A Belated Wrap Up of the 21 Days of Golf & Tennis Challenge

My apologies to those of you who are following my year long series of 21-Day challenges for the delayed nature of this post.  It is October 19th, and I have been heavily involved with my current 21-Day challenge- 21 Days of Fundraising & Volunteerism.  More on that soon...

Here are the Top 10 Moments from September:

10.  Selling a used copy of Tom Doak's The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses for $219.95.  That covered a couple of rounds:)


9.  Getting a lesson from Greg Bray at Terradyne.  Although I started taking lessons for the first time last year, Greg is the best and most professional instructor I could have hoped for, and he's right in my own backyard.

8.  Playing late night rounds of tennis on lighted courts with my friends Mike, Tate and Brendan, all of whom were excellent high school players.  Brendan played in college and whoops my ass just about every time, but I vow to take a set off of him by this time next year.  Watch out.

7.  Playing in the YWCA of Wichita 2011 Golf Classic scramble with some buddies from Wesley.  We had a respectable showing of -11 at Willowbend, good enough for 7th place.

6.  Winning the long drive competition at the YWCA tournament by striping one right down the middle and right into the wind.  Good enough for a $25 gift certificate to the Green Mill, which I'm told has excellent pizza.

5.  Getting to play both Alvamar courses in Lawrence while attending the Fall Book Sale at the public library.  I purchased vouchers to play a bunch of KC area courses from KC Golfer Magazine, so all I had to pay was the cart fee.  The greens were incredibly fast, so there were a lot of 3 putts, but the elevation changes were gorgeous.

4.  Getting the chance to play at Tallgrass in the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame Tournament with K-State basketball legend and former WNBA player Kendra Wecker, along with former Bethany College head football coach  Ted Kessinger, who brought his team's winning percentage close to perfection. With an over all record of 219-57-1, he led the Swedes into the NAIA top 25 poll 20 separate times. During his 28 seasons, Bethany College never had a losing season, making him one of the most successful coaches in NAIA history.  Although we had some athletes on our team, our score wasn't so great, but we had a blast.

Steady Teddy always ripped his drives right down the middle

3.  Did I mention the cost of the tournament was free? Thanks to my awesome girlfriend Crystal, who got me into the tournament and "helped" me win a brand new Coleman 8 man tent at the raffle...bonus.

Representin' Xclusive  

2.  While visiting Hutchinson to do some work at the library, I passed up the opportunity to play Prairie Dunes (way over my budget) to play the more friendly and affordable Carey Park, a fun little course my friend had told me about.  She hooked me up with her friend Nick Mason, a professional golfer who finished 2nd in the Missouri State Open days after we played, and I fired off a respectable 79.  He shot a casual 68.  I don't think I've ever played with anyone who shot that low.

1.  Getting in a bunch of rounds with my buddy Nate and getting my handicap down to single digits.  I ended the month at a 9.7 (well almost a 9!) and Nate ended up with a 7.  Although many of our rounds were neck and neck fights to the finish, he seemed to have my number this month, and won a nice little pile of one dollar bills from me with all of his style points (sandies, greenies, stickies, etc.).  The best round of the year for me was when we played Clapp in Wichita for what we thought might be a farewell tour.  Rumor has it that the city is no longer planning on closing the course- at least let's hope not.  It's not especially hard, but it is an affordable option for hackers like me. 

So, on a picturesque autumn day, I fire off a 77, my round of the year.  Only problem was that Nate played out of his mind, finished birdie/birdie, and walked away with a 72!  Congratulations Nate-Dog, I no longer consider you a hacker.  Now, if we could only beat his girlfriend Lan. 

Strom Dynasty in jeopardy after Wu-Tang Clan posts a respectable 72