Years ago, I used to play wearing both a left and right golf glove, which earned me the nickname "Two-Glove" from a couple of my playing partners. I went back to a single glove for some time, before abandoning the gloves completely. "No-Glove" would be a more appropriate moniker for me these days. After my latest round, played at Lochness Links in Welland, Ontario, I thought of a completely different nickname altogether. I was spending a week nearby and happened to lose one of my contact lenses. I didn't bring any spares, so I was forced to make do with a single lens. "One-Eye" seemed to be an apropos nickname as I stood on the first tee early in the morning.
I had only played Lochness Links once before, scoring 85 in one of my best rounds ever. A triple-bogey on hole #17 and double-bogeys on holes #6 through #8 were the only blemish on a scorecard that also featured five bogeys, eight pars, and one birdie. With fond memories of a previous visit and a true appreciation for the course design, I was really looking forward to this round.
Unfortunately, the start was pretty rough. My opening drive drifted slightly right, but it was enough to find the gnarly fescue that abounds at Lochness. My attempt to advance the ball failed, with the ball landing in a hazard that crosses the fairway. After a penalty stroke and drop, my approach to the green was pushed well right. I required a pitch shot to reach the green, then 3-putt for an ugly quadruple-bogey.
After a bogey on hole #2, a par-3 measuring 189 yards from the white tees, I exploded for another quad on hole #3. My drive on this par-5 found the left edge of the fairway, 250 yards from the flag. Now it was decision time. A large pond hugs the left side of the fairway from 150 yards out all the way to the green. The last time I played this hole, I tried to lay up near the 150-yard marker. I pulled the ball slightly and quickly ended up in the pond. This time, I opted to blast the ball over the water. Gripping my 5-wood, I took a swing at my target, but caught the ball a little fat and ended up wet once again. It got worse from here, as my approach to the green after taking a drop was short and right, landing in some fescue. The ball was unplayable, meaning another penalty stroke. Poor chips ensued and the final tally is something you already know.
The rest of my round was really a mixed bag, which is a phrase I've used frequently to describe my game this year. My driving was the best it has been all season. I hit eight fairways in my previous round at Ussher's Creek. That was my best tally of the year, until I eclipsed it with nine fairways hit at Lochness. I was swinging calmly but freely. I was making contact at the centre of the clubface, propelling the ball straight and deep. It was a wonderful feeling, but perplexing at the same time. My driver had been so bad at times this season, how could it be so good now? Even missed fairways were not really misses. On hole #13, a dog-leg right, I piped a beauty so straight and so deep, that it ran through the end of the fairway 270 yards away. Driving was definitely not the problem on this day.
The problem was with my irons, specifically short irons and wedges. I hit some nice long irons, inlcuding a 3-iron off the tee on hole #8 that travelled 215 yards to finish flag-high on this par-3. After a fantastic chip, I missed a 3-footer for par, but that's besides the point. Long irons were working well. The same could not be said for my short irons. I pushed a 7-iron into a greenside bunker on hole #7, leading to a triple-bogey. My bunker shot sailed across the green into some bad fescue. Two shots were required to get out of there. On hole #9, I hooked my second shot with the 7-iron into the water, leading to double-bogey. On a couple of occasions, I sculled an approach shot with a wedge well past the green. On hole #10 for example, my approach with a sand wedge from 100 yards actually travelled 180 yards. I managed to save bogey, but that represents a lost stroke. The way I was driving the ball, I should have hit many more greens in regulation.
Going into the final hole, I had a chance to break 100 with a par. My driving finally abandoned me, as I pulled one well left of target. Still, I should have been able to recover from there. The lie was not bad, but I pushed my 7-iron clear across the fairway and into some water. After a drop, I once again found the water, which wraps to the front of the green. I ended up with a quadruple-bogey and easily over the century mark.
I was not happy with the score, but there was enough good in this round that I felt encouraged.
Score: 103
Putts: 37
Fairways: 9
Greens: 2
Penalties: 6
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