I don't want to jinx this, but I've now scored less than 90 in five straight rounds and six of my last seven. I can't recall breaking 90 so often in such a short time span. Could this be the new norm? I certainly hope so. The latest sub-90 round came on the familiar grounds of Lowville Golf Club. It was a fairly hot day and I help up fine during the round, but I didn't feel so great immediately afterwards.
I shot 46 on the front nine, and that was with a score of 9 on hole 2, a downhill par-4. My drive flared right a bit, near a spruce tree. With no backswing, all I could do was punch back to the fairway. From 120 yards, I hit a decent gap wedge, but found a bunker on the right side of the green. My trouble with bunkers has been well documented and right now, it's as bad as it's ever been. I simply don't know what I'm doing. I try to hit the sand behind the ball and I end up catching the ball clean, often sending it 30 yards over the green. Well, it happened again. My pitch back to the green rolled off and into the bunker once again. The next bunker attempt wasn't as bad as the first, but I still failed to hold the green. A chip and two putts put the finishing touch on the 9 score.
It's a shame my bunker play is in such shambles, because I'm in a good groove with the rest of my game, especially iron play and putting. I had four pars on the front nine at Lowville, beginning with the opening par-5. My drive was a mediocre pull to the left rough, but a crisp 8-iron, followed by a crisp lob wedge set up an easy lag and tap-in. On hole 4, another par-5, a good drive was followed by a pretty 3-iron, leaving a 30-yard pitch to the green. I handled that well and then 2-putt to finish. On hole 5, a 177-yard par-3, my 6-iron was utter perfection. The ball finished flag high, 10 feet from the cup. The birdie putt didn't drop, but I'll take tap-in pars all day long.
Hole 6 should have been another par, but a silly 3-putt turned that into bogey. 6-iron off the tee went 200 yards straight down the middle. What a feeling! From there, a lob wedge found the green and actually gave me a legit birdie chance. Unfortunately, I left my first putt way short and sealed my fate. No worries, as I collected another par on hole 8, a devilish little par-3. I hit a perfect sand wedge on this 121-yard hole, leaving the ball in a perfect spot below the hole. Long on this hole is disastrous and short left is no picnic either. I took that all out of play with the accuracy of my tee shot.
I improved on the back nine with a score of 43. Actually, it was a similar nine to the front. The only difference is that one blowup hole wasn't quite so disastrous as hole 2. It was a triple-bogey on hole 15, a 180-yard par-3. I topped my tee shot, sending the ball into a penalty area just ahead of us. After my only penalty of the day, I dropped 130 yards from the green and hit a beautiful pitching wedge to just behind the cup. Unfortunately, I left my first putt short again, and needed two more to finish things off. A couple days earlier, I had volunteered at the Osprey Valley Open, which is an event on the Mackenzie Tour (PGA Tour Canada). The greens at that event were very fast, and I think that was in the back of my head. Go figure.
Once again, I made four pars on the back half of the course, beginning with hole 10, a 352-yard par-4. A perfect drive allowed me to attack the green with a lob wedge from 95 yards. I actually came up a yard short, but made a nice chip and putt for the up and down. I got the next par on hole 12, a par-5, despite a mediocre drive that leaked a bit right to the side of a steep hill. A crisp 8-iron followed and it couldn't have been placed any better, coming to rest in a deep gulley 30 yards short of the green. The ensuing pitch and two putts were no problem. The birdie putt very nearly went in, but not quite.
Holes 14 and 16 produced the other pars. The former is a 354-yard par-4 that also plays downhill. Driver, lob wedge is all I needed to find the green. The latter is a 422-yard par-4 that plays uphill, so it is much more challenging. A good drive was followed by a beautiful 5-iron from 180 yards. I've been hitting those long irons nicely and this one was on a bee line to the flag. It ended up two yards short of the green, as a slope prevented the ball from rolling onto the putting surface. I putt from there and judged the speed perfectly, leaving a tap-in for the par.
Hole 18 features a long carry over a naturalized area and can intimidate many a player. I stepped up and hit a nice drive over all the danger and just right of the fairway. I ended with bogey, but that was good for that hole and good enough to break 90. Let's see if I can do it again next time!
Score: 89
Putts: 33
Fairways: 5
Greens: 7
Penalties: 1
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