"JOE DIGGITY"

2011-08-22T08:42:00.001-04:00

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 wake up call in order to be ready for our 8:00 AM tee time.

My Brother Bryson had an 8:00 AM tee time but mine wasn't until 9:30 so I had a little extra time 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.

My wedge work needs the most attention anyway so it worked out.

Pop Pop was on my bag for this round since Dad was on Bryson's bag.

For my round I was paired with a fine golfer, Alex Landry from MA.our 3rd did not show up so was dq'd

As usual his Dad, like most kids, was on his bag for the round.

I started off the round playing pretty well, hitting the ball solidly, chip's were OK but I was rushing my putts which is always a sure way to mess up a round.

We played about the same for most of the round both having our high and low points in about the middle of the round I decided I would do my own caddying carry my bag and everything since I "thought" Pop Pop was over coaching my round, a job he gladly relinquished, but that didn't last long, I gave him back the clubs but still decided to live and die by my own decisions regarding club choice and shot choice which was not very productive and I fell off the pace.

On the next to last hole Bryson came out after finishing his round and he agreed to caddy the last two holes which I proceeded to Bogey, and dbl bogey, respectively finishing a couple of shots behind Alex, but still ahead of the rest of the field and finished in 2nd place.

A disappointing day just the same but fun having my brother "on the bag" for a couple of holes.

This was the last regular season round of the year, we are going down to NJ next week since Bryson is playing a Regional Championship Event at Seaview

and then we come directly back to Boston where we both will play in the
Boston Local Tour Championship at
"The Glenn" in Millis MA.

Later, JoeD

2011-08-10T21:38:00.000-04:00

Just got back from a Junior golf tour event in MA. where I played in a 9 hole event at Sandy Burr Country Club in Wayland, MA.

We had driven down Monday evening, spent the night at a Motel in Milford, got up pretty early and drove over to Wayland for my 10:00 AM tee time.

Got to chip and putt a few minutes before heading out.

My Dad was on my bag for this event.

Had a pretty decent round since I was striking my drives very well, but my short game was off a bit since I hadn't worked on it much while we were down at the World Championships in Pinehurst NC the week prior to this event.

Even though my short game wasn't up to "par" I managed to bear down enough on the last hole to walk away with a 2 stroke victory over my nearest competitor.

Picture of me in front of the clubhouse after the round

Looking forward to next week which is the last round of the year prior to the tour Championship the following week, so stay tuned for that.

Later, Joe~D

2011-07-19T21:17:00.004-04:00

Man I have been flat out for a few weeks now, played Team Baseball this year for the first time.
Whole new experieince for me for sure, picture of me whiffing a pitch, but I made a good effort and did have my eye glued to the ball.
Dad's slider fooled me that's all..:-)
Coaches pitch in this league, or you can use the tee

However Golf is on the burner now, and is in full swing.
I've had a few tournaments so far.

June 27th 2011
Boston Summer Tour Gardner GC, Gardner MA.9 Hole Score 50, 2nd PlaceHad a rough ride out of the shute just couldn't get the flat stick going, which is not unusual early in the year plus I hadn't had much time to practice either.
Almost everybody had the same problem so I eked out a 2nd place finish, which I am not unhappy with at all, but could have been MUCH better.
Picture of me and Alex who finished 1st and I finished 2nd.

July 5th 2011
Boston Summer Tour, Bay Pointe CC Onset MA.
9 Hole Event ~ 50 ~ 4th Place
ALmost the same situation as the previous week, my ball striking was spot on, short game was missing and I wasn't really in the event until late in the round, just to late to mount a charge so I had another very poor showing with everyone stepping up their game but me.
Even with my feel gone I managed to finish in 4th place with another lack luster finish .
I need to do some practice if I want to advance in my ability to score.
Picture of me and my fellow competitor Derek from the MA. area.

July 12th 2011

Boston Summer Tour, Newton GC, Newton MA.
9 hole event ~ 51 ~ 2nd Place

Game is starting to come around a bit now, but I'm still not doing what I need to do to be able to compete, so I need to really get to work and get my heart and my head into the game.
This is is a critical point in the season, I didn't get a
picture of this outing.

July 18th 2011
Boston Tour, Leicester CC Leicester MA.
9 Hole event ~ 41 ~ 1st Place
Finally starting to put some shots together, maybe it was because Mom was on the bag today, or I just finally got my head in the game.
Started off strong and even eagled the second hole today for a good start, and went on to play smooth steady golf right up until the last hole and finished with a bogey but came in with a nice 41 for my first and hopefully not my last top place finish of the year.
Picture of me and the the top 3 spots
Gabriel, Me and Ethan

I guess I'm done until next Monday hopefully I can keep the "Mojo" going for another week at the very least.

Later, "Joe~D"

2011-06-11T07:44:00.002-04:00

Man, it has been a while!!

I’ve been really busy and now that school is almost out it will get even busier.
Friday we only had school for ½ a day to do some school repair work, so rather than go for ½ a day Dad dropped me off at Pop Pops and Patsy’s to spend the day, and the night, and they could bring me to my Baseball Game Saturday morning.

We were going to go play golf at Orleans CC on Friday, but they were not open for business since they were getting ready for their annual “Charlie Scott Tournament” , which is a 3 day affair, Practice rounds Friday, then Sat and Sun for competition.

Pop Pop and I decided to go play at Barton Golf Club.
I had never played golf there before and Pop Pop had not played there in years, and they have recently expanded to 18 holes, so it was all changed around since he had been there, so almost like playing for the first time for both of us, but we only played 9 holes.
We got off with no problem and had fun.

The course was still pretty wet, like all the rest of the courses in the area were this year, but at least Barton is getting playable.

I started off striking the ball well and was even beating Pop Pop after 3 holes, he was not sure of the club to use since he had not been there in a while, so he was mis-clubing and was hitting long, and in trouble.

Some of the holes here were brand new additions, and have some decent views like this one, it is a nice little down hill par 4.

I hit a decent drive but it was a slight pull into the left rough, but lengthy, my 2^nd shot was a correction for the first one so it was to the right side of the fairway, but it was a long walk from my drive and leaving me an easy flip wedge to the green, which I naturally hit long and off the back right.

We finished our round and stopped in the club house and talked to the owner Fred May who Pop Pop has known for a long time, I had a Hot Dog and a Gatorade while they shot the breeze.

We left there and stopped by C&C Market for some things, and we each got a Popsicle to eat along the way home, I had Chocolate and Vanilla, Pop Pop had Orange and Vanilla.

After we got home I played in the back yard riding my bike and hitting some wedges while Pop Pop took a nap, Patsy watched me from the back porch.

Later on we decided to Camp out since it was such a nice night, so we gathered some wood, got the tent and sleeping bags out, then fixed up our Camp site, we were going to use the new portable grill (Red Neck Version) that Pop Pop created. See below

We were going to use it to cook supper, but we were having Pancakes and Strawberries and Pop Pop said the batter would fall through the grate..:-)

So as dark approached we had the “cottage” set up, all the bedding in place, and the nice warm fire going all ready for us to turn in.

We then headed inside to brush our teeth etc and turn in for some well deserved rest, so we would be ready for another busy day tomorrow, hopefully we don’t get any rain to ruin our planned activities.
Later, Joe D

2011-02-25T20:45:00.023-05:00

Thursday Feb. 24th 2011

Dad was watching WCAX News and saw an interview with Libby Smith, a VT native who was an outstanding athlete in High School, and College and is now making her mark as an active player on the LPGA Tour.

She combined with Steve Gonsalves a VT PGA golfer and instructor, as well as the owner of Gonzo's Indoor Golf in Burlington to host a Jr Golf clinic for the First Tee program, as well as for any young interested golfer in the area.

Dad thought it would be a great idea for my brother Bryson and I to go over and meet Libby and Steve.

Especially since spring is fast approaching and golf is beginning to creep into our minds even though winter still underway.

We all got into the Car and headed over to Burlington and was surprised to see about 40 or 50 young golfers there to attend the clinic, and meet both these local professional golfers.

What a great time we had, not only did we get some valuable instructions, Steve was kind enough to let us hit balls on the simulators, but also provided us with some Pizza and drinks when we were finished, all of which we are very appreciative of.

Here is a picture of Steve, Libby and a portion of the young golfers there.

Libby was Gracious enough to hang around and take a few pictures after the clinic, an opportunity we took advantage of to shoot one of me, Bryson and Libby.

After we ate and had something to drink Bryson and I went over to the putting green to roll a few putts in before heading home.

The decorations almost made us feel like summer was already here.

We can't say enough to thank Steve for the great day and tweaking our interest in getting our swings ready for the summer Jr. Tour

Thanks Steve We'll see you soon.
Riley

2011-01-19T15:36:00.007-05:00

Well we had the day off from school yesterday so Bryson and I went up to Patsy’s and Pop Pop’s to spend the day, and then go to Bryson’s basketball game that evening for a rematch against Hardwick.

Although Bryson wasn't happy because of the chance of freezing rain the game was canceled.

However since the game was canceled we now had some time, and energy, to burn before supper.

I thought it would be fun to build a snow tunnel out back.
It is early winter and the snow isn’t real deep yet but deep enough where the snow had been plowed up to give us enough packed snow depth.

So we headed out to do that, Pop Pop and Bryson did most of the work, I directed the work force, which I am very good at.

Anyway when it was finished we fooled around a little and made a video of us making our first pass through the tunnel when it was finished.

It was kinda puny at only about 8 ft.

Picture of us outside the tunnel.

We also posted it on "You tube" to make it easier to use on this blog, and for others to view it.

2010-12-17T10:37:00.000-05:00

Well Christmas time is here so as usual on our weekly pilgrimage
to Patsy's and Pop Pop's it was time to decorate the tree and put the village and train set up.
So this week

"WE DID IT AGAIN"
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Riley & Bryson

WORKING ON IT !!

FINISHED !!

I DID IT !!!!!!

2010-08-31T15:21:00.005-04:00

Over the weekend we all, Dad, Mom, Bryson and I 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 I were scheduled play in the US Kids Boston Tour Championship at Glen Ellen Country Club in Millis MA.

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

Mom and us 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 Ingram, who runs the US Kids Tour, arranged for them to have some time on the course.

We then went back to the motel ate and enjoyed some pool time before Mom and Pop arrived 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.

I was scheduled for a 9:45 Tee Time so Pop Pop was on Bryson's bag for his 6:45 Tee time.
I watched them for several holes before me and Mom (who was on my bag ) had to go get ready for my round.

I was playing with Derek Tevekelian Shrewsbury MA.
I played very well early on and even carded a birdy early in the round, Pop Pop finished up with Bryson and then took over the caddy dutied from Mom, and I immediately cranked an 8 out on a par 4.
But then smoothed back out and played pretty steady golf through to the finish
.
Even had a great drive over a forced carry which is always a tall order.
Went on to finish strong with a 45 and another win.
After making a personal commitment to play Junior Golf this year I have been working hard on my game every chance I had, all the while trying to keep things in perspective .

Well my efforts have paid off. !!!!!

Since making the commitment I have rolled off 5 - 1st places finishes on the Boston Local Tour including a victory in the Tour Championship Monday in Millis MA at Glen Ellen Country Cub.
The win there garnering me enough points to win 2010 Boston Local Tour Player of the Year Award

I want to thank my buddy Mr. Andy Ingram for all the positive encouragement and efforts on the Summer Tour, it would certainly not be the same without him, US Kids and Glen Ellen Country Club are lucky to have him "on the bag", I know we all appreciate him.

Picture of me and Andy after the round.

Franklin Park Tournament

2010-08-26T12:14:00.001-04:00

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.

We got to the Golf Course on time for Bryson's tee time which was way early for mine so I rode around with Andy Ingrahm the Tour Director for a while.

Dad was on Bryson's bag and Pop Pop was going to caddy for me later.

I was paired with Rocco Orlandella for my round he is a nice guy, as well as his Dad who was on the bag for his round.

I was striking the ball very well early, but my short game was below what I expected, or needed, but I played well enough to notch another victory.
I need to really work harder on getting up and down after I make some quality shots to get in posistion to score.
After Bryson finished his round, Dad came back and traded jobs with Pop Pop since he is more familiar with my game and a better swing guru.
I had a lot of fun and it was especially nice since my Brother Bryson and I both won.
Picture out by the practice green.

Leicester Golf Tournament.

2010-08-17T07:59:00.000-04:00

Spent all weekend down on Cape Cod with the family, doing the usual water related things we do at the shore, leaving there Sunday evening to go to Marlboro MA and spent the night in preparation for a US Kids Event in Leicester MA.

Had a 12:30 scheduledTee Time for Tuesday.
We stayed at the Courtyard Motel where we got to spend some time in the pool before hitting the sheets Sunday Night.

Got up pretty early Monday bright eyed and bushy tailed for the day Tuesday.
Had a breakfast sandwich, a hash brown and a large OJ for breakfast before we headed to Leicester.

We stopped on the way to Leicester and visited the Campus of Becker College where Mom and Dad met and went to school.

Picture of me and Bryson on the Gazebo located on the Common.

Left there and found our way over to the golf course after a bad turn or 2 as usual even with GPS we can't find our way around.:-)

Pop was on the bag for Bryson and Daddy was on the bag for me.
There was a threat of rain all day but it never amounted to anything and did not effect play at all.
I was striking the ball well all day and was only 2 over going into the 8th hole a very tough par 4.
Hit my tee shot in a hazard took a drop from there and hit short of the green in a bunker hit a great bunker shot, just to long and off the back.
Scrambled around finished with a 9 on the hole, disappointing after playing so well up to that point, but still having fun and went on to finish with a 45
which was good enough to finish in "First place".

I played with Ethan Saul and Rocco Orlandella both from MA.

L-R. Rocco, Me, Ethan

We're trying to get into the last regular event in Franklin Park this week, If so I'll sign in after that to report the results.
Joe D

Newton Commonwealth Tournament

2010-07-19T21:34:00.003-04:00

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, Daddy and Bryson and me all our golf gear 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 Bryson 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.

I hit a few chips shot near the tee box just before my tee time, but nothing great for a warm up for Bryson or I.

I played in the 6 yr old bracket but was paired with Bill Norcross and Brennan Thacker a couple of 7 yr olds both from MA. good guys with good caddy's.
Sometimes the uneven groupings require playing out of your group but it isn't a problem.

This was a very tough golf course and I didn't exactly light it up all day, the highlight of my round, after a double bogey start, was making a nice bird on #2, I hit a decent drive in the right spot, wedged on to about 8' below the hole and stroked an 8 foot curler in for a tweeter.
That was about all there was to the round, I was just plodded along with a few chances to score well but just didn't pull off the shots when I needed.
Even so to I played good enough to win for the second week in a row.

You'll have to kill the sound at the bottom before watching the awards video, Pop Pop is to lazy to fix it for me.

I had a fun round although Pop Pop didn't think I was playing good enough to Medal but it was a very hard course and everyone was struggling, so scores were higher than he figured it's always hard to score well with forced carries especially over water.

After the awards I posed out front with Bryson, who had struggled during his round since he didn't exactly have his "A" game, which happens once in a while, so after finishing in a tie at the end of regulation he lost on the 1st hole of a playoff to finish in 2nd place. So he needed a hug.:-)

We had a fun day all in all, stop at Burger King and tanked up before heading home.

No golf for me next week, I'm going to Baseball Camp at the Barre Mountaineers field every day next week before heading to Pinehurst NC to the US Kids World Championships where Bryson will be playing again , and I keep up my streak I will be playing in it next year.

Later, Joe D

My first US Kids Tournament

2010-07-13T07:47:00.000-04:00

We drove to Cape Cod for the weekend and stayed at my Great Grampy's home down there and what a great time we had.
One of the many highlights of the weekend was I lost a tooth Sat while at the beach Saturday, we searched high and low but could not find it.
Without a tooth for the tooth fairy we had to substitute a note, but she was gracious and understanding enough that the note sufficed for my reward.

After another good day Saturday, I had a chance to go to the driving range and hit my new Ping golf clubs. Longer and lighter than my old clubs so they will take some adjustment to get used to, after hitting half a Lg bucket, we left there and stopped for a Creamy at the local Ice Cream Stand.
We arrived back home and turned in early in preparation for our long and busy day Monday.

After a good nights sleep I woke up early Monday morning raring to go.

As soon as we got all got up, got dressed, and packed our stuff, we ate a light breakfast, me and Bryson had a donut and banana on the steps to the breezeway room.

As soon as we finished that we piled in with Mom Mom and Pop Pop and headed to Onset for the1 hr drive to the golf tournament at Bay Pointe CC.

We arrived right on schedule and Bryson and I had a chance to chip and putt and get ready for my 9:40 Tee time, Bryson was off at 8:20 so I watched him for a few holes before my round.
I also got off on time for my 9:40 start and I was paired with another 6 yr old

Derek Tevekelian and a 7 year old Will Harrington.

L-R Will Harrington, Me and Derek Tevekelian

I played a pretty good round of golf but struggled a little with my short game from lack of competitive experience, but I will work hard on that now that I am playing more.
My ball striking in general was pretty good and I finished with a 46, which was good enough for the win.

So Bryson and I both won which made for a nice ride home for us both, here is a picture of us taken behind the 18th Green after the awards ceremony, which took place in the clubhouse.

If you look closely you can see the gap from my missing tooth.:-)
So we are home relaxing today and then start getting ready for next week's event at Newton Commonwealth CC in Newton MA.
Hope to see you there if not just check in here for the results.
Later, Joe D.

First Post

2010-07-09T07:49:00.004-04:00

This is my very first post from my new blog spot.
I have had plenty of stuff to say, and plenty to write about, so now that summer is here, I think it's about time I started.
We (Bryson, Mom, Dad and I) are driving down to Cape Cod today for what will be a busy weekend, capping it all off Monday with me playing in my 1st US Kids tournament at Bay Pointe C.C in Onset MA. with my Dad on the bag.
Speaking of bag's here is a picture of my new
"Ping shovels"

Pop Pop will shift onto Bryson's bag for that one.

Stay tuned for an update, and much more to follow as summer moves along.

Later, Joe D.
Here is a small video of me and Bryson finishing up on the 9th hole at OCC.