Fall golf is great in many ways: fewer people on the course, crisp air, and the spectacular backdrop of brightly coloured foliage. The downside, of course, is that course conditions make it tougher to score well. Aerated greens are perhaps the biggest impediment, but that's simply the way it goes. Such was the case for my latest round of golf, played near the shores of Lake Scugog, at Wolf Run Golf Club. It's a very decent track, but getting there from Toronto is a royal pain. I routinely play a few courses that are farther away, but they're easier to reach because they're closer to major highways. I figured it would be a nice drive through the countryside this time of year, so I paid my second ever visit to the course.
Playing the back nine first, I began in excellent fashion. Hole #10 is a 569-yard par-5 that began driver, 5-wood, sand wedge, and finished with a greenside pitch and tap-in for par. Hole #11 is a par-3 that was playing 170 yards. Wind was a factor, but I judged it perfectly, nailing the green and very nearly making birdie. A tap-in gave me another easy par. Hole #12 is a long par-4 to begin with. At 435 yards, it was playing much longer, with a very stiff headwind. I hit driver, 5-wood, and was still 30 yards short of the green. Those two shots were pure, too. My pitch shot was pulled a bit, but I 2-putt for a well earned bogey.
The rest of the back nine wasn't so smooth. Bunker trouble and a sculled chip led to double-bogey on hole #13. The next hole produced bogey, but I missed a straight 4-foot putt for par. I blame the greens for that one. The ball was wiggling side to side, due to the aeration holes. Hole #15 was the real disaster, as I took a quadruple- bogey. After failing to emerge from a chute near the teeing ground, I was forced to play my third shot from the tee. Lo and behold, I ended up stymied, behind a small tree right of the fairway. I had a chance to save a stroke with the putter, but the bumpy greens didn't cooperate.
I had another wasted tee shot on hole #16, as well as a 3-putt (damn greens), en route to a double-bogey. On hole #17, a short par-3, I simply mis-hit two iron shots in a row. Fortunately, I managed to collect a par on hole #18, a par-5. That gave me a score of 48 at the turn. Not good, but I've had worse.
I started the front nine as hot as I started the back. I collected pars on hole #1, a 569-yard par3, and hole #2, a 170-yard par-3. The latter was particularly satisfying, as a couple of players had just let me through. They waited on the tee as I struck a marvellous 5-iron into the wind. Then they watched as I quickly 2-putt like it was never in doubt. LOL. Hole #3 began with a poor drive, but I recovered as well as can be expected, with a bogey.
Now, perhaps the best shot of the day was my drive on hole #4. This is a 305-yard par-4, but don't let the distance fool you. Woods protect the entire left side, while more woods pinch in tremendously on the right side. Golfers must decide if they want to thread a low trajectory shot through the opening, or take the ball high over the woods on the right, as the fairway opens up in behind. On my last visit, I made a mess of this hole, with multiple excursions into the woods.
This time, I lined up to take the ball over the right side and swung easily. The result was a laser, directly over the trees on the right, which found the end of the fairway. Much longer, and the ball would have run into a water hazard in front of the green, so this was absolutely perfect. Unfortunately, my next shot over the water, with the lob wedge, was a few yards short. I duffed, then sculled a pair of chips, then 2-putt for double. What a waste!
I had a little more trouble the rest of the way, but I was also mixing in a lot of great shots. My drive on hole #5 was spectacular, but the subsequent 5-wood smacked a tiny tree that stands right in the middle of the wide fairway. Aargh! This led to double-bogey. That's OK, as I rattled off a bogey and two consecutive pars over the next three holes. My 9-iron on hole #7, a par 3 through a chute of trees, was really, really good. It's very easy to get intimidated by all those trees.
I messed up near the green on the last hole of the day, by duffing, then sculling two consecutive chip attempts. The grass and the ground underneath was very inconsistent, so I had very different lies to work with. I was guessing how the sole of the club would react, and I obviously guessed wrong. Oh well, that's the way it goes.
Score: 93
Putts: 37
Fairways: 5
Greens: 6
Penalties: 1
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