Phalen was open.
Course didn't look busy pulling up, but they were swamped (maybe in part that they weren't starting anyone on the back 9). We had about a half hour wait before they could fit us in, so we putted and chipped a bit. Kev was doing well with his chipping all day, and I managed to hit the pin once (but only on the putting green).
Onto the round:
We only played the front 9 because it was slow. The group ahead of us seemed to be playing their short-game from tee-to-green (maybe in part that they were waiting for the people ahead of them; otoh, they seemed to want to copy what the pros do. i.e. "You got cobra - wow"). And thus, the group behind us was usually waiting on us. It took about 2 1/2 hours to finish.
I had a few "blow up" holes. Like the par 3 that I had the opportunity to birdie and then managed to 6 putt.
The grass was dead enough that I would put even off the fringe and from the fairway on a couple holes (mainly because I thought I landed closer and didn't want to go back and get my PW), but that worked out pretty well. Hole 7 (par 4), I had to take my only penalty stroke. My golf ball landed in the "reeds" of the pond (at least it got washed). The next shot was kewl, though. I actually skipped it across the pond and onto the fairway.
(No, I didn't try. I wish I could do that on demand, though.)
Despite some blow-up holes and the rest of the round seeming average, it did somehow manage to be a PB for the front 9 of the course. Didn't feel like it, but that could be that my PB for the back 9 is still 12 shots less. Anyway, my previous PB was an 84, but it is now a 79.
I really enjoy my new clubs, and I did much better than usual with my driver. Went from almost not being able to get it off the ground to driving about 140 yards. With more practice, I hope to do even better. I did so-so with my 4iw, and I need to practice a bit more with my irons. I like how the PW is weighted, it's probably one of my favorite clubs to use. It was really hard to judge how I did with the new putter because the greens were dead and dry - and sometimes soggy at the same time. I did notice, though, that my swing is kinda defaulted to a half-swing.
Guess it's time to go out and get some whiffle balls so I can work on my full-swing.
I think Kev did well, too. He does play so much better than I, and I'm always impressed with his rounds. He shot a 48.
I won't comment too much more on his round, but one highlight was a chip-in on hole 4.
