That's more like it!

Played to 86 today!

For people who didn't get what I am talking about, this is about golf. I'm sure you would also not know (how could you?) that my best score so far is an 85. So it feels good to play close to your best score.

After cribbing (in my last post) about the round of golf I had last time, I think this is a good comeback. The last time, I had 7 pars which is the highest that I had ever got in a round. Well, this time, I had NINE!!!

The round went thus:

Front 9: Par-Double bogey-Par-Double bogey-Par-Par-Bogey-Double bogey-Par
Back 9: Par-Double bogey-Quadruple bogey-Par-Bogey-Bogey-Par-Par-Bogey

I was on green in regulation on the final hole & all set to par it when I made the only 3-putt of the round to bogey the last hole. Had I not done that, I would have tied my best ever score.

In all, I was quite happy with my putting. I made 30 putts in the whole round, 7 of which were single putts (some of them clutch putts for par) and only one 3-putt, as I mentioned, on the 18th hole.

I hit more than 70% of fairways, hit 50% of the greens in regulation & putting was a lot better. A couple of holes where my shank made it's mysterious appearance cost me a lower score & therefore a double bogey & a Quadruple one as well!

All in all, an eventful round. A hope that the game is improving. A fact that in the last month, my worst score has been a 93. I have hit around the 86 number a few times & the frequency is going up.

Game getting better. More consistent! Yea!

Pathetic round of golf

I am a 18 handicapper & so usually play every round to between 86 and 88.

Just when I thought my swing was coming together & felt consistent, it had to disappear right in the middle of a the round, right after a fairly decent front nine.

I was playing to 9 over after nine holes and the triple bogey at the 1st had a significant contribution to the score.

I really hate that first hole at the Bangalore Golf Club (BGC). Not that it's a very difficult hole. It is, in fact a fairly easy hole. Problem is, at the start of the round, I tend to miss to the left (as I am natural drawer of the ball) and so I end up on the 18th fairway with no approach to the green & I am left with the only option of chipping back to the 1st fairway & get going.

As luck would have it, my putts on the 1st green refused steadfastly to drop & so I three putted to make my triple bogey. Not a good start to a round, I assure you.

But then, the fighter in me came back to life. I parred the next 2 holes, double bogeyed the 4th & parred the next. Bogeyed the really long par 4 index one 6th, parred the 7th & missed par by a whisker on the 9th. That left me with 9 over on the back nine. Not something out of the blue for an 18 handicapper. So I was playing to my handicap.

I started the back nine by parring the 10th. And I thought I was on a roll. It looked like my swing was back & it was consitently swishing down the path that took the ball where it was supposed to go. Boy, was I wrong!

The double bogey jamboree started from the 11th tee & did not relent until the 16th & 17th, which of which I parred. That was 10 strokes in 5 holes. All my dreams of making a good round were shattered. Then I had to go and miss par by a whisker on the 18th as well. What is it with me and the final holes of the front and back nines?

I finally wound up my game with a 91. Now most people on the golf course would be happy to go back home with a 91. But I was really pissed. I hit 7 pars & missed 4 birdie chances. At this rate, I should have had a lot better score. But I did not.

Hitting 7 pars in a round is the maximum I have done...EVER! And yet, I am pissed. I am not at all satisfied with the way I played today. I think I need to start being a lot more consistent, even with my pre-shot routine. That is the only way I am going to get my scores down & feel happy with my game.

Problem is: I don't think I am ever going to feel happy with my game. I realised that as you start playing better & better, you want to get even better & there lies the misery.

What a game! Makes you miserable after you played a reasonably good round of golf. But that does not stop die-hard golfers like me. The next round is already planned! Hopefully the next post on my golfing will be a lot more cheerful!

Or maybe not!

You'll know when it gets here.

A mighty fine collaboration...

I have been using the imate as my PDA phone for quite some time. The PDA phone runs the Microsoft Windows Mobile Edition 2003 platform.

Around the time that I bought the phone, I also enrolled in a newly formed yahoo group called xdaindia, whose sole intentions (?) are to help people know their device better & to attempt top solve any problems they might have.

What has resulted is a great place for the people on the group to have a discussion on the WM technology & a great exchange of ideas.

Of course, there are a lot of people who do not take the effort to check the group archives before asking a question & there are a lot more who want to use the forum as a platform to SELL the device or it's accessories.

Despite all this, I think the forum is doing a great job of helping people with knowing their device better, understanding how the device can be used to the fullest & more.

Now we (I am part of the small group of active members) have gotten a forum started. The forum is to be a place where a lot of information & experience can be hosted so that a lot of people can share their ideas & their pains while other people can take advantage of their knowledge.

The forum is at http://xdaindia.myfreeforum.org and is a must-go-to for anyone interested in the PDA phone technology based on the Microsoft platform.

This is the greatest gift of technology. Where people unknown to one another go out of their way to help others. Where a lot of friends are made without prejudice, without physical limitations.

This is the boon of the Internet!

What a way to "raise" money!

San Francisco last week hosted the city's "Masturbate-a-thon" - an event designed to celebrate all that is good and wholesome in the five-knuckle shuffle.

This even was to, no pun intended here, RAISE funds for the Center for Sex and Culture & awareness about the topic rather than just consider it as "second best" as it is most frequently thought of by most people.

Whatever the outcome, I am sure there is a lot of controversy that has been kicked up. Not that Frisco is not used to it, what with it being the American capital for "alternative tastes" (that is the best I could come up that could sound politically correct).

Check out The Register (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/01/san_francisco_trouser_snake_event/) for a very funny report on the event.

See, there is not all bad with solitary confinement (of any sort)! :-)