Going Low

Yesterday I shot the second lowest round of my life, a nifty little 4-under 68 on the Greenback Course at Heron Lakes.  My lowest round was a 7-under 65, but that came at Colwood, where I drove two of the par 4s and was hitting mid-irons into the par 5s.  Thus, the 68 I shot yesterday feels like the best round of golf I’ve ever played.  There are no drivable par 4s on the Greenback and I failed to hit any of the par 5s in two shots (in fact, I only birdied one of the par 5s).  Furthermore, the greens were punched and sanded, so I really didn’t make any putts.  Of the 5 birdies I made, four of them came from stuffing an approach shot to within 3 feet of the hole (I had to make about an 8-footer for the other birdie).  In other words, this was not one of those rounds where I went low by making everything on the greens.  I didn’t realize until after the round that I had hit 17 greens in regulation (the one green I missed came after my drive ended up directly behind a tree).  Indeed, I put on a ball-striking exhibition.  While I technically only hit 9 of 14 fairways, I was literally one foot off of the fairway a couple of times and all but once I had a clear second shot.  Not only was I was fairly accurate off the tee, I was also launching the ball well.  The wet, misty conditions meant heavy air and no roll, but I was still averaging about 250 yards off the tee.  However, I’ve definitely had rounds where I’ve driven the ball just as well, if not better than yesterday.  Yesterday’s round was special because of my approach shots.  I’ve never experienced anything quite like it- just about every single shot from the fairway started on the proper line.  I couldn’t believe how many iron and wedge shots were right at the pin.  When I judged the distance properly, I was giving myself tap-ins for birdie.  Otherwise, I was within 20 feet of the pin either short or long, but almost always right on line.  My out-of-this-world performance from the fairways meant that I had no 3-putts, 4 tap-in birdies, and makeable mid-range birdie putts all day long.  The punched and sanded greens meant that everyone in the group left at least 4 or 5 putts agonizingly short of the middle of the hole, and I was no exception.  Indeed, I hit the ball well enough to shoot a 63 or 64, but I just wasn’t making anything on those sandy greens.

This round came out of nowhere.  Leading up to the round, I’d been inconsistent with the driver and have been downright struggling with my short-iron and full-swing wedge shots.  In fact, I played 9-holes the day before yesterday’s magical round and I was routinely missing greens with wedges from the fairway.  This got me thinking, what did I do differently yesterday?  

For one, I warmed up before the round by hitting about 20 range balls and then spent about 20 minutes on the putting green.  I almost never warm up before I play.  Usually my first tee shot is the first ball I’ve hit all day, and oftentimes I don’t even practice putting before I tee off.  Maybe it’s worth showing up a little early and spending another $8 on range balls before the round....

Secondly, I changed my swing thought and mental approach to shots from the fairway.  I decided that I was going to play a little draw on EVERY approach shot and that I was going to take a FULL SWING on every approach shot.  I should mention that these two swing thoughts go hand-in-hand, as I tend to hit a draw when I make a full swing.  This really helped simplify things: on every single shot I lined up just a bit right of the flag and then I swung hard.  The image in my head when I was over the ball was that I was going to swing like Rory McIlroy.  If you’ve ever watched Rory, he takes a pretty good swipe at every shot.  In fact, I read an interview with him where he said his only swing thought when he’s on the course is to swing hard.  For me, swinging hard leads to two things: a draw and a higher ball flight.  The amount that the ball moves from right to left is directly related to the club I’m hitting.  A hard swing with a 5-iron means a good 10-15 yards of right to left curve in the air, while an 8-iron only curves 5 - 10 yards.  With my wedges, I was aiming right at the flag.  

I only really “missed” two shots from the fairway: I blocked a PW on the second hole, and I pulled a PW on the 11th hole (both “misses” managed to find the green).  In other words, I absolutely pured 16 approach shots, each with a little draw.  After hitting yet another laser on the 16th hole, a tough par-3 with a force-carry over a water hazard, it dawned on me how straight I was hitting the ball.  I realize now that this all goes back to my entire philosophy on how to play golf.  I’m a bit of an old fashioned golfer, complete with an old fashioned golf swing and a work-the-ball-both-ways mindset.  When I step up to a shot, I automatically “see” the shape of the shot that I want to play.  One of the main reasons I played with blades for so long was that they were the easiest clubs to curve.  Now that I’ve switched to cavity backs, it might be time for me to also change my mindset.  Perhaps I should just hit a draw on every shot since my natural shot shape is a draw.  Perhaps I should only play for a baby draw now because my cavity backs don’t curve as much as my blades.  Perhaps I should swing hard at every iron shot and play every shot with the resulting higher ball flight.  Perhaps....

But on the 18th hole yesterday, I hooked my tee shot into a clump of trees off the left-hand side of the fairway.  My only chance of hitting the green was to hit a high slicing 9-iron.  I thought about just punching the ball back in play.  I also thought about just playing the ball up the left side and trying to get the ball into the bunker on the left edge of the green.  But my old school instincts took over.  I lashed at the ball with an exaggerated over the top move and held the face open for as long as I could.  Out came that high slicing 9-iron.  Two putts later I had carded a 68.  

Golf on Oahu

If you ever find yourself on the island of Oahu, there are the standard tourist stops: Waikiki Beach, snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, hiking Diamond Head crater, and watching the surfers at North Shore.  For the record, my must-see/do while in Oahu list includes stops at the Pali Lookout, Lanikai Beach, swimming &/or snorkeling at the lagoons in Ko’olina, taking the scenic coastline drive from Waimanalo to Hawai’i Kai, and indulging in baked goods from Napoleon’s Bakery (which are in every Zippy’s restaurant; I recommend the Long John- a custard-filled elongated donut topped with powdered sugar- and the Haupia Cake- a coconut creme cake that tastes as good as it sounds).  For the visiting golfer, you might be surprised to hear that Oahu doesn’t have anything exciting to offer.  In fact, golf courses on Oahu have a reputation of being crowded, over-priced (if you are lacking a Hawai’i state-issued ID), and poorly maintained.  Golfers coming from the mainland will have to adjust to the different grasses & will need to learn to read the grain on the greens.  Those used to playing in softer conditions will marvel at how high that full swing lob wedge bounced in the air when it landed on the green.  If you’re lucky enough to play with a local, you’ll also need to somehow cope with the fact that your greens fees are $55 while your local playing partner pays $20.  Now that I’ve sold you on golfing on Oahu, here are the courses that I grew up playing (I’ll start with the munis):

Ala Wai GC

This is the busiest golf course in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records.  As such, you may end up waiting a few hours just to get on the course and then will inevitably be greeted by slow play.  The course is short and very flat, while the greens can be sneaky fast (especially when putting down grain).  You’ll make a birdie or two, but it will take you all day to play (there are stories of people showing up at 7am only to wait until noon to get on the course and then not getting off the course until 5:30pm).

Favorite memory from Ala Wai: Seeing Michelle Wie play in person for the first time.  I watched her bomb a driver off of the first tee when she was about 12 years old.  

Pali GC

Nestled at the base of the dramatic Ko’olau mountain range are 18 holes carved out of the hilly rainforest.  The views of the Ko’olaus are spectacular, and from the higher parts of the course, there’s even a clear view of Chinaman’s Hat in the distance.  You’re bound to encounter some wildlife on the course- mostly wild chickens & feral cats, but you’ll also catch a glimpse of the occasional wild pig, mongoose, and peacock.  Some years ago on this course, an errant shot tragically struck and killed a Hawaiian owl.  While the fairways are lined with trees, these are some of the widest fairways you’ll see this side of a links course.  That being said, in dry conditions, these are also some of the firmest fairways and greens this side of a links course and the ball has a tendency to bounce its way into trouble.  Overall, the course conditions aren’t very good, but the starters are friendly (I’m more than a little biased, as I grew up playing the course and got to know the starters over the years) and the upclose view of the Ko’olau mountains never gets old.  Furthermore, the course provides a good challenge.  There’s plenty of elevation change, a good mix of short and long par 3s, and each of the par 5s also provide a unique challenge (two of them are reachable, two of them are three-shot holes).  Indeed, Pali has the reputation of being by far the most difficult municipal course on the island.  The city just poured a bunch of money into sprucing up the course, so even if you’ve played here before back when the conditions were downright bad and swore you’d never come back, you should give this course another try.  

Favorite memory from Pali: I’ve been playing this course since I first started golfing, so there are too many memories to count.  Of the thousands of shots that I’ve hit on the course, one really stands out.  One of the few narrow holes on the course is the par 4 thirteenth hole.  From the tee box, it looks like a dogleg right with out-of-bounds up the entire left side of the hole.  Indeed, a straight shot goes through the fairway and out of play, and the trees on the right side prevent me from playing my draw.  In other words, you pretty much have to hit a fade, which is a shot that I don’t pull off with much consistency. It’s a short hole that doesn’t require a driver, or even a 3-wood, but I can’t tell you how many 3 -irons and 5-woods I’ve hooked out of play on that tee shot.  I remember playing by myself when I was in high school and coming to the 13th tee.  At the time, I was playing with an old persimmon 5-wood.  I visualized hitting a low bullet fade that started at the left edge of the fairway and curved back to the middle.  It was a shot that I had never been able to execute, but I knew that it was the shot I needed to play.  The tee shot struck the sweet spot and screaming off the clubface came that low bullet fade.  I had finally done it- I had hit the perfect shot.  It was the first time I had picked out an exact target with an exact shot shape and trajectory in mind and executed it flawlessly.  That one shot had a profound effect on my confidence- it let me know that I was capable of playing at the next level.  

Ted Makalena GC

On the west side of the island next to a very industrial port is Makalena.  This is a great course for beginners because it is wide open, short, and flat as flat can be.  The soil here is strange- almost like silt- and they have a hard time growing grass on the stuff.  Almost all of the holes are straightforward with little elevation change.  The front nine offers extremely wide fairways, while things get slightly tighter on the back nine.  While the fairways are patchy, the greens are usually pretty decent, so you can roll in some putts out here.  Combine that with some very short par 4s and a handful of reachable par 5s and you’ve got yourself some birdies.  Other than that, there’s not much to get excited about.

Favorite memory from Makalena: I played here when I came home from college one summer.  I showed up after the morning wave was well into the course, and there was nobody around.  I played the front 9 in about an hour and hit the ball really well.  When I added up my score after the 9th hole, I had shot 4-under par, with four birdies and five pars.  I could have paid for another nine holes and played the back 9, but instead I put the clubs in the trunk and drove home.  I’m still not really sure why I didn’t make the turn- it was probably out of fear of making a mess of the back 9 and not breaking par for 18 holes (at the time, my best round for 18 holes was even par).

Ewa Villages GC

In a very residential neighborhood on the west side of the island is arguably the best municipal on Oahu.  The conditions at Ewa Villages are much better than the other munis, and it’s a good track to boot.  There’s just the right amount of elevation change and a nice mix of challenging and easy holes.  The fairways are just right- they’re wide enough for you to bomb you’re driver, but narrow enough to force you to pick a target and play a shot.  There are trees and hazards in all the right places, and when the wind is blowing, it’s a pretty darn good test of golf, as the longer holes are dead into the wind.  Play it from the forward tees, and it’s pretty easy.  From the back tees on a windy day, you’ll make your fair share of bogeys or worse.  Unfortunately, everyone knows about this little gem, so the place gets really crowded and rounds here can take a while.  

Favorite memory from Ewa Villages:  Accidentally hitting into the group in front of us when they were 310 yards away (slightly downhill tee shot + a sudden downwind gust + firm fairways = HUGE drives).  

West Loch GC

In the same general area as Ewa Villages is this short muni that features lots of hazards and doglegs.  It’s also extremely popular and can take forever to play.  I’ve only played here twice, but I remember the layout being really funky (long walks between holes), play being really slow, and some nice par 3s.  

    Favorite memory from West Loch: Watching a buddy of mine stripe a high soft 4-iron to within a few feet of the cup on a par 3.  Did I mention it was his first round of golf in a year and a half?  Yeah, he’s one of those guys.  

Kahuku GC

Just a handful of minutes down the road from the Turtle Bay Resort on the North Shore is this hidden gem (there are even locals who’ve never heard of this place) of a 9-hole links course.  Kahuku Golf Course is a true links course with very few trees, small greens, and fierce wind that blows in off of the Pacific Ocean, whose white-sand shore abuts the east side of the course.  Shots that land in the fairway kick up a puff of sand.  When you inspect the fairway more closely, you see what causes this- the fairways are comprised of clumps of grass with sand in between them.  The local rule that we always play by states that, provided you are not in a hazard, you can place your ball on the nearest clump of grass if you find your ball in a sandy spot.  Indeed, this is an authentic, old school links course.  It’s like going back in time, when the greens ran at about 6 on the stimp and it only took an hour and a half to play 9 holes.  There is no proshop and no snack bar.  In fact, I don’t think they even have golf carts.  There’s just a shack that houses the starter and a few porta potties.  So load up your golf bag with sunscreen, snacks, and a whole lot of water.  Oh, and don’t forget your camera as there are beautiful ocean views throughout the course.  

    Favorite memory from Kahuku: I’ve made three of my four holes-in-one on this course, one of which came on the 310-yard par 4 fifth hole.  I was also 3-under through 14 holes when I walked off the course with my buddy because he was too frustrated by his poor play to continue.  

Public Courses (a step up from the munis)

Olomana GC

Tucked away in a little corner between Kailua & Waimanalo is the golf course where Michelle Wie learned how to play.  This is a fun course with a little bit of everything- elevation change, water hazards, swirling winds, birdie holes, and holes where bogey is actually not a bad score.  While the conditions can be inconsistent (for whatever reason, the bunkers here are always in terrible condition, but the fairways and greens are pretty good), on the whole it’s a step up from the munis.  It’s also a very popular course and play can get really backed up.  The front nine is pretty straightforward, but things get a little more challenging (and interesting) on the back nine.  I’ve only played the course a handful of times, but I’ve always enjoyed my rounds here because it’s the type of course that rewards good shots.  

    Favorite memory from Olomana: Taking my first golf lesson from the legendary Lloyd Nakama who offered almost no advice on my full swing, but gave me invaluable advice on how to approach the short game.  After my 2nd lesson with Mr. Nakama I was frustrated by how little help he offered with my full swing and I told my father that he should save his money.  It wasn’t until much later that I fully appreciated how important Mr. Nakama’s advice was in improving my short game.  

Leileihua GC

While Pali & Kahuku have a lot more sentimental value because I’ve played so many rounds there, Leileihua is my favorite “championship” course to play on Oahu.  Leileihua is a military course that is open to the public.  As such, if you are a civilian, you just might find yourself waiting for a while to play as military players are prioritized.  The golf course is maintained at a level that makes all of the munis and most other public courses on the island seem like goat tracks.  It doesn’t feel like you’re even on Oahu when you’re on the course, which features fairways lined with tall mature pine trees.  The temperature is always at least 5 degrees cooler here than in Honolulu, and there are no ocean or mountain views.  What you will see are beautiful and challenging golf holes.  While the course is fairly flat, the elevation changes on the course are significant enough to require an extra club or two.  Though there are several very short holes, on the whole the course is sneaky long.  The fairways are generous, but if you miss them, the penalty can be quite severe.  What I love about the course is how well maintained the turf is both on and around the greens, which means that you can still put up a decent score even if you’re missing greens.  

    Favorite memory of Leileihua: I played here with my father when I came home from college one summer.  I was struggling with my golf swing at the time, hitting big hooks that put me in the left trees most of the round.  However, my short game was razor sharp.  I probably only hit two or three fairways and two or three greens that day, but I ended up shooting 77 or 78.  Upon adding up the scores my father turned to me and said, “That’s the ugliest round in the seventies I’ve ever seen!”  Indeed, that was my college golfing career in a nutshell.  

Golfers & Their Egos: The Good, The Bad, & The Low-Handicappers

It wasn’t until high school that I really caught the golf bug.  Volleyball had always come before golf, partly because I was more skilled at volleyball and had been a big fan of the University of Hawaii volleyball teams since I was a wee one (I still remember going to Klum gym to watch a few games- my memory goes as far back as the days of Toni Nishida for the Wahine and Jason Olive for the Bows).  The other hurdle for golf was money.  Coming from a lower-middle class family, there wasn’t a whole lot of extra cash to throw around.  What little money I had came from delivering newspapers when I was in elementary & middle school.  It wasn’t until later that I landed a much higher paying job delivering pizzas.  Furthermore, I’ve always been pretty tight with my money.  The closest decent golf practice facility growing up was at the rather fancy Ko’olau Golf Course.  I couldn’t believe that anyone would pay $5 for a large bucket of range balls- I certainly wasn’t going to do it unless I was desperate.  So I would go to the putting green and the chipping area and use my own balls, which I found in the bushes at the muni down the road.  I would spend hours there, often times without making one full swing.  Occasionally, I would get lucky and someone would leave half a bucket of range balls on the chipping green.  I would immediately scoop them up and head to the adjacent driving range.  This wasn’t exactly the right thing to do, as I hadn’t paid for the balls.  But the place was understaffed and they seemed oblivious to my antics.  It wasn’t until later that I found out that they knew exactly what I was doing.  When I went into the clubhouse to use the bathroom, one of the assistant pros (I believe his name was Keoni) stopped me.  He introduced himself and asked me my name.  He let me know that he’d been watching me ever since I started showing up to practice there.  Uh oh.  To my surprise, he noted how much my short game had improved and went so far as to say that my short game was “amazing.”  

I thanked him and realized that he had played a role in helping me improve my game by letting me cheat the system a bit.  There have been others that have helped along the way, purely out of kindness.  Several starters at the municipal courses I grew up playing allowed me to play for free when I would arrive an hour before sunset.  Those same starters would let me know which 9 would be faster to play and let me choose which side I wanted to play.  I would not be the golfer I am today without the generosity of those “aunties” and “uncles.”  

More recently, several of the assistant pros at the course where I worked helped me bring my game to the next level.  Two of the assistant pros, in particular, were instrumental in my development.  They gave me free video lessons as well as tips on chipping and putting.  They even customized my irons for me by reshafting them and adjusting the lie angles, all for no charge.  They saw a young guy with potential who was struggling with his game and they did what they could to help.  

Sometimes golf can bring out the best in people.  The game brings people together and can unite folks who otherwise wouldn’t spend time with each other.  Why does this happen?  Perhaps because every golfer is trying to achieve the same thing.  Or more accurately, every golfer is attempting to overcome the same challenge: getting the dimpled ball to go into the hole in the ground in as few shots as possible.  We’ve all been humbled by the game, and we’ve all basked in the glory of that one perfect shot.  We can empathize with each other, and as such, we wish each other well.  

Of course, golf has its dark side as well.  One of the reasons I don’t play competitive golf anymore is that tournament golf can bring out the worst in people.  I played against some major jerks when I was in college.  And for whatever reason, the better the golfers, the more likely they were to be less than friendly.  I played on one of the weakest teams in the conference, and our team along with the other weak team in the conference were full of really good guys (for the most part).  There were three teams that were competing for top honors in the conference, and those teams were filled with young men lacking in character.  Furthermore, if you’ve ever worked in the golf industry, you’ve no doubt run into some rather large egos (usually enormous male egos, to be specific).   As such, I’m perfectly happy to golf at the excellent bargain public courses around town where I play with folks who are out there to have a good time.  

Putting Breakthrough

By far the weakest part of my game is putting.  I was never a great putter, but I felt like I used to be solid enough, especially on shorter putts.  After spending a semester studying abroad in India, I returned home having lost over 10% of my body weight.  I had lost what little strength I had, and my muscle memory was gone as well.  I eventually got my swing back, and my chipping came along not too long after, but I developed a hitch in my takeaway with the putter.  I started missing everything and I completely lost my confidence.  Fast forward to today, nearly 10 years later, and I still find myself still struggling on the greens. A few weekends ago I had another terrible putting round.  I was hitting the ball great, giving myself 5-foot birdie putts on 4 occasions, but I missed every single one of them.  I three-putted three times.  With the exception of canning a 30-foot downhill double-breaker, I didn’t make a putt outside of 3 feet.  That day I hit the ball well enough to shoot somewhere around even par, but ended up shooting 80.  The following week, I snuck in 9 holes of twilight golf and putted even worse.  After the 9th hole, I decided to play a few more holes.  I was just off the green and the ball was lying poorly in the fringe.  Without hesitating I went to my go-to shot for such situations: the bladed sand wedge.  I’ve always been freakishly good at playing the bladed wedge and use that shot almost every single round I play (particularly in the summertime when I get a tight, firm lie just off the green).  Sure enough, I rolled that bladed wedge right online and put the shot to within tap-in range.  I was amazed at how well the ball rolled and how the ball started out on the exact line that I had chosen.  

I was lucky enough to sneak in another twilight round and decided to putt as if I was hitting a bladed wedge.  I switched to a slightly longer and heavier putter.   I short sided myself on the first hole, but hit a solid chip that left me a simple uphill left-to-right 10-footer.  These were the putts that were killing me- I knew that I should at least be giving these putts a chance, but more often than not, I was missing the hole by a mile.  I put my feet closer together and opened my stance dramatically.  I put the ball way forward in my stance and imagined that the putter was actually my sand wedge.  I rolled the ball directly into the middle of the hole with perfect speed.  It was too good to be true, I thought.  Two holes later I found myself standing over a 35-foot downhill double-breaking putt.  With my old stroke, I was just hoping to have a second putt within 5 feet.  While I under-read the break, the speed could not have been better leaving a tap-in for par.  On the very next hole, my approach shot needed an extra club as I landed 40-feet short and, even worse, on the wrong tier of the green.  I’ve 3-putted on this green so many times, that I was all but resigned to playing for bogey.  Instead, I nearly holed the uphill beast, leaving the ball mere inches from the left edge of the hole.  Through the rest of the round, I lagged the long putts well and made the short putts.  The medium range putts had at least half a chance, even though I didn’t make any of them.  Despite struggling a bit with my swing, I shot 1-over for nine holes.  

For the first time in a long time, I’m starting to gain confidence on the greens.  I’ve had hot rounds with the putter in the past- I made 7 birdies and an eagle when I shot 65 and I once one-putted 9 consecutive holes- but I’ve never been able to consistently make short putts and lag long putts.  What I’ve learned is that like a golf swing, a putting stroke doesn’t have to look pretty or be conventional to be effective.  When I try to putt in a conventional stance, everything feels unnatural.  I have to concentrate so hard to make a decent takeaway, so much so that I end up watching the clubhead go back instead of watching the ball.  My brain is analyzing so much and my body is trying to make so many adjustments to try to make a “correct” stroke.  With my new setup, I’m just reacting to what I see.  When I’m in “the zone” with other parts of my game (I get into grooves with my driver and with my chipping fairly often), there’s almost no thinking.  I feel like if I can get into “the zone” with my putter, I’m bound to post some low rounds and will be able to eliminate those “disaster” rounds.  

Basement Bargain Buyers Needed

They say the first step toward healing is admitting that you have a problem.  So I’m just going to come out and say it- I own too many golf clubs.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those people with a garage full of overflowing golf bags.  I’ve managed to lend out all of my backup drivers (Titleist 983K, Taylormade R5, Callaway Diablo Edge Tour).  I have three backup 3-woods (Cleveland Launcher, Callaway Big Bertha II, Taylormade Raylor), two backup hybrids (Adams Tour Prototype, Taylormade Rescue), two sets of backup irons (Mizuno MS-11, Ping Eye2 BeCu), and at least 5 backup putters.  I think it’s time for me to get rid of some clubs.  I just bought a new 3-wood that I’m in love with, so I can’t foresee much regret in getting rid of the others.  I can’t hit my backup hybrids, which I’ve only held onto in case I need to throw a set together for out of town guests.  That’s part of the problem- I feel like I need to hang onto the hybrids and one of the 3-woods for when my family comes to visit.  For the same reason I feel the need to hold on to the Mizuno MS-11s- a set of true blades that I feature the world’s smallest sweet spot (but what a sweet feeling sweet spot it is!)- so that I have something to play with when I lend my Cleveland CG Reds to my bogey-golfer father.     Beyond that, something tells me that the MS-11s and the Ping Eye2s (the Ping’s grips are so worn that they can’t be used) will only increase in value.  I’ll have a hard time getting rid of any of my putters because I’ve had solid putting rounds with every single one of them. And there you have it- I’ve already managed to justify keeping the majority of my cache of clubs.  Here’s how you can help: let me know if you are interested in any of my clubs (see details below) and let’s make a deal.

Drivers:
Titleist 983K, YS-6 Stiff shaft, New Decade Multicompound grip (currently on loan)
Taylormade R5 Neutral, stock graphite stiff shaft  (this club has been claimed)
Callaway Diablo Octane Tour, Project X 6.0 shaft (currently on loan)

3-woods:
Cleveland Launcher, stock graphite regular flex
Callaway Big Bertha, YS-6 Stiff shaft
Taylormade Raylor, Aldila HM-40 Tour Gold Stiff flex graphite

Hybrids:
Adams Idea Pro Tour Prototype 23-degree, Aldila VS Proto  Regular flex
Taylormade Rescue Mid 19-degree, UG65 graphite stiff flex

Iron sets:
Mizuno MS-11 3 - PW, Rifle 6.0 shafts
Ping Eye2 BeCu 2 - LW, stiff steel shafts

Wedges:
Titleist Vokey Spin Milled 60.04
Scratch Golf 47-degree wedge

Putters:
Odyssey White Hot XG #7, 35-inches (currently on loan)
Odyssey White Hot Tour #9, 34-inches (my current gamer)
C-Groove Mallet, 33-inches
Ray Cook Blue Goose blade putter, 35-inches
Never Compromise ZI Delta2 blade, 33-inches, Winn AVS grip
Odyssey 2Ball, 33-inches, Golf Pride Dual Durometer grip
Acushnet Bullseye, 35-inches
Powerbilt Levelume blade, 32-inches
Ping Anser blade
Ping Pal

Hole-in-one stories / Gushing about Kahuku GC

The first hole at Kahuku Golf Course, a 9-hole muni a few minutes down the road from the Turtle Bay golf courses, is a 164-yard straight-forward par 3.  It’s wide open, the only trees in sight are rows of dwarf cypress-like evergreens to separate the hole from the “driving range” (an open space where you can hit balls provided that you supply the balls and you shag them afterward) on the right and the 9th hole on the left.  Kahuku Golf Course is a true links course with very few trees, small greens, and fierce wind that blows in off of the Pacific Ocean, whose white-sand shore abuts the east side of the course.  Shots that land in the fairway kick up a puff of sand.  When you inspect the fairway more closely, you see what causes this- the fairways are comprised of clumps of grass with sand in between them.  The local rule that we always play by states that, provided you are not in a hazard, you can place your ball on the nearest clump of grass if you find your ball in a sandy spot.  Indeed, this is an authentic, old school links course.  It’s like going back in time, when the greens ran at about 6 on the stimp and it only took an hour and a half to play 9 holes.  Those fancy golf balls you got for Christmas will do you no good here.  Neither will those game improvement irons you bought yourself to make it easier to get the ball up in the air.  The 30-mph gusts will make your driver that launches the ball so high and straight seem useless.  That fancy new wedge with the milled face and fancy grooves?  Nope- that’ll put way too much spin on every chip shot.  To play well at Kahuku you need to manufacture some shots.  You’ve got to re-learn the old bump and run shot.  Dust off the old wristy pop-style putting stroke while you’re at it.  Get that punch shot ready, too.  Now you’re ready.  When you step up to the first tee, it all seems so simple.  The wind is coming hard right to left.  There is no trouble right of the green.  Just avoid going into the shrubs over the green, and don’t go into the bunker on the left side of the green.  You have the luxury of watching your playing partner hit first.  You realize that the wind isn’t just right to left, it’s also hurting a little, as evidenced by your partner’s ball short of the bunker.  You switch from a 6-iron to a 5-iron.  Nothing like hitting a long-iron for your first shot of the day...you shake your head as you tee up your ball. Sure enough, you catch it a bit thin, but the ball starts where you aimed at the right edge of the green.  Your partner has played the course numerous times before and immediately yells for the ball to get down.  The wind gets ahold of it and pushes the ball left.  The ball curves to the middle of the green and lands left of the pin.  Then it bounces and bounces and....it’s in the middle of the greenside bunker.  Lesson number one: the ball bounces out here.  Welcome to your first bunker with REAL SAND.  You can’t believe how much sand is in the bunker, or how inconsistent the depth of the sand is. There’s a ton of sand under your right foot, hardly any under your left foot.   Suddenly that lip looks like its higher.  At least you’re hitting back into the wind, you think as you set the blade open and dig your cleats in.  You catch it a hair thick and the ball barely makes it out.  But the small green means that your par putt is still within 20 feet.  You see that the green tilts from front to back, so your putt should break left to right.  You’re still hitting back into the wind, so you aim at the left edge and hit it a little harder.  Your ball doesn’t even make it halfway to the hole.  Your partner apologizes for forgetting to mention that your putt was also directly into the grain.  Lesson number two: read the grain.  You ram your bogey putt through the break and it lips out on the left edge.  Lesson number three: keep it in the hole if you’re trying to ram in short putts.  Double-bogey 5.     

That’s often how the first hole goes at Kahuku.  Bogey isn’t such a bad score.  When I first started playing the course in high school, I averaged a 5 on the hole.  It was a typical round at Kahuku with my father.  I was just starting to really get into golf.  I had worked on my game enough to consistently shoot in the high eighties.  I was playing with an old set of Acushnet irons that my father’s co-worker gave to him.  They were probably about half an inch longer than standard and looked like blades.  They were way too heavy for me, too.  I choked up on them and swung hard, hoping to just get the ball airborne.  I remember having a rough opening 9, the opening hole had been particularly ugly.  The wind was blowing hard.  I was hooking it and topping shots, too.  I felt like my game had taken a step backward.  I convinced my dad to play a few more holes.  So we headed back to the first tee.  I cold topped my 4-iron.  It was barely off the ground for the first 30 yards or so.  Then it bounced and bounced and bounced.  I was thrilled when I saw that it was going to reach the green.  Just before the green it took a strange bounce toward the pin, and it just kept on going.  I watched the ball roll right into the hole.  I threw my hand up in the air, “I think it went in!” I yelled to my father who didn’t bother to watch the shot once he saw it hit the ground 30 yards out.  He wanted to make sure I didn’t get my hopes up in case it went over the green, and told me that I shouldn’t get too excited until we get up to the green.  My heart was racing.  I must’ve practically jogged to the green.  There it was, my Top Flite XL 3000 Aero at the bottom of the cup.  My first reaction was to pluck the ball and rather dramatically exclaim, “Finally!.”  My father, who has played golf for over 30 years and still has not had an ace shook his head and said, “Finally?!  You have no idea how lucky you are!”  He was right- that shot was pure luck, but somehow I had expected it to happen again in the near future.  

Fast forward several years.  I’m still in high school, but now I’m able to shoot in the mid 80s pretty consistently.  I’ve even had my first round in the 70s.  I’m wild off the tee, mostly because I swing as hard as I can, but my chipping and putting is pretty solid.  It’s another typical round at Kahuku with my dad.  The wind is really blowing hard.  We reach the fifth hole, which is down in a low area so you can’t feel the wind.  It’s a straight ahead par 4 that measures 310 yards on the scorecard, but it plays directly downwind and is easily reachable with a solid drive.  From the tee, the fairway rises gently and crests about 35 yards from the green, then it drops off more steeply down to the green.  From the tee, all you see is the horizon created by the crest of the fairway- you can see the top of the flagstick, but much of the green cannot be seen.  I tee up my ball and aim way out right for my low slinging draw/hook. I swing hard and I get under the ball a bit.  The ball climbs way up high into the air and stays up the right side- there’s no draw at all.  The wind at my back pushes it hard enough to clear the crest of the fairway and I’m glad to see it take a big bounce forward and left, toward the green.  As I approach the green, I can’t see my ball anywhere.  It should either be short and right of the green or in the greenside bunker to the right of the green. It’s not in either spot.  Just before I drop another ball, my dad tells me to check the hole.  I wander over to the flag expecting to be disappointed.  There it is!  A hole-in-one on a par 4- an albatross!  I almost can’t believe my luck, but somehow I can.  

That hole-in-one somehow made me more confident.  From that day on, my game seemed to improve rapidly.  Before I knew it, I was able to shoot in the low 80s fairly consistently.  If I was putting well, I knew I was going to be in the high 70s.  I played one season of JV golf in high school, which featured 9-hole tournaments with the exception of the conference tournament, which was 18 holes.  In my very first tournament I birdied the first two holes, including making an 80-foot putt, and held on to shoot 38, which gave me runner-up honors.  If memory serves me right I shot an 84 in the conference tournament to finish top-20.  I didn’t play tournament golf again until I walked on the college golf team my sophomore year.  About three tournaments into my first season, I shot a 78 in ugly conditions (the tournament was delayed an hour because of hail) to finish in third place.  That really boosted my confidence, and I ended up putting up a few more good rounds in my college career.  I managed one other top-3 finish, finished in the top-15 of the conference championship several times, and twice held the 18-hole lead in 36-hole tournaments.  Not bad for a self-taught golfer who started late and couldn’t find a fairway to save his life (I literally played out of the left trees for the entirety of my college career).  For all that success, I did not record a hole-in-one in college.  I never really came close.  I did hole out a pitching wedge for eagle on the hardest hole on the course during the conference championships one year, but my par-3 scoring was not so hot.  I often go through stretches in the summertime when I consistently shoot in the low to mid 70s.  I’ve never made a hole-in-one during those hot streaks.  

My third hole-in-one came in the midst of one of the worst slumps of my golfing career.  I was working at a golf course and was hitting a ton of balls as I worked on a swing change.  It was getting me nowhere.  I was back to shooting in the low to mid 80s.  Beyond golf, I didn’t know what I was doing with my life- I had graduated from college two years prior and was earning barely over minimum wage at the golf course.  I was living paycheck to paycheck and wasn’t using any of the skills I had gained in college.  I was pretty much playing for the exercise at that point.  It was a sunny Monday.  I came to the par-3 sixth hole, a downhill 175-yarder with bunkers protecting the front, left, and right of the green.  The green slopes severely from left to right, so much so that the only place flat enough for pin locations are on the far right side of the green.  I struck my 6-iron right on the sweet spot, but with a shut face.  The little draw I was playing for turned into a hook that luckily caught the far left edge of the green.  It took a nice kick forward and right.  Then gravity took over as the ball raced down the hill toward the pin.  I watched to ball smack off the flagstick and into the hole.  I remember not knowing what to do.  I was playing alone.  There was no one in sight.  I also remember feeling like that was my first “legit” hole-in-one because I had actually struck the ball solidly.  While it was still a bit of a lucky shot, it didn’t require nearly as much luck as my two previous aces.  

My most recent hole-in-one was my favorite one.  I had moved to Chicago and hadn’t touched my clubs in 4 months before visiting the islands during the holidays.  Knowing that I’d be playing some golf, I spent the weeks leading up to the trip visualizing playing golf.  For some reason, over and over again I found myself envisioning making a hole-in-one.  As expected, I found myself at Kahuku Golf Course, this time accompanied by my entire family.  I was playing relatively well when we came upon the 6th hole- a severely uphill par 3 that only measures about 135 yards, but plays closer to 150 yards due to the slope and hurting right to left wind.  I decided to hit a hard 8-iron instead of a 7-iron to take over the green out of play.  I absolutely pured it, and it started exactly where I was aiming- some 15 yards right of the flag.  I hit it so well that it seemed to be boring through the wind, and I was convinced the ball was going to fly the green.  It wasn’t until the ball reached its apex that the wind started to push the ball toward the flag.  Only the top of the flagstick is visible on that hole, so I had no idea where the ball ended up, but I knew it was online.  I muttered to everyone that it probably went over the green, but my best buddy was convinced I had hit it close.  It was no surprise that my ball wasn’t on the green.  There is a steep downhill slope over the green, so I made my way down to look for the ball, but found nothing.  I came back up to the green and decided to check the hole.  There it was- hole-in-one number four.  Finally, a hole-in-one that required almost no luck.  I chose the correct club, hit it on the screws, and started it on the line I had intended- it was a perfect shot.  Best of all, my family was there to join in on the celebration.    

It will be difficult to top my most recent hole-in-one.  It’s incredible that three of my four hole-in-ones have come at the same golf course.  If you’re ever on Oahu, I encourage you to go play Kahuku Golf Course.  As I mentioned, it’s like a trip back in time, and it’s golf in a very pure form. It’s also the cheapest course you’ll find on the island and there are some magnificent ocean views.  Unfortunately, Kahuku Golf Course will likely not be around for very long, as the owners of Turtle Bay have been looking to purchase the land for many years now.  It will be a very sad day for me and my family when Kahuku Golf Course is no more.

  

How to have a successful first round back after a long lay-off

I’ve had several long stretches away from the game.  The first came when I went away for college.  I didn’t even have my clubs with me for one semester of my freshman year.  The other semester, I played one round of golf, which was a fateful one as it led to me walking on to the golf team the next year.  The second time came when I decided to spend a semester studying abroad.  More recently, I played almost no golf when I moved to Chicago for a year a handful of years ago.  I had very different levels of success when I came back from each of those layoffs.  

The first layoff didn’t present much of a problem as I had spent a significant chunk of my freshman year working out.  I came back physically stronger as I had started lifting weights for the first time.  I was also itching to play and spent the summer between my freshman and sophomore year working hard on my game.  In other words, I was ready to play again, both physically and mentally.  When I first started playing again, I couldn’t hit the ball all that solidly, but I was just happy to back on the course and played through about three or four poor rounds before I started to shoot my normal scores again.  

The second layoff was the most difficult.  I had started working at the golf course the summer before going abroad.  The access to both the golf course and the practice facility over the summer took my game to the next level.  I shot back-to-back rounds of 72 and had my first legitimate chance to shoot under par (I was 4-under par with four holes to go and then choked like a dog, finishing bogey, par, double, double).  I studied abroad in India, where, like everyone else I traveled with, I got sick numerous times.  When I left for India, I weighed about 135 pounds.  When I returned almost 4 months later, I weighed 119 pounds.  I remember swinging a club in the front yard, dumbfounded by how heavy it felt.  I couldn’t get the ball off the ground for a couple of weeks, but worst of all, my putting stroke was in shambles.  It took me a long time to get my swing back and an even longer time to regain my feel.  I don’t feel like I ever recovered my putting stroke.  This return to the game was much more challenging because I wasn’t physically ready to play again.  Furthermore, my time in India rather forcefully changed the way I viewed the world.  Thus, golf became a low priority and my passion for the game had lost its spark.  

The third layoff was a lot like the first- I was in the best shape of my life when I lived in Chicago.  I had access to amazing workout facilities, and I worked out at least 5 times a week for hours and hours.  After four months of not even picking up a club, I went back home for the holidays where I knew that I would get to play at least a round or two.  In the weeks leading up to the trip, I did a lot of visualizing.  I played the course I grew up on in my head several times.  What’s more, I spent many hours visualizing making a hole-in-one.  When I arrived back home, we almost immediately ended up on the golf course.  We played 9 holes, and it wasn’t pretty.  I got beat by my brother, who was just starting to play regularly, and almost got beat by my father who was enduring a shoulder injury that prevented him from lifting his right arm above his shoulder.  A few days later, we played another 9 hole round at a links style course.  From the first shot, I knew I was swinging better.  Then on the sixth hole, I holed an 8-iron for my fourth (and most recent) hole-in-one.  As was the case with my first long layoff, I was both physically and mentally prepared to play.  

Along the way, I’ve had shorter, but still significant breaks from the game.  I have found that the best way to regain my form is to start at the chipping green.  Hitting chip shots helps me get the feeling back of contacting the ball crisply and on the center of the clubface.  Once I can consistently hit chip shots solidly, I move on to hitting balls.  I don’t spend much time hitting my longer clubs.  I spend a lot of time hitting 75 - 150 yard shots, just working on my fundamentals and trying to make solid contact.  I should mention that I don’t always hit balls- once I’m confident with my chipping, then I’m usually ready to get back on the course knowing that no matter where I hit it, I’m going to give myself a decent chance at making some pars.  I have a reputation for being a good “rusty” golfer mostly because I try to find time to work on my chipping.  I’ve gone months without playing on the course or hitting a single full-swing shot, but am able to return and shoot a decent score because I’ve spent an hour at the chipping green every week.