Highlands Slumpbuster

With rain a distinct possibility for Sunday afternoon, I decided to book an early tee time and hope for the best. On short notice, I was able to land a 7:45 start at The Highlands Golf Club, located in Bradford, Ontario.

Things got off to a cracking start, as the Brits say, when I went bogey, par, bogey, par on the first four holes. The driver and irons were working reasonably well, but pitch shots were the real story, setting up one easy putt after another. Through four holes, I had just four putts. Through six holes, I had but seven.

I triple-bogeyed the fifth hole, a 517-yard par-5. From the middle of the fairway, I topped my second shot with a 3-wood, landing in a bunker. The next shot was not ideal, but I did emerge from the sand. Apart from those two shots, it was a well played hole. I also triple-bogeyed the ninth hole, a shorter par-5 measuring 446 yards. In the middle of the fairway, I topped my second shot again with the 3-wood. I learned my lesson and followed that shot with a beauty using the same club. It was not a problem the rest of the day.

The back nine began with a pretty good stretch, including three bogeys, a par and a birdie on holes ten through fifteen. One of those bogeys should have been par or better, as I reached the green in regulation, but faltered with the putter. The birdie was a near hole-in-one on the thirteenth hole, a 114-yard par-3 where golfers must carry water and sand to reach the green safely. My tee shot landed pin-high on the soft green, about 12 inches right of the target.

Going into the last hole, I had a score of 92. All I needed was double-bogey or better on the par-5 to break 100. Unfortunately, I sliced my drive into the fescue right of the fairway. Despite the error, I reached the green with five shots. At that point, a simple two-putt would have sufficed. The pressure must have gotten to me, as I proceeded to putt the ball right off the green! The subsequent chip shot did not go in, so I added a couple putts and settled for a final score of 101.

That's a decent result, good enough to classify this round as a slumpbuster.

Score: 101
Par: 72
Putts: 32
Fairways: 5
Greens: 2