Oh, What a Tangled Web we Weave

More than two centuries after they were published, the magnificently alliterative words of Walter Scott remain heavily quoted. So well known are these words from the epic poem, Marmion, that the subsequent line, “When first we practice to deceive!” need not be mentioned to convey the intended message. All of which has little to do with my most recent round of golf, except perhaps that the game often feels like a tangled web, ensnaring and frustrating its helpless practitioners.

Appropriately, my last round of golf took place at Tangle Creek Golf Club, located in Barrie, Ontario. I played there once before, but it was way back in 2006. I consulted my blog entry for that round to see if I could glean anything useful, but my effort was fruitless. Considering that I described my play as “pure garbage,” it's no surprise that I was rather tight-lipped about the details.

I'm happy to say that things were quite a bit better this time around. It was my second round of the season, thanks to a week of remarkably mild weather. Teeing off in the mid afternoon, I got off to a very hot start. I striped my drive to the fairway on the opening par-5, then followed it up with a green in regulation. In fact, I managed to do the same on the next two holes as well. Through the first four holes, I amassed two pars and two bogeys.

On hole #5, the tees were playing well up. I should have had no trouble clearing a creek that crosses the fairway, but I caught the ball terribly thin and off the heel. Sure enough, I ended up in the creek. It was my only bad drive of the front nine, but it was costly. After taking a drop, my path to the green was completely blocked by a large tree 40 yards away. A low punch attempt smacked the trunk and I had to play the same type of shot a second time. Triple bogey was the result.

After a magnificent par on hole #6 and an equally impressive drive on hole #7, the wheels came off. My drive was so good that I ran through the end of the fairway on this sharp dogleg right. My ball was on a mound well below my feet. I wanted to hit a wedge about 100 yards, which would set up an approach into the par-5 from about 150 yards away. I chose a line left of my target, as the lie has a tendency to push balls to the right. Surprisingly, the ball travelled precisely on the line I took, smacking a tree 50 yards away.

Now I was in the rough just off the fairway, with a slightly downhill lie. I was 190 yards from the green. There was no way to go for it, as the fairway sloped down to a creek in the valley, before rising sharply on the other side to an elevated green. The prudent play was to pay the price for the poor second shot and just pitch the ball to the 150-yard stick. I attempted that shot, but completely duffed it, sending the ball a mere five yards ahead. Conditions weren't much better for my next shot, though I was in the fairway now. I hit a 4-iron thin, barely clearing the creek. From there, I hit a series of wedge shots ridiculously short. A 3-putt ensued, bringing my score on the hole to a pathetic 10.

A topped 6-iron off the tee on hole #8 was no doubt due to the frustration that carried over from the previous hole. This is a par-3 with a forced carry over bush. I was forced to declare my ball unplayable and as a result, ended up with a triple-bogey. I finished the front nine with a score of 51, in spite of such a promising start.

On the back nine, it finally happened. In the first round of the season, I was guarding against the straight pull off the tee with the driver. As a result, I hit quite a few slices, both high and low. At the start of this round, I told myself not to worry about the straight pull. The result was a lot of pretty baby fades. On hole #10 however, I pulled a wicked one straight into the fescue that abounds left of the fairway. I did the same thing on hole #17, pulling a vicious drive into a massive waste bunker. In both cases, the penalty wasn't very severe, so I guess it wasn't a very big deal.

I strung together a bunch of bogeys on the back nine before succumbing to a triple-bogey on hole #14. The problem this time was sand. A solid drive carried a couple of ponds to the right rough. From merely 90 yards out, I came up short and landed in a bunker. My first bunker shot was hit fat, while my second was thin and scooted over the green. Just like that an easy hole becomes a nightmare. I mis-hit a couple more bunker shots before the round was over. I was fat both times.

On the final hole, a par-5 with a severe dogleg right, my birdie chip from just off the back of the green stopped two inches right of the cup. That would have given me a score of 99, which wouldn't be bad for this course, especially after my long layoff. As it was, I finished with the frustrating score of 100. Despite the score, I felt like many things went well. I drove the ball much better than I did the previous week, my irons were solid, as was my putting. I had some brain freezes with short pitch shots and with bunker shots, which I'll need to avoid in the future.

Score: 100

Putts: 36

Fairways: 5

Greens: 3

Penalties: 3

Here We Go Again

I was planning to visit the golf simulator in order to knock the rust from my golf swing after a lengthy winter layoff. Remember, I haven't taken a single golf swing since mid September. However, with mild weather prompting local golf clubs to start the season early, I figured, “Why play on a simulator when I can experience the real thing?”

So I headed out to Century Pines Golf Club, which was the scene of my final round last year. I've done this before; my very first post on this blog back in 2006 recounted the story of a season opener at Banty's Roost Golf Club, months after closing out the previous season there. As was the case back then, you could say I was looking for revenge of sorts.

The difference this time was the length of the layoff between rounds. It has been a full six months since I last challenged the fairways and greens, easily my longest period of golf inactivity in many years. I was a little apprehensive about playing a round because of the uncertainty surrounding my current skill level, but I was also realistic about my expectations.

As it turned out, conditions were fantastic. The temperature was in the high teens and there wasn't a cloud in the sky for the entire round. The course was just a tad soggy in a few spots, but way better than I expected. Teeing areas, fairways and greens were all very consistent, resulting in a mid-summer type atmosphere.

As far as my game, I got off to a miserable start. I played the first two holes nine over par! I teed the ball up too high on hole #1 and hit one off the toe, sending the ball less than 100 yards to the opposite fairway. I topped a 3-wood, then blasted the next into a pond. I walked off the first green with a 4-putt. I took two shots to barely get out of a fairway bunker on hole #2, then chipped miserably near the green. Well, what else could I expect? I had to just laugh it off.

On holes #3 through #9, I began to regain some feel for the game, though many bad shots continued. On hole #3, a lengthy lag putt allowed me to salvage bogey. A nifty chip on hole #4 saved a double-bogey. A 3-putt spoiled a good approach on the par-3 fifth hole, resulting in bogey. And so it continued for the remainder of the opening nine holes. I was shooting 58 at the turn, but feeling like some parts of the game were coming back to me.

On the back nine, things actually went reasonably well. I nailed the putting surface on hole #10 for my second green in regulation of the day. My first par of the season was the result. The approach was with the 60 degree wedge, a sky-high shot that cleared some very tall trees. A similar shot on hole #12 enabled me to save bogey. Another bogey followed on the par-3 thirteenth hole, thanks to a pretty chip shot from the edge of a water hazard. Hole #15 yielded a par, thanks to a lovely up and down from 40 yards away.

Hole #16 was my best of the day. This is easily the hardest hole on the course. A straight drive of 200-210 yards to the centre or right side of the fairway is required to set up an approach to the green. That approach must carry a creek in front of the green, which is also protected on the right side and behind by a large pond. I hit a good 4-iron off the tee, but it found the left side of the fairway, where an approach to the green is blocked by some trees. I wisely chipped the ball 40 yards ahead, leaving a 120-yard shot to the putting surface. I hit a good one next, then 2-putt for bogey.

Through seven holes on the back nine, I was seven over par. That's pretty good. Unfortunately, I stumbled on hole #17, which is becoming a nemesis of mine. The tee shot has me totally psyched out. I skipped the ball over a pond that lies barely in front of the teeing area. The ball made it to the bank, only to slide back into the hazard. I ended up with a disappointing triple-bogey.

On hole #18 I hit my only good drive of the day, a low trajectory blast of about 260 yards to the centre of the fairway. Next, I flushed a 7-iron to just in front of a creek that crosses the fairway in front of the green. From 100 yards away, I hit my sand wedge right on line. When the ball was in the air, I thought it would be all over the pin. I was shocked when it landed on a slope four yards short of the green. A good chip caught the edge of the fringe, which propelled the ball forward, way past the hole. Facing a tricky downhill situation, I 3-putt for a double-bogey.

Overall, the worst part of my game was the driver. I topped some attempted drives, hit others extremely thin, and even sliced a bunch. Surprisingly, the straight pull didn't happen a single time. I topped a couple of balls with the fairway woods and sliced a couple with the same clubs. I blocked a couple of iron shots out to the right, while hitting some others nicely. Apart from a couple of early mishits, my wedge play was actually good. My chipping and pitching were good and my putting was mostly adequate.

Score: 106
Putts: 35
Fairways: 3
Greens: 2
Penalties: 5

2011: Year in Review

It's the middle of November and I haven't golfed in two months. I took advantage of some mild weather today to install winter tires on my car. That's as good a sign as any that the golf season is finished here in southern Ontario, so let's take a look back at how the year transpired.

It was a very different year, to say the least. To begin with, I played just 31 rounds, which is my lowest total since 2005, when I started taking golf more seriously and managed to tally 30 rounds. For comparison, consider that in the intervening years from 2006-2010, I played 44, 44, 45, 46, and 56 rounds respectively. I'm still averaging about 44 rounds over the last two years, but clearly there was a dip this season.

One reason for the dip was the fact that I played less competitive golf this year. In 2008, I played on the now defunct Duffer's Dream Tour, while the last couple of years I played about ten rounds per season on the GTA Amateur Tour. I had hoped to play at least a few times on the GTA Amateur Tour this season, but life got in the way, not to mention the fact that my game went south for much of the season. Unless I can be competitive on any given day, there really isn't much point to playing on the tour.

The only competitive golf I played this year was with the Deepwoods Golf Association. As the Deepwoods champion in 2008 and a runner-up in both 2007 and 2010, I felt like I knew how to compete in this league. Unfortunately, I got off to a poor start in the opening round at Copetown Woods. I fired an encouraging 89 in Round 2 at Peninsula Lakes, but faltered again in Round 3 at Oakridge. One can survive a bad round in Deepwoods, but two bad ones are enough to put you out of the running.

While I lost a chance to compete for the crown, Deepwoods was not a complete loss for me. In the final round of the season at Willow Valley, I shot a really nice score of 83, easily my best of the year. In fact, it was my best round of the last three seasons and only two strokes off my personal best. That saved my whole year, no question about it. The fact that it came after a woeful performance on the Deepwoods Tour at Dragon's Fire made it even more special. My round of 126 at Dragon's Fire was a real low point. It was the worst score I posted since starting this blog in 2006. It may even be my worst ever, but I don't have the records to verify that.

Every year, I like to seek out a few new courses to play. In 2011, I made my first ever visits to Turtle Creek, Turnberry, Westview, and Humber Valley. Turtle Creek and Turnberry are relatively new courses, so it's no surprise that I hadn't played them before. I probably won't be back to Turtle Creek, but I will definitely play at Turnberry again. Yes, it's a par-3 course, but from a design perspective it's as nice as almost any course out there.

Westview and Humber Valley are old courses, so it was somewhat surprising that I had never played there. Humber Valley was never on my list because of its short length, but it is a decent track. Westview is a championship calibre course with 54 holes. I'll be back for the right price.

Actually, Westview was the course I played most often this year. I played eight rounds there, including 3 rounds (or 54 holes) in a single day! That truly was a marathon and, I suppose, a highlight of the season. My next most-visited courses this year were King's Forest and Century Pines, where I played 3 rounds apiece. Hidden Lake and Peninsula Lakes were the only other courses I played more than once, each hosting a pair of visits.

Overall, I was disappointed with the season. Instead of improving, my game got worse. My handicap factor, which leveled off in 2010 after dropping steadily for a couple of seasons, shot back up to the high teens. I closed the season with a 17.4R factor, the R representing the fact that the factor is reduced due to some good tournament scores on my scoring record. Those happened late in 2010, so they will soon fall off my record and my factor will inch up a point or so.

It's hard to pinpoint why my game took a turn for the worse. Mostly, I was hooking irons and pulling my drives. I missed very few shots to the right side this year. I can't even remember a single sliced shot or one that was pushed to the right side. I know that my tendency is still to come over the top with my swing. In my early golf days, I would pair that over-the-top swing with an open club face, producing a consistent slice. These days, I am more likely to pair it with a closed face. There were times when I straightened things out, but I was battling this all season. Perhaps the best adjustment I made was to add some wrist cock to my backswing. I did this late in the year and it seemed to help me keep the club on plane. It allowed me to shorten the backswing while maintaining the same power. That will be my swing thought next year.

So, that's about it. Let's hope that 2012 turns out better than 2011.

Peace.

Joyride Ends at Century Pines

It was good while it lasted, which is a way of saying it didn't last very long at all. The joyride that followed my season best round at Willow Valley came to a screeching halt just four days later at Century Pines Golf Club. This round was supposed to provide retribution for the injustice that took place at the same course one week earlier. The intervening triumph at Willow Valley had emboldened me to seek revenge. As it turned out, I emerged with even more injustice, instead of the requital I so desperately sought.

My last visit to Century Pines produced a massive blowup on hole #1, which immediately ruined the entire round. I spent the drive to the course devising a strategy to prevent this from happening again. I was thrown for a loop, therefore, when the gentleman in the pro shop informed me that I would be playing the back nine first. I resolved to treat this as a positive, figuring I could warm up fully on the back nine before applying my strategy to hole #1.

I got off to a shaky start over the first three holes, but recovered remarkably well in each case to salvage a bogey. On hole #10, my 5-iron off the tee failed to reach the fairway. My next shot stopped short of a bunker fronting the green. I pitched on and 2-putt to finish. On hole #11, I hooked a 5-iron into the woods. I found the ball, but it was unplayable, so I took a penalty. Next, I hit a beautiful 7-iron very near the flag. Once again, I 2-putt to finish. On hole #12, I pulled a drive slightly left, ending up in a hazard. After another penalty, I hit a great 6-iron to the front edge of the green. Two putts later, I had my third bogey of the day.

Hole #13 was a disaster. This is a par-3 measuring 155 yards entirely over water. I added an extra club as the wind had picked up and was directly in my face. I should have added two clubs, as my tee shot hit the embankment on the other side of the water and rolled backwards into the drink. After a penalty stroke, I duffed a pitch attempt from a side-hill lie. A second pitch was required to reach the putting surface and two putts finished things up for a triple-bogey.

No sooner did things go bad, than they got right back on track. Hole #14 is a par-5 measuring 475 yards from the blue tees. The tee shot does not suit me because the fairway bends slightly to the left, with mature trees protecting the inside corner. Without a draw, it's very easy to hit those trees or run out of fairway on the right side. I hit a laser, skirting the edge of the protective trees and propelling down the fairway. In fact, I ran through the fairway, ending up a yard or two in the right rough, which was quite sparse. From 200 yards out, I hit a 3-iron down the fairway, ending up 20 yards short of the green. The next two shots were picture perfect. The first was a crafty pitch that utilized the slope of the green to funnel the ball near the hole. The second was a beautiful 8-foot putt for birdie!

At this point, I was playing bogey golf through the first five holes. A greenside bunker gave me some mild trouble on the next hole, resulting in a double-bogey. Still, one third of the way through the round, I was just one stroke off of bogey pace. Considering I had amassed three penalty strokes already, I was pretty happy.

Hole #16 put bogey pace in jeopardy with a triple-bogey, but it wasn't until hole #17 that those hopes were entirely extinguished. More on that in a moment. Sixteen is a killer hole, the hardest of the course in my opinion. Your tee shot has to be perfect in order to set up a chance at the green. A slight miss off the tee forces a pitch shot, just to get the ball in a position to go at the green. If your miss off the tee is more than slight, you may need two more shots just to reach the "go" zone. That's exactly what happened to me. With the green in your sights, you have to contend with a meandering creek in front, trees and other shrubs left, and water in back and to the right. My approach was hit thin, somehow finding the creek. After a penalty and successful approach, I made a single putt to earn a triple-bogey.

Now, the hole that ruined my round and was the cause of the injustice I spoke of earlier. Seventeen is a long par-4 at 440 yards, but that's not the problem. Much like hole #14, this one features a fairway that bends ever so gently to the left. The inside of this bend is protected by a single tree, not very large, which sits fifty yards in front of the teeing ground, on the edge of a pond. The tree has been dead, or close to dead, for as long as I can remember. A few branches, bereft of any leaves extend outward, just enough to make players think twice about aiming to the left side. After a bit of pondering, most players wouldn't feel too threatened by it. After all, this is really a miserable excuse for a tree. An arborist would get rid of it without hesitation. Yet there it stands, year after year, and visit after visit, it interferes with my game. It is truly a "Vince" tree (inside joke).

As I did the last time I stood before the miserable stump, I made great contact with the driver. When the ball flew off the tee, I immediately thought, "Wow, this is going to be a fantastic drive!" A fraction of a second later, the ball smacked one of those extending branches, a mere 2 inches in diameter. It could have been just a glancing blow, but against the odds it struck squarely, sending the ball backwards and into the pond. Aaaargh! That bloody tree is an uncanny force of nature. Anyway, this was just the start of a horrific hole.

I took a penalty and dropped behind the pond, right at the foot of the offensive freak. Next, I topped a 5-wood right into the pond again. One more penalty stroke and another attempt later, I hit the ball to a cluster of trees on the right side of the fairway. My sixth shot was a chip through the trees to get back to the fairway, but I defied all odds again by smacking a thin trunk squarely, sending the ball backwards. At this point, I was better off playing down the adjacent fairway. I hit to a location where there was a break in the trees. Unfortunately, the ball carried about five yards too far and a tree cluster was again blocking my advance. Again, I tried the punch through the trees, only to smack a thin trunk squarely, sending the ball backwards and to the left. The only good news was I now had an open path to the green, which I hit with my ninth shot. After a good lag, I missed a short putt, probably due to the mounting frustration. I finished with a 3-putt and score of 12.

I went into great detail describing that hole, because it was clearly the turning point for my round. I bogeyed hole #18 and made the turn with a score of 55. With a good back nine, I could still keep my score under 100. Things started out well on hole #1, the one I had planned with such great care. I hit my drive right into the adjacent fairway, which is far better than hitting it left and out of bounds. I hit a massive 5-wood into the wind, 10 yards in front of the 150-yard stick. Next, I hit a very poor 7-iron, hooking it left of the green to a chain link fence bounding the property. I had no stance or swing due to the fence, so I tried a one-handed swing with my back to the target. This is a useful shot sometimes, but I was too near the fence with a bad lie. Two attempts failed, before I smartened up and declared the ball unplayable. I made a nice chip after the penalty and tapped in for a triple-bogey. Obviously, the strategy wasn't to take a triple, but these were extenuating circumstances.

I made a beautiful par on the next hole, judging my approach to the green over a pond perfectly. My birdie putt, a slippery downhill type, stopped four inches short of the hole. That was the last hurrah. At this point, the wind picked up something fierce and I didn't have the focus to deal with it. I felt like the round was already lost, so I really just went through the motions. I made one more par on a medium length par-3 hole, but I also dropped some balls into hazards, leading to a pair of quadruple bogeys.

Overall, this was a frustrating round. The joy over my good play at Willow Valley was short-lived and I failed to get revenge on Century Pines. The "Vince" tree was the cause of it all, in my mind.

Score: 111
Putts: 36
Fairways: 3
Greens: 3
Penalties: 9

Wonderful at Willow Valley

Sometimes I wonder if bipolar disorder is more prevalent among golfers than non-golfers. I'm half kidding, but it's not a huge stretch of the imagination to link the ups and downs of the game to the mood swings of a manic-depressive. Golf can beat you up mentally. When things go badly, it chews you up, spits you out, and stomps on you just for good measure. Then, without warning, it can suddenly reverse course. When things go well, golf generates elevated focus and a rush of euphoria.

I've had my share of disappointing golf rounds this season. None was more upsetting than the fourth installment of the Deepwoods Golf Association championship. The debacle at Dragon's Fire cost me 126 strokes, but the toll taken on my ego was much heavier. In stark contrast, the fifth and final round of the Deepwoods season, which was contested at Willow Valley Golf Club, produced my best score of the season. In fact, it equalled my best score of the last three seasons and fell shy of my all-time personal best by just two strokes. That's good enough in my book for a hole-by-hole account, so here it goes:

Hole # 1 - Par 4, 345 yards

A straight tee shot of 200-210 yards is ideal on the opening hole. Anything left brings bunkers and a pond into play, while the right side is out of bounds. Long shots run out of fairway on this dog-leg to the left. I mis-hit a 3-iron, sending the ball straight, but only 135 yards. I could have gone for the green over the water, but opted to play a pitching wedge to the 100-yard stick. In retrospect, I should have played an 8-iron, as I just failed to clear a bunker that pinches the fairway. Beyond the bunker, the fairway widens considerably. With a high bunker lip in front of me, it was going to be very tough to reach the green. I hit one out to the fairway, leaving about 40 yards to the flag. Unfortunately, I duffed my next shot into a greenside bunker. Next, I hit the sand shot thin, sending the ball clear past the green. I finally pitched on and 2-putt for a quadruple-bogey.

Hole # 2 - Par 5, 480 yards

After a rough start, I needed something good to happen. I pulled my drive left, but distance was good and the ball ended up just two yards off the fairway. A large, nasty hazard crosses the fairway in front of this green, so the prudent play was to lay up to the 100-yard stick. The hazard and 100-yard marker were not actually visible from my position, but I nevertheless hit a pitching wedge directly at my target. Next, I hit a beautiful sand wedge over the bunkers fronting the green, which stopped about eight feet from the cup. I took my time reading the putt and drained it for birdie!

Hole # 3 - Par 4, 365 yards

Once again, I pulled my drive slightly to the left, but with decent distance. I missed the fairway by about four yards, but my lie in the rough was good. From 140 yards out, I pulled a pitching wedge flag-high, left of the green. With the ball below my feet, I pitched one onto the green and then 2-putt for bogey.

Hole # 4 - Par 3, 145 yards

The pin was at the back of this large green, so it was playing more like 160 yards. I hit a 7-iron which came out low. Nevertheless, the ball came to rest a little short of the flag, on the right fringe. A long putt from the fringe is never easy, and this one had a lot of break, but I read it well and cozied one up nicely. A tap-in gave me a satisfactory par.

Hole # 5 - Par 4, 350 yards

This is only the #9 handicap hole on the course, but I consider it one of the hardest. Featuring a near 90-degree dog-leg to the right, there is a large pond covering the inside corner and out-of-bounds protecting the other side from tee to green. Deep fescue and mounding adds to the danger. To avoid penalties, you need to be straight on every shot. I played 5-wood off the tee, clearing the corner of the pond and finding the right side of the fairway at the 100-yard marker. The pin was tucked in a small section of green at the back right. It was a bold shot to go right at it, as bunkers line the front, while water guards the right. I hit a perfect gap wedge, leaving just a five-footer for birdie. The putt looked straight, so I must have pulled it a hair, burning the left edge. This should have been birdie, but I had to settle for par.

Hole # 6 - Par 3, 105 yards

The hole is short to begin with, but the tees were playing up, making this an awkward 90-yard hole. The green is surrounded on three sides by water. I hit my 60-degree wedge well, probably twelve feet behind the hole. I looked at the putt carefully, but didn't take a peek from the other side of the cup. Had I done that, I would have seen that the putt was more downhill than I first thought. I hit the left edge, but too much speed sent the ball well past. Facing a knee-knocker coming the other way, I managed to drain the putt for par. Whew!

Hole # 7 - Par 5, 465 yards

Knowing I had pulled a couple of drives slightly, I cheated to the right side of this fairway. Sure enough, the ball went dead straight, coming to rest two or three yards right of the fairway. I was 215 yards away from the green with a decent lie, so I went for it with a 5-wood. I caught the ball very thin, sending it skipping through a bunker directly in front of me. I still had 190 yards to the green, but a huge mound topped with a cluster of small trees made it a blind shot. I hit a pure 4-iron high over the trees and deep. I thought my ball would be on the green, but it ended up in a greenside bunker. I made a nice out and 2-putt for bogey.

Hole # 8 - Par 3, 130 yards

This is a fun par-3, featuring an elevated tee, along with a carry over a large pond and bunker. The pin was tucked at the very back of the green, very near the edge of the property. Despite the scariness of the pin position, I went right after it. I hit a 9-iron, which drew a little more than I intended. The first bounce was on the green, but the ball trickled into the rough just behind. Next, I hit a chip shot with the 60-degree wedge. This was a mistake. I was on a bit of an upslope, so I didn't need nearly that much loft. I came up well short and 2-putt for a slightly disappointing bogey.

Hole # 9 - Par 5, 505 yards

I hit a low drive off the heel of the club, but the ball landed safely in the left fairway. The next shot was a blind one over the crest of a hill. I tried 3-iron, but didn't make good contact. The ball travelled a very short distance and nestled down in the left rough. I was too far from the green to go for it and the lie didn't help matters. I resolved to hit a 7-iron to the middle of the fairway and did exactly that. Next, I hit a loft wedge to the green, but I was well past the hole. I made a good long-bomb putt, but burned the edge of the cup. Once again, I had failed to look at the putt from below the hole, and didn't realize how much of a downhill putt it was. I burned the edge coming back the other way, leading to a 3-putt and double-bogey. I gave away a stroke, for sure.

Hole # 10 - Par 4, 340 yards

A tough stretch begins with this hole, which features a forced carry off the tee, a hazard lining the entire left side of the fairway, and a green pinched by water and woods. I hit a perfect drive to the centre of the fairway, leaving 110 yards to the green. Knowing the depth of the green, and seeing that the pin was tucked right at the back, I estimated the distance to the flag as 125 yards. A full pitching wedge would go over the back, so I took a little off it. It was absolute perfection. The ball hit the back of the green and spun back a couple of feet. I just missed the 8-footer for birdie, leaving with par.

Hole # 11 - Par 4, 370 yards

I've learned from experience that you don't want to go left on this tee shot. A slope on that side carries balls into a hazard with alarming regularity. My drive was to the right, about six or seven yards off the fiarway. This put me behind a small tree, eliminating the chance of challenging the green. Instead, I punched a 5-iron below the tree branches to the fairway, about 20 yards short of the green. From there, I pitched on and 2-putt for bogey.

Hole # 12 - Par 4, 360 yards

This is the #2 handicap hole and deservedly so. Wetlands pinch the fairway severely on the right side and continue right up to the side of the green. If you lay up with your tee shot in front of the wetlands, you face a scary second shot over the large expanse of bullrushes. If you drive the ball left of the wetlands, you're going after a narrow fairway and will be pinched out by trees left of the green on your approach. I opted to go left. The ball faded more than I had hoped for, but the result was perfect. The ball came to rest a foot into the right rough, but I had an unobstructed path to the flag. The trees on the left were not a factor. From 140 yards out, I hit pitching wedge to the front edge of the green. My birdie putt came up two feet short, but I made the par.

Hole # 13 - Par 5, 445 yards

Normally reachable from the white tee position, the hole was playing even shorter this time. I had visions of an eagle putt dancing through my head as I reached for the driver. My opening shot was not bad, but I pushed it slightly and a fade carried the ball well right of the fairway. Luckily, the ball stopped in the rough a few feet before the wetlands. The lie was good, so I decided to have a go at the hidden green from 215 yards out. I hit a great 5-wood, but ended up in the fairway, 20 yards short of target. My pitch shot was mediocre, failing to reach the pin at the back of the green. I burned the edge of the cup on the birdie putt, but had way too much speed. I went well past the hole, then missed the comebacker. A 3-putt produced a disappointing bogey. Gave one away here for sure!

Hole # 14 - Par 3, 185 yards

The hole was playing a little longer, but luckily there was no wind. I hit a weak slicing 4-iron short and right of the green. Standing with a severe side-hill lie, I choked down on the loft wedge and pitched one over a bunker and onto the green. I must have been very concerned about the bunker as I went way too far, leaving a monstrously long, breaking putt. I made an amazing lag and a two-foot finish to earn bogey. Whew!

Hole # 15 - Par 5, 515 yards

I opened with a lovely drive to the left side of the fairway. A valley pinches the fairway on that side, so I actually ended up a foot in the rough, but my lie was good. Next, I hit a useful 5-iron to the right side of the fairway, 80 yards from the green. Despite the fact I was comfortably in the fairway, the path to the pin was blocked by mounds low and an overhanging tree high. I figured the tree was the lesser of two evils and took aim with the loft wedge. The ball came out a little low, but got through the tree branches, settling just off the right edge of the green. I duffed a chip attempt next, which cost me a stroke. Finally, I 2-putt for bogey.

Hole # 16 - Par 4, 295 yards

A short one, but danger in the form of bunkers is all concentrated where those who challenge the green are likely to land. I took it easy, driving one a foot off the right edge of the fairway, leaving 70 yards to the flag. Unfortunately, the ball was well above my feet and I duffed my first approach. Facing the same shot, albeit a bit shorter now, I executed well to hit the green. After a careful analysis of the putting surface, I made a lovely 15-foot putt to salvage par!

Hole # 17 - Par 3, 105 yards

Last year I gave away the Deepwoods championship on this very hole. After sticking my tee shot to within 3 feet of the cup, I missed two putts and finished with bogey. With the memories of that episode running through my head, I hit a sand wedge to about 8-feet from the cup. This was actually a nicer approach than the one made the previous year, as the pin was tucked in a much more precarious position, guarded by bunkers and water. The putting was way better, as I calmly drained this one for birdie. Revenge is sweet!

Hole # 18 - Par 4, 310 yards

I hit one of my best drives of the day over the pond stretching out beyond the teeing ground and coming to rest in the fairway, 80 yards from the green. Next, I hit one with the loft wedge. The ball was all over the flag, coming to rest about eight feet in behind. The birdie putt was a downhill breaker that I just missed. I finished with a very satisfactory par.

When all was said and done, I shot 83, my best of the season. By comparison, my best last year was an 85 at Osprey Valley Heathlands. In 2009, my best was an 83 at Carlisle. I had an 82 at Granite Ridge Cobalt in 2008 and an 81 at Deer Creek South in 2007, which remain the only rounds I've had that were better than this one.

I may have to pop some champagne and enjoy the rush that accompanies this result. After all, it won't be long before this game punches me in the gut once again.

Score: 83
Putts: 37
Fairways: 8
Greens: 9
Penalties: 0

Cliff Clavin Appears at Century Pines

"It's a little known fact that golf has its origins in the highlands of Central America. Contrary to popular belief, the game was not invented in 15th century Scotland. Centuries earlier, it was part of an elaborate religious ritual performed by the ancient Mayans. Using stone balls and wooden clubs, the Mayans used the ritual to pay equal homage to the gods of the earth, from which the balls were played, the heavens, through which the balls flew, and the underworld, where the balls ultimately came to rest. Constellations representing each of the gods, or more specifically the number of stars making up each constellation, determined whether a hole was to be played in three, four, or five strokes. Since each of the three gods was to be appeased for all six segments of the Mayan calendar, 3x6, or 18 holes were to be completed during each ceremony."

Of course, everything in the preceding paragraph is bunk. It's the kind of thing you'd expect to hear from Cliff Clavin, the likeable, but nevertheless annoying, know-it-all who traded bar room tales with a cast of other characters on Cheers, the popular sitcom that ran on NBC for much of the eighties and early nineties. For those who didn't follow the show, here's a clip of Cliff that hints at his rather unique personality.



If I didn't know any better, I would say that I ran into Cliff Clavin himself at Century Pines Golf Club, the site of my latest round of golf. You see, I went as a single and was paired up with a couple of other players. One was a quiet, friendly guy who turned out to be great company. His friend was a likeable, but nevertheless annoying sort, who I frankly had trouble tolerating. Don't get me wrong; there wasn't an ounce of bad in this guy. He just happened to be a chatterbox of epic proportions. From the start of the round to the finish, he described the minutiae of local golf courses, schooled me on historic golf events, even peppered me with obscure golf trivia. Add to this the fact that he had a penchant for exaggerated reactions to every shot taken as we played. I swear, he was Cliff Clavin reincarnated.

Before "Cliff" even got to me, I shot my round to pieces. Teeing off shortly after sunrise on a September morning, it was cold and misty. The best weather for golf is now behind us and I really felt it at that moment. I pulled my first ball out of bounds, then blocked my third off the tee across the opposite fairway. What happened next was a string of truly horrific mis-hits. With a tree disrupting my backswing, I barely advanced the ball. Next, I hit four duffs in a row, ending with a ball in a pond. After a second penalty stroke, I hooked one straight across the first fairway. Two chips later I was on the green, only to finish with a 3-putt. My score on the hole was 15. I could not believe it!

Cliff was not responsible in any way for my opening hole fiasco. In fact, perhaps it was the miserable start that soured me to his myriad stories. When you blow up on a hole like that, the last thing you feel like doing is to exchange pleasantries. In any case, I abandoned any hope of getting a good score for the round. All I hoped for was to play well on the remaining holes and to salvage whatever score I could.

I went on to struggle for about three more holes, before settling down into something more typical of my recent performances. I made a quadruple-bogey, bogey, and triple-bogey on holes #2 through #4, before stringing together four bogeys in a row. On hole #9 however, I was back to the nonsense, registering another quad. My score at the turn was an embarassing 63.

I don't know what happened. My driving, which had been so encouraging at Hockley Valley and Indian Wells, went off the rails again. A couple of short irons were shanked when I was attempting seemingly simple shots. My putting wasn't terrrible, but I still collected three 3-putts.

The back nine was mostly a different story. I drove the ball a little better and avoided shanks or duffs. This helped me collect a couple of pars, to go along with a series of bogeys. Hole #16, the #2 handicap on the course, finally ended the good streak. I pushed a 3-iron off the tee into a hazard. I hooked my approach to the green into another hazard. Poor shots on this hole are hard to recover from, due to the abundant hazards and out of bounds. I finished the hole with a quad. This took some of the wind out of my sails and I stumbled a bit to finish the round. I shot 49 on the back nine, which isn't great, but is a heck of a lot better than 63!

What can I say? This round was like a punch in the stomach. It was two steps back, after taking a step forward at the previous round. The season is winding down and my game is grim. Sigh.

Score: 112
Putts: 34
Fairways: 3
Greens: 2
Penalties: 6

Confidence Swells at Indian Wells

In a post written last year, I described Indian Wells Golf Club as my new nemesis. After my latest round there, I may have to rescind the comment.

Employing the wrist cock that seemed to help my driving at Hockley Valley, I opened with a nice, straight drive on hole #1. I pushed my second shot way right into the fescue, but recovered nicely for a bogey on this par-5. I went on to hit six of seven fairways on the front nine holes. That included a 260-yard laser to the 150-yard stick on hole #2. Hitting the fairway on this hole is a must if one is to reach the green in regulation. The entire left side is out-of-bounds, while the rough on the right side makes it difficult to carry a large pond that bisects the fairway. I hit the green with an 8-iron and went on to make par.

A fairway and green in regulation was also the result on hole #3, which features two forced carries over ponds. I used driver and pitching wedge to accomplish the feat. My first putt was a bit short and as a result, I finished with a 3-putt bogey. I didn't let that happen on hole #5, another par-4. This time, I used driver and sand wedge to set up a birdie chance. The putt broke just behind the hole, so I settled for a tap-in par.

The only fairway I missed on the front half of the course was on hole #6, an uphill par-5. I pulled that one a couple of yards into the fescue on the left side. I soon recovered, hitting the fairway on the next two opportunities. The last of these was on hole #9, which can be very intimidating from the tee. A narrow and elevated fairway is lined by thick woods on both sides. I hit a 255-yard drive to the centre of the carpet, followed by a gap wedge to the green. Par was the final result.

Besides being happy with my driver, I was also very pleased with my irons. In addition to hitting six fairways, I hit six greens in regulation on the front nine. This helped me earn five pars. If anything let me down, it was my putting. I would have had two more pars, if not for a 3-putt and 4-putt that resulted in a bogey and double-bogey respectively. Even with these miscues, I made the turn with a healthy score of 42.

I started the back nine playing well, but strung together a bunch of bogeys, rather than pars. I was no longer hitting the fairways with regularity, though a couple of those misses came with the 3-iron. I wasn't striking the ball badly, but everything was a little less precise. I also seemed to make one bad shot on each hole. On hole #11, for example, a pitch from 65 yards landed ten yards short of the green. On hole #13, a par-3, I missed a short putt for par. On hole #14, I mis-hit my second shot from a side-hill lie on the sloped fairway. Despite all this, I was in great shape with four holes to play. Indeed, I was on track to break 90.

A pulled tee shot and penalty stroke contributed to a double-bogey on hole #15, a challenging par-5. Still, if I played bogey golf through the final three holes, I would break 90. Unfortunately, that was not possible after hole #16. At 325 yards, this is a short par-4, but don't let that fool you. Players tee off from the top of a ridge to a narrow fairway below. Thick woods line both sides of the fairway, while rough vegetation covers the slope directly in front. The hole is a dog-leg, so players must control their length, as well as direction. A long ball can easily run out of fairway and into the woods. To top it all off, a creek meanders along the left side of the fairway. If you manage to navigate all this with your tee shot, you face an approach to a severely elevated green. The challenge however, is really in the tee shot. I topped my first into the weed-covered slope. After a penalty stroke, my third was a hook to the edge of the woods. With no backswing available, I plunked my fourth into the creek. I played my fifth from a muddy creek bed, sending the ball skidding into the woods across the fairway. With little backswing and a terrible lie, I barely managed to get the ball loose with my sixth. From a side-hill lie, I hit my seventh to the slope fronting the green. My eighth was a short pitch to the putting surface. My ninth was a 13-foot putt, my best of the day, which found the bottom of the cup. Talk about irony!

After the disaster hole, I finished with a double-bogey and bogey to record a final tally of 93. Of course, a better performance on hole #16 would have given me a chance to break 90, but once I made a couple of bad tee shots, there really was no recovery. I did all I could do from the positions I was in. There were enough miscues elsewhere that could have been avoided, helping to shave a few strokes off my score. Most of those were putts. I calculate that I gave away five strokes in putts alone. Avoid those mistakes and I finish with a score of 88, even with the blowup hole. That's typical of this game. As soon as you get your driving and irons to a level you're happy with, the flat stick abandons you.

Score: 93
Putts: 39
Fairways: 8
Greens: 7
Penalties: 3

Hockley Valley Score Not Representative

Golf can be weird. Sometimes you play poorly and score relatively well. At other times, you play well and score poorly. My latest round at Hockley Valley Resort offers an example of the latter.

I teed off late in the afternoon and was paired with a couple of guys who turned out to be pretty good company. On the opening hole, a par 4 playing 386 yards, I hit a sweet drive 250 yards to the centre of the fairway. The swing was so smooth and the result so perfect, that I actually heard gasps of admiration from my playing partners.

I added a bit of wrist cock to the swing and that made all the difference. It allowed me to keep the backswing short, while feeling like I was fully coiled to unleash some fury on the ball. In the past, whenever I consciously added wrist cock to my swing, I would lose control. It resulted in topped balls, shots hit fat, shanks or smotherings. I think I would simply overdo it. The key is to make these adjustments in moderation. Only a slight wrist cock is necessary. It seems to help me keep the backswing short and, more importantly, on plane.

I followed up my opening shot with a pitching wedge that ended up a couple yards in front of the green. We had a lot of rain the day before and the fairway was still saturated with water. I sliced through it like butter. Conscious of the moisture, I didn't want to duff my chip attempt, so I caught the ball a bit thin and sent it well past the hole. I would have been happy with a 2-putt bogey, but after a decent lag, I missed a short putt, settling for double-bogey.

On the second hole, a par-4 measuring 397 yards, I hit another 250-yard beauty off the tee. The ball faded slightly, which is the ideal shape for this hole, coming to rest in the middle of the fairway at the 150-yard stick. With a sharp rise to the green that I wanted to carry, I opted for a 7-iron on my next shot. I trapped the ball nicely, hitting the very front of the green. Unfortunately, the ball released all the way to the back of the green. A very poor lag putt resulted in another 3-putt and bogey. My playing partners were rather excited about my first two shots, which felt good.

Hole # 3 was a 146-yard par-3, featuring a severely elevated tee, as do all but one of the par-3 holes at Hockley Valley. I hit a pitching wedge and it landed on the green like a dart. I was feeling the mojo at this point and relishing it. I finished up with a routine 2-putt for par.

I hit another fairway on hole #4, a challenging par-5. My approach to the green, which is blind, was caught thin and settled in the rough 20 yards short. I made the perfect pitch shot, flopping the ball past a mound to the very front of the green, but once again it released to the back. I 2-putt from there and walked away with bogey.

Bogey golf through the first four holes had me feeling pretty good. Unfortunately, I scored an 8 on the next hole, a 185-yard par-3. This illustrates how quickly things can go bad at Hockley Valley. When you miss a shot on this course, the consequences are extremely penal. There are many forced carries off the tee and anything off the fairways finds long fescue and vicious weeds. Balls in those areas are almost always lost. If you do manage to find your ball, it is almost always unplayable. Add to this the fact that wayward balls can disappear behind large mounds, so you can't even track their flight path. I hit my tee shot off the heel of the club, hooking it over a large mound on the left side. Two unplayable balls resulted in a pair of penalty strokes. It was truly an adventure getting to the green after the miscue on the tee.

As bad as the last hole was, I wasn't really perturbed. I made just one mistake off the tee, albeit an extremely costly one. The inflated score had more to do with the impossibility of recovering from a bad position on this course than it did with my ball striking ability. I bogeyed hole #6, a pretty par-5, and all seemed well again.

On hole #7, my tee shot was a few yards left of the fairway. Unfortunately, this put me up against some large vegetation, which interfered with my backswing. I took my medicine and hit a half-swing 8-iron to the 100-yard stick. From there, I hit a very pure sand wedge, but the ball didn't stay on the green. The green is angled, with the left side short and the right side long. The pin was right at the back. I was aiming for the centre of the green, which I nailed. However, the ball released off the back. Had I gone right at the pin, the result would have been perfect. With the green sloping away from me, I faced a delicate chip shot. I got too delicate and left the ball in the rough a few feet ahead of me. My second attempt rolled well past the hole, but I still managed a 2-putt. With the exception of the first chip attempt, I felt like I played the hole very well. Nevertheless, triple-bogey was the outcome.

I rounded out the front nine with a bogey and double-bogey. They bogey came after I was robbed on a par putt. The double came on hole #9, which I really don't like at all. In fact, I described it as a Mickey Mouse hole in an old post.

The back nine was a contrast in results. I made 3 pars and one bogey on the par-3 holes, but exploded for big scores on two out of three par-5 holes. If not for a missed short putt on hole #17, I would have made par on all of the par-3's. Some of my approaches on these holes were breathtaking. On hole #10, my pitching wedge helped me hit the back of the green like a dart. On hole #12, a beast of a hole measuring 201 yards with danger everywhere but the green, I hit a laser 3-iron into the wind. It ended up flag-high, 15 feet left of the pin. On hole #17, I hit another laser 180 yards right at the pin. I was surprised that the ball spun back a yard, as I was expecting it to release forward.

As I mentioned, success on th par-3 holes was tempered by difficulties on the par-5's. On hole #11, my tee shot was pulled slightly, ending up lost in fescue and weeds. En route to the green, I hit one shot fat and pulled another into the woods off a side hill lie. I finished that hole with two penalty strokes and a score of 10. On hole #16, I layed up to the top of a ridge with my second shot. My third, from 200 yards out, was a wicked pull into the woods. A subsequent approach from 100 yards was hit so pure that it trickled into more vegetation behind the green. The final damage on that hole was two more penalty strokes and a score of 9.

The last hole was played after sunset and it was difficult to see anything. We should have been done much earlier, but a tournament was being played and pace along the course was slow. Nevertheless, we played through the darkness and managed to complete the round in its entirety.

At the end of it all, I feel good about this round, but the score doesn't show it. The wrist cock adjustment helped my driving greatly, I hit some excellent irons from intimidating positions, as well as some excellent wedges. If there's a part of my game that let me down it was putting. I had too many 3-putts and missed too many short ones.

Score: 102
Putts: 37
Fairways: 4
Greens: 6
Penalties: 7

Shell Shocked at Dragon's Fire

It was Round 4 of the Deepwoods Golf Association championship and I turned in a complete stinker. Already out of contention for the overall title, I just wanted to show up and put in a decent performance. I failed miserably, shooting a demoralizing score of 126. To put that in perspective, consider that anything over 99 is a loser in my books. I've had far too many rounds of 100 or more this season, including one as high as 109. As bad as that was, this round was 17 strokes worse!

Opening on hole #10, my drive was pulled slightly. With some luck, it would have cleared a bunker and come to rest in the fairway, 150 yards from the flag. With my luck however, it failed to clear the bunker and came to rest close to the front lip. I tried to play the next shot as you generaly play from a fairway bunker: contact the ball first, taking a divot in front of the ball. I used a loft wedge to ensure the ball would get up quickly over the edge. Two attempts at this shot failed, both hitting the lip. I was forced to play like one generally does in a greenside bunker: hit behind the ball, lifting the ball up and out of the bunker on a cushion of sand. It worked, but of course I had already wasted two strokes. After an approach to the green and two putts, I finished with a triple-bogey.

I hit my drive on hole #11 to a perfect position on the left side of the fairway, just 120 yards to the flag. The only real danger was a bunker right of the green. Of course, I pushed the approach shot slightly, just enough to find the sand. I hit a good shot out and 2-putt for bogey, but the pattern had been set. I would find fairway and greenside bunkers with disturbing regularity for the remainder of the round. Hole #12 is a medium length par-3 with a large bunker on the front left side. I avoided the bunker this time, hitting the right edge of the green. I was far from the hole, but manged a 2-putt for par.

Hole #13 is a long par-5, not reachable in two unless you're a pro. In fact, even a pro would be challenged to reach the green in under regulation. I pulled my drive into a bunker, but the ball skipped over the front edge, leaving me with a flat lie in the rough. That was the good part. The bad part was that trees were blocking my advance toward the green. I tried to hit a low hook around the trees. The ball hooked slightly, but not enough to avoid another bunker on the right side of the fairway. Recalling my experience on the first hole of the day, I decided not to flirt with the lip of this bunker, which was fairly close. I opted to play the greenside bunker shot, just to get the ball into the fairway. It worked in the sense that I got out of the bunker easily. It failed in the sense that the ball travelled to the right of my target line, landing in another bunker just a few yards ahead. With no lip threatening my advance this time, I took aim at the green 180 yards away with my 5-iron. I hit a fabulous shot flag high, but on the opposite side of the green. With the cup on a hard-to-read slope, I 3-putt for double-bogey.

With everything that went wrong so far, the round was still far from lost. In retrospect however, my next shot was the one that sent me on a downward spiral from which I would not recover. On a par-3 measuring 186 yards, I hit a 5-iron thin, sending the ball to some fescue just ahead of the forward teeing ground. I extracted the ball with a good pitching wedge, but it bounded toward and into a front right bunker. My first attempt out of the bunker was fat, while my second was fine. I then 3-putt for a quadruple bogey.

Hole #15, a par-4 that is reachable from the tee, provided an opportunity for a quick turnaround. Unfortunately, I hit my tee shot thin once again. The ball travelled 120 yards, coming to rest just behind the 150-yard marker. I considered myself lucky as I reached for a 7-iron. I duffed my next shot to the edge of a fairway bunker. I was not in the bunker, but the ball was well below my feet. I caught the ball fat and now I was in the bunker proper. One fat shot later, I was still in the bunker. The next attempt was over the back of the green. I chipped on and 2-putt for another quad.

That was pretty much it as far as this round was concerned. I scored an 11 on the ensuing par-5, with a penalty stroke mixed in. To be honest, it's a day later and I don't even remember how the hole played out. At this point, it got really cold and the skies opened up. After a brief delay, I made par on hole #17, a par-3. On hole #18 I was back to my regular antics. I duffed a tee shot as a wet grip slipped in my hands. I hit a great 7-iron out of the fescue to advance the ball, but then things got silly. I poured three consecutive balls into the water on the right side of the fairway. I finished with a score of 12 for the hole.

And so it continued for the entire back nine. The lone bright spot was a par on hole #2, a par-3 that was playing about 160 yards long. I would find bunkers again on holes #3 and #5. The one on #3 was not bad, as I splashed out nicely onto the green and proceeded to 2-putt. The one on #5 was much worse. I striped a 3-iron from 215 yards out and it looked like the ball would roll onto the green. However, it just caught the left edge of the bunker and dove inside. Surprise, surprise. After another rain delay, my bunker shot (from wet sand) carried clear past the green, landing in some horific weeds. I tried to play the ball as it lay, but it squirted right into another hazard. After a penalty stroke, my pitch shot almost went in, but I needed one more tap-in for a triple bogey.

At this point, I think I gave up. I sliced my drive on hole #6, but found the ball in the rough 160 yards from the flag. Tall trees stood between me and the green, but since I had nothing to play for, I decided to go for it. I proceeded to pour three consecutive balls into the woods. I finished with a score of 10 on this par-4. I had some good shots on hole #7, a par-5, that resulted in a rare bogey. The respite was short, as I limped into the finish with scores of 10 and 6 on the final two holes, a par-5 followed by a par-3.

I am hoping this is rock-bottom. Only time will tell.

Score: 126
Putts: 38
Fairways: 4
Greens: 3
Penalties: 11

Two-Glove to One-Eye at Lochness Links

Years ago, I used to play wearing both a left and right golf glove, which earned me the nickname "Two-Glove" from a couple of my playing partners. I went back to a single glove for some time, before abandoning the gloves completely. "No-Glove" would be a more appropriate moniker for me these days. After my latest round, played at Lochness Links in Welland, Ontario, I thought of a completely different nickname altogether. I was spending a week nearby and happened to lose one of my contact lenses. I didn't bring any spares, so I was forced to make do with a single lens. "One-Eye" seemed to be an apropos nickname as I stood on the first tee early in the morning.

I had only played Lochness Links once before, scoring 85 in one of my best rounds ever. A triple-bogey on hole #17 and double-bogeys on holes #6 through #8 were the only blemish on a scorecard that also featured five bogeys, eight pars, and one birdie. With fond memories of a previous visit and a true appreciation for the course design, I was really looking forward to this round.

Unfortunately, the start was pretty rough. My opening drive drifted slightly right, but it was enough to find the gnarly fescue that abounds at Lochness. My attempt to advance the ball failed, with the ball landing in a hazard that crosses the fairway. After a penalty stroke and drop, my approach to the green was pushed well right. I required a pitch shot to reach the green, then 3-putt for an ugly quadruple-bogey.

After a bogey on hole #2, a par-3 measuring 189 yards from the white tees, I exploded for another quad on hole #3. My drive on this par-5 found the left edge of the fairway, 250 yards from the flag. Now it was decision time. A large pond hugs the left side of the fairway from 150 yards out all the way to the green. The last time I played this hole, I tried to lay up near the 150-yard marker. I pulled the ball slightly and quickly ended up in the pond. This time, I opted to blast the ball over the water. Gripping my 5-wood, I took a swing at my target, but caught the ball a little fat and ended up wet once again. It got worse from here, as my approach to the green after taking a drop was short and right, landing in some fescue. The ball was unplayable, meaning another penalty stroke. Poor chips ensued and the final tally is something you already know.

The rest of my round was really a mixed bag, which is a phrase I've used frequently to describe my game this year. My driving was the best it has been all season. I hit eight fairways in my previous round at Ussher's Creek. That was my best tally of the year, until I eclipsed it with nine fairways hit at Lochness. I was swinging calmly but freely. I was making contact at the centre of the clubface, propelling the ball straight and deep. It was a wonderful feeling, but perplexing at the same time. My driver had been so bad at times this season, how could it be so good now? Even missed fairways were not really misses. On hole #13, a dog-leg right, I piped a beauty so straight and so deep, that it ran through the end of the fairway 270 yards away. Driving was definitely not the problem on this day.

The problem was with my irons, specifically short irons and wedges. I hit some nice long irons, inlcuding a 3-iron off the tee on hole #8 that travelled 215 yards to finish flag-high on this par-3. After a fantastic chip, I missed a 3-footer for par, but that's besides the point. Long irons were working well. The same could not be said for my short irons. I pushed a 7-iron into a greenside bunker on hole #7, leading to a triple-bogey. My bunker shot sailed across the green into some bad fescue. Two shots were required to get out of there. On hole #9, I hooked my second shot with the 7-iron into the water, leading to double-bogey. On a couple of occasions, I sculled an approach shot with a wedge well past the green. On hole #10 for example, my approach with a sand wedge from 100 yards actually travelled 180 yards. I managed to save bogey, but that represents a lost stroke. The way I was driving the ball, I should have hit many more greens in regulation.

Going into the final hole, I had a chance to break 100 with a par. My driving finally abandoned me, as I pulled one well left of target. Still, I should have been able to recover from there. The lie was not bad, but I pushed my 7-iron clear across the fairway and into some water. After a drop, I once again found the water, which wraps to the front of the green. I ended up with a quadruple-bogey and easily over the century mark.

I was not happy with the score, but there was enough good in this round that I felt encouraged.

Score: 103
Putts: 37
Fairways: 9
Greens: 2
Penalties: 6