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
June 15, 2008
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
First Time at Oaks of St. George
Aah, the dreaded course that has never been played. On the one hand, I enjoy expanding my golf horizons. On the other, I hate what these courses do to my scorecard -- and ego.
So it was for the second round of the Duffer's Dream Tour, held at The Oaks of St. George, located in Paris, Ontario. I thought for certain that this one would be rained out, but after passing through a torrential downpour just east of Brantford, the skies cleared up and the sun came out. The entire round was rain free, and any rain that fell on the course must have drained away quickly, because there was no sign of it whatsoever.
The course itself is a nice layout, featuring three par-5 and three par-3 holes. None of the holes are exactly alike, which keeps things interesting. A few of the holes are a little tight, while others are closer to wide open. Overall, the balance is good. There's enough water and sand to come into play at times, but nothing unreasonable. The condition of the course was good, with consistent greens and fairways. However, I wouldn't describe the course as immaculate or pristine. Dandelions, for instance, seemed to be thriving in the rough.
As for my game, it was a very up and down kind of day. I recorded seven pars, which is quite good, but these were offset by four triple-bogeys and two holes which I just categorize as "meltdowns" (i.e. worse than triple-bogey). I don't have much confidence in my driving right now. I did hit five fairways, but a couple of my misses were scary slices to the right. Easy to fix, right? Yeah, except a couple of my other misses were strong pulls to the left. Aargh! My iron play was OK, no real complaints there. My putting however, was horrible. I simply could not make a decent lag putt whenever I was some distance from the hole. There were far too many 3-putts on my scorecard and even a 4-putt. To add insult to injury, the 4-putt came when I had reached a green in regulation. Doh!
Perhaps the most troubling thing about this round was my inability to deal with the hot, humid conditions. For much of the back nine, I was chugging water and splashing it over my head and face in an attempt to keep cool. Well, it didn't work. I played the last six holes with a headache caused by the heat. By the eighteenth hole, I was dying to get into the club house. Not surprisingly, I took a triple-bogey to close out the round.
I would have been happy to break 100 at a course I have not played before. As it was, I shot 100 even, so I'm not happy.
Score: 100
Par: 72
Putts: 40
Fairways: 5
Greens: 6
So it was for the second round of the Duffer's Dream Tour, held at The Oaks of St. George, located in Paris, Ontario. I thought for certain that this one would be rained out, but after passing through a torrential downpour just east of Brantford, the skies cleared up and the sun came out. The entire round was rain free, and any rain that fell on the course must have drained away quickly, because there was no sign of it whatsoever.
The course itself is a nice layout, featuring three par-5 and three par-3 holes. None of the holes are exactly alike, which keeps things interesting. A few of the holes are a little tight, while others are closer to wide open. Overall, the balance is good. There's enough water and sand to come into play at times, but nothing unreasonable. The condition of the course was good, with consistent greens and fairways. However, I wouldn't describe the course as immaculate or pristine. Dandelions, for instance, seemed to be thriving in the rough.
As for my game, it was a very up and down kind of day. I recorded seven pars, which is quite good, but these were offset by four triple-bogeys and two holes which I just categorize as "meltdowns" (i.e. worse than triple-bogey). I don't have much confidence in my driving right now. I did hit five fairways, but a couple of my misses were scary slices to the right. Easy to fix, right? Yeah, except a couple of my other misses were strong pulls to the left. Aargh! My iron play was OK, no real complaints there. My putting however, was horrible. I simply could not make a decent lag putt whenever I was some distance from the hole. There were far too many 3-putts on my scorecard and even a 4-putt. To add insult to injury, the 4-putt came when I had reached a green in regulation. Doh!
Perhaps the most troubling thing about this round was my inability to deal with the hot, humid conditions. For much of the back nine, I was chugging water and splashing it over my head and face in an attempt to keep cool. Well, it didn't work. I played the last six holes with a headache caused by the heat. By the eighteenth hole, I was dying to get into the club house. Not surprisingly, I took a triple-bogey to close out the round.
I would have been happy to break 100 at a course I have not played before. As it was, I shot 100 even, so I'm not happy.
Score: 100
Par: 72
Putts: 40
Fairways: 5
Greens: 6
Deepwoods at Copetown Woods
The 2008 Deepwoods Tour kicked off with some fantastic weather at Copetown Woods Golf Club. The sunny skies and warm temperature were in stark contrast to my last round at Hockley Valley. I guess you could say the whole round was in stark contrast, since these two golf courses bear absolutely no resemblance to each other. Hockley Valley features massive elevation changes, so the name of the game is distance control. Copetown Woods is very flat in comparison, with challenges coming in the form of massive waste bunkers, traditional greenside bunkers, and just enough water.
I began the round on hole #10, a tantalizing par-5 at just 439 yards from the white tees. I intended to reach the green in two shots, all the way. My drive off the tee had plenty distance, but I pulled it left of target and out of bounds. After re-teeing, I did manage to get the ball near the green with two shots. I required a pitch shot and two putts to hole out for double-bogey.
After a trio of respectable holes where I averaged bogey, I encountered similar trouble on hole #14, another par-5. I pulled my drive ever so slightly and the ball went out of bounds. After I re-teed, I made a similar shot, but luckily this one stayed inside the white stakes. I say luckily, but I was actually right in the middle of a big pine tree, from which there was no relief. It took two shots to get out, and a mid-iron to put the ball near the 150-yard stick. My approach drifted well right of the green and from there, all I could salvage was a score of 10. This was truly a disastrous hole, all caused by bad driving.
Realizing one bad hole was no reason to let a whole round slip away, I put it out of my mind and focused on the remaining holes. I scored a trio of bogeys on holes 15 through 17. Driving still wasn't great, but I made up for it with good approach shots, chips and putts. I did have a great drive on hole #18, but spoiled it by hitting two balls into the water en route to a quadruple bogey.
On the back nine (which were really the first nine holes of the course) I played like a man possessed. Things started out with another tantalizingly short par-5, measuring just 431 yards from the white tees. With the wind at my back, I hit a 290-yard drive right down the middle. All I needed was an 8-iron to reach the green in two. Unfortunately, my approach drifted right of the green. My chip shot then rolled right across the green. The comeback chip was a little short, so I still had a lengthy putt for par. I missed it and had to settle for bogey.
I was really upset that I walked away with bogey after going driver, 8-iron into a par-5. In that situation, you're thinking eagle and birdie, or certainly no worse than par. This must have motivated me, because I was on fire for the rest of the round. On the second hole, I crushed a long drive left into the ninth fairway. This was actually by design, since I wanted to be sure that I avoided a large pond on the right. From the ninth fairway, the view to the second green is absolutely unobstructed. I hit a high iron pin-high and two-putted for par.
The last third of the round was very successful, even though I was feeling terrible. By then, the heat was really getting to me, and I had a bad headache. I just wanted the round to be over. Perhaps this gave me more focus. I closed out the round with three bogeys and three pars, thanks to excellent iron play. Putting was average, but when the approach shots are on the money, average putting is all you need.
When I got back to the clubhouse, I was feeling absolutely nauseous. Let's just say the snack I had between nines didn't want to stay down. After that rather unpleasant incident, I actually felt much better. While recuperating in the clubhouse, I was able to savour the fact that I shot 40 on the back nine, a stretch comprised of five bogeys and four pars. Too bad I shot 54 on the front nine, including a quadruple bogey and the disastrous 10 on hole #14. If not for those two hiccups, this would have been a sub 90 round.
Score: 94
Par: 72
Putts: 38
Fairways: 7
Greens: 7
I began the round on hole #10, a tantalizing par-5 at just 439 yards from the white tees. I intended to reach the green in two shots, all the way. My drive off the tee had plenty distance, but I pulled it left of target and out of bounds. After re-teeing, I did manage to get the ball near the green with two shots. I required a pitch shot and two putts to hole out for double-bogey.
After a trio of respectable holes where I averaged bogey, I encountered similar trouble on hole #14, another par-5. I pulled my drive ever so slightly and the ball went out of bounds. After I re-teed, I made a similar shot, but luckily this one stayed inside the white stakes. I say luckily, but I was actually right in the middle of a big pine tree, from which there was no relief. It took two shots to get out, and a mid-iron to put the ball near the 150-yard stick. My approach drifted well right of the green and from there, all I could salvage was a score of 10. This was truly a disastrous hole, all caused by bad driving.
Realizing one bad hole was no reason to let a whole round slip away, I put it out of my mind and focused on the remaining holes. I scored a trio of bogeys on holes 15 through 17. Driving still wasn't great, but I made up for it with good approach shots, chips and putts. I did have a great drive on hole #18, but spoiled it by hitting two balls into the water en route to a quadruple bogey.
On the back nine (which were really the first nine holes of the course) I played like a man possessed. Things started out with another tantalizingly short par-5, measuring just 431 yards from the white tees. With the wind at my back, I hit a 290-yard drive right down the middle. All I needed was an 8-iron to reach the green in two. Unfortunately, my approach drifted right of the green. My chip shot then rolled right across the green. The comeback chip was a little short, so I still had a lengthy putt for par. I missed it and had to settle for bogey.
I was really upset that I walked away with bogey after going driver, 8-iron into a par-5. In that situation, you're thinking eagle and birdie, or certainly no worse than par. This must have motivated me, because I was on fire for the rest of the round. On the second hole, I crushed a long drive left into the ninth fairway. This was actually by design, since I wanted to be sure that I avoided a large pond on the right. From the ninth fairway, the view to the second green is absolutely unobstructed. I hit a high iron pin-high and two-putted for par.
The last third of the round was very successful, even though I was feeling terrible. By then, the heat was really getting to me, and I had a bad headache. I just wanted the round to be over. Perhaps this gave me more focus. I closed out the round with three bogeys and three pars, thanks to excellent iron play. Putting was average, but when the approach shots are on the money, average putting is all you need.
When I got back to the clubhouse, I was feeling absolutely nauseous. Let's just say the snack I had between nines didn't want to stay down. After that rather unpleasant incident, I actually felt much better. While recuperating in the clubhouse, I was able to savour the fact that I shot 40 on the back nine, a stretch comprised of five bogeys and four pars. Too bad I shot 54 on the front nine, including a quadruple bogey and the disastrous 10 on hole #14. If not for those two hiccups, this would have been a sub 90 round.
Score: 94
Par: 72
Putts: 38
Fairways: 7
Greens: 7
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