Eagle..

I feel a bit silly about blogging about this, but at the same time it’s a big moment in the life of The Dan Plan.  I’ve been within 20 feet on a couple par fives, but never have I seen one drop.  Today, though, I didn’t need the putter at all as I managed to chip in a 65 yard pitch for my first ever eagle.  (non-golfers, that means I made the ball go into the hole in two strokes less than what the course says you should make, it’s rare, but not on the PGA Tour level.  Making one on a par 4 is even rarer as you have to chip it in, whereas on a par 5 you can sometimes hit the green in two and then putt for eagle)

It was on a 353 yard par 4 on the Lakeside course of Golf Club of Georgia and I was playing in a group of five with something on the line, so it definitely counted.  My buddy Rob Stocke and I were both right at 65 yards after our drives and we were on different teams while playing the game wolf.  It’s a hard game to describe, so here’s the rules:  WOLF   Basically, this hole was up to Rob or me and I was to go first.  I have been working on my short pitches and felt really good on the practice swing, keeping my arms and body connected, so let it go and got aggressive with the shot aiming just short of the pin.  Right off the face, the ball felt good and bounced about two feet short of the hole before hitting the flag and dropping in for my first eagle.

Now, I have one and there is no reason to be stressed next time I’m standing over an eagle putt.  You just got to get it in the cup.

As was pointed out by a playing partner, today was my first eagle so it was also my first chance to not mess the very next hole up after hitting an eagle.  I know what this is like because far too often after a birdie I shoot a bogey or worse.  The plan was, then, to not f- up the next hole.  It happened to be a 540 yard par 5 with a dogleg right and water carry at the end.  Piece of cake.  I hit a solid drive and then played a layup 6-iron at the advice of Rob, which was a good idea, but the 6 is my trouble club right now and I pulled it a bit to the right side where I was blocked by a large tree.  I had to try to draw a 120-yard PW around the tree but didn’t catch it perfectly so ended up pushing it just left of the green.  Actually hit a decent chip then made the 4-footer for par.  Job done.

I’m really excited about this.  It seems like just yesterday that I hit my first birdie (wasn’t that long ago actually) and was less than 3 months ago that I played my first round with a full set of clubs.  Next up:  Tournament back in Oregon on April 21 at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course.