The Kokopelli Golf Stance

Played Hillcrest again -- mainly because it was cheap. It's a little long for our Mrss, at 5512, but there's not too much trouble out there. Made a 1:37 tee time. Finished at 5:38, with me & Mr Science walking . . . pretty good, but that'll be the last time this year where we can finish after teeing off at 1:30 pm . . .

The first time Mr Science played here, he thought it was a dog-track. The second time for him, I'd booked the tee-time and he expressed his lack-of-enthusiasm, but I said, "that interactive hole map" makes it look pretty good -- I think they've changed the graphics on it; it doesn't look nearly so interesting now -- so, with a little puzzlement he said, after our round, this doesn't seem so bad . . . so we were looking to see what happened this round.

I think the problem is that the front 9 is a little flat and ordinary -- it has only hints of what is to come on the back -- and you could lose your concentration -- just from the mind-numbing sameness of it all -- but the back 9 has real interest, so if you are still paying attention, it is very interesting . . . otherwise you would (I would) be liable to start making double-bogies and never know why.

3 or 4 of these holes climb up to the green on a hill so gradually elevated you might not notice it on that fairway, but from the adjoining fairway it is clearly very steep. Then #14 goes all the way back down on one par 3 . . . a long shot to a green that is backed up next to the water . . . all in all, with the meaningful-but-subtle changes in altitude and the discrete-but-emphatic use of water hazards, that back 9 verges on greatness. Excellent variety, challenge, & shot values.

Greens were still shaggy from overseeding, tho', making putting difficult . . .I had a 48-44=92; Mr Science, an even 90 . . .