Better Play, Same Result at Ussher's Creek

What a difference a couple of days makes. 48 hours after battling severe neck pain to get through a round, I managed to play another round virtually pain free. The neck was not completely back to normal, but it didn't interfere with my game at all. In fact, I never even thought about it. The round was played at Ussher's Creek – one of two fine courses that make up Legends on the Niagara.

I started the round with two pars and three bogeys. Over the past couple of years, I've lamented that I never get off to a good start. I often blow up with a big score on the opening hole or very soon thereafter. I've often thought that if I could play four or five holes with no worse than bogey, I could gather some momentum and carry it through the entire round. Finally, I had an opportunity to put my theory to the test. Over the first five holes, I missed just one fairway off the tee. My approach shots were straight and well struck, even if they came up two or three yards short of the greens. My chips were a little too long, but serviceable, and my putts were solid. I literally went five holes without making a bad shot.

Then came hole #6 (pictured above), a 381-yard par-4 that may be the most intimidating at Ussher's Creek. The hole is dominated by a lake that looms over the entire left side. The fairway wraps around the right side of the lake, forcing a carry over water, not only on the tee shot, but potentially also on the approach to the green. Protecting against a pull off the tee, I hit a ballooning shot right into the waist-high fescue. The ball was lost, so I was forced to take a penalty. En route to the green, I hit a 7-iron off the heel, then hit a wedge shot fat and into the water. Add another penalty stroke. After finally reaching the green, I hit a wonderful breaking lag putt, only to miss the subsequent 3-footer. I finished with a score of 9.

I bogeyed the next hole, a medium length par-3 over water, before struggling again on holes #8 and #9. The trouble on #8 was my second shot, which I played from a grass bunker right of the fairway. With my ball on the up-slope, I made good contact with a 5-iron. For some reason, the ball travelled well left of my intended line. Once again, I was lost in the nasty fescue and had to take a penalty. On the green, my putt for double-bogey burned the lip, so triple was the result. On hole #9, I visited the fescue again after pulling my tee shot. Further up the fairway, I tried a layup to 120 yards. It was actually 170 yards, as I confused the 150-yard stick with a 100-yard stick. This made the approach into a tight green all the more difficult. Guarding against the creek that protects the green front and left, I pushed a 7-iron into the fescue. Two penalties on the same hole led to another triple-bogey.

For the first five holes of the back nine I was back in the groove, registering two pars, two bogeys, and a double-bogey. The double came thanks to a 9-iron that I thinned into a creek fronting the 11th green. Playing as a single, I was waved through on that hole by a foursome ahead. After splitting the fairway with my drive, I succumbed to the pressure of playing with a group of onlookers. No big deal, as I was still playing well. On hole #14, a par-5, my third shot with the gap wedge was all over the flag at the back of the green. The ball crested a little hill and disappeared out of sight very near the hole. As I drove up to the green, I still didn't see the ball, so I thought I may have had an eagle from 130 yards. Alas, once I drove past a mound, I spotted the ball behind the flag, very near the rear fringe. I made a good birdie attempt from 10 feet away, but settled for the tap-in par.

Hole #15 was disappointing because I wasted a wonderful drive. From 160 yards in the middle of the fairway, I pulled the ball 20 yards left of the green. I then duffed two pitch attempts, before chipping very near the cup and tapping in for double-bogey. My short game was better on the next hole, a 172-yard par-3. My tee shot drew left of the green into a bunker. From there, I made a pretty good sand shot, then drained a lengthy putt for par. I made another good bunker shot on hole #17, after finding the sand with my tee shot. Facing a large lip in front of me, I hit the lob wedge, giving up a chance at reaching the green to ensure that I could get out of the bunker safely. It worked like a charm, but then I duffed two short approaches and sculled two chips for a quadruple-bogey. Aargh!

I found another fairway bunker (and another high lip) off the tee on the last hole of the day. No problem, as I hit a great out to the middle of the fairway, 70 yards from the flag. Ussher's Creek crosses right in front of this green, so there is no chance of reaching the putting surface from that particular bunker. Next, I made a nice approach to the back of the green, directly behind the flag. I made a good downhill lag, but missed a 3-footer for bogey and had to settle for double.

I finished with a score of 99, but that doesn't really tell the story. I've shot similar scores, where I never really make any good shots. This round featured lots of good shots and lots of good stretches of error-free play. The problem is that my errors came in quick succession, usually back-to-back on the same hole. Not only that, but they were very penal errors, such as losing a ball in the fescue or water. Seven penalty strokes is way too much for a round of golf. I was happy with my driving and encouraged by my iron play. My sand play was great and my putting was mostly solid. I missed two short putts, but what can you do? I was disappointed with my consistency from inside 100 yards, but that is really the only complaint.

Score: 99
Putts: 33
Fairways: 6
Greens: 3
Penalties: 7

Pain in the Neck at Wolf Run

There's always something. Whether it's rushing to make a tee time, forgetting to wear your contact lenses, or any number of physical ailments, something unexpected always emerges to ruin your golf game. A few weeks ago, I struggled with my grip, thanks to a small cut on my left thumb. Seriously? Trust me, my golf game is bad enough. I don't need ridiculous injuries to complicate matters, no matter how slight.

My latest round was played at Wolf Run Golf Club, located in Janetville, Ontario, on the eastern shores of Lake Scugog. It was my first ever visit to the club, so I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I had developed severe neck and back pain a couple days earlier. I slept in an unusual position for a couple of nights, which must have caused the problem. I practised some swings at home with no ill effect, so I figured I could play through the discomfort. With any luck, my neck and back might even loosen up after some swings.

All I can say is it didn't happen. I was able to take full swings with little difficulty, but the aching and tightness was ever-present. If I drove the cart too quickly over a bump, I felt a sharp pain. Ditto when I leaned over into my putting position. Heck, the pain would even arise whenever I took a deep breath. With my head turned at a certain angle, or my arms and shoulders in a certain position, the pain was most severe. It was awful and no amount of stretching made any difference.

As for the course, I quite liked it. It's a shame I couldn't really enjoy it because of the neck and back issues. Holes are of varying length, allowing for different clubs off the tee or on approach shots. There are straight holes and doglegs in both directions. Mature trees form chutes at a number of teeing grounds. Landing zones are generally fair in size. Bunkers and a little bit of water add some interest. The course was in good condition, with nice fairways, rough, and especially greens.

While I was figuring out if I would be able to actually play the round, I experienced some big scores. I wasn't really upset, as I was more concerned about my state of health. I exploded for a 10 on hole #4, a short but tight par-4. I can't believe that hole is only the #13 handicap. Forest pinches both sides of the fairway, making the tee shot very tough. I pulled my first into the trees left. A provisional found the trees right. I made very good contact on both of those shots, but was off line in both cases by a single degree. I never found the first ball, but did find the provisional. Unfortunately, I had no opening to get out of the trees. On my fourth attempt, I finally punched back to the middle of the fairway.

I made some good shots early, but they were all for naught. My second on hole #1, a par-5, was a beautiful 5-wood from the right rough that travelled deep to the centre of the fairway. From 100 yards out, I pulled a wedge 20 yards left of the green. I hit a nice driver on hole #5, another par-5, but that was followed by a topped 5-wood. I hit a great 6-iron off the back of the green from the right rough on hole #6, but that came after a sliced drive off the tee that ended up lost.

It wasn't until holes #8 and #9 that I strung some good shots together from tee to cup. Hole #8 is a 239-yard par-4 with a 90-degree dogleg left. Trees prevent you from going for the green off the tee. I hit an 8-iron to the 75-yard marker in the fairway. A lob wedge shot settled at the back of the green, while the pin was at the front. I made a nice lag and tapped in for par. On hole #9, a slightly more conventional par-4 at 341 yards, I hit a drive to the fairway, leaving 80 yards to the pin. I bumped one up flag high, then 2-putt once again for par.

The back nine produced a couple of pars, four bogeys, a double, and two triples. I made plenty of good shots, but a couple of bad ones cost me some strokes. I found a hazard off the tee on hole #10, then smacked a nearby tree on my approach later on. A 3-putt on that hole didn't help matters. I found the forest right of the fairway on hole #14, but saved bogey with a 50-yard pitch and 12-foot breaking putt. On #16, I duffed a layup attempt from the right rough, which ruined the hole. I duffed a couple of approaches from within 50 yards on hole #18, but made up for it by chipping in for par from below the cup.

In the end, the story of the day was the neck and back trouble. My score ended up being what I've averaged all year, which is surprising given the pain I had to put up with. Early on, I thought I might end up scoring 115, so I guess it turned out reasonably well. After my last round, I set a goal of ten consecutive rounds with a score less than 100. Well, I failed at that instantly, and nobody (including me) really cares whether my back had anything to do with it.

Score: 103
Putts: 37
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
Penalties: 5

Small Victory at Willow Valley

When you play ten rounds of golf and only break 100 once, you begin looking for small victories wherever you can. The fact that I broke 100 in my eleventh round is one such victory. It was the third round of the Deepwoods season and it took place at Willow Valley Golf Club, where traditionally the fifth and final round of the season has been played.

The front and back nines were reversed this season, restoring the course to its original routing. As a result, the first hole played was a shortish par-4, measuring just 340 yards from the white tees. I hit a picture-perfect drive to the left centre of the fairway, leaving 90 yards to the front pin position. My approach stopped short of the green, but I made a nice chip and a short putt for a satisfying par.

My sole objective on the second tee was to avoid an environmental area left of the fairway. I concentrated so hard on avoiding that spot, that I ended up hitting the ball precisely there. Penalty stroke. After finally making it to the fairway, I pulled a pitching wedge into the fescue and vegetation left of the green. Penalty stroke. I seem unable to avoid a disastrous result over the first three or four holes of a round. This time, I finished with a quadruple-bogey.

I played bogey golf for the remainder of the front nine, amassing one par, five bogeys, and one double-bogey. The par, which came on a 105-yard par-3 hole, was almost a birdie. Putting from an upper tier to a lower one, I got an excellent read from my playing partner. I missed on the low side by an inch, but tapped in the subsequent one-footer. The double-bogey came on a par-5, thanks to another pulled pitching wedge that found the fescue. I absolutely abhor penalty strokes.

On hole #10, I wasted two strokes by pull hooking a 3-iron into a pond left of the fairway. The entire right side on this sharp dogleg is out of bounds. Hitting my third from the tee, I threw caution to the wind by selecting driver. Using that club means aiming over the pond and trying not to run through the right side of the fairway, where nasty fescue abounds. I had hit some excellent drives on the front nine, so I felt comfortable with the club. The result? I did run through the right side of the fairway, but my ball stopped in the rough just before the fescue. I went on to double-bogey the hole. It's a shame, because it would have been a par had I not messed up the first tee shot.

There were a couple more lowlights over the remainder of the round. On hole #12, I took three shots to get out of a greenside bunker en route to a triple-bogey. A 5-foot putt would have saved double and a precious Deepwoods point, but I burned the edge of the cup. On hole #17, a par-3 over water, I got too cerebral again and dunked my first tee shot in the water. Triple-bogey ensued. Finally, a couple of 3-putts crept into my game, which allowed more points to slip away.

Despite the miscues outlined above, I continued to hit good shots every now and then. A nice 8-iron and two putts produced par on hole #13. I also made par on hole #16, a par-5. My second shot on that hole was a 3-wood from the fairway, which I pushed right of the green, but flag-high. A solid wedge shot and very good 2-putt closed things out. In fact, I recovered well on a number of holes after some less than perfect shots. As long as one doesn't make two mistakes in a row, those types of recoveries are possible.

In the end, I broke 100, which is good. I left some Deepwoods points on the table, thanks to a handful of missed putts in the four to six foot range. It doesn't really matter, as I was effectively out of the championship after the second round. The next nine rounds or so represent the heart of the season. My goal, which may be outlandish given the start of my season, is to put together ten consecutive rounds below 100. The first of these is out of the way. Only nine more to go!

Score: 96
Putts: 35
Fairways: 6
Greens: 3
Penalties: 6

Nostalgic at Shawneeki

The course at Shawneeki Golf Club is one I've played a number of times, but not since back in 2006. Returning to the Sharon, Ontario course, I have to say I felt a little nostalgic. Being there reminded me of the time when my interest in golf shifted from something casual to something more serious. Back then, I would occasionally break 100, but for the most part, my scores were over the century mark. Ironically, seven years of experience have brought me full circle – back to the fairways of Shawneeki and back to shooting 100 plus.

I played the first ten holes alone, before joining a single ahead of me for the remainder of the round. My score on the front nine was 57, including five triple-bogeys, three double-bogeys, and one par. Believe it or not, I hit some decent shots during that stretch. Unfortunately, I was often stymied by trees, and my attempts to reach safety were unsuccessful. On hole #1, for example, I was behind a tree left of the fairway after my tee shot. Rather than punch through a chute to get back to the fairway, I chipped the ball further left to reach a clearing where I could go for the green. From 70 yards out with a good lie, I hit the ball fat and it went almost nowhere. Ugh!

After pulling a drive out of bounds on hole #2, I was cautious not to do the same on hole #3. As a result, I found myself amidst some trees right of the fairway after my tee shot. Facing what looked like a relatively easy pitch shot back to the fairway, I smacked a tree, leaving no backswing on my next attempt. I reached the green with my fourth shot and 2-putt for double-bogey. On hole #4, my second shot into the green came to rest on a tree root, right against the trunk. I could not chip toward the green, so I had to go in another direction. Once again, it took four shots to get on and two putts produced a double-bogey.

There were more adventures with trees over the front nine, but I also dunked a ball into a pond on a long par-3 and thinned a bunker shot over the green on a short par-3. The bright spot on the front nine was hole #6. With a slight wind at my back, I drilled a 310-yard drive to the middle of the fairway on this par-4. Oh baby, that's sweet! From 90 yards, I hit a half swing sand wedge to the green. My lag putt from 15 feet went 8 feet past, but I made the uphill comebacker for par.

I chipped in from the edge of the green to save bogey on hole #10, then proceeded to the eleventh tee. Hole #11 is a 483-yard par-5 with a dogleg left. Mature trees to the left and immediately in front of the teeing ground prevent players from starting the ball on the left side. Cut shots that start right of those trees are in danger of drifting to the right side of the fairway, which is itself lined by thick forest and out of bounds. No doubt about it, the situation demands a draw. I lined up and hit a perfect shot, drawing slightly and travelling deep enough to get past the dogleg. With 230 yards to go, I reached for the 3-wood. Over the last couple of years, my fairway woods have been so weak that I have largely avoided using them. This time, I hit a wonderful high cut. With the height and the shot shape, I thought the ball would land softly. It seemed to do so, but still rolled off the back of the green. No problem, as I was thrilled to have hit the ball as I did. From the back of the green, I chipped to the front pin location. I took a good stab at birdie, but had to settle for a tap-in par.

The rest of the back nine resulted mostly in bogeys. I added a par on hole #16, another par-5, but also registered triple-bogey on the very last hole, thanks to those pesky trees interfering with my second shot. It was an enjoyable stretch of golf, as I hit some nice drives and some nice recovery shots. My drive on hole #13 was especially awesome. This is a 354-yard par-4, but rather quirky in design and full of danger. The fairway is lined on the right side by red stakes and pinched on the left side by a pond. Beyond the pond, the fairway bends sharply to the left, before rising quickly to an elevated green. All of the danger is in the tee shot. The landing area is very narrow and it's not possible to fly over the pond from the blue tee location. I hit a full driver, with a little cut that followed the contour of the fairway perfectly. My ball came to rest a couple yards past the end of the pond, leaving just 120 yards to the flag. I pulled my approach left, then chipped on and 2-putt for bogey.

I shot a respectable 47 on the back nine and 104 overall. The start of the round was simply too poor to recover from. Despite the elevated score, I was rather pleased with my shot-making. Somewhat disappointing was my putting. My play with the flat stick has been a bright spot all season, but it has faltered a bit over the last two rounds.

Score: 104
Putts: 37
Fairways: 3
Greens: 3
Penalties: 2

Typical Result at Hunters Pointe

There has been a lot of rain lately, so I hadn't played in almost two weeks. Venturing out for a rare weekend round, I opted for Hunters Pointe Golf Course (formerly Lochness Links). Anticipating that traffic would be worse on the weekend, I allowed two and a half hours to get to the course. That is double the normal travel time. Well, it took me exactly 2 hours and 27 minutes to arrive. Traffic was relentless over the entire QEW. It was only over the final stretch along Hwy 406 that I found any relief. Rushing to check in and greet the the starter, I was driven up to join a threesome already waiting on the first tee.

Not surprisingly, I blew up on the first hole, finishing 5 over par. That included two unplayable balls, two penalty strokes, and a 3-putt. It's hard to expect anything else when you haven't stretched or loosened up in any fashion, nor made any practice putts. I simply forgot about it and moved on to the next hole. The remainder of the front nine was literally hit or miss. I hit some shots that were wonderful, but for each of those there was one that was absolutely terrible. With the driver, my misses were mostly straight pulls, well left of target. I also hit one duck hook. With the irons, I caught the ball fat a few times. I also shanked one out of bounds on a very short par-3.

I tend to focus on mistakes in my writing, so let's concentrate on the good shots for a change. I piped a beauty off the tee with the driver on hole #3. This is a blind tee shot that has to fly over the crest of a hill to a plateau in the landing zone. I hit it exactly where I wanted, ending up through the fairway, which bends slightly to the right before straightening out again. I was also deep and straight with the driver on hole #7, a 420-yard par-4. This one came to rest in the left fairway, 150 yards from the flag. My approach with the 8-iron was flag-high, left of the pin. I proceeded to 2-putt for my first par of the day.

Par was also the result on hole #8, a 215-yard par-3. The tees were up on this day, so the hole was playing about 190 yards. I hit a brilliant 4-iron high and straight. I was all over the flag, but rolled past, just off the back of the green. I hit a mediocre chip, but followed up with a nice uphill putt. Finally, on hole #9, a picturesque par-5, I absolutely drilled my drive off the elevated tee. It is 307 yards to a creek that crosses the fairway, and I was worried that my ball had gone in. As it turned out, my ball stopped 2 feet before the hazard. It was on a downward slope, so I struggled a bit with my next shot, ending up just 50 yards ahead in a fairway bunker. Still, I managed to bogey the hole.

For much of the back nine, I continued the stretch of decent golf that began with the seventh hole. There were costly mistakes, for sure, but there was also a fair share of very good shots. On hole #10, a short par-4, I found myself in a fairway bunker after a good tee shot. 100 yards from the flag, I caught the ball thin, sending it bounding across the green and into some thick fescue. Actually, calling it fescue is not really accurate. It is thick and long vegetation and impossible to find a ball in there. I had to take a penalty, then drop in the bunker and replay the shot. Double bogey was the result. I had the same result on hole #11, thanks to a 4-iron that I duck hooked from the tee. My recovery attempts were feeble, to say the least.

I hit the green in regulation on hole #12, a medium length par-3. Unfortunately, I 3-putt for bogey. The greens at Hunters Pointe are sometimes large, with a good degree of undulation. 3-putts can happen easily if you're starting out on the wrong part of the putting surface. On hole #14, a 519-yard par-5, I hit a sweet drive to the middle of the fairway. A solid 3-wood from 260 yards drifted just right of the fairway, leaving a 30-yard pitch shot. From that position, I hit the green and 2-putt for par.

I also made par on hole #16, a short par-4 at just 282 yards. There is a little rise just before the green and on this day, the wind was not helping. I hit a wonderful drive, but came up about 20 yards short of the green. I pitched on and 2-putt for yet another par. Unfortunately, that was my last good hole of the day, as I finished with a pair of triple-bogeys. On hole #17, my second shot was from a mound with the ball well above my feet. I pull hooked the ball into a water hazard. Fearing water which lines the entire right side of hole #18, and which has to be crossed both on the tee shot as well as the approach shot, I played some weak, tentative shots. You could tell I did not have confidence. Despite my timid approach, I still managed to trickle in the water, thanks to a topped ball.

In the end, I shot 106. What can I say? This appears to be what I shoot these days. For comparison, I looked back at my GTA Amateur Tour rounds from 2010. Back then, my scoring average was 93.6 over 11 rounds. I barely topped 100 (scoring 101 on two occasions) and broke 90 three times (85, 88, 89). The rest of my rounds were in the low to mid nineties (91, 92, 93, 96, 97, 97). Oh, how I long for those days to return.

Score: 106
Putts: 37
Fairways: 4
Greens: 4
Penalties: 7

So Much For a Turning Point

Looking at my scores this season, I convinced myself that things were moving in the right direction. Except for a round at Sparrow Lakes, where I felt extremely tired, my scores progressed as follows: 116, 108, 101, 101, 100, 93. I chalked the results of the first two rounds up to the long winter layoff, and the last round at Willodell had me feeling like I was back to where I should be. Looking forward to the second round of the Deepwoods season, to be played at Peninsula Lakes, I felt confident that I could shoot another score in the low to mid nineties.

On the practice range, everything felt good. I had some cuts and scrapes on my hands, thanks to a bathroom demolition project, but it was nothing a little tape couldn't fix. I hit just a few shots, being careful not to cause further damage. Everything I hit was pretty good. When I pulled out driver, I reminded myself not to overswing. I took a few half swings and was surprised that I was achieving my full distance. I shouldn't really have been surprised, as I know from experience that is often the case. I resolved to take that easy swing with me to the course.

The opening hole, Quarry #1, is a 407-yard par-4 that doglegs left around a large pond. With a slight tailwind helping out, I tried the half swing with the driver that worked so well on the range. The ball travelled slightly left of my target line, skirting the right edge of the pond. I watched with anticipation to see if I would avoid the water. To my surprise, I was not even close to the water, as the ball carried right over it, bouncing first in the fairway before coming to rest about two yards in the right rough. It was a great shot, even if not exactly what I was trying to do. With the right side of the green and the flag blocked by a tree in front of me, I took aim at the left side of the putting surface. I struck a perfect cut with the pitching wedge from 130 yards and the ball rolled just off the back of the green. No worries as I chipped to within three feet and made the putt for par.

I proceeded to make a double-bogey and two bogeys over the next three holes. The double bogey was thanks to a terrible 7-iron off the tee on a par-3, followed by a lob wedge shot where I slid right under the ball. On another hole, I duffed another lob wedge shot, but that was from a tighter lie in the fairway. Owing to a great drive plus an up and down near the green, I salvaged bogey on that hole. I hit a beautiful 5-iron from the rough on another hole to earn bogey after a weak tee shot. I was hitting a mix of very good and very bad shots, so I was hanging in there.

On Quarry #5, a 393-yard par-4, the wind carried my drive a couple yards right of the fairway. Unfortunately, an embankment in that location directs balls into a large pond. My ball was just a foot past the water's edge and half poking out of the surface. If there wasn't a clump of dirt directly in front of my ball, I would have had a go at it. As it was, I decided to take a penalty stroke and drop within two club lengths of the point where the ball crossed the hazard. Unfortunately, that left the ball well below my feet for the next shot. I duffed it into a bunker just a few yards ahead. My shot from the bunker was short and right of the green, requiring a pitch and two putts to hole out for triple-bogey.

As unfortunate as that hole was, things got plain silly on Quarry #7, a 525-yard par-5. The drive that worked so well on the range and on the first hole suddenly abandoned me. I pulled three straight balls out of bounds on the left side. With penalties, I had used up six strokes and was still on the tee! When I finally got off the tee safely, I followed up with a nice 5-wood, pitching wedge, and two putts. The damage was done early however, as I finished the hole with a score of 11. Brutal stuff. I finished the front nine with an excellent 6-iron into the wind on a par-3. Finishing behind the flag, I proceeded to 2-putt for my second par of the day.

Par was once again the result on Hillside #1, a short par-4. I hit the fairway, albeit with a weak shot, then found the green with an 8-iron. On Hillside #2, a 196-yard par-3, I pulled a 3-iron well left of the green on a huge hillside. I hit a nice downhill wedge from 40 yards and 2-putt to save bogey. Hillside #3 began with a weak drive off the heel of the club. I followed up with a mix of good and mediocre shots to earn double-bogey. Much like the opening nine, I began the back nine with a mix of good and bad, but I was hanging in there.

My undoing on the back nine came in the form of Hillside #4, the hardest hole on the course. My tee shot popped up and went left, finding a large pond. I had to drop under a willow tree, with a piece of the pond between me and my target. Twice more, I plunked a ball into the water directly in front of me. Laying six, I chipped backwards to avoid the water entirely. My eighth shot hit a tree on the right side. My ninth failed to carry the second of two ponds that define this hole. My eleventh shot was just off the green, flag high. From there, I got up and down for a lovely score of 13. It was just as bad on Hillside #7, a par-5 that I finished with a score of 12. I will spare you the gory details.

In the end, it was a brutal round. There were some good shots, but the bad ones were so penal, it wasn't even funny. Ball striking, off the tee or elsewhere, was hit and miss. Chipping and putting were good, as they've been all year, but that is little consolation. I can no longer hang on to the illusion that I'm “moving in the right direction.” Maybe that round at Sparrow Lakes wasn't an anomaly after all. Eight rounds into the season, I've broken 100 only once. That's the stark reality of my game right now.

Score: 114
Putts: 33
Fairways: 2
Greens: 3
Penalties: 11