Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but my last round at King's Forest left such a foul taste in my mouth that I was inclined to serve some up while it was still piping hot. Thus, I returned to King's Forest for my very next round.
It rained all morning, but stopped before I teed off in the early afternoon. The course was deserted when I arrived, which was kind of nice. In fact, I was the first person they sent off after the rainstorm. I spent a few minutes on the practice green before being joined by another single. We played the round together under cloudy skies, but it stayed dry the entire time.
I hit a 230-yard drive to the middle of the fairway on hole #1, leaving 200 yards to the pin. Focused on avoiding pull or hook shots, I blocked my approach with the 3-iron to the right, finding a hazard. After taking a drop and penalty stroke, I punched a low shot under some trees toward the green. Another shot was then required to find the putting surface. From above the hole, I blasted my first putt way too far. I thought the wet greens might require some extra power, but I went overboard. I ended up with a 3-putt and quadruple bogey. This was not the start I was looking for.
I'm happy to say that I didn't let the opening hole fiasco ruin my composure. I was nine over par for the remainder of the front nine, thanks to some serviceable drives, respectable iron shots, and workmanlike chipping and putting. I hit just one additional fairway and two greens in regulation, but most of the misses were slight. On hole #3, a short par-4 measuring 346 yards, I took a half swing with the driver, to avoid running through the end of the fairway. The drive was pulled off line, but I was surprised at how the ball jumped off the face of the club. Contact was really crisp and distance was fine. This set the tone for the remainder of the round. With the driver, as well as the irons, I resolved to swing smooth and easy. It's a great feeling when a controlled, compact swing produces good trajectory and distance. I realized I may have been overswinging the clubs in recent rounds.
The back nine is where King's Forest really shows it's teeth, particularly holes #10 through #13. I'm sad to say that these holes got the best of me on this occasion. Hole #10 is long, with a severely sloped fairway that funnels all balls to the left rough. My third shot into the elevated green carried over the back, leading to a chip and two putts for double bogey. Hole #11 plays from a severely elevated tee. My drive drifted slightly to the right, leaving a small pine tree in my backswing. I attempted to punch the ball to the end of the fairway, but it rolled much further than I expected and into a hazard. After a penalty stroke and two shots to get on the green, I tacked on a couple of putts for a triple bogey.
Hole #12 is a tight dog-leg right. How it is the #10 handicap on the course is beyond me. I consider it the hardest. Looking to avoid a pull or hook, I blocked my 3-iron off the tee, finding the woods like many do on this hole. It took two shots to get out to the fairway, 160 yards from the pin. There isn't much room near the green on this hole. My approach was a couple yards to the left, leaving a chip to reach the putting surface. My first putt was pretty good, but lipped out due to an abundance of pace. Another triple bogey resulted.
Hole #13 is my nemesis. The hole does not suit my eye at all. A river crosses the fairway, but does so at an awkward angle. Drives to the left side can reach the hazard margin, while the margin on the right side is substantially further away. For some reason, I always pull a low drive, either into the hazard or to a position where I'm blocked out by trees. It was no different this time. I was forced to pitch out to the centre of the fairway. From 190 yards out, I duffed the 4-iron. It seems I always duff a shot from this position! It must be the raging river directly in front that plays games with my mind. My fourth shot came up short of the green. Worse yet, I 3-putt after chipping on, missing a shortie that broke hard. The final damage was a quadruple bogey.
With the difficult stretch of holes behind me, I resumed the solid play that I exhibited on most of the front nine. I was three over par for the last five holes, including a birdie on hole #14, a medium-length par-3. A par on hole #17 was also impressive. This par-3 measures 168 yards from the white tees. My 7-iron off the tee caught a front bunker, with the ball coming to rest right up against the lip. Using my most lofted wedge and closing the face severely, I took a mighty swing, allowing the club head to die right in the sand. The ball popped up almost vertically, stopping five feet from the cup. Thankfully, I drained the straight uphill putt.
A par on the last hole, a par-5, would have produced a score of 99. Unfortunately, I made bogey, finishing at the ever-disappointing and annoying century mark. I came for revenge and with a triple digit score, I didn't get it. Nevertheless, I felt a lot of positives. My scorecard looked pretty good, with the exception of hole #1 and the stretch from #11 to #13. It's the same old story - three holes or so that kill me while the rest looks pretty decent. That's golf. I'll get it done next time.
Score: 100
Putts: 34
Fairways: 3
Greens: 3
Penalties: 4
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