November 15, 2010 - Seabee Golf Course, Port Hueneme, California

There's something really special about being on a military base, even if it's just to play golf.  You look around and see all these exceptional young men and women who have volunteered to risk their lives and protect our country.  After we drove onto the base, Stan commented that there were probably all kinds of weapons there - after all, we are a country at war.  It's easy to lose sight of that.  We are safe in our daily lives.  We run to the market, go to the movies, take our kids to school, play golf.  We don't have anyone shooting at us, bombing us or arresting and torturing us.  We really have no fear in our comings and goings, but these kids can be called up at any time to face down an enemy that wants them dead.  A big thank you to all of you who take on the responsibility of protecting us and our country.  

It was just Stan and me today.  Back to basics and our little twosome.  It's been a while since we had played alone, and I was looking forward to golfing with my best golf buddy (and a pretty good caddie, to boot).   We were fresh off a lesson from Joe at GolfTec and anxious to put the lesson into practice.  I did feel that I should have gone to the driving range before attempting a round of golf, but the timing didn't work out so we played instead.


It's hard for me to remember what happens on individual holes when I play golf.  I'm jealous when someone says, "I two-putted on the 7th hole" or "My drive on the 14th got lost in the trees."  I wish I could remember that stuff.  So, because I can't, I have taken to using Evernote, which is a free app on my iPhone.  As an aside, I LOVE my iPhone.  I've never used a phone the way I use this one.  I use it for GPS, weather forecasts, Google searches, finding a coffee house or what movie is playing around me, getting emails and text messages, voice memos, dinner reservations on Open Table, finding out what song it is I just heard and playing games.  It is the greatest invention known to man (at least in my little world).  Anyway, Evernote lets me make multiple comments and I can play them back later, which re-creates the game for me in a way that just keeping score can't do.  


We ran late getting to the course today.  I didn't feel prepared or relaxed.  And so it began:  As it was the last time we played the Seabee course, the first hole was a nightmare.  Stan hit absolutely every tree that might have been in his way and shot an 8.  I dribbled my way to the pin and ended up with a 7.  Not a great way to start the game.  This hole makes you want to quit the game of golf, just in general.  

Was this an omen?

On my last entry I mentioned that Stan didn't like wearing his golf shoes because they made his feet hurt.  He decided to give them another go, and he thinks that they caused him to grip the ground a bit better.  And they were comfortable.  Hallelujah! 

Stan - happy in his shoes.

I had a good drive on the 3rd hole, a par 4, which set me up for a bogey.  Stan got a bogey on the 2nd and 3rd hole, so I felt that the jitters were out of the way and we could play a calmer, more productive game of golf.  So much for that thinking.  I shot a 10 on the next hole, a ladies' par 5, which was pretty disappointing after my bogey.  On the 5th hole, I was ready to give up this game completely as I wasn't playing well at all - I shot a 7 on a par 4.  But on the 6th hole, a par 3, my tee shot landed on the green.  Unfortunately, I three-putted, but the tee shot still gave me hope.  


Rounding off the front nine, I did something on the 8th hole I had never done before.  Real, calculated course management.  It's a par 5 with a water hazard right in front of the green.  I made my tee shot and a fairway shot.  I didn't think I could get over the water at that point, no matter what club I used (it was over 130 yards) so I laid up.  I used my 8 iron and got right to the water's edge.  I used my 7 iron so I could get loft and some distance, and, lo and behold, it actually went over the water and almost landed on the green!  

After the 9th hole, Stan wanted to add up the scores.  I did not want to know how I did because I thought it would depress me and I wasn't doing too well mentally as it was.  I wanted to have a clear head in approaching the back nine.  Stan prefers the back of this golf course.  I really don't, but I shot pretty much the same on the back as I did the front.  Stan did much better, which proves that your head plays as big a role in a golf game as your ability.  


There aren't many videos or photos of me, since I'm usually behind the camera, but Stan took quite a few today, so here's my drive on the 10th.  I bogeyed this hole!

There is a very long, very wide patch of dirt/sand on the back nine (can't remember which hole but I think it runs along the 12th and the 14th).  It's not a sand trap, there are no rakes, so you can ground your club in making the shot.  Stan wound up in it today on the 12th, but got out just fine and double-bogeyed both that hole and the 14th.
 

I am a truly lucky woman.  Stan is the most agreeable guy to go through life with, let alone play golf with.  Even when he isn't doing well, he has a great attitude.  Witness a shot on the 18th hole:

At the 17th hole, Stan was at 45 and was very hopeful that he would par the 18th and make a straight 50.  That 18th hole just wouldn't have any of it, though, and he wound up with a 51 on the back, for a total of 108.  Not too bad for a guy who thought he was playing a terrible game.  I shot an embarrassing 121.  

 


No dining segment today.  We played at 12:40, so we had egg salad sandwiches at home and brought nothing but granola bars and water to the course.  I'm making macaroni and cheese and a salad for dinner tonight; not photo worthy but I hope it'll be good.  It's a white food day.

Here's the upshot.  I really, really don't like this course.  I haven't a clue if my poor playing is the result of my dislike or that I'm just regressing instead of progressing, but I have decided that I won't play this course again until I'm back on track.  I don't care if other courses are more expensive.  I don't look forward to playing here, and I don't want that negativity to creep into my psyche and ruin my enthusiasm for the game.  I like golf too much for that to happen.  I'll go to the driving range before I play another golf course.  I have to practice what I learned at my lesson before I get on the links again.