Before my last round, I had only played Royal Niagara once and it was almost ten years ago. Needless to say, I couldn't remember any of the holes. Without any course knowledge, I would have to rely on whatever I could see from my vantage point as I worked my way along the course.
For the first seven holes, I played brilliantly, at least by my standards. I was one over par through four holes and four over par through seven. The nice stretch included a birdie on Escarpment #2 and par on #4. The first of these is a 352-yard par-4 and I went driver, lob wedge to stick one close. The other is a 492-yard par-5 that I attacked with the same clubs on my first and third shots. I was feeling good, to say the least.
Without warning, I tallied two consecutive triple bogeys to finish up the Escarpment nine with a score of 46. On both occasions, the lob wedge that served me so well earlier was the club that killed me. On #8, a 512-yard par-5, I started with a terrible pull way left of the fairway. I was lucky that the ball stayed out of the fescue and I was able to hit a pitching wedge over some tall trees back to the proper fairway. I was 210 yards from the green and decided to go for it. I hit 5-wood, but it was to the right and really high. The wind held it up and prevented it from diving into the fescue. I was about 70 yards from the flag with a decent lie, so I felt confident I could get on with the lob wedge. Somehow, my shot came up short and landed in a greenside bunker – my nemesis. I got out of the bunker with one shot, but just to the rough. After a chip and a putt that burned the edge, I collected the triple.
Escarpment #9 is a short par-4, measuring just 297 yards. My tee shot was slightly right of the fairway, near the cart path. I was just 60 yards from the flag, so out came the lob wedge again. My feet were on the cart path, but I elected not to take any relief. I proceeded to scull the shot well behind the green. It was a bad place for this to happen, as there is water behind the green, and my ball took a splash. After a penalty and drop, my fourth shot rolled to the front of the green. I made a poor uphill lag and ended up 3-putting as a result.
Moving to the Old Canal nine, the poor play continued. Not knowing the course was a problem on holes #2 and #3. The first of these is a par-5 featuring a chute of trees that you must navigate on your second shot. I pulled the ball slightly and found the woods on the left side. Later on, I saw that the proper play is to go right over the trees on the right. You just have to get the ball elevated and there is lots of fairway on that line. After taking a penalty and drop, I bounced one into more woods back and left of the green, en route to a triple-bogey.
The next hole is a pretty severe dogleg to the left. From the tee, I couldn't tell if there was room over the trees on the left. I also wasn't sure how much room there was to miss on the right side. I had too many thoughts and pulled one straight into the trees just ahead of the tee. After a penalty and drop, I hit two great shots to find the green and two nice putts. Lots of nice stuff there, but it was a double-bogey.
On Old Canal #6, I flared my drive attempt way right into an opposite fairway. I missed right a lot on the day. I was trying to keep my backswing short, but I was rushing the downswing, not allowing the club head to catch up to my hands. It was a case of something that had been working well for me going too far and now causing problems. After the drive, the angle back to the fairway was straight at a large pond on the other side and I was worried about going long. I favoured the right side and ended up hitting one into waist high fescue. Any ball into fescue was lost, as evidenced by the fact that I had seven penalty strokes. A lot of those were due to the hay. I ended up with another triple-bogey.
I limped in to the finish and actually was surprised that I came so close to the century mark. It felt like I played better than that. I did, but it was only over the first seven holes. Once again, 18 holes proved to be way too much for me to handle.
Score: 99
Putts: 36
Fairways: 1
Greens: 2
Penalties: 7
June 17, 2017
June 16, 2017
Threatening Holes at Calerin
I picked a perfect day and headed out to Calerin Golf Club for an early afternoon round. This is a 9-hole course, which I played twice, each time from a different set of tees. On the opening par-5, I drove the ball over some bunkers to the safety of the fairway. Next, a nice 5-wood carried me to the right edge of the fairway, 90 yards from the flag. Lob wedge to the green left me an uphill breaker for birdie. I lagged it to within a foot and tapped in for par.
Next up was a par-3 measuring just 108 yards. I stuck a sand wedge within 12 feet and had a really good look at birdie, but it didn't drop. I tapped in for my second stress-free par of the day. Hole #3 is a 405-yard par-4 and I started by splitting the fairway, leaving 160 yards to the green. Left of the green is a hillside, while right is a large pond. I normally play to miss left, but I hadn't made a bad stroke yet, so I aimed for centre of the green. Of course, it was my first miss hit and it trickled into the pond short and right of the green. After a penalty and drop, my pitch shot was mediocre, leading to a 2-putt and double-bogey.
The rest of the front nine was marvellous, though I only tallied one more par, to go along with five bogeys. The par came on hole #6, a well-designed par-4. It's well designed because it makes you think off the tee and the green is nestled nicely into a hillside, protected by a deep bunker and large tree. I opted for driver off the tee, fading one beautifully to the 100-yard marker. Next, I sculled the sand wedge, but it hit the hill above the bunker face and settled gently on the green, flag high. I had a really good go at birdie, but just burned the edge.
With one exception, the steady play continued on the back nine. The exception was hole #13, a 552-yard par-5. After a perfect drive, I chunked a 3-iron, leaving myself too far back to reach the green in three. My third shot, also with the 3-iron, was perfect, but I had 65 yards remaining to the flag. I would have been happy with lob wedge on and 2-putt for bogey. Unfortunately, I sculled the lob wedge shot and ended up stymied by a large tree behind the green. It took two more shots to get on and then I 3-put for a disastrous quadruple-bogey.
Those first two putts weren't even that bad. I lagged the first to inside five feet, but left a downhill breaker, which was very tricky. I made a really nice attempt, but missed. In fact, this happened a lot on this day. I counted about ten putts that were very good and seriously threatened the hole, but just didn't drop. Most burned the edge and finished a foot behind the hole, but I also left a couple hanging right on the lip. If half of those go in and I avoid that sculled lob wedge on #13, this would have been a score in the very low eighties.
The one putt of any length that did drop came on hole #15 and it produced a birdie. This is the same hole (#6) that I made par on earlier, after catching a break with a poor approach shot. The second time around, I hit the same great drive, although this time I was in the right rough, 90 yards from the green. My lob wedge landed on the very front of the putting surface, setting up the opportunity. From 14 feet away, I lined it up and drained the uphill putt.
I was pretty happy with this round. I hit 10 of 14 fairways and whenever I missed one, I was still in a very safe position. I also hit six greens in regulation. That's not a lot, but it's more than I usually get. Of course, I would have liked to break 90, but alas. Last year, I broke 90 three times in my first seven rounds. This year, I've played nine rounds and have yet to accomplish that. Patience.
Score: 90
Putts: 38
Fairways: 10
Greens: 6
Penalties: 1
Next up was a par-3 measuring just 108 yards. I stuck a sand wedge within 12 feet and had a really good look at birdie, but it didn't drop. I tapped in for my second stress-free par of the day. Hole #3 is a 405-yard par-4 and I started by splitting the fairway, leaving 160 yards to the green. Left of the green is a hillside, while right is a large pond. I normally play to miss left, but I hadn't made a bad stroke yet, so I aimed for centre of the green. Of course, it was my first miss hit and it trickled into the pond short and right of the green. After a penalty and drop, my pitch shot was mediocre, leading to a 2-putt and double-bogey.
The rest of the front nine was marvellous, though I only tallied one more par, to go along with five bogeys. The par came on hole #6, a well-designed par-4. It's well designed because it makes you think off the tee and the green is nestled nicely into a hillside, protected by a deep bunker and large tree. I opted for driver off the tee, fading one beautifully to the 100-yard marker. Next, I sculled the sand wedge, but it hit the hill above the bunker face and settled gently on the green, flag high. I had a really good go at birdie, but just burned the edge.
With one exception, the steady play continued on the back nine. The exception was hole #13, a 552-yard par-5. After a perfect drive, I chunked a 3-iron, leaving myself too far back to reach the green in three. My third shot, also with the 3-iron, was perfect, but I had 65 yards remaining to the flag. I would have been happy with lob wedge on and 2-putt for bogey. Unfortunately, I sculled the lob wedge shot and ended up stymied by a large tree behind the green. It took two more shots to get on and then I 3-put for a disastrous quadruple-bogey.
Those first two putts weren't even that bad. I lagged the first to inside five feet, but left a downhill breaker, which was very tricky. I made a really nice attempt, but missed. In fact, this happened a lot on this day. I counted about ten putts that were very good and seriously threatened the hole, but just didn't drop. Most burned the edge and finished a foot behind the hole, but I also left a couple hanging right on the lip. If half of those go in and I avoid that sculled lob wedge on #13, this would have been a score in the very low eighties.
The one putt of any length that did drop came on hole #15 and it produced a birdie. This is the same hole (#6) that I made par on earlier, after catching a break with a poor approach shot. The second time around, I hit the same great drive, although this time I was in the right rough, 90 yards from the green. My lob wedge landed on the very front of the putting surface, setting up the opportunity. From 14 feet away, I lined it up and drained the uphill putt.
I was pretty happy with this round. I hit 10 of 14 fairways and whenever I missed one, I was still in a very safe position. I also hit six greens in regulation. That's not a lot, but it's more than I usually get. Of course, I would have liked to break 90, but alas. Last year, I broke 90 three times in my first seven rounds. This year, I've played nine rounds and have yet to accomplish that. Patience.
Score: 90
Putts: 38
Fairways: 10
Greens: 6
Penalties: 1
June 05, 2017
Wasted Outing at King's Forest
King's Forest is becoming my new nemesis. I've played there ten times and the best result (only a 95) came in my first visit. It was also nine years ago! How do you explain that? Familiarity with a course is supposed to help you score better, isn't it? The course is no slouch, but my problems there have been my own doing entirely.
The first hole is really not very difficult. Par may not be straightforward, but bogey should be a guarantee, every time out. You tee off from an elevated tee to a generous fairway. You can miss on both sides and still be okay. There is especially a lot of room on the right side. However, everything slopes down from right to left. From the right side, the ball will be above your feet (for right handers) on the second shot, not to mention that you will be coming out of the rough. A small cluster of spruce trees up ahead will block your path to the green.
If you choose a lofted club to get out of the rough and fly over the trees, you will likely not reach the green and will enter the trees from above. If you choose a less lofted club for more distance, you risk hitting the trees with a line drive. I've tried both approaches and end up in the spruce trees, either way. These trees are the kind where the lowest branches touch the ground, so it's impossible to get out of there with a shot toward the green.
If you take your medicine and lay up left of the trees, roughly 40 yards short of the green, the line you need to take is directly at a creek on the left side of the hole. It's difficult to judge the exact distance. Whenever I've tried this, I hit the ball too far and bounced it into the creek. So much for playing safe. The fact that you have a pull lie to contend with increases the likelihood of this happening.
This time, I wasn't going to fall victim to the scenarios outlined above. I aimed for the left side of the fairway, content to miss to the left side, for once. That's exactly what happened; I was about 8 yards into the rough and 200 yards from the green centre. From this angle, I had an unobstructed path to the green. My lie was good, too. Well, I proceeded to push a long iron – directly into the dreaded spruce trees on the right side! Seriously? What do I have to do to avoid those things?
I could only punch out to the extreme left edge of the green, as the rest was blocked out. Too far left would put me in a green side bunker. Too far right and I would smack the branches directly in front of me. The lie looked muddy, so I thought it might be difficult to get good contact. Well, I contacted it so perfectly that the ball rocketed out of there. The line was perfect, but the ball bounced on the visible sliver of green and went right into the creek! Sigh.
This is where it gets ugly. The bank of the creek is like a shelf and it's covered in long grasses. My ball stopped on the shelf and was dry, but the grass was knee high, at least. One hack moved the ball three feet. Another one moved it another foot. A third hack got it up to the upper edge of the hazard. My seventh shot was a pitch to the green and I 2-putt for a score of 9 on this par-4. Lovely.
That was pretty much the end of the round. I won't describe any more, because it was a write off from that point forward. You get all hyped up for a round and then throw it away on the very first hole. It's demoralizing. And what makes it worse is that this scenario has played itself out almost every time I've played this course. After the fourth hole, I dismissed my playing partners, advising them that if they wanted to enjoy the round, they were better off going ahead and leaving me alone.
Ironically, I played well on the part of the course that usually gives me the most trouble (holes #10 through #13). It didn't matter, as I already had triples, quads and quints on my scorecard. I would add more in the closing holes, thanks to great shots that were nevertheless punished and some patterns that repeated themselves like clockwork on a couple of holes.
Absolute garbage.
Score: 113
Putts: 39
Fairways: 1
Greens: 1
Penalties: 4
The first hole is really not very difficult. Par may not be straightforward, but bogey should be a guarantee, every time out. You tee off from an elevated tee to a generous fairway. You can miss on both sides and still be okay. There is especially a lot of room on the right side. However, everything slopes down from right to left. From the right side, the ball will be above your feet (for right handers) on the second shot, not to mention that you will be coming out of the rough. A small cluster of spruce trees up ahead will block your path to the green.
If you choose a lofted club to get out of the rough and fly over the trees, you will likely not reach the green and will enter the trees from above. If you choose a less lofted club for more distance, you risk hitting the trees with a line drive. I've tried both approaches and end up in the spruce trees, either way. These trees are the kind where the lowest branches touch the ground, so it's impossible to get out of there with a shot toward the green.
If you take your medicine and lay up left of the trees, roughly 40 yards short of the green, the line you need to take is directly at a creek on the left side of the hole. It's difficult to judge the exact distance. Whenever I've tried this, I hit the ball too far and bounced it into the creek. So much for playing safe. The fact that you have a pull lie to contend with increases the likelihood of this happening.
This time, I wasn't going to fall victim to the scenarios outlined above. I aimed for the left side of the fairway, content to miss to the left side, for once. That's exactly what happened; I was about 8 yards into the rough and 200 yards from the green centre. From this angle, I had an unobstructed path to the green. My lie was good, too. Well, I proceeded to push a long iron – directly into the dreaded spruce trees on the right side! Seriously? What do I have to do to avoid those things?
I could only punch out to the extreme left edge of the green, as the rest was blocked out. Too far left would put me in a green side bunker. Too far right and I would smack the branches directly in front of me. The lie looked muddy, so I thought it might be difficult to get good contact. Well, I contacted it so perfectly that the ball rocketed out of there. The line was perfect, but the ball bounced on the visible sliver of green and went right into the creek! Sigh.
This is where it gets ugly. The bank of the creek is like a shelf and it's covered in long grasses. My ball stopped on the shelf and was dry, but the grass was knee high, at least. One hack moved the ball three feet. Another one moved it another foot. A third hack got it up to the upper edge of the hazard. My seventh shot was a pitch to the green and I 2-putt for a score of 9 on this par-4. Lovely.
That was pretty much the end of the round. I won't describe any more, because it was a write off from that point forward. You get all hyped up for a round and then throw it away on the very first hole. It's demoralizing. And what makes it worse is that this scenario has played itself out almost every time I've played this course. After the fourth hole, I dismissed my playing partners, advising them that if they wanted to enjoy the round, they were better off going ahead and leaving me alone.
Ironically, I played well on the part of the course that usually gives me the most trouble (holes #10 through #13). It didn't matter, as I already had triples, quads and quints on my scorecard. I would add more in the closing holes, thanks to great shots that were nevertheless punished and some patterns that repeated themselves like clockwork on a couple of holes.
Absolute garbage.
Score: 113
Putts: 39
Fairways: 1
Greens: 1
Penalties: 4
June 03, 2017
No Reward at Copetown Woods
This game is cruel; one day you can hack the ball all over the place and shoot 95, while another day you can be striking the ball seemingly well and shoot...95! The latter occurred to me during Round 1 of the Deepwoods championship at Copetown Woods. I made par on three of the first four holes and was rolling right along. I cooled slightly to finish the front nine with four bogeys and a double, but was still in great shape at the turn. Next thing you know, I blew up on two holes in a row. Though I settled down for the remainder of the round, it was a parade of bogeys and whenever a slight miscue occurred, boom there's a double. I felt pretty good through the entire round, but I finished in the bottom half of the field. So what went wrong?
Duffed shots. Even on holes where I registered a good score, there were duffed shots. On the opening par-5, I split the fairway with my drive, leaving 200 yards to the green. Gotta go for it right? Well, I duffed a 3-iron 70 yards ahead. Okay, I nailed the green from 130 yards and had a good birdie attempt before taking par, but maybe I should have been putting for eagle or had an even better birdie chance. On hole #2, I duffed a 7-iron on my second shot from a clean fairway lie. I got on with a pitching wedge and 3-putt for double-bogey.
On hole #6, I once again split the fairway, only to duff the second shot, sending it half the intended distance. I pitched on with a lob wedge and 2-putt for a respectable bogey, but maybe I should have really made par there. Same thing on hole #8. My 5-wood off the tee was high and held back by wind, but I was in the fairway. Cue up a second shot duff, which dribbled ahead, leaving 95 yards to the green. Lob wedge got me on safely and I 2-putt for bogey. Bogeys are fine, but not really when you duff your way to one. Take out those duffed shots and all the others were executed in textbook fashion. Drives were great and approach shots, albeit from shorter distances, were good too. I was 8-over par on the front nine, but maybe I should have been 3 or 4-over.
Blowup holes. I define a blowup hole as a triple-bogey or worse. I only had two of them, but that's enough to ruin a good score. I can't play a round without a couple of them popping up. They may come right at the start, right at the end, or anywhere in between. One thing is for certain though – they WILL happen sooner or later. On hole #10, a par-5, I pushed a drive slightly right, over a bunker. The ball hit an embankment, which pushed it into a water hazard. After a penalty and drop, I tried the hero shot to reach the green in 3. It was worth a try, as the straight line distance was only 200 yards and my lie after the drop looked relatively decent. Well, the lie wasn't as good as I thought and I advanced the ball a whole 5 yards. Now I took my medicine, and hit a wedge back to the fairway. With a good approach from 150 yards, I could still 2-putt for a double-bogey. Unfortunately, my approach failed to clear a bunker by one foot. It took me two shots to get out, plus the two putts for a score of 9.
On the next hole, a 188-yard par-3, I made poor contact with the 5-iron and plunked a ball into a pond. From the drop zone, I sculled my third shot to the back of the large green, while the hole was in the front. It was legitimate 3-putt territory, and that's what I did to earn a lovely triple-bogey. One mistake on a hole will lead to a bogey. When you string two or more mistakes together, the results are predictable.
Long lag putts. On hole #2, I blew a long uphill putt well past the hole. I was so far away from the hole to start, and the tendency is to leave those uphill putts short, so I clearly over-compensated. I almost made the comebacker, but almost ain't good enough, so a 3-putt it was. On hole #11, the same thing happened, but this time, it was a super long downhill putt. I didn't want to over-compensate and leave the putt short, so well past the hole I went. Chalk up my second 3-putt of the day.
Now hole #13 I was on the green in regulation, facing another downhill putt, though not as long as the other two I described. The memory of being too aggressive on a downhill putt was fresh in my memory, so of course I left this one woefully short. The second putt lipped out and there goes another 3-putt. The exact same thing happened on holes #16 and #17. The latter was particularly bothersome. I was the only one in my foursome to hit the green in regulation on this par-3. Nevertheless, two guys I was playing with chipped on and drained a putt for par, while I 3-putt for bogey. Seriously?
Bunker shots. I'm talking about green side bunkers here. I have been awful at these for a long time now and it's clear I am clueless about what to do. The first bunker I found was the one on hole #10, which as I described, took me two strokes to tame. On hole #15, a par-4, my approach shot hit an embankment two yards short of the green and rolled backwards into a sand pit. For a pro, this is an easy up and down. For your average amateur, it means one shot to get on the green and perhaps two putts. For me, it meant one hack to barely get out of the bunker, a chip to get on the green, and two putts for double-bogey. On hole #16, a par-5, my third shot found the green side bunker. Exactly the same situation. This time, I semi-sculled the shot to the opposite end of the green, setting up a 3-putt. Not once during the round did I hit a nice bunker shot. Every time was a disaster of one kind or another.
So at the end of the day, that's how great shots get wasted. I fired many, many great shots on this day, to no avail. The mistakes listed above erased any advantage those good shots gave me. It's frustrating, to say the least.
Score: 95
Putts: 40
Fairways: 7
Greens: 6
Penalties: 2
Duffed shots. Even on holes where I registered a good score, there were duffed shots. On the opening par-5, I split the fairway with my drive, leaving 200 yards to the green. Gotta go for it right? Well, I duffed a 3-iron 70 yards ahead. Okay, I nailed the green from 130 yards and had a good birdie attempt before taking par, but maybe I should have been putting for eagle or had an even better birdie chance. On hole #2, I duffed a 7-iron on my second shot from a clean fairway lie. I got on with a pitching wedge and 3-putt for double-bogey.
On hole #6, I once again split the fairway, only to duff the second shot, sending it half the intended distance. I pitched on with a lob wedge and 2-putt for a respectable bogey, but maybe I should have really made par there. Same thing on hole #8. My 5-wood off the tee was high and held back by wind, but I was in the fairway. Cue up a second shot duff, which dribbled ahead, leaving 95 yards to the green. Lob wedge got me on safely and I 2-putt for bogey. Bogeys are fine, but not really when you duff your way to one. Take out those duffed shots and all the others were executed in textbook fashion. Drives were great and approach shots, albeit from shorter distances, were good too. I was 8-over par on the front nine, but maybe I should have been 3 or 4-over.
Blowup holes. I define a blowup hole as a triple-bogey or worse. I only had two of them, but that's enough to ruin a good score. I can't play a round without a couple of them popping up. They may come right at the start, right at the end, or anywhere in between. One thing is for certain though – they WILL happen sooner or later. On hole #10, a par-5, I pushed a drive slightly right, over a bunker. The ball hit an embankment, which pushed it into a water hazard. After a penalty and drop, I tried the hero shot to reach the green in 3. It was worth a try, as the straight line distance was only 200 yards and my lie after the drop looked relatively decent. Well, the lie wasn't as good as I thought and I advanced the ball a whole 5 yards. Now I took my medicine, and hit a wedge back to the fairway. With a good approach from 150 yards, I could still 2-putt for a double-bogey. Unfortunately, my approach failed to clear a bunker by one foot. It took me two shots to get out, plus the two putts for a score of 9.
On the next hole, a 188-yard par-3, I made poor contact with the 5-iron and plunked a ball into a pond. From the drop zone, I sculled my third shot to the back of the large green, while the hole was in the front. It was legitimate 3-putt territory, and that's what I did to earn a lovely triple-bogey. One mistake on a hole will lead to a bogey. When you string two or more mistakes together, the results are predictable.
Long lag putts. On hole #2, I blew a long uphill putt well past the hole. I was so far away from the hole to start, and the tendency is to leave those uphill putts short, so I clearly over-compensated. I almost made the comebacker, but almost ain't good enough, so a 3-putt it was. On hole #11, the same thing happened, but this time, it was a super long downhill putt. I didn't want to over-compensate and leave the putt short, so well past the hole I went. Chalk up my second 3-putt of the day.
Now hole #13 I was on the green in regulation, facing another downhill putt, though not as long as the other two I described. The memory of being too aggressive on a downhill putt was fresh in my memory, so of course I left this one woefully short. The second putt lipped out and there goes another 3-putt. The exact same thing happened on holes #16 and #17. The latter was particularly bothersome. I was the only one in my foursome to hit the green in regulation on this par-3. Nevertheless, two guys I was playing with chipped on and drained a putt for par, while I 3-putt for bogey. Seriously?
Bunker shots. I'm talking about green side bunkers here. I have been awful at these for a long time now and it's clear I am clueless about what to do. The first bunker I found was the one on hole #10, which as I described, took me two strokes to tame. On hole #15, a par-4, my approach shot hit an embankment two yards short of the green and rolled backwards into a sand pit. For a pro, this is an easy up and down. For your average amateur, it means one shot to get on the green and perhaps two putts. For me, it meant one hack to barely get out of the bunker, a chip to get on the green, and two putts for double-bogey. On hole #16, a par-5, my third shot found the green side bunker. Exactly the same situation. This time, I semi-sculled the shot to the opposite end of the green, setting up a 3-putt. Not once during the round did I hit a nice bunker shot. Every time was a disaster of one kind or another.
So at the end of the day, that's how great shots get wasted. I fired many, many great shots on this day, to no avail. The mistakes listed above erased any advantage those good shots gave me. It's frustrating, to say the least.
Score: 95
Putts: 40
Fairways: 7
Greens: 6
Penalties: 2
May 27, 2017
Scoring Clubs Fail at Bushwood
I picked a nice day and headed out to Bushwood, where I've played quite a bit, but mostly in my early days of golf. I continued the trend of driving the ball well, as I managed to hit 9 of 15 fairways during the round. I focused primarily on keeping the back swing short. I've tried to shorten my back swing in the past, but even then, I could afford to go a lot shorter. I really don't need such a big windup to generate sufficient swing speed. The benefit is a much more controlled swing plane.
Even when the driver is working well, a hole or two will come along where I just miss badly. Fresh off two laser drives on the first two holes, I approached the third tee. Hole #3 is a medium length par-4, but it's OB along the entire right side. The fairway is not especially wide and there is a carry of about 200 yards required to get over a creek. Left of the fairway puts you on another hole, which isn't bad, except that your next shot toward the green will be towards OB. The fear of OB caused me to hit one off the heel, which found the creek. The penalty stroke, along with an uncalled for 3-putt, bumped my score on the hole up to triple-bogey.
Of the fairways missed, two were on holes where I teed off with an iron. The first of these was hole #11, where a 5-iron hooked slightly into the fescue. I actually thought the ball was safe, but no such luck. Double-bogey was the result. On hole #15, I caught the ball with the heel of the 4-iron, sending it dribbling ahead and to the left. On a wide open hole, this left me in the only place where there was tree trouble. My punch out failed and I needed a heroic 5-wood just to get near the green with my third. Chalk up another double-bogey.
And irons were really the story of the day. I only hit three greens in regulation and they weren't exactly convincing ones either. More often than not, I just failed to hit the greens. I missed approach shots from 150, 110, 130, and 100 yards on the front nine alone. I missed a few more shorties on the back nine. Usually, I had the perfect distance, but pulled the ball five yards left. Otherwise, I flared the ball five yards right and somewhat short. The scoring clubs were not helping me score, that's for sure.
The worst iron shot was a ball sculled over the green from 80 yards out on hole #12. The drive on this short par-4 can be tricky because of a forced carry and thick woods on the right. I nailed the centre of the fairway, but wasted it with the second shot. Not only did I miss the green, but I lost the ball in a lateral hazard, leading to a penalty stroke. It was one of six penalty strokes on the day, which is just way too much. The whole round featured a lot of very good shots, but when things went poorly, they led to penalty strokes and that killed my score.
Overall, I feel positive about the round. This will be my last before Round 1 of the Deepwoods championship. I feel like I'm ready to compete. If I can just minimize the costly errors, I have a chance to do well.
Score: 95
Putts: 34
Fairways: 9
Greens: 3
Penalties: 6
Even when the driver is working well, a hole or two will come along where I just miss badly. Fresh off two laser drives on the first two holes, I approached the third tee. Hole #3 is a medium length par-4, but it's OB along the entire right side. The fairway is not especially wide and there is a carry of about 200 yards required to get over a creek. Left of the fairway puts you on another hole, which isn't bad, except that your next shot toward the green will be towards OB. The fear of OB caused me to hit one off the heel, which found the creek. The penalty stroke, along with an uncalled for 3-putt, bumped my score on the hole up to triple-bogey.
Of the fairways missed, two were on holes where I teed off with an iron. The first of these was hole #11, where a 5-iron hooked slightly into the fescue. I actually thought the ball was safe, but no such luck. Double-bogey was the result. On hole #15, I caught the ball with the heel of the 4-iron, sending it dribbling ahead and to the left. On a wide open hole, this left me in the only place where there was tree trouble. My punch out failed and I needed a heroic 5-wood just to get near the green with my third. Chalk up another double-bogey.
And irons were really the story of the day. I only hit three greens in regulation and they weren't exactly convincing ones either. More often than not, I just failed to hit the greens. I missed approach shots from 150, 110, 130, and 100 yards on the front nine alone. I missed a few more shorties on the back nine. Usually, I had the perfect distance, but pulled the ball five yards left. Otherwise, I flared the ball five yards right and somewhat short. The scoring clubs were not helping me score, that's for sure.
The worst iron shot was a ball sculled over the green from 80 yards out on hole #12. The drive on this short par-4 can be tricky because of a forced carry and thick woods on the right. I nailed the centre of the fairway, but wasted it with the second shot. Not only did I miss the green, but I lost the ball in a lateral hazard, leading to a penalty stroke. It was one of six penalty strokes on the day, which is just way too much. The whole round featured a lot of very good shots, but when things went poorly, they led to penalty strokes and that killed my score.
Overall, I feel positive about the round. This will be my last before Round 1 of the Deepwoods championship. I feel like I'm ready to compete. If I can just minimize the costly errors, I have a chance to do well.
Score: 95
Putts: 34
Fairways: 9
Greens: 3
Penalties: 6
May 25, 2017
A Couple Blowups at Mill Run
I played The Wheel / Grind combination at Mill Run and except for a couple of blowup holes, it was a rather good outing. Of course, a couple blowup holes is all it takes to ruin an otherwise good score. The blowups came on Wheel #1 and #9, a pair of par-5 holes ranked as the hardest handicaps.
A weak drive on the first hole nevertheless found the safety of the fairway. Next, I pumped a long iron deep, but was a few yards into the right rough – enough to be blocked out of the green by some trees ahead. A perfectly placed pitch shot got me back in the fairway, 100 yards from the green. So far, not too bad, but then I pulled the approach near a creek that runs left of the green. I had an opening, but the ground was so soft that I duffed one a few yards ahead. The new lie was no better and I plunked one in a bunker. My seventh shot barely made it out. This was followed by a chip shot and two putts for a nasty score of 10. Oh my word!
The next six holes were smooth sailing, as I went bogey, par, par, par, bogey, and bogey. That's three over for one third of a round, which ain't bad at all. If I could string together two more of those, the result would be a final score of nine over, or 81. Alas, we all know it doesn't work that way. Eighteen holes is a lot of golf and it's hard to stay out of trouble for very long. The three consecutive pars came thanks to three up and down plays. Who knows, if I could just hit some greens, maybe there would be some birdies thrown in there.
A bonehead shot on Wheel #8 led to a triple bogey, but worse was yet to come. My drive faded a bit right and I was forced to pitch sideways to get back to the fairway. Instead of a 40-yard pitch, I pulled off an 8-yard duff and now I faced a longer shot than necessary over water. On Wheel #9, I pulled my drive sharply into the woods just ahead of the teeing area. After a penalty stroke and drop, I topped a 5-wood into the same trees. I found that ball on a soft lie and tried to pitch back to the fairway, except I struck it so well that it crossed the fairway into the trees on the other side. I had to take an unplayable, but my drop still left me blocked out by trees. With my sixth shot, I was back in the fairway. After a 3-iron and 5-wood combination, I was short and right of the green. I pitched on and 2-putt for a lovely score of 11. Oh my word!
Thankfully, there were no more shenanigans for the rest of the round. I followed up the 53 on the Wheel with a score of 44 on The Grind. On hole #2 through #7, I went birdie, bogey, bogey, bogey, par, and bogey. That's another third of a round played just three over par. It goes to show how fine a line it is between scoring in the low eighties and the high nineties. The problem is, I'm always on the wrong side of that line! I can play six consecutive holes rather well. I can even do that twice in the same round. What I can't do is play 18 holes without a couple disasters that ruin everything.
The Grind is actually my favourite nine at Mill Run, so I was glad to have played well there. Overall, my driving of the ball is quite good. I'm hitting a pretty good number of fairways and when I miss one, it's usually just a slight miss. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my irons. I'm just not hitting greens, even with wedges in my hand. These misses are often slight as well, but my short game is not good enough to make up for them. Sure, I had a few up and downs during this round, but it's usually the exception. I feel like I'm playing well enough to shoot in the mid eighties, but it's not happening. Mistakes come out of the blue, and when they do, scores inflate out of control.
Score: 97
Putts: 32
Fairways: 9
Greens: 2
Penalties: 2
A weak drive on the first hole nevertheless found the safety of the fairway. Next, I pumped a long iron deep, but was a few yards into the right rough – enough to be blocked out of the green by some trees ahead. A perfectly placed pitch shot got me back in the fairway, 100 yards from the green. So far, not too bad, but then I pulled the approach near a creek that runs left of the green. I had an opening, but the ground was so soft that I duffed one a few yards ahead. The new lie was no better and I plunked one in a bunker. My seventh shot barely made it out. This was followed by a chip shot and two putts for a nasty score of 10. Oh my word!
The next six holes were smooth sailing, as I went bogey, par, par, par, bogey, and bogey. That's three over for one third of a round, which ain't bad at all. If I could string together two more of those, the result would be a final score of nine over, or 81. Alas, we all know it doesn't work that way. Eighteen holes is a lot of golf and it's hard to stay out of trouble for very long. The three consecutive pars came thanks to three up and down plays. Who knows, if I could just hit some greens, maybe there would be some birdies thrown in there.
A bonehead shot on Wheel #8 led to a triple bogey, but worse was yet to come. My drive faded a bit right and I was forced to pitch sideways to get back to the fairway. Instead of a 40-yard pitch, I pulled off an 8-yard duff and now I faced a longer shot than necessary over water. On Wheel #9, I pulled my drive sharply into the woods just ahead of the teeing area. After a penalty stroke and drop, I topped a 5-wood into the same trees. I found that ball on a soft lie and tried to pitch back to the fairway, except I struck it so well that it crossed the fairway into the trees on the other side. I had to take an unplayable, but my drop still left me blocked out by trees. With my sixth shot, I was back in the fairway. After a 3-iron and 5-wood combination, I was short and right of the green. I pitched on and 2-putt for a lovely score of 11. Oh my word!
Thankfully, there were no more shenanigans for the rest of the round. I followed up the 53 on the Wheel with a score of 44 on The Grind. On hole #2 through #7, I went birdie, bogey, bogey, bogey, par, and bogey. That's another third of a round played just three over par. It goes to show how fine a line it is between scoring in the low eighties and the high nineties. The problem is, I'm always on the wrong side of that line! I can play six consecutive holes rather well. I can even do that twice in the same round. What I can't do is play 18 holes without a couple disasters that ruin everything.
The Grind is actually my favourite nine at Mill Run, so I was glad to have played well there. Overall, my driving of the ball is quite good. I'm hitting a pretty good number of fairways and when I miss one, it's usually just a slight miss. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my irons. I'm just not hitting greens, even with wedges in my hand. These misses are often slight as well, but my short game is not good enough to make up for them. Sure, I had a few up and downs during this round, but it's usually the exception. I feel like I'm playing well enough to shoot in the mid eighties, but it's not happening. Mistakes come out of the blue, and when they do, scores inflate out of control.
Score: 97
Putts: 32
Fairways: 9
Greens: 2
Penalties: 2
May 13, 2017
Return to Grey Silo
I've played Grey Silo a handful of times, but not since it was taken over by Golf North a number of years ago. The Deepwoods Tour makes a stop at Grey Silo this year, so I pounced on an opportunity to play there and get reacquainted with the layout. Before the round began, I hit a bucket of balls on the range. I worked my way through a variety of clubs, experimenting mostly with club face angle and the effect it had on my shots.
Early in the round, I had the driver working pretty well. Through the first six holes, I hit three of five fairways. One miss was a slight pull, barely off the left side. The other miss was a ball that I topped really badly on hole #3. Luckily, I followed up immediately with an excellent 5-wood and ended up saving bogey. My second shots on holes #4 and #5, a pair of consecutive par-5 holes, were also excellent 5-wood blasts. Both set me up to approach the green from very close. Par and bogey were the result – the latter owing to a pitch shot that was fat and came up short.
The driver began to fail me on hole #7, a 291-yard par-4. I opted for driver in a bid to get as close to the green as possible, but I sliced it well right into a water hazard. An equally poor effort on hole #9 sliced into some marshland. While I saved bogey on hole #7, the best I could salvage on hole #9 was a double. The driver remained suspect for the remainder of the round. It included another topped ball on hole #14 and a water ball on hole #15. One exception was hole #17 – the third and final par-5 on the course. After nailing that fairway, I followed up with another deep 5-wood, leaving a 30-yard pitch to the green. I just missed the birdie putt, settling for par.
My trouble off the tee wasn't only with the driver. On hole #8, a par-3 that was playing a measly 140 yards to the flag, I pushed a 9-iron just enough to find a green side bunker. Okay, splash out and 2-putt at worst, right? Wrong! I have been struggling with bunker shots for years now, usually with an unintended “clean pick.” I didn't want to let that happen, so I tried to hit a little more sand than usual. The first attempt hit the grassy slope beside the bunker and rolled back in. The second attempt did the same. Only the third attempt emerged safely, though nowhere near the hole. A 2-putt finished things off for a triple-bogey. On hole #16, a 160-yard par-3, I pushed a 7-iron enough to land in a pond. After a penalty stroke and another approach shot, I 2-putt for double-bogey.
In summary, my misses off the tee were very costly. It's one thing to miss a fairway, but when you top a ball or lose one in a water hazard, you are either giving up a lot of real estate or directly giving up strokes in the form of penalties. I had five penalties during this round, which is far too many. There were a lot of good moments during this round, but they are not reflected in the final score. Eighteen holes is a lot of golf and I just can't seem to sustain good play over such a long period.
Score: 96
Putts: 34
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
Penalties: 5
Early in the round, I had the driver working pretty well. Through the first six holes, I hit three of five fairways. One miss was a slight pull, barely off the left side. The other miss was a ball that I topped really badly on hole #3. Luckily, I followed up immediately with an excellent 5-wood and ended up saving bogey. My second shots on holes #4 and #5, a pair of consecutive par-5 holes, were also excellent 5-wood blasts. Both set me up to approach the green from very close. Par and bogey were the result – the latter owing to a pitch shot that was fat and came up short.
The driver began to fail me on hole #7, a 291-yard par-4. I opted for driver in a bid to get as close to the green as possible, but I sliced it well right into a water hazard. An equally poor effort on hole #9 sliced into some marshland. While I saved bogey on hole #7, the best I could salvage on hole #9 was a double. The driver remained suspect for the remainder of the round. It included another topped ball on hole #14 and a water ball on hole #15. One exception was hole #17 – the third and final par-5 on the course. After nailing that fairway, I followed up with another deep 5-wood, leaving a 30-yard pitch to the green. I just missed the birdie putt, settling for par.
My trouble off the tee wasn't only with the driver. On hole #8, a par-3 that was playing a measly 140 yards to the flag, I pushed a 9-iron just enough to find a green side bunker. Okay, splash out and 2-putt at worst, right? Wrong! I have been struggling with bunker shots for years now, usually with an unintended “clean pick.” I didn't want to let that happen, so I tried to hit a little more sand than usual. The first attempt hit the grassy slope beside the bunker and rolled back in. The second attempt did the same. Only the third attempt emerged safely, though nowhere near the hole. A 2-putt finished things off for a triple-bogey. On hole #16, a 160-yard par-3, I pushed a 7-iron enough to land in a pond. After a penalty stroke and another approach shot, I 2-putt for double-bogey.
In summary, my misses off the tee were very costly. It's one thing to miss a fairway, but when you top a ball or lose one in a water hazard, you are either giving up a lot of real estate or directly giving up strokes in the form of penalties. I had five penalties during this round, which is far too many. There were a lot of good moments during this round, but they are not reflected in the final score. Eighteen holes is a lot of golf and I just can't seem to sustain good play over such a long period.
Score: 96
Putts: 34
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
Penalties: 5
May 11, 2017
More Normal at Bradford
Rain and cold. We've had a lot of it recently and the forecast is for more of the same, so I ventured out on the only dry day we've had or will have any time soon. I knew the ground would be soft from earlier rainfall, but when you have no other choice, the decision is easy. I booked a tee time at the familiar grounds of Bradford Highlands and off I went.
My driving in the first two rounds of the season was not terrible, but misses were to both sides. I hit more fairways at Bradford (8/14), but more importantly, my misses were almost entirely to the left side. This is actually a good thing. When you miss to both sides, it's because your adjustments are much too dramatic. You end up swinging wildly from one extreme to the other. When you miss consistently to one side, it only takes a very slight tweak to straighten things out. Furthermore, my misses at Bradford were just a few yards off the fairway, leaving unobstructed second shots, albeit from the rough. The one exception was also the only drive that I sliced to the right side. It came on hole #9, a par-5. Left of the fairway on this hole is out of bounds, which may have played a factor. The wind was also blowing strong from left to right.
I focused on one thing with the driver swing. Usually, I get relatively little spine rotation during the backswing. Instead, the arms take over and that's what takes the swing off plane. To adjust, I increased the spine rotation just a little bit, while quieting the arms significantly. The end result was a shorter overall backswing, even though my spine was rotating more than usual. It seemed to work at Bradford, so I'll continue doing this in the rounds to come. The key will be not to fall back into old habits.
My iron play at Bradford still left a lot to be desired, but it was improved over the previous two rounds. I had been pushing everything way right, owing to a club face that was far too open at impact. Early in the round, I continued this pattern. My 5-iron from the tee on hole #2 finished flag high, but was 20 yards right of the green. My 8-iron from the fairway on hole #4 was off by about the same distance. At that point, I resolved to fix the problem just by buckling down and closing that club face. I did so at address, so I didn't have to change anything else about the swing. Lo and behold, I didn't push any more iron shots to the right. I did pull a couple, but ever so slightly, so nothing to be too concerned about.
Though my iron play was better, I still wasn't hitting any greens in regulation. It seems I always found a way to trickle off the putting surface. After nailing the fairway on hole #6, a par-4, I had about 110 yards to the back pin position. The sand wedge approach was on line, but landed two yards behind the stick and trickled off. From the fairway on hole #7, another par-4, I pulled a lob wedge left of the flag. The ball landed on the green, but had enough side spin to veer into the left side bunker upon release. It was more of the same on the back nine. I thinned an approach shot on hole #14, causing the ball to release to the back fringe of the green. On hole #15, a short par-4, another wedge approach trickled off the back of the green, tantalizingly close to the back pin position. At least that time, I got up and down for par.
It was mostly a day full of bogeys, with a couple of pars offset by a couple of double-bogeys. I took a triple on the opening hole, as I was rushing on the tee after a twosome suggested I play ahead of them. I hate when that happens! I topped the drive attempt, but followed up with a nice 5-wood. From the soggy fairway, my wedge shot came up short in a pond. This was more a result of the situation than with my ability, so I didn't feel too bad. Overall, this felt like a reasonably good or “normal” round for me, so I'm encouraged that I'm back in the swing of things after the lengthy winter layoff.
Score: 94
Putts: 36
Fairways: 8
Greens: 1
Penalties: 2
My driving in the first two rounds of the season was not terrible, but misses were to both sides. I hit more fairways at Bradford (8/14), but more importantly, my misses were almost entirely to the left side. This is actually a good thing. When you miss to both sides, it's because your adjustments are much too dramatic. You end up swinging wildly from one extreme to the other. When you miss consistently to one side, it only takes a very slight tweak to straighten things out. Furthermore, my misses at Bradford were just a few yards off the fairway, leaving unobstructed second shots, albeit from the rough. The one exception was also the only drive that I sliced to the right side. It came on hole #9, a par-5. Left of the fairway on this hole is out of bounds, which may have played a factor. The wind was also blowing strong from left to right.
I focused on one thing with the driver swing. Usually, I get relatively little spine rotation during the backswing. Instead, the arms take over and that's what takes the swing off plane. To adjust, I increased the spine rotation just a little bit, while quieting the arms significantly. The end result was a shorter overall backswing, even though my spine was rotating more than usual. It seemed to work at Bradford, so I'll continue doing this in the rounds to come. The key will be not to fall back into old habits.
My iron play at Bradford still left a lot to be desired, but it was improved over the previous two rounds. I had been pushing everything way right, owing to a club face that was far too open at impact. Early in the round, I continued this pattern. My 5-iron from the tee on hole #2 finished flag high, but was 20 yards right of the green. My 8-iron from the fairway on hole #4 was off by about the same distance. At that point, I resolved to fix the problem just by buckling down and closing that club face. I did so at address, so I didn't have to change anything else about the swing. Lo and behold, I didn't push any more iron shots to the right. I did pull a couple, but ever so slightly, so nothing to be too concerned about.
Though my iron play was better, I still wasn't hitting any greens in regulation. It seems I always found a way to trickle off the putting surface. After nailing the fairway on hole #6, a par-4, I had about 110 yards to the back pin position. The sand wedge approach was on line, but landed two yards behind the stick and trickled off. From the fairway on hole #7, another par-4, I pulled a lob wedge left of the flag. The ball landed on the green, but had enough side spin to veer into the left side bunker upon release. It was more of the same on the back nine. I thinned an approach shot on hole #14, causing the ball to release to the back fringe of the green. On hole #15, a short par-4, another wedge approach trickled off the back of the green, tantalizingly close to the back pin position. At least that time, I got up and down for par.
It was mostly a day full of bogeys, with a couple of pars offset by a couple of double-bogeys. I took a triple on the opening hole, as I was rushing on the tee after a twosome suggested I play ahead of them. I hate when that happens! I topped the drive attempt, but followed up with a nice 5-wood. From the soggy fairway, my wedge shot came up short in a pond. This was more a result of the situation than with my ability, so I didn't feel too bad. Overall, this felt like a reasonably good or “normal” round for me, so I'm encouraged that I'm back in the swing of things after the lengthy winter layoff.
Score: 94
Putts: 36
Fairways: 8
Greens: 1
Penalties: 2
May 02, 2017
Fore Right at Shawneeki
Oh man, the winter rust is severe indeed! I played my second round of the season at Shawneeki Golf Club and the results were not pretty. My short game was brutal, as it was during the first round of the year. Unfortunately, my iron play was worse, and this was reflected in my overall score. Most of my misses were to the right side. For some reason, I was keeping the club face way open at impact, resulting in severely pushed shots. Even when I reminded myself to close the face up, I could not execute. It was as if I was protecting against a hook on every single shot. These misses were not even close and left me in some bad positions.
On the front nine, I hit only two fairways with my drives. Both of those were on par-5 holes. On hole #2, the drive was wasted when my second shot with a 7-iron was one of those big pushes to the right. I actually recovered to hit the green in regulation with my third, using a pitching wedge. After a 2-putt, I made par. On hole #8, I wasn't so lucky. With an uneven stance in the fairway, I topped my second shot badly. Trying again, I hit the big push way to the right. The green was reachable with my fourth shot, but my 9-iron started well right of my intended line once again. The ball found a water hazard and my fate was sealed. I finished with a triple-bogey.
All other shots on the front nine with the driver were straight pulls. I seem to pull my first shot on this course every single time. From amidst the trees, all you can do from that position is pitch one back to the fairway. Though I hit a good 8-iron next to just off the green, a chip and two putts earned a mere double-bogey. I pulled a tee shot with the driver on hole #5 as well. The ball smacked some trees just ahead of the teeing ground and dropped straight down. From there, all I could do was pitch the ball to the forward teeing area. I had essentially handed over two strokes en route to a triple bogey. It was a similar story on hole #6. A pulled drive to the trees was followed by a sideways pitch back to the fairway. I was handing over strokes with alarming regularity.
When I left the driver in the bag, an iron usually got pushed well to the right. It happened with a 4-iron off the tee on hole 4. Chalk up another sideways pitch back to the fairway. I did manage to save bogey that time. It happened with a pitching wedge on hole #7, a 131-yard par-3. Remarkably, I got up and down that time for par. Finally, it happened with the 4-iron again on hole #9, a 182-yard par-3 over water. This time, there was no recovery. The ball was lost in the water hazard and I was forced to take a penalty. I made a couple of decent shots just to scrape out a double-bogey.
I had hopes of turning it around on the back nine, but a triple, quad, triple start on holes #10 through #12 dashed those hopes pretty quickly. I hit a worm burner off the tee on the first of these, then topped the subsequent attempt. When a 6-iron flew well in the direction of the green, it landed in a front bunker. It took two shots to get out, as the first try was picked much too clean and rammed into the lip of the bunker. I overshot the green on the next hole, as I tried again to emerge from a greenside bunker. The worst part is that my next shot – a bump into a mound – was too hot and rolled straight across into the same bunker I was in a moment earlier. On the next hole, a giant push off the tee with the 4-iron left me little hope of a good result.
And so the stage was set for my best shot of the day. Hole #13 is a 354-yard par-4 with a 90 degree dogleg to the left. The entire right side is out of bounds and a fairly large pond lies practically in the middle of the fairway. In every other visit to Shawneeki, I aimed for the patch of fairway lying between the water on the left and OB on the right. It's a shot fraught with peril, but what other choice is there? Surprisingly, I've had pretty good success finding that bit of fairway. From that position, you have about a 150-yard shot remaining over the edge of the pond to a severely elevated green. Since the day had been going so poorly, I decided to try something new. I aimed at the centre of the pond and resolved to see if I could carry it entirely. Not fearing any result, I swung at will. The result was a 275-yard laser that easily cleared the pond and released to the right side of the fairway. I had just a 50-yard pitch shot to the green up above. Wow, I have been playing this hole incorrectly all along! I did find the green with my wedge, but happened to 3-putt for a bogey.
I made par on hole #14, a lovely par-3, thanks to a solid 8-iron off the tee. It was one of the few that didn't start out to the right. Good thing too, since anything out in that direction would surely find the creek that protects this green complex. After a perfect drive on hole #17, I topped a 6-iron, plunking the ball into a pond that bisects the fairway. It was one mistake, but it cost me two strokes en route to a double-bogey. Another perfect drive was deep and straight on hole #16, leaving just 210 yards for my second shot into this par-5. The green is a little bit elevated, so I went for it with a 5-wood. Unfortunately, my stance was again not level and I topped the shot badly. When I finally reached the green area, I was in a bunker. I got out safely only because the green is huge. A 3-putt from distance produced another double-bogey.
That's the kind of day it was. I made par on hole #17, but finished with a triple-bogey on hole #18. My drive was perfect, except for the fact that it was too long and through the end of the fairway. The ball must have ricocheted off a tree, because I found it well right of where it landed. The last hole at Shawneeki is a bit of an awkward one. You have to lay back on the tee shot and play a longer second shot over water. I had branches impeding my backswing and later plunked one off a fluffy lie into the water. Very little went right on this occasion.
Hopefully, this is just winter rust. Either way, I don't like 100+ rounds at all!
Score: 105
Putts: 33
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
Penalties: 4
On the front nine, I hit only two fairways with my drives. Both of those were on par-5 holes. On hole #2, the drive was wasted when my second shot with a 7-iron was one of those big pushes to the right. I actually recovered to hit the green in regulation with my third, using a pitching wedge. After a 2-putt, I made par. On hole #8, I wasn't so lucky. With an uneven stance in the fairway, I topped my second shot badly. Trying again, I hit the big push way to the right. The green was reachable with my fourth shot, but my 9-iron started well right of my intended line once again. The ball found a water hazard and my fate was sealed. I finished with a triple-bogey.
All other shots on the front nine with the driver were straight pulls. I seem to pull my first shot on this course every single time. From amidst the trees, all you can do from that position is pitch one back to the fairway. Though I hit a good 8-iron next to just off the green, a chip and two putts earned a mere double-bogey. I pulled a tee shot with the driver on hole #5 as well. The ball smacked some trees just ahead of the teeing ground and dropped straight down. From there, all I could do was pitch the ball to the forward teeing area. I had essentially handed over two strokes en route to a triple bogey. It was a similar story on hole #6. A pulled drive to the trees was followed by a sideways pitch back to the fairway. I was handing over strokes with alarming regularity.
When I left the driver in the bag, an iron usually got pushed well to the right. It happened with a 4-iron off the tee on hole 4. Chalk up another sideways pitch back to the fairway. I did manage to save bogey that time. It happened with a pitching wedge on hole #7, a 131-yard par-3. Remarkably, I got up and down that time for par. Finally, it happened with the 4-iron again on hole #9, a 182-yard par-3 over water. This time, there was no recovery. The ball was lost in the water hazard and I was forced to take a penalty. I made a couple of decent shots just to scrape out a double-bogey.
I had hopes of turning it around on the back nine, but a triple, quad, triple start on holes #10 through #12 dashed those hopes pretty quickly. I hit a worm burner off the tee on the first of these, then topped the subsequent attempt. When a 6-iron flew well in the direction of the green, it landed in a front bunker. It took two shots to get out, as the first try was picked much too clean and rammed into the lip of the bunker. I overshot the green on the next hole, as I tried again to emerge from a greenside bunker. The worst part is that my next shot – a bump into a mound – was too hot and rolled straight across into the same bunker I was in a moment earlier. On the next hole, a giant push off the tee with the 4-iron left me little hope of a good result.
And so the stage was set for my best shot of the day. Hole #13 is a 354-yard par-4 with a 90 degree dogleg to the left. The entire right side is out of bounds and a fairly large pond lies practically in the middle of the fairway. In every other visit to Shawneeki, I aimed for the patch of fairway lying between the water on the left and OB on the right. It's a shot fraught with peril, but what other choice is there? Surprisingly, I've had pretty good success finding that bit of fairway. From that position, you have about a 150-yard shot remaining over the edge of the pond to a severely elevated green. Since the day had been going so poorly, I decided to try something new. I aimed at the centre of the pond and resolved to see if I could carry it entirely. Not fearing any result, I swung at will. The result was a 275-yard laser that easily cleared the pond and released to the right side of the fairway. I had just a 50-yard pitch shot to the green up above. Wow, I have been playing this hole incorrectly all along! I did find the green with my wedge, but happened to 3-putt for a bogey.
I made par on hole #14, a lovely par-3, thanks to a solid 8-iron off the tee. It was one of the few that didn't start out to the right. Good thing too, since anything out in that direction would surely find the creek that protects this green complex. After a perfect drive on hole #17, I topped a 6-iron, plunking the ball into a pond that bisects the fairway. It was one mistake, but it cost me two strokes en route to a double-bogey. Another perfect drive was deep and straight on hole #16, leaving just 210 yards for my second shot into this par-5. The green is a little bit elevated, so I went for it with a 5-wood. Unfortunately, my stance was again not level and I topped the shot badly. When I finally reached the green area, I was in a bunker. I got out safely only because the green is huge. A 3-putt from distance produced another double-bogey.
That's the kind of day it was. I made par on hole #17, but finished with a triple-bogey on hole #18. My drive was perfect, except for the fact that it was too long and through the end of the fairway. The ball must have ricocheted off a tree, because I found it well right of where it landed. The last hole at Shawneeki is a bit of an awkward one. You have to lay back on the tee shot and play a longer second shot over water. I had branches impeding my backswing and later plunked one off a fluffy lie into the water. Very little went right on this occasion.
Hopefully, this is just winter rust. Either way, I don't like 100+ rounds at all!
Score: 105
Putts: 33
Fairways: 6
Greens: 4
Penalties: 4
April 24, 2017
So it Begins at Twenty Valley
Almost five months since I last touched a golf club, I booked the 2017 season opener at Twenty Valley Golf & Country Club. The temperature was amazing for early April – so much so that I could have played in shorts and without sleeves, though I didn't. Unfortunately, the wind conditions were less ideal. Wind speed was above 60 km/hr and I'm not talking about gusts. The wind was stiff and steady. I couldn't even keep my hat on my head.
Considering I had not swung a club in ages, I was reasonably happy with my driving. My first drive was a slight pull, the second was a bigger pull, and the third was an absolutely massive one. On hole #4, an uphill par-4, a pull would have been disastrous, but I picked the occasion to hit my first fairway of the day. On hole #5, a dogleg right, I laced a drive right over the inside corner. It was deep enough that it ran through the opposite side of the fairway, but I was in prime position and very pleased with the shot. I missed the sixth fairway with my first slice of the day, but then hit the next three fairways with deep straight drives, wind be damned.
Driving got a little loose for the remainder of the round, with most misses being slices to the right. One exception was another slight pull on hole #15, a long par-4. Overall, I tallied 4 pulled drives, 4 slices, and 6 drives right down the pipe. That ain't bad, I suppose, but an equal number of misses to both sides highlights just how difficult it can be to make adjustments in this diabolical game. I used a 5-wood off the tee on hole #16, a 200-yard par-3 that was playing right into the wind. It was a terrible slice, though I made a great recovery shot and almost saved par. Two holes earlier, on a long par-5, I hit two spectacular 5-woods into the same wind, so go figure. Bogey was also the result on that hole.
Full iron shots were a bit of a mixed bag. My best was the tee shot on hole #9, a par-3 over water from an elevated green. The flag was at 170 yards, which would normally be a 6-iron for me, possibly even a 7-iron with the elevation change. However, the hole was pointing straight into the wind. I opted for a 3-iron and hit a beauty, flag high to the left side of the green. A solid lag putt and tap-in earned my only par of the day!
Other iron shots were not as precise. From 100 yards and the middle of the fairway on hole #4, I flew a sand wedge over the back of the green. From the same distance in the left rough on hole #5, I caught the soft ground a tad fat and the ball travelled half the intended distance. On hole #7, a 150-yard par-3, my pitching wedge was flag high, but left of the green. From 170 yards and the fairway on hole #8, I hit a low iron short and right. These were useful shots in terms of advancing the ball, but they put pressure on my short game, which was bound to be rusty after the winter layoff.
And the short game is really where I lost a lot of strokes. On two occasions when attempting short pitch shots, I practically shanked the ball. I'm not sure if the ball actually hit the hosel or if the club face was way open, but either way, the ball squirted well to the right – a couple of wasted shots. On another occasion, I pitched the ball a little too deep and it rolled right off the green. To make matters worse, I stubbed the comebacker and barely got on the putting surface. Mistakes like these led to double-bogeys every time.
On the back nine, I tried to bump a 40-yard shot into a sloped green, but pulled it badly and rolled off the back. It was costly because there is a 20-foot drop behind that particular green. I had another shank-like shot on hole #18 after hitting a perfectly placed drive. I was just trying to hit a 100-yard shot to give me a nice distance into the green with my third. The ball travelled 30 yards and was now on a severe down slope. More wasted shots. I also collected four 3-putts on the back nine. Days earlier, I watched the pros at Augusta barely touch a ball to move it 30 feet. Maybe it affected me, because I left a bunch of long lag putts woefully short.
In the end, I squeaked out a final score of 99. By no means is that good, but it felt better than the score indicates. The feel shots will come around with a few more reps, but my full shots were pretty decent.
Score: 99
Putts: 38
Fairways: 5
Greens: 2
Penalties: 1
Considering I had not swung a club in ages, I was reasonably happy with my driving. My first drive was a slight pull, the second was a bigger pull, and the third was an absolutely massive one. On hole #4, an uphill par-4, a pull would have been disastrous, but I picked the occasion to hit my first fairway of the day. On hole #5, a dogleg right, I laced a drive right over the inside corner. It was deep enough that it ran through the opposite side of the fairway, but I was in prime position and very pleased with the shot. I missed the sixth fairway with my first slice of the day, but then hit the next three fairways with deep straight drives, wind be damned.
Driving got a little loose for the remainder of the round, with most misses being slices to the right. One exception was another slight pull on hole #15, a long par-4. Overall, I tallied 4 pulled drives, 4 slices, and 6 drives right down the pipe. That ain't bad, I suppose, but an equal number of misses to both sides highlights just how difficult it can be to make adjustments in this diabolical game. I used a 5-wood off the tee on hole #16, a 200-yard par-3 that was playing right into the wind. It was a terrible slice, though I made a great recovery shot and almost saved par. Two holes earlier, on a long par-5, I hit two spectacular 5-woods into the same wind, so go figure. Bogey was also the result on that hole.
Full iron shots were a bit of a mixed bag. My best was the tee shot on hole #9, a par-3 over water from an elevated green. The flag was at 170 yards, which would normally be a 6-iron for me, possibly even a 7-iron with the elevation change. However, the hole was pointing straight into the wind. I opted for a 3-iron and hit a beauty, flag high to the left side of the green. A solid lag putt and tap-in earned my only par of the day!
Other iron shots were not as precise. From 100 yards and the middle of the fairway on hole #4, I flew a sand wedge over the back of the green. From the same distance in the left rough on hole #5, I caught the soft ground a tad fat and the ball travelled half the intended distance. On hole #7, a 150-yard par-3, my pitching wedge was flag high, but left of the green. From 170 yards and the fairway on hole #8, I hit a low iron short and right. These were useful shots in terms of advancing the ball, but they put pressure on my short game, which was bound to be rusty after the winter layoff.
And the short game is really where I lost a lot of strokes. On two occasions when attempting short pitch shots, I practically shanked the ball. I'm not sure if the ball actually hit the hosel or if the club face was way open, but either way, the ball squirted well to the right – a couple of wasted shots. On another occasion, I pitched the ball a little too deep and it rolled right off the green. To make matters worse, I stubbed the comebacker and barely got on the putting surface. Mistakes like these led to double-bogeys every time.
On the back nine, I tried to bump a 40-yard shot into a sloped green, but pulled it badly and rolled off the back. It was costly because there is a 20-foot drop behind that particular green. I had another shank-like shot on hole #18 after hitting a perfectly placed drive. I was just trying to hit a 100-yard shot to give me a nice distance into the green with my third. The ball travelled 30 yards and was now on a severe down slope. More wasted shots. I also collected four 3-putts on the back nine. Days earlier, I watched the pros at Augusta barely touch a ball to move it 30 feet. Maybe it affected me, because I left a bunch of long lag putts woefully short.
In the end, I squeaked out a final score of 99. By no means is that good, but it felt better than the score indicates. The feel shots will come around with a few more reps, but my full shots were pretty decent.
Score: 99
Putts: 38
Fairways: 5
Greens: 2
Penalties: 1
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