"Maybe I don't even like golf, maybe I just like being outside"

...is what Rada said walking up the 13th fairway of the East course. He had just put up a strong front 9 and had his sights set on this year's best round. He started the back nine 4-over through the first 3 holes though, and his dreams were starting to fade. That, my friends, would soon change...

Back to Thursday: Rada and I played the East course on a beautiful May afternoon. Apparently Runkel, Marty, and Keith were playing the West at around the same time. Major highlights from the round include the discovery that driver on #9 is the right play. Its approximately 225 to clear the water at the shortest point and a 260 yard driver leaves you 30 yards past the water and 60 yards from an unguarded green. Another highlight, which leads me to my next segment, has to do with bunker play (and yes, even in Tamarack bunkers).

1. Take an open stance and open your club face wide. Dig in with your feet to maintain balance. Take a shorter swing, accelerating down through the sand and under the ball. Trust that a hard swing will not crush the ball over the green. Your divot in the bunker should look like the image below.

2. Make sure you take into account the speed and slope of the green, how much space you have to land the ball, and any other factors. In this case, a shot to this pin from the front bunker of the 4th hole should be aimed right to play the slope.

3. Watch the ball gently roll into the hole for birdie, bitches.

So yeah, I holed out for birdie on the 4th hole of the East on thursday using fundamental bunker techniques. Get at me Runkel.

Moving on to Friday's 6am round:

We teed off at around 615, both hitting the fairway and making par on the first hole which is a nice feeling after not ever having the proper amount of pre-round warm up. I put it in the water on 4 and on 8, but got up and down each time for bogie, coupled those with a birdie on 3 after a missed up and down on 5 and salvaged a 38 on the front. Rada played well, chipping in on 6 for birdie and ending his front with a 4 over 40. Then the back nine came. Rada was like, alright, I'm feeling good, I'm gonna go out and shoot my low round for the summer (81 or better)... and promptly went bogie, double bogie, bogie, and that's why you got the quote above. However, on that 13th tee he figured something out. The driver is back for Rada, and he's prepared to go low. He made par on 13 and 14, bogied 15, chipped in AGAIN for birdie on 16, and made a ridiculous up and down over the bunker on 17 to sit 5 over on the back needing only a birdie on the Par 5 18th to break 80. Drive right, punch out to 125. He just needed a wedge to the green and a putt to get into the 70s club. BUNKER. Not a big deal, he can hit out and make par to shoot 80. BUNKER. His first attempt failed and he stayed in. Not a big deal, he can hit out and make a putt to shoot 81, his best of the season. BUNKER. His second attempt failed. Then he got up and down to tie his year low 82. Oh well, it was a strong effort. I expect good things from him soon though. I ended up shooting even on the back, making birdies on 13 and 15 after bogies on 11 and 14. Left my shot on 15 less than a foot from the hole and thought I was about to have the elusive hole-in-one. Hit 8 iron into a strong wind that landed 6 feet past the hole and spun back almost landing in. Oh well, maybe next time.

My last contribution to this post is informational and rules based. I'd like to make it a part of my future posts if possible and it is a segment on the rules and how they can actually improve your scores when followed correctly.

I had just pulled my 5 iron into the left trees on 17. I for sure thought I was dead, and hit a provisional to the green leaving me 12 feet for bogie. I decided to search for my ball left of the moat/water and to my surprise, the ball had landed on the left side of the water but with more than enough room for a full swing and pitch shot for an improbable par. However, my ball was sitting on the lip of a fox hole. There were actually 2 or 3 fox holes in this area and I really did not feel comfortable setting my stance near them. I was able to reference decision 1-4/10: "dangerous situations". The ball was lying outside of the hazard and was therefore "Through the Green". Assuming the ball could have been played if the "Danger" were not there, ie:, there was no fox hole, etc. I would be inclined to give an "In Equity" ruling that would permit the player relief without a penalty. I promptly dropped my ball no closer to the hole, took out my 52 degree and pitched it 5 feet from the hole, made par and moved on to shoot 73. That was how I used the rules to my advantage. You should all invest the 2-3 dollars it costs to buy a rules book and become familiar because when we do have an event you'll want to know what you can and can't do.

Holler,

Richter