Tag: Langston Golf Course

  • Putting: At War With My Mind

    Probably my first post involving introspection. I’ve played golf off and on for 40 years, having recently started up again after an almost ten year hiatus. Looking back, work was the primary reason I gave for not playing but the reality is that the yips made it so that I didn’t try hard to find the time to play. I started playing more tennis then one of the tennis players, Phil, invited me to play golf with his group. That’s when I started back up. Then a recurring tennis arm injury flared up and I began playing less tennis and more golf. Since starting the website and YouTube channel, it has just been golf.

    Since restarting golf, it has only been for fun and playing against myself, but the yips have stuck with me over those intervening years. I would have thought the time would heal the old wounds but I guess psychological scaring goes deeper and lasts longer. So now, I’ve decided to embrace the suck.

    This past Monday, I shot a good round at Langston but did so with 42 putts. Not a record for me but well up there. I decided to make a video just of my putting and as I watched that video I could see just how bad it was. It’s a miracle that I only had 42 putts and that I didn’t four-putt at least once. Anyway, just compiling the video made me think I should work on getting better at putting, or more specifically getting rid of the yips.

    I’ve set up a putting mat that I’ve had for years but haven’t been using. And I’m going to try to visit golf courses when I’m not playing a round and practice putting on their practice greens. I’ll keep a log and publish it – so I can hold myself accountable to do it and to see if it helps. I’ll also make videos of just putting to see the progress.

    So here’s the first. Wish me luck.

  • Langston Golf Course – A Bonus Round

    As you’re aware, Langston Golf Course in located on Benning Road in Washington, DC, near the Anacostia River, and is not located in the state of Maryland. I’ve driven past Langston numerous times throughout my career with the US Government but had never played there. Barry proposed we go there and since my purpose in playing golf is to get outdoors and enjoy golf again ( and not just getting to the “Maryland Seniors Golf 100” finish line), I thought “what the heck.” “Let’s make this a bonus round.”

    It started out as a very pleasant day, with sun and temperatures in the low 70s. By the afternoon, it hit 95 degrees. There was a pleasant breeze, we rode in a cart and stayed in the shade whenever possible so it wasn’t bad at all. And while I wasn’t completely soaked in the vido, I was a little damp. Playing from the white tees, the course stretched to 6,161 yards, but only a couple of the par 4s were really long. Barry had to scramble more than I’m used to seeing while I seemed to scramble less than average. Barry’s total was 97 while I had an 89. You’ll notice the scorecard indicates it’s an 89 but the front nine was added wrong so I thought I had an 88. After going through the video, I found that I had indicated a bogey when I actually had a double bogey. So the 89 was correct after all.

    On the plus side, I was striking the ball really well, hitting the driver longer and straighter than usual and getting my approach shots onto the green. I hit 9 fairways and 12 greens in regulation. No birdies, 6 pars, 9 bogeys, one double and two triples.

    On the negative side, there were a lot of first putts that could have been birdies that were nowhere close to going in. Then there are the two triples. One was from a lost ball off the tee on a par 5 and chunking one on an awkward sidehill lie. The other was on a par 4 where it landed in a greenside bunker on my second shot, then hit it thin across the green to a awkward lie… You get it. And then there were the 6 three-putts. Not a record for me but not good.

    The video of the round is here as an “18 Holes in Under 15 Minutes” and a “Bonus Round.” Sorry that I didn’t get more shots of Barry in. He’s not seeking fame and fortune since he already has it, unlike me…

    And the scorecard.

    Clayt and Barry's scorecard from a round of golf at the Langston Golf Course, Washington, DC, on 18 May 2026, Barry shot a 97. Clayt's score indicates an 89 but the addition was in error and it was really an 88.
    Clayt and Barry’s scorecard at Langston Golf Course on 18 May 2025.