Record Round with an Asterisk

I posted an 89! The SCGA doesn’t keep records of asterisks, but if it did, it would see that 89 was an adjusted score. So, I broke 90, but I still haven’t broken 90. Since there was an 8x in there as well, I don’t really know what my actual score would have been, but probably no more than 92. Either way, it’s a record round for me because up until now, I had not even come close to 90. I was playing from the white tees at Moorpark Country Club, (Canyon Crest/Ridgeline), which is rated 75.0/128 for women. I had 8 pars! On the front nine (Canyon Crest) I was 4 over after 8 and then doubled that on the par 5 #9 with a 9 (adjusted to 8). All my disaster holes were the par 5’s, where I usually kick butt. Maybe because on this course they’re longer than I’m used to so I’m trying to do too much with each shot and spazzing my way up to the green. I might be able to drive as long as some men, but my follow up clubs are not as solid yet. I know some would argue that’s why I should be playing from the reds, and I actually intended to, but the guys I was playing with were already split up between the blues and the whites and I didn’t want to add another tee stop to our round.

Bragging Rights

Speaking of those guys, they invited me to play skins with them after the first 9, and I was hesitant because of the difference in our experience levels, but went ahead with it anyway. So we played the back nine and went on to get in as many as we could on the third nine (Creekside) and ended up with 15 holes for our skins game. Totaling up skins, polies, greenies and sandies, the final tally was 10-9-4-1. I even forced a carry over with a clutch birdie (I think I had a polie there that I didn’t count, too). I didn’t end up taking that hole because one of my opponents tied it up with a sweet par 2 holes later. So, I didn’t owe anyone and they all had to pay me, plus, I’m told I have bragging rights now. Hence the bragging! Thanks, guys — that was fun!

Personal best with an asterisk?

I had a huge fight with my boyfriend over my score from this round. I know, I know, that’s what we fight about? He wasn’t there to see how well I was playing, so I had to relay the account of the round. My first words were “I shot a 90 today.” (I hadn’t adjusted my 9 yet). There was my mistake. According to Greg, since the 90 included an 8x, I should have said “I shot an adjusted 90 today.” And, according to him, I can’t claim it as my personal best because I don’t know what my actual score was. Before this 90*, my best score was the 98 from the whites at Mountain View, which is a shorter and less difficult course. That was only about a month and a half ago and was the first time I’d broken 100 on a real (non-executive) course. I’m happy with my progress. Why isn’t he? I felt like he was trying to diminish my accomplishments and wear down my confidence. He convinced me that he’s actually really proud of me and that it’s just a matter of accuracy. Still, he didn’t have an answer for what to call my personal best now. Am I supposed to say my best is still that old 98 or maybe “somewhere in the low 90s”? What do I tell myself to shoot for when I’m goal setting before a round – “today I want to break 90-ish”? What’s it to him? Well, I came up with the answer the very next day when we played together at Mountain View. I shot a solid, non-adjusted 91 from the whites which I can now claim as my official personal best. Hah. So, I broke the “low 90-s” target. I wonder what would have happened if I had been shooting for that 89 or 90 I wanted to have in my head.

The whole thing is silly, because even though it’s a better official score, I know that my round at Moorpark was better golf. So when I say my personal best is 91 at Mountain View, I’ll be thinking Moorpark. And in my handicap records, I still posted an 89.

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