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
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