Playing Golf in San Diego

Well it's great to be playing again, and on regulation courses too. The shoulder is feeling fine and my swing is actually in pretty good shape at this point. The driver is a little eratic, but the short game and putting is only slightly off form. From a week ago Saturday to this past Thursday night I even feel like my distance is starting to come back. Both times I played the course at the Rancho Bernardo Inn. Last Saturday I got in 18 holes playing with 3 other people, one a CPA from Pasadena who was at the Inn with his wife for a post tax season getaway, and the other couple being married and on vacation from somewhere up north. So far I haven't encountered much in the way of 'locals' and I'm not really sure why. The course is fun, is in great shape, and they even give you your first beer free! Add to that the free cookie to start off the day and friendly bar cart girl and it's a pretty good operation. The only downside, if you could even call it that, is that they require carts before noon on the weekends. I suppose to help speed up play, but if you play tennis golf you are all over the course anyway chasing a partners ball then back to yours. In any case it was probably good to use a cart as my ankle isn't quite ready for a full regulation 18 yet. After a week ago Thursday, it was still a little tender and took a couple of days of Ibuprophen therapy to get it back to normal. The good news is that I shot a respectable 101 with plenty of room for improvement and I was able to get comfortable with all phases of the game. I enjoyed it so much I made a Thursday night tee time for Rancho Bernardo Inn for last Thursday at 4:30. I made sure I got off work at a 3:00 which is only fair given the nights and weekends I've been working and I had no wait to go off the first tee. The round was a mix of really good, and some really bad, but overall I got in a full 18 holes before dark completing the round in 3 hours and 5 minutes shooting a respectable 99 despite feeling rushed whenever I played through. Pretty much a record for me, and I only had to play through 2 groups over the 18 holes. And did I mention that all this only cost me $28 with cart! What a deal! The sad news is that there doesn't appear to be much, if any, league or men's group play. In the 19th hole afterward I was pretty much the only golfer enjoying my free Stella Artois. So it looks like I'm going to have to go out and advertise my own Thursday night group and see if I get any interest. Not quite sure how to go about it yet, but I suppose Craigslist and other golf web sites might be the place to start. I'll keep you all posted, but if by chance you or someone you know wants to get a regular golf group together, I'm open to it. Doesn't have to be Rancho Bernardo Inn, but it's such a great place that I can't imagine anyone not wanting to play there. Just Call me at 858.568.0234 or e-mail me at the address to the right.

Overall it sounds like Tiger and I have a lot in common, he doesn't look fully recovered from his knee like I'm not fully recovered from the shoulder and ankle surgeries, but we are both out playing and finding which parts of our games need more work. Speaking of which, have any of you been watching The Hank Haney Project? I'm not sure Charles Barkley is going to be able to overcome his demons both physical and mental enough to become a good player. I wish Hank would have me on his show so that he can work with someone who actually could become a respectable golfer (yes I mean me!). Charles is entertaining TV, but like Groundhog Day, you know in the end that Charles is going to revert to whatever that thing is he calls a swing.

I hope all of you are working hard, and playing golf the way, and as often as, you want to. Life is too short not to. And if you wait, you'll only be older when you finally figure it out. I'll hope to see you on the course soon, and I'll be updating this more regularly here.

David C.

New City, New Shoulder, New Ankle.....Let's Play!

Hi all, it's May 1st and it has been a long time since my season ending surgery back in July. In that time I landed a new job, a move to a place I can play year round, much physical therapy....everything I could ask for except for one thing, and that is you my previous playing partners. Getting re-established out here is going to be quite a challenge and I plan on taking you along with me in spirit if not in reality. For now I need to keep this short and meet with my girls for dinner, but hope to do more elaboration this weekend. Speaking of which, I have a 9:30am tee time for tomorrow May 2nd at 9:29 at the Rancho Bernardo Inn for my first 18 holes on a par 72 golf course that is literally blocks from the house. I'll let you know how it goes on Sunday. Until then, drive it safe, chip it close, and one putt it for your bird.

David C.

Season Ending Early

Sorry it's been so long since I updated this, but there has been a lot going on in the Cleveland household this summer. One of the things that have kept me busy has been getting medical diagnosis for some troubling problems I've been having for the past several months. The most troubling of these from a golf standpoint has been shoulder pain I've been having since the beginning of the year. I just got the results today and it is confirmed that I have a tear in the labrum that will require reconstructive laparoscopic surgery. That surgery is scheduled for two weeks from tomorrow, July 31st, which will effectively end my golfing season for 2008. I won't be able to swing a golf club at all for 3 months, and I won't get full use of the shoulder for at least 4 months. The Dr indicated that it would most likely be a full year before the shoulder will feel 'normal' again. So best to get this done now vs waiting until later. Speaking of which, I will undergo ankle surgery for a double fracture of the cartilege and re-attachment of the tendon in my left ankle sometime in October. The good news, if you can call it that, is that I won't have any physical excuses for my poor game next year.

That said, I've got 2 weeks to get some good golf in. Though I'm not playing this Thursday due to a job interview I'm going on, I fully expect to get a tee time for the 24th and hope to get all of you to come out and play. I'd like to get out on the 26th or 27th as well for 18 holes if anybody is interested. Just let me know.

Lack of rain, and a leak in the Wellshire dam are causing the course to not water the rough. The result of this is that though the fairways and greens are still in pretty good shape, the rest of the course looks absolutely horrid. Your best drive is one down the rough where the ball has nothing to stop it, it will roll like it was on cement. So pray for some rain, and a good soaking at that.

The Wellshire pro shop has a sale going on that beats the Wellshire Mens Club Discount (i.e. you don't get both). 40% off Mens clothing, 30% off all equipment, and even 20% off balls and gloves. It's a good time to stock up. TGW is also running some pretty good summer specials on discontinued items as well so check them out.

With my shoulder hurting I've had to adjust my swing to something less than full which has resulted in me being a bit more consistent in my game, in fact I've shot 97 at Wellshire the last 3 rounds. In the Wellshire Men's club skill competition I even hit 11 out of 14 fairways! My drives aren't going too long, but I'm still out at least 210 (it's hard to say since my Sky Caddie has been in the shop for the last 3 weeks). In any case it seems I'm working toward Bogey golf which would be the logical next step for me. Given that this winter will be spent mostly working on putting and getting my shoulder back, it gives me something to shoot for next year.

So shoot me an e-mail and let me know when we can get together before the 31st to hit some balls, and after that to at least lift up a beer or two (with my left arm of course).

A Night Gone Astray

Well I don't know whether it was the golf balls that were 'stray' or us golfers, but things certainly were not normal last night at City Park. The weather cooperated with us and we were able to get in a nice 9 holes of golf on a pretty empty golf course. Now it might have been because we were playing the back 9 which used to be the front 9, and if you are confused, I certainly was and still am. It seems that there have been some changes at City Park. The pro-shop has been turned around, the GHIN computer is not where it used to be, the 9's have been reversed, the scorecards have been replaced by generics, and the club house pub closed before we finished our round. Add to that the fact that though I hit 5 fairways, I only hit 1 green in regulation and carded a 54 for the round (ESC 53) and it was a confusing night. The best part was having Chris and Jason on the course with me and though it was their 1st and 2nd time out this year respectively, and they kicked my butt from a score standpoint, I at least wasn't that far behind. I did hit a spectacular 60 degree lob wedge on #7 (or was it #16) over a 25 ft tall pine tree and to within 12 feet of the pin to make me feel somewhat good. Chris shot a most excellent 42 his first time out, and Jason followed up with a 46. With Bogeys at City Park closing early, we headed to The Bank for food and to catch part of the NBA finals. The only problem with The Bank was that unlike most banks where you can hear everyone else, the place was so loud we couldn't (or at least I couldn't) hear either of the guys well enough to extend a good conversation. It may be a while before I head back to City Park given the experience. In any case I think we all had a good time, and Jason has already tentatively committed to next week. Chris may also be IN, depending on his work schedule. As for next week....

Our next tee time is next Thursday, June 12th 5:31PM at Kennedy golf course. As always it's first come first served, and to reserve your spot e-mail me at n3xt@arrl.net by next Wednesday, June 11th at 1:00 PM so I can adjust the reservation if necessary. It is entirely possible that we may have a full foursome or more going forward at least for the next 4 weeks or so given these are the longest days of the year.

In fact, if there is interest in getting out on the course by 4:00 PM, it may be possible to try to get 18 in. Let me know if you are interested in a 4:00 or earlier tee time. I'm flexible and I'm sure given the traffic in front and back of us last night that we could have easily gotten 18 in if we had started at 4:00. In addition, it should be entirely possible to get on the course on Thursdays at Wellshire if our tee times were moved up to 4:00. Just let me know your thoughts by commenting on this blog post (http://www.theurbangolfer.blogspot.com/) or e-mailing me at n3xt@arrl.net .

The next Wellshire Men's club activty is this weekend; the 2 man 2 day event. Saturday is the Scramble, and Sunday is a best ball format. I will at least come up with a postable score on Sunday, though the format precludes posting the scramble score. I will at least be out there both days which are shaping up to be beautiful and in the 80's. As long as I don't forget the sunscreen I should be OK.

Saturday is the deadline for entry into the next event, the Skills by Age Group Challenge. This format will take your 18 hole score and will subtract strokes for hitting fairways, and one putting, while adding strokes for 3 putting. Doing this all on a net basis against age group will be one wide open tournament. The date of the event is Sunday June 22nd, and I got my entry in yesterday.

Next week is US Open week and will celebrate the return of Tiger Woods after his latest knee surgery. Historically he's done well after having surgery done, and though I am hesitant to put his name on the trophy just yet, remember that he one at Torrey Pines earlier this year running away. Phil Mickelson as the world number 2 and a local resident of the San Diego area also has a rather impressive record at the course. Tiger and Phil are paired together for the first round of the tournament which should make for a fascinating Thursday and Friday couple of rounds before the cut. And don't forget that the chosen 10 handicapper will play with Tony Romo, Justin Timberlake, and Matt Lauer to see if he can beat Tiger's challenge of breaking 100. NBC will show how he does sometime next weekend. Given that 56,000 golfers sent in 100 word essays on why they should be the one chosen, and the event could pull in a record number of viewers. Make sure you have your DVR's set accordingly.

The women's second major of the year is this weekend, and it will hopefully have some compelling story lines as well. Will Annika prevail in her last season? Will Lorena Ochoa continue her dominance? Who will shine out of the new young superstars? Just keep the TV turned to the tournament to find out.

It will be interesting to see how I do this weekend from a physical standpoint. On Monday I'll get the results of an MRI on my ankle to see whether and/or to what extent I may need surgery. It's given me problems for several years, and a lot will depend on how long I would be laid up to determine when I get any surgery done. In addition, my shoulder has been in pain for some time now, and though it's early in the process, physical therapy has not helped one bit. I may need surgery on it to repair the rotator cuff if the PT doesn't start to work soon. I'll keep you all posted, but whatever happens, I'll continue to be playing golf.

Until next week, hit it straight, hit it long, and get it in the hole!

David C.

What a beautiful night, Maybe even for Golf.

It was a beautiful evening for golf last night. Derek and I played the front 9 in just over 2 hours, and after I ate, I sat on the patio and watched the golfers come in until it got dark. I only wish my game was as beautiful as the evening. I shot the worst I have since last October finishing with an ESC 53. It was pretty pathetic. Didn't hit a drive all night, and though I hit the 8th and 9th greens in regulation, I 3-putted both. That part was frustrating. The good news is that I at least hit the green with my tee shot on #9 for the first time this year. Hopefully I'll continue that trend at least. The other good news is that I will be ready to do it all again next week, though the league situation at Wellshire is going to make things tough.

Going forward though, here is how the tee times will work. I will continue to get the tee time closest to 5:30pm on Thursdays with the following course preference: 1) Wellshire, 2) Kennedy, 3) City Park, 4) Willis Case, and 5) Overland. If I don't get any takers by Wednesday at 1:00pm I will try to get a 4:00pm tee time at Wellshire. The rationale is that I want to play with you guys first and foremost, and secondly to get better at the course I will be playing tournaments at. Don't hesitate to e-mail me to ask for a particular course on a particular night because I'll do my darndest to make it happen. Now on to this week's tee time.

Next Thursday's Tee Time is set for 5:32PM at City Park. Please e-mail me your intention to play by Wednesday at 1:00PM as noted above. My e-mail address is n3xt@arrl.net . As always, spots are first come first served. Cost for 9 holes at City Park is the same as for Wellshire and is $14.

The next Wellshire Men's Golf club event is next weekend June 7th and 8th with the 2-man, 2-day event. Day 1 is a scramble, and Day 2 is a best ball. A picnic is being served following the Sunday round. Prizes will be awarded for best Hawaiian shirt on Saturday, and best 'Bobby Jones era golf atire' on Sunday. The Match Play brackets are posted and it's time to schedule the first round matches. I am the number 15 seed in the C Flight and get the opportunity to go up against the number 2 seed. As I have noted here before, I have yet to win in a match play round. Maybe I will play up to my ability this time. June 7th is also the deadline for the next tournament, the Skills by Age group event. This event awards points based on hitting fairways, 1 putting, etc. and should be a fun event. I am scheduled to play this event, but do not have my registration in yet, but will get it in the mail this next week.

The US Open at Torrey Pines is fast approaching as well. It will be interesting to see how Tiger plays after his knee surgery, but the more fascinating event will come the day before the US Open when a Joe Schmoe who has been selected by us will play the Torrey pines course with Tony Romo, Justin Timberlake, and someone else I can't think of to test the Tiger theory that an average golfer would not be able to break 100 on a US Open Course. Oh, and NBC will have the cameras rolling on the event and will televise it either before or during its US OPEN coverage. It should make for some great TV, and regardless of who the guy is, I'm rooting for him.

Give me a call or an e-mail soon, and let's play some golf!

Until next week, hit'em straight and long!

David C.

A Breezy Night on the Course

Yep, it was a breezy evening for golf with winds whipping at least 20 to 30 miles an hour over the first 5 holes at Wellshire last night. The first 2 holes were direct head winds and the rest caused us to fight significant cross winds. But no rain hit us and it ended up being the best round I've shot so far this year with me carding a 47 despite poor putting. Maybe I should play in adverse weather more often. Jason did pretty well last night too given it was his first time out with the clubs since last fall. With his new found distance in his 7 iron he could be pretty dangerous this year.

Our next tee time is next Thursday evening at 5:31PM at Kennedy golf course. This may have to be the norm for every other week given the league play on those nights since the reservation system seems to not allow me to get decent tee times (anything after 4:30pm). It may not be Wellshire, but at least it's golf. Let me know if you can play, as always it's first come, first served and I need to know your intention to play before 1:00pm Wednesday to release any unused spots. Let me know at n3xt@arrl.net .

Jason and I talked about these posts and he indicated that he thought they were about right as far as length, content, and number sent per week (one that is). If you'd like to add to the conversation come to the blog and post your comments, or even better, come and play golf with me on Thursdays and we can talk about it afterwards over a beer and some 25 cent chicken wings (they are surprisingly good).

The next Wellshire Men's Golf Club events are the 2 man, 2 day event with a club picnic after the Sunday round coming up on June 7th and 8th. The skills by age group competition is scheduled for June 22nd with registration due on June 7th. I hope to see you there.

That's about it for this week, I hope to see you all soon on the course!

David C.

Temps going up, Scores coming down

Well it's been a crazy couple of weeks with the ABCD scramble, the related Calcutta as well as a trip to LA, a Sanctuary opportunity and a Thursday Tee Time. So I am way behind in keeping you all caught up in the Wellshire Thursdays Golf World.

First off though, I have a Tee Time set for this coming Thursday May, 22nd at 5:40 PM. First come, first Served as usual, e-mail me at n3xt@arrl.net to reserve your spot by Wednesday at 1:00 PM.

As far as getting tee times in the future, the Denver Reservation system has made it easier for us. The old policy was that we could make the reservations 7 days in advance with the tee times released at 7:00 pm. What this meant was that I would have to rush home after playing on Thursday night and make the reservation for the next week after letting others have their pick for a couple of hours before I got home and down to my computer. Well the policy revision is that the tee times are now available 8 days in advance for residents. So now I can make our Thursday reservations on Wednesday nights when I am generally at home and available. Given the league situation every other Thursday, it may not help in getting an advantageous tee time, but then again, it might.

The Wellshire Men's Golf Club's last event that I played in was 2 weeks ago now which was the ABCD scramble and Calcutta. By the way, the food at the event was spectacular with essentially all you can eat prime rib with all the fixings. Cash bar was reasonable and included the men's club 10% discount which is also good at the pub. Other benefits of membership that were announced at the banquet were 25% off of meals at the Wellshire Inn (not the pub) which would have been good to know for Mother's day, and 30% off of all merchandise in the pro shop. With discounts like that, the Club membership should be able to pay for itself if you lose balls or are looking for upgrades. The discount does not apply however to lessons, green fees, or range balls.

The tournament was delayed at least 40 minutes due to frost, and though I was going in an early group, I knew I would be cutting things close to make my 6:00PM flight to LA. The scramble required each member of the foursome to contribute 3 drives for the day. On number 1 I stiped it down the fairway for my first which I think caught my team off guard a little. In fact I played so well that I had contributed all 3 of my drives by the time we reached number 9. Without any pressure for the rest of the day I could concentrate on the rest of my game which did us well as we ended up in 2nd place for the day. I couldn't have been much happier as it meant I was getting a $500 check and $90 of proshop money. This tournament alone will help pay for the year. I only hope I do half as well the rest of the year. I am thinking I kind of like these Calcuttas.

At the ABCD scramble I found out a piece of information for you that will help in your game at Wellshire that I did not know about. On the holes at Wellshire, the flags are different colors. I did not think that there was any rhyme or reason associated with them, but I was wrong. It was pointed out that there are 3 flag colors in use at Wellshire. Red, White, and Blue. Far from being just patriotic, the colors identify the general relationship of the pin placement on the greens. Red flags indicate the pin is located in the front 3rd of the green, a White flag indicates the middle 3rd, and a Blue flag the back 3rd of the green. This will help those of us with Sky Caddies in determining an appropriate distance to the pin.

The next Wellshire Men's Club tournament is scheduled for June 7th and 8th with the 2 man, 2 day event. Saturday is a scramble, and the Sunday is a best ball. I had been hoping to play with Derek, but he and his daughter are scheduled for a very fun camping weekend and so I will now be stuck with a computer draw. The time has also just past this weekend for entry into Wellshire Men's Club's match play tournament. I got my entry in for the net flights, so will be interested to see how I play. I have yet to win a round in a match play event, but maybe this will be my year. The good/bad news is that my handicap continues to go down and is now at 26.8. My goal for the summer will be to get it down under 20. I know it's possible if I can get out there and play more.

Lastly I have to report that I had an opportunity, however brief, to play at Sanctuary this last week. For those that don't know, Sanctuary is the private course of the REMAX International founder. The facility is only open for charity tournaments, and the minimum buy in for a foursome is $5,000. Well, someone in the last tournament dropped out and my pastor called me at 10:45PM to see if I could fill out a foursome teeing off at 9:15AM the next day. I of course said I'd clear my calendar, but as luck would have it, the organizer of the foursome had found someone else in the few minutes between phone calls. At 11:05PM I was out. Hopefully such an opportunity will arise in the future, and maybe my game will improve such that I wouldn't be embarrased on such a beautiful golf course.

Have a great week and I hope to see you on the course!

David C.