My latest round was at Mystic Golf Club, in Ancaster. I had only played there once before, but that was nine years ago! I don't remember much from that outing, except that I got spanked big time and shot 119. I failed to navigate many forced carries and lost a lot of balls. Despite the terrible result, I carried a favourable impression of the golf course. For that reason, I was eager to go back and try my luck again.
This time was a very different experience. The fact of the matter is that I'm a very different golfer now than I was back then. In 2006, I was still a relatively new golfer, with few rounds under my belt. As inconsistent as I am today, I was much worse in those days. Topped balls and duffs were more common and I didn't hit the ball nearly as far as I do now. Ironically, however, I probably had a better short game. This time around, the course seemed much more manageable. The forced carries are still there, of course, but they were not the huge obstacle that I had remembered.
I had two primary thoughts for this round. On my drives, I felt the point where my body wants to stop rotating, then extended past that point just a fraction. When I do this, it seems that everything else falls into place. The swing seems to stay more on plane and I approach the ball more from the inside. The danger is extending too far past that point. If I do that, I'm more likely to hit the ball with the heel of the club or smother hook it with disastrous results. The second thought was to keep the left arm straight on my iron shots. This helps the club bottom out in the right place, leading to crisp contact.
There were moments of brilliance during this round. Alas, there were also mistakes. Even a slight error or two easily leads to inflated scores on certain holes. In the end, it was a fairly typical score of 98. I've had rounds where I shoot that score by playing mediocre golf from start to finish. On this occasion, it was a case of some great holes offset by some bad ones, typically involving an untimely penalty stroke.
One of the greatest holes was #2, a short par-4 that was playing 270 yards. A small pond protects the green front and left, while forest looms on the right for anybody contemplating a drive to the green. Feeling confident, I pulled driver and let rip with a nice, smooth swing. The ball sailed high and straight, landing softly on the green, flag-high, about 15 feet from the cup. Oh baby! My uphill eagle putt was two feet short, but I tapped in for birdie.
Another birdie came on hole #17, a 475-yard par-5. The tee shot was drive over a large pond to the fairway that wraps around the other side. The more of the pond that you carry, the shorter you'll have remaining to the green. I did not take the most aggressive line, but I smoked the ball high with a baby cut. I finished two yards off the other side of the fairway, 195 yards from the green. Had I finished on the fairway, I would have no hesitation going for the green. However, with my ball in the rough, I had some thinking to do. After judging that the lie was decent, I hit a beautiful, high 4-iron that finished just right of the green, flag-high. I chipped on and drained a 10-footer!
Not surprisingly, great shots led to great results. On hole #4, a par-5, my third shot from 130 yards away in the right rough sailed high and landed softly, 12 feet from the cup. On hole #12, a similar shot from 110 yards was all over the flag. On hole #14, a par-4, my second from 158 yards was a picture perfect 8-iron. The green is not large and protected front and back by bunkers and forest respectively. I was left with another 12-foot birdie attempt. In all cases, I finished with a very respectable par.
Unfortunately, the consistency was not there. For every great drive that split the fairway, there was one that got away from me, flaring right into the woods, for example. The mistake was slight, but the penalty was high, as I was forced to hit my third from the tee on a few occasions. On hole #6, a par-4, I was a yard into the right rough after my tee shot, just 100 yards from the green. I caught the wedge thin, sending the ball through the green to some long fescue in behind. With two shots to get out and a couple of putts, the result was double-bogey. The same thing happened on hole #8. After a wonderful drive, I was one yard into the left rough, 100 yards from the green. With the ball above my feet a bit, I caught the heel of the club – a complete mis-hit. Three to get on and three putts turned an almost certain par into a double-bogey.
That's the way it goes. I have the tools to score better, but I need consistency.
Score: 98
Putts: 38
Fairways: 6
Greens: 6
Penalties: 6
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