The cold weather is here. I'm writing this one week after my latest round of golf, which was played at Twenty Valley Golf Club in Vineland, Ontario. I wore shorts that day, as the temperature climbed into the low twenties. Now, I fear that may have been my last round of the season. Two days ago, the high was less than 10 degrees Celsius. The forecast for the upcoming week indicates temperatures in the very low teens. I was hoping for a couple more rounds of golf this year; if that's going to happen, I'll need to take advantage of any break in the cold snap.
I played the entire round at Twenty Valley on my own. There was a twosome in front and a twosome behind, but nobody asked to join up and I would just as well play by myself. The round slowed down on the back nine, thanks to a foursome two groups ahead of me. Nevertheless, I finished the round in about three and a half hours. With respect to the course and conditions, it was a pleasant outing.
I started things off on the opening par-5 with a controlled 3-iron, my ball stopping about a yard into the right rough. From there, I hit a pure 8-iron to the centre of the fairway, leaving 130 yards to the green. Once again, I focused on keeping a short backswing, allowing some wrist cock and the unwinding of the club to do the work. I felt confident and my first two swings helped the cause.
Flag-high and just off the green after three, I needed a chip and a putt for par. It shouldn't have been a problem from my position, but I duffed the chip. The ball hit the top of a ridge and rolled away from the hole. I was on the green, but further from the hole than I was before the chip shot. Of course, I then made a 3-putt for double bogey.
The opening hole exemplified most of my round. I drove the ball safely and hit good iron shots, but my chipping was as bad as it's ever been and my putting was suspect. I made par on hole #2, but a 4-putt on hole #3 lead to a triple-bogey. A missed approach from 75 yards, followed by a bad chip, turned a certain par on hole #4 into a double-bogey. A green in regulation on hole #5 was followed by a 3-putt.
The worst of it came on hole #6, a short par-4 featuring a fairway that drops dramatically from an elevated tee, before climbing up steeply to the green. I got away with a bad drive, clipping a tree left of the landing zone. I had an open shot from 115 yards out, but sculled the ball into the hill. Luckily, it came to rest just five yards left of the green. I would have been happy with a chip and two putts, but my first attempt landed on a downslope and rolled across the entire green. My second attempt was once again sculled across the entire green to the fringe. I topped things off with a 3-putt for my second triple-bogey of the day.
With one third of the round, or six holes played, I had already amassed 36 strokes. Sixteen of those were putts! I was striking the ball well, but my short game was non-existent. It was surprising that I managed to break 50 through nine holes, making the turn with a score of 49. I did it with a par on hole #9, a pretty par-3 with an elevated tee and a forced carry over a creek. Breaking the earlier trend, I made a fabulous up and down a good distance away from the green.
On the back nine, my putting got a little better, as did my chipping. Still, I was collecting bogeys and double-bogeys. My driving was good, with the exception of a pulled ball out of bounds on hole #11. My irons were also good, but I could have used more precision on approach shots. My best shot was a 3-iron off the tee on hole #16, a par-3 measuring 200 yards. The flag was at the back of the green, adding about 10 yards to the total distance. I struck a beauty, as the ball hit the front of the green and released to the back fringe. After a good lag, I tapped in for par.
Even with some difficulties, I had a good chance to break 100. I didn't know it at the time, but all I needed was a double bogey on the final hole, a very nice par-5. Unfortunately, I blew up on the hole for a score of 12. It all started with a low drive off the heel of the club that travelled a mere 100 yards. The worst part was that my ball was in the rough and on a severe slope, leaving me with an extreme side hill lie and the ball well above my feet. I had to choke up on my club so much that my hands were off the grip. My first attempt was a shank that sent the ball 80 degrees off line and out of bounds on the other side of the fairway. Penalty stroke, new ball, and try again. The next attempt was on the proper line, but had no distance whatsoever. I advanced the ball 100 yards and faced the same situation. With my next shot, the result was the same. I managed to reach a flat zone of the fairway, but just barely. I had collected five strokes and was still 180 yards from the green. Worse yet, a creek crosses just in front of the green, with a steep rise on the other side. The probability of going in the hazard was high, but I had to go for it in order to break 100. Of course, I went straight into it and that was the end of that. After another penalty stroke, a thinly hit approach, two bad chips and a couple of putts, 12 was the result. So be it.
Too bad, because I hit the ball well for the most part. Short game was the killer.
Score: 104
Putts: 39
Fairways: 5
Greens: 3
Penalties: 3
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