SLO County Golf, Wine & Real EstateGolf, Wine & Real Estate News and Events Blog
Overcast at Blacklake Golf CourseFriday, May 27, 2005I hooked up on this gloomy, overcast afternoon at Blacklake Golf Course with a friend I've wanted to play golf with for some time. We joined two singles to make our foursome. Tony, a policeman, just crushed his drives and complimented that with a great short game. He indicated he shoots between scratch golf and 5-over. He only played 9 today due to the slow play and was 3-over. The other single, Gary, also plays often and came in with a respectable 80, highlighted with a 1-foot birdie putt on our last hole - Oak's 9th. Managed by the same friendly bunch at Avila Beach Resort, this 27-hole complex in Nipomo has the feel of a private club. Strung through an established residential neighborhood a couple miles from the ocean, Blacklake boasts three distinctive nines - the original Lakes and Canyon, which make up the most challenging 18-hole configuration with a slope of 123 from the back tees, and the newer, shorter and tighter Oaks. We played Canyon, then Oaks. We were scheduled to play Lakes on the back 9, but we moved to Oaks to escape the conjestion. I showed up early to practice chipping and putting. This week I searched the internet for putting instruction to see if I could find a quick fix to my poor putting. I found a multimedia how-to tutorial on putting at Easy2 Technologies that helped improve my grip. Just a simple change in my grip removed some unnecessary wrist movement and helped keep my stroke on line. On the practice green, I was leaving chips within 2-3 feet of the hole and consistently sinking putts from 3 to 10 feet. Unfortunately, I didn't do as well on the course. I think I 3-putted at least 4 holes. However, I did hole one chip and made a birdie putt from 10 feet out. I had my standard game of 86, made up of some very good holes and some very bad holes. I 3-putted 3 holes in a row on the back, and on Canyon - our front 9 - had a double bogey and 2 triple bogeys, followed by my birdie on 7. I was very inconsistent today. But, like my last round at Avila, I feel like I'm so close to getting back to the low 80's and breaking 80 will come with patience and practice - putting practice. Breaking 85 now seems to be more of a mental challenge than anything else. Looking forward to more opportunities next week. |
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