Golf

Eagles

Great shots that I have made seem to stand out most prominently in my mind. I have not (yet) had a hole-in-one, although I have been very close several times. So next in prominence would be my eagles.

For the uninformed, 'par' is the number of very good shots that it would take to put the ball into a given hole. It is based almost exclusively on the yardage to the hole, roughly about 200 yds for each shot to the green, and then ALWAYS allowing 2 putts. A par 3 hole is usually 100 to 200 yds; A par 4 hole is usually from about 230 to 400 yds; A par 5 is everything over 400 yds.

A "birdie" is when you get the ball into the hole in 1 shot under par, (for example, score 3 on a par 4).
An "eagle" is when you score 2 under par, (for example, score 3 on a par 5).
An "albatross" would be when you score 3 under par - which is extremely rare.

#1. My first eagle came at June's favorite course, Northwoods in Monte Rio on the Russian River. This was sometime around 2012. We were playing with Andy, a tennis friend from the club who was a very good golfer. The eagle came on #5, a very straight, relatively flat, 469 yd. par 5. A very long drive for me, about 250 yds. left the ball in the middle of the fairway. On the second shot to the green, which only has 1 bunker on the left, stopped about 10 ft. below the hole. With a slight break to the right, I put a good roll on the ball and it fell in the hole. I was thrilled!

#2. Oakmont East - Executive course. This round was also my personal best (PB) at the time. June and I hurried out to beat another couple who were checking in. We played the first 14 holes without waiting and without anyone behind us, like we had the place to ourselves. It was a gorgeous, sunny day with no wind.I played the front with only bogies and pars for a +3 (35). The back nine I played with only pars and bogies, plus one double bogie, and the eagle. The eagle was on the 17th, a short 320 yd par 4. I hit a nice drive, about 280 yds. I don't normally hit the ball that far, but the fairway was downhill in the landing area so the balled rolled at least 30 yds. Then, from about 40 yds out, I chipped ball on the green and it rolled about 15 ft into the hole. I finished with 68, five over par. With slope and rating, it would be a 6.8 differential (over par). This was my only differential in single digits. The online handicap system warned me that this score was NOT in my usual scoring. "Are you SURE you want to post this?" Uhhh, YEAH!!

#3. (Left image) This one came at Bennett Valley during a league playoff match with Rob and I defending our title. I don't remember who we were playing, but we had it sewn up as we came to the 18th, a fairly straight 440 yard par 5. I hit my drive to the usual spot, next to a big tree on the right side of the fairway. I had about 200 left, but since the green is very well protected, I broke out my favorite club (at the time) the Adams 5 hybrid which June bought me for Christmas many years ago. I usually hit this club about 180 yards and straight. This time I hit it very well. It apparently found hard ground near the green and rolled up between the bunkers onto the green about 10 ft below the pin. I didn't sweat about the putt because we had already won the match. So I took a quick read, pretty straight, and rolled it in.

#4. 12/13/2018

It was on the 4th hole at Windsor Golf (right image), a relatively short (439 yds) par 5. On this rare occasion, I went out to play by myself, and connected with 2 old guys on the 1st tee. On the 2nd tee, Vernon (a friend) came up behind us and so I dropped back to play with him from the white tees. On the 4th hole, a tricky dogleg right, we both hit our drives about 230 yds in the middle of the fairway. Vernon, first up, plays Windsor a lot in a league. He pulls out his 4 hybrid and says, "I'm gonna go for it" (meaning aim for the green, which is well-hidden behind some very tall oak trees). I determined with my laser finder, that the green was about 200 yds away. He hit a beautiful shot, but hit a branch on the way down and the ball bounced to the left, still leaving him a very good look at the green. So I figured, what the hell? I pulled out my new 3-metal, but I wasn't sure that it had enough loft to get it over the tall trees. I gave it a nice, easy, whack and hit it pure! It looked like it would clear the trees, but we didn't see the orange ball land. When I walked up to the green expecting to have to go look for my ball somewhere, I was thrilled to see that the ball came to rest on the green and stopped about 15 ft below the flag. I have had quite a few putts for eagle, but an eagle putt so close to the hole is pretty rare for me. I studied the break, determined that I would NOT leave it short, and rolled it in the center of the hole. Kerplunk!

#5. April 21, 2022

June and I have been members at the Santa Rosa Golf and County Club for almost 2.5 years, and I have never had an eagle there. It was supposed to rain that Thursday, our usual day to play, but the way it has gone with the current drought, the rain didn't come until later that night. So at about noon I decided to go out and walk the course by myself. Since I was not keeping score anyhow, on #2 I decided to not walk to the back white and blue tees, but instead hit off the green (forward) tees, about 440 yards to the middle of the green. I hit a beautiful drive, landing on the right side of the fairway adjacent to the blue 200 yd marker. This is not a huge yardage to get to a par 5 in 2 shots, but the problem is the huge bunker protecting the green. For me, hitting a ball from this far away requires a club that does not have much loft, and is therefore not easy to stop the ball on the green. I bought an Adams 3-wood on EBay several months ago, based on the one that Chris owns, only this one does NOT have a draw bias. I LOVE IT! So I pulled it out and hit a gorgeous shot, higher than my usual ball flight with that club, straight at the pin. When it landed, from far away it looked like the ball was right next to the pin.

When I got to the green, it was actually about 12 feet. The divot was about 18 inches behind the ball. I looked it over: slight uphill, and straight. I stepped up and rolled it with perfect speed, right into the middle of the cup.

#6. 2/13/2024

Again at Northwoods in Monte Rio, but this time on the 1st hole, a 293 par 4 with a dogleg left. This was actually #10, our second time around since it is a 9-hole course. I was playing with my good friend Mic, and our joint friend Rich, visiting from Arizona.

The weather was cloudy and it was a wet winter, meaning that the ground was soggy in many places and the ball was not carrying like it does in summer conditions. Anyhow, I hit my 3-wood high with a slight draw about 190 yds. to the perfect position, just short of the bunker on the right. The pin was towards the back, exactly 100 yds away, and I had a great look at it. I hit my pitching wedge about 5 ft short of the pin. Rich, watching just off the green, said it one-hopped into the hole, rattling the pin. I only saw the ball disappear and simultaneously heard Mic, standing just across the fairway preparing to hit his ball, "It's in the hole!! Wow! It went in the hole! That's AWESOME!" I bought them both a drink afterwards.