My score has dipped into the 80's a few times this year, but just barely. Earlier in the season, I managed to register scores of 89 at Osprey Valley (Hoot), Crosswinds, and Brampton Golf Club. Breaking 90 is nice, but it feels so much better when I do so comfortably. Mind you, this has only happened a few times, ever. I'm happy to report that it happened once again, on my first-ever visit to Lochness Links, located in Welland, Ontario. As the name implies, this is a links-style course, featuring windswept fairways, bordered by nasty fescue and a few ponds here and there.
Traffic on the QEW was brutal, so it took over two hours to reach the course. With no time to practice or warm up, my group and I teed off on the first hole. Conscious of being stiff from the long drive over, I made sure to swing easy, and it worked like a charm. I hit the first fairway and went on to hit all the fairways on the front nine! I didn't hit a lot of greens in regulation, but the greenside rough is a lot tamer than the fescue off the fairways, so I didn't mind at all. I started hot, with a pair of bogeys and three pars, then cooled off with a trio of double-bogeys and a bogey on hole #9, which is arguably the nicest on the course.
On the back nine, I got extremely hot, collecting two bogeys, five pars, and a birdie! The lone blemish on the scorecard was a triple-bogey on hole #17, a long par-4. I missed three of seven fairways, but I hit a greater percentage of greens. One of these came on hole #12, a par-3 that was playing about 170 yards. Though I struggled on the green, I was very happy with my approach. The birdie came on hole #14, and it was the highlight of the day. I hit a beautiful drive, about 285 yards to the centre of the fairway. Feeling pumped about the great drive, I decided to go for the green with my second shot on this par-5. From 235 yards out, I hit an absolutely perfect 3-wood, right in the direction of the flag. At that point, I thought I would have a putt for eagle. As it turned out, I was actually a yard past the green. I really must have smoked that 3-wood! I chipped to within a foot of the cup and tapped in for the easy birdie. What a rush!
I played very well on this day, shooting 40 on the back nine and 85 overall. I wish these rounds happened more frequently.
Score: 85
Par: 72
Putts: 34
Fairways: 10
Greens: 5
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