My latest round of golf was a return visit to Hockley Valley Resort. Weather was perfect and the onset of fall colours made for even prettier vistas than usual. I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the weather conditions or time of year, but the course was completely overrun by ladybugs. As insects go, ladybugs are perhaps the least offensive, but the sheer number of them made for some uncomfortable waits on the teeing grounds.
I was pumped up about this round because it came on the heels of a good performance at Lowville Golf Club. Would I be able to carry the momentum forward? On the front nine, it looked like I might, though my results were borderline. I made the turn with five double-bogeys and four bogeys, for a score of 50. I was happy to avoid scores of triple-bogey or worse, but I was bummed that I didn't collect any pars.
A pair of doubles started things off. On hole #1, a par-4, I was unlucky when my third shot from 80 yards released off the back of the green. I made a good chip, but with the green falling away from me and little of it to work with, I could not save bogey. After the pair of doubles, I strung together three bogeys in a row. Hole #4, a par-5, featured a beautiful drive up the left side. This was followed by a blast with the 5-wood, leaving 50 yards to the flag. Unfortunately, I caught the pitch shot thin, rolling off the back of the green. Again, a good chip didn't help, as the slope carried the ball well past the hole.
My driver got a little loose on hole #7, fading into the hazard right. A great recovery with the 5-wood wasn't enough to salvage bogey. I made up for that drive with a beauty on hole #8, but burned the edge of my par putt. Hole #9, a short par-4, is one that has given me huge problems in the past and it did so again. I feel very uncomfortable on the teeing ground of that hole. This time, I hooked a 7-iron into a hazard left. I only salvaged double bogey thanks to a great recovery with PW and solid pitch into the green.
On the back nine, my overall game got much more loose. I made par on a couple of par-3 holes, but also carded three triple-bogeys, along with four doubles. I hooked one drive, pulled another, and sliced another pair. Irons off the tee were no better. I hit a 3-iron off the toe on a long par-3, and completely duffed a 7-iron on another of more modest length. On most of these occasions, I was forced to take a penalty stroke. In fact, I collected six penalty strokes on the back nine alone.
All of which is not to say that there were no good shots on the back nine. In fact, I hit some pretty good ones. It's just that there were too many penalty strokes taken to be able to register a good score. As a result, I finished with a dreaded 102. That's been my season!
Score: 102
Putts: 36
Fairways: 4
Greens: 2
Penalties: 8
No comments:
Post a Comment