I like golf..but sometimes it doesn't like me

Today was the SLED golf tournament, actually it was the spring tournament. Since I've been at SLED, I've only missed two. I've always played with the same guy, and we compliment each other pretty well, given that we both are not super good. Today we shot the best we've ever done, and on a new course (for us). Normally we play out in Saluda at Persimmon Hills. It's a nice course, very forgiving (which is key for me!). This spring we switched to Cobblestone (out in Blythewood), the course USC calls it's "home" course. It was much nicer! The fairways were wide and green, the greens were well maintained (and FAST!), and the service was excellent. Oh, and the price was pretty good too! No, it wasn't free.

So anyway, on to the golfing. Hue and I usually shoot into the 90s. In reality, that's about where I expect to shoot, given that I play maybe 3 times/year. When Laura and I lived in Texas, I played at a little 9 hole course in Pasadena. I could get on and play all I could handle for $6. Now, that course was not well maintained. But I played so much (for so cheap) that I got where I could shoot in the low to mid 80s. Not great, but just a bit over par. So today we started playing and we just kept getting pars. We had a couple of birdie attempts, but not many. Just steady pars. I used to laugh when I would watch the Golf Channel, or read some magazine article where the host/instructor/author would say, "You need to concentrate on your short game, cuz that's where the scoring is!". I no longer laugh. My putting is mediocre. My lofted wedge was junk (today). My mid irons were on like Donkey Kong! My driving was ok...I was happy with about 70% of my drives. I wish I could hit my driver like I hit a 5 iron. I swear sometimes I hit that dang 5 close to 200 yards. It's a good thing that Hue was there to make up for my mis-hits (we play 2 man Captain's choice). Like I said, we compliment each other. By the end of the day, we shot 4 over on the front and 5 over on the back, for a total of 80. By far our lowest score in the 4 years (8 times) we've played. We didn't win anything (that I know of), but I came away feeling good about my golf game...ask any mediocre golfer what keeps him playing and he'll tell you that it's the one good shot among all the junky ones. I'll tell you that it's the progression from playing bogey/double bogey golf to par/bogey golf. Now if only I could get control of my wedge....