Golf Update

Well, tournament #4 is upon us. Monday and Tuesday is the 97th Cincinnati Amateur Championship. Approx 240 people have entered; the field will play 2 different courses on Monday and Tuesday and the low 64 go to a single-elimination match play bracket for the rest of the week.

I feel like I may have figured some things out last week - had a great range session on Wednesday where I dicovered I was too hunched over- again. Once I addressed the ball in an upright manner, I was striping the driver and hitting solid iron for the first time this year.

The game plan for each round is simple:
a) hit 10 greens or so
b) Make sure Bob Wickman shows up and we "convert the save" for those 10 greens into pars (no 3 jacks)
c) Avoid the Noid (doubles or higher)
d) and get up and down 4 out of 8 times on the 8 greens we don't hit.

If we throw in one birdie into that mix, that equates to a +3 round, more than good enough to make match play. Don and I are thinking that 152-154 is the number.

Others to watch in this tournament:
1) Don (Hershey);
2) Scott Fearn, another P&G er who I met a few years ago; when I was in Iowa, he was diagnosed with skin cancer but is recovering and beating it. That scares the hell out of me. When I hear golfers my age coming down with skin cancer, I can't help but think that my 25 years on the course is going to catch up with me soon and I'll be next.
3) "The Good Doctor", Dr. Todd Pieper, my dentist (and Don's too). A good friend who actually made the round of 16 in this tourney in 2004.
4) And Chris Sabo. Yes, that Chris Sabo.

If I am going to continually post updates on the golf tournaments here, I should, you know, actually play well one of these times. Check this website: www.gcga.org for results; I'll post Monday night to let you know if we are on pace to make the field of 64 or if I'm a bubble team like the Terrapins - good, but not good enough to get in.