A month and a half after my 54-hole introduction to Westview Golf Club, I returned with the aim of improving upon my early scores. Since my feet took some punishment during the last visit, I decided to play a mere 36 holes this time around. I'm happy to report that my scores improved, but I'm still very disappointed with my performance this season. My handicap factor is now over 20, which is about five points higher than it was two years ago.
Middle / Lakeland
Starting on the Middle nine, I opened with a triple bogey. The opening holes on the Middle and Lakeland nines, which run parallel to eachother, are pretty stiff indeed. Besides being long, they both play severely uphill from tee to green. While the fairways are straight, mature trees line both sides. If your tee shot misses the short grass, there is little chance of reaching the green in regulation. The greens are also tilted from back to front, making front pin positions especially testy. Where were the pins on this day? You guessed it.
My struggles continued for the first four holes, as I amassed a couple of double-bogeys, along with a quadruple. The quad came on a par-5 after a topped second shot and a third that dribbled into a hazard on the right side. However, I played the remainder of the Middle nine fairly well. A par on hole #6 was particularly satisfying. Right handers who hit driver on this hole must fade the ball, or they will run through the end of the fairway on this dog-leg par-4. My fade worked like a charm, coming to rest a yard into the right rough, but just 110 yards from the flag. My approach with a gap wedge flew high and landed just in front of the pin, but the green contour pushed the ball to the fringe. Nevertheless, I two-putt for the par.
The Lakeland nine brought a slight improvement, but I still made triple bogey on the opening hole. I tell you, those holes are beasts. Aside from the opening hole, I also had trouble with #6, another straight and long par-4 that plays uphill. Playing my third from the fairway, 100 yards from the pin, I hit the shank to end all shanks! I mean, this thing went immediately to the right, almost 90 degrees from my intended direction of travel. I almost hit one of the guys who was playing with me. It was ugly. On the positive side, I made par on hole #7, a shorter par-4 from an elevated tee. I wasted a nice drive on hole #8, when my approach from a downhill lie came up short and found a hazard.
Overall, I was not happy to exceed 100, but I improved my lone previous score on Middle / Lakeland by five strokes.
Score: 104
Putts: 34
Fairways: 2
Greens: 2
Penalties: 2
Middle / Lakeland
The good news is that I played Middle / Lakeland again for my second round of the day. Once again, I played the opening holes terribly. Middle #1 produced a quadruple-bogey this time, thanks to a careless short putt thrown into the mix. On the next few holes I struggled with different parts of the game. I mis-hit my tee shot on hole #2, had a low punch shot carry too far on hole #3, topped an approach on hole #4, and so on. I thought I turned things around when my tee shot on hole #5, a par-3 measuring 200 yards, came to rest on the putting surface some 15 feet from the hole. Unfortunately, my birdie putt came up way short. I was misled by the speed of the greens earlier in the day. I ended that hole with a 3-putt bogey. The Middle nine ended well, with pars on the last two holes, helping me shave one stroke from my score earlier in the day.
My second crack at the Lakeland nine went well, except for the opening hole which I've already described. It was another triple-bogey to get things started. Aside from that, I played bogey golf the rest of the way. I learned from my first pass on the course where to aim my tee shot on hole #2, leading to a par. My tee shot actually ran through the end of the fairway on this dog-leg par-4, but a solid approach and textbook up-and-down saw me safely to par. I also made par on hole #8, making up for the wasted tee-shot the first time around. Once again, I piped a drive deep down the fairway. This time however, my approach shot found the green and par was the result. A par on hole #9, a par-3 playing 172 yards, would have given me a final score of 99. Unfortunately, I messed up my tee shot. With some rain falling at this point, I felt some moisture on my grip. Instead of backing off and wiping the water away, I proceeded and duffed the ball. After I wiped the grips I was fine and finished with a bogey.
In the end it was a score of 100, which I hate. On the positive side, I lowered my score once again, so it can't be all bad. Still, my handicap is now 20.5, which is painful to see. I must turn things around. I must!
Score: 100
Putts: 37
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
Penalties: 1
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