Under the umbrella and dreaming

Looking at yesterday's radar for our area on weather.com yesterday, you could just see the rain and thunderstorms creeping closer and closer. Personally, I thought it was going to be a miracle if we got nine in for the golf league.

But, nine holes and a lot of soaked players later, we did.

Shot a 60 last night and I really think I would've done better if it weren't for the weather. It just got very distracting after a while and frankly, it was tough to concentrate. I'm not saying I would've broken my personal best of 54 from last week, but still.

We started off OK, but briefly had some light rain on the second hole. OK, no problem. It pretty much held off on the third (which feature a couple of rumbles of thunder, but nothing serious). But the fourth featured a downpour that soaked us for a few minutes. Once that was over, it was drier until the sixth hole where the rain steadily got heavier and heavier. By the end of the seventh, my golf glove was toast.

Anyway, other than the weather it was a typical round for me ... made some really great shots and others were horrible. Still searching for even a modicum of consistency.

But, like last week, I didn't focus on my score (we split the round 18-18). I just concentrated on the hole we were playing.

And I also took some chances on some shots to see if I could make them (like hitting out of longer rough, for example) and for the most part I did well. I was trying to take as few drops as possible and I'm gaining confidence in my ability to make something out of nothing.

The most frustrating shot, though, was my tee shot on the third hole (525 yards, par 5). I shanked the shot and it dribbled 15 yards at the most from the tee box to the edge of the fairway. So, instead of trying to hit it there (it was just too close to the wooded area) I teed it up again and hit a gorgeous shot to the middle of the fairway for about 280 yards. As I said to the others in my foursome, "Now, why couldn't I have done that on my first shot?" Still, I didn't let the first bad shot rattle me and I actually double bogeyed the hole (only because I had to take a drop) so it wasn't that bad.

I then had two best shots on the round. The first was on the next hole, the fourth (295 yards, par 4). I destroyed the tee shot with my 3-wood and put it exactly where I wanted it. I was on in three and two-putted, so even though I bogeyed the hole, I was making solid contact and had my PW working.

The second "best-of-the-round" for me was the sixth hole (175 yards, par 3). Hitting my 5-iron, I dropped the rock right onto the fringe on the back of the green. I had trouble with my putter and took a five for the hole, but I still liked what I had done from the tee.

Speaking of which, here's what I learned:

1. I really need to work on my putting. I'm taking too many three and four putts on the green, which is driving up my score. Not good.
   
2. Speaking of my score, I've found it very helpful to not think about my score while playing. I literally take it one hole at a time and don't look at the scorecard during the round (Kell keeps track).
   
3. I've gotten so much better at shaking off bad holes or shots. I'm working hard on adopting an "it's only a game" attitude while still trying to improve myself. We'll see how long this lasts.

Lost two balls last night. Still searching for that regular round in which I don't lose any.