I was in a scramble tournament at Piper's Heath, but played only eight holes, as the event was cut short by rain and lightning. Prior to teeing off, I spent some time on the driving range, attempting to fix the problems I've been having with my driver. I straightened my left elbow on setup, which seemed to improve my takeaway. In turn, this improved my swing path, whch had been terribly outside-in. I made solid contact on the course, though I was still pulling the ball slightly.
Making use of a rain check, I returned to Piper's Heath after a weekend with no golf. Once again, the weather did not cooperate. I managed nine holes this time and took home yet another rain check. The driver was good at times, bad at others. In fact, the same was true of my irons. A poor 5-iron from a par-3 teeing ground put me in trouble, leading to a quadruple-bogey. I launched the ball from one patch of fescue to another, resulting in a lost ball. It's just not possible to score well with penalty strokes.
Another problem was holding the greens when pitching the ball from inside 100 yards. I hit some high pitch shots with my most lofted club directly on target, only to watch the ball release forward and roll right off the green. It was frustrating to say the least. It's one thing to take your medicine after making bad shots, but being forced to take that medicine after seemingly good shots is pretty cruel. Alas, such is the game of golf at times.
Score: 51 (9 holes)
Putts: 18
Fairways: 2
Greens: 0
Penalties: 1
August 28, 2010
August 14, 2010
Familiar Story at The Highlands
My latest round at The Highlands had the same rotten stench of previous visits gone bad.
Every time I play this course, I have three or four disastrous holes that ruin my score. Aside from those holes however, I seem to play quite well. It was no different this time. I played fourteen holes in a score of thirteen over par. Better than bogey golf is fantastic, if only I could do it over all eighteen holes. On this occasion, the remaining four holes resulted in two triple-bogeys, a quadruple-bogey, and one hole where I was an embarassing six over par.
Three of the bad holes came on the front nine. On one hole, my tee shot with the 3-iron was lost in the fescue right of the fairway. On another, my bunker shot from beside the green sailed twenty yards over the putting surface. On the last of the terrible holes, a mis-hit tee shot with the driver rolled into a pond. On the same hole, I also duffed a couple of pitch shots from in front of the green. As you can see, trouble came in all forms.
I didn't hit a single green in regulation on the front nine. On the back nine, I suddenly got hot, hitting five of the first six greens in regulation. The only problem was that I finished with a 3-putt on four of those greens. It was frustrating to remedy one part of my game, only to have another break down at precisely the same time.
In the end, I felt good about my game despite the score. I felt like I corrected a flaw that had plagued my driver for a number of rounds, and I'm confident that my putting will get better again.
Score: 101
Putts: 38
Fairways: 4
Greens: 5
Penalties: 4
Every time I play this course, I have three or four disastrous holes that ruin my score. Aside from those holes however, I seem to play quite well. It was no different this time. I played fourteen holes in a score of thirteen over par. Better than bogey golf is fantastic, if only I could do it over all eighteen holes. On this occasion, the remaining four holes resulted in two triple-bogeys, a quadruple-bogey, and one hole where I was an embarassing six over par.
Three of the bad holes came on the front nine. On one hole, my tee shot with the 3-iron was lost in the fescue right of the fairway. On another, my bunker shot from beside the green sailed twenty yards over the putting surface. On the last of the terrible holes, a mis-hit tee shot with the driver rolled into a pond. On the same hole, I also duffed a couple of pitch shots from in front of the green. As you can see, trouble came in all forms.
I didn't hit a single green in regulation on the front nine. On the back nine, I suddenly got hot, hitting five of the first six greens in regulation. The only problem was that I finished with a 3-putt on four of those greens. It was frustrating to remedy one part of my game, only to have another break down at precisely the same time.
In the end, I felt good about my game despite the score. I felt like I corrected a flaw that had plagued my driver for a number of rounds, and I'm confident that my putting will get better again.
Score: 101
Putts: 38
Fairways: 4
Greens: 5
Penalties: 4
August 06, 2010
Catching Up
Blogging about golf has been impossible lately. To make up for it, I hereby present a stream of concise updates. Rounds are listed in reverse chronological order. The format is:
Course (Score, Putts, Fairways, Greens, Penalties) Description
Cardinal West (94, 29, 2, 1, 5) First round of the year with The Unreliables. Nervous start, then settled down. Driver still erratic, but short game was best it's been all year. Par on all five par-3 holes, without hitting any of the greens in regulation. Chipping and putting saved my bacon.
Century Pines (97, 37, 2, 5, 3) Terrible with the driver. Wicked pulls off the tee or a big slice. Nothing in between. Can't stop swinging from the outside-in. Irons not so bad. Bogey golf, except for two blowup holes. Putting not bad, but stats say otherwise. Every green in regulation followed by a 3-putt.
Dragon's Fire (98, 39, 8, 6, 5) Round 3 of Deepwoods Tour. Solid front nine, marred only by a duffed tee shot on hole #8. Shot 45 at the turn, which was good for 18 points. Wayward iron shots on holes #10 and #12 cost me some points and had me pressing the rest of the way. Played better than the score reflects.
Lionhead Masters (100, 43, 10, 6, 3) Five over par through the first six holes, followed by three double-bogeys for a score of 47 going out. Hit every fairway on the front nine, but only three greens in regulation. Bogey golf on the back nine until a blowup on hole #16 ruined everything. Putting numbers brutal.
Whitevale (101, 35, 5, 4, 1) GTA Amateur Tour major. Four over par through the first five holes, followed by a disastrous quadruple bogey. Duffed a 3-iron off the tee, then struggled with chipping near the green. Driver let me down a few times on the back nine. Straight pull or big slice the only options.
Century Pines (93, 33, 5, 6, 3) Course better than I remembered. Great start with five pars on the front nine. Short par-4 holes #11 and #12 killed me. Went out of bounds from a bunker on the former, and failed to clear a forced carry on the latter. If not for those holes, would have scored in the eighties.
Riverstone (87, 32, 6, 5, 3) Something different, as I don't usually play this kind of course. Short and tight, with small greens and water often in play. Must plot your way around, which I did well. Rarely used driver and erred to the side of caution often. Eight pars, but an admitted easy course.
Lionhead Legends (101, 38, 5, 4, 5) Playing consistently, I felt ready to tackle the beast. Bunker trouble on hole #5 led to a triple-bogey. Why the trouble with sand? Pulled iron on hole #7 went out of bounds. Same on hole #16. Played well overall, but just enough mistakes to reach the dreaded century mark.
Peninsula Lakes (91, 29, 3, 2, 2) Round 2 of Deepwoods Tour. In the water on Quarry #1, and shenanigans on #8. Otherwise a good front nine. Excellent play on the back nine, including a birdie on Hillside #3. Putting got hot on the back nine. A couple fewer mistakes and score would have been in the eighties.
North Halton (91, 32, 8, 4, 2) GTA Amateur Tour event. Amazing start, just two over par through the first six holes, including a birdie on hole #3. Score of 42 at the turn still very strong. Then the rain came and shot everything to hell. Did well to finish with a 91 in the torrential downpour.
Glen Eagle (92, 34, 9, 5, 2) First visit here in a long time. Started and ended the front (Blue) nine with a par, but the rest was not so great. Gave strokes away by duffing from the fairway with the 60-degree wedge. Made up for it with a 42 on the back (Yellow) nine, including a birdie on the last hole.
Osprey Valley Heathlands (85, 34, 8, 3, 0) Day 2 of the GTA Amateur Tour major. Easily my best round of the season. Practically flawless front nine, with five bogeys and four pars. A few double-bogeys on the back nine, but also a birdie on hole #16. In control with all parts of the game. Nice feeling.
Osprey Valley Heathlands (96, 35, 8, 5, 3) Day 1 of a 2-day GTA Amateur Tour major. Would have been a great round, if not for a buried ball in the greenside bunker of hole #12. It was a freak incident, so I have to put it aside. Six pars on the day was nice. Felt like I managed my game very well.
Lionhead Masters (91, 35, 8, 5, 3) Best result ever for this course. Shot 42 on the front nine, including four pars, four bogeys, and one double-bogey. Faltered a little on the back nine after losing a ball inexplicably on hole #13, but held it together for a satisfying final tally of 91. Could have been in the eighties.
Course (Score, Putts, Fairways, Greens, Penalties) Description
Cardinal West (94, 29, 2, 1, 5) First round of the year with The Unreliables. Nervous start, then settled down. Driver still erratic, but short game was best it's been all year. Par on all five par-3 holes, without hitting any of the greens in regulation. Chipping and putting saved my bacon.
Century Pines (97, 37, 2, 5, 3) Terrible with the driver. Wicked pulls off the tee or a big slice. Nothing in between. Can't stop swinging from the outside-in. Irons not so bad. Bogey golf, except for two blowup holes. Putting not bad, but stats say otherwise. Every green in regulation followed by a 3-putt.
Dragon's Fire (98, 39, 8, 6, 5) Round 3 of Deepwoods Tour. Solid front nine, marred only by a duffed tee shot on hole #8. Shot 45 at the turn, which was good for 18 points. Wayward iron shots on holes #10 and #12 cost me some points and had me pressing the rest of the way. Played better than the score reflects.
Lionhead Masters (100, 43, 10, 6, 3) Five over par through the first six holes, followed by three double-bogeys for a score of 47 going out. Hit every fairway on the front nine, but only three greens in regulation. Bogey golf on the back nine until a blowup on hole #16 ruined everything. Putting numbers brutal.
Whitevale (101, 35, 5, 4, 1) GTA Amateur Tour major. Four over par through the first five holes, followed by a disastrous quadruple bogey. Duffed a 3-iron off the tee, then struggled with chipping near the green. Driver let me down a few times on the back nine. Straight pull or big slice the only options.
Century Pines (93, 33, 5, 6, 3) Course better than I remembered. Great start with five pars on the front nine. Short par-4 holes #11 and #12 killed me. Went out of bounds from a bunker on the former, and failed to clear a forced carry on the latter. If not for those holes, would have scored in the eighties.
Riverstone (87, 32, 6, 5, 3) Something different, as I don't usually play this kind of course. Short and tight, with small greens and water often in play. Must plot your way around, which I did well. Rarely used driver and erred to the side of caution often. Eight pars, but an admitted easy course.
Lionhead Legends (101, 38, 5, 4, 5) Playing consistently, I felt ready to tackle the beast. Bunker trouble on hole #5 led to a triple-bogey. Why the trouble with sand? Pulled iron on hole #7 went out of bounds. Same on hole #16. Played well overall, but just enough mistakes to reach the dreaded century mark.
Peninsula Lakes (91, 29, 3, 2, 2) Round 2 of Deepwoods Tour. In the water on Quarry #1, and shenanigans on #8. Otherwise a good front nine. Excellent play on the back nine, including a birdie on Hillside #3. Putting got hot on the back nine. A couple fewer mistakes and score would have been in the eighties.
North Halton (91, 32, 8, 4, 2) GTA Amateur Tour event. Amazing start, just two over par through the first six holes, including a birdie on hole #3. Score of 42 at the turn still very strong. Then the rain came and shot everything to hell. Did well to finish with a 91 in the torrential downpour.
Glen Eagle (92, 34, 9, 5, 2) First visit here in a long time. Started and ended the front (Blue) nine with a par, but the rest was not so great. Gave strokes away by duffing from the fairway with the 60-degree wedge. Made up for it with a 42 on the back (Yellow) nine, including a birdie on the last hole.
Osprey Valley Heathlands (85, 34, 8, 3, 0) Day 2 of the GTA Amateur Tour major. Easily my best round of the season. Practically flawless front nine, with five bogeys and four pars. A few double-bogeys on the back nine, but also a birdie on hole #16. In control with all parts of the game. Nice feeling.
Osprey Valley Heathlands (96, 35, 8, 5, 3) Day 1 of a 2-day GTA Amateur Tour major. Would have been a great round, if not for a buried ball in the greenside bunker of hole #12. It was a freak incident, so I have to put it aside. Six pars on the day was nice. Felt like I managed my game very well.
Lionhead Masters (91, 35, 8, 5, 3) Best result ever for this course. Shot 42 on the front nine, including four pars, four bogeys, and one double-bogey. Faltered a little on the back nine after losing a ball inexplicably on hole #13, but held it together for a satisfying final tally of 91. Could have been in the eighties.
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