Trip Journal: Arizona Golf Trip 2017
West Phoenix (Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear) and Tucson; March 12 - 19
The annual excursion to the Valley of the Sun is on again for 2017 with the same group of eight hackers from the last year and staying in the same houses. But there are a few changes. Swan has retired and is doing the snowbird gig south of Phoenix. While he's staying at House 2 the week of the trip, we will swing by his winter home for dinner one night. That will give us an excuse to play Quarry Pines since it is down that direction. The biggest change though was the loss of one of our golf buddies, as Rich Corcoran passed away somewhat unexpectedly back in December. He had been fighting a series of ailments including diabetes that had gone undiagnosed until recently. He was coming out the week after our trip but there was going to be some overlap so we had thoughts merging his group with our eight most likely at Copper Canyon as that was a course that he liked. He will be missed.
Day 1 - Sunday, March 12, 2017 - First round of the year! Sunday morning at 0640 and I am packed and ready to go, but no need to leave the house until closer to 0800. I can just relax a bit, take care of the critter chores for Lynn and still probably head out a little early. Also gives me time to start pulling the notes together for the trip….
The requirements for the trip were a little easier than in years past, plus the other guys pitched in with the planning and execution (Haas again rented the houses and David rented the van). There was agreement early on to just play one round of golf each day plus try to take in a couple baseball games. The single round really helped out as this was the most challenging year for getting tee-times. Not sure what was going on but finding courses for Thursday and Friday was tough. I had Foothills booked but then they canceled us out without letting me know as they booked an outing on Friday. Just lucky that Swan asked a question about using a coupon there so I had to call the course otherwise we would have shown up and been out of luck. Swan suggested Las Sendas several times but each time I looked the cost was $150. I took one last look and amazingly the Saturday rate was $58! Sold. And booked. Then the next day canceled by the course. The very low rack rate posted on the website was in fact an error so they canceled the reservation. I was also struggling to get Copper Canyon into the rotation as they had outings at the end of the week. I eventually had to juggle a few courses, but made it work.
I also did a little looking for brewpubs and taphouses. Saddle Mountain is still the best bet. Unfortunately they removed jambalaya from the menu, but there are some other interesting choices. I did contact them through IM on FB to confirm. They got back to me promptly with the bad news but that's OK.
On the road at 0750. Cold and grey. 20 F. Lynn says she is jealous as the weather in northeast Ohio is looking dismal for next week, a definite return to winter. But today was fine so I made good time to the airport. I was parked in the Orange lot right at 0830. Through check-in with Southwest in no time in part due to the very helpful folks doing most of the work at the self-service check-in kiosks. No lines at security as I was quickly at Brueggers ordering my standard peanut-butter-and-jelly bagel for breakfast (grape jelly, of course). I finally wandered down to the B Concourse checking the electronic signage along the way. We are departing from gate B11, so all the way to the end, not that the end is that far. I found the House 2 guys at gate B7 so I stopped and chatted with them for a while. Same ol' guys. We were all group B so no still not a great rush to get to our gate but we did eventually mosey that way where we found Haas hanging out. OK, the Cleveland gang is all here.
Haas and I talked about Rich. He had gone to Rich's viewing. The event sounded somewhat surreal. He said that he thought he was in the wrong place as Rick looked like he had aged 30 years. Just sad. Haas also mentioned that he had found out that the owner is selling the rental houses so these houses probably are not an option for next year. Too good to last, I reckon. At least we got two years out of this location. I'll start researching VRBO while we are on the trip so that perhaps we can get everyone to agree on houses for 2018.
Day 1 - Sunday, March 12, 2017 - First round of the year! Sunday morning at 0640 and I am packed and ready to go, but no need to leave the house until closer to 0800. I can just relax a bit, take care of the critter chores for Lynn and still probably head out a little early. Also gives me time to start pulling the notes together for the trip….
The requirements for the trip were a little easier than in years past, plus the other guys pitched in with the planning and execution (Haas again rented the houses and David rented the van). There was agreement early on to just play one round of golf each day plus try to take in a couple baseball games. The single round really helped out as this was the most challenging year for getting tee-times. Not sure what was going on but finding courses for Thursday and Friday was tough. I had Foothills booked but then they canceled us out without letting me know as they booked an outing on Friday. Just lucky that Swan asked a question about using a coupon there so I had to call the course otherwise we would have shown up and been out of luck. Swan suggested Las Sendas several times but each time I looked the cost was $150. I took one last look and amazingly the Saturday rate was $58! Sold. And booked. Then the next day canceled by the course. The very low rack rate posted on the website was in fact an error so they canceled the reservation. I was also struggling to get Copper Canyon into the rotation as they had outings at the end of the week. I eventually had to juggle a few courses, but made it work.
I also did a little looking for brewpubs and taphouses. Saddle Mountain is still the best bet. Unfortunately they removed jambalaya from the menu, but there are some other interesting choices. I did contact them through IM on FB to confirm. They got back to me promptly with the bad news but that's OK.
On the road at 0750. Cold and grey. 20 F. Lynn says she is jealous as the weather in northeast Ohio is looking dismal for next week, a definite return to winter. But today was fine so I made good time to the airport. I was parked in the Orange lot right at 0830. Through check-in with Southwest in no time in part due to the very helpful folks doing most of the work at the self-service check-in kiosks. No lines at security as I was quickly at Brueggers ordering my standard peanut-butter-and-jelly bagel for breakfast (grape jelly, of course). I finally wandered down to the B Concourse checking the electronic signage along the way. We are departing from gate B11, so all the way to the end, not that the end is that far. I found the House 2 guys at gate B7 so I stopped and chatted with them for a while. Same ol' guys. We were all group B so no still not a great rush to get to our gate but we did eventually mosey that way where we found Haas hanging out. OK, the Cleveland gang is all here.
Haas and I talked about Rich. He had gone to Rich's viewing. The event sounded somewhat surreal. He said that he thought he was in the wrong place as Rick looked like he had aged 30 years. Just sad. Haas also mentioned that he had found out that the owner is selling the rental houses so these houses probably are not an option for next year. Too good to last, I reckon. At least we got two years out of this location. I'll start researching VRBO while we are on the trip so that perhaps we can get everyone to agree on houses for 2018.
No issues with the flight. On-time boarding. I scored a forward window seat (4F) from by B39 boarding position. There was a light snow falling as I looked at the window at the chilly Cleveland morning. It is good to be getting away. On-time push back from the gate and just a short pause for deicing then off to the runway. As there was no other traffic in sight, the Captain just wheeled us on to the runway, pushed the throttle forward and had us rolling toward downtown Cleveland. He was banking northwest as soon as we gained a little altitude. As we climbed, I could discern the snow showers dotting the western suburbs. We were making our turn to get on the right track well before we reached downtown and we were up into the nothing of the cloud deck just as we crossed the north coast and out over Lake Erie.
Glad this is a direct flight as it just gets harder to sit in the tube all day. Twenty-two hours of flying to New Zealand is going to be hard to handle when we finally make that trip. I chewed through the Sudoku puzzles in the Southwest magazine. Solved all four but the one labeled 'hard' took a little effort. Read a couple articles to pass the time as well; an interesting piece about a guy who is working to save the alphabets of the world's languages before they go extinct. He is carving the letters of the fading dialects into wood before they are gone forever. The Captain gave us a turbulence warning while we were still 530 miles from PHX. Nothing major. Still about 1.5 hours to go at this point but we were on schedule. At 10:44 Cap came back on with the 60-mile warning and the weather report: 72 degrees F, partly cloudy skies, winds out of the southeast at 7 mph. Sounds like a winner!
Since I was in the front of the bus, I was off the plane quickly and waited for the rest of the crew. Once assembled we ambled through the terminal to baggage claim. Terminal 4 is much nicer than terminal 2 where we usually come in when flying United. Travel on Southwest today had gone very well. I'm getting to like SWA much better (and United much less). Swan collected the house 2 guys at the airport. Haas and I went to the rental car terminal to wait for David. David had texted earlier that he made his connection and was on schedule. Mark was there waiting. He had gotten in really early and had just been hanging out. David texted once he touched down in Phoenix. His flight had arrived on time but baggage was slow so we were pushing the schedule by the time he reached the rental car terminal. Fortunately, David had express check-in with Dollar so that we bypassed the exceedingly long line at the main counter (the Dollar line was long but a couple of the other companies were just outrageous; something to remember for future trips, so the loyalty programs that allow you to skip the counter are the key). We loaded up in our minivan and got on the road.
Fortunately there was no traffic and we made good time getting to Falcon. We arrived at the course about 1:50, so just in time for golf. Since the other guys were already here and warmed up, we set our foursomes up by house and let the house 2 guys go first. The weather was ideal; blue skies, very warm but not oppressive heat, maybe a hint of a breeze. Since it was the weekend, there was no "air show" like we often get when playing here during the week. Instead, there was some sort of car rally going on so we were treated to the annoying sound of tires screeching occasionally as they cruised around their track. But that was just a minor noise that we only heard when playing the holes adjacent to that area. The real downside was that the course was just ragged. The edges were not mown, some of the tee-boxes were chewed up, many Bunkers without sand, overall it just was not in good shape. While this will never be Augusta, the conditions had really fallen off since last year. The good news was the course was not crowded at all, so we never waited nor were we ever pushed, which was unusual for Falcon as there are a couple places were the course always seems to back up. But it is still a great warm up course with a nice layout and the price is certainly right at $25 for 18 holes and a cart. This was definitely a warm-up round, as we all struggled from time to time in the group, but we also all had our moments as well and hit some good shots. Haas proposed that the low score on the back 9 between he, David and I would wind the couch for the week, knowing that he would have the low score and was planning on sleeping on the couch anyway. And he did post the low score for our group. I was somehow able to squeak in at 99 for the round. I'm actually pretty happy with that score and the way I played more or less considering that I have not played since last March in Death Valley where I shot the lowest round of my life at 214 feet below sea level! However I was beat to death by the time it was over (long airplane ride followed immediately by a round of golf is getting harder to do). My back was sore, the fingers on my right hand were throbbing and I was concerned about my right wrist. Maybe it is time to give up golf. I really enjoy the guys but the golf is less of a draw. But this is just day one, we'll wait to sell the Cobras until at least after the round tomorrow.
Next stop was dinner. The guys wanted to watch the Cavs, so off to BW3 (Majerle's was brought up as an option but was quickly discarded as most of us are done with that place). I think we were all mostly worn out as there was a lot of water and iced tea poured this evening. Only Haas and Kirk were drinking beer, and Haas had his usual Bud Light, so that is just barely more than water anyway.
We were home about 8:00. And sorted out the sleeping arrangements. Haas took the couch. I got the master. Great place, nice and open. The guys turned on another basketball game. We were already talking about next year, primarily since we'll have to look at a new set of houses. I did a little searching on VRBO. At some point the conversation turned to Sedona. Maybe we could just go up there for the week; not as many courses, but they are nice ones. That has potential. I called it a night at 9:30.
Day 2 - Monday, March 13 - Copper Canyon. I was awake at 0500-ish. No one was stirring. Haas snoring out on the couch so I got ready for the day. Once I was cleaned and pressed I could still not hear any life outside so I put in some time on email and timecards. I eventually heard Haas rattling about, so I went out to say good morning, then went out on the back patio to enjoy the morning. We were in no rush this morning as our tee-time at Copper Canyon was not until nearly 1:00. While the original plan was to play in the morning, I think the revised afternoon start worked out very well as it gave us a chance to breathe this morning following a long day of travel and golf. We had plenty of time to buy supplies this morning and still meet the House 2 gang for breakfast.
We hit Walmart at 0830 for supplies, everything from band-aids to bagels and of course beer. We opted not to buy anything for dinner yet. Figured it was best to play that by ear. Besides, with the store so close to the house it would be easy to buy stuff on the fly. We dropped our loot at the house then turned right back around to head to Mimi's for breakfast. It took a while to get seated then the service was a little on the slow side, so that ate into our contingency time for getting to the course, but we were still not pressed. The food was good, so that saved the day. One of the new items on the dinner menu was jambalaya so we have a definite contender for dinner one night. Swan said that he has had it a couple times since they have been down here and he highly recommends it. We were on the road to the course about 11:15.
Just another beautiful day on the Valley of the Sun with a cloudless, blue sky. The temperature was probably well into the 70s by now with predicted highs near 90. We arrived in plenty of time so we had a chance to warm up and get the kinks worked out of our swings at the very nice practice facilities. While I think that I have a limited number of swings available each day, the time on the range was very helpful. I made a few tweaks (ball a little further forward in my stance, shorter backswing and swing easy. By the time I left the range I was hitting the ball fairly well. Hopefully that will transfer to the course.
Glad this is a direct flight as it just gets harder to sit in the tube all day. Twenty-two hours of flying to New Zealand is going to be hard to handle when we finally make that trip. I chewed through the Sudoku puzzles in the Southwest magazine. Solved all four but the one labeled 'hard' took a little effort. Read a couple articles to pass the time as well; an interesting piece about a guy who is working to save the alphabets of the world's languages before they go extinct. He is carving the letters of the fading dialects into wood before they are gone forever. The Captain gave us a turbulence warning while we were still 530 miles from PHX. Nothing major. Still about 1.5 hours to go at this point but we were on schedule. At 10:44 Cap came back on with the 60-mile warning and the weather report: 72 degrees F, partly cloudy skies, winds out of the southeast at 7 mph. Sounds like a winner!
Since I was in the front of the bus, I was off the plane quickly and waited for the rest of the crew. Once assembled we ambled through the terminal to baggage claim. Terminal 4 is much nicer than terminal 2 where we usually come in when flying United. Travel on Southwest today had gone very well. I'm getting to like SWA much better (and United much less). Swan collected the house 2 guys at the airport. Haas and I went to the rental car terminal to wait for David. David had texted earlier that he made his connection and was on schedule. Mark was there waiting. He had gotten in really early and had just been hanging out. David texted once he touched down in Phoenix. His flight had arrived on time but baggage was slow so we were pushing the schedule by the time he reached the rental car terminal. Fortunately, David had express check-in with Dollar so that we bypassed the exceedingly long line at the main counter (the Dollar line was long but a couple of the other companies were just outrageous; something to remember for future trips, so the loyalty programs that allow you to skip the counter are the key). We loaded up in our minivan and got on the road.
Fortunately there was no traffic and we made good time getting to Falcon. We arrived at the course about 1:50, so just in time for golf. Since the other guys were already here and warmed up, we set our foursomes up by house and let the house 2 guys go first. The weather was ideal; blue skies, very warm but not oppressive heat, maybe a hint of a breeze. Since it was the weekend, there was no "air show" like we often get when playing here during the week. Instead, there was some sort of car rally going on so we were treated to the annoying sound of tires screeching occasionally as they cruised around their track. But that was just a minor noise that we only heard when playing the holes adjacent to that area. The real downside was that the course was just ragged. The edges were not mown, some of the tee-boxes were chewed up, many Bunkers without sand, overall it just was not in good shape. While this will never be Augusta, the conditions had really fallen off since last year. The good news was the course was not crowded at all, so we never waited nor were we ever pushed, which was unusual for Falcon as there are a couple places were the course always seems to back up. But it is still a great warm up course with a nice layout and the price is certainly right at $25 for 18 holes and a cart. This was definitely a warm-up round, as we all struggled from time to time in the group, but we also all had our moments as well and hit some good shots. Haas proposed that the low score on the back 9 between he, David and I would wind the couch for the week, knowing that he would have the low score and was planning on sleeping on the couch anyway. And he did post the low score for our group. I was somehow able to squeak in at 99 for the round. I'm actually pretty happy with that score and the way I played more or less considering that I have not played since last March in Death Valley where I shot the lowest round of my life at 214 feet below sea level! However I was beat to death by the time it was over (long airplane ride followed immediately by a round of golf is getting harder to do). My back was sore, the fingers on my right hand were throbbing and I was concerned about my right wrist. Maybe it is time to give up golf. I really enjoy the guys but the golf is less of a draw. But this is just day one, we'll wait to sell the Cobras until at least after the round tomorrow.
Next stop was dinner. The guys wanted to watch the Cavs, so off to BW3 (Majerle's was brought up as an option but was quickly discarded as most of us are done with that place). I think we were all mostly worn out as there was a lot of water and iced tea poured this evening. Only Haas and Kirk were drinking beer, and Haas had his usual Bud Light, so that is just barely more than water anyway.
We were home about 8:00. And sorted out the sleeping arrangements. Haas took the couch. I got the master. Great place, nice and open. The guys turned on another basketball game. We were already talking about next year, primarily since we'll have to look at a new set of houses. I did a little searching on VRBO. At some point the conversation turned to Sedona. Maybe we could just go up there for the week; not as many courses, but they are nice ones. That has potential. I called it a night at 9:30.
Day 2 - Monday, March 13 - Copper Canyon. I was awake at 0500-ish. No one was stirring. Haas snoring out on the couch so I got ready for the day. Once I was cleaned and pressed I could still not hear any life outside so I put in some time on email and timecards. I eventually heard Haas rattling about, so I went out to say good morning, then went out on the back patio to enjoy the morning. We were in no rush this morning as our tee-time at Copper Canyon was not until nearly 1:00. While the original plan was to play in the morning, I think the revised afternoon start worked out very well as it gave us a chance to breathe this morning following a long day of travel and golf. We had plenty of time to buy supplies this morning and still meet the House 2 gang for breakfast.
We hit Walmart at 0830 for supplies, everything from band-aids to bagels and of course beer. We opted not to buy anything for dinner yet. Figured it was best to play that by ear. Besides, with the store so close to the house it would be easy to buy stuff on the fly. We dropped our loot at the house then turned right back around to head to Mimi's for breakfast. It took a while to get seated then the service was a little on the slow side, so that ate into our contingency time for getting to the course, but we were still not pressed. The food was good, so that saved the day. One of the new items on the dinner menu was jambalaya so we have a definite contender for dinner one night. Swan said that he has had it a couple times since they have been down here and he highly recommends it. We were on the road to the course about 11:15.
Just another beautiful day on the Valley of the Sun with a cloudless, blue sky. The temperature was probably well into the 70s by now with predicted highs near 90. We arrived in plenty of time so we had a chance to warm up and get the kinks worked out of our swings at the very nice practice facilities. While I think that I have a limited number of swings available each day, the time on the range was very helpful. I made a few tweaks (ball a little further forward in my stance, shorter backswing and swing easy. By the time I left the range I was hitting the ball fairly well. Hopefully that will transfer to the course.
The staff at the course were very friendly and competent. And there was a lot of staff around making sure that things ran smoothly. I reckon they were all residents of the surrounding community probably working to get free golf. Good deal. We all rolled down to the number one tee box together and got the team photo with the first hole running out as a backdrop. We again set up the foursomes by house. We again went second. I rode with Mark.
Speaking of the friendly staff, we were probably only on the third or fourth hole when the lady driving the beverage cart came by. OK, it's the afternoon, I'm on vacation and it is a bit warm, so maybe a beer would be nice. All depends on what she has. Well, as expected, no IPAs on the cart, but she did have Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. That will do. Haas bought the first round and even got one for himself. Finally getting him to drink real beer. There was a price break buying as a six-pack, so that's what we did, and repeated a couple more times during the round.
This was a great day. Period. Funny thing was that Swan and Nak were both complaining about the course. Not sure what was up with that as the rest of us thought it was awesome. Yeah, it is a bit on the pricy side at $110, but this was our one splurge course pricewise of the trip. Besides, their lack of talent should not detract from the course. This is the type of course that I think of regarding golf in Arizona, sort of the classic desert track. Lush and green from the tee box to the putting surface, but with the yellow, gold and brown of the desert all around the edges. The layout is challenging but fair and the course is all right in front of you so you have a good idea of where you need to hit the ball. The course was in excellent shape. Definitely a keeper. I played well, nothing spectacular, but keep the ball in play, putted OK and shot 93. Works for me.
We decided to just eat at the course, since it was still happy hour and we were able to get a big table out on the back patio. It took us a little while to figure out that there was no service on the patio, we had to go in to the bar to place our orders but they brought the food out when it was done. I tried the fish tacos which were great. The Grand Canyon black IPA was OK, but the best that was one tap.
This was the course that Rich had wanted to play so we kept it in the plan in part as a little tribute. Phuoc had a "hats-off" moment for Rich while we were on the patio. Swan said that Rich was tormenting him from above. I understand why Rich liked the course, even though we only played in once; it is a pretty course, out away from the urban sprawl and fun layout. We worked out pairings for tomorrow at Coldwater. To make sure that we mixed the houses, we played "by bedroom" so the guys on the couch rode together, the guys in the master suites, etc. Swan and I had the masters in each house so we were a team.
Speaking of the friendly staff, we were probably only on the third or fourth hole when the lady driving the beverage cart came by. OK, it's the afternoon, I'm on vacation and it is a bit warm, so maybe a beer would be nice. All depends on what she has. Well, as expected, no IPAs on the cart, but she did have Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. That will do. Haas bought the first round and even got one for himself. Finally getting him to drink real beer. There was a price break buying as a six-pack, so that's what we did, and repeated a couple more times during the round.
This was a great day. Period. Funny thing was that Swan and Nak were both complaining about the course. Not sure what was up with that as the rest of us thought it was awesome. Yeah, it is a bit on the pricy side at $110, but this was our one splurge course pricewise of the trip. Besides, their lack of talent should not detract from the course. This is the type of course that I think of regarding golf in Arizona, sort of the classic desert track. Lush and green from the tee box to the putting surface, but with the yellow, gold and brown of the desert all around the edges. The layout is challenging but fair and the course is all right in front of you so you have a good idea of where you need to hit the ball. The course was in excellent shape. Definitely a keeper. I played well, nothing spectacular, but keep the ball in play, putted OK and shot 93. Works for me.
We decided to just eat at the course, since it was still happy hour and we were able to get a big table out on the back patio. It took us a little while to figure out that there was no service on the patio, we had to go in to the bar to place our orders but they brought the food out when it was done. I tried the fish tacos which were great. The Grand Canyon black IPA was OK, but the best that was one tap.
This was the course that Rich had wanted to play so we kept it in the plan in part as a little tribute. Phuoc had a "hats-off" moment for Rich while we were on the patio. Swan said that Rich was tormenting him from above. I understand why Rich liked the course, even though we only played in once; it is a pretty course, out away from the urban sprawl and fun layout. We worked out pairings for tomorrow at Coldwater. To make sure that we mixed the houses, we played "by bedroom" so the guys on the couch rode together, the guys in the master suites, etc. Swan and I had the masters in each house so we were a team.
We talked about the 2018 trip a little as well (never too early to start planning). While Sedona 2018 was a hit with our house, surprisingly it was not a big draw for the house 2 guys. Well, we'll keep working it. We stayed out on the Copper Canyon patio through sunset, which was lovely, then rolled back to the houses.
We were home about 8:00. We spent the rest of the evening standing around the kitchen island with good Scotch and better conversation. The council finally broke up about 10:20. It was midnight by the time wrapped up notes from today, had a shower and turned off the lights. That's much later than I like to stay up, but it was such a wonderful day that maybe I was just trying to make it last a little longer.
Day 3 - Tuesday, March 14 - Coldwater and a ball game. I was awake at 0500, thinking that this was reveille but I had my clock set for 0600. Oh, well, even though this was a short night I was not going back to sleep. The guys were starting to ramble about so I went out for breakfast as well. We were on the road to the course a little later than planned but it is only 4 minutes to Coldwater so we were there in plenty of time.
Today we finally integrated the foursomes across the houses. I rode with Swan and Phuoc and Mark were in the other cart. We had the second and third tee-times for the day, but when we rolled down to the first tee a little before 0700, we saw that the first group was already on the green so we could go whenever we wanted. At least I reckon that's the plan as there was no starter here today (that is a first as there has always been a starter stationed here in the past). No worries, we teed off and never looked back. It was 0658 when we started so off early. Shoot, we ran around the course this morning. We never saw the group in front of us again and finished probably two holes or more ahead of our second group. It was well before noon that we were sitting on the back deck of the clubhouse waiting for the second group to come up the finishing hole.
Conditions today were again ideal, but I'm glad we had a morning tee-time as it was going to get toasty today. The course was in great shape. It was nice being out so early. I had hoped to see more in the way of birds on the course but that was not the case today. There were a few Burrowing Owls but not nearly as many as we saw last year. I played OK, but not nearly as well as yesterday. The driver was just not going anywhere today. I was tweaking my swing throughout the round; some things worked others did not. Whatever, it is all for fun. I did card my first birdie for the trip on the really short (90 yards) but not very easy par three number 8. This is a three-tiered green and the pin was on the lower level, which tends to bring the water into play. I hit a nice wedge just to the right of the pin and a little deep, but the contour of the tiers brought the ball back down to the pin such that I had about a 6-foot putt remain. Drained it! Yea me!
During the round we learned about Blue Moons. Not the beer exactly, but rather the term that house 2 was using for a mulligan. If not sure of the origin of the phrase but it stuck for the rest of the week. I used a couple today as the problem club became my fairway woods (that's one of the fun parts of my game is figuring out which clubs will and will not work each round). Toward the end of the back nine, Phuoc challenged Mark to a 5-hole match for a beer. Mark dusted Phuoc, closed him out in 3 holes. Phuoc is not a fan of this course as he claims it does not fit his game, but the rest of us like the layout, conditions and the price. Plus it is convenient to the ballparks for afternoon baseball.
Once our second group arrived we sat for a bit on the back porch, then the house two guys went for showers and lunch. We stayed a few more minutes at Coldwater then rolled over to Camelback Ranch for the ballgame. We decided to splurge and pay the extra three bucks for seats instead of lawn tickets. Once inside, we located our seats but first cruised the food vendors before sitting down. The selection was not as good as I remembered from last year, although it was probably more due to the fact that I was trying to be more calorie conscious that made it tough to find something to eat. I ended up with a chicken Caesar wrap which was just OK. I again skipped beer, which was not too difficult considering the lack of quality.
We were home about 8:00. We spent the rest of the evening standing around the kitchen island with good Scotch and better conversation. The council finally broke up about 10:20. It was midnight by the time wrapped up notes from today, had a shower and turned off the lights. That's much later than I like to stay up, but it was such a wonderful day that maybe I was just trying to make it last a little longer.
Day 3 - Tuesday, March 14 - Coldwater and a ball game. I was awake at 0500, thinking that this was reveille but I had my clock set for 0600. Oh, well, even though this was a short night I was not going back to sleep. The guys were starting to ramble about so I went out for breakfast as well. We were on the road to the course a little later than planned but it is only 4 minutes to Coldwater so we were there in plenty of time.
Today we finally integrated the foursomes across the houses. I rode with Swan and Phuoc and Mark were in the other cart. We had the second and third tee-times for the day, but when we rolled down to the first tee a little before 0700, we saw that the first group was already on the green so we could go whenever we wanted. At least I reckon that's the plan as there was no starter here today (that is a first as there has always been a starter stationed here in the past). No worries, we teed off and never looked back. It was 0658 when we started so off early. Shoot, we ran around the course this morning. We never saw the group in front of us again and finished probably two holes or more ahead of our second group. It was well before noon that we were sitting on the back deck of the clubhouse waiting for the second group to come up the finishing hole.
Conditions today were again ideal, but I'm glad we had a morning tee-time as it was going to get toasty today. The course was in great shape. It was nice being out so early. I had hoped to see more in the way of birds on the course but that was not the case today. There were a few Burrowing Owls but not nearly as many as we saw last year. I played OK, but not nearly as well as yesterday. The driver was just not going anywhere today. I was tweaking my swing throughout the round; some things worked others did not. Whatever, it is all for fun. I did card my first birdie for the trip on the really short (90 yards) but not very easy par three number 8. This is a three-tiered green and the pin was on the lower level, which tends to bring the water into play. I hit a nice wedge just to the right of the pin and a little deep, but the contour of the tiers brought the ball back down to the pin such that I had about a 6-foot putt remain. Drained it! Yea me!
During the round we learned about Blue Moons. Not the beer exactly, but rather the term that house 2 was using for a mulligan. If not sure of the origin of the phrase but it stuck for the rest of the week. I used a couple today as the problem club became my fairway woods (that's one of the fun parts of my game is figuring out which clubs will and will not work each round). Toward the end of the back nine, Phuoc challenged Mark to a 5-hole match for a beer. Mark dusted Phuoc, closed him out in 3 holes. Phuoc is not a fan of this course as he claims it does not fit his game, but the rest of us like the layout, conditions and the price. Plus it is convenient to the ballparks for afternoon baseball.
Once our second group arrived we sat for a bit on the back porch, then the house two guys went for showers and lunch. We stayed a few more minutes at Coldwater then rolled over to Camelback Ranch for the ballgame. We decided to splurge and pay the extra three bucks for seats instead of lawn tickets. Once inside, we located our seats but first cruised the food vendors before sitting down. The selection was not as good as I remembered from last year, although it was probably more due to the fact that I was trying to be more calorie conscious that made it tough to find something to eat. I ended up with a chicken Caesar wrap which was just OK. I again skipped beer, which was not too difficult considering the lack of quality.
We had texted the House 2 guys the location of our seats and they eventually found us. We were down the first base line, so good seats to watch the game but right out in the open under a blazing sun. No breeze so it was getting rather toasty. Stayed through 6 innings. That was enough cooking. The Dodgers were up 6-2 over the Reds when we left. The house 2 guys stuck it out for a while longer. We'll tag up with them later to discuss dinner. We are thinking pizza tonight to keep it simple. Swan highly recommends Papa Murphy's, which is a place that will build your pizza then you take it home and bake it. Interesting concept but I guess you are assured of a hot pizza. Sounds like a winner, even with the bad luck I have had with pizza on these trips. Perhaps this will be the year of finding a good pizza in Phoenix. We were back at house 1 about 3:30.
I had a shower which was wonderful; it always feels so nice to get the desert dust rinsed off. I was out on the back patio to work on notes, email and relax about 4:00. The rest of the guys ended up out there as well, each of us silently reading or playing with a device. We talked more about Sedona for next year at the ballgame. Haas is now waffling, his concern being cutting Swan out of the foursome if the rest of the house 2 guys don't want to go to Sedona. I get that as Swan is one of the founding members of our little Arizona band. But Mark and David are in. I like it as well. I would forego baseball and just enjoy the peace of Sedona. We'll keep working it.
At 6:00 we decided it was time to start thinking about dinner. Haas checked with Swan. Turns out that the house two had already ditched us for a cookout. They were at the store buying burgers when Jeff called. OK, then, we are on our own. So we stuck with the pizza idea and Swan's suggestion of Papa Murphy's. This turned out to be a very good recommendation. And it did not make me sick so that was a bonus. David and I made the pick-up run. Just as we were leaving the place, Haas called requesting a Coke. So we added a stop at the local grocery store for a Coke and decided to get some ice cream as well. That made for a great dinner! Everything was quite tasty. Mark and I went garbage with a pan including pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms and jalapeño peppers. We did not finish it but we put in a gallant effort.
We finished the night watching the NCAA basketball tournament play-in games. That was a bad call on the flagrant foul against Wake Forest. K-State probably wins anyway but that basically took the game away from Wake. I headed to bed as soon as the game ended at 9 pm.
Day 4 - Wednesday, March 15 - Road Trip to Tucson. I was up at 0500. The rest of the guys were not rousted until just after 6:00 so I just got ready for the day and worked on email until I heard life in the house. Light breakfast this morning, as usual; yogurt, blueberries, bagel. I headed out on the back patio to enjoy the peace of the morning. We had a lovely sunrise with great color. I called Lynn while watching the morning light show. It is winter in Cleveland.
I had a shower which was wonderful; it always feels so nice to get the desert dust rinsed off. I was out on the back patio to work on notes, email and relax about 4:00. The rest of the guys ended up out there as well, each of us silently reading or playing with a device. We talked more about Sedona for next year at the ballgame. Haas is now waffling, his concern being cutting Swan out of the foursome if the rest of the house 2 guys don't want to go to Sedona. I get that as Swan is one of the founding members of our little Arizona band. But Mark and David are in. I like it as well. I would forego baseball and just enjoy the peace of Sedona. We'll keep working it.
At 6:00 we decided it was time to start thinking about dinner. Haas checked with Swan. Turns out that the house two had already ditched us for a cookout. They were at the store buying burgers when Jeff called. OK, then, we are on our own. So we stuck with the pizza idea and Swan's suggestion of Papa Murphy's. This turned out to be a very good recommendation. And it did not make me sick so that was a bonus. David and I made the pick-up run. Just as we were leaving the place, Haas called requesting a Coke. So we added a stop at the local grocery store for a Coke and decided to get some ice cream as well. That made for a great dinner! Everything was quite tasty. Mark and I went garbage with a pan including pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms and jalapeño peppers. We did not finish it but we put in a gallant effort.
We finished the night watching the NCAA basketball tournament play-in games. That was a bad call on the flagrant foul against Wake Forest. K-State probably wins anyway but that basically took the game away from Wake. I headed to bed as soon as the game ended at 9 pm.
Day 4 - Wednesday, March 15 - Road Trip to Tucson. I was up at 0500. The rest of the guys were not rousted until just after 6:00 so I just got ready for the day and worked on email until I heard life in the house. Light breakfast this morning, as usual; yogurt, blueberries, bagel. I headed out on the back patio to enjoy the peace of the morning. We had a lovely sunrise with great color. I called Lynn while watching the morning light show. It is winter in Cleveland.
We were on the road a bit behind schedule. Damn those house 2 guys. We really were not on the same page this morning, particularly regarding the route to the course. Swan wanted to go west to Buckeye then down route 85 to I-8, but Google maps ixnayed that as being much more time consuming. We had to reroute a couple times before settling on the shorter distance route, heading east on I-10. Then we hit construction requiring us to bail at 75th. But this got us on the right track, basically on the path that we took to Foothills last year. We were now on track to arrive at Quarry Pines in plenty of time. We were texting with the house 2 truck so we knew that they were also in the clear and actually a few minutes ahead of us. All is well.
We used the drive time to further discuss Sedona as an option for next year. Surfed VRBO for lodging options. Only found one 4 bed house, but several 3 bedroom places. Also scoped out two 3-bedroom houses next to each other in the Village of Oak Creek on the east side of 179. We could take those and have plenty of space, or put the house 2 guys there and we get the 4/2 house or the 3/3 that Lynn and I used at the Sedona meet-up. Looks like we have options. Since the house 2 guys made it clear that a week in Sedona was not their idea of a great plan, we started kicking around splitting the group for 2018. That gives us more options for Sedona in terms of lodging and adjusting the timing to get a better chance of warmer weather. At some point during the Sedona talk, the idea of bringing the wives along came up. If we go that route, then the two 3-bedroom houses that are right next to each other in the VOC might make a great option.
We arrived at the course just a few minutes after the house 2 crew and well before our 10:00 AM tee-time. Looks like area around the course has developed quite a bit from the last time we played here as there seemed to be a lot more houses than I remembered. But the course looked to be in great shape from what we could see from the road. Plus it looks like we will have a beautiful day, nearly ideal for golf; a bit overcast with a very slight breeze (enough to keep things cool but minimal impact on the ball flight). Overall very pleasant. The guys were again asking me for the pairings. I don't care, just pick someone and play golf. The house 2 guys had lined their clubs on one side of the rack at the bag drop, and we stacked ours on the other side, so I asked the young lady working that station to just take a set of clubs from each side of the rack and pair them on a cart, so we'll randomly mix pairs between the two houses. That sounded like a great plan but the execution was completely lacking. I ended up riding with Haas and playing with David and Swan. That's OK, it was a fun group.
We were the first group, since some of the other guys went to the range. I've only got so many swings left for the trip so I'll save myself for the course. I can always take a "Blue Moon" or two if needed. The starter had a long list of do's and don’t's. OK, thanks. Can we play golf now?
Yes, I do think there are more houses along these opening holes. We could see out over the back nine and there are no structures there, just as I remembered. But the houses are out of play and only line a few of the holes. We played a middle set of tees since we knew how punishing this course can be. Don't let the yardage fool you, shorter is way batter here as the course is tight and on many holes a shot that is just slightly off line is dead. On the back nine in particular, it is fairway or a lost ball. I guess the second group was feeling frisky, or just did not heed the warnings of the starter as they opted to play from the tips.
We used the drive time to further discuss Sedona as an option for next year. Surfed VRBO for lodging options. Only found one 4 bed house, but several 3 bedroom places. Also scoped out two 3-bedroom houses next to each other in the Village of Oak Creek on the east side of 179. We could take those and have plenty of space, or put the house 2 guys there and we get the 4/2 house or the 3/3 that Lynn and I used at the Sedona meet-up. Looks like we have options. Since the house 2 guys made it clear that a week in Sedona was not their idea of a great plan, we started kicking around splitting the group for 2018. That gives us more options for Sedona in terms of lodging and adjusting the timing to get a better chance of warmer weather. At some point during the Sedona talk, the idea of bringing the wives along came up. If we go that route, then the two 3-bedroom houses that are right next to each other in the VOC might make a great option.
We arrived at the course just a few minutes after the house 2 crew and well before our 10:00 AM tee-time. Looks like area around the course has developed quite a bit from the last time we played here as there seemed to be a lot more houses than I remembered. But the course looked to be in great shape from what we could see from the road. Plus it looks like we will have a beautiful day, nearly ideal for golf; a bit overcast with a very slight breeze (enough to keep things cool but minimal impact on the ball flight). Overall very pleasant. The guys were again asking me for the pairings. I don't care, just pick someone and play golf. The house 2 guys had lined their clubs on one side of the rack at the bag drop, and we stacked ours on the other side, so I asked the young lady working that station to just take a set of clubs from each side of the rack and pair them on a cart, so we'll randomly mix pairs between the two houses. That sounded like a great plan but the execution was completely lacking. I ended up riding with Haas and playing with David and Swan. That's OK, it was a fun group.
We were the first group, since some of the other guys went to the range. I've only got so many swings left for the trip so I'll save myself for the course. I can always take a "Blue Moon" or two if needed. The starter had a long list of do's and don’t's. OK, thanks. Can we play golf now?
Yes, I do think there are more houses along these opening holes. We could see out over the back nine and there are no structures there, just as I remembered. But the houses are out of play and only line a few of the holes. We played a middle set of tees since we knew how punishing this course can be. Don't let the yardage fool you, shorter is way batter here as the course is tight and on many holes a shot that is just slightly off line is dead. On the back nine in particular, it is fairway or a lost ball. I guess the second group was feeling frisky, or just did not heed the warnings of the starter as they opted to play from the tips.
The course was in great shape and was pretty. But as mentioned, it is punitive. Very tight and not forgiving. I left several balls out in the desert and the quarry pits. It was fun to play this course again, but it would not be one that I would play every year. You just have to be ready for what lies ahead, know that some good shots are going to end with bad results and that bad shots are going to lead to lost balls and high scores. But it is all for fun. I was actually pleased with my play. I slowed my swing a bit which helped keep the ball in play for the most part. We all played the signature hole, number 11, the par three over the quarry with about 6 million lost balls in view. I think we all hit the green or were just off and made par or bogey. I was very pleased as I hit the green, even with a three-putt for bogey.
The only downside was that the Rangers were a little pushy on rules and pace. They were polite and professional but we were chastised on both front and back. I think the scrutiny was not justified as we finished exactly on the scorecard's stated pace, perhaps even a few minutes early.
This was also a great course for wildlife with several nice bird sightings: Road Runners, Gambel's Quail, White-crowned Sparrow, Scarlet Tanager, Harris Hawk, Coopers Hawk, Crows and Vermilion Flycatcher which I spotted while having a beer on the clubhouse patio after the round.
After a couple beers at the clubhouse we headed over to Casa Swan for dinner. They found a nice place for their first attempt at being snowbirds, just off I-10 and not too far south of Phoenix. Maryann had made pulled chicken and a ton of sides, so we had quite the feast. We spent most of the rest of the afternoon out on their back patio, just enjoying the warmth of central Arizona. Phuoc pitched a plan to split time between Phoenix and Sedona for the 2018 trip, but that is just logistically more than I want to deal with. Since Swan had just closed on a house in this same community, it looks like splitting up for 2018 will work out. The house 2 guys will keep with the March trip and bunk at Swan's and we'll delay our trip until April and head to Sedona with our girls. That should be fun. We'll still get in a round or two of golf, but it will not be the focus of the trip.
We started back to Phoenix in the late afternoon. David was getting tired so I drove. Sunset was gorgeous from I-17. Too bad I was driving as it would have made a great photo. We were back at house 1, on the back patio with the fireplace going by 8 PM. We stayed out until about 10:00. A very nice time. More talk of Sedona. Now we're starting to work the details, in terms of dates and houses. Lovely evening.
Day 5 - Thursday, March 16 - New Track. Up at 0500 and ready for the day shortly thereafter. Yogurt, blueberries and a bagel again for breakfast. I was out on the patio before the sun was up. No clouds this morning so sunrise was not be as visually pleasing. But the lack of cover did reveal that there were still a few stars faintly shining in the morning sky. They did no last much longer as our closest star was soon peering over the eastern horizon.
We had an 0715 departure planned for our 20-minute ride to the Grand Canyon University golf course. While researching the course a little last night while on the patio, I realized that this is the old Maryville municipal course and that it has been significantly rehabbed. We never played the Maryville course as it just did not look that appealing, but the images of the reincarnated course look great on the web. I think the GPS took us a little bit of a round-about route, but it was an easy drive through the suburbs to the course. This is basically an oasis of green in a sea of concrete. The old course has been leased by Grand Canyon University and completely updated to be the home course for their golf team. In fact, there was a collegiate tournament scheduled there this weekend, so we were just getting in under the wire to play this week. The teams were rolling in for practice this afternoon as we were completely our round.
The only downside was that the Rangers were a little pushy on rules and pace. They were polite and professional but we were chastised on both front and back. I think the scrutiny was not justified as we finished exactly on the scorecard's stated pace, perhaps even a few minutes early.
This was also a great course for wildlife with several nice bird sightings: Road Runners, Gambel's Quail, White-crowned Sparrow, Scarlet Tanager, Harris Hawk, Coopers Hawk, Crows and Vermilion Flycatcher which I spotted while having a beer on the clubhouse patio after the round.
After a couple beers at the clubhouse we headed over to Casa Swan for dinner. They found a nice place for their first attempt at being snowbirds, just off I-10 and not too far south of Phoenix. Maryann had made pulled chicken and a ton of sides, so we had quite the feast. We spent most of the rest of the afternoon out on their back patio, just enjoying the warmth of central Arizona. Phuoc pitched a plan to split time between Phoenix and Sedona for the 2018 trip, but that is just logistically more than I want to deal with. Since Swan had just closed on a house in this same community, it looks like splitting up for 2018 will work out. The house 2 guys will keep with the March trip and bunk at Swan's and we'll delay our trip until April and head to Sedona with our girls. That should be fun. We'll still get in a round or two of golf, but it will not be the focus of the trip.
We started back to Phoenix in the late afternoon. David was getting tired so I drove. Sunset was gorgeous from I-17. Too bad I was driving as it would have made a great photo. We were back at house 1, on the back patio with the fireplace going by 8 PM. We stayed out until about 10:00. A very nice time. More talk of Sedona. Now we're starting to work the details, in terms of dates and houses. Lovely evening.
Day 5 - Thursday, March 16 - New Track. Up at 0500 and ready for the day shortly thereafter. Yogurt, blueberries and a bagel again for breakfast. I was out on the patio before the sun was up. No clouds this morning so sunrise was not be as visually pleasing. But the lack of cover did reveal that there were still a few stars faintly shining in the morning sky. They did no last much longer as our closest star was soon peering over the eastern horizon.
We had an 0715 departure planned for our 20-minute ride to the Grand Canyon University golf course. While researching the course a little last night while on the patio, I realized that this is the old Maryville municipal course and that it has been significantly rehabbed. We never played the Maryville course as it just did not look that appealing, but the images of the reincarnated course look great on the web. I think the GPS took us a little bit of a round-about route, but it was an easy drive through the suburbs to the course. This is basically an oasis of green in a sea of concrete. The old course has been leased by Grand Canyon University and completely updated to be the home course for their golf team. In fact, there was a collegiate tournament scheduled there this weekend, so we were just getting in under the wire to play this week. The teams were rolling in for practice this afternoon as we were completely our round.
Another great day for golf in Arizona. I rode with Kirk; David and Haas were our playing partners. While the first hole paralleled the road, this was really the only time that I felt we were really in the city. For the most part if was quiet and peaceful out on the course. Not overly crowed and a good pace of play. We all liked it and found it to be a good value. Certainly a keeper for future trips. The consensus was to rate it a 4 out of 5, which is pretty high praise from this group. It is really not a desert course, more of a park course so similar to what we can play in Ohio, well except that the fairways are lined with palms not oaks and maples. Everyone generally played well. Kirk had another stellar round at 2-over par. It is always fun to play with Kirk as he is so laid back but still plays so well. Smooth swing, hits it long and has a great short game. He is the best all-around player in our group of hackers. I was happy with the 90 that I shot and had a few nice shots, including a chip in birdie. That one just looked good right off the club face. I also hit a very nice tee-shot on a short par three while taking a phone call with the Kiefer Equipment guy about servicing our big mower. "Hang on, it's my turn to hit." Right at the pin to about 8 feet. Missed the birdie putt but I'm always happy with a par. The fun-to-watch shot of the day was David in the trees on the right side of one of the fairways. Kirk was about 80 yards ahead in the same trees so he just hid behind one of the skinny trees while David tried to extricate his ball. Of course, David smacked the very tree that Kirk was standing behind! The ball bounced out in to the fairway so it was both comical and effective.
After the round we enjoyed a few beers on the patio. The Dragoon IPA from Dragoon Brewing had a nice aroma with a slight bite. I must have liked it as I had three. Nice way to end a round of golf. The college teams were out on the range. Phuoc's ala mater, Wichita State, was here, so he talked to the coach and the team a bit. Who knows, maybe his pep talk inspired the kids. Nak was out on the range talking-up some of the players. I'm sure his swing tips were very helpful.
We headed over to house 2 about 2:00 for lunch. They had brought a lot of leftovers from dinner yesterday and chef Phuoc whipped up taco fixings out of the pulled chicken. Very good indeed. We decided to play a little more golf this afternoon and went over to Coldwater for a 9-hole scramble. All except Phuoc who had passed-out. House 1 versus House 2. They said they would give us 5 strokes. We played to a draw without the strokes. Somehow they forgot about the strokes it seems.
Back at the house, we watched some of the round 1 March Madness games. WVU had already held off Bucknell to advance to the next round. Mark, Haas and I went to Saddle Mountain for dinner. David stayed home to watch his Hokies play in the tournament. We had just a short wait. The beer and poppers were good. I like this place but have now tried all their brews; good but nothing really outstanding. The jambalaya was the highlight last year and it was off the menu, so they now have more of the traditional sports bar/pub offerings. I'll still keep this one on the list. Back at the house, I fell asleep to the Virginia Tech vs. Wisconsin game and finally crawled into bed at 10:05. David's Hokies had lost to the Badgers by 10.
Day 6 - March 17 - Palm Valley but skipped the Tribe. Up once again at 0500 and out to face the world about 0540. Said good morning to Haas then went out on the patio to call Lynn. Phone rang just as I was taking stock of the lovely morning. Kiefer Equipment; the Hustler is ready and they will drop it off today with invoice. I called Lynn to let her know. All is well at home. Weather is better as she walked yesterday along the Chippewa Inlet Trail.
After the round we enjoyed a few beers on the patio. The Dragoon IPA from Dragoon Brewing had a nice aroma with a slight bite. I must have liked it as I had three. Nice way to end a round of golf. The college teams were out on the range. Phuoc's ala mater, Wichita State, was here, so he talked to the coach and the team a bit. Who knows, maybe his pep talk inspired the kids. Nak was out on the range talking-up some of the players. I'm sure his swing tips were very helpful.
We headed over to house 2 about 2:00 for lunch. They had brought a lot of leftovers from dinner yesterday and chef Phuoc whipped up taco fixings out of the pulled chicken. Very good indeed. We decided to play a little more golf this afternoon and went over to Coldwater for a 9-hole scramble. All except Phuoc who had passed-out. House 1 versus House 2. They said they would give us 5 strokes. We played to a draw without the strokes. Somehow they forgot about the strokes it seems.
Back at the house, we watched some of the round 1 March Madness games. WVU had already held off Bucknell to advance to the next round. Mark, Haas and I went to Saddle Mountain for dinner. David stayed home to watch his Hokies play in the tournament. We had just a short wait. The beer and poppers were good. I like this place but have now tried all their brews; good but nothing really outstanding. The jambalaya was the highlight last year and it was off the menu, so they now have more of the traditional sports bar/pub offerings. I'll still keep this one on the list. Back at the house, I fell asleep to the Virginia Tech vs. Wisconsin game and finally crawled into bed at 10:05. David's Hokies had lost to the Badgers by 10.
Day 6 - March 17 - Palm Valley but skipped the Tribe. Up once again at 0500 and out to face the world about 0540. Said good morning to Haas then went out on the patio to call Lynn. Phone rang just as I was taking stock of the lovely morning. Kiefer Equipment; the Hustler is ready and they will drop it off today with invoice. I called Lynn to let her know. All is well at home. Weather is better as she walked yesterday along the Chippewa Inlet Trail.
So back to the morning. Comfortable out on the patio without a jacket and another cloudless sky to start the day. 'm thinking that we should be another beautiful day here in the Valley of the Sun. Again had a light breakfast at the house. We ran out of bagels, but there was still yogurt, blueberries and a banana. We were on the road at 0800 to an old stand-by course, the championship Palms Course at Palm Valley. This course is always in great shape. I think there was only one year that the Palms course was a little ragged and that was a few years back and by the next year it was back to lush and green. We skipped the short course again this year and just played 18 at the Palms. I rode with Swan, played with Haas and Mark. No driver today but I kept it together to shoot 90 which is a very good score for me on this fairly tough track. Riding with Swan gave me the opportunity to chat with him about next year. Since they have bought a house now in the Phoenix area, he is fine with not going to Sedona. OK, we're all on the same page. Callaway was having demo day, so we checked that out after the round. I did not stay, opting to head for the shade of the back patio. We had lunch at the clubhouse with a couple San Tan IPAs. Just another great day on the course. We headed out just after 3:00.
The plan for this evening was the night game at the Goodyear ballpark, Reds vs. Indians. Ended up that only Kirk and Swan went to the game. Swan said that the evening games are the way to go as it was cool and comfortable. OK, we'll keep that on the planning sheet for future trips.
Instead of baseball, we watched more basketball and went out to dinner. Phuoc will be happy as Wichita State upset Dayton. Out for dinner around 6:30. David suggested a strip mall Mexican place called Don Pancho's. Very friendly staff. I picked a looser with the chili renello, but the other guys seemed to enjoy their meals. After dinner, I researched VRBO for Sedona area houses for 2018. Dates are looking like 7-14 April, Saturday to Saturday. The two houses I picked in the Village of Oak Creek are looking like the best options as well. The guys liked those as well. OK, the plan is coming together. A little more basketball, then I crashed about 9 pm.
Day 7 - Saturday, March 18 - Sundance and fried rice. I was awake at 0458. Quickly ready and out on the patio at 0530. Chilly at this time of day, so I had to dig out my fleece. We hit the road at 0700 heading for the Denny’s in Buckeye for a morning bowl of oatmeal. We were at the course about 0800. Since I had not hit the driver well the past day or two, I went to the range and it was time well spent as I was driving the ball well out there. Standing a little further away when addressing the ball with the driver seems to help. I think I was too close the past day or two so sort of jamming myself. Unfortunately this success did not completely transfer to the course, but it was still a net gain. Swinging too hard and not staying down were the issues today; it is always something.
Another picture perfect day, although a bit windy. It always seems to be windy out here in Buckeye. I asked the server in the clubhouse after the round is that was really the case and she said that it is. Her theory is that there are fewer buildings in the area to break up the wind. I played pretty well. Rode with Haas and played with Nak and Phuoc. When we made the turn, Nak walked over and said that Phuoc just won't shut up, that he talks constantly. Haas and I just stared at each other in disbelief. This was the classic "pot calling the kettle black" moment. But Nak knows that he's a talker which makes it even a little funnier. The one downside for today was that I neglected to bring my camera and I could have gotten a nice image of a Cactus Wren. But at least I finally got a confirmed sighting of the Arizona state bird.
Lunch at the clubhouse. We had a nice, relaxing time, enjoying a few beers, reflecting on the week and talking about next year. It is settled, the House 2 guys will continue with the March golf trip and we'll head to Sedona. Haas has been trying to remember the location of a specific par three; elevated green surrounded by bunkers with the tee shot over a valley. If you miss the green you're dead. The best we could figure was that this was number 16 or 17 at the Golf Club at Estrella. We left the course a little after 3:00.
We decided to drive up to Estrella to see if we could figure out Haas's mystery par 3. We stopped at the clubhouse where I saw another Cactus Wren. Haas sprung for a round at the clubhouse. I had a Torpedo. We did a drive by of the par three, it is number 17 but was not the par 3 Haas was remembering. OK, I have no idea what hole he is thinking of.
We were home about 5 PM after grocery store stop, then cleaned up for dinner. David and I split the last of the pizza. Papa Murphy's was a winner. We were lounging out back on the patio by about 5:35. I called Lynn, worked on trip notes, and just chilled for a while. Text from Swan stated that dinner ETA is 6:45. The gang was all here for dinner. The menu tonight was salad and fried rice, a Phuoc special. Turned out to be a very good use of the leftovers. I celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a Guinness Draught. Certainly not the best beer of the trip, but not the worst either. A bit of a remembrance for Rich as well since he and I usually seemed to find a Guinness on tap sometime during these Arizona excursions. We spent the evening watching March Madness. Purdue blew a big lead but held on down the stretch to beat Iowa State. The Mountaineers rolled past Notre Dame while we were on the course this morning which was ideal since I did not have to watch. I root for WVU but do not watch as they drive me crazy. We all did a little packing after the house 2 guys left as tomorrow is our travel day, but we won't be in a rush. In fact we have plans to meet for breakfast at the Black Bear Diner. I hit the hay after the game.
Day 8 - Sunday, March 19 - Flying home. Awake at 0430. Might as well get rolling. Ready, mostly packed and linens ready for the laundry before 0600. One last quiet morning on the back patio. Again quite nice with the birds singing, pleasant temperature, and not a cloud in the sky.
The plan for this evening was the night game at the Goodyear ballpark, Reds vs. Indians. Ended up that only Kirk and Swan went to the game. Swan said that the evening games are the way to go as it was cool and comfortable. OK, we'll keep that on the planning sheet for future trips.
Instead of baseball, we watched more basketball and went out to dinner. Phuoc will be happy as Wichita State upset Dayton. Out for dinner around 6:30. David suggested a strip mall Mexican place called Don Pancho's. Very friendly staff. I picked a looser with the chili renello, but the other guys seemed to enjoy their meals. After dinner, I researched VRBO for Sedona area houses for 2018. Dates are looking like 7-14 April, Saturday to Saturday. The two houses I picked in the Village of Oak Creek are looking like the best options as well. The guys liked those as well. OK, the plan is coming together. A little more basketball, then I crashed about 9 pm.
Day 7 - Saturday, March 18 - Sundance and fried rice. I was awake at 0458. Quickly ready and out on the patio at 0530. Chilly at this time of day, so I had to dig out my fleece. We hit the road at 0700 heading for the Denny’s in Buckeye for a morning bowl of oatmeal. We were at the course about 0800. Since I had not hit the driver well the past day or two, I went to the range and it was time well spent as I was driving the ball well out there. Standing a little further away when addressing the ball with the driver seems to help. I think I was too close the past day or two so sort of jamming myself. Unfortunately this success did not completely transfer to the course, but it was still a net gain. Swinging too hard and not staying down were the issues today; it is always something.
Another picture perfect day, although a bit windy. It always seems to be windy out here in Buckeye. I asked the server in the clubhouse after the round is that was really the case and she said that it is. Her theory is that there are fewer buildings in the area to break up the wind. I played pretty well. Rode with Haas and played with Nak and Phuoc. When we made the turn, Nak walked over and said that Phuoc just won't shut up, that he talks constantly. Haas and I just stared at each other in disbelief. This was the classic "pot calling the kettle black" moment. But Nak knows that he's a talker which makes it even a little funnier. The one downside for today was that I neglected to bring my camera and I could have gotten a nice image of a Cactus Wren. But at least I finally got a confirmed sighting of the Arizona state bird.
Lunch at the clubhouse. We had a nice, relaxing time, enjoying a few beers, reflecting on the week and talking about next year. It is settled, the House 2 guys will continue with the March golf trip and we'll head to Sedona. Haas has been trying to remember the location of a specific par three; elevated green surrounded by bunkers with the tee shot over a valley. If you miss the green you're dead. The best we could figure was that this was number 16 or 17 at the Golf Club at Estrella. We left the course a little after 3:00.
We decided to drive up to Estrella to see if we could figure out Haas's mystery par 3. We stopped at the clubhouse where I saw another Cactus Wren. Haas sprung for a round at the clubhouse. I had a Torpedo. We did a drive by of the par three, it is number 17 but was not the par 3 Haas was remembering. OK, I have no idea what hole he is thinking of.
We were home about 5 PM after grocery store stop, then cleaned up for dinner. David and I split the last of the pizza. Papa Murphy's was a winner. We were lounging out back on the patio by about 5:35. I called Lynn, worked on trip notes, and just chilled for a while. Text from Swan stated that dinner ETA is 6:45. The gang was all here for dinner. The menu tonight was salad and fried rice, a Phuoc special. Turned out to be a very good use of the leftovers. I celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a Guinness Draught. Certainly not the best beer of the trip, but not the worst either. A bit of a remembrance for Rich as well since he and I usually seemed to find a Guinness on tap sometime during these Arizona excursions. We spent the evening watching March Madness. Purdue blew a big lead but held on down the stretch to beat Iowa State. The Mountaineers rolled past Notre Dame while we were on the course this morning which was ideal since I did not have to watch. I root for WVU but do not watch as they drive me crazy. We all did a little packing after the house 2 guys left as tomorrow is our travel day, but we won't be in a rush. In fact we have plans to meet for breakfast at the Black Bear Diner. I hit the hay after the game.
Day 8 - Sunday, March 19 - Flying home. Awake at 0430. Might as well get rolling. Ready, mostly packed and linens ready for the laundry before 0600. One last quiet morning on the back patio. Again quite nice with the birds singing, pleasant temperature, and not a cloud in the sky.
We just hung around the house until about 0835 then opted to start early to breakfast. The Black Bear was a zoo. Figured Mimi's would also be packed due to the race crowd, so we tried the IHOP across the road. Also a long wait for a table inside but no waiting for the patio. What's up with that? This was the ideal place to be as it was shaded and cool. We texted the house 2 guys of the change of plans and they soon rolled in. A nice last morning with the entire gang, since swan will be heading back to his snowbird roost and Haas in staying here in Goodyear for another week. The rest of us are heading back east. I've been going lite for breakfast all week but here was nothing lite on the menu that I could see that looked appealing, so I tried the ham and egg melt. Yikes! 1230 calories! Oh, well, you can't be good all the time.
David dropped us at the airport; he's not leaving until tomorrow as that made his airfare much less expensive so he and Swan will hang out today. Haas was waiting for his wife to arrive, Mark headed to American and I was on Southwest so we all said our goodbyes and headed off in different directions. Check-in was fairly speedy but the security line for D gates was long so TSA sent us to the C gates where there was no waiting. That probably saved a little time plus I got in a few steps. Now it is just the waiting game. This was a packed flight since Southwest booked 175 folks on a 145-passenger aircraft. Someone in logistics needs some training. Kirk almost bumped from flight since he did not have a boarding number but ended up coming out way ahead as the gate agent slipped him the B3 boarding position. Rather be lucky than good! The gate folks were scrambling to get folks to volunteer to take later flights, but that would be having to stay until tomorrow. No thanks. They did get this resolved and we finally pushed back from the gate at 12:35. We were heading back to CLE with no further issues.
And in conclusion… Another fine trip. Lots of golf, lots of fun. Nak claimed the low-net championship for 2017 and Kirk was the Birdie-boy again. I think everyone had their moments, both good and bad. Mark generally played consistently well. Haas was fighting the shanks during the latter half of the week. I was very pleased with my play particularly considering that I have not played in nearly a year (last round was in Death Valley last March). Only playing one round per day and having a mix of early and late starts worked out well as it gave us time to do other things as well as the opportunity to just relax.
David dropped us at the airport; he's not leaving until tomorrow as that made his airfare much less expensive so he and Swan will hang out today. Haas was waiting for his wife to arrive, Mark headed to American and I was on Southwest so we all said our goodbyes and headed off in different directions. Check-in was fairly speedy but the security line for D gates was long so TSA sent us to the C gates where there was no waiting. That probably saved a little time plus I got in a few steps. Now it is just the waiting game. This was a packed flight since Southwest booked 175 folks on a 145-passenger aircraft. Someone in logistics needs some training. Kirk almost bumped from flight since he did not have a boarding number but ended up coming out way ahead as the gate agent slipped him the B3 boarding position. Rather be lucky than good! The gate folks were scrambling to get folks to volunteer to take later flights, but that would be having to stay until tomorrow. No thanks. They did get this resolved and we finally pushed back from the gate at 12:35. We were heading back to CLE with no further issues.
And in conclusion… Another fine trip. Lots of golf, lots of fun. Nak claimed the low-net championship for 2017 and Kirk was the Birdie-boy again. I think everyone had their moments, both good and bad. Mark generally played consistently well. Haas was fighting the shanks during the latter half of the week. I was very pleased with my play particularly considering that I have not played in nearly a year (last round was in Death Valley last March). Only playing one round per day and having a mix of early and late starts worked out well as it gave us time to do other things as well as the opportunity to just relax.
We're already mostly set for the 2018 trip. I think that skipping the golf trip for a couple’s trip in Sedona will be a nice change. Who knows, maybe this is my last golf trip for a while. Perhaps I will have to try and play a little this summer to try and remember the lessons from the trip. But since the trip cycle will be broken, maybe it is time to move one from the AZ Golf trip. I found myself looking for birds and admiring the scenery while on the course more than paying attention to the golf. But that does make for a more enjoyable round of golf as well. Time will tell.
Even though we went with golf in mind this year, I still ended up with a nice list of bird sightings. There were several gone birds and other little critters that I could not identify, but here’s the ones that I could figure out:
Even though we went with golf in mind this year, I still ended up with a nice list of bird sightings. There were several gone birds and other little critters that I could not identify, but here’s the ones that I could figure out:
As usual with the golf trips I did not take a lot of photos, but here's the link to what I did capture, plus a group shot or two from Phuoc.
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