God Bless Malin Akerman

Our third day in San Diego was another top notch period of relaxation. Golf, walkin' around the beach, some light reading, a movie...there's no room for sensible thought in that list of activities. I am fully enjoying not having to use my brain to its capacity while I'm out here; a much needed rest.

The day on the course was not quite as great as the first couple days. The clouds hovered over us for the entire round and neither my dad nor I played very well. While I managed another 92, he came in with a 93. There were some embarrassing moments, including the 12th hole where dad shanked his way to a quadruple-bogey 9 but still managed to beat me (I logged the first double-digit score of the year, with a wonderful 10). The only real highlight of the round was dad's impeccable shot on the par-three 5th hole, which was unbelievably close to dropping for his first hole-in-one. He tapped in the birdie though, on his way to a great 42 on the front nine.
After the round at Castle Creek, we took a trip to the beach and pier around downtown Oceanside. We had a late lunch at an authentic place called "The Longboard Cafe" and walked down the pier, watching the surfers catch huge waves and avoiding the snaps of giant pelicans.It was so cool to watch these guys battle massive walls of water...I wish I could do that.

Believe me, I was not standing any closer to that thing than I had to. Their beaks are sharp! Scary and unpredictable with the gift of flight? No thank you.

Anyway, we made it past the frightening fliers and spent the evening at the theater once again. Only this time, we went to see the new film Watchmen. I was very impressed with the visual aspects of the movie. The story was very compelling and the acting was solid, but the 2 hr. 40 min. runtime was a big long. There were also a lot of violent scenes that I thought were a little overdone or unnecessarily grotesque, but overall I really enjoyed it. I'm tempted to read the graphic novel now, but from what I've heard that might just ruin the whole thing for me. On the other hand, how could anything ruin another topless performance by Malin Akerman? I mean really...her acting resume is simply one of God's gifts to the male population. Final verdict: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Looking toward tomorrow, my dad and I will play our final round of golf and spend our last day in San Diego with Tom and play the famous Torrey Pines North Course. It's not quite as well-known as the South Course, where Tiger won the U.S. Open on one leg last year, but it has felt the soles of many legendary golfers and plays host to the Buick Open every year.

I decided last week that I would look through the holes of the North Course and write a prediction for my scores, taking into account how I've played over the past few days. I will be optimistic and hopeful, but that will probably only last until I step onto that first tee box. Here we go...

Hole #1: Par 5, 520 yards with fairway bunkers on either side and a green that slopes severely from back to front. I'm gonna go with an easy 6 to start...can't go wrong with a opening bogey.

Hole #2: Par 4, 326 yards with an uphill green that slopes to the front and left. The website is telling me to hit a long iron off the tee, so I'll just go ahead and pencil in a double-bogey 6 because I can't imagine wearing ladies underpants and following such advice tomorrow.

Hole #3: Par 3, 121 yards with a canyon between the tee and green. Psh...121 yards? Pitching wedge? Please...write me down for a par.

Hole #4: Par 4, 398 yards with the ocean on the left. I don't see too much going wrong here...it appears to be a straight-away hole. Bogey, 5.

Hole #5: Par 4, 371 yards dogleg left with nasty stuff around the corner. Sounds like a hole I'm destined to screw up, so I'll throw in another double-bogey 6.

Hole #6: Par 3, 206 yards -- signature hole. I'm thinking I knock it to the right of the green and chip it up nice and tight. Another par 3, another par.

Hole #7: Par 4, 400 yards that's "narrow" and "demands accuracy off the tee." Oy...give me a triple-bogey 7.

Hole #8: Par 4, 436 yards and the most difficult hole on the entire course. I'm thinking birdie.

Hole #9: Par 5, 497 yards. A nice, finishing par to round out a front-nine 44. That's just about what I've been shooting in San Diego every time so...let's make it happen again!

Hole #10: Par 4, 416 yards and the site says "par is good here." Well then...write me down for a double-bogey 6.

Hole #11: Par 4, 437 yards with a canyon on the left and bunkers on the right. Scrumptious. Let's go out there and get a bogey, 5.

Hole #12: Par 3, 190 yards and it plays long. I can't hit my 3-iron above average more than once in a round so this one's a sham...double-bogey 5 for me.

Hole #13: Par 4, 430 yards and another dogleg left. Sounds about right for the first par of the back nine: 4.

Hole #14: Par 5, 507 yards with only minor complications. I'm writin' down another par...get on the par train everybody! It surely won't last long...

Hole #15: Par 4, 397 yards. Yep, just as I figured...a quadruple-bogey 8 breaks up the par train. There's just no way I go an entire round at Torrey Pines without a snowman.

Hole #16: Par 4, 338 yards and the approach shot is "a half club longer than you think." I'll probably forget that by tomorrow and end up short. Bogey, 5.

Hole #17: Par 3, 172 yards with lakes and ducks all over the place. Yikes. My guess is I steal some nerves left over from Tiger's book, knock it in on the green and two-putt for a par.

Hole #18: Par 5, 485 yards with a bunch of bunkers and some OB stakes. I gotta end with a birdie, regardless of how irrational it is.

An even 44-44 for a weekend-best 88. That's my goal anyway. I hope it comes true. But if I can't even manage to break triple-digits, it will be great to see and play the course. It should be a beauty.

Final note: MICHIGAN! made the NCAA tournament as a #10 seed and will play Clemson on Thursday. I'm thinkin' upset. And, the Red Wings strung together a pair of impressive road wins this weekend to boost my confidence a bit. Way to go Ozzie, another great bout of schizophrenia shutout!

Tomorrow's my last day as an illegal drinker slash 20-year-old. Happy Monday everyone!