It was November 10th and we reached 20 degrees Celsius yet again. My second round in two days came on the East Wing course at Cardinal Golf Club. I striped a drive down the fairway on the opening par-5, then hit a layup, leaving 120 yards into the severely elevated green. I thinned my pitching wedge into the hill, forcing a pitch and two putts for bogey.
I flared a 3-iron off the tee on hole 2, a 185-yard par-3 that was playing into the wind. My second shot was a fabulous punch under some tree branches and into a hill that settled on the edge of the green above the hole. My first putt was an attempt to reach a ridge that would take my ball the rest of the way to the hole. Unfortunately, it came up short, leading to a 3-putt double-bogey.
I reacted well, making two bogeys, followed by two pars over the next four holes. I hit all but one of these fairways, and the one I missed was by a mere 12 inches. I thinned an 8-iron approach on hole 3, finishing just short of the green. I hit a great 9-iron approach on hole 4, but the ball rolled just off the left side of the green. On hole 5, my sand wedge into the wind reached the front of the green. I did well to 2-putt from there. On hole 6, my gap wedge was just a little long, but a great up and down made up for it.
Hole 7, a 164-yard par-3, produced a disappointing double-bogey. The tee shot is over a deep valley to the green. I pulled the 7-iron slightly, hitting a tree left of the green. Unfortunately, my ball bounced backwards and rolled 40 yards down the hill. It got worse, as I thinned a wedge 30 yards over the green. My next pitch was a good one, setting up a 2-putt finish.
Hole 8, a 538-yard par-5, is the toughest on the course. I found the fairway with a decent drive, but was too far away to challenge a forced carry over a brush covered ridge with my second shot. I pitched an 8-iron about 80 yards ahead. I was about 230 yards away from the green and decided to hit 3-wood. I made good contact on a good line, but the ball came out low, smacking the slat of a wooden fence at the top of the ridge. The wood was angled such that my ball deflected way up in the air. It cleared all of the brush and landed safely below in the fairway, 120 yards from the flag. I hit pitching wedge past the hole, then 2-putt for a decent bogey.
After thinning a ball into a pond on hole 9, I was forced to hit my third from the tee. This is a par-3 that was playing about 195 yards, so I recovered well to make double-bogey. My score at the turn was 45.
The front nine was played at a reasonable pace, but things slowed greatly on the back nine. The greatest impact was to my driving. While I hit all of the fairways on the front side of the course, I only hit one on the back side. I began hitting slices, with a siginificant loss of distance. On hole 10, a par-5, it wasn't too bad. A tree kicked my ball back near the fairway, where I was able to connect on my second shot with a nice 4-iron. I thinned a wedge to just off the back of the green, but followed up with a great chip and putt for par.
On hole 11, the slice put me deep in some trees, forcing a punch back to the fairway. I missed the green from 150 yards, but followed up with a nice pitch to just below the hole. I felt confident about the bogey putt, which was about 7 feet. Unfortunately, I burned the edge of the cup and ended up taking a double.
On hole 12, a par-5, the slice off the tee found a pond protecting the right side. I was surprised, because the ball took a couple of bounces before going in the water, so I thought it was safe. After taking a penalty and drop, I hit 3-iron up the fairway. My fourth shot was a pitch from 50 yards that I hit a groove too thin, ultimately finishing five yards behind the green. Luckily, I got up and down nicely to save bogey.
The next three holes produced double-bogey, bogey, and par. The double on hole 13 was largely due to a putt from the back of the green that rolled right off the front. I should have been able to make bogey. The bogey on hole 14 was also due to bad putting. I hit a decent drive and a great approach shot to reach the green on this par-4 in regulation. Unfortunately, my first putt slid too far past the hole to make par. The par on hole 15, a par-3, featured some good putting. I lagged one fairly close from distance, then made a tricky 6-footer.
The final three holes also produced double-bogey, bogey, and par. The double on hole 16 began with a sharp pull off the tee that smacked a tree not very far ahead. A great 5-iron put me in position to hit the green with my third shot, but I was conscious of thinning the shot and came in way too steep. I took a huge divot and the ball went nowhere. A pitch and two putts were needed to finish. The bogey on hole 17 was a good save, considering I miss hit my tee shot on this 200-yard par-3. In fact, I almost drained a long putt for par. The par on hole 18 came thanks to a crafty punch second shot that finished near the front of the green. This was followed by a good chip and even better putt.
This is most likely the final round of the year.
Score: 90
Putts: 34
Fairways: 6
Greens: 3
Penalties: 2
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