If there was a twelve-step program for disconsolate golfers, it would probably begin with each participant acknowledging that he is a hack. Well, sign me up for the first available program, because I fully admit it. Where I stand today is not the result of bad luck, faulty equipment, tricked-up courses, poor weather, or stupid playing partners. It is a reflection of my current skill level and ability (or lack thereof). There is a reason my handicap factor has jumped almost five points over the past two years. I'm simply not as good as I was back then.
I just finished my latest round on the Old Course at Hidden Lake Golf Club. Having played a few rounds on less familiar territory this season, I was looking forward to playing a course I know very well. My last three visits to the Old Course produced scores of 92, 90, and 87. At that rate, I was on pace to shoot about 85, right? Well, let's just say it didn't work out that way. Though conditions were ideal, I struggled all day long and had to grind hard just to break 100. It was a good thing I broke the century mark, otherwise authorities may have had to pull a body from the bottom of Hidden Lake - mine! Drowning would be a cakewalk compared to the suffering I endure at the hands of this wretched game.
I won't bore you with any shot by shot accounts. Instead, allow me to analyse the major components of the game, with the inclusion of a few examples to add some colour.
Driver. This has been the worst part of my game this season, by far. Early in the year, I was pulling a lot of drives left. There was no hook to the ball flight, just a straight pull off the tee. Occasionally, I would pipe a beauty deep and straight down the fairway. These good shots actually made it harder to determine what I was doing wrong on the bad ones. To me, they all felt the same. Sometimes, a reverse pivot was the obvious culprit. I could feel my left foot lose traction or even come off the ground, while my weight shifted violently to the right foot. However, this only explains a small percentage of the misses.
Over the last few rounds, my misses with the driver have become more varied. The full variety was on display at Hidden Lake. Of twelve shots taken with the driver, four were straight pulls, one was a pull-hook, three were fades or slices, and one was a topped ball. Only three of the drives were well struck. Many of the pulls involved trees just ahead of the teeing ground. These trees intimidate players who can only hit the ball from left to right. Hole #15 is a classic example, and I fell into the trap sure as God made little green apples. Hole #17 is another example, so I opted to play a 3-iron for safety. Too bad that shot was a complete duff that didn't even reach the forward tees.
I am at a complete loss with the driver right now. I'm all over the place, looking for a swing that I can control, but I'm not finding it. Maybe I should start from the beginning and try to build it out piece by piece. Look at ball position at address, posture, grip, takeaway, swing plane, swing length, tempo, balance, etc. I don't know.
Fairway woods. These used to be a strength of my game, but I completely lost any feel I had with them beginning two years ago. It hasn't been a huge problem, since my long irons improved substantially and I use them when I might have used a fairway wood in the past. Still, it's nice to have options. Surprisingly, my woods worked well at Hidden Lake. I hit 5-wood a couple of times after duffed or topped tee shots to good effect.
Irons. Early in the season, I was hooking my irons too much for my liking. The problem was more pronounced with the short irons, say 7-iron and up. This was disappointing because these are supposed to be your scoring clubs. It was also more pronounced off the tee, for reasons I can't explain. After working on this during a round at Tunberry, I largely corrected the problem. At Hidden Lake, my irons were only so-so. Actually, I didn't have a lot of iron shots that I could hit full out. Most of the time, I was using them to punch low shots underneath tree branches. With the exception of a 195-yard tee shot on the par-3 eighth hole, my tee shots with irons were a letdown. I came up short on hole #2, while hooking the approach to holes #4, #14, and #18.
Wedges. Full wedge shots have been satisfactory this season, but they could have been better. While I can't recall any disastrous wedge shots, I can recall a few that missed the green when they really shouldn't have. At Hidden Lake, wedge shots were the best part of my game. Out of position on holes #1, #6, #7, and #16, I used the 52 degree club to clear high trees while advancing the ball in the direction of the green. It was the right call each time and execution was flawless. On the other hand, I topped the ball with the same club on my approach to hole #13. I also sculled the ball with the 56 degree club on my approach to hole #9. Nobody's perfect.
Pitching & chipping. My short game has been less than stellar a couple of times this season, but overall, I've been quite pleased. I'd love to get up and down more routinely, but as long as no egregious errors are committed, I'm generally happy. My pitching and chipping worked pretty well at Hidden Lake. I was able to get up and down four times. On many other occasions, I chipped reasonably well, but left the ball outside of single-putt range. On three separate occasions, I had a pitch shot land shorter than I wanted it to. Two of those resulted in a 3-putt, while one required an additional chip to get on the green.
Bunkers. Two years ago, my bunker play went to pieces. I used to have no trouble with sand near the green, then all of a sudden, I was vacillating between picking balls clean and catching too much sand. I lost my confidence and I'm still trying to get it back. I only had one bunker shot at Hidden Lake, my second on hole #18, a par-3. It was a good one, even though it rolled well past the hole.
Putting. I have no complaints with my putting this year. Some days are better than others, that's just the way it goes. My putting at Hidden Lake was solid, though I did have a pair of 3-putts. One of these came on hole #1, before I had an opportunity to feel the speed of the greens. The other came on hole #10, where my second putt was a short miss. This miss, along with another short one, were the only putts that left me disappointed.
Score: 99
Putts: 34
Fairways: 3
Greens: 1
Penalties: 0
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