My first GTA Amateur Tour event took place on a beautiful Monday afternoon at Devil's Pulpit, a Michael Hurdzan design that has received plenty of acclaim since opening in 1990. Situated in Caledon Village, northwest of Toronto, the course is nestled against the Niagara Escarpment, making for complex topography and spectacular views.
I struggled with the greens on the first three holes, amassing three, four and three putts respectively. My putting on the first hole was decent, but a bad chip put me in definite 3-putt territory. A hot chip on the second hole also left me with a long first putt. The slope of the green fooled me, as the ball broke opposite to the direction I had anticipated. A careless third putt missed the mark from within two feet. On the third hole, my second putt from a makeable distance just burned the edge. Nerves may have been a factor.
Hole #5, a par-4 measuring 371 yards from the white tees, proved to be very difficult. I duffed my tee shot, but followed it up with a good 8-iron, recovering to the middle of the fairway. With a downhill lie, I faced the green 115 yards away. To reach the green, I needed to carry a water hazard and avoid a massive bunker that wraps around three sides of the putting surface. My ball flew just over the bunker in the back and came to rest about a foot past the margin of a lateral hazard. With no backswing available, all I could do was punch the ball into the bunker. Three bunker shots followed, the first two being simply terrible. After two putts, I walked away with a disappointing 9 on my scorecard.
Hole #7, a tricky little par-3 with its green nestled atop a mound, also posed some trouble, resulting in triple-bogey. However, I played some fine shots on holes 6, 8 and 9, resulting in a couple of bogeys and a par. The par on hole #9 was textbook, as I hit fairway, then green, followed by a long breaking lag putt and a tap-in. Sometimes the game seems so easy, I wonder how all the trouble surfaces.
On the back nine, I played wonderful, steady golf, with the exception of hole #13, a par-5 measuring 493 yards that features a large pond stretching from the mid-point of the fairway to the green. My drive was perfect, but my second shot was a pull hook into the pond. After taking a drop, I failed to carry the pond with my next shot. I dropped once again and this time was able to carry the pond, but my ball came to rest in some fescue left of the green. Two shots were required to dislodge the ball from the nasty fescue, and after two putts I marked a 10 on my scorecard.
Aside from the adventures on #13, the back nine produced good results, namely a double-bogey, six bogeys, and a birdie. The birdie came on hole #16, a par-3 that was being used for the closest to the pin competition. The hole was playing about 160 yards long, all carry over a large pond. I hit an easy 6-iron to the right edge of the green, where some slope directed the ball closer to the pin. I missed closest to the pin by about eight inches, but made the birdie putt, which felt relly good.
Overall, I was disappointed with my score. I could have easily broken 100, but did not. My chipping and putting left a lot to be desired. I really have to get my chipping feel back, after the long winter layoff. However, I was satisfied with my driving and iron play. I hit 10 of 15 fairways, which is quite good. I also hit some nice, pure iron shots. Let's see what the next round brings.
Score: 102
Par: 71
Putts: 42
Fairways: 10
Greens: 3
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