Struggle Continues at Deepwoods Event

The first round of the Deepwoods Golf Association Championship took place at Copetown Woods Golf Club. The course has hosted Round 1 of the Deepwoods Championship for many years. I played well at Copetown in seasons past, setting the stage for a win and two second place finishes over the last four years. This year was different.

I went into the round with very little confidence, owing to the poor showings I've had early this year. I was encouraged when I found myself able to control my drives and iron shots on the practice range. I was still pulling my drives and drawing my irons more than desired, but at least the path of the ball in the air seemed to be predictable.

That all went out the window when I teed off on my first hole of the day, which was #10, a short par-5. I popped my drive straight in the air, maybe 50 yards. Hitting next from the rough, I topped my 5-wood. I followed up with a trio of good shots and a couple of putts, but the damage had been done. Double-bogey was not the start I was looking for.

The rest of the back nine was a struggle all the way through. I especially made a mess of holes #13 and #14, collecting a penalty stroke on the former for a pulled drive into a pond, and another on the latter for a hooked iron into deep fescue that swallowed my ball never to be seen again. Triple-bogey was the result on both holes. The back nine produced a lone par, which came on hole #15, a rather straightforward affair.

The front nine was much better, as I managed a birdie on hole #6, followed by a par on hole #7. I also posted five bogeys on this half of the scorecard. I hit two or three drives that I was happy with, along with some nice approach shots. Nevertheless, I still had two disaster holes, which ruined any chance of offsetting the back nine that began my day.

The only real positive I can take out of this round was the fact that I broke 100. You know things are going badly when breaking 100 is considered encouraging. I have to figure out why I'm pulling all my drives. I also have to find a way to prevent the clubface from shutting on most of my iron shots. At least chipping and putting are OK.

Score: 99
Putts: 35
Fairways: 3
Greens: 5
Penalties: 6