I've been playing fairly regularly, but have fallen behind when it comes to my blog updates. Here's a quick summary of my latest rounds, beginning with the most recent.
Whirlpool
An amazing start had me even par through the first four holes. Driver, wedge on the opening par-4 got me flag high, just off the green. A chip and a putt earned par. Driver, wedge combined to reach the green on hole #2, and I drained a 10-foot putt for birdie! I hit a terrible 4-iron off the tee on hole #3, but my miss was to the correct side. I pitched onto this par-3 green and 2-putt for bogey. Hole #4 is a par-5. My third shot found a green side bunker. There was no lip on this bunker, so I putted my way onto the green and then drained an 8-footer for par!
Disaster struck on hole #5, beginning with a wicked pulled drive off the tee. Nearer the green I played my patented clean pick out of a bunker. Unfortunately, I could not putt that one. LOL. I finished the hole with a triple-bogey. Over the next four holes, I settled into more typical play, making three bogeys and a double. There was nothing great, but also nothing disastrous. My score at the turn was a respectable 44. I certainly had a chance to break 90.
Unfortunately, the disaster holes were too frequent over the back nine to be able to break 90. The problem holes were #10, #13 and #16. On the first of these, I duffed my drive just a few yards ahead of the teeing ground. This is a very long par-4, so the start could not have been worse. On hole #13, I sculled a few pitch attempts near the green, while on #16, it was another duffed drive that put me in a bad place right off the bat. In fact, I hit a few smothered drives that were really disappointing. I have no clue what led to that.
There were some good holes on the back nine, including pars on holes #15, #17 and #18. The first of these was the kind of hole where not one shot was executed the way I intended, but I still got the job done. Hole #17 was a 193-yard par-3 that began with a lovely 4-iron. I was unlucky to release off the back of the green, but chipped one really close for a tap-in par. Hole #18 is a par-5 that I played in textbook fashion. Three shots got me to the green and I 2-putt for the par.
Score: 95
Putts: 35
Fairways: 2
Greens: 2
Penalties: 1
Bradford Highlands
Right off the bat, a few groups let me play through them as a single, and as a result, I was rushing. I went double bogey, bogey, triple, double bogey over the first four holes. The triple came after I put one tee shot out of bounds and another into a hazard on the opposite side of the fairway. I hooked a couple of iron shots, one of which found another hazard and resulted in another penalty stroke.
Once I was clear of the groups behind and settled in, I rattled off a fantastic stretch of golf. On hole #5, a par-5, I hit driver, 5-wood to about 30 yards short of the green. I pitched on and drained a long putt for birdie! I took a penalty stroke on hole #6 when my approach shot went long, but I recovered with a great up and down for bogey. Hole #7, a short par-4 was the best. I split the fairway with driver, leaving a 75-yard approach to the sloped green. I hit lob wedge to less than 2 feet and tapped in for another birdie. A twosome ahead of me saw my drive and approach. When I walked up to the green, they asked, “Are you a player?” LOL. “Not really,” I replied, “I just got lucky.”
One of those guys turned out to be the head pro at the club. I played hole #8 with him and his fellow competitor. This is a 160-yard par-3 from an elevated tee. The green slopes severely from back to front and the flag was right near the back. Both of the other guys hit the green, finishing below the hole, but well away from the cup. I hit a lovely cut shot that finished flag high on the green, but well to the left. I had the trickiest putt of the group, but I 2-putt from there for a well earned par. The twosome doubled back to play hole #8 again while I carried on to #9. A spectacular drive was so deep that it dove into a narrow ditch that crosses the fairway. It was a great chance to reach the green of this par-5 in two and maybe collect birdie, but after a penalty stroke, par was all I could muster. I was shooting 43 at the turn.
I was on pace to break 90 easily, but a pulled drive on hole #10 bounced along the firm ground all the way into a hazard. After a penalty stroke and drop, I clipped a tree just ahead and lost that ball. When all was said and done, I had a quadruple-bogey. I followed up with two pars in a row. It was almost three in a row, but I rushed some putts as another group was allowing me to play through. I made mostly bogeys over the rest of the round. One unfortunate exception was a triple-bogey on hole #17, a long par-4. A poor drive put me in a bad spot and a poor 5-wood made it even worse. A couple disaster holes cost me dearly and I finished just over the 90 mark. Pretty remarkable, considering I had 9 penalty strokes!
Score: 91
Putts: 29
Fairways: 4
Greens: 7
Penalties: 9
Kedron Dells
I started out with a couple of weak hits on the opening par-5, but drilled a massive 5-wood over a tall tree to reach the front of the green from 250 yards. Bogey was all I could manage, but I followed up with a chip-in birdie on hole #2. I was playing really well, including back-to-back pars on holes #5 and #6. The former is a 195-yard par-3, with trouble in front, so I did extremely well. Through six holes, I was just 3 over par. I cooled off to finish the front nine with a score of 44.
The two fellows I was playing with quit after nine holes, so I started the back nine alone. I hit a couple great shots on hole #10, but just missed an up and down for par. By hole #11, I caught up to the group ahead, but they didn't let me join or play through just yet. There was a long wait on tee #11 and I think I lost some of my concentration. Instead of focusing on my shots, I was wondering what the group ahead would do.
I took double bogey on that hole and even worse, a triple bogey on the next. The group ahead had me join up on hole #13 and the result was another double. One of the guys in the group was very loud – one of them good ol' boys out having a good ol' time on the golf course. I can play with almost anyone, but some personalities just don't mesh that well with mine. This was one of those cases and it affected my game. I collected a trio of bogeys over the final stretch, but also notched a double-bogey and a triple. It's too bad, because this round started out with much promise.
Score: 95
Putts: 32
Fairways: 2
Greens: 2
Penalties: 4
Grey Silo
This was Round 4 of the Deepwoods season. It was also my first return visit to a course this year. I started par, par, bogey and was well on my way to capturing the points needed to get back into contention for the Deepwoods championship. On hole #4, a par-5, I pulled two balls into the water off the tee. Hitting my fifth from the tee, I ended up with a quadruple-bogey 9. I recovered well over the remainder of the front nine, making the turn with a score of 46 and 18 valuable points.
A double-bogey, bogey start to the back nine was not ideal, but I was in a good frame of mind and carried on, knowing there was still lots of golf to play. I rattled off three bogeys and was on track for about 34 or 35 points, which is still very good. Unfortunately, I imploded over the last four holes. I managed par on hole #16, a 159-yard par-3, but also collected two triple-bogeys and a quad!
I started sweeping across the ball and making contact with the heel of the club, which put me in bad positions to start the holes. On hole #18, when I hit a perfectly placed drive, I proceeded to hit a pitching wedge into a lateral hazard. I finished with 29 points, which is a shame because I had a really good attitude throughout the whole round. Mathematically, I'm still alive in the Deepwoods championship, but in practical terms, I'll be a spectator for the last round of the year.
Score: 97
Putts: 36
Fairways: 8
Greens: 3
Penalties: 6
No comments:
Post a Comment