Following a couple of poor rounds, I headed out to Uxbridge for my first ever visit to Wooden Sticks Golf Club. Many of the holes at Wooden Sticks are inspired by famous holes at some of the world's best-known golf clubs, including Augusta, Sawgrass, Pine Valley, St. Andrews, and Carnoustie.
I double-bogeyed the first three holes, mixing good shots with bad ones. The second hole was particularly disappointing because I hit a perfect 5-wood off the tee to the middle of the fairway, followed by a straight shot with the sand wedge from about 80 yards away. The ball was all over the flag, but ended up a couple yards behind the green on a severe downslope. From that position, it was nearly impossible to chip it close. The third hole, inspired by #12 at Augusta, was also disappointing because I duffed my tee shot into the water.
The fourth hole, inspired by #13 at Augusta, was played very well. I hit a perfect drive to the middle of the fairway, followed by a half-swing with the 5-iron which took the ball to the left side of the fairway in front of a creek that protects the green. Next, I hit a very nice pitch shot about 40 yards, near the flag. I calmly drained the putt for birdie. The rest of the front nine was like the first three holes - a mix of good and bad shots. Except for a shot from a greenside bunker on hole #7, I played very well from the sand, which I haven't done for most of the season. My putting, which has also been a problem this year, was quite good.
On the tenth hole I began a bit of a hot streak. Hole #10 shares a fairway with #18, leaving ample room for golfers to be aggressive on their tee shots. Following a good drive, I hit the green from 140 yards out, setting up a two-putt par. On hole #11, inspired by the "postage stamp" eighth hole at Troon, I hit a very good tee shot, but came up a yard short of the green. After a poor chip, I two-putted for bogey. On holes #12 and #13, both inspired by Pine Valley, I collected two excellent pars. Both were set up by long approaches made with the 5-wood. On hole #14, inspired by the "Hogan's Alley" 6th hole at Carnoustie, a spectacular shot from a deep pot bunker allowed me to save bogey.
The streak ended on holes #15 and #16, a long par-4 and a par-5. Wind made me think too much about my drive on the fifteenth, leading to a weak slice and a lost ball. On the sixteenth, my second shot from a waste bunker lead to a series of problems. It should have been no problem at all as I had a great lie in the bunker and was hitting 7-iron. Nevertheless, I was a tad fat and that's all it took.
I managed a par on hole #17, based on the "island green" 17th hole at Sawgrass. I hit a strong tee shot to the left side of the green. From there, I hit a nice uphill putt to the centre of the cup, but the ball had a bit too much speed and popped out the other side. It was very nearly another birdie, so I felt good. Finally, I bogeyed #18 after making three putts from the super massive green.
Overall, I was happy with the way I fought on the back nine and felt like my score was satisfactory.
Score: 96
Par: 72
Putts: 34
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
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