise, this was not a goat path.  This course was established in 1919 and you can tell the locals take pride in this little gem.  We were walking and went to the first tee.  Just to the right of the fairway was a couple of deer with their babies.  Teed off and they were very comfortable with us walking up on them:

Not a bad place to hit an approach from, right?  And then we went to the second hole and had to hit over this buck:

The course was nice.  The greens were slow, but the fairways are generous and there were some generous doglegs to keep it interesting.  And Lisa is a good driver, so she made sure to yield for the deer as they passed:

Most of the holes were shorter, so it was long irons and 5 woods, but there were 3 or 4 holes that required a driver.  The holes were usually doglegs and it would help a bunch to have prior knowledge of this course.  This is one that I would like to try again and play it correctly.  Overall, this was a great course.  Fun golf and great scenery led to a great time.  And for only $16, how can I complain?  I would so play this one again.  I walked off #9 pretty pleased with the experience.  :)

Me and You and Dog Named Boo...

Headed out to my course yesterday to walk a quick 18. Now this place is out of the way, but affordable. Good place to practice. (I also suspect that the slope and rating are a little low, so it helps keep my handicap inflated.) But yesterday, I was really hit by the charm of the place during my round.

It was just another day, but as I approached the first tee, a dog joined me. I teed off and it followed me to my ball. (I hit it in the fairway for a change of pace.) He laid down and waited for me to hit. And so it went. The third hole is a par 3 over water. He jumped in and started to chase the geese. He let me putt out and then joined me on the green for some "drip, drip" time.
Boo and I walked on.

On the 11th hole he jumped in to chase a duck and her ducklings. I have to admit that made me nervous, but the duck played a good game of "chicken" (get it, chicken?) and they all swam away unscathed.

Boo followed me for 18 holes. As I was walking off the course a lady with two kids came looking for "Oscar". I didn't have the heart to let her know his name was really Boo.

RMGX 2008

Rocky Mountain Golf Explosion (RMGX) 2008 was a resounding success. It is an annual get-together with my cousin (Nathan) and my brother-in-law (Josh) to see who will rule our golf universe. We play 6 rounds in 3 days. I drink more in that three days than I do the rest of the year combined. (Josh thinks it is the chink in my armor and I need to drink more during the year.)

Cutting to the chase, Nathan rules. He won the trophy for stroke play and the trophy for handicap. Josh won the most Skins and I took down the Nassau. Here are the phrases of the RMGX 2008:

• Ummhmmm.
• Whoop!
• Tagged and released back into the wild.

We played 5 different courses and reviews will be coming shortly. Until then, Nathan can choke on those trophies until next year.

Belmont Blowup

The 17th and 18th hole at Belmont can bite me.

I hit the tee box at the 17th with an 80 and only a par 4 and a par 3 left to go. Bogey golf ties me for my best score of the year. And the 17th is a short par 4 at only about 380 yards. Giddy up!

Hit my driver with a draw and I was fortunate. It rolled down the cart path and gave me about 30 extra yards. So I'm less than 100 yards out. Chunked a sand wedge. Pitched across the green. Chip on. Two putt. Nice.

Panic? No. I can still get that par on the par 3.

So what did I do? I hit an unintentional draw to the front bunker. Just 2 feet to the right and I'm looking at 8 feet for birdie. Instead, I catch too much sand and move it forward 3 feet in the bunker. Then I catch too little sand and send it across the green. Chip to within 3 feet and tap it in for another double.

Hopefully, I learned a lesson for RMGX 2008.

Golf Etiquette and the Big Break

So long, Christina Lecuyer. From what I saw, she got a bum deal. There might have been a lot of off camera drama, so I can only base my opinion on what I saw. (Also, my wife thinks I'm jaded on the subject because Christina is so hot.)

The incident that set it all off was when she was hoping that another competitor would choke. Christina said it quietly and I don't think it was intended for anyone's ears except her and her partner's. It was all downhill from there. Large groups confronting her over breakfast, scolding her like a child.

So Christina had a breach of golf etiquette, but I submit that the rest of the cast had a breach of life etiquette:

1. Keep your trap shut and don't gossip. How did everyone find out about that comment? Did cute, innocent, little Susan tell everyone on the side and stir the pot?

2. A quiet side discussion is a better way to go than publicly confronting someone. Lori Atsedes, who is much more mature could have taken her roommate aside and let her know what the deal was. Give Christina an honorable way to see what she did and apologize. Instead of playing the mentor, she decided to be the pack leader and lead the attack. Then she feels cornered and has to defend herself against the mob. Nice.

3. Two wrongs don't make a right. Most of us heard this from our mothers, but I guess Sophie Sandolo missed that lesson. She decided the best way to deal with it was to act even worse. There is a difference of sin of omission and a sin of commission.

So, instead of resolving the situation in a positive manner, it went down just like it does in a 3rd grade schoolyard. Nice.
 

18 Rounds and Counting

Last fall, I had a little streak where I couldn't break 100. Six out of seven rounds were in the 3-digit range. I went to the library and read a book about breaking 100. Yeah, right. Just read a book and everything will be all right. That is so me.

Today, I was looking at my scores in Yahoo! Golf and I realized that I had 18 straight rounds of less than 100. In fact, three of them were in the high 80's. What changed? If I knew, I would write a book about it...
 

Sycamore Creek Redemption

Went home, took the dogs for a walk, ate some lunch and was ready for a nap. Instead I had a beer and realized that it was time for Twilight golf at Sycamore Creek. What the heck, let's see what happens. Best decision of my life. It was the first day I had ever felt like a golfer for 18 holes. I have had rounds where I felt brilliant for a few holes, but today I felt competent for the whole round. Not a single triple bogey. Recovered from bad tee shots. Hit 15-foot putts.

Today's Round:

Front 9: 43
Back 9: 46

I can hardly wait to try again next weekend.
 

Belmont Fiasco

Lisa, my wife, went on a scrapbook retreat this weekend so I was free to golf all day Saturday. Spent the morning at Belmont Golf Course and shot a 97. Just couldn't seem to get it together. Had some 3-putts and was hitting my approach shots fat.
Not a pretty picture:

Today's Round:

Front 9: 50
Back 9: 47