Almost five months since I last touched a golf club, I booked the 2017 season opener at Twenty Valley Golf & Country Club. The temperature was amazing for early April – so much so that I could have played in shorts and without sleeves, though I didn't. Unfortunately, the wind conditions were less ideal. Wind speed was above 60 km/hr and I'm not talking about gusts. The wind was stiff and steady. I couldn't even keep my hat on my head.
Considering I had not swung a club in ages, I was reasonably happy with my driving. My first drive was a slight pull, the second was a bigger pull, and the third was an absolutely massive one. On hole #4, an uphill par-4, a pull would have been disastrous, but I picked the occasion to hit my first fairway of the day. On hole #5, a dogleg right, I laced a drive right over the inside corner. It was deep enough that it ran through the opposite side of the fairway, but I was in prime position and very pleased with the shot. I missed the sixth fairway with my first slice of the day, but then hit the next three fairways with deep straight drives, wind be damned.
Driving got a little loose for the remainder of the round, with most misses being slices to the right. One exception was another slight pull on hole #15, a long par-4. Overall, I tallied 4 pulled drives, 4 slices, and 6 drives right down the pipe. That ain't bad, I suppose, but an equal number of misses to both sides highlights just how difficult it can be to make adjustments in this diabolical game. I used a 5-wood off the tee on hole #16, a 200-yard par-3 that was playing right into the wind. It was a terrible slice, though I made a great recovery shot and almost saved par. Two holes earlier, on a long par-5, I hit two spectacular 5-woods into the same wind, so go figure. Bogey was also the result on that hole.
Full iron shots were a bit of a mixed bag. My best was the tee shot on hole #9, a par-3 over water from an elevated green. The flag was at 170 yards, which would normally be a 6-iron for me, possibly even a 7-iron with the elevation change. However, the hole was pointing straight into the wind. I opted for a 3-iron and hit a beauty, flag high to the left side of the green. A solid lag putt and tap-in earned my only par of the day!
Other iron shots were not as precise. From 100 yards and the middle of the fairway on hole #4, I flew a sand wedge over the back of the green. From the same distance in the left rough on hole #5, I caught the soft ground a tad fat and the ball travelled half the intended distance. On hole #7, a 150-yard par-3, my pitching wedge was flag high, but left of the green. From 170 yards and the fairway on hole #8, I hit a low iron short and right. These were useful shots in terms of advancing the ball, but they put pressure on my short game, which was bound to be rusty after the winter layoff.
And the short game is really where I lost a lot of strokes. On two occasions when attempting short pitch shots, I practically shanked the ball. I'm not sure if the ball actually hit the hosel or if the club face was way open, but either way, the ball squirted well to the right – a couple of wasted shots. On another occasion, I pitched the ball a little too deep and it rolled right off the green. To make matters worse, I stubbed the comebacker and barely got on the putting surface. Mistakes like these led to double-bogeys every time.
On the back nine, I tried to bump a 40-yard shot into a sloped green, but pulled it badly and rolled off the back. It was costly because there is a 20-foot drop behind that particular green. I had another shank-like shot on hole #18 after hitting a perfectly placed drive. I was just trying to hit a 100-yard shot to give me a nice distance into the green with my third. The ball travelled 30 yards and was now on a severe down slope. More wasted shots. I also collected four 3-putts on the back nine. Days earlier, I watched the pros at Augusta barely touch a ball to move it 30 feet. Maybe it affected me, because I left a bunch of long lag putts woefully short.
In the end, I squeaked out a final score of 99. By no means is that good, but it felt better than the score indicates. The feel shots will come around with a few more reps, but my full shots were pretty decent.
Score: 99
Putts: 38
Fairways: 5
Greens: 2
Penalties: 1
