The first Texas round is in the books.

For my first round in Texas I decided to find something I could try to get back into the swing of things with. Since I was still a little sore from lugging stuff around I wasn't too sure how things would hold up so I found a course that I had low expectations for. That course was Legendary Oaks Country Club out in Hempstead, a town about 30 minutes west of where I live now.

The course was busier than I thought it would be, that could have been a result of being Father's Day weekend or something. I ended up joining a threesome of interesting locals for most of the back nine, a move that really didn't make things go any faster. If anything it did help pace the round a little better than simply standing around waiting all the time.

As far as the course itself... well, there wasn't too much that was good or exciting to report. The greens were just horrid. No two greens seemed to be the same speed or condition as they were all a mix of bare dirt, sanded grass, or thick and grainy blades that would cause the ball to just waddle, jump and otherwise wander away on its own. At least they were slow enough that I could manage to avoid the first putts to get away from me too much.

The fairways were better but still hit or miss. Some of the better lies I found were actually in the rough, though the only difference between there and the fairways were how often you'd find longer grass among the bare spots and hardpan. Around the greens things weren't too bad at all, that was probably the most consistent thing about the place.

I didn't really see much that was worthy of a picture, though honestly I kinda forgot to take any until I was nearly finished. I did snap a few of the last couple of holes though :

The 16th green

The view of the short par-4 17th from the tee

The 18th hole, a dogleg left with a short forced carry to the fairway

From the pictures it doesn't look too shabby really, though you might be able to see that it does look a bit rough around the edges of the water features and such. Overall the course was pretty flat, especially compared to some of the things I had played recently out west and in Hawaii. Maybe I've been spoiled or something.

As far as how I played, I did fine for the most part. I have been working on improving my alignment and in doing so I feel like I'm facing too far left and my swing is coming from the outside, which is a hard feeling to fight off sometimes. I didn't hit many fairways though a few of those weren't far off. On the second hole I hit what looked to be a perfect 3-wood. Instead I had found a bunker that was completely hidden from view from the tee. I managed to hit the green from there though so I got away with it. On a couple other holes I hit my ball along the line I thought was correct only to hit through the fairway or something.

I started out pretty well, I parred the first four holes I played, hitting every green in doing so. The wind was an issue all day though and I bogeyed the next five to shoot 41 on the front. Still, I wasn't hitting horrible shots everywhere, it was more just being a little off, usually a misclub due to the wind. On the par-5 sixth I had hit a really good drive even though it ended up left of the fairway. I was about 180 or so yards from the green so I decided to give it a go despite the water surrounding the green and the semi-iffy lie. I caught the ball a shade thin but it was right online. The ball hit a wood bridge just short of the green and bounced left into the water. If I carry it a few more yards I could have been looking at eagle. Oh well.

On the back nine I started off with two solid pars, then on the par-3 12th I pushed a 6-iron into the right side bunker. As is often the case, the previous golfer neglected to rake the sand after he was done so my lie was less than ideal, even for being in a hazard. However, the sand at this place might be the best feature of the course (not counting any that might be part of the greens, that is) and I managed to blast my ball out to about 10 feet. I finally made a putt longer than a tap-in and had my par.

I bogeyed the 13th after hitting 8-iron long and left and then hitting a poor pitch back to the green. I parred the 14th despite a misclub short and came to the 15th, what I thought was a short par-4. Even though it was into the wind I hit 3-wood off the tee. I caught it pretty solidly, though I pulled it a bit I was safe just left of the fairway. When I got to my ball I discovered I still had about 155 yards or so to the green... oh wait, this hole is really 380 yards long! Great! I managed to still hit the green and had a good look at birdie, one I missed.

I parred the 16th and then hit two terrific shots on the 17th. I hit a perfect 3-wood off the tee, one that actually ended up 25 longer than I thought it would be. I had about 70 yards left and decided to see if I could hit a lob wedge that far. I hit it to about 4 feet just left of the hole. The grass between my ball and the hole actually looked good and the putt seemed pretty simple so I felt pretty good about it. I should have known better. When I hit the putt I thought I had made it but the green had other ideas as it took a left turn about 8-10 inches from the hole. I hit it firm, the ball ended up 18 inches past the hole and yet I didn't even hit the lip of the cup. I wasn't terribly pleased about it but what was I really expecting at this point? Its been like that all day.

I finished the last hole with a bogey to end up shooting 79, which honestly was probably on par or maybe even slightly worse than the 84s I shot on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. Despite the conditions of the greens the course was pretty simple overall. However I accomplished what I had set out to do. I got in 18 holes and came away feeling pretty good about the alignment thing. I still need to do a better job of turning through the ball though. My body held up also, that was probably the best thing about the entire day.

The next round will be on a better course, at least it should be as it couldn't get too much worse than this one. If the storm passes through here early enough I should be able to play this weekend. Tentatively I am supposed to play with a gentleman that found me through Facebook and offered to host me at a course right here in Cypress. Somehow he learned I was recently widowed and moving to the area, I didn't know you could do that. Assuming that happens, we'll see how it goes.

Hapuna Golf Club, that other round in Hawaii.

While I had the chance to play Mauna Kea three times, the fourth round was at the resort's sister course, Hapuna Golf Club. While not quite a scenic, this track did have its own character and it also had some impressive views of both the ocean and the mountains. I played here during the afternoon of the second day, just as the winds started to ramp up.

My tee time wasn't until around 1 but the first tee was wide open and they let me go out as soon as I was ready. The first hole seemed simple enough, a short, uphill par-4. I didn't start well though, pulling my 3-wood tee shot into the fairway trap, leading to a bogey. We're just getting started though and so far my elbow seemed to be holding up despite cooling down a bit between rounds.

I parred the 2nd and then came to the first picture-worthy hole on the course, the par-5 third :

From the third tee.

A look at the third green from the fairway.

I hit a solid enough drive but not quite good enough to consider a run at going for the green. Two decent iron shots and two putts later gave me another par. Mark down another par on the fourth and we have a strong start to the round. This brings us to our first par-3 of the course, the fifth :

I half-chunked a wedge but got enough of it to at least clear the trap, leaving me with a fairly simple chip to get up and down for par, which I did. The greens here seemed a little softer, maybe a tad slower and definitely not as severe with the mounding. These tended to have gentle sloping overall instead, making things a little easier to judge. That brings us to the sixth hole:

The view from the tee on the par-4 sixth.

The sixth green.

I wasn't exactly sure where to hit my drive on this hole and ended up in the right rough. Fortunately I wasn't too far off of the correct line and had a good lie with a decent angle to the green, which I hit and managed to make another par, my fifth straight. After another par on the par-3 seventh, I hit a great drive on the par-5 eighth, leaving myself only about 185 into the green. With the wind slightly helping I figured a 4-iron to an slightly uphill green would do the job... if I hadn't pull-hooked it. The ball carried the bunker on the left, took a huge bounce and ended up well over the green and into some scrub grass. Trust me, it wasn't pretty. I literally hacked it out but failed to even get halfway to the green. However, I hit a pretty damn good pitch to about 4 feet from the hole and made that for another par. Things were going my way so far.

That brings us to the ninth hole, shown here :

A long par-4 at 413 yards and into the wind, I really wasn't feeling too comfortable on the tee. However I think the tee might have been up slightly today. I hit a very solid drive but I only had about 145 yards left into a middle pin. I did hit it pretty solid though.... anyway, my approach leaked right but held the green, which is a good thing as the water wasn't far off from the edge. Two putts later and I have my eighth straight par to close the front side in 37. Yay me!

I made the turn and saw the tenth hole, a par-4 that looks like this :

Behold the confusing tee shot of the tenth hole.

The hole measures only about 340 yards but those trees looked so close to me on the tee. I didn't know if I should go right of them, over them, between them, somewhere else? I decided that driver was likely too much club as I feared I'd go through the fairway, so I hooked a three wood under that tree on the left instead. I was lucky enough to have a shot at the green and hit a knockdown wedge off the back of the green. Again I managed to save par with a nice chip and putt though so no harm done! On to the eleventh!

The par-5 eleventh, complete with goats (can you see them?)

This adorable par-5 played back into a stiffening breeze, though it wasn't too strong as of yet. The hole was a solid three-shot hole as I needed driver/5-wood/gap wedge to traverse it. My wedge wasn't a great shot but I did hit the green and get down from there for par once more. Below is the eleventh green, followed by a view of the 12th hole :

The 11th green.

The par-4 12th hole.

The wind has let up just a bit at about this point so I hit 3-wood off the tee on this one and still almost hit it through the fairway as I couldn't tell that there was a drop off just a bit past that fairway bunker you see there. I had a good, level lie though and hit a wedge to about 4 feet from the hole. The issue was I managed to hit it above the hole and found one of the few places that the green had a more severe slope than some of the other hole locations had. I took my time with this one and even though I think I still hit it slightly too firm the ball held the line and I scored myself a birdie, bringing me to even par! To say I was excited about it would be a bit underwhelming. Here is a better look at the 12th green, by the way :

The 13th green, home of birdies.

 We still have six more holes to play in this round and we start them with the short downhill 13th :

Looking down at the 13th green from the tee.

The wind was starting to pick up again and it was coming more from the right rather than behind me, making club selection a but iffy. I decided on pitching wedge, which ended up being the right choice. I ended up about 25 feet to the right of the hole as I pushed it a bit and the wind didn't seem to bring it back as much as I thought it would. I almost holed the putt for birdie though, just missing it a bit to the right.

The 14th hole was a par-5 that did play a bit downwind. I hit my drive too far right however but that actually shortened the hole as it doglegged in that direction. The green was quite a bit uphill but I had a decent lie and only about 200 to the hole so I gave a run at it. I never got the ball high enough and it ended up short by about 40 yards, it just kinda went *plunk* when it hit into the upslope. I pitched on and hit a poor putt for the birdie but nothing that endangered my par.

The 15th hole turned back into the wind, which started to get much stronger as we worked into the afternoon. I managed to hit a strong drive on this 398-yard par-4 and came away with another par after hitting the green with a good iron shot. For some reason I don't have a good picture in my mind of what this hole was like, I just know that had two solid shots and made par. However, I do remember the last three holes since the wind made them fairly brutal, starting with the par-3 16th :

The downhill par-3 16th hole.

The wind was at least two-clubs now and it didn't help that the hole was downhill. I hit 6-iron here, which was probably at least a half-club short. I pulled it just slightly also, ending up in that trap to the left. I had a decent lie but I had a fairly longish bunker shot to the hole. I left it about 20 feet short and failed to make that, making my first bogey since the opening hole. Things weren't getting easier out here either :

The view from the tee of the 387 yard par-4 17th hole.

The wind was still kicking pretty well on this one also but the drive I hit here was the worst one of the day. I hit a low duck hook that barely cleared that brownish junk. From there I hit a good 3-wood toward the green and still ended up about 10 yards short. I hit a decent pitch from there but I missed the putt for another bogey, leaving me at 2-over with just one hole left to play.

The cart ride to the 18th hole was a bit of a trek but once we got there I found myself facing a 400-yard dogleg left that does not give you a view of the green from the tee. The wind was coming in strongly from the left and into my face, not a great combination. I hit a decent drive but the wind pushed it further right and held it up a bit, leaving this for my second shot :

A look at the 18th green from the fairway, 180 yards away.

At this point I'm wondering if the wind is strong enough to warrant a 3-wood but decided that a solid 5-wood should do the job. I almost pulled it off, but I think I caught it a little off the toe, causing it to go a little low and draw a little too much. I ended up just short of the green, off the front right side. Fortunately the ball held there and didn't roll further down away from the surface of the green. I hit what I thought was a good chip but the ball didn't check up like most of the other greens had and it rolled by about 8 feet or so. I missed that coming back, ending the round with three straight bogeys. That's OK, you won't hear me complaining about shooting 75, I don't care where it is.

While it may not have mattered I really do wish the wind would have held off for about another hour or so as I was going pretty well there. The drive on the 17th might have been influenced by the wind, I think I tried too hard to hit it low to keep it down and ended up getting too quick on it. Still, I hit ten greens, just missed a few others and really was never in any serious trouble the entire round. To shoot such a solid round in such a nice locale will ease any regrets I might have had... at least that's what I'm telling myself.

I'll close out with a few random pictures from the trip to Hawaii. Some are from the courses, others are from the trip I took to the actual Mauna Kea. You should be able to tell the difference. Enjoy!

The resort had a feral cat colony, this fella was one of at least a dozen or so that I saw while I was there.

The goats that randomly roamed around Hapuna Golf Club. Its what's for dinner?

The Mauna Kea Visitor Center.

Hapuna Beach on the Big Island.

As I mentioned, I journeyed to the Big Island of Hawaii over the Memorial Day weekend to play a little golf. The two courses I lined up were Mauna Kea Golf Club and Hapuna Golf Club, the former being one of the more recognized in the world. As I found out, it ain't easy either.

I got to play Mauna Kea three times and while I wasn't completely awful I never could get a grasp of the big, undulating greens there. The fairways were generous enough for the most part, however getting the ball on the correct part of the greens proved to be quite a challenge. The green complexes are what make this course as tough as it is.

Since I played it three times I figured I'd just give you some of the high(low)lights from the the holes that I took some pictures on... assuming I can remember what I'm looking at and what I did on those holes. The best way to find out is to get started!

The green of the opening hole, a dogleg-right par 4. I managed to par this the first day, took bogey the other two. The green plays uphill a decent bit.

The view from the second green, a short, downhill par-4 that plays toward the Pacific Ocean (umm, its that gob of dark blue in the photo in case you missed it). The green is to the left, behind the tress there. The first day I hit driver and discovered that was a mistake, the fairway isn't long enough for it and I took a double bogey. The other two days I made par since I was smart enough to hit 3-wood off the tee.

 The famous par-3 third hole. I made par the first day, just missing the green to the right and nearly chipped in for birdie. The second and third days had the tee set up more to the right. I chunked both tee shots on those days, the first of which ended up in the scrub on the cliffside. I went to the drop area, which was a blind, uphill shot from about 110 yards. I hit my wedge about two feet from the hole and made bogey. Made bogey on Monday also.

 A look back from the 5th green, a par-5. I made birdie on the first day, making a 12 foot putt just moments before I took this photo. I didn't play the hole quite as well the next couple of days, though I think I managed at least one par.

 The sixth hole, a short par-4 that also played best with a 3-wood from the tee. The green is quite elevated and has some strong slope from back to front and left to right. I hit the green all three days though I did three-putt the green twice.

 The look from the tee on the par-5 eighth. I went par-bogey-par on this hole, though on the third shot on the first day I think I tweaked my elbow, which started a downward spiral for the round that day. I had gone for the green in two and hit a smothered-hook into the left rough, leaving me with an awkward downhill pitch from the rough. That grass grabbed my club on the way through and my arm didn't appreciate it.

 The downhill par-4 ninth. Again, a 3-wood off the tee here is the smart play. I made par on the first day but a couple of poor tee shots on the next two days led to bogeys.

 This is the tough-as-nails downhill par-3 11th hole. If not for the 3rd hole I'm sure this bastard would get more press. Playing over 200 yards from the resort tees is bad enough, add an afternoon wind that blows off the ocean and up that hill to the tee and it plays more like 225 or something. On the first day I hit 3-wood (!) and my ball landed on the right fringe, just past that trap on the right of the green. It bounced right, careened down the hill toward those trees, never to be seen again. For all I know that thing ended up in the Pacific. I parred this thing on the next two days, playing in the morning made a difference as I only needed 5-wood instead.

 The par-4 14th hole. This was one of the toughest holes on the course as it was a fairly sharp dogleg left that played about 400 yards into a prevailing left-to-right wind. I hit 4-iron onto the green the first day and made par. I took double on the other two days. I never did hit a good drive on this hole. My ball seemed to be unduly attracted to that tree on the right for some reason.

 This is the 15th hole, the most benign of the par-3s. For a simple hole I never played it all that well, taking bogey on all three days. The green has one of the most severe slopes on the course in the back right, I swear I had to aim 20 feet away from the hole that day.

 The view of the green for the 16th hole. Another longer par-4, the wind made quite a difference on the approach here. I only hit one decent drive on this hole, making par on the second day. I made double on the others. I was never very comfortable on the tee here for some reason.

And here is the finishing hole, another downhill par-4 that plays somewhat parallel to the ninth. The wind came off the ocean from the left, which helped as the hole did dogleg a bit to the right. I made par on the first two days but tallied a bogey on the final day. I did hit three nice drives here so I had a good look at the green every time. This green had one of the strangest breaks I've ever played, I swear that damn thing rolled uphill like Spook Hill or something.

I never had a great round but I was consistent, shooting 83-84-84. I had a good chance to break 80 on the first day. I shot 38 on the front nine, but that elbow gave me some trouble on the back after that one shot on the 8th. If I could have played this thing for a fourth day I might have had a shot at a good round since I felt like I knew the course so much better by then. Oh well, maybe we'll come back.

Well, this took longer than I had hoped so I'll post about Hapuna on another day. As you can likely see, this course is visually appealing and was tough but fair throughout. My only regret is that I wasn't able to have that one really nice round here but overall I can't complain too much. Perhaps I had better luck on the other course...