Well, my golf rounds are becoming very predictable this year. More specifically, my final scores are becoming very predictable. If I venture out to play, regardless of the course or its perceived difficulty, I can guarantee with startling accuracy that I will shoot a couple of strokes above 100. How I shoot those scores, however, is another matter altogether. For my latest round at The Highlands of Bradford, I chose the Jeckyll & Hyde route, scoring a brutal 61 on the front nine, followed by quite a good 44 on the back nine.
So, what should we make of that? Is the proverbial glass half empty, or is it half full? Honestly, I don't know. All I know is that I got off to a terrible start, ruining any chance of a good score after the very first hole. I didn't warm up at all and it showed immediately. I pull-hooked my first drive into the opposite fairway. I tried to hit a wedge over some small trees just to get back to the fairway and my club slid right under the ball. I ended up stymied behind one of the trees. My second pitch made it to the fairway, 90 yards from the pin. I slid another wedge under the ball, sending it just far enough to splash in a pond. After a penalty stroke, I did exactly the same thing again. My eighth stroke was just right of the green, while my ninth rolled off the other side. From the fringe, I 2-putt for a score of 11. Thanks for coming out. Your score will officially suck. Enjoy the next 17 holes.
I bogeyed the second hole, before blowing up again on the third. First tee shot was pulled ever so slightly out of bounds. Hitting three from the tee, I pushed another drive well right into a fescue-covered hazard. An approach, a chip, and two putts later, I racked up a quadruple-bogey. And so it continued for the rest of the front nine. I amassed nine penalties on the front nine alone. I hit wayward drives, though I piped a pair of beauties on holes #6 and #7. I hit wayward irons and wedges, though I also cracked some fine shots with the same clubs. A 4-iron into the green on hole #5 and a lovely drawing 52 degree wedge into the green on hole #6 come to mind. I made a complete mess of bunker shots, though I also executed some well. I guess you could say I had no consistency whatsoever.
The back nine was a completely different story. I began with a monster drive that ran through the end of the fairway on hole #10, a 367-yard par-4. My approach left a lot to be desired and I finished with bogey. I hit a beautiful 5-wood on my second shot on hole #11, a par-5. I have largely taken my fairway woods out of play, but they give me versatility and I want to get them back. This was a step in the right direction. Another 295-yard drive found the fairway on hole #12, a par-4 measuring 395 yards. With the wind at my back, a 60-degree wedge shot flew over the green, leading to bogey.
Straight, deep drives continued on holes #14 and #17. When the driver faltered, the fairway woods picked up the slack. On hole #18, I pulled my drive into fescue left of the fairway. With a poor lie, I did well to lay up in front of a creek that crosses the fairway. With 240 yards left to the green, I hit a delightful 3-wood. The ball finished flag-high in a bunker just left of the green. On the back nine, I also got up and down for par a number of times. On hole #15, a chip from just off the back of the green nestled to within 2 feet of the cup. On hole #17, it was completely different, with an approach from 100 yards landing just above the hole, followed by a breaking putt of about 10 feet. The only blemish on the back nine was my bunker play, which was still terrible. After reaching the greenside bunker on hole #18 (a par-5) in three shots, I hit the sand fat, failing to emerge. Next, I sculled one over the green. If not for that, I would have shot a very good 42 on the back nine.
Half full? Half empty? I still don't know.
Score: 105
Putts: 34
Fairways: 6
Greens: 1
Penalties: 9
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