It was the Tuesday after a long weekend, which meant I could "play all day" at Westview Golf Club. I set out to complete 36 holes, looking to improve upon my earlier appearances at the Aurora area club.
Middle / Homestead
Kicking things off on the Middle nine, I got a huge monkey off my back by bogeying hole #1. As I've disussed previously, the opening holes on the Middle and Lakeland nines are true beasts. That said, it's always a nice boost to start out with bogey or better there. Riding the positive vibe, I played quite well over the next eight holes. I hit just a single fairway and only one green in regulation, but my misses were to reasonably safe areas from which I could recover. On hole #2, my second shot was a great punch through an alley of trees and back to the fairway. On hole #3, my third shot was a solid out from a greenside bunker. Whenever I found myself in trouble, I reminded myself to focus even more than usual. The goal was not to make two errors in a row. It also helped that my putting was very good. I had no 3-putts over the Middle nine and made quite a few 2-putts from a healthy distance to the cup. At the turn, I was shooting a respectable 46.
On the Homestead nine, my driver got hot. I hit four fairways on the five occasions when I teed off with the big boy. This included a 270-yard smash on the par-5 third hole and another of the same length on the par-4 fifth. The former was wasted somewhat after I topped my second shot. At 195 yards from the green, I was licking my lips in anticipation of reaching the putting surface in two. Oh well. The latter was not wasted at all, as I went on to par the hole, just missing a birdie putt. Nearly half of the ball was hanging over the edge of the hole when it came to rest, but close only matters in horseshoes and hand grenades, as the cliche goes. I played Homestead with 44 strokes, to finish the first round of the day at 90. This was my third-best score of the year, but probably my best in terms of overall play.
The turnaround with the driver actually began inadvertently with Middle #6. This is a medium length par-4 with a sharp dog-leg to the right. I set up to hit a big fade off the tee. My feet, hips and shoulders were pointed straight down the fairway, while I opened the club face a couple of degrees to produce the desired fade. You can imagine my surprise when the ball was piped straight in the direction that my body was pointed. It was the wrong hit for this particular hole, as I ran well past the end of the dog-leg. However, it was something I could reproduce (and did) later on when the situation called for a straight drive down the fairway. Along with the straightening out of my left elbow, which I tinkered with at my previous round, this opening of the club face seemed to restore my driving confidence. For a while there, I really felt in control with the big stick - something I haven't felt for most of this season.
Score: 90
Putts: 35
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
Penalties: 0
Lakeland / Middle
The second round of the day began on the Lakeland nine. This time, I failed to overcome the opening hole challenge, finishing with a double-bogey. An approach that kicked just a foot off the green, followed by a dubious putt, clinched my fate. A 3-putt on the next hole produced another double. On hole #3, I finally hit a drive that put me in serious trouble. This one looked like it would finish just right of the fairway, but it faded enough to find the forest lining the right side. Due to unplayable balls, I would collect my first two penalty strokes of the day on this hole, leading to a quadruple bogey.
After a terrible tee shot on hole #4, a par-3 measuring 161 yards from the white tees, it looked like the ugliness would continue. I hit my 7-iron fat, sending the ball to the edge of a creek bed, short of the green. With my feet in the creek bed and the ball nestled a foot and a half higher in some long vegetation, I choked down on my 60 degree wedge. The ball was so high above my feet that I actually had to grasp the club below the grip. I managed to pop the ball on the green, then drained a lengthy putt for an unconventional par. It was a turning point, as I managed to play the rest of Lakeland under much control, as I had played during the first round of the day. I was five over par for the last six holes, finishing with a 49 at the turn.
Moving to the Middle nine, the dreaded first hole got the best of me once again. My third shot, from 110 yards out, was the cause of my undoing. I caught the ball very thin, rolling it to a position short of the green. Next, I sculled a chip shot off the back of the green. From above the hole, this position is treacherous. Despite a good chip that challenged the hole, I finished with a triple bogey. As a testament to my renewed focus, I regouped immediately and went on a solid run. I played the next six holes six over par, recovering whenever I needed to with excellent shots. I hit a great punch shot from a wooded area left of the green on hole #4. After an errant tee shot, I hit a nice pitch on hole #5, a par-3.
The challenge over the last few holes was a bit of fatigue. It was a hot day and I was carrying my clubs, so that was to be expected. I hit the wall after my 34th hole of the day. My tee shot on the second-last hole to be played was a big hook with the driver. I shut the club face and smothered the ball, while reverse-pivoting in the process. My left foot came right off the ground. I was unlucky on my next shot, as I attempted to punch the ball back into the fairway. An overhanging branch deflected the ball, stopping it short of the fairway, in a position that was still blocked out by trees. I tried to draw a 5-iron around the trees, but the ball flew straight, nestling against a tree root on the other side of the fairway. I struggled to a triple-bogey on this par-5.
Looking at my scorecard, I did some math before playing the last hole, and I really shouldn't have. I was sitting at 93 for the round, so all I needed was a double-bogey or better on the last hole to break 100. I hooked a 5-iron off the tee, then duffed an attempted chip shot trying to get back to the fairway. Still blocked out partially by trees, I then played a great low punch shot that skidded to just in front of the green. All I needed now was to get on the green and 2-putt. Easy breezy, right? Well, I decided to putt the ball through the 10 feet or so of fringe between me and the green. I totally misjudged the speed, blasting the ball 15 feet past the hole. Still, I thought there was no problem. After all, I could 2-putt from 15 feet, no problem. Well, my first putt came up six feet short. Now I really had a problem. Six feet is no "gimme" and this one had some break to it. Of course, I missed it and had to settle for a final score of 100. I hate that!
Overall, it was a good performance on the day. The first round was great and the second was only marred by some sloppiness on the opening and closing holes. The eleventh hour collapse was no doubt caused by some mental fatigue, so there's no need to get too upset. Incidentally, my handicap dipped to 20.0 after the first round, only to jump back to 20.5 after the second. That's cruel!
Score: 100
Putts: 38
Fairways: 5
Greens: 3
Penalties: 3
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