Courses Played

In the previous post, I mentioned that I wanted to start a list of the courses we have played, how many rounds, and how many holes. This is only a list of courses CDB has played together, so courses we play alone or with others are not included. I think we have done a good job or trying a lot of different courses, not just different styles of courses but also price and location. To date, our cheapest round for a full 18 is probably Broadmoore at $20, while our most expensive round, although we didn't pay this much, is the Cove at $90.

Not surprisingly, we have played the courses we like the most with The Ridge leading the way with 4.5 rounds. The Ridge is the course we got to play as much as we wanted in Missouri on the Mandate. Of the Oklahoma courses, we've played Broadmoore the most, three times, followed by Olde Page at Page Belcher, the West Course at Lincoln Park, and Woodbine at Mohawk Park each with two. There are quite a few courses we've only played once, but that's not indicative of our disliking those courses. Granted there are courses we've only played once that we will most likely not play again; Winter Creek (worst day in CDB history) and Firelake. There are however, a lot of courses that I'm surprised we haven't played again, like Coffee Creek. I know there are a few that I would love to play again; the Cove, which is the Robert Trent Jones-designed course in MO; Coffee Creek, and even the tough, links-style course Rose Creek in Edmond. Also, I don't think it's any surprise that we've played Broadmoore more than any other course in Oklahoma simply because it's a good course with a great vibe and it's close to Trav and April's house. I also found it curious that we played Olde Page at Page Belcher on 6.6.09 AND 7.7.09. Guess we know what we'll be doing on 8.8.09. In the future, I think we will try to provide a little more depth, description, and insight on our favorite (or least favorite) courses.

Earlywine, Fire(swamp)lake, and the Bird

Because we were a little late in starting the blog, we (you) have missed out on blogging about the last five months or so. I don't think we will write as much about every round as I did in the Coffee Creek post; probably only the really memorable ones. Not to say that something memorable doesn't happen every round, but we've got some catching up to do. Additionally, I would like to make/start a list of each course we've played and how many times, so be sure to watch for that!

After playing Coffee Creek in late January, we played at Earlywine in either late February or early March. For this round, our good friends Matt and Cody joined us. I don't really remember a whole lot from this round, outside of it being really, really, really windy. One of the only things I specifically remember was standing on the tee box of a really long par 3, probably 175 or something, with the wind blowing directly into our faces and our pants flapping in the wind behind us, Matt reaches down, picks up a handful of grass, and throws it into the air to check the wind. I can't remember if anyone else saw this, but it was pretty funny. I don't remember what anyone shot, but we were all probably right around 100. We also had a great time playing washers back at the house after. I think we played at Lakeside the next day too. I remember when we were talking Sunday morning about possibly playing that afternoon thinking that would be a lot of golf. Little did I know that in about two months we would be playing 45 holes in one day only because we wouldn't have enough daylight for 54.

The next round of CDB golf was actually scheduled to be played at Cherokee Hills in Tulsa/Catoosa. But because the east part of the state was engulfed in a freak snow storm. It was late March and we had about four or five inches in Tulsa when I left Saturday, but by the time I got to about Bristow there was hardly any snow. Trav kept telling me that there wasn't any snow in Moore, but I just didn't see how that was possible. I was wrong. Anyway, April was out of town until later that night so we went and ate sushi. On Sunday, for some reason we decided to drive to Firelake in Shawnee. It was the wettest, soupiest, most swamp-like course ever. They had three or four of the greens tarped because it was so wet, and they just cut the hole at the end of the fairway. There was even one hole (if you want to call it that) that had standing water on the "green." Again, I'm not really sure what we shot, but I think it was probably somewhere around 93-95. Because the course was in such bad shape, and probably because he just knew what CDB needed, Travis suggested that we could play the then unnamed, 9-hole, par 3 on our way home. The conversation went something like this: Travis: "Hey D, I don't know what your plan is, but..." D: "Trav, I have no Idea what you're about to say, but the answer is yes." Travis was, of course, going to suggest playing the Furry Bird. Needless to say, we were very impressed with the "Bird," especially after playing in soup at Firelake.

"Get Back In The Race"

This post is going to skip a lot of golf that we have not blogged about yet....but I felt it needed to be displayed now....maybe as a type of therapy, if nothing else. Derek has been experiencing "episodes" lately on the course. These episodes have been a rather new phenomenon, and seem to be affecting his game. There is a definite pattern to them. They always come after a few bad holes in a row that seem to be a result of the same type of mistakes. Whether it be fat approach shots or pulling shots with a cocked club face, if too many of these events happen in a row, then a frustrated Derek tends to breakdown.

The episode usually begins with asking me if I see what is wrong. As a faithful member to CDB I try and give an honest yet critical, informed (sorta) opinion of why this poor shot is happening. The second symptom of this episode is when my answer to his question is followed by a long sigh and somber head shake. This is when I start to get nervous.

The episode continues with D addressing the ball, with a long hesitation. Then, yet another sigh and head shake that turns into a stiff right turn to walk away and re-evaluate. From here it can get hairy.....Sometimes:

There is another question that has a 'can you believe this shit' type tone to it.

There could be up to 4 more failed attempts to address the ball.

There could be the occasional cluster of cuss words that seem to only raise the frustration level.

And, of course, there could be the ever so satisfying cliché, "I fucking hate golf..."

There really is no telling. Sometimes all of the above at the same time. All I know is, this is not conducive to a good round of golf.

The last time this happened was on the front 9 at Page Belcher in Tulsa. After a few discussions and reflections on the game, D was able to regain his composure, and round out with a 90. This tied his best score yet. Which leads me to believe that he is not playing as bad as he thinks he is.

We had a long discussion over our BlackBerry Messenger as I drove back to OKC. And as I was listening to "That's Life" by Mr. Sinatra, I realized the one line that I need to say to D when he is falling apart. Hence, "Get Back In The Race"! Inspiring words from the leader of the Rat Pack. I have yet to be able to use the line.....but I'm sure that time will come soon.