Ladybugs Attack at Hockley Valley

My latest round of golf was a return visit to Hockley Valley Resort. Weather was perfect and the onset of fall colours made for even prettier vistas than usual. I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the weather conditions or time of year, but the course was completely overrun by ladybugs. As insects go, ladybugs are perhaps the least offensive, but the sheer number of them made for some uncomfortable waits on the teeing grounds.

I was pumped up about this round because it came on the heels of a good performance at Lowville Golf Club. Would I be able to carry the momentum forward? On the front nine, it looked like I might, though my results were borderline. I made the turn with five double-bogeys and four bogeys, for a score of 50. I was happy to avoid scores of triple-bogey or worse, but I was bummed that I didn't collect any pars.

Strategize, Visualize, Materialize

For only the second or third time this season, I played a round of golf and managed to capture that elusive feeling – the satisfaction that comes with strategizing over a particular hole or shot, then being able to execute accordingly. It was a return visit to Lowville Golf Club, and the improvement in execution is evident in my score. I tallied a 94 – just one worse than my season best at Willodell Golf Club of Niagara.

I started with a pair of double-bogeys, but recouped some of those strokes with a pair of pars by the time I wrapped up the sixth hole. One of these came on hole # 4, a par-5. I took it easy on the drive, sacrificing distance for a little more control. After finding the right rough, I hit an 8-iron layup that left 125 yards to the green.  From the middle of the fairway, I hit a beautiful gap wedge right over the flag. I missed a hard breaking birdie putt, but followed with an easy tap in.

Versatile and Vindictive

In a recent post, I lamented that the golf gods are as versatile as they are vindictive. I was referring, of course, to the myriad ways that I manage to compile a score of 100 or greater. Sometimes, it's poor driving. Other times, it's shaky putting. On a given occasion, I might amass an absurd amount of penalty strokes. On others, I might collect just a couple. I could string together a scorecard full of double-bogeys, or collect a bunch of pars while blowing up for a few quadruple-bogeys. It doesn't really matter; one way or another, the golf gods will find a way to dish out my just desserts. I thought it was an interesting comment, and my most recent round further proved it to be correct.

The first hole at Century Pines Golf Club owns me. Period. In half a dozen visits over the past three years, I have blown up massively on that hole every time! I've described it before, but here I go again, in an effort to explain how I managed to score a 10 on this straightaway and flat par-5. While the hole is straight, the entire left side (tee to green) is covered in thick trees and out of bounds just a few yards into the tree line. The right side has a few small trees, with another fairway on the other side. Closer to the green, a medium size pond borders the fairway on the right side. A large tree pinches in on the left side about 80 yards in front of the teeing ground, while another pinches the right side in front of the green. The hole plays left to right as viewed in the satellite image below.