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
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