Golf and Cycling

Last weekend I played in a club tournament called the Governor's Cup with my close friend Dan (whose son Jake Dylan was born just the week before).  The Governor's Cup is a two-day, two-man, best-ball net tournament, broken into five flights of six teams based on combined handicap.  Each team plays five 9-hole matches and each flight's winning team plays in an alternate shot shootout at the end.  It's a fun, if a bit grueling event.  My partner and I did well but didn't win as there was a stellar group in our flight that went on to win the tournament.

In the second nine of the tournament, I had a personal best: my lowest 9-hole score ever, shooting 31 (-5) on the back nine.  I started by missing a 15 foot birdie putt on 10 an inch short, right in the center of the hole.  The par 5 11th I birdied by making a right to left 20 footer.  I then parred the 12th hole by making a 6 footer after a poor first putt, parred the 13th after just missing another 20 footer, an inch or two short, right in the center and parred the 14th by getting up and down from in front of the green, making a 12 footer.  Then, I made birdie putts on 15 (10 feet), 16 (10 feet), 17 (30 feet) and finally 18 (10 feet).  12 putts total.

Getting my first hole-in-one last month, while completely thrilling, felt a bit like I was "chosen" by some higher golfing power.  I've hit many shots on par 3's that could have gone in, but the one that went in, just happened to go in.  It didn't take more skill than any other shot that almost went in.

Shooting five under on a side, making birdies on the final four holes along with a two good par save putts in the middle, really feels like a golf-accomplishment (distinct from life accomplishment, like marriage, work promotion, etc.).  As a +1 handicap, I have confidence I can pretty much hit most shots - drives, approaches, pitches, chips, sand shots, trouble shots and putts.  Where it begins to get very difficult for me is stringing great shots together over the course of a round or multiple rounds.  This distinct skill is difficult to develop as you get very few chances to practice these situations - I mean how often am I going to be four under on 17 needing to make birdie for a personal best?  Hopefully somewhat frequently.

In other news, I've taken up cycling, after tooling around on CitiBikes for a few weeks.  I bought myself a hybrid bike (a KHS Vitamin A) and have been exploring the City as my schedule (and crotch) permit.  Last Friday, after working up to it over the course of a few weeks, I biked most of the perimeter of Manhattan, 29.62 miles, which took 2 hours and 13 minutes, and estimated to burn >1,700 calories.

My ride started on First Avenue in the 50's and continued North on First to 119th Street when I made a left (West).  I turned right (North) onto St. Nicholas and continued North on that to the Harlem River Greenway.  At the top of the Harlem River Drive, I turned left (West) on Dyckman and followed that to Riverside Drive which connects to the Hudson River Greenway (South) through a set of stairs where you have to dismount and carry for a few seconds.  From there, I continued South, past the GWB, through the 100s and 00s and lower Manhattan, reaching Battery Park and turning North to pick up the Greenway on the East Side.  Finally, I left the Greenway at 23rd Street and continued back up First Avenue where I was thrilled to finally reach home again, coming from the other direction.