A Nearly Washed Out Weekend

Practice Range
Mad Golfer Golf Club
114 E. Street Road
Southampton, Pa.
215/357-1622

This past Friday was set for the first individual round of the year. A 10:30 tee time awaited my cousin and I at The Fairways Golf Club. But the meteorologists were all calling for heavy downpours throughout that day. Even the course called Thursday with a warning to call and make sure they would be open before traveling there. So I did the natural thing and canceled Thursday while we spoke on the phone. My instincts were confirmed Thursday night when my cousin called to say he didn't want to play Friday due to the predicted weather. So what happened Friday? Nothing! Some light sprinkles in the morning, but the main showers stayed to our south. The day was mostly overcast but dry.

Frustrated that an opportunity to play golf had slipped away, I decided I would attempt to play at least nine holes at The Fairways on Sunday afternoon. The skies appeared clear enough, so I readied my carry bag and headed off to the course. And naturally, I drove about a quarter-mile when the heavens opened up! I had to pull off the road for about 10 minutes waiting for the rain to ease up. As I again began driving to the course, the gray skies gave intermittent showers, so I decided to head for the Mad Golfer for some practice. At least there I would be undercover and able to hit some golf balls.

The rain disappeared as practice began

I purchased a jumbo bucket and took up a spot on the range, laying out my alignment stick and warming up by stretching and hitting 12 balls with my lob wedge. And what happened? That's right; the clouds disappeared, sun came out, and it was a beautiful afternoon. Oh well. At least I was hitting golf balls.

The practice gave me the opportunity to test out the Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 Driver I had put back in my bag. I had adjusted the loft to 11.5-degrees and wanted to see how it played. After hitting 24 balls, I adjusted the loft back to its original 10.5-degrees and hit 24 more shots. I hit some good shots straight down the range, but I also hit an alarming number with a giant fade to the right. The session convinced me to put my Wilson Staff Smooth Driver back in the bag.

The 1st blister of the season

Next, I hit my FG Tour F5 4-wood, both off the tee and off the turf. I picked up this club last season, but was unable to really use it due to the heart surgery. Today demonstrated to me that I need some more practice with the club, but I think it will be a good addition to the bag.

I followed the 4-wood with my FG Tour F5 3-hybrid, another club I have not had much of a chance to work with yet. I picked up this club to replace my 7-wood on shorted courses, giving me some flexibility in my arsenal. Again, I need to work with more, more I again, think this will be a good addition. I finished my practice with my V4 Utility 4 iron, hitting six shots off the tee and six off the mat.

While the weather didn't entirely keep me from hitting golf balls this weekend, it did cause me alter plans, and in both cases, unnecessarily. My practice with my long game was beneficial and hopefully, the weather will allow for more play and less practice in the coming weeks.