18th Hole

I couldn’t resist!  Left Bangkok, Thailand at 8:30AM on Saturday, 3/11 to Hong Kong and then on to San Francisco.  With all the time zone changes, you get two Saturdays (3/11)  and we landed at 10:00AM on the same day-3/11.  After a formal charity affair at Bellarmine Prep, it was off to bed.  I managed to forget the 1 hr. conversion to daylight saving time to rise and head off to a round at Pasatiempo.  What a way to get rid of jet lag and play one of the toughest courses in the Bay Area.  Of course, my playing partners decided to add insult to injury and play from the tees at the 136 slope level.  I was very pleased with ball striking today but by the 7th hole, my legs felt like dead weights walking the course.  Putting was another story.  I made one putt all day-a 20 footer for par at the 13th hole and got to watch my playing partner hole 8 putts from 10 feet or more today–whereby 3 holes I was going to win ended up being halved.  My wallet thinned out today but I survived and enjoyed the glorious 70 degree + day.  The course was in wonderful condition as the torrential Feburary Northern California rains  took a week off and the course drained nicely.  Pasatiempo, in Santa Cruz, received over 60 inches of rain in the month of February and the course responded well to the absence of play.  The club has had to drill new wells to provide water for the course in the wake of record drought.  The water situation should be easier this summer.  In 2015, conditions were so bad that we had to play preferred lies for the club’s Invitation Championship in September.  Playing here is always a pleasure.