There's no better start on a beautiful sunny afternoon than having a birdie on the very first hole.

Unfortunately, I choked real bad on the second hole by attempting to cut the corner too closely on my approach shot, thereby barely nicking a tree branch (just barely) and then three putting.

The remaining seven holes were pretty average, although I must admit I was really smashing them drives way out there into the distance.

On the eighth hole, I landed my drive in the creek (too far), took a penalty drop, pulled an eight iron to the left and then chipped the ball in for an amazing par four.

Birdie, double-bogie (3-putt), par, par, bogie, par, bogie, par, bogie (3-putt) equals forty.

I need to practice more and get my game down more consistently, focusing on my short game.