Annika v. Lorena: The Rematch

Also known as The Greater Sinaloa Open 2: Electric Boogaloo

Well, I took Lorennika Sorenchoa back to the local dogrun to give Annika a rematch. The course wasn’t too busy but we didn’t have it all to ourselves. I caught up to a family on the third hole and the little kids were adorable to watch. There was nowhere to go in front of them without having to speed things up (drop one competitor) and play through a bunch of groups. So we lolligagged and enjoyed the nice day. It was more humid and buggy out compared to Tuesday’s perfection and I sneezed more (lately I think I’m even allergic to my allergy pills) but it was still a great evening. The family ahead of me consisted of one dad and two boys, one of them quite small. Very cute. It was great to see him teaching his boys etiquette as they whacked the ball around. He’d not only coach them on their swings, but where to place their golf bags around the green to be positioned to leave for the next hole and how to navigate the putting surface. Nicely done, strange dad. This is exactly why we need courses like Sinaloa.

*Laker fans take note: The other people on the course should have been home watching the Laker game like they were on Tuesday. If you want someone to blame for last night’s loss – these are your scapegoats.*

Moving on… remember the hawk hole from Tuesday? Here it is. Friendliest pin position ever. The front bunker usually has a big, hairy mustache on the top. Sadly, it has been trimmed. The small squares are the ladies’ Tuesday ball positions and the big rectangle is where the hawk was standing. The circles are last night’s ball positions – Lorena in the front, Annika in the back. Ochoa made par, Sorenstam bogey’d.

As promised, I won’t run down each and every hole, so here are the results:

Lorena: 32 (5 pars, 3 bogeys, 1 double)

Annika: 34 (1 birdie, 2 pars, 4 bogeys, 2 doubles)

This time, Lorena played with the Lady Noodle and Annika used the Precept Lady. I didn’t notice a big difference in ball flight, but Annika wasn’t as consistent as Lorena so it’s kind of hard to be scientific. Once again, Annika drank a little more than Lorena though not as much as Tuesday night since she spilled one of the beers.

A couple guys caught up to me as I was waiting on the 8th tee and they played the last two holes with us. It sounds like they’ve been playing since they were kids but their techniques sure didn’t show it. Nice guys, but they teed up their golf balls so high you’d expect them to be using drivers with oversized heads rather than irons. They each played two balls off the tee and chose their better ball to play out the hole. I’m guessing their scores were in the high 40s to 50s. One guy told me I had a nice swing and that I “didn’t swing like a girl.” I thought to myself “yes I do, and maybe you should try it.”

Congratulations to Lorena for backing up her win. Had Annika taken this one, we probably would have needed a rubber match. Now we don’t have to spend Sunday night (the next – and perhaps last – Laker game) at Sinaloa and can instead enjoy Father’s Day and the US Open Final.

Just for fun, here’s a shot of the shortest (and purportedly easiest) hole on the course. There is the family playing in front of me on the green. The trick to this shot is all in the touch of the wedge.

Post Script

Oh yeah – why do I avoid Laker games? I know it’s cool to like basketball but I just don’t. Can’t stand it. Oh, maybe I’d get caught up in the excitement if I actually attended a live game but watching it on television is just irritating with all its obnoxious sounds. Squeaka-squeaka-squeak! Not to mention the noise emanating from a certain fan I know as he yells at the screen as though the players, coaches and refs can hear him. My loathing of basketball grows more irrational as the years go on. I get downright twitchy when it’s on a television near me. Much better to be on the golf course!

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