When a Door Closes

So ever since the mansplaining ranger incident at the golf-course-that-shall-remain-nameless, I have boycotted the place and taken my business elsewhere. This has resulted in some new experiences I would not have had otherwise. For example, I ventured out to another state for a day trip to a golf course in the middle of some scenic farmland and took home an 86 on my scorecard. I played from the senior tees at two different courses and didn't do too shabbily. I also played a course I've neglected since spring and was rewarded with this fabulous sunset from the clubhouse patio:

And I've enlisted a new code word to start off my tee shots: "Trust." And by that, I mean, trust the line. It occurred to me that the ranger who thought I was out of alignment had no idea what my alignment process was. He thought he had the right to judge me when he didn't even even know what he was looking at. And I was shaken because, like so many women, we forever doubt ourselves.

So when someone tells you you're pointed in the wrong direction, believe in your path. Trust your line. And if a door closes, watch the world open like a window.

Mansplaining on the Course -- by a Ranger?!

So it happened again. This time on the golf course. By... a... ranger...! It was a weekday last week. I had a morning tee time and most of my round had gone well. I had even made 2 birdies and was feeling confident. Then, after I teed off on the 18^th hole, the ranger working that day drove up and said to me, “Do you mind if I show you something?”

Now, I had just hit my drive about 210 yards, which is pretty darn good for me, so I had no idea what this ranger was going to “show” me, but I had a feeling he was going to try and give me some kind of advice, since he had that air about him.

“Are you going to criticize me?” I said. “Because if you are, I do not want to hear it.”

“I just want to show you something about your set-up,” he said. Then he told me to take my normal set-up, while he watched. I complied because I was physically and mentally exhausted after walking 17 holes in 90-degree heat and I didn’t know what else to do. But I felt very uncomfortable while I was taking my set-up because I really didn’t like the idea of this guy watching me. Then the ranger pointed out that even though I had aligned myself using my club across my chest (a technique I learned a long time ago from my golf mentor, Seri), in my actual set-up, he claimed that my upper body was open to the target. Then he grinned and put his hands out, palms up, as if he was dropping some major wisdom and I should be impressed.

But instead, I got furious. How dare this guy try to “mansplain” my golf set-up? “Why are you doing this? Would you try and give advice to a man?” I asked the ranger.

“Yes, I would,” he said. But I doubted that very much.

“I think you’re only doing this because I’m a woman,” I went on. “I just hit a great drive, so how dare you try and tell me there’s something wrong with my set up. I see all kinds of crazy swings from the guys out here, and I don’t see you giving any of them any advice. Why were you watching my golf swing anyway? That’s just gross!”

At this point, the ranger seemed to get the point and drove away. I was so angry, I could barely focus on finishing the 18^th hole. Golf is very much a mental game, and this douche bag's interference with my concentration was uncalled-for. As of this writing, my handicap is 15.4. So I may not be the best golfer out there, but I am definitely not the worst. Since I was clearly not breaking any course rules, endangering the safety of others or even playing slowly, there was no reason the ranger should have stopped me during my round to say anything to me at all.

After the round, I spoke to the starter, and he said that ranger isn’t even a good golfer. Knowing this made me feel even more insulted and patronized. Why on earth would someone feel entitled to give advice when they themselves are not even qualified to do so?

I was so furious, I wrote a 2-page letter to the head pro at the golf course, recommending that they train all new rangers and other employees with the following rules:

1) DO NOT give unsolicited advice to any golfer on the course, especially women. It’s sexist and patronizing to single out women for your so-called advice.

2) DO NOT stare and watch women teeing off. It’s downright creepy.

3) DO NOT judge the technique of people playing golf unless it interferes with the safety of others on the course. Golf is hard enough without feeling like the rangers are out there, critiquing your every move.

The response? Well, I would describe it as "tepid." After not hearing from the golf course for a week, I called the head pro to find out if he had received my letter. He said he did and offered words of apology, but it seemed more like lip service than anything else. If I hadn't called, it sounded like the head pro never would have called me, and when I did call, it sounded like he really didn't want to deal with me. The whole incident and lack of response has really left a sour taste in my mouth.

Luckily, there are a ton of other great golf courses around, so I will have no problem taking my business elsewhere for the foreseeable future.

Magical Rounds and Personal Bests

On my annual sojourn to Southern California with hubby, I played some memorable rounds. The day after we arrived, we promptly went out to Encinitas Ranch, which is known as an "easy course" among the locals. I'm not at the point in my game where any course is "easy," but there is something about this place that brings out my best. The staff is super-friendly and we got paired with two affable old gents who smoked cigars but made up for it with their good-natured humor. I happened to be striping my tee shots all day, and at one point, one of the old guys sarcastically remarked, "Booorrring!" which I took to be a compliment.

The highlight of my round was this 150-yard approach shot that landed within inches of the pin:

Shots like that helped me score an 88, which was a nice way to kick off the vacation. Next stop was taking my goddaughter out for her first-ever round of golf. We went to The Loma Club, a 9-hole par 3 course with a kid-friendly vibe. Close to the trendy Liberty Public Market, it also has a hipster vibe, the kind of joint where you can get a beer and a tee time at the same counter. In fact, there is no proper pro shop, just the bar area of the attached pub, where the bartender doubles as the starter. As I was paying for our tee time, she asked, "Do you want a bloody mary with that?" even though it was only 10am.

At that hour, the course was decidedly more kid-friendly than booze-friendly. There was even a golf dad pushing his bag on a pull-cart with one arm and pulling a stroller in the other, while his toddler daughter straggled along, swinging a plastic club.

But my goddaughter is well beyond her first Snoopy set. Here's her first tee shot:

She's got an amazing swing, after only a year of lessons. Look at that extension! And the Loma Club has some sweet views of San Diego from above.

The course even has formidable bunkers that would have most adults quivering in their cleats.

But my goddaughter handled it all with ease. I'm glad I was a part of her first round, and can't wait to see her game progress.

Next stop was Torrey Pines North. The official webpage of Torrey Pines makes it sound like booking a tee time is as hard as snagging a dinner reservation at the hottest 4-star restaurant in town. Last time hubby and I played Torrey Pines North, we showed up at the course around 9am to put our names on the afternoon walk-on list. But that was in the fall, and I thought it would probably be harder to walk on since it was summer. I called the starter to ask about the likelihood of getting a walk-on tee time. He said it's possible but unpredictable, and the easiest way to get a tee time is through the online booking site. While the Torrey Pines official webpage makes it sound like you have to be a San Diego resident to book online, when you actually visit the Torrey Pines Online Reservations site, there is clearly a button for non-residents. "Just keep checking online," said the starter. "People cancel all the time and tee times open up."

As soon as I hung up, I logged on. Like magic, a tee time at 2:05pm for the next day appeared. I felt like I'd just won the lottery. I mean, this is a golf course that charges non-residents a $45 fee for advance booking. But I managed to score a next-day tee time for free (plus the $105 greens fee, of course.) Hubby even took a screenshot of our reservation in case something happened and we'd need it as proof.

Just for fun during the rest of our trip, I continued to check the site for tee times at Torrey Pines. You can book up to 48 hours ahead online, so as long as your schedule is flexible and you look at booking tee times like playing Pokemon (gotta catch 'em all), scoring a decent tee time is very possible. The South course seemed to have more open slots at any given time than the North, perhaps because the South course costs almost twice the price and is a much harder course. It could also be due to the big renovations at the North course last year, which had everyone saying it was like a whole new course.

So how did I play at the "new" North Course? Well, a heck of a lot better than last time. Back then, the kikuyu grass kicked my ass, but this time, the fairways seemed dry and trim, leading to nice rollouts. Even the rough seemed like a million tiny golf tees sticking in the air, so even if my ball landed in them, it remained perched and ready for striking.

But perhaps the biggest change was the addition of shorter forward tees. Before, there were 4 tee grounds, with the shortest being 6122 yards. Now, there are 5 tee sets, with the shortest being 5197 yards. While shorter distance doesn't always mean easy, the lower slope rating indicates a far easier track for ladies and relatively high-handicappers like me.

Looking at the course maps, the you can see that the routing completely changed so that the front and back nines are switched. Here is the old Torrey Pines layout:

Here's the new Torrey Pines North layout:

At the new course, the most scenic holes are on the back nine, which I think is a great change, so tourists like me can try to focus and score well on the front nine, then relax and enjoy the ocean views a little more on the back. 

And that's exactly how my round played out. 

Of course, so many views at this mecca of golf are idyllic, I found myself snapping pictures the whole time.

And looking out for those ever-present paragliders who seem like they could be landing on the putting green ahead.

On the front nine, I shot only 7 over par.

On the back nine, the ocean views overcame me and I shot mostly bogeys.

In the end, I scored a 90 for the round. I was ecstatic, since that's a great score for me at such a reputedly daunting course.

I almost didn't want to play any more golf on the trip because I was afraid to ruin my buzz. But hubby and I decided to play a few more times at some courses we hadn't played in awhile.

One of them was Balboa Park, which still has the best view I've ever seen from a ladies bathroom window.

The course itself is what I would describe as "dystopian." First of all, there are so many planes flying overhead you feel like you're in a war zone. It's also long and hard from the forward tees, and conditions were tough. There were blind tee shots and crazy uphill sideways tee shots and par-3 tee shots requiring driver. Thank goodness, hubby and I decided to ride instead of walk like we did last time. But I still lost a ball in the canyon, just like last time.

After that round, my left forearm started to hurt, which was a sign that I needed to take a break. Once home back east, it would be almost 2 weeks since I played golf again.

The first time back, I went out and shot an 83 at my favorite local course, my personal best there, or anywhere. I'm not sure how I did it, except I felt refreshed from taking time away from the familiar. Or maybe I brought a little magic from that day at Torrey Pines back home.

Another Dip Into the '80s

When the golf is good, life is good. And when the golf is bad, life's awful. I shot an 84 yesterday (lowest score ever), so life's pretty good for the moment. The photo above from my round yesterday captures how I feel, and by the end of this blog post, you'll understand why.

For most of the golf season, you see, I've been struggling with the 150-yard shot due to the fact that my 5-iron can't always reliably make it and my Ping G30 4-hybrid is about as useful for hitting a golf shot as a ski pole. Once upon a time, I owned a Mizuno ladies 7-utility hybrid that looked like a hard-boiled egg on a stick, and I used to hit that pretty well, back when I was trying to break 100 consistently. But that was more than 5 years ago, which is like 25 years in golf club age.

So this year, I decided to do away with all my ladies' clubs and switch them to men's senior flex so my bag would be more consistent. This meant trading in my beat-up old ladies Ping G5 9-wood and 7-wood for a 5-iron and 4-hybrid. The iron replacement worked out, but I just couldn't get the hang of the hybrid.

A few weeks ago on the range, I was practicing my 4-hybrid and hitting every shot as though I were trying to murder all the squirrels hiding in the woods on the left. A couple of guys in the adjoining stalls offered their sage wisdom, which ranged from "You should read that Ben Hogan book on getting rid of a hook. Saved my life!" to "How about you try putting your hands like this, and your feet like that?" (To which I was thinking, How about you try not standing so close to me?)

But a third guy chimed in with something that really rang a bell with me. "I tried playing a 4-hybrid once. Never took. I went back to my old 7-wood and played great ever since."

"I think I'm going with that advice," I told the other two guys on the range. And I promptly went straight home and ordered a Ping G25 7-wood from a certified reseller online. It was listed in "good"condition and came as described, with a few cosmetic scratches but nothing that would affect playability.

Yesterday was the first time I played it on the course, and it made a world of difference. No more struggling with shots in the 150-160 range. No more indecisive thoughts about whether to just hit the crap out of my 5-iron or choke down on my 5-wood because I was afraid to hit my 4-hybrid. Just pure 7-wood confidence.

Here's a cropped version of the photo above, taken from my round yesterday:

In this close-up, you might be able to make out my pink ball at the back of the green. This was a shot from about 155 yards back of the center of the green. First time I'd ever made it on in two at this particular par 4. Thanks to my new 7-wood, I made a lot of score-saving shots. Yup, life is good.

Shiny Balls

I played a scramble tournament with the ladies league yesterday (my team won). One of the fun add-ons was a game called Mystery Ball. Each team was given a blue Nike Mojo ball, which had to be played by a different player on each hole. The object was not to lose the ball -- not such an easy task, since it was a dark, matte blue and definitely hard to spot against green grass. All teams who still had the blue ball at the end of the tournament would be entered in a raffle for a prize. Turned out, my team was the only one that didn't lose their ball, so we won the raffle by default.

Speaking of balls of color, one of the women on my team showed up with the most blinged-out balls I've ever seen. The silver ball is from the Lynx brand, the same maker of a beloved $16 sand wedge I once had. The gold ball is made by Chromax, a specialist in metallic balls of color. I must say that the silver ball was easier to spot in the grass than any golf ball I've ever seen. Maybe it's because they shine like a light, which is the opposite of those matte golf balls I tried out recently.

I think I'm gonna have to try out these metallic, high-visibility golf balls for myself some day. Because finding one's balls should never be a mystery.

(P.S. Nike discontinued its Mojo balls, so now those blue balls will be almost impossible to find.)

Orange You Glad...?

So I tried out the new Volvik Vivid orange balls. As you may know, I like playing with color balls (or "balls of color," as I like to say) because they're fun. When you're playing a ball of color, it takes the guesswork out of who blasted that tee shot furthest down the fairway when everyone else is playing a boring old white ball. I've been playing the hot pink Callaway Supersoft and the tour yellow Srixon Soft Feel balls for a few years now, but a few weeks ago, I noticed that another lady in my golf league plays the same pink ball, and a few others play yellow balls. So I thought I'd try out another ball in a color no one has. This led me to the Volvik Vivid orange ball.

I've played with Volvik Crystal balls before, and I found them too pastel and glittery to be easy to find on the course. But the Volvik Vivid balls are the first-ever ball with a matte finish. And the color promised to be, well, vivid.

The verdict? Well, they have a compression of 80, which is higher than my usual pink and yellow balls, and I did notice the change in feel. They didn't roll out as much on my driver shots, leading to less distance. But they did feel grippier around the greens. I felt my putts were easier to control and rolled somewhat truer. However, the matte finish made them seem to attract and hold dirt more, so if any mud got on the ball (and lately it's been rainy and muddy out there), I had to spend more time cleaning the ball once I got on the green.

And what about the promise of greater visibility? Yes, they are more visible, almost glaringly, annoyingly so -- once you can actually see them. On the course, from a distance, these orange balls actually seem less visible than white or yellow balls. Perhaps it's due to the matte finish, which absorbs light instead of reflecting it.

On the plus side, if you can spot the orange ball in the distance, you will never mistake it for something else, the way you sometimes do with white balls. (How many times have we been given false hope, spotting something light-colored in the rough, only to find that it's just a crumpled receipt or piece of trash?) So unless you're playing in a grove of trees bearing tiny citrus fruits, the Volvik Vivid orange ball will solve at least that common problem.

When the Rough Gets Growing

It was my first play day with the women’s league yesterday. I signed up for the second year, and hopefully I’ll stay fit enough to last throughout the season. I’m limiting myself to no more than 2 rounds a week, once on Wednesdays with the league, and once on the weekend with hubby.

Yesterday, the league played at the same course where I shot an 88 a month and a half ago. Back then, the fairways were hard from the cold, and the rough grass was still thin. Plus, the greens had just been aerated, so balls landed squarely and putts rolled without much break. By now, the rough has grown as thick as a scrub brush and the greens were firm and fast, so balls landing on them had a tendency to roll like a marble out of a frying pan. 

In the end, I shot a pitiful 107. About 5 of those shots were from chunking my wedges into the thick rough. Another 5 strokes were from bunker shots that didn’t quite make it onto the green, resulting in crappy wedge shots out of the rough. I also lost a ball in the water, and another in a red stake hazard, after overhitting a ball past the green.

Thank goodness handicaps only include the 10 best of the last 20 rounds played, and I have enough decent rounds banked for the 107 to be inconsequential. But clearly, I need to practice my wedges. So it’s off to the golf course practice area. Or, since it'll be raining the next couple days, maybe I could just practice hitting balls off a bristle brush at home.