I picked a nice day and headed out to Bushwood, where I've played quite a bit, but mostly in my early days of golf. I continued the trend of driving the ball well, as I managed to hit 9 of 15 fairways during the round. I focused primarily on keeping the back swing short. I've tried to shorten my back swing in the past, but even then, I could afford to go a lot shorter. I really don't need such a big windup to generate sufficient swing speed. The benefit is a much more controlled swing plane.
Even when the driver is working well, a hole or two will come along where I just miss badly. Fresh off two laser drives on the first two holes, I approached the third tee. Hole #3 is a medium length par-4, but it's OB along the entire right side. The fairway is not especially wide and there is a carry of about 200 yards required to get over a creek. Left of the fairway puts you on another hole, which isn't bad, except that your next shot toward the green will be towards OB. The fear of OB caused me to hit one off the heel, which found the creek. The penalty stroke, along with an uncalled for 3-putt, bumped my score on the hole up to triple-bogey.
Of the fairways missed, two were on holes where I teed off with an iron. The first of these was hole #11, where a 5-iron hooked slightly into the fescue. I actually thought the ball was safe, but no such luck. Double-bogey was the result. On hole #15, I caught the ball with the heel of the 4-iron, sending it dribbling ahead and to the left. On a wide open hole, this left me in the only place where there was tree trouble. My punch out failed and I needed a heroic 5-wood just to get near the green with my third. Chalk up another double-bogey.
And irons were really the story of the day. I only hit three greens in regulation and they weren't exactly convincing ones either. More often than not, I just failed to hit the greens. I missed approach shots from 150, 110, 130, and 100 yards on the front nine alone. I missed a few more shorties on the back nine. Usually, I had the perfect distance, but pulled the ball five yards left. Otherwise, I flared the ball five yards right and somewhat short. The scoring clubs were not helping me score, that's for sure.
The worst iron shot was a ball sculled over the green from 80 yards out on hole #12. The drive on this short par-4 can be tricky because of a forced carry and thick woods on the right. I nailed the centre of the fairway, but wasted it with the second shot. Not only did I miss the green, but I lost the ball in a lateral hazard, leading to a penalty stroke. It was one of six penalty strokes on the day, which is just way too much. The whole round featured a lot of very good shots, but when things went poorly, they led to penalty strokes and that killed my score.
Overall, I feel positive about the round. This will be my last before Round 1 of the Deepwoods championship. I feel like I'm ready to compete. If I can just minimize the costly errors, I have a chance to do well.
Score: 95
Putts: 34
Fairways: 9
Greens: 3
Penalties: 6
May 27, 2017
May 25, 2017
A Couple Blowups at Mill Run
I played The Wheel / Grind combination at Mill Run and except for a couple of blowup holes, it was a rather good outing. Of course, a couple blowup holes is all it takes to ruin an otherwise good score. The blowups came on Wheel #1 and #9, a pair of par-5 holes ranked as the hardest handicaps.
A weak drive on the first hole nevertheless found the safety of the fairway. Next, I pumped a long iron deep, but was a few yards into the right rough – enough to be blocked out of the green by some trees ahead. A perfectly placed pitch shot got me back in the fairway, 100 yards from the green. So far, not too bad, but then I pulled the approach near a creek that runs left of the green. I had an opening, but the ground was so soft that I duffed one a few yards ahead. The new lie was no better and I plunked one in a bunker. My seventh shot barely made it out. This was followed by a chip shot and two putts for a nasty score of 10. Oh my word!
The next six holes were smooth sailing, as I went bogey, par, par, par, bogey, and bogey. That's three over for one third of a round, which ain't bad at all. If I could string together two more of those, the result would be a final score of nine over, or 81. Alas, we all know it doesn't work that way. Eighteen holes is a lot of golf and it's hard to stay out of trouble for very long. The three consecutive pars came thanks to three up and down plays. Who knows, if I could just hit some greens, maybe there would be some birdies thrown in there.
A bonehead shot on Wheel #8 led to a triple bogey, but worse was yet to come. My drive faded a bit right and I was forced to pitch sideways to get back to the fairway. Instead of a 40-yard pitch, I pulled off an 8-yard duff and now I faced a longer shot than necessary over water. On Wheel #9, I pulled my drive sharply into the woods just ahead of the teeing area. After a penalty stroke and drop, I topped a 5-wood into the same trees. I found that ball on a soft lie and tried to pitch back to the fairway, except I struck it so well that it crossed the fairway into the trees on the other side. I had to take an unplayable, but my drop still left me blocked out by trees. With my sixth shot, I was back in the fairway. After a 3-iron and 5-wood combination, I was short and right of the green. I pitched on and 2-putt for a lovely score of 11. Oh my word!
Thankfully, there were no more shenanigans for the rest of the round. I followed up the 53 on the Wheel with a score of 44 on The Grind. On hole #2 through #7, I went birdie, bogey, bogey, bogey, par, and bogey. That's another third of a round played just three over par. It goes to show how fine a line it is between scoring in the low eighties and the high nineties. The problem is, I'm always on the wrong side of that line! I can play six consecutive holes rather well. I can even do that twice in the same round. What I can't do is play 18 holes without a couple disasters that ruin everything.
The Grind is actually my favourite nine at Mill Run, so I was glad to have played well there. Overall, my driving of the ball is quite good. I'm hitting a pretty good number of fairways and when I miss one, it's usually just a slight miss. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my irons. I'm just not hitting greens, even with wedges in my hand. These misses are often slight as well, but my short game is not good enough to make up for them. Sure, I had a few up and downs during this round, but it's usually the exception. I feel like I'm playing well enough to shoot in the mid eighties, but it's not happening. Mistakes come out of the blue, and when they do, scores inflate out of control.
Score: 97
Putts: 32
Fairways: 9
Greens: 2
Penalties: 2
A weak drive on the first hole nevertheless found the safety of the fairway. Next, I pumped a long iron deep, but was a few yards into the right rough – enough to be blocked out of the green by some trees ahead. A perfectly placed pitch shot got me back in the fairway, 100 yards from the green. So far, not too bad, but then I pulled the approach near a creek that runs left of the green. I had an opening, but the ground was so soft that I duffed one a few yards ahead. The new lie was no better and I plunked one in a bunker. My seventh shot barely made it out. This was followed by a chip shot and two putts for a nasty score of 10. Oh my word!
The next six holes were smooth sailing, as I went bogey, par, par, par, bogey, and bogey. That's three over for one third of a round, which ain't bad at all. If I could string together two more of those, the result would be a final score of nine over, or 81. Alas, we all know it doesn't work that way. Eighteen holes is a lot of golf and it's hard to stay out of trouble for very long. The three consecutive pars came thanks to three up and down plays. Who knows, if I could just hit some greens, maybe there would be some birdies thrown in there.
A bonehead shot on Wheel #8 led to a triple bogey, but worse was yet to come. My drive faded a bit right and I was forced to pitch sideways to get back to the fairway. Instead of a 40-yard pitch, I pulled off an 8-yard duff and now I faced a longer shot than necessary over water. On Wheel #9, I pulled my drive sharply into the woods just ahead of the teeing area. After a penalty stroke and drop, I topped a 5-wood into the same trees. I found that ball on a soft lie and tried to pitch back to the fairway, except I struck it so well that it crossed the fairway into the trees on the other side. I had to take an unplayable, but my drop still left me blocked out by trees. With my sixth shot, I was back in the fairway. After a 3-iron and 5-wood combination, I was short and right of the green. I pitched on and 2-putt for a lovely score of 11. Oh my word!
Thankfully, there were no more shenanigans for the rest of the round. I followed up the 53 on the Wheel with a score of 44 on The Grind. On hole #2 through #7, I went birdie, bogey, bogey, bogey, par, and bogey. That's another third of a round played just three over par. It goes to show how fine a line it is between scoring in the low eighties and the high nineties. The problem is, I'm always on the wrong side of that line! I can play six consecutive holes rather well. I can even do that twice in the same round. What I can't do is play 18 holes without a couple disasters that ruin everything.
The Grind is actually my favourite nine at Mill Run, so I was glad to have played well there. Overall, my driving of the ball is quite good. I'm hitting a pretty good number of fairways and when I miss one, it's usually just a slight miss. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my irons. I'm just not hitting greens, even with wedges in my hand. These misses are often slight as well, but my short game is not good enough to make up for them. Sure, I had a few up and downs during this round, but it's usually the exception. I feel like I'm playing well enough to shoot in the mid eighties, but it's not happening. Mistakes come out of the blue, and when they do, scores inflate out of control.
Score: 97
Putts: 32
Fairways: 9
Greens: 2
Penalties: 2
May 13, 2017
Return to Grey Silo
I've played Grey Silo a handful of times, but not since it was taken over by Golf North a number of years ago. The Deepwoods Tour makes a stop at Grey Silo this year, so I pounced on an opportunity to play there and get reacquainted with the layout. Before the round began, I hit a bucket of balls on the range. I worked my way through a variety of clubs, experimenting mostly with club face angle and the effect it had on my shots.
Early in the round, I had the driver working pretty well. Through the first six holes, I hit three of five fairways. One miss was a slight pull, barely off the left side. The other miss was a ball that I topped really badly on hole #3. Luckily, I followed up immediately with an excellent 5-wood and ended up saving bogey. My second shots on holes #4 and #5, a pair of consecutive par-5 holes, were also excellent 5-wood blasts. Both set me up to approach the green from very close. Par and bogey were the result – the latter owing to a pitch shot that was fat and came up short.
The driver began to fail me on hole #7, a 291-yard par-4. I opted for driver in a bid to get as close to the green as possible, but I sliced it well right into a water hazard. An equally poor effort on hole #9 sliced into some marshland. While I saved bogey on hole #7, the best I could salvage on hole #9 was a double. The driver remained suspect for the remainder of the round. It included another topped ball on hole #14 and a water ball on hole #15. One exception was hole #17 – the third and final par-5 on the course. After nailing that fairway, I followed up with another deep 5-wood, leaving a 30-yard pitch to the green. I just missed the birdie putt, settling for par.
My trouble off the tee wasn't only with the driver. On hole #8, a par-3 that was playing a measly 140 yards to the flag, I pushed a 9-iron just enough to find a green side bunker. Okay, splash out and 2-putt at worst, right? Wrong! I have been struggling with bunker shots for years now, usually with an unintended “clean pick.” I didn't want to let that happen, so I tried to hit a little more sand than usual. The first attempt hit the grassy slope beside the bunker and rolled back in. The second attempt did the same. Only the third attempt emerged safely, though nowhere near the hole. A 2-putt finished things off for a triple-bogey. On hole #16, a 160-yard par-3, I pushed a 7-iron enough to land in a pond. After a penalty stroke and another approach shot, I 2-putt for double-bogey.
In summary, my misses off the tee were very costly. It's one thing to miss a fairway, but when you top a ball or lose one in a water hazard, you are either giving up a lot of real estate or directly giving up strokes in the form of penalties. I had five penalties during this round, which is far too many. There were a lot of good moments during this round, but they are not reflected in the final score. Eighteen holes is a lot of golf and I just can't seem to sustain good play over such a long period.
Score: 96
Putts: 34
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
Penalties: 5
Early in the round, I had the driver working pretty well. Through the first six holes, I hit three of five fairways. One miss was a slight pull, barely off the left side. The other miss was a ball that I topped really badly on hole #3. Luckily, I followed up immediately with an excellent 5-wood and ended up saving bogey. My second shots on holes #4 and #5, a pair of consecutive par-5 holes, were also excellent 5-wood blasts. Both set me up to approach the green from very close. Par and bogey were the result – the latter owing to a pitch shot that was fat and came up short.
The driver began to fail me on hole #7, a 291-yard par-4. I opted for driver in a bid to get as close to the green as possible, but I sliced it well right into a water hazard. An equally poor effort on hole #9 sliced into some marshland. While I saved bogey on hole #7, the best I could salvage on hole #9 was a double. The driver remained suspect for the remainder of the round. It included another topped ball on hole #14 and a water ball on hole #15. One exception was hole #17 – the third and final par-5 on the course. After nailing that fairway, I followed up with another deep 5-wood, leaving a 30-yard pitch to the green. I just missed the birdie putt, settling for par.
My trouble off the tee wasn't only with the driver. On hole #8, a par-3 that was playing a measly 140 yards to the flag, I pushed a 9-iron just enough to find a green side bunker. Okay, splash out and 2-putt at worst, right? Wrong! I have been struggling with bunker shots for years now, usually with an unintended “clean pick.” I didn't want to let that happen, so I tried to hit a little more sand than usual. The first attempt hit the grassy slope beside the bunker and rolled back in. The second attempt did the same. Only the third attempt emerged safely, though nowhere near the hole. A 2-putt finished things off for a triple-bogey. On hole #16, a 160-yard par-3, I pushed a 7-iron enough to land in a pond. After a penalty stroke and another approach shot, I 2-putt for double-bogey.
In summary, my misses off the tee were very costly. It's one thing to miss a fairway, but when you top a ball or lose one in a water hazard, you are either giving up a lot of real estate or directly giving up strokes in the form of penalties. I had five penalties during this round, which is far too many. There were a lot of good moments during this round, but they are not reflected in the final score. Eighteen holes is a lot of golf and I just can't seem to sustain good play over such a long period.
Score: 96
Putts: 34
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
Penalties: 5
May 11, 2017
More Normal at Bradford
Rain and cold. We've had a lot of it recently and the forecast is for more of the same, so I ventured out on the only dry day we've had or will have any time soon. I knew the ground would be soft from earlier rainfall, but when you have no other choice, the decision is easy. I booked a tee time at the familiar grounds of Bradford Highlands and off I went.
My driving in the first two rounds of the season was not terrible, but misses were to both sides. I hit more fairways at Bradford (8/14), but more importantly, my misses were almost entirely to the left side. This is actually a good thing. When you miss to both sides, it's because your adjustments are much too dramatic. You end up swinging wildly from one extreme to the other. When you miss consistently to one side, it only takes a very slight tweak to straighten things out. Furthermore, my misses at Bradford were just a few yards off the fairway, leaving unobstructed second shots, albeit from the rough. The one exception was also the only drive that I sliced to the right side. It came on hole #9, a par-5. Left of the fairway on this hole is out of bounds, which may have played a factor. The wind was also blowing strong from left to right.
I focused on one thing with the driver swing. Usually, I get relatively little spine rotation during the backswing. Instead, the arms take over and that's what takes the swing off plane. To adjust, I increased the spine rotation just a little bit, while quieting the arms significantly. The end result was a shorter overall backswing, even though my spine was rotating more than usual. It seemed to work at Bradford, so I'll continue doing this in the rounds to come. The key will be not to fall back into old habits.
My iron play at Bradford still left a lot to be desired, but it was improved over the previous two rounds. I had been pushing everything way right, owing to a club face that was far too open at impact. Early in the round, I continued this pattern. My 5-iron from the tee on hole #2 finished flag high, but was 20 yards right of the green. My 8-iron from the fairway on hole #4 was off by about the same distance. At that point, I resolved to fix the problem just by buckling down and closing that club face. I did so at address, so I didn't have to change anything else about the swing. Lo and behold, I didn't push any more iron shots to the right. I did pull a couple, but ever so slightly, so nothing to be too concerned about.
Though my iron play was better, I still wasn't hitting any greens in regulation. It seems I always found a way to trickle off the putting surface. After nailing the fairway on hole #6, a par-4, I had about 110 yards to the back pin position. The sand wedge approach was on line, but landed two yards behind the stick and trickled off. From the fairway on hole #7, another par-4, I pulled a lob wedge left of the flag. The ball landed on the green, but had enough side spin to veer into the left side bunker upon release. It was more of the same on the back nine. I thinned an approach shot on hole #14, causing the ball to release to the back fringe of the green. On hole #15, a short par-4, another wedge approach trickled off the back of the green, tantalizingly close to the back pin position. At least that time, I got up and down for par.
It was mostly a day full of bogeys, with a couple of pars offset by a couple of double-bogeys. I took a triple on the opening hole, as I was rushing on the tee after a twosome suggested I play ahead of them. I hate when that happens! I topped the drive attempt, but followed up with a nice 5-wood. From the soggy fairway, my wedge shot came up short in a pond. This was more a result of the situation than with my ability, so I didn't feel too bad. Overall, this felt like a reasonably good or “normal” round for me, so I'm encouraged that I'm back in the swing of things after the lengthy winter layoff.
Score: 94
Putts: 36
Fairways: 8
Greens: 1
Penalties: 2
My driving in the first two rounds of the season was not terrible, but misses were to both sides. I hit more fairways at Bradford (8/14), but more importantly, my misses were almost entirely to the left side. This is actually a good thing. When you miss to both sides, it's because your adjustments are much too dramatic. You end up swinging wildly from one extreme to the other. When you miss consistently to one side, it only takes a very slight tweak to straighten things out. Furthermore, my misses at Bradford were just a few yards off the fairway, leaving unobstructed second shots, albeit from the rough. The one exception was also the only drive that I sliced to the right side. It came on hole #9, a par-5. Left of the fairway on this hole is out of bounds, which may have played a factor. The wind was also blowing strong from left to right.
I focused on one thing with the driver swing. Usually, I get relatively little spine rotation during the backswing. Instead, the arms take over and that's what takes the swing off plane. To adjust, I increased the spine rotation just a little bit, while quieting the arms significantly. The end result was a shorter overall backswing, even though my spine was rotating more than usual. It seemed to work at Bradford, so I'll continue doing this in the rounds to come. The key will be not to fall back into old habits.
My iron play at Bradford still left a lot to be desired, but it was improved over the previous two rounds. I had been pushing everything way right, owing to a club face that was far too open at impact. Early in the round, I continued this pattern. My 5-iron from the tee on hole #2 finished flag high, but was 20 yards right of the green. My 8-iron from the fairway on hole #4 was off by about the same distance. At that point, I resolved to fix the problem just by buckling down and closing that club face. I did so at address, so I didn't have to change anything else about the swing. Lo and behold, I didn't push any more iron shots to the right. I did pull a couple, but ever so slightly, so nothing to be too concerned about.
Though my iron play was better, I still wasn't hitting any greens in regulation. It seems I always found a way to trickle off the putting surface. After nailing the fairway on hole #6, a par-4, I had about 110 yards to the back pin position. The sand wedge approach was on line, but landed two yards behind the stick and trickled off. From the fairway on hole #7, another par-4, I pulled a lob wedge left of the flag. The ball landed on the green, but had enough side spin to veer into the left side bunker upon release. It was more of the same on the back nine. I thinned an approach shot on hole #14, causing the ball to release to the back fringe of the green. On hole #15, a short par-4, another wedge approach trickled off the back of the green, tantalizingly close to the back pin position. At least that time, I got up and down for par.
It was mostly a day full of bogeys, with a couple of pars offset by a couple of double-bogeys. I took a triple on the opening hole, as I was rushing on the tee after a twosome suggested I play ahead of them. I hate when that happens! I topped the drive attempt, but followed up with a nice 5-wood. From the soggy fairway, my wedge shot came up short in a pond. This was more a result of the situation than with my ability, so I didn't feel too bad. Overall, this felt like a reasonably good or “normal” round for me, so I'm encouraged that I'm back in the swing of things after the lengthy winter layoff.
Score: 94
Putts: 36
Fairways: 8
Greens: 1
Penalties: 2
May 02, 2017
Fore Right at Shawneeki
Oh man, the winter rust is severe indeed! I played my second round of the season at Shawneeki Golf Club and the results were not pretty. My short game was brutal, as it was during the first round of the year. Unfortunately, my iron play was worse, and this was reflected in my overall score. Most of my misses were to the right side. For some reason, I was keeping the club face way open at impact, resulting in severely pushed shots. Even when I reminded myself to close the face up, I could not execute. It was as if I was protecting against a hook on every single shot. These misses were not even close and left me in some bad positions.
On the front nine, I hit only two fairways with my drives. Both of those were on par-5 holes. On hole #2, the drive was wasted when my second shot with a 7-iron was one of those big pushes to the right. I actually recovered to hit the green in regulation with my third, using a pitching wedge. After a 2-putt, I made par. On hole #8, I wasn't so lucky. With an uneven stance in the fairway, I topped my second shot badly. Trying again, I hit the big push way to the right. The green was reachable with my fourth shot, but my 9-iron started well right of my intended line once again. The ball found a water hazard and my fate was sealed. I finished with a triple-bogey.
All other shots on the front nine with the driver were straight pulls. I seem to pull my first shot on this course every single time. From amidst the trees, all you can do from that position is pitch one back to the fairway. Though I hit a good 8-iron next to just off the green, a chip and two putts earned a mere double-bogey. I pulled a tee shot with the driver on hole #5 as well. The ball smacked some trees just ahead of the teeing ground and dropped straight down. From there, all I could do was pitch the ball to the forward teeing area. I had essentially handed over two strokes en route to a triple bogey. It was a similar story on hole #6. A pulled drive to the trees was followed by a sideways pitch back to the fairway. I was handing over strokes with alarming regularity.
When I left the driver in the bag, an iron usually got pushed well to the right. It happened with a 4-iron off the tee on hole 4. Chalk up another sideways pitch back to the fairway. I did manage to save bogey that time. It happened with a pitching wedge on hole #7, a 131-yard par-3. Remarkably, I got up and down that time for par. Finally, it happened with the 4-iron again on hole #9, a 182-yard par-3 over water. This time, there was no recovery. The ball was lost in the water hazard and I was forced to take a penalty. I made a couple of decent shots just to scrape out a double-bogey.
I had hopes of turning it around on the back nine, but a triple, quad, triple start on holes #10 through #12 dashed those hopes pretty quickly. I hit a worm burner off the tee on the first of these, then topped the subsequent attempt. When a 6-iron flew well in the direction of the green, it landed in a front bunker. It took two shots to get out, as the first try was picked much too clean and rammed into the lip of the bunker. I overshot the green on the next hole, as I tried again to emerge from a greenside bunker. The worst part is that my next shot – a bump into a mound – was too hot and rolled straight across into the same bunker I was in a moment earlier. On the next hole, a giant push off the tee with the 4-iron left me little hope of a good result.
And so the stage was set for my best shot of the day. Hole #13 is a 354-yard par-4 with a 90 degree dogleg to the left. The entire right side is out of bounds and a fairly large pond lies practically in the middle of the fairway. In every other visit to Shawneeki, I aimed for the patch of fairway lying between the water on the left and OB on the right. It's a shot fraught with peril, but what other choice is there? Surprisingly, I've had pretty good success finding that bit of fairway. From that position, you have about a 150-yard shot remaining over the edge of the pond to a severely elevated green. Since the day had been going so poorly, I decided to try something new. I aimed at the centre of the pond and resolved to see if I could carry it entirely. Not fearing any result, I swung at will. The result was a 275-yard laser that easily cleared the pond and released to the right side of the fairway. I had just a 50-yard pitch shot to the green up above. Wow, I have been playing this hole incorrectly all along! I did find the green with my wedge, but happened to 3-putt for a bogey.
I made par on hole #14, a lovely par-3, thanks to a solid 8-iron off the tee. It was one of the few that didn't start out to the right. Good thing too, since anything out in that direction would surely find the creek that protects this green complex. After a perfect drive on hole #17, I topped a 6-iron, plunking the ball into a pond that bisects the fairway. It was one mistake, but it cost me two strokes en route to a double-bogey. Another perfect drive was deep and straight on hole #16, leaving just 210 yards for my second shot into this par-5. The green is a little bit elevated, so I went for it with a 5-wood. Unfortunately, my stance was again not level and I topped the shot badly. When I finally reached the green area, I was in a bunker. I got out safely only because the green is huge. A 3-putt from distance produced another double-bogey.
That's the kind of day it was. I made par on hole #17, but finished with a triple-bogey on hole #18. My drive was perfect, except for the fact that it was too long and through the end of the fairway. The ball must have ricocheted off a tree, because I found it well right of where it landed. The last hole at Shawneeki is a bit of an awkward one. You have to lay back on the tee shot and play a longer second shot over water. I had branches impeding my backswing and later plunked one off a fluffy lie into the water. Very little went right on this occasion.
Hopefully, this is just winter rust. Either way, I don't like 100+ rounds at all!
Score: 105
Putts: 33
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
Penalties: 4
On the front nine, I hit only two fairways with my drives. Both of those were on par-5 holes. On hole #2, the drive was wasted when my second shot with a 7-iron was one of those big pushes to the right. I actually recovered to hit the green in regulation with my third, using a pitching wedge. After a 2-putt, I made par. On hole #8, I wasn't so lucky. With an uneven stance in the fairway, I topped my second shot badly. Trying again, I hit the big push way to the right. The green was reachable with my fourth shot, but my 9-iron started well right of my intended line once again. The ball found a water hazard and my fate was sealed. I finished with a triple-bogey.
All other shots on the front nine with the driver were straight pulls. I seem to pull my first shot on this course every single time. From amidst the trees, all you can do from that position is pitch one back to the fairway. Though I hit a good 8-iron next to just off the green, a chip and two putts earned a mere double-bogey. I pulled a tee shot with the driver on hole #5 as well. The ball smacked some trees just ahead of the teeing ground and dropped straight down. From there, all I could do was pitch the ball to the forward teeing area. I had essentially handed over two strokes en route to a triple bogey. It was a similar story on hole #6. A pulled drive to the trees was followed by a sideways pitch back to the fairway. I was handing over strokes with alarming regularity.
When I left the driver in the bag, an iron usually got pushed well to the right. It happened with a 4-iron off the tee on hole 4. Chalk up another sideways pitch back to the fairway. I did manage to save bogey that time. It happened with a pitching wedge on hole #7, a 131-yard par-3. Remarkably, I got up and down that time for par. Finally, it happened with the 4-iron again on hole #9, a 182-yard par-3 over water. This time, there was no recovery. The ball was lost in the water hazard and I was forced to take a penalty. I made a couple of decent shots just to scrape out a double-bogey.
I had hopes of turning it around on the back nine, but a triple, quad, triple start on holes #10 through #12 dashed those hopes pretty quickly. I hit a worm burner off the tee on the first of these, then topped the subsequent attempt. When a 6-iron flew well in the direction of the green, it landed in a front bunker. It took two shots to get out, as the first try was picked much too clean and rammed into the lip of the bunker. I overshot the green on the next hole, as I tried again to emerge from a greenside bunker. The worst part is that my next shot – a bump into a mound – was too hot and rolled straight across into the same bunker I was in a moment earlier. On the next hole, a giant push off the tee with the 4-iron left me little hope of a good result.
And so the stage was set for my best shot of the day. Hole #13 is a 354-yard par-4 with a 90 degree dogleg to the left. The entire right side is out of bounds and a fairly large pond lies practically in the middle of the fairway. In every other visit to Shawneeki, I aimed for the patch of fairway lying between the water on the left and OB on the right. It's a shot fraught with peril, but what other choice is there? Surprisingly, I've had pretty good success finding that bit of fairway. From that position, you have about a 150-yard shot remaining over the edge of the pond to a severely elevated green. Since the day had been going so poorly, I decided to try something new. I aimed at the centre of the pond and resolved to see if I could carry it entirely. Not fearing any result, I swung at will. The result was a 275-yard laser that easily cleared the pond and released to the right side of the fairway. I had just a 50-yard pitch shot to the green up above. Wow, I have been playing this hole incorrectly all along! I did find the green with my wedge, but happened to 3-putt for a bogey.
I made par on hole #14, a lovely par-3, thanks to a solid 8-iron off the tee. It was one of the few that didn't start out to the right. Good thing too, since anything out in that direction would surely find the creek that protects this green complex. After a perfect drive on hole #17, I topped a 6-iron, plunking the ball into a pond that bisects the fairway. It was one mistake, but it cost me two strokes en route to a double-bogey. Another perfect drive was deep and straight on hole #16, leaving just 210 yards for my second shot into this par-5. The green is a little bit elevated, so I went for it with a 5-wood. Unfortunately, my stance was again not level and I topped the shot badly. When I finally reached the green area, I was in a bunker. I got out safely only because the green is huge. A 3-putt from distance produced another double-bogey.
That's the kind of day it was. I made par on hole #17, but finished with a triple-bogey on hole #18. My drive was perfect, except for the fact that it was too long and through the end of the fairway. The ball must have ricocheted off a tree, because I found it well right of where it landed. The last hole at Shawneeki is a bit of an awkward one. You have to lay back on the tee shot and play a longer second shot over water. I had branches impeding my backswing and later plunked one off a fluffy lie into the water. Very little went right on this occasion.
Hopefully, this is just winter rust. Either way, I don't like 100+ rounds at all!
Score: 105
Putts: 33
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
Penalties: 4
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