I totally forgot

No, I'm not talking about totally forgetting about Dr. Pauly's AWESOME 5th blog anniversary poker tournament on PokerStars on Tuesday night. I remembered it and almost registered. I would have won it too, cause I'm a winner, you know.

No, I forgot to tell you, kind and gentle readers, about my awesome golf day last weekend. Buddy from the neighborhood had a couple of open spots in a foursome at Woodmont and after several times of saying no, I finally said yes. So we headed out mid-day on Saturday to a course I have never played before, with people I have never played with before. Whatever could go wrong?

I used to play a lot up until a few years ago when KajaKid took over my weekend schedule. I used to be a complete golf addict, including 3-4 magazine subscriptions, all kinds of gadgets, a golf blog, local amateur tours and watching PGA tournaments on TV almost every weekend. By the way - boooooooorrrrrrriiiiiinnnnggggg. I say that now with some perspective.

Anyway, I still love to play, except I am not as good as I used to be and I don't really care as much as I used to. I have come to terms with the fact that I won't hit the ball or putt as well as I used to. I am actually going to come out and say that 18 holes might be too long for me and the current state of my game right now.

But I was going to have a blast. I started out with two pars (whaaaaa????) and I would have parred the next couple of holes if it wasn't for my poor putting ability (3-putts suck). But then the real roller-coaster started. I kind of stunk up the next couple of holes, even picking up my ball on the 7 hole. Then we get to a tough par-4, 450 yards and what do I do? I par it. In style, too. 320 yard drive, followed by a soft pitching wedge, a 50-foot double-break putt and the eventual tap-in for par. There's nothing to this game. Golf claps.

These are the kinds of holes that when you play, you just know you can beat this game. I once heard a quote describing golf as an obsession with frustration. So, so true.

Cobra Golf Ad - "Frustration""

The back-9 was a completely different story. The holes were a lot harder, with forced carries over brush and water, island greens and general confidence devastation. I see-sawed the entire time, going from 3 over, to par, to 3 over and so on. I hit some amazing shots and I duffed it up as well. By the time we reached the home hole I was pretty much kaput.

But I got to go out and play golf on a sunny day, on a beautiful course, with some nice people. What more could I ask for? My dad to be there beside me.

I can't wait till my dad comes for a visit in a few months. We will be making the drive up to Woodmont to play a round, for sure. He's the real golf nut in the family. He plays 3-5 times a week with his regular group. They take golf trips a few times a year to places like South Africa and Turkey. And their home course is currently the only active golf course in Israel - a tiny, 9-hole crappy layout that has double tee boxes and several double greens. They used to play on a decent 18-hole dunes-style course in Caesaria that has been shut down for renovation and to make room for course-side real estate development. It will be closed for about 2 years, but they will eventually get a great Pete Dye designed course. But for now they're playing what in the USA would be considered a cheap muni.

Talk about dedication. Come on dad, I'm waiting!