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