Three different pink golf shoe styles I am looking at right now are:

Adidas 2012 adiCross S Womens Golf Shoes – Pink White – these are lightweight and spikeless which means you can wear them on and off the golf course.

Adidas adizero Sport Golf Shoes – Womens Pink – the adizero have more support than the adiCross do but they are also spikeless. They look almost like a running shoe – which I am not sure I like or not.

FootJoy Womens Summer Series Golf Shoes – FJ#98968 (Black/White/Pink) – so far I have worn Nike, Adidas and Footjoy golf shoes and my Footjoy’s are my favorite. These FootJoys have spikes but they are also so soft inside.

Decisions, decisions! I’m leaning towards the FootJoys or maybe the adiCross. What would you pick?

Anyhow, the kids are back in school and hubs typically has Wednesdays off which means it is high time I found myself back on the green! 

Last week we made it happen and couldn’t have asked for a better day to swing the sticks! Seventy-five sunny degrees, no humidity and not a cloud in the sky. BLISS!

For having not golfed in months I was pleasantly surprised with my drives on the first few holes. And my putting was surprisingly good too – I had some really long putts that were nice and accurate. Maybe it was the new golf clothes from Nivo Sports I was wearing or maybe it was just that I was so happy to be on the golf course.

Memorable shots:

• I actually made it across the scrub from further away than I ever had on #7 – very proud moment.
• That very first drive felt awesome and it stayed out of the sand – bonus!
• Awesome putts on #4, 8 and 13.

Balls lost:

• Lost 2 on #3 and 2 on #17 – they both have water hazards and that is exactly where those pink balls went.

Favorite clubs:

• Trusty 7 and my putter.

Score:

• 107 – still nothing to write home about, but it is 10 better than the last time I played this course!

It was cart path only golfing which meant lots of walking for both of us. I really don’t mind normally, but they had fertilized the course with what I was convinced were rabbit pellets – aka bunny poop – and I was wishing I had packed had wipes in my golf bag. Once I got over the mud and bunny poop dodging, I was fine.

For the first outing of the year, I did fine. My putting was actually better than usual and I had a few good chip shots, but I really need to get to the driving range about once a week for a while. I think that is going to be a big part of me getting more consistent this year. I need to figure out how far I usually hit any given club and feel more comfortable with every club in my bag.

I got a golf trainer gadget for Christmas, too. I need to set that up in the back yard and make myself a target to practice my chipping, too.

Mud or no mud, I was still so happy to get out on the course and play. Here’s hoping there is a another golf day in my near future!

Memorable shots:

• My putting game was actually pretty decent today. I had 2 or 3 really good long putts that ended up right where I wanted them – in the hole.
• Hole #4 was just horrible. I had a weak drive so I ended up with a long, long way to the green with just my irons. For some reason I just kept topping the ball and doing a lot of walking.
• Hole #7 was my best  hole of the day. It only took me 4 shots (it was a par 3) but I was on the green in 2 so I was happy.

Balls lost:

• The grass was super dry and it was easy to see the pink golf balls, but for some reason, we lost more golf balls that should have been findable than I would have expected.

Favorite clubs:

• I seemed to be most accurate with my 9 today – not sure why, but my 7 was horrible.

Score:

• Something like a 117. It was the first game of my season – let’s just say it can only improve from here.

Anyone can nominate a golfer who inspires them by sharing their story at PinnacleGolf.com or Facebook.com/PinnacleGolf.  Honorees will be determined based on four key criteria:

• A strong tie to breast cancer
• Personal dedication to the fight against breast cancer
• Impact on others’ lives or the community
• Connection to, and passion for, golf

The program runs until March 30. Winners will be announced in May to coincide with Mother’s Day. A judging panel that includes representatives from Pinnacle, Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, and the golf community will choose the final ten Going the Distance Award honorees. The $10,000 donation made in each honoree’s name to Susan G. Komen for the Cure will go toward life-saving breast cancer research at the national level.

In addition to my beautiful Pandora charms and some makeup, I got some new golf basics. My fabulous family got me:

• Lady Hagen white dri-fit polo
• Lady Hagen ice blue skort (love this color)
• Lady Classic white golf glove with half fingers
• Nike golf shoe bag
• Slazenger Women’s RAW Distance Golf Balls in Pink
• Precept Lady iQ Plus Golf Ball in Pink

I love all my new golf gifts and can’t wait to get out and play some time soon. My youngest daughter is going to golf camp in 10 days so at least I know I will play some of the days she is at camp.

What’s your favorite golf gift?

Our local course, Meadows Farms, is in the process of upgrading areas of the course and they recently re-opened my favorite nine – Waterfall. We started on Waterfall and it was pretty apparent from our play on the first hole that we were going to take a few holes to warm up.

By the time we got to the 4th hole, which is the waterfall hole, we had realized there was no one behind us and decided to take advantage of that and re-hit some of our balls as needed. I guess you’d call them Mulligans, but I just called it practice. I have been known to hit my driver off the tee box on waterfall #4 even though it really just requires about a 9 to get up on top of the green. (Here’s a picture) Since  we had the leisure of practicing, I decided to use the right club and go for my 9. The first ball was perfectly aligned but needed just a little more loft because it hit the wall of the waterfall about 2 feet below the top. My next two shots were just bad. I must have lifted my shoulders or something because I managed to hit the ball with the back end of the club sending my ball off into the scrub.

Because it has been so hot and the course is really trying to keep the greens in good shape, they had sprinklers going in random (well, random to me) places through out the course. It was about 88 degrees by the time we came across the first sprinklers and we couldn’t help but drive through! It felt so good and since I was wearing my favorite Nike Dri-Fit golf shirt, I dried out quickly.

Have you ever heard the term “cart golf?” It is what you get when two people who are playing together consistently hit the ball to almost the exact same spot – time and time again. Yeah, we had quite a bit of cart golf going on yesterday which is fine with me. Why? Because if I am hitting the ball to where my husband is, I’m getting better!

Memorable shots:

• Nice straight drive off #6 that took me right down the middle of the fairway
• Chip shot out of the sand that caught a lucky roll up the wall and ended up perfectly placed on the green
• Husband’s horrible drive that landed on the next fairway, but actually lined up nicely for a shot with a 5 iron that landed about a foot from the pin.

Balls lost:

• More than I have lost in a long time! None to the woods, but too many to the water

Favorite clubs:

• Gained some confidence with my 6 iron and my Lob Wedge came in handy, too.

Score:

• Let’s just say we stopped keeping score and deemed this a learning round.

Since there were three of us we needed two golf carts. Natalie started the day riding with me and while we were waiting for my husband to come out of the clubhouse, the owner of the course, Farmer Meadows came over and started chatting to us. He was so impressed that she was wearing her red cap from golf camp last year.

We started on the practice hole and had fun watching a turtle sunbathing on the rocks at the water hazard. As it has been on my past few golf outings, my first drive of the day was one of my best! Nice and straight. Natalie teed her purple ball up and gave it her best hit, then collected her ball and waited until we were on the green to drop her ball and play it to the hole. We have found that this style of play is perfect for her right now – at least while she is still working on her skills and looking up to her namesake, Natalie Gulbis.

Our play today was pretty uneventful – just a really nice warm day. We enjoyed the chatter of our little golf buddy as she wanted to know all the ins and outs, paid close attention to what clubs we used and when, and helped us spot for each other.

Coming into the ninth hole we did see something I have never seen before – we had to pull our golf carts off the cart path to let a Pepsi truck pass!  I guess he can’t turn around near the clubhouse so he drove through the course to an access point to the road.

What’s the craziest thing you have seen on the golf course?

Memorable shots:

• Finally hit hard enough to make it over the water hazard just to have the ball bounce weird off the edge of the green back into the water!
• A few long shots on the fairway with my 3 wood

Balls lost:

• Three to water and one to the woods

Favorite clubs:

• Driver by far. I definitely had more good drives than bad today.

Score:

• Still averaging 5-6 strokes a hole – some better, some worse

• Heather at Real Women Golf talks about Mulligans – the ones you buy and Tootsie Pops to remind you that you have them to use
• Pink Diva Golf has a nice interview with Jackie Barenborg on playing the LPGA Futures Tour
• Women On Course has a guest post from Kevin Tanner on how to practice better (block vs. random) to be a better player
• Pat from GolfGurls just got back from a golf trip in Ireland – droooool – and shares with us what it really costs to take a golf vacation to the Emerald Isle (time to start saving because that is going on my bucket list!)
• And speaking of bucket lists – I am going to start one very soon and golf is going to play a large role in it! I think I may just start with the Golf Digest’s Top 50 Golf Courses for Women and go from there!

Have a great weekend! I’m thinking a driving range day is in my near future and then some golf with the kids since they are now out of school. How about you?

We had a 9 a.m. tee time and since it was a Monday morning the only other people on the course were a group of guys who work there and two foursomes of older gentlemen. No one was booked behind us which was just so nice. No rushing. It was a pretty foggy morning so for the first 6-7 holes the course was dewey wet and our golf towels got a good workout.

The first drive of the day was solid - it was on the fairway -  no sandtrap or dead frogs today – and I felt pretty confident right out of the shoot. That was going to be short-lived because I grabbed my 7 iron and went to hit the ball down the fairway and somehow managed to hit one of the little signs directing you to drive your cart back to the path. Really? That little thing? Yep, I managed to hit it and got a weird bounce to the right from it.

On lucky #7 both of us managed to get the ball on the green in one, but I only needed a two-putt and I parred a hole for the first time this season. Yeah, me!! Granted it was a par 3 and not what I would call a hard hole, but I got a par, so I was plenty happy.

The other thing I figured out this time out was that I can really swing my 3 wood. For some reason I had never really tested that club. Yesterday it was by far my most effective club on the long fairways. I think the reason I did well with it, it that is long. I am 5′ 8″ tall and I think some of my clubs might be a little short. I have decided to keep my current clubs for the rest of this season, but then get new ones next spring – and actually have them fitted for me.

Memorable shots:

• Somehow I managed to hit a cart sign
• Finally over shot the green on a water hazard instead of landing short like I usually do and sending one into the water
• Lobbed a shot from a mogul to the green with my 60 degree wedge that was just so pretty

Balls lost:

• One to water and 2 to the scrub

Favorite clubs:

• 3 wood gets the star of the day and my lob wedge gets honorable mention

Score:

• Still averaging 6 strokes a hole – some better, some worse

The kids are out of school at the end of this week and my little golf buddy – my nine year old daughter – is already asking for driving range time. Woohoo! I knew I got her hooked on this for a reason. She is already signed up for golf camp in July and has asked if she can have a glove like mine that only covers half your fingers (which I love!).  Stay tuned for more updates as we head into summer, get lots of driving range practice, take a lesson or two and if I am lucky, we’ll play some courses on vacation.

I decided to mix things up a bit today and play purples (Wilson Hopes) instead of my normal pinks. Also in the new category were my bargain Footjoy Green Joy’s that I got on clearance last fall (very comfy I might add) and a cool Tan Thru  Glove that is half finger length. The new glove is awesome! I was sent the Tan Thru glove by East Coast Golf to review for my SportsGirlsPlay.com site and I may never wear a full finger glove again! I could not believe the difference in comfort.

Anyhow, the round started off with a decent drive except that it landed in the sand right next to a dearly departed little frog who was lying belly up. EWW! Getting my ball out of the sand without stepping on this poor deceased frog was a challenge, but I made it. The next few holes went down the drain – literally! The course is rather hilly and they have been cutting in drainage trenches with all the rain we have been having lately. I managed to get my ball in a drainage trench not once, not twice, but three times in the first nine holes! Yikes.

My favorite club today was my 9-iron. It got me to the green on many a shot – and was my hero on 16 where I had to hit over a bunch of scrub grass (I call it junk) to get to the green. I was so proud of myself – I made it and then proceeded to three-putt!

I don’t know about you, but it always screws us up when the grounds crew is working on the course while we are playing. Today was the worst! They were doing some aerating on the fairways and this one tractor kept showing up. Not only did the driver not seem to care that we were trying to play he kept going in the same direction as we were. This really messed up our concentration on about three different holes. UGH.

Memorable shots:

• First stroke into the sand next to the dead frog
• Fabulous drive off #10 and then we realized there was a super slow foursome in front of us and chose to skip past them (best decision of the day!)

Balls lost:

• One to water and 2 to the woods

Favorite clubs:

• #9 rocked and I hit a few nice shots with my 5 (baby driver)

Score:

• Averaged 6 strokes a hole – some better, some worse

Special thanks goes to my favorite golf partner, my husband, for venturing off into the woods to retrieve one of my pretty purple golf balls so I didn’t have to. He also gets the award for the birdie of the day! On #16 he hit a beautiful shot off the tee box over the scrub and put the ball just a few feet from the pin and then proceeded to hit a sweet little putt giving him a birdie on a par 3. Nice!