floppy shoes mcgee

date: 6/8/07
course: newman
holes: 17 (lots of lightning on 18)
score: 55-46-101 (not counting 18)
avg putts: 2.4
fairways: 2/14
greens: 2 (3-putted both for bogeys)
avg over par: 1.94 (almost double bogey golf)
interesting wildlife: geese galore

j. diggz and i decided to go out together friday afternoon. we played skins and i gave him a stroke a hole. he won 10-7, because i played like i had my left thumb chopped off.

i tripled number 1 (again) after hitting out of the mud in the stream. i decided that the ball was playable, and i did manage to get it out of there, but not that far and not without splattering mud all the way up to my face. my clothes looked like i had been run over by an atv.

so of course on the next hole i holed a 50-foot chip from the rough to make par. this is what is so frustrating about golf. you play like absolute crap, and then you hit a shot so amazing that it makes you want to keep playing. THEN every shot you make after that one is disappointing, and the cycle begins anew until the next great stroke.

this became immediately evident when i 4-putted the next hole for a quad. i racked up 6 triples out of the 17 holes, only half of which were 3-putts. it seems like i have more to work on than just my putting.

on number 15, i hit a shot that went way right of the green pin high. as i went to get back in the cart (yes, diggz sprung for a cart), my shoe felt all funny. i looked down and to my dismay, the hard rubber outer sole containing the spikes had almost completely separated from the inner sole of the shoe. and i was walking around like a hobo that you might see in a cartoon. i had to goose-step to walk at all without completely wrecking the shoes, so i had to play the rest of the hole and the next 2 holes with one shoe. the next three holes were triple double double. now, i'm not blaming the shoes, it's just an example of how mental golf is. something disrupts your game and it all goes down the toilet.

we joined up with a dude named john on number 13, and luckily he was just as bad as us. that's the thing about getting paired up with people. you want them to be maybe only just a little better or a little worse than you. if they're really good, you'll slow them down like crazy. if they're really bad, well, you'll be out there forever. on the other hand, if they're slightly better than you, you can watch them and maybe glean some tips. and if they're slightly worse, then it makes you feel better about your game. ("well, at least i can putt better than THAT guy!")

my finish was disappointing, since i had a tee time the next morning with bob, geoff, and conor (who once shot a 74), and i didn't want to look like a total schmuck. i figured, bad dress rehearsal, good show. well, the next post should tell you how that turned out.

also, that night, i superglued my left shoe back together.