"NEXT ON THE TEE"

2011-09-05T19:15:00.004-04:00

Been quite the ride for a couple of weeks.

We started traveling down south for the US Kids Eastern Regionals Championship in Galloway NJ, which was to be played at the Seaview Resort, just as Hurricane Irene was heading up the East Coast.

As we got almost down to Uncle Steve's in Hartford CT. when US Kids, for the safety of all concerned, canceled the Tournament, not rescheduled, but canceled, which was a big dissapointment for us all..

So we went to Uncle Steves, played some golf at Simsbury CC, then spent the night and headed back North Friday Morning.

Shortly after we arrived back home, they also canceled the Boston Local Tour Championship scheduled for Monday as well.

We also received lots of rain in VT for sure, ruining homes, roads, and golf course's all over the State, but mainly in middle and southern Vermont.

The US Kids Tournament had to be re-scheduled for the following Saturday.

We had intended on going to the Deutsche Bank Professional Tournament Sunday anyway, so with the postponement of Seaview this gave us the opportunity to go down Saturday Morning, play the Boston Tour Championship Saturday afternoon, and then attend the PGA event Sunday.

Which saved us another down and back in the same week.

So we headed down Saturday morning and after traveling 240 miles, then hitting a few balls, we hit the first tee for the tournament round.

For whatever reason I had a very rough day, no matter what I tried I not could not string 2 good shots together, and ended up shooting my worst round in a long while, maybe worst competitive round ever.

It was a difficult day for everyone I guess, since I still managed to finish in 2nd place for the day.

I had however garnered enough points from the regular season to retain the Player of the year honors for 2011, even though it was not a stellar scoring year.

We played the Championship in Millis MA. at the Glen Ellen Country club and once again, the Pro there, Andy Ingrahm, had done a great job all summer long, and the Championship Tournament was no exception, so thank you Andy for a job well done, and all the players and parents really appreciate what you do.

So as the sun sets on another great summer of golf, we look forward to maybe one or two fall tour events, and then Soccer Season will start so we will keep moving.

Until the next event, Thank God, and Family and Friends for all the support.

Later ~ B.

2011-08-20T06:47:00.001-04:00

William Devine GC at Franklin Park in Dorchester MA.
~

Wow! I had a busy week, went down to my grandparents house in CT. for a few days and they kept us very busy while we were there, it was raining for the most part so we didn’t get outside much, but we had fun just the same, visiting some local attractions and enjoyed our visit.

We met Dad up in Foxboro Monday afternoon to spend the night and be ready for a tournament at the William Devine course at Franklin Park in Dorchester MA. Tuesday.

We turned in pretty early since we had 5:30 AM wakeup call in order to be ready for our 8:00 AM tee time.

We got to the course early enough to chip and putt for several minutes before the round. They do not have a riving range so I didn't get to hit any full shots.

A pairing of me, Jack Yanakakis from MA. and also Xavier Marcoux also in MA.
were supposed to go off at a little after 8 but things were running behind so we didn't get on the course until about half past the hr.

My ball striking wasn't as pure as I would have liked, but I managed myself around the greens fairly well, but not up to the level I wanted, or expected and when I did have a good hole, like my only birdie when I poured in a nice putt, Xavier poured one in right on top of mine, so I came in with too many big numbers and finished in second place to Xavier, who played a nice steady round of golf and I’m happy for him.

This is a pretty tuff group of golfers and all it takes to not finished in the top 3 is to bobble the ball on a couple of holes and you slide on down the depth chart quickly and today was no exception.

Here is a picture taken after the round.
Thanks to Xavier's Dad

L~R
Bryson, James Imai, Jack Yanakakis, Xavior Marcoux, Justin DeBartoli
&
Josh Broderick

We are off to a two Regional Event in Seaview New Jersey on August 25th and then directly back August 28th for the Tour Championship on the 29th at
"The Glenn" in Millis MA.
See you all there.
Later~B

2011-08-11T06:40:00.000-04:00

Been really busy all summer long, doing the Boston Local Tour, and the VTJPGA Tour in Vermont as well, which has been a lot of fun.

Just came back from the World Championships in Pinehurst, NC.

There was a full field of players from all over the World @ 149 players or so, and a couple withdrew after a day or maybe two.

I was a bit out of sorts the first round and shot an 81 round which is not a disaster but could and should have been better.

Came back in day two with a 75 which is much better but still left a couple of birdies out there which cost me dearly.

Day 3 started pretty good, I was striking the ball well, and the putts were falling so everything was going well until the last hole of the opening nine when we got put on the clock for slow play, I rushed my approach shot and got a bogey, I was even until that point, so I came off the opening 9 even par, since I had birdied the previous hole.

I went into the second 9 a little out of sorts and started off bogey/bogey but came back to earth and played well for the next couple of holes.

The 5th hole was a very long par 4 which most players had considered to be a par 5 and were expecting, but not giving in to, bogey, I once again had a chance to par the hole but got another Bogey.

The 6th hole was a disaster, I tried to murder my drive but blocked it left into a hazard of tall weeds, hacked out in 2 shots and went down from there earning a triple bogey.

Carried my grief onto the 7th hole and got another bogey, but managed to calm myself down and finished par/par for an 83, not horrible, but 6 and 7 took me out of my range of goals for the tournament, finishing in 52th place.

Getting back home Sunday night I didn't have much time to dwell on it, since I had to be in Boston Tuesday morning for a Local Tour Event with a 9:03 teetime.

We left Monday afternoon and drove on down to our Motel Room in Milford MA. and spent the night.

Got up early Tuesday, ate breakfast and headed over to Sandy Burr Country Club in Wayland, MA. for the tournament, this was a 9 hole event.

I was paired with Jack Yanakakis and Trevor Reilly both from MA.

Once again I started a round with a bogey on an easy hole but came back pretty strong until we reached a fairly long par 3.

So after discussing the yardage I mis~clubed myself and was short on my tee shot, chipped onway short, and 3 putted for a 5 on a rinky dink par 3, played well the rest of the round rolled in a birdie to finish with a 38 and a win.

Have a few days now to relax and reflect before I go back to Boston Wednesday for another local event, then on down to New Jersey to play in an Eastern Regional Tournament in Seaview.

Catch you later, B

2011-07-22T22:13:00.002-04:00

Well you all can see from looking at my schedule that I have had a busy spring, doing tournaments in Boston, and in Vermont regularly since spring Basketball was over.

I've had a pretty good year so far but have gotten off to a slow start and have been unable to get the little subtle aspects of the game in place on a regular basis.

Dad has worked hard to help me, but everyone knows that most Dads and son's are not able to receive and transmit information openly and affectively between each other so we had to resort to a PGA instructor who would be open and frank about what I needed to do, and how, plus me being able to listen intently while he critigued and taught me better and more conistent ways to execute those crucial short game golf shots.

From local recomendations it seemed that Steve Gonzalves the PGA professional from "Links Farms" in Essex VT was the unanimous winner regarding his teaching methods and his ability to connect with golfers, especially the younger golfers.

Had my second lesson yesterday and I can see a marked improvement in my game already and I'm sure it will improve as times goes on.

We played a few holes last night after the lesson and he gave me some good drills and showed me some good methods to excecute some critical scoring shots especially in the bunkers and around the greens.

It was a really hot, record setting, day in Essex yesterday so we were hot and tired when we finished.
However it was a beautiful evening so Steve was gracious enough to take a couple of pictures with us.

Steve and I with the practice green and the 18th hole as a back drop

Picture below of Steve, my Lil Brother Riley, and me in back of Steves car with his tag depicting how I'm going to be playing when I'm finished my lessons.

2011-06-25T22:53:00.002-04:00

Well the long winter and wet spring are both over now and I played in my first tournament of the year down in Quechee VT on the Lake Course .
I was paired up with Cody Sleeper playing out of Barre Country club and Sam Meyer.

Having not played much golf yet this year plus having to play without a caddie made me think I might not have a good day but it turned out not to be the case.

I started off with a string of bogey’s but managed to get myself corrected before I got too far into the round made some decent drives and a couple of nice putts to keep myself in the mix.

I was striking my custom made driver, a “Bang 450 ~ 12 deg driver with a Graman “Limey” Shaft pretty well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kf4qmPAuzc

I was a little back from my playing partners but I was the young guy in the 3~some by a couple of years.

After I got settled in and my swing started to get more steady, plus my new found buddy and fellow competitor Cody helped me get my yardages with his Sky Caddy, I started scoring a little better.
I go lucky on a putt or two coming in too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8Xx1bVV794

I ended up playing pretty well overall.
Came in at a 79 finishing in 2^nd place from a 13 yr old boy from MD. So I was happy with my day and we went to the driving range after the round and hit a couple buckets of balls in the rain to try and groove my swing since I was hitting the ball pretty well.

Finished up there and went over to the Pro shop and spend my winnings before heading home with plenty of work to do before Monday when I go down to play my first U Kids tournament in Boston.

Here is a picture of the 3some from the Lake Course in Quechee

2011-05-19T21:56:00.004-04:00

We have had a busy and successful basketball season.

We played in a tournament every weekend throughout the season.
We capped it all off this past weekend by winning 5 straight games and winning the
2011 Vermont State AAU Championship Title.
What else is there to say?
Good job by all the players and coaches

2011-03-19T19:18:00.008-04:00

“2011”
“32^nd ANNUAL KARP’S KLASSIC CHAMPIONS”

After our very successful regular EMES Basketball Season was over Dad agreed to coach an AAU basketball team this spring, so I opted to play basketball instead of Futsal, or Spring Golf this year.

We started our spring season by entering a basketball tournament in Lebanon NH, the 32^nd Annual Karps Klassic.

Our team was made up of other 3 ^rd and 4^th grade players from our area of the state.

Our first tournament round was scheduled Feb 26^th in West Lebanon against Grantham NH.

We won that game setting us up for a game the following weekend on March 6^th.

We have a long drive from East Montpelier to West Lebanon so with a 9:30 AM start we had to get off to a pretty early start.
However the long drive was worth it since we ended up with another victory that weekend as well, over a team from Hartford NH.

We were scheduled to play again on March 12th against a team from Indian River NH who had advanced to final round as well.

We had a hard fought game with those guys and another well deserved victory crowning us as the Winners of the tournament and as icing on the cake a couple of us were selected to the

“All Tournament Team”.

Our thanks go out to the Tournaments Host’s, our Coach's, fans and of course our families who faithfully supported us throughout the tournament..

~~~

Our regular AAU spring season kicked off this weekend March 19^th with a double header game at Barre Town School.

We had an 8:00 AM start for the first game against ****** which we won and the second game against Hanover NH was scheduled to start at 10:30.

We all drove down to the “Macafe” in Barre for some breakfast between games.

The second game was a very hard fought game but I guess the "Egg McMuffins" must have worked since we once again came out victorious.

We headed home from Barre pretty tired but happy, and looking forward to next weekend.

Later, Bdawg

2011-02-20T08:17:00.009-05:00

BASKETBALL LEAGUE CHAMPS

Season Record 12-1

Twinfield Tournament Champions

We were crowned the League Champion’s after the season ending Twinfield Double Elimination Tournament, closing the book on a very successful season.

First time that East Montpelier Elementary has ever won the 3rd~4th Grade bracket.

Having lost only one game all year, to a non-division team of 5th~6th graders from Stowe, then going undefeated through the Tournament.

East Montpelier Maroons

Coaches Pete Richards, Kent Bigglestone

Middle Row: L~R Brodie Frazier, Calen Kirpatrick, Alec Atkins, Eli Oliver & Jared Preman

Front Row: L~R Joey Breer, Jordan Hawkins, Bryson Richards, Sam Bigglestone & Jack Morris

Dads first year coaching basketball and both he and Kent did a great job preparing us for every aspect of the game, both mentally and physically, off and on the court.

Thanks~Bdawg

Pizza Ride In

2011-02-11T22:35:00.011-05:00

February 9^th, 2011

Pizza Night!!

Well for our weekly visit to Pop Pops and Patsy’s we had made plans to ride to the village of Hardwick.

We were going to eat at the House of Pizza instead of our weekly Pancake Supper at their house.

Pop Pop had stopped by and picked up my sled and it was all loaded up, along with our Helmets etc as he picked us up from school in East Montpelier.

We drove on up to East Craftsbury after stopping and buying a little fuel to top off our gas tanks.

We arrived at about 4:45 which is about usual and we donned our snowmobile clothes and unloaded and fueled up the sleds.

In an unusual start of an activity there were no issues with the machines and other than it being a little windy and cold.

We started the sleds and headed to Hardwick, as we left the first section of woods and into the open we were greeted by a nice sunset, which was just past peak beauty but still nice to look at.

Pop Pop had not traveled these trails in a few years so we had to be careful and watch the signs closely so we wouldn’t miss a turn, and spend too much time riding around aimlessly looking for the trail.

After we arrived in Hardwick the anticipated ride across the old suspension bridge which spans the Lamoille River was now closed so we had to drive across the Rail Road Bridge down then on down by the Log Yard and back up to the House of Pizza.

We parked and headed inside to order some food and warm up.

When we got inside it was like “Old Home Day” Pop Pop met some old friends from years back and I met an old pre-school friend I had not seen in a while, she is the daughter of one my Dad's High School buddies from Craftsbury.

Here is the picture of me and my friend she still looks the same, other than getting taller.

When our Pizza, Onion Rings and our order of Poutine was all prepared we sat down and put on the feed bag.

When we finished we loaded back up to go home and had an uneventful ride back home to East Craftsbury.The trail was a little bumpy, but not to bumpy for Riley to fall asleep in front of Pop Pop so he had to hold him on the sled so he wouldn't fall off.

We ran into the groomer on the way home too, so I’m sure before the night was over the trail was smooth as glass.

It was a great night and we had lots of fun, when we pulled back into the house it was about 7:30 with just enough time to have a little ice cream and kick back a bit before going to bed.

So I guess I’ll sign off until something else comes along.

Later, Bdawg

2011-02-04T13:55:00.000-05:00

Wed.~Feb 2nd~ 2011

SNOW DAY, YES!!!

On one of those rare occasions in Northern VT. School was canceled today.

Supposed to get heavy snow and some wind already pretty chilly.

I had my (New to me) snow machine all ready to go other than registration, Pop Pop came down to pick me up and take me to his house and Riley was sick so he stayed home with Dad.

We went to the DMV in Montpelier and registered the machines, Pop had to do his also, he hadn’t been “trail riding” in a while.

After we finished we loaded up and headed North to East Ctaftsbury.

We had to stop and gas up the sled and get some 2 cycle oil for it along the way.

It was snowing steady but not extremely hard when we arrived at Pop Pops.

We unloaded the Phazer and started it to warm it up, but the throttle was frozen, so it took us about a ½ hr with a blow dryer to get that squared away.

Patsy scrounged around and found me an old Polaris Snowmobile Jacket and will continue to look because somewhere there is a Phazer jacket here as well.

Well we finally got ready to hit the trail and ride down to the village so Pop Pop could get his snowmobile club membership, there is no end to the paper work and money involved in riding these days.

Here is a picture of me started dressed and ready to go.

It was now pushing 3:30 or so when we finally left the store.

By now the snow was piling up and the trails were not very visible and you had to watch yourself or you could get pulled off into the deep snow and get stuck as seen in this picture.

We kept riding and busting drifts until we got over to the back side of Parker Pond and we turned around to head home to get out weekly dose of Pancakes, Berries, Whipped Cream and some of VT’s best Maple syrup.

We got home just after dark, I was a little tired, but happy, since this was my first trail ride driving my own sled all by myself and it was a very good day.

Looking forward to doing it again soon, so stay tuned.

“Dawg” Out

2011-01-14T12:41:00.032-05:00

Friday Jan. 14th
MOVING ON TO BASKETBALL

Well Christmas is over and what a great time we had with family and friends celebrating the birth of Jesus, and of course some selfish thoughts about our own gifts while trying not to lose sight of Gods gift to all of us.

Shortly there after my birthday was celebrated, and what fun that was as well, lots of good things going on this time of year.

We have started Basketball now and although it's early we are undefeated with only a couple of games under our belts.

We have a tough game scheduled with Hardwick coming up tonight. ((UPDATE)) WE WON!!

Even though B Ball is underway Spring is always in our thoughts, and as soon as we can see it heading our way, I will start getting ready to "Chase the little white ball" by heading over to "Gonzo's Indoor Golf" to make an attempt to groove a swing for the 2011 season.

Looking forward to that, Later.

2010-12-17T19:25:00.013-05:00

Dec 17th 2011
HO! HO! HO!

Christmas Time is here once again, my favorite time of year, the birth of Jesus and a time of Joy and Love throughout the world.

We usually go to Patsys and Pop Pops house every Wednesday but this Wednesday was special since this is the week we decorate the tree we cut last week at

Moffatts Tree Farm in Craftsbury.

So after Pop Pop got it set up with lights out on the summer porch, Me and Riley decorated it.

After a couple of hours of diligent work we finished it, so how do you like it.?

Enjoy this most Wonderful time of the year

Have a Very Merry Christmas & a Happy and Joyous New Year

Back From The Seaview Tournament

2010-09-08T10:11:00.000-04:00

Seaview Resort Galloway New Jersey

Well we are back from New Jersey and the Eastern Regional Tournament played at the Seaview Resort in Galloway New Jersey, which hosts the ShopRite LPGA Classic Tournament, a well laid out and typical Donald Ross course.

The first day we were paired with Alex Keener from NY and Andrew Wallace from PA, They had pretty good rounds of golf with only a very few crisis situations and just the usual crazy things that happen during the round. Bryson has suffered with putting woes all year where he has a good line but the speed is a little off and the ball just does not fall as expected, it's mainly a typical short power lip out putt like this one.

So today was no exception in that regard, he wasn't getting many GIR's today either, so couple that with the putts and it makes for a bad scoring round.

He still managed to scrape it around for an 81 which we figured to be about 5 strokes off of his ability to score.

Like I said he had 4 of those lip outs which had they fell would have put him in the ball park.

After the round he spent a good 2 hr's working on his putting, which was actually already pretty good but he was working hard on it anyway.

He ended up in 6th place on the day so we had a later tee time scheduled for Monday.

Monday he was paired with John Updike from PA and Jack Heath from Charlotte NC. both great players and great Dads/Caddies which usually makes for a great round of Golf and today was no exception.

However the lipout problem carried over into the next round as well with 3 more of those on Monday.

This has to be a big mental block for him to overcome, since he had 7 of those in two rounds. Makes it hard to draw the putter back thinking of what might be about to happen. He went on to finish with another 81 and thinking what might have been .

He handles his scores, both good and bad very well, which is a good thing.

We are so haapy and proud of the way he conducts himself off and on the course.

He finished in 10 th place in the tournament, but like many players with just a break of two he could have climbed up at least a couple of spots.

That is the game of golf and all part of the character building benefits of playing the game.

The Seaview Resort is a nice place to play golf and the Bay Course has some nice views early in the morning at sunrise and all day long too with Atlantic City Poking up along the horizon of the bay, nice view.

Picture of Bryson with Atlantic City at his back

Final Day Three some

L-R Bryson, Jack Heath, and John Updike

This is the last of our golf tournaments for 2010 and while we are sad to see it end Soccer is coming up along with other winter activities that we will enjoy as well.

We have been so blessed this summer with God getting us out and back home safely all year while enjoying the gifts that he has bestowed on us.

We don't say thank you enough, but I know that God knows our deepest thoughts and how we appreciate how wonderfully blessed we are, and that we a extremely thankful for those gifts.

With his blessing we will be here to do it again next year.

"REGULAR SEASON OVER"

2010-09-02T11:59:00.000-04:00

Our busy summer schedule never stops it seems, which is a good thing.

The merry go round of life only goes around once and there is only a start and a finish with one attempt at getting it right so we make as good an effort as we can to stay on the pony for the whole ride.

So we don't mind the hectic activity.

Over the weekend Bryson, Riley and his folks drove down to CT. Saturday to visit friends, leaving there early Sunday morning to head over to Milford MA. to spend the night.

Monday Bryson and Riley were scheduled play in the US Kids Boston Tour Championship at Glen Ellen Country Club in Millis MA.

Pete however had to return home Sunday night because he had his first day of school Monday and just could not miss the first day.

Rachael and the boys arrived in Millis Sunday and managed to play a few holes on the tournament course at Glen Ellen Sunday afternoon.

The Pro there, Mr. Andy Ingrahm, who also runs the US Kids Tour, arranged for them to have some time on the course.They went back to the motel ate and had some pool time before we arrived there about 8:00 PM., and we all turned in pretty early for our busy day Monday.

We all got up around 5:30 had some breakfast then headed over to the course for our 7:45 AM tee time.

We were supposed to be off with Xavier Marcoux and James Imai, unfortunately Xavier had an accident at home and had suffered a fractured ankle so he was unable to compete, we hope he has a speedy recovery from that, and can get back in the groove real soon.

So it was only James and Bryson for the first "3 some" now only a "2 some."

They have played together many times in the past so we pretty much knew what to expect from their round, they both have their share of up and down play during the round so like most rounds of golf whoever manages to keep those to a minimum will win.

James came out strong for the first couple of holes and Bryson, who is always about the same, except he is a notoriously slow starter at times.

However he was playing ok this day, but James was lighting it up early, after about 3 holes the round took on normal play.

Bryson has had trouble all year getting the ball to the hole on his approach shots, whether with his irons, or his flat stick on the greens, and today was no exception in that department.

They both had plenty of opportunities to score well but couldn't stand prosperity.

Like this birdy effort on 17

In any case James beat Bryson by one stroke today, so Bryson had to settle for 2nd place on the day, but was happy to manage even that with his short game woes, he had however managed to win more than his share this year, finishing first 5 times, 2 seconds and 1 third, in the 8 tour events, consequently he had garnered enough points to elevate him as the scoring leader this year and received Player of the year honors for the 3rd year in a row.

We are all so very proud of him, and all the tour players and their families for the polite and competitive events we have been involved with all year.

We are lucky to be a part of this wonderful experience.

I would be extremely remiss if I did not mention Mr. Andy Ingrahm for the way he ran the US kids Tour this year, I cannot think of one thing he could have done to make it any better.

Andy made us all feel like family while at the same time encouraged every player to strive for success in their on course endeavors, those of you who have been involved with junior athletics know the importance of these traits that he is attempting to instill in these young players, and as result hopefully continue to grow this great sport where you win, or loss, as a result of your own efforts.

Thanks Andy for all your efforts.

Franklin Park Tournament

2010-08-18T22:05:00.002-04:00

Well we had to drive right back down to MA.Tuesday evening for our regular tour stop at Franklin Park in Dorchester Wednesday morning with a 9:10 AM Tee Time.

We spent the night at The Sheraton Hotel in Framingham where we have stayed before and arrived there in time to get in a little pool time before going to bed.

Got up and at em bright and early Wednesday and headed on over to Franklin Park where we had some breakfast, and got in a little practice with the flat stick before the round.

We got off on time on hole number 1, I was paired with James Imai and Owen Murphy both from the area.

This is a course I've played every year that I have been on the tour so I'm pretty familiar with it, and usually struggle a little bit here for some reason.

I started off pretty strong and was hitting my shots crisp but wasn't really chipping and putting as well as I think I'm capable of, although I did make a couple of pretty clutch putts early on, like this birdie putt on the 4th hole.

I went on to play a pretty decent round of golf carding two bogeys and two birdies for a 36 and a win.

I just wish my short game would come back to a level I feel good about, maybe next week.

No one from my family was around for the awards so I don't have a group picture like I usually like to post, so I'll do one of me and Riley, who also posted a victory today too.

I have about a week off before the Tour Championship Tournament so I'm looking forward to working on my short game preparing for that, and The Regional Tournament in Galloway NJ Labor Day weekend.

Later, Scoot

Leicester Golf Tournament

2010-08-17T09:06:00.000-04:00

It has been a busy couple of weeks for us, drove down to North Carolina, and played in the World Championship, playing 3 18 hole practice rounds and 3 18 hole tournament events.
We then drove back to Vermont and did some practice at Orleans CC.
Spent all this past weekend down on Cape Cod with family doing the usual things swimming, hit balls at the range etc.
We all left there Sunday night heading to Marlboro MA to spend the night in preparation for another local tour event at Leicester Golf Course in Leicester, MA.
Got up early Monday and headed on over to Leicester and stopped off at Becker College where the folks met and went to college.
Picture of me and Riley in the Gazebo on the Common there.

After spending some time there we drove on over to Leicester Golf course for some putting practice.
They did not have a driving range there and I had a brand new driver I wanted to hit before I played since I had only hit it some over the weekend at the range but was looking forward to put it in play.
I was playing with James Imai and Josh Broderick
I started off with my 1st drive right down the middle about 205 which was a great drive.
The beginning was sort of a ho hum round not really hitting crisp shots or making any putts but it seemed not bad since I was cruising along making pars so I wasn't worried even though my accuracy was off a bit.
That wasn't a problem until the 6th hole which I 3 putted that hole for a bogey then 3 putted another green for another bogey still not in any big trouble until the 8th hole.
This was a tough driving hole since I couldn't hit driver so I used a 3 wood to get me out there about 160 unfortunately I pulled it right and into a hazard, took a drop from that and hit a wedge short and in a bunker, hit a sterling shot to 2 ft and made the putt to get out with a bogey.
The last hole was a short par three hit my tee shot pin high but right and off the green.
Had a tough down hill shot to the flag so with that in mind Chili dipped my wedge still short of the green putted long and 2 putted from there for a 5 and a double bogey basically just giving the tournament a way.
Ended up tied for 3rd with Jason Temel at 40, James and Xavier were tied for 1st with two 38's James won that in a play off on the first hole.
Those errant shots on 8 and 9 were very costly.
Picture from the 1st tee box after the round.

L-R Me, James Imai, Jason Temel, Xavier Marcoux

I have to drive back to VT tonight and return right back for a round Wednesday.

Hopefully after that I can get some rest, spend more time with the new driver, then maybe I can pull something together to finish the season strong.

Check back in a couple of days for updates.

Scoot

Back Home and working on my game at O.C.C

2010-08-14T06:33:00.001-04:00

Came back home from North Carolina and didn't waste any time getting back to my home course and work on my game and have some fun with all my old friends there.
We are always a little unorganized but Horace got us out on the course in spite of that.
Me, Riley and Pop Pop played the front then went over to the practice green to have our usual putting contest.

We ran into Bob and Maryann Silvester and they congratulated me on my finish at Pinehurst and Bob, the retired Pro there, offered me some putting tips so

he and I worked on that for about a 1/2 hr with some great success.

Thanks, Bob

We hung around there for a while and as usual Riley was flirting with the help so when Emily, who does the restaurant there, came by he was bragging about his new driver, so she gave it a once over, and posed for a picture before going into work.

We are heading down to Cape Cod for the weekend and playing a Tournament in Leicester MA Monday morning, check back inTuesday.
Later Scoot.

THE "EAGLES" BEAT THE JAGUARS LAST NIGHT!!!

World Championship Final Round

2010-08-14T06:07:00.001-04:00

After warming up Saturday morning Bryson hit the first tee, first tee for us was the 10th hole with a 1:09 tee time.

He was paired with Nathan Han from New York, and once again with Jaden Schapel form the Republic of South Africa.

Both are great players so we were excited about the round.

Bryson came to the Tee with a more noticeable bounce in his step than the other 2 days, I suppose it came to his mind that he can actually play golf at any level and no need to feel inferior to anyone.

The back had proven to be a harder 9 all week than the front, so with us starting on the back he could tell pretty quickly how his day would go.

He came out strong and continued to play strong right on through the back 9 hitting every fairway, and every green, so he had birdie opportunities on every hole, unfortunately he did not convert any of those birdie putts so consequently he finished the back at even par, a very good effort by anyone's standard.

After a ride by the Marshalls over to the 1st tee I guess he had a mental let down so when he hit his drive on number 1, he left it hanging out to the left, barely missing a fairway bunker, which may have been better, anyway it trickled off into the woods.

After reassuring his Dad he could hit through a gap of tree's to the green he proceeded to center punch a Pine tree with his next well struck shot, so he is now in the woods deeper but at least with a clear shot to the front of the green, which he executed with no problem, then he hit his approach shot pin high but it jumped off the back of the green, but he chipped on and drained a nice putt for a double bogey which can be a round killer since it could have easily been a triple.

He came right back with a par on the next hole, followed by a another tough bogey.

He went on the Par out the remaing holes including the very tough 9th hole.

He hit 15 greens in regulation and had 35 putts, so if he had only converted a third of those birdie putts he could have been at 70, but finished with a 75, still a very nice round even though the leader was at an unbelievable 5 under for the day.

He was disappointed since his goal was to finish in the top 25 but he only missed that by a hair.

He came in all alone in 32nd place out of 144 players from around the world, and 18th among players from the US, so we were more than happy with his finish and we can look back and realize Oh! what could have been had he showed up with his "A" game everyday.

We are looking forward to the rest of the local tour season and then a Regional Championship in Galloway NJ Labor Day weekend.

Picture of the final day threesome
L-R Bryson, Nathan Han from NY, Jaden Schapel from RSA

Hillview Golf Course Tournament

2010-07-26T19:00:00.001-04:00

This week at Hillview was the last tournament before the World Championship starts next week in Pinehurst, so it was an an important week to get mentally ready for that.

We had rented rooms in Andover MA. at the Wyndom Andover Hotel since we had an 8:00 AM Tee time scheduled for Monday morning at Hillview Golf Course in North Reading MA.

We drove down Sunday afternoon and arrived at about 7:30 PM, Pop Pop was waiting on us when we arrived since he had been working in ME. over the weekend.

We arrived in time to get in a little pool time before turning in for the evening, which we did about 9:00 or so, Dad and I were in one room, Pop Pop, Patsy and Big Mom Mom were in the other room, they were nice rooms I might add too.

We bounced out, ok crawled out, of bed around 6:15 we all had a Blueberry Muffin and we were on the road by 7:00AM for our 15 minute ride to the course, we drove straight there and never got lost either.

I hit a small bucket at the range and rolled a few putts before our tee time, we got off the tee promptly at 8:00 but there was only James Imai and I together, our 3rd pairing was Jack Tobin who couldn't make it.

Andy Ingham the tour director was out taking pictures of some of the players preparing for the round, and Pop Pop snapped a picture of him without his knowledge.

We were the first group out so we had a clear course in front of us which makes it nice. James and I have played together several times so we know each other's game pretty well consequently we can get around the course pretty quick, and we did today, an 1 hr and 45 minutes round is a pretty good time for 9 holes of competitive golf where the ball has to hit the btm of the cup.

I played a pretty good round of golf all in all, hitting my full shots all pretty solid and in the right position, my wedges weren't as crisp as the could have been, but my putter was working well today so I rolled in some nice putts during the round.

James was hitting the ball pretty well too, but had been on the road the day before flying in from the west coast, so he wasn't as sharp as usual so he struggled a little because of that, we all know about those days, since we've all had more than one of them.

I finished with a one over 37 which could have been better, like every round we play where we look back and say, oh my what could have been..

Picture of James and I on the 18th.

Regardless of that I still managed to finish in 1st place and Xavier Marcoux finishing in second, and Jason Temel in 3rd.

Jason wasn't around for the photo at the end.

We are back home now until Friday when we head to Pinehurst, we will do our best to do a daily update form there if possible.

Later, Scoot

NEWTON COMMONWEALTH TOURNAMENT

2010-07-19T22:34:00.072-04:00

Well, we all headed down Sunday to Framingham MA. to spend the night in preparations for my tournament which was actually being played Monday morning at Newton Commonwealth Golf Course.

There was Pop Pop, Patsy, Big Mom Mom, Dad, Riley and me along with golf gear all packed in the Jeep.

We arrived about 8:00 PM and got checked in our rooms got on bathing suits and headed down to the pool for a quick dip, man it was hot in there, with a strong smell of chlorine but we enjoyed it just the same, only Riley and I went in.

After we left the pool at about 9:00 we headed upstairs and turned in for a good nights sleep.

We all got up about 6:00AM, got dressed , and went down for breakfast and were all out the door by 7:00 AM.

We stayed at the Sheraton Hotel in Framingham and it looked like a huge old stone Medieval Castle. It was actually a pretty nice place, but was very large .

We started out for our 16 mile ride over to Newton Commonwealth Golf Course but ran into heavy traffic, made a bad turn, or two, but still got there early enough, but not as early as we wanted.

They had no driving range, or practice area there, so our practice was almost nonexistent. So having not played any golf for few days I was a bit rusty but still thought I had enough game to compete.

I was playing with Jack Tobin and Owen Murphy both from MA.

I started off playing a lack luster round from the very beginning not really hitting any shots crisp at all, a double bogey on the first hole is not a good way to start a round.

I was mis-hitting putts either from a faulty stroke or a bad read and generally not playing up to par, plus this was a very tough layout if your game wasn't sharp.

None of us did what you would call lighting it up, but I stayed pretty competitive through the middle holes and managed to snake in a couple of birdies but not enough to pull away from Jack. I double bogied the last 2 holes of regulation something I don't recall ever doing, then after finishing in a tie with Jack, I managed to double bogey the playoff hole too.

Obviously ou can't win many tournaments playing like that, so I finished in 2nd place, not like that is a bad thing, but I felt like I snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with my sloppy play.

My kudos to Jack for hanging in there for the win.

Picture taken out front of the Clubhouse with my brother Riley who did mange to pull off a second win in a row.
Way to go Joe D.

I play next week in Hill View Golf Course in North Reading MA. a course I have never laid eye's on before, so it should be fun and interesting.

See you there ,or here after that, then it's off to Pinehurst for week.

Later, Scoot

2010-07-13T10:29:00.011-04:00

Breakfast on "Old Cape Cod "

Drove down to Great Grampys house on the Cape with Mom, Dad, and Riley Friday night, spent the night, and woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed ready for some fun Sat.

We did have fun too, doing our usual fun stuff, swam, hung out near the water, played Miniature Golf etc and in general had a fun filled day.Got up Sunday with idea's of a repeat of fun planned for Sunday, and we did have a great day.

Late Sunday afternoon, Pop Pop and Mom Mom came down from VT, after they arrived we hung out for a while and later picked up a couple of Pizza's for supper.

We ate out back on the deck and enjoying the very nice late afternoon.

After we finished we drove out to find a driving range and hit a few balls, the main reason to go was to give Riley a chance to hit a few balls with his news clubs since he hadn't done so already, and he had a tournament the next day, so we wanted him to at least get in a few swings in before that.

When we finished at the range we stopped at a local stand and had some Ice Cream, and then went on home and turned in with our anticipation of another busy and long day Monday.

We were all pretty tired and Riley and I hit the sheets early and we were out like a light, but woke up at 5:00 AM ready to get going.

We ate some doughnuts for breakfast along with a banana and then loaded in the car with Pop Pop and Mom Mom and headed to the Bay Pointe CC in Onset MA. which was about an hr. away.

BAY POINTE COUNTRY CLUB

We arrived at Bay Pointe CC around 7:25 giving us about 45 minutes to chip and putt before my round. I had an 8:20 Tee time and Riley had one about 9:40, so with Pop Pop on the bag and Dad videoing the first few holes we were off roughly on time.

I was paired with my new found golfing buddyand competitor Charlie Campbell from Brewster MA. our 3rd pairing did not show up for some reason, not exactly sure why.

Charlie had his Dad on the bag today, and he had picked up some new clubs since last week, so with me having Pop Pop as my stand in Caddy, and Charlie with new clubs we were both affected by new arrangements, he had new clubs so it was more of a change for him than me, since Pop Pop and I do play a lot of casual golf together.

I had about 4 or 5 shots I wish I could get back from that round, (of course we all have those every round) 3 of those were from using an old 3 wood I had in my bag from last year which I seemed to hit good at home, but with the extra adrenaline generated by tournament golf I hit 3 high right hooks with the softer shaft on some approach shots, (lesson learned about that).

Then by letting off on a couple of other swings trying to reduce the hook thing I had going, I hit a couple of pushes left, in an attempt to reduce the "hooked on a feeling" I had with the old 3 wood. So I took the 3 wood out of play for the remainder of the round.

Too little too late though, but I still ended up shooting a 40 with a birdie/par finish which was not great but good enough to win.

Picture of me and Charlie on 18.

After the awards ceremony we went back out on the course and picked up Riley and his group on the 15th hole and watched them come in also.

Riley finished with a 46 in the 6 yr old group for the win, besting Derek Tevekelian who finished in 2nd place , they had a great time and were paired with 7 yr old Will Harrington.

We get to do it all over again next Monday at Newton Commonwealth CC in Newton MA.

Picture of me and Riley after the awards ceremony.

Stay tuned here, or maybe we'll just see you there.

"Email below from the tour director to all participants, Who is doing a fantastic job in his new role as tour director.
We are very lucky to have him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I would like to thank you all for taking the time out of your lives yesterday and heading down (or up) to Wareham for Event #3 of the 2010 Boston Tour for U.S. Kids golf. The lack of rain and high temps are starting to show some distress on courses, as fairways are browning out. The plus sides of dry and fast courses are very long distances on tee shots. We can only hope for some quality rain in the near future. However, the greens were in great condition and I want to thank all staff and management at Bay Pointe for allowing us to play yesterday.

Summary-

1- Say hello to Riley Richards! In his 1st event he shot a smooth 46 to win the 6 year old division. Looks like a new trophy room needs to be under construction for the Richards home in VT

2- Derek Tevekelian makes another birdie with a 3 on the 2nd hole.

3- PJ Schmitz made his return form a week off to win the 10 yr old division with a 44

4- Bryson Richards continued his steady play with a 4 over par 40 which included a birdie on the par 5 17th hole.

5- Charlie Campbell made a birdie on the par 5 17th hole to squash the skin.

6- Lauren Thibodeau mad a birdie 3 on the par 4 14th hole en route to a 42.

7- Vivian Pang played her usual steady round of golf to win the 10 year old girls division with a 41.

8- Michael Thorbjornsen made a birdie on the par 4 14th hole to help him shoot 40 and take home gold.

9- Alexandra Chicharro won the girls 9 year old division with a score of 44.

10- Brennan Thacker made a par on the 15th hole.

11- Matt Epstein made a birdie 4 on the par 5 17th hole.

12- Sophie Morrill made a par 4 on the 14th hole.

13- Jason Temel made 2 pars and a birdie on the 17th hole en route to a 47.

14- Dillon Brown made 3 pars in 9 holes

15- Isaac Blinn, Jack Geiger, William Harrington and Jack Yanakakis all made pars on the 14th hole.

16- Alaina Steed made a par 5 on the 15th hole.

17- Jack Yanakakis made a par 4 on the 14th hole.

18- Jack O’Donnell made a par 3 on the tough 12th hole.

19- Tucker Dalton Gullbrants made 2 pars en route to his 46.

20- Darren Pang tasted victory again with a solid 38 and the only player in the 9 hole division to par the 10th hole.

21- Charlie Goldberg shot the low score of the day for 18 holes with a 79.

22- Brandon Gillis shot 80 with 2 birdies and 2 triple bogeys, oh what could have been.

23- Matthew Conti made a birdie on the par 3 seventh hole and hit a fantastic 50 yard bunker shot on the 17th hole.

24- Claudio Soukamneuth won the 12 year old division with a score of 80 which included a 37 on the back nine.

25- Trevor Pennypacker made a birdie 4 on the 9th hole.

26- Dante Newman made a birdie 3 on the 16th hole.

27- Caleb Axelson made back to back birdies on holes 6 and 7."

2010-07-11T09:39:00.000-04:00

After a week of Family and golf, we are "Way out here" back to the place we call home.
Speaking of that, one of the benefits of living "way out here" is having neighbors like our neighbor Dave, who not only loans us his land for our practice range he keeps it mowed for us too, we are lucky to have him as a neighbor and friend.

We drove down and played golf tournaments in DE., PA., and Boston MA. visited family, attended cousin Kate's Graduation Party in Delaware.
Then came back home and been busy having some fun with the family and getting into the swing of summer.
My 1st golf event of the week was at Wyncote CC in Oxford PA.
Where I finished in 1st place

L-R, John Updike, Me, Josh Gruenberg, and Riley

The very next morning we had to schlep on down to Wyoming DE. where I had to play in a World Qualifier at Wild Quail CC.
I had a lot of fun there with some family as my gallery

L-R, Aunt Caroline, Cousin Heather, Cousin Tabby, Mom, and Mom Mom Patsy

Special day playing golf with some old golfing buddies and topping off a great day with a win.

L-R, Brandon Wilson, Me, Josh Gruenberg, Mitchell Berezney

Back to Uncle Jeffs and did some swimming in his pool.
Where I managed to get a little too much sun by the way.

Then Sat. attending my Cousin Kate's High School Graduation Party.
Sunday we hung out some more with family and then drove on up to Boston to spend the night and go to another tournament in Gardner Municipal Golf Course in Gardner MA. for a Boston Local Tour event.
Even though I played a shakey up and down round, I still managed to eke out another win.
L-R, Jack Yanakakis, James Imai, Me,Josh Broderick,
Xavier Marcoux & Jason Temel

Left for home after the tournament and eventually managed to get back home
pretty early Monday evening.

Took a day off Tuesday to relax a little before getting into my full blown summer mode.

Wednesday we headed up to my home course at Orleans Country Club to play some golf with Dad, Pop Pop, and Riley.

A small video of Bryson and Riley putting out on the 9th hole click Here

Went inside to get a bite to eat and relax before heading to Pop Pops to spend the night and attempt to do it again tomorrow.
Got up at 5:30 AM and me, Pop Pop, and Uncle Steve headed to Orleans CC.

Dad met us up there and we teed off about 6:30 AM.
Uncle Steve and I made a wager of $1 on who had the lowest score, he beat me so I paid up with a smile on 18.

Picture of Uncle Steve, Me and Dad after the round.

4th of July Celebration, Grand Finale

Weekend Over...

2010-05-31T22:05:00.020-04:00

Wow, after what was a busy Memorial weekend, it looks like tomorrow morning, it's time to go back to school and hit the books, but that's what we do so "lets Roll"
It is only appropriate since it started in school Friday when Riley was on a school trip, and Bryson had an authors recital Friday afternoon.

Patsy, Pop Pop, Big Mom Mom and Mom were there to hear Bryson recite his writings about his favorite topics, and some things he had learned about Vermont .
We were joined by his friend Jordan whose Mom could not be there, and his Dad is serving over in Afghanistan.

This picture of Bryson in writing class, was provided by Mrs. Christy she did a great job developing their writing skills, as well as their presentation at the recital.

We left school and went home to pick up some things for our big yard sale planned for the weekend.
We loaded every thing in my truck for the ride up to Craftsbury, tables, bedroom suites, you name it, we had it.
We moved everything out of the truck, my cellar and garage, and loaded all on the front yard, if we had some groceries we could have passed for a
"Super Wal Mart".

Later we, (Patsy, Bryson, Riley and me) went up to visit their Great Grandfathers grave, he was a WW II veteran and I know he was so proud to see them show up for a recognition of his time in service to the country, as well as an honor to him as their Grandfather.
It's a shame he never got to see them in person, in addition to being proud of them, I'm sure he would have had a lot of fun with them also.

Burned some Dogs and Burgers on the grill later and all crashed and burned pretty early.

Saturday morning everyone was up bright and early and got things going.
The family got together and fronted the boys some money to start their own business, a Refreshment stand for the yard sale.
They had Iced Tea, Lemonade, and a custom made "Arnold Palmer" if you desired one.
They also provided Roasted Peanuts with it, all for .25 cents.
Picture of the boys exercising their salesmanship and entrepreneurial skills before the world.

To my knowledge this was their first endeavor and I think they cleaned up on their first attempt, even gave a nice return to their investors who graciously donated it back for the cause.
Sales were shut down at @ 3:00 and Me, Pete an Bryson headed for the golf course to play a few holes. Rachael went home.
Patsy and Riley stayed home and played baseball and hit golf balls in the back yard.Bryson and me played 9 holes, Pete hung around for all 18, we checked out early since we had to get back and set up the tent out in the back yard before dark.

We got a fire going early since there was the threat of rain, I figured a rip roaring fire would survive a brief rain storm, which we did receive and the fire did survive it.
Riley wasn't real happy helping since he wasn't sleeping outside, "somebody" told him they had seen a Black Bear roaming around the "hood" and he was excited about a possible late night encounter..:-)

Picture of Bryson holding down the fort while Mom Mom gathered pillows and covers

The rain did hit and our covers got a little damp since the flap was down, but our spirits were never dampened.
We crashed and burned about 8:45 and slept right through until about 6:00.
We came inside and had Pancakes with whipped cream and Maple syrup.
About 7:00 Riley came down and had some pancakes as well, I spiced his up with a little decoration to put a smile on his face and it worked.

We had another go round with the yard sale Sunday and Riley took over the refreshments for a while and decided to specialize by selling only Arnold Palmer's, his desire to indulge in the free enterprise system alone was fleeting, however he did manage some sales.

After everything was over the boys and Mom went home since they were having friends over for a sleep over and a celebration of Memorial day Monday at a party.
Pete, Patsy and I went to play some more golf.
We came home after, and Pete went on to Montpelier and spend the night.
He came back today Monday and we sold stuff until 12:00 cleaned up by 1:00.
He went home for the party, Patsy, Big Mom Mom and I went golfing again, after golf we ate supper in the Clubhouse and came home to rest up after a busy weekend.

The boys will have to peel themselves off the sheets for school tomorrow, and the folks head back to work, me and Patsy will sit and rock, mostly sit, ..:-)
Phew!

Memorial Day Remberance Outing

2010-05-27T16:03:00.029-04:00

We got out for our usual Wednesday outing and Riley chose not to accompany us tonight, the first time he ever missed, so it was not the same without his face with us.

Before I go into our Wednesday evening outing my mind is on the Memorial Weekend coming up, while we are here in this great country shooting at flags, we have young men and women being shot at defending our flag and us,
how I can justify this fun filled outing in my mind, while someone else is in harms way for me, is sometimes hard to do.

So on this weekend, and all weekends to follow actually, Please remember those who gave everything for us while we are here enjoying the benefits of their great sacrifices.

I have fought a good fight

I have finished my course

I have kept the faith.

2 Timothy 2:4

God bless them for their service.

We arrived at the course a little later than usual so we ran right into the Ladies Night group that was heading out so we had to start on the back 9 which was fine.

I had just reshafted Bryson's driver with a newer shaft that we hoped would gain him a little distance.

So he had not had the club in his hand until the 10th tee box, he set a ball on the tee and launched it to just right of the green chipped on and had a 2 inch putt for a Par, I got a bogey..:-)

He hit driver, 3 wd , 3wd on 11 and was on the left front about 3 ft off the green, popped up a fluffy hit and was short of the flag by quite a bit, lipped out the putt, and tapped in for a bogey. Not bad.

Remembering he is playing at 2800 yd's and his normal yardage for his junior tournaments is @1900 yd's.

So he is hitting long clubs for his approaches.

He went on to Bogey 12 , pared 13, pared 14 (par 5 for him), pared 15 hit driver, 8 iron to the front edge chipped on and tapped in for a par, I always like this hole it seems nice and peaceful down in there.

He smoked a drive on 16, even though he didn't finish his back swing

then hit 3wd, 3wd onto the green about 10 ft short, and drained that for a Tweeter, YEAH!

Went on to Bogey 17 and then missed a 4 footer on 18 for par but ended up with a 3 over 40, (Par 37 from his tee's), we won't go into my score.

We went on in to the club house and ate supper, He had his "Scoot Burger" Whole Wheat bread, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, cheese, mayo with some chips on the side, and a big ole glass of Arnold Palmer, I had my usual Chicken Salad.

He took his cap off after a reminder..:-)

Horace Archer, the new Pro at Orleans CC, came in and joined us for supper, we had fun shooting the breeze with him

for a few minutes and Bryson had some fun talking to ladies who were in there eating as well.

Horace didn't have a very big smile I think he was worried Bryson was going to steal his wallet

Anywho we had a good night (oh yeah that was my record low for 9 holes at Orleans too).

We stopped for Creamee's but they were out, so we bought some Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia, Peanut Butter Cup, came home and had desert with Patsy and Riley.

We unwound a little and hit the sheets.

Fun Time all round.

Don't forget the Yard Sale at Pop Pops this weekend.
Later

Busy weekend over !!

2010-05-24T21:22:00.007-04:00

Dad, Mom, Riley, Me, Big Mom Mom, Patsy and Pop Pop all left Saturday morning heading to Willis MA and Glen Elen Country Cub and a US Kids World Qualifier Tournament.
Bryson is already qualified since he was the 2009 Boston Tour Champion, but wanted to get some competition in since he hasn't played much golf this spring.
The competition in these events is usually pretty stiff, this one was no exception.

We got to the course about 2 hrs early so Bryson got to go to the range and get some time on the practice green.

He got off the tee about 3:45 PM and it was a great day for some golf.

This was a good course with a nice layout not only that, the staff present working the tournament were great also.
He was paired with Mark Muratore from NY, and Xavier Marcoux from MA.

Bryson played a pretty good round of golf for the most part, just the same old thing as the earlier tournaments, his approach shots lacked feel and crispness, and his putts were not tracking well at all, so he shot a very loose 41 and finished in 4th place.

Picture of Medalist's

LR-Mark Muratore, Jack Tobin, Bryson, Adam Xiao, James Imai

This round of golf did not sit very well with him at all, and usually he is not very outward with his golf emotions, but we could see he was not excited about the day.
But he really likes his fellow competitors so win or not he always has fun with the camaraderie at all the events.
Here he is with Big Mom Mom, Patsy, Bryson, Mom, 4 generations at the event.
Pretty unusual I bet.

After the awards presentation we headed on over to his Uncle Steves to spend the night, so shortly after we stopped at Mickey D's and after a couple of Spicy Chicken sandwiches and a M&M McFlurry he was all good.

We arrived at Uncles Steve's late about 9:45 or so, hung out for a while shooting the breeze, then all turned in about 11:00.

We got up pretty early and had some breakfast, then hung around a bit and then about 9:00 AM Dad, Pop Pop, Bryson, Riley, Cousins Micah and Emmy, headed down towards Torrington to Uncle Steve's baseball game.

He plays for a local team "The Rifles", and they were scheduled for a Dbl Header so we thought we could catch a few inning's before we had to leave for Shaker Farms CC in Westfield MA.

We watched and at his first at bat, Uncle Steve, the "Cobra", hit a hard rope into center field but unfortunately the center fielder could have caught it with his feet set in concrete, talk about bad luck.
An inning or so later, he yanked a hard one down the left field line for a single and banged in a run in the process, Ribee's are a good thang..:-)

After about 5 innings we headed back to Simsbury and picked up the rest of the gang, then left for Shaker Farms in Westfield MA. at 11:45 arriving there about 12:00 for his 1:40 tee time.

Hit a small bucket at the range, he seemed to be all business today and really concentrating on his preparation.

We were paired with Alex Keener and Xavier Marcoux, a couple of boys we have played with many times in the past, always a good day because the Caddies (Dads) are not overly involved with the boys game on every shot like so many are, so they always play quickly and without a any extra delay, so it makes for a nice round.

This was a usual round of golf for this bunch, either one, or the other, has a good round when the putts are falling, you golfers know how it is in golf. Anyway this was Bryson's day and his chips were in the hop and stop mode, not very far off target, and he was center punching all his putts, so it's hard to beat somebody when they are playing like that.

He had a big gallery of family (for a junior golf event), Xavier's Mom and baby brother were there, as well as our family, which was an expanded version as well, Rachael's sister Christine, her Mom, Grampy Robert, Uncle Trac, Big Mom Mom, Patsy, Riley and me dragging up the rear, so he had plenty of support.

"I'll insert a picture here as soon as Agnes sends it to me."

He went to play a good round of golf shooting a solid 34 with very little fanfare and we were all pleased that he did so well.

The kids in this tour are all great little golfers, and great kids as well, I wish we could figure out a way that they could all win because they are indeed all winners.
These are the great character building event's that will shape their lives to handle the future with ease, so I suppose that is the way it should be.

LR Chris Lee, James Imai, Xavier Marcoux, Bryson, JD Goldstein, Alex Keener, Adam Xiao
We left after hanging a round and stopped at Friendly's to get a decent meal and headed back to VT. Riley crashed before we left the parking lot and I carried him into his house about 9:15 and we drove on to Craftsbury crawling in about 10:00.

All the boy's in this tour are as lucky to have the love and support of family, as we are to have them, so while we can, we all should just,

"Let The Good Times Roll"

Later

Busy, Busy Week underway

2010-05-21T12:45:00.011-04:00

Busy week so far and getting busier.

Pop Pop picked me and Riley up from School Wednesday, we left there and drove straight up to Orleans CC to play a few holes got there about 4:45.

There was only a handful of people there since it had drizzled all day, but there was brilliant sunshine while we were there.
We played hole's 1 through 4 hitting 3, or 4, shots from different positions on the course and then making a few extra putts on each green as well.

After hole number 4 we went over to the practice green and chipped and putted a while, mostly putted though.

After that we went inside to eat some supper.

Me and Riley had Hotdog and Fries, Pop Pop had the Chicken Salad again, he really like's that stuff I guess, I did share some of his greens though.

Riley? he was just slamming food since he was very hungry, and I'm not sure he knew what he was eating, he was just eating.

Emily Maclure, the new owner came over and took our order, she is from the area originally and is back home now operating the
"Orleans Country Club and Restaurant"
and doing a great job with the menu and pricing, so if you haven't been over for a visit do so, you won't be disappointed.

Picture of Me, Emily and Riley at the table.

The 9th hole was looking pretty nice as we were leaving, Greg, Rick and the gang have done a wonderful job getting things playing great early.

We made our usual stop at Bob's Kwik Stop for a Orange/Vanilla mix Creamee , nasty good, and headed on home to crawl our sagging behinds into the bed, said Prayers and were all out like lights.

The next morning after a much needed nice restful night, we had breakfast and then Pop Pop took us to school, he had to head back home and schlep on down again in the afternoon for my School "Recorder Recital and Art Show" in the evening.

Pop Pop, Patsy and Big Mom Mom came down and picked us up from school at 3:30, we stopped and got gas, then went home and ate "Homemade Sub Sandwiches" with a "Big Ole Honk'n Moon Pie" for desert.

We left right after eating and went over to the "Barre Country Club" for some short game work, there was a tournament going on and there was a lot of activity, but it did not bother us, or our regimen.

Stayed there and putted for a while, I took a $1.50 from Pop Pop in a Putting contest, yet again, and that will go into my "Pinehurst" kitty.

Went home about 5:30, changed cloths and headed to school, we parked out front and then walked in to see our Art Work.

Picture of my Art, a big Bear with it's mouth open in a loud growl, scary looking thing, I think so anyway.

Then we went into the gym for our Recital, which went very well, every grade had a different performance, and theme, except when we all did the Star Spangled Banner, which is always a special treat.The Music teacher Pam Dunkling did a wonderful job in preparation and presentation, we are lucky to have her there and we all commend her for her hard work.

My Home Room teacher, Mrs. Christie, who does a wonderful job as well, however she promised Pop Pop a picture of me taken in class to post in my blog, but has not done so yet, but there will be no reprimands issued since she is very busy right now also.:-)
Double Header Golf tournament coming up this weekend

Later

Sunday Shootout at Orleans

2010-05-17T20:50:00.005-04:00

We left home and headed up to Pop Pops to pick him up and go to Orleans for a Sunday Shoot out.

We all three got in Pop Pops truck at his house and "boogied" on up to Orleans.

When we got there and signed in at the Prop Shop, they said don't "fiddle" around since there is a group of about three foursomes starting out in a few minutes" so we ran to the first tee and got out before they did, no problem.

We played along pretty quickly and opened up quite a gap behind us so we could then back off and concentrate on the round and ball striking. I even had time to eat a snack before teeing off on the 5th hole.

I was striking the ball pretty well but was still not rolling the putts very well since I had 3 or 4 lip outs that should have gone in, but noooooo.

Picture of me on the Troll bridge between the 7th green and the 8th tee box.

The troll must have taken the day off since he never showed up while we were there anyway.

Picture of me teeing off on the 8th hole, I landed a little short of the green, but not by much

it's about 155yd's to the front edge.

I wanted to quit after the 9th hole and work on my short game, but Dad hasn't had a chance to play much this year since he has been helping me a lot, so I continued on around with Dad and Pop Pop until the 16th hole.

I went on to the practice green after that and chipped and putted until Dad and Pop Pop finished up, then they met me back at the club house.

We left the course and stopped at the store in the village then went on back to Pop Pops for a cookout.
Pop Pop grilled some burgers and dogs and we had those with all the trimmings, plus some Chocolate Cream Pie for desert

After dinner me and Patsy hit wedges in the back yard while Mom and Dad got stuff gathered up, and sorted out for a yard sale coming up Memorial Day Weekend.
Join us at Pop Pops for that, and oh yeah, bring money.

Later I played a little whiffle ball with Patsy, Mom and Riley in the back yard.

Then we all piled in the cars and returned home pretty tired after a long and fun filled day.

Wednesday Evening Practice

2010-05-16T21:38:00.006-04:00

We went to Orleans for our weekly outing to play a few holes.

I worked on hitting the long irons and getting yardages etc and of course get something to eat in The Country Club Restaurant after.
It was a beautiful evening but as we have come to expect it was breezy and chilly, but we had fun just the same. Picture of me and Riley shot back up Hole # 4 as we were leaving.

We left and stopped by Bob's Kwik Stop to get our creamee and headed on home.
We drove up through Craftsbury Common on the way to take another peek at where Dad went to school, and the Church where Mom and Dad got married, it looked nice as the Sun was setting on the horizon so we took a picture of it to share.

Later