They say there's more than one way to skin a cat, and if my latest round of golf is any indication, they're absolutely right. Returning to Burlington Springs for a rare back-to-back visit, I posted a final score of 96, one stroke better than the previous week. The course was the same and the score was nearly identical, but that's where the similarities end. This was a very different round from start to finish.
For starters, I played the first hole much better than I did a week earlier. A perfect drive put me in the middle of the fairway with 145 yards to the flag. Next, I hit a 7-iron a tad fat, leaving the ball a few yards short of the green. I made a decent chip, but my putt rolled just past the hole, forcing a tap-in for bogey.
The next three holes were shaky, but I managed to limit the damage to a trio of double-bogeys. The last of these, on the fourth hole, was extremely hard-earned. I pulled my drive to the left, clipping the top branches of some mature trees. The ball dropped straight down and came to rest in an impossible lie. I used my sand wedge just to pop the ball loose of the long grass. I topped my next shot before striking a 3-iron left of the green. The next two shots really saved me. Facing an extremely narrow green, I hit a fine flop shot, catching the front edge and rolling to a stop before reaching the other side. This gave me a chance to putt and I took full advantage with a nice ten footer.
My disaster (I'm glad to report there was only one) came on the fifth hole, a 470-yard par-5. I had a par on this hole a week earlier, but this time it was quadruple-bogey. My drive sailed left of target and after hitting a tree with my second shot I managed to steer the ball back to the fairway. My fourth shot was mis-hit and the ball barely advanced. The fifth was much better, but the ball landed in a greenside bunker. Playing out of the sand, the best I could do was reach the collar of the green. A final chip and two putts were needed to finish up.
From this point on, I had just a wonderful round, playing bogey golf for thirteen holes. The two holes that resulted in scores of nine a week earlier yielded scores of six this time. That's a savings of six strokes over two holes, making up for the double-bogeys I amassed early in my return. Once again, I finished up strong on the final four holes, going par, par, bogey, and par to eclipse my previous score by one shot.
Score: 96
Par: 72
Putts: 36
Fairways: 6
Greens: 2
November 11, 2006
November 05, 2006
Mostly Solid at Burlington Springs
For Toronto area golfers intent on playing in November and December (fingers crossed), accurate weather forecasts are as good as gold. But just in case the forecasts are wrong, I make an effort to find good golf values at this time of year. In my view, a round of golf in bad weather isn't worth top dollar, no matter what the course.
My search for value recently took me to Burlington Springs Golf & Country Club, a course I haven't played in at least a couple of years. Located in Burlington, Ontario, the layout is open and flat, with many of the fairways crossed by an obviously man-made creek. What the course lacks in drama, it makes up for in conditioning - fairways and greens were in excellent shape.
After struggling terribly with my short game on the second hole - the longest of the course at 495 yards - I settled into one of my best stretches of the year. Over the next ten holes, I played better than bogey golf. The stretch included a double bogey on the sixth hole, thanks to a trio of putts. Fortunately, this was offset by a couple of pars - one on the fifth hole (a par-5) and another on the twelfth hole (a par-3). I had an equally good run on the last four holes of the course, finishing respectively with par, bogey, bogey, and par.
The problem on this day was my performance on the thirteenth and fourteenth holes. At 488 yards, the thirteenth fairway flanks the eastern boundary of the golf course. Out of bounds is not really a problem, since there is plenty of room to bail out on the opposite side of the fairway. My drive landed in the fairway, but I wasted the next two shots by topping the ball. When I finally made good contact, I ended up behind a tree near the green.
It was more of the same on the fourteenth hole, where some topped balls amounted to wasted shots. I also stumbled with my chipping near the green. The final result was a score of nine, same as the previous hole. When everything was said and done, I had a great round, apart from three horrible holes.
Score: 97
Par: 72
Putts: 34
Fairways: 5
Greens: 2
My search for value recently took me to Burlington Springs Golf & Country Club, a course I haven't played in at least a couple of years. Located in Burlington, Ontario, the layout is open and flat, with many of the fairways crossed by an obviously man-made creek. What the course lacks in drama, it makes up for in conditioning - fairways and greens were in excellent shape.
After struggling terribly with my short game on the second hole - the longest of the course at 495 yards - I settled into one of my best stretches of the year. Over the next ten holes, I played better than bogey golf. The stretch included a double bogey on the sixth hole, thanks to a trio of putts. Fortunately, this was offset by a couple of pars - one on the fifth hole (a par-5) and another on the twelfth hole (a par-3). I had an equally good run on the last four holes of the course, finishing respectively with par, bogey, bogey, and par.
The problem on this day was my performance on the thirteenth and fourteenth holes. At 488 yards, the thirteenth fairway flanks the eastern boundary of the golf course. Out of bounds is not really a problem, since there is plenty of room to bail out on the opposite side of the fairway. My drive landed in the fairway, but I wasted the next two shots by topping the ball. When I finally made good contact, I ended up behind a tree near the green.
It was more of the same on the fourteenth hole, where some topped balls amounted to wasted shots. I also stumbled with my chipping near the green. The final result was a score of nine, same as the previous hole. When everything was said and done, I had a great round, apart from three horrible holes.
Score: 97
Par: 72
Putts: 34
Fairways: 5
Greens: 2
November 01, 2006
Frustration at Hunters' Glen
The Championship Course at Hunters' Glen Golf Club is a fine test for almost any golfer. No slouch when it comes to distance, the course features a modest amount of water, but plenty of trees to make things interesting. Located in Kleinburg, just northwest of Toronto, it's a great spot for city golfers.
I took a day off work to take advantage of the club's fall weekday rates. On Mondays and Tuesdays, a round of golf costs just $18, which is unheard of in the Greater Toronto Area. It's a good thing I didn't spend a lot of money, since I had an extremely frustrating day. I have to thank my playing partners for their patience. They put up with my antics the entire round, which could not have been easy.
Things started poorly on the first hole, a 432-yard par-4. My tee shot came up short, landing in a large pool of standing water. Though my second shot was perfect, I still had 90 yards to the flag. Sure enough, my next shot was a duff, followed by a wild one that drifted way to the right. If that wasn't bad enough, I ended up at the base of a tree trunk and could not chip toward the flag. It took me two more shots to get on the green and two putts to hole out for a quadruple bogey.
Quadruple bogey was also the result on the fourth hole, a par-5 ranked as the toughest hole on the course. Getting to the green was an adventure, especially when a couple chip shots sailed right across the putting surface. It's fair to say that this is when I lost my cool. Though I limited the damage on the next three holes to bogey or double-bogey, I was not feeling very good at all. On the eighth hole, the frustration manifested itself in some poor decisions. I knew they were bad decisions, but didn't really care. At that point, I was looking forward to a fresh start on the back nine.
Unfortunately, my tee shot on the tenth hole, a 146-yard par-3 over water, was perhaps the worst shot of the day. After a nice practice swing, I sliced into the dirt well before the ball, rattling my right shoulder along with my nerves. The ball dribbled into the water, forcing me to add a penalty stroke. That pretty much eliminated any chance of finding my game on the back nine.
I played out the rest of the round in a stupor, robotically hitting one ball after another, just waiting for it all to end. I actually made a couple of pars on the fourteenth and sixteenth holes, but it was way too little, and way too late. For fun, I used my driver to putt on the eighteenth green. That's the kind of day it was.
Score: 118
Par: 72
Putts: 36
Fairways: 4
Greens: 2
I took a day off work to take advantage of the club's fall weekday rates. On Mondays and Tuesdays, a round of golf costs just $18, which is unheard of in the Greater Toronto Area. It's a good thing I didn't spend a lot of money, since I had an extremely frustrating day. I have to thank my playing partners for their patience. They put up with my antics the entire round, which could not have been easy.
Things started poorly on the first hole, a 432-yard par-4. My tee shot came up short, landing in a large pool of standing water. Though my second shot was perfect, I still had 90 yards to the flag. Sure enough, my next shot was a duff, followed by a wild one that drifted way to the right. If that wasn't bad enough, I ended up at the base of a tree trunk and could not chip toward the flag. It took me two more shots to get on the green and two putts to hole out for a quadruple bogey.
Quadruple bogey was also the result on the fourth hole, a par-5 ranked as the toughest hole on the course. Getting to the green was an adventure, especially when a couple chip shots sailed right across the putting surface. It's fair to say that this is when I lost my cool. Though I limited the damage on the next three holes to bogey or double-bogey, I was not feeling very good at all. On the eighth hole, the frustration manifested itself in some poor decisions. I knew they were bad decisions, but didn't really care. At that point, I was looking forward to a fresh start on the back nine.
Unfortunately, my tee shot on the tenth hole, a 146-yard par-3 over water, was perhaps the worst shot of the day. After a nice practice swing, I sliced into the dirt well before the ball, rattling my right shoulder along with my nerves. The ball dribbled into the water, forcing me to add a penalty stroke. That pretty much eliminated any chance of finding my game on the back nine.
I played out the rest of the round in a stupor, robotically hitting one ball after another, just waiting for it all to end. I actually made a couple of pars on the fourteenth and sixteenth holes, but it was way too little, and way too late. For fun, I used my driver to putt on the eighteenth green. That's the kind of day it was.
Score: 118
Par: 72
Putts: 36
Fairways: 4
Greens: 2
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