Sizzling at Shawneeki

After being harassed by a course marshal there last year, I thought twice about returning to Shawneeki Golf Club, located in Sharon, Ontario. Since I was recently invited to play there, and since the location had already been set, I decided to give the club a chance at redemption. This time, I'm happy to say that service was good, as was my game.

The round began with four consecutive double-bogeys, as I see-sawed back and forth between good shots and bad shots. On the first hole, a 300-yard par-4, a decent 3-wood off the tee was followed by a wedge shot that came up short and some horrible chip attempts. A strong putt was required to salvage double-bogey. On the subsequent hole, a 447-yard par-5, two mis-hits with the 3-wood were followed by a good hit and solid approach to the green. Poor tee shots on the next two holes were followed by spectacular drives.

Fortunately, I began to play more consistently on the fifth hole, which I managed to par in textbook fashion. This was one of three pars I put together before beginning the back nine. The other two came on the eighth and ninth holes. The eighth hole, a 482-yard par-5, was particularly satisfying. I hit a 3-iron off the tee, laying up in front of a pond that bisects the fairway. It was 3-iron again for my second shot, but my line was off and the ball drifted right of the fairway. My third shot was a wonderful mid-iron poke that settled flag high, just off the green. After a near-perfect chip shot, I had an easy tap-in for par.

The back nine was a joy to play, and I ran into trouble only on the eleventh hole, a 467-yard par-5 with a strong left dogleg. After the dogleg, the hole is wide open, but getting there requires a straight shot through a narrow fairway flanked on both sides by thick woods. I found the woods on the left, but also visited the woods on the right when a punch shot carried further than I expected. It all led to a triple-bogey, but my spirits were not dampened.

I went on to close the round out with two pars, followed by five consecutive bogeys. The first par was on the twelfth hole, a picturesque par-3 from an elevated tee box. The second par was on the thirteenth hole, a fun par-4 on the corner of the property that features water, out-of-bounds, a dogleg fairway, and an elevated green. The string of bogeys was a result of safe and controlled play. I hit only one fairway and reached only one green in regulation during that stretch, but I made crisp contact with every shot and closed things out with good chipping and putting for my fourth-best score ever.

Score: 93
Par: 72
Putts: 33
Fairways: 2
Greens: 1