I found a pretty good deal for Turtle Creek Golf Club, located in Campbelville, Ontario, so I decided to give it a try. The course opened in 2008, but I had never played it. I read some favourable reviews shortly after it opened, but wasn't interested in playing a short course, which Turtle Creek most definitely is.
The club's website describes it as a 6,000 yard layout. That is stretching the truth considerably. From the back tees, the course measures a mere 5,678 yards. I never understood why courses lie about their length - it only sets new visitors up for disappointment.
Course designers clearly had little land to work with when they put this track together. Everything about it feels cramped. Besides the short holes, the course features narrow fairways and tiny greens. The front nine in particular feels like a mini-putt. A few of the tee boxes are dangerously close to the previous greens. On this day the course was pretty empty, so it wasn't a problem. The back nine is quite a bit better, featuring a surprising amount of water for such a tight property.
I started the round and was uncomfortable right off the bat. Hole #1 is a dog-leg par-5 measuring 468 yards. The problem is that you can't see the landing zone for your tee shot. Someone who has played the course before would know the proper line and distance, but a newcomer is left guessing. I guessed wrong and it set me up badly for the remainder of the hole. I tried a long carry over a pond fronting the green, but hit some rocks on the opposite bank and was forced to take my first of many penalty strokes on the day.
Over the next few holes, I struggled with the postage-stamp sized greens, resulting in a couple of triple-bogeys. Pitching and chipping from the vicinity of the greens, I had trouble just stopping the ball on the putting surface. It was like being short-sided, no matter where the flag was. There simply was never much green to work with. You really need to be a short game wizard to do well. On holes #5 and #6, I started getting used to this and converted a pair of up-and-downs for my only pars of the day.
Things got silly on hole #9, a respectable par-5 at 538 yards. The entire left side of the hole is out of bounds, where I promptly launched two balls off the tee. That's four strokes on my scorecard without even advancing the ball! You just can't expect to score well when stuff like that happens.
I started playing more consistently at this point, recording bogey on seven of the back nine holes. Hole #10 produced a triple-bogey, but I can't really beat myself up over it. In a greenside bunker after my first two shots, I hit a good looking sand shot. Unfortunately, the ball failed to hold the tiny green. My return chip also failed to hold and I was in the bunker once again. Sheesh!
Hole #13, perhaps the signature hole at Turtle Creek, was the other one that gave me problems. A par-5 at 473 yards, golfers must carry a pond with their tee shot to a hill on the other side. Long hitters may reach the crest of the hill, but most will end up with a blind second shot. I popped my tee shot way up, failing to even clear the pond. After adding a penalty stroke, my third shot came up just shy of the crest. My fourth shot was a layup to about the 130-yard zone. The last 130 yards of this hole is a narrow peninsula surrounded on all sides by water. In fact, my layup almost trickled into the water on the left side. I had a terrible lie and my next shot hit a big rock right in front of me. The ball ricocheted backwards and to the middle of the fairway, leaving 160 yards to the green. My sixth shot was an 8-iron
that I pushed into the water on the right side. After another penalty, I hit the green with my eighth shot. After three putts (insult to injury) I carded a score of eleven. Ouch!
Overall, I finished with a disgusting score of 108. I blame part of that on the fact that it was an unfamiliar, tight course. However, there's no denying that I also hit some bad shots. On a positive note, I hit a decent amount of good shots too, so it wasn't a complete loss.
Score: 108
Putts: 34
Fairways: 1
Greens: 0
Penalties: 7
May 11, 2011
May 08, 2011
Old Ways at King's Forest
I played my second round of the season on a sunny day at King's Forest Golf Club in Hamilton. The course was in decent shape, albeit a bit damp from all of the rain we got in April. The greens were punched, though not bad for this time of year. My biggest problem was the fact that, owing to the weather, I hadn't played in almost four weeks! So it was like starting the season all over again. This was just my second visit to King's Forest, the first coming a few years ago when I managed to pull off a victory in a Duffer's Dream event.
I shot 52 on the front nine, followed by 51 on the back. As the scores suggest, both nines were almost identical. In both cases, I put together six good holes along with three disastrous ones.
On the very first hole, I hit a good drive to the right centre of the fairway. My approach shot came out low and skidded just off the back of the green, with a front pin placement. I made a nice chip, giving myself a chance at par. However, I missed the 8-footer and settled for bogey.
On the second hole, a decent drive put me into the rough, about two yards left of the fairway. The branches of a large tree were impeding my approach, forcing a low punch shot. I made great contact, but smacked the trunk of the tree, ricocheting back into the fairway. Bad luck. I hit the next one onto the green, but a bad lag lead to a 3-putt and double-bogey.
The third hole is where things started going badly. I hit a great drive right down the pipe. It was actually too good, as I rolled through the end of the fairway. I was left with a 90-yard approach over a river to the green. My lie was not great, as the grass was sparse and the ground muddy. Using a 60-degree wedge, I hit my next shot fat and of course landed in the river. After a penalty stroke I reached the green, but proceeded to 3-putt for triple-bogey.
The fourth hole was even worse. Teeing off with a pond directly in front, I hit the ball off the heel and landed in the water. After re-teeing, I hit a good one to the left edge of the fairway. The next two shots were very disappointing. I topped the ball twice with the 3-wood. I hit my woods very well in the season opener, so it was painful to struggle with them, as I had throughout the entire 2010 season. I finished the hole with a quadruple-bogey. Ouch!
The woes continued on hole #5, the first par-3 of the day. I pulled my tee shot left, as I did on most of the par-3 holes in my previous round. This was despite the fact that I reminded myself the shot was no different than an approach from a fairway. Obviously, the reminder didn't work. I found myself behind a couple small trees left of the green and had a heck of a time recovering. The hole ended with another triple-bogey.
After this, I settled down and played well for the remaining holes on the front nine. I made par on hole #6, a par-5, followed by three consecutive bogeys. The bogey on hole #7 was a bit disappointing because I 3-putt after finally hitting a par-3 green in regulation.
The back nine began with brilliant pars on holes #10 and #11, both of which are of the par-4 variety. The par on hole #10 was close to textbook, while that on #11 was much more of a scramble. A sloping fairway on #10 carried my ball about one yard into the rough. From there I hit an iron pin-high but a couple yards left of the green. I was short sided, so the chip was tricky. I was left with a 5-footer for par, which I drained.
From a severely elevated tee on hole #11, I pulled the ball into some pine trees. Luckily, the trees were fairly sparse and I had a good lie. I punched a low shot toward the green, judging it perfectly as the ball came to rest in the centre of the putting surface. I faced a long lag putt, but it worked out perfectly, leaving an easy tap-in.
After the great start to the back nine, I felt like I could salvage a respectable score. Unfortunately, holes #12 and #13 killed me, as I played them 8 over par collectively. Hole #12 is a tight par-4, with thick forest lining both sides of the fairway from tee to green. I was in the forest twice and was forced to chip out sideways just to get the ball back in play. You could say I Kevin Na'd the hole. OK, it wasn't that bad.
Hole #13 is the number two handicap on the course, so it is fairly challenging. I pulled my tee shot badly, resulting in a lost ball. When I got a new ball in play, I was forced to lay up in front of the river that crosses the fairway 150 yards in front of the green. After reaching the green, a well judged putt lipped out, adding insult to injury.
The rest of the round was played fairly well, but the damage had already been done. I finished with a score of 103, which I can not emphasize enough, is truly brutal. I should never be at or over 100, period. Even a miserable round should end up in the nineties.
I will have to lick my wounds and try again. It won't be the first time.
Score: 103
Putts: 38
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
Penalties: 4
I shot 52 on the front nine, followed by 51 on the back. As the scores suggest, both nines were almost identical. In both cases, I put together six good holes along with three disastrous ones.
On the very first hole, I hit a good drive to the right centre of the fairway. My approach shot came out low and skidded just off the back of the green, with a front pin placement. I made a nice chip, giving myself a chance at par. However, I missed the 8-footer and settled for bogey.
On the second hole, a decent drive put me into the rough, about two yards left of the fairway. The branches of a large tree were impeding my approach, forcing a low punch shot. I made great contact, but smacked the trunk of the tree, ricocheting back into the fairway. Bad luck. I hit the next one onto the green, but a bad lag lead to a 3-putt and double-bogey.
The third hole is where things started going badly. I hit a great drive right down the pipe. It was actually too good, as I rolled through the end of the fairway. I was left with a 90-yard approach over a river to the green. My lie was not great, as the grass was sparse and the ground muddy. Using a 60-degree wedge, I hit my next shot fat and of course landed in the river. After a penalty stroke I reached the green, but proceeded to 3-putt for triple-bogey.
The fourth hole was even worse. Teeing off with a pond directly in front, I hit the ball off the heel and landed in the water. After re-teeing, I hit a good one to the left edge of the fairway. The next two shots were very disappointing. I topped the ball twice with the 3-wood. I hit my woods very well in the season opener, so it was painful to struggle with them, as I had throughout the entire 2010 season. I finished the hole with a quadruple-bogey. Ouch!
The woes continued on hole #5, the first par-3 of the day. I pulled my tee shot left, as I did on most of the par-3 holes in my previous round. This was despite the fact that I reminded myself the shot was no different than an approach from a fairway. Obviously, the reminder didn't work. I found myself behind a couple small trees left of the green and had a heck of a time recovering. The hole ended with another triple-bogey.
After this, I settled down and played well for the remaining holes on the front nine. I made par on hole #6, a par-5, followed by three consecutive bogeys. The bogey on hole #7 was a bit disappointing because I 3-putt after finally hitting a par-3 green in regulation.
The back nine began with brilliant pars on holes #10 and #11, both of which are of the par-4 variety. The par on hole #10 was close to textbook, while that on #11 was much more of a scramble. A sloping fairway on #10 carried my ball about one yard into the rough. From there I hit an iron pin-high but a couple yards left of the green. I was short sided, so the chip was tricky. I was left with a 5-footer for par, which I drained.
From a severely elevated tee on hole #11, I pulled the ball into some pine trees. Luckily, the trees were fairly sparse and I had a good lie. I punched a low shot toward the green, judging it perfectly as the ball came to rest in the centre of the putting surface. I faced a long lag putt, but it worked out perfectly, leaving an easy tap-in.
After the great start to the back nine, I felt like I could salvage a respectable score. Unfortunately, holes #12 and #13 killed me, as I played them 8 over par collectively. Hole #12 is a tight par-4, with thick forest lining both sides of the fairway from tee to green. I was in the forest twice and was forced to chip out sideways just to get the ball back in play. You could say I Kevin Na'd the hole. OK, it wasn't that bad.
Hole #13 is the number two handicap on the course, so it is fairly challenging. I pulled my tee shot badly, resulting in a lost ball. When I got a new ball in play, I was forced to lay up in front of the river that crosses the fairway 150 yards in front of the green. After reaching the green, a well judged putt lipped out, adding insult to injury.
The rest of the round was played fairly well, but the damage had already been done. I finished with a score of 103, which I can not emphasize enough, is truly brutal. I should never be at or over 100, period. Even a miserable round should end up in the nineties.
I will have to lick my wounds and try again. It won't be the first time.
Score: 103
Putts: 38
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
Penalties: 4
Season Opener at Woodington Lake
Here we go again. My 2011 golf season got under way with a round at Woodington Lake Golf Club on Saturday during the Masters. Considering it was early April, the weather was remarkably good, as was the condition of the Legend course. After a winter of simulator golf, I was ready for the real thing. There were both positives and negatives concerning my play, so let's break it down, starting with the negatives.
Driving. My golf swing has always been less than ideal. I have a tendency to take the club up very steeply during my backswing. This takes the club off plane, forcing me to come back to plane during the downstroke if I am to hit the ball squarely. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Since the driver is the longest club in the bag, it is the hardest to control in this fashion. I shortened my backstroke in an effort to stay on plane, but this being somewhat foreign to me, I mis-hit many shots off the tee. Usually, I caught the ball on the heel of the club, sending it dribbling a few yards forward and to the left.
Par 3 holes. Apart from four triple-bogeys, my scorecard actually looked quite good. Of course, one can always say that. In golf, we simply don't have the luxury of dropping three or four of our worst holes. The thing is, three of those four triples came on par-3 holes. In each case, I pulled my tee shot well left of target. I have experienced this before and believe the problem is psychological. There is something about par-3 holes that feels so tantalizing. The green is right there in front of you and you can tee the ball up from level ground. In that situation, it's easy to get overly pumped up about the upcoming shot. Next time, I will try to think of those shots as no different than a par-4 approach from the fairway. We'll see if that helps.
Putting. My putting was more of a mixed bag than it was a negative. The fact is that I had four 3-putts over the course of the round. This was offset by five 1-putts, but that is little consolation. One cannot have any 3-putts in a round if one is to score well. Sometimes you find yourself in legitimate 3-putt territory, but that wasn't the case this time around. I need to buckle down and hit every lag putt close.
And now for the positives.
Fairway woods. What? Can it truly be possible? Last year, I could not hit a fairway wood well enough to save my life! In prior years, I had much confidence with the woods, whether off the tee or off the deck. For some reason, this disappeared entirely in 2010. The upside is that my long irons got better, but I became much less versatile. Thankfully, the woods were working well in this year's debut. Whenever I messed up a drive, my fairway woods came to the rescue on the very next shot. It was a great feeling.
Irons. Apart from the tee shots on par-3 holes, my irons were feeling very good. On hole #1, a tough opener, I hit a solid 6-iron from the fairway that trickled off the back of the green. On hole #5, I hit a wonderful 7-iron from the rough that found the centre of the green. The same club helped me find green #9, while the 3-iron helped me recover after a weak drive on hole #10. Overall, I just felt good about my irons.
Mental composure. Perhaps because I wasn't expecting much out of the season opener, I remained composed even when things were going poorly. The greatest example came on the last hole of the round. A triple-bogey and double-bogey respectively on holes #16 and #17 left me with a score of 93 going into the finishing hole, a par-4 that has ruined many a round for players at Woodington Lake. Any sort of penalty on this hole and I knew I would surpass the century mark. I began by nailing the centre of the fairway with my drive, a rare occurrence on this day. Next, I hit an easy 8-iron to a flat area 50 yards short of the green. This was critical because challenging the green meant a very long iron shot to a putting surface surrounded on three sides by water. In other words, a sure penalty stroke. Disaster struck when my pitch shot came up five yards short of the green, but I followed up with a good chip and putt for bogey. Game management was key.
Score: 98
Putts: 35
Fairways: 8
Greens: 3
Penalties: 3
Driving. My golf swing has always been less than ideal. I have a tendency to take the club up very steeply during my backswing. This takes the club off plane, forcing me to come back to plane during the downstroke if I am to hit the ball squarely. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Since the driver is the longest club in the bag, it is the hardest to control in this fashion. I shortened my backstroke in an effort to stay on plane, but this being somewhat foreign to me, I mis-hit many shots off the tee. Usually, I caught the ball on the heel of the club, sending it dribbling a few yards forward and to the left.
Par 3 holes. Apart from four triple-bogeys, my scorecard actually looked quite good. Of course, one can always say that. In golf, we simply don't have the luxury of dropping three or four of our worst holes. The thing is, three of those four triples came on par-3 holes. In each case, I pulled my tee shot well left of target. I have experienced this before and believe the problem is psychological. There is something about par-3 holes that feels so tantalizing. The green is right there in front of you and you can tee the ball up from level ground. In that situation, it's easy to get overly pumped up about the upcoming shot. Next time, I will try to think of those shots as no different than a par-4 approach from the fairway. We'll see if that helps.
Putting. My putting was more of a mixed bag than it was a negative. The fact is that I had four 3-putts over the course of the round. This was offset by five 1-putts, but that is little consolation. One cannot have any 3-putts in a round if one is to score well. Sometimes you find yourself in legitimate 3-putt territory, but that wasn't the case this time around. I need to buckle down and hit every lag putt close.
And now for the positives.
Fairway woods. What? Can it truly be possible? Last year, I could not hit a fairway wood well enough to save my life! In prior years, I had much confidence with the woods, whether off the tee or off the deck. For some reason, this disappeared entirely in 2010. The upside is that my long irons got better, but I became much less versatile. Thankfully, the woods were working well in this year's debut. Whenever I messed up a drive, my fairway woods came to the rescue on the very next shot. It was a great feeling.
Irons. Apart from the tee shots on par-3 holes, my irons were feeling very good. On hole #1, a tough opener, I hit a solid 6-iron from the fairway that trickled off the back of the green. On hole #5, I hit a wonderful 7-iron from the rough that found the centre of the green. The same club helped me find green #9, while the 3-iron helped me recover after a weak drive on hole #10. Overall, I just felt good about my irons.
Mental composure. Perhaps because I wasn't expecting much out of the season opener, I remained composed even when things were going poorly. The greatest example came on the last hole of the round. A triple-bogey and double-bogey respectively on holes #16 and #17 left me with a score of 93 going into the finishing hole, a par-4 that has ruined many a round for players at Woodington Lake. Any sort of penalty on this hole and I knew I would surpass the century mark. I began by nailing the centre of the fairway with my drive, a rare occurrence on this day. Next, I hit an easy 8-iron to a flat area 50 yards short of the green. This was critical because challenging the green meant a very long iron shot to a putting surface surrounded on three sides by water. In other words, a sure penalty stroke. Disaster struck when my pitch shot came up five yards short of the green, but I followed up with a good chip and putt for bogey. Game management was key.
Score: 98
Putts: 35
Fairways: 8
Greens: 3
Penalties: 3
December 23, 2010
Masters Back to Back
I played two rounds of golf on what ended up being the final weekend of the season. Both rounds were played at Lionhead Masters, which I seem to have played quite often this year. Here's how it all went down.
Frosty First Nine
The last round of the season was played in bitter cold conditions. I dressed for the occasion and was able to keep my body reasonably comfortable. What I could not do was keep my hands warm. For much of the round, I could not feel the club in my hands. It was impossible to tell whether I was holding the club gingerly in my fingertips, or clutching it with the grip of death. Needless to say, I didn't score well. Opening with four double-bogeys in a row, I shot 65 for the first nine holes.
Perhaps because it warmed up a degree or two, or possibly because I abandoned any hope of a good score, I played much better over the last nine holes. I birdied hole #7, a 369-yard par 4 in textbook style. I also made par on hole #3, a par-3 measuring 138 yards. It took a nice up and down from just off the green to do so. Six bogeys and a lone double-bogey rounded out my card on the back nine, for a score of 43. I was very pleased with this result, given the conditions.
Score: 108
Putts: 37
Fairways: 7
Greens: 2
Penalties: 7
Foggy Few Holes
For late November, the temperature was actually pretty nice. Unfortunately, fog was covering much of the course when we teed off. The first three holes were played in the thick of it. Not surprisingly, I made a quadruple-bogey on the opening hole. More surprising, was the fact that I managed par and bogey on the next two holes. After that, the fog lifted and we were fine for the rest of the round.
As soon as the fog cleared, I rattled off three pars in a row on holes #13 through #15. In each case, I was aggressive off the tee, hitting driver even though the big stick is not required. The drive on hole #15 felt especially good, as I landed in the centre of the fairway, less than 100 yards from the pin. I struggled on hole #16, which seems to bring either feast or famine, depending on the alignment of the stars. After that, I re-grouped and played solid golf the rest of the way.
Score: 92
Putts: 31
Fairways: 5
Greens: 5
Penalties: 4
Frosty First Nine
The last round of the season was played in bitter cold conditions. I dressed for the occasion and was able to keep my body reasonably comfortable. What I could not do was keep my hands warm. For much of the round, I could not feel the club in my hands. It was impossible to tell whether I was holding the club gingerly in my fingertips, or clutching it with the grip of death. Needless to say, I didn't score well. Opening with four double-bogeys in a row, I shot 65 for the first nine holes.
Perhaps because it warmed up a degree or two, or possibly because I abandoned any hope of a good score, I played much better over the last nine holes. I birdied hole #7, a 369-yard par 4 in textbook style. I also made par on hole #3, a par-3 measuring 138 yards. It took a nice up and down from just off the green to do so. Six bogeys and a lone double-bogey rounded out my card on the back nine, for a score of 43. I was very pleased with this result, given the conditions.
Score: 108
Putts: 37
Fairways: 7
Greens: 2
Penalties: 7
Foggy Few Holes
For late November, the temperature was actually pretty nice. Unfortunately, fog was covering much of the course when we teed off. The first three holes were played in the thick of it. Not surprisingly, I made a quadruple-bogey on the opening hole. More surprising, was the fact that I managed par and bogey on the next two holes. After that, the fog lifted and we were fine for the rest of the round.
As soon as the fog cleared, I rattled off three pars in a row on holes #13 through #15. In each case, I was aggressive off the tee, hitting driver even though the big stick is not required. The drive on hole #15 felt especially good, as I landed in the centre of the fairway, less than 100 yards from the pin. I struggled on hole #16, which seems to bring either feast or famine, depending on the alignment of the stars. After that, I re-grouped and played solid golf the rest of the way.
Score: 92
Putts: 31
Fairways: 5
Greens: 5
Penalties: 4
December 07, 2010
I Know I Can
I may have been a little harsh in my last post. I'm referring specifically to my choice of musical accompaniment. Fortunately, my latest round of golf was a lot better than the previous one, so this time I've chosen some music that's a little more positive. Enjoy!
Now, about the golf. I ventured out to Hidden Lake Golf Club on a cold November weekend. With very chilly temperatures, I was not expecting to post a good score at all. I was simply glad to be playing and decided to let the score take care of itself. As it turned out, I posted a final score of 87, equaling my second-best score of the season! An 85 at Osprey Valley Heathlands earlier in the year was the only result better than this one.
I hit nine of thirteen fairways, with six of those coming on the back nine. When I missed a fairway, I was able to recover quite nicely. I simply took what the situation gave me and never tried to do too much. I didn't hit many greens in regulation, but my chipping and putting was better than usual. Consistency was the name of the game, as I avoided 3-putts and penalty strokes entirely. That makes a huge difference!
Score: 87
Putts: 32
Fairways: 9
Greens: 3
Penalties: 0
Now, about the golf. I ventured out to Hidden Lake Golf Club on a cold November weekend. With very chilly temperatures, I was not expecting to post a good score at all. I was simply glad to be playing and decided to let the score take care of itself. As it turned out, I posted a final score of 87, equaling my second-best score of the season! An 85 at Osprey Valley Heathlands earlier in the year was the only result better than this one.
I hit nine of thirteen fairways, with six of those coming on the back nine. When I missed a fairway, I was able to recover quite nicely. I simply took what the situation gave me and never tried to do too much. I didn't hit many greens in regulation, but my chipping and putting was better than usual. Consistency was the name of the game, as I avoided 3-putts and penalty strokes entirely. That makes a huge difference!
Score: 87
Putts: 32
Fairways: 9
Greens: 3
Penalties: 0
November 07, 2010
Wasted Time at Crosswinds
I'm going to save myself some work by recycling an old post that sums up my last round perfectly. Only a few minor edits (appearing in parentheses / bold) are required to the original post.
Also, here's some appropriate musical accompaniment. Enjoy.
Money wasn't the only thing I wasted at (Angus Glen) Crosswinds on (Saturday) Sunday. I also wasted my time. Then again, if I didn't waste it on the golf course, I'd be wasting it somewhere else, so what the hell.
Posting these results is getting to be embarrassing, so I'll keep it short:
I pulled most tee shots with the driver. Only a couple were pushed right.
I pulled a tee shot with the (3-wood) driver en route to six over par on the (tenth) twelfth hole.
I pulled most approach shots with all irons. Only a couple were pushed right.
I made decent chips, with poor results.
I made decent putts, with poor results.
I made good decisions at times, but there was no reward.
I can no longer hit the 3-wood from (the fairway) anywhere. It used to be my best club.
I can not recover after a bad hole. You don't understand the rage.
Practice does not make perfect. Don't be gullible.
Good things do not come to those who wait.
Good guys do finish last. Always.
There is no justice. Only evil.
There is no Santa Claus. However, there are plenty of thieves, cheaters and liars.
You can't do whatever you set your mind to. However, you can be run over by a bus.
In the end, you will die and nobody will care.
Score: (111) 108
Par: 72
Putts: (38) 37
Fairways: 4
Greens: 2
Also, here's some appropriate musical accompaniment. Enjoy.
Money wasn't the only thing I wasted at (Angus Glen) Crosswinds on (Saturday) Sunday. I also wasted my time. Then again, if I didn't waste it on the golf course, I'd be wasting it somewhere else, so what the hell.
Posting these results is getting to be embarrassing, so I'll keep it short:
I pulled most tee shots with the driver. Only a couple were pushed right.
I pulled a tee shot with the (3-wood) driver en route to six over par on the (tenth) twelfth hole.
I pulled most approach shots with all irons. Only a couple were pushed right.
I made decent chips, with poor results.
I made decent putts, with poor results.
I made good decisions at times, but there was no reward.
I can no longer hit the 3-wood from (the fairway) anywhere. It used to be my best club.
I can not recover after a bad hole. You don't understand the rage.
Practice does not make perfect. Don't be gullible.
Good things do not come to those who wait.
Good guys do finish last. Always.
There is no justice. Only evil.
There is no Santa Claus. However, there are plenty of thieves, cheaters and liars.
You can't do whatever you set your mind to. However, you can be run over by a bus.
In the end, you will die and nobody will care.
Score: (111) 108
Par: 72
Putts: (38) 37
Fairways: 4
Greens: 2
November 06, 2010
Fitting Score for Last Official Round
In Ontario, like in most other Canadian provinces, the Active Handicap Season for posting golf scores ends October 31st. On the last official day of the season, I headed out to Hidden Lake Golf Club to see if I could drop my handicap factor by a few tenths of a point. Psychologically, this has a great effect, as the factor will remain unchanged until at least April 15th of next year. That is, unless one travels to and plays in a different geography over the winter months.
It was a cool day as we teed off on the Old Course, back nine first. Cold weather golf is nothing at all like warm weather golf, so I was not expecting greatness. My drives early on were hit and miss. On hole #10, I hit a perfect one to the right centre of the fairway. On hole #11, I was unlucky not to clear a hazard that crosses the fairway. On hole #12, I was right back in the fairway with a nice one. And so it proceeded for most of the round. On a couple of occasions, I pulled my tee shots badly, but ended up in an opposite fairway where I was able to recover.
Early on, I was also hooking a lot of short iron and wedge shots. I am able to draw the ball when I want to, but the draw was getting exaggerated and I was lacking control. I dialed it back a bit and the results became quite a bit better. Putting was consistent, though not spectacular. It looked as though the greens had been aerated a few weeks ago and they were starting to smooth over again. Still, the putting surfaces were a little soft and slow. One can't expect conditions at this time of year to be as good as they are during the prime season.
In the end, I shot a score of 90, which I was satisfied with. I had one blowup hole (a quadruple bogey on hole #17) but aside from that, it was mostly bogeys with a sprinkling of pars. As for my handicap, it dropped by two tenths of a point to 17.6. I have bounced between 17 and 18 all year, so you can say no real progress has been made. On the other hand, I had a lot of scores this year in the 90 - 93 range, so there is an argument to be made that I became more consistent. Either way, I will be looking for dramatic improvement next year.
There may still be a few rounds to play this year. We shall see.
Score: 90
Putts: 36
Fairways: 3
Greens: 5
Penalties: 2
It was a cool day as we teed off on the Old Course, back nine first. Cold weather golf is nothing at all like warm weather golf, so I was not expecting greatness. My drives early on were hit and miss. On hole #10, I hit a perfect one to the right centre of the fairway. On hole #11, I was unlucky not to clear a hazard that crosses the fairway. On hole #12, I was right back in the fairway with a nice one. And so it proceeded for most of the round. On a couple of occasions, I pulled my tee shots badly, but ended up in an opposite fairway where I was able to recover.
Early on, I was also hooking a lot of short iron and wedge shots. I am able to draw the ball when I want to, but the draw was getting exaggerated and I was lacking control. I dialed it back a bit and the results became quite a bit better. Putting was consistent, though not spectacular. It looked as though the greens had been aerated a few weeks ago and they were starting to smooth over again. Still, the putting surfaces were a little soft and slow. One can't expect conditions at this time of year to be as good as they are during the prime season.
In the end, I shot a score of 90, which I was satisfied with. I had one blowup hole (a quadruple bogey on hole #17) but aside from that, it was mostly bogeys with a sprinkling of pars. As for my handicap, it dropped by two tenths of a point to 17.6. I have bounced between 17 and 18 all year, so you can say no real progress has been made. On the other hand, I had a lot of scores this year in the 90 - 93 range, so there is an argument to be made that I became more consistent. Either way, I will be looking for dramatic improvement next year.
There may still be a few rounds to play this year. We shall see.
Score: 90
Putts: 36
Fairways: 3
Greens: 5
Penalties: 2
October 30, 2010
Six Rounds in Three Weekends
I played two rounds each of the past three weekends. Here is a brief summary, in reverse chronological order. The format is:
Course (Score, Putts, Fairways, Greens, Penalties) Description
Lionhead Masters (100, 35, 6, 3, 8) Beginning to dislike this course - not because there's anything wrong with it - I simply havent played well here lately and it's starting to get under my skin. Triple bogey to open and here we go again. But wait! I birdied the next hole and made par on the one after that, so I was right back in it. Soon found myself in a couple bad situations and lack of composure cost me a few strokes. Played better on the back nine and was poised to salvage a round under 100, but choked on the last two holes. Eight penalties? Sheesh!
Redcrest (91, 31, 6, 4, 4) First visit of the year to Redcrest, continuing the recent trend. Could not hit fairways or greens in regulation on the front nine, but putting saved me. Pull-hooked a bunch of iron shots early and was perplexed. Score was 50 at the turn, so I had work to do. Back nine was much better, as both the driver and the irons straightened out. Putting remained hot. Final score was quite good, but it hides the fact that I didn't really feel in control.
Watson's Glen (96, 35, 7, 2, 3) Surprisingly good weather for late in the year. First visit of the year to Watson's Glen. Greens had been aerated, which made for a less than satifactory experience. Avoided blowup holes on the front nine, but made no pars either, for a score of 50 at the turn. Tallied four pars on the back nine to salvage a 96 overall. Not bad, following a similar result at Ballantrae. Still could not hit fairway woods or sand shots to save my life.
Ballantrae (95, 35, 6, 5, 3) First visit of the year to Ballantrae. Bad result on opening hole, followed by back-to-back birdies. That never happens! Solid remining front nine for a score of 45 at the turn. Back nine was more sloppy, with a flurry of double-bogies. Finished the ilast two holes with bogey and par to hang on to a 95. Not bad, considering I haven't been playing very well lately. Putting was better than at Ashburn, but new driving technique still inconsistent.
Royal Ashburn (107, 43, 3, 4, 3) First ever visit to Royal Ashburn. Must plot your way through a couple of holes, but overall a nice course. Needed four putts on hole #1 after getting there in regulation. Also 4-putt hole #8. No doubt about it, putting was horrific. Drives were hit or miss, as I was experimenting with a new technique. Sand play was also hit or miss. A couple of times, I hit a bunker shot fat, followed by an attempt that was hit thin. It was bad. No confidence right now hitting from bunkers. One of the worst scores of the year.
Lowville (95, 38, 4, 5, 2) First visit of the year to Lowville. Got paired up with three guys who were good fun. Found trouble on holes #4 through #6. Was crushing my drives, but pulled a couple of them out of bounds. Almost drove the green on the par-4 sixth on my second attempt. Best hole was #9, which I birdied. Solid back nine, but putting was not spectacular. Decent score after a few bad rounds recently.
Course (Score, Putts, Fairways, Greens, Penalties) Description
Lionhead Masters (100, 35, 6, 3, 8) Beginning to dislike this course - not because there's anything wrong with it - I simply havent played well here lately and it's starting to get under my skin. Triple bogey to open and here we go again. But wait! I birdied the next hole and made par on the one after that, so I was right back in it. Soon found myself in a couple bad situations and lack of composure cost me a few strokes. Played better on the back nine and was poised to salvage a round under 100, but choked on the last two holes. Eight penalties? Sheesh!
Redcrest (91, 31, 6, 4, 4) First visit of the year to Redcrest, continuing the recent trend. Could not hit fairways or greens in regulation on the front nine, but putting saved me. Pull-hooked a bunch of iron shots early and was perplexed. Score was 50 at the turn, so I had work to do. Back nine was much better, as both the driver and the irons straightened out. Putting remained hot. Final score was quite good, but it hides the fact that I didn't really feel in control.
Watson's Glen (96, 35, 7, 2, 3) Surprisingly good weather for late in the year. First visit of the year to Watson's Glen. Greens had been aerated, which made for a less than satifactory experience. Avoided blowup holes on the front nine, but made no pars either, for a score of 50 at the turn. Tallied four pars on the back nine to salvage a 96 overall. Not bad, following a similar result at Ballantrae. Still could not hit fairway woods or sand shots to save my life.
Ballantrae (95, 35, 6, 5, 3) First visit of the year to Ballantrae. Bad result on opening hole, followed by back-to-back birdies. That never happens! Solid remining front nine for a score of 45 at the turn. Back nine was more sloppy, with a flurry of double-bogies. Finished the ilast two holes with bogey and par to hang on to a 95. Not bad, considering I haven't been playing very well lately. Putting was better than at Ashburn, but new driving technique still inconsistent.
Royal Ashburn (107, 43, 3, 4, 3) First ever visit to Royal Ashburn. Must plot your way through a couple of holes, but overall a nice course. Needed four putts on hole #1 after getting there in regulation. Also 4-putt hole #8. No doubt about it, putting was horrific. Drives were hit or miss, as I was experimenting with a new technique. Sand play was also hit or miss. A couple of times, I hit a bunker shot fat, followed by an attempt that was hit thin. It was bad. No confidence right now hitting from bunkers. One of the worst scores of the year.
Lowville (95, 38, 4, 5, 2) First visit of the year to Lowville. Got paired up with three guys who were good fun. Found trouble on holes #4 through #6. Was crushing my drives, but pulled a couple of them out of bounds. Almost drove the green on the par-4 sixth on my second attempt. Best hole was #9, which I birdied. Solid back nine, but putting was not spectacular. Decent score after a few bad rounds recently.
October 03, 2010
Fall Golf Signals Season End
Mental Weakness (Again) at Lionhead Masters
This round began with a disappointing triple-bogey on the opening hole, a relatively easy par-5. I did very well to let it go, as I proceeded to play bogey golf on the remaining holes that make up the front nine. My score at the turn was 48, which wasn't bad considering that I 3-putt on three separate occasions. On the back nine, I snapped. I lost it. After making par on hole #12 and striping a beautiful 3-iron off the tee on hole #13, I flared an approach shot into the woods. That was the turning point. From that point on, I played with anger and little or no discipline. Not surprisingly, my scores became inflated. There was one exception, which merits a more detailed description.
Hole #16 is a par-5, measuring 471 yards from the blue tees. I took a violent swing from the teeing area, but I caught the ball flush, with perfect line and trajectory. The ball came to rest in the right-centre portion of the fairway, about 160 yards from the green. This particular green is an island green, surrounded by water on all sides, except for a thin strip of land that connects it to the mainland. To reach the green in two from my position, I had to carry first a strand of large trees, and secondly, an expanse of water. I measured up the situation and reached for my 7-iron. It turned out to be the perfect club. I knew I hit it well immediately upon impact, then lifted my head to watch the ball clear the tops of the trees and land left of the flag. I had a 15-foot putt remaining for eagle, so I took my time to read the green. I made a good read and excellent stroke, but missed the cup by less than an inch on the high side. Eagle would have been nice, but I settled for a tap-in bogey. It was a great moment in an otherwise frustrating round.
Score: 102
Putts: 41
Fairways: 5
Greens: 3
Penalties: 4
Very Different Round at Angus Glen
What a difference a day makes. Day 2 of the Tour Championship began with a light drizzle. I made a great approach shot on hole #1 to set up par, while a 3-putt on hole #2 resulted in bogey. At this point, the skies opened up. My approach from the fairway on hole #3 was nowhere near target, then I messed up a pitch shot from the wet rough. Once on the green, play was suspended to allow standing water to drain. When play resumed, I had no idea what effect the rain would have on the speed of the green, so of course I 3-putt. Triple-bogey was the result.
Remarkably, the skies cleared up and the rain stopped. I played average for most of the remaining holes on the front nine. The exception was hole #9, a par-5 which resulted in another triple-bogey. A terrible tee shot put me in a bunker and behind the proverbial 8-ball right off the bat. On the back nine, I played mostly well, despite the fact that the rain returned for about half of the holes. I made a couple of pars and a handful of bogeys, but I had two blowup holes as well. It just wasn't my day. The rain and the delays made it hard to concentrate. Needless to say, I dropped a few spots in the event standings.
Score: 101
Putts: 42
Fairways: 7
Greens: 5
Penalties: 2
Good Round in Tour Championship at Angus Glen
The GTA Amateur Tour was at Angus Glen for Day 1 of the 2-day Tour Championship. Playing the South Course, I began with an openng hole birdie, set up by a 290-yard drive to the 100-yard marker, followed by a precise approach to the par-4 green. I closed the front nine out with a pair of pars, four bogeys, and two double-bogeys. Off the tee, I was very solid, missing only one fairway. My approach shots were less precise, but my putting was very good.
On the back nine, I was the model of consistency, making one par, seven bogeys and one double-bogey. I was no longer striping the ball down the fairways, and my approach shots were still imprecise, but contact was always good and I never missed by very much. Putting continued to be good, which always makes a huge difference.
At the end of the round, I was in a tie for fourth place going into Day 2.
Score: 88
Putts: 31
Fairways: 8
Greens: 3
Penalties: 0
Mental Weakness at Lionhead Legends
There are some tough holes on the Legends course at Lionhead, which means you have to take advantage of the easier ones. Hole #2 is among the easiest, but I wasted a great tee shot, en route to a quadruple bogey. My approach was a short hook, followed by a missed shot from the rough and another from a bunker. I regrouped well however, registering a bogey and par on the next two holes.
Unfortunately, I soon began a stretch of horrific golf. On hole #5, I failed to hit cleanly out of a fairway bunker, then proceeded to mess up a couple of pitch shots. The short game just wasn't there, and I soon got frustrated. Try as I might to control my emotion, it would take a few holes to calm down again. By then, my score was already out of hand.
On the positive side, I shot a very respectable 45 on the back nine.
Score: 104
Putts: 33
Fairways: 6
Greens: 8
Penalties: 5
Two Man Scramble at Wooden Sticks
Score: 71
Another Almost at Mad River
I made the trek to Mad River Golf Club, located in Creemore, Ontario, in search of my first victory on the GTA Amateur Tour. Conditions were tough, resulting in higher than usual scores across all flights. While it was dry and the temperature was comfortable, fierce wind made it difficult to score well.
The wind was most intense when I played hole #2, a par 4 measuring about 400 yards. I did well to record bogey with the wind directly in my face. I drove the ball well, not only on that hole, but for most of the round. I was concentrating on approaching the ball from the inside, and it seemed to work well. Unfortunately, my short irons were less reliable. I hooked a few and badly flared some others, leading to three prototypical blowup holes. Putting was pretty solid.
In spite of a few mistakes, I finished in a tie for fourth. There was enough of an opening to snatch a victory, but I didn't get it done.
Score: 97
Putts: 33
Fairways: 8
Greens: 3
Penalties: 1
This round began with a disappointing triple-bogey on the opening hole, a relatively easy par-5. I did very well to let it go, as I proceeded to play bogey golf on the remaining holes that make up the front nine. My score at the turn was 48, which wasn't bad considering that I 3-putt on three separate occasions. On the back nine, I snapped. I lost it. After making par on hole #12 and striping a beautiful 3-iron off the tee on hole #13, I flared an approach shot into the woods. That was the turning point. From that point on, I played with anger and little or no discipline. Not surprisingly, my scores became inflated. There was one exception, which merits a more detailed description.
Hole #16 is a par-5, measuring 471 yards from the blue tees. I took a violent swing from the teeing area, but I caught the ball flush, with perfect line and trajectory. The ball came to rest in the right-centre portion of the fairway, about 160 yards from the green. This particular green is an island green, surrounded by water on all sides, except for a thin strip of land that connects it to the mainland. To reach the green in two from my position, I had to carry first a strand of large trees, and secondly, an expanse of water. I measured up the situation and reached for my 7-iron. It turned out to be the perfect club. I knew I hit it well immediately upon impact, then lifted my head to watch the ball clear the tops of the trees and land left of the flag. I had a 15-foot putt remaining for eagle, so I took my time to read the green. I made a good read and excellent stroke, but missed the cup by less than an inch on the high side. Eagle would have been nice, but I settled for a tap-in bogey. It was a great moment in an otherwise frustrating round.
Score: 102
Putts: 41
Fairways: 5
Greens: 3
Penalties: 4
Very Different Round at Angus Glen
What a difference a day makes. Day 2 of the Tour Championship began with a light drizzle. I made a great approach shot on hole #1 to set up par, while a 3-putt on hole #2 resulted in bogey. At this point, the skies opened up. My approach from the fairway on hole #3 was nowhere near target, then I messed up a pitch shot from the wet rough. Once on the green, play was suspended to allow standing water to drain. When play resumed, I had no idea what effect the rain would have on the speed of the green, so of course I 3-putt. Triple-bogey was the result.
Remarkably, the skies cleared up and the rain stopped. I played average for most of the remaining holes on the front nine. The exception was hole #9, a par-5 which resulted in another triple-bogey. A terrible tee shot put me in a bunker and behind the proverbial 8-ball right off the bat. On the back nine, I played mostly well, despite the fact that the rain returned for about half of the holes. I made a couple of pars and a handful of bogeys, but I had two blowup holes as well. It just wasn't my day. The rain and the delays made it hard to concentrate. Needless to say, I dropped a few spots in the event standings.
Score: 101
Putts: 42
Fairways: 7
Greens: 5
Penalties: 2
Good Round in Tour Championship at Angus Glen
The GTA Amateur Tour was at Angus Glen for Day 1 of the 2-day Tour Championship. Playing the South Course, I began with an openng hole birdie, set up by a 290-yard drive to the 100-yard marker, followed by a precise approach to the par-4 green. I closed the front nine out with a pair of pars, four bogeys, and two double-bogeys. Off the tee, I was very solid, missing only one fairway. My approach shots were less precise, but my putting was very good.
On the back nine, I was the model of consistency, making one par, seven bogeys and one double-bogey. I was no longer striping the ball down the fairways, and my approach shots were still imprecise, but contact was always good and I never missed by very much. Putting continued to be good, which always makes a huge difference.
At the end of the round, I was in a tie for fourth place going into Day 2.
Score: 88
Putts: 31
Fairways: 8
Greens: 3
Penalties: 0
Mental Weakness at Lionhead Legends
There are some tough holes on the Legends course at Lionhead, which means you have to take advantage of the easier ones. Hole #2 is among the easiest, but I wasted a great tee shot, en route to a quadruple bogey. My approach was a short hook, followed by a missed shot from the rough and another from a bunker. I regrouped well however, registering a bogey and par on the next two holes.
Unfortunately, I soon began a stretch of horrific golf. On hole #5, I failed to hit cleanly out of a fairway bunker, then proceeded to mess up a couple of pitch shots. The short game just wasn't there, and I soon got frustrated. Try as I might to control my emotion, it would take a few holes to calm down again. By then, my score was already out of hand.
On the positive side, I shot a very respectable 45 on the back nine.
Score: 104
Putts: 33
Fairways: 6
Greens: 8
Penalties: 5
Two Man Scramble at Wooden Sticks
Score: 71
Another Almost at Mad River
I made the trek to Mad River Golf Club, located in Creemore, Ontario, in search of my first victory on the GTA Amateur Tour. Conditions were tough, resulting in higher than usual scores across all flights. While it was dry and the temperature was comfortable, fierce wind made it difficult to score well.
The wind was most intense when I played hole #2, a par 4 measuring about 400 yards. I did well to record bogey with the wind directly in my face. I drove the ball well, not only on that hole, but for most of the round. I was concentrating on approaching the ball from the inside, and it seemed to work well. Unfortunately, my short irons were less reliable. I hooked a few and badly flared some others, leading to three prototypical blowup holes. Putting was pretty solid.
In spite of a few mistakes, I finished in a tie for fourth. There was enough of an opening to snatch a victory, but I didn't get it done.
Score: 97
Putts: 33
Fairways: 8
Greens: 3
Penalties: 1
September 13, 2010
Late Summer Update
Decent Vibes at Granite Ridge
Sixteen good holes. Two bad ones. A score just over 90. That summarizes my typical round this season. Shooting in the low nineties is not bad, but I want to take my game to the next level, and that means shooting in the eighties regularly. Right now, two or three bad holes are preventing me from getting there. It amazes me how I can play bogey or better golf, even without hitting the ball particularly crisp. Over the last couple of years, I have gotten better at putting the ball in play, advancing it with each shot, missing to the safe side, and more. Despite this maturing process, I still have a couple of blowup holes (triple bogey or worse) every single round. My mechanics simply have to improve, in order to help remedy the situation. Game management can only go so far.
Score: 91
Putts: 38
Fairways: 6
Greens: 8
Penalties: 2
Pattern Repeats at Twenty Valley
I have a habit of playing fifteen or sixteen solid holes of golf, accompanied by two or three holes that are just plain terrible. The pattern continued at my latest round on the GTA Amateur Tour. I was eight over par through the first eight holes, then went six over par for the ninth hole alone! It's hard to understand. For eight holes, I made good contact with the ball and managed my game well. Then all of a sudden, I mis-hit two balls off the tee, sending them into a hazard. On the back nine, I was five over par for seven of the holes. That's pretty good. Problem was, the two remaining holes resulted in triple bogeys. A pesky tree between me and the tenth green, as well as some fierce wind on the seventeenth tee were to blame. I really wish I could avoid the two or three bad holes I seem to have per round. Without them, I would be scoring in the eighties much more regularly.
Score: 97
Putts: 37
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
Penalties: 4
Heartbreak at Deepwoods Final
I was the leader going into the final Deepwoods event of the year, and I could almost taste victory. I was the champion in 2008, so I know what it takes to close the deal in the season finale. One player was a point behind me and two others were behind by two points. If I could outplay them, the championship was mine. A pair of other players were four points behind, but I felt they would have to play perfectly just to force a playoff.
My opponents struggled over the first few holes, helping me pad my lead. On hole #5, I trickled into some lush fescue and could not hack the ball out. I also struggled a bit on hole #9, thanks to more fescue near the green. With my opponents recovering nicely, it was once again anybody's game. Over the next four holes, among the hardest at Willow Valley, I started to pull away once again. I made two pars and two bogeys, while the others struggled. Down the stretch, I knew I had them beat. I just had to make sure that I left no room for the longshot contenders in the other group. Unfortunately, I missed some critical putts. On hole #17, I stuck my approach three feet from the pin. I then missed two putts of three feet or less. I had the feeling that I had just given the championship away. Indeed, one of the longshots had a perfect game, registering a maximum of 40 points. The two putts I missed on hole #17 were the margin of victory.
I played well overall, but it wasn't enough. I was the runner-up for the second time in four years. Fortunately, I have one championship in that same time span to ease some of the pain.
Score: 93
Putts: 40
Fairways: 5
Greens: 6
Penalties: 1
Grand Garbage at Niagara
A day after the debacle at Piper's Heath, I was looking for retribution. Those plans were destroyed on the very first hole at Grand Niagara. My approach shot found a bunker and as it turned out, I could not hit a bunker shot to save my life! I hit some fat, picked others clean, all leading to a score of 12, or eight over par. On one hole! I could have given up at that point, but I had already done that the day before, so I decided to soldier on. I thought perhaps I could recover, as I did not long ago at Carlisle. Well, it didn't happen. I was not driving the ball straight and I continued to struggle from bunkers, which gave me fits. On hole #12, a par-3, I picked two balls clean from a bunker, losing them in weeds 40 yards past the green. It was laughable. I had a few good moments during the day, but this was easily my worst round of the year - the kind you just erase from memory.
Score: 120
Putts: 37
Fairways: 3
Greens: 0
Penalties: 9
Piper's Curse Continues
Aside from the opening round of the year, a balmy Easter Sunday, I have had no luck whatsoever at Piper's Heath Golf Club. Every time I go there, it seems to rain. It rained again this time, but the real problem was 60 km/hr gusts of wind. Quite simply, it was impossible to play in those conditions. Somehow, I managed to play the front nine in a score of 52. Given the wind, that was actually pretty good. It would have been better too, if not for an approach on hole #9 that sailed over the green. On a couple of occasions this year, I have launched approach shots with my 60 degree wedge that sail 30 yards more than expected. I seem to hit the ball a little thin with that club from a tight fairway lie. Next time, I will take the ground route with a less lofted club. On hole #10, the wind was ridiculous, and I struggled to even make contact. I did not finish the hole and while I played the rest of the round, I treated it as practice and didn't bother to keep score.
Score: 52 (9 holes)
Putts: 20
Fairways: 1
Greens: 1
Penalties: 1
Damage Control at Carlisle
I played most of this round as a single, breezing past a couple of groups who were nice enough to let me play through. Playing alone, I caught myself rushing a bit on the front nine, which was bizarre. I played reasonably well on the North nine, including a beautiful birdie on hole #8, thanks to a spectacular 50-foot putt. However, I blew up for a ridiculous score of 12 on hole #6. My first tee shot hit a cart path and bounced out of bounds. From 135 yards out, I also pulled two balls out of bounds. After nine holes, my score was unimpressive at 53. On the back (East) nine, I slowed down and started to make some pars. In fact, I made five pars on my way to a score of 43. I was glad that I salvaged a respectable score after the disaster on hole #6. I must avoid those blowup holes to score well!
Score: 96
Putts: 31
Fairways: 3
Greens: 3
Penalties: 5
The Big Choke at Cedar Brae
This was a GTA Amateur Tour event and boy, did I get off to a great start! I pulled my first tee shot, but found my ball and managed to save par with a great up and down from 40 yards. Through the first five holes I was even par, thanks in part to a magnificent approach and birdie putt on hole #5. After a trio of bogeys and another par, I was shooting 38 at the turn. I knew I was likely leading my flight through the first nine holes, which I confirmed after the round. Things started to go bad on hole #11, a par-3. I shanked an iron off the tee en route to a triple bogey. An equally poor tee shot produced another triple on hole #13, a par-5. Double bogeys were the result on a few of the back nine holes, as the nerves of leading clearly got to me. I shot a terrible 55 on the back nine, ruining a great start.
Score: 93
Putts: 36
Fairways: 2
Greens: 4
Penalties: 3
Good Focus at Oakridge
After some questionable performances, I finally had a round I can be proud of, and it came during a Deepwoods event. It would have been even better, if not for one horrific hole that marred an otherwise solid scorecard. I opened with a pair of double bogeys, followed by a hole where I was six over par. Hole #3 is the number one handicap at Oakridge, for good reason. I put the terrible hole behind me and managed eight over par for the remaining 15 holes. It was a fantastic stretch, including one birdie, five pars, and nine bogeys. I was very satisfied with my mental fortitude. This round proved to me that I can shoot in the 80's consistently if I find a way to avoid one or two holes that plague many of my outings.
Score: 89
Putts: 34
Fairways: 7
Greens: 5
Penalties: 2
Sixteen good holes. Two bad ones. A score just over 90. That summarizes my typical round this season. Shooting in the low nineties is not bad, but I want to take my game to the next level, and that means shooting in the eighties regularly. Right now, two or three bad holes are preventing me from getting there. It amazes me how I can play bogey or better golf, even without hitting the ball particularly crisp. Over the last couple of years, I have gotten better at putting the ball in play, advancing it with each shot, missing to the safe side, and more. Despite this maturing process, I still have a couple of blowup holes (triple bogey or worse) every single round. My mechanics simply have to improve, in order to help remedy the situation. Game management can only go so far.
Score: 91
Putts: 38
Fairways: 6
Greens: 8
Penalties: 2
Pattern Repeats at Twenty Valley
I have a habit of playing fifteen or sixteen solid holes of golf, accompanied by two or three holes that are just plain terrible. The pattern continued at my latest round on the GTA Amateur Tour. I was eight over par through the first eight holes, then went six over par for the ninth hole alone! It's hard to understand. For eight holes, I made good contact with the ball and managed my game well. Then all of a sudden, I mis-hit two balls off the tee, sending them into a hazard. On the back nine, I was five over par for seven of the holes. That's pretty good. Problem was, the two remaining holes resulted in triple bogeys. A pesky tree between me and the tenth green, as well as some fierce wind on the seventeenth tee were to blame. I really wish I could avoid the two or three bad holes I seem to have per round. Without them, I would be scoring in the eighties much more regularly.
Score: 97
Putts: 37
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
Penalties: 4
Heartbreak at Deepwoods Final
I was the leader going into the final Deepwoods event of the year, and I could almost taste victory. I was the champion in 2008, so I know what it takes to close the deal in the season finale. One player was a point behind me and two others were behind by two points. If I could outplay them, the championship was mine. A pair of other players were four points behind, but I felt they would have to play perfectly just to force a playoff.
My opponents struggled over the first few holes, helping me pad my lead. On hole #5, I trickled into some lush fescue and could not hack the ball out. I also struggled a bit on hole #9, thanks to more fescue near the green. With my opponents recovering nicely, it was once again anybody's game. Over the next four holes, among the hardest at Willow Valley, I started to pull away once again. I made two pars and two bogeys, while the others struggled. Down the stretch, I knew I had them beat. I just had to make sure that I left no room for the longshot contenders in the other group. Unfortunately, I missed some critical putts. On hole #17, I stuck my approach three feet from the pin. I then missed two putts of three feet or less. I had the feeling that I had just given the championship away. Indeed, one of the longshots had a perfect game, registering a maximum of 40 points. The two putts I missed on hole #17 were the margin of victory.
I played well overall, but it wasn't enough. I was the runner-up for the second time in four years. Fortunately, I have one championship in that same time span to ease some of the pain.
Score: 93
Putts: 40
Fairways: 5
Greens: 6
Penalties: 1
Grand Garbage at Niagara
A day after the debacle at Piper's Heath, I was looking for retribution. Those plans were destroyed on the very first hole at Grand Niagara. My approach shot found a bunker and as it turned out, I could not hit a bunker shot to save my life! I hit some fat, picked others clean, all leading to a score of 12, or eight over par. On one hole! I could have given up at that point, but I had already done that the day before, so I decided to soldier on. I thought perhaps I could recover, as I did not long ago at Carlisle. Well, it didn't happen. I was not driving the ball straight and I continued to struggle from bunkers, which gave me fits. On hole #12, a par-3, I picked two balls clean from a bunker, losing them in weeds 40 yards past the green. It was laughable. I had a few good moments during the day, but this was easily my worst round of the year - the kind you just erase from memory.
Score: 120
Putts: 37
Fairways: 3
Greens: 0
Penalties: 9
Piper's Curse Continues
Aside from the opening round of the year, a balmy Easter Sunday, I have had no luck whatsoever at Piper's Heath Golf Club. Every time I go there, it seems to rain. It rained again this time, but the real problem was 60 km/hr gusts of wind. Quite simply, it was impossible to play in those conditions. Somehow, I managed to play the front nine in a score of 52. Given the wind, that was actually pretty good. It would have been better too, if not for an approach on hole #9 that sailed over the green. On a couple of occasions this year, I have launched approach shots with my 60 degree wedge that sail 30 yards more than expected. I seem to hit the ball a little thin with that club from a tight fairway lie. Next time, I will take the ground route with a less lofted club. On hole #10, the wind was ridiculous, and I struggled to even make contact. I did not finish the hole and while I played the rest of the round, I treated it as practice and didn't bother to keep score.
Score: 52 (9 holes)
Putts: 20
Fairways: 1
Greens: 1
Penalties: 1
Damage Control at Carlisle
I played most of this round as a single, breezing past a couple of groups who were nice enough to let me play through. Playing alone, I caught myself rushing a bit on the front nine, which was bizarre. I played reasonably well on the North nine, including a beautiful birdie on hole #8, thanks to a spectacular 50-foot putt. However, I blew up for a ridiculous score of 12 on hole #6. My first tee shot hit a cart path and bounced out of bounds. From 135 yards out, I also pulled two balls out of bounds. After nine holes, my score was unimpressive at 53. On the back (East) nine, I slowed down and started to make some pars. In fact, I made five pars on my way to a score of 43. I was glad that I salvaged a respectable score after the disaster on hole #6. I must avoid those blowup holes to score well!
Score: 96
Putts: 31
Fairways: 3
Greens: 3
Penalties: 5
The Big Choke at Cedar Brae
This was a GTA Amateur Tour event and boy, did I get off to a great start! I pulled my first tee shot, but found my ball and managed to save par with a great up and down from 40 yards. Through the first five holes I was even par, thanks in part to a magnificent approach and birdie putt on hole #5. After a trio of bogeys and another par, I was shooting 38 at the turn. I knew I was likely leading my flight through the first nine holes, which I confirmed after the round. Things started to go bad on hole #11, a par-3. I shanked an iron off the tee en route to a triple bogey. An equally poor tee shot produced another triple on hole #13, a par-5. Double bogeys were the result on a few of the back nine holes, as the nerves of leading clearly got to me. I shot a terrible 55 on the back nine, ruining a great start.
Score: 93
Putts: 36
Fairways: 2
Greens: 4
Penalties: 3
Good Focus at Oakridge
After some questionable performances, I finally had a round I can be proud of, and it came during a Deepwoods event. It would have been even better, if not for one horrific hole that marred an otherwise solid scorecard. I opened with a pair of double bogeys, followed by a hole where I was six over par. Hole #3 is the number one handicap at Oakridge, for good reason. I put the terrible hole behind me and managed eight over par for the remaining 15 holes. It was a fantastic stretch, including one birdie, five pars, and nine bogeys. I was very satisfied with my mental fortitude. This round proved to me that I can shoot in the 80's consistently if I find a way to avoid one or two holes that plague many of my outings.
Score: 89
Putts: 34
Fairways: 7
Greens: 5
Penalties: 2
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