After using a pull cart for the first five rounds of the season, I recently made the switch back to carrying my golf clubs. If you golf to help stay in shape, walking with a pull cart is better than riding, but carrying is best of all. After five rounds, I felt like I had eased into the season enough, so the switch to carrying was made. At the same time, I'm always careful about exerting myself too much, particularly in hot weather. My latest round was an afternoon visit to Settler's Ghost, which has a fair bit of elevation changes. It was fairly hot, so I had to be careful.
I felt good on the front nine, which was reflected in my score of 42, including four pars, four bogeys, and a double-bogey. After missing badly with my second shot on the opening par-4, I made a lovely up and down from 30 yards away. I had some trouble reaching the greens on holes 2 and 3, respectively, but recovered well for a pair of bogeys. On hole 4, a 369-yard par-4, I striped the fairway with my drive and nailed the green with a lob wedge from 100 yards. After a solid lag putt, I tapped in for my second par of the day.
Hole 5 is a 526-yard par-5. My second shot from the left rough was topped and went a very short distance. However, I played the hole well from that point to salvage bogey. This was followed up with back-to-back pars on holes 6 and 7. The former is an uphill par-4. I hit the green with gap wedge from the right rough and lagged a long putt very close. The latter is a short par-3 over water. I hit a pitching wedge flag high that released behind the pin. A hard breaking lag was well judged, leaving just a tap-in for par.
Hole 8 is the one that produced double-bogey. I pulled my second shot on this par-5 into some trees left of the cart path. I decided the ball was unplayable and took a penalty stroke. Hitting from a downhill / side hill lie, my approach failed to reach the green. Despite a lovely pitch to the back pin position, I still required two putts to finish. I earned bogey on hole 9, despite finding the green with a 4-iron, sand wedge combination. Had I used lob wedge on the approach, I might have had a better chance at par. As it was, I 3-putt from a healthy distance.
I was drinking plenty of water and feeling pretty good at this point, though very conscious of the heat. Hole 10 is a 558-yard par-5 that plays substantially uphill. I've struggled on this hole in the past, and consider it the hardest on the course. Too much thinking about this ruined my tee shot. I hit the heel of the driver, barely blooping the ball 80 yards ahead and left to an opposite fairway. I had lots of room to play back to the proper fairway, but opted to hit a 5-wood instead of a mid-iron. It was a bad decision. I had a bit of an uphill lie, and I scrubbed the ground in front of the ball. The ball rolled a few yards ahead, nestling under a spruce tree. A left handed putter shot was all I could use to get out of there. Now on a severe side hill lie, I pulled a mid iron into a large tree. It was one disaster after another. I played decent for the rest of the hole, but finished with a quadruple-bogey 9.
The next three holes were not very smooth, as I struggled to cope with the change of events. My tee shot on hole 11, a 158-yard par-3, was pushed slightly right into a bunker. I splashed out from there, but barely. A chip and two putts earned a double-bogey. Hole 12, a downhill par-5 that plays parallel to #10, was a bit better with bogey. Still, I was disappointed with my second shot after a perfect drive. There are not many flat lies at Settlers' Ghost. Some are subtle, like the downhill one I topped on this occasion. Hole 13 is a short par-4 with a forced carry off the tee. I cleared the water easily, but lost my ball in the fescue right of the fairway. It's an easy hole, unless you slice your drive badly, as I did. The consequence was a double-bogey.
Fortunately, I played the remaining five holes just two over par to salvage a score of 89. Beginning with hole 14, I went par, bogey, par, par, and bogey. Hole 14 is a 180-yard par 3. I hit 6-iron to the centre of the green, then 2-putt back to the front pin position. Hole 15 is a 561-yard par-5 that goes back uphill a bit. I hit decent long irons, but they weren't pure, resulting in lost distance. I needed an extra little pitch to find the green and then 2-put.
Hole 16 is a 152-yard par-3, and I hit perhaps my best iron of the day. It was a 7-iron into a slight breeze that carried a front bunker and then released past the hole. It was an absolutely towering shot. I made a great attempt at the long birdie putt, but had to follow up with a tap-in. Hole 17 is a dogleg par-4. I went driver, lob wedge to find the green, but my approach drifted well right of the hole. I did very well to 2-putt from that position.
I didn't know my score, so I paused on the 18th tee to see where I stood. Sure enough, a bogey on the downhill par-4 would be enough to break 90. With trees on both sides of the fairway, I shortened my backswing and let it fly. Oh what a beauty ! It was my best drive of the day – straight down the middle and 300 yards to boot. Sure, some of that was because I caught a downhill section just right, but I didn't care. At this point, I felt like par was possible, and certainly I would finish with no worse than bogey.
Well, I hit my sand wedge fat, thanks to a slight downhill lie. From 15 yards in front of the green, I sculled one straight across to the other side. Oh no! Given the contours of the green, it would be very difficult to get up and down for bogey. I chipped reasonably well, but the ball finished 12 feet below the hole. The good news is that it was a straight putt. I lined it up and gave it a firm tap, drilling the centre to break 90 after all. Woohoo!
Score: 89
Putts: 34
Fairways: 5
Greens: 7
Penalties: 2
No comments:
Post a Comment