I got off to a good start at the Oaks of St. George, making bogey on the difficult first hole. There's a large tree in front of the green, which makes it extremely hard to reach the putting surface in regulation. My approach found a front bunker, but I splashed out nicely and then 2-putt. After another bogey on hole 2, I struggled a bit, earning three consecutive double-bogeys. A pitch from left of the green on a par-3 was sculled into a bunker on the right. I duffed a couple of downhill chips to a green that was falling away. It's a shame, because I hit three good shots to start this par-5 and was very near the pin. A hooked iron on another par-3 put me in a tough spot.
The remainder of the front nine went a little more smoothly, with three consecutive bogeys, followed by a par. I hit three out of three fairways during this stretch, which was nice. I abandoned the tentative driver swing that was giving me some problems recently. I still focused on a smooth transition at the top of the backswing, but tried to accelerate evenly to produce better club head speed at the point of contact. At the same time, I stepped back a little with the right foot, producing a bit of a closed stance. This is a way to compensate for my tendency to swing over the top a bit. The par on hole 9 could have been birdie, as I hit a nice approach just below the hole.
Hole 10 is the hardest on the course, in my opinion, though it's rated #2. The tee shot from an elevated tee must cross a creek and find a narrow fairway, with thick trees on both sides. There really is no good place to lay up, either. I made a good attempt, but just found the trees on the left side. It was no surprise I went on to make triple-bogey. That's okay, as I went on to play my best stretch of the round. Holes 11 through 15 resulted in three pars and a pair of bogeys. I hit three of four fairways, so my play off the tee was still strong.
Driver, 3-wood left me 20 yards short of the green on hole 11, which is a par-5. A sculled pitch left me well above the hole, but I 2-putt nicely for the par. Hole 12 is a sharp dogleg left with a tough tee shot. My drive drifted right into some bushes. Despite taking a penalty, I managed to save bogey. After that it was back-to-back pars, in textbook fashion. I hit the green in regulation on hole 13, a par-3, then made a nice 2-putt from distance. I also hit the green in regulation on hole 14, a par-4. This time, I had a birdie chance, but just missed.
The last three holes of the round were a bit of a letdown, with a bogey and two doubles. A 3-putt led to one of the doubles on hole 16, a par-4. My third shot was a nice out from a bunker, so that was kind of wasted. Another 3-putt cost me par on hole 17, a short par-3. The final hole of the day resulted in double-bogey, all because my drive drifted right into some trees. After taking a penalty and drop on this par-5, I tried to reach the green through some trees with a 5-wood. The lie was lush and the ball squirted right, finding the trees once again. After another penalty, I was able to drop in a better spot. This time, my 5-wood reached the elevated green. I finished up with a 2-putt.
Score: 93
Putts: 39
Fairways: 8
Greens: 6
Penalties: 4
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