I made my third visit of the year to Legends on the Niagara. My second round of the year was on the Ussher's Creek course, where I shot 105 for the second consecutive round. Fortunately, two horrible rounds were enough to shake off the winter rust. I then went on a streak of seven rounds in the 80s. More concerning to me was a later round on the Battlefield course, where I shot 104. I can't blame winter rust for that one.
This time, I played Ussher's Creek once again. Early on, it looked like this was going to be a low scoring round, despite being extremely windy. A par, bogey, par, bogey, start was followed by a birdie, leaving me just one over par through the first five holes. I hit every fairway on this stretch, which is not easy to do with a howling wind. They were convincing drives too, with a penetrating flight to the centre of the fairways.
Other parts of my game were also working well. I actually got up and down for par from a greenside bunker on hole 1. The splash out of the sand was very competent and the ensuing putt was perfect. An excellent putt saved bogey on hole 2 after a fairway bunker gave me some trouble. Excellent putts on holes 3 and 4 just missed, otherwise I would have earned birdie and par. I did manage birdie on hole 5, thanks to a deep drive, followed by a crafty pitch from 50 yards and a convincing putt.
You could say I bent a little on holes 6 and 7, before breaking completely on holes 8 and 9. Hole 6 is one of the hardest on the course, a par-4 that wraps around a large lake from tee to green. Add an incredible headwind and the hole becomes that much harder. I flared my drive out to the right and the wind took it away. After a penalty and drop, I did well to escape with double-bogey. I also did well to bogey hole 7, a par-3 over water. The wind made it very difficult to choose a club off the tee.
I was 4 over par through seven holes, which is still good, but here's where I threw away the round. Hole 8 is a long one, ranked the hardest on the course. I thinned my drive attempt into a creek less than 100 yards from the teeing ground. After a penalty and drop, my third shot was a good 5-wood to the middle of the fairway. My fourth was a mid iron to the front of the green, but that left me a long way from the cup near the back of the green. I blew my first putt way past the hole, requiring two more for triple-bogey.
Hold on, it gets worse. Hole 9 is a par-5 that began with a pulled drive into a fairway bunker on the left side. This bunker has a high lip and is lined on the high side by thick weeds. All I could do was aim sideways to get back to the fairway. Unfortunately, my bunker shot carried across the entire fairway and rolled into woods on the other side. After a penalty and drop, I failed to execute a simple punch shot, slicing the ball to the edge of a penalty area on the right side. I was 150 yards from the hole, but my lie was bad and I bladed the ball deeper into the penalty area. I took my second penalty of the hole and dropped, then hit 8-iron just right of the green. A lovely chip buned the edge of the hole and the ball rolled a healthy distance away. Two putts completed the hole for a score of 10. Egads! Just like that, a promising start turned into a score of 48 at the turn.
I sat down near the teeing ground on hole 10 while we waited for players ahead to get out of range. The chance at a good score was already lost, but I didn't want the remainder of the round to be a rage fest. The wait helped me release any lingering resentment about the previous two holes. I played the remainder of the round with a quiet, laissez-faire attitude. I would hit my shots and whatever happened, happened. So be it.
Conditions were as windy as ever, which made hole 10 play extremely long. Despite a perfect drive to the centre of the fairway, I could not go for the green in two on this par-4. I hit a lay up in front of a creek on my second shot, then attacked the green, ultimately making bogey. Though I missed the fairway left on hole 11, I was in a similar situation. I opted to lay up in front of the creek on this par-4 as well. Bogey was once again the result.
My drives at this stage were getting airborne nicely, but missing the fairway, usually right. On hole 12, a par-5, that miss put me against the lip of a fairway bunker. All things considered, bogey was a good result. Same thing on hole 14, another par-5. My drive drifted right into an ungroomed area, but I got out of there well enough for another bogey. One drive I hit perfectly was on hole 15, a par-4. Sadly, I miss hit my approach shot, sending the ball to about 50 yards short of the green. The result, you guessed it, was bogey.
In fact, I bogeyed every hole on the back nine, except for number 16, a par-3 that was playing 200 yards. I duffed a 3-iron off the tee, then tried a bump and run with the 8-iron from 100 yards. It leaked just right of the green. I duffed a chip shot, but managed to reach the fringe. From there, I 3-putt for a triple-bogey. Whatever happened, happened. So be it.
My bogeys on each of the last two holes were well earned. After dunking an approach shot into a pond on hole 17, I hit my fourth over the pond from about 125 yards. This was followed by a fairly lengthy putt that dropped. I hit a really good drive on hole 18 – a must if you are to go for the shallow green protected in front by an ominous creek. I clubbed up for extra distance, but was one yard short of the green. The ball hit the steep slope and rolled backwards a bit, but remained playable. A chip and two putts completed the round.
It's a shame things didn't work out better. Given how I've played this year, it feels like failure when I don't break 90. It's also no fun to travel all the way to Legends on the Niagara, only to have a bad round.
Score: 95
Putts: 33
Fairways: 7
Greens: 2
Penalties: 5
No comments:
Post a Comment