Okay, the title is a bit much, but I recently played the Legacy course at Woodington Lake and was happy to break 90 for the second time this year. I played alone, which seems to bring out the best in my game, as there are fewer distractions. I was 6 over par for the front nine, coming off three pars and six bogeys. I 2-putt every green, so I wasn't saving scores with the flat stick. Rather, I was hitting good shots off the tee, or recovering well whenever I didn't. Most importantly, I never allowed more than one mistake per hole.
On hole 1, a nice par-5, I striped my drive down the middle of the fairway. Though I topped my second from 210 yards out, I recovered with a precise wedge shot and 2-putt for par. On hole 2, a par-4, I hit the nicest 3-wood I can recall off the tee. It was a laser down the middle of the fairway that stopped short of a pond that you must carry on your second shot. My 9-iron drew into a left green side bunker, but I got out and 2-putt for bogey.
And so it continued for the remainder of the front nine. I hit near perfect drives on holes 5 and 7. The former set up a par after a pitching wedge approach found the green. The latter used a bit of a down slope to travel 290 yards. I opted to lay up on this par-5, even though I was only 210 yards out. Water short and left of the green didn't make it worth the risk. My wedge approach drew into the left green side bunker again, but I got out and 2-putt for bogey.
I hit poor drives on holes 3 and 6. Rather than try to reach the greens of these par-4 holes from difficult positions, I opted for layups to comfortable yardages, then nailed the greens from there and 2-putt for bogeys. I hit a poor iron off the tee on hole 4, a long par-3, but followed with a spectacular pitch that set up another 2-putt bogey. On hole 9, my drive was in the rough, just outside a fairway bunker. I attacked the green with a gap wedge and it was perfect. I basically made good decisions.
The back nine wasn't quite as smooth. I managed another three pars, but they came along with three bogeys and three doubles. Hole 10 produced the first double. After a horrible pulled tee shot into some fescue, I was forced to take a penalty and drop. I actually hit a great 6-iron for my third shot, but my ball landed a couple yards short of the green, on a bank that kicked my ball left and into some water. After another penalty stroke, I did well to save the double-bogey with an up and down.
The other doubles came on holes 13 and 14. The former started with a miss hit drive that was again pulled left into some fescue. After a penalty and drop, I actually hit a very nice 5-iron to just right of the green. Alas, I couldn't get up and down for bogey. The latter started with a drive that finished in a bad lie just ahead of a fairway bunker. My attempt to advance the ball went nowhere, dribbling into another bunker just a few yards ahead. Shot 3 was a similar miss. I did hit a beautiful 7-iron for my fourth shot and was unlucky not to hold the left edge of the green. I chipped on and 2-putt for the double on this par-5.
Luckily, my finish was strong. The back nine pars came on holes 15, 17 and 18. The first of these is a very short par-3. I hit a beautiful sand wedge to within a couple feet of the pin at the front of the green, and was very unlucky when my birdie putt lipped out. The last couple pars began with laser drives to the centre of the fairways. Wedges helped me approach the greens and I finished calmly with the putter. It felt good.
Score: 87
Putts: 36
Fairways: 6
Greens: 7
Penalties: 3
No comments:
Post a Comment