Cannot win, or even place, during this interval I have identified as the strong part of my season . . . it may be a self-fulfilling prophecy that degrades my play during the rest of the summer, due to low expectations, but I have rationalized that in the heat of late summer, when I can dress in “Arizona mode” (wide-brim hat, shorts, shirttail out, and golf-sandals) the greens and fairways dry out and harden to more like what I ‘m used to . . . . faster, if you see how I mean . . . at any rate, I shot my ass off, birdied #1 for the first time, even, with 6 or 7 missed birdie putts, and still came in 6^th with 38 stableford points – had 3 “other” holes that cost me dearly. Oh, well, what can you do? Handicap down to 14 flat, now, god help me, there’s no way I can play to 14 . . . 8^D

I played Coeur D'Alene, too, with the floating green.  Hit the green in regulation, and guess where my only 3-putt of the day was.  I think the green must have been moved by a large wave during my first putt.

My blog ( http://twosysprogs.blogspot.com/ ) is hopelessly behind, but I played one called Palouse Ridge (http://palouseridge.wsu.edu/ ),

 and then Indian Canyon (http://spokanegolf.org/courses/indiancanyon/ ).

Only played 9 at Palouse Ridge, and walked even though I had driven around it and knew it had some elevation changes, but was lulled into a false sense of confidence by having been hiking several times in places like Yosemite.

There wasn't time for 18, and it's a good thing , because I'd still be out there.

 My new rule is to take a cart on any course with words like "Mountain", "Ridge", "Canyon" or such in the name.

Dammit, dammit, dammit . . . my play on the par 5s cost me a win here . . .

It’s always sumthin’, I know that . . . .

Had 3 straight missed, makeable birdies on the front nine, holes 6-7-8 . . .

Missed enough birdies on these holes that that doesn’t bother me  . .

Aha! Missed birdies are a GOOD thing!

Parred #10, and birdied #11 from 24 ft, first time to birdie #2/11 . . .

The longest birdie putt I had for sure that day . . .

Wasn’t over-confident, but feelin’ good for sure . . .

Then had 5 lip-out / burned edges from less than 6ft over the next 7 holes . . .

If they go in, I have the great round . . .

If they lip out on the front nine, I don’t even break 30 stableford points . . . 8^D

I always say that lip-outs are good thing, but these were breaking my heart . .  .8^D

If only for not the par 5s . . . I still had 19-19=38 stableford points, but for the lip-outs, I couldn’t move up the leader board.

"You can't get aggressive with this weather," McIlroy said. "You don't even care where the pin is. You just try and hit it on the green somewhere. I'll just keep playing how I am and see how this thing unfolds."

To a man, the players said the challenge was that Kiawah is a links course, with links wind and links beach grass framing the holes to swallow up stray shots, but it doesn't allow for links-style shotmaking. With its cereal bowl greens, the Pete Dye course calls for approach shots to be played through the air, not along the ground as on a true links.

"You know, after a while you don't really think about your score," said Singh, who will be eligible for the Champions tour in less than a year. "You just think about each hole, each shot, and just try not to mess up."

Read more: http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/tiger-woods-shares-lead-pga-championship-through-two-rounds#ixzz23DGgdnkc  

Council votes 6-1 to close Z Boaz Golf Course

Posted Wednesday, Apr. 04, 2012

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C.—My first reaction, after stepping onto the Ocean Course this week for the first time, was to laugh out loud. Pete Dye, that rascally dog!

Dye, golf's most mischievous architect (TPC Sawgrass in Florida, Whistling Straits in Wisconsin), has been fiddling with his monstrous masterpiece here, which sits on a barrier island near Charleston, since 1991. It was hard enough for the Ryder Cup that year, now known as the "War by the Shore." Since then Dye has made it longer, tougher and even more exposed to the unpredictable seaside winds. For Thursday's first round at the PGA Championship, gusts of 20 mph are expected, with stronger winds over the weekend.

Enlarge Image

Reuters

Adam Scott of Australia hits out of a sand trap.

The course is 100% artificial, which is what makes you laugh. It looks natural. It looks at first blush like a classic links of the British Isles. But in fact the Ocean Course is a clever American links replica. Every dune, every swale, every sandy waste area, every raised fairway and every complex green sprang entirely from Dye's fevered imagination.

"I describe it as a links course through the air," Graeme McDowell said Wednesday. "When it blows here, the wind is a massive factor, you know, strength and direction, but it certainly does not play linksy along the ground."

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/slideshow/Goats-in-Park-Presidio-47214.php#photo-3299955

or the first time ever, a hungry herd of 300 goats is being invited to Presidio Golf Course to tame the overgrown ivy, blackberry, and hemlock that have popped up around the links. San Francisco, Calif. on Tuesday, Aug 07, 2012. Photo: Sonja Och, The Chronicle / SF