Just a week after my last visit, I was back at Hockley Valley Resort for another round of golf. They've got a pretty good spring deal and this was the last weekend to take advantage of it.
It was cold and an early morning tee time didn't help things. I recorded a pair of triple-bogeys on the first two holes, as I struggled to get comfortable with the weather conditions. My tee shot on the second hole was particularly atrocious, as I pull hooked a wicked shot half way up the nearby ski hill.
Pull hooked a wicked tee shot. I seem to be using that phrase far too frequently these days. I have to remind myself to keep my right elbow tucked near the body when using the driver. Another good thought is to finish down the line. Those two things should prevent me from coming over the top, which is normally the prime contributor to those wicked pull shots.
I played pretty well on hole #3 through hole #6, a mini stretch which included two bogeys and a par. Unfortunately, after hitting two perfect shots to start #6, some bizarre flurries impeded my progress. For a couple of minutes, there was actually some wet snow falling. I flubbed two approach shots en route to a double-bogey.
The dreaded valley in front of the seventh green claimed my approach shot, and I needed a chip-in from off the green to save double-bogey. A big drive off the eighth tee cleared the trees on the left side of the fairway, but the ball came to rest in a drainage ditch. With the ball half submerged, I hit a great 9-iron to just in front of the green. It was perhaps the shot of the day. After a poor chip, a decent chip, and a good putt, I had a bogey.
The ninth hole wreaked its usual havoc. My tee shot drifted too far right and rather than taking a blind shot over the dreaded gorge, I took the long route following the fairway. After an imperfect approach, decent chip, putt that lipped out, and tap-in, the result was double-bogey. The twelfth hole also caused some pain, but not nearly as bad as the last time I played it. Standing on the tee, I believe this is the most intimidating hole on the golf course. My 3-iron drifted way right and the ball hit the side of the hill. I found the ball, but it was unplayable behind a bush. I took some relief and the accompanying penalty en route to another double-bogey.
The back nine included a very impressive par on the eleventh hole, a par-5 measuring 497 yards. The key was a monstrous and straight second shot with the 3-wood, which set me up for a little pitch shot and two putts. I wish the putting had been so straightforward on hole #15, a 331-yard par-4. After hitting the green in regulation, I needed four putts to hole out. My first putt actually rolled off the green to the fringe. Yikes!
It may sound like I was having lots of trouble, but in fact I was having some success too. Going into the last three holes, I had some breathing room to emerge with a sub-100 round - something I haven't had at Hockley Valley in three previous visits. Bogeys on hole #16 and hole #17 preserved that breathing room. Unfortunately, I blew up on the very last hole, slicing a tee shot into the woods. When I re-teed for my third shot, I duffed it. At that point, I had to be perfect in order to save a score of 99. I was OK, but not perfect, ending at 100 even.
So I shaved a few strokes off my previous best at Hockley, which I guess isn't bad.
Score: 100
Par: 71
Putts: 34
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
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