Barring some unusual circumstances, I've likely played my last round of the year. It was at Twenty Valley, where I also played my first round of 2017. The rounds fell just before and just after the official golf season in Ontario, so neither had any effect on my handicap factor. There's something fitting about having the official season bookended by these two rounds – the symmetry is perfect.
It wasn't as warm as called for in the forecast a few days earlier, but it was warm enough to be comfortable and there was no significant wind. It rained steadily for a couple days before the round, so the course was a little soft. I teed off as a single, catching up to a foursome on the tee at hole #13. They let me through immediately, as did another foursome just ahead of them. All of this made for a quick round.
I started poorly, miss hitting my second shot on the opening par-5. This got me into some wet areas off the fairway and I only reached the green in 5. The subsequent 3-putt and triple-bogey was like a knife in the back. It didn't last long, as I followed up with two bogeys and a par on hole #4. The tee shot is a forced carry over a wide river to a steep hill on the other side. I managed it well, but my approach to the green from 90 yards came up two yards short. My chip went well past the hole, but I drained a long putt. Nice!
The wet ground and poor putting got me on hole #5, leading to double-bogey. My drive was fine, but my approach from 130 yards only travelled 80. After pitching to the front of the green, I 3-putt. The bad karma carried over the next two holes, as I registered a triple and quadruple-bogey. Hole #6 features a forced carry over the river from an elevated tee. I made poor contact and dunked one in the water. Just off the green in 3, I made a terrible chip and another 3-putt. It was horrible. Hole #7 is a par-3 over water and I put two balls off the tee into the wet stuff. When I finally got the ball airborne, it finished 15 feet from the hole. Still, I needed 2 putts to finish.
Luckily, I made the turn with some momentum on my side. I made par on hole #8 with a great drive and another long putt. I judged the cool temperature and elevation change on hole #9 almost perfectly, with my tee shot finishing just off the back of the green on this par-3. I couldn't get up and down from there, but bogey had me starting the back nine with a score of 50 even.
I had three pars on the back nine, including one on hole #10, a 493-yard par-5. It was a textbook hole from start to finish. Though I just missed the fairway on the left, my second shot was good and my third found the putting surface. A nice lag and tap-in closed the deal. The other pars were on holes #14, which is another par-5, and on hole #16, a 200-yard par-3. My birdie attempt from the fringe on #14 almost went in, finishing with part of the ball hanging over the edge of the hole. On #16, I missed the green off the tee, but a great pitch from a hillside left me close and I drained a 5-footer.
To go along with the three pars on the back nine there were four bogeys and a couple of doubles. The bogeys were fairly typical. Between driving the ball and making approach shots, I often miss slightly, requiring one extra shot to find the putting surface. When this is followed by a standard 2-putt, bogey is the result. One of the doubles resulted from a 3-putt, while the other was caused largely by a duffed second shot.
I shot 45 on the back nine, which is pretty good, and finished with a score of 95 overall.
Score: 95
Putts: 36
Fairways: 6
Greens: 2
Penalties: 3
November 16, 2017
November 02, 2017
Closing at Calerin
Judging by the forecast for the next couple of weeks, this may have been my last round of the year. I'll pounce on any warm weather that materializes, but right now, it doesn't look good. The round at Calerin began at 11:30 am and it took an hour or so for the temperature to creep into the comfortable range. I had not played in over a week and was a bit rusty. Despite terrible tee shots on the first two holes, I recovered well for a pair of bogeys. On the first hole, I push sliced a drive into the opposite fairway. On the second, I came up short of the par-3 with a sand wedge.
I nailed the fairway on hole #3 with an excellent drive, but exploded for a triple-bogey with a series of missed shots. I duffed two in a row, before pitching to the back edge of the green. My lengthy lag attempt was well short, setting up two more putts to finish up. It got worse on hole #4, beginning with a pulled drive that went out of bounds. After hitting my third from the tee, I recovered momentarily, only to lose another ball short and left of the green. I finished the par-5 with an ugly score of 9.
The rest of the front nine was trouble free, as I recorded five bogeys in a row. I only hit one of those fairways and one of those greens in regulation, but you don't really need those to put together a string of bogeys. When I missed a fairway, it was just by a couple of yards – same thing for the greens. A chip and a couple of putts was the typical finish. It goes to show the importance of avoiding big misses with your full shots. If you can do that for an entire round, breaking 90 is very likely. You'll hit two or three greens and those will be your chances for par.
The back nine was just as consistent as the latter half of the front. I began with a birdie on hole #10, a 472-yard par-5. I split the fairway with my drive, followed by a 5-wood that finished in a bunker, 70 yards short of the green. My lob wedge was a thing of beauty, as the ball hit just beyond the flag and spun back to just in front, leaving an uphill putt of about 6 feet that I drained.
I made double-bogey on hole #11, a par-3, as I once again missed the green. I was in a large waste bunker right of the flag, about 30 yards. Despite making a great shot, my ball rolled off the opposite side of the green. It took a chip and two putts to finish. I recovered well, however, earning bogey and par on the next two holes. Calerin is a 9-hole course that you play twice from two sets of tees, and these were the two holes I blew up on the first time around. As usual, my blowups have much more to do with bad execution than they do with the design of a hole.
Hole #14 is a 142-yard par-3 that produced a double-bogey. My 8-iron off the tee came out low and rammed into the face of a bunker protecting the front of the green. I got out to the rough with a single shot, then made a delicate chip and two putts. I was close enough to finish with just one putt, but I burned the edge with a bad miss. In the last two rounds, I've noticed something wrong with my putter. It appears to have been bent out of shape. When I hold it as I always have, it looks like it has more loft than it did before. To get the face to look normal, I have to use a bit of a forward press. I think this putter is finished. I may have to get a new one for next year.
I finished the round going bogey, par, bogey, bogey. My last three drives were terrible, but in each case, I recovered well. An up and down from 30 yards did the trick on hole #16. A fantastic 5-wood was key on hole #17. I just missed another up and down from just off the green for par. Finally, it was an up and down from about 15 yards that saved bogey on the last hole of the day. 43 on the back nine was pretty good and 93 overall – well, that's pretty typical. Still, I'll take it.
Score: 93
Putts: 34
Fairways: 4
Greens: 3
Penalties: 2
I nailed the fairway on hole #3 with an excellent drive, but exploded for a triple-bogey with a series of missed shots. I duffed two in a row, before pitching to the back edge of the green. My lengthy lag attempt was well short, setting up two more putts to finish up. It got worse on hole #4, beginning with a pulled drive that went out of bounds. After hitting my third from the tee, I recovered momentarily, only to lose another ball short and left of the green. I finished the par-5 with an ugly score of 9.
The rest of the front nine was trouble free, as I recorded five bogeys in a row. I only hit one of those fairways and one of those greens in regulation, but you don't really need those to put together a string of bogeys. When I missed a fairway, it was just by a couple of yards – same thing for the greens. A chip and a couple of putts was the typical finish. It goes to show the importance of avoiding big misses with your full shots. If you can do that for an entire round, breaking 90 is very likely. You'll hit two or three greens and those will be your chances for par.
The back nine was just as consistent as the latter half of the front. I began with a birdie on hole #10, a 472-yard par-5. I split the fairway with my drive, followed by a 5-wood that finished in a bunker, 70 yards short of the green. My lob wedge was a thing of beauty, as the ball hit just beyond the flag and spun back to just in front, leaving an uphill putt of about 6 feet that I drained.
I made double-bogey on hole #11, a par-3, as I once again missed the green. I was in a large waste bunker right of the flag, about 30 yards. Despite making a great shot, my ball rolled off the opposite side of the green. It took a chip and two putts to finish. I recovered well, however, earning bogey and par on the next two holes. Calerin is a 9-hole course that you play twice from two sets of tees, and these were the two holes I blew up on the first time around. As usual, my blowups have much more to do with bad execution than they do with the design of a hole.
Hole #14 is a 142-yard par-3 that produced a double-bogey. My 8-iron off the tee came out low and rammed into the face of a bunker protecting the front of the green. I got out to the rough with a single shot, then made a delicate chip and two putts. I was close enough to finish with just one putt, but I burned the edge with a bad miss. In the last two rounds, I've noticed something wrong with my putter. It appears to have been bent out of shape. When I hold it as I always have, it looks like it has more loft than it did before. To get the face to look normal, I have to use a bit of a forward press. I think this putter is finished. I may have to get a new one for next year.
I finished the round going bogey, par, bogey, bogey. My last three drives were terrible, but in each case, I recovered well. An up and down from 30 yards did the trick on hole #16. A fantastic 5-wood was key on hole #17. I just missed another up and down from just off the green for par. Finally, it was an up and down from about 15 yards that saved bogey on the last hole of the day. 43 on the back nine was pretty good and 93 overall – well, that's pretty typical. Still, I'll take it.
Score: 93
Putts: 34
Fairways: 4
Greens: 3
Penalties: 2
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