What better way to spend Canada Day than to golf? Since I couldn't find an answer, I headed out to Hunters Pointe Golf Course, located in Welland, Ontario. I arrived 25 minutes before my tee time and was greeted immediately by the starter in the parking lot. A pair of players was preparing to tee off, but I was free to go ahead of them – if I didn't mind playing alone, that is. Mind? Are you kidding me? I love playing alone! No small talk, no distractions, and complete focus on my own game. It's the closest thing to a Zen experience you can have on the golf course. I was all over that!
With the pair who let me through watching on the tenth tee, and the wind whipping across from left to right, I placed a perfect drive just left of the 150-yard stick. I love when that happens! It's too bad I hit a 9-iron off the heel next, sending the ball into a bunker, still 120 yards from the flag. Good thing the two guys were still back at the tee. My next approach from the bunker was OK, but I caught a greenside bunker just left of target. I made a good out, but still 2-putt for an opening double-bogey. I topped my drive attempt on hole #11, ending up in some nasty fescue. I managed to hack the ball out, only to land in even worse fescue, where the ball was unplayable. I ruined the hole early, en route to a quadruple bogey.
Thankfully, things turned around at that point. I hit a good 6-iron off the tee on hole #12, a 160-yard par-3 that was playing into the wind. My ball was flag high, but in a deep bunker right of the green. I hit my next shot thin, sending it to the fescue on the other side of the green. My next shot was great, but I still needed two putts to finish with double bogey. That's not a great score, but I felt good about my tee shot and the recovery from the fescue. It could have easily been a higher number.
Over the remainder of the back nine, I tallied four pars and two double-bogeys. One of the doubles came on a par-5. I found myself right of the green after three good shots, so really should have had no worse than bogey. I tried the high flopping pitch that worked well for me in my previous round, but sculled it over the green. The other double came on a par-3. This time, I was just left of the green after a good tee shot. I pitched on well, but a 3-putt was my undoing. Despite the shaky results, I was feeling good because those holes included some nice ball striking, which was not easy given the strong winds.
The pars were nice, especially three in a row to close out my opening nine. Hole #16 is a short par-4. I drove the ball to the left side of the fairway, then judged the wind well, just to land on the green in regulation. Hole #17 is the #2 handicap hole at Hunters Pointe, so that was a treat to par. Hole #18 was the best of all. There is a forced carry off the tee on this picturesque par-5. Water lines the entire right side of the hole, then wraps in front of the green, setting up a forced carry on the approach. I hit a driver safely to the left side, followed by a beautiful 5-iron to the middle of the fairway, 100 yards from the flag. My sand wedge got me to the green with a legitimate birdie chance. I didn't make it, but tapped in easily for par.
On my back nine, it was a lot of the same. The wind, which was fierce all day, actually got a little worse. I had trouble keeping my hat on and my ball was blown off the tee at least three times. I even had to factor the wind into my putting! My driving off the tee wasn't spectacular, but I was focused on getting to the ball from the inside. This worked well under the conditions, because it promotes a draw and lower ball flight. I lost a little bit of distance, as I also shortened my swing significantly, but the added control was well worth it. I did not flare or slice a single drive.
The best part was my second shots, with irons in hand. At the last Deepwoods event, where I struggled, my playing partner noticed that I was bending at the left elbow very early in my swing. When he told me that, I made an adjustment and promptly hit my best drive of the day. It didn't help me the rest of that day, but I realized he was right. Since then, I've focused on keeping the left elbow straight during my swing and “finishing down the line.” What a difference it made with my irons at Hunters Pointe! I hit a lot of nice irons, even a couple of long ones than penetrated right into the wind. A 3-iron on hole #2 was the best, travelling 200 yards to set up a birdie chance. Unfortunately, I 3-putt that hole, but I still felt good because of the iron shot.
I had one blowup hole on my second nine – a quadruple bogey on hole #3. My second shot on this par-5 trickled into a water hazard, and I had trouble with a greenside bunker. However, the last six holes of the day produced one par, four bogeys, and a double-bogey. For me, that's good! The way the wind was whipping incessantly, it was excellent. Sometimes, strong wind like that can ruin a round. I remember a number of rounds at Piper's Heath years ago where that was the case. This time, it was actually fun for me. On my last hole of the day, the wind was at my back. Normally, I would hit driver off the tee, finishing in front of a creek that crosses the fairway if everything went well. This time, I took an easy 5-wood and reached the same spot. I was proud of the decision and the execution, not only for that shot, but for many during the round.
On a final note, I broke 100 for the fifth time this year. It took nine rounds to do so. Considering I broke 100 just five times last season, which covered 31 rounds, that's encouraging. Maybe I'm coming back?
Score: 96
Putts: 36
Fairways: 6
Greens: 3
Penalties: 2
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