Earlier this year, I had a hole-in-one at Calerin Golf Club. I wasn't expecting the same this time around, but I was hoping for a good overall score. Well, I finished with a 98, so that didn't really happen. The elevated score was due to three horrific holes, which combined for 28 of the strokes taken (10, 8, 10). Due to equitable stroke control, my score for handicap purposes was just 91. This actually reduced my handicap factor to 16.7 – a drop of two tenths. So, I guess it wasn't a total loss.
The first five holes were great, as I went bogey, par, bogey, bogey and par. The two pars were on par-3 holes, as I was able to hit the greens in regulation and then 2-putt. The remaining holes, including a pair of par-5 tests, required one extra shot each to find the greens, followed by 2-putts. Nearly a third into the round I was in fabulous shape and feeling good.
All of a sudden, I exploded for a 10 and then 8, both on par-4 holes. In both cases, I got in serious trouble right off the tee and couldn't recover. On hole #6, I made contact with the heel of the driver, sending the ball dribbling just a few yards ahead and to the left. It was in long fescue and took two hacks to get out into the fairway. Trees on the inside of the dogleg were blocking the green, but I was in no mood to concede another stroke. I tried to slice a 4-iron, but I flushed it straight, stopping at the edge of the woods. I had no backswing and could only advance the ball into a deep greenside bunker. Shot #6 emerged from the bunker – just barely. It took two chips to get on the green and a couple of putts to hole out. Yech!
On hole #7, my drive went left and was lost in the long fescue. Hitting my third from the tee, I went left again, but found the ball on a steep slope behind a small bush. I hacked it to the fairway, 70 yards from the flag. My wedge shot sailed over the green, into the fescue again. Shot #6 came out clean, but hung up in the rough by the greenside collar. A chip and a putt finished the hole. Wow, things can go sour quickly!
Having seriously messed up two drives in a row, I vowed to try something different. I had been taking a short backswing and following through rather gently. Over the next two holes, I kept the backswing the same, but I accelerated on the downswing to produce as much speed as I could. Boy, did it work! I ripped drives straight down the pipe on holes #8 and #9, setting up a bogey and par.
Unfortunately, the same approach led to a pulled drive on hole #10. The ball was gobbled up once again by the fescue and I couldn't find it. I got frustrated and started taking silly swings. I topped a shot with the 5-wood that led to an unplayable ball, I pulled a sand wedge way left of the green, and so on. The par-5 hole produced my second double-digit score of the day.
Despite the pulled drive on #10, I stayed with the aggressive downswing action and it worked wonders for the rest of the round. I hit four of six fairways over the final eight holes and they were all straight and deep. The two misses were slightly to the right side, but the ball ended up in areas I could work with. I had a double-bogey during this stretch, due to a careless 3-putt. Otherwise, I collected five bogeys and two pars.
Fifteen holes played under control and three played in chaos. The story of my golfing career.
Score: 98
Putts: 36
Fairways: 8
Greens: 5
Penalties: 3
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