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
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