June 29, 2019

Bloody Shawneeki

I'm not one to hit balls before a round, but I always arrive early to at least hit a few practice putts. I arrived 25 minutes before my tee time at Shawneeki, but they rushed me out to join another single who had been waiting. I went on to 3-putt the first two holes, as the greens were a lot faster than those I had played recently. After that I adjusted just fine, but two strokes is two strokes, and they cost me.

I was also rushed on the first hole, by balls flying past my head from the nearby range, as I tried to take my second shot. Of course, I duffed a couple. The range balls and the putting fiasco conspired to produce a triple-bogey, quadruple-bogey start. It would be hard to score well with a start like that, but I tried my best. I was 8 over par for the last seven holes of the front nine. I made par on hole 4, thanks to a 3-iron, gap wedge combination, but I also made double-bogeys on holes 6 and 7. The remaining holes were typical bogeys.

I was shooting 51 at the turn, so I needed to avoid any additional blowup holes to salvage a respectable score. Unfortunately, I sliced my drive on hole 10. After a punch out from the trees, my approach found a front bunker. My sand shot released off the other side of the green, en route to a triple-bogey. That was pretty much the end of my round. I made a couple nice pars on holes 12 and 14, both of which are par-3 holes, but I struggled with the driver, leading to more double and triple-bogeys.

This was a horrible round I would rather forget. Bring on the next.

Score: 105
Putts: 36
Fairways: 4
Greens: 3
Penalties: 5

June 25, 2019

Ho Hum at Bond Head

It wasn't a good start on the South Course at Bond Head, as I lost a ball on my very first shot. I was forced to take a penalty stroke. Luckily, it was my only penalty of the day. I made double-bogey on the first two holes, before settling in somewhat. A couple more doubles followed on the front nine, but these were offset by a couple of pars. Hole 6, a short par-4 from an elevated tee, provided the first par, while the second came on hole 9, a nice par-5. I was shooting 48 at the turn and feeling pretty good.

The back nine was generally better, but included a disastrous quadruple-bogey on hole 10. I duffed my drive attempt and then burned three more shots trying to get out of the long fescue near the teeing ground. Each time, my lie looked pretty reasonable, but I couldn't get out even with a wedge. After that nonsense, I was 8-over for the remaining eight holes. I made bogey on all of them, except for a par on hole 12 and a double-bogey on hole 16. None of my shots were particularly sharp, but I managed to get around with decent game management.

Score: 96
Putts: 34
Fairways: 7
Greens: 2
Penalties: 1

June 24, 2019

Late Fade at Copetown Woods

It was the first round of the Deepwoods season at Copetown Woods. I started reasonably well, with three pars on the front nine and a score of 43 at at the turn. The first par was on hole 3, as a perfect 5-wood, 6-iron combination left me just above the hole. The second par was on the very next hole, a short par-3. My pitching wedge off the tee finished flag high. The third par was on hole 7, another par-3. I had birdie looks on all of these, with the first two being the best opportunities.

The back nine started well, including par on hole 11, a long par-3. A beautiful 4-iron found the green, setting up a birdie look. Unfortunately, I started leaking oil on holes 12 through 14, with a trio of double-bogeys. Approaches that just missed the greens were followed by either a poor bunker shot, suspect chip, or 3-putt. A par on hole 15 stopped some of the bleeding, but I wasn't headed for the desired Deepwoods point total. A simple bogey on the final hole would have earned a 34-point total, which is not shabby. Instead, I carded my only triple-bogey of the day and had to settle for 32 points.

Score: 93
Putts: 38
Fairways: 8
Greens: 4
Penalties: 1

June 22, 2019

Raging at King's Forest

I like King's Forest, but it's turning into a real nemesis for me. Specifically, I'm referring to holes 11, 12 and 13, which seem to kill otherwise good rounds for me, every single time. Through the first ten holes, I was 12 over par. That's not great, by any means, but it's good enough to keep me focused and engaged in the game. I made just a single par, on hole 6, but I sprinkled good shots in throughout and limited any damage that occurred.

Then on hole 11, I pulled my tee shot into the trees left. Penalty stroke. My third shot was a sideways pitch that didn't even reach the fairway. My fourth was a well struck ball that barely clipped the top of an interfering tree. But where did the ball go? I had no clue. Penalty stroke. My sixth made it to the left of the green. I chipped on and 2-putt for a score of 9. A quintuple bogey! Round ruined.

Hole 12 usually goes wrong right off the tee, but I actually hit a laser to the centre of the narrow fairway. Because it's a dogleg, I still could not go for the green of this par-4 with my second shot, so I just advanced the ball, leaving about a 70 yard shot into the green for my third. It's actually the smart play, but then I came up short, requiring a pitch and 2 putts to take double-bogey. A bit better than the previous hole, but not exactly inspiring.

Finally, there was hole 13. If you don't draw the ball as a a right handed player, you're screwed. You're either driving the ball into the right fescue and trees, or you're laying well back. I laid back, leaving 210 yards to the green, over the river. 5-wood failed me, flaring to the right and clanking off the iron bridge over the water. Penalty stroke. My fourth shot was short and left of the green. I found the green with my fifth and 2-putt for triple-bogey.

Cue the rage to begin at this point. The same section of the course gets me every bloody time! You can't play well when you're raging, so my round was basically over. I made par and a couple of bogeys over the final few holes, but also a double-bogey and a triple on the final hole. I didn't feel like grinding just to save a score of 98 or 99, so I surpassed the century mark. Who cares? Whether you shoot 98 or 101, they both suck.

Score: 101
Putts: 38
Fairways: 7
Greens: 3
Penalties: 6

June 21, 2019

Delightful at Doon Valley

I first played Doon Valley last year, making a total of three visits, and recording scores of 90, 93 and 91. I returned recently and shattered those results with a final score of 84. Mind you, I played from the white tees this time, which are 450 yards shorter than the blues. It was by accident, as I mistakenly read the yardage from my scorecard at the start of the round. Nevertheless, I still made good shots throughout the day, so I'm pleased.

The front nine produced seven consecutive bogeys, sandwiched between a couple of pars on holes 1 and 9. As ever, the pars came thanks to some precise approach shots. On hole 1, I attacked with sand wedge from the left rough, while on hole 9, I challenged the rear pin location with an 8-iron from the middle fairway. Approach shots are probably the most fun in golf, provided you're actually challenging the greens. On the bogey holes, I just missed the greens, usually chipping on and then 2-putting. It would be nice to get up and down on some of those.

The bogey train continued for the first four holes of the back nine, until a double-bogey on hole 14, a dogleg right par-4. My second shot was pushed right into the woods on the corner of the dogleg. Though I found my ball, I burned a shot just to get out of the trees. From there, it was a strong finish, as I closed the day out going par, par, birdie, and par. The key to success? Four consecutive greens in regulation. The birdie on hole 17 came after what felt like a missed 7-iron off the tee on this par-3. I thinned the ball, but it rolled right up to within 10 feet of the cup.

Score: 84
Putts: 33
Fairways: 7
Greens: 6
Penalties: 2

June 20, 2019

Onward at Twenty Valley

A pretty decent result for my second round of the year, as I headed out to Twenty Valley. Still rusty after the off-season, but a two stroke improvement over my previous score means I'm headed in the right direction. Once again the first third of the round was rough, as I went 11 over par. No triple-bogeys this time, but I did start with five consecutive doubles. Some bad shots were mixed in with good ones and the short game was suspect. Luckily, I improved to 6-over par for the middle six holes, and 6-over for the final six.

There were no triples for the entire round, but that means there were also only two pars. The first was on hole 10, a par-5. Driver found the right fairway, followed by a good 5-wood that just snuck into the right rough. A wedge got me on the green, followed by two putts. The second par was on hole 16, a par-3. A 7-iron found the heart of the green, followed by a lengthy lag and easy finisher. Best result of the day was a birdie on hole 13. This is a really tough par-3, with a creek and massive hill fronting the green. It's very easy to come up short. I judged the distance perfectly, leaving about 10 feet for the resulting birdie.

Score: 95
Putts: 34
Fairways: 5
Greens: 3
Penalties: 4

June 19, 2019

A Mystic Beginning

Not a bad start to the season, as I headed out to Mystic Golf Club. After over six months without swinging a club, it's not unusual to start the season with a score over 100. I kept my score below that at a pretty tough course, so I'm satisfied. The round began with some difficulty, but I got better as the day went on. I was 11 over through the first six holes, including a pair of triple-bogeys. Over the middle six, I improved to 8 over par. For the last six holes, I was 5 over.

Highlights included pars on holes 2, 11, 14, and 17. The last three came on a par-3, par-4, and par-5, respectively, which was a good mix. Not surprisingly, the key to making pars was a good approach shot. Pitching wedge was excellent off the tee on hole 11, setting up a birdie chance that I just missed. A 9-iron from the right rough was even better on hole 14. That shot put me in a good frame of mind for hole 15, a 150-yard par-3. The pin was at the back of the green and I hit a laser 8-iron directly at the flag. This was followed by a 12-foot uphill putt for a satisfying birdie.

Score: 97
Putts: 37
Fairways: 2
Greens: 4
Penalties: 4

June 12, 2019

2018: Year in Review

It's a new calendar year and I've already played eight rounds this season. It's fair to say that my traditional year end review is well past due. Whether or not the extra time provides a different perspective remains to be seen. So without further delay, let's look back at how I fared over the 2018 golf season.

I played 38.5 rounds of golf in 2018, beginning April 23 and ending October 30. I'm usually able to play during the first couple weeks of November, but the weather didn't cooperate this time. As a result, total games played was lower than I would have liked. Over the previous four years, I played 40-45 rounds per season, which seems to be the minimum required to keep me semi-sharp. I'll be aiming for the same range in 2019.

The 38.5 rounds were played on 34 different golf courses, at 31 different clubs. The course I played most often was Doon Valley, with three visits. It's a decent layout, with good value, but a little far from home. Cardinal East, meanwhile, was the site of two visits. I played Osprey Valley Hoot twice in the same day, while Battlefield at Legends on the Niagara hosted 1.5 rounds, also in a single day. I actually made two other visits to Osprey Valley, one to play Heathlands and the other to play the North course (formerly Toot). Likewise, I made a couple of visits to Woodington Lake in order to play both the Legend and Legacy courses.

As always, I tried to visit a couple of new courses in 2018. Doon Valley was actually a new one for me. I guess the fact that I returned two more times in the same year indicates what I thought about the course. There's nothing spectacular about it, but it's fun to play and plenty challenging. A couple of Clublink properties, Blue Springs Golf Club and Heron Point Golf Links, were the other courses where I played for the first time. Both were  part of the Deepwoods Golf Association schedule. The round at Blue Springs (105) was my worst of the year, and the one at Heron Point (99) was not far behind, tied for sixth worst. Terrible weather on the days I played there, along with the poor results, make it difficult to provide a fair assessment of the courses. Under normal conditions, I think I would have been quite pleased with both.

As for my performance, I wish there was some real progress to speak of. I finished the season with an 18.0 handicap factor, which was a little disappointing, considering that I started the season at 17.1 and spent a good chunk of the year in the 16's. My low of 16.3 came in mid August after a solid round at Woodington Lake Legacy. My average score for the year was 93.6 – an improvement over previous averages of 95.5 in 2017 and 94.4 in 2016. Of the 38.5 rounds played, five resulted in scores of 100 or worse, while I managed to break 90 on seven occasions. I would prefer never to reach 100, of course, but seven scores in the 80's is a pretty good offset. I shot 90 or 91 seven more times, so scoring in the 80's regularly is a realistic goal.

My best results of the year included an 84 at Copetown Woods in late May. I matched that score at Victoria Park East in early July. These rounds were just good enough to squeak into my Top 10 of all time, so that's something to be proud of. Also notable was an 86 on the New Course at Hidden Lake in late July. Copetown Woods and Hidden Lake were rounds 1 and 2 of the 2018 Deepwoods Golf Association championship. With those performances, I jumped out into first place in the standings – a position I occupied right up to the end of the season, but more on that later. When looking at my best rounds, the common denominator is penalty stroke avoidance. Frustratingly, I had many rounds where a high penalty tally just pushed my score above 90.

If I had to pick an individual highlight, it would have to be the eagle I made on hole 12 at Cardinal East. The round was pretty forgettable, but I went driver, 3-iron into the green on this par-5, followed by a 12-foot putt. It was only my third eagle ever, and first on a par-5. You would think that eagles come primarily on par-5 holes, but my previous two came on a par-4 and a par-3. The former was a hole-out from 135 yards, while the latter was a 150-yard hole-in-one. I finally managed to roll one in with the flat stick!

Delving deeper into some stats, there wasn't much change at all compared to recent years. I hit 5.3 fairways per round, compared to 5.5 in each of the last two seasons. I hit 3.8 greens in regulation per round, compared to 3.7 and 3.9 in the two years prior. In my last year-end review, I thought a reasonable goal was to hit 7 fairways and 6 greens per round, which equates to 50 and 33 percent, respectively. It still feels like that should be attainable, but I've had that feeling for a long time and the results have never materialized. The fairway numbers don't bother me too much – I often miss the fairway by just a couple of yards, which keeps me in good enough position to score well. The greens figures are more alarming. You simply can't score well with a suspect short game if you're not hitting more greens in regulation.

As for putting, I averaged 34.3 putts per round in 2018. Compare that with averages of 35.4 and 34.6 over the previous two years. Statistically speaking, it's an improvement, but common sense tells me there has really been no change. I switched to a different putter in 2018 and it felt good, so I'll continue to use it moving forward. Finally, there are penalty strokes. I averaged 3.1 of those per round in 2018, compared to 3.4 and 3.3 in the years prior. It's a reduction, and I'll take it gladly, but you really want this number to be close to zero. Nothing inflates scores more than penalty strokes, so they really have to be eliminated.

I'll end with a few words about the Deepwoods Golf Association championship. I jumped into first place after the first event at Copetown Woods, where I scored a perfect 40 points, with a gross score of 84. Round 2 at Hidden Lake was much the same. I collected 38 points, with a gross score of 86. The next two rounds were terrible, by comparison. Rounds of 105 and 99 on the unfamiliar grounds of Blue Springs and Heron Point added just 23 and 29 points, respectively, to my season total. I remained in first place however, as everyone struggled at those two rounds. The weather and condition of the courses was largely to blame.

The championship was mine to lose going into the final round at Peninsula Lakes. Unfortunately, that's exactly what I did. I shot 97 and only earned 29 points, but I felt like I played a pretty solid round. In the end, three of us were tied for first place, so we went to a sudden death playoff. Of course, my second shot on the playoff hole was my worst of the day – a 5-iron that I topped into a pond just ahead. I held first place the entire season, but gave it away right there. It was the second time in four years that I lost the championship in a 3-man playoff. Very frustrating indeed.