King's Forest has been creeping up my list of most played courses, and currently ranks just inside the Top 10. Despite playing there regularly over the past few years, I have not scored well. Along with a handful of mediocre results in the 90s, I've collected far too many scores of 100 and up. My best score there was 90 even, which I achieved last September.
I'm happy to say that I broke 90 on my latest vist, setting a new personal best for the course with a score of 86. I stayed out of trouble for the most part, collecting only two double-bogeys. Everything else was either bogey or par. I didn't take a single penalty stroke, which is very rare indeed. I navigated the toughest section at King's Forest very well, which buoyed me to an extremely strong finish.
I was 6 over par through the first six holes, with the only real trouble coming on hole 3, a par-4. A perfect 5-wood off the tee found the middle of the fairway, but I pulled my approach shot into a left side bunker. I had lots of green to work with and hit a good sand shot, but the ball rolled off the other side of the green. A comeback chip and two putts finished things off for a double-bogey.
Fortunately, I bounced back with a par on hole 4, a par-5. My drive leaked just off the right side of the fairway, but I managed to punch a 4-iron past a small tree that was impeding my progress. My third shot was a lob wedge from the right rough, 80 yards from the green. It carried a front bunker and finished below the hole, giving me a chance at birdie. Though the birdie putt didn't drop, I followed up with an easy tap-in.
I was 7 over par on holes 7 through 12, with another double-bogey being the only real blemish. It came on hole 8, a straight par-4. I sliced my drive well right, finishing under some trees. I tried to punch a 3-iron out of there, but hit a fat shot that advanced only a few yards. Trees were still a problem, but I managed to take the aerial route to the green, finishing just shy of the putting surface. I tried a long lag from off the green, but missed my line and finished well right of the hole. Two official putts finished up the hole.
Every other hole over the middle third of the course produced bogey. That's not a bad thing, considering that holes 11 and 12 sometimes give me trouble. Along with hole 13, I consider this the toughest stretch of the course. My drive from an elevated tee on hole 11 hit a tree right of the fairway, dropping straight down. I punched back to the fairway, then nailed the green with a wedge, before 2 putting. I split the fairway on hole 12 with a 3-iron off the tee, then pushed a 7-iron flag high, just right of the green. A chip and two putts made the hole look fairly easy, though it's really not. The hole is a dogleg and woods border it entirely from tee to green.
Hole 13 may be the toughest of them all. The teeing ground is pressed against woods on the left, almost demanding a draw shot. I don't draw the ball with my longer clubs, so it puts me in a tough position. Driver or 5-wood have not worked for me in the past, usually finding the bushes on the right side of the fairway. This time, I opted for 3-iron, which I could hit straight, if not very far. I found the middle of the fairway, but remained 205 yards away from the green. The second shot is a forced carry over the river; I've often duffed from this position, probably because the green is still far away. This time, I hit a lovely 5-wood up the left side. I may have clipped some large trees up there, as my ball finished 20 yards short of the green. No worries, as I chipped on and drained a putt for par!
That result gave me confidence that I carried for the rest of the round. In fact, I was just 1 over par for the final third of the round. The par on hole 13 was followed by four more in a row. I hit the centre of the green on hole 14, a short par-4. Driver, 5-wood carried me to just in front of the green on hole 15, a par-5. A simple 4-iron off the tee worked well on hole 16, a short par-4. Though I failed to hit the green with a wedge, I did get up and down. A sweet 6-iron found the green on hole 17, a par-3. It took the final hole of the day to ruin the par streak, as I collected bogey. My drive on this par-5 was a low pull, which forced a punch out from under some trees. The punch was very well done, but I faced a long third shot into the green. Rather than go for it, I played something that would come up a bit short, but which I could control better. I think it was the correct call.
Score: 86
Putts: 33
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
Penalties: 0
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