The 7,000 Yard Challenge

While on vacation, I played a round at the La Reunion Golf Resort which annually hosts the PGA Latinoamérica Tour's Guatemala Stella Artois Open.

The PGA Latinoamérica is one of several third-tier tours.  It is a level below the Web.com Tour which directly feeds players into the PGA Tour.  From the championship tees the course plays 7,275 yards with a course rating of 75.4 and a slope rating of 150.  Typically, the courses I play are around 6,000 yards, rating below 70, and slope between 110 and 125.

Fuego Maya course scorecard

It was a really nice course.  It was not cheap.  A round with a cart, plus rental clubs, and a caddie came out to $200.  The price was quickly forgotten as I stepped onto the manicured fairways surrounded by three volcanoes!  The 75F temperature didn't hurt either.

Clouds hiding the volcano peak

I decided to play from the championship tees and try to break 100.  In the pro shop, I requested a caddie that spoke some English and they accommodated me.

I started out well by hitting the fairway and the green on the first hole.  Unfortunately I three putted for a bogey.  The second hole was a long 200 yard par 3 with an elevated green.  I ended up with a five.  I bogeyed the third hole and got my first par on the fourth that was a par 3.

The next hole was the hardest, a par 4 measuring 460 yards.  I earned my bogey.  The sixth had a blind tee shot.  I ended up hitting a straight drive but it landed in the adjacent fairway.  My second shot was a solid 3-wood.  I didn't reach the green and had a subpar chip.  The scorecard was marked with a double bogey.

Hole 7 was a long par 4.  I had a good drive and then a second shot with the 3-wood.  I ended up just short off the green and three putted from there for a bogey.  The next hole ended up being my first bad hole.  It was a double bogey but my drive was way right, the second shot wasn't good, and neither way my third.  I finally got on the green with my 4th shot from 80 yards out.

To end the front nine, I battled the 510 yard uphill par 5.  My drive ended up five yards left from the fairway and it just got more difficult from there.  I recorded a triple bogey.  I was +8 thru seven which was pretty good, but the last two holes pushed my score to 49.  I was on pace to break 100 but felt a bit disappointed based on how I finished the front nine.

It didn't get any easier on the back.  The 10th, a 427 dogleg to the right, was the toughest hole in my opinion.  The tee shot was downhill with a narrow landing area.  I managed to hit the fairway but from there it was all uphill literally and metaphorically speaking.  The second and third shots were poor.  After getting on the green, I three putted and a snowman (8) made it onto the scorecard.  That was my worst hole of the day.

I double bogeyed the next two holes.  One of them was a 219 par 3.  It was not looking good.  But I turned it around a bit by parring the par 5 12th.  The next hole was my best.  I hit the fairway and had a blind shot to the green.  It landed near the green but with all the mounds around, somehow the golf ball rolled down to the center off the green!  With the caddie's help, I sank the birdie putt.  Then I parred the next hole.

Made this birdie putt

The 16th was the signature hole.  It was a par 5, 682 yard.  I hit the fairway and had a good second shot.  From there, it could have been better.  My chip was not good and I three putted.

Paradise

17th was a short par 3 and I hit it ten yards left off the green and got a bogey.  The last hole was a downhill par 4, 491 yards.  And wouldn't you know it, I pulled my drive way left and out of bounds.  I added a penalty stroke and teed it up again.  It was a straight shot.  I missed the green and two putted for a seven.

When the dust settled, my score came out to 98.  I did it, I broke 100 on a semi-pro course.  I played 15 holes at bogey golf but butchered the other three resulting in a +10.  But the only ten that really mattered was the 10 out of 10 golf experience.

Miami Weekend

DC temperatures have been reaching mid 90s daily.  The lady and I decided to head to the beach for the weekend.  She was unable to go to Mexico City because of work, so we booked a short weekend trip to Miami.

We left DCA Saturday morning.  A friend picked us up from the airport and we all went to Versailles, a well known Cuban restaurant, for lunch.  After lunch we were dropped off at our hotel on South Beach.  By early afternoon, we were catching some sun rays and swimming in the warm ocean.

People watching was also fun.

After the beach, we went to an outdoor bar on Ocean Drive and had two cocktails for ONLY $48!  What a steal, not.

In the evening, we went to Bunbury restaurant with our friend and her boyfriend.  Bunbury's empanadas each have a different filling and they were all delicious.  Afterwards we headed over to Lagniappe house/wine bar.  We had some drinks in the garden until a typical Miami rain shower made everyone run for the canapé covering the outdoor bar.

Sunday we started the day with another trip to the beach.  Cooling off in the water while small fish swim around you is as good as it gets.  At one point, few silver fish with yellow tails jumped above the water.

In the afternoon we went to downtown Miami for a stroll around the Bayside Marketplace.  It's an interesting place with a lot of bars, restaurants and people walking around the marina.

In the evening, we joined our friends at the Lido Bar at the Standard Hotel in Miami Beach.  The atmosphere was good but the view was even better.

Independence Day Weekend

I spent five days in Mexico City over the Independence Day weekend.  The overall trip was a success.  There were few minor issues but I'm glad I went.  Instead of writing a detailed trip report, I thought I'd let the photos do the talking.  Enjoy.

National Palace

Metropolitan Cathedral

Palace of Fine Arts

Paseo de la Reforma and the Angel of Independence

Chapultepec Castle

Chapultepec Castle Garden

Old Playing Cards

Street Performers

Pyramid of the Moon

Soumaya Museum

Bicycle Festival

View from the Monument to the Revolution

Greetings from Mexico City!

The first half of 2017 is in the books.  In those six months the lady and I moved in together, then we got engaged, my nephew was born, and I played some golf and poker sporadically.  As for vacation and travel, there were only a few short trips to places I've visited before...until now.

My buddy suggested doing a trip to Mexico City few months ago.  His friend and her family live here.  At first, I was hesitant but since he speaks Spanish and we would be hanging out with locals, I agreed to go.

The flight was uneventful.  First thing I noticed after getting out of the airport was the traffic and chaos driving.  I'm not sure if the drivers are bad or the sheer amount of cars are to blame.  Let's move on to some positive things.

Yesterday we went to Teotihuacan, an ancient city located 25 miles northeast of Mexico City.  I'll write a more detailed post about the day trip and some road bumps along the way.  Walking the site and climbing the pyramids was a wonderful experience.

Pyramid of the Sun

Can you find me?

Dinner was in the upscale district of Polanco.  I tried Escamoles, a dish native to Central Mexico that was considered a delicacy by the Aztecs.  You might ask what is it and the answer would be...ant eggs and larvae aka insect caviar!  It tasted OK but the main dish, grilled octopus, was delicious.

Since I'm writing this on my phone, that's all for now.

A Round of Good Golf

Exactly one year ago, I wrote a post about one of the worst rounds of golf I've had in the past 5 years.  Watching Sergio Garcia win his first major at the Masters made me want to write another golf recap.  A chance for redemption, dare I say.  We'll get back to poker in the next post.

The weather has been decent early this spring and golf was on the menu.  I hadn't played at the Lake Presidential golf club before but as they say, there is a first time for everything.  I couldn't get any of my friends to join me so I booked a tee time for one.

I was paired up with two guys in their 30s.  Few holes into the round, I found out that they were commercial pilots.  One worked for American Airlines and the other one worked for United Airlines.  I've always considered United to be better than American.  Coincidence or not, the United pilot was a much better golfer than his friend.  He was also better than me.

On the first hole, I pulled my drive left.  I managed to save bogey.  I got very lucky to par the 8th hole.  My drive went right and it was three yards from the water.  My second shot got me back in the fairway.  My third shot was barely right off the green but it was enough to send the ball down into the bunker.  I hit a sand wedge from the bunker and somehow ended up on the green.  I one putted and voilà...a par.

One mistake that I made on the front was on the par three 9th hole.  The left side of the green is guarded by two bunkers and  the right side has water running parallel to the green.  My tee shot had the correct distance but the ball hit the downslope right off the green and ended up in the water.

I was happy with my tee shots and the driver.  Thru 15 holes I had hit 8/12 fairways.  The back 9 could have produced a special score under 40.  I three putted on two holes and on 17 I didn't realize how short the hole was.  I hit driver and the tee shot ended up costing me a penalty stroke.

The 18th hole is a par 5 that requires a drive across the water.  The view from the tee box is fantastic.  I hit it across the water and into a fairway bunker on the right side.  My second shot left me with 110 yards to the flag.  I hit a solid pitching wedge and was on the green in three.  No one in our group had made a birdie all day.  The United pilot also was on in three.  We both ended up making our putts for birdies!

It was a very enjoyable day.  I ended up shooting an 83 which is few strokes better than my average.  One year ago, I shot a 110 which was an anomaly.  I redeemed myself by playing up to my potential this time around.