Back-to-Back Goodness

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