August 25, 2006

Highs and Lows at Carlisle

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. These, of course, are the famous words Charles Dickens used at the beginning of his novel, A Tale of Two Cities. He was talking about conditions in London and Paris in the year 1775, but his words accurately describe the condition of my golf game in 2006. This was most apparent at Carlisle Golf & Country Club, the site of my most recent outing.

It was the best of times over the first four holes, where I registered a bogey, followed by a par, a birdie and another par. Aside from a poor second shot, which led to the bogey on the first hole, this stretch of golf was refreshingly error-free. On the third hole, a 310-yard par-4, my 4-iron off the tee landed safely in the fairway. This was followed by a picture-perfect 8-iron, which left a simple 2-foot putt for the rare birdie.

It was the worst of times over the remaining holes, particularly the fifth through the ninth, where I shot nineteen over par. The worst of these was the sixth hole, a 472-yard par-5. After launching two consecutive drives out of bounds into a farmer's field that hugs the left side of the fairway, I lost another ball in the woods on the right. My fourth shot from the tee also veered toward the woods, but fortunately I managed to find the ball. The rest of the hole was problem-free, but the damage was already done. I finished seven over par for that hole alone!

For the remainder of the round, I felt lost with the driver in my hands. On a few occasions, I opted to use a 4-iron off the tee and the results were better. When I went back to the driver, as I did on the final two holes, I promptly placed my tee shots into the water. Terrible driving was undoubtedly the story of the day.

Score: 108
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 5
Greens: 1

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