It was inevitable. Just one day after my best round ever, I headed out Woodington Lake Golf Club, where I quickly collected an inflated score. I wasn't expecting to duplicate my personal best, but I was definitely hoping for a result in the nineties. Alas, it didn't happen.
Thing started poorly on the first hole, a dogleg that requires a carefully placed shot off the tee. I pulled my tee shot into the trees on the left side of the fairway, as I had the last few times I had visited the course. A slight pull is fine on this hole, since there is an embankment that can steer many balls back into the fairway. Unfortunately, my pull was a little more severe, and I could not benefit from the embankment. I had to chip onto the fairway, and then chip again to the end of the fairway, in front of a steep slope. From 150 yards out, I actually hit the green, but a terrible first putt was followed by two more for a triple bogey.
The rest of the front nine was not bad, except for a couple of approach shots that were duffed on the fourth hole. Aside from those two shots, I was actually pretty happy with my game. I hit a few fairways, but did not hit any greens in regulation. I found myself chipping and two-putting quite a bit, resulting in a long string of bogeys. At the turn, I was shooting 49, so a score in the nineties was still attainable.
The first par of the day came on hole #11, a par-3 measuring 148 yards into a long green. The flag was at the back, so I used a 6-iron off the tee. It was a towering shot with a lot of height, and it landed softly when it hit the front part of the green. The birdie putt was long, with eight or ten feet of break. I judged it well and was left with a pretty easy putt for par.
The round fell apart on the next hole, a par-5 measuring 513 yards. I hit what I thought was a perfect drive, long and in line with my target. Unfortunately, the slope of the fairway steered the ball toward a pond that cuts in on the right side. The ball trickled about six inches into the water. I took a penalty stroke and dropped behind the point of entry. My next shot was a terrible mis-hit and the ball was in the water again. After my second drop, the subsequent shot was another mis-hit, you guessed it, into the water. After my third drop, I hit a shot near the green, but the damage was done. I ended up taking a score of 11 on the hole.
I had similar trouble on hole #15 and hole #18. When all was said and done, I had played fifteen holes of respectable golf and three holes of something resembling golf, but just barely. Three blowup holes is more than enough to push a score past the 100 mark, and that's exactly what happened.
I wasn't too upset, since I was still riding the high of scoring 82 a day earlier, but it's a shame I had a couple of bad holes. I have to eliminate those entirely if I am to find any consistency.
Score: 106
Par: 72
Putts: 35
Fairways: 4
Greens: 3
October 24, 2008
October 13, 2008
Proof of the Existence of God
There is a God and he is merciful. So-called proofs of the existence of God have spanned the ages, but none carry as much weight, at least in my eyes, as the events of October 11, 2008. It was on this day that a prolonged period of golf-induced suffering came to an end, almost certainly due to divine intervention.
Over the previous six months, I failed to break 90 even once, despite playing 43 rounds of golf. The frustrating streak came to an abrupt end with the 44th round of the year, as I not only broke 90, but shattered it with a score of 82! Only the hand of God could produce such brilliance.
Eighty-two is not the lowest score I've ever had - last year I managed an 81 on the South Course at Deer Creek Golf & Country Club. However, this latest triumph is most certainly the best. The 81 came on a par 71 course, while the 82 came on a par 72 - Granite Ridge Golf Club's Cobalt Course. With a length of 5962 yards, and a slope of 123 from the white tees, Cobalt is both longer and more difficult than Deer Creek South.
A great round like this calls for a shot-by-shot account, which is what follows, below. Interestingly, I am writing this entry on Thanksgiving Day, less than 48 hours after the glorious round took place. It seems I have even more than usual to be thankful for this year. Thanks be to God, indeed.
Hole # 1 - Par 4, 313 yards
A short dogleg left, this hole tempts players to cut the corner, which is exactly what I did. My tee shot was straight, but a little high. My second shot was played with my feet in a bunker, 90 yards from the flag. I stuck the approach on the green, 10 feet from the hole. The birdie putt just missed, leaving an easy tap-in for par.
Hole # 2 - Par 4, 355 yards
Out-of-bounds along the entire left side is the main challenge on this hole, and I fell victim to it. My first tee shot was struck well, but I pulled it too far left. When I re-teed, I struck a beauty straight down the fairway. My approach from 100 yards away had the right distance, but drifted just right of the green. I made a solid chip on and a 5-foot putt to salvage double-bogey. I tried to stay positive by realizing I had essentially scored par after the re-tee.
Hole # 3 - Par 3, 139 yards
The tees were about 6 yards forward and the flag was at the front of the green. Estimating the actual distance to the flag, I added an extra club to account for the prevailing headwind. I must have calculated perfectly, as I stuck the ball on the green, about 12 feet away from the hole. The birdie putt missed, but I was left with an easy tap-in for par.
Hole # 4 - Par 5, 490 yards
Once again, out-of-bounds looms along the entire left side. I aimed for the right half of the fairway, and ended up a few yards into the right rough. The trusty 7-iron got me safely out, leaving about 120 yards to the flag. The approach was right on the money, leaving me with another intermediate birdie putt of about 12 feet. It didn't drop, but I'll take easy tap-ins for par any day.
Hole # 5 - Par 3, 139 yards
A shortish par-3 that can be visually intimidating, since the ball must carry over a pond that protects the green. I opted to go left of the flag, where there was more room for error. It was a well-struck ball and it stuck when it hit the green. The birdie putt was uphill, about 18 feet. I came up a little short and had one of those scary 4 to 5-foot putts for par, which I drained calmly.
Hole # 6 - Par 4, 275 yards
A short hole indeed, but there is danger on both sides of the fairway. I had hit a couple of nice drives, so I decided to put one as close as I could to the green. I hit a laser right down the pipe. Unfortunately, it clipped the right edge of a fairway bunker and came to rest in the sand. I was faced with 30 yards to the front of the green, and an additional 30 yards to the flag, which was tucked at the extreme back of this multi-tier green. My pitch shot came out a little softer than I had planned, with the ball coming to rest on the middle tier of the green. I powered my first putt way too hard, blowing the ball 12 feet past the hole. My next putt was very nice, but didn't drop, leading to the first 3-putt of the day and a bogey.
Hole # 7 - Par 5, 527 yards
This hole began with a stellar 3-wood off the tee, to lay up in front of a creek that crosses the fairway. It is 230 yards to the front of the creek, so this shot must have travelled 225 yards. Using a 5-wood, my next shot travelled left of the fairway, which isn't bad, since a large pond hugs the fairway on the right side, all the way to the green. I was amongst some small pine trees, but had a clear view to the flag, about 135 yards away. I hit a beautiful 9-iron to the back of the green, where it spun backwards, in the direction of the hole. The 12-foot birdie putt was missed, but the tap-in putt for par was easy breezy.
Hole # 8 - Par 4, 321 yards
A short straightaway hole, but I faded my drive a little too much, ending up in the right rough. A sand wedge travelled the required 75 yards toward the flag at the back of the green. The ball was ten feet from the hole, but on the fringe, just a couple inches in front of the rough. I used a putter and didn't strike the ball hard enough. I was left with a 5-footer for par and I just burned the edge. Par should have been the result, but I had to settle for bogey.
Hole # 9 - Par 4, 315 yards
Reminiscent of the first hole, this is another short dogleg left that invites players to cut the corner. I tried to, but ended up pushing the ball right of the intended target line. That's okay, since there is lots of room to the right of the fairway. From 130 yards out, I pushed my approach shot slightly, ending up in a greenside bunker. Next, I launched the ball straight over the green. I thought I had contacted an adequate amount of sand, but clearly I did not. From the other side of the green, I hit a 30-yard pitch shot. From that side of the green, I was short sided, so naturally the ball travelled well past the hole. That's okay, since I drained the 15-foot putt to save bogey.
I was shooting 41 at the turn, with 18 putts. Miraculously, I hit seven of nine greens in regulation. Oh, what a feeling! Golf the way it was meant to be played. If not for one errant shot out of bounds and a couple of misjudged putts, I would be sitting one over par. Still, I was in the groove and feeling it.
Hole # 10 - Par 4, 389 yards
I know this hole now, and missing right with your drive is not a problem. I aimed for the right half of the fairway and made good contact. I ended up a few yards into the right rough, but had a clear view to the flag. Next, I hit a towering 6-iron flag high, about 20 feet from the hole. This left me with a tricky putt, as the green slopes severely from back to front. I played a good 8 feet of break and it was a good read. The putt didn't drop, but I had a 3-foot downhill putt left for par, which I nailed.
Hole # 11 - Par 4, 325 yards
I've had some trouble on this hole in recent rounds, which was definitely in the back of my mind when I stepped up to the tee. I had topped a few 3-woods into the creek that crosses directly in front of the tee box. As a result, I opted to go with driver instead. An iron is certainly an option, and probably the best one, but I was feeling good with the driver. Unfortunately, I pulled it a little left, into the hazard which meanders up the left side of the fairway. I dropped a ball at point of entry and took aim at the green. From 135 yards out, I nailed the green with the 9-iron. From there, it was another intermediate lag putt and easy tap-in for bogey.
Hole # 12 - Par 4, 338 yards
The hole began with an absolutely stunning drive off the tee. It travelled straight down the pipe, leaving 100 yards to the flag. The next shot was with the gap wedge, and it was pulled slightly. The ball was at the base of a small pine tree, which was interfering with my stance. I gathered myself and hit a nice chip to put the ball on the green, within about 6 feet of the hole. The par putt just burned the right edge of the hole, so I had to make do with a tap-in for bogey.
Hole # 13 - Par 4, 324 yards
I know this hole now, and there is no point keeping the driver in the bag, even though the hole is pretty short. All you have to do is make sure that the ball goes straight, or to the right. There is lots of danger in the form of reeds on the left side of this hole. On the right side there are some medium size pine trees, but with a driver, most people should be able to clear them. That's exactly what I did. From the right rough, I hit a pitching wedge to the front of the green. Though the ball was on the green, it was definitely in 3-putt territiry, since the flag was right at the back. No worries, as I made a beautiful lag putt, followed by a 4-foot putt for another par.
Hole # 14 - Par 4, 373 yards
I made good contact on the drive, but it faded ever so slightly into a hazard on the right side. The ball was only a couple inches into the hazard, but it was partly submerged in some mud. I tried to hit a 7-iron out and to the green. I hit it well, but not perfectly, and the ball rolled down the fairway to within 70 yards of the flag. With the sun in my eyes, I hit a full sand wedge. I connected perfectly and absolutely skied the ball. I lost it in the sun and was surprised when it sailed clear past the green. Behind the green, the terrain drops off steeply. I had to chip about eight feet into the air to land the ball softly on the edge of the green. I did exactly that, and the ball then rolled downhill to within inches of the cup. It was such a great chip, and it allowed me to save bogey.
Hole # 15 - Par 5, 534 yards
The second toughest hole on the course, according to the handicap index, but I think it is the hardest. Out-of-bounds runs the entire length of the hole on the right side. The left side is covered with various hazards. I hit a beautiful drive off the tee, about 250 yards to the middle of the fairway. Next, I hit an even better 3-wood, which travelled about 220 yards. Unfortunately, the ball rolled about one foot into the right rough. From 70 yards out, I was definitely flag hunting, so I was a little disappointed when my approach came up a little short, stopping on the front part of the green. This was 3-putt territory, and that's exactly what happened. My first putt was much too firm, leaving eight or nine feet for par. I made a beautiful attempt, but the ball trickled over the edge of the cup. I had to make do with bogey.
Hole # 16 - Par 3, 130 yards
The flag was at the front of this green, tucked behind some bunkers on the left side. The safe play was to go for the fat part of the green right of the hole. I opted to go closer to the flag, figuring long would also be safe. I hit a beautiful 9-iron to within nine feet or thereabout. The birdie putt was a good one, but it didn't drop. An easy tap-in completed the par.
Hole # 17 - Par 4, 351 yards
I stuck with the driver on this hole and it paid off. I started the ball to the left side of the fairway, which worked well because the ball cut more than I wanted it to. I was in the middle of the fairway, with 130 yards to the flag. Next, I hit the only shot of the day that was truly ugly. I hit the 9-iron extremely fat, barely catching ball. I tried another approach, this time from 100 yards out. It was a sky high approach with the gap wedge, that landed about seven feet from the cup. The par putt was good, but it just trickled past the edge of the hole. I had to be content with a tap-in bogey. If all of these longer putts that barely missed had gone in, I would be shooting par for the day. Still, I felt good about the results.
Hole # 18 - Par 4, 324 yards
A tantalizing dogleg right, this hole can produce good results if you can drive the ball over the bunkers on the right side of the fairway. I caught the ball low on the clubface, producing a lower than usual ball flight. As a result, I found myself between the two bunkers, but with a good lie. From 100 yards out, I hit the gap wedge once again and nailed yet another green. The birdie putt from about twelve feet was good, but it didn't go in. A tap-in would be required to finish the round with a nice par.
Just as I did on the front nine, I shot 41 with 18 putts on the back nine. For the entire round, I amassed nine pars, eight bogeys, and one double-bogey. Nice! I think the biggest difference came from the fact that I was hitting a higher than usual percentage of greens in regulation. This meant there was less need for chipping around the green. Less chipping means fewer opportunities for mistakes. It's a real luxury when you can go directly from a full iron into the green, to having the putter in your hand for the next shot.
Too bad a couple of extra putts didn't drop. I could have actually broken 80!
Score: 82
Par: 72
Putts: 36
Fairways: 4
Greens: 12
Over the previous six months, I failed to break 90 even once, despite playing 43 rounds of golf. The frustrating streak came to an abrupt end with the 44th round of the year, as I not only broke 90, but shattered it with a score of 82! Only the hand of God could produce such brilliance.
Eighty-two is not the lowest score I've ever had - last year I managed an 81 on the South Course at Deer Creek Golf & Country Club. However, this latest triumph is most certainly the best. The 81 came on a par 71 course, while the 82 came on a par 72 - Granite Ridge Golf Club's Cobalt Course. With a length of 5962 yards, and a slope of 123 from the white tees, Cobalt is both longer and more difficult than Deer Creek South.
A great round like this calls for a shot-by-shot account, which is what follows, below. Interestingly, I am writing this entry on Thanksgiving Day, less than 48 hours after the glorious round took place. It seems I have even more than usual to be thankful for this year. Thanks be to God, indeed.
Hole # 1 - Par 4, 313 yards
A short dogleg left, this hole tempts players to cut the corner, which is exactly what I did. My tee shot was straight, but a little high. My second shot was played with my feet in a bunker, 90 yards from the flag. I stuck the approach on the green, 10 feet from the hole. The birdie putt just missed, leaving an easy tap-in for par.
Hole # 2 - Par 4, 355 yards
Out-of-bounds along the entire left side is the main challenge on this hole, and I fell victim to it. My first tee shot was struck well, but I pulled it too far left. When I re-teed, I struck a beauty straight down the fairway. My approach from 100 yards away had the right distance, but drifted just right of the green. I made a solid chip on and a 5-foot putt to salvage double-bogey. I tried to stay positive by realizing I had essentially scored par after the re-tee.
Hole # 3 - Par 3, 139 yards
The tees were about 6 yards forward and the flag was at the front of the green. Estimating the actual distance to the flag, I added an extra club to account for the prevailing headwind. I must have calculated perfectly, as I stuck the ball on the green, about 12 feet away from the hole. The birdie putt missed, but I was left with an easy tap-in for par.
Hole # 4 - Par 5, 490 yards
Once again, out-of-bounds looms along the entire left side. I aimed for the right half of the fairway, and ended up a few yards into the right rough. The trusty 7-iron got me safely out, leaving about 120 yards to the flag. The approach was right on the money, leaving me with another intermediate birdie putt of about 12 feet. It didn't drop, but I'll take easy tap-ins for par any day.
Hole # 5 - Par 3, 139 yards
A shortish par-3 that can be visually intimidating, since the ball must carry over a pond that protects the green. I opted to go left of the flag, where there was more room for error. It was a well-struck ball and it stuck when it hit the green. The birdie putt was uphill, about 18 feet. I came up a little short and had one of those scary 4 to 5-foot putts for par, which I drained calmly.
Hole # 6 - Par 4, 275 yards
A short hole indeed, but there is danger on both sides of the fairway. I had hit a couple of nice drives, so I decided to put one as close as I could to the green. I hit a laser right down the pipe. Unfortunately, it clipped the right edge of a fairway bunker and came to rest in the sand. I was faced with 30 yards to the front of the green, and an additional 30 yards to the flag, which was tucked at the extreme back of this multi-tier green. My pitch shot came out a little softer than I had planned, with the ball coming to rest on the middle tier of the green. I powered my first putt way too hard, blowing the ball 12 feet past the hole. My next putt was very nice, but didn't drop, leading to the first 3-putt of the day and a bogey.
Hole # 7 - Par 5, 527 yards
This hole began with a stellar 3-wood off the tee, to lay up in front of a creek that crosses the fairway. It is 230 yards to the front of the creek, so this shot must have travelled 225 yards. Using a 5-wood, my next shot travelled left of the fairway, which isn't bad, since a large pond hugs the fairway on the right side, all the way to the green. I was amongst some small pine trees, but had a clear view to the flag, about 135 yards away. I hit a beautiful 9-iron to the back of the green, where it spun backwards, in the direction of the hole. The 12-foot birdie putt was missed, but the tap-in putt for par was easy breezy.
Hole # 8 - Par 4, 321 yards
A short straightaway hole, but I faded my drive a little too much, ending up in the right rough. A sand wedge travelled the required 75 yards toward the flag at the back of the green. The ball was ten feet from the hole, but on the fringe, just a couple inches in front of the rough. I used a putter and didn't strike the ball hard enough. I was left with a 5-footer for par and I just burned the edge. Par should have been the result, but I had to settle for bogey.
Hole # 9 - Par 4, 315 yards
Reminiscent of the first hole, this is another short dogleg left that invites players to cut the corner. I tried to, but ended up pushing the ball right of the intended target line. That's okay, since there is lots of room to the right of the fairway. From 130 yards out, I pushed my approach shot slightly, ending up in a greenside bunker. Next, I launched the ball straight over the green. I thought I had contacted an adequate amount of sand, but clearly I did not. From the other side of the green, I hit a 30-yard pitch shot. From that side of the green, I was short sided, so naturally the ball travelled well past the hole. That's okay, since I drained the 15-foot putt to save bogey.
I was shooting 41 at the turn, with 18 putts. Miraculously, I hit seven of nine greens in regulation. Oh, what a feeling! Golf the way it was meant to be played. If not for one errant shot out of bounds and a couple of misjudged putts, I would be sitting one over par. Still, I was in the groove and feeling it.
Hole # 10 - Par 4, 389 yards
I know this hole now, and missing right with your drive is not a problem. I aimed for the right half of the fairway and made good contact. I ended up a few yards into the right rough, but had a clear view to the flag. Next, I hit a towering 6-iron flag high, about 20 feet from the hole. This left me with a tricky putt, as the green slopes severely from back to front. I played a good 8 feet of break and it was a good read. The putt didn't drop, but I had a 3-foot downhill putt left for par, which I nailed.
Hole # 11 - Par 4, 325 yards
I've had some trouble on this hole in recent rounds, which was definitely in the back of my mind when I stepped up to the tee. I had topped a few 3-woods into the creek that crosses directly in front of the tee box. As a result, I opted to go with driver instead. An iron is certainly an option, and probably the best one, but I was feeling good with the driver. Unfortunately, I pulled it a little left, into the hazard which meanders up the left side of the fairway. I dropped a ball at point of entry and took aim at the green. From 135 yards out, I nailed the green with the 9-iron. From there, it was another intermediate lag putt and easy tap-in for bogey.
Hole # 12 - Par 4, 338 yards
The hole began with an absolutely stunning drive off the tee. It travelled straight down the pipe, leaving 100 yards to the flag. The next shot was with the gap wedge, and it was pulled slightly. The ball was at the base of a small pine tree, which was interfering with my stance. I gathered myself and hit a nice chip to put the ball on the green, within about 6 feet of the hole. The par putt just burned the right edge of the hole, so I had to make do with a tap-in for bogey.
Hole # 13 - Par 4, 324 yards
I know this hole now, and there is no point keeping the driver in the bag, even though the hole is pretty short. All you have to do is make sure that the ball goes straight, or to the right. There is lots of danger in the form of reeds on the left side of this hole. On the right side there are some medium size pine trees, but with a driver, most people should be able to clear them. That's exactly what I did. From the right rough, I hit a pitching wedge to the front of the green. Though the ball was on the green, it was definitely in 3-putt territiry, since the flag was right at the back. No worries, as I made a beautiful lag putt, followed by a 4-foot putt for another par.
Hole # 14 - Par 4, 373 yards
I made good contact on the drive, but it faded ever so slightly into a hazard on the right side. The ball was only a couple inches into the hazard, but it was partly submerged in some mud. I tried to hit a 7-iron out and to the green. I hit it well, but not perfectly, and the ball rolled down the fairway to within 70 yards of the flag. With the sun in my eyes, I hit a full sand wedge. I connected perfectly and absolutely skied the ball. I lost it in the sun and was surprised when it sailed clear past the green. Behind the green, the terrain drops off steeply. I had to chip about eight feet into the air to land the ball softly on the edge of the green. I did exactly that, and the ball then rolled downhill to within inches of the cup. It was such a great chip, and it allowed me to save bogey.
Hole # 15 - Par 5, 534 yards
The second toughest hole on the course, according to the handicap index, but I think it is the hardest. Out-of-bounds runs the entire length of the hole on the right side. The left side is covered with various hazards. I hit a beautiful drive off the tee, about 250 yards to the middle of the fairway. Next, I hit an even better 3-wood, which travelled about 220 yards. Unfortunately, the ball rolled about one foot into the right rough. From 70 yards out, I was definitely flag hunting, so I was a little disappointed when my approach came up a little short, stopping on the front part of the green. This was 3-putt territory, and that's exactly what happened. My first putt was much too firm, leaving eight or nine feet for par. I made a beautiful attempt, but the ball trickled over the edge of the cup. I had to make do with bogey.
Hole # 16 - Par 3, 130 yards
The flag was at the front of this green, tucked behind some bunkers on the left side. The safe play was to go for the fat part of the green right of the hole. I opted to go closer to the flag, figuring long would also be safe. I hit a beautiful 9-iron to within nine feet or thereabout. The birdie putt was a good one, but it didn't drop. An easy tap-in completed the par.
Hole # 17 - Par 4, 351 yards
I stuck with the driver on this hole and it paid off. I started the ball to the left side of the fairway, which worked well because the ball cut more than I wanted it to. I was in the middle of the fairway, with 130 yards to the flag. Next, I hit the only shot of the day that was truly ugly. I hit the 9-iron extremely fat, barely catching ball. I tried another approach, this time from 100 yards out. It was a sky high approach with the gap wedge, that landed about seven feet from the cup. The par putt was good, but it just trickled past the edge of the hole. I had to be content with a tap-in bogey. If all of these longer putts that barely missed had gone in, I would be shooting par for the day. Still, I felt good about the results.
Hole # 18 - Par 4, 324 yards
A tantalizing dogleg right, this hole can produce good results if you can drive the ball over the bunkers on the right side of the fairway. I caught the ball low on the clubface, producing a lower than usual ball flight. As a result, I found myself between the two bunkers, but with a good lie. From 100 yards out, I hit the gap wedge once again and nailed yet another green. The birdie putt from about twelve feet was good, but it didn't go in. A tap-in would be required to finish the round with a nice par.
Just as I did on the front nine, I shot 41 with 18 putts on the back nine. For the entire round, I amassed nine pars, eight bogeys, and one double-bogey. Nice! I think the biggest difference came from the fact that I was hitting a higher than usual percentage of greens in regulation. This meant there was less need for chipping around the green. Less chipping means fewer opportunities for mistakes. It's a real luxury when you can go directly from a full iron into the green, to having the putter in your hand for the next shot.
Too bad a couple of extra putts didn't drop. I could have actually broken 80!
Score: 82
Par: 72
Putts: 36
Fairways: 4
Greens: 12
October 06, 2008
Blah Blah Copetown Blah
I played at Copetown Woods today. It doesn't matter where I play.
We teed off early. It doesn't matter when I tee off.
It was cold. It doesn't matter what the weather is like.
The first hole is an easy par-5. It doesn't matter if holes are easy.
I took a triple bogey on it. It doesn't matter if I start poorly.
I hit the first three fairways. It doesn't matter if I hit fairways.
I hit two of the first four greens in regulation. It doesn't matter if I hit greens in regulation.
I 3-putted three of the first five holes. It doesn't matter if I 3-putt.
Despite terrible putting through nine holes, I held on for a score of 50 at the turn. It doesn't matter what my score is at the turn.
Some shrubbery in the waste bunker interfered with my backswing on hole #10. It doesn't matter if I have room for a backswing.
I made my second par of the day on hole #12. It doesn't matter if I make pars.
I put two balls in the water on hole #13. It doesn't matter if I go in the water.
I had impossible lies for my second and third shots on hole #16. It doesn't matter what kind of lie I have.
I hit a nice drive on hole #18 after deciding to rip it. It doesn't matter what kind of drives I hit.
Nothing matters. Not lessons. Not practice. Not equipment. Not frequency. Not preparation. Not knowledge. Not skill. Not fitness. Not luck.
Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch.
Score: 107
Par: 72
Putts: 43
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
We teed off early. It doesn't matter when I tee off.
It was cold. It doesn't matter what the weather is like.
The first hole is an easy par-5. It doesn't matter if holes are easy.
I took a triple bogey on it. It doesn't matter if I start poorly.
I hit the first three fairways. It doesn't matter if I hit fairways.
I hit two of the first four greens in regulation. It doesn't matter if I hit greens in regulation.
I 3-putted three of the first five holes. It doesn't matter if I 3-putt.
Despite terrible putting through nine holes, I held on for a score of 50 at the turn. It doesn't matter what my score is at the turn.
Some shrubbery in the waste bunker interfered with my backswing on hole #10. It doesn't matter if I have room for a backswing.
I made my second par of the day on hole #12. It doesn't matter if I make pars.
I put two balls in the water on hole #13. It doesn't matter if I go in the water.
I had impossible lies for my second and third shots on hole #16. It doesn't matter what kind of lie I have.
I hit a nice drive on hole #18 after deciding to rip it. It doesn't matter what kind of drives I hit.
Nothing matters. Not lessons. Not practice. Not equipment. Not frequency. Not preparation. Not knowledge. Not skill. Not fitness. Not luck.
Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch.
Score: 107
Par: 72
Putts: 43
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
September 27, 2008
A Late September Round
Suppose you paid $72 at a golf course for 18 holes, but you were only able to play 8 holes due to rain. Suppose furthermore, that you were given a 9-hole rain check to be used on your next visit. After returning to the course and presenting the rain-check, how much would you expect to pay to play 18 holes?
a) $0
b) $36
c) $50
d) $72
It doesn't take a genius to understand that the correct answer is b) $36. Someone should explain this to the people running the course I played at earlier today. By some perverted sense of logic, they seem to believe the correct answer is c) $50. I won't mention the course by name, since it has already embarrassed itself plenty. I just hope they enjoy the extra fourteen dollars - they are likely the last of mine they will ever get.
Lest anyone decide to insinuate that I am cheap, as some are wont to do, let me remind you of something. Every cent I earn is for me, and me alone, to save, spend, or otherwise do with as I see fit. Do with your own money whatever you please, but mind your own business when it comes to mine.
As far as the round itself, there were a couple of distractions that led to a poor start. The greens fee shenanigans added to the fact that I was feeling rushed on the first tee. This was in spite of the fact that I was within a 5-minute drive of the course a full three hours before my tee time.
I had a golf lesson at a nearby location, which went well. After the lesson, I practiced on the range for about an hour. I left the range 45 minutes before my tee time at the other course, planning to pay for my lesson on the way out. Of course, the cashier's computer system crashed, and I spent over ten minutes waiting for it to re-boot. It never did, so I was told to go pay at the pro shop. When I arrived, there was nothing but a huge lineup and one very slow attendant. It took an additional ten minutes to settle up and get out of there.
I managed to arrive at the other course 15 minutes before my scheduled tee time, but my playing partners were eager to get going, so the end result was that I felt rushed. My first shot was a duff that splashed in a pond immediately in front of the tee box. Just like that, two strokes went down the drain. Once those strokes are gone, they're gone. Period. End of story. Even if I shot par the rest of the way, it wouldn't matter. My score would be two over par.
I hacked my way to a quadruple-bogey on hole #1, followed by two decent bogeys, before encountering more difficulty on hole #4. In a greenside bunker after two shots, I blasted my next one over the green and down a steep slope. The ball was unplayable in some deep fescue, so I was forced to take some relief at the cost of a penalty stroke. I pitched nicely onto the green and two-putted for a senseless triple-bogey.
In spite of the score on hole #4, I felt like I had settled into my normal rhythm at this point in the round. I made par on the fifth hole, which is the hardest the course has to offer. This was followed by four bogeys and two double-bogeys, which is a pretty good stretch for me.
On hole #12, I hit a series of terrible shots en route to another triple-bogey. Frustration, understandably, kicked in. Think about it. Are you pleased with yourself after you make a bad shot? I don't think so. Do you celebrate after taking four putts on a green? That would be ridiculous. Do you break out in song and dance a jig after making triple-bogey? Of course not. The reason you don't do any of these things is that you're human. Congratulations, so am I.
Thankfully, the poor play was just temporary. On the last six holes, I regained the consistency I had demonstrated on holes 5 through 11. The stretch included two pars, two bogeys, and two double-bogeys. It was good enough for a final score of 96.
That's not bad, but it's also not good. Some people might think I expect too much of myself, but I'm just not satisfied with scores in the mid or even low nineties.
To hell with mediocrity! The title of this blog is Chasing Par, not Chasing 96!
Score: 96
Par: 70
Putts: 35
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
a) $0
b) $36
c) $50
d) $72
It doesn't take a genius to understand that the correct answer is b) $36. Someone should explain this to the people running the course I played at earlier today. By some perverted sense of logic, they seem to believe the correct answer is c) $50. I won't mention the course by name, since it has already embarrassed itself plenty. I just hope they enjoy the extra fourteen dollars - they are likely the last of mine they will ever get.
Lest anyone decide to insinuate that I am cheap, as some are wont to do, let me remind you of something. Every cent I earn is for me, and me alone, to save, spend, or otherwise do with as I see fit. Do with your own money whatever you please, but mind your own business when it comes to mine.
As far as the round itself, there were a couple of distractions that led to a poor start. The greens fee shenanigans added to the fact that I was feeling rushed on the first tee. This was in spite of the fact that I was within a 5-minute drive of the course a full three hours before my tee time.
I had a golf lesson at a nearby location, which went well. After the lesson, I practiced on the range for about an hour. I left the range 45 minutes before my tee time at the other course, planning to pay for my lesson on the way out. Of course, the cashier's computer system crashed, and I spent over ten minutes waiting for it to re-boot. It never did, so I was told to go pay at the pro shop. When I arrived, there was nothing but a huge lineup and one very slow attendant. It took an additional ten minutes to settle up and get out of there.
I managed to arrive at the other course 15 minutes before my scheduled tee time, but my playing partners were eager to get going, so the end result was that I felt rushed. My first shot was a duff that splashed in a pond immediately in front of the tee box. Just like that, two strokes went down the drain. Once those strokes are gone, they're gone. Period. End of story. Even if I shot par the rest of the way, it wouldn't matter. My score would be two over par.
I hacked my way to a quadruple-bogey on hole #1, followed by two decent bogeys, before encountering more difficulty on hole #4. In a greenside bunker after two shots, I blasted my next one over the green and down a steep slope. The ball was unplayable in some deep fescue, so I was forced to take some relief at the cost of a penalty stroke. I pitched nicely onto the green and two-putted for a senseless triple-bogey.
In spite of the score on hole #4, I felt like I had settled into my normal rhythm at this point in the round. I made par on the fifth hole, which is the hardest the course has to offer. This was followed by four bogeys and two double-bogeys, which is a pretty good stretch for me.
On hole #12, I hit a series of terrible shots en route to another triple-bogey. Frustration, understandably, kicked in. Think about it. Are you pleased with yourself after you make a bad shot? I don't think so. Do you celebrate after taking four putts on a green? That would be ridiculous. Do you break out in song and dance a jig after making triple-bogey? Of course not. The reason you don't do any of these things is that you're human. Congratulations, so am I.
Thankfully, the poor play was just temporary. On the last six holes, I regained the consistency I had demonstrated on holes 5 through 11. The stretch included two pars, two bogeys, and two double-bogeys. It was good enough for a final score of 96.
That's not bad, but it's also not good. Some people might think I expect too much of myself, but I'm just not satisfied with scores in the mid or even low nineties.
To hell with mediocrity! The title of this blog is Chasing Par, not Chasing 96!
Score: 96
Par: 70
Putts: 35
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
September 22, 2008
End of the Duffer's Dream Tour
The final round of the 2008 Duffer's Dream Tour was played today at Crosswinds Golf & Country Club. To be honest, I'm glad it's finished. Over the last few rounds, it became apparent that the players on this tour are not completely interested in adhering to the rules of golf. Various deviations from the rules have been adopted, purportedly to keep up the pace of play.
I get the feeling it has more to do with guys liking to say they scored in the eighties, rather than the nineties. Frankly, I don't understand it. What satisfaction do you get from marking an 87 on your scorecard, when you know your real score is more like 93? Now, I am not a great golfer by any stretch of the imagination, but at least I judge myself against the rules.
I was not sure whether I would play the Duffer's Dream Tour Championship, to be held September 27 & 28 at Legends on the Niagara. I haven't played Legends before (and I want to) but the round at Crosswinds reminded me how I dislike playing with these lax rules. The worst of them all is the one that treats just about everything off the fairway as a lateral hazard, including fescue, a group of trees, etc. So, I think I will take a pass on the Tour Championship and perhaps head out to Legends on my own. Fall rates are in effect beginning September 29, so the round will be cheaper than what the Duffer's Tour is charging anyway.
As for next year, I doubt I'll be back on the Duffer's Tour. I will stick to leagues where the players are a little more concerned about the rules of golf, and where wayward balls are not found with such remarkable frequency. :)
Oh yeah, as for my game, it was so-so. My driving was pretty good, though I did duff a couple, coming from the outside in and topping the ball. My iron play was also pretty good, though I did catch a couple fat. My play around the greens is what really let me down. I made too many poor chip shots. I was in a lot of bunkers too. I got out of them all very clean, but usually carried the ball too far past the hole. My putting was not good, as I recorded six 3-putts.
Score: 100
Par: 72
Putts: 40
Fairways: 8
Greens: 2
I get the feeling it has more to do with guys liking to say they scored in the eighties, rather than the nineties. Frankly, I don't understand it. What satisfaction do you get from marking an 87 on your scorecard, when you know your real score is more like 93? Now, I am not a great golfer by any stretch of the imagination, but at least I judge myself against the rules.
I was not sure whether I would play the Duffer's Dream Tour Championship, to be held September 27 & 28 at Legends on the Niagara. I haven't played Legends before (and I want to) but the round at Crosswinds reminded me how I dislike playing with these lax rules. The worst of them all is the one that treats just about everything off the fairway as a lateral hazard, including fescue, a group of trees, etc. So, I think I will take a pass on the Tour Championship and perhaps head out to Legends on my own. Fall rates are in effect beginning September 29, so the round will be cheaper than what the Duffer's Tour is charging anyway.
As for next year, I doubt I'll be back on the Duffer's Tour. I will stick to leagues where the players are a little more concerned about the rules of golf, and where wayward balls are not found with such remarkable frequency. :)
Oh yeah, as for my game, it was so-so. My driving was pretty good, though I did duff a couple, coming from the outside in and topping the ball. My iron play was also pretty good, though I did catch a couple fat. My play around the greens is what really let me down. I made too many poor chip shots. I was in a lot of bunkers too. I got out of them all very clean, but usually carried the ball too far past the hole. My putting was not good, as I recorded six 3-putts.
Score: 100
Par: 72
Putts: 40
Fairways: 8
Greens: 2
September 21, 2008
Dos and Don'ts of Playing with Strangers
I went to a couple of golf courses as a single this week and was paired up with another single on both occasions. The contrast between the two experiences was so immense, that it inspired me to write this handy guide for playing with strangers.
The don'ts were inspired partly by the fellow I played with at Kedron Dells Golf Club. Sorry buddy, but you really messed up my game.
Don'ts
1. Talk too much. It's impossible to talk too little when you are paired up with a stranger. If all you did was introduce yourself at the beginning of the round, and thank your partner at the end of the round, most players would be perfectly content. However, it is definitely possible to talk too much. Four and a half hours is a long time to listen to your boring stories, flawed opinions, and mindless rants. Bite your tongue and just play the game.
2. Offer golf advice. You are not a scratch golfer, or even a low handicapper. Even if you are, that doesn't mean you are qualified to provide golf instruction. Leave that to the pros who are paid to do it. Just because you saw an instructor on The Golf Channel tell someone to line up their feet or keep their head down, doesn't mean it applies to your newfound partner. Remember, your name is not Hank Haney, Butch Harmon, David Leadbetter, or Jim McLean.
3. Boast about your game. Honestly, nobody cares that you were driving the ball 330 yards at the range the other day. Did you realize that the driving range was 150 yards wide, and that the wind behind you was steady at 30 km/hr? That's not even mentioning the fact that it likely happened once in 50 attempts. Why not boast about the 49 other shots? Also, don't carry on when you make a nice par - especially if your partner has just made a triple-bogey.
4. Make inappropriate comments. Do not make racist, sexist, or otherwise inappropriate comments of any kind. Your playing partner may not share your particular social, moral, political, or religious beliefs. The golf course is not the place to debate these issues. If you do not enjoy playing a course frequented by ball-hunting enthusiasts who shield themselves from the sun with umbrellas mounted on their pull carts, go play somewhere else.
5. Crack jokes or horse around. Golf may be nothing more to you than an excuse to drink beer and horse around with your buddies, but keep in mind that some people take the game a little more seriously. Have some respect for those who view the game as a personal challenge or as a way to better themselves. If you want to act like a juvenile and chug beer with your pals, do it in your living room while watching the football game.
If you insist on following the don'ts, your unfortunate playing partner may experience something like this:
Score: 119
Par: 71
Putts: 37
Fairways: 2
Greens: 0
The do's were inspired partly by the gentleman I played with at Crosswinds Golf & Country Club. Thank you sir, it was a pleasure.
Dos
1. Exchange small talk. Nobody says you have to take a vow of silence when playing with strangers. A little small talk can actually be quite pleasant. It's okay to ask your partner where they are from, how often they play, and where. You might hear about some good golf courses that way. Later on in the round, you might even ask what your partner does for a living. Of course, the weather is always a good topic for discussion. Just keep it light and not too personal.
2. Focus on your own game. You came to the course to play golf, so worry about your own shots rather than those of your partner. Pick out your targets, judge your distances, evaluate your lies, stay loose, read your putts, and monitor your mental state. Let your partner do all of these things for himself. It's okay to congratulate your partner on a good shot, but don't overdo it. Provide tips or advice only if your partner asks you to.
3. Behave modestly after nice shots. Golf is an emotional game. There are plenty of bad moments, so nobody will fault you for celebrating the good ones. Just keep it at a reasonable level and be conscious of what has happened to your playing partner during the round. If your partner is stringing together a series of triple-bogeys, there's no need to engage in excessive fist-pumping, knee-slapping, or other boisterous hooting and hollering after you make par.
4. Be polite towards other golfers. Have some respect for everyone else who is using the golf course. Be quiet when they are teeing off or taking a shot in the opposite fairway. Help them locate wayward balls if they happen to veer your way. Let players through if they are on a faster pace. Don't run the ball up on players ahead of you or get confrontational. Your partner came to the course to play golf, not to get into a fight because of your antics.
5. Play courteous and ready golf. Tee off first when you have the honour. Keep an eye on your partner's shots and help him/her find any wayward balls. Adhere to the cart rules for the day. Replace your divots. Rake sand traps and repair any ball marks. Pull out the flag and replace it when you finish putting. Pick up your partner's wedge or remind them to get it before they leave the green area. Keep the pace of play moving. Be serious while having fun.
If you do all of these things, your playing partner will be pleased and may experience something like this:
Score: 92
Par: 72
Putts: 34
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
The don'ts were inspired partly by the fellow I played with at Kedron Dells Golf Club. Sorry buddy, but you really messed up my game.
Don'ts
1. Talk too much. It's impossible to talk too little when you are paired up with a stranger. If all you did was introduce yourself at the beginning of the round, and thank your partner at the end of the round, most players would be perfectly content. However, it is definitely possible to talk too much. Four and a half hours is a long time to listen to your boring stories, flawed opinions, and mindless rants. Bite your tongue and just play the game.
2. Offer golf advice. You are not a scratch golfer, or even a low handicapper. Even if you are, that doesn't mean you are qualified to provide golf instruction. Leave that to the pros who are paid to do it. Just because you saw an instructor on The Golf Channel tell someone to line up their feet or keep their head down, doesn't mean it applies to your newfound partner. Remember, your name is not Hank Haney, Butch Harmon, David Leadbetter, or Jim McLean.
3. Boast about your game. Honestly, nobody cares that you were driving the ball 330 yards at the range the other day. Did you realize that the driving range was 150 yards wide, and that the wind behind you was steady at 30 km/hr? That's not even mentioning the fact that it likely happened once in 50 attempts. Why not boast about the 49 other shots? Also, don't carry on when you make a nice par - especially if your partner has just made a triple-bogey.
4. Make inappropriate comments. Do not make racist, sexist, or otherwise inappropriate comments of any kind. Your playing partner may not share your particular social, moral, political, or religious beliefs. The golf course is not the place to debate these issues. If you do not enjoy playing a course frequented by ball-hunting enthusiasts who shield themselves from the sun with umbrellas mounted on their pull carts, go play somewhere else.
5. Crack jokes or horse around. Golf may be nothing more to you than an excuse to drink beer and horse around with your buddies, but keep in mind that some people take the game a little more seriously. Have some respect for those who view the game as a personal challenge or as a way to better themselves. If you want to act like a juvenile and chug beer with your pals, do it in your living room while watching the football game.
If you insist on following the don'ts, your unfortunate playing partner may experience something like this:
Score: 119
Par: 71
Putts: 37
Fairways: 2
Greens: 0
The do's were inspired partly by the gentleman I played with at Crosswinds Golf & Country Club. Thank you sir, it was a pleasure.
Dos
1. Exchange small talk. Nobody says you have to take a vow of silence when playing with strangers. A little small talk can actually be quite pleasant. It's okay to ask your partner where they are from, how often they play, and where. You might hear about some good golf courses that way. Later on in the round, you might even ask what your partner does for a living. Of course, the weather is always a good topic for discussion. Just keep it light and not too personal.
2. Focus on your own game. You came to the course to play golf, so worry about your own shots rather than those of your partner. Pick out your targets, judge your distances, evaluate your lies, stay loose, read your putts, and monitor your mental state. Let your partner do all of these things for himself. It's okay to congratulate your partner on a good shot, but don't overdo it. Provide tips or advice only if your partner asks you to.
3. Behave modestly after nice shots. Golf is an emotional game. There are plenty of bad moments, so nobody will fault you for celebrating the good ones. Just keep it at a reasonable level and be conscious of what has happened to your playing partner during the round. If your partner is stringing together a series of triple-bogeys, there's no need to engage in excessive fist-pumping, knee-slapping, or other boisterous hooting and hollering after you make par.
4. Be polite towards other golfers. Have some respect for everyone else who is using the golf course. Be quiet when they are teeing off or taking a shot in the opposite fairway. Help them locate wayward balls if they happen to veer your way. Let players through if they are on a faster pace. Don't run the ball up on players ahead of you or get confrontational. Your partner came to the course to play golf, not to get into a fight because of your antics.
5. Play courteous and ready golf. Tee off first when you have the honour. Keep an eye on your partner's shots and help him/her find any wayward balls. Adhere to the cart rules for the day. Replace your divots. Rake sand traps and repair any ball marks. Pull out the flag and replace it when you finish putting. Pick up your partner's wedge or remind them to get it before they leave the green area. Keep the pace of play moving. Be serious while having fun.
If you do all of these things, your playing partner will be pleased and may experience something like this:
Score: 92
Par: 72
Putts: 34
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
September 20, 2008
Crosswinds Warmup
I took a week's vacation from work and kicked it off with a round at Crosswinds Golf & Country Club, located in Burlington, Ontario. The round began well, with a couple of bogeys, followed by a par. On the fourth hole, a par-5 measuring 538 yards, I got a little unlucky when my second shot found a fairway bunker that was hidden from view. My approach to the green also found a bunker, so you could say it was a sandy hole. I held on for a double-bogey.
On the fifth hole, a par-3 measuring a measly 123 yards, I self-destructed. Visual intimidation is the only obstacle on this hole, with the green surrounded by water. At a tournament a couple weeks earlier, I launched two balls off the tee into the water on this hole. Perhaps that was in my head, because I proceeded to do exactly the same thing once again. From the drop zone, I fared no better. On the moist turf, I duffed a shot with my sand wedge, then skulled one across the green. I chipped on, only to 3-putt for a horrific score of 8. Golf is truly unbelievable at times!
The rest of the round was consistent, but far from spectacular. On the remaining thirteen holes, I registered one par, seven bogeys, and five double-bogeys. My driving was not great, but at the same time, it was not putting me in many tough spots. The same could be said for my iron play. Chipping and putting were not exactly sharp, but they were not atrocious. I finished the round with a score of 98, which was good enough to keep me happy. If not for the blow-up on hole #5, this would have been a round in the mid 90's, which is a solid round for me.
The final round of the Duffer's Dream Tour takes place at Crosswinds a week from now, so hopefully this will serve as a nice warmup.
Score: 98
Par: 72
Putts: 38
Fairways: 4
Greens: 3
On the fifth hole, a par-3 measuring a measly 123 yards, I self-destructed. Visual intimidation is the only obstacle on this hole, with the green surrounded by water. At a tournament a couple weeks earlier, I launched two balls off the tee into the water on this hole. Perhaps that was in my head, because I proceeded to do exactly the same thing once again. From the drop zone, I fared no better. On the moist turf, I duffed a shot with my sand wedge, then skulled one across the green. I chipped on, only to 3-putt for a horrific score of 8. Golf is truly unbelievable at times!
The rest of the round was consistent, but far from spectacular. On the remaining thirteen holes, I registered one par, seven bogeys, and five double-bogeys. My driving was not great, but at the same time, it was not putting me in many tough spots. The same could be said for my iron play. Chipping and putting were not exactly sharp, but they were not atrocious. I finished the round with a score of 98, which was good enough to keep me happy. If not for the blow-up on hole #5, this would have been a round in the mid 90's, which is a solid round for me.
The final round of the Duffer's Dream Tour takes place at Crosswinds a week from now, so hopefully this will serve as a nice warmup.
Score: 98
Par: 72
Putts: 38
Fairways: 4
Greens: 3
Post Championship Letdown
On Sunday afternoon, I successfully battled for the 2008 Deepwoods Championship. On Monday morning, I was competing at a Duffer's Dream event, where the stakes were substantially lower. In early August, I was within sniffing distance of the Duffer's Dream leaders, but the standings have not been updated since then, so I don't know where I currently stand. Combined with the fact I was coming off the Deepwoods high, it was difficult to get excited about this round at Piper's Heath Golf Club.
We had a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. in order to finish before an afternoon tournament was to begin. Apparently, September is the busiest time of year for such events. It was a little chilly when we got started, but after two holes I was playing in short sleeves. I 3-putted four of the first five holes, which did absolutely nothing to boost my confidence. During that stretch, I also struggled with the 3-wood and some of my irons. Chipping was also adventurous, especially around the sixth green, where I took an inflated score.
I had back-to-back pars on hole #8 and hole #9, but that was as hot as I would get. The back nine was a steady series of bogeys and double-bogeys. I was trying to drive the ball with the relaxed tempo I discovered at Whirlpool a few rounds earlier, but it just wasn't working. It's not enough to be relaxed; one still has to be committed to the swing. The 3-wood remained terrible all day and the short game was mediocre, at best. I avoided blow-up holes, but a steady string of double-bogeys will inflate your score just as quickly.
Overall, it was just a blah kind of round.
Score: 103
Par: 72
Putts: 41
Fairways: 5
Greens: 2
We had a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. in order to finish before an afternoon tournament was to begin. Apparently, September is the busiest time of year for such events. It was a little chilly when we got started, but after two holes I was playing in short sleeves. I 3-putted four of the first five holes, which did absolutely nothing to boost my confidence. During that stretch, I also struggled with the 3-wood and some of my irons. Chipping was also adventurous, especially around the sixth green, where I took an inflated score.
I had back-to-back pars on hole #8 and hole #9, but that was as hot as I would get. The back nine was a steady series of bogeys and double-bogeys. I was trying to drive the ball with the relaxed tempo I discovered at Whirlpool a few rounds earlier, but it just wasn't working. It's not enough to be relaxed; one still has to be committed to the swing. The 3-wood remained terrible all day and the short game was mediocre, at best. I avoided blow-up holes, but a steady string of double-bogeys will inflate your score just as quickly.
Overall, it was just a blah kind of round.
Score: 103
Par: 72
Putts: 41
Fairways: 5
Greens: 2
September 18, 2008
2008 Deepwoods Champion
The final round of the 2008 Deepwoods Tour was held at Willow Valley Golf Course, located in Hamilton, Ontario. Going into the final round, I was in fourth place, two points behind a pair of co-leaders and one point behind the third place contestant. It was likely that the 2008 champion would come from this group of players. Eighteen holes of golf would decide which one of us was champion.
It rained something fierce that day. The rain was so steady that our tee times were delayed by almost three hours. A few players dropped out due to the lengthy delay, including one of the co-leaders. Needless to say, conditions were pretty soggy once we got out on the course. However, considering the amount of rain that fell, I thought the course held up very well.
There was no warm-up before the round began, and I felt it on the first couple of holes, where I collected a pair of triple-bogeys. I fared a little better on holes 3 through 5, where some nice shots helped me save a couple of bogeys. On hole #4 it was an excellent second shot from the #3 fairway bunker. On hole #5 it was a nice approach from 130 yards out and an even nicer chip from the back of the green that almost found the cup. On hole #6, an excellent second shot from behind the #7 tee deck allowed me to save par.
With one third of the round complete, the championship was still up for grabs. I had moved into second place, just one point ahead of the third place contestant. However, the first place contestant had built his lead to three points. On the seventh hole, a par-5 measuring 465 yards, I took the lead outright, thanks to a well-executed birdie. My tee shot found the middle of the fairway, as did my second shot. My approach from 135 yards out cleared the bunker guarding the front of the green and stopped pin-high about seven feet from the cup. I calmly drained the putt to establish a lead which I would not surrender.
On holes 8 through 12, I played quite consistently, stringing together a bunch of bogeys. This was enough to build my lead, as my competitors must have noticed that things were slipping away, and they began to make too many mistakes. I played atrociously on hole #13, but by then the lead was too great for them to overcome. On hole #14, a par-3 measuring 185 yards, I hit a beautiful 5-wood pin-high and that put me back on track. I closed out the round with three bogeys and two pars, including a spectacular chip on hole #17. With the last five holes of the round, I basically ran away with the championship.
So, I am the champion of the 2008 Deepwoods Tour. Woohoo!
Score: 95
Par: 72
Putts: 33
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
It rained something fierce that day. The rain was so steady that our tee times were delayed by almost three hours. A few players dropped out due to the lengthy delay, including one of the co-leaders. Needless to say, conditions were pretty soggy once we got out on the course. However, considering the amount of rain that fell, I thought the course held up very well.
There was no warm-up before the round began, and I felt it on the first couple of holes, where I collected a pair of triple-bogeys. I fared a little better on holes 3 through 5, where some nice shots helped me save a couple of bogeys. On hole #4 it was an excellent second shot from the #3 fairway bunker. On hole #5 it was a nice approach from 130 yards out and an even nicer chip from the back of the green that almost found the cup. On hole #6, an excellent second shot from behind the #7 tee deck allowed me to save par.
With one third of the round complete, the championship was still up for grabs. I had moved into second place, just one point ahead of the third place contestant. However, the first place contestant had built his lead to three points. On the seventh hole, a par-5 measuring 465 yards, I took the lead outright, thanks to a well-executed birdie. My tee shot found the middle of the fairway, as did my second shot. My approach from 135 yards out cleared the bunker guarding the front of the green and stopped pin-high about seven feet from the cup. I calmly drained the putt to establish a lead which I would not surrender.
On holes 8 through 12, I played quite consistently, stringing together a bunch of bogeys. This was enough to build my lead, as my competitors must have noticed that things were slipping away, and they began to make too many mistakes. I played atrociously on hole #13, but by then the lead was too great for them to overcome. On hole #14, a par-3 measuring 185 yards, I hit a beautiful 5-wood pin-high and that put me back on track. I closed out the round with three bogeys and two pars, including a spectacular chip on hole #17. With the last five holes of the round, I basically ran away with the championship.
So, I am the champion of the 2008 Deepwoods Tour. Woohoo!
Score: 95
Par: 72
Putts: 33
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
September 10, 2008
Nine Under Par Again
I played in a charity tournament last week at Granite Ridge Golf Club in Milton, Ontario. This was the tenth edition of the event, which is hosted annually by my employer. I missed the event last year, but played each of the two years before that. Interestingly, my team has registered the same score on each of the three occasions that I have participated. Under the popular "scramble" format, we have managed to score nine under par every single time. The first time, that resulted in a second place finish, one stroke behind the winners. The second time, it was good enough to clinch victory. This time, it once again resulted in second place, albeit two strokes behind the winners.
Three quarters of my team has remained intact for all three rounds. The fourth member of the team was different each year. That might be one of the reasons for the consistency in scoring. Still, it does seem a little unusual. I can say that the way we compiled that score has changed dramatically from year to year. Last year, for instance, we found ourselves scrambling quite a bit to save par on a few holes. This year was much smoother than that. We were never really in danger of making a bogey; it was just a question of how many birdies we could make.
I think we also worked better as a team this time around. The higher handicappers played their shots first, with the aim of providing usable shots. For the most part, we succeeded. This enabled the lower handicappers to get very aggressive. On a couple of occasions, such as driving the green on a short par-4, that aggression payed off. However, the teamwork really payed off when it came to putting. We did a fantastic job of reading the greens and learning from each other's putts. I contributed three or four long putts myself, which felt pretty good.
Although we didn't win, it was truly rewarding and enjoyable.
Thanks guys!
Three quarters of my team has remained intact for all three rounds. The fourth member of the team was different each year. That might be one of the reasons for the consistency in scoring. Still, it does seem a little unusual. I can say that the way we compiled that score has changed dramatically from year to year. Last year, for instance, we found ourselves scrambling quite a bit to save par on a few holes. This year was much smoother than that. We were never really in danger of making a bogey; it was just a question of how many birdies we could make.
I think we also worked better as a team this time around. The higher handicappers played their shots first, with the aim of providing usable shots. For the most part, we succeeded. This enabled the lower handicappers to get very aggressive. On a couple of occasions, such as driving the green on a short par-4, that aggression payed off. However, the teamwork really payed off when it came to putting. We did a fantastic job of reading the greens and learning from each other's putts. I contributed three or four long putts myself, which felt pretty good.
Although we didn't win, it was truly rewarding and enjoyable.
Thanks guys!
September 09, 2008
Busy Labour Day Weekend
The Labour Day weekend was busy, with three rounds of golf in three days. Here's the recap.
Super Saturday @ Whirlpool
This was one of the most enjoyable rounds of the summer. The weather was beautiful, the company was excellent, and my golf game was clicking on almost every cylinder. The big difference in my game was tempo. For some time, I have been trying to find the right rhythm to my golf swing. I have gotten quick on the downswing this year, frequently leading to pulled shots, regardless of the club being used. In previous rounds, I began to address the problem. At Whirlpool, I confronted it head on. This resulted in straighter drives and iron shots. I didn't hit additional fairways or greens in regulation, but I found myself in a lot less trouble than usual.
I scored 45 on the front nine, including seven bogeys, one double-bogey, and one par. That is the kind of consistency I know I am capable of. My score on the back nine was 48, including three bogeys, three double-bogeys, one triple-bogey, and one par. As you can see, the back nine was a little more erratic. On the positive side, I tallied only 15 putts on the back nine, with no 3-putts. My putting was actually decent all day. The only part of the game that was not working at all was medium range pitch shots - those in the range of 10-40 yards. Mistakes on those types of shots cost me at least five strokes. They were the sole reason I did not break 90.
Score: 93
Par: 72
Putts: 34
Fairways: 3
Greens: 3
Sublime Sunday @ Woodington Lake (New 18)
On Sunday came a chance to play the New 18 at Woodington Lake. From the green tees, the course measures 7,606 yards and has a rating of 76.9 - the highest course rating in Canada. I played from the white tees, which reduce the course length to 6245 yards. From the white tees, the course rating and slope are a little less intimidating at 70.8 and 130 respectively. In terms of style, the course differs greatly from the Original 18 at Woodington Lake. For one thing, there are really no trees on the new course. Challenge comes in the form of severe mounding, long fescue, and plenty of water. Wind and elevation changes also factor greatly in club selection. Overall, I enjoyed the course very much and will definitely go back.
My game was not as consistent as the day before, but it was still pretty good. I began with a birdie on the first hole, a downhill par-5 measuring 464 yards. My drive travelled about 245 yards to the middle of the fairway. From there, I hit the shot of the day - a 220-yard blast with the 3-wood that settled nicely on the green. I missed the 12-foot eagle putt by inches and settled for a tap-in birdie. The rest of the front nine was up and down, resulting in a score of 52 half way through the round. On the back nine, I found my consistency once again, producing a nice score of 46. This included six bogeys, two double-bogeys, and one par. Putting was average, as was chipping. Overall I was happy to break 100 on a new course.
Score: 98
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
Manic Monday @ Peninsula Lakes
Not magic - manic. What can I say about this round? It was just terrible. I was so optimistic approaching this round, because I fired a 91 at Pen Lakes earlier in the year. I guess that was a long time ago and my game has changed a few times since then. The gains I had made addressing the tempo issue in the previous two rounds seemed to evaporate. I was still swinging the club with a relaxed tempo, but something else must have been off. After playing the Quarry nine, I was sitting at 52 - the same score I had after nine holes at Woodington Lake. This gave me confidence that I could still break 100.
My confidence grew with the first three holes of the Hillside nine, which produced bogey, bogey, and par respectively. Unfortunately, Hillside #4 destroyed all remaining hope in one fell swoop. This is the hardest hole of the Hillside nine and considered by many to be the signature hole. My tee shot was pulled into a pond left of the fairway. After taking a drop, I duffed an attempt to pitch the ball to the 150-yard mark. At a distance of 210 yards to the green, I tried to hit a 3-wood over the second pond on the hole. As you probably guessed, the ball landed in the water. After another drop, I approached the green from 160 yards with a 6-iron. I pulled it two feet out of bounds. Since there was a group behind, I just dropped where the ball went out. From there, I chipped and 2-putted for a ghastly 10.
Holes five through seven were decent enough, but things got silly again on #8, a par-3 measuring 150 yards. I hooked my tee shot into a pond left of the green. I proceeded to plunk two more balls in the water from the position where I took a drop. In both cases, I caught the ball fat and it did not travel the expected distance. After I finally hit the green, I 2-putted for an obscene 9. Gasp! On the last hole, a par-5, I didn't really care any more and collected another 9 on the scorecard.
Score: 111
Par: 71
Putts: 39
Fairways: 5
Greens: 3
Super Saturday @ Whirlpool
This was one of the most enjoyable rounds of the summer. The weather was beautiful, the company was excellent, and my golf game was clicking on almost every cylinder. The big difference in my game was tempo. For some time, I have been trying to find the right rhythm to my golf swing. I have gotten quick on the downswing this year, frequently leading to pulled shots, regardless of the club being used. In previous rounds, I began to address the problem. At Whirlpool, I confronted it head on. This resulted in straighter drives and iron shots. I didn't hit additional fairways or greens in regulation, but I found myself in a lot less trouble than usual.
I scored 45 on the front nine, including seven bogeys, one double-bogey, and one par. That is the kind of consistency I know I am capable of. My score on the back nine was 48, including three bogeys, three double-bogeys, one triple-bogey, and one par. As you can see, the back nine was a little more erratic. On the positive side, I tallied only 15 putts on the back nine, with no 3-putts. My putting was actually decent all day. The only part of the game that was not working at all was medium range pitch shots - those in the range of 10-40 yards. Mistakes on those types of shots cost me at least five strokes. They were the sole reason I did not break 90.
Score: 93
Par: 72
Putts: 34
Fairways: 3
Greens: 3
Sublime Sunday @ Woodington Lake (New 18)
On Sunday came a chance to play the New 18 at Woodington Lake. From the green tees, the course measures 7,606 yards and has a rating of 76.9 - the highest course rating in Canada. I played from the white tees, which reduce the course length to 6245 yards. From the white tees, the course rating and slope are a little less intimidating at 70.8 and 130 respectively. In terms of style, the course differs greatly from the Original 18 at Woodington Lake. For one thing, there are really no trees on the new course. Challenge comes in the form of severe mounding, long fescue, and plenty of water. Wind and elevation changes also factor greatly in club selection. Overall, I enjoyed the course very much and will definitely go back.
My game was not as consistent as the day before, but it was still pretty good. I began with a birdie on the first hole, a downhill par-5 measuring 464 yards. My drive travelled about 245 yards to the middle of the fairway. From there, I hit the shot of the day - a 220-yard blast with the 3-wood that settled nicely on the green. I missed the 12-foot eagle putt by inches and settled for a tap-in birdie. The rest of the front nine was up and down, resulting in a score of 52 half way through the round. On the back nine, I found my consistency once again, producing a nice score of 46. This included six bogeys, two double-bogeys, and one par. Putting was average, as was chipping. Overall I was happy to break 100 on a new course.
Score: 98
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
Manic Monday @ Peninsula Lakes
Not magic - manic. What can I say about this round? It was just terrible. I was so optimistic approaching this round, because I fired a 91 at Pen Lakes earlier in the year. I guess that was a long time ago and my game has changed a few times since then. The gains I had made addressing the tempo issue in the previous two rounds seemed to evaporate. I was still swinging the club with a relaxed tempo, but something else must have been off. After playing the Quarry nine, I was sitting at 52 - the same score I had after nine holes at Woodington Lake. This gave me confidence that I could still break 100.
My confidence grew with the first three holes of the Hillside nine, which produced bogey, bogey, and par respectively. Unfortunately, Hillside #4 destroyed all remaining hope in one fell swoop. This is the hardest hole of the Hillside nine and considered by many to be the signature hole. My tee shot was pulled into a pond left of the fairway. After taking a drop, I duffed an attempt to pitch the ball to the 150-yard mark. At a distance of 210 yards to the green, I tried to hit a 3-wood over the second pond on the hole. As you probably guessed, the ball landed in the water. After another drop, I approached the green from 160 yards with a 6-iron. I pulled it two feet out of bounds. Since there was a group behind, I just dropped where the ball went out. From there, I chipped and 2-putted for a ghastly 10.
Holes five through seven were decent enough, but things got silly again on #8, a par-3 measuring 150 yards. I hooked my tee shot into a pond left of the green. I proceeded to plunk two more balls in the water from the position where I took a drop. In both cases, I caught the ball fat and it did not travel the expected distance. After I finally hit the green, I 2-putted for an obscene 9. Gasp! On the last hole, a par-5, I didn't really care any more and collected another 9 on the scorecard.
Score: 111
Par: 71
Putts: 39
Fairways: 5
Greens: 3
August 26, 2008
Not Clicking at Cambridge
It was another Duffer's Dream event, this time at Cambridge Golf Club, located in Cambridge, Ontario. The course is relatively easy, featuring flat terrain, straight fairways, and few hazards. Bunkering provides some challenge near the greens, while the fairways are lined with a spattering of trees. Out of bounds is in play on nearly half the holes, but the fairways are so generous that it should not be a problem. Five par-5 holes and five par-3 holes lend some variety.
Despite the easy nature of the course, I could not get into the groove. Mediocre chips and bad putting led to double-bogeys on holes three through five. Before that, I was doing OK with a pair of bogeys on the first two holes.
I exploded for a quadruple bogey on hole #6 after an errant tee shot. The ball came to rest right under a pine tree - the kind where the lowest branches touch the ground. I tried to punch the ball out to the fairway, but only made it about half way there. Still shooting from among the trees, I tried to cut a shot through an opening, but missed badly. I was once again under a pine tree and had to chip out sideways. My final approach to the green was decent, but off the green by a couple of yards. I then skulled a chip shot, before 2-putting to end the misery.
I made par on the seventh hole, a short par-3 measuring 134 yards, but followed up with a triple bogey on hole #8, a par-5 measuring 452 yards. I hit a decent drive, but was in the rough. Trying to drive the green from 210 yards out, I was unable to get the ball cleanly out of the long grass. Switching to a different club, I managed to get back in the fairway, but still a long way from the green. When my final approach landed in a greenside bunker, things got worse. I launched the ball to the other side of the green, requiring a chip and two putts to hole out. I bogeyed the ninth hole, which could have been par with better chipping and putting.
After some trouble on the tenth hole, the back nine was a little better than the front. I didn't realize the right side of the tenth fairway was bounded by the driving range - I hit my ball in that direction and it faded out of bounds. It all led to another triple-bogey. From that point on, I averaged bogey golf, with a bunch of bogeys and a couple of double-bogeys, offset by a couple of pars. The main problem continued to be suspect chipping and poor putting. I hit a couple poor drives as well, but they did not do as much damage as the putting did.
I am thirty games into the season and my handicap has not changed. It's disappointing.
Score: 101
Par: 72
Putts: 42
Fairways: 4
Greens: 4
Despite the easy nature of the course, I could not get into the groove. Mediocre chips and bad putting led to double-bogeys on holes three through five. Before that, I was doing OK with a pair of bogeys on the first two holes.
I exploded for a quadruple bogey on hole #6 after an errant tee shot. The ball came to rest right under a pine tree - the kind where the lowest branches touch the ground. I tried to punch the ball out to the fairway, but only made it about half way there. Still shooting from among the trees, I tried to cut a shot through an opening, but missed badly. I was once again under a pine tree and had to chip out sideways. My final approach to the green was decent, but off the green by a couple of yards. I then skulled a chip shot, before 2-putting to end the misery.
I made par on the seventh hole, a short par-3 measuring 134 yards, but followed up with a triple bogey on hole #8, a par-5 measuring 452 yards. I hit a decent drive, but was in the rough. Trying to drive the green from 210 yards out, I was unable to get the ball cleanly out of the long grass. Switching to a different club, I managed to get back in the fairway, but still a long way from the green. When my final approach landed in a greenside bunker, things got worse. I launched the ball to the other side of the green, requiring a chip and two putts to hole out. I bogeyed the ninth hole, which could have been par with better chipping and putting.
After some trouble on the tenth hole, the back nine was a little better than the front. I didn't realize the right side of the tenth fairway was bounded by the driving range - I hit my ball in that direction and it faded out of bounds. It all led to another triple-bogey. From that point on, I averaged bogey golf, with a bunch of bogeys and a couple of double-bogeys, offset by a couple of pars. The main problem continued to be suspect chipping and poor putting. I hit a couple poor drives as well, but they did not do as much damage as the putting did.
I am thirty games into the season and my handicap has not changed. It's disappointing.
Score: 101
Par: 72
Putts: 42
Fairways: 4
Greens: 4
August 19, 2008
Deepwoods Field Destroyed at Oakridge
The greens were hard, dry, and much too fast as the Deepwoods Tour paid a visit to Oakridge Golf Club, located in Port Perry, Ontario. When you hit a sand wedge high into a green, you expect the ball to stick, maybe even spin back. On this day, those approaches were bouncing off the back of the green, with nary a ball mark to be found. With the greens in this condition, you expect the pin placements to be a little forgiving. No such luck. Many of the pins were on ridges or severe slopes. It all added up to nasty scores for most competitors.
My problems came on the first four holes. Only one of these involved a 3-putt, and surprisingly that was the one that produced the best result - a double-bogey. It was the third hole, a par-4 measuring 377 yards. I hit a 3-wood from the elevated tee, just clearing a bunker on the left side of the fairway. When I approached the landing zone, I was surprised not to find my ball in the rough. It must have bounced in the fairway, since I found it up about 40 yards, just inside a hazard on the right side of the fairway. I was forced to take a drop. From 100 yards out, my approach shot bounced twice in front of the green and amazingly continued to roll all the way to the back of it. It was that kind of day.
Problems at the start of the round were numerous. I topped a couple of attempted shots with the 3-wood. I caught a couple of bunker shots extremely thin, picking the ball clean when I wanted to catch all sand. Both of these errors may have been caused by shifting or lifting my head before impact. I also had a horrible hook to many of my iron shots. This is a new phenomenon for me, so it caught me off guard. I think the problem is one of tempo, when I get too quick on the downswing. Even after I reminded myself to swing fluidly and easily, I often came down too fast on the downswing. On three or four occasions, I solved the tempo problem and the results were much better. I also got quick with the driver a couple of times, which resulted in a straight pull.
With the exception of one hole, I averaged bogey golf on the back nine. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late. I did manage to get closest to the pin on hole #13, a par-3 measuring 144 yards, so at least I won a consolation prize. Nobody on the tour scored well at this round, so I'm still in the hunt for the championship, which will be decided at Willow Valley Golf Club in early September.
Bring it on!
Score: 109
Par: 71
Putts: 41
Fairways: 4
Greens: 5
My problems came on the first four holes. Only one of these involved a 3-putt, and surprisingly that was the one that produced the best result - a double-bogey. It was the third hole, a par-4 measuring 377 yards. I hit a 3-wood from the elevated tee, just clearing a bunker on the left side of the fairway. When I approached the landing zone, I was surprised not to find my ball in the rough. It must have bounced in the fairway, since I found it up about 40 yards, just inside a hazard on the right side of the fairway. I was forced to take a drop. From 100 yards out, my approach shot bounced twice in front of the green and amazingly continued to roll all the way to the back of it. It was that kind of day.
Problems at the start of the round were numerous. I topped a couple of attempted shots with the 3-wood. I caught a couple of bunker shots extremely thin, picking the ball clean when I wanted to catch all sand. Both of these errors may have been caused by shifting or lifting my head before impact. I also had a horrible hook to many of my iron shots. This is a new phenomenon for me, so it caught me off guard. I think the problem is one of tempo, when I get too quick on the downswing. Even after I reminded myself to swing fluidly and easily, I often came down too fast on the downswing. On three or four occasions, I solved the tempo problem and the results were much better. I also got quick with the driver a couple of times, which resulted in a straight pull.
With the exception of one hole, I averaged bogey golf on the back nine. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late. I did manage to get closest to the pin on hole #13, a par-3 measuring 144 yards, so at least I won a consolation prize. Nobody on the tour scored well at this round, so I'm still in the hunt for the championship, which will be decided at Willow Valley Golf Club in early September.
Bring it on!
Score: 109
Par: 71
Putts: 41
Fairways: 4
Greens: 5
August 15, 2008
Charity Tournament at Crosswinds
I drove through a short, but fierce, rainstorm to get to a charity tournament at Crosswinds Golf & Country Club. Playing the ever-popular scramble format, my team did not have a great performance, but we did have a great time, which is what really matters. We actually took home the "Most Honest Golfers" award, which as you may know, is traditionally given to the team that finishes in last place. :D
As far as my individual game went, something very peculiar happened. I was driving the ball amazingly well, but struggling with my short irons. I didn't keep track of the fairways hit, but there were many, probably twice as many as I usually hit. It's too bad then, that I duffed a few short iron shots and hooked a few others. It was weird. However, I am not too worried. I think I can fix that fairly easily.
My next round is a Deepwoods event at Oakridge Golf Club. I'm near the top of the leaderboard, so I need a good round to put some pressure on my competitors.
As far as my individual game went, something very peculiar happened. I was driving the ball amazingly well, but struggling with my short irons. I didn't keep track of the fairways hit, but there were many, probably twice as many as I usually hit. It's too bad then, that I duffed a few short iron shots and hooked a few others. It was weird. However, I am not too worried. I think I can fix that fairly easily.
My next round is a Deepwoods event at Oakridge Golf Club. I'm near the top of the leaderboard, so I need a good round to put some pressure on my competitors.
August 11, 2008
Winning Duffer at Delightful King's Forest
I had the lowest net score in round seven of the Duffer's Dream Tour, which was held at King's Forest Golf Club. This was my second victory on the tour. More later.
It was my first visit ever to King's Forest and I thoroughly enjoyed the course. I'm a bit of a sucker for older parkland style courses, as they seem to arouse a certain degree of nostalgia. I can imagine players enjoying these types of courses in simpler times, when the golf industry wasn't quite the behemoth it is today.
I opened the round with a par on the first hole, a 432-yard par-4. I found out later that no one else in the field managed to score par on this particular hole. My drive from the elevated tee came to rest a few feet into the right rough. From there, I hit a pure 6-iron that landed softly on the green, pin-high. I made a nice lag putt and a tap-in for the textbook par.
Criss crossing over the rushing river, I played the next three holes fairly well. I did extremely well to save bogey on the third hole, after starting with a pulled 3-wood of the tee and a punch shot that bounded right across the width of the fairway. A strongly pulled 4-iron on the fifth hole, a 203-yard par-3, was responsible for a triple-bogey. Fortunately, this was the only triple of the day. I closed out the front nine with four consecutive bogeys, as I hit decent drives, approach shots, chips and putts. Bogey golf seems so easy when one can avoid major mistakes.
I got unlucky on the tenth hole, as I striped my drive down the middle of the fairway, but ended up with a bad lie for my second shot. The fairway slopes quite severely from right to left. My second shot hit a pine cone on the left side of the fairway and deflected into the rough. All of this led to a double bogey. No worries however, as I settled into another groove where I played bogey golf for the next seven holes. This included a par on hole #17, a par-3 measuring 168 yards. My tee shot landed on the green and I had a very good run at the birdie opportunity. Unfortunately, the ball was one rotation short of going in the cup.
I played the par-5 eighteenth hole quite well, hitting a solid drive and advancing the ball with my second shot to the 150-yard marker. I caught my approach shot a tiny bit fat, which worked out poorly because of the soggy condition of the fairway. It seemed I was headed toward par, but I had to settle for a double bogey.
Still, it was enough to collect the low net score and walk away with victory.
Score: 95
Par: 72
Putts: 36
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
It was my first visit ever to King's Forest and I thoroughly enjoyed the course. I'm a bit of a sucker for older parkland style courses, as they seem to arouse a certain degree of nostalgia. I can imagine players enjoying these types of courses in simpler times, when the golf industry wasn't quite the behemoth it is today.
I opened the round with a par on the first hole, a 432-yard par-4. I found out later that no one else in the field managed to score par on this particular hole. My drive from the elevated tee came to rest a few feet into the right rough. From there, I hit a pure 6-iron that landed softly on the green, pin-high. I made a nice lag putt and a tap-in for the textbook par.
Criss crossing over the rushing river, I played the next three holes fairly well. I did extremely well to save bogey on the third hole, after starting with a pulled 3-wood of the tee and a punch shot that bounded right across the width of the fairway. A strongly pulled 4-iron on the fifth hole, a 203-yard par-3, was responsible for a triple-bogey. Fortunately, this was the only triple of the day. I closed out the front nine with four consecutive bogeys, as I hit decent drives, approach shots, chips and putts. Bogey golf seems so easy when one can avoid major mistakes.
I got unlucky on the tenth hole, as I striped my drive down the middle of the fairway, but ended up with a bad lie for my second shot. The fairway slopes quite severely from right to left. My second shot hit a pine cone on the left side of the fairway and deflected into the rough. All of this led to a double bogey. No worries however, as I settled into another groove where I played bogey golf for the next seven holes. This included a par on hole #17, a par-3 measuring 168 yards. My tee shot landed on the green and I had a very good run at the birdie opportunity. Unfortunately, the ball was one rotation short of going in the cup.
I played the par-5 eighteenth hole quite well, hitting a solid drive and advancing the ball with my second shot to the 150-yard marker. I caught my approach shot a tiny bit fat, which worked out poorly because of the soggy condition of the fairway. It seemed I was headed toward par, but I had to settle for a double bogey.
Still, it was enough to collect the low net score and walk away with victory.
Score: 95
Par: 72
Putts: 36
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
Hot Start at Granite Ridge
It was pouring rain when I pulled out of the garage, but the only moisture I had to deal with at Granite Ridge was that which had already fallen on the course. Playing the Cobalt Course, I got off to a good start on the front nine. The stretch included two pars, five bogeys, and two double-bogeys, for a score of 45. The pars came on two of the three greens that I hit in regulation. One of these was a 139-yard par-3, the other a short par-4 measuring 275 yards. The double-bogeys came on a 313-yard par-4 and a par-5 stretching out to 490 yards. I was pulling shots slightly with the driver, but managing to recover. I fared better off the tee on the shorter holes, where I used a 3-wood or an iron. Approach shots were quite good, with just a couple of miscues. The fairways were soggy in certain areas, which probably cost me a couple of strokes. Putting was solid, though not spectacular. I made a lone 3-putt on the fifth hole, a par-3 at 139 yards.
Earlier in the year, I shot a 46 on the back nine at Cobalt, so I really felt like I could take a run at breaking 90. Questions emerged on the eleventh hole, when I topped two tee shots in a row with the 3-wood. This was surprising, since I had been hitting that club well and feeling good with it. I managed to limit the damage to triple-bogey. A double-bogey on the fourteenth hole was disappointing, since my approach shot was rolling right to the front of the green, only to stop dead in some standing water. A 3-putt didn't help. My real undoing however, was on the fifteenth hole. The hardest of the holes on Cobalt's back nine, it is quite unforgiving. The entire right side is out of bounds on this 534-yard par-5. On the left side, marshy areas cover virtually the entire length. I succumbed to the hazards multiple times en route to shooting an abysmal five over par. The 3-wood, 3-iron, and putter all failed me.
I made a nice par on the sixteenth hole, a 130-yard par-3, but then spoiled breaking 100 on the par-4, 351-yard seventeenth hole. My tee shot was short, but in the fairway. I caught my next shot fat, but the ball was still in the fairway, 130 yards away from the green. I took a practice swing with my 9-iron and it felt amazingly good. I know it's only a practice swing, but this swing was so easy and fluid. My playing partner even commented how good the practice swing looked. It's hard to explain therefore, what happened next. I think I threw the club head at the ball, rather than making a committed swing. The club face was open and the ball went waaay to the right, only a short distance. This shot really damaged my concentration. I calculated the distance on my next shot as 100 yards, but then proceeded to hit a full pitching wedge, which for me is 120 yards. I ended up taking a quadruple bogey. I played the eighteenth hole well, but bogey was only good enough to score 100.
Disappointing score for sure, but if I disregard hole #15 and hole #17, I quite like how I played.
Score: 100
Par: 72
Putts: 38
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
Earlier in the year, I shot a 46 on the back nine at Cobalt, so I really felt like I could take a run at breaking 90. Questions emerged on the eleventh hole, when I topped two tee shots in a row with the 3-wood. This was surprising, since I had been hitting that club well and feeling good with it. I managed to limit the damage to triple-bogey. A double-bogey on the fourteenth hole was disappointing, since my approach shot was rolling right to the front of the green, only to stop dead in some standing water. A 3-putt didn't help. My real undoing however, was on the fifteenth hole. The hardest of the holes on Cobalt's back nine, it is quite unforgiving. The entire right side is out of bounds on this 534-yard par-5. On the left side, marshy areas cover virtually the entire length. I succumbed to the hazards multiple times en route to shooting an abysmal five over par. The 3-wood, 3-iron, and putter all failed me.
I made a nice par on the sixteenth hole, a 130-yard par-3, but then spoiled breaking 100 on the par-4, 351-yard seventeenth hole. My tee shot was short, but in the fairway. I caught my next shot fat, but the ball was still in the fairway, 130 yards away from the green. I took a practice swing with my 9-iron and it felt amazingly good. I know it's only a practice swing, but this swing was so easy and fluid. My playing partner even commented how good the practice swing looked. It's hard to explain therefore, what happened next. I think I threw the club head at the ball, rather than making a committed swing. The club face was open and the ball went waaay to the right, only a short distance. This shot really damaged my concentration. I calculated the distance on my next shot as 100 yards, but then proceeded to hit a full pitching wedge, which for me is 120 yards. I ended up taking a quadruple bogey. I played the eighteenth hole well, but bogey was only good enough to score 100.
Disappointing score for sure, but if I disregard hole #15 and hole #17, I quite like how I played.
Score: 100
Par: 72
Putts: 38
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
August 09, 2008
Carrying Place Round Cut Short by Rain
A record amount of rain has fallen in Toronto and many parts of southern Ontario this summer. Despite the heavier than usual rainfall, I have managed to complete all of my golf rounds, with only one significant delay. That was not the case today, as thunderstorms blanketed the entire GTA. I was able to squeeze only eight holes in at Carrying Place Golf & Country Club before thunder and lightning put an end to the soggy outing.
Before the round began at Carrying Place, I spent an hour on the driving range at Cardinal Golf Club, just up the road. It was time well spent, as I got a chance to work on all my clubs, from pitching wedge to driver. The scoring irons (PW to 7-iron) were working very well. I focused almost exclusively on tempo, trying to keep a nice fluid rhythm to my swing. The low irons (6-iron to 3-iron) were not bad, but I was pulling a higher percentage of shots with them, which seems to be my current tendency. Whenever I got the tempo just right with these clubs, the shots straightened out nicely. This is encouraging, because it confirms that a tempo adjustment is all I really need to drastically improve my shot-making. The same observation was made with the fairway woods. I finished up hitting about twenty shots with the driver, but I just could not find the groove with it.
By the time I teed off on the first hole at Carrying Place, the rain was coming down and grey skies loomed all around, so the round was clearly in jeopardy. I hit a poor drive short and to the left rough. The first hole was recently rebuilt, and with all the rain this year, the new rough is extremely lush. I had a hard time getting out of it, and when I finally did, I was in the large bunker that borders the right side of the green. I also had a hard time getting out of the bunker, but when I finally did, I stuck the ball within a couple feet of the hole. I one-putted for a quadruple bogey. Momentum was down.
On the second hole, a 340-yard dogleg right, I hit a good 3-iron off the tee. The ball rolled through the end of the fairway at the dogleg, about three feet into the rough. Thankfully, this rough was not as lush as on the first hole, so I was in good shape. From 150 yards out, I hit a 7-iron to a good distance, but just right of the green, into a bunker. I made a very nice out and two-putted for bogey. Momentum was up.
On the third hole, a 383-yard par-4, I pulled my drive slightly, but got a nice bounce off a mound on the left side of the fairway. The ball came to rest in the middle of the fairway, 157 yards away from the green. I hit a 7-iron to a good distance, but pulled it just into a hazard. After taking a drop, I found myself facing a tricky chip shot, since I was short-sided and had little green to work with. My chip came up about three feet short and got hung up near the green collar. I was forced to chip again, then two-putted for a triple-bogey. Momentum was back down.
On the fourth hole, a 321-yard par-4, I opted for 3-wood off the tee. I hit it low and to the right side of the fairway. It could have ended in the rough, but it caught a bit of a slope and came to rest in the middle of the fairway, 135 yards away from the green. The pin was in the back, so I attacked with an 8-iron. Once again, distance was good, but the ball travelled just right of target, ending in yet another bunker. I hit a good out to the back of the green and finished with a solid two-putt for bogey. Momentum was back up.
On the fifth hole, also Carrying Place's most difficult, things got very interesting. Players must hit their tee shots 190 yards to this par-3 almost entirely over water. I went with a 5-wood and the distance was good. Unfortunately, I pulled it slightly left of the green and was in danger of being out of bounds. When I found my ball, it was still in bounds, but directly beneath a pine tree. The next shot was the shot of the day. Using a 3-wood, because it has a longer shaft that could help me reach the ball under the pine tree, I punched a low shot in the direction of the flag. I couldn't see anything because of the pine branches, but my playing partner told me the ball rolled an inch by the edge of the hole. It stopped at a point three or four feet past the hole, from which I calmly drained the par putt. Momentum was still up.
On the sixth hole, I pulled my drive left of the fairway and was once again at the base of a pine tree. I had less success punching out with the 3-wood this time. After punching out, I played a baby pitch shot back to the fairway, about 150 yards away from the green. Since the approach was uphill, I added an extra club than I would normally play with, going with a 6-iron. Distance was again good, but again I pulled it slightly into a bunker. I barely had enough room in the bunker to take a stance, but I established my footing and hit a good out. My first putt lipped out, so I needed another to complete the triple-bogey. Momentum was down again.
On the seventh hole, a par-3 measuring 164 yards, I hit a 7-iron from the elevated tee. The distance was good, but the shot was pulled slightly. That's OK on this hole, since right of the green is all water. I made a delicate chip shot, then a long uphill putt to save par. Momentum was up again.
On the eighth hole, a par-5, the rain came down harder than it had on the previous holes. My drive found the rough just left of the fairway. Next, I hit a 6-iron in the direction of the 150-yard marker. Of course, it veered further left than I wanted and I was still a few feet into the left rough. I payed the penalty on my next shot, as the lush rough made it difficult to reach the green. I was only able to get the ball back in the fairway. From 95 yards out, I caught the ball too fat and it only travelled half the desired distance. My next chip shot was exactly as I planned it, but the ball died on the first bounce in front of the green. I had a very long putt and made a nice job of it. Unfortunately, with the thunder beginning, I required two more to hole out for a triple bogey. Momentum was down yet again.
It may sound like an up and down round, but I was playing with an even keel all the way through. The holes with the big scores weren't really bothering me, since I was making some good shots at the same time. I had the feeling that I could get better as the round progressed, but the rain and thunderstorm took away that chance.
If I put the score aside, I like the way I was playing. My approach shots were always the right distance, just a fraction off line. I made three or four nice sand shots. I one-putted four of eight holes. My driver was not good, but it wasn't killing me. This is one to build on, for sure.
Score: 46
Par: 31
Putts: 13
Fairways: 3
Greens: 0
NOTE: stats are for holes 1-8 only
Before the round began at Carrying Place, I spent an hour on the driving range at Cardinal Golf Club, just up the road. It was time well spent, as I got a chance to work on all my clubs, from pitching wedge to driver. The scoring irons (PW to 7-iron) were working very well. I focused almost exclusively on tempo, trying to keep a nice fluid rhythm to my swing. The low irons (6-iron to 3-iron) were not bad, but I was pulling a higher percentage of shots with them, which seems to be my current tendency. Whenever I got the tempo just right with these clubs, the shots straightened out nicely. This is encouraging, because it confirms that a tempo adjustment is all I really need to drastically improve my shot-making. The same observation was made with the fairway woods. I finished up hitting about twenty shots with the driver, but I just could not find the groove with it.
By the time I teed off on the first hole at Carrying Place, the rain was coming down and grey skies loomed all around, so the round was clearly in jeopardy. I hit a poor drive short and to the left rough. The first hole was recently rebuilt, and with all the rain this year, the new rough is extremely lush. I had a hard time getting out of it, and when I finally did, I was in the large bunker that borders the right side of the green. I also had a hard time getting out of the bunker, but when I finally did, I stuck the ball within a couple feet of the hole. I one-putted for a quadruple bogey. Momentum was down.
On the second hole, a 340-yard dogleg right, I hit a good 3-iron off the tee. The ball rolled through the end of the fairway at the dogleg, about three feet into the rough. Thankfully, this rough was not as lush as on the first hole, so I was in good shape. From 150 yards out, I hit a 7-iron to a good distance, but just right of the green, into a bunker. I made a very nice out and two-putted for bogey. Momentum was up.
On the third hole, a 383-yard par-4, I pulled my drive slightly, but got a nice bounce off a mound on the left side of the fairway. The ball came to rest in the middle of the fairway, 157 yards away from the green. I hit a 7-iron to a good distance, but pulled it just into a hazard. After taking a drop, I found myself facing a tricky chip shot, since I was short-sided and had little green to work with. My chip came up about three feet short and got hung up near the green collar. I was forced to chip again, then two-putted for a triple-bogey. Momentum was back down.
On the fourth hole, a 321-yard par-4, I opted for 3-wood off the tee. I hit it low and to the right side of the fairway. It could have ended in the rough, but it caught a bit of a slope and came to rest in the middle of the fairway, 135 yards away from the green. The pin was in the back, so I attacked with an 8-iron. Once again, distance was good, but the ball travelled just right of target, ending in yet another bunker. I hit a good out to the back of the green and finished with a solid two-putt for bogey. Momentum was back up.
On the fifth hole, also Carrying Place's most difficult, things got very interesting. Players must hit their tee shots 190 yards to this par-3 almost entirely over water. I went with a 5-wood and the distance was good. Unfortunately, I pulled it slightly left of the green and was in danger of being out of bounds. When I found my ball, it was still in bounds, but directly beneath a pine tree. The next shot was the shot of the day. Using a 3-wood, because it has a longer shaft that could help me reach the ball under the pine tree, I punched a low shot in the direction of the flag. I couldn't see anything because of the pine branches, but my playing partner told me the ball rolled an inch by the edge of the hole. It stopped at a point three or four feet past the hole, from which I calmly drained the par putt. Momentum was still up.
On the sixth hole, I pulled my drive left of the fairway and was once again at the base of a pine tree. I had less success punching out with the 3-wood this time. After punching out, I played a baby pitch shot back to the fairway, about 150 yards away from the green. Since the approach was uphill, I added an extra club than I would normally play with, going with a 6-iron. Distance was again good, but again I pulled it slightly into a bunker. I barely had enough room in the bunker to take a stance, but I established my footing and hit a good out. My first putt lipped out, so I needed another to complete the triple-bogey. Momentum was down again.
On the seventh hole, a par-3 measuring 164 yards, I hit a 7-iron from the elevated tee. The distance was good, but the shot was pulled slightly. That's OK on this hole, since right of the green is all water. I made a delicate chip shot, then a long uphill putt to save par. Momentum was up again.
On the eighth hole, a par-5, the rain came down harder than it had on the previous holes. My drive found the rough just left of the fairway. Next, I hit a 6-iron in the direction of the 150-yard marker. Of course, it veered further left than I wanted and I was still a few feet into the left rough. I payed the penalty on my next shot, as the lush rough made it difficult to reach the green. I was only able to get the ball back in the fairway. From 95 yards out, I caught the ball too fat and it only travelled half the desired distance. My next chip shot was exactly as I planned it, but the ball died on the first bounce in front of the green. I had a very long putt and made a nice job of it. Unfortunately, with the thunder beginning, I required two more to hole out for a triple bogey. Momentum was down yet again.
It may sound like an up and down round, but I was playing with an even keel all the way through. The holes with the big scores weren't really bothering me, since I was making some good shots at the same time. I had the feeling that I could get better as the round progressed, but the rain and thunderstorm took away that chance.
If I put the score aside, I like the way I was playing. My approach shots were always the right distance, just a fraction off line. I made three or four nice sand shots. I one-putted four of eight holes. My driver was not good, but it wasn't killing me. This is one to build on, for sure.
Score: 46
Par: 31
Putts: 13
Fairways: 3
Greens: 0
NOTE: stats are for holes 1-8 only
August 04, 2008
Gutting it Out at Deer Creek
For the second consecutive day, I had to grind hard to break one hundred. This time, it was on the South Course at Deer Creek. I got off to an abysmal start that lasted for six long holes. Fortunately, I got on track after that.
On the first hole, I duffed my tee shot and plunked the ball in the pond immediately in front of the tee box. My approach to the green with a sand wedge drifted under a pine tree. Those were the two worst shots en route to a quadruple-bogey. On hole #2, my tee shot went way right, into the hazard. A disastrous triple-bogey ensued. Double-bogey was the result on hole #4, a 137-yard par-3 to a green surrounded by water on three sides. I hit an 8-iron the correct distance, but pulled it left of the green, into the water. On hole #5, a simple par-4 with little danger, I could not hit any clubs correctly. I tallied yet another quad there.
Despite the horrific start, I was still in the game mentally. Usually, that kind of start is enough to send me off the deep end for the rest of a round. On the seventh hole, a 502-yard par-5, the turnaround began. I hit a straight drive into the middle of the fairway, followed by a mediocre 3-wood to the first cut on the left side of the fairway. A pitching wedge from 100 yards put me reasonably close to the hole. I missed the birdie putt, but tapped in for par. On the eighth hole, a par-3 that was playing about 160 yards, I hit my tee shot to within 10 feet of the cup. I proceeded to drain the putt for a rare birdie. I closed out the front nine with another par, leaving me with a score of 51 at the turn.
The back nine was much more consistent, as I completed it with no worse than double-bogey on any hole. One of those, which happened to come on the fourteenth hole, was particularly painful. Measuring 545 yards, this par-5 is quite a good test. I found the fairway with my drive, hit a 3-iron to the fairway, and nailed the green with a 9-iron. I had a very long putt and hit it with the perfect weight, but was about 7 feet right of the target. My next putt was decent, but it burned the edge and travelled a little too far past the hole. Sure enough, I missed the next one! I was on the green in regulation, but 4-putted for the dreaded double-bogey. This could have been a momentum killer, but I just put it out of my mind. I moved on to the next hole and closed out the round going bogey, par, bogey, bogey. The last hole should have been a par, as I missed a straight two-footer.
Overall, the round was not great. However, I was pleased with my mental fortitude and the fact that I did not let a bad start destroy the whole round.
Score: 97
Par: 71
Putts: 37
Fairways: 5
Greens: 6
On the first hole, I duffed my tee shot and plunked the ball in the pond immediately in front of the tee box. My approach to the green with a sand wedge drifted under a pine tree. Those were the two worst shots en route to a quadruple-bogey. On hole #2, my tee shot went way right, into the hazard. A disastrous triple-bogey ensued. Double-bogey was the result on hole #4, a 137-yard par-3 to a green surrounded by water on three sides. I hit an 8-iron the correct distance, but pulled it left of the green, into the water. On hole #5, a simple par-4 with little danger, I could not hit any clubs correctly. I tallied yet another quad there.
Despite the horrific start, I was still in the game mentally. Usually, that kind of start is enough to send me off the deep end for the rest of a round. On the seventh hole, a 502-yard par-5, the turnaround began. I hit a straight drive into the middle of the fairway, followed by a mediocre 3-wood to the first cut on the left side of the fairway. A pitching wedge from 100 yards put me reasonably close to the hole. I missed the birdie putt, but tapped in for par. On the eighth hole, a par-3 that was playing about 160 yards, I hit my tee shot to within 10 feet of the cup. I proceeded to drain the putt for a rare birdie. I closed out the front nine with another par, leaving me with a score of 51 at the turn.
The back nine was much more consistent, as I completed it with no worse than double-bogey on any hole. One of those, which happened to come on the fourteenth hole, was particularly painful. Measuring 545 yards, this par-5 is quite a good test. I found the fairway with my drive, hit a 3-iron to the fairway, and nailed the green with a 9-iron. I had a very long putt and hit it with the perfect weight, but was about 7 feet right of the target. My next putt was decent, but it burned the edge and travelled a little too far past the hole. Sure enough, I missed the next one! I was on the green in regulation, but 4-putted for the dreaded double-bogey. This could have been a momentum killer, but I just put it out of my mind. I moved on to the next hole and closed out the round going bogey, par, bogey, bogey. The last hole should have been a par, as I missed a straight two-footer.
Overall, the round was not great. However, I was pleased with my mental fortitude and the fact that I did not let a bad start destroy the whole round.
Score: 97
Par: 71
Putts: 37
Fairways: 5
Greens: 6
August 03, 2008
Barely Holding on at Hornby Glen
It was Sunday of the long weekend and a great day for golf. Playing at Hornby Glen, I enjoyed the outing quite a bit, even though my game was far from spectacular.
I hit the first two greens in regulation, but 3-putted the first hole and 4-putted the second. I also 3-putted the fourth and fifth holes. The greens were absolutely eating me up! I played Hornby Glen quite a few times over the past few years, but the greens had never been this fast. Lacking any major impediments other than the occasional long rough, maybe the staff decided slicker greens was the way to go.
The speed of the greens came into play on a number of my chip attempts. I found myself short-sided quite a few times, with two options. The first option was to land the chip shot in the rough or fringe just before the green. If executed perfectly, the ball would take one bounce in the rough or fringe and decelerate just enough to finish somewhere near the hole. The second option was to fly the ball safely to the green, accepting the fact that it would probably finish somewhere past the hole. I chose the second option every time, which I still think was the right decision. I was amazed however at how far the ball rolled on the greens after landing. It was unbelievable. In some cases, I rolled right off the other side.
I did manage a couple of pars on holes six and eight, a par-5 and par-3 respectively. The drive on #6 was particularly satisfying, as it travelled about 285 yards downwind. After nine holes, I was shooting 50.
My putting got a little better on the back nine, but I still amassed a couple of 3-putts on holes twelve and eighteen. The first putt on #12 was a downhill one that kept going, and going, and going. The first one on #18 was an uphill one that was struck a tad too firm.
I played more controlled golf on the back nine, but the result was almost the same. A triple bogey thanks to a lost tee shot on hole #15 was the only real wild moment. Unfortunately, there were also no pars to be had.
I needed three consecutive bogeys to break 100, so at least I managed to salvage that. Had I added just a single more stroke, it would have been devastating.
Score: 99
Par: 72
Putts: 42
Fairways: 2
Greens: 5
I hit the first two greens in regulation, but 3-putted the first hole and 4-putted the second. I also 3-putted the fourth and fifth holes. The greens were absolutely eating me up! I played Hornby Glen quite a few times over the past few years, but the greens had never been this fast. Lacking any major impediments other than the occasional long rough, maybe the staff decided slicker greens was the way to go.
The speed of the greens came into play on a number of my chip attempts. I found myself short-sided quite a few times, with two options. The first option was to land the chip shot in the rough or fringe just before the green. If executed perfectly, the ball would take one bounce in the rough or fringe and decelerate just enough to finish somewhere near the hole. The second option was to fly the ball safely to the green, accepting the fact that it would probably finish somewhere past the hole. I chose the second option every time, which I still think was the right decision. I was amazed however at how far the ball rolled on the greens after landing. It was unbelievable. In some cases, I rolled right off the other side.
I did manage a couple of pars on holes six and eight, a par-5 and par-3 respectively. The drive on #6 was particularly satisfying, as it travelled about 285 yards downwind. After nine holes, I was shooting 50.
My putting got a little better on the back nine, but I still amassed a couple of 3-putts on holes twelve and eighteen. The first putt on #12 was a downhill one that kept going, and going, and going. The first one on #18 was an uphill one that was struck a tad too firm.
I played more controlled golf on the back nine, but the result was almost the same. A triple bogey thanks to a lost tee shot on hole #15 was the only real wild moment. Unfortunately, there were also no pars to be had.
I needed three consecutive bogeys to break 100, so at least I managed to salvage that. Had I added just a single more stroke, it would have been devastating.
Score: 99
Par: 72
Putts: 42
Fairways: 2
Greens: 5
July 26, 2008
Wasted Time at Angus Glen
Money wasn't the only thing I wasted at Angus Glen on Saturday. I also wasted my time. Then again, if I didn't waste it on the golf course, I'd be wasting it somewhere else, so what the hell.
Posting these results is getting to be embarrassing, so I'll keep it short:
I pulled most tee shots with the driver. Only a couple were pushed right.
I pulled a tee shot with the 3-wood en route to six over par on the tenth hole.
I pulled most approach shots with all irons. Only a couple were pushed right.
I made decent chips, with poor results.
I made decent putts, with poor results.
I made good decisions at times, but there was no reward.
I can no longer hit the 3-wood from the fairway. It used to be my best club.
I can not recover after a bad hole. You don't understand the rage.
Practice does not make perfect. Don't be gullible.
Good things do not come to those who wait.
Good guys do finish last. Always.
There is no justice. Only evil.
There is no Santa Claus. However, there are plenty of thieves, cheaters and liars.
You can't do whatever you set your mind to. However, you can be run over by a bus.
In the end, you will die and nobody will care.
Score: 111
Par: 72
Putts: 38
Fairways: 4
Greens: 2
Posting these results is getting to be embarrassing, so I'll keep it short:
I pulled most tee shots with the driver. Only a couple were pushed right.
I pulled a tee shot with the 3-wood en route to six over par on the tenth hole.
I pulled most approach shots with all irons. Only a couple were pushed right.
I made decent chips, with poor results.
I made decent putts, with poor results.
I made good decisions at times, but there was no reward.
I can no longer hit the 3-wood from the fairway. It used to be my best club.
I can not recover after a bad hole. You don't understand the rage.
Practice does not make perfect. Don't be gullible.
Good things do not come to those who wait.
Good guys do finish last. Always.
There is no justice. Only evil.
There is no Santa Claus. However, there are plenty of thieves, cheaters and liars.
You can't do whatever you set your mind to. However, you can be run over by a bus.
In the end, you will die and nobody will care.
Score: 111
Par: 72
Putts: 38
Fairways: 4
Greens: 2
July 22, 2008
Duffers' Rules Far Too Lax
I joined the Duffers' Dream Tour earlier this year and for the most part, it has been very enjoyable. The scheduling of rounds and the variety of courses suits me perfectly. In addition, organization of the league is good and the fees are reasonable. The size of the field on the weekday tour is modest, but this is okay since everyone can tee off within an hour of each other. The only thing I don't particularly like about the league are the peculiar rules it seems to employ.
The latest round at Hidden Lake really highlighted this issue. Prior to this round, I was only aware of a couple major deviations from the rules on the Duffers' Dream Tour. For balls that go out of bounds, players are allowed to take a one stroke penalty and drop a ball within two club lengths of the point where the original ball went out of bounds. Under the Rules of Golf, players would normally have to take a one stroke penalty and play a ball from the same location where the original ball was struck. The Duffers' Dream Tour also caps individual hole scores at twice the value of par. Both of these rule deviations are designed to speed up play, which is a worthy goal. They were communicated to me at the beginning of the season, so I don't really have a problem with them.
At Hidden Lake however, I became aware of a new twist. Playing the sixteenth hole on the New Course, a short par-4, one of my playing partners hit his tee shot well right of the fairway into some long fescue and trees. He then declared that he was hitting a provisional ball, which travelled well left of the fairway into more long fescue. We searched for his original ball for some time, with no luck. At that point, he declared that he would drop a ball at "point of entry" and take a one stroke penalty. He claimed that the Duffers' Dream Tour treated fescue as a lateral hazard, thereby permitting him to do this. After dropping a ball, he hit his third shot just off the green. After a chip and a putt, he marked a five on his scorecard.
This is such an abomination of the Rules of Golf, that I thought there was no way it would stand up. We brought it up to the league organizer at the end of the round and, to my absolute amazement, he let it stand. What??? According to the Rules of Golf, the player should have been hitting his fifth shot from the tee, because neither of his first two tee shots could be found. Instead, he scored five for the whole hole. That is a gift of at least three strokes, maybe more if he continued to struggle off the tee. To make matters worse, the same player used the same loophole to save strokes on another hole too. I'm sorry, but when you deviate this far from the rules, you are no longer playing golf, just a poor facsimile of it.
Even if you treat fescue as a lateral hazard (it's so ridiculous I feel silly saying it) then the player should have dropped where his second ball entered the fescue, because he declared that ball a provisional. The only way you can ignore a provisional ball is if you find the original. In this case, the player did not find the original, so he would have been laying four after his drop.
All of this was particularly annoying for two reasons. First of all, I had played five and a half rounds on the Duffers' Dream Tour without being told of this deviation from the rules. Had I known, I could have saved a few strokes myself along the way. Worse yet, at a previous round, I was denied relief from a cart path on a very harsh call. My tee shot landed in long fescue just right of the cart path. In addressing the ball, my feet were on the cart path, so I was allowed to drop the ball at the closest point of relief, no closer to the hole, with no penalty. In my estimation, the closest point of relief was the fairly tame rough on the opposite side of the cart path, but my partners insisted that the closest point of relief was backwards on the same side of the path where the fescue lay. It was extremely close and we probably needed a tape measure to settle it, but just to avoid the hassle, I played the ball where it lay. The point is, they were extremely picky in that situation. How then, do you explain the extremely lax attitude toward the situation at Hidden Lake?
In another bizarre decision, players at Hidden Lake were allowed to lift, clean, and place their balls through the green. Lift, clean, and place is allowed sometimes when a course is particularly soggy after heavy rainfall. We did have rain the day before, but the course was sufficiently dry that this was not necessary at all. In fact, it wasn't even necessary the day it actually rained. I know because I played the very same course on that day as part of the Deepwoods Tour. The kicker is that the Duffers' Dream Tour allowed players to lift, clean, and place anywhere on the course - even the rough! I have never seen this anywhere. It allows players who bury a ball in the rough to clean it off and prop it up nicely on the grass. Way too lax, is all I can say.
Bizarre rules aside, I had a pretty good round. My driving was still no good, as I was pulling everything off the tee left of target. However, my irons were decent, as was my putting.
Score: 93
Par: 71
Putts: 38
Fairways: 2
Greens: 7
The latest round at Hidden Lake really highlighted this issue. Prior to this round, I was only aware of a couple major deviations from the rules on the Duffers' Dream Tour. For balls that go out of bounds, players are allowed to take a one stroke penalty and drop a ball within two club lengths of the point where the original ball went out of bounds. Under the Rules of Golf, players would normally have to take a one stroke penalty and play a ball from the same location where the original ball was struck. The Duffers' Dream Tour also caps individual hole scores at twice the value of par. Both of these rule deviations are designed to speed up play, which is a worthy goal. They were communicated to me at the beginning of the season, so I don't really have a problem with them.
At Hidden Lake however, I became aware of a new twist. Playing the sixteenth hole on the New Course, a short par-4, one of my playing partners hit his tee shot well right of the fairway into some long fescue and trees. He then declared that he was hitting a provisional ball, which travelled well left of the fairway into more long fescue. We searched for his original ball for some time, with no luck. At that point, he declared that he would drop a ball at "point of entry" and take a one stroke penalty. He claimed that the Duffers' Dream Tour treated fescue as a lateral hazard, thereby permitting him to do this. After dropping a ball, he hit his third shot just off the green. After a chip and a putt, he marked a five on his scorecard.
This is such an abomination of the Rules of Golf, that I thought there was no way it would stand up. We brought it up to the league organizer at the end of the round and, to my absolute amazement, he let it stand. What??? According to the Rules of Golf, the player should have been hitting his fifth shot from the tee, because neither of his first two tee shots could be found. Instead, he scored five for the whole hole. That is a gift of at least three strokes, maybe more if he continued to struggle off the tee. To make matters worse, the same player used the same loophole to save strokes on another hole too. I'm sorry, but when you deviate this far from the rules, you are no longer playing golf, just a poor facsimile of it.
Even if you treat fescue as a lateral hazard (it's so ridiculous I feel silly saying it) then the player should have dropped where his second ball entered the fescue, because he declared that ball a provisional. The only way you can ignore a provisional ball is if you find the original. In this case, the player did not find the original, so he would have been laying four after his drop.
All of this was particularly annoying for two reasons. First of all, I had played five and a half rounds on the Duffers' Dream Tour without being told of this deviation from the rules. Had I known, I could have saved a few strokes myself along the way. Worse yet, at a previous round, I was denied relief from a cart path on a very harsh call. My tee shot landed in long fescue just right of the cart path. In addressing the ball, my feet were on the cart path, so I was allowed to drop the ball at the closest point of relief, no closer to the hole, with no penalty. In my estimation, the closest point of relief was the fairly tame rough on the opposite side of the cart path, but my partners insisted that the closest point of relief was backwards on the same side of the path where the fescue lay. It was extremely close and we probably needed a tape measure to settle it, but just to avoid the hassle, I played the ball where it lay. The point is, they were extremely picky in that situation. How then, do you explain the extremely lax attitude toward the situation at Hidden Lake?
In another bizarre decision, players at Hidden Lake were allowed to lift, clean, and place their balls through the green. Lift, clean, and place is allowed sometimes when a course is particularly soggy after heavy rainfall. We did have rain the day before, but the course was sufficiently dry that this was not necessary at all. In fact, it wasn't even necessary the day it actually rained. I know because I played the very same course on that day as part of the Deepwoods Tour. The kicker is that the Duffers' Dream Tour allowed players to lift, clean, and place anywhere on the course - even the rough! I have never seen this anywhere. It allows players who bury a ball in the rough to clean it off and prop it up nicely on the grass. Way too lax, is all I can say.
Bizarre rules aside, I had a pretty good round. My driving was still no good, as I was pulling everything off the tee left of target. However, my irons were decent, as was my putting.
Score: 93
Par: 71
Putts: 38
Fairways: 2
Greens: 7
July 20, 2008
Return to the New Course at Hidden Lake
Round 3 of the Deepwoods Tour went off on the New Course at Hidden Lake. My last few visits to Hidden Lake were on the Old Course, so it was nice to finally play the New Course again. In light drizzle, the first three holes went bogey, par, bogey. I hit a couple fairways and one green in that stretch, while putting was also solid.
Then the rain picked up and things got a little sketchy. I pulled my drive on hole #4, forcing me to punch a low 3-iron to get the ball back to the fairway. From 140 yards out, my 8-iron was a tad fat and I came up short. My chip also came up short, as the ball was in a very mushy area in front of the green. Putting from just off the green, I finished with a triple bogey. Even worse was the next hole, which I finished in 5 over par, thanks to two consecutive balls pulled straight off the tee.
On hole #6, a 149-yard par-3, I hit a lovely 7-iron flag high, then drained a 12-footer for birdie. Sweet! Another nice shot came on hole #7. My third shot drifted well right of the green, about 60 yards away. I hit a sand wedge over some extremely tall trees and landed pin high on the edge of the green. I made a solid two-putt to save bogey. After nine holes, I was sitting at 48. Not bad.
The tenth hole, a 383-yard par-4 was very frustrating. I hit a beautiful drive, leaving 150 yards to the pin. My 7-iron was flag high, but left of the green by about 15 yards. I had to keep the chip shot low to avoid hitting some tree branches. I was trying to land the ball in the rough about two yards before the green. That would have taken most of the speed off, allowing the ball to pop onto the green comfortably. Unfortunately, the ball carried a few yards too long, taking its first bounce on the green itself. It skidded across the entire green to the opposite rough. I then caught the next chip attempt thin, launching the ball back across the entire green. All of this led to a very unnecessary triple bogey.
On the eleventh hole, a 144-yard par-3, I hit a beautiful 8-iron to the pin, which was tucked in the extreme right portion of the green. I was in definite birdie range, but I hit the putt softly, coming up short. I settled for par. Holes twelve through fourteen were mediocre, resulting in double-bogey, bogey, and double-bogey. The double on #14 was tough to swallow, as my bogey putt was right on the money, but broke hard left at the very last second.
Holes fifteen through eighteen were very good, resulting in par, par, bogey, and par. I hit three fairways in that stretch, which set me up for decent finishes. On hole #17, my par putt barely missed, which was too bad. It would have been nice to finish with four pars in a row.
All in all, it was a good round. Despite pretty bad weather, I emerged with what I consider a respectable score.
Score: 93
Par: 71
Putts: 36
Fairways: 6
Greens: 5
Then the rain picked up and things got a little sketchy. I pulled my drive on hole #4, forcing me to punch a low 3-iron to get the ball back to the fairway. From 140 yards out, my 8-iron was a tad fat and I came up short. My chip also came up short, as the ball was in a very mushy area in front of the green. Putting from just off the green, I finished with a triple bogey. Even worse was the next hole, which I finished in 5 over par, thanks to two consecutive balls pulled straight off the tee.
On hole #6, a 149-yard par-3, I hit a lovely 7-iron flag high, then drained a 12-footer for birdie. Sweet! Another nice shot came on hole #7. My third shot drifted well right of the green, about 60 yards away. I hit a sand wedge over some extremely tall trees and landed pin high on the edge of the green. I made a solid two-putt to save bogey. After nine holes, I was sitting at 48. Not bad.
The tenth hole, a 383-yard par-4 was very frustrating. I hit a beautiful drive, leaving 150 yards to the pin. My 7-iron was flag high, but left of the green by about 15 yards. I had to keep the chip shot low to avoid hitting some tree branches. I was trying to land the ball in the rough about two yards before the green. That would have taken most of the speed off, allowing the ball to pop onto the green comfortably. Unfortunately, the ball carried a few yards too long, taking its first bounce on the green itself. It skidded across the entire green to the opposite rough. I then caught the next chip attempt thin, launching the ball back across the entire green. All of this led to a very unnecessary triple bogey.
On the eleventh hole, a 144-yard par-3, I hit a beautiful 8-iron to the pin, which was tucked in the extreme right portion of the green. I was in definite birdie range, but I hit the putt softly, coming up short. I settled for par. Holes twelve through fourteen were mediocre, resulting in double-bogey, bogey, and double-bogey. The double on #14 was tough to swallow, as my bogey putt was right on the money, but broke hard left at the very last second.
Holes fifteen through eighteen were very good, resulting in par, par, bogey, and par. I hit three fairways in that stretch, which set me up for decent finishes. On hole #17, my par putt barely missed, which was too bad. It would have been nice to finish with four pars in a row.
All in all, it was a good round. Despite pretty bad weather, I emerged with what I consider a respectable score.
Score: 93
Par: 71
Putts: 36
Fairways: 6
Greens: 5
July 13, 2008
Lousy at Lionhead
If you step up to the first tee at a golf course and pull three consecutive balls into irretrievable territory, how do you expect that round to play out? Let me ask the same question in a different way. If you add six strokes to your card before you even tee up your first ball, what kind of score do you think you'll achieve?
If you need me to answer, then you're not a golfer. An idiot perhaps, but not a golfer. That's not to say that golfers can't be idiots. In fact, we may be the biggest idiots of all. Why else would we subject ourselves to this cruel sport, and pay handsomely for the privilege?
The scenario I described took place during my last round at Lionhead Golf & Country Club. It was my first visit to the club and I was playing the Masters course. After I launched the first ball into oblivion, the starter said something about taking a Mulligan. Let me be clear about something. I don't take Mulligans. I may suck as a golfer, but at least I count every stroke I take, including penalties. So thanks very much for the suggestion Mr. Starter, but no thanks.
I could go on an on describing all the terrible shots I had throughout the round, but why bother? What good would that do? I could also cherry pick the few good shots I made and talk about those, but to what end? The fact of the matter is I suck. I have a respectable round once in a blue moon, but it doesn't change the fact that I suck. I can't drive the ball consistently. I can't hit my irons regularly. My chipping and putting comes and goes. I don't have the mental strength to put bad shots behind me. Basically, I suck in every facet of the game.
I play a lot. It makes no difference. I practice. It makes no difference. I take lessons. It makes no difference. I read books, magazines, and other articles. It makes no difference. I buy better equipment. It makes no difference. I watch and listen to those who play better than I do. It makes no difference. Nothing makes a differnce. When you suck, you suck, and that's all there is to it.
So I suck, but at the end of this round I hit a new low. You see, I was playing with a friend of mine, a single-digit handicapper who I've played with many times. In all the times we had played together, I had never given him a single piece of golf advice. I never commented on his setup or swing. I never even suggested what club he should hit, or what line he should take. Why would I? It would make absolutely no sense for a single-digit handicapper to take advice from me, just like it wouldn't make sense for me to accept advice from a 30 handicapper.
For some reason though, I decided this time that I would weigh in on his birdie putt on the eighteenth hole. He had pretty much settled on a line that started the ball one cup width left of the hole. I convinced him that left edge of the cup was enough. He proceeded to hit the ball exactly on the line I suggested, and with perfect weight. Of course, the ball missed just right of the hole. His initial read turned out to be the right one. Thanks to my lousy advice, he finished with a score of 78, instead of 77.
Needless to say, that will be the first and last bit of advice I ever give him. It's bad enough that I poison my own game, there's no need for me to punish those who can actually play.
As an extra slap in the face, my average score is now over 100 for the first time in the 2008 season. It took twenty rounds, but there you go. Pathetic!
Score: 113
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 6
Greens: 1
If you need me to answer, then you're not a golfer. An idiot perhaps, but not a golfer. That's not to say that golfers can't be idiots. In fact, we may be the biggest idiots of all. Why else would we subject ourselves to this cruel sport, and pay handsomely for the privilege?
The scenario I described took place during my last round at Lionhead Golf & Country Club. It was my first visit to the club and I was playing the Masters course. After I launched the first ball into oblivion, the starter said something about taking a Mulligan. Let me be clear about something. I don't take Mulligans. I may suck as a golfer, but at least I count every stroke I take, including penalties. So thanks very much for the suggestion Mr. Starter, but no thanks.
I could go on an on describing all the terrible shots I had throughout the round, but why bother? What good would that do? I could also cherry pick the few good shots I made and talk about those, but to what end? The fact of the matter is I suck. I have a respectable round once in a blue moon, but it doesn't change the fact that I suck. I can't drive the ball consistently. I can't hit my irons regularly. My chipping and putting comes and goes. I don't have the mental strength to put bad shots behind me. Basically, I suck in every facet of the game.
I play a lot. It makes no difference. I practice. It makes no difference. I take lessons. It makes no difference. I read books, magazines, and other articles. It makes no difference. I buy better equipment. It makes no difference. I watch and listen to those who play better than I do. It makes no difference. Nothing makes a differnce. When you suck, you suck, and that's all there is to it.
So I suck, but at the end of this round I hit a new low. You see, I was playing with a friend of mine, a single-digit handicapper who I've played with many times. In all the times we had played together, I had never given him a single piece of golf advice. I never commented on his setup or swing. I never even suggested what club he should hit, or what line he should take. Why would I? It would make absolutely no sense for a single-digit handicapper to take advice from me, just like it wouldn't make sense for me to accept advice from a 30 handicapper.
For some reason though, I decided this time that I would weigh in on his birdie putt on the eighteenth hole. He had pretty much settled on a line that started the ball one cup width left of the hole. I convinced him that left edge of the cup was enough. He proceeded to hit the ball exactly on the line I suggested, and with perfect weight. Of course, the ball missed just right of the hole. His initial read turned out to be the right one. Thanks to my lousy advice, he finished with a score of 78, instead of 77.
Needless to say, that will be the first and last bit of advice I ever give him. It's bad enough that I poison my own game, there's no need for me to punish those who can actually play.
As an extra slap in the face, my average score is now over 100 for the first time in the 2008 season. It took twenty rounds, but there you go. Pathetic!
Score: 113
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 6
Greens: 1
July 07, 2008
Did I Mention I Love This Game?
Willow Valley
A Duffer's Dream Tour event. I had a fantastic back nine to salvage a respectable score. More later.
Score: 92
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 8
Greens: 10
A Duffer's Dream Tour event. I had a fantastic back nine to salvage a respectable score. More later.
Score: 92
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 8
Greens: 10
July 06, 2008
Did I Mention I Hate This Game?
It's been a while since I posted anything. Time to catch up. Here are my latest rounds, most recent at the top.
Kedron Dells
Kedron Dells, you are my nemesis. I hate you with a passion. Don't get me wrong, you are a fine course. You provide a great challenge and good value. It's just that you deplete my energy and sap my spirit like no other track. Other courses are more difficult, but you know me much better than they do. You know exactly which buttons to press to knock me off my game. Your torturous tactics are seemingly infinite. When I develop a defense for one of them, you simply employ another.
In spite of your cruelty, I keep coming back. In fact, when I haven't seen you for a while, I look forward to reuniting. Why? Because I want to crush you. I want to pay you back ten-fold for the pain you've caused over the years. I want to dismantle you hole by hole, then stand victoriously over your worthless carcass. And I will. You picked the wrong guy to mess with, Kedron. You thought you were taking advantage of a hapless golfer, out for a stroll on a Sunday afternoon. You're going to regret that choice very soon.
Score: 115
Par: 71
Putts: 37
Fairways: 3
Greens: 1
Bridgewater
I got robbed! You see, if I play a round of golf and collect triple-bogey or worse on only one hole, chances are I have broken 100. That's exactly what happened this time - all but the part about breaking 100. Despite limiting the blowup holes that seem to plague my game, I still did not break the century mark. The reason was that I only had a single par.
The scene of this somewhat unusual round was Bridgewater Country Club, located in Fort Erie, Ontario. It was the first time I had ever played there, but I was optimistic, since it was on the heels of a successful maiden round at Twenty Valley a week earlier. Through the first six holes, I was in a nice little groove. With one third of the round over, I was standing at six over par. Most of those were bogeys, but there was also the lone par of the day and a double-bogey mixed in. The stretch included four consecutive greens in regulation (excellent), but I 3-putt three of those (terrible).
I can't really say the wheels came off the wagon after that nice start. The next six holes, for example, included two bogeys and four double-bogeys. I was playing at a similar level, but my shots started to get a little less precise. I pulled a couple drives to opposite fairways, left a couple approach shots short of the green, had some trouble getting out of a couple of bunkers, and mis-hit a couple chip shots. Nothing was really terrible, just kind of sloppy.
The terrible moment was reserved for hole #14, a 302-yard par-4. I pulled two consecutive shots into the woods using a 3-wood. After that, I put it in the bag in favor of driver, which worked like a charm. The damage was done however, and quintuple-bogey was the result. I rounded out the round with more double bogeys and a bogey. The stretch also included more 3-putts, of which I had seven for the day. So just when I get the driver looking respectable again, my chipping and putting decides to abandon me. Alas, that is the cruelty of golf.
Score: 102
Par: 72
Putts: 41
Fairways: 5
Greens: 5
Twenty Valley
Twenty Valley is a new course for me, so I was looking forward to it. I started out inconsistently, alternating between pars and triple or quadruple-bogeys. The quadruple came on the second hole, with the cup located on a ridiculous part of the green. I mean just a stupid location. Four putts as a result. I settled down on the fifth hole, playing #5 through #9 in six over par. My score after nine was 48, which was respectable for a new course.
On the back nine, I managed no worse than double-bogey on any single hole, but that included just a single par. Four bogeys and four double-bogeys rounded out the other eight holes. My ball striking was OK, but as on the front nine, I could not buy a putt. Come on man, give me a break! This was a well-played round, but there is no real reward when you amass 42 putts over eighteen holes.
Overall, I guess I was happy with my score. Oh yes, the course was very nice too!
Score: 97
Par: 72
Putts: 42
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
The Highlands
For God's sake, change your name back to Bradford Highlands, will you? There are fifty thousand golf courses called the Highlands throughout the world, it will do you some good to have something more unique. Geez.
I had this round all planned out, shot by shot. I have played it enough that I know all the tricky holes and where all the trouble spots are. On the first hole, for example, you don't want to be anywhere near the right side with your tee shot. I certainly wasn't, launching a drive past the tenth fairway to the left. A nice 8-iron put me to the 100-yard marker, en route to a nice bogey.
On the fourth hole, 324-yard par-4, you don't want to lose a ball to the woods on the left side. To avoid this, I played a conservative 4-iron. Well, I pulled it right into the woods, which led to a triple-bogey. On the sixth hole, a 342-yard par-4, I also hit the very hazard I had planned to avoid. This is a pond on the left side of the fairway. I actually hit it twice, leading to a quadruple-bogey. Aargh! In spite of these bad holes, I played well enough to salvage a 49 after nine holes.
The tenth and eleventh holes killed me, and they're not even hard holes. With the course marshall watching intently, I duffed a 3-wood off the tee on #10. After advancing the ball to the end of the fairway, I duffed a sand wedge in an attempt to hit the green. The end result was triple-bogey. I mis-hit a 3-wood into a creek for my second shot on #11. This too, resulted in a triple-bogey.
Then, I started playing well. I played the next six holes in five over par. Going to the last hole, a 493-yard par-5, all I needed was a triple-bogey or better to break 100. Now, I've been in this position a couple times before on this very golf course, and for some bloody reason, things haven't worked out. Well, I need someone to erase the memory of those occasions, because the very same thing happened again. Talk about mental breakdown. I totally psyched myself out. I finished with a quadruple-bogey for the lovely score of 100. Stupid, stupid stupid!
Score: 100
Par: 72
Putts: 35
Fairways: 3
Greens: 2
Grey Silo
Round Four of the Duffer's Dream Tour took place at Grey Silo, which I had played a couple of times, but not recently. This round flat out sucked. I could not hit anything clean off the tee. It didn't matter if it was driver, 3-wood, or even 6-iron. If the ball was propped on one of those little wooden sticks, it meant I was either slicing it, pulling it, topping it, you name it. On rare occasions when I hit a fairway, it was soon followed by some other type of garbage.
Through fourteen holes, I had already amassed five triple-bogeys, which was enough to send me off the deep end. The fifteenth hole was a quadruple-bogey and the seventeenth alone was seven over par. For speed of play, the Duffer's Dream Tour limits individual hole scores to double par, so this particular hole was scored as five over. Seven over is my estimate of what I would have really scored, had I finished the hole completely.
Grey Silo is a nice course, but if you are striking the ball poorly, it will eat you up. I had nine penalty strokes due to lost balls. That means eighteen strokes just given away with no benefit. I hate that!
Score: 109
Par: 71
Putts: 37
Fairways: 4
Greens: 2
Peninsula Lakes
Round Two of the Deepwoods Tour took place at Pen Lakes. I shot a 91 there earlier this year, so I was feeling confident. I couldn't hit a single club on the driving range, so there was a chink in that confidence. All I could do was go out on the course and see what happened.
We played the Quarry nine first. I played poorly through the first six holes, collecting three triple-bogeys along the way. All of my trouble came off the tee, whether it was a sliced driver, a topped 3-wood, or a pulled 4-iron. Fortunately, I played well over the next three holes, including two par-5 holes and one par-3. The par-3 was the ninth hole, measuring 141 yards. I managed a rare birdie there, for a 48 after nine holes.
Good play continued for the first six holes of the Hillside nine, which I played at six over par. Unfortunately, the seventh and ninth holes killed me. Both resulted in triple-bogeys. On the seventh, I pulled my second shot and it found water. After dropping a ball nearby, I launched a sand wedge over the back of the green. My chip was no good and it was followed by three putts. Yuck! Similar stupidity followed on the last hole of the day.
Score: 97
Par: 71
Putts: 34
Fairways: 1
Greens: 1
Kedron Dells
Kedron Dells, you are my nemesis. I hate you with a passion. Don't get me wrong, you are a fine course. You provide a great challenge and good value. It's just that you deplete my energy and sap my spirit like no other track. Other courses are more difficult, but you know me much better than they do. You know exactly which buttons to press to knock me off my game. Your torturous tactics are seemingly infinite. When I develop a defense for one of them, you simply employ another.
In spite of your cruelty, I keep coming back. In fact, when I haven't seen you for a while, I look forward to reuniting. Why? Because I want to crush you. I want to pay you back ten-fold for the pain you've caused over the years. I want to dismantle you hole by hole, then stand victoriously over your worthless carcass. And I will. You picked the wrong guy to mess with, Kedron. You thought you were taking advantage of a hapless golfer, out for a stroll on a Sunday afternoon. You're going to regret that choice very soon.
Score: 115
Par: 71
Putts: 37
Fairways: 3
Greens: 1
Bridgewater
I got robbed! You see, if I play a round of golf and collect triple-bogey or worse on only one hole, chances are I have broken 100. That's exactly what happened this time - all but the part about breaking 100. Despite limiting the blowup holes that seem to plague my game, I still did not break the century mark. The reason was that I only had a single par.
The scene of this somewhat unusual round was Bridgewater Country Club, located in Fort Erie, Ontario. It was the first time I had ever played there, but I was optimistic, since it was on the heels of a successful maiden round at Twenty Valley a week earlier. Through the first six holes, I was in a nice little groove. With one third of the round over, I was standing at six over par. Most of those were bogeys, but there was also the lone par of the day and a double-bogey mixed in. The stretch included four consecutive greens in regulation (excellent), but I 3-putt three of those (terrible).
I can't really say the wheels came off the wagon after that nice start. The next six holes, for example, included two bogeys and four double-bogeys. I was playing at a similar level, but my shots started to get a little less precise. I pulled a couple drives to opposite fairways, left a couple approach shots short of the green, had some trouble getting out of a couple of bunkers, and mis-hit a couple chip shots. Nothing was really terrible, just kind of sloppy.
The terrible moment was reserved for hole #14, a 302-yard par-4. I pulled two consecutive shots into the woods using a 3-wood. After that, I put it in the bag in favor of driver, which worked like a charm. The damage was done however, and quintuple-bogey was the result. I rounded out the round with more double bogeys and a bogey. The stretch also included more 3-putts, of which I had seven for the day. So just when I get the driver looking respectable again, my chipping and putting decides to abandon me. Alas, that is the cruelty of golf.
Score: 102
Par: 72
Putts: 41
Fairways: 5
Greens: 5
Twenty Valley
Twenty Valley is a new course for me, so I was looking forward to it. I started out inconsistently, alternating between pars and triple or quadruple-bogeys. The quadruple came on the second hole, with the cup located on a ridiculous part of the green. I mean just a stupid location. Four putts as a result. I settled down on the fifth hole, playing #5 through #9 in six over par. My score after nine was 48, which was respectable for a new course.
On the back nine, I managed no worse than double-bogey on any single hole, but that included just a single par. Four bogeys and four double-bogeys rounded out the other eight holes. My ball striking was OK, but as on the front nine, I could not buy a putt. Come on man, give me a break! This was a well-played round, but there is no real reward when you amass 42 putts over eighteen holes.
Overall, I guess I was happy with my score. Oh yes, the course was very nice too!
Score: 97
Par: 72
Putts: 42
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
The Highlands
For God's sake, change your name back to Bradford Highlands, will you? There are fifty thousand golf courses called the Highlands throughout the world, it will do you some good to have something more unique. Geez.
I had this round all planned out, shot by shot. I have played it enough that I know all the tricky holes and where all the trouble spots are. On the first hole, for example, you don't want to be anywhere near the right side with your tee shot. I certainly wasn't, launching a drive past the tenth fairway to the left. A nice 8-iron put me to the 100-yard marker, en route to a nice bogey.
On the fourth hole, 324-yard par-4, you don't want to lose a ball to the woods on the left side. To avoid this, I played a conservative 4-iron. Well, I pulled it right into the woods, which led to a triple-bogey. On the sixth hole, a 342-yard par-4, I also hit the very hazard I had planned to avoid. This is a pond on the left side of the fairway. I actually hit it twice, leading to a quadruple-bogey. Aargh! In spite of these bad holes, I played well enough to salvage a 49 after nine holes.
The tenth and eleventh holes killed me, and they're not even hard holes. With the course marshall watching intently, I duffed a 3-wood off the tee on #10. After advancing the ball to the end of the fairway, I duffed a sand wedge in an attempt to hit the green. The end result was triple-bogey. I mis-hit a 3-wood into a creek for my second shot on #11. This too, resulted in a triple-bogey.
Then, I started playing well. I played the next six holes in five over par. Going to the last hole, a 493-yard par-5, all I needed was a triple-bogey or better to break 100. Now, I've been in this position a couple times before on this very golf course, and for some bloody reason, things haven't worked out. Well, I need someone to erase the memory of those occasions, because the very same thing happened again. Talk about mental breakdown. I totally psyched myself out. I finished with a quadruple-bogey for the lovely score of 100. Stupid, stupid stupid!
Score: 100
Par: 72
Putts: 35
Fairways: 3
Greens: 2
Grey Silo
Round Four of the Duffer's Dream Tour took place at Grey Silo, which I had played a couple of times, but not recently. This round flat out sucked. I could not hit anything clean off the tee. It didn't matter if it was driver, 3-wood, or even 6-iron. If the ball was propped on one of those little wooden sticks, it meant I was either slicing it, pulling it, topping it, you name it. On rare occasions when I hit a fairway, it was soon followed by some other type of garbage.
Through fourteen holes, I had already amassed five triple-bogeys, which was enough to send me off the deep end. The fifteenth hole was a quadruple-bogey and the seventeenth alone was seven over par. For speed of play, the Duffer's Dream Tour limits individual hole scores to double par, so this particular hole was scored as five over. Seven over is my estimate of what I would have really scored, had I finished the hole completely.
Grey Silo is a nice course, but if you are striking the ball poorly, it will eat you up. I had nine penalty strokes due to lost balls. That means eighteen strokes just given away with no benefit. I hate that!
Score: 109
Par: 71
Putts: 37
Fairways: 4
Greens: 2
Peninsula Lakes
Round Two of the Deepwoods Tour took place at Pen Lakes. I shot a 91 there earlier this year, so I was feeling confident. I couldn't hit a single club on the driving range, so there was a chink in that confidence. All I could do was go out on the course and see what happened.
We played the Quarry nine first. I played poorly through the first six holes, collecting three triple-bogeys along the way. All of my trouble came off the tee, whether it was a sliced driver, a topped 3-wood, or a pulled 4-iron. Fortunately, I played well over the next three holes, including two par-5 holes and one par-3. The par-3 was the ninth hole, measuring 141 yards. I managed a rare birdie there, for a 48 after nine holes.
Good play continued for the first six holes of the Hillside nine, which I played at six over par. Unfortunately, the seventh and ninth holes killed me. Both resulted in triple-bogeys. On the seventh, I pulled my second shot and it found water. After dropping a ball nearby, I launched a sand wedge over the back of the green. My chip was no good and it was followed by three putts. Yuck! Similar stupidity followed on the last hole of the day.
Score: 97
Par: 71
Putts: 34
Fairways: 1
Greens: 1
June 15, 2008
Granite Ridge Mashup
The weather guys had it wrong - again! They were calling for a wet weekend and we had the exact opposite. Realizing that the weather was going to be fine, I called a bunch of courses to find out where I might be able to walk on. It seemed as though most courses were full. No wonder golf in the GTA is so costly - courses can seemingly charge whatever they want and people continue to line up eagerly. And you thought people were dependant on gasoline!
Anyway, I ended up finding an afternoon tee time at Granite Ridge Golf Club, in Milton. Last time I walked on at Granite Ridge, it was a six hour round, but I really had no other alternative. Sure enough, the round started out really slow. It took three hours to play the front nine on the Ruby course - there were simply too many people. Fortunately, the marshall had us play the back nine of the Cobalt course, which had finished hosting a tournament by then. We managed to play the Cobalt back nine in two hours, so the whole round amounted to a five hour investment.
There were some bright spots in this round, most notably putting. I finished with a respectable 35 putts, but the key is that this included only one 3-putt. Two lengthy putts dropped in the cup - one for birdie, and another to save par. Some more lengthy ones could have dropped, but they just missed either left or right. My distance was very good all day long. I only left a couple of putts short. All others challenged the hole. If they missed, I had an easy tap-in to follow.
The other bright spot was chipping. Though I didn't leave any chip shots very close to the hole, I always put them safely on the green, within a reasonable distance. Considering that some of these were from tricky lies or over bunkers, I was pretty satisfied.
The part of the game that concerned me most was actually my iron play. This has been a strong point for me over my last few rounds, but I made some truly unforced errors this time. On a couple of occasions, I duffed shots from the fairway with either a sand wedge, pitching wedge, or 9-iron. Usually, I caught the ground with the club head before striking ball. The follow-up shots were fine, but I wasted a few strokes this way.
Had it not been for those miscues, I think this could have been the sub-90 round I have been anxiously waiting for.
Score: 94
Par: 71
Putts: 35
Fairways: 3
Greens: 3
Anyway, I ended up finding an afternoon tee time at Granite Ridge Golf Club, in Milton. Last time I walked on at Granite Ridge, it was a six hour round, but I really had no other alternative. Sure enough, the round started out really slow. It took three hours to play the front nine on the Ruby course - there were simply too many people. Fortunately, the marshall had us play the back nine of the Cobalt course, which had finished hosting a tournament by then. We managed to play the Cobalt back nine in two hours, so the whole round amounted to a five hour investment.
There were some bright spots in this round, most notably putting. I finished with a respectable 35 putts, but the key is that this included only one 3-putt. Two lengthy putts dropped in the cup - one for birdie, and another to save par. Some more lengthy ones could have dropped, but they just missed either left or right. My distance was very good all day long. I only left a couple of putts short. All others challenged the hole. If they missed, I had an easy tap-in to follow.
The other bright spot was chipping. Though I didn't leave any chip shots very close to the hole, I always put them safely on the green, within a reasonable distance. Considering that some of these were from tricky lies or over bunkers, I was pretty satisfied.
The part of the game that concerned me most was actually my iron play. This has been a strong point for me over my last few rounds, but I made some truly unforced errors this time. On a couple of occasions, I duffed shots from the fairway with either a sand wedge, pitching wedge, or 9-iron. Usually, I caught the ground with the club head before striking ball. The follow-up shots were fine, but I wasted a few strokes this way.
Had it not been for those miscues, I think this could have been the sub-90 round I have been anxiously waiting for.
Score: 94
Par: 71
Putts: 35
Fairways: 3
Greens: 3
June 09, 2008
Passing Grade for Dragon's Fire
The Duffer's Dream Tour held its latest round at Dragon's Fire Golf Club, a brand spanking new course located in Carlisle, Ontario. I don't have time to write my usual post round analysis, so here instead is my review of the course, as shared with a couple friends who are fellow golf enthusiasts.
With the review complete, here's how I performed:
Score: 103
Par: 72
Putts: 35
Fairways: 7
Greens: 3
I played there yesterday. I was worried due to all of the negative reviews I had read, but I have to say that I was more than pleased.
The greens were very smooth and consistent, even if a little slow. Two holes is all it takes to get a feel for the greens. After that, there is no reason for players to complain about the slowness of the greens. I heard someone describe them as "slow as molasses" and that was a huge exaggeration. Someone else described them as "shaggy" and that was not the case when I played there.
Some of the fairways were a little hard. This made the ball run nicely, but it was difficult to take a nice divot from the fairway. There were some bare patches on the fairways, but I had to look hard to find them. I have played at many courses that have more bare patches than Dragon's Fire did and those are mature courses.
As discussed, there are numerous tee boxes to choose from. I will just add that they are all square, perfectly level, and in great condition. Another great feature of the course is the fluffy white sand in the bunkers. I was in it a number of times and I can tell you it is like butter. It allows you to play a sand shot the way instructors teach you to. On far too many courses, the terrible sand does not allow you to play shots the "proper" way.
A piece of advice is to hit the fairways, which in most cases are quite ample. This course penalizes missed fairways severely, with wooded areas and two-foot long fescue just a few yards away from the fairways. If you miraculously find your ball, you will not be able to hit out of the fescue. On the positive side, course officials told us to treat all wooded areas as lateral hazards, even though they aren't all staked yet. At least this way, you are penalized a stroke, but not distance.
Finally, one last word about the "driving range". It is terrible. They just didn't have the space, so the end result looks like someone's backyard. It's fine to practice your pitching wedge and high irons, but that is all.
Overall, I think Dragon's Fire is a very good course that will get even better. The price is a little steep, but I think they will be able to command that price, based on competitive courses nearby. By the end of the season, I think Dragon's Fire will be considered better than nearby courses such as Hidden Lake, Crosswinds, or Piper's Heath.
With the review complete, here's how I performed:
Score: 103
Par: 72
Putts: 35
Fairways: 7
Greens: 3
June 08, 2008
Heat Punishes at Woodington Lake
I arrived at Woodington Lake Golf Club as a walk-on late on Saturday afternoon. I thought the timing would be good, because the weather was extremely humid and it would have been treacherous to play during mid-day. As soon as I arrived, the staff was able to send me off, which was fantastic.
The front nine unfolded like many of my rounds this year; at times I was solid, at others, terrible. The solid part included two pars and three bogeys. On these holes, I hit decent tee shots, good approaches, strong chips and efficient putts. The terrible part included four triple-bogeys. On these holes, I mis-hit tee shots and short irons from the rough, while amassing penalty strokes and extra putts. It's difficult to put my finger on what went wrong, since the momentum seemed to swing so frequently and so wildly. The variety of mistakes was incredible.
The back nine is a little easier to explain. In spite of teeing off in the late afternoon, the heat was still stifling. My playing partners were in no hurry to finish the round and the longer I stayed out in the muggy conditions, the worse I felt. Once again, I developed a nasty headache, which made it difficult to concentrate and execute shots. Holes 10 through 14 resulted in two pars and three triple-bogeys, but the wheels really fell off the wagon beginning with hole # 15. I closed out the round going 4 over, 3 over, 1 over, and 5 over. I didn't really care at that point; all I wanted to do was finish the round so that I could recuperate in the clubhouse.
My final score was 109, my worst score of the young season. It's not at all reflective of my ability, but I don't wish to waste rounds this way. I really have to figure out a way to deal with the heat, because it has affected three of my last four rounds.
Score: 109
Par: 72
Putts: 36
Fairways: 4
Greens: 3
The front nine unfolded like many of my rounds this year; at times I was solid, at others, terrible. The solid part included two pars and three bogeys. On these holes, I hit decent tee shots, good approaches, strong chips and efficient putts. The terrible part included four triple-bogeys. On these holes, I mis-hit tee shots and short irons from the rough, while amassing penalty strokes and extra putts. It's difficult to put my finger on what went wrong, since the momentum seemed to swing so frequently and so wildly. The variety of mistakes was incredible.
The back nine is a little easier to explain. In spite of teeing off in the late afternoon, the heat was still stifling. My playing partners were in no hurry to finish the round and the longer I stayed out in the muggy conditions, the worse I felt. Once again, I developed a nasty headache, which made it difficult to concentrate and execute shots. Holes 10 through 14 resulted in two pars and three triple-bogeys, but the wheels really fell off the wagon beginning with hole # 15. I closed out the round going 4 over, 3 over, 1 over, and 5 over. I didn't really care at that point; all I wanted to do was finish the round so that I could recuperate in the clubhouse.
My final score was 109, my worst score of the young season. It's not at all reflective of my ability, but I don't wish to waste rounds this way. I really have to figure out a way to deal with the heat, because it has affected three of my last four rounds.
Score: 109
Par: 72
Putts: 36
Fairways: 4
Greens: 3
June 01, 2008
Average at Bushwood
Bushwood is a course I have played often enough that it should really be a candidate for a sub-90 round. I didn't help things by arriving at the course with absolutely no time to spare before teeing off. Someone please tell me why I am always the last person to know when the Don Valley Parkway is being closed. Why?
With no time to warm up, I stepped up to the first tee with some trepidation. Sure enough, I pulled my drive into the opposite fairway. I duffed a 3-wood, then hit a nice one for my third shot, but it failed to hold the green. My chip shot was on the green, but far from the hole. I finished things off by 3-putting for a triple-bogey. You have to work hard for an 89 when you start a round like that.
I made some terrible approach and pitch shots on the third hole, before settling down on hole #4. Measuring 278 yards from the blue tees, this is a tantalizing par-4. I usually play a mid-iron off the tee, but decided to blast it with the driver this time. The ball travelled to the left rough, about 40 yards in front of the green. I hit a sand wedge over a large bunker and landed safely on the green. I made a nice lag putt and an easy tap-in for par.
On hole #5 I pulled my drive again. More distubing than that was the fact that I completely mis-hit a couple of irons trying to advance the ball. All season long, my iron play has been the bright spot, so this was a bad turn of events. Luckily, I recuperated on hole #6, a par-4 measuring a scant 322 yards. I blasted a decent drive, even though it landed in the left rough. From about 90 yards away, I hit a pitching wedge to the back fringe. I made a nice lag putt and another easy tap-in for par.
Hole #7, a par-4 measuring a more challenging 392 yards, was like an instant replay. Good distance on the drive, but pulled a bit, coming to rest in the left rough. Next, an 8-iron struck well, leaving the ball on the green, flag high. This was followed by a good lag putt and tap-in for par. I love it when a plan comes together like this.
A trio of bogeys was the result on holes eight through ten. Then, for some reason, I decided to get stupid. Hole #11 is a modest par-4 measuring just 320 yards. I don't know why, but this hole always gives me trouble. The trouble usually comes off the tee, which I play with a mid iron. All I want to do is hit the ball straight, about 170 yards. The straight part is the part that never seems to happen here.
On this occasion, I pulled the ball strongly, and it stopped about three feet into some very long weeds. It took two shots to barely get the ball out of the weeds. Now, the green was obstructed by a cluster of trees, so I opted to place the ball well right of the green. That would have been a good strategy if I was able to pitch the ball from that location onto the green. Unfortunately, my pitch shot was short. I needed a chip and two putts to close out the hole and record a quadruple-bogey.
The stupidity continued on hole #12, another short par-4. Unlike the previous hole, this is one where I usually have lots of success. Unfortunately, I blasted my drive way left of target, somewhere near the 13th tee box. I spent way too long looking for the ball, considering that the group ahead of us must have clearly seen it and could have told me where it was. The next two shots were just plain ugly. The first was one with the pitching wedge, where I must have completely decelerated the club. The ball went only three quarters of the distance I was aiming for. The next was a skulled chip shot that crossed the green and landed in a creek. Can you say penalty stroke? Anyway, this ended up being another quadruple-bogey on an easy par-4.
Now for some good news, which came in the form of a birdie on hole #14. This is a par-5 measuring 497 yards. I smoked my drive low and long. It ended left of target in the opposite fairway, but let's not get too critical. Next, I drilled a monster 3-wood back in the direction of the fairway. Because it travelled so far, it actually crossed the fairway, stopping about two yards into the rough. From 130 yards out, I hit a pure 9-iron right in the direction of the flag, which was at the back of the large green. Finally, I lined up the 8-foot put and drained it. Woohoo! Only my second birdie of the season.
The rest of the round was prety uneventful. I survived some iffy shots on hole #16 and managed a par on hole #18 to finish with a 97, which I would call average.
So, the sub-90 round remains elusive.
Score: 97
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 1
Greens: 6
With no time to warm up, I stepped up to the first tee with some trepidation. Sure enough, I pulled my drive into the opposite fairway. I duffed a 3-wood, then hit a nice one for my third shot, but it failed to hold the green. My chip shot was on the green, but far from the hole. I finished things off by 3-putting for a triple-bogey. You have to work hard for an 89 when you start a round like that.
I made some terrible approach and pitch shots on the third hole, before settling down on hole #4. Measuring 278 yards from the blue tees, this is a tantalizing par-4. I usually play a mid-iron off the tee, but decided to blast it with the driver this time. The ball travelled to the left rough, about 40 yards in front of the green. I hit a sand wedge over a large bunker and landed safely on the green. I made a nice lag putt and an easy tap-in for par.
On hole #5 I pulled my drive again. More distubing than that was the fact that I completely mis-hit a couple of irons trying to advance the ball. All season long, my iron play has been the bright spot, so this was a bad turn of events. Luckily, I recuperated on hole #6, a par-4 measuring a scant 322 yards. I blasted a decent drive, even though it landed in the left rough. From about 90 yards away, I hit a pitching wedge to the back fringe. I made a nice lag putt and another easy tap-in for par.
Hole #7, a par-4 measuring a more challenging 392 yards, was like an instant replay. Good distance on the drive, but pulled a bit, coming to rest in the left rough. Next, an 8-iron struck well, leaving the ball on the green, flag high. This was followed by a good lag putt and tap-in for par. I love it when a plan comes together like this.
A trio of bogeys was the result on holes eight through ten. Then, for some reason, I decided to get stupid. Hole #11 is a modest par-4 measuring just 320 yards. I don't know why, but this hole always gives me trouble. The trouble usually comes off the tee, which I play with a mid iron. All I want to do is hit the ball straight, about 170 yards. The straight part is the part that never seems to happen here.
On this occasion, I pulled the ball strongly, and it stopped about three feet into some very long weeds. It took two shots to barely get the ball out of the weeds. Now, the green was obstructed by a cluster of trees, so I opted to place the ball well right of the green. That would have been a good strategy if I was able to pitch the ball from that location onto the green. Unfortunately, my pitch shot was short. I needed a chip and two putts to close out the hole and record a quadruple-bogey.
The stupidity continued on hole #12, another short par-4. Unlike the previous hole, this is one where I usually have lots of success. Unfortunately, I blasted my drive way left of target, somewhere near the 13th tee box. I spent way too long looking for the ball, considering that the group ahead of us must have clearly seen it and could have told me where it was. The next two shots were just plain ugly. The first was one with the pitching wedge, where I must have completely decelerated the club. The ball went only three quarters of the distance I was aiming for. The next was a skulled chip shot that crossed the green and landed in a creek. Can you say penalty stroke? Anyway, this ended up being another quadruple-bogey on an easy par-4.
Now for some good news, which came in the form of a birdie on hole #14. This is a par-5 measuring 497 yards. I smoked my drive low and long. It ended left of target in the opposite fairway, but let's not get too critical. Next, I drilled a monster 3-wood back in the direction of the fairway. Because it travelled so far, it actually crossed the fairway, stopping about two yards into the rough. From 130 yards out, I hit a pure 9-iron right in the direction of the flag, which was at the back of the large green. Finally, I lined up the 8-foot put and drained it. Woohoo! Only my second birdie of the season.
The rest of the round was prety uneventful. I survived some iffy shots on hole #16 and managed a par on hole #18 to finish with a 97, which I would call average.
So, the sub-90 round remains elusive.
Score: 97
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 1
Greens: 6
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