It's been five months since the 2019 golf season ended. Normally at this time of year, I'd be keeping a close watch on the weather forecast, in hopes of starting the new season early. Instead, I'm wondering if we'll have golf even months from now, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic that is currently gripping the globe. Whenever golf resumes, it will be a welcome event. In the meantime, let's look back at the 2019 season.
I played 38 rounds of golf in 2019, beginning May 6 and ending October 29. That's just half a round less than the previous year, despite starting two weeks later and finishing on virtually the same date. In the handful of years prior to 2018, I managed 40-45 rounds per season, but was able to play a couple rounds either at the tail end of April or start of November. Ideally, I'd like to play at least 40 rounds every year.
Where I Played Most
The 38 rounds were played on 32 different golf courses, at 28 different clubs. TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley hosted the greatest number of rounds, with three of them on the Heathlands course, and two on Hoot. Two of the Heathlands rounds were played simultaneously. I was alone that day, and the course was almost empty, which allowed me to play two balls on every hole. It was the first time I had ever tried that. Although interesting, I feel like it takes away from the rhythm of the game.
The Club at Bond Head was the site of three rounds, with a couple of them on the South course, and one on the North. My score on North (103) was my second worst of the season, while my score on South (100) just a week and a half later was tied for my fourth worst. No doubt about it, Bond Head can hurt you when conditions are just right. Other courses that I played twice in 2019 were King's Forest and Tangle Creek. A poor score of 100 at King's Forest was followed up with a much better 90. Similarly, a mediocre score of 94 at Tangle Creek was followed up with a solid 88.
A Couple New Courses
I only played two new courses in 2019. The first of these was Deerfield Golf Club, finally! If it's a public course with 18 holes, measuring at least 6,000 yards, and anywhere near Toronto, I've probably played it. For many years, one of the few exceptions to this rule has been Deerfield. When I started golfing, I used to pay Richview, which was just up the road. It closed many years ago. I played Saw-Whet, which was literally next door to Deerfield, even more. It also closed a couple years back. So, with the competition thinning out, I finally made it to Deerfield. The result was a score of 84, which tied with two other rounds for my best score of the year. Those other rounds were at Doon Valley and Hornby Glen. I guess course knowledge is overrated!
The other new course for me was Caledon Woods Golf Club. This private course, part of the ClubLink family, hosted Round 4 of the Deepwoods championship. I shot 90 that day, which wasn't too shabby, and moved into first place in the Deepwoods standings. More on that later. There were a couple of short holes at Caledon Woods, which force you to decide whether to drive one deep and take advantage, or play the percentages by laying back. Except for maybe one hole, I opted for the conservative approach, and I think it was a smart choice. Come to think of it, the same could be said for Deerfield. It also features a few short holes that tempt you into getting greedy. I never took the bait and that was one of the main reasons for my good score.
Checking the Statistics
Moving on to some numerical data, let's begin with handicap factor. I started the season at 18.0 and got as high as 18.5 after ten rounds. By round 27, I dropped all the way down to 13.9, which is a personal best. My previous best was 15.4, which I achieved in 2017. By the end of the 2019 season, my handicap factor was at the 15.4 level once again. That's not bad, I'm pretty happy with that. Sure, I'd love to be a 12, and eventually a 9, but the path to becoming a single digit handicap is not an easy one.
My average score in 2019 was 92.5, which was down from 93.6 and 95.5 over the previous two seasons. I would like that number to be 90 or better, and I'm getting pretty close. Perhaps more indicative, my median score was 91. That means half of my rounds were below 91, and half were above. To be more specific, I had 17 rounds below 91, 3 rounds at 91 even, and 17 rounds above. For purposes of this analysis, I've excluded the two 9-hole rounds that I played during the year.
The average score, or mean, was slightly above the median thanks to six scores that ballooned to 100 or greater. When a round goes poorly, it's easy to let the score creep up, rather than grind for a 98. Four of those 100+ scores came over the first ten rounds of the season, when I was rusty from a prolonged off-season. Another one came at the last round of the season, when extremely mucky conditions made it unrealistic to play. Even so, there's really no reason for me to ever reach 100.
Interestingly, my best stretch of the season was a 10-round streak beginning with round 11. I actually broke 90 in nine of those rounds! The list of successive scores was impressive – 89, 86, 84, 89, 89, 88, 91, 89, 84, 89. I didn't include it, but I also had a 9-hole round in the middle of that stretch where I shot 41. The first and the penultimate 89 on that list came in Deepwoods events at Peninsula Lakes and Blue Springs. Deerfield and Hornby Glen, meanwhile, produced the rounds of 84. As discussed earlier, 84 was my best score of the season. While not a personal best, my three scores of 84 were just good enough to squeeze into my Top 10 scores of all time. I've only gone lower than 84 on seven occasions.
Some Nitty Gritty Numbers
Breaking down my 2019 stats a bit further, I hit 5.5 fairways per round, compared with 5.3, 5.5, and 5.5 in each of the three previous years. Disappointingly, there has been no improvement. Meanwhile, I hit 4.8 greens in regulation, compared with 3.8, 3.7, and 3.9 in each of the three previous years. That's a little better, as it shows movement in the right direction. However, I've been saying for a long time that I'd like to hit at least 7 fairways and 6 greens in regulation every round. It remains an elusive target.
I averaged 34.9 putts per round in 2019, compared with 34.3, 35.4, and 34.6 in each of the previous years. What can I say? I've never considered myself a bad putter; rather, I need to pitch and chip the ball much closer in order to improve my putting numbers. Finally, I averaged 2.8 penalty strokes per round in 2019, compared with 3.1, 3.4, and 3.3 in each of the previous three years. That's somewhat better, but there's still a lot of room for improvement. Nothing inflates scores like penalty strokes.
Deepwoods Champion ... Again!
As I usually do, I'll end with a few words about the Deepwoods Golf Association. After numerous close calls in previous years, I finally captured my second championship! I stayed within striking distance of the leaders through the first two rounds, with point totals of 32 and 36, respectively. Then, I made a strong move relative to the field in the third round, which took place at Blue Springs. I tallied 37 points there, while everybody else failed to reach 30. That left me tied for second place in the standings. Round 4 at Caledon Woods produced 34 points, but the other contenders faltered, leaving me in first place, alone. The final round at The Country Club changed nothing, as it was a veritable disaster for everyone. Hey, I'll take it. That second championship was a long time coming.
