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
No comments:
Post a Comment