The course at Shawneeki Golf Club is one I've played a number of times, but not since back in 2006. Returning to the Sharon, Ontario course, I have to say I felt a little nostalgic. Being there reminded me of the time when my interest in golf shifted from something casual to something more serious. Back then, I would occasionally break 100, but for the most part, my scores were over the century mark. Ironically, seven years of experience have brought me full circle – back to the fairways of Shawneeki and back to shooting 100 plus.
I played the first ten holes alone, before joining a single ahead of me for the remainder of the round. My score on the front nine was 57, including five triple-bogeys, three double-bogeys, and one par. Believe it or not, I hit some decent shots during that stretch. Unfortunately, I was often stymied by trees, and my attempts to reach safety were unsuccessful. On hole #1, for example, I was behind a tree left of the fairway after my tee shot. Rather than punch through a chute to get back to the fairway, I chipped the ball further left to reach a clearing where I could go for the green. From 70 yards out with a good lie, I hit the ball fat and it went almost nowhere. Ugh!
After pulling a drive out of bounds on hole #2, I was cautious not to do the same on hole #3. As a result, I found myself amidst some trees right of the fairway after my tee shot. Facing what looked like a relatively easy pitch shot back to the fairway, I smacked a tree, leaving no backswing on my next attempt. I reached the green with my fourth shot and 2-putt for double-bogey. On hole #4, my second shot into the green came to rest on a tree root, right against the trunk. I could not chip toward the green, so I had to go in another direction. Once again, it took four shots to get on and two putts produced a double-bogey.
There were more adventures with trees over the front nine, but I also dunked a ball into a pond on a long par-3 and thinned a bunker shot over the green on a short par-3. The bright spot on the front nine was hole #6. With a slight wind at my back, I drilled a 310-yard drive to the middle of the fairway on this par-4. Oh baby, that's sweet! From 90 yards, I hit a half swing sand wedge to the green. My lag putt from 15 feet went 8 feet past, but I made the uphill comebacker for par.
I chipped in from the edge of the green to save bogey on hole #10, then proceeded to the eleventh tee. Hole #11 is a 483-yard par-5 with a dogleg left. Mature trees to the left and immediately in front of the teeing ground prevent players from starting the ball on the left side. Cut shots that start right of those trees are in danger of drifting to the right side of the fairway, which is itself lined by thick forest and out of bounds. No doubt about it, the situation demands a draw. I lined up and hit a perfect shot, drawing slightly and travelling deep enough to get past the dogleg. With 230 yards to go, I reached for the 3-wood. Over the last couple of years, my fairway woods have been so weak that I have largely avoided using them. This time, I hit a wonderful high cut. With the height and the shot shape, I thought the ball would land softly. It seemed to do so, but still rolled off the back of the green. No problem, as I was thrilled to have hit the ball as I did. From the back of the green, I chipped to the front pin location. I took a good stab at birdie, but had to settle for a tap-in par.
The rest of the back nine resulted mostly in bogeys. I added a par on hole #16, another par-5, but also registered triple-bogey on the very last hole, thanks to those pesky trees interfering with my second shot. It was an enjoyable stretch of golf, as I hit some nice drives and some nice recovery shots. My drive on hole #13 was especially awesome. This is a 354-yard par-4, but rather quirky in design and full of danger. The fairway is lined on the right side by red stakes and pinched on the left side by a pond. Beyond the pond, the fairway bends sharply to the left, before rising quickly to an elevated green. All of the danger is in the tee shot. The landing area is very narrow and it's not possible to fly over the pond from the blue tee location. I hit a full driver, with a little cut that followed the contour of the fairway perfectly. My ball came to rest a couple yards past the end of the pond, leaving just 120 yards to the flag. I pulled my approach left, then chipped on and 2-putt for bogey.
I shot a respectable 47 on the back nine and 104 overall. The start of the round was simply too poor to recover from. Despite the elevated score, I was rather pleased with my shot-making. Somewhat disappointing was my putting. My play with the flat stick has been a bright spot all season, but it has faltered a bit over the last two rounds.
Score: 104
Putts: 37
Fairways: 3
Greens: 3
Penalties: 2
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