After stringing together a series of solid rounds over the past month, I finally managed to break the 90 barrier. Playing The Hoot at Osprey Valley for the second consecutive day, I had plenty of confidence to start the round.
Following a bogey on the opening hole, I took a triple bogey on hole #2, which would be one of my worst holes of the round. My tee shot landed in a waste bunker on the left side of the fairway and I was left with a terrible lie. All I could do was punch the ball back in the fairway to the 100-yard marker. Unfortunately my approach landed short of the green and after chipping on, I took three putts to hole out.
I made up some of those lost strokes with two consecutive pars on holes #3 and #4. A rare chip and single putt saved par on the par-4 third, while a nice tee shot set up the textbook par on the par-3 fourth. A beautiful tee shot from an elevated teeing ground was wasted on hole #5, when I duffed my second shot with a mid-iron. The subsequent approach came to rest on the fringe, but I had a lot of green between myself and the pin. Three putts and double-bogey was a reasonable finish from that position.
The last four holes on the front nine were played very well and as a result, I collected two pars and two bogeys. On hole #6, a par-5 measuring 440 yards, I drove the ball 250 yards to the left edge of the fairway. The day before, I drove the ball to virtually the same place, but some trees near the fairway blocked me from going for the green in two. This time, I had an opening, so I hit 4-iron with visions of an eagle putt dancing in my head. As it turned out, the ball came up five yards short of the green. I chipped on and two-putt for par.
Bogey was the result on hole #7, which was good considering I took a triple-bogey on the same hole a day earlier. Experience paid off as I approached the hole very conservatively. Aggressive play is only recommended on this hole if you are hitting your targets very consistently. Trees and fescue pinch the front of this elevated green and putts from above the hole are very treacherous. On the par-3 eighth hole, another good tee shot produced the textbook par. On the par-4 ninth hole, my approach came up short of the green, setting up a rather non-descript bogey.
A pair of bogeys started things off on the back nine, the second of those resulting from a disappointing three-putt. I played hole #11 more conservatively than I did the day before, since I got burned trying to reach the green in two. I suppose the srtategy paid off, but I really should have made par there.
Hole #12, a short par-4 measuring 330 yards from the white tees, was my best hole of the day. The fairway wraps around a large pond that borders the entire right side. Distance from the tee directly to the green is somewhat less than 330 yards, tempting players to hit driver into the green. It is a classic risk / reward hole, since the straight line to the green forces players to carry the ball about 200 yards directly over the water. I was feeling good, so I went for it. The shot came off exactly as I envisioned, landing in the fairway running up to the green, and stopping in the centre of the green, about 20 feet from the pin. What a great feeling! Not wanting to leave the eagle putt short, I blew past the hole by about five feet. The bridie putt was no gimmie, but I managed to make it.
Hole #13, a short par-5 at 464 yards, gave me trouble for the second day in a row. The type of trouble was completely different though. This time, I cut the corner on my drive a little too much, losing my ball somewhere left of the fairway. Shooting my third from the tee, I hit the middle of the fairway. From that position, I would normally take two shots to follow the fairway around the large pond that fronts the green. Feeling like I needed to make up for the lost ball and penalty stroke however, I decided to carry the water and go for glory. My 5-iron came up about five yards short, so the result was another penalty stroke. I ended up taking a triple-bogey.
Hole #16, a par-4 with water flanking the right side of the fairway from tee to green, also tripped me up for the second day in a row. I had just come off a bogey and a par on holes #14 and #15 respectively, so I was feeling pretty good. Unfortunately, I hit a very tentative 3-wood off the tee, just as I did the day before. This time, my ball popped up high and dribbled right into the water hazard. Standing on the tee, it appears as though there is trouble left of the fairway in the form of clustered trees. However, as I walked toward the green, I realized that there is a lot of room past the trees. Next time I play the hole, I will play to miss left of the fairway, instead of right.
Hole #17, one of the prettiest at The Hoot with a tee shot over water and its green nestled near a lovely waterfall, resulted in a solid par. This was followed by a regrettable double-bogey on hole #18. I hit a fantastic drive 275 yards to the middle of the fairway. A bit of a downslope helped me get a few more yards than I usually do on my drives. From 80 yards away, I hit my approach a little thin, sending the ball just behind the green. I then skulled my chip, blowing the ball past the hole to the opposite side of the green. And then I three-putt! Can you believe it?
If that mistake had put my score into the nineties, I would have been pretty upset. As it was, I didn't mind so much.
Score: 89
Par: 72
Putts: 39
Fairways: 9
Greens: 6
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