A 5:45 alarm this morning got us up and ready for a trip to Starbucks (half-caf, nonfat, no foam, two raw sugar latte) and Manhattan Bagel (sesame, lightly toasted with cream cheese) and on the road to La Quinta and our noon tee time at the Greg Norman Golf Course. Greg Norman Golf Course
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| PGA West - The Greg Norman Golf Course Entrance |
We met up with our golf pro, Joe Dougherty, and, since we were the only twosome from the GolfTec in Oxnard, he was sort of saddled with us. After dropping into the pro shop and scoring a pair of sunglasses for Stan and a Greg Norman ball marker for me (I’m collecting), we got a couple of sandwiches (turkey and cheese and tuna), filled up a cup with ice and water and made our way to the driving range. We did a wee bit of warm-up and then were off to tackle the course.
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| Stan, me and Joe the Pro. |
We had played this course in October on our previous trip here and we were looking forward to playing it again. It was clear and beautiful, warm and perfect with no wind. The Santa Rosa mountains are a gorgeous backdrop to the course, and the palm trees and bright green fairways are very inviting. Greg Norman did all of us a favor in designing this course, both in its beauty and the fact that the wide fairways are like an oasis surrounded by desert dirt and scrub brush. On your tee shot, if you hit a ball off the fairway, 7 out of 10 times, it will bounce off the hard dirt, roll onto the grass and give you another chance to score better.
Stan has decided to keep track of how many times we hit the fairway in a game and how many putts we make. I think it’s a good idea, and it is a good monitor of the beginning and ending of each hole. I had done some talking to myself this week relating to my expectations of my play on this course. I wanted to cut myself some slack on my score because the courses will be playing on are tough. Of course, I keep forgetting that I am a competitive person, both with myself and others, so this was easier said than done. I didn’t expect to compete with Joe – he is amazing, as he should be – but I always want to improve and have an expectation that I will do better. It’s disappointing when I don’t.
Our driving today was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. I was on the fairway 12 out of 14 times. Stan was on the fairway 13 out of 14 times. Sometimes the distances were pretty good, too. Once I got on the fairway, however, I was having some trouble. I did have some good shots using my 5 wood, but I was frequently topping the ball, and Joe was trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. He thought it was my legs; he told me to especially use my left leg to drive the ball. I tried that and had some success, but the topping continued. He finally figured out that I was moving my head around during my swing and told me to try and keep it steady. Well, when you try and correct one thing, something else suffers, and I became stiff on my drives which caused me to either chunk the ball or miss the fairway completely. Towards the end of the day, I believe I was loosening up a bit which was helping my tee shots, and I felt I was getting back on track. One thing I was sure of though, I needed to practice my fairway shots, especially using my 5 wood.
Our putting today was also pretty darned good. I had 41 putts, 2.27 per hole and Stan had 40 putts, 2.22 per hole. PGA rules states that if you use your putter off the green (from the first cut), it is not counted as a putt (even if it is just an inch). Since the pros do it this way, we thought we would act professional and not count those few we each made from the first cut.
The 8th hole, a par 5, was a nightmare for me. After losing a ball in the water and not even making it to the green after 7 strokes, I picked up the ball. The 9th and 10th holes were equally awful, and I was trying hard to get out of the funk I was in. Even playing with Joe, with his and Stan’s encouragement, wasn’t helping. I had to drag myself out of it. A par always helps your attitude, and I managed to do just that on the 13th hole. Later in the game, I was able to be content with solid contact, even if it didn’t go exactly where I wanted it to go, even into the sand. Speaking of the sand, I was at the beach a lot today, but I managed to get out every time in one stroke. I am pretty happy with that, considering that some of these bunkers were very high. Luckily, I did have a good lie every time. Even Joe got in the sand - he and Stan had a gettin'-out competition.
Watching Joe is absolutely inspirational. We loved watching his tee shots, his form, his confidence. It is absolutely great. Joe has a way of teaching that is low-key and uplifting. His instruction is always positive, and when you do something right, he is a great cheerleader! Joe is on the green each and every hole in regulation. Somehow he makes the ball go just where he wants it to. I’m so jealous!
Joe is a young guy, about to become a father for the first time, and is a lot of fun to play with. The little boy in him came out in a big way today with some golf cart antics:
We finished up at dusk; I had made par on the 17th and double-bogeyed the 18th, so not a terrible way to end. I shot a 58 on the front and 59 on the back for a total of 117 (41 putts, which isn’t too bad). Stan shot a 53 on the front and a 55 on the back for a total of 108 (40 putts). He was very happy with his game today and with good reason. He did very well; he only got into trouble a few times and managed to keep his scores pretty low. I’m impressed with his getting 108 on a course of this caliber. Joe shot a 79 from the Black Tournament tees. It is awesome watching him strike the ball.
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| Not too bad for a tough course. |
We drove back to the resort, unpacked and made our way over to Adobe Grill for dinner, right on the property. La Quinta Resort La Quinta is dressed for the holidays with beautiful Christmas trees sitting in the lobby, wreaths, lights and decorations everywhere.
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| The gorgeous La Quinta resort. |
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| The resort at night. |
At night the trees are adorned with white lights and “It’s a Wonderful Life” is being projected on the side of a building near the restaurant. We munched on warm tortilla chips with a trio of salsas; pico de gallo, a medium chipotle salsa and a hot green salsa, and we each got a GRANDE Cadillac margarita ($18) that was oh-so-good and oh-so-needed, made with El Jimador Reposado Tequila, Grand Marnier and fresh-squeezed lemon and lime juice. Both were on the rocks, mine with salt and Stan’s without, and they were very, very refreshing, even though it was pretty chilly outside with a Christmas tree and man-made snow in the plaza near the lobby to accent the holidays. Adobe Grill
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| Three kinds of salsas, warm chips and Cadillac margaritas - muy bueno. |
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| Add some guacamole . . . |
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| And a Casesar salad and quesadilla and you have a perfect dinner. |
We ordered a table-side made order of guacamole with onions, tomatoes, Serrano chiles and cilantro ($11). Stan likes it mild and I like it medium, so we compromised. Stan thought it was a bit spicy and I thought it needed salt which I added. Stan said he wasn’t very hungry, and I hadn’t eaten lunch, so I ordered a Caesar salad with pumpkin seeds, hearts of romaine and Southwestern Caesar dressing ($9) served in a tortilla-like container made from what seemed like fried cheese. The “cheese” didn’t taste very good, though, so I was content to leave it alone. The Caesar, however, tasted great. Stan said it could have been one of the best ones he’d ever had. The pumpkin seeds and small croutons added just the right crunch and texture to the romaine hearts with a perfect amount of dressing. I also ordered a chicken machaca quesadilla which was served with guacamole and sour cream ($12). The quesadilla was pretty good, but I have to say I was stuffed by the end of the meal. Before tax and tip, we spent $68 on dinner, mostly, it seemed, on margaritas. We waddled back to our room, where Stan promptly fell asleep. I plan on doing the same.
Tomorrow it’s the Nicklaus course. Rumor has it that it has a lot of undulating fairways and greens. It punishes you for a missed shot. That sounds like fun.
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