My handicap factor has been stuck at 18.5 for the last five rounds, as I've been unable to go low. My latest round at Carlisle Golf Club pushed a good result off the bottom of my record and as a result, my factor jumped up to 19 even. More telling than the overall score of 97 was how it broke down over the starting, middle and finishing thirds.
Starting on the North nine, the first third of the round had some challenges indeed. Over the first four holes, the challenges were fairly minor ones. On hole #1, I pulled my drive to an opposite fairway. Giving up yardage to get over some high trees, I successfully got back to the correct fairway, 50 yards from the flag. I opted for lob wedge and made a good stroke, but the bounce interacted with the turf in a strange way. Though the ground was kind of hard, the club slid under the ball and I came up 20 yards short. This has happened to me a lot this year. At times, I've played more of a chip shot with an 8-iron from the same position. It's a good option, but one I've practiced much less. I finished the hole with double-bogey.
On hole #3, I pulled my drive to the opposite fairway once again. Going with another lofted club, this time I clipped the tips of some high trees. My ball finished up in a fairway bunker 95 yards from the flag. Sand wedge got me safely to the green, but I misjudged the speed of my first putt and missed my second, even though it was a great attempt. The result was another double-bogey. I bogeyed holes #2 and #4, both of which are par-3 holes, so after four holes, I had given away probably two strokes.
The real damage happened on holes #5 and #6. The former is a short par-4, but OB looms on the entire left side. Sure enough, I pull hooked one with the 5-wood clear over the tall trees, toward the railway line. Hitting my third from the tee with the same club, I nailed the centre of the fairway, leaving 110 yards to the flag. Why didn't that happen the first time? I followed up hitting the centre of the green with a gap wedge. Inexplicably, I left my first putt well short, then missed a 4-footer. The 3-putt made a poor hole worse, as I finished with a triple-bogey.
Hole #6 features the toughest tee shot on the course. Thick trees line the right side of this dogleg par-5. The left side is out of bounds, with nothing but a chain link fence between the golf course and some farmland. In fact, the teeing ground angles towards OB a bit. Anything less than a perfectly straight drive spells trouble. By the way, there is also a forced carry over some weeds directly in front of the tee area. It's not long, but it adds visual intimidation. I hit my drive barely left of my intended line. The ball bounced near the cart path and went over the fence. Hitting my third from the tee, I made a nice shot. My fourth shot was a layup to near the 150 yard stick, right where the hole makes its dogleg. Unfortunately, I left the ball right of the 150-yard stick, which means I was blocked out of the green by some trees on the right. Two shots later, I was in a greenside bunker. I splashed out and 2-putt for a quadruple-bogey. Yech!
My score over the first six holes was 36 (13 over). Luckily, I improved over the next six holes. My score over the middle third was 33 (8 over). This began with back-to-back pars on holes #7 and #8. Hole #7 features another very tough tee shot. It's all carry over some marshy wasteland to a landing area pinched by OB left and long, plus more woods on the right. I hit a great drive to the right side, leaving just 140 yards to the green. A 9-iron to the green centre was followed by a great birdie attempt that lipped out. Hole #8 is a par-5 that didn't feature any spectacular shots, yet par was the result nevertheless.
I should note that the middle third of the round ended with a terrible triple-bogey on hole #3 of the East nine, a 130-yard par-3 that's all carry over water. I took a huge beaver pelt out of the ground on my tee shot, with the ball dribbling ahead about 10 yards. From there, I failed to clear the water and was forced to take a penalty stroke. My fourth shot was finally on the green and I 2-putt for the triple.
The last third of the round saved my bacon. I shot 28 (4 over) with two pars and four bogeys. Beginning on East #4, I decided to throw caution to the wind, especially with the driver. After my practice swing on #4, I could hear my playing partners gasp with surprise. Until then, I had been swinging the driver very gently – since they didn't know me, my playing partners may have thought that was all the speed I had. LOL. Oh no, my friends! Whoosh! I piped my drives right down the pipe on holes #4, #5, #6. The result was a single par and two bogeys, as I thinned a sand wedge into the green on #4 and drew a terrible lie in the rough on hole #6. The rough bisects the fairway, in case you were wondering how a straight drive ended up there.
I took a rip on hole #7 as well, but this one was high and flared to the right side of the fairway. This is a par-5 that narrows significantly the nearer you are to the green. I played a couple of smart, conservative shots to walk away with par. Hole #8 is a short par-3, so there was no wild swing there, but I did hit driver on hole #9, a short par-4 that by no means calls for one. I had to chip sideways on my second shot to get around a couple of trees bordering a pond, but it really was not a problem. A pair of bogeys on the last two holes salvaged a respectable score, but nowhere near good enough to help my handicap factor. Scores in the mid nineties won't help my bid for the Deepwoods Golf Association title either, so I have to get this turned around quickly.
Score: 97
Putts: 36
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
Penalties: 3
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