I can't...

As I drove in with Wade, he was already in full complaint about his hands. (We all know the items that plague him and their discouraging effects.)


I suggested that he was going to have a really good game today, after his last duel with Eagle and his 91.

"Oh no, I don't have back-to-back good games."

"You were on that last game, Fireman!"

"I know!"


Mr. "I can't chip, putt, get the ball in the air, drive, make bacon the way I want, leap buildings in a single bound, climb Everest, hit a baseball 500 feet …" and the list goes on, is a man who takes full advantage of opportunity when it's offered. Many of his reactive reactions to failure that saw angry responses have ebbed and turned more philosophical, and there is even some understandable resignation. He battles with more maladies than most, so when he is on and all the parts are agreeing, it is nothing less than a pleasure to witness. He gets anxious and excited, forgets to take that practice swing because he feels he is righting a ship that doesn't often sail in his direction; he needs that pre-swing to rein in the enthusiasm and encourage what isn't always rote. He's a mathematician about his handicap and his score. He senses when potential is upon him, and frankly, when he's on offense, as he was the other day, he's Zorro, only taller.



I love watching this self-proclaimed underdog achieve and surpass—win, lose, or draw as a team—and when one of us is "killin’ it" it's better than anything on TV. It's live, it's real and it's one of ours. We all have our "Fairway Demons"—it’s the nature of the game—but every now and again when the golf gods are at intermission, we sneak in a good round. And we live for that day, that experience. The "music" follows us around until we're on the tee again, praying, hoping, and ready to swear.




Mr. 91 strikes again! You can!

Swings- Coach, Sam, Raggio and Wade!

Lyle eagles Eagle! and the "Thursday" boys

Lyle's drive, as usual, found the fairway. He wasn’t happy with the angle, however, and the distance was at his max with the club in his hand. I was on the left side of the fairway, cursing the tree to the left of the green. I noticed Lyle was going to have to negotiate part of a different tree if he was going to have a chance to make the green.

From 101 yards out, he struck the ball that appeared to come perilously close to the tips of the oak in front of him. I watched the ball clear the tree and followed its path down towards the green and the pin. There was a loud clank (we’re all familiar with that sound) as the ball struck the pin. It appeared to me to disappear.

Then I realized it had gone in the cup, on a fly! Lyle and Alan weren’t in a position to see it. And Lyle’s first instinct was anger—the ball hitting the pin was obviously not good news. Ordinarily, striking the pin can mean an ugly ricochet. Not this time. I was yelling, “It’s in the cup, it’s in the cup!” Both men stared at me blankly, clearly refusing to believe me (it’s Raggio, and everyone knows he’s mad as a hatter).

It was Alan who first strode over and casually looked in the hole.  “Yep, it’s in there.”

Nothing short of remarkable!  A deuce on 10!

This is the third this year—Lyle’s from 101, Coach’s from 70, and Phelps’ from 85, I believe!

Yay, you guys!!

P.S. Wade shot 91, 58 net!

                      Lyle holding up two fingers for his deuce on #10!

                                                  THURSDAY BOYS

Eagle Swimming- photos thanks to Cathy Dahed!

#1

                                                                                           #5

Record score for 4-man Scramble!

Dick, Allan, Raggio and Riva go 10 under to win the day and set a fresh new 4-man scramble record.
"It wasn't Allan's distance like you'd expect. We all ham and egged it equally" said Dick.

* The gal showed up in her winter fur. I spotted her,  whistled, and she came running! Too cool! She devoured half my salami sandwich and 2 packs of fig newtons.

Eagle Men's Club Tournament Pics- Pasadera/Bayonet

                                Pasadera Country Club

                                             Bayonet

To say that these two courses slayed Raggio, Coach and Phelps would be an understatement! 

Scramble format: -7 ties the record: Sam, Lyle and Dick!

Ed's Eagle!

Moments before Coach took the 55-yard wedge shot, Wade called for a birdie on the hole. I insisted it should be an eagle. Coach made it nonfiction: two small bounces and right in the cup!

                                                          Winter showing, finally!