Bethpage State Park...The Black Course

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Posted by Dexter Francois | Posted in , , | Posted on Tuesday, June 26, 2012

My wife and I traveled to New York City this past weekend to surprise my mother for her birthday. My sister had been planning a surprise party for her for quite some time but the original plan was to go to Cincinnati, OH where my parents live, but at the last minute, my mom wanted to bring my niece to meet my Grandmother who just turned 80. This meant that we had to switch venues, and we were on our way to The Big Apple.

I mentioned the trip to my buddy SBTU(Swing Better Than You, formley Scratch Better Than You when he was a part-time D.J.) whom you met in this post and later in this one and he immediately suggested that we try to get on to the Black Course at Bethpage State Park. The Black Course has hosted the 2002 and 2009 US Open Championships and will welcome the top 125 PGA players Aug. 21-26 for The Barclays as they vie for the 2012 FedExCup Championship.

Of course I got excited with the thought of taking on one the hardest tracks in America. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and others suggested that no one with a 8 or higher handicap could break 100 on US Open layout. I am currently an 8.2 so I was anxious to see how I would fare. But first things first. Getting a tee time.

It is well documented that The Black Course is one of the toughest tee times to get in golf. It is akin to Pebble Beach and Torey Pines in that golfers camp out the night before in hopes that someone cancels their tee time or that they win a lottery of sorts. Bethpage allows for a certain amount of walk-ons per hour but they go quickly. I was advised to get there the day before, but under the circumstances, the earliest we could get to the park was 7:00am that morning.

I had no expectations of getting a tee time. The park has four other courses, so if we didn't get on The Black, we were still guaranteed 18 holes of golf. We walked up to the ticket area and checked the times that were available. It kind of reminded me of the booths at a horse racing track where you place your bets. Much to our surprise, there was a 9:51 tee time available. I could not believe it. This almost seemed to good to be true, but it was happening.

The day was hot and humid and there was a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. After taking a picture in front of the famous "Warning Sign", we stepped up to the first tee, which has an elevated tee box to a dogleg right fairway. 

It was a bit nerve racking as there were a bunch of people watching as they waited for their tee times to arrive. With palms sweating and heart thumping, I took my swing. Pop up. I didn't even reach the fairway. Here we go, I thought.

We played from the white tees which measures 6684 yards on the score card. We figured there was no reason to torture ourselves trying to play the full 7468 yards from the blues. Maybe I will try it if I get another opportunity to play it again, but for now, let's just give ourselves a chance to break 100. They had already started setting up for The Barclays which was still two months away and the skeletal base of the grandstands were being put in place so we had a semblance of what it would look like for the tournament.

The course was not set up for US Open conditions, and to be honest, I don't know how it could get any worse. I'm used to resort golf. Living in Miami and now in Phoenix, many of the courses are set up so that vacationers have a good time, score well, which prompts them to return with memories of a good round. Wide open fairways funnel everything back to the middle, and even if you end up in the rough, you still have a great chance to get up and down. 

This is not the case on the Black Course. The first cut is gnarly and twisted. The ball disappears quickly, even just off the fairway. Then there is the fescue grass. If you are lucky enough to find your ball in this foot and half mess, successfully getting it out is somewhat of a miracle. There were times when it took me three hacks just to get it back into the fairway. which led to two nines on my scorecard.

I forgot to mention that golfers have to walk The Black Course which is all hills. No carts are allowed. Along with the heat, the constant up and down, and the thunderstorm which later caught up with us, I was beat down mentally as well as physically. I truly have a new found respect for what the pros do. Very humbling to say the least as I finished the round with a 101.

Despite this, I had an excellent time. I can say that I have walked where the pros have. You can actually feel the history in the air. All the buzz that lead up to playing the round lived up to its billing. This is one of those courses that all true golf fanatics have to play at least once. Just to see how you stack up.

I have improved a lot over the past year but this was a reality check on how good golfers have to be to compete on the professional level. The Golf Channel commercials do not lie. These guys are good. After playing The Black Course, I would say, "These guys are freakin' amazing!" Have a great round and always hit your target.

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Anything That Can Go Wrong Will Go Wrong...Especially On The Golf Course

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Posted by Dexter Francois | Posted in , , , | Posted on Sunday, June 17, 2012

I'm pretty much addicted to the game of golf. There is rarely a moment in the day when I'm not thinking about teeing it up. Even when I am at work and working with customers, I am practicing my swing. Luckily, for me, I work in an environment that allows for this sort of behavior.

While I may be a certified golfaholic, my golfing buddy, J.B. may be the biggest fan of the sport. We had mutual golfing friends on Facebook and once we realized that we live in the same area, if our schedules coincide, we are playing golf.

J.B., who hits the ball a country mile, is a resource for all things golf related. He always has the latest facts or the latest gadgets. When it comes to finding the best deals, he's you're man. When the local Phoenix golf courses and major retailers like Lamkin Golf Grips have a "pick the winner" contest, he has an uncanny gift, and has won on many an occasion. I'm not a gambler, but if he went with me to Vegas, I might be tempted to play a few hands of Blackjack.

While checking out my Facebook news feed, I noticed the following which J.B. had posted on his page. Murphy's Law states that "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" and this is true in golf as well. I felt like this during one of my recent rounds. No matter what I did, my ball ended up in a bunker. Fairway and greenside. Needless to say, I spent my next practice session in the "dirt" as my wife calls it.

Here are some scenarios(observations) that I'm sure we have all been faced with. Let me know if some of these sound familiar to you or if you have any others to add to the list. I know I can think of a few more. Have a great round and always hit your target.

* A two-foot putt counts the same as a two-foot drive.

* The odds of hitting a duffed shot increase by the square of the number of people watching.

* Never wash your ball on the tee of a water hole.

* The stages of golf are Sudden Collapse, Radical Change, Complete Frustration, Slow Improvement, Brief Mastery, and Sudden Collapse.

* The only sure way to get a par is to leave a four-foot birdie putt two inches short of the hole.

* Don't play with anyone who would question a 7.

* If your driver is hot, your putter will be ice cold; if you can hit your irons, you will top your woods; if you are keeping your right elbow tucked in, your head will come up.

* Progress in golf consists of two steps forward and 26.6 miles backward.

* One good shank deserves another.

* It takes 17 holes to really get warmed up.

* One birdie is a hot streak.

* No matter how badly you are playing, it's always possible to play worse.

* Whatever you think you're doing wrong is the one thing you're doing right.

* Any change works for three holes.

* Never try to keep more than 300 separate thoughts in your mind during your swing.

* The less skilled the player, the more likely he is to share his ideas about the golf swing.

* It's surprisingly easy to hole a 50-foot putt when you lie 10. 

Photo found here.

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So Dex...What's Next???

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Posted by Dexter Francois | Posted in , , , , , , , | Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2012

After my last post, Mike Southern who publishes Ruthless Golf reminded me of the fact that I had achieved the goals I had set for myself in 2011. Since I had achieved them, his question was, "What's next?" Since this blogs slogan is, "...because golf is all about getting better and having fun!, I thought my new goals should be based on this idea.

Getting Better

The next logical step for me as far as my golf game is concerned is to shoot par which means I have to get better. Or better yet, be more consistent. I have had rounds which I know I should have shot par but because of some of the inconsistencies in my game, I have failed to do so. I need to get to a point where all facets of my game are working together.

There are days when I hit 12 of 14 fairways but I can't find the green with my approach shots. There are other days when I miss every fairway but I am able to scramble to get up and down. Then there are day in which nothing is happening right except for my putter. Somehow the 10 to 15 footers start dropping. In all of these scenarios, I am left with a score between 78 and 82.

My best round of 75 came as a result of hot putter. I had 9 one putts and 27 overall. I only hit 4 of 14 fairways and 7 of 18 greens in regulation and I didn't chip very well, but I holed a bunch of clutch par putts and mixed in a couple birdies. The putts that I did miss, which resulted in bogeys, were burning the edges. So many shoulda-woulda-couldas.

To shoot par, I am going to have to set out a specific game plan. As I get closer to par, it is getting harder to go lower. When I was trying to break 100, once I did so, I made tremendous progress. Once I broke 90, I was able to get down to the low 80's relatively quickly. Now that I have broken 80, I am understanding that nearly everything has to go right during the round to break even. Once I eliminate the majority of my mistakes, par will be realized.

Having Fun!

I am competitive by nature. I grew up playing baseball, basketball, and competed in x-country and track and field as well. As much as I liked to win, it was never my main focus. I was more interested in the fundamentals of the sport. When I watch golf, while everyone else is just watching the results of the swing, I am paying attention to what the golfer did to make the shot possible.

To satisfy my desire to compete and my continued study of the fundamentals, I am planning on entering the 2013 Golfweek Amateur Tour. I was going to sign up now, but there are only a few events left in the 2012 season and I probably would not be able to accumulate enough points to qualify for the National Championships held in Hilton Head, SC. Here's a little bit about The Golfweek Amateur Tour as it reads on their website.
"Established in 1995, the purpose of the Tour is to provide amateurs of all ages, sexes, and handicaps the opportunity to compete in stroke-play golf tournaments on a regular basis in their local area. The Tour concludes with a National Tour Championship in which top players in each flight test their skills against other amateurs from around the country. Through this competition, the Golfweek Tour promotes the sport of golf by providing an atmosphere of friendly, fair, and well managed competition for amateur golfers in the pursuit of excellence."
You can find a tour near you and the events are broken up into five flights. Depending on your current handicap you will compete in the Championship Flight, 0-3.9, A Flight, 4-8.9(which would be me as of the writing of this post), B Flight, 9-13, C Flight, 14-18.9, and D Flight, 19 and above. I want to get my handicap as low as possible and then sign up at the beginning of the year in my appropriate bracket.

As I looked at the scores for my current handicap, I would be right in the mix. The average score of the winner of a given event is about an 82, which is exactly what the low golfer posted to take home the last event. I know I can shoot those scores under normal conditions, but I want to see how I would fair with a little pressure factored in.

So it begins. Over my next few rounds, I will be paying close attention to my stats so that I can pinpoint the areas of my game which need the most work. From there, I can formulate a game plan going forward. Feel free to share some of your goals whether accomplished or still in the works. I would love to hear what other golfers are doing to improve their game. Have a great round and always hit your target.

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So Dex...What's Up With Your Blog???

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Posted by Dexter Francois | Posted in , , , | Posted on Saturday, June 9, 2012

This was the question posed to me during a recent rounds with one of my golfing buddies Bryce. It has been a while since I submitted my last post and much has happened within that time. Let me fill you in.

Work Life

On June 12th of 2011, I started working for NIKE as a part time athlete(sales associate). As some of you may remember, I got married last April and moved to Phoenix, AZ from Miami, FL. I basically had to start over work wise and after my savings began to dwindle, I began searching for part time work. I had experience working in athletic retail so I decided to see if NIKE was hiring. As it would have it, they were and after a successful interview, I started training the very next day. In December, I was asked if I wanted to do a stretch position as the Footwear Coach, which would put me in charge of the entire footwear department, which accounts for the majority of the business. I accepted and if you take a look into my archives, you will notice that this also around the time my posts start to become less frequent.

The stretch position (which is kind of like a try-out period to see how I would perform) was supposed to last for three months, but I was offered the position full time after only a month and a half. I officially started the position on February 1st and because of my new responsibilities, I have not written a post since. As of this past Sunday, my position has changed again. I am now in charge of the Back Of House. This means that I am responsible for every item that comes into the store. I can't talk numbers, but trust me, there are a lot of units to keep track of. It will be a challenge, but I'm all about learning as much as possible about all facets of the company so that I can be a true asset.

Personal Life

My wife and I celebrated our one year anniversary on April 1st. We were married at The Scottsdale Cottonwoods Resort in Arizona, and as a part of the wedding package, couples receive a free night on their one anniversary. Of course we took advantage of this, and enjoyed the day at the pool and acted like tourist, visiting some of the local hot spots in the Old Town area.

Last month we took a trip to New Orleans with my wife's parents, her brother and his girlfriend, and The Doctor and his wife. New Orleans, or at least Bourbon St., is like Las Vegas for me. Two or three days is all you need. After that it is just sensory overload. But, if you are into people watching, this is the place for you. After living on South Beach, I thought I had seen it all, but New Orleans just may have topped it.

The plan was to get in at least one round of golf, but it rained a few days while we were there, so we opted to take advantage of the weather when it was good to see some of the sights. The food was so good and in a culture that has a strong European influence mixed with its own southern flare, any appetite is sure to be satisfied. The music scene is of course legendary and we sat in on a few jam sessions which we happened to stumble upon. Some of which were right there on the streets.

Golf Life

Despite being busy at work, I have been playing golf at least two times a week. If I'm not working then I'm golfing. Every time I play a round, I think of something I can write about, but after a round, I just want to get some rest before I go back into work. But I'm hoping to change that. Bryce reignited a fire I had for writing about the game and my progress and amazingly, I have been receiving comments despite the fact that I have not been active.

My game is improving. I am averaging around 81 per round which currently has me at an 8.7 on the handicap index, and after my last three rounds, I am on pace to be at an 8.2. I shot a new personal best of 75 at Viewpoint Golf Course and have shot sub 80 rounds several times so far this year. The challenge now is to play well enough to shoot par.

My biggest improvement has come with my putter. I am getting much better with my lag putts and have been able to drain some big 5-10 footers to save pars. While I am happy with my putting, I realize that it will be hard for me to shoot par if I don't continue to improve in other parts of my game. My focus over the next few months will be on my chipping. I'm driving the ball pretty well off the tee. I still revert to bad habits from time to time by coming over the top, but for the most part my misses have not been too detrimental. Another area that has improved is with my approach shots into the greens. My GIR percentage isn't where it needs to be, but my misses are now good misses.

This brings us to my chipping. If I can become more consistent with getting the ball to within tap in range, I will be giving myself a better chance to score well. Chipping actual used to be one of the stronger parts of my game, but I think I know I lost focus on that as I worked on my driver and irons.

Moving forward, I will be playing more golf and writing about it. It's hot again in the Valley Of The Sun, but that means cheaper tee times. I already made it through my first summer in the desert so I am well prepared to play in triple digit weather. Thank you to those of you who continued to leave comments here and on my Facebook page. That just lets me know that there are a lot of golfers like myself who are working hard to get better at this crazy game. This alone is encouragement for me to keep, keeping on. Feel free to tell me what you have been up to for the past couple of months. I feel like I have missed so much. Have a great round and always hit your target. 

Photo found here.

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