Sunny, 80 degrees, a breeze of about 10 mph or a bit less. Very nice.
We played a blended tee of 6,036 yards. The course was a little soft. The rough was long and dense so hitting out of it could be a problem. Greens rolled nicely and held a good shot.
I played with a golf buddy who formerly was close in ability to me. We both have had some health issues but I clearly have held it together better. I think he remembers our past close matches and thinks (hopes?) to recapture that. Unfortunately for him, while I had issues on the first nine, my game came together on the second while his just got worse.
I was hoping to shake the memory of my epic collapse during the last round (and first round) of the State Open. When I bogeyed #14, #15 and #16 I began to have deja vu. A marginal drive on #17 left me far from the green but in the fairway. A perfect time for my added recently 4-iron. But could I make a good shot under "pressure" with this fairly long iron? Thin or fat it half way there?
I made sure I set up properly and let it fly. What a feeling, a perfect strike. I ended up pin high about 20 feet left as the green slopes radically to the left. A tricky lag to a few inches and I was ecstatic. All I needed on the 18th hole was a bogey for my "79". Except I made a 15 footer for par and changed the script's ending to "78". Woo hoo.
