OK, I played poorly.  No other way to say it.  Shot 88 and 87 (ten shots worse than last year) and only hit eight fairways in thirty-six holes.  Geez.  I did manage to collect myself and shoot five-over par the final eleven holes… but too little, too late.  However, the weather was perfect: mild, slight overcast.  There were a few new-born geese roaming the course and lovely blooms on the rhododendrons.  One of the good things about golf is the scenery is usually great.

I started my three-day mega golf event on the benign Pacific Dunes course where I shot an OK 92.  For the second round of the day I decided to finally take on the more-challenging Old Macdonald course, about which I had heard omninous stories and purposely avoided on earlier trips.  I was pleasantly surprised.  ‘Old Mac’ is unlike any course I’ve played: it has huge sweeping vistas, the widest possible fairways, intimidating bunkers and absolutely massive greens.  But I played ok.  In spite of a couple of really ugly holes I shot another 92 with a steady 36 putts, a reasonable achievement on these greens.

7th green at Old Macdonald

Pacific Dunes is my favorite of the eighty or so courses I’ve played.  The setting is just so dramatic, especially on those holes adjacent to the ocean: four, eleven and thirteen. Here’s my version of the de rigueur photo on the number eleven tee box. It’s just a little 148 yard par three over a small canyon, a thick stand of native gorse, and a massive bunker, into a 20 m.p.h. wind… to the smallest green on the course. I landed just off the green in the right rough, chipped on, then tree-putted for a double bogey.  For the round, I wasted a birdie on the first hole with a couple of 8’s for a 93 total; a respectable score given the gusting winds.

Pacific Dunes, Eleventh Tee

Here I am with my caddie, Mike Riedel, ready to take on the famous 16th hole at Bandon Dunes with its ominous gorge through the fairway and the Pacific on the right. For the record, I managed a bogey 5.

At the 16th Tee, Bandon Dunes

I’ve been playing pretty good golf especially given the wet course conditions this time of year.  After a satisfying 81 yesterday I decided to sneak out this morning ahead of the forecast rain.  Following a unimpressive bogey-par-bogey start things really picked up.  A birdie on number 4 and a tap-in pars on holes 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12 left me at just four over par with six holes to play.  With a double bogey on 16 I still had a chance to break 80 facing an eight-foot putt on 18.  Which I made for a very nice 79.  A great score this early in the season.

My regular golf buddy, Ron Hillis, and I fought the persistent winds to take advantage of a rare dry and partially sunny day at Mt. Si.  In spite of this bizarre lie on number 12, I still managed a respectable 83 even after the double bogey on this hole.