Score: 106
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 3
Greens: 2
May 29, 2007
Bipolar at Mill Run
Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson first published the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1885. The novella, about a respected London doctor and his misanthropic alter ego, has spawned countless stage adaptations and films, while its title character(s) have became synonymous with multiple personality disorder. It is not surprising that Scotland – widely regarded as the birthplace of golf – would inspire a man to write such a tale. The game is known to bring out the best and the worst in its practitioners, and its mental health effects sometimes verge on the pathological.
There is perhaps no better example than my most recent round of golf at Mill Run Golf & Country Club, located in Uxbridge, Ontario. Mill Run features an 18-hole executive course known as The Highlands. For purists, there is the Championship Course, featuring 27 holes of pleasure and/or pain. Nine of these holes, known as “The Grind,” are new for 2007. “The Grist” and “The Wheel” round out the other nines. On this particular occasion, I opened up with The Grind, followed by The Grist.
Stevenson’s Mr. Hyde was my persona of choice on the newly built terrain of The Grind. On literally every hole, I struggled from tee to cup. Tee shots went out of bounds or were otherwise lost. Approach shots landed in bunkers with disturbing regularity. Chip shots were sculled and skipped across greens, or struck so tentatively that they failed to reach them at all. Putts were respectable, but nothing to write home about. After nine holes, my score was an appalling 69 – literally my worst ever for nine holes of golf.
Then, very suddenly, my game turned around. For the nine holes of The Grist, I assumed the personality of Dr. Jekyll, happily and successfully going about my business. Tee shots stayed in bounds. Approach shots stayed out of the sand, with a few even landing on the green. Chip shots came to rest in the general vicinity of holes. The only thing that did not change was putting, which stayed respectable, but not fantastic. When it was all said and done, my score for the back nine was 43 – tying my best ever for nine holes of golf.
No wonder I love and hate this game at the same time.
Score: 112
Par: 71
Putts: 38
Fairways: 3
Greens: 3
There is perhaps no better example than my most recent round of golf at Mill Run Golf & Country Club, located in Uxbridge, Ontario. Mill Run features an 18-hole executive course known as The Highlands. For purists, there is the Championship Course, featuring 27 holes of pleasure and/or pain. Nine of these holes, known as “The Grind,” are new for 2007. “The Grist” and “The Wheel” round out the other nines. On this particular occasion, I opened up with The Grind, followed by The Grist.
Stevenson’s Mr. Hyde was my persona of choice on the newly built terrain of The Grind. On literally every hole, I struggled from tee to cup. Tee shots went out of bounds or were otherwise lost. Approach shots landed in bunkers with disturbing regularity. Chip shots were sculled and skipped across greens, or struck so tentatively that they failed to reach them at all. Putts were respectable, but nothing to write home about. After nine holes, my score was an appalling 69 – literally my worst ever for nine holes of golf.
Then, very suddenly, my game turned around. For the nine holes of The Grist, I assumed the personality of Dr. Jekyll, happily and successfully going about my business. Tee shots stayed in bounds. Approach shots stayed out of the sand, with a few even landing on the green. Chip shots came to rest in the general vicinity of holes. The only thing that did not change was putting, which stayed respectable, but not fantastic. When it was all said and done, my score for the back nine was 43 – tying my best ever for nine holes of golf.
No wonder I love and hate this game at the same time.
Score: 112
Par: 71
Putts: 38
Fairways: 3
Greens: 3
May 13, 2007
Pheasant Run Disappointment
A few days after the fiasco at The Country Club, came my first repeat visit to a golf course this season – not counting the rounds played early on at the Grand Palms Golf Resort in Florida. The scene of the return visit was Pheasant Run Golf Club, located in Sharon, Ontario. I had played there very recently, so I was looking forward to a successful outing.
Unfortunately, the round played itself out much like the one at The Country Club. I collected much fewer penalties, but struggled mightily off the tee, especially with the driver. What happened on the first hole was typical. Concentrating intently on keeping the plane of my swing under control, I struck the ball off the heel of the club, sending it sharply to the left just a few yards away. Considering the disgusting nature of the shot, I was lucky that the ball traveled through some trees and came to rest in a small clearing. I had a perfect lie and an opening to the fairway for my next shot. The only obstruction came in the form of a large tree, with some overhead branches that I had to stay under. It looked like I hit a perfect 3-iron punch shot, but the ball smacked the lowest branch and dropped straight down. After the eventful start, I ended up with a score of eleven on the opening par-5.
I strung together two pars and a bogey on holes three through five before trouble resurfaced in the form of back-to-back par-5’s on holes six and seven. In both cases, I completely wasted my tee shot, sending the ball just a few yards ahead after making contact with the heel of the club. I also had to deal with some impossible lies in fairway bunkers on both holes. It all added up to scores of ten and eight on those two holes. I finished up the front nine with a pair of well-played bogeys, but the damage inflicted by the three par-5’s was too much to overcome.
I tried to treat the back nine as a fresh start, but after a severely pulled tee shot on the eleventh hole lead to a quintuple bogey, I simply lost all patience. I wailed away at the ball for the rest of the round, without much concern for results. Lessons were supposed to help me get better, but three rounds after my first lesson, I’m heading in the wrong direction.
Score: 119
Par: 73
Putts: 40
Fairways: 4
Greens: 0
Unfortunately, the round played itself out much like the one at The Country Club. I collected much fewer penalties, but struggled mightily off the tee, especially with the driver. What happened on the first hole was typical. Concentrating intently on keeping the plane of my swing under control, I struck the ball off the heel of the club, sending it sharply to the left just a few yards away. Considering the disgusting nature of the shot, I was lucky that the ball traveled through some trees and came to rest in a small clearing. I had a perfect lie and an opening to the fairway for my next shot. The only obstruction came in the form of a large tree, with some overhead branches that I had to stay under. It looked like I hit a perfect 3-iron punch shot, but the ball smacked the lowest branch and dropped straight down. After the eventful start, I ended up with a score of eleven on the opening par-5.
I strung together two pars and a bogey on holes three through five before trouble resurfaced in the form of back-to-back par-5’s on holes six and seven. In both cases, I completely wasted my tee shot, sending the ball just a few yards ahead after making contact with the heel of the club. I also had to deal with some impossible lies in fairway bunkers on both holes. It all added up to scores of ten and eight on those two holes. I finished up the front nine with a pair of well-played bogeys, but the damage inflicted by the three par-5’s was too much to overcome.
I tried to treat the back nine as a fresh start, but after a severely pulled tee shot on the eleventh hole lead to a quintuple bogey, I simply lost all patience. I wailed away at the ball for the rest of the round, without much concern for results. Lessons were supposed to help me get better, but three rounds after my first lesson, I’m heading in the wrong direction.
Score: 119
Par: 73
Putts: 40
Fairways: 4
Greens: 0
Rough Day at The Country Club
Penalty stroke. Penalty stroke. No penalty stroke. Penalty stroke. Two penalty strokes. Penalty stroke. Penalty stroke. Penalty stroke. Penalty stroke. Penalty stroke. Penalty stroke. Penalty stroke.
I just described the first twelve holes I played on the West Course at The Country Club, a ClubLink golf course located in Woodbridge, Ontario. It was my first ever visit to the club, which partly explains the flurry of penalties.
Most of the penalties came as a result of terrible tee shots, as I had absolutely no control over my driver or 3-wood. Ironically, the problem was the golf lesson I had about a week earlier. I was trying to avoid the steep backswing that emerged during the lesson as my primary flaw. I was keeping the backswing on a flatter plane, but I really had no idea how the clubface was oriented during the backswing or at impact. Many of my drive attempts were off the heel of the club, rolling sharply to the left just a few yards away.
Any time you take lessons and change the fundamentals of your swing, there is bound to be an adjustment period. Ideally, one works through that period on the driving range. Unfortunately, my visits to the driving range are few and far between. The lack of practice was abundantly clear.
There was one moment of brilliance, however, on the thirteenth hole. Stretching 395 yards from the tee, this par-4 features a pair of bunkers on the left side of the fairway, near the landing zone for most golfers. My tee shot found the bunker nearest the tee, leaving the ball 185 yards from the green. The ball was sitting up well on the level sand, so I let rip with a 3-iron, in hopes of reaching the green. The ball ended up flag-high, about fifteen feet to the right of the hole. After two solid putts, I secured my only par of the day.
Score: 115
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 0
Greens: 1
I just described the first twelve holes I played on the West Course at The Country Club, a ClubLink golf course located in Woodbridge, Ontario. It was my first ever visit to the club, which partly explains the flurry of penalties.
Most of the penalties came as a result of terrible tee shots, as I had absolutely no control over my driver or 3-wood. Ironically, the problem was the golf lesson I had about a week earlier. I was trying to avoid the steep backswing that emerged during the lesson as my primary flaw. I was keeping the backswing on a flatter plane, but I really had no idea how the clubface was oriented during the backswing or at impact. Many of my drive attempts were off the heel of the club, rolling sharply to the left just a few yards away.
Any time you take lessons and change the fundamentals of your swing, there is bound to be an adjustment period. Ideally, one works through that period on the driving range. Unfortunately, my visits to the driving range are few and far between. The lack of practice was abundantly clear.
There was one moment of brilliance, however, on the thirteenth hole. Stretching 395 yards from the tee, this par-4 features a pair of bunkers on the left side of the fairway, near the landing zone for most golfers. My tee shot found the bunker nearest the tee, leaving the ball 185 yards from the green. The ball was sitting up well on the level sand, so I let rip with a 3-iron, in hopes of reaching the green. The ball ended up flag-high, about fifteen feet to the right of the hole. After two solid putts, I secured my only par of the day.
Score: 115
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 0
Greens: 1
May 06, 2007
A Soggy Bloomington Downs
“If you want to get better, you have to take lessons.” I hear this all the time from golfers of all skill levels. When I hear it from a typical weekend hacker, I usually nod my head in accordance, while thinking, “Yeah, whatever you say, buddy.” When I hear it from those who play substantially better than I do, it makes me wonder if there might be some truth to it.
Since I’ve been playing a lot more frequently the last couple of years, I decided it might be worth the time and expense to take some individual lessons. With great anticipation, I signed up for a package of five lessons with the head pro at a local club. The first lesson turned out to be quite an eye-opener, simply because I saw my swing on video for the first time.
Even without the instructor’s input, I could see the fatal flaw of my swing. Whether I was using a pitching wedge or a driver, my backswing began on a nice plane until the shaft of the club got level with the ground. At that point, the plane of the backswing became very steep – so much so, that at the top of the backswing, the head of the club was actually in front of my head.
I was given some drills to help keep the club on a flatter plane, which I worked on for the rest of the lesson. The next day, I put my new swing to the test on the familiar fairways of Bloomington Downs Golf Course. My thought for the day was simply “control.” I tried to concentrate on shortening the backswing to help keep it on plane.
For the most part, this strategy seemed to work. Through the first eight holes, I amassed four double-bogeys, three bogeys and a par. That’s not spectacular, but that type of play over eighteen holes translates into a sub-100 round. Unfortunately, I caught the yips on the ninth green, holing out only after four strokes on the short grass.
On the back nine, it was much of the same. I had a disastrous experience on the eleventh hole, a short par-4 that cost me nine strokes. Other than that, I played decently, collecting four double-bogeys, two bogeys and two pars. The final result was a score of 102 – my best score of the young season, but a disappointment on this fairly easy course.
Since I last played there, Bloomington Downs had some heavy-duty stone markers installed near each of their tee boxes. Frankly, they would have been better off addressing some of the course’s drainage problems. There was a lot of standing water on the course and I don’t even recall much or any rain falling in the days before my visit.
Score: 102
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 6
Greens: 1
Since I’ve been playing a lot more frequently the last couple of years, I decided it might be worth the time and expense to take some individual lessons. With great anticipation, I signed up for a package of five lessons with the head pro at a local club. The first lesson turned out to be quite an eye-opener, simply because I saw my swing on video for the first time.
Even without the instructor’s input, I could see the fatal flaw of my swing. Whether I was using a pitching wedge or a driver, my backswing began on a nice plane until the shaft of the club got level with the ground. At that point, the plane of the backswing became very steep – so much so, that at the top of the backswing, the head of the club was actually in front of my head.
I was given some drills to help keep the club on a flatter plane, which I worked on for the rest of the lesson. The next day, I put my new swing to the test on the familiar fairways of Bloomington Downs Golf Course. My thought for the day was simply “control.” I tried to concentrate on shortening the backswing to help keep it on plane.
For the most part, this strategy seemed to work. Through the first eight holes, I amassed four double-bogeys, three bogeys and a par. That’s not spectacular, but that type of play over eighteen holes translates into a sub-100 round. Unfortunately, I caught the yips on the ninth green, holing out only after four strokes on the short grass.
On the back nine, it was much of the same. I had a disastrous experience on the eleventh hole, a short par-4 that cost me nine strokes. Other than that, I played decently, collecting four double-bogeys, two bogeys and two pars. The final result was a score of 102 – my best score of the young season, but a disappointment on this fairly easy course.
Since I last played there, Bloomington Downs had some heavy-duty stone markers installed near each of their tee boxes. Frankly, they would have been better off addressing some of the course’s drainage problems. There was a lot of standing water on the course and I don’t even recall much or any rain falling in the days before my visit.
Score: 102
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 6
Greens: 1
Pleasant Pheasant Run
I played at Pheasant Run Golf Club late last season for the first time. Conditions were extremely windy that day, but I really enjoyed the course and vowed to return. After a trio of rounds played in south Florida, I was back home and ready to take on the local courses. Pheasant Run seemed like a good choice, so I made the drive along Hwy 404 to Sharon, Ontario.
Once again, I kicked things off by playing the Highlands nine. After a bogey on the opening par-5, which included five well-struck balls and one that was topped, I proceeded to the second hole, a 347-yard par-4. My tee shot from the elevated tee was slightly left of target, but I managed to clear a fairway bunker that loomed ominously. My second shot seemed like a thing of beauty, bouncing on the left edge of the green, about twelve feet from the flagstick. Unfortunately, the ball trickled off the green onto a paved cart path. The slope of the path directed the ball into a wooded area, which was tricky to get out of under control. Ultimately, the unlucky turn of events resulted in double-bogey.
The rest of Highlands was a bit of a mixed bag. I made my share of good shots, but there were enough bad breaks to spoil my score. I was not misfiring completely, but the ball often ended up in some tricky locations. My putting was not particularly sharp, as I collected a trio of 3-putts.
The Midlands nine was up next, and it produced mixed results as well. Over the first seven holes, I amassed four bogeys and a par, so you might think I was doing fairly well. Too bad I also picked up a triple-bogey and quadruple-bogey along the way. The fact of the matter is you simply cannot score well when these types of results dot your scorecard.
Score: 112
Par: 73
Putts: 41
Fairways: 6
Greens: 1
Once again, I kicked things off by playing the Highlands nine. After a bogey on the opening par-5, which included five well-struck balls and one that was topped, I proceeded to the second hole, a 347-yard par-4. My tee shot from the elevated tee was slightly left of target, but I managed to clear a fairway bunker that loomed ominously. My second shot seemed like a thing of beauty, bouncing on the left edge of the green, about twelve feet from the flagstick. Unfortunately, the ball trickled off the green onto a paved cart path. The slope of the path directed the ball into a wooded area, which was tricky to get out of under control. Ultimately, the unlucky turn of events resulted in double-bogey.
The rest of Highlands was a bit of a mixed bag. I made my share of good shots, but there were enough bad breaks to spoil my score. I was not misfiring completely, but the ball often ended up in some tricky locations. My putting was not particularly sharp, as I collected a trio of 3-putts.
The Midlands nine was up next, and it produced mixed results as well. Over the first seven holes, I amassed four bogeys and a par, so you might think I was doing fairly well. Too bad I also picked up a triple-bogey and quadruple-bogey along the way. The fact of the matter is you simply cannot score well when these types of results dot your scorecard.
Score: 112
Par: 73
Putts: 41
Fairways: 6
Greens: 1
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