Oldham County C.C. - 2/18/02 Weather - 56 degrees with light winds (for a change)
I believe the warmer temperature and the calmer winds brought out the best in the MOERON's. Or could it have been that we played the course several hundred yards short because they wouldn't let us on any tee boxes. Anyway, I had 3 birdies and Ron had an EAGLE and 2 birdies. We both shot 75! Of course that's better for me than Ron, but not too shabby for anybody. I was 2 over on the front and had him 2 down. That's when he did that EAGLE thing on old #1, which is now #10. Ron played the backside 1 under par, but still lost the match 3 and 2. He claims it was the 4 strokes I got, but I claim, if I ever shot 75 and don't win money somebody may get cut.
Oldham County may be in the worst shape that I've ever seen. They planted zoysia grass in the fairways last year and it has not established itself yet. The greens were fast but bumpy, due in part to too much winter play. We paid $15 to walk. Since the week turned into wind, rain, and falling temperatures we were unable to get back out. That would have to make Oldham County the MOERON pick of the week.
Tanglewood - 2/12/02 Weather: 50 degrees and windy
Ron finally took a break from working on the website and we went over and walked our home course. Tanglewood is always a good place to go early in the year when you're trying to work off some winter fat. When you walk Tanglewood, you've gotten some exercise. You've also practiced side hill lies and putted on some of the slowest greens you'll find anywhere. The slow greens frustrate Ron so I was able to use my strokes and win a couple bucks. We paid $10 to walk on a winter special.
Maywood - 2/15/02 Weather: 50 degrees and windy
It was really windy...like, a 20-knot wind with gusts to 25. Maywood doesn't have much to break the wind, so I believe we played in what resembled British Open weather conditions. The greens were not fast but they were smooth and we both rolled a few in. The match was nip-and-tuck on the front side and we made the turn all square. Number 10 was my triple bogey downfall. 10 is a 440 yard, dogleg right par four. A difficult mid iron shot to a green well protected by two large sand traps make this the most challenging hole at Maywood. Make par here and scamper to 11 with a smile on your face. Ron started the backside with a par and was still even 5 holes later. He had me dormy at 4 down with 4 holes to play. I lost but I wasn't ashamed of the 85 I shot under those conditions. Ron's 79 was outstanding. We paid $16 to walk.
Midland Trail - 2/16/02 Weather - 56 degrees sunny and mild
I don't believe that retirees should clutter up the golf course on the weekend but for the second time this year I did. The working guys needed a 4th and I responded, albeit a tad tardy. However, I wasn't the only last minute entry, so we ended up with a fivesome. So now I'm a retiree playing on the weekend in a fivesome...UGH! The Midland members assured me it was OK in the winter, so off we went. We played the blue tees. With the wind I could carry the fairway traps and against the wind I was usually short of them. Staying out of the fairway traps is the secret to scoring well at Midland Trail.
Our bloated group had handicaps ranging from 2 to 32. We decided to play Bingo Bango Bongo which seemed to work well with 5 players of drastically varying handicaps. The rules can vary in this game. We played 1st on, 1st in and closest to the pin each worth a point. Making each hole worth 3 points. It was fun for a change of pace. On nine, I got a point for being closest to the hole on my 5th shot, on the way to a triple bogey 7. But my real claim to fame was being 1st on the green the last 4 holes, all in regulation. I used (in this order), fairway driver, a 4 iron (on the par 3 16th), 5 wood, and 7 wood. Those shots made me the day's big winner. The working stiffs didn't care about the money. Some of them were rusty, but it was a great day to be out with the guys. The greens at Midland Trail were the fastest I've seen this winter. The traps were also in the best shape I've seen. It was $25 to walk and it was the MOE pick of the week.