I picked a heck of a time to play my worst round of the year. It was Round 1 of the Deepwoods championship at Copetown Woods. With seven rounds under my belt in 2016, I had already collected scores of 85, 86, and 87. A couple times when I topped 90, it was only due to one or two very unusual blowup holes. Those don't hurt you as much in Deepwoods events, which use a modified Stableford scoring system. All of which left me feeling confident that I could do well at Copetown, despite having to start the season as a 15 handicap.
The course is one that I should dominate. From the white tees, it measures a shade under 6,000 yards. There is ample space to drive the ball on most holes. You have to avoid water and OB on a couple of holes, but there really is plenty of room opposite the danger. Long fescue is probably the biggest defence, but you can play through some wispy areas, especially early in the season. Copetown Woods is not a course that beats you. Rather, it's a place where you beat yourself.
I was worried about the weather, which was very hot and humid. I could feel a headache coming on even before the round began, so I took no chances and decided to take a power cart. I also had plenty of water for hydration. Out of the gate, I was actually on fire. I hit driver, 5-iron into the green on the opening hole, a 431-yard par-5. From 12 feet, my eagle putt missed low, but I tapped in for birdie! I hit driver to the ninth fairway on hole #2, a 397-yard par-4. No problem, as I stuck a 7-iron from 150 yards away to within 10 feet. Club choice was perfect, as it was straight into the wind. I missed the ensuing uphill putt, but tapped in for a stress-free par.
That's where the strong start ended, as I duffed a 6-iron with my second shot on hole #3, after finding the fairway off the tee. From 80 yards, I flared a wedge into a greenside bunker. It took three shots to get out, and I still wasn't on the green. This, despite spending a good amount of time before the round in a practice bunker. I hit shots with no ball, just to get a feel of hitting the sand properly. Then I introduced some balls until I felt like I was getting out with a reasonable degree of consistency. It was all for naught. I was in two more greenside bunkers over the rest of the round. The second time, it took two shots to get out and find the green. The third time, it only took one shot. I guess that's progress (sarcasm). I finished hole #3 with a chip and 3 putts for a 10!
I actually wasn't upset at that stage. You can overcome blowup holes in Stableford and I was still on pace for a good point total thanks to the first two holes. I made par on hole #4, a short par-3, and picked up another couple of points. Even a triple-bogey on hole #5, a par-4 that was playing right into the wind, didn't faze me. I flared a high drive well right into the fescue, which was a harbinger of things to come. On hole #6, the wind was now at our backs, and I pumped a 290-yard drive down the pipe. An 80-yard wedge shot found the correct level of the green and I 2-putt for an easy par. This was followed by another par on hole #7, a short par-3.
If there's one shot at Copetown Woods that I've come to hate, it's the tee shot on hole #8, a 304-yard par-4. There's a pond in front of the green that is reachable with driver, so your best bet is to hit less club off the tee and to attack on your second shot. There's also a strand of pine trees ahead of the tee, on either side of the fairway. They're really not in play, but I suppose that visually, they create a bit of a chute effect. I'm shaking my head as I write this, because those pines should not be an obstacle in the least. Yet, it seems every time I've teed off on that hole over the last few years, I pull one sharply into the pines on the left. It doesn't matter what club I use. This time, it was a 5-wood that smacked one of the trees and came backwards into thick fescue. I tried to hack one sideways to the fairway with the lob wedge, but I only made it out to the rough and was still blocked out by the pines. I punched one through to the fairway, still 160 yards from the pin. My fourth shot was left of the green on a hillside and I was now short sided. I made a nice up, but 3-putt for a score of 8.
I finished the front nine with a score of 48, but a decent total of 17 points. The first four holes of the back nine all produced bogey, so I was hanging in there in terms of points. I collected zero points on hole #14, a par-5, and this time I couldn't recover. My drive on hole #14 was one of those high flares and I found a narrow patch of thick fescue right of the fairway. I did well to hack it to the 150-yard stick from there. Then came two successive misses that were totally uncalled for. I completely miss hit an 8-iron, sending the ball skidding ahead 80 yards to just in front of a bunker. From 70 yards, I quit on a pitch attempt, plunking the ball right into the sand. There is no excuse for that. Mentally, those two shots did me in. I went on to 3-putt for a triple-bogey.
I collected just five points over the last five holes, finishing with 29. The lone bright spot in that stretch was a par on hole #16, a par-5. I hit one of those flare drives and was in a waste bunker after two, still 180 yards from the flag. Next, I hit a lovely 6-iron high and just left of the green. An up and down completed the par score. You hate to start the Deepwoods season this way. You can drop your lowest score of the season, but you really don't want that to be the first round. When you start well, the dropped round is a huge insurance policy. When you use it right out of the gate, you're left with no safety net. The courses get a lot harder too, which doesn't bode well.
Bad timing indeed.
Score: 98
Putts: 39
Fairways: 3
Greens: 5
Penalties: 1
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