Kedron Dells is a course that punished me many times in my early days as a golfer. Back then, I played a big slice with my driver, which meant I gave away a lot of distance. My low irons were also weak, so I was at a huge disadvantage on long holes, of which there are plenty at Kedron. By 2009, my game was much stronger, and I finally managed a decent round at the Oshawa area course. Perhaps because I was satisfied with that personal victory, I hadn't returned to Kedron Dells...until now.
Teeing off in the mid afternoon, I began hole #1 with a strong drive to the right side of the fairway, followed by a low stinger to just past the 200 yard marker. From 190 yards out, I failed to recognize how much the ball was above my feet and hit my next shot fat. My next approach attempt from 150 yards was short and left of the green. A pitch shot over a bunker got me safely on the green, but I then 3-putt for a disappointing triple-bogey. I made some god shots along the way, but the result was terrible nevertheless.
The result was also terrible on the next three holes. A duffed 3-iron off the tee started things poorly on hole #2, while another 3-putt ruined hole #3. It didn't matter that some good shots were sprinkled along the way. I collected a quadruple and triple-bogey for my efforts. Hole #4 was playing impossibly long. At 444 yards, this par-4 is lengthy to begin with. A stiff wind made it play even longer. A sculled chip contributed to another triple-bogey.
It wasn't until hole #5, a 195-yard par-3, that I got a decent result. I hit a pure 3-iron just left of the green. My chip rolled well past the hole, so I followed up with a 2-putt for bogey. I also bogeyed hole #6, a par-5, after a nice up and down from 140 yards.
On hole #7, a par-4 measuring 340 yards, I exploded for a score of 13. I didn't even play out the hole properly, as I was holding up a pair of golfers playing behind my group. I pulled a 5-wood off the tee into some trees, then duck-hooked a wild one in the same direction when I re-teed. Every once in a while, I try a fairway wood to see if I can regain some control with them, only to be woefully disappointed.
I finished the front nine with a score of 63. What could I say? I was absolutely toasted over the first four holes. The debacle on hole #7 was just an extra burn to make sure I was done for the day.
I shot a better score of 50 on the back nine, which would have been better if not for a quadruple-bogey on hole #17, the course's signature par-5. Over the back nine, my irons were actually very good, much like they were at Willow Valley. The short backswing and a bit of wrist cock let the club do the work, producing straight shots that felt very nice. My short game was also good, as I collected only 14 putts. Still, I had some bad misses every now and then, which nullified all the good shots.
My golf game is in bad shape. There's no other way to say it.
Score: 113
Putts: 35
Fairways: 4
Greens: 1
Penalties: 6
September 23, 2012
Deepwoods Finale at Willow Valley
Last year, a tremendous final round at Willow Valley eased the pain of an otherwise disappointing season on the Deepwoods Golf Association Tour. This year, I had no such luck. I shot a familiar score of 102 and finished well back in the overall standings. The Deepwoods championship that I earned in 2008 now feels like a distant memory. Second place finishes in 2007 and 2010 now smell of opportunity lost.
On the practice range before the final round was played, I tried shortening my backswing and focused on trapping the ball with the irons. The result was good, so I took the new approach to the course itself. I must say, my irons were better than they have been all year. I had absolutely no side spin on my iron shots, producing very straight trajectories. A few of my irons came out lower than usual, but nevertheless, my distances were very predictable. I experienced a feeling of control with the irons that has been absent for a long time.
On hole #3, a 7-iron into the wind from 150 yards found the green left of the flag. On the next hole, a 4-iron off the tee stopped just off the green but flag high, 190 yards away. On hole #5, a 6-iron from 170 yards felt rock solid, but found water right of the green. After taking a drop, I hit an immaculate shot with the gap wedge to within three feet of the cup. On hole #8, a 9-iron off the tee found the centre of the green. Great iron shots continued on the back nine, including wonderful approaches that found the green on holes #10, #15 and #17. I managed to make par on each of those holes.
With my irons working so well, how did I manage to score 102? For one thing, my driver was poor. I pulled drives into opposite fairways and even into bunkers of opposite fairways. I also hit drives into some gnarly fescue. From those positions, all one could do is take a hack to get the ball back in play. On one occasion, I tried a 5-wood off the tee with disastrous results. While my driver seems to come and go, I have not been able to hit my fairway woods for a long time.
In addition, my putting was terrible. I had only 34 putts overall and just two 3-putts, but I missed some very short ones. On hole #2, I missed a two and a half footer after a great chip. The same thing happened on hole #13. On hole #5, I missed another of similar length after a great approach. On holes #3 and #8, I made terrible lag attempts, resulting in a pair of 3-putts. Right there, you can see I gave away about five strokes through putting alone.
It's one of the cruel things about golf that even with improvements in mechanics, your scores don't necessarily get better. That certainly was the case this time around. My dreams of another Deepwoods championship will have to wait at least one more year.
Score: 102
Putts: 34
Fairways: 5
Greens: 6
Penalties: 4
On the practice range before the final round was played, I tried shortening my backswing and focused on trapping the ball with the irons. The result was good, so I took the new approach to the course itself. I must say, my irons were better than they have been all year. I had absolutely no side spin on my iron shots, producing very straight trajectories. A few of my irons came out lower than usual, but nevertheless, my distances were very predictable. I experienced a feeling of control with the irons that has been absent for a long time.
On hole #3, a 7-iron into the wind from 150 yards found the green left of the flag. On the next hole, a 4-iron off the tee stopped just off the green but flag high, 190 yards away. On hole #5, a 6-iron from 170 yards felt rock solid, but found water right of the green. After taking a drop, I hit an immaculate shot with the gap wedge to within three feet of the cup. On hole #8, a 9-iron off the tee found the centre of the green. Great iron shots continued on the back nine, including wonderful approaches that found the green on holes #10, #15 and #17. I managed to make par on each of those holes.
With my irons working so well, how did I manage to score 102? For one thing, my driver was poor. I pulled drives into opposite fairways and even into bunkers of opposite fairways. I also hit drives into some gnarly fescue. From those positions, all one could do is take a hack to get the ball back in play. On one occasion, I tried a 5-wood off the tee with disastrous results. While my driver seems to come and go, I have not been able to hit my fairway woods for a long time.
In addition, my putting was terrible. I had only 34 putts overall and just two 3-putts, but I missed some very short ones. On hole #2, I missed a two and a half footer after a great chip. The same thing happened on hole #13. On hole #5, I missed another of similar length after a great approach. On holes #3 and #8, I made terrible lag attempts, resulting in a pair of 3-putts. Right there, you can see I gave away about five strokes through putting alone.
It's one of the cruel things about golf that even with improvements in mechanics, your scores don't necessarily get better. That certainly was the case this time around. My dreams of another Deepwoods championship will have to wait at least one more year.
Score: 102
Putts: 34
Fairways: 5
Greens: 6
Penalties: 4
September 08, 2012
One Third at The Highlands
There are a few courses that I've played twice this year: Granite Ridge Cobalt, Century Pines, Victoria Park East, and King's Forest. You can add The Highlands to that list, as I returned to the Bradford area course for my latest round of golf. I fired my second-worst score of the season, matching the 111 that I tallied in my return visit to Granite Ridge. A debacle at Bond Head's South Course is the only round that was more pitiful...and painful too.
I won't bore you with shot-by-shot accounts of the holes that were played. I do that far too much on this blog, admittedly for my own benefit rather than for readers. Suffice to say that just one third of the eighteen holes played were acceptable. Four of these produced pars, while the other two resulted in bogeys. If one half represents a passing grade (and one can make a very good argument that it shouldn't), then one third is a clear and utter failure. It's a fraction that also applies to my entire season, but more on that later.
The remaining two thirds of my round were comprised of four double-bogeys, four triples, three quads, and a quintuple! We're talking bogeys here, not toe-loops, salchows or Dionne siblings. I had no control off the tee and hit practically every other shot thin. In fact, to describe some of my shots as thin wold be generous; many of them were stone cold sculls. On a couple of occasions when my playing partners had moved ahead of me, they had to be very attentive, lest they receive a screaming Titleist to the knee caps or family jewels.
I've now played 21 rounds this season and just one third of those (there's that number again) have produced a score below 100. After levelling off in 2010 and taking a bit of a step backwards in 2011, this represents a huge setback for my game. It reminds me of my very early days in golf, when breaking 100 was considered something of an achievement. However, after going through a period when I shot consistently in the low 90's and occasionally in the high 80's, breaking 100 just doesn't cut it anymore.
To put things in perspective, take a look at my handicap factor. In 2009, it dipped to 15.7, a personal best. I spent the entire 2010 season at about 17.5, then crept up to 19.0 by the end of 2011. At the moment, my handicap factor is 22.0, or six points higher than it was three years ago. If I don't have a good round next time out, my handicap will likely jump to about 23.5. This is because my sensational round at Willow Valley late last year will come off my scoring record.
As fate would have it, my next round happens to be this weekend at Willow Valley. We'll see what happens.
Score: 111
Putts: 38
Fairways: 3
Greens: 3
Penalties: 6
I won't bore you with shot-by-shot accounts of the holes that were played. I do that far too much on this blog, admittedly for my own benefit rather than for readers. Suffice to say that just one third of the eighteen holes played were acceptable. Four of these produced pars, while the other two resulted in bogeys. If one half represents a passing grade (and one can make a very good argument that it shouldn't), then one third is a clear and utter failure. It's a fraction that also applies to my entire season, but more on that later.
The remaining two thirds of my round were comprised of four double-bogeys, four triples, three quads, and a quintuple! We're talking bogeys here, not toe-loops, salchows or Dionne siblings. I had no control off the tee and hit practically every other shot thin. In fact, to describe some of my shots as thin wold be generous; many of them were stone cold sculls. On a couple of occasions when my playing partners had moved ahead of me, they had to be very attentive, lest they receive a screaming Titleist to the knee caps or family jewels.
I've now played 21 rounds this season and just one third of those (there's that number again) have produced a score below 100. After levelling off in 2010 and taking a bit of a step backwards in 2011, this represents a huge setback for my game. It reminds me of my very early days in golf, when breaking 100 was considered something of an achievement. However, after going through a period when I shot consistently in the low 90's and occasionally in the high 80's, breaking 100 just doesn't cut it anymore.
To put things in perspective, take a look at my handicap factor. In 2009, it dipped to 15.7, a personal best. I spent the entire 2010 season at about 17.5, then crept up to 19.0 by the end of 2011. At the moment, my handicap factor is 22.0, or six points higher than it was three years ago. If I don't have a good round next time out, my handicap will likely jump to about 23.5. This is because my sensational round at Willow Valley late last year will come off my scoring record.
As fate would have it, my next round happens to be this weekend at Willow Valley. We'll see what happens.
Score: 111
Putts: 38
Fairways: 3
Greens: 3
Penalties: 6
September 07, 2012
Satisfied at King's Forest
My first visit to King's Forest Golf Club was in competition four years ago. I shot a gross score 95, which was good enough for low net and victory on the now defunct Duffer's Dream Tour. Since then, I returned to the club four times and have never broken 100. I'm glad to report that I finally broke that streak with my latest visit. I didn't play especially well, but I avoided big numbers and finished with a satisfactory score of 97.
At the start of the round, it looked like I was set to do much better. I opened with a couple of pars, thanks to drives that found the fairways, followed by flag-high approach shots that just missed the greens. On both occasions, I made the up and down look easy. Unfortunately, I made hole #3 look ugly. I topped a 3-iron off the tee, forcing a layup to the 120-yard area. A brutal approach with the gap wedge ensued, followed by a great lofted pitch to a plateau on the green. Unfortunately, I didn't capitalize, making a 3-putt for triple-bogey.
Luckily, that was the first and last blowup of the day. I spent the rest of the round making bogeys and double-bogeys. The only exception was a par on hole #17, a medium length par-3. I was not sharp, but I managed to space out my mistakes. On a couple of occasions, I was forced to take penalty strokes. Whenever that happened, I managed to limit the damage. It's amazing how mistakes in quick succession can have an exponential effect on your score.
Key to breaking 100 was my play on holes #11 through #13, which I consider the hardest stretch on the course. I made a nice drive from the elevated tee on hole #11, leaving about 120 yards to the green. The gap wedge got me safely on the green, but I 3-putt for bogey. Still, it wasn't too bad. On hole #12, my 3-iron off the tee drifted right toward the forest. I found my ball and was able to chip back to the fairway. My third was struck thin and stopped short of the green, but I made a great chip and putt for another bogey.
On hole #13, I hit what I thought was the perfect drive. The ball dropped at the end of the fairway, right in front of the river that bisects the hole. I saw the ball bounce two or three times, so I figured I was safe. When I approached my ball, I saw that I had in fact slipped over the edge of the hazard, by about a foot. I tried to hit the ball as it lay, which was about waist high after I took my stance. It was a dumb move, as I proceeded to shank it. The ball nestled down in some fescue and this time I declared it unplayable. Now playing my fourth, I was unable to clear some trees between me and the green. The ball lay in the right rough, 50 yards from the flag. My next shot was the shot of the day, as I stuck it within two feet of the pin. With a lone putt, I managed to save double-bogey.
Overall, I felt like this was a round I could build on.
Score: 97
Putts: 32
Fairways: 3
Greens: 2
Penalties: 5
At the start of the round, it looked like I was set to do much better. I opened with a couple of pars, thanks to drives that found the fairways, followed by flag-high approach shots that just missed the greens. On both occasions, I made the up and down look easy. Unfortunately, I made hole #3 look ugly. I topped a 3-iron off the tee, forcing a layup to the 120-yard area. A brutal approach with the gap wedge ensued, followed by a great lofted pitch to a plateau on the green. Unfortunately, I didn't capitalize, making a 3-putt for triple-bogey.
Luckily, that was the first and last blowup of the day. I spent the rest of the round making bogeys and double-bogeys. The only exception was a par on hole #17, a medium length par-3. I was not sharp, but I managed to space out my mistakes. On a couple of occasions, I was forced to take penalty strokes. Whenever that happened, I managed to limit the damage. It's amazing how mistakes in quick succession can have an exponential effect on your score.
Key to breaking 100 was my play on holes #11 through #13, which I consider the hardest stretch on the course. I made a nice drive from the elevated tee on hole #11, leaving about 120 yards to the green. The gap wedge got me safely on the green, but I 3-putt for bogey. Still, it wasn't too bad. On hole #12, my 3-iron off the tee drifted right toward the forest. I found my ball and was able to chip back to the fairway. My third was struck thin and stopped short of the green, but I made a great chip and putt for another bogey.
On hole #13, I hit what I thought was the perfect drive. The ball dropped at the end of the fairway, right in front of the river that bisects the hole. I saw the ball bounce two or three times, so I figured I was safe. When I approached my ball, I saw that I had in fact slipped over the edge of the hazard, by about a foot. I tried to hit the ball as it lay, which was about waist high after I took my stance. It was a dumb move, as I proceeded to shank it. The ball nestled down in some fescue and this time I declared it unplayable. Now playing my fourth, I was unable to clear some trees between me and the green. The ball lay in the right rough, 50 yards from the flag. My next shot was the shot of the day, as I stuck it within two feet of the pin. With a lone putt, I managed to save double-bogey.
Overall, I felt like this was a round I could build on.
Score: 97
Putts: 32
Fairways: 3
Greens: 2
Penalties: 5
September 03, 2012
Pressing Late at Woodington Lake
Round 4 of the Deepwoods Golf Association season was contested on the Legend Course at Woodington Lake Golf Club. In order to have a realistic chance at the championship, I needed to score 40 points. Given my Deepwoods handicap, that translates roughly into a gross score of 90, or perhaps a little bit better. In other words, I needed to have my best round of the season.
On the front nine, I played mostly well, amassing 18 points with a gross score of 45. I messed up only the fourth hole, a par-5 that is fairly straightforward, though ranked as the course's most difficult. I topped my tee shot, sending the ball just 75 yards ahead. Next, I pushed one well right of the fairway. After a good shot to advance the ball to within 100 yards of the flag, I pulled my approach just left of the green. A chip and three putts ensued for a triple-bogey.
I gave away a stroke on the first hole as well. A perfect 3-iron off the tee was followed by a fairly good approach with the 6-iron. I was a couple yards off the green, but had lots of putting surface to work with. The problem was the angle I was left with to the pin. A mound on the back of the green would push a low runner well left of the flag, while the flop shot over the mound carried its own risks. I left my chip well short of the target, then 3-putt for a double-bogey. I really should have done no worse than bogey.
Aside from those mistakes, the front nine was marvellous. I hit a good drive and striped a scintillating 3-iron on my second shot, leaving a 50-yard pitch to the par-5 second hole. The pitch wasn't great, but I still made par. A poor tee shot on hole #3, a short par-3, was followed by a great pitch and a couple of putts for bogey. I made par on hole #5 with a magnificent sand save and on hole #9 with a 2-putt from distance. I bogeyed holes #6 through #8 with good chips and putts.
In spite of my solid front nine, I felt like I was a couple of points behind the pace I needed to keep. I opened the back nine with a double-bogey and two bogeys, so I didn't make up any ground. A birdie putt on hole #12 passed right over the hole, but had too much pace and I needed two more putts to hole out. The real turning point, however, was hole #13.
On this par-4 measuring 386 yards, I hit a beautiful drive to the left fairway. Actually, I just thought it was in the fairway. As I approached my ball, I saw that it was a yard or two in the left rough. No worries though, as I had a good lie and just 140 yards to the flag. Next, I pulled a 9-iron left of the green, though flag-high. With the green falling away from me, I tried to bounce the ball through the rough in order to scrub some speed off. The ball carried two feet further than I wanted, bouncing in the fringe, which carried it right off the green on the other side. I slid my wedge right under the ball on my next chip attempt and 2-putt for a double-bogey.
It's fair to say that I lost some composure at that point. I was four points behind pace, with just five holes to play, so I could see the writing on the wall. I felt like I got robbed on hole #13, which really upset me. As a result, I proceeded to collect a pair of triple-bogeys and a quadruple-bogey over the next three holes. Golf is as much a mental sport as it is physical, and at that point my head was not in the game.
On hole #18, a real killer to finish things off, I decided to blast one off the tee. The hole measures only 361 yards from the white tees, but it is a dogleg left, so the distance directly to the green is quite a bit less. The problem is that the direct line forces you to go over the edge of a lake and some thick trees. It is also a blind shot, as the trees obscure the view of the landing area. I hit a monster shot exactly on the line I wanted and sky high. I had no problem clearing the lake or trees and expected to find my ball very near the green. As it turned out, I never found the ball. It was disappointing, because I felt that I had hit a spectacular tee shot.
Score: 102
Putts: 36
Fairways: 5
Greens: 3
Penalties: 2
On the front nine, I played mostly well, amassing 18 points with a gross score of 45. I messed up only the fourth hole, a par-5 that is fairly straightforward, though ranked as the course's most difficult. I topped my tee shot, sending the ball just 75 yards ahead. Next, I pushed one well right of the fairway. After a good shot to advance the ball to within 100 yards of the flag, I pulled my approach just left of the green. A chip and three putts ensued for a triple-bogey.
I gave away a stroke on the first hole as well. A perfect 3-iron off the tee was followed by a fairly good approach with the 6-iron. I was a couple yards off the green, but had lots of putting surface to work with. The problem was the angle I was left with to the pin. A mound on the back of the green would push a low runner well left of the flag, while the flop shot over the mound carried its own risks. I left my chip well short of the target, then 3-putt for a double-bogey. I really should have done no worse than bogey.
Aside from those mistakes, the front nine was marvellous. I hit a good drive and striped a scintillating 3-iron on my second shot, leaving a 50-yard pitch to the par-5 second hole. The pitch wasn't great, but I still made par. A poor tee shot on hole #3, a short par-3, was followed by a great pitch and a couple of putts for bogey. I made par on hole #5 with a magnificent sand save and on hole #9 with a 2-putt from distance. I bogeyed holes #6 through #8 with good chips and putts.
In spite of my solid front nine, I felt like I was a couple of points behind the pace I needed to keep. I opened the back nine with a double-bogey and two bogeys, so I didn't make up any ground. A birdie putt on hole #12 passed right over the hole, but had too much pace and I needed two more putts to hole out. The real turning point, however, was hole #13.
On this par-4 measuring 386 yards, I hit a beautiful drive to the left fairway. Actually, I just thought it was in the fairway. As I approached my ball, I saw that it was a yard or two in the left rough. No worries though, as I had a good lie and just 140 yards to the flag. Next, I pulled a 9-iron left of the green, though flag-high. With the green falling away from me, I tried to bounce the ball through the rough in order to scrub some speed off. The ball carried two feet further than I wanted, bouncing in the fringe, which carried it right off the green on the other side. I slid my wedge right under the ball on my next chip attempt and 2-putt for a double-bogey.
It's fair to say that I lost some composure at that point. I was four points behind pace, with just five holes to play, so I could see the writing on the wall. I felt like I got robbed on hole #13, which really upset me. As a result, I proceeded to collect a pair of triple-bogeys and a quadruple-bogey over the next three holes. Golf is as much a mental sport as it is physical, and at that point my head was not in the game.
On hole #18, a real killer to finish things off, I decided to blast one off the tee. The hole measures only 361 yards from the white tees, but it is a dogleg left, so the distance directly to the green is quite a bit less. The problem is that the direct line forces you to go over the edge of a lake and some thick trees. It is also a blind shot, as the trees obscure the view of the landing area. I hit a monster shot exactly on the line I wanted and sky high. I had no problem clearing the lake or trees and expected to find my ball very near the green. As it turned out, I never found the ball. It was disappointing, because I felt that I had hit a spectacular tee shot.
Score: 102
Putts: 36
Fairways: 5
Greens: 3
Penalties: 2
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