It hasn’t really been unseasonably cold, but it still seems like spring is taking an awfully long time to get here!

So it was nice to get out for 18 yesterday.

I’d never played Sodus Bay before, either, so I took my camera along. It’s a pretty course. There are views of Lake Ontario from the holes near the club house.

I thought the back nine was the nicer part, mostly because I like the hole that run through interesting terrain. This is number 14, a dogleg right. How about that fairway?

Here’s a view looking back on number 15 from the 16th tee. What you can’t see from the pic is the creek that runs across the fairway, which I cleared on my second shot with my three wood btw, one of my nicer played fairway woods of the day.

It was late afternoon then and the sun had come out — it was pretty chilly for the front nine!

I managed three pars for the day but didn’t break 100 so I’m disappointed at my score. But in my defense I’ve made a slight change to my swing — my left wrist was flat at the top of my backswing, so I’m trying to change that. I think it’s increasing my club head speed but its not really grooved yet so its made my shot direction a bit more erratic than it was. In fact, since it’s going to get cold and rainy after today, I’m thinking I might stop by the driving range to hit a few balls in a bit — to work on the wrist thing specifically . . .

As for Sodus Bay, it will be interesting to see how they fare in the new economy. The course was in beautiful condition — the greens had just been rolled and were super fast (another reason for my high score!) But on the downside, it’s a pretty long drive from Rochester and the club’s greens fees are on the high side for a semi-private course — especially considering how far they are from Roch (or Syracuse for that matter) ($50 on weekends during the summer season). If they want my advice, I’d say they need to run some “can’t pass it up” specials to lure golfers out — then trust they’ll fall in love with the course and keep coming back.

If you go, do plan to sample the food in the clubhouse restaurant — my friend had the house specialty soup, a tomato and roasted red pepper bisque, and it was excellent — as good as any soup you’ll find in these here parts!

I’ve met some great local women golfers.

Members run a variety of leagues — lots more chances to get out & play.

And members can can compete in the EWGA championship, the largest amateur women’s golf championship in the U.S.

So if you’re a women who golfs, now’s the time to get involved. Here in Rochester, our chapter is holding its season kick-off brunch on March 7, from 10:00 - 11:30, at the Midvale Country Club in Penfield. It’s only $20, there will be door prizes, and Patty Jordon, the LPGA pro from Brookfield Country Club, will be giving a talk.

Hope to see you there!

The site has been live now since late January, and I’m very happy with the results. So check it out and let me know what you think!

Unfortunately we got rained out after only nine holes during our first round at The Timacuan on Thursday afternoon. We did get to play a couple of really interesting holes, including number 2, where you have to carry water on both your drive and your second shots — meaning that if your drive is too long you’re wet — and the seventh, which is surrounded by a sand bunker. Well, 85 percent surrounded.

I didn’t take too many pictures, but here’s one. Can’t remember now if this is 4 or 6. But it’s pretty, isn’t it? With the dormant grass of the rough setting off the fairway and green?

We had better weather on Saturday. Cool — it never got out of the low 60s — but the sun felt fantastic.

That day we played Victoria Hills in Deland. Beautiful course, very well-maintained. Here’s the view from the first tee . . .

Here’s another hole — number three if I recall correctly — to give you an idea of how many bunkers you have to face down to play this course. 100-something altogether.

The fairway on this hole is a dogleg left — the green is over there somewhere near the edge of the pic. Fortunately I was doing okay on my drives . . . my irons, on the other hand . . . I have no idea what was going on. Something to do with not swinging a club since early December, I suspect? Kept hitting them thin. I did manage to bring home a few pars but I matched those with a number of blow-up holes, so my scores weren’t great.

Not that I’m complaining! Especially after coming home to the drifts and drifts of white stuff

(For a couple more pics — course wildlife –drop by my other blog.)

This was another beautifully maintained course. Here’s the putting green.

The course winds all over the place. Holes are connected by concrete cart paths.

It’s a challenging course. There are a few forced carries, even on the forward tees. Like this one. If I recall correctly, this shot is a view of the 12th hole from the white tees.

The sky was partly clear by then, but it was pretty chilly. I was dressed in multiple layers, plus a knit cap. Comfortable for most of the afternoon. And hey, it wasn’t snowing!

Here’s one of the course’s signature holes, number 2. Don’t hit your approach shot thin & end up underneath that big boulder on the left of the frame, behind the flag, like I did. It will be *coff* unplayable and cost you a stroke.

The jackrabbits were out in full force that day. We had to shoo them off the teeboxes on just about every hole.

I’m going to close with this shot, even though I didn’t take it the day we played. This was one morning as we walked from our casita to the lodge. We took a little detour to stand on the blue teebox for the sixth hole. The shot’s a little dark, but hopefully you can still see how beautiful it was. It’s quite a hole, too! Look at the carry from that tee: waste, road, water! Take your pick!

As for my score — I didn’t play as well the last day as I had the day before, but I did manage a 44 on the back nine, topped off by a nice aggressive shot to the green on number 18 — a green that is closely guarded by water on the right. I figured, why not go for it — I won’t be playing again until spring, who cares if I lose my ball? I’d started the hole badly, so my two putt left me with a double bogey only, but it still felt great.

There! That’ll be the last of my golf trip posts. I had a great time, and would love to play in Arizona again someday . . .

It was a breathtakingly beautiful course. Here’s what it looks like when you pull into the parking lot near the clubhouse. Paradise!

One of the reasons the course is so beautiful is that it has a lot of elevation changes.

Here’s a view from the fairway of the number one handicap hole, number four. It’s a par four dogleg right. I’m standing from about where my drive landed. I parred the hole

This was the first time I noticed the way golf balls can embed in Saguaro cactuses. Don’t just bounce off like if you hit a tree here in the northeast.

You have to place your drive carefully to score on the par threes. Here’s a view from the tee box of number 5. I took this shot more to capture the landscape, but if you look closely, the fairway is that teeny tiny strip of green along the left side. I parred this one too

I didn’t do so well on number seven, another par three. Bogey. The yellowish trees in the middle of the frame are poplars — there’s a wash running through down there, behind the green. The tee boxes in the foreground are surrounded by rosemary, which was blooming and buzzing with honey bees.

It started to get chilly later on in the round as a cold front came in. Here’s a view from the white tees on number 13.

The wind started to blow. And the lighting got dramatic! Too bad my camera choked a little bit on the contrast.

As I got cold, my game started to fall apart a little bit — I didn’t score as well on the back nine as I did the front. Got my first triple bogey (on the highest handicap hole on the back, but still). All the same, I finished with a 92, which is a good 10 strokes lower than I should have given my handicap. Not bad, considering my goal most of the year was to break 100 — and here I was, three strokes from breaking 90.

That’s the 18th green. Squeezed in right before dark. Boy was it nice to sit down at the course resturant, the Tonto Bar and Grill. The food was excellent, and we sat on their patio, which was enclosed and warmed by heaters in the ceiling. A perfect ending to a wonderful day of golf.

A very open, rolling course. Lots of small aircraft to watch between shots — it’s right next to the Falcon Field Airport. The club member who was paired with us for our round says it’s one of the busiest small craft airports in the country.

One of the nicest sights from the course is this one, of Red Rock Mountain.

We also spotted a Snowy Egret. I believe this is looking from the fairway of number 13, across the water hazard that runs between it and 15.

And these Mourning Doves, perched on this spiky plant which name escapes me right now.

My partner got a whole lot more pars than I did this round. But I played below my handicap — again. Little did I know that I was about to blow that handicap out of the water . . .

First up: Dove Valley Ranch in Cave Creek, a Robert Trent Jones II-designed course. We played this the day we flew in — drove from the airport, quick pit stop at The Boulders to check in, then straight to the course. Changed from our New York State duds into warm weather clothes right in the course parking lot — no time to waste, we wanted to squeeze in our first 18 holes before dark!

It was the warmest day of our trip, mid 70s — what a change from home. The sun felt fantastic, and I loved the desert views.

Here’s another hole a little later in the round (sorry, didn’t keep track of which hole is which!):

The back nine of the course is the most interesting. It winds along Willow Wash, so you’re crossing through a lot of Arizona-style waste areas. Balls don’t get lost as easily as in the east, because a lot of the ground is bare — but beware the flora, it’s got thorns galore!

Saw our first jackrabbit — this will give you an idea of what the waste areas are like:

I’d have to say, the sunshine was probably the highlight of this round — that, and just being out on a course again. Of course, there was also this sweet tap-in birdie on number 12. My partner had a great up and down on that hole too too! We both shot very respectable rounds, in fact

Next up: Longbow Golf Club . . .

The mental side of the game is one of the main appeals for me. I’ve learned so much about composure and self-control over the years. Taking up golf a couple of years ago meant that I could apply what I’d learned to a physical sport.

The problem is that you do need to do a decent job with the mechanics — and that’s been frustrating at times. I was ready to give it up entirely this spring (or anyway, I said as much to myself a couple of times).

But looking back, I have improved. My bad holes are now sixes and sevens instead of nines and tens.

I cured the slice that was plaguing me.

I have a ways to go, yet. Most important: I’d still like to reduce the variables of my swing.

What’s fun, however, is that I’ve gotten good enough that I can turn more attention to the mental game. So Rotella’s book is a welcome way to spend a few minutes here & there, now that we’ve got snow on the ground. I find myself remembering what it was like to be a kid, when putting was something that I thought was pretty easy.

I’m going to work on my game this winter. Not quite sure how, yet. Indoor driving range — possibly. Maybe just swing a club in the back yard. Strikes me as a way to work on that reproducibility.

It’s funny how optimistic I feel. It’s like I have this Ideal Round in my head, and it seems so real to me.

And since I can’t actually go out and play, that Ideal Round just sits there, all pretty and uncorruptable . . .