Goal progress: 4 months as a single digit!

Its been a while since I posted about my progress toward my goal of a single digit handicap.  I dropped below 10.0 on June 15th.  At the time I thought I would bounce up and down above and below the 10.0 line through the summer.  I surprised myself though and have played the best golf of my life.   I've stayed below 10.0 for 4 months now, and even got down to an 8.4.  The chart below shows my GHIN hdcp history for the last 6 months.

Well, where do I go from here?  My short term goal for the winter is of course to keep my index below 10.0.  That's going to be a easier said than done.  The cold weather and the wet course conditions that reduce roll out will be tough. I want to dedicate more work to my short game, putting and greenside bunker play.  These are my weakest areas and with improvement will contribute to achieving my short term goal.

I haven't even begun to think about long term goals.  The first one that comes to mind goes back to my childhood.  My dad was a very good golfer.  He took up the game late in life at age 38, which was about the time I was born.  He took to the game, fell in love and quickly improved.  He maintained a HDCP index between 4 and 7 throughout the years he taught me the game and until his early death at age 60, when I was just 21 years old.  It would be an honor for me to say that I played the game at his level, so I guess that's my next goal, get to "7".

We-ko-pa: Cholla course

The last day of our Scottsdale, AZ trip had my son and I heading back to We-ko-pa to play the Cholla course.  My daughter and wife hung out at the pool so I don't have as many pictures.  Cholla plays very different than Saguaro but is just as enjoyable.  A LOT of dirt was moved to make the Cholla course - Scott Miller was the architect here, so it looks very different than the Coore-Creenshaw designed Saguaro.

The first par 3 on the Cholla course.

My son's favorite hole on the course. Dog leg, risk reward par 4.

A gorgeous par 4 at Cholla

And a lovely par 3

The 18th

Again the 18th, which was my favorite hole on the course.  A long par 4 

View of the green from the 18th fairway.  

So that's it from Saguaro.  If you are ever out in Scottsdale the two We-Ko-Pa courses should not be missed.  We were able to get good rates by doing their "36 hole package".  It enables you to play the courses on separate days with a discount on the green fees for buying two rounds.  I hope you enjoyed the pics!

We-Ko-Pa

Well, sorry for the neglect to the blog the last few months.  I never got around to posting pics from the two rounds at We-Ko-Pa from our family golf vacation to Arizona back in late June.  

We-ko-pa has two course - Cholla and Saguaro.  Both are unique and well worth playing.  This entry will be for our day spent on Saguaro.  The next will focus on Cholla.

This is the opening hole at Saguaro

Saguaro is a Coore-Crenshaw design.  Their style is to move very little dirt.  You feel that you are really playing the "land" on this course.  Very nice contours and an extremely natural feel to the entire course.  Beautiful scenery and lots of wildlife.  I swear I saw a Jackalope while at We-Ko-Pa.  It was the largest Jack Rabbit I've ever seen.  Easily the size of a Cocker Spaniel.  He took off before I could get the camera on him though.

Easy to see how the Saguaro course got its name. Mucho Cacti!

Beep! Beep!  A road runner speeds by our golf balls.

Daughter, Son and I walking off a green at Saguaro.

Just natural contours.  I love Coore-Crenshaw designs.

Their designs allow for run up shots, which make the course playable for all skill levels.

Split fairway Par 5.  Yes I drove my ball right in the middle ditch!

We had a very enjoyable day at the Saguaro course at We-ko-pa.  Highly recommended.  Alright, now to the next entry which will be the Cholla course at We-ko-pa!