I played two rounds each of the past three weekends. Here is a brief summary, in reverse chronological order. The format is:
Course (Score, Putts, Fairways, Greens, Penalties) Description
Lionhead Masters (100, 35, 6, 3, 8) Beginning to dislike this course - not because there's anything wrong with it - I simply havent played well here lately and it's starting to get under my skin. Triple bogey to open and here we go again. But wait! I birdied the next hole and made par on the one after that, so I was right back in it. Soon found myself in a couple bad situations and lack of composure cost me a few strokes. Played better on the back nine and was poised to salvage a round under 100, but choked on the last two holes. Eight penalties? Sheesh!
Redcrest (91, 31, 6, 4, 4) First visit of the year to Redcrest, continuing the recent trend. Could not hit fairways or greens in regulation on the front nine, but putting saved me. Pull-hooked a bunch of iron shots early and was perplexed. Score was 50 at the turn, so I had work to do. Back nine was much better, as both the driver and the irons straightened out. Putting remained hot. Final score was quite good, but it hides the fact that I didn't really feel in control.
Watson's Glen (96, 35, 7, 2, 3) Surprisingly good weather for late in the year. First visit of the year to Watson's Glen. Greens had been aerated, which made for a less than satifactory experience. Avoided blowup holes on the front nine, but made no pars either, for a score of 50 at the turn. Tallied four pars on the back nine to salvage a 96 overall. Not bad, following a similar result at Ballantrae. Still could not hit fairway woods or sand shots to save my life.
Ballantrae (95, 35, 6, 5, 3) First visit of the year to Ballantrae. Bad result on opening hole, followed by back-to-back birdies. That never happens! Solid remining front nine for a score of 45 at the turn. Back nine was more sloppy, with a flurry of double-bogies. Finished the ilast two holes with bogey and par to hang on to a 95. Not bad, considering I haven't been playing very well lately. Putting was better than at Ashburn, but new driving technique still inconsistent.
Royal Ashburn (107, 43, 3, 4, 3) First ever visit to Royal Ashburn. Must plot your way through a couple of holes, but overall a nice course. Needed four putts on hole #1 after getting there in regulation. Also 4-putt hole #8. No doubt about it, putting was horrific. Drives were hit or miss, as I was experimenting with a new technique. Sand play was also hit or miss. A couple of times, I hit a bunker shot fat, followed by an attempt that was hit thin. It was bad. No confidence right now hitting from bunkers. One of the worst scores of the year.
Lowville (95, 38, 4, 5, 2) First visit of the year to Lowville. Got paired up with three guys who were good fun. Found trouble on holes #4 through #6. Was crushing my drives, but pulled a couple of them out of bounds. Almost drove the green on the par-4 sixth on my second attempt. Best hole was #9, which I birdied. Solid back nine, but putting was not spectacular. Decent score after a few bad rounds recently.
October 30, 2010
October 03, 2010
Fall Golf Signals Season End
Mental Weakness (Again) at Lionhead Masters
This round began with a disappointing triple-bogey on the opening hole, a relatively easy par-5. I did very well to let it go, as I proceeded to play bogey golf on the remaining holes that make up the front nine. My score at the turn was 48, which wasn't bad considering that I 3-putt on three separate occasions. On the back nine, I snapped. I lost it. After making par on hole #12 and striping a beautiful 3-iron off the tee on hole #13, I flared an approach shot into the woods. That was the turning point. From that point on, I played with anger and little or no discipline. Not surprisingly, my scores became inflated. There was one exception, which merits a more detailed description.
Hole #16 is a par-5, measuring 471 yards from the blue tees. I took a violent swing from the teeing area, but I caught the ball flush, with perfect line and trajectory. The ball came to rest in the right-centre portion of the fairway, about 160 yards from the green. This particular green is an island green, surrounded by water on all sides, except for a thin strip of land that connects it to the mainland. To reach the green in two from my position, I had to carry first a strand of large trees, and secondly, an expanse of water. I measured up the situation and reached for my 7-iron. It turned out to be the perfect club. I knew I hit it well immediately upon impact, then lifted my head to watch the ball clear the tops of the trees and land left of the flag. I had a 15-foot putt remaining for eagle, so I took my time to read the green. I made a good read and excellent stroke, but missed the cup by less than an inch on the high side. Eagle would have been nice, but I settled for a tap-in bogey. It was a great moment in an otherwise frustrating round.
Score: 102
Putts: 41
Fairways: 5
Greens: 3
Penalties: 4
Very Different Round at Angus Glen
What a difference a day makes. Day 2 of the Tour Championship began with a light drizzle. I made a great approach shot on hole #1 to set up par, while a 3-putt on hole #2 resulted in bogey. At this point, the skies opened up. My approach from the fairway on hole #3 was nowhere near target, then I messed up a pitch shot from the wet rough. Once on the green, play was suspended to allow standing water to drain. When play resumed, I had no idea what effect the rain would have on the speed of the green, so of course I 3-putt. Triple-bogey was the result.
Remarkably, the skies cleared up and the rain stopped. I played average for most of the remaining holes on the front nine. The exception was hole #9, a par-5 which resulted in another triple-bogey. A terrible tee shot put me in a bunker and behind the proverbial 8-ball right off the bat. On the back nine, I played mostly well, despite the fact that the rain returned for about half of the holes. I made a couple of pars and a handful of bogeys, but I had two blowup holes as well. It just wasn't my day. The rain and the delays made it hard to concentrate. Needless to say, I dropped a few spots in the event standings.
Score: 101
Putts: 42
Fairways: 7
Greens: 5
Penalties: 2
Good Round in Tour Championship at Angus Glen
The GTA Amateur Tour was at Angus Glen for Day 1 of the 2-day Tour Championship. Playing the South Course, I began with an openng hole birdie, set up by a 290-yard drive to the 100-yard marker, followed by a precise approach to the par-4 green. I closed the front nine out with a pair of pars, four bogeys, and two double-bogeys. Off the tee, I was very solid, missing only one fairway. My approach shots were less precise, but my putting was very good.
On the back nine, I was the model of consistency, making one par, seven bogeys and one double-bogey. I was no longer striping the ball down the fairways, and my approach shots were still imprecise, but contact was always good and I never missed by very much. Putting continued to be good, which always makes a huge difference.
At the end of the round, I was in a tie for fourth place going into Day 2.
Score: 88
Putts: 31
Fairways: 8
Greens: 3
Penalties: 0
Mental Weakness at Lionhead Legends
There are some tough holes on the Legends course at Lionhead, which means you have to take advantage of the easier ones. Hole #2 is among the easiest, but I wasted a great tee shot, en route to a quadruple bogey. My approach was a short hook, followed by a missed shot from the rough and another from a bunker. I regrouped well however, registering a bogey and par on the next two holes.
Unfortunately, I soon began a stretch of horrific golf. On hole #5, I failed to hit cleanly out of a fairway bunker, then proceeded to mess up a couple of pitch shots. The short game just wasn't there, and I soon got frustrated. Try as I might to control my emotion, it would take a few holes to calm down again. By then, my score was already out of hand.
On the positive side, I shot a very respectable 45 on the back nine.
Score: 104
Putts: 33
Fairways: 6
Greens: 8
Penalties: 5
Two Man Scramble at Wooden Sticks
Score: 71
Another Almost at Mad River
I made the trek to Mad River Golf Club, located in Creemore, Ontario, in search of my first victory on the GTA Amateur Tour. Conditions were tough, resulting in higher than usual scores across all flights. While it was dry and the temperature was comfortable, fierce wind made it difficult to score well.
The wind was most intense when I played hole #2, a par 4 measuring about 400 yards. I did well to record bogey with the wind directly in my face. I drove the ball well, not only on that hole, but for most of the round. I was concentrating on approaching the ball from the inside, and it seemed to work well. Unfortunately, my short irons were less reliable. I hooked a few and badly flared some others, leading to three prototypical blowup holes. Putting was pretty solid.
In spite of a few mistakes, I finished in a tie for fourth. There was enough of an opening to snatch a victory, but I didn't get it done.
Score: 97
Putts: 33
Fairways: 8
Greens: 3
Penalties: 1
This round began with a disappointing triple-bogey on the opening hole, a relatively easy par-5. I did very well to let it go, as I proceeded to play bogey golf on the remaining holes that make up the front nine. My score at the turn was 48, which wasn't bad considering that I 3-putt on three separate occasions. On the back nine, I snapped. I lost it. After making par on hole #12 and striping a beautiful 3-iron off the tee on hole #13, I flared an approach shot into the woods. That was the turning point. From that point on, I played with anger and little or no discipline. Not surprisingly, my scores became inflated. There was one exception, which merits a more detailed description.
Hole #16 is a par-5, measuring 471 yards from the blue tees. I took a violent swing from the teeing area, but I caught the ball flush, with perfect line and trajectory. The ball came to rest in the right-centre portion of the fairway, about 160 yards from the green. This particular green is an island green, surrounded by water on all sides, except for a thin strip of land that connects it to the mainland. To reach the green in two from my position, I had to carry first a strand of large trees, and secondly, an expanse of water. I measured up the situation and reached for my 7-iron. It turned out to be the perfect club. I knew I hit it well immediately upon impact, then lifted my head to watch the ball clear the tops of the trees and land left of the flag. I had a 15-foot putt remaining for eagle, so I took my time to read the green. I made a good read and excellent stroke, but missed the cup by less than an inch on the high side. Eagle would have been nice, but I settled for a tap-in bogey. It was a great moment in an otherwise frustrating round.
Score: 102
Putts: 41
Fairways: 5
Greens: 3
Penalties: 4
Very Different Round at Angus Glen
What a difference a day makes. Day 2 of the Tour Championship began with a light drizzle. I made a great approach shot on hole #1 to set up par, while a 3-putt on hole #2 resulted in bogey. At this point, the skies opened up. My approach from the fairway on hole #3 was nowhere near target, then I messed up a pitch shot from the wet rough. Once on the green, play was suspended to allow standing water to drain. When play resumed, I had no idea what effect the rain would have on the speed of the green, so of course I 3-putt. Triple-bogey was the result.
Remarkably, the skies cleared up and the rain stopped. I played average for most of the remaining holes on the front nine. The exception was hole #9, a par-5 which resulted in another triple-bogey. A terrible tee shot put me in a bunker and behind the proverbial 8-ball right off the bat. On the back nine, I played mostly well, despite the fact that the rain returned for about half of the holes. I made a couple of pars and a handful of bogeys, but I had two blowup holes as well. It just wasn't my day. The rain and the delays made it hard to concentrate. Needless to say, I dropped a few spots in the event standings.
Score: 101
Putts: 42
Fairways: 7
Greens: 5
Penalties: 2
Good Round in Tour Championship at Angus Glen
The GTA Amateur Tour was at Angus Glen for Day 1 of the 2-day Tour Championship. Playing the South Course, I began with an openng hole birdie, set up by a 290-yard drive to the 100-yard marker, followed by a precise approach to the par-4 green. I closed the front nine out with a pair of pars, four bogeys, and two double-bogeys. Off the tee, I was very solid, missing only one fairway. My approach shots were less precise, but my putting was very good.
On the back nine, I was the model of consistency, making one par, seven bogeys and one double-bogey. I was no longer striping the ball down the fairways, and my approach shots were still imprecise, but contact was always good and I never missed by very much. Putting continued to be good, which always makes a huge difference.
At the end of the round, I was in a tie for fourth place going into Day 2.
Score: 88
Putts: 31
Fairways: 8
Greens: 3
Penalties: 0
Mental Weakness at Lionhead Legends
There are some tough holes on the Legends course at Lionhead, which means you have to take advantage of the easier ones. Hole #2 is among the easiest, but I wasted a great tee shot, en route to a quadruple bogey. My approach was a short hook, followed by a missed shot from the rough and another from a bunker. I regrouped well however, registering a bogey and par on the next two holes.
Unfortunately, I soon began a stretch of horrific golf. On hole #5, I failed to hit cleanly out of a fairway bunker, then proceeded to mess up a couple of pitch shots. The short game just wasn't there, and I soon got frustrated. Try as I might to control my emotion, it would take a few holes to calm down again. By then, my score was already out of hand.
On the positive side, I shot a very respectable 45 on the back nine.
Score: 104
Putts: 33
Fairways: 6
Greens: 8
Penalties: 5
Two Man Scramble at Wooden Sticks
Score: 71
Another Almost at Mad River
I made the trek to Mad River Golf Club, located in Creemore, Ontario, in search of my first victory on the GTA Amateur Tour. Conditions were tough, resulting in higher than usual scores across all flights. While it was dry and the temperature was comfortable, fierce wind made it difficult to score well.
The wind was most intense when I played hole #2, a par 4 measuring about 400 yards. I did well to record bogey with the wind directly in my face. I drove the ball well, not only on that hole, but for most of the round. I was concentrating on approaching the ball from the inside, and it seemed to work well. Unfortunately, my short irons were less reliable. I hooked a few and badly flared some others, leading to three prototypical blowup holes. Putting was pretty solid.
In spite of a few mistakes, I finished in a tie for fourth. There was enough of an opening to snatch a victory, but I didn't get it done.
Score: 97
Putts: 33
Fairways: 8
Greens: 3
Penalties: 1
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