Each of the past seven years, the Deepwoods Golf Association has started the season with a round at Copetown Woods Golf Club. On my way to Copetown Woods, I would pass by the entrance to a neighbouring course called Flamborough Hills. I knew it was a 27-hole facility, and an examination of the course guide and scorecard revealed it to be a course of reasonable length and design. Nevertheless, it remained a course that I had never played. Until now.
On a comfortable, but overcast afternoon, I teed off on the Lakes nine at Flamborough Hills. I pulled my drive on the first hole well left of the fairway, but reached the short par-5 in regulation with a pitching wedge, lob wedge combination. I failed to lag my first putt near the hole and finished with a bogey. Next up, a short par-3, at 127 yards. I hit the gap wedge a tiny bit fat, coming up short of the green. A poor chip left a lot of real estate between me and the hole. Another poor lag ensued, this one sent screaming well past the hole. My second 3-putt of the day produced double-bogey. On hole #3, a straightaway par-4, my approach from the right fairway (also with the gap wedge) was a bit fat again. This time, my chip released well past the hole, but I managed to 2-putt for bogey.
After a safe drive to the left rough on hole #4, I shanked a 9-iron into a pond fronting the green. Following a penalty stroke and drop, I duffed one with the lob wedge straight into the water. Really? Geez. My next attempt finished 8 feet above the hole and I then 2-putt for a quadruple-bogey. I duffed a 5-iron off the tee on the next hole, a long par-5, but made up for it with a brilliant 9-iron to the back of the green. Chalk up a 2-putt bogey. Hole #6 was a disaster. A great drive put me in the fairway, 75 yards from the green. My lob wedge found the green above the hole. Unfortunately, I completely mis-read the first putt. Three more followed before I holed out with a green in regulation double-bogey. Really? Geez again.
I triple-bogeyed hole #7, thanks to a drive that hit the heel of the club and bounded left behind some trees. It put me in a bad position from which it was tough to recover. On a positive note, I played the last two holes of the Lakes nine very well. A decent drive on hole #8, another short par-5, left me with 170 yards to the green from the left rough. I got the distance correct, but pushed the ball right of the green. Thanks to a fabulous punch shot, I found the green in regulation and then 2-putt for par. On hole #9, a long par-4, my drive was also in the left rough. I had 215 yards to the green, with a massive tree impeding my line. I hit a gorgeous 5-wood that sailed high and barely clipped the topmost branches. Still, the ball ended up on a slope 10 feet in front of the green. I had a 4-foot putt for par, but missed and settled for bogey.
My score was 51 at the turn and it was on to the Hills nine to finish up. I played bogey golf through the first seven holes, piling up five bogeys, one double-bogey, and one par. Even though I was playing well, I could have saved some strokes with a better short game. I 3-putt hole #1, for example, after reaching the green in regulation. After a decent tee shot just off the green on hole #3, a medium length par-3, I could not get up and down, registering another bogey. On holes #4 and #5, a pair of par-4 holes, I was very near the greens after two shots. Once again, mediocre chips or putts conspired to produce bogey. On hole #7, a dogleg par-5, I had another chance at an up-and-down for par, albeit a more difficult one. Again, it was a bogey result.
Going into the last two holes, I didn't know my exact score, but knew that I was flirting with 100. A terrible 3-iron off the tee on the second last hole put me in a bind. I punched through some trees, then chipped on to reach the par-3 green. Double-bogey was all that I could muster. The final hole, a par-5 similar to #18 at Torrey Pines, almost ruined my day. I hit a deep drive, but pulled it well left. A large tree was blocking my line, so I tried to hit a little sand wedge just to get back to the fairway. I duffed it, but still got past the tree. Next, a 5-wood travelled deep but right, hitting a tree 40 yards in front of the green. After duffing with the lob wedge, I finally reached the green, then 2-putt for double bogey.
The Hills nine plays as a par 37, while the Lakes nine plays as a par 36. Combined, we're looking at a rare par 73. I finished up with a score of 99. Whew! It was nice to break 100, but with a slope of 116 from the tees I was playing, I really should have done better. The handicap differential earned for this round was not even among my best, so breaking 100 did absolutely nothing for my handicap factor.
Score: 99
Putts: 41
Fairways: 4
Greens: 5
Penalties: 3
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