My Lowest Scores of All Time

 I was keeping a list of my best rounds ever in an old post, but many of those rounds have become irrelevant as I've collected better performances in recent years. Here then, is a new list featuring my ten lowest scores of all time.

# 10 – Lakeview (Jul 2017) – 83 (12 over)

My first visit to this course in over nine years! I stayed out of trouble, collecting only one penalty stroke all day. I hit a good number of fairways and kept my misses very close. Same thing with my irons on approach shots into greens. Putting was solid on some pretty sloped greens.

# 9 – Rebel Creek (Jul 2020) – 83 (11 over)

Beginning on the back nine, I played bogey golf through the first six holes. I stepped it up through the middle of the round, collecting a bunch of pars. A pair of birdies over the next four holes hinted at a great finish, but double bogeys on the last two robbed me of a beauty.

# 8 – Doon Valley (Jun 2020) – 83 (11 over)

A near flawless round of golf that included eleven pars and five bogeys. Costly mistakes on holes 1 and 15 were difficult to recover from, leading to triple bogeys. I reacted well on both occasions, however, rattling off a trio of pars following each of the blowups.

# 7 – Carlisle (Sep 2009) – 83 (11 over)

I shot 43 on the North nine, followed by an excellent 40 on the East nine. It was the second time I beat my friend Linley, just a week after the first occasion. Pretty remarkable, as I've only beaten Linley three times over many, many rounds.

# 6 – Willow Valley (Sep 2011) – 83 (11 over)

A Deepwoods event. This one was notable because I was having a terrible season when this result came out of the blue. I shot 44 on the front nine, which was okay. Then I caught fire for a back nine score of 39, including a par, birdie, par finish.

# 5 – Granite Ridge Cobalt (Oct 2008) – 82 (10 over)

Wow, this was a long time ago. Nine pars, eight bogeys, and one double for a very clean scorecard. I only hit four fairways, but was on 12 greens in regulation. I stayed out of trouble and was chasing flags all day. Putting was mediocre or this might have been the time I broke 80.

# 4 – Deer Creek South (July 2007) – 81 (10 over)

The oldest round on the list and one that brings back great memories. Playing with The Unreliables, I shot 38 on the front nine, including three birdies. I wasn't keeping track of my score, or I would have realized that bogey on the final hole would produce a 79. As it was, I made a triple-bogey.

# 3 – Fergus (Aug 2017) – 80 (8 over)

This is probably the easiest course I've ever played, so take this one with a grain of salt. Fergus is pretty wide open and flat. I shot 41 on the West nine, including six pars. I improved to 39 on the East nine, including three pars and a pair of birdies, both coming on par-5 holes.

# 2 – Knollwood New (Aug 2020) – 80 (8 over)

Playing as a single, it was slow going early on. I was 4 over through the first three holes. Group after group then allowed me to play through and my performance improved dramatically. I played the rest of the front nine at even par, for a score of 40 at the turn. I matched that score over the back nine, just missing a birdie putt on the final hole that would have broken 80.

# 1 – BraeBen (Sep 2016) – 78 (6 over)

Magnificent doesn't even come close to describing this special round. It took a long time, but I shattered my previous best and also broke 80 for the first time. A glorious front nine, with seven pars and two bogeys. One of those bogeys should have been another par, as I collected an untimely 3-putt. I survived a double-bogey on the back nine, along with two more bogeys. Amazingly, my best score ever came without making a single birdie! What a game.