me. life. world.
Summary of my birthday? Breakfast pastry –> Football –> Golf + Beer –> Steak + Wine with awesome people all day long. I wish everyday was like today.
03/11/2012: Images from the day. Special thanks to Jesse for the breakfast, 3-n-Out for the WIN, Peter for golf, and the poopoo's for dinner!
03/11/2012: Poopoo birthday dinner tradition- HOPR!
Possibly one of the worst rounds of golf… in a very long time. Putting didn’t work… the driver sent balls slicing into oblivion… lets not even start with the irons… nothing worked… NOTHING. In golf, you sometimes play better than your score shows, and sometimes your score shows better than your play. When you are playing well but the score isn’t cooperating, you feel you are close to putting a good round together. When your score shows better than your play, you feel like you could really up your score with a little more control. Today… I had nothing. I played terrible, felt terrible, and scored terrible. GUH >:-0
02/25/2012: Tilden GC- I still have nightmares of this round.
I booked a tee time at The Ranch Golf Club, without much thought, simply because it looked very nice from the pictures on their website, it was a course we haven’t played, and there was a deal for discounted green fees. So it came as a surprise (an unwelcomed one) when I told Joe we were playing somewhere in San Jose, and he asked, “You’re not playing at The Ranch, are you?”- noting that it is one of the toughest courses in California. According to this article, it is the second toughest course (and the toughest public course) in Norcal, and after playing it, I don’t have a hard time believing it. The front nine was much harder than the later half… partly because Hojun and I had quite a long night the day before (view previous post). I put a good nine together at the end, but it was just a little too late and ended up losing the match. The course is beautifully designed and maintained, so it’s definitely worth a visit… just try to practice a few times before. Also, note to self: check the slope before booking a course next time.
02/19/2012: Hole #6 @ The Ranch GC. Just one example of a hole with canyons/sand/water... and a slither of grass. We were continuously intimidated, almost amused, to see what challenges the course would bring on every hole.
02/19/2012: Hole #10 @ The Ranch GC. 320 yard par 4, teeing off about a mile in the air...
02/19/2012: Hole #14 @ The Ranch GC- You often see many beautiful scenery on golf courses, and The Ranch had plenty to show. A beautiful green on hole #14, like a picture from the books. My dream is to own a red barn, just like this one, on my sunflower farm!!
02/19/2012: Hole #15 @ The Ranch GC- I've never seen a bunker, in the MIDDLE OF THE GREEN. The hole was funny because we hit every possible outcome. Chris' ball sailed into the left side bunker; Peter hit a great shot onto the green; Hojun hit his too far, landing behind the green bunker having to putt around it; my ball landed IN the middle green bunker... videos below.
02/19/2012: Hole #18 @ The Ranch GC. A great drive with Hojun's driver, and then a great approach with his 52. They are mine now...
02/18/2012: Lesson #5 with Coach K @ Sunol- help needed.
02/17/2012: Beautiful day for golf @ Cinnabar Hills GC w/ Koun, Peter & Joe! I don't remember it being so windy and difficult... plus a flat tire on our golf cart was a first.
02/18/2012: Birds chirping on a tree @ Cinnabar Hills GC- it looked like a picture in a book!
02/18/2012: Also a first- somebody leaving the cart parked in the parking lot instead of returning it to the right place. At least they parked between the lines?
02/18/2012: Post golf dinner @ Jang Su Jang- I'm quickly becoming a regular!
I ended the ridiculously long and tiring weekend of Oakland –> Football Tournament –> Soul Krush, with none other than golf! It was nice to play on a flat surface for once, though I never appreciate how cold it gets as soon as the sun starts to set. I played one of my best rounds in probably a year or so… finally breaking into the low 90′s. I also won some money on this round, landing closest (or more like the only one to hit the green) on a couple of Par 3′s… and winning by two with team play for dinner despite Peter’s short putt miss below… jk Peter, you played great today. Two game win streak!
02/12/2012: Sorry Peter, this is the only video I have from the round…
02/12/2012: Poplar Creek GC- these ducks remind me of dodo's for some reason. Bottom pictures- money ball!
02/12/2012: Post golf round dinner @ Ramen Parlor in downtown San Mateo. The line at Ramen Dojo was too long, so we hopped over to this place across the street. Authentic Japanese owned, ramen had a strong fishy/lobster flavor that I didn't mind, but could see others won't be too happy about it.
02/04/2012: It's always a challenge waking up early on a Saturday morning, but it's not so bad when the reason is golf. Yes, I use four sticks, the golf bag & the mirror... sometimes there is also a chair involved...
After my golf lesson, I headed over the San Mateo Bridge to play a mini golf tournament with Joe & friends at Crystal Springs GC. We made four teams of twosome, paired by handicap. The final score resulted in a two-way tie after 18 holes, and the ranger was nice enough to let us play #1 again as a sudden death play-off. Team Joe & Daniel basically crushed the other team in the playoff- we didn’t need to finish the hole, but it would have been something close to +2 vs. +10. Special thanks to Joe for setting everything up!
02/04/2012: I've never crossed the San Mateo Bridge to come into the Peninsula! It was, for whatever reason, somewhat exciting.
02/04/2012: Crystal Springs GC. Beautiful!
02/04/2012: Go Blue! Go Guinness! Go Heineken!
02/04/2012: Super nice ranger took pictures for us on different holes from different angles! Joe, Me, Janet, Eli.
02/04/2012: After golf dinner @ Mingalaba in downtown Burlingame. The restaurant had a long line, but it was well worth it. They were also nice enough to leave hot tea outside for people waiting!
02/04/2012: Fantastic dinner, especially since it came from the winners pot!
02/03/2012: Taking my new irons for a spin @ PA Muni. Finally getting some practice between lessons!
Okay, so it wasn’t an actual “sick” day golf since I took a PTO. Calling in sick would have been more adventurous and daring, but look people, I am somewhat of a responsible old person now! The rain caught up to us by the last couple of holes, but it wasn’t bad enough to deter us from finishing the wonderful round. I will take golf in the rain any day over a day in the office! In fact… I’ll probably take golf in the rain over just about anything in life, except for golf in the sun…
01/19/2012: Cinnabar Hills GC- amazing amazing amazing course!!! And very very far.
01/19/2012: Lunch. The food, both breakfast and lunch, were very delicious. Cool part was ordering the food right off the golf cart!
01/19/2012: Twas a cold and rainy day, but my golf mittens and beer was a big help (mittens- physically, beer- mentally).
01/19/2012: Post golf celebration- suburbs style! @ TGIF.
01/19/2012: Post post golf celebration- south bay style! @ VIP.
Oh, how I missed thee, Presidio GC. You messed up our tee time and made us wait 3 hours… but you comped the round so it’s all good. We called the club house a dozen times to complain about the group in front that took an HOUR to play the first two holes. The golfing experience should have been terrible, but the course was so beautiful it made up for it. Not to mention it was FREE. And it was a Monday.
01/16/2012: Presidio GC- the grass is so perfect, it almost looks like carpet.
01/16/2012: Love this course.
01/16/2012: Beer, good. Golf, good. Beer + Golf = Good Life
01/16/2012: Presidio GC, Hole #15
01/16/2012: Presidio GC, Hole #18
01/08/2012: First full round in four months- played like the first round of my life. Still a beautiful day when you're out here!
01/08/2012: Moments from the round at Callippe Preserve GC w/ the FB crew- Ben, Eugene & Koun!
