So How Durable is that Golf Ball Rds 3 & 4

7/13/2011
Week 3 for Mikey and I and a big one at that…Match Play night..gotta be at our best. I love match play and it’s important to have a golf ball that does too…hopefully Mikey is up to the task.

I’ve drawn a tough competitor tonight, he’s one of those guys that seems to step up his game when he’s in match play..unless he’s playing against his twin brother…I’ll have to be on top of my game. I’m giving a few more strokes than I normally like to in a 9 hole match so it doesn’t look good. We both start out in the fairway on #1 mine about normally where it is. I knock it on and have about a 20 footer for birdie. My opponent misses the green, chunks a chip to the fringe, runs the putt by about 15 feet and cans the comebacker for a bogey. He’s stroking here so I have to get down in two putts to push. First attempt comes up about 4 feet short..damn, the greens are slower than they look. Gotta make this…darn it..pull and miss..down 1 with 8 to go. That is going to come back to haunt me in a big way later in the match…you have to make those!

A push and a win on the next 2 holes and we’re even. On #4 I pull Mikey bad into the woods left…I can hear him scream on impact…sorry about that buddy. Opponent is down the middle and I am in jail. I actually hit a pretty great shot under the branches up onto the green about 15 feet away. My  competitor sticks a lob wedge to about 5 feet and makes the putt after I miss on the edge…2 down. Mikey was battered but not out.

On #7 the match turned…for the worse. My opponent tee’d off and striped it down the middle and long. It’s the #1 hdcp hole and the drive is critical. I reached back for a little more on my swing and crushed Mikey…only problem was he went straight when i needed a little draw. Mikey flew the fairway on the dogleg left and smashed into the trees again…sorry little buddy..I’m just not quite on my game..nothing your doing wrong though. Now I am totally in jail…only shot out is to chip 90* or try to hit something  that slices and never gets above 5 feet off the ground while going about 150 yards. I’m down 2 with 3 to play..lose here and I’m done… and he’s stroking. I decide I have to go for the win and I pull out my driver. A little 3/4 swing should doit, the ball comes off solid..perfect…ahhhh just a little too high. Mikey clips the tree ahead of me and ricochets straight down. I am screwed now. I do have a bit of a shot and my opponent has missed the green…an up and down from here might get it done. My 8 iron cuts too much and leaves me with a 20 footer, he chips to about 15, we both miss and I lose the match 3/1.Mikey is a little battered from the experience but vows to battle on next week. He still seems to be in very competitive condition

7/20/2011
Week 4 for Mikey and to his relief we only use 4 clubs tonight. Conditions are perfect and we’re both excited to be back with our team.

I probably hit the best tee ball off #1 since I put Mikey in play, about 255 down the left side . Certainly he is not suffering from last weeks debacle. I’ve got 125 in and either a 52* gap wedge or a 7 iron…I go with a bumped 7 and Mikey likes it! he files pretty straight and true towards the hole, lands on the front edge a runs up to about 15-18 feet. Two putts later and it’s an easy par…nice job buddy.

Similar story on #2..bumped 7 iron, 2 putts easy par and we’re rolling. On three I hit my 7 iron…I try to bring a club in this game that I can use on both par threes. Mikey flies perfectly where I was aimed and lands about 10 feet right of the hole…I know I know..I should have aimed at the hole. This putt breaks about a foot right to left and we need it as my partners are all going to make par. I give him a smooth stroke and Mikey gives me a little wink as drops in the hole for bird’  love that kid I think to myself.

With the first three being pretty routine, I figure we’ve settled into an easy night…”a walk in the park” I like to call it…not so much. I slam Mikey into the trees on #4, #5 and #7(which is turing out to be my nemisis hole this season). He’s not bloody but he should be. On #7 I am left with about 190 to the green after a favorable bounce out of the pines. With only a seven iron, I figure if I really hit him hard on the belly he might run all the way up there…sorry buddy gotta do what I gotta do. I hear the wind blow out of him as the leading edge hits him in the face…but I have to tell you this is a good shot…it runs up pin high just off the green. In the old days Mikey would’ve been “smiling” but I couldn’t even see an impression…maybe that’s because of all the skid marks on him )

Par 5 #8 Mikey wins the long drive…it wasn’t even his best but it was pretty good…my partner told me to “just aim it down the middle” ..holy crap…that works

Par 5 # 9 This was a bomb! The hole is 467 yds and tees were back about 10. Heeding Kurt’s advice to hit it down the middle, I gave Mikey a confident pass…and totally flushed him! Soft little baby draw to the left middle of the fairway…I was left with only 185 in. Easily the best drive I’ve hit in league this year. There is certainly nothing wrong with Mikey’s distance at this point of the test. 2 gap wedges and a missed put from about 10 feet and it’s an easy par.

So for the recap, week #4 was a 38 with 15 putts. 3 drives into the woods or it would’ve been better. Mikey is a pretty battered little guy at this point and his cover seems to scuff pretty easily compared to Pro V’s and TaylorMade TP balls which I use. No complaints on the distance, I have noticed though that he doesn’t hold quite like a Pro V1 does, I’m guessing that is due the scuffing on the ball…? He seemed to hold better early on when hitting those 80-100 gap wedge shots which I get a lot on this course. We’ll see what happens next week.

Jack and Mikey

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