Saturday AM golf. Neither of my regular playing partners showed up, so I played alone. Allowed me to hit two or three balls each times, which really helps me improve.
1. Teed off around 620. Decided to hit from the white tee instead of the senior tee. Bad decision. Sliced two into the woods. Dropped and hit a worm burner, then a nice chip onto the green. Two putt. "Bogey".
2. Dialed it back and hit a 6 iron off the tee. Worm burner. Mulligan was better but short. Forgot the rest.
3. Pulled an 8 iron left. Hit the mulligan low, but it rolled to the back of the green. Missed hitting the flag stick by a foot. Hit 3 lag putts. "Bogey".
4. Hit 2 bad 8 irons off the tee, one right and one left. Several passable chips. Double.
5. Hit three hybrids off the tee, none great but not terrible. Several bad chips. Double.
6. Tired of losing balls hitting driver into the right rough. Hit a tremendous hybrid that carried as far as my driver, with a bit of a draw. Middle of the fairway, past the big tree. Flubbed two hybrids, then nailed the third onto the green. Missed my first birdie putt, then sank the mulligan - for a birdie, right?
7. Sliced my first drive right, then hit my mulligan low but straight. Rolled almost all the way up the hill. Hit a worm burner, then greeted Robert, my former playing partner. Hadn't seen him all year. Then I crushed an 8 iron to the back of the green. Three putt. "Double".
8. Hit a good drive, but never found it. Hit several wedge shots, all too low. Two rolled off the back of the green. Three cruddy chips. Two putt. "Bogey".
9. Hit a good 3 wood up the hill. Lost the mulligan right. Two cruddy chips, but a good lag putt. "Bogey ". Finished around 7:40-ish.
2 Corinthians 4:4: "The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ"
DENISON: Christianity, unlike many other faiths, is built on historical events, facts, and reports. Paul stated boldly, "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain" (1 Cor 15:14). It was the fact of the risen Christ that convinced skeptical disciples he was indeed their Master and Lord (Luke 24:36–49). It is our critics whose minds will not be changed by the evidence. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, "many of the Jews . . . believed in him" (John 11:45) – but the "chief priests and the Pharisees . . . . made plans to put him to death" (v 47, 53). When large crowds came to see Jesus because of "Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead" (John 12:9), "the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well" (v 10). Similarly, a postmodern relativist who claims that all truth claims are subjective (which is an objective truth claim, by the way) will dismiss any faith assertions as "just your opinion." We cannot use facts to persuade those who do not believe in facts. Apologist Josh McDowell suggests we ask skeptics, "If I could answer all your questions, would you then become a Christian?" Has anyone ever answered yes?
FREDDIE FREEMAN [B-R Bio] holds both U.S. and Canadian citizenship. Both of Freeman's parents are from Canada. He was born in Fountain Valley, California. He signed a letter of intent to play for Cal State Fullerton, but signed instead with the Braves. At age seven, he was placed on a team of nine-year-olds. When he turned nine, he was assigned to play with the twelve-year-olds. In 2020, Freeman received 28 of the 30 votes for NL MVP. Mookie Betts received the other 2 that year.
