SPRING  2008

Growing up in Sunny Southern California I was very fortunate to be able to play golf year round as a kid in my hometown of  South Pasadena. As a youngster my Dad started taking me and my brother golfing on  Sunday afternoons in early 1960's at Brookside course in Pasadena just outside the famous Rose Bowl. I  fell in Love with golf on those warm Sunny afternoons in the Arroyo, skipping my drives down the fairway and hearing my Dad say "your gaining on it" ... or you looked up ...keep your eye on the ball.

 My 1st competitive golf event was in 1966 when I signed up to play in the South Pasadena Junior Golf Clinic and Tournament at the age of 11 at the Arroyo Seco Golf Course. I was fortunate to win the Tournament beating a 12 year old  on the the 1st hole in a  sudden death playoff, we both were tied at the end of the day with the lowest posted  scores of  32 for the 9 holes we completed on the par 27 course. The field included at least 48- 52 Junior Golfers vying  for 1st Place. On that 1st Sudden Death hole I lofted my 9 iron on a 110 yard par 3 to within 1  foot and sank the Birdie Putt to win 1st place. I proudly showed my Mom & Dad the trophy when I came home that day and put the trophy on display in my room where it stayed until I left home for College and  probably was thrown away with my baseball card collection.

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Fast Forward 2008  - 42 years later

The world has changed since 1966, although Golf  has pretty much remained the same with the exception of new courses , new champions, different equipment and trends

On this site  I would like to share some of my stories about golf courses that I visit, experiences and more.

Lets get started

1st Weekend of June 2008

With all the hype about the movie Sex and the City, I thought it might be a good time to get in a few rounds of golf . On Saturday I played my favorite Golf course in SO CAL Brookside # 2. I  started nicely with a birdie on hole #1. After 8 holes I was 3+ going into hole #9 and proceeded  to double Bogie #9 and then went  4+ in the next 3 holes to see my nice round go south real fast. I ended up shooting a gross 84  with a front 9 of  40 and back nine score of 44. I guess not too bad for 10 handicapper which I am playing to these days. 

On Sunday June 1st , I thought it might be nice to spend some time with my wife since I had spent 6 hours on the golf course the day before.  In So Cal with a handful of courses to always pick from I choose to play an Executive Course called Monterey Park which I have always been curious about but had never played. I was surprised to find out when I arrived with my wife and the dogs that the course seemed relatively quiet for a Sunday Afternoon.  We found a nice shady place to park the mini-van for the dogs under covered parking and started the adventure on a nice par 4 which features hitting off the mats....nice. Anyway after starting out with a par I was cruising along even par until hole # 3  a 115 yd par 3 that features shooting into a green that is at least 100 feet lower than the tee box with the  green  at a 30 degree angle making the hole pretty difficult at least for me. I  flew my tee shot to the left hit and hit the  edge of the hill next to the the far left of the green and watched my ball careem 20 yards down the hill  by a tree which blocked my 2nd  shot  making my 2nd shot a nightmare.  After finally getting on the green on my 3rd shot and 2 putting I walked away saying okay I am 2+ after 3 holes  I can get those strokes back. On Hole 6 my tee shot was within 6" of the cup almost making what would have been my 1st ever hole in one. With a birdie on 6 I was now 1+ for the round with a chance to get back to even with another birdie. That goal did not happen as I proceeded to go 2+ over on the next 3 holes to shot a 32, on this par 29 1400 yd layout. 

As my wife and I traversed up the steep hill to return to the clubhouse I noticed a sign that said the World's greatest Hamburger  at the 10th hole.  Okay now that I have played Monterey Park Golf Course here are my thoughts. $12.00 for 9 holes... good price. The course has 2 par 4's  nice  and Hole # 3 is great !  and of course the World's Greatest Hamburger on the 10th Hole

If you want to play Monterey Park Golf  Course call 323. 266.4632 , Hours M-Sat - 6:30am - 11:00pm ; Sun & Holiday  6:30am - 10:00pm

Local Rules   # 6 Positively - No High Heels   

USGA Rules Govern All Play

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6/4/2008  Where are the Golfers!!!!!!!

While the rest of the world was glued to the TV monitors and sucking down cold ones watching the Lakers & Celtics in game 1 of the NBA Finals,  I took to the the Santa Anita Golf Course in Arcadia, CA  at 6:00pm on 6/4. Much to my surprise the course was empty. Believe it or not finshed 18 holes in 2 hours and 10 minutes and never saw another golfer. Front 9 shot a 5 over 40 and back nine struggled and shot a 44 for a total of 84. Taking an 8 on the par 5 13th was my downfall on the back 9. I crushed  my drives and made some nice putts but need to work more on my iron accuracy and short game up and downs - Since switching to a Titlest Pro V1 I am strating to see the results with better ball control from 90 and in.

I am gearing up for the Long Beach Golf Festival in July and the Nature Valley Amateur Tour in San Clemente in the fall 

make it a great day ...

JB