Home, Not So Sweet, Home

Juniata Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa.
Yards: 2805/2185 - 4990
Par: 34/31 - 65
Rating: 64.2, Slope: 106
Score: 50/44 = 94
Date: May 30, 2018

On Wednesday, the Muni Golfer returned to his roots for a round at Juniata Golf Club, the Philadelphia-owned course along the banks of the Tacony Creek, where I learned to play golf. Although the course is officially owned by the city, it is successfully operated by the non-profit Juniata Golf Foundation.

Juniata Scorecard

Under gray skies, humid temperatures and the threat of showers, I teed it up at Juniata for the first time in nearly two years, and only the second time since 2012. The foundation has done a lot of landscaping and other improvements over the last decade or so, and they are noticeable as you play the course. However, and I will attribute some of the this to the very wet spring we have experienced, the grass was thick from the tee boxes to the greens. In fact, Juniata's greens were some of the slowest I have ever played on. On one green, I hit my putt so hard that on any other course it would have rolled past the hole and six feet off the green, but in this case, I cam up six feet short of the hole. When I missed a fairway, which was too frequently, my optic yellow golf ball was often difficult to find.

Conditions aside, I did not play very well. I was using this round as an opportunity to try a new Wilson Staff F5 Driver and Ping G20 4-Wood. Although the Driver has a regular flex shaft, it felt a bit stiff and I left numerous tee shots out to the right and short. This left me with long second shots from the gnarly rough, which meant long pitch shots to the green for my third shot. Coupled with the very slow greens and it added up to multiple double- and triple-bogeys.

After the Sixth Hole, where I pulled my tee shot just into the left rough and couldn't find the ball, I was very frustrated. But I gave my self a lecture about grinding out the round. I recovered a bit and made my first birdie of the season at the short, but challenging Seventh Hole. I shot a very uncharacteristic 50 on the front nine. I played slightly better on the back nine, making pars at the Thirteenth and Fourteenth holes, but still shot 44 on the easier of the Juniata's two nines. This gave me a disappointing score of 94 for the round.

For now, I will go back to my Wilson Staff Smooth Driver while I work with the F5 at the practice range to see if it has a place in my bag. My search for a reliable fairway wood that I get hit consistently off the tee also continues. Up next is an old Golfsmith XPC Plus 3-wood, which has 16 degrees of loft. I am hoping that it pairs well with my WS D200 7-Wood.

Because of the threat of afternoon thunderstorms, Friday is going to be a practice day at the range as opposed to a playing day on the course.

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.

Beating the Weather

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

Yesterday's forecast called for severe weather to begin rolling through the region in the late afternoon. Because of commitments, Mrs. Muni Golfer had the car until the late afternoon. As the clouds were turning the skies gray and the temperature was beginning to drop, I knew I would not have enough time to get in even nine holes. But I did feel optimistic that I could at least get in a bit of practice, so I headed out to the Mad Golfer to use the practice range.

The skies were gray

Based on my play in last week's golf outing, I felt I needed some work on my fairway woods and long irons/hybrids, so I made that area the focus of my practice. I purchased a large bucket of range balls and found an empty stall at what was a surprisingly crowded range.

Swing Sock

After putting down my alignment stick, I used my weighted Swing Sock on my 7 iron to loosen up, then hit 10 lob wedges, followed by 10 8 irons to warm up. I am still trying to decide between carrying a 4 hybrid and a 4 utility iron. So I hit 10 balls with my Wilson Staff V4 Utility 4 iron and my Callaway Heavenwood 4 hybrid. I hit balls much better with the 4 utility than I did the hybrid. The result is the V4 will be going in my bag for the next round.

Wilson Staff V4 Utility Iron

Next up, I hit 10 balls with my Callaway X Hot 7 wood, then 5 balls with my Wilson Staff FG Tour F5 4 wood. I made solid contact with the 4 wood, and okay contact with the 7 wood. I still need to practice with both, but they will remain in my bag for now.

Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815

I finished off my practice by hitting 15 balls with my Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 Driver. I purchased this driver nearly two years ago when Sports Authority was going out of business and played about seven rounds with it during the 2016 season. For some reason, I went back to my Wilson Staff Smooth Driver, but I am putting the Callaway back in the bag. At the range yesterday, I hit the ball solidly and with a good trajectory. An adjustable driver, I had it set at 10.5-degrees loft and a neutral setting. Last night I increased the loft to 11.5 degrees, still in the neutral setting, so I will need another session at the range this week to see how that works, but I expect to play my next round with this driver in the bag.

The rain came, but practice was not a washout

As the skies continued to darken during my practice, I knew I was in a bit of a race against the weather. As I was hitting my last three balls with the driver, the rain began. Fortunately, I was undercover and during a brief letup, I was able to get myself and my clubs in the car. Practice was complete and the weather was beaten.

AMPing Up My Game

This golf season has been a struggle, especially with the driver off the tee. I have put myself in more bad positions off the tee this year that in recent memory. It has led to many frustrating rounds. Earlier this summer, I switched from my Wilson Staff Smooth Driver to a TaylorMade Aeroburner, but I had trouble finding the fairways with both.

Hoping to change my fortunes, I recently purchased a Cobra Golf AMP AMP Cell-S Driver from RockBottomGolf. I got it at a great price since RBG was having a sale in conjunction with the PGA Tour Championship. The driver is 46-in in length and has a loft of 10.5-degrees. Unlike other versions of Cobra's AMP drivers, this one has a fixed hosel, while the others had an adjustable hosel that allowed you to change the ball flight.

The reviews I read before making my purchase were very positive from most of the players who used this driver. Most were very pleased with the distance and accuracy it delivered. I am hoping this driver will help as much in the accuracy department for me as it does in distance. Unfortunately, due to last weekend's rainy weather, I was not able to take my new driver to either the range or the course, but I'm hoping to give it a workout tomorrow night at the practice range.

Roughed Up at The Rookery

The Rookery South
Milton, Del
Yards: 2886/3253 – 6139
Par: 35/36 = 71
Rating: 68.6, Slope: 123
Score: 53/54 = 107
Date: September 11, 2015

It has been a few years since Mrs. Muni Golfer and I have taken a Labor Day week vacation at the Delaware shore, but we got away for five days. I was hoping for two rounds, but unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. I did manage to tee it up at The Rookery South last Friday, but the course was soggy and didn't help my rusty game.

The Rookery South Scorecard

I knew it was going to be a long afternoon when my opening tee shot went way right into the Eighth fairway. For there I hacked it up towards the green and when my second putt finally found the bottom of the cup, I had an opening 10. I had trouble off the tee most of the day--I hit four balls in the water--and consistently put myself into difficulty with the thick, wet rough. My iron game was a struggle and I was tentative with my chipping and pitching all day. The fact that there was little roll didn't help either.

The Eighth Green where I made birdie

I had three highlights for my round:

   * At the 362-par, par 4 Eighth Hole I hit it into the right rough and from a side-hill lie, gouged a 6-iron onto the green about 10 feet from the hole. I made the putt for a birdie.

   * At the 155-yard par 3 Ninth Hole, I hit my tee shot to the front of the green, chipped to two feet and made par.

  * At the monster, 566-yard par 5 Eighteenth Hole, I found the fairway with my driver, laid up with my 4-wood, then hit a 7-iron to about 15 feet. My birdie putt was just wide of the hole and I tapped in for a par.

The Ninth Hole where I made par

Overall, I shot a 107; a disappointing score considering I shot an 87 at The Rookery in July 2014 and a 92 with borrowed clubs in September 2013. As we now enter the fall season, the rounds are coming further apart, so it may be difficult to regroup.

Photos by The Muni Golfer

Rain on My Redemption

The Fairways Golf & Country Club
Warrington, Pa
Yards: 2255/2248 - 4503
Par: 32/33 - 65
Rating: 62.1, Slope: 104
Score: 46/44 = 90
Date: September 30, 2012

After shooting a back nine 55 the previous Sunday at The Fairway Golf and Country Club, I was last Sunday looking for a little redemption. I had opened with a front nine 38, but watched as my game abandoned me completely over the second nine. It was a meltdown of epic proportions and I was determined to redeem myself.

 Front Nine Scorecard at The Fairways

I was a bit surprised that the started allowed me to go off as a single with two people waiting on the first tee. Rounds can sometimes be slow on weekend afternoons at The Fairways and this round was no exception. Even through the threesome in front of me was on the first green when I teed off, I had to wait on the green and in the fairway through the first eleven holes. That made it hard to get into any kind of rhythm with my game. I wasn't hitting the ball badly, I was just having a hard time establishing a good pace of play, which it difficult to focus, which made it difficult to score. Still, after an opening double bogey when I hit my approach into the bunker to the right of the green, I was happy with the way I was hitting the ball. But then, while walking off the fourth green, it began to rain. Since the sun had been shining when I teed off, I didn't have an umbrella or a pullover with me. The rain intensified as I waited under a small tree to tee off at the Fifth Hole and remained steady through the next three holes, which took about 45 minutes to play between the weather and the already slow pace of play. Amazingly, I made my only par during the stretch at the 284-yard Par 4 Sixth Hole. I finished the front nine with a 46, but wasn't too unhappy considering the conditions.

 Back Nine Scorecard at The Fairways

The back nine started off with a wild hook and a triple bogey 7, followed by a double bogey at the Eleventh. For some reason, it seemed like the greens got faster from the rain instead slower as one would expect. I was running putts 7-8 feet past the hole, then missing the comeback. But I managed to play bogey golf through the last six holes and shot a back nine 44. Finally, a back nine lower than the front. It left me with a 90 for the round. Not much redemption over my previous 93, but considering the elements and how unprepared I was for them, I was not too disappointed.

 Despite the rain, I parred the Sixth Hole

Having played the past three weeks, I will probably take this weekend off to give my body, and my elbow specifically, a chance to rest and recooperate. The 18 rounds I've played so far this season is the most I've played in a year since 2009. There is still about a month-and-a-half of good golfing weather left minimum, so I should be able to reach my goal of 20 rounds for the year.

It's Better at Bensalem

Bensalem Township Country Club
Bensalem, Pa
Yards: 2759/3049 - 5808
Par: 35/35 - 70
Rating: 68.1, Slope: 121
Score: 46/49 = 95
Date: September 2, 2012

On the final "official" weekend of summer, I teed it up with a co-worker at Bensalem Township Country Club, located just across the city line. Labor Day weekend is a time I normally playing a round at the Delaware Shore with my cousins, but that outing came back in July this year. I haven't played Bensalem in three years, and coming off my 82 at The Fairways the previous week, I felt pretty good about my game.

 As we waited on the First tee, the starter, Gene, told me Bensalem was in very good shape and that he would put it up against any course in the area. I usually take the starter's course critique with a grain of salt; what do you expect them to tell you, the course is lousy? But in this instance, Gene was pretty accurate in his assessment. Except for a few bumps were the greens are still recovering from aeration, Bensalem was in as good a condition the best courses I've played this season.

 Front 9 at Bensalem

I played well on the front nine, opening with a bogey on the short Par 4 First Hole when my approach with a gap wedge came up a bit short, but I rebounded to par the Second Hole. I made another bogey at the Par 5 Third Hole when I again came up short with a wedge on my third shot. Another par at the Par 3 Fourth Hole had me feeling good, but I ran into some trouble at the Fifth. I hung my tee shot out to the right and under a tree, but then punched an 8-iron left of the green and pitched over. This led to a triple bogey 7. I hung my tee shot out to the right on the next two holes also and made double bogey at each. I hit 4-wood off the tee at the 316-yard Par 4 Eighth Hole and found the fairway, then hit the green with my approach and two-putted for par. But I tried to baby a driver at Ninth, hitting it off the heel and short left, which led to another double bogey and a 46 on the first nine.

 Back 9 at Bensalem

I believe the reason I am hitting the ball right off the tee is on some swing I am dropping my right shoulder just enough to leave the clubface slightly open through the swing. If I can correct that, I feel I will again be able to square the clubface at impact and start hitting the ball straight or with my customary draw on a more consistent basis.

 Par 3 Fourth Hole

It began to rain as we teed off on the back nine. I made a bogey at the Tenth after finding the right side of the fairway, but again pushed my tee shot well right at the Par 3 Eleventh Hole. Hitting from a grove of trees, I punched it into the bunker, then blasted out and two-putted for a double bogey. I hit my tee shot at the Twelfth in a fairway bunker, but my approach from the bunker with a 7-iron was pulled well left and out-of-bounds. I did make a long putt to only make bogey, but at the Thirteenth, a tee shot pushed right led to an 8 after I took a drop, punched back into the fairway, then slipped as I hit a 4-iron right of the green. The 205-yard Par Fourteenth plays over a ravine and I again hit my tee shot right, which led to a bogey. On the last four holes, I hit perfect tee shots, but couldn't capitalize on any of them, going bogey, bogey, double bogey and bogey to semi-limp home with a 49 and a total of 95 for my round.

 Green at the Eighth Hole

Overall, I was pleased with my round at Bensalem. Even though I did hit some tee shots to the right, I am getting off the tee much better now than earlier in the season. What I really need to work on is my short game: chipping, pitching and putting. My putting is satisfactory, but can always improve. It is an area I plan to concentrate on through the fall and early spring in hopes it will be a strength next season.

 Par 4 Thirteenth Hole

As for my going struggle with tendinitis in my left elbow, the Aleve I take before I play and the brace I wear is helping me get through my round. I am icing my elbow occasionally, but I think I need to do it more between rounds. Also, Mrs. Muni Golfer and I just bought a new treadmill, which I will be using to get myself in better shape, not just for golf, but overall. And being in better shape can only help my golf game as I hopefully will build up better stamina for walking the course.

A Wet Season Opener at Fox Hollow

Fox Hollow Golf Club
Quakertown, Pa
Yards: 3218/2886 - 6104
Par: 36/35 - 71
Rating: 68.5, Slope: 120
Score: 50/48 = 98
Date: May 22, 2011

The first round of the 2011 season was played at Fox Hollow Golf Club, a nice public course in Quakertown, Pa. After a very rainy, wet spring, the course was saturated and swampy in many sections. Because they have been unable to mow, the rough was deep and thick, the fairways very soft and the greens slow. It played much longer than its 6100 yards. So you can imagine my surprise with a score of 98, especially when my practice to date had only been two sessions of hitting balls at the driving range. And the cherry on top: two birdies. I made only four all of last year, so I am half way to that total after my season-opening round!

 Fox Hollow Scorecard

The round started off with a decent tee shot that plugged in the fairway, I hit a worm burner for my second, then splashed my third in the pond fronting the first green. After hitting my fifth shot over the green, I barely chipped on then three-putted for an opening 9. But pars at the Second and Third Holes righted the ship a bit. The Fourth Hole is a long, 552-yard Par 5, which was playing much longer and missing the fairway right made it seem like a mile.  I one-putted for an 8. The Fifth was a beautiful Driver off the tee, then a 6-iron to about 20 feet, which I made for my first birdie of 2011. The Sixth is another 500-yard-plus Par 5 that I two-putted for a 7. A bogey 5 at the Seventh was followed by a double bogey 5 at the Par 3 Eighth Hole. I finished off the front nine with a three-putt double bogey after hitting a beautiful shot to the green from a fairway bunker. That gave me a 50 on the front nine and not much optimism for the back.

The Fifth Hole, a 552-yard Par 5

The back nine begins with a 370-yard Par 4 that doglegs left straight up a hill. After hitting my third shot over the green, I made a double bogey 6. The Eleventh is a downhill Par 3 that plays to a small green protected by two bunkers in front. I tried to baby a 9-iron but came up well short and made a bogey 4. The Twelfth Hole is a 485-yard Par, that I split the fairway with on my tee shot. I laid up and then hit a lob wedge above 20 feet past the hole on a green that slopes from back to front. I lipped out my three-foot par putt for a bogey 6. The Thirteenth is a short Par 4, but the fairway slopes from right to left and my draw of the tee found the left rough, leading to a triple bogey 7. The Fourteenth is a short Par 3, but I made bogey when my tee shot was knocked down short of the green by the wind. The Fifteenth Hole is one of my "Nightmare Nine" holes, a 560-yard Par 5 that plays downhill, then doglegs 90 degrees right to an uphill green.  After chopping the ball down the right rough and three-putting, I had my second 9 of the day on the scorecard. But I came right back at the 128-yard Par 3 Sixteenth Hole, hitting my pitching wedge about 25 feet past the pin and then holing my second birdie of the day! A 5 at the 362-yard Seventeenth Hole brougth us to the Eighteenth, a 397-yard Par 4 that plays slightly downhill. I hit one of my best drives of the day to the 150-yard marker, then a 7-iron to the green, but a three-putt left me with a closing bogey five. A back nine 48 gave me a 98 for the round; not bad when you consider I had two 9s, an 8 and two 7s.

The Par 3 Sixteenth that I birdied

Fox Hollow is a traditional, tree-lined course that I would highly recommend. It will demand accuracy off the tee and challenge all the clubs in your bag. Now that my golf season has begun, I'm looking forward to the next round this coming weekend and I hope to build on some of the success I had at Fox Hollow, especially as the weather dries out the courses and the maintenance people can get them into regular playing shape.

Practice?. We're Talkin' Practice?

I had planned to play a practice round of 9 or 18 holes this past weekend in preparation of my first scheduled round of the 2011 season next weekend, but a personal situation and the weather conspired to nix those plans. My goal is still to get to the practice range at least twice this coming week--once to hit balls and once to putt--weather permitting.

Last week, I began walking for about a half hour during my lunch several days in an effort to build up some leg strength and endurance for the golf course. I hope to continue that through the summer in order to establish and maintain these two critical areas, as well as lose some weigh.

Because of the lack of on-course practice, I am also beginning to develop a conservative game plan for my first round, which will emphasize good course management in order to avoid making big numbers on the holes. I also hope to make good course management one of my goals for the coming season, so no better time to begin than the first round.

Rain Doesn't Dampen This Bad Round

Cobbs Creek Golf Club
Olde Course
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 2498/3258 - 5736
Par: 35/36 - 71
Rating: 67.6, Slope: 116
Score: 53/57 = 110
Date: October 5, 2010

It was rainy, wet and chilly yesterday as I teed off for a rare mid-week round of  golf on the Olde Course at Cobbs Creek, the gem of Philadelphia's public courses. The course was designed by Hugh Wilson, who also designed the famed East Course at Merion. My partners and I were scheduled to play at Paxon Hollow Country Club in Marple Township, but the course was closed due the continuing inclement weather. So we headed over to Cobbs Creek, where we had no difficulty teeing it up.

My Scorecard from Cobbs Creek

Wearing my wet weather gear, including a FootJoy bucket rain hat that I picked up at Dicks Sporting Goods on my way to the course, we set out against the elements and the course. The greens at Cobbs Creek were in excellent condition, but the tee boxes and fairways showed signs of the extreme heat that has plaqued the Delaware Valley this summer. Due to the rain, conditions were sloppy at best and I hit a lot of fat shots. I also played poorly off the tee, often putting myself into punch out or hit it back into the fairway mode. Not the best way to post a good score. The only thing that really saved me on the front nine was that I played the three Par 3s in only two over par.  On the back nine, I parred the short Tenth Hole, but did little from there, including a 9 at the very long 589-yard Par 5 Fourteenth followed by an 8 at the uphill Par 4 Fiftheenth Hole.

On a very wet tee

Bunkers were also water hazards

The rain gear made it difficult to swing comfortably and the bucket hat made me sweat so bad my eyes were stinging several times from the perspiration running down my forehead. But, still, I was playing golf. I laugh when people won't play in a steady drizzle. A lot of golfers spend thousands of dollars for golf trips to Scotland and Ireland. Well, yesterday's conditions would be called a sunny day across the pond. I'll just chalk the score up to the weather and concentrate on getting my next round back to where my game was a few weeks ago.

Rain clouds hung over the wet course

Photos by The Muni Golfer

At Least It Isn't Snow

The past two weeks have seen the Delaware Valley bombarded with rain showers which has made golfing difficult. Last weekend it was a nor'easter that brought rain and very cold temperatures bother Saturday and Sunday. Today, I was scheduled to play a round at Horsham Valley Golf Club in Ambler, Pa. The temperature was more like last summer, reaching a high of 72 degrees, but off-and-on rain since Friday night caused a cancellation of today's round. The weather forecast calls for clear skies tomorrow and I'm hoping to hit the links at either Juniata Golf Club or John F. Byrne Golf Club.

Rain Causes Pain at Juniata

Juniata Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 2805/2185 - 4990
Par: 34/31 - 65
Rating: 63.2, Slope: 106
Score: 52/Front Nine
Date: August 22, 2009

I planned to give Walnut Lane Golf Club a test on Saturday, but overnight and early morning rains had me thinking that the day would be a washout. But the early afternoon, the skies had cleared enough that I convinced myself to go play a quick nine holes at Juniata Golf Club. I should have realized the mistake from the start. When I believe that I won't be able to golf, then try to play, I am unable to get myself back into playing mentally. That was never more evident than the first three holes Saturday. The course was very wet, but I usually play well in wet and rainy conditions. This was not the case at Juniata. Three lost balls and a 6-7-7 start started to a mind-numbing 52. My swing was never in sync and I started out by pulling my first two tee shots left, topping the tee shot at the second, and hitting my tee shot at the third dead right. I started overcompensating and pulling my tee shots hard left. I lost a fourth golf ball at the seventh hole. I never felt mentally in the round., although I somehow managed to make pars at the fifth and ninth holes. I will just chalk it up to one of those days and try to forget about it. I am going to try and play one more nine one evening this week as a final tune-up before packing my clubs for my golf vacation at the Delaware Shore.

The Rain is a Pain for Practice

Fishers Glen Driving Range
4717 Fishers Lane
Philadelphia, Pa
215/533-9466

Despite the cold and drizzle I decided to head to Fishers Glen for some practice on the driving range. I especially wanted to hit my Nickent 3DX DC hybrids to get a better feel for them. Because of the weather--it felt more like early April than the day after Memorial Day--I only got a small bucket of approximately 40 balls. I was really surprised to see another golfer finishing up as I staked out my spot on the lower level of the range. I probably would have done better to stay home and watch The Golf Channel. I didn't hit the ball well and I didn't seem mentally prepared for this practice. I hit a few good shots, but mostly hit shots as bad as the weather. I'm just going to try to forget tonight's practice even happened.

Practice is a Washout

My wife and I went to Easton, Pa. this weekend for a family function. I was hoping to play a practice round today at Bethlehem Golf Club's Executive Course, but Mother Nature didn't cooperate. That means getting to the Driving Range this week will be even more critical as I continue to fine tune my game for this season.

One the Range: A Flash of Inspiration...and Lightning Too

Fishers Glen Driving Range
4717 Fishers Lane
Philadelphia, Pa
215/533-9466

After hitting the ball so poorly on Sunday, I was determined to visit the practice range this week. Although the skies were cloudy and it had rained off-and-on, I believed there would be a brief window this evening that would allow me to hit a small bucket of balls. So I made my way to Fishers Glen for the first time this season.
As I expected, the placed was deserted. Undeterred, I picked my usual spot on the lower level--undercover in case it started to rain again--and began my practice. I took my Momentus Power Hitter with me for the first time this season and used to warm up, then attempted to hit some balls with it. And just like Sunday, I hit balls off the heel, and when I didn't do that, worm burners. After about a dozen balls I pulled out my Wilson Staff Spine Driver and hit it just as poorly. It was raining steady at this point and rumbles could be heard. I picked up my pace, hoping in the words of Carl Spackler, "I don't think the heavy stuff's gonna come down for quite a while."
I switched to my new Wilson Staff Fybrid to get a feel for it when I made a startling discovery. I was swinging around my body. My swing has always been more effective when I swing more straight up-and-down. I started hitting the ball more solidly and straighter. Flashes of lightning were now illuminating the sky, so I quickly switched back to my Driver and hit about 8 balls with a more up-and-down swing. Suddenly, I was hitting it solidly , but with a slight fade. As the thunder boomed overhead and rain pelting down now, I decided discretion was the better part of valor and abandoned my spot on the range, leaving a half bucket of balls. As I quickly ran to my car with my bag slung over my shoulder, hail began to come down as well. Maybe I didn't get in as much practice as I wanted, but hopefully I uncovered a key flaw in my early season swing which I can now go about correcting.

Photos by The Muni Golfer

A Sunday Washout...

Severe thunderstorms throughout the Delaware Valley today washed out any chance for a round of golf for this weekend. Looks like it will be a trip to the Practice Range this coming week.

When It Rains, It Scores: A Round at Juniata

Juniata Golf Course
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 4805, Par: 66
Score: 48/40 = 88
Date: August 19, 2007

I played a round at Juniata Golf Course today in a steady, sometimes driving rain, and posted my best score of the season. It was drizzling when I started on Hole #1, and I was surprised at the number of people who were on the course playing. By the 4th Hole I pulled out a rain shirt I had tucked into my bag before I left home and was putting up my TaylorMade Staff umbrella, which I had fetched out of the trunk of my car in the parking lot.

I played a fair front nine, with pars at Holes #2 and 6. It seemed like the more it rained, the steadier my game became. Of course, when conditions are like this, you can be more aggressive with ships and putts. When I reached the clubhouse at the turn--in 48 strokes, not bad for these conditions--a few people thought I was done for the day. But one fellow who I've golfed with when I belonged to the Juniata Golf Association paid me the ultimate compliment when he told them, "Preston is a mudder, he'll be going back out." And go back out I did.

On the back nine--which I had all to myself--the rain stayed constant and it became harder to keep the grips of my clubs and my golf glove dry. I started to take the back nine as a quest and I found myself really focused and not trying to overhit the ball. I made pars at Holes #13, 17 and 18 to come home in 40, easily my best 9 Holes of the year.

Most golfers don't like playing in the rain, but I kind of like it. If you go to play in Scotland or Ireland, rain is almost assured to be of your round. As long as you have the right gear and right attitude, I find it easy to play in bad weather. Besides, this was my last chance to get in a round before heading off to Delaware in two weeks. I did make one change to my bag today. I replaced the Nickent hybrid with a old Golfsmith XPC3 Rough Rider 5 Wood. I was pleased with the way it performed and it will remain in the bag in Delaware, although I will be taking the Nickent hybrid with me.