I'm baaaaack....

Reports of my Blog's death have been greatly exaggerated. Unfortunately, I have let myself get behind on my blogging to the point where it looks as if has gone as dormant as Bermuda grass in the winter. I am now back, and I feel, re-focused on bringing The Muni Golfer back to where it was from its beginning in 2007 through 2009. Over the next week, watch for new posts and updates as I begin to kick off The Muni Golfer's 2011 season.

2010: The Year in Review

This past golf year can best be summed up as the year that almost wasn't. Because Mrs. Muni Golfer and I moved to a new clubhouse in June, my time of the course was severely limited during the season. I didn't play my first round of the year until May 2 and didn't play my third round until July 18. In all, I managed to play my lowest number of rounds since I began playing 18 years ago. I didn't play any practice rounds in the early part of the season, which hurt when I actually was able to play on a more steady basis later in the summer.

 The Fourth Hole/John F. Byrne

Overall, I played 13 rounds on 8 different courses. One round was canceled after four holes because of severe weather. For the first time in a long time, I didn't play any new courses this past season. I played at Juniata, Bethlehem Executive Course, The Fairways, Old Landing, Horsham Valley, John F. Byrne, Walnut Lane and Cobbs Creek.

 The Second Hole/Horsham Valley

Overall, I played 238 holes this past season, took 1,215 strokes and averaged 93.4 for the 13 rounds I played. I made par of better on nearly one-quarter of the holes I played; 57 out of 238. I also recorded 4 birdies this year: the 8th and 16th at Juniata, the 11th at Old Landing and the 13th at John Byrne.

 Eighteenth Hole/Old Landing

My lowest round of the year was an 85 at Horsham Valley on Aug. 29, while my highest round was a 110 shot in the rain at Cobbs Creek on Oct. 5. I only failed to break 100 twice this past year: 104 on Aug. 14 at Old Landing and the 110 at Cobbs Creek.

 Driving Range/Bensalem Country Club

I did manage to get to the driving range 7 times this season, although it didn't seem to help much since I played so infrequently. I hope I can combine more trips to the range with more rounds of golf in the 2011 season.

Happy Holidays

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe New Year! May 2011 be the year in which we find nothing but fairways and greens, lower our handicaps and find even more enjoyment in the game of golf!

Not a Fall Classic at Juniata

Juniata Golf Club
Philadelphia, Pa
Yards: 2805/2185 - 4990
Par: 34/31 - 65
Rating: 63.2, Slope: 106
Score: 49/44 = 93
Date: October 24, 2010

My computer has been acting up recently, so I'm a bit late in this post. I teed it up for the second week in row at Juniata Golf Club, and like the previous week, shot an almost identical score.   Because of two outings at Juniata on this particular Sunday, my round started on the Eleventh Hole; not exactly the ideal hole for starting a round of golf. While I didn't drive the ball that badly, my ball striking left a good bit to be desired and my putting wasn't as consistent as it has been recently.

The Seventh Hole

I was really done it by two holes in particular: the 280-yard Par 4 Seventh Hole and the 185-yard Par 3 Twelfth Hole. I made a 9 at the Seventh after driving my tee shot down the right side, leaving me a perfect shot into the green. However, I chunked two shots into the waste area, duffed a pitch and two-putted.  At the Twelfth, I shanked my tee shot well right, missed another tee shot left, made it on the green in five and three-putted for an 8.

The Twelfth Hole

I continued to drive the ball well with the Wilson Staff Smooth Driver I put in the bags a few weeks ago. I also added a Momentus Power Hitter Lob Wedge into my bag this week and hit it a few more times on chips and pitches than I should have. The second new addition to my bag this week was a Tour version of the Odyssey White Hot #9 putter that I had been using. This model has a weight in the heel and toe of the putter and a slightly harder inset. Getting the right speed was a bit most difficult than I thought it would be, but I was getting better later in the round.

Odyssey White Hot Tour Putter

I took this weekend off, but look to return to the links next week to continue with the fall swing of my season. With any luck, the weather will continue to hold and provide with the gorgeous weather with been enjoying so we can extend the golf season a little later than we were able to do last year.

Photos by The Muni Golfer