I was planning to visit the golf simulator in order to knock the rust from my golf swing after a lengthy winter layoff. Remember, I haven't taken a single golf swing since mid September. However, with mild weather prompting local golf clubs to start the season early, I figured, “Why play on a simulator when I can experience the real thing?”
So I headed out to Century Pines Golf Club, which was the scene of my final round last year. I've done this before; my very first post on this blog back in 2006 recounted the story of a season opener at Banty's Roost Golf Club, months after closing out the previous season there. As was the case back then, you could say I was looking for revenge of sorts.
The difference this time was the length of the layoff between rounds. It has been a full six months since I last challenged the fairways and greens, easily my longest period of golf inactivity in many years. I was a little apprehensive about playing a round because of the uncertainty surrounding my current skill level, but I was also realistic about my expectations.
As it turned out, conditions were fantastic. The temperature was in the high teens and there wasn't a cloud in the sky for the entire round. The course was just a tad soggy in a few spots, but way better than I expected. Teeing areas, fairways and greens were all very consistent, resulting in a mid-summer type atmosphere.
As far as my game, I got off to a miserable start. I played the first two holes nine over par! I teed the ball up too high on hole #1 and hit one off the toe, sending the ball less than 100 yards to the opposite fairway. I topped a 3-wood, then blasted the next into a pond. I walked off the first green with a 4-putt. I took two shots to barely get out of a fairway bunker on hole #2, then chipped miserably near the green. Well, what else could I expect? I had to just laugh it off.
On holes #3 through #9, I began to regain some feel for the game, though many bad shots continued. On hole #3, a lengthy lag putt allowed me to salvage bogey. A nifty chip on hole #4 saved a double-bogey. A 3-putt spoiled a good approach on the par-3 fifth hole, resulting in bogey. And so it continued for the remainder of the opening nine holes. I was shooting 58 at the turn, but feeling like some parts of the game were coming back to me.
On the back nine, things actually went reasonably well. I nailed the putting surface on hole #10 for my second green in regulation of the day. My first par of the season was the result. The approach was with the 60 degree wedge, a sky-high shot that cleared some very tall trees. A similar shot on hole #12 enabled me to save bogey. Another bogey followed on the par-3 thirteenth hole, thanks to a pretty chip shot from the edge of a water hazard. Hole #15 yielded a par, thanks to a lovely up and down from 40 yards away.
Hole #16 was my best of the day. This is easily the hardest hole on the course. A straight drive of 200-210 yards to the centre or right side of the fairway is required to set up an approach to the green. That approach must carry a creek in front of the green, which is also protected on the right side and behind by a large pond. I hit a good 4-iron off the tee, but it found the left side of the fairway, where an approach to the green is blocked by some trees. I wisely chipped the ball 40 yards ahead, leaving a 120-yard shot to the putting surface. I hit a good one next, then 2-putt for bogey.
Through seven holes on the back nine, I was seven over par. That's pretty good. Unfortunately, I stumbled on hole #17, which is becoming a nemesis of mine. The tee shot has me totally psyched out. I skipped the ball over a pond that lies barely in front of the teeing area. The ball made it to the bank, only to slide back into the hazard. I ended up with a disappointing triple-bogey.
On hole #18 I hit my only good drive of the day, a low trajectory blast of about 260 yards to the centre of the fairway. Next, I flushed a 7-iron to just in front of a creek that crosses the fairway in front of the green. From 100 yards away, I hit my sand wedge right on line. When the ball was in the air, I thought it would be all over the pin. I was shocked when it landed on a slope four yards short of the green. A good chip caught the edge of the fringe, which propelled the ball forward, way past the hole. Facing a tricky downhill situation, I 3-putt for a double-bogey.
Overall, the worst part of my game was the driver. I topped some attempted drives, hit others extremely thin, and even sliced a bunch. Surprisingly, the straight pull didn't happen a single time. I topped a couple of balls with the fairway woods and sliced a couple with the same clubs. I blocked a couple of iron shots out to the right, while hitting some others nicely. Apart from a couple of early mishits, my wedge play was actually good. My chipping and pitching were good and my putting was mostly adequate.
Score: 106
Putts: 35
Fairways: 3
Greens: 2
Penalties: 5
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