2011 Metrics: Golf

I managed to get out and play golf 20 times in 2011, playing at least once each month from April through (absurdly enough) the very last day of December. I played mostly in Delaware but a few times in the "mar" portion of Delmarva (Maryland) and once in Washington DC.


View Golf in 2011 in a larger map

I'm happy to report that my game, while still not very good, is no longer quite so embarrassing. I broke 100 (my goal for the year) in June at East Potomac Park, at Haines Point in DC. This was part of a memorable weekend of golf with my friends Andy and Rich; our wives teamed up to give us tickets to the US Open in Potomac, Maryland. We played on Friday and then watched our betters play on Saturday and Sunday.

While I spread my game up and down the state, my "home course" has been Old Landing Golf club, outside of Rehoboth Beach. I played there eight times in 2011. Old landing is where I often go for a solo, contemplative practice round. It's not the greatest course in the world, but it is laid back, pleasant, inexpensive, and near by.

I hope to play at least as much golf in 2012. I spent time on golf courses with all of my golf friends in 2011, I hope to continue that trend and expand that circle.

I Broke 100? Sorta

Andy and I played golf at Salt Pond, outside of Bethany Beach, this afternoon. I carded a 92, which I'm tempted to brag about. But maybe I shouldn't.

I am not a very good golfer, though I love the game. It has been my ambition lately to break 100. I've made some small strides this year and I think my goal is in reach.

Today I scored a 92, but Salt Pond is an "executive" course. It is short and has a par of 61, where a long course would be a 72. So I don't think I'll count this as having broken 100.

But I had a pretty good round in spots. At one point I made par on consecutive holes. And many times, I made bogey, which is usually my goal.

So. The hunt for 100 continues.

In Which Pat and Mike Play Golf With Jay and Silent Bob

I got a chance to play golf at the Sussex Pines Country Club today. It was a fund-raiser for the Possum Point Players, a community theater group in Georgetown, Delaware.

Karen and I used to take part in Possum Point shows on a regular basis. We dialed back a bit when the kids came, but I have been back a bit since.

My friend Pat came down from New Castle County to join in and we were paired with two gents named Jay and Bob.

We played a scramble format, in which we each hit our ball but used whichever shot out of the four that we judged to be the best. Often, that was Bob's drive; he was playing very well. Pat was also playing well. And though he started slowly, Jay proved to be a long-driver as well. I was the weakest, of course, but among us we managed to play fairly well.

We finished at 3-under par - a 69 -- and finished fourth in the tournament. I believe there were 18 teams. The winners, by the way, scored a 61!

The weather was a challenge. Rain was forecast for the afternoon, but it started in the late morning and by the time we finished it was a steady, cold rain. At one point, we took refuge in a gazebo to wait out a particularly heavy squall. I found myself considering just how wet my feet were getting.

But we persevered and finished our 18 holes. And my play wasn't all terrible, I made a wise choice and used one of my mulligans to sink a long putt for a birdie that may have made the difference between fourth place and fifth.

Twenty-First Golf Game of 2009

This post is a week late; I have spent much of the last week not blogging.

Last week, I had a chance to play 18 holes with two friends out in Cleveland. We were all there for the annual NSGIC conference. We managed to get out one afternoon and were nearly the last group to get around the course.

We played at Sleepy Hollow Golf Course which is part of Cleveland Metroparks. Those folks do a great job; the course is in great shape and was great fun. It is about 90 years old and is a classic hill course. Each nine holes start at the top of the hill and go down and then back up.

It was not a day for me to break 100. I'm not at all used to a hilly course. I had some pretty poor holes, particularly on the front nine. I got better on the back nine and managed a pair of pars. I finished at 115. Not great.

Sandy played solidly; we play together fairly often and he is a good player. He ended at 100.

Our third was Michael, from the Boston area. He's a very good player, with a monster drive. His score -- 84 -- shows his skills. And he is a fellow Deadhead, so we enjoyed a pleasant afternoon of golf and reminisces about Dead shows.

We also talked GIS and geospatial data coordination, so it was like a continuation of the day's conference sessions.

At the Craft Fair

Karen and I went downtown today to wander around the annual Craft Fair hosted by the Lewes Historical Society.

The day started out overcast and wet, but the rain held off enough for us to have a pleasant walk into town.

The Craft Fair was scattered around the Historical Society grounds in a variety of tents and pavilions. There were painters and jewelry-makers and weavers and glass artists and metal-workers and everything in between.

The bluegrass band Bitter Creek were there. They have a very tight, very pleasant sound. They added a nice touch to the day.

And they were an inspiration to at least one other artist.

I was pleased to see the glass artist Justin Cavagnaro was there. I have admired his work for a while, particularly his glass-headed golf putters, one of which I photographed in 2007 at the Bethany Beach Boardwalk Arts Festival.

It was a great way to spend a morning, and we both came away with ideas for Christmas gifts that we'll have to follow-up on at a later, more discreet, date.

Twentieth Golf Game of 2009

I wanted to get back out to the golf course this weekend to redeem myself for my poor play last weekend. I did get out. Andy and I played at Old Landing this morning. And I did score better, but only marginally.

I could make excuses. The course was very wet. There were still puddles in the wooded areas. And on many fairways, and even some tee boxes, you could still see where there had been flooding from the debris left behind.

But really it was my poor play that let me down again. I had a few good holes and hit the ball well sometimes. but not enough and not consistently. I scored a 108.

Andy played well. He finished with a 97.

We walked the course, and carried our bags, which is good exercise, I think. We had a nice time.

Nineteenth Golf Game of 2009

Andy and I played 18 holes at The Rookery, near Milton, on Saturday afternoon. We played with two fellows from the DC area who have places in Rehoboth and Lewes and were thinking about retiring here. They had lots of questions about living here.

I tend to consider The Rookery my "home course," but looking back over the past year I see that this has only been my second round there in 2009. That's a shame, it's a challenging course and very well cared-for.

I did not come close to my goal of breaking 100. I had four bad "blow-up" holes that pretty much crushed my round. I can think of specific shots and how they went wrong -- five trying to get to greens and another four or five simply poor putts.

In several cases, I let thick grass or tufts catch my club head and turn it, sending shanks off to the right. In one, I topped a shot and sent it into a pond. My follow-up, from a drop, went right and into a wetland area. My mistake there was not stopping, stepping back, and regrouping before trying again.

On the other hand, I did manage two pars on the back nine, so there's still hope.

I finished at 109, but Andy played very well and scored a 95. The photo above is where his drive landed on the par-3 ninth. He sank the putt for a birdie. And he had three pars as well.

It was a sunny day, but cool. There was a nice breeze blowing. The course was in fine shape, and it wasn't too crowded. The company was pleasant. All in all, that's not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

Eighteenth Golf Game of 2009

Andy and I played eighteen holes at Ocean Resorts in Ocean Pines today. I had a simply awful round. I was not hitting the ball well.

I won't use it as an excuse, but the course was in poor shape. It was wet, very wet after a heavy downpour overnight. The wet kept the ground crew from mowing the course at all, so things were long and slow.

My biggest error was not staying in the fairway. The rough was largely thick-grown crabgrass. I couldn't get an iron through that stuff at all and so was not hitting with any distance from the rough. I didn't putt well wither. I finished at 114.

Andy, on the other hand, played very well, particularly on the back 9. He carded a 94 after pars on 4, 8, 17 and 18 and a birdie on 15.

I had just enough good shots to make me eager to get back out and get some revenge on the golf course and on the golf gods.

Seventeenth Golf Game of 2009

It hardly merits its own post, but obsessive compulsive blogging is nothing if you skimp on the obsession or the compulsion, so let me briefly tell you about 9 holes at the Heritage Inn and Golf Club, at Midway.

Andy and I wanted to play on Sunday morning and thought we'd go back to the Heritage course, largely because of its play-all-day for $10 pricing. That's very tempting, but sometimes you do get just what you pay for.

Andy got me started playing golf. I had taken some indoor lessons as a gym class at Colby College, up in Maine, some 25 years ago, but it wasn't until a few years back that I picked it up as a steady thing. And when I started, we mostly played the Heritage, at that time an executive-length 9-holes with a few long par-4 holes and a respectably challenging par-5. It cost a bit more to play then than it does now, but was still low-priced.

Since then, they've chopped up the back third of the property and built town houses, drastically shortening many of the holes. They closed the pro shop; you pay your ten bucks in the hotel lobby. As Andy noted, at this point they basically just keep it mowed. More or less.

So it's in poor shape and our play seemed to reflect the state of the course. We had a few good holes, but neither of us was particularly proud. And it was quite hot. So after nine holes we broke for lunch. After we'd eaten, we decided we'd gotten ten dollars worth of "golf" and called it a day.

Sixteenth Golf Game of 2009

I took the afternoon off today and met my friend and colleague Sandy Schenck for a round of golf at Old Landing Golf Course.

It was a hot afternoon, but there was a steady breeze to cool us off as well as drifting almost-thunder-heads to cut the sun's heat. Old Landing is also well shaded with trees, so we were fairly comfortable.

The course was in tolerable shape, though the greens had just been sprayed with some sort of pesticide with a strong green hue. It caused grubs to flee to the surface where the local crows were having a feeding frenzy. The grubs themselves, and the holes dug by the crows looking for more, made putting a bit of a challenge on some of the greens.

I started poorly, but settled down somewhat over the first nine and finished with a nice par 3 on the 9th hole for a total of 54.

The second nine holes were a bit better. I scored another par on the 15th and managed a 51 to finish the round at 105.

I find it interesting that I've carded my personal best in two games in a row now.

Sandy played well, he broke 100 with a 99; it included an impressive birdie on the 15th.

Fifteenth Golf Game of 2009

Just over a week ago, I went out for 18 holes with Andy and Rich at Ocean Resorts Golf Club down in Maryland. This was just a few days after we returned from vacation. But I've been playing vacation blog-post catch-up for so long now I didn't get around to documenting this particular outing until now.

Ocean Resorts is a nice low-cost course in decent shape. It has challenges and fun holes. Andy and I have been there a few times, Most recently back in early July.

I started out badly, but settled down to a so-so front nine. I did better on the back nine managing to par the two par 5 holes on that part of the course. I finished with a 105, which I think ties my personal best. So far.

Fourteenth Golf Game of 2009

Well, of course I played golf while we were in Hawaii.

I played the beach course at Waikoloa one morning with an older gent and his son-in-law. They were from California. The starter matched me with them. It was that or play with a trio of Japanese tourists and I don't think they had any English.

It's a challenging course. The holes are surrounded by mounds and hillocks of lava. There are lava traps in place of sand traps. If you're not hitting over water, you are hitting over fields of broken volcanic rock. I was wondering what happens if you hit one into that lava.

I had a pretty good round, all things -- rented clubs, playing in sneakers, etc. -- considered. I finished with a 109. My play was up and down. I had a par on the sixth, for example, but followed that with a triple bogey on the a par-5 seventh.

The seventh was also where I learned what happens when you hit it into the lava field. I had had a good drive and second shot and had just a 9-iron shot left to the green. Instead of hitting it clean and getting on in regulation, I hit it low and slicing into the lava on the right. It bounced almost back to where I was standing but on the other side of the fairway. I was lucky to make an eight.

On the other hand, the scenery is great. On some holes you are looking at a mountain. On others, you overlook the Pacific Ocean. The sun is bright, the foliage is rich and green, and the trade winds blow steadily and keep you a bit cool.

I liked it.

Thirteenth Golf Game of 2009

Steve Seyfried and I went out to The Rookery this morning for a round of golf. We played together a few years ago, but haven't had a chance for another game, until now.

Steve and his wife founded and lead the Rehoboth Summer Children's Theatre, a group for which I was once on the Board. We've become friends. Our wives are friends. Our kids are friends.

We were paired with brothers-in-law from the Washington suburbs -- Mike and Web. They were fairly good players; Mike had a nice steady shot and Web had a potential to crush long shots, though he also had a potential to go astray.

I started out fairly strongly and, despite some slips, had a good front nine. I even birdied the ninth hole to finish at 47. Of course I then hit a disastrous nine on the Par 5 tenth hole. That set the pace for the back nine, I'm afraid. Despite a par and a few good holes, I fell back into bad happens and took 58 strokes to get home with a final score of 105.

I was a little disappointed with myself, but there were hopeful signs and some good strokes. And we had fun.

Twelfth Golf Game of 2009

I joined my friend Michael for 18 holes this afternoon at his new country club -- Maple Dale Country Club in Dover. Maple Dale has been trying to bring in new members and they have offered a pretty good deal for young families. Michael and his wife and sons took advantage of it for the club's golf course, pool and other amenities.

Neither of us played very well. In fact, I would say that nothing went right for us if it wasn't the case that almost every tee shot did in fact go off to the right. We were slicing more than a deli worker at a thin-meats convention.

I eventually straightened out some of my tee shots, though not soon enough. But I played poorly otherwise, wasting good iron play with poor putting.

It's no excuse, but I must say that the Maple Dale course offers some real challenges. It was first built in 1925 and it has some old-fashioned aspects. There are some fairly deep sand traps and mature trees that block your second shot should the first go wide (which many of ours did).

That said, on the few holes where I did hit a straight first shot, Maple Dale was great fun. The fairways were in fine shape, as were the greens. A second shot off those fairways could be very satisfying.

I finished with a par on the par-5 18th hole. I hit a driver shot well down the fairway and followed with a very pleasing long second shot with the hybrid 3 wood. I hit the third -- a 7-iron -- a bit left, but pitched the fourth onto the green and made the putt.

That's how the game is meant to go.

Eleventh Golf Game of 2009

Another Sunday morning and another 18 holes of practice golf at Old Landing Golf Course. Old Landing is quite affordable, particularly if you are walking. And I do like to walk, for the exercise.

For this practice game, I decided to only grant myself two mulligans (do-overs, for the non-golf-addicted), one on the front nine and one on the back nine, That's about normal for a friendly round and I thought I should try to stick to that.

My first nine weren't too bad. But for a mess of putting on the big par-5 seventh, I would have been under 50. I had a par and some good drives. I was mostly happy.

The back nine were not as good to me. I started poorly and found a distressing tendency to hit slices from the tee box as my legs tired. I carded a 57 to finish the round at 109. That's about my average over the last year.

It was not a bad way to spend a Sunday morning. I plan to play in Dover on Monday afternoon, and may get out again later in the week. So I'm glad to spend some time working on my game. And I was glad to get some more exercise.

Tenth Golf Game of 2009

I couldn't help myself. I went out Tuesday evening for a late practice game at Old Landing. I had the urge and so I decided to start after dinner and see how far I could get.

I was pleased with the front nine. I worked at not over-swinging and hitting for the yardage I can get instead of the yardage I wish I could get. I granted myself a few Mulligans -- do-overs -- so take this with a grain of salt, but I did the first nine in 46. I see a pace here that could get me under 100.

The second nine did not go quite as well. It was starting to get dark and the flies and mosquitoes were out in force. As a result, I was rushing my shots, trying to move along and out from the swarms. My scores reflect it.

I had to stop after the 16th and 39 strokes. Had scored under 15 on the last two holes (a par 4 and a par 5), I'd have broken 100. That's possible. But not that night. It was too dark and the bugs were too many.

That's not what chased me off the course, though. I stopped when the sprinklers came on.

Ninth Golf Game of 2009

Andy and I played a round yesterday at Ocean Resorts Golf Club near Ocean Pines, Maryland.

Our two families planned to meet in the afternoon in North Bethany for beach, dinner and fireworks with my parents and several of my siblings, so the two of us planned a mid-morning tee-time that would have us on the beach sometime after lunch.

Like the roads around here on summer holiday week-ends, the course was crowded with tourists -- an unfortunate number of them non-golfers. We made the mistake of not starting off ahead of a foursome who had an earlier tee time, but who had offered to let us go. A mistake of southern courtliness, I expect.

This group was also behind other slow groups, so I can't fault them. And, we eventually played through on the back nine. But the slow pace of play gave us too much time to think between shots, which can be a bad thing.

I lost my fight to break 100 on the front nine, which featured some poorly played holes. On the second, I got cocky and tried to force a driver shot of the tee. On the fourth, which is a devilish hole that fools you, I tried to be too perfect and splashed my second, wasting a decent tee shot. And I tried to get too cute coming out of the sand a penalty and a drop later; I rocketed the ball instead clear across the green and into two-foot tall wasteland grass. That's another and another one-stroke penalty.

On the other hand, I managed a par on the seventh hole. It turns out that a decent, straight drive, and clean approach shot, and careful putting will pay off.

The back nine was somewhat better. I had a birdie on the sixteenth; not my first-ever, but the first in a long time. Otherwise, I settled into a steady mediocrity, which is better than careening between bad and worse, as I have done in the past.

I believe in looking for positives and the positive that I take away from this game is this. In the past, I've noted that, while over-all I play poorly, I would have one or two shots the felt right and flew true and those were "the shots that keep you coming back." yesterday, I had a few holes that I played right and gave myself a chance to do well. Now I have "the holes that keep me coming back."

Seventh Golf Game of 2009 (Second Half)

I had the evening off from my Chautauqua gig tonight so I headed over to Old Landing Golf Course after work to finish the game that was rained-out on Saturday. The two sets of nine holes couldn't have been more different. Saturday was wet and raining and threatening thunder. This evening there were clouds, but clear air and eventually evening sunshine. And my play was different too.

Saturday, I played poorly and shot a 59 on the front 9. Nothing was working well. The weather may have played a role, but I doubt it.

This evening, despite a poor beginning (how many putts can one man putt?), I started to hit the ball the way I want to hit it. I still had some putting problems, and the occasionally topping of the ball on the fairway, but I managed a 49, which is one of my best-ever 9-hole scores.

I scored one par and five bogeys. I have a goal to try to average 18 bogeys someday. If I can do that on a par 72 course, I'd have a 90. And I'm trying to break 100, so...

I was particularly pleased this evening with the 12th hole at Old Landing. This is a long, blind drive, par-5 that curls left from the tee box, over a slight rise and across a stagnant creek to a sloping green. It plays about 500 yards from the white tees.

Usually, I struggle along in the rough, through the trees, and often into the creek before carding something nasty on this hole. Not tonight.

I've reached an accord with my driver. When I hit it well, the ball goes straight, if not hugely long. Tonight I placed my drive about halfway along and in the center of the 12th fairway. My second shot laid-up well to the top of the slope that leads down to the water. Then I put a 7-iron about 10 feet from the pin (the photo above right was the result).

Had I made that putt, I'd have scored a birdie (not my first, but they are still rare). I was too cautious though, and came up short. But I was happy with the par.

Over-all, I think tonight I had more of the shots that keep you coming back than those that make you hang your head. I like that.

Seventh Golf Game of 2009 (first half?)

4th hole, old landing golf course
Originally uploaded by mmahaffie

I managed to squeeze-in 9 holes at Old Landing Golf Course this morning before the light rain and distant rumbling became heavy downpours and thunder. The gent in the clubhouse was kind enough to offer me a 9-hole rain check after we stood together and watched a green, yellow and red mass moving in on the weather channel radar.

I have to say I played poorly. I think I was listening too hard for thunder and lightning from the first tee and so not being patient enough. I did settle down some, though, after it began to rain softly and without thunder. I had my share of good shots and finally managed to play the long, bending road-side par-5 -- where I am usually in the trees to the right -- out in the fairway where a gentleman should play.

I'm not sure when I'll play the second half of game 7. The forecast for tomorrow is not promising. But we'll see.

Sixth Golf Game of 2009

I played a solo round at Old Landing Golf Course, outside of Rehoboth Beach, yesterday afternoon. Old Landing is a course I've played many times in the past. It has not been the best-kept place to play, but it is getting better and is a fine value. I walked, carrying my clubs, as part of my attempt to get into better shape.

I decided to try playing the whole round with my driver in action. In the past, I have limited the use of the driver, as I am not very good with it. But my swing is improving and I can sometimes hit a decent drive, so I decided to use the driver on all holes save those where it is clearly the wrong club -- par-3 holes and those with narrow, tricky drives.

I had mixed results. There were several drives that I was proud of, but often, when I hit a firm, rising shot that seemed to have some distance in it, my slice ruined things. I hit a few trees. But my fairway shots are getting better; I've found a comfortable spot with my 3- and 4-hybrid clubs. There were several holes that I was able to approach in something like golfer fashion.

I still carded a disappointing 114, but had at least one par and several holes where, but for a decent putt, I'd have had more. There was only one truly ugly blow-up hole.

And I got some very pleasant exercise.