Got in a round at Fox Run on Friday

Well, I got to get out on a better day for golf on Friday. It was warmer than the bitter cold I played in on Monday. But with the slight chill in the air (which made for dry, low humidity) and winds that were kicking up to about 15-20 I got a second case of chapped, dry lips. Let me tell you, when those babies are dry and cracked like mine are now, they hurt like never before.

I guess I should know better, I've had this happen before and my lovely wife, Barb simply has no sympathy for me. She is the type that puts on lip balm at almost every opportunity. We could be running from a house fire and she would stop and apply some lip balm. Me ... I hate the stuff. I know, I know ... it's good for you and if I'd used some then my lips wouldn't feel and look like my grandmothers feet. But the truth is this ... I can't stand to put anything glossy, waxy, pasty, or sandpaper-ish (is that a word?) on my lips. I've tried too many times and I do the same thing my dog would do and that's WIPE IT OFF!. It just feels un-natural. Kinda like stepping in doggie -doo. You know it's not supposed to be there so you gotta get it off.

Just before my wife goes to sleep , the last thing she does is put on a good thick coat of bees wax, floor wax, or what ever that stuff is. THEN, yes then, she gives me her goodnight kiss. You know what happens next ... I gotta get that stuff off my lips. Now maybe if it either tasted better or it weren't so "noticeable" I would be able to leave it on there but for now it's no use. Like I tell Barb ... there's a reason they call it BALM and it's too close to EMBALMING fluid for me. If anyone knows of something that'll do the trick but doesn't make me feel like I'm resurfacing my brakes let me know what it is.

Enough of that though. The golf course is still very much in winter hibernation. Fortunately they do not over seed with Winter Ryegrass. Yeah you don't get the green look and feel but you also don't get the weird, odd mix when the ryegrass is going dormant while the burmudagrass is not quite full yet. At least this will be consistant. The course is also still a little soggy in places because technically it's just a little below the level of the Red River and that means as long as the Red is still way high, the water table is still VERY close to the surface and any rain/snow water has nowhere to go. All in all, I still like the course. The greens are not really in that bad a shape considering the relatively harsh winter we've had. I've seen MUCH worse in my travels. The bunkers are in decent shape. Since we've had such a rough winter I wonder if the tee boxes should've been shaved down a little. Some of them are a little mounded but again, not as bad as some I've been on. Don't believe me? Go down to Florida and you'll see courses that haven't shaved (leveled) their tee boxes in years. You can't find a level spot to tee it up down there so you have to live with hitting the ball from above or below your feet. I'm not a prude but I think that at least on the tee boxes you should expect to be able to start the hole from a level shot.

All in all, Fox Run is a great little course and certainly an excellent value and gives you a wonderful test of golf. I'm looking forward to it greening up this spring. I'll be conducting golf lessons there this year so if you've got anything that you want to work on let me know and we'll get you fixed. Your swing that is.

Remember when in doubt, club up one and swing smoother. Oh, and use some lip balm.

Gary

Instruction Opportunity

Today I am going to go over to Barksdale Airforce Base to play the Fox Run course for the first time in many years. I need to see the course and familiarize myself with the opportunities and trouble spots that my students might face.

I mention my students because I'm due this week or next to sign a contract to become the Golf Instructor at Fox Run Golf Club. This is a great opportunity for me and is also a wonderful situation for Fox Run's customers. There are lots of ideas that I have for conducting clinics and other events designed to get people out on the course again. The club already has several programs and initiatives in place that will be of great help. I just need to take advantage of them.

I've not seen this course in MANY years. I understand that there have been some changes including the loss of many trees on the south side of the course after the March 2009 tornado that came right through the old layout. I'll let you know what I think of this course and also a few others that I've played in this area recently.

Until later, keep it low and slow.

Gary

Charity, Fun and BRRRRRR !!

Yesterday was the 2010 David Duncan Memorial Golf Classic at EastRidge Country Club and there was the usual large turnout. I think the final total was 124 players and 16 LPGA Tour pros and 2 PGA Tour Pros. I was on the Tournament Committee assisting Pam Kimbrough with organizing, and helping make this event happen. There were many, many others who put in many hours of hard work and this fine event simply cold not have went as smoothly as it did without their help. You ladies and gentlemen did a great job!

It being a golf tournament held in February you gotta expect that it would be a little "chilly". Well, it was more than just a little chilly, it was bone chilling COLD! David Fulco and I were asked to put out the hole sponsor signs and check out the overall course setup. Now I've played golf in some cold conditions before and I've always found that it was distracting but tolerable. However, on this occasion simply putting out signs was beyond distracting. But, I will say this, I've found that when you lose all feeling in your face, hands and feet it's not really all that bad after that. Eventually we got all of the sponsor signs and the closest-to-the-pin and longest drive signs placed despite David not being able to feel the steering wheel. Not bad since it was below freezing with a 15 mph wind blowing from all directions. That too is one of those strange anomalies that simply defies the laws of physics. When the wind is from a "constant" direction, and the course is obviously in a fixed location, how in the world can EVERY HOLE BE INTO THE WIND ! I found later that the earlier 15 mph winds were "light" compared to what was in store during the tournament.

Let's just say that David and I dodged plenty of ice on the course that morning. All of the water that was on the cart paths was pretty much frozen. There was even ice on Bayou Pierre that runs through the course. Then I found out later that I was needed to actually play in this event. It seems that another entrant was not able to return from an out of country trip in time to make it and Pam had asked me if I could fill in. Always having your sticks in your car is sometimes NOT a good thing. I really like this course but I was looking forward to thawing out and spend the morning inside drinking hot chocolate and eating donuts.

So next thing I know I'm trying to convince my body that I'm not actually trying to kill it, I just want to try to help my poor team after their misfortune at having me dumped on their team. I actually had a decent workout on the range and was lulled into thinking that it might not be so bad.

Long story short ... My game was not as bad as I expected from such a long drought of playing time. The driver was OK, the short game was OK, but those mid-irons ... well, let's just say that we're not on speaking terms at the moment. I was lucky enough though to have two other great players on the team one of which was a former player at Centenary College and also Nationwide Tour. He had it working that day and together we managed to put together a respectable 8 under par "63" which was good enough for 2nd place. Not bad for a 3 person team in a field of 4 person teams. We were rewarded with some great prizes for placing 2nd which included an Odyssey Black Swirl putter and a dozen Titleist balls, a round of golf for 2 at East Ridge Country Club, a very nice LSU Tiger driver headcover and a Titleist hat. Luck was with me that day too because I also won, in one of the raffle drawings, a very nice Mizuno Bettanardi tour prototype putter and dozen Bridgestone balls. That was the amazing thing actually because I NEVER win anything when it comes to raffle tickets. I was as surprised as anyone.

All in all it was a great day for the ARC of Caddo-Bossier, and the kids at the Goldman School and that's really what it's all about in the first place. Until next time, stay warm, stretch before you play, and play often.

Gary

Thanks to all my friends for your patience!

I haven't posted in quite a while due to my recent move from Florida back to my hometown of Shreveport, La. and then the unusually cold winter we've had has really kept the golf to a minimum. I'm also moving away from having a separate "website" and this blog. I prefer to keep this blog, but you can still use the GLBGolf.com URL but it will bring you to this blog instead. As some may know, I'm not a web designer ( I know Luke... it's hard to believe ;-D) and Luke Brown has been helping me to get this transition done and I thank him profusely.

Normally I like the winter time of year. The cooler weather really is nice after a long hot summer. However, this is the coldest and wettest year on record for this part of the country. Yesterday we had about 8 inches of snow at my place and for those who don't live in this area THAT'S A LOT OF SNOW! I got some great pix and video and I'll post them later. 

But golf weather is just around the corner. Matter of fact, we have a golf tournament coming up this Monday at East Ridge Country Club, here in Shreveport. The tournament is the David Duncan Memorial Classic and it's the annual fundraiser for the ARC of Caddo-Bossier (Goldman School). There will be 16 LPGA pros and two Nationwide PGA  pros playing alongside the participants. There are some excellent prizes to be won and some even better raffle prizes including a seat on a chartered 737 going to The Masters on April 7th. Win this and you get round trip air, food on board, admission to Wednesdays practice round and Par 3 contest, and memories to last a lifetime. This was donated by David Toms and the David Toms Foundation. It's going to be cold so my advice to all entrants is to make sure you stretch adequately before you try to tee off. You will play better golf after stretching and more importantly you will avoid some painful and potentially long lasting injuries. 

Oh yeah, I want to let my friends know that I'll be signing a contract to give golf instruction and conduct clinics at Fox Run Golf Club at Barksdale Airforce Base in Bossier City. So contact me for any instruction needs or to simply get yourself ready for this spring. I'll be setting up short game clinics soon and don't worry about not being able to access the base. I can make arrangements for that easy enough. I'm also working on permission to teach at another location here on the SW side of Shreveport. I'll keep you posted on when that happens.

Until then you might want to start looking at your clubs and making sure your grooves are clean and your grips aren't worn (they probably are). I need to change my grips now too, so I'll add that to my list of things to do.

Stay warm,

Gary