summer skiing

after getting 800+ inches of snow this past season, squaw is going to be open for skiing over the 4th of july weekend.  according to the press release, this will be "the ulimate independence day weekend," with "five lifts... pool parties, live music..."

excited about the skiing, but more exciting about getting burned at the pool, yours truly performed some due diligence on the world wide web.  turns out, the pool at high camp (elevation 8200 feet) transforms from this,



to this...

...  a dj pool party where only pale people are allowed.  i am happy to know that i will fit right in.

but really, how come there isn't one tan person in that photo?

photos from onthesnow.com

a wrinkle in time

--
course played:  ocean course at half moon bay
holes played:  1 through 18
balls lost:  embarrassing
balls found:  2
score:  114*
--

at 9:10am pdt last sunday, i teed off at the ocean course at half moon bay.

the course was quiet; the air was still.  the sun hid behind a dense layer of fog.  about half an hour into play, notes of a highland folksong spread across the manicured grass.  a bagpiper stood at the top of a hill, playing his instrument, while we continued playing our game. 

bagpiper is the little figure at the top of the hill


while the bagpiper was playing, a group of golfers walked by us on the next hole...  dressed in knickers tucked into knee-length stockings, tweed vests and flat caps.


no cart?  no problem.  these knickers are made for walking!  
{click image to enlarge}

for a few brief moments, i forgot about all the balls that i had already lost and was transported to another place in another time. 

* this time, i kept score.

patience rewarded

--
course played:  old course at half moon bay
holes played:  18
balls lost:  5
balls found:  2
--

with a smile and a wink, the starter at the club house informed me that arnold plamer designed the old course that elliot and i were about to play at half moon bay.  being the golf neophyte that i am, i had no clue what that meant.  9 holes in, i still hadn't figured it out.  the course was all kinds of slope-y and ran through the back of quite a number of houses.  around the 10th hole, i got trapped in some trees where it took me no less than 5 swings to get out.  each of the first four swings sent the ball into yet another tree, where it would bounce backwards and almost hit me.  had it been appropriate, i would have called 'fore!' at myself, on my own shot. {meta - gasp!}

as we played the back 9, i couldn't help but notice the wind picking up.  either a storm was brewing or we were getting close to the ocean.  since patience is a virtue, i held in my complaints and kept playing.  hole by hole, swing after swing, i felt colder and became less virtuous.

just when i was about to add some cheese to my whine, we reached the 18th hole.

old course, 18th hole

encouraged by the waves crashing against the rocks and the pacific wind in my face, i hit the ball.

half moon bay

escaping the 'groundhog day effect' that is otherwise known as 'living in san francisco' (65 with a chance of fog), i am taking my golf game to half moon bay for the weekend.  watch out water!  my balls are coming for you.

photo credits:  golfnow.com

roaring for rory!

rory-i'm a 22 year old sensation-mcilroy (and my 2nd favorite golfer), made history a few moments ago.  he has just become the first player in the history of the u.s. open to get to 13 under par.*

photo credit:  ap photo

* tiger woods just got dethroned.  he was the previous record-holder, being at -12 in the 2000 u.s. open at pebble beach.

hello u.s. open

the 2011 u.s. open starts today at the famed congressional country club in bethesda, maryland. 

congressional, in all its stately glory

although play has just started, as far as i am concerned, the top 3 has already been established:

graeme - the wearer of cardigans, the winner of last year's u.s. open at pebble beach (referred to by gq magazine as "the most stylish moment in sports")

rory - looks like a younger, less creepy side show bob, recently was in the lead at the masters until a triple bogey, followed by many more bogeys sent him tumbling from the leader board (important side note:  rory is friends with graeme)

ryo - dresses like he means it, shirts/hats/pants/belts span all colors of the rainbow and every shade in between, only 19, pledged all of this season's winnings to victims of the japanese earthquake, barely made the cut for this year's u.s. open

let the games begin!

photo credits:  usga.com

season ii

since this blog is also about my (sometimes failed) attempts to ski, i would like to delightfully inform you that i just got my pass for the 2011 - 2012 ski season at squaw valley (apparently the 'guarunteed low rate' ends today).  now i just need to gear up for my second season of fun in the...  snow.

you - yes, you - should join me!  get your passes here.

who is graeme mcdowell?

graeme mcdowell (pronounced 'mik-dool') is my favorite golfer for all the right reasons:

1.  he wears the best outfits (see exhibit a)

exhibit a

2.  he wears the best outfits (see exhibit b)

exhibit c

 3.  he wears the best outfits (see exhibit c)

exhibit c

so last night, when the golf channel aired a special on the irish golfer, i set the dvr to record this monumentous occasion.  a shocking revalation occurs 18 seconds into the clip:

at exactly 18 seconds, the golf channel reveals to the world that graeme mcdowell is bristol palin*'s uncle.

either that, or that bristol palin has a doopleganger that lives in ireland and is related to my favorite golfer.

*pre-chin implant

f. is a letter

--
course played:  transit valley country club
holes played:  1 through 9
balls lost:  1 (?)
balls found:  0
--


transit valley course



my golf bag on the transit valley course... on wheels

i used a pull cart for the first time when i was in buffalo.  i tried to resist because i thought that it made my cool golf bag look too much like it rides the short bus to school.  under pressure, i buckled, and dragged this thing around during my two days of sub-par (literally!) golf.  this is what i brought:

a.  balls to lose and tees to break go in that pocket of my ping 4 under golf bag
b.  the driver that refused to make contact with any balls - blame it on the arrow, not the indian
c.  towel #1 because it was extra hot
d.  towel #2 because it was extra muddy
e.  neel's mom's 3-wood that i borrowed and was too bad/afraid to use
f.  the grade for my performance, my bag's appearance* and, coincidentally, the letter of the alphabet uttered frequently during frustrating rounds of golf


*  what is this, a towel rack?