August 12, 2006

Great Golf Weekend - Part Three

Following a round at the familiar grounds of Hornby Glen came one at the unfamiliar territory of Century Pines Golf Club, located in Troy, Ontario. Though I enjoy playing new courses, it is always with some trepidation, since lack of course knowledge is a dictinct disadvantage. I felt some of that on the first tee, but it was balanced by a healthy dose of confidence, arising from a personal best set the day before.

Things got off to a shaky start with a trio of double-bogeys. On two of those holes, an inaccurate drive off the tee was the main culprit. In both cases, it took a sideways chip shot to find myself clear of trees and back in the fairway. Those two drives were also a sign of things to come, as I struggled with the driver for most of the round. An unwelcome slice has apparently crept back into my game.

Two holes on the front nine were particularly gruesome. One of these was the fourth hole, a 318-yard par-4 with woods on both sides of the fairway and a giant tree smack in the middle of it. 185 yards away from the green, I bent a lovely ball around the big tree with a 3-wood. Too bad it was my fourth shot, thanks to a couple of duffs and a penalty stroke. On the sixth hole, a 370-yard par-4, an errant approach shot and some poor chipping produced a quadruple-bogey.

Two more bad holes on the back nine sealed my fate. On the twelfth hole, a 312-yard par-4, a sliced drive found the trees and I never recovered. Triple-bogey was the result. On the course's signature sixteenth hole, a 343-yard par-4, a poor drive put me behind the eight-ball once again. This time however, I pulled the ball left of target and into the practice range. From left of the fairway, it is extremely difficult to see, never mind hit, the tiny green. After some close encounters with the nearby trees, I walked off with a quintuple-bogey.

Not all was bad. I had a good day putting, limiting my total to 34.

Score: 109
Par: 72
Putts: 34
Fairways: 5
Greens: 2

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