I got out for a round on what might have been the last good weather day of the year. There was no rain or wind, and the temperature reached 17 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, course conditions were terrible. The ground at Willodell Golf Club was saturated with water, making it difficult to walk around. The fairways were manageable, but the rough was full of puddles and your feet sank into the ground with every step. Worse yet, the course was covered in fallen leaves. If you hit a ball into the rough, chances are it was either plugged of hidden by leaves.
Under those conditions, it was not possible to play a real round, with accurate scoring. If I did, I would have to add about a dozen penalty strokes for balls lost in open areas. Trudging through the muck looking for balls in a pile of leaves is not my idea of fun. I spent a minute or two searching whenever I was in that position, and then just dropped another ball in the general area where I thought my ball should be. Since I knew this was not going to be a legit score, I started hitting some shots that I normally wouldn't, just for fun.
Fourteen of the holes played out more or less like they would under normal conditions. I was 15 over par for those holes, including a par and two double-bogeys. Everything else in that stretch was a bogey. I hit a couple of fairways early, and followed one of those up with a lovely 3-wood on a par-5, that left me just 50 yards from the flag. The 3-wood has all but disappeared from my game in recent years. On the few occasions when I need less than driver and more than an iron, I opt for the 5-wood. In par-5 situations, I usually hit a controlled iron for my second shot, setting up a wedge approach with my third.
Speaking of irons, they let me down a few times. After some good drives, I topped a couple of irons, thereby wasting some opportunities. Other times, I made good contact with the irons, but lacked a bit of direction. I hit what looked like a beautiful 8-iron on hole 3, a par-3, only to watch the ball bounce and roll backward into a front right bunker. Come to think of it, the same thing happened on hole 12, another par-3, with a good looking 9-iron. Both of these holes were blowups, as I was unable to get out of the bunkers safely. I have enough trouble with good sand on a dry day. Hitting out of the muddy sand was impossible for me.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention some good iron shots as well. Keeping on the par-3 theme, I hit a gorgeous 7-iron into the wind on hole 16. The flag was in the back right portion of the green. I aimed left of the flag, finishing precisely on my chosen line, but just behind the green. I then chipped and 2-putt for bogey. On hole 17, a par-4, I popped up a drive that sliced well right of the fairway. I was 160 yards from the putting surface, but completely blocked out by a creek and a strand of very tall trees lining its bank near the elevated green. For fun, I decided to go for it. I hit an absolute towering 7-iron. It had to be high to get over the trees. The ball dropped safely on the green, finishing behind and to the right of the cup by about 15 feet. It was a brilliant shot. I 3-putt the hole for bogey, but whatever. Between the moisture and varying amounts of top dressing, the green speeds were very inconsistent.
I already mentioned a couple of blowup holes – the par-3 designs where I got into the muddy bunkers. The other two came on par-4 designs and both produced triple-bogeys. In both cases, I was frustrated by drives into the rough that should have been found, but were either plugged or under the leaves. I tried recovery shots that I normally wouldn't, as on hole 17, but on these occasions I just didn't pull them off. For example, one was a low punch through a series of tree trunks in the direction of the green. Normally, I would just play a safer shot back to the fairway and then take my chances from there. Another contributor to the blowup holes were lob wedge shots from the rough that came up short because the lies were so muddy.
This score is just an approximation. It won't count toward my handicap index.
Score: 101
Putts: 37
Fairways: 5
Greens: 2
Penalties: 3
November 02, 2019
October 27, 2019
Windy Round at BraeBen
It was a windy day for golf, no matter where you were in the Greater Toronto Area. I was at BraeBen, which is completely exposed to the wind, owing to its elevated position overlooking the homes and businesses of Mississauga. I expected the conditions to be challenging and was ready.
The first four holes were very good. Driver, 5-wood carried me just short and right of the green on the opening par-5. I pitched on and 2-putt for the par. It was no easy feat either, as the wind blew my ball to the fringe after my pitch shot hit the green. I hit the green in regulation on hole 2, a par-3, but my lengthy lag was a bit short. I just missed an 8-footer for par, settling for a 3-putt bogey.
Hole 3 is a par-4 that was playing straight into the wind. I hit a great drive that just trickled into the right rough. My approach was short, forcing a pitch and two putts to complete the bogey. Hole 4 is a par-3 that was also into the teeth of the wind. I judged it well this time, finishing about 12 feet past the hole. The wind was so strong that I had to factor it into my birdie putt. Sadly, I missed, but par was acceptable.
Hole 5, a par-4, was a disaster. With the wind now coming across from the left, I hit a shot that I never hit. It was a very high pull hook with the driver. When I pull my drives, they're low. This must be related to the recent driver adjustments I made, because this never, ever happened before. Hitting my third from the tee, I hit almost the same shot, but a little less severe, and I saw where the ball came to rest in the cut down fescue. I duffed my fourth shot because of a very poor lie. With a slightly better lie, I managed to hit my fifth to just in front of the green. From there, I pitched on and 2-putt for a quadruple-bogey.
I regrouped quickly, making par on hole 6, a par-5. Much like on hole 1, this time the driver, 4-iron combination got me to just in front of the green. I pitched toward the back hole location, setting up a decent birdie try. It missed, but tap-in par is always good.
Holes 7 and 8 gave me some trouble, resulting in a pair of double-bogeys. Hole 7 is a par 3 from a ridiculously elevated tee, to a green fronted by a pond, with woods in behind. Choosing the correct club is difficult on a good day, and near impossible on this day, when the wind was howling straight into our faces. I think I made a good choice of club, but I hooked it well left of the green, leading to a penalty stroke. On hole 8, a par-5, the problem was my third shot – a lob wedge that found a front right bunker. I emerged from the bunker with one shot, but was still not on the green. It was only with my fifth shot that I found the putting surface.
The middle of the round was marked by two moments of brilliance. On hole 9, I hit my drive over the bunker marking the inside of this dogleg par-4. The ball crossed the fairway, settling in the right rough, 90 yards from the green. My lob approach was straight, but short, finishing 30 feet from the hole. I lined up the putt and hit it firmly. As I walked behind the ball, I watched it bend slightly right and drop in the centre of the hole for birdie!
Hole 10 is a medium length par-3 with a contoured green and a deep front bunker. As I shifted my weight on the tee shot, I felt something with my left foot, causing me to completely duff the shot. It was a tee that someone had left in the ground. I hate that! I was now 75 yards away from the green on a ridiculous down slope. I aligned myself with the slope and hit my most lofted club. The ball took its first bounce on the green, then released and tracked right into the hole for birdie! Wow!
I was 8 over par through ten holes, and 4 over through nine, if you don't count the quadruple-bogey on hole 5. I was feeling good about my game, especially given the windy conditions. For the rest of the round, I only made two mistakes that I would consider costly. One of these involved the wind and it was on hole 12, a par-4. My drive was fine, finishing just a yard into the left rough. I was 125 yards away from the flag, so I opted for gap wedge. I felt like the wind was coming straight across from the right, so I aimed accordingly. Not surprisingly, my ball went left in the air. The surprising part was how far it went. I couldn't believe how badly I overshot the green, ending up in some bad weeds. It took a few shots to get on the green from there, and I collected a double-bogey.
Aside from that, I managed the rest of the round very well. A great up and down saved bogey on hole 11. It's already a long par-4 and it was playing directly into the wind. I hit another sky hook with the driver on hole 14 that ended up near the hole 12 teeing ground. The shot was so bad that it sailed straight across all the danger of the weed covered dunes. I managed to hit a 5-iron to just in front of the green, then chipped on and 2-putt for bogey. On hole 15, a par-4, I cut the corner of the dogleg with my drive, finishing in a perfect spot just 90 yards from the green. The wind blew my ball off the green after I hit it, requiring a chip and two putts for another bogey.
Holes 16 and 17 both resulted in par and were well played. The former is a par-5 that began with a driver to the right centre of the fairway, and an easy 4-iron that was placed perfectly at the final dogleg, just 75 yards from the green. I hit a marvellous lob wedge into the wind that finished four feet left of the hole. Alas, I missed the almost certain birdie putt, settling for par. Hole 17 is a short par-4. I hit driver to get as close as possible to the green, and I finished in the left rough, 50 yards from the flag. A decent pitch was followed by a good run at birdie and a tap-in par.
Hole 18, a par-5, was shaping up really nicely, but my third shot from 70 yards came up short in a bunker. My sand shot crossed over the entire green, requiring a pitch back in the opposite direction. I hit the flag stick, but still needed two putts for a double-bogey. An overall score of 88 ain't bad, given the wind. It's another score in the eighties, so I'll take it.
Score: 88
Putts: 32
Fairways: 4
Greens: 7
Penalties: 2
The first four holes were very good. Driver, 5-wood carried me just short and right of the green on the opening par-5. I pitched on and 2-putt for the par. It was no easy feat either, as the wind blew my ball to the fringe after my pitch shot hit the green. I hit the green in regulation on hole 2, a par-3, but my lengthy lag was a bit short. I just missed an 8-footer for par, settling for a 3-putt bogey.
Hole 3 is a par-4 that was playing straight into the wind. I hit a great drive that just trickled into the right rough. My approach was short, forcing a pitch and two putts to complete the bogey. Hole 4 is a par-3 that was also into the teeth of the wind. I judged it well this time, finishing about 12 feet past the hole. The wind was so strong that I had to factor it into my birdie putt. Sadly, I missed, but par was acceptable.
Hole 5, a par-4, was a disaster. With the wind now coming across from the left, I hit a shot that I never hit. It was a very high pull hook with the driver. When I pull my drives, they're low. This must be related to the recent driver adjustments I made, because this never, ever happened before. Hitting my third from the tee, I hit almost the same shot, but a little less severe, and I saw where the ball came to rest in the cut down fescue. I duffed my fourth shot because of a very poor lie. With a slightly better lie, I managed to hit my fifth to just in front of the green. From there, I pitched on and 2-putt for a quadruple-bogey.
I regrouped quickly, making par on hole 6, a par-5. Much like on hole 1, this time the driver, 4-iron combination got me to just in front of the green. I pitched toward the back hole location, setting up a decent birdie try. It missed, but tap-in par is always good.
Holes 7 and 8 gave me some trouble, resulting in a pair of double-bogeys. Hole 7 is a par 3 from a ridiculously elevated tee, to a green fronted by a pond, with woods in behind. Choosing the correct club is difficult on a good day, and near impossible on this day, when the wind was howling straight into our faces. I think I made a good choice of club, but I hooked it well left of the green, leading to a penalty stroke. On hole 8, a par-5, the problem was my third shot – a lob wedge that found a front right bunker. I emerged from the bunker with one shot, but was still not on the green. It was only with my fifth shot that I found the putting surface.
The middle of the round was marked by two moments of brilliance. On hole 9, I hit my drive over the bunker marking the inside of this dogleg par-4. The ball crossed the fairway, settling in the right rough, 90 yards from the green. My lob approach was straight, but short, finishing 30 feet from the hole. I lined up the putt and hit it firmly. As I walked behind the ball, I watched it bend slightly right and drop in the centre of the hole for birdie!
Hole 10 is a medium length par-3 with a contoured green and a deep front bunker. As I shifted my weight on the tee shot, I felt something with my left foot, causing me to completely duff the shot. It was a tee that someone had left in the ground. I hate that! I was now 75 yards away from the green on a ridiculous down slope. I aligned myself with the slope and hit my most lofted club. The ball took its first bounce on the green, then released and tracked right into the hole for birdie! Wow!
I was 8 over par through ten holes, and 4 over through nine, if you don't count the quadruple-bogey on hole 5. I was feeling good about my game, especially given the windy conditions. For the rest of the round, I only made two mistakes that I would consider costly. One of these involved the wind and it was on hole 12, a par-4. My drive was fine, finishing just a yard into the left rough. I was 125 yards away from the flag, so I opted for gap wedge. I felt like the wind was coming straight across from the right, so I aimed accordingly. Not surprisingly, my ball went left in the air. The surprising part was how far it went. I couldn't believe how badly I overshot the green, ending up in some bad weeds. It took a few shots to get on the green from there, and I collected a double-bogey.
Aside from that, I managed the rest of the round very well. A great up and down saved bogey on hole 11. It's already a long par-4 and it was playing directly into the wind. I hit another sky hook with the driver on hole 14 that ended up near the hole 12 teeing ground. The shot was so bad that it sailed straight across all the danger of the weed covered dunes. I managed to hit a 5-iron to just in front of the green, then chipped on and 2-putt for bogey. On hole 15, a par-4, I cut the corner of the dogleg with my drive, finishing in a perfect spot just 90 yards from the green. The wind blew my ball off the green after I hit it, requiring a chip and two putts for another bogey.
Holes 16 and 17 both resulted in par and were well played. The former is a par-5 that began with a driver to the right centre of the fairway, and an easy 4-iron that was placed perfectly at the final dogleg, just 75 yards from the green. I hit a marvellous lob wedge into the wind that finished four feet left of the hole. Alas, I missed the almost certain birdie putt, settling for par. Hole 17 is a short par-4. I hit driver to get as close as possible to the green, and I finished in the left rough, 50 yards from the flag. A decent pitch was followed by a good run at birdie and a tap-in par.
Hole 18, a par-5, was shaping up really nicely, but my third shot from 70 yards came up short in a bunker. My sand shot crossed over the entire green, requiring a pitch back in the opposite direction. I hit the flag stick, but still needed two putts for a double-bogey. An overall score of 88 ain't bad, given the wind. It's another score in the eighties, so I'll take it.
Score: 88
Putts: 32
Fairways: 4
Greens: 7
Penalties: 2
October 24, 2019
Resurgence at Rebel Creek
It was a beautiful Sunday in October and I wanted to make full use of the pleasant weather. I couldn't get a tee time anywhere, so I headed out to the driving range, primarily to work on my driver. I've played relatively well this year, but I feel like it has been despite the driver. I haven't been hitting it long, and at times, I've struggled to get the ball airborne. I took my old driver along for comparison.
A few hits with the old driver confirmed what I was feeling. I was hitting deep, high fades, and it was effortless. I used that club for many years, so it was a pretty good fit for my swing. By comparison, the new driver was forcing me to alter my swing too much. I added one degree of loft to it and went from a neutral setting to a draw. Immediately, I was hitting drives that looked a lot like those of the old driver. With the driver figured out, I spent a little time hitting irons and the rest of my time working on putting.
The next day, I had a tee time at Rebel Creek Golf Club, near Kitchener. It was only my second ever visit to the course, since it's pretty far from home. I striped my opening drive down the fairway, en route to a first hole par. I went on to hit 11 of 14 fairways, all but two of which were with the driver. That's almost double the number of fairways that I normally hit. The driver was working well, as was the 3-iron, which I used on two occasions.
On the front nine, the driver put me in trouble just once. Hole 6 is a 352-yard par-4. I pulled my drive into some spruce trees short and left. My ball finished under a spruce, forcing me to take an unplayable. After taking a drop, I hit a beautiful 5-wood from the rough that very nearly made the green 200 yards away. A ridge on the right side is the only thing that prevented the ball from settling on the green. I pitched on and 2-putt for double-bogey. I had two more doubles on the front nine, but irons were the culprits on those occasions.
Besides the first hole, I also made par on holes 4, 5, and 9. The first two are par-4 holes that began by finding the fairway. On hole 4, I then found the green with my approach shot, followed by a 2-putt. On hole 5, I missed the green to the right with my approach, but was flag high. After a perfect chip shot, I tapped in a short putt. Hole 9 is a 464-yard par-5, but severely uphill, which makes it play a lot longer. After a perfect drive and 4-iron, I was just below the ridge at the front of the green. I chipped toward the back pin location, but still needed two putts to hole out. My score at the turn was 44.
The back nine was a brilliant stretch of golf that included a birdie, two pars, and six bogeys. I love putting together stretches of golf where no hole is worse than bogey. Being able to avoid double-bogeys, or worse, is crucial to scoring well. Throwing a birdie in there also helps. My score on the back nine was 41, giving me a final score of 85 for the day. That's not quite my best of the year – I shot 84 on three separate occasions – but I'll take it, especially late in the year.
The birdie came on hole 12, a 352-yard par-4. I hit a nice drive to the left edge of the fairway, taking the first bounce on a slope that propelled the ball forward and to the centre of the short grass. Total yardage was about 300, as I then faced a 55-yard pitch to reach the flag on the opposite side of a creek. My approach was precise, finishing six feet below the hole. I was able to putt aggressively and drained it. Three perfect shots in a row!
On a couple of occasions, my approach shots missed the green, even though I was attacking from the middle of the fairway after perfect drives. One of these misses was with the gap wedge and another was with the pitching wedge. Both times, a decent chip was followed up by two putts for a bogey. I need to either hone those approach shots or get up and down from beside the green more often. I think fixing the approach shots might be the easier option, considering that these are wedge shots I'm talking about.
Two holes demonstrate that I'm at least capable of both these things. On hole 16, a 147-yard par-3, I hit a laser 8-iron into the wind. The ball did not deviate an inch from its line – it was pretty to watch. It finished 10 feet below the hole, setting up a good birdie chance. I missed and tapped in for par. On hole 17, a 350-yard par-4, my approach with the gap wedge found a front left bunker. I am terrible at bunker shots, but I managed to get on the green this time. Facing a 15-foot putt with a little bit of break, I lined it up and drained it for a terrific up and down.
Score: 85
Putts: 32
Fairways: 3
Greens: 11
Penalties: 4
A few hits with the old driver confirmed what I was feeling. I was hitting deep, high fades, and it was effortless. I used that club for many years, so it was a pretty good fit for my swing. By comparison, the new driver was forcing me to alter my swing too much. I added one degree of loft to it and went from a neutral setting to a draw. Immediately, I was hitting drives that looked a lot like those of the old driver. With the driver figured out, I spent a little time hitting irons and the rest of my time working on putting.
The next day, I had a tee time at Rebel Creek Golf Club, near Kitchener. It was only my second ever visit to the course, since it's pretty far from home. I striped my opening drive down the fairway, en route to a first hole par. I went on to hit 11 of 14 fairways, all but two of which were with the driver. That's almost double the number of fairways that I normally hit. The driver was working well, as was the 3-iron, which I used on two occasions.
On the front nine, the driver put me in trouble just once. Hole 6 is a 352-yard par-4. I pulled my drive into some spruce trees short and left. My ball finished under a spruce, forcing me to take an unplayable. After taking a drop, I hit a beautiful 5-wood from the rough that very nearly made the green 200 yards away. A ridge on the right side is the only thing that prevented the ball from settling on the green. I pitched on and 2-putt for double-bogey. I had two more doubles on the front nine, but irons were the culprits on those occasions.
Besides the first hole, I also made par on holes 4, 5, and 9. The first two are par-4 holes that began by finding the fairway. On hole 4, I then found the green with my approach shot, followed by a 2-putt. On hole 5, I missed the green to the right with my approach, but was flag high. After a perfect chip shot, I tapped in a short putt. Hole 9 is a 464-yard par-5, but severely uphill, which makes it play a lot longer. After a perfect drive and 4-iron, I was just below the ridge at the front of the green. I chipped toward the back pin location, but still needed two putts to hole out. My score at the turn was 44.
The back nine was a brilliant stretch of golf that included a birdie, two pars, and six bogeys. I love putting together stretches of golf where no hole is worse than bogey. Being able to avoid double-bogeys, or worse, is crucial to scoring well. Throwing a birdie in there also helps. My score on the back nine was 41, giving me a final score of 85 for the day. That's not quite my best of the year – I shot 84 on three separate occasions – but I'll take it, especially late in the year.
The birdie came on hole 12, a 352-yard par-4. I hit a nice drive to the left edge of the fairway, taking the first bounce on a slope that propelled the ball forward and to the centre of the short grass. Total yardage was about 300, as I then faced a 55-yard pitch to reach the flag on the opposite side of a creek. My approach was precise, finishing six feet below the hole. I was able to putt aggressively and drained it. Three perfect shots in a row!
On a couple of occasions, my approach shots missed the green, even though I was attacking from the middle of the fairway after perfect drives. One of these misses was with the gap wedge and another was with the pitching wedge. Both times, a decent chip was followed up by two putts for a bogey. I need to either hone those approach shots or get up and down from beside the green more often. I think fixing the approach shots might be the easier option, considering that these are wedge shots I'm talking about.
Two holes demonstrate that I'm at least capable of both these things. On hole 16, a 147-yard par-3, I hit a laser 8-iron into the wind. The ball did not deviate an inch from its line – it was pretty to watch. It finished 10 feet below the hole, setting up a good birdie chance. I missed and tapped in for par. On hole 17, a 350-yard par-4, my approach with the gap wedge found a front left bunker. I am terrible at bunker shots, but I managed to get on the green this time. Facing a 15-foot putt with a little bit of break, I lined it up and drained it for a terrific up and down.
Score: 85
Putts: 32
Fairways: 3
Greens: 11
Penalties: 4
October 23, 2019
Fresh Nine at Mill Run
Playing with the wrong personality type can have a negative effect on my golf scores. I recall a round last year at Glen Eagle where I got paired up with three guys who were just out to have a good time – bring on the beer, music, and a lot of horsing around. I played nine holes with them and shot 52. We parted ways and I joined up with a husband and wife team for my back nine. They were friendly, but also focused on their game. It was a much better fit for me and I shot a blistering 36.
Coincidence? I think not. My last round at Mill Run also began with a boisterous personality playing alongside me. As the round progressed, I began to tire of his incessant chatter. I played some good holes, but also a lot of bad ones, and ended up shooting a miserable 105. It was my worst score of the year. Luckily, I had time for nine more holes, and he didn't. I headed out to the Grind nine as a solo. Not surprisingly, I was back to my usual self, shooting 45 on the strength of one par, seven bogeys, and just one double-bogey.
The par was on hole 5, a short par-4. I hit 3-iron to the left rough, followed by a lob wedge to a bowl in the green where the pin was located. My uphill birdie putt from 8 feet was hit to the centre of the cup, but stopped right on the lip. This followed a couple of beautiful shots on hole 4, a 161-yard par-3 over a deep valley. Accounting for wind, I opted for 6-iron and hit a perfect shot that carried three yards onto the green and released forward. I was disappointed that the ball rolled off the back edge of the green into the rough. I could not hit a better tee shot. The green slopes from back to front, so a chip from behind is very delicate. I hit a perfect one that barely carried to the top of a mound and trickled in the direction of the cup. It missed the hole by an inch to one side, but stopped 9 feet below the hole. Again, I could not hit a better shot than that. My par putt barely missed the hole left, stopping on the lip. End result was a bogey, but I really hit some good shots there.
Other notable shots were sprinkled throughout most of the bogey holes. After mediocre tee shots on holes 1 and 2, I recovered with good second shots. On hole 1, it was a 7-iron from a fairway bunker to just in front of the green. On hole 2, it was a pretty 3-wood that travelled straight, high and deep. On hole 6, a par-5, I hit two wonderful 5-wood shots to begin the hole. It's a pity that I thinned my approach with the pitching wedge over the back of the green. I hit a great drive on hole 8 to the centre of the fairway. Sadly, I messed up an 8-iron approach shot. On the last hole of the day, I hit a sweet 7-iron from the right rough to just left of the green.
Thank goodness I was able to play Grist. It took some of the sting out of my play on the other nines.
Score: 45
Putts: 17
Fairways: 3
Greens: 1
Penalties: 0
Coincidence? I think not. My last round at Mill Run also began with a boisterous personality playing alongside me. As the round progressed, I began to tire of his incessant chatter. I played some good holes, but also a lot of bad ones, and ended up shooting a miserable 105. It was my worst score of the year. Luckily, I had time for nine more holes, and he didn't. I headed out to the Grind nine as a solo. Not surprisingly, I was back to my usual self, shooting 45 on the strength of one par, seven bogeys, and just one double-bogey.
The par was on hole 5, a short par-4. I hit 3-iron to the left rough, followed by a lob wedge to a bowl in the green where the pin was located. My uphill birdie putt from 8 feet was hit to the centre of the cup, but stopped right on the lip. This followed a couple of beautiful shots on hole 4, a 161-yard par-3 over a deep valley. Accounting for wind, I opted for 6-iron and hit a perfect shot that carried three yards onto the green and released forward. I was disappointed that the ball rolled off the back edge of the green into the rough. I could not hit a better tee shot. The green slopes from back to front, so a chip from behind is very delicate. I hit a perfect one that barely carried to the top of a mound and trickled in the direction of the cup. It missed the hole by an inch to one side, but stopped 9 feet below the hole. Again, I could not hit a better shot than that. My par putt barely missed the hole left, stopping on the lip. End result was a bogey, but I really hit some good shots there.
Other notable shots were sprinkled throughout most of the bogey holes. After mediocre tee shots on holes 1 and 2, I recovered with good second shots. On hole 1, it was a 7-iron from a fairway bunker to just in front of the green. On hole 2, it was a pretty 3-wood that travelled straight, high and deep. On hole 6, a par-5, I hit two wonderful 5-wood shots to begin the hole. It's a pity that I thinned my approach with the pitching wedge over the back of the green. I hit a great drive on hole 8 to the centre of the fairway. Sadly, I messed up an 8-iron approach shot. On the last hole of the day, I hit a sweet 7-iron from the right rough to just left of the green.
Thank goodness I was able to play Grist. It took some of the sting out of my play on the other nines.
Score: 45
Putts: 17
Fairways: 3
Greens: 1
Penalties: 0
October 22, 2019
Clown Ruins Mill Run Round
I play most of my golf as a single, and I get paired up with all kinds of people: young or old, male or female, people of every conceivable race and religion. I play with students, blue or white collar workers, and retirees, whether they're hackers or single digit handicaps. The vast majority of the time, it's a pleasure. Every once in a while, however, there's someone who just isn't a good fit. Specifically, I'm thinking about the guy (it's usually a guy) who never stops yapping – about anything really, but often about how great a player he is or about what you're doing wrong.
I had the misfortune of being paired up with one of these guys on a recent visit to Mill Run Golf Club. When I find myself in this situation, I just try to focus on my game. I know from experience, however, that I'm not very good at it. Try as I may, the incessant chatter seems to rattle my nerves, and I end up scoring very poorly. A better player is able to play despite these distractions. We played the Grist nine first, which began for me with a bogey on hole 1. I hit a wonderful 7-iron out of a fairway bunker to the fringe in front of the green. A nicely judged putt from there left a 3-footer for par, but it lipped out cruelly.
Hole 2 began with a disastrous drive that I smothered to the weeds just in front of the teeing area. I hit a lofted wedge out of the junk just to reach the start of the fairway. Then it was one error after another. A 5-wood shot was fat and squirted right. A 4-iron was pushed slightly right, coming to rest under some tree branches. A sand wedge from 70 yards found a bunker left of the green. A duffed shot stayed in the bunker. The next one got out, but rolled down a slope into another bunker to the left. My third bunker shot was thinned over the green. My pitch shot back rolled off the other side. I chipped on and 2-putt for a score of 12 on this par-5. Seriously?
In fairness, the disaster on hole 2 had nothing to do with my fellow golfer. I just made bad shots, repeatedly. It would be impossible to score well for the round, so I resolved to play each remaining hole and each shot individually, in order to see what I could salvage. I made bogey on hole 3, a challenging par-3, followed by par on hole 4, a short par-4. On hole 5, a long par-3, I followed up a serviceable tee shot with a thinned pitch shot from the right side of the green. It led to a double bogey that didn't sit well. One blowup hole aside, I was still playing my regular golf, but I was getting increasingly annoyed with my partner by now.
I took scores of 8 on holes 6 and 7, a par-5 and par-4, respectively. The former was due to a drive that I pulled badly into the fescue left of the hole. I was forced to hit my third from the tee. The remainder of the hole was fine, but the damage was done. The latter was also due to a wild drive, but I don't even know where it went. My partner said it went to the right, but a look in that area turned up nothing. I gave myself a 2-stroke penalty and dropped in the fairway. I went on to 3-putt the hole, which was the icing on the cake. I played holes 8 and 9 well enough, carding a couple of bogeys, but my score at the turn was a horrible 55.
The Wheel nine was next, beginning with a challenging par-5. I duffed a couple of shots, leaving me with 200 yards to the green on my fourth shot. I was not in the mood to lay up, so I went for it and hit a beautiful 5-wood. It was a high shot with a little fade that looked like it was going to carry a creek in front of the green and land on the putting surface softly. It was so perfect that I didn't even bother to watch the ball come to rest. I had not hit a 5-wood like that in a long time. Lo and behold, when we got to the green, my ball was nowhere to be found. I have no clue where it could have gone. I just assumed it went in the creek and dropped near there, after taking a penalty. I finished the hole with a double-bogey.
And so it continued on holes 2 through 5 of the Wheel course. I was hitting some good shots, but short game errors were not helping. What looked like a good approach on hole 2 finished in a hollowed out grassy area behind the green. I was unable to get up and down, resulting in double-bogey. A duffed pitch attempt over a greenside bunker on hole 3 splashed in the sand. It took two shots to get out, leading to a triple-bogey! A 5-iron off the tee was hit fat on hole 4, landing in a penalty area. My third from the tee was a wonderful 5-iron, but all that did was help save a double-bogey. I duffed an attempted approach with a pitching wedge on hole 5, completely wasting a shot and taking another double-bogey.
The final four holes were surprisingly good, producing, bogey, par, bogey, and bogey. I hit a spectacular flop over a 30-foot spruce tree near the green on hole 6, landing close enough to the hole that I should have saved par. Alas, I missed the putt. I missed a birdie putt on hole 7, a short par-3, but par was a good result, to be truthful. A nice 5-wood, 6-iron combination put me just left of the green on hole 8, a par-4. Hole 9 is a challenging par-5 to finish, and I navigated it well from tee to green. It would have been nice to hit the green with my third shot, but when you're playing as poorly as I was all day, you can't really be that picky.
I ended up shooting 105 for my worst score of the year. Can I blame the guy I played with, or did I just plain suck? My next post may help answer that question.
Score: 105
Putts: 33
Fairways: 2
Greens: 2
Penalties: 6
I had the misfortune of being paired up with one of these guys on a recent visit to Mill Run Golf Club. When I find myself in this situation, I just try to focus on my game. I know from experience, however, that I'm not very good at it. Try as I may, the incessant chatter seems to rattle my nerves, and I end up scoring very poorly. A better player is able to play despite these distractions. We played the Grist nine first, which began for me with a bogey on hole 1. I hit a wonderful 7-iron out of a fairway bunker to the fringe in front of the green. A nicely judged putt from there left a 3-footer for par, but it lipped out cruelly.
Hole 2 began with a disastrous drive that I smothered to the weeds just in front of the teeing area. I hit a lofted wedge out of the junk just to reach the start of the fairway. Then it was one error after another. A 5-wood shot was fat and squirted right. A 4-iron was pushed slightly right, coming to rest under some tree branches. A sand wedge from 70 yards found a bunker left of the green. A duffed shot stayed in the bunker. The next one got out, but rolled down a slope into another bunker to the left. My third bunker shot was thinned over the green. My pitch shot back rolled off the other side. I chipped on and 2-putt for a score of 12 on this par-5. Seriously?
In fairness, the disaster on hole 2 had nothing to do with my fellow golfer. I just made bad shots, repeatedly. It would be impossible to score well for the round, so I resolved to play each remaining hole and each shot individually, in order to see what I could salvage. I made bogey on hole 3, a challenging par-3, followed by par on hole 4, a short par-4. On hole 5, a long par-3, I followed up a serviceable tee shot with a thinned pitch shot from the right side of the green. It led to a double bogey that didn't sit well. One blowup hole aside, I was still playing my regular golf, but I was getting increasingly annoyed with my partner by now.
I took scores of 8 on holes 6 and 7, a par-5 and par-4, respectively. The former was due to a drive that I pulled badly into the fescue left of the hole. I was forced to hit my third from the tee. The remainder of the hole was fine, but the damage was done. The latter was also due to a wild drive, but I don't even know where it went. My partner said it went to the right, but a look in that area turned up nothing. I gave myself a 2-stroke penalty and dropped in the fairway. I went on to 3-putt the hole, which was the icing on the cake. I played holes 8 and 9 well enough, carding a couple of bogeys, but my score at the turn was a horrible 55.
The Wheel nine was next, beginning with a challenging par-5. I duffed a couple of shots, leaving me with 200 yards to the green on my fourth shot. I was not in the mood to lay up, so I went for it and hit a beautiful 5-wood. It was a high shot with a little fade that looked like it was going to carry a creek in front of the green and land on the putting surface softly. It was so perfect that I didn't even bother to watch the ball come to rest. I had not hit a 5-wood like that in a long time. Lo and behold, when we got to the green, my ball was nowhere to be found. I have no clue where it could have gone. I just assumed it went in the creek and dropped near there, after taking a penalty. I finished the hole with a double-bogey.
And so it continued on holes 2 through 5 of the Wheel course. I was hitting some good shots, but short game errors were not helping. What looked like a good approach on hole 2 finished in a hollowed out grassy area behind the green. I was unable to get up and down, resulting in double-bogey. A duffed pitch attempt over a greenside bunker on hole 3 splashed in the sand. It took two shots to get out, leading to a triple-bogey! A 5-iron off the tee was hit fat on hole 4, landing in a penalty area. My third from the tee was a wonderful 5-iron, but all that did was help save a double-bogey. I duffed an attempted approach with a pitching wedge on hole 5, completely wasting a shot and taking another double-bogey.
The final four holes were surprisingly good, producing, bogey, par, bogey, and bogey. I hit a spectacular flop over a 30-foot spruce tree near the green on hole 6, landing close enough to the hole that I should have saved par. Alas, I missed the putt. I missed a birdie putt on hole 7, a short par-3, but par was a good result, to be truthful. A nice 5-wood, 6-iron combination put me just left of the green on hole 8, a par-4. Hole 9 is a challenging par-5 to finish, and I navigated it well from tee to green. It would have been nice to hit the green with my third shot, but when you're playing as poorly as I was all day, you can't really be that picky.
I ended up shooting 105 for my worst score of the year. Can I blame the guy I played with, or did I just plain suck? My next post may help answer that question.
Score: 105
Putts: 33
Fairways: 2
Greens: 2
Penalties: 6
October 15, 2019
Return to Lakeridge Links
A little over three years ago, I made my debut at Lakeridge Links Golf Club. I enjoyed the course, but haven't had the opportunity to go back, until now. I headed out there on a beautiful October day for a mid morning tee time. Unfortunately, traffic was terrible. I needed gas, which diverted me from the route I would normally take. Getting to the highway from the gas station was painful. Closer to the course, the main road was undergoing construction. Not only was it slow, but all the road signs had been pulled out of the ground, so I drove past the road where I should have turned. I arrived at the course exactly at my tee time.
I hate rushing to the golf course, as it usually takes a few holes for your mind to slow down. Without any practice putting, you have no idea of the green speeds. It's a bad combination for scoring well. Despite all that, I did reasonably well over the first three holes, collecting a bogey, double-bogey, and par. A nice drive to the left fairway started things off on the opening par-4. A mid-iron approach was well short of the green, but I pitched on and 2-putt. I duffed a 5-iron off the tee on hole 2, a dogleg par-4 to an elevated green. That mistake aside, it played out like a typical bogey hole. Hole 3, which produced the par, is a 174-yard par-3. My 6-iron shot landed short of the flag and rolled just a few inches to the side of the flag stick, before stopping 12 feet behind the hole. My birdie putt was two feet short, unfortunately.
The next eight holes were not much fun. Some bad shots, combined with some bad luck, produced elevated scores. In fact, I was 14 over par for those eight holes, including one par, one bogey, five double-bogeys, and one triple! The par was on hole 7 – a par-3 with a forced carry over a naturalized area to a green surrounded by woods and fronted by a creek. I hit a sweet 8-iron flag high, then lagged one close and tapped in to finish. If only the rest of that stretch had been as smooth!
I 3-putt hole 4, a challenging par-5, leading to double-bogey. I pulled my drive on hole 5 ever so slightly, but ended up with a spruce tree blocking my backswing. Even when I got the ball out of there, my path to the green was blocked by another spruce. Again, double-bogey was the result. That hole frustrated me, and I ended up making a mess of my drive on hole 6. I hit the heel of the club and the ball went maybe 70 yards. I don't know for sure, because the ball was lost. With the penalty, I notched my third consecutive double-bogey.
It didn't help that I was in a twosome, playing behind a foursome. Even if the foursome plays at the proper pace, you're going to be waiting a lot in that situation. We were waiting on every single shot. I'm not even one of those guys who complains about pace of play, but truthfully, it was impossible to get into a rhythm. My frustration peaked on holes 9 and 10. I topped my second shot on hole 9, then 3-putt on the green for yet another double-bogey. Hole 10 was the worst, as I had been hoping the foursome would let us through at the turn. No such luck. I smothered another shot off the heel of the driver that went nowhere. To make matters worse, I had almost no backswing available to pitch back to the fairway. My fourth shot on this par-5 was just right of the green. I then chipped on and 2-putt for triple-bogey.
It was only after hole 11 that the frustration wore off. I guess I accepted that we would be waiting on all shots for the remainder of the round. My playing partner and I had a lot of time to talk, so that probably was a helpful distraction. I ended up going 5 over par for the last seven holes, including a birdie and six bogeys. The birdie was on hole 17, a 160-yard par-3 over a pond to a wide but shallow green, set against a hillside. I hit 7-iron with a little baby draw, directly at the flag on the right side of the green. I followed that up with a perfect putt from about 10 feet away. Golf like it should be!
The rest of the final stretch was not perfect, but good enough to keep me happy. On hole 12, I just missed the fairway, then just missed the green, needing a chip and two putts for the bogey. I can live with that. On hole 13, my drive was perfect, but my approach from 150 yards was pulled slightly left of the green. Again, a pitch and 2-putts finished things off for bogey. Hole 14 is the hardest hole on the course. After my drive missed just right of the fairway, I wisely played a 90 yard shot to the 150-yard stick. A valley and creek protect the front of the green, so that was a no-brainer. I hit a good 8-iron on my third shot, then 2-putt for the bogey.
Hole 15 features the most intimidating tee shot on the course, as it's a long carry over the creek that crosses the fairway. The creek is angled, so it's a longer carry over the right side. Of course, I hit my drive to the right and just failed to carry the creek. After a penalty and drop, I hit a beautiful iron to the green and followed with an easy 2-putt. The approach shot saved the bogey for me. On hole 16, a par-5, my third shot was thinned over the green. A chip and two putts finished up the typical bogey. Finally, on hole 18, a perfect drive was followed by a slight miss with a long iron, requiring a familiar pitch and two putts to card the last bogey of the day.
I can live with bogey golf – it means you're close to challenging the golf course as it should be played. Your shots are in the general vicinity of your targets, which makes the game fun. It's the complete miss hits that take some of the fun out of the game. These are wasted shots nowhere near your target that lead to double-bogey or worse. Mind you, I've been limiting a lot of bad holes to double-bogey recently, which is much better than triple-bogey or worse. On this day, I just strung together too many of those doubles.
Score: 94
Putts: 35
Fairways: 6
Greens: 3
Penalties: 2
I hate rushing to the golf course, as it usually takes a few holes for your mind to slow down. Without any practice putting, you have no idea of the green speeds. It's a bad combination for scoring well. Despite all that, I did reasonably well over the first three holes, collecting a bogey, double-bogey, and par. A nice drive to the left fairway started things off on the opening par-4. A mid-iron approach was well short of the green, but I pitched on and 2-putt. I duffed a 5-iron off the tee on hole 2, a dogleg par-4 to an elevated green. That mistake aside, it played out like a typical bogey hole. Hole 3, which produced the par, is a 174-yard par-3. My 6-iron shot landed short of the flag and rolled just a few inches to the side of the flag stick, before stopping 12 feet behind the hole. My birdie putt was two feet short, unfortunately.
The next eight holes were not much fun. Some bad shots, combined with some bad luck, produced elevated scores. In fact, I was 14 over par for those eight holes, including one par, one bogey, five double-bogeys, and one triple! The par was on hole 7 – a par-3 with a forced carry over a naturalized area to a green surrounded by woods and fronted by a creek. I hit a sweet 8-iron flag high, then lagged one close and tapped in to finish. If only the rest of that stretch had been as smooth!
I 3-putt hole 4, a challenging par-5, leading to double-bogey. I pulled my drive on hole 5 ever so slightly, but ended up with a spruce tree blocking my backswing. Even when I got the ball out of there, my path to the green was blocked by another spruce. Again, double-bogey was the result. That hole frustrated me, and I ended up making a mess of my drive on hole 6. I hit the heel of the club and the ball went maybe 70 yards. I don't know for sure, because the ball was lost. With the penalty, I notched my third consecutive double-bogey.
It didn't help that I was in a twosome, playing behind a foursome. Even if the foursome plays at the proper pace, you're going to be waiting a lot in that situation. We were waiting on every single shot. I'm not even one of those guys who complains about pace of play, but truthfully, it was impossible to get into a rhythm. My frustration peaked on holes 9 and 10. I topped my second shot on hole 9, then 3-putt on the green for yet another double-bogey. Hole 10 was the worst, as I had been hoping the foursome would let us through at the turn. No such luck. I smothered another shot off the heel of the driver that went nowhere. To make matters worse, I had almost no backswing available to pitch back to the fairway. My fourth shot on this par-5 was just right of the green. I then chipped on and 2-putt for triple-bogey.
It was only after hole 11 that the frustration wore off. I guess I accepted that we would be waiting on all shots for the remainder of the round. My playing partner and I had a lot of time to talk, so that probably was a helpful distraction. I ended up going 5 over par for the last seven holes, including a birdie and six bogeys. The birdie was on hole 17, a 160-yard par-3 over a pond to a wide but shallow green, set against a hillside. I hit 7-iron with a little baby draw, directly at the flag on the right side of the green. I followed that up with a perfect putt from about 10 feet away. Golf like it should be!
The rest of the final stretch was not perfect, but good enough to keep me happy. On hole 12, I just missed the fairway, then just missed the green, needing a chip and two putts for the bogey. I can live with that. On hole 13, my drive was perfect, but my approach from 150 yards was pulled slightly left of the green. Again, a pitch and 2-putts finished things off for bogey. Hole 14 is the hardest hole on the course. After my drive missed just right of the fairway, I wisely played a 90 yard shot to the 150-yard stick. A valley and creek protect the front of the green, so that was a no-brainer. I hit a good 8-iron on my third shot, then 2-putt for the bogey.
Hole 15 features the most intimidating tee shot on the course, as it's a long carry over the creek that crosses the fairway. The creek is angled, so it's a longer carry over the right side. Of course, I hit my drive to the right and just failed to carry the creek. After a penalty and drop, I hit a beautiful iron to the green and followed with an easy 2-putt. The approach shot saved the bogey for me. On hole 16, a par-5, my third shot was thinned over the green. A chip and two putts finished up the typical bogey. Finally, on hole 18, a perfect drive was followed by a slight miss with a long iron, requiring a familiar pitch and two putts to card the last bogey of the day.
I can live with bogey golf – it means you're close to challenging the golf course as it should be played. Your shots are in the general vicinity of your targets, which makes the game fun. It's the complete miss hits that take some of the fun out of the game. These are wasted shots nowhere near your target that lead to double-bogey or worse. Mind you, I've been limiting a lot of bad holes to double-bogey recently, which is much better than triple-bogey or worse. On this day, I just strung together too many of those doubles.
Score: 94
Putts: 35
Fairways: 6
Greens: 3
Penalties: 2
October 14, 2019
More Like It at Tangle Creek
I played at Tangle Creek a few weeks earlier and all my luck was bad. The greens were freshly aerated and rolling terribly. It drizzled for most of the round and rained more heavily for a couple of holes, despite the fact that I booked the round less than 24 hours in advance, when the forecast was calling for a mix of sun and cloud. I didn't play very well and ended up scoring in the mid nineties.
Looking for some retribution, I headed back to Tangle Creek recently. This time, the greens were in great shape and the weather was absolutely perfect. I was one over par for the first three holes, going par, par, and bogey. My first two shots on the opening par-5 weren't great, but my third was brilliant, setting up a 2-putt. My tee shot on hole 2 also left a lot to be desired, but I made a good recovery shot and perfect pitch, setting up a single putt. My pitch on hole 3 wasn't nearly as good, but I made a terrific 2-putt from distance to salvage the bogey.
The rest of the front nine wasn't as smooth, as I collected a couple of bogeys and four double-bogeys. The only good part about that is that I avoided taking any triples or worse. At the end of the day, limiting those bad holes to no worse than double-bogey actually makes a difference. It could be the difference, for example, between scoring 92 or 89. Psychologically, that's a big difference.
Most of my troubles were off the tee and on the putting green. On holes 4 and 8, both par-3 designs, I hit a poor tee shot that left me in a bad spot. On the former, I was in deep, lush rough, while on the latter, I was forced to punch under some low tree branches. On hole 5, I hit my 5-wood thin and failed to carry a creek. Although I made a great shot to find the green with my third after taking a penalty, I went on to 3-putt. I also 3-putt on hole 6 after hitting a marvellous drive over a creek and left of a large tree to find the middle of the fairway. My score at the turn was 47.
The back nine saved the round for me, especially holes 10 through 12, all of which resulted in par. My tee shots on these holes were fantastic. On the first two, I hit driver deep and to the centre of the fairway. On the last one, a par-3, I hit 6-iron into the wind and finished 10 feet below the hole. My putting was also good. I drained a 6-footer on hole 10 after a chip from just off the back of the green trickled a bit past the hole. On the other two holes, excellent lags set up easy tap-ins.
The remainder of the back nine was good too, though I cooled off somewhat. Over this stretch, I collected two pars, three bogeys and a double. The pars came on holes 15 and 16. For the second time in a row, I pummelled a perfect drive off the tee on hole 15, carrying a mound on the left side and actually finishing a yard past the end of the fairway. Despite a wedge shot that missed the green, I still made par with an up and down. Hole 16 is a par-3 from an elevated tee and I hit my 8-iron flag high, just left of the hole.
Hole 14 is the one that resulted in double-bogey, and it was really due to a 3-putt. My drive was perfect and though my approach didn't find the green, it was serviceable. After a decent chip shot, I really should have made no worse than bogey. The other bogeys usually resulted from one bad stroke over the course of a hole. On hole 13, it was a drive that I pulled off the heel and that went nowhere. On hole 18, it was a topped 5-wood following a perfect drive, where I tried to reach the green of this par-5 in two. The good news is that I limited my mistakes to one per hole, thus salvaging the bogeys.
In the end, I broke 90 with a nice looking score of 88. I'll take it!
Score: 88
Putts: 36
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
Penalties: 2
Looking for some retribution, I headed back to Tangle Creek recently. This time, the greens were in great shape and the weather was absolutely perfect. I was one over par for the first three holes, going par, par, and bogey. My first two shots on the opening par-5 weren't great, but my third was brilliant, setting up a 2-putt. My tee shot on hole 2 also left a lot to be desired, but I made a good recovery shot and perfect pitch, setting up a single putt. My pitch on hole 3 wasn't nearly as good, but I made a terrific 2-putt from distance to salvage the bogey.
The rest of the front nine wasn't as smooth, as I collected a couple of bogeys and four double-bogeys. The only good part about that is that I avoided taking any triples or worse. At the end of the day, limiting those bad holes to no worse than double-bogey actually makes a difference. It could be the difference, for example, between scoring 92 or 89. Psychologically, that's a big difference.
Most of my troubles were off the tee and on the putting green. On holes 4 and 8, both par-3 designs, I hit a poor tee shot that left me in a bad spot. On the former, I was in deep, lush rough, while on the latter, I was forced to punch under some low tree branches. On hole 5, I hit my 5-wood thin and failed to carry a creek. Although I made a great shot to find the green with my third after taking a penalty, I went on to 3-putt. I also 3-putt on hole 6 after hitting a marvellous drive over a creek and left of a large tree to find the middle of the fairway. My score at the turn was 47.
The back nine saved the round for me, especially holes 10 through 12, all of which resulted in par. My tee shots on these holes were fantastic. On the first two, I hit driver deep and to the centre of the fairway. On the last one, a par-3, I hit 6-iron into the wind and finished 10 feet below the hole. My putting was also good. I drained a 6-footer on hole 10 after a chip from just off the back of the green trickled a bit past the hole. On the other two holes, excellent lags set up easy tap-ins.
The remainder of the back nine was good too, though I cooled off somewhat. Over this stretch, I collected two pars, three bogeys and a double. The pars came on holes 15 and 16. For the second time in a row, I pummelled a perfect drive off the tee on hole 15, carrying a mound on the left side and actually finishing a yard past the end of the fairway. Despite a wedge shot that missed the green, I still made par with an up and down. Hole 16 is a par-3 from an elevated tee and I hit my 8-iron flag high, just left of the hole.
Hole 14 is the one that resulted in double-bogey, and it was really due to a 3-putt. My drive was perfect and though my approach didn't find the green, it was serviceable. After a decent chip shot, I really should have made no worse than bogey. The other bogeys usually resulted from one bad stroke over the course of a hole. On hole 13, it was a drive that I pulled off the heel and that went nowhere. On hole 18, it was a topped 5-wood following a perfect drive, where I tried to reach the green of this par-5 in two. The good news is that I limited my mistakes to one per hole, thus salvaging the bogeys.
In the end, I broke 90 with a nice looking score of 88. I'll take it!
Score: 88
Putts: 36
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
Penalties: 2
October 10, 2019
TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley -- A Heathlands How To
The first golf course to open at Osprey Valley, back in 1992, was Heathlands. More than a quarter century later, many aficionados still consider it the best. With its sister courses, Hoot and North, both highly regarded, that's saying a lot. Traditionalists, in particular, continue to be seduced by the links style layout, with fairways shaped by fescue covered dunes and pierced occasionally with seemingly innocuous bunkers. Having played a few rounds there recently, I'm going to forgo my usual personal accounts, in favour of a “how-to” of sorts. What follows is a hole-by-hole examination of Heathlands, with a few tips designed to help you navigate it.
Hole 1 -- A par-5 that doglegs to the left. A group of fairway bunkers on the left side can be carried comfortably with a good drive, leaving you in excellent position. If you're not feeling confident with your drives, the tendency is to aim right of the bunkers. This will bring the right rough into play, where your stance may be uneven. Right handers will have the ball above their feet, making a pulled second shot more likely. Even with an excellent drive, think twice about going for the green in two. Two deep bunkers lie in front of the green, collecting any shots that come in low. It's better to lay up in a spot that will leave a full wedge into the green on your third. With a high lofted club, the ball will take an aerial route and land softly on the green.
Hole 2 -- A relatively short par-4. Once again, a cluster of fairway bunkers, this time on the right side, will influence your tee shot. If you hit to the open left side, you're more likely to run out of fairway and you'll have a longer than necessary second shot into the green. From that angle, a bunker on the front left side of the green looms large. It's better to take your drive straight over the fairway bunkers on the right side. There's some room to miss right, but a straight shot on that line will finish in the middle of the fairway and leave just a wedge shot into the green. The green itself is deeper than it is wide, so choose your approach club accordingly.
Hole 3 -- A par-4 that doglegs to the left and forces you to carry a creek with your second shot. A drive left of the fairway can get close to the winding creek, while a miss to the right often ends up in one of two bunkers protecting that side. Attacking the green from either of those bunkers is a recipe for disaster. If you find yourself there, just advance the ball back to safety. The fairway itself is quite wide, so just try to find the centre with your tee shot. 3-wood might be a good option if you control that club a little better than driver. The creek must be crossed twice with your approach shot – the second leg closer to the green being far more gnarly. If you miss the green, it's better to be short and right, as bunkers and a slope down to the creek cover the left side.
Hole 4 -- Another relatively short par-4 from a slightly elevated tee. A good drive will easily carry the creek and should also carry the cluster of bunkers on the right hand side. If you're playing the blue or black tees, you'll be coming directly over those bunkers. If you're playing the white tees, you can aim just left of those bunkers for optimal positioning. This will leave just a wedge into the green. Two very deep bunkers protect the front left side of the green and should be avoided at all cost. It's better to miss the green short and right than to be in one of those. A pitch up to the elevated green is much easier from that position than playing out of those traps.
Hole 5 -- A medium length par-3 that often plays into the wind. Take an extra club or two, depending on the breeze. This will also help carry the front right bunkers that protect the green. There is a collection area left of the green that is not a bad place to miss. From that position, you can often putt or chip uphill to save par. This is one of the easier holes on the front nine, so take advantage if you can.
Hole 6 -- A long par-4 that plays uphill and often into the wind. This hole can feel like a par-5, especially if you don't hit a great drive. There is not a single bunker on this hole, either in the fairway or by the green, so if you hit a good drive, feel free to go for the green, even with a long iron. On the other hand, if your drive is weak, take your medicine and play the hole effectively as a par-5, aiming to reach the green in three. If you find yourself in the fescue at any point, your first priority is to get back to safety. Sometimes, it looks like you have a decent lie in there, but it's extremely deceiving. You need to add loft and give up yardage when hitting from those lies. This is one of the hardest holes on the front nine and needs to be respected.
Hole 7 -- A medium-length par-4, with a tee shot once again influenced by a cluster of fairway bunkers on the right side. If you're not feeling good with the driver, the tendency is to start the ball left of those bunkers. This brings the left rough and fescue into the equation. A good drive will carry those bunkers comfortably and finish in the middle of the fairway. This will also improve your angle into the green, the front left of which is protected by a large, deep bunker. The green is deeper than it is wide, and slopes down a fair degree from back to front. Watch your speed, especially if putting downhill.
Hole 8 -- A short par-3 over a pond, usually requiring no more than a wedge. Anything short or left of this green will end up in the water. The safest play is a medium depth shot to the right edge of the green. There is a bunker nearby if you stray a little too deep or too far right, but playing from there is preferable to taking a penalty stroke. With a decent shot off the tee, this becomes one of the easier holes on the front nine to make par. Of course, a bad tee shot here can easily lead to double-bogey. Pick a club and swing with confidence.
Hole 9 -- A fairly long par-5 and possibly the hardest hole on the front nine. The tee shot is over a penalty area to an angled fairway. For right handers, a slight fade is the ideal shape. Picking a target line can be tricky. Too far right, and your ball can land in the penalty area, which runs along the right side of the fairway. Too far left, and you can cross the fairway entirely, finishing in rough or fescue covered mounds that complicate your second shot. If you have a rangefinder or GPS device, get a distance to the left fairway bunkers to help choose your line. Just right of those fairway bunkers is usually a good bet. The second shot should be down the centre of the fairway. Just be careful not to go too far down the right hand side, as the slope can push your ball into the rough. The approach into this green will almost certainly require you to aim over the edge of the large pond on the right side. To complicate matters, there are bunkers in front, behind and left of the elevated green. There's no safe bail out area, so choose your club and give it your best shot.
Hole 10 -- A medium length par-3 that's all carry over a large pond. As long as you clear the water, the hole is not difficult. For front pin positions, just aim for the centre of the green. If you attempt to land the ball near the front pin and miss hit it slightly, there's a chance you can end up in the water. There is a bowl at the front of the green that will influence your putting. Hit the ball to the edge of the bowl and let the slope do the rest of the work. For middle or rear pin positions, you can putt more aggressively.
Hole 11 -- A picturesque par-5 that plays between fescue covered dunes on either side of the fairway. If you happen to find the fescue, your first priority is to get back to the fairway. Use more loft and sacrifice some distance for a better chance at success. The hole is long, so don't try to do too much with your second shot. Playing a shorter shot will give you more control and offers the best chance at reaching the green in three. A deep bunker guards the front centre of the elevated green. Add more club for the elevation change and to clear the bunker. Depending on pin position, you may also be able to aim either left or right of the bunker. The green is large, so focus on your lag to avoid 3-putting.
Hole 12 -- Another medium length par-3 to a large, angled green. The left side of the green is more accessible than the right, which is deeper and tucked behind a protective front bunker. There's no reason to go pin hunting if the flag is in the back right position. Aim left of the bunker at the heart of the green. From there, it's a reasonable 2-putt to almost any pin location.
Hole 13 -- A good length par-4, typically played with a helping wind. A controlled drive that finds the fairway should get a few yards of roll. The green is large, with a plateau at the front and another at the back, separated by a deep trough in the middle. The hole is perhaps easiest when the pin is located in the trough. When the pin is at the front or at the back, you want to avoid having to putt through the trough, as it can be difficult to judge the speed. Take a moment on the approach shot to make sure your distance is dialled in.
Hole 14 -- The fairway on this par-5 is bordered by some high, fescue covered dunes. If your drive misses to either side, just make sure you get back to the fairway safely. If your drive finds the fairway, your second shot will be influenced by three bunkers that split the fairway further ahead. If you try to hit the upper portion on the left side,, you'll have to fly over the bunkers. The more straightforward option is to target the lower portion of the fairway on the right. The landing area is more visible and you can hit a low shot, or a high one – whatever you prefer. The approach to the green should be no more than a wedge. Just be sure to clear the front right bunker. The green is plenty deep.
Hole 15 -- A downhill par-4 that doglegs to the right. The inside of the dogleg is guarded by a sprawling bunker; it's so huge, in fact, that an island of rough sits in the centre, surrounded by sand on all sides. An ideal drive should be aimed at the left edge of the bunker. If struck well, the bunker will be cleared easily, and the ball will roll downhill to the centre of the fairway. From there, a wedge will be plenty to reach the green. A collection area located short and right of the green is the place to miss, if you absolutely must.
Hole 16 -- A medium length par-3 that offers a chance to score well with a good tee shot. Three bunkers that protect the green are all located at the front. The two on the right side are especially long, which can be difficult to ascertain from the teeing ground. Make sure you have enough club and aim to float your shot well past the bunkers. There is a good degree of slope to this green, so watch your putting speed, depending on your position relative to the hole location.
Hole 17 -- Another good length par-4 that requires two good shots to get on the green. This is a dogleg to the right, with a fairway bunker marking the inside of the dogleg. Aim your drive over the left edge of that bunker to set up your approach shot. You may be tempted to aim further left, as the open space looks inviting. However, most balls hit to that area will run out of fairway, leaving a long approach to the green from the rough. There are no bunkers in front of this green, but there is a ridge running along the left side. Chipping from below the ridge is not bad, so be aggressive on the approach shot. If you happen to miss to that side, you'll still be in decent position.
Hole 18 -- The final hole features another cluster of bunkers at the start of the fairway that may influence your tee shot. If you aim for the open spot left of the bunkers, your ball will roll off a pronounced plateau in the fairway and be pushed left toward the rough. The better play is to aim directly over the bunkers to the right half of the fairway. The carry distance should not be an issue at all. That side leaves an open approach to the green, while the left side brings some deep greenside bunkers into play. It's a familiar design element at Heathlands, so it's fitting that it should also define the final hole.
Here are my latest results at Heathlands, with the most recent shown first. Could be better.
Score: 96
Putts: 37
Fairways: 4
Greens: 4
Penalties: 3
Score: 91 (including a 9 on Hole 9)
Putts: 33
Fairways: 7
Greens: 3
Penalties: 1
Score: 94 (including an 11 on Hole 9)
Putts: 38
Fairways: 4
Greens: 6
Penalties: 4
Hole 1 -- A par-5 that doglegs to the left. A group of fairway bunkers on the left side can be carried comfortably with a good drive, leaving you in excellent position. If you're not feeling confident with your drives, the tendency is to aim right of the bunkers. This will bring the right rough into play, where your stance may be uneven. Right handers will have the ball above their feet, making a pulled second shot more likely. Even with an excellent drive, think twice about going for the green in two. Two deep bunkers lie in front of the green, collecting any shots that come in low. It's better to lay up in a spot that will leave a full wedge into the green on your third. With a high lofted club, the ball will take an aerial route and land softly on the green.
Hole 2 -- A relatively short par-4. Once again, a cluster of fairway bunkers, this time on the right side, will influence your tee shot. If you hit to the open left side, you're more likely to run out of fairway and you'll have a longer than necessary second shot into the green. From that angle, a bunker on the front left side of the green looms large. It's better to take your drive straight over the fairway bunkers on the right side. There's some room to miss right, but a straight shot on that line will finish in the middle of the fairway and leave just a wedge shot into the green. The green itself is deeper than it is wide, so choose your approach club accordingly.
Hole 3 -- A par-4 that doglegs to the left and forces you to carry a creek with your second shot. A drive left of the fairway can get close to the winding creek, while a miss to the right often ends up in one of two bunkers protecting that side. Attacking the green from either of those bunkers is a recipe for disaster. If you find yourself there, just advance the ball back to safety. The fairway itself is quite wide, so just try to find the centre with your tee shot. 3-wood might be a good option if you control that club a little better than driver. The creek must be crossed twice with your approach shot – the second leg closer to the green being far more gnarly. If you miss the green, it's better to be short and right, as bunkers and a slope down to the creek cover the left side.
Hole 4 -- Another relatively short par-4 from a slightly elevated tee. A good drive will easily carry the creek and should also carry the cluster of bunkers on the right hand side. If you're playing the blue or black tees, you'll be coming directly over those bunkers. If you're playing the white tees, you can aim just left of those bunkers for optimal positioning. This will leave just a wedge into the green. Two very deep bunkers protect the front left side of the green and should be avoided at all cost. It's better to miss the green short and right than to be in one of those. A pitch up to the elevated green is much easier from that position than playing out of those traps.
Hole 5 -- A medium length par-3 that often plays into the wind. Take an extra club or two, depending on the breeze. This will also help carry the front right bunkers that protect the green. There is a collection area left of the green that is not a bad place to miss. From that position, you can often putt or chip uphill to save par. This is one of the easier holes on the front nine, so take advantage if you can.
Hole 6 -- A long par-4 that plays uphill and often into the wind. This hole can feel like a par-5, especially if you don't hit a great drive. There is not a single bunker on this hole, either in the fairway or by the green, so if you hit a good drive, feel free to go for the green, even with a long iron. On the other hand, if your drive is weak, take your medicine and play the hole effectively as a par-5, aiming to reach the green in three. If you find yourself in the fescue at any point, your first priority is to get back to safety. Sometimes, it looks like you have a decent lie in there, but it's extremely deceiving. You need to add loft and give up yardage when hitting from those lies. This is one of the hardest holes on the front nine and needs to be respected.
Hole 7 -- A medium-length par-4, with a tee shot once again influenced by a cluster of fairway bunkers on the right side. If you're not feeling good with the driver, the tendency is to start the ball left of those bunkers. This brings the left rough and fescue into the equation. A good drive will carry those bunkers comfortably and finish in the middle of the fairway. This will also improve your angle into the green, the front left of which is protected by a large, deep bunker. The green is deeper than it is wide, and slopes down a fair degree from back to front. Watch your speed, especially if putting downhill.
Hole 8 -- A short par-3 over a pond, usually requiring no more than a wedge. Anything short or left of this green will end up in the water. The safest play is a medium depth shot to the right edge of the green. There is a bunker nearby if you stray a little too deep or too far right, but playing from there is preferable to taking a penalty stroke. With a decent shot off the tee, this becomes one of the easier holes on the front nine to make par. Of course, a bad tee shot here can easily lead to double-bogey. Pick a club and swing with confidence.
Hole 9 -- A fairly long par-5 and possibly the hardest hole on the front nine. The tee shot is over a penalty area to an angled fairway. For right handers, a slight fade is the ideal shape. Picking a target line can be tricky. Too far right, and your ball can land in the penalty area, which runs along the right side of the fairway. Too far left, and you can cross the fairway entirely, finishing in rough or fescue covered mounds that complicate your second shot. If you have a rangefinder or GPS device, get a distance to the left fairway bunkers to help choose your line. Just right of those fairway bunkers is usually a good bet. The second shot should be down the centre of the fairway. Just be careful not to go too far down the right hand side, as the slope can push your ball into the rough. The approach into this green will almost certainly require you to aim over the edge of the large pond on the right side. To complicate matters, there are bunkers in front, behind and left of the elevated green. There's no safe bail out area, so choose your club and give it your best shot.
Hole 10 -- A medium length par-3 that's all carry over a large pond. As long as you clear the water, the hole is not difficult. For front pin positions, just aim for the centre of the green. If you attempt to land the ball near the front pin and miss hit it slightly, there's a chance you can end up in the water. There is a bowl at the front of the green that will influence your putting. Hit the ball to the edge of the bowl and let the slope do the rest of the work. For middle or rear pin positions, you can putt more aggressively.
Hole 11 -- A picturesque par-5 that plays between fescue covered dunes on either side of the fairway. If you happen to find the fescue, your first priority is to get back to the fairway. Use more loft and sacrifice some distance for a better chance at success. The hole is long, so don't try to do too much with your second shot. Playing a shorter shot will give you more control and offers the best chance at reaching the green in three. A deep bunker guards the front centre of the elevated green. Add more club for the elevation change and to clear the bunker. Depending on pin position, you may also be able to aim either left or right of the bunker. The green is large, so focus on your lag to avoid 3-putting.
Hole 12 -- Another medium length par-3 to a large, angled green. The left side of the green is more accessible than the right, which is deeper and tucked behind a protective front bunker. There's no reason to go pin hunting if the flag is in the back right position. Aim left of the bunker at the heart of the green. From there, it's a reasonable 2-putt to almost any pin location.
Hole 13 -- A good length par-4, typically played with a helping wind. A controlled drive that finds the fairway should get a few yards of roll. The green is large, with a plateau at the front and another at the back, separated by a deep trough in the middle. The hole is perhaps easiest when the pin is located in the trough. When the pin is at the front or at the back, you want to avoid having to putt through the trough, as it can be difficult to judge the speed. Take a moment on the approach shot to make sure your distance is dialled in.
Hole 14 -- The fairway on this par-5 is bordered by some high, fescue covered dunes. If your drive misses to either side, just make sure you get back to the fairway safely. If your drive finds the fairway, your second shot will be influenced by three bunkers that split the fairway further ahead. If you try to hit the upper portion on the left side,, you'll have to fly over the bunkers. The more straightforward option is to target the lower portion of the fairway on the right. The landing area is more visible and you can hit a low shot, or a high one – whatever you prefer. The approach to the green should be no more than a wedge. Just be sure to clear the front right bunker. The green is plenty deep.
Hole 15 -- A downhill par-4 that doglegs to the right. The inside of the dogleg is guarded by a sprawling bunker; it's so huge, in fact, that an island of rough sits in the centre, surrounded by sand on all sides. An ideal drive should be aimed at the left edge of the bunker. If struck well, the bunker will be cleared easily, and the ball will roll downhill to the centre of the fairway. From there, a wedge will be plenty to reach the green. A collection area located short and right of the green is the place to miss, if you absolutely must.
Hole 16 -- A medium length par-3 that offers a chance to score well with a good tee shot. Three bunkers that protect the green are all located at the front. The two on the right side are especially long, which can be difficult to ascertain from the teeing ground. Make sure you have enough club and aim to float your shot well past the bunkers. There is a good degree of slope to this green, so watch your putting speed, depending on your position relative to the hole location.
Hole 17 -- Another good length par-4 that requires two good shots to get on the green. This is a dogleg to the right, with a fairway bunker marking the inside of the dogleg. Aim your drive over the left edge of that bunker to set up your approach shot. You may be tempted to aim further left, as the open space looks inviting. However, most balls hit to that area will run out of fairway, leaving a long approach to the green from the rough. There are no bunkers in front of this green, but there is a ridge running along the left side. Chipping from below the ridge is not bad, so be aggressive on the approach shot. If you happen to miss to that side, you'll still be in decent position.
Hole 18 -- The final hole features another cluster of bunkers at the start of the fairway that may influence your tee shot. If you aim for the open spot left of the bunkers, your ball will roll off a pronounced plateau in the fairway and be pushed left toward the rough. The better play is to aim directly over the bunkers to the right half of the fairway. The carry distance should not be an issue at all. That side leaves an open approach to the green, while the left side brings some deep greenside bunkers into play. It's a familiar design element at Heathlands, so it's fitting that it should also define the final hole.
Here are my latest results at Heathlands, with the most recent shown first. Could be better.
Score: 96
Putts: 37
Fairways: 4
Greens: 4
Penalties: 3
Score: 91 (including a 9 on Hole 9)
Putts: 33
Fairways: 7
Greens: 3
Penalties: 1
Score: 94 (including an 11 on Hole 9)
Putts: 38
Fairways: 4
Greens: 6
Penalties: 4
October 04, 2019
The Start is Everything at Kedron Dells
I don't have a great track record at Kedron Dells Golf Club. Most of the rounds I played there came early in my golfing tenure, but that is little consolation. Every time I visit the course, it seems I get off to a bad start, which immediately ruins the chance of a good score. The first five holes at Kedron Dells are sneaky, with numbers 4 and 5 perhaps being the toughest.
Hole 4 is a long par-4 that requires an accurate drive, followed by a long iron into the green. Miss the drive by just a hair and you're often forced to pitch the ball sideways into the fairway. The approach shot is complicated by a pond with some tall bullrushes that seems to swallow up more than its fair share of balls. Hole 5 is just a long par-3. A couple of small ponds and plenty of bunkers are simply hard to avoid from that distance.
I made double-bogey on each of those holes. My drive on hole 4 was picture perfect, but then I topped my second shot, sending the ball into the bullrushes. I missed the green on hole 5, then narrowly failed to carry a bunker with an attempted flop shot. Now, a couple of double-bogeys isn't the end of the world. However, they were preceded by another couple of doubles and a triple-bogey!
Hole 1 is a straight, flat par-5 that just happens to be long. Since you're more likely to miss long shots, that's how the hole gets you. My drive was perfect, but my second shot was hit fat, setting up a longer approach than I should have had. I pulled a 4-iron ever so slightly and the ball bounced all the way to some long weeds on the edge of the property. It was unplayable, leading to a double-bogey.
Hole 2 is a par-4 that started out well, with a drive to the left fairway, followed by an iron shot that just missed the green to the right. I was surprised that the ball bounced all the way into a back bunker. I got the ball out of there, but it rolled across the green into a front bunker. From there, I rolled across the green again, fortunate not to go into the original bunker for a second time. A chip and two putts later, I had a triple bogey.
Even hole 3, a fairly straightforward par-4 got me. How? Well, this time it was a 3-putt that produced double-bogey. You see, there's always a way. That's the game of golf. So through the first five holes of the round, I was already sitting 11 strokes over par. The good news is that I went 14 over par for the remaining 13 holes, or about bogey pace, but that was too little, too late.
The final 14 holes included a birdie and six pars, but it also included two triple-bogeys and a quad! It was very up and down, to say the least. I would be playing well, when all of a sudden, a bad shot would find a penalty area. I collected a whopping 7 penalty strokes on the day. You simply cannot score well when you have even half that many penalties.
The birdie was on hole 6, a par-5 lined on both sides by mature trees. My drive clipped a tree on the right side, but I got a favourable bounce. Then I hit a beautiful 3-iron from the rough that travelled under some branches and well down the fairway. I stuck a wedge shot close with my third and drained the putt for the rare birdie.
Satisfying pars came on holes 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, and 18. Hole 11 is a par-5 that featured a fantastic up and down from 50 yards. Hole 13 featured perhaps the shot of the day. I drove the ball left of the fairway and not very deep on this par-4. To reach the hidden green 190 yards away, I had to hug a line of trees while keeping the ball below the branches. Another wonderful 3-iron from the rough did the trick, as the ball came to rest at the front of the putting surface.
Finishing with three consecutive pars was nice, especially since they came on a par-4, par-5, and par-3, respectively. By far, the most impressive of these was the par-5, or hole 17. A perfect drive to the sloped fairway was followed by a perfect 6-iron to the 100-yard stick. You couldn't place two shots any better on this hole. My wedge approach was a tad short of the flag, but I was still able to 2-putt from the fringe.
Kedron got me again, it seems. I simply have to start better when I play there.
Score: 96
Putts: 32
Fairways: 5
Greens: 5
Penalties: 7
Hole 4 is a long par-4 that requires an accurate drive, followed by a long iron into the green. Miss the drive by just a hair and you're often forced to pitch the ball sideways into the fairway. The approach shot is complicated by a pond with some tall bullrushes that seems to swallow up more than its fair share of balls. Hole 5 is just a long par-3. A couple of small ponds and plenty of bunkers are simply hard to avoid from that distance.
I made double-bogey on each of those holes. My drive on hole 4 was picture perfect, but then I topped my second shot, sending the ball into the bullrushes. I missed the green on hole 5, then narrowly failed to carry a bunker with an attempted flop shot. Now, a couple of double-bogeys isn't the end of the world. However, they were preceded by another couple of doubles and a triple-bogey!
Hole 1 is a straight, flat par-5 that just happens to be long. Since you're more likely to miss long shots, that's how the hole gets you. My drive was perfect, but my second shot was hit fat, setting up a longer approach than I should have had. I pulled a 4-iron ever so slightly and the ball bounced all the way to some long weeds on the edge of the property. It was unplayable, leading to a double-bogey.
Hole 2 is a par-4 that started out well, with a drive to the left fairway, followed by an iron shot that just missed the green to the right. I was surprised that the ball bounced all the way into a back bunker. I got the ball out of there, but it rolled across the green into a front bunker. From there, I rolled across the green again, fortunate not to go into the original bunker for a second time. A chip and two putts later, I had a triple bogey.
Even hole 3, a fairly straightforward par-4 got me. How? Well, this time it was a 3-putt that produced double-bogey. You see, there's always a way. That's the game of golf. So through the first five holes of the round, I was already sitting 11 strokes over par. The good news is that I went 14 over par for the remaining 13 holes, or about bogey pace, but that was too little, too late.
The final 14 holes included a birdie and six pars, but it also included two triple-bogeys and a quad! It was very up and down, to say the least. I would be playing well, when all of a sudden, a bad shot would find a penalty area. I collected a whopping 7 penalty strokes on the day. You simply cannot score well when you have even half that many penalties.
The birdie was on hole 6, a par-5 lined on both sides by mature trees. My drive clipped a tree on the right side, but I got a favourable bounce. Then I hit a beautiful 3-iron from the rough that travelled under some branches and well down the fairway. I stuck a wedge shot close with my third and drained the putt for the rare birdie.
Satisfying pars came on holes 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, and 18. Hole 11 is a par-5 that featured a fantastic up and down from 50 yards. Hole 13 featured perhaps the shot of the day. I drove the ball left of the fairway and not very deep on this par-4. To reach the hidden green 190 yards away, I had to hug a line of trees while keeping the ball below the branches. Another wonderful 3-iron from the rough did the trick, as the ball came to rest at the front of the putting surface.
Finishing with three consecutive pars was nice, especially since they came on a par-4, par-5, and par-3, respectively. By far, the most impressive of these was the par-5, or hole 17. A perfect drive to the sloped fairway was followed by a perfect 6-iron to the 100-yard stick. You couldn't place two shots any better on this hole. My wedge approach was a tad short of the flag, but I was still able to 2-putt from the fringe.
Kedron got me again, it seems. I simply have to start better when I play there.
Score: 96
Putts: 32
Fairways: 5
Greens: 5
Penalties: 7
October 02, 2019
A Little More Hoot
I was hoping to play 18 holes on the Hoot Course at Osprey Valley, but only managed to finish 14. I didn't have any real blowup holes, though I did collect five double-bogeys. The first of these came on hole 2, a par-4. My second shot found a waste bunker short and right of the green. My third shot was sculled across the green, and this was followed by a poor chip and two putts.
The short game was a factor with some of the other doubles as well. On hole 3, another par-4, I was just right of the green after two shots. At worst, I should have been able to pitch on and 2-putt for bogey. Unfortunately, I duffed the first pitch attempt, completely wasting a shot. On hole 7, I intentionally laid up with my second shot. I should have been able to hit the green with my third, but I missed slightly, then failed to get up and down from just off the green.
By contrast, it was a bad tee shot that caused double-bogey on hole 12. I took a line that was too aggressive and failed to carry a pond on the right side. Hitting my third from the tee, I picked a better line and then nailed the fairway. From there, I made an excellent approach to the green, followed by a 2-putt. Had I made a better decision at the start, this would have been a par.
With the exception of par on hole 6, each of the remaining holes produced bogey. I hit a fair number of fairways, but didn't capitalize with greens in regulation. My approach shots were just weak enough to miss the greens, and my chip shots were just weak enough to still require two putts. Missing greens is not a terrible thing, as I often play to miss in a good spot. This helps avoid big numbers. However, it would be nice to get up and down every once in a while to convert some of those bogeys into pars.
I played enough holes for this round to count for handicap purposes. Stats below are an estimate of my totals, had I played the entire 18 holes.
Score: 94
Putts: 34
Fairways: 8
Greens: 1
Penalties: 1
The short game was a factor with some of the other doubles as well. On hole 3, another par-4, I was just right of the green after two shots. At worst, I should have been able to pitch on and 2-putt for bogey. Unfortunately, I duffed the first pitch attempt, completely wasting a shot. On hole 7, I intentionally laid up with my second shot. I should have been able to hit the green with my third, but I missed slightly, then failed to get up and down from just off the green.
By contrast, it was a bad tee shot that caused double-bogey on hole 12. I took a line that was too aggressive and failed to carry a pond on the right side. Hitting my third from the tee, I picked a better line and then nailed the fairway. From there, I made an excellent approach to the green, followed by a 2-putt. Had I made a better decision at the start, this would have been a par.
With the exception of par on hole 6, each of the remaining holes produced bogey. I hit a fair number of fairways, but didn't capitalize with greens in regulation. My approach shots were just weak enough to miss the greens, and my chip shots were just weak enough to still require two putts. Missing greens is not a terrible thing, as I often play to miss in a good spot. This helps avoid big numbers. However, it would be nice to get up and down every once in a while to convert some of those bogeys into pars.
I played enough holes for this round to count for handicap purposes. Stats below are an estimate of my totals, had I played the entire 18 holes.
Score: 94
Putts: 34
Fairways: 8
Greens: 1
Penalties: 1
September 28, 2019
Bogey Golf at Osprey Valley Hoot
I had a nice round on the Hoot course at Osprey Valley. Were it not for a tiny blemish on the front nine and a massive one on the back nine, this would have produced a score in the mid eighties. As such, I finished with a score of 90 even, or perfect bogey golf.
The small blemish on the front nine came on the very first hole, a par-5. I hit a weak drive off the heel of the club, followed by two iron shots that were topped slightly and went nowhere. My fourth shot was a 5-iron from 180 yards that I finally struck well, though the ball stopped just in front of the green. A pitch and two putts finished things off for a double-bogey.
The rest of the front nine was smooth sailing, as I collected a couple of pars and six bogeys. The first of the pars was on hole 6, a par-5 that is reachable with two good shots. I hit an excellent drive over the waste bunker on the right side, setting up a 5-iron approach from 180 yards. I pushed it ever so slightly, catching a slope on the first bounce that pushed the ball right into some rough. I chipped on from there, but failed to make the birdie putt, settling for the par.
The second par was on hole 8, a 166-yard par-3. I hit a buttery 7-iron that flew over a deep bunker protecting the front right of the green and took its first bounce flag high, just six feet from the hole. The ball released forward however, so I had a longer putt than that for birdie. I didn't make it, but I'll take a tap-in par every time.
Notable shots on the remaining holes included my drives on holes 3 and 9. The first of these was a blast over another waste bunker that travelled nice and deep to the centre of the fairway. The latter was much the same, splitting the pine forest to find the centre fairway. I hit a nice 6-iron off the elevated tee on hole 4, a par-3, and a lovely 4-iron into the green on hole 5, a long par-4. My score after nine holes was 44.
Now for the huge and only blemish on the back nine. It came on unlucky number 13, a par-5. All the danger on this hole is near the green. The fairway wraps around a huge pond, often forcing you to carry the water on your approach shot. The tee shot features no real danger at all. Nevertheless, I smothered my drive left into the woods. The fairway is massive, so there's really no excuse for that. I took a penalty and hit my third to the 150 yard stick. Next, I dunked one in the pond. After another penalty, I hit my sixth over the back of the green into more woods. Forced to take my third penalty of the hole, I chipped my eighth shot onto the green. I then 2-putt for a score of 10. Unreal!
That nonsense aside, the back nine was great, featuring three pars and five bogeys. The first of the pars was on hole 12. I hit driver, sand wedge into this par-4, followed by a lag putt and tap-in. The next par was on hole 15, a par-3 that's all carry over a massive waste bunker. An 8-iron set up a birdie putt at the back hole location, but I just missed and then tapped in for the par. The last par was on hole 17 – the waterfall hole. Everybody loves Hoot, but some people don't care much for the waterfall. I quite like it. I hit 5-wood, 9-iron into the green and had a very good chance at birdie. Unfortunately, I just missed the hole on the low side. That's okay, par is fine.
Other notable shots included my driver, 4-iron combo to begin hole 11, a par-5. I played through another single on this hole. He reasoned that I should play through, rather than join up, as I was “much better than him and that he would just slow me down.” LOL, I won't argue. It wasn't exactly the truth, but after witnessing those two shots of mine, I don't blame him for thinking that. I hit another beautiful drive on hole 14, and a slick up and down near the green on hole 16. A final score of 90 ain't bad, I'll take it.
Score: 90
Putts: 34
Fairways: 9
Greens: 5
Penalties: 3
The small blemish on the front nine came on the very first hole, a par-5. I hit a weak drive off the heel of the club, followed by two iron shots that were topped slightly and went nowhere. My fourth shot was a 5-iron from 180 yards that I finally struck well, though the ball stopped just in front of the green. A pitch and two putts finished things off for a double-bogey.
The rest of the front nine was smooth sailing, as I collected a couple of pars and six bogeys. The first of the pars was on hole 6, a par-5 that is reachable with two good shots. I hit an excellent drive over the waste bunker on the right side, setting up a 5-iron approach from 180 yards. I pushed it ever so slightly, catching a slope on the first bounce that pushed the ball right into some rough. I chipped on from there, but failed to make the birdie putt, settling for the par.
The second par was on hole 8, a 166-yard par-3. I hit a buttery 7-iron that flew over a deep bunker protecting the front right of the green and took its first bounce flag high, just six feet from the hole. The ball released forward however, so I had a longer putt than that for birdie. I didn't make it, but I'll take a tap-in par every time.
Notable shots on the remaining holes included my drives on holes 3 and 9. The first of these was a blast over another waste bunker that travelled nice and deep to the centre of the fairway. The latter was much the same, splitting the pine forest to find the centre fairway. I hit a nice 6-iron off the elevated tee on hole 4, a par-3, and a lovely 4-iron into the green on hole 5, a long par-4. My score after nine holes was 44.
Now for the huge and only blemish on the back nine. It came on unlucky number 13, a par-5. All the danger on this hole is near the green. The fairway wraps around a huge pond, often forcing you to carry the water on your approach shot. The tee shot features no real danger at all. Nevertheless, I smothered my drive left into the woods. The fairway is massive, so there's really no excuse for that. I took a penalty and hit my third to the 150 yard stick. Next, I dunked one in the pond. After another penalty, I hit my sixth over the back of the green into more woods. Forced to take my third penalty of the hole, I chipped my eighth shot onto the green. I then 2-putt for a score of 10. Unreal!
That nonsense aside, the back nine was great, featuring three pars and five bogeys. The first of the pars was on hole 12. I hit driver, sand wedge into this par-4, followed by a lag putt and tap-in. The next par was on hole 15, a par-3 that's all carry over a massive waste bunker. An 8-iron set up a birdie putt at the back hole location, but I just missed and then tapped in for the par. The last par was on hole 17 – the waterfall hole. Everybody loves Hoot, but some people don't care much for the waterfall. I quite like it. I hit 5-wood, 9-iron into the green and had a very good chance at birdie. Unfortunately, I just missed the hole on the low side. That's okay, par is fine.
Other notable shots included my driver, 4-iron combo to begin hole 11, a par-5. I played through another single on this hole. He reasoned that I should play through, rather than join up, as I was “much better than him and that he would just slow me down.” LOL, I won't argue. It wasn't exactly the truth, but after witnessing those two shots of mine, I don't blame him for thinking that. I hit another beautiful drive on hole 14, and a slick up and down near the green on hole 16. A final score of 90 ain't bad, I'll take it.
Score: 90
Putts: 34
Fairways: 9
Greens: 5
Penalties: 3
September 21, 2019
Personal Best at King's Forest
I booked a last minute round as a single at King's Forest Golf Club. While checking in with the starter, I noticed a familiar name alongside mine on the tee sheet. Sure enough, it was someone I met over a decade earlier while playing in a golf association. To top it all off, his guest was another familiar member of the same group! It was great seeing those guys again and it was a treat to play together.
King's Forest is a course that has punished me over the years, to put it mildly. My best score there was my very first visit, and that was only a 95. Even during good stretches of golf, I would show up at King's Forest, only to blow up for a huge score. I shot 100 or worse there more times than I care to remember. I'm glad to say that I shot 90 even this time around – easily a personal best for the course.
I shot 42 on the front nine, with four pars, four bogeys, and one double-bogey. After missing fairways on the first two holes, I played smart second shots that enabled me to save a couple of bogeys. I missed the fairway on hole 3 as well, but a brilliant second shot found the green and set up a par.
Hole 4 is the one that resulted in double-bogey. My third shot into this par-5 was pulled into a bunker left of the green. As the bunker had no real lip, I tried to putt one out. I've used this technique successfully before, but this time I finished short of the green. My fifth shot was a chip that went a little long, and it was followed by two putts.
The rest of the front nine was very nice indeed: par, par, bogey, par, bogey. The first of these pars came on a 200-yard par-3 after I found the green in regulation. Up and down from right of the green earned the second par on a par-5 hole. A bunker shot on hole 7 was good enough to set up bogey. Par on hole 8, a 355-yard par-4 was textbook stuff.
The bogey on hole 9 was actually great. I pulled my drive left into a penalty area. After taking a penalty and drop, I faced an extremely steep downslope. Trees on the left were blocking my path to the green. I took a more lofted club to account for the downslope and tried to play a huge hook shot into the green. It came off exactly as I pictured, with the ball finishing 10 feet from the hole. Even though I didn't make the par saving putt, it was a great recovery. That hook was a fun shot to pull off.
I made par on hole 10 before reaching the section of King's Forest that destroys many a round. Holes 11 through 13 can be deadly. I've had success on some of these holes before, but have never been able to make it through all three unscathed. I pulled my drive from the elevated tee on hole 11, but was lucky to avoid trees and catch the cart path, with my ball finishing with an unobstructed path to the green. My approach with sand wedge was flared a little, finishing a yard right of the green. I chipped on and 2-putt for bogey.
Hole 12 is a tight dogleg to the right. Your tee shot has to be straight and also the perfect distance to allow you to even go for the green with your second shot. I hit a laser 3-iron, 220 yards to the right edge of the fairway. It was long enough to get around the corner, leaving an open path to the green. My gap wedge approach was a little disappointing, finishing just right of the green. I chipped on and 2-putt to finish with another bogey. So far, so good.
Sadly, hole 13 got me, producing a triple-bogey. The tee shot on this par-4 does not suit my game. The teeing ground is pressed against the tree line on the left, forcing you to start the ball out to the right. If you can draw the ball, that's fine. If you tend to fade the ball, there's a good chance of finding the woods right of the fairway. You have more margin for error if you play shorter off the tee, but then you face a long second shot over the imposing river, which crosses the fairway. I flared my tee shot right into the woods. After a penalty and drop, I tried to shoot over the river, but dove in the water for another penalty. A brilliant fifth shot from 150 yards gave me a chance to save double-bogey, but I missed the putt, hence taking the triple.
The rest of the round was just bad enough that I failed to break 90; I went bogey, double, double, bogey, bogey. A tiny tree interfered with my second shot on hole 15, a par-5. I recovered with a decent third that finished left of the green. Unfortunately, I duffed a pitch attempt, with my club face sliding right under the ball. Double-bogey was the end result.
A terrible tee shot on hole 16 caused the other double. This is a really short par-4 at just 295 yards. I don't think I was trying to crush the ball off the tee, but I topped it badly. Oh well, that's how it goes sometimes. On a positive note, I did save bogey on hole 18, despite taking a penalty stroke for another drive pulled into the woods.
Score: 90
Putts: 33
Fairways: 1
Greens: 3
Penalties: 4
King's Forest is a course that has punished me over the years, to put it mildly. My best score there was my very first visit, and that was only a 95. Even during good stretches of golf, I would show up at King's Forest, only to blow up for a huge score. I shot 100 or worse there more times than I care to remember. I'm glad to say that I shot 90 even this time around – easily a personal best for the course.
I shot 42 on the front nine, with four pars, four bogeys, and one double-bogey. After missing fairways on the first two holes, I played smart second shots that enabled me to save a couple of bogeys. I missed the fairway on hole 3 as well, but a brilliant second shot found the green and set up a par.
Hole 4 is the one that resulted in double-bogey. My third shot into this par-5 was pulled into a bunker left of the green. As the bunker had no real lip, I tried to putt one out. I've used this technique successfully before, but this time I finished short of the green. My fifth shot was a chip that went a little long, and it was followed by two putts.
The rest of the front nine was very nice indeed: par, par, bogey, par, bogey. The first of these pars came on a 200-yard par-3 after I found the green in regulation. Up and down from right of the green earned the second par on a par-5 hole. A bunker shot on hole 7 was good enough to set up bogey. Par on hole 8, a 355-yard par-4 was textbook stuff.
The bogey on hole 9 was actually great. I pulled my drive left into a penalty area. After taking a penalty and drop, I faced an extremely steep downslope. Trees on the left were blocking my path to the green. I took a more lofted club to account for the downslope and tried to play a huge hook shot into the green. It came off exactly as I pictured, with the ball finishing 10 feet from the hole. Even though I didn't make the par saving putt, it was a great recovery. That hook was a fun shot to pull off.
I made par on hole 10 before reaching the section of King's Forest that destroys many a round. Holes 11 through 13 can be deadly. I've had success on some of these holes before, but have never been able to make it through all three unscathed. I pulled my drive from the elevated tee on hole 11, but was lucky to avoid trees and catch the cart path, with my ball finishing with an unobstructed path to the green. My approach with sand wedge was flared a little, finishing a yard right of the green. I chipped on and 2-putt for bogey.
Hole 12 is a tight dogleg to the right. Your tee shot has to be straight and also the perfect distance to allow you to even go for the green with your second shot. I hit a laser 3-iron, 220 yards to the right edge of the fairway. It was long enough to get around the corner, leaving an open path to the green. My gap wedge approach was a little disappointing, finishing just right of the green. I chipped on and 2-putt to finish with another bogey. So far, so good.
Sadly, hole 13 got me, producing a triple-bogey. The tee shot on this par-4 does not suit my game. The teeing ground is pressed against the tree line on the left, forcing you to start the ball out to the right. If you can draw the ball, that's fine. If you tend to fade the ball, there's a good chance of finding the woods right of the fairway. You have more margin for error if you play shorter off the tee, but then you face a long second shot over the imposing river, which crosses the fairway. I flared my tee shot right into the woods. After a penalty and drop, I tried to shoot over the river, but dove in the water for another penalty. A brilliant fifth shot from 150 yards gave me a chance to save double-bogey, but I missed the putt, hence taking the triple.
The rest of the round was just bad enough that I failed to break 90; I went bogey, double, double, bogey, bogey. A tiny tree interfered with my second shot on hole 15, a par-5. I recovered with a decent third that finished left of the green. Unfortunately, I duffed a pitch attempt, with my club face sliding right under the ball. Double-bogey was the end result.
A terrible tee shot on hole 16 caused the other double. This is a really short par-4 at just 295 yards. I don't think I was trying to crush the ball off the tee, but I topped it badly. Oh well, that's how it goes sometimes. On a positive note, I did save bogey on hole 18, despite taking a penalty stroke for another drive pulled into the woods.
Score: 90
Putts: 33
Fairways: 1
Greens: 3
Penalties: 4
September 15, 2019
Deepwoods Champ Despite Poor Round
The final round of the 2019 Deepwoods season was held on the West Course at The Country Club. I was the leader at the start of play, with four other players still alive in the hunt for the championship. The one closest to me in the standings made a serious charge over the first third of the round, but he couldn't sustain it and ultimately fell short. The others struggled for most of the round, as did I. When all was said and done, I captured the title on the strength of my previous four rounds.
Hole 1 is a long par-4 that was playing even longer into a stiff wind. I was smart to play it like a par-5 by laying up on my second shot and walked away with a bogey. Hole 2 is a par-4 that was also playing into the wind, but it was 65 yards shorter than the previous hole. I tried to hit a 5-iron out of the left rough on my second shot, but the rough made all the difference, and I pulled the ball into a penalty area short and left of the green. I should have used a more lofted club and laid up as I had on hole 1. Instead, I ended up with a triple-bogey.
I made a mess of hole 3, a little 134-yard par-3. The front flag position caused me to choose less club, and when I missed the sweet spot, the ball came up short into a pond. My third from the tee drew too much and finished in a left side bunker. My ball was near the back edge and I had no backswing available. I finished with a quadruple-bogey. Hole 4 is a par-5 that began with some shaky iron shots. When I finally hit a good one from 150 yards, I was unlucky to just miss the green left. I finished with a double-bogey.
Holes 5 through 15 weren't that bad, as I played them just a couple of strokes over bogey pace. This stretch of holes included two pars, five bogeys, and four doubles. I smartly laid up in front of the river from the right rough on hole 5. The green wasn't out of my range, but that rough was going to cause a problem. I hit a beautiful approach with my third shot into this par-4, but failed to make an uphill putt from 6 feet to save par. Still, bogey wasn't bad. The bogey on the next hole was a bit worse, as I 3-putt after hitting the green of this par-3 in regulation.
Holes 7 and 8 both produced double-bogeys. A wedge shot with the ball below my feet failed to find the green on the former. After pitching on, I should have made no worse than bogey, but I 3-putt once again. The greens at The Country Club are very sloped and you're in trouble if putting from above the hole. I hit a perfect drive on hole 8 to the left fairway, stopping just in front of the river. Actually, my ball ran 6 inches through the fairway. You couldn't ask for a better angle to the flag and I was just 130 yards away. I proceeded to scull a wedge shot barely across the river, and then I fluffed one from a spongy lie. My fourth shot finally made the green and then I 2-putt. What a waste!
Hole 9, a par-4, resulted in my first par of the day. I found the green from the left rough, then 2-putt from below the hole. Holes 10 and 11 were typical bogeys, where I required one extra chip to reach the green, followed by two putts. I should have had the same result on hole 12, but I had to flop my pitch over a bunker. The ball released off the other side of the green, ultimately leading to double-bogey. On hole 13, I was back to the prototypical bogey. Hole 14 is a par-3 and I pulled my tee shot into a bunker left. My bunker shot couldn't hold the green and I had to chip on with my third. Two putts resulted in double-bogey. Fortunately, I made par on hole 15, thanks to an excellent drive and pretty good approach shot.
I finished the round with a bogey and two doubles. The first of the doubles, on hole 16, was an ugly one. This is a 148-yard par-3 that began with a hook that overshot the green by a large margin. I did well to punch below tree branches into some mounds beside the green, but the ball released off the other side into a bunker. Hole 17 was fine and resulted in the bogey. Hole 18, a par-5, should have been no worse than bogey. I reached the green in regulation with three excellent shots, but proceeded to 4-putt. Yes, a 4-putt!
I'll try to forget this round, but I'll hold on to the memory of winning the Deepwoods championship.
Score: 99
Putts: 37
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
Penalties: 2
Hole 1 is a long par-4 that was playing even longer into a stiff wind. I was smart to play it like a par-5 by laying up on my second shot and walked away with a bogey. Hole 2 is a par-4 that was also playing into the wind, but it was 65 yards shorter than the previous hole. I tried to hit a 5-iron out of the left rough on my second shot, but the rough made all the difference, and I pulled the ball into a penalty area short and left of the green. I should have used a more lofted club and laid up as I had on hole 1. Instead, I ended up with a triple-bogey.
I made a mess of hole 3, a little 134-yard par-3. The front flag position caused me to choose less club, and when I missed the sweet spot, the ball came up short into a pond. My third from the tee drew too much and finished in a left side bunker. My ball was near the back edge and I had no backswing available. I finished with a quadruple-bogey. Hole 4 is a par-5 that began with some shaky iron shots. When I finally hit a good one from 150 yards, I was unlucky to just miss the green left. I finished with a double-bogey.
Holes 5 through 15 weren't that bad, as I played them just a couple of strokes over bogey pace. This stretch of holes included two pars, five bogeys, and four doubles. I smartly laid up in front of the river from the right rough on hole 5. The green wasn't out of my range, but that rough was going to cause a problem. I hit a beautiful approach with my third shot into this par-4, but failed to make an uphill putt from 6 feet to save par. Still, bogey wasn't bad. The bogey on the next hole was a bit worse, as I 3-putt after hitting the green of this par-3 in regulation.
Holes 7 and 8 both produced double-bogeys. A wedge shot with the ball below my feet failed to find the green on the former. After pitching on, I should have made no worse than bogey, but I 3-putt once again. The greens at The Country Club are very sloped and you're in trouble if putting from above the hole. I hit a perfect drive on hole 8 to the left fairway, stopping just in front of the river. Actually, my ball ran 6 inches through the fairway. You couldn't ask for a better angle to the flag and I was just 130 yards away. I proceeded to scull a wedge shot barely across the river, and then I fluffed one from a spongy lie. My fourth shot finally made the green and then I 2-putt. What a waste!
Hole 9, a par-4, resulted in my first par of the day. I found the green from the left rough, then 2-putt from below the hole. Holes 10 and 11 were typical bogeys, where I required one extra chip to reach the green, followed by two putts. I should have had the same result on hole 12, but I had to flop my pitch over a bunker. The ball released off the other side of the green, ultimately leading to double-bogey. On hole 13, I was back to the prototypical bogey. Hole 14 is a par-3 and I pulled my tee shot into a bunker left. My bunker shot couldn't hold the green and I had to chip on with my third. Two putts resulted in double-bogey. Fortunately, I made par on hole 15, thanks to an excellent drive and pretty good approach shot.
I finished the round with a bogey and two doubles. The first of the doubles, on hole 16, was an ugly one. This is a 148-yard par-3 that began with a hook that overshot the green by a large margin. I did well to punch below tree branches into some mounds beside the green, but the ball released off the other side into a bunker. Hole 17 was fine and resulted in the bogey. Hole 18, a par-5, should have been no worse than bogey. I reached the green in regulation with three excellent shots, but proceeded to 4-putt. Yes, a 4-putt!
I'll try to forget this round, but I'll hold on to the memory of winning the Deepwoods championship.
Score: 99
Putts: 37
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
Penalties: 2
September 13, 2019
Wasted Trip to Tangle Creek
I booked a round at Tangle Creek less than 24 hours before my tee time, making sure the weather would be nice before I did so. The forecast called for a mix of sun and cloud, with just a 30 percent chance of rain. When the chance of rain is 30 percent or lower, it almost always never rains. Well, this was the exception.
There was no sun at all for the entire day. The sky was completely overcast. When I teed off on the first hole, it was already drizzling, and it persisted for the entire front nine. In fact, it intensified. By the time I played the tenth hole, it turned into a steady rain. It went back to a drizzle by the end of the round, but no matter how you slice it, the weather was horrible.
To make matters worse, the club had very recently aerated its greens. Some clubs will roll and top dress their greens after aeration, making them a little nicer to putt on. I don't know what Tangle Creek did as part of their aeration process, but the greens were absolutely terrible. Balls would veer left and right on a single putt, which was even worse than bumping up and down as they rolled.
Despite the poor conditions, the first third of my round was great. I made five bogeys and a par over the first six holes. Two of the bogeys were disappointing because marvellous drives were followed by wedge shots that missed the greens short. The same thing happened on hole 5, but that time I got up and down for the par.
Hole 7 is a challenging par-5 and I messed it up early by failing to carry a naturalized area off the tee with my 5-wood. After taking a penalty stroke, I hit my third from the tee, followed by a good layup. Unfortunately, I messed up over the final 150 yards, finishing with a quadruple-bogey 9. One hole undid all the good I had done earlier.
The next nine holes produced six bogeys and three double-bogeys. Marvellous drives on holes 10 and 11 were wasted by subsequent wedge shots. The fairways were damp and soft, requiring shots to be picked or brushed clean. I tend to hit down on those shots, which works well under normal conditions. When the ground is soft, the divots get huge and these shots tend to come up short.
Beginning on hole 13, I got caught behind slower groups ahead of me. Some people got off the course when the rain intensified, while others paused and waited for the worst of the rain to pass. This threw off the spacing greatly. The two guys I played with on the front nine called it quits at the turn, so I played holes 10 through 12 quickly as a single. Hole 13, a par-5, took forever to play, as I was then behind a foursome. With all the waiting around, I pulled two shots into penalty areas and ended up making double-bogey.
Fortunately, the foursome let me play through on hole 14, and I made bogey. I caught the next foursome on the tee of hole 15, but they drove off without acknowledging me. As a result, this hole also took forever to play. I actually hit a fantastic drive on this 346-yard par-4, running a yard through the end of the fairway. I stood at my ball for ages as the foursome looked for balls just a few yards ahead of me in a creek. With the waiting and the soft ground, my wedge shot into the green came up short again and I made bogey.
The second group did let me through on hole 16, a par-3. Of course, with them all watching me tee off, I failed to carry the naturalized area covering most of the area between the teeing ground and the green. I was forced to take a penalty and ended up with double-bogey. Between the bad weather, the aerated greens, and all of the waiting, the focus just wasn't there. I finished the round with a triple-bogey and bogey.
I produced a lot of rounds in the 80s recently, and on the rare occasions when I didn't, I missed by only one or two strokes. This time, I shot a disappointing 96. It really was a wasted trip, I must say.
Score: 96
Putts: 33
Fairways: 6
Greens: 0
Penalties: 5
There was no sun at all for the entire day. The sky was completely overcast. When I teed off on the first hole, it was already drizzling, and it persisted for the entire front nine. In fact, it intensified. By the time I played the tenth hole, it turned into a steady rain. It went back to a drizzle by the end of the round, but no matter how you slice it, the weather was horrible.
To make matters worse, the club had very recently aerated its greens. Some clubs will roll and top dress their greens after aeration, making them a little nicer to putt on. I don't know what Tangle Creek did as part of their aeration process, but the greens were absolutely terrible. Balls would veer left and right on a single putt, which was even worse than bumping up and down as they rolled.
Despite the poor conditions, the first third of my round was great. I made five bogeys and a par over the first six holes. Two of the bogeys were disappointing because marvellous drives were followed by wedge shots that missed the greens short. The same thing happened on hole 5, but that time I got up and down for the par.
Hole 7 is a challenging par-5 and I messed it up early by failing to carry a naturalized area off the tee with my 5-wood. After taking a penalty stroke, I hit my third from the tee, followed by a good layup. Unfortunately, I messed up over the final 150 yards, finishing with a quadruple-bogey 9. One hole undid all the good I had done earlier.
The next nine holes produced six bogeys and three double-bogeys. Marvellous drives on holes 10 and 11 were wasted by subsequent wedge shots. The fairways were damp and soft, requiring shots to be picked or brushed clean. I tend to hit down on those shots, which works well under normal conditions. When the ground is soft, the divots get huge and these shots tend to come up short.
Beginning on hole 13, I got caught behind slower groups ahead of me. Some people got off the course when the rain intensified, while others paused and waited for the worst of the rain to pass. This threw off the spacing greatly. The two guys I played with on the front nine called it quits at the turn, so I played holes 10 through 12 quickly as a single. Hole 13, a par-5, took forever to play, as I was then behind a foursome. With all the waiting around, I pulled two shots into penalty areas and ended up making double-bogey.
Fortunately, the foursome let me play through on hole 14, and I made bogey. I caught the next foursome on the tee of hole 15, but they drove off without acknowledging me. As a result, this hole also took forever to play. I actually hit a fantastic drive on this 346-yard par-4, running a yard through the end of the fairway. I stood at my ball for ages as the foursome looked for balls just a few yards ahead of me in a creek. With the waiting and the soft ground, my wedge shot into the green came up short again and I made bogey.
The second group did let me through on hole 16, a par-3. Of course, with them all watching me tee off, I failed to carry the naturalized area covering most of the area between the teeing ground and the green. I was forced to take a penalty and ended up with double-bogey. Between the bad weather, the aerated greens, and all of the waiting, the focus just wasn't there. I finished the round with a triple-bogey and bogey.
I produced a lot of rounds in the 80s recently, and on the rare occasions when I didn't, I missed by only one or two strokes. This time, I shot a disappointing 96. It really was a wasted trip, I must say.
Score: 96
Putts: 33
Fairways: 6
Greens: 0
Penalties: 5
September 12, 2019
Another Decent Result at Scenic Woods
I headed out to Scenic Woods, where I've had quite a bit of success in the past. My front nine was good, despite making double-bogey on the opening par-5. This is a wide open hole and totally flat, so the start was somewhat disappointing. I simply hit a number of bad shots in succession, all from the left rough, after beginning with a very serviceable drive.
I made par on four of the next five holes, so I got on track very quickly. Key to the streak was hitting good irons to reach the greens in regulation. Wedges did the trick on holes 2 and 4, while a 9-iron got me safely to the putting surface on hole 6. Though I didn't get a GIR on hole 5, I hit a great 5-iron to just in front of the green, which set up a perfect chip and putt.
I closed out the front nine with three bogeys for a score of 42. A couple of these holes are par-3 designs. I hit a good tee shot on each, but barely missed the greens. My subsequent chips were mediocre, so I was unable to get up and down. The other hole is a short par-4. I failed to get my second shot close and went on to 3-putt.
The back nine wasn't nearly as consistent. Once again, I began with double-bogey on a par-5. Hole 10 always seems to play into a headwind, making the tee shot very uncomfortable. I sliced my drive well right, leading to a lost ball and penalty stroke. I hit some good shots on the remainder of the hole, but the damage was done.
I averaged bogey golf over the next four holes, with two actual bogeys accompanied by a par and a double-bogey. The bogey on hole 11 was a good result after a poor tee shot that I pushed to the right. The bogey on hole 12 was a bad result after it ended with a 3-putt. The par came on hole 14, a short par-4, after a couple of iron shots lead me safely to the green.
The last four holes were a bit disappointing, mostly because I collected a penalty stroke on three of them. I pulled my drive into a penalty area on hole 15, leading to double-bogey. I failed to carry a creek with my second shot on hole 17. Once again, double-bogey was the result. I tried to reach hole 18, a par-5, in two shots, but my second was a miss hit that landed in a pond. After a penalty stroke, I dropped at the same location and nailed the green with a 5-wood from 220 yards. That great shot and a 2-putt saved bogey.
I just missed breaking 90 for the second time in a row, but I can't really be disappointed.
Score: 91
Putts: 37
Fairways: 4
Greens: 6
Penalties: 5
I made par on four of the next five holes, so I got on track very quickly. Key to the streak was hitting good irons to reach the greens in regulation. Wedges did the trick on holes 2 and 4, while a 9-iron got me safely to the putting surface on hole 6. Though I didn't get a GIR on hole 5, I hit a great 5-iron to just in front of the green, which set up a perfect chip and putt.
I closed out the front nine with three bogeys for a score of 42. A couple of these holes are par-3 designs. I hit a good tee shot on each, but barely missed the greens. My subsequent chips were mediocre, so I was unable to get up and down. The other hole is a short par-4. I failed to get my second shot close and went on to 3-putt.
The back nine wasn't nearly as consistent. Once again, I began with double-bogey on a par-5. Hole 10 always seems to play into a headwind, making the tee shot very uncomfortable. I sliced my drive well right, leading to a lost ball and penalty stroke. I hit some good shots on the remainder of the hole, but the damage was done.
I averaged bogey golf over the next four holes, with two actual bogeys accompanied by a par and a double-bogey. The bogey on hole 11 was a good result after a poor tee shot that I pushed to the right. The bogey on hole 12 was a bad result after it ended with a 3-putt. The par came on hole 14, a short par-4, after a couple of iron shots lead me safely to the green.
The last four holes were a bit disappointing, mostly because I collected a penalty stroke on three of them. I pulled my drive into a penalty area on hole 15, leading to double-bogey. I failed to carry a creek with my second shot on hole 17. Once again, double-bogey was the result. I tried to reach hole 18, a par-5, in two shots, but my second was a miss hit that landed in a pond. After a penalty stroke, I dropped at the same location and nailed the green with a 5-wood from 220 yards. That great shot and a 2-putt saved bogey.
I just missed breaking 90 for the second time in a row, but I can't really be disappointed.
Score: 91
Putts: 37
Fairways: 4
Greens: 6
Penalties: 5
September 11, 2019
First Crack at Caledon Woods
It was nearly four weeks since my last round of golf, in part due to some poor weather in the Toronto region, but mostly because I traveled to Europe for a couple of weeks. About 36 hours after returning home, I played in a Deepwoods event at Caledon Woods Golf Club. I had broken 90 in nine of my previous ten rounds, but I worried how the time off might affect my game. I had also never played Caledon Woods before.
It turns out I had nothing to worry about. I didn't score in the eighties, as I shot 90 even, but I had the best point tally among Deepwoods members, and by a healthy margin. In fact, I moved into first place in the season long standings. I began with a pair of double-bogeys, thanks to a drive that was hit fat, a couple of imprecise wedge shots, and a 3-putt. I improved to 4-over through the next four holes, including a par, two bogeys, and a double. The par, on hole 4, came after a 5-iron, sand wedge combination left me within 8 feet of the hole.
I finished the front nine with a trio of pars. The 5-iron, sand wedge combo worked its magic again on hole 7, a short par-4. A lengthy lag putt was followed by an easy tap-in. Hole 8 is a 496 yard par-5 that began with a perfect drive to the right fairway. A laser like 4-iron carried me to an area of fairway right of the green. Finally, a 50-yard pitch and two putts sealed the deal. Hole 9 is a fairly lengthy par-4 at 417 yards, but par was once again the result as my confidence grew.
The back nine began with a triple-bogey on a par-5, and that was with a chip-in from off the green! The hole had a promising start, with a nice drive to the left side of the fairway. Unfortunately, I then thinned an 8-iron into a creek up ahead. This produced my only penalty stroke of the day. Another shot landed in a bunker with a high lip. I was forced to splash out, rather than go for the green. Just before the chip-in, a pitch shot rolled off the back of the green. Everything just seemed to go wrong at once.
Perhaps the chip-in gave me hope, as I seemingly shook off the bad hole and immediately started playing well again. I played at bogey pace over the remaining eight holes, with two actual bogeys and three pars that offset three double-bogeys. Two of the pars were on holes 11 and 13, which are both par-3 designs. One required an up and down from just off the green, while the other was a conventional green in regulation and 2-putt. Two of the double-bogeys were on holes 14 and 15. Both holes featured great shots, with one bad shot that spoiled the fun. On 14, it was a thinned second shot that settled in a fairway bunker with a high lip. On 15, it was a duffed pitch shot over a creek fronting the green.
I very nearly broke 90 again. That's okay, I'm still pleased.
Score: 90
Putts: 34
Fairways: 10
Greens: 6
Penalties: 1
It turns out I had nothing to worry about. I didn't score in the eighties, as I shot 90 even, but I had the best point tally among Deepwoods members, and by a healthy margin. In fact, I moved into first place in the season long standings. I began with a pair of double-bogeys, thanks to a drive that was hit fat, a couple of imprecise wedge shots, and a 3-putt. I improved to 4-over through the next four holes, including a par, two bogeys, and a double. The par, on hole 4, came after a 5-iron, sand wedge combination left me within 8 feet of the hole.
I finished the front nine with a trio of pars. The 5-iron, sand wedge combo worked its magic again on hole 7, a short par-4. A lengthy lag putt was followed by an easy tap-in. Hole 8 is a 496 yard par-5 that began with a perfect drive to the right fairway. A laser like 4-iron carried me to an area of fairway right of the green. Finally, a 50-yard pitch and two putts sealed the deal. Hole 9 is a fairly lengthy par-4 at 417 yards, but par was once again the result as my confidence grew.
The back nine began with a triple-bogey on a par-5, and that was with a chip-in from off the green! The hole had a promising start, with a nice drive to the left side of the fairway. Unfortunately, I then thinned an 8-iron into a creek up ahead. This produced my only penalty stroke of the day. Another shot landed in a bunker with a high lip. I was forced to splash out, rather than go for the green. Just before the chip-in, a pitch shot rolled off the back of the green. Everything just seemed to go wrong at once.
Perhaps the chip-in gave me hope, as I seemingly shook off the bad hole and immediately started playing well again. I played at bogey pace over the remaining eight holes, with two actual bogeys and three pars that offset three double-bogeys. Two of the pars were on holes 11 and 13, which are both par-3 designs. One required an up and down from just off the green, while the other was a conventional green in regulation and 2-putt. Two of the double-bogeys were on holes 14 and 15. Both holes featured great shots, with one bad shot that spoiled the fun. On 14, it was a thinned second shot that settled in a fairway bunker with a high lip. On 15, it was a duffed pitch shot over a creek fronting the green.
I very nearly broke 90 again. That's okay, I'm still pleased.
Score: 90
Putts: 34
Fairways: 10
Greens: 6
Penalties: 1
August 05, 2019
Late Save at Cardinal's West Wing
I found a good deal at Cardinal Golf Club and booked a tee time on the West Wing course. Hole 1 produced a par, beginning with a 3-iron to the left fairway, followed by a flag high pitching wedge, just right of the green. My chip went a little past the hole, but the comeback putt was perfectly judged.
Then the shenanigans began. A sliced drive on hole 2 put me behind some trees. After a lob over a tall tree, I thinned one over the green into some pine trees. I finished with a double-bogey. Hole 3 was worse, as I smothered a drive attempt short and left of the fairway. A small evergreen was blocking me and pushed my punch shot further right than I wanted. The ball entered a penalty area and I was forced to take a drop. Another lob got me over a tall tree, but my fifth shot into this par-5 missed the green to the right. I finished with a triple-bogey. I had a perfect drive on hole 4, but wasted it with a 8-iron that I pushed right of the green. My subsequent pitch failed to reach the green and I registered another double-bogey.
I averaged a little better than bogey golf over the rest of the front nine, with two pars, two bogeys, and a double. Both pars came on par-3 holes. I used 9-iron and gap wedge into the greens, then followed with standard 2-putts. The bogeys were fairly standard as well. I just missed the greens with my approach shots, requiring a chip and two putts to hole out. The double-bogey, which came on hole 6, would have been the same, but I duffed a pitch from a spongy lie 30 yards in front of the green. My score at the turn was 46, so I had some work to do to break 90.
I started the back nine as I did the front – with a par. Hole 10 is a par-4 that doglegs left around a large pond. The risk is all in the drive, but I placed one perfectly just past the water, leaving a clear 100-yard shot to the green. I actually came up short, but pitched on and 1-putt for the par.
The next seven holes were a bit of a grind. I was hitting some good shots, but collected just a single par on hole 15. That was despite topping my second shot on this par-5. I was trying to hit 3-wood, but the ball was above my feet and I missed badly. Luckily, I followed with a precise 8-iron. I actually had a birdie chance, but burned the edge of the cup and settled for the par.
It was a better result than I had on hole 13, another par-5. My drive went 295 yards to the right fairway, leaving just 200 yards into the green. With no real danger present, I went for it with 3-iron. However, the ball was slightly above my feet and I hit it really fat. I ended up in the left rough, 95 yards from the green. Worse yet, my lob shot flared a little right, landing in a bunker. I actually made a good out from there, but needed two putts to record a bogey.
With one hole to play, it looked like I was headed for a score of 90 or more. A par would give me 90 even, but I thought a bogey and final score of 91 was more likely. Hole 18 is a 489 yard par-5 with a 90 degree dogleg around a large pond. My drive was about 260 yards, stopping perfectly at the corner of the dogleg. I had 245 yards remaining to the green, with no water to carry. I did have to avoid the left side, however. I hit a low 3-iron straight down the fairway, leaving 40 yards to the green. A nice pitch finished below the hole near the front of the green. An uphill 8-footer was all that stood between me and a birdie, and I drained it!
As I tallied my score, I was delighted to break 90 with a score of 89. I've been playing great lately. I won't play for about three weeks, as I'll be doing some travelling (the non-golf variety). My next outing will be Round 4 of the Deepwoods championship. I'm hoping the layoff doesn't ruin my hot streak.
Score: 89
Putts: 31
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
Penalties: 3
Then the shenanigans began. A sliced drive on hole 2 put me behind some trees. After a lob over a tall tree, I thinned one over the green into some pine trees. I finished with a double-bogey. Hole 3 was worse, as I smothered a drive attempt short and left of the fairway. A small evergreen was blocking me and pushed my punch shot further right than I wanted. The ball entered a penalty area and I was forced to take a drop. Another lob got me over a tall tree, but my fifth shot into this par-5 missed the green to the right. I finished with a triple-bogey. I had a perfect drive on hole 4, but wasted it with a 8-iron that I pushed right of the green. My subsequent pitch failed to reach the green and I registered another double-bogey.
I averaged a little better than bogey golf over the rest of the front nine, with two pars, two bogeys, and a double. Both pars came on par-3 holes. I used 9-iron and gap wedge into the greens, then followed with standard 2-putts. The bogeys were fairly standard as well. I just missed the greens with my approach shots, requiring a chip and two putts to hole out. The double-bogey, which came on hole 6, would have been the same, but I duffed a pitch from a spongy lie 30 yards in front of the green. My score at the turn was 46, so I had some work to do to break 90.
I started the back nine as I did the front – with a par. Hole 10 is a par-4 that doglegs left around a large pond. The risk is all in the drive, but I placed one perfectly just past the water, leaving a clear 100-yard shot to the green. I actually came up short, but pitched on and 1-putt for the par.
The next seven holes were a bit of a grind. I was hitting some good shots, but collected just a single par on hole 15. That was despite topping my second shot on this par-5. I was trying to hit 3-wood, but the ball was above my feet and I missed badly. Luckily, I followed with a precise 8-iron. I actually had a birdie chance, but burned the edge of the cup and settled for the par.
It was a better result than I had on hole 13, another par-5. My drive went 295 yards to the right fairway, leaving just 200 yards into the green. With no real danger present, I went for it with 3-iron. However, the ball was slightly above my feet and I hit it really fat. I ended up in the left rough, 95 yards from the green. Worse yet, my lob shot flared a little right, landing in a bunker. I actually made a good out from there, but needed two putts to record a bogey.
With one hole to play, it looked like I was headed for a score of 90 or more. A par would give me 90 even, but I thought a bogey and final score of 91 was more likely. Hole 18 is a 489 yard par-5 with a 90 degree dogleg around a large pond. My drive was about 260 yards, stopping perfectly at the corner of the dogleg. I had 245 yards remaining to the green, with no water to carry. I did have to avoid the left side, however. I hit a low 3-iron straight down the fairway, leaving 40 yards to the green. A nice pitch finished below the hole near the front of the green. An uphill 8-footer was all that stood between me and a birdie, and I drained it!
As I tallied my score, I was delighted to break 90 with a score of 89. I've been playing great lately. I won't play for about three weeks, as I'll be doing some travelling (the non-golf variety). My next outing will be Round 4 of the Deepwoods championship. I'm hoping the layoff doesn't ruin my hot streak.
Score: 89
Putts: 31
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
Penalties: 3
August 04, 2019
Going Low at Hornby Glen
I went low at Hornby Glen with a final score of 84. Most of that was attributable to the front nine, where I shot 39. It would have been 37, if not for a couple of unnecessary 3-putts. One came on hole 5, turning a certain bogey into a double. My first putt was uphill and came up a bit too short. The other was on hole 9, transforming an easy par into a bogey. My first putt on that one was downhill, and I blew it well past the hole.
Offsetting those incidents were a couple of nice birdies. On hole 1, a 352-yard par-4, I hit driver to left fairway, followed by lob wedge just behind the flag. I curled an 8-foot putt into the centre of the hole. On hole 8, a 138-yard par-3, I hit 8-iron just past the back pin position. I got a read on the putt from my fellow competitor, and drained a 10-footer convincingly.
A few nice pars rounded out my front nine. On hole 3, I hit driver to the centre of the fairway, but thinned a gap wedge slightly, rolling off the back of the green. Fortunately, I got up and down, mostly on the strength of the putt. On hole 4, a 146-yard par-3, my 9-iron was all over the flag, finishing 12 feet behind. I just missed the birdie, settling for a tap-in par. On hole 7, I hit 3-iron to the centre of the fairway, followed by sand wedge to the right side of the green. I made a tricky 2-putt look easy from there.
I was on pace to match my best score ever, and early on the back nine I kept it rolling. Hole 10 is a par-5 that produced par. Driver, 5-iron started things perfectly, but lob wedge barely found the green, leaving a healthy distance to the hole. I did very well to 2-putt from there. Hole 11 is a 156-yard par-3. My 8-iron was about flag high and I gave the birdie a chance, but just missed.
Back-to-back bogeys cooled things off a bit on holes 12 and 13. My third shot into hole 12, which is a par-5, found the green, but I was once again far from the hole. This time, I succumbed to a 3-putt. Hole 13 is a par-3 and I simply pushed my tee shot right of the green. Bogey from that position was a reasonable expectation.
It was hole 14 that derailed my chance at a best ever score. I duffed my drive on this par-4, then pushed a 5-wood right of the fairway near some trees. The green was blocked, so I hit back to the fairway 50 yards from the green. A shot hit fat went nowhere. My fifth shot was better, setting up a makeable putt. Unfortunately, it lipped out and I took a triple-bogey.
The final four holes were played at bogey pace, with two bogeys, a double-bogey, and a par. The par was nice and came on hole 17, a 383-yard par-4. I bombed a drive over some pesky fairway bunkers, coming to rest in the centre of the fairway, 100 yards from the green. Sand wedge set up a legit birdie chance. I made a good attempt, but it didn't drop.
The double-bogey was on the final hole, thanks mostly to a drive that I sliced right into the fescue. There is no finding balls there, so I was forced to take a penalty. I nearly recovered with a decent 4-iron into the green, but it drifted right into a bunker and I needed three more strokes to finish.
Overall, a good result though.
Score: 84
Putts: 36
Fairways: 7
Greens: 9
Penalties: 2
Offsetting those incidents were a couple of nice birdies. On hole 1, a 352-yard par-4, I hit driver to left fairway, followed by lob wedge just behind the flag. I curled an 8-foot putt into the centre of the hole. On hole 8, a 138-yard par-3, I hit 8-iron just past the back pin position. I got a read on the putt from my fellow competitor, and drained a 10-footer convincingly.
A few nice pars rounded out my front nine. On hole 3, I hit driver to the centre of the fairway, but thinned a gap wedge slightly, rolling off the back of the green. Fortunately, I got up and down, mostly on the strength of the putt. On hole 4, a 146-yard par-3, my 9-iron was all over the flag, finishing 12 feet behind. I just missed the birdie, settling for a tap-in par. On hole 7, I hit 3-iron to the centre of the fairway, followed by sand wedge to the right side of the green. I made a tricky 2-putt look easy from there.
I was on pace to match my best score ever, and early on the back nine I kept it rolling. Hole 10 is a par-5 that produced par. Driver, 5-iron started things perfectly, but lob wedge barely found the green, leaving a healthy distance to the hole. I did very well to 2-putt from there. Hole 11 is a 156-yard par-3. My 8-iron was about flag high and I gave the birdie a chance, but just missed.
Back-to-back bogeys cooled things off a bit on holes 12 and 13. My third shot into hole 12, which is a par-5, found the green, but I was once again far from the hole. This time, I succumbed to a 3-putt. Hole 13 is a par-3 and I simply pushed my tee shot right of the green. Bogey from that position was a reasonable expectation.
It was hole 14 that derailed my chance at a best ever score. I duffed my drive on this par-4, then pushed a 5-wood right of the fairway near some trees. The green was blocked, so I hit back to the fairway 50 yards from the green. A shot hit fat went nowhere. My fifth shot was better, setting up a makeable putt. Unfortunately, it lipped out and I took a triple-bogey.
The final four holes were played at bogey pace, with two bogeys, a double-bogey, and a par. The par was nice and came on hole 17, a 383-yard par-4. I bombed a drive over some pesky fairway bunkers, coming to rest in the centre of the fairway, 100 yards from the green. Sand wedge set up a legit birdie chance. I made a good attempt, but it didn't drop.
The double-bogey was on the final hole, thanks mostly to a drive that I sliced right into the fescue. There is no finding balls there, so I was forced to take a penalty. I nearly recovered with a decent 4-iron into the green, but it drifted right into a bunker and I needed three more strokes to finish.
Overall, a good result though.
Score: 84
Putts: 36
Fairways: 7
Greens: 9
Penalties: 2
August 02, 2019
Blue Springs Eternal
Hope springs eternal, as the saying goes, and I had plenty of it entering Round 3 of the Deepwoods Golf Association championship. This, despite having to play at Blue Springs Golf Club, which was the scene of my worst round of golf in 2018. I've been playing well recently, so last year's inaugural visit to Blue Springs was long forgotten.
My tee shots on the first two holes were absolutely abysmal. Driver on hole 1 was a smothered pull that found long fescue and interfering trees. 5-wood on hole 2 was topped off the heel and the ball failed to clear a naturalized area in front of the teeing ground. A great pitch, 8-iron and 2-putt from distance saved bogey on the first hole, but hitting my third from the tee on hole 2 meant I would finish with a triple-bogey.
I wasn't worried, and immediately started playing better. A perfect 3-iron, sand wedge combo gave me a birdie look on hole 3. I just missed, settling for par. Driver, 8-iron, gap wedge led me safely to the green on hole 4, a par-5. My birdie putt was lengthy and I judged the speed incorrectly, finishing well past the hole. I gave the par putt a chance, but finished with a 3-putt bogey. Hole 5 is a short par-3. A lovely gap wedge set up another good birdie look that just missed. It was another tap-in par.
Hole 6 was played decently, but I had trouble with my current nemesis: bunkers. My driver found a fairway bunker on the right, with my ball fairly close to the lip. Fairway bunkers are not really my problem. I hit a sand wedge clean out of there that looked to be the perfect distance. Unfortunately, the ball came to rest in a front left greenside bunker. These are the ones that kill me. I just tried to get the ball on the green, but thinned it 20 yards past. It's unbelievable. I made a great pitch back through some tree branches to a green falling away from me, leaving a chance to salvage bogey. Sadly, I burned the edge of the cup, finishing with a double.
Good play continued with par on hole 7, a tough par-4. I went conservative off the tee, using 5-wood. I found the left centre of the fairway, but had 170 yards remaining to the green. A gnarly penalty area spreads out on the left side, extending right up to the green. There are bunkers and woods to the right, and a hill in behind. I opted for 6-iron and hit a beauty directly at the flag. The ball released, finishing about ten feet behind the cup. I made a really good putt for birdie, but it just failed to drop. I had to be content with another par.
Hole 8 is the toughest hole on the course, but almost all the trouble is on the tee shot. It's through a chute of trees and there is a long forced carry over water to an angled fairway. It's easy to go right in the water or left through the fairway into thick woods. I missed the fairway left, but stopped short of the woods. I was blocked out from attacking the green, so I just pitched the ball to the centre of the fairway 90 yards from the green. These were good shots and good decisions.
All I needed to do now was hit the lob wedge on the green and 2-putt for bogey. Inexplicably, my lob shot came up short, landing in a front bunker. Like I said, this is my nemesis. I unwillingly picked another ball clean, overshooting the green. There is a big dropoff behind this green, so the comeback shot was not easy. I put it on the green, but was very far from the hole. After a 3-putt, I took a score of 8 on this par-4. Wow, it should have been no worse than a 5.
After bogey on hole 9, I made the turn with a score of 48. Nevertheless, I was feeling good. I just had a couple of unfortunate breaks, so if I continued right along, I felt like some good breaks would balance everything out. Driver, 8-iron worked like a charm on hole 10, a tough par-4. A 2-putt par was the result. A good 7-iron found the green in regulation on hole 11, a par-3. Unfortunately, my long lag putt was short, and I needed two more to finish with a bogey. I had the same result on hole 12, a par-5, where I really only made one slight mistake. Driver, 8-iron started things perfectly, but I thinned a lob wedge shot from an uneven lie to left of the green. A good chip gave me a chance for par, but my attempt burned the edge of the cup.
I made par on four of the next five holes, the only exception being a bogey on hole 15, a par-5. That bogey was actually well earned, as my drive was sharply pulled into the trees left and I was forced to take an unplayable. After a drop, my third shot was a perfect pitching wedge to the 150-yard stick. A nearly perfect 8-iron nestled in the rough a yard left of the green, but then I chipped to within a foot and tapped in.
The pars were attributable to good drives and good approach shots. Not always spectacular, mind you, but just good enough. On hole 13, a drive to the right fairway left me with a gap wedge into the green. A fantastic 2-putt was the real highlight. On hole 14, an impressive 6-iron from the left rough got flag high at the back of the green. I had an outside chance at birdie on this one, but par it was. On hole 16, driver followed by sand wedge set up another birdie look, but I blew the birdie putt way past the hole. I had a longer putt coming back, but this one was uphill and I drained it for a nice save. Hole 17 is a par-3 from an elevated tee and my 8-iron was spot on, stopping below the hole at its back pin position. Another birdie chance came close, but tap-in pars are okay too.
I messed up hole 18 by 3-putting for double-bogey, but after adding up my score, I was delighted to have broken 90. I tallied 37 points in the Deepwoods championship – better than all competitors and 7 points better than the closest of the bunch. I'm currently second in the season standings, so I still have a chance to win the title.
Score: 89
Putts: 38
Fairways: 6
Greens: 10
Penalties: 2
My tee shots on the first two holes were absolutely abysmal. Driver on hole 1 was a smothered pull that found long fescue and interfering trees. 5-wood on hole 2 was topped off the heel and the ball failed to clear a naturalized area in front of the teeing ground. A great pitch, 8-iron and 2-putt from distance saved bogey on the first hole, but hitting my third from the tee on hole 2 meant I would finish with a triple-bogey.
I wasn't worried, and immediately started playing better. A perfect 3-iron, sand wedge combo gave me a birdie look on hole 3. I just missed, settling for par. Driver, 8-iron, gap wedge led me safely to the green on hole 4, a par-5. My birdie putt was lengthy and I judged the speed incorrectly, finishing well past the hole. I gave the par putt a chance, but finished with a 3-putt bogey. Hole 5 is a short par-3. A lovely gap wedge set up another good birdie look that just missed. It was another tap-in par.
Hole 6 was played decently, but I had trouble with my current nemesis: bunkers. My driver found a fairway bunker on the right, with my ball fairly close to the lip. Fairway bunkers are not really my problem. I hit a sand wedge clean out of there that looked to be the perfect distance. Unfortunately, the ball came to rest in a front left greenside bunker. These are the ones that kill me. I just tried to get the ball on the green, but thinned it 20 yards past. It's unbelievable. I made a great pitch back through some tree branches to a green falling away from me, leaving a chance to salvage bogey. Sadly, I burned the edge of the cup, finishing with a double.
Good play continued with par on hole 7, a tough par-4. I went conservative off the tee, using 5-wood. I found the left centre of the fairway, but had 170 yards remaining to the green. A gnarly penalty area spreads out on the left side, extending right up to the green. There are bunkers and woods to the right, and a hill in behind. I opted for 6-iron and hit a beauty directly at the flag. The ball released, finishing about ten feet behind the cup. I made a really good putt for birdie, but it just failed to drop. I had to be content with another par.
Hole 8 is the toughest hole on the course, but almost all the trouble is on the tee shot. It's through a chute of trees and there is a long forced carry over water to an angled fairway. It's easy to go right in the water or left through the fairway into thick woods. I missed the fairway left, but stopped short of the woods. I was blocked out from attacking the green, so I just pitched the ball to the centre of the fairway 90 yards from the green. These were good shots and good decisions.
All I needed to do now was hit the lob wedge on the green and 2-putt for bogey. Inexplicably, my lob shot came up short, landing in a front bunker. Like I said, this is my nemesis. I unwillingly picked another ball clean, overshooting the green. There is a big dropoff behind this green, so the comeback shot was not easy. I put it on the green, but was very far from the hole. After a 3-putt, I took a score of 8 on this par-4. Wow, it should have been no worse than a 5.
After bogey on hole 9, I made the turn with a score of 48. Nevertheless, I was feeling good. I just had a couple of unfortunate breaks, so if I continued right along, I felt like some good breaks would balance everything out. Driver, 8-iron worked like a charm on hole 10, a tough par-4. A 2-putt par was the result. A good 7-iron found the green in regulation on hole 11, a par-3. Unfortunately, my long lag putt was short, and I needed two more to finish with a bogey. I had the same result on hole 12, a par-5, where I really only made one slight mistake. Driver, 8-iron started things perfectly, but I thinned a lob wedge shot from an uneven lie to left of the green. A good chip gave me a chance for par, but my attempt burned the edge of the cup.
I made par on four of the next five holes, the only exception being a bogey on hole 15, a par-5. That bogey was actually well earned, as my drive was sharply pulled into the trees left and I was forced to take an unplayable. After a drop, my third shot was a perfect pitching wedge to the 150-yard stick. A nearly perfect 8-iron nestled in the rough a yard left of the green, but then I chipped to within a foot and tapped in.
The pars were attributable to good drives and good approach shots. Not always spectacular, mind you, but just good enough. On hole 13, a drive to the right fairway left me with a gap wedge into the green. A fantastic 2-putt was the real highlight. On hole 14, an impressive 6-iron from the left rough got flag high at the back of the green. I had an outside chance at birdie on this one, but par it was. On hole 16, driver followed by sand wedge set up another birdie look, but I blew the birdie putt way past the hole. I had a longer putt coming back, but this one was uphill and I drained it for a nice save. Hole 17 is a par-3 from an elevated tee and my 8-iron was spot on, stopping below the hole at its back pin position. Another birdie chance came close, but tap-in pars are okay too.
I messed up hole 18 by 3-putting for double-bogey, but after adding up my score, I was delighted to have broken 90. I tallied 37 points in the Deepwoods championship – better than all competitors and 7 points better than the closest of the bunch. I'm currently second in the season standings, so I still have a chance to win the title.
Score: 89
Putts: 38
Fairways: 6
Greens: 10
Penalties: 2
July 31, 2019
Extra Nine and a New Handicap Low
I had time for nine holes at Carlisle, so I headed out to the East course. The opening par-5 started well with a driver, 3-wood combination. Unfortunately, I thinned my third shot from 50 yards away to just off the back of the green. A chip and two putts resulted in bogey. Driver, gap wedge got me safely to the front of the second green, setting up a 2-putt par. Hole 3 is a par-3 over water. My pitching wedge finished on a hill behind the green. I made a delicate chip and two putts for bogey.
Bogey was also the result on hole 4, a short par-4. I thought I hit a perfect drive, leaving just a short shot to the green. In fact, my ball bounced left of the fairway, where some overhead branches impeded my swing. It was borderline, so I tried to reach the green, but I topped the ball just a few yards ahead. Clear of the branches, I pitched on and 2-putt. Things got worse on hole 5, as I pulled my drive directly off the tee. Luckily, I hit some trees that kept the ball in bounds. I was so far back, however, that two more shots were required to reach the green. Actually, I was right of the green, and needed a pitch and two putts, just for double-bogey.
The best hole of the round was number 6, a 378-yard par-4. I hit a 260-yard drive just left of a large tree that pinches the right side of the fairway. The fairway is actually split here, so I was in some rough despite my ball travelling dead straight. From 118 yards away, I hit a beautiful sand wedge three feet right of the flag. It was an easy putt for birdie. Those don't happen very often.
Hole 7 is a par-5 that starts out pretty wide, but narrows significantly as you get toward the green. I thought I hit a perfect drive, but I actually finished in the left rough. From that position, trees up ahead prevent you from attacking the green in two. I hit a little wedge to the centre of the fairway, leaving 90 yards for my third shot. Though my third shot finished flag high, I pulled the ball just left of the green. A nice chip gave me a chance to save par, but I missed the putt and tapped in for bogey.
No worries, as I finished the last two holes with a couple of pars. Sand wedge was all I needed on hole 8, a par-3. My shot was all over the flag, but finished about 15 feet behind. I made an excellent putt that just failed to drop for birdie. 3-iron was the club of choice off the tee on hole 9, a 300-yard par-4. It was a thing of beauty, splitting the fairway and leaving just 90 yards to the flag. My lob wedge found the green from there, albeit pretty far from the hole. The lengthy lag was excellent, leaving just a tap-in for the par result.
I had another 9-hole result still on my scoring record. It was a 42 on the front 9 of Battlefield at Legends on the Niagara. For handicap purposes, these 9-hole scores get combined. The resulting score of 83 lowered my handicap factor from 15.8 to 15.0 – my lowest ever! 15.4 was my previous best, established in September 2017. Let's hope I can keep it here, or even drop it further.
Score: 41
Putts: 17
Fairways: 4
Greens: 4
Penalties: 0
Bogey was also the result on hole 4, a short par-4. I thought I hit a perfect drive, leaving just a short shot to the green. In fact, my ball bounced left of the fairway, where some overhead branches impeded my swing. It was borderline, so I tried to reach the green, but I topped the ball just a few yards ahead. Clear of the branches, I pitched on and 2-putt. Things got worse on hole 5, as I pulled my drive directly off the tee. Luckily, I hit some trees that kept the ball in bounds. I was so far back, however, that two more shots were required to reach the green. Actually, I was right of the green, and needed a pitch and two putts, just for double-bogey.
The best hole of the round was number 6, a 378-yard par-4. I hit a 260-yard drive just left of a large tree that pinches the right side of the fairway. The fairway is actually split here, so I was in some rough despite my ball travelling dead straight. From 118 yards away, I hit a beautiful sand wedge three feet right of the flag. It was an easy putt for birdie. Those don't happen very often.
Hole 7 is a par-5 that starts out pretty wide, but narrows significantly as you get toward the green. I thought I hit a perfect drive, but I actually finished in the left rough. From that position, trees up ahead prevent you from attacking the green in two. I hit a little wedge to the centre of the fairway, leaving 90 yards for my third shot. Though my third shot finished flag high, I pulled the ball just left of the green. A nice chip gave me a chance to save par, but I missed the putt and tapped in for bogey.
No worries, as I finished the last two holes with a couple of pars. Sand wedge was all I needed on hole 8, a par-3. My shot was all over the flag, but finished about 15 feet behind. I made an excellent putt that just failed to drop for birdie. 3-iron was the club of choice off the tee on hole 9, a 300-yard par-4. It was a thing of beauty, splitting the fairway and leaving just 90 yards to the flag. My lob wedge found the green from there, albeit pretty far from the hole. The lengthy lag was excellent, leaving just a tap-in for the par result.
I had another 9-hole result still on my scoring record. It was a 42 on the front 9 of Battlefield at Legends on the Niagara. For handicap purposes, these 9-hole scores get combined. The resulting score of 83 lowered my handicap factor from 15.8 to 15.0 – my lowest ever! 15.4 was my previous best, established in September 2017. Let's hope I can keep it here, or even drop it further.
Score: 41
Putts: 17
Fairways: 4
Greens: 4
Penalties: 0
July 30, 2019
Streak Ends at Carlisle
I headed out to Carlisle Golf Club, hoping to extend my streak of six consecutive rounds breaking 90. Typically at Carlisle, I play the North nine, followed by the East nine. This time, they told us to play North/South. I hadn't played the South nine in many years, so it would be interesting.
The North nine began with a double-bogey, solely because of my inability to get out of greenside bunkers. I was in one after my approach shot and proceeded to blast the ball clear over the entire green. For the life of me, I can't figure it out. I try to hit the sand behind the ball, but I get too much ball every time.
I went par, bogey, par over the next three holes, with both pars coming on par-3 holes. Holes 5 through 7 can be difficult, especially 6 and 7. Hole 5 is only trouble if you fail to hit a straight iron off the tee. That's exactly what happened. I duffed my tee shot into a small pond directly in front of the teeing ground. Hitting my third from the tee, I could do no better than double-bogey.
Hole 6 began with a drive into some trees right of the fairway. My ball finished in an opening on the side of a hill, giving me a good chance to recover. Unfortunately, a good 8-iron carried across the fairway, coming to rest against a chain link fence at the edge of the property. I had to declare an unplayable and finished with another double-bogey.
Hole 7 has a large forced carry over a naturalized area. The vegetation was so high that you couldn't even see the landing zone on the other side. It wasn't a huge problem, since I know the hole, but my 5-wood drifted slightly right, smacking a tree trunk and coming straight back about 20 yards. Blocked from attacking the green, all I could do was pitch the ball up to about 130 yards. My approach was short and right, requiring a chip and two putts for another double-bogey.
The double-bogey streak extended to four with another one coming on hole 8, a par-5. I hit driver, 3-iron nicely, but my ball finished in a bunker 40 yards in front of the green. It was right up against the lip, so I had to chip it out sideways. A mediocre pitch from there, combined with a bad bounce left me in a greenside bunker after my fourth shot. Given my struggles with bunker shots, I just used my putter to put one on the green. The left side of the bunker had no lip, so this was a decent play. Of course, I needed two more real putts to finish up. After bogey on hole 9, my score on the North course was 48.
The South nine was much better and could have been amazing, were it not for a triple-bogey on hole 3. I hit a good drive on this par-5, leaving just 180 yards into the green. Going for it comes with some risk, as there is a creek in front and left of the green, while out of bounds looms on the right. I was feeling confident, so I took a chance. My 5-iron was struck well, but pulled ever so slightly, finding the creek on the left side. After a penalty and drop, I butchered a pitch shot from 50 yards, leaving the ball unplayable in some long weeds. Another penalty and drop was followed by a pitch and two putts. Such a shame.
Aside from that, I collected four pars and four bogeys on the South course. A nice 3-iron off the tee on hole 2 set up a lob wedge approach that found the green, leading to the first of the pars. I hit an equally good 4-iron off the tee on hole 5 and once again hit the green in regulation, but a 3-putt spoiled the fun and resulted in bogey. This was followed by a pair of pars on back-to-back par-3 holes. A sweet 6-iron finished flag high on hole 6, while a little gap wedge did the same on hole 7. The latter offered the best chance at birdie, but I blew my attempt well past the hole.
The final par came on hole 8, a short par-4 that begins with a shot over water. My fellow competitors played it aggressively, opting for driver in an attempt to get as near the green as possible. One hit a steep bank and rolled back into the water. The other hit the same bank, but managed to keep his ball dry. I chose 6-iron off the tee and hit as pure a shot as you can possibly hit. I actually drove it through the dogleg fairway, but had a perfect lie and angle into the green from 90 yards. My approach hit a little backstop just behind the pin, leaving a good look at birdie. I didn't make the downhill putt, but tap-in for par was fine with me.
I shanked one of my shots en route to bogey on the final hole, but it was good enough for a score of 43 on the South course. My final score of 91 meant that my sub-90 streak was over. That's okay, a good consolation prize was about to make up for it.
Score: 91
Putts: 37
Fairways: 2
Greens: 7
Penalties: 4
The North nine began with a double-bogey, solely because of my inability to get out of greenside bunkers. I was in one after my approach shot and proceeded to blast the ball clear over the entire green. For the life of me, I can't figure it out. I try to hit the sand behind the ball, but I get too much ball every time.
I went par, bogey, par over the next three holes, with both pars coming on par-3 holes. Holes 5 through 7 can be difficult, especially 6 and 7. Hole 5 is only trouble if you fail to hit a straight iron off the tee. That's exactly what happened. I duffed my tee shot into a small pond directly in front of the teeing ground. Hitting my third from the tee, I could do no better than double-bogey.
Hole 6 began with a drive into some trees right of the fairway. My ball finished in an opening on the side of a hill, giving me a good chance to recover. Unfortunately, a good 8-iron carried across the fairway, coming to rest against a chain link fence at the edge of the property. I had to declare an unplayable and finished with another double-bogey.
Hole 7 has a large forced carry over a naturalized area. The vegetation was so high that you couldn't even see the landing zone on the other side. It wasn't a huge problem, since I know the hole, but my 5-wood drifted slightly right, smacking a tree trunk and coming straight back about 20 yards. Blocked from attacking the green, all I could do was pitch the ball up to about 130 yards. My approach was short and right, requiring a chip and two putts for another double-bogey.
The double-bogey streak extended to four with another one coming on hole 8, a par-5. I hit driver, 3-iron nicely, but my ball finished in a bunker 40 yards in front of the green. It was right up against the lip, so I had to chip it out sideways. A mediocre pitch from there, combined with a bad bounce left me in a greenside bunker after my fourth shot. Given my struggles with bunker shots, I just used my putter to put one on the green. The left side of the bunker had no lip, so this was a decent play. Of course, I needed two more real putts to finish up. After bogey on hole 9, my score on the North course was 48.
The South nine was much better and could have been amazing, were it not for a triple-bogey on hole 3. I hit a good drive on this par-5, leaving just 180 yards into the green. Going for it comes with some risk, as there is a creek in front and left of the green, while out of bounds looms on the right. I was feeling confident, so I took a chance. My 5-iron was struck well, but pulled ever so slightly, finding the creek on the left side. After a penalty and drop, I butchered a pitch shot from 50 yards, leaving the ball unplayable in some long weeds. Another penalty and drop was followed by a pitch and two putts. Such a shame.
Aside from that, I collected four pars and four bogeys on the South course. A nice 3-iron off the tee on hole 2 set up a lob wedge approach that found the green, leading to the first of the pars. I hit an equally good 4-iron off the tee on hole 5 and once again hit the green in regulation, but a 3-putt spoiled the fun and resulted in bogey. This was followed by a pair of pars on back-to-back par-3 holes. A sweet 6-iron finished flag high on hole 6, while a little gap wedge did the same on hole 7. The latter offered the best chance at birdie, but I blew my attempt well past the hole.
The final par came on hole 8, a short par-4 that begins with a shot over water. My fellow competitors played it aggressively, opting for driver in an attempt to get as near the green as possible. One hit a steep bank and rolled back into the water. The other hit the same bank, but managed to keep his ball dry. I chose 6-iron off the tee and hit as pure a shot as you can possibly hit. I actually drove it through the dogleg fairway, but had a perfect lie and angle into the green from 90 yards. My approach hit a little backstop just behind the pin, leaving a good look at birdie. I didn't make the downhill putt, but tap-in for par was fine with me.
I shanked one of my shots en route to bogey on the final hole, but it was good enough for a score of 43 on the South course. My final score of 91 meant that my sub-90 streak was over. That's okay, a good consolation prize was about to make up for it.
Score: 91
Putts: 37
Fairways: 2
Greens: 7
Penalties: 4
July 27, 2019
Streak Continues at Century Pines
My streak of scores under 90 extended to six consecutive rounds, thanks to a score of 88 at Century Pines Golf Club. The front nine produced a couple of pars, five bogeys, and a couple of doubles. One of the pars was on the first hole, which has given me trouble in the past. This time, I managed to avoid out of bounds, which runs along the entire left side of this par-5. After my drive found the left fairway, I took a half swing at the ball, just to advance it slightly. It was a good decision, because the ball finished in the left rough. From there, a great gap wedge finished flag high, setting up a 2-putt.
A horribly pulled drive led to double-bogey on hole 2, before I settled into a streak of bogey golf that lasted for four holes. On hole 3, a perfect drive was followed by a weak approach shot. On hole 4, a poor tee shot was followed by a well placed second and some nice putting. On hole 5, a par-3, my 9-iron off the tee found a bunker short and left. For once, I actually made a decent bunker shot, managing to find the putting surface.
Hole 6 was perhaps the most impressive of the bogeys. My drive carried over a naturalized area to the angled fairway. Since I can't shape the driver right to left, my ball went through the fairway toward hole 8. My second shot was a lovely gap wedge over some high trees to get back to the proper fairway, 40 yards in front of the green. It was the smart decision. I recognized my position and didn't try to do too much. My first priority was to get over the tall trees and I needed loft for that. A large bunker also fronts the green and I wanted no part of it. I pitched on and 2-putt, with no issue.
Hole 7 is a par-3 over water that was playing about 177 yards. I hit a silky 5-iron to the right side of the green, that finished on the upper tier. However, the hole was cut on the lower tier near the front of the green. I hit a putt to the ridge that then carried perfectly near the hole. A two foot putt earned the par. The par was followed by double-bogey on the next hole, as my second shot from the left rough suffered from a bad lie. If my third shot was a little more precise, I could have saved bogey, but it didn't happen.
Hole 9 is a par-5 that produced bogey, thanks in part to a lovely 5-iron for my second shot. My drive was mediocre, but that second shot put me back in perfect position. Amazingly, I made another decent shot from a green side bunker en route to the bogey. Kudos to Century Pines, who actually had some very nice sand in their bunkers. That hasn't always been the case in the past.
Holes 10, 11 and 12 at Century Pines are all short par-4 holes. However, you can't really hit driver off the tee without taking on some risk, in the form of trees and penalty areas. 4-iron off the tee on hole 10 was good, as was my gap wedge approach. Unfortunately, I 3-putt for bogey. 7-iron off the tee on hole 11 was weak, but safe. Unfortunately, I pulled my 8-iron approach left of the green. A pitch and two putts resulted in bogey. 7-iron off the tee on hole 12 was better, but I was still blocked out by some trees. I punched a nice low shot to the left fairway, 50 yards from the green. Another pitch and two putts produced yet another bogey. The lengthy par putt very nearly dropped though.
Holes 13, 14 and 15 produced bogey, par and birdie, respectively. The first of these is a 155-yard par-3 over water. My tee shot hooked left of the green, but I bumped my second shot into a mound, allowing the ball to release to the green. The par putt was close, but didn't drop. Hole 14 is a par-5 with a dogleg left. I did well to set up an approach from 125 yards, but pulled the gap wedge left of the green. No worries, as a lovely up and down followed for the par. That was nice, but the birdie on the next hole was better. A perfect 8-iron finished flag high on this par-3, setting up a 10-foot putt that curled cooperatively into the hole.
Hole 16 is the hardest on the course, in my opinion. If your tee shot is not deep and perfectly placed, you're resigned to playing this par-4 as a par-5. My tee shot found the fairway, but I was too far back and left to go for the green. I pitched the ball 50 yards ahead to the end of the fairway, then attacked the green with a gap wedge. A lengthy lag putt was followed by a 2-footer for bogey.
Hole 17 is a difficult hole as well, owing to its length and dogleg left. At 440 yards, it's a challenging par-4. My drive nestled beneath a spruce tree on the inside corner of the dogleg. I had no option but to declare the ball unplayable and take a penalty. The worst part is I still couldn't reach the green after taking my drop. I hit a nice 4-iron to the middle of the fairway, then pitched on and 2-putt for double-bogey.
The final hole is a par-5 that resulted in bogey. Hey, a final score of 88? I'll take it!
Score: 88
Putts: 35
Fairways: 4
Greens: 4
Penalties: 1
A horribly pulled drive led to double-bogey on hole 2, before I settled into a streak of bogey golf that lasted for four holes. On hole 3, a perfect drive was followed by a weak approach shot. On hole 4, a poor tee shot was followed by a well placed second and some nice putting. On hole 5, a par-3, my 9-iron off the tee found a bunker short and left. For once, I actually made a decent bunker shot, managing to find the putting surface.
Hole 6 was perhaps the most impressive of the bogeys. My drive carried over a naturalized area to the angled fairway. Since I can't shape the driver right to left, my ball went through the fairway toward hole 8. My second shot was a lovely gap wedge over some high trees to get back to the proper fairway, 40 yards in front of the green. It was the smart decision. I recognized my position and didn't try to do too much. My first priority was to get over the tall trees and I needed loft for that. A large bunker also fronts the green and I wanted no part of it. I pitched on and 2-putt, with no issue.
Hole 7 is a par-3 over water that was playing about 177 yards. I hit a silky 5-iron to the right side of the green, that finished on the upper tier. However, the hole was cut on the lower tier near the front of the green. I hit a putt to the ridge that then carried perfectly near the hole. A two foot putt earned the par. The par was followed by double-bogey on the next hole, as my second shot from the left rough suffered from a bad lie. If my third shot was a little more precise, I could have saved bogey, but it didn't happen.
Hole 9 is a par-5 that produced bogey, thanks in part to a lovely 5-iron for my second shot. My drive was mediocre, but that second shot put me back in perfect position. Amazingly, I made another decent shot from a green side bunker en route to the bogey. Kudos to Century Pines, who actually had some very nice sand in their bunkers. That hasn't always been the case in the past.
Holes 10, 11 and 12 at Century Pines are all short par-4 holes. However, you can't really hit driver off the tee without taking on some risk, in the form of trees and penalty areas. 4-iron off the tee on hole 10 was good, as was my gap wedge approach. Unfortunately, I 3-putt for bogey. 7-iron off the tee on hole 11 was weak, but safe. Unfortunately, I pulled my 8-iron approach left of the green. A pitch and two putts resulted in bogey. 7-iron off the tee on hole 12 was better, but I was still blocked out by some trees. I punched a nice low shot to the left fairway, 50 yards from the green. Another pitch and two putts produced yet another bogey. The lengthy par putt very nearly dropped though.
Holes 13, 14 and 15 produced bogey, par and birdie, respectively. The first of these is a 155-yard par-3 over water. My tee shot hooked left of the green, but I bumped my second shot into a mound, allowing the ball to release to the green. The par putt was close, but didn't drop. Hole 14 is a par-5 with a dogleg left. I did well to set up an approach from 125 yards, but pulled the gap wedge left of the green. No worries, as a lovely up and down followed for the par. That was nice, but the birdie on the next hole was better. A perfect 8-iron finished flag high on this par-3, setting up a 10-foot putt that curled cooperatively into the hole.
Hole 16 is the hardest on the course, in my opinion. If your tee shot is not deep and perfectly placed, you're resigned to playing this par-4 as a par-5. My tee shot found the fairway, but I was too far back and left to go for the green. I pitched the ball 50 yards ahead to the end of the fairway, then attacked the green with a gap wedge. A lengthy lag putt was followed by a 2-footer for bogey.
Hole 17 is a difficult hole as well, owing to its length and dogleg left. At 440 yards, it's a challenging par-4. My drive nestled beneath a spruce tree on the inside corner of the dogleg. I had no option but to declare the ball unplayable and take a penalty. The worst part is I still couldn't reach the green after taking my drop. I hit a nice 4-iron to the middle of the fairway, then pitched on and 2-putt for double-bogey.
The final hole is a par-5 that resulted in bogey. Hey, a final score of 88? I'll take it!
Score: 88
Putts: 35
Fairways: 4
Greens: 4
Penalties: 1
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