Trafalgar Golf & Country Club was a private facility for 60 years. After being sold a couple of years ago, operation of the golf course was turned over to GolfNorth and public tee times were made available. I made my first visit to the club on the last day in August. The weather couldn't have been any better.
I got paired with two guys who were playing the blue tees (6557 yards), while I opted for the white (6211 yards). I pulled my drive on the opening par-5 into a fairway bunker. After hitting pitching wedge to safely clear the lip, I hit a fantastic approach with 7-iron. I left the uphill birdie putt short, but followed up with a good putt for par.
Hole 2 is a par-4 that was playing 410 yards from the blue tees and 400 yards from the white. My fellow competitors hit their tee shots first, one pushing his drive well into the right rough and the other finding the centre of the fairway. I went next, pummeling a laser down the right side of the fairway. I had a 10 yard advantage on the tee, but converted that into a much greater advantage with my 300-yard drive. My partner joked that I would absolutely have to drop back to the blue tees. I misjudged the wind with my sand wedge approach, coming up a couple yards short of the green, but made a lengthy 2-putt to convert the par.
After bombing a 300-yard drive, a 130-yard tee shot shouldn't be too difficult, right? On hole 3, that tee shot came up short of the green, as I greatly underestimated the headwind. I had to pitch over a bunker to get near the pin, but duffed one directly into the sand. My third shot was a good out, though the ball flew well past the hole. I severely underestimated the break on my first putt, leading to two more and a triple-bogey. Wow!
I got back on track quickly, making another par on hole 4, a 350-yard par-4. This prompted my playing partners to join me on the white tees, beginning with hole 5. Speaking of hole 5, I hit 5-wood to just right of the fairway on this dogleg left. I was far from the green, with a forced carry over a creek. Because my lie was mediocre, I lofted up, knowing I wouldn't reach the green. My third shot was a pitch from 40 yards that rolled off the back of the green. No worries, as I got up and down for bogey.
The rest of the front nine went bogey, par, par, double-bogey. The bogey came on a 200-yard par-3, while the pars came on a par-4 and par-5 that were playing directly into the wind. The wind prevented my drive from carrying a fairway bunker on hole 7. I needed pitching wedge to clear the lip, which left me well short of the green. Fortunately, I hit a wonderful pitch from 50 yards, then sunk a 5-footer for the par. I used driver, 3-iron, and lob wedge to get one close on hole 8. Unfortunately, the downhill breaking birdie putt just missed.
Hole 9 is another long par-3. It was playing 190 yards directly into the wind. I made great contact with the 4-iron, but the ball drew and finished 10 yards left of the green. A subsequent pitch and chip shot both overshot the target. I did well to close with a 2-putt, but carded a double-bogey. My score at the turn was 42.
I started the back nine with a bogey on hole 10, a par-4. My drive was too far left and my ball finished at the base of a tree, forcing me to chip back to the fairway. Next up were a pair of par-5 holes that finished with par and bogey. Driver, 3-iron carried me just off the front edge of the green on hole 11, but I messed up my pitch shot, negating a good chance at birdie. After a good drive on hole 12, I hit a poor second shot, finishing behind a massive tree on the right side. For some reason, I had opened the club face drastically. I hit a high pitching wedge over the tree, then chipped an 8-iron onto the green.
The next three holes resulted in par, double-bogey, and par. Hole 13 is a 169-yard par-3 with a forced carry that I navigated in textbook style. Hole 14 is a quirky par-4, at just 314 yards. 5-wood off the tee landed in a fairway bunker right. Next came a terrible shot with the pitching wedge. I think I hit the edge of the club face, near the toe. The ball came out low and well to the right, finishing in some deep fescue. I hacked the ball out, then pitched onto the green. My long bogey putt looked like it was in, but it hit the flag stick and stayed out. I think the device in the bottom of the cup (used for COVID-19 reasons) prevented the ball from dropping, but I counted the result as a double nevertheless. The misadventure didn't bother me, as I made par on hole 15, thanks largely to a fantastic 4-iron into the wind on my second shot.
Hole 16 is perhaps the most interesting hole on the course. The 334-yard par-4 begins with a carry over an angled creek. The angle is such that if you go too far left, you risk running through the fairway, into some long fescue. The further right you go, the longer the carry becomes. My drive faded right of my intended target. While it cleared the creek, it did not carry over a steep incline to the fairway level. I hit a good second shot from an impossibly steep stance, ending in the fairway some 40 yards from the flag. From there, I pitched on and 2-putt for bogey.
I earned double bogey on hole 17, a 164-yard par 3 over water from an elevated tee. My 6-iron into the wind finished flag high, but about 15 yards left of the green. I had to pitch over a bunker and ended up rolling off the other side of the green. My chip back was no better, rolling well past the hole. Two putts finished the hole.
The final hole at Trafalgar is a 418-yard par-4. I began by pummeling a drive – this one even better than the one on hole 2. Straight as an arow, with a low, penetrating flight, this one travelled 309 yards to finish just behind the 100-yard stick. Next, I hit a precise lob wedge to finish below the hole at the front of the green. There was little break in this putt and I could be aggressive putting uphill. From about 13 feet, I lined it up and drained the birdie putt. Great way to finish!
With this result, my handicap factor dipped to 11.9 – the first time it's ever been below 12.
Score: 84
Putts: 33
Fairways: 5
Greens:8
Penalties: 0
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