Let's Play 18!

7:21 am - Sunday - July 28th - LPG&RVR - 53° F, humidity 44%, wind 2 mph out of the east......cloudy/smokey skies today with a forecast high of 85° F.  On this date in 2013 TLE and I were hiking 9 miles around 2 Medicine Lake in East Glacier National Park.....we saw two waterfalls....Twin and Aster along the way....

It has been a rough 5 smokey days since the winds blew said smoke from the northwest where there are several large fires being fought.  Some mornings it seems like the smoke is dissipating until the winds shift, and the Pitt River Valley turns into some sort of post apocalyptic nightmare.  I'm not sure the smog of SoCal would be much worse right now.  I'm sure some have cancelled their plans to come to LPG&RVR due to the forest fire smoke, because the park is emptier now than it would normally be.  That being said, with low occupancy right now it means one can play golf on an uncrowded golf course, and that is what we did Saturday.

The temperatures have dropped into the low 80's the past few days, and with the combination of cloudiness and smoke it feels like the May/June gloom caused by a heavy marine layer we used to experience in SoCal when we resided there for decades.

We (TLE, Charles, Phyllis and I) had a tee time set for 11 am.  I hit about 10 balls prior to starting the 18 hole round to avoid the usual issues I have on the first few holes when I haven't played for 2.5 weeks, and it paid off with decent drives on the first two holes.  I managed a double bogey on the first hole, then a bogey on the 2nd, and on the 3rd hole (par 3) I hit the green in regulation with a 6 iron, and just missed my birdie putt, but got par.....

....I managed a bogey on the par 5 fourth hole, a bogey on the par 3 fifth hole, and a triple bogey on the very long par 5 sixth hole, and finished with bogeys on the 7th, 8th, and 9th holes.  The back 9 was a mixed bag, but more good shots than bad, and I managed to par the final two holes....on the par 5 seventeenth hole I was lying 2 just 50 yards from the green.....my best position ever on this 499 yard hole after two strokes.  I hit a great drive on the 18th, and was on in two, just missing my birdie putt.  Overall I was happy with my game, although a bit rusty, but I was able to self correct when I made bad shots, which means I'm figuring out what I did wrong, and getting a better result on the 2nd attempt at that shot.  I often play more than one ball so I can get in as many strokes as possible in a single round, while trying to improve my game.  When I keep score, which I do not most of the time, I only play one ball.  We finished right at 3 pm, so 4 hours to play 18 holes.....you can't do that in a large urban area, right?

It being Saturday meant there was another putting contest at 4 pm, so TLE and I headed over around 3:45 pm.  Once again I got the fourth round, but lost in a one hole playoff, AGAIN, to DeWayne....that's 5 times in a row....lol!

We spent the evening with Charles and Phyllis having dinner (Ruben sandwiches prepared by the loving hands of Elaine and Phyllis), and talking.  We were home around 7:30 pm, and in bed by 10 pm.  The overnight temp inside the Newell got down to a delightful 53° F, and we slept well.

Thanks for stopping by!