I've played Century Pines a number of times over the last two years and the results have not been good. In fact, the last time I had a decent result there was back in 2010. Since then, I haven't even been able to break 100 at the Troy, Ontario course. I guess the course has lived up to its name, as the century mark has proven to be a tough level for me to break there.
The opening hole invariably sets me off on the wrong path. Out of bounds lines the entire left side of this straightaway par-5. Lately, I have taken to hitting my tee shot to the opposite fairway on the right hand side. This is better than OB, but I've been so far right, that I've had to chip out of trees just to get the ball to a fairway. This time was no different. My third shot left me in the proper fairway, 170 yards from the green. I made good contact on the next shot, but pushed the ball slightly right into a large tree. A low punch travelled well past the green, so I required a pitch to get on. Facing a lengthy putt, I was well short, as I failed to factor how the morning dew would slow the ball down. Two more putts finished things for a quadruple-bogey. I struggled similarly on the next two holes, slicing drives and finding hazards on my way to a pair of triple-bogeys.
Then for a while, it seemed like I got the junk out of my system. I made three consecutive pars, beginning with a short par-4, followed by a par-3 and a more lengthy par-4. Irons worked off the tee and off the grass, giving me chances at birdies. These mini stretches of good golf are so tantalizing. They make the poor stretches all the more confounding.
On hole #7, a par-3 over water, I landed in a greenside bunker, flag high. I had a good lie and stance, no lip to speak of, and plenty of green to work with. What I didn't have is confidence, as I have been terrible at bunker shots for the past three years. Sure enough, I unintentionally picked the ball clean, sending it 60 yards past the green. I needed a pitch shot and two putts to salvage double-bogey. A double ensued on the next hole as well, thanks to a 3-putt, while I blew up for a quad on hole #9. At the turn, I was shooting 54.
My back nine was better, as I shot 49, but I still hit a number of disappointing shots. On holes #10 and #11, I hit some fat wedges from the fairway, failing to convert some great drives. Frustration probably spilled over to the next two holes, where I collected penalty strokes for finding hazards. Over the last five holes, I collected two pars and two bogeys, but also recorded a triple-bogey on hole #16, the toughest on the course.
In the end, I finished with a score of 103. My handicap inched up to 21.5, a full six points higher than it was two years ago. That is a huge increase. At the moment, I am basically no better than a hacker who has just picked up the game and perhaps played a handful of rounds. Pretty sad.
Score: 103
Putts: 37
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
Penalties: 3
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