After nearly three weeks without playing, I headed to Hidden Lake Golf Club for a much needed round. I was worried that the time off might have a negative effect on my performance, but that wasn't the case.
My drive on the first hole gave me some confidence. Even though it was pulled left of target, the contact was good, as were the flight path and distance. My second shot, 200 yards into the green with a 3-iron, was also good. Hitting a long iron like that can give you a nice jolt of energy. When it comes early in a round, it can set the tone for the rest of the day.
I felt like I was striking the ball rather well on the front nine. I was concentrating intently on "finishing down the line" with each stroke. My tendency has always been to get steep at the top of my backswing. This can lead to an outside-in swing path, which produces a straight pull or a left-to-right slice. For me, thinking about finishing down the line seems to encourage a flatter swing plane. It also helps me transfer my weight to the left side, which is something I fail to do on occasion.
Though I was striking the ball well, I made a couple of mental mistakes. On one hole, I selected the wrong approach iron. As a result, my ball sailed clear past the green. On another hole, I took four putts to hole out after reaching the green in regulation. The green was quite sloped, but there really was no reason for such trouble. On yet another hole, I laid up 60 yards from a reachable green, thinking there was a small pond in front. As I approached the green, I realized there was no pond whatsoever. I must have been thinking about a hole on a diferent course!
On the back nine, I played at a similar level, but I felt like there were a few more mis-hits. A couple of these came with the driver, while a few others came with the wedges. With some good recovery shots, I was able to keep my scores in check.
At the end of the day, I tallied a 93, which is not bad for November golf.
Score: 93
Par: 71
Putts: 39
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
