Long Day of Golf

My foursome played at Shadow Lakes golf course in Brentwood, CA today. We left San Ramon at 10am. It was a long drive but we wanted to try a course 2 of us haven't played yet. We got to Brentwood at 11am, on time to catch the breakfast menu at Diggers, a local restaurant in the neighborhood. After brunch, we checked in and bought two large buckets of range balls to practice and thank god we did. Shadow Lakes is a tough course and my Driver not cooperating with me makes it tougher. The weather did not cooperate too, it was so windy that my ball fell off the tee a couple of times on separate occasions during address. I can't even count the times my hat flew off my head.

The most memorable and intimidating hole was the Par 4 16th named "Matthew's Dare". The teeing grounds are situated on top of a hill giving a full view of the green and all the water surrounding it. Thank God one of us has a range finder with slope in hand (Bushnell 1500 Slope Edition) to minimize the risk of the ball rolling all the way to the water. But even with the range finder, the wind took command and intimidation took the best of my foursome. None of us got a par, not even the two single-digit-handicappers. Today was probably one of the longest rounds I ever played. The course was packed and we had to wait our turn on every single hole. There was a foursome ahead of us that were clearly not seasoned golfers who insisted on playing the back tees. It was a drag but I had fun anyways! The round lasted almost 6 hours. We finished at almost 7pm. We drove back to the East Bay after and made our 8pm dinner reservation. We all hung out at home after dinner. I played terribly today that we started to brainstorm to find out what I can do to improve my game. From my grip, to my posture, my putting, my plane, and chipping techniques, the boys didn't leave anything unanalyzed. Somehow, from all this golf talk, we ended up doing chipping drills for 2 and a hlaf hours in the living room. The four of us took turns chipping with a 52*, 56* and 60* wedges. It was fun, lots of laughter, but most important of all, I think I learned quite a bit. I am actually looking forward to hitting the range tomorrow to practice chipping. But for now, as it is already 1am, I should go to bed. I am golfed out... I lived and breathed golf today! I wonder what tomorrow will bring...