The funny thing is that they put Pelican Hill-South ahead of Pelican Hill-North, which of course we all know that there is two, maybe three good holes on the South. (I'm stretching the word "good" here)
O.K., so now that we've probably driven away any good conversation on this thread, lets talk about my new "friend" Dave Smith.
(the gentleman in the picture)
Pat, why do I just know your going to tell me that you gave him a lesson once and then fired yourself half-way through it?
While talking to Dave, I made it a point to just let him do the talking. I know that sounds like almost an impossible feat for me, but honestly, I did exactly that. I did however insert a pro to his con or a con to his pro when it was appropriate; he told me of the grand stories of knowing General Lyons and Broadcom co-founder and CEO, Henry Nicholas. He actually told me he knew two of the five Orange County Housewive's and told me how out of touch with reality they really were.
Before he realized what he had been dealing with, we we're explained terms like shot value and risk/reward; He told me that the only good greens were greens that you could take no more then a two-putt on. (I've heard this same thing before) He also explained to me that unless a green can hold a shot its not a putting green and that any hole that allowed you to bounce and run it in was not a golf hole. He described of shotting rounds in the low 70's on several occasions, yet, it wasn't until the 18th hole that he actually out-drove me, and I'm not that long of a hitter. It went on and on and on and on.
At the 14th hole, he had a great little bump & run shot into the green being presented to him on a silver platter. He was indecisive on what to hit, because after all club selection is most vitally important for a solid 18 handicapper--he took me up on the challenge I presented him and he did in fact hit it to the pin and got it to stop about a 2-1/2' away. The look on his face immediately afterwards was sheer delight, and then I said to him as I hit my ball from the bunker, nearly holing it out:
Dave, You will be my greatest student. Maybe my very last one..... Dave went into the tank after that--it was just all too-much for him to handle--this success on the links.
And then the subject turned back to golf and it was interesting. Never once did I divulge any knowledge of the study of Golf Architecture; at least not until he finally asked after hearing The Redanman's and I go back and forth dissecting the Arroyo Trabuco-layout. He finally asked,
"Do you guys always do this when you play?" and I answered the question with a question,
"What? Do you mean the we take apart the course and put it back together again the way we found it? and then, only then did I divulge that we got into this stuff quite more then the Average Joe.
You see, Dave Smith was the prototypical Cougar County golfer. I've learned to both loath and not respect them--all of them. They are the typical lot that have the membership at Mission Impossible, or worse, El Niguel. (Opps, sorry!
) Some of them are stupid enough to subscribe to Southland Golfer, even though its a free magazine available at Cougar County-based Roger Dunn Inc. (and of course they don't read it, only look at the pictures)
Anyway, God must love Cougar County because he still allows it to exist. Certainly this Godforsaken place is no different then a modern day Sodom & Gomorrah, only it has its own sinister character, and instead of everybody having orgies or buggering one another, in Cougar County they spend endless gobs of money on stuff they don't need like the new BMW, or Range Rover, and /or this past months purchases at Nordstroms; They make twice yearly visits to the cosmetic surgeon for a touch-up and can get there as soon as they find a quicker diversion past Fashion Island. (Just say no)
Go Trabuco.