I rarely go an entire weekend without golf, but it happened recently. I took the time off to rest my chronically injured knee, which flared up due to a street crossing incident. Yes, I injured my knee crossing the street. Pathetic, I know. After two weeks off, the knee was still sketchy, but I wanted to test it out before my first event on the GTA Amateur Tour, which was fast approaching. I headed over to Piper's Heath Golf Club on a Saturday afternoon.
Starting on the back nine, I bogeyed three of the first four holes played. My tee shot on the 11th hole, a par-3 measuring 187 yards, found a bunker left of the green. An awkward stance made it difficult to get the ball out of the trap. On the second attempt from a better lie, I carried the ball over the green. A chip and two-putt produced a triple bogey. Clearly, the short game needs work.
The 14th hole, a par-4 that usually plays 415 yards, should have been a breeze, but circumstances conspired to produce a score of 6 over par. The tees were playing up, shortening the hole significantly. I hit a perfect 3-wood off the tee, leaving 130 yards to the pin. A water hazard crosses the fairway about 60 yards in front of the green. Sure enough, I skulled my shot into the hazard. After taking a drop, I chunked a wedge only half way to the green. From that position, I chunked another one to a bunker guarding the front of the green. From the bunker, I carried the ball over the green. My chip back to the green went way too long, from whence I proceeded to 3-putt. When it rains, it pours. Did I mention the short game needs work?
Speaking of the dreaded 3-putt, another one occurred on hole #15, resulting in double-bogey. I managed to two-putt the 16th hole, a short par-3, but the first of those putts was inside two feet, so my putting was still terrible. On a positive note, I made a fantastic second shot out of the bunker. The result was bogey, but it really should have been par. On the 17th hole, I went from tee to fairway bunker, to greenside bunker, to over the green, en route to another triple bogey. Yikes! After the first nine holes, I was sitting at 56 strokes.
I'm happy to say I played a bit more consistently on holes 1 thru 9. That stretch included five bogeys and three double-bogeys. While I would certainly prefer to see some pars thrown in there, there is a certain amount of satisfaction in limiting the blowup holes (those that produce triple-bogey or worse). I did shoot an 8 on hole #5, a par-4 measuring 353 yards. My tee shot found a water hazard right of the fairway. After taking a drop, I skulled the next shot into the same hazard. When you string together mistakes like that, the result is never good.
Overall, I hit a few fairways and some decent mid-iron shots. My play with the wedges was terrible and my play out of the bunkers left a lot to be desired. I stumbled on some putts, but on the whole, putting was average. Most importantly, my knee did not explode and I was able to walk off the course on my own power. At this point, that was the most important thing. I can now go to my first GTA Amateur Tour event knowing that it's possible for me to walk 18 holes and swing the golf club. Still, I have to be careful not to get careless. I know from experience that one bad move - like crossing the street incorrectly - can have dire consequences.
Score: 107
Par: 72
Putts: 37
Fairways: 5
Greens: 0
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