For only the second or third time this season, I played a round of golf and managed to capture that elusive feeling – the satisfaction that comes with strategizing over a particular hole or shot, then being able to execute accordingly. It was a return visit to Lowville Golf Club, and the improvement in execution is evident in my score. I tallied a 94 – just one worse than my season best at Willodell Golf Club of Niagara.
I started with a pair of double-bogeys, but recouped some of those strokes with a pair of pars by the time I wrapped up the sixth hole. One of these came on hole # 4, a par-5. I took it easy on the drive, sacrificing distance for a little more control. After finding the right rough, I hit an 8-iron layup that left 125 yards to the green. From the middle of the fairway, I hit a beautiful gap wedge right over the flag. I missed a hard breaking birdie putt, but followed with an easy tap in.
Hole #6 is a short par-4, measuring 295 yards from the blue tees. I hit a 6-iron off the tee and it was a thing of beauty. I pictured the ball flying just right of the 150-yard stick, and that's exactly what happened. With just 115 yards to the green, I hit another great gap wedge over the flag. The ball released to the back of the green, so I probably could have used a sand wedge, but that's okay. I hit a nice lag putt, followed by an easy tapper.
The sand wedge was not enough club on my approach to hole #7, an uphill par-5. I had been in some trouble earlier in the hole, so it all contributed to a triple-bogey. Luckily it was my only one of the day. I went back to the gap wedge for lovely approach shots on holes #8 and #9. Hole #8 is a short, but diabolical par-3. I 3-putt after a long lag and a burned edge, but was still satisfied with bogey.
I made par on hole #11, thanks to the best shot of the day. My drive was slightly right on this par-4, while a subsequent lob wedge over some tall trees went long. The pin was at the back of the green, so I was extremely short-sided. I was on a slope, about ten yards from the green edge. A cart path crossed directly in front of me. If I flew the cart path, the ball would land on a downslope and bound well past the hole. Instead, I chipped to the middle of the path. The ball took one bounce, then landed in the downslope near the green, trickling through the rough and rolling directly to the cup. It stopped 6 inches short, for an easy tap-in. My playing partners exclaimed how lucky I was. Truthfully, luck had nothing to do with it. I surveyed my options, chose a good strategy, and then executed what I had visualized in my mind. That's the elusive feeling I love so much.
If you think that chip off the cart path was creative, I have to tell you about hole #13. I hit a weak 8-iron off the tee on this par-3. I was guarding against out of bounds along the entire right side, so I smothered and hooked the first shot. I was about 40 yards left and slightly short of the hole, but my ball came to rest against a big boulder. I could not take a stance with the boulder there, much less get a club on the ball – at least in the conventional way. In fact, the ball was so close to the boulder that the only club I could get on it was my blade style putter.
Facing away from the target, I let the putter hang in my right hand. Employing a hammer style swing, I struck the ball with the butt end of the heel. I wasn't hoping for much, but I caught the ball perfectly. Alas, there was a tiny metal sign stuck in the ground about ten yards ahead (the kind used to direct cart traffic) and my ball smacked it with a loud clang. Unbelievable! I thought of the perfect solution to my predicament (an ingenious solution, really) and executed it perfectly, only to be thwarted by this bad stroke of luck. I almost salvaged bogey on the hole, but had a putt stop one inch short of the cup. The real story, however, was that backward putter shot off the butt end of the heel from 40 yards away. LOL
I finished the last few holes as I had most of the others – with drives to safe areas and good wedges into greens. A poor tee shot on hole #15, a long par-3, produced my only penalty stroke of the day. I caught the ball fat and failed to carry a hazard. The good news is that I hit a great 9-iron after my drop to find the green. Hole #18 has ruined good rounds for me before, but this time, I played it well. My drive was not great, but safely carried a large ravine. Two subsequent shots followed the tree line on the right side of the fairway. I nearly chipped in for par from just off the green, but drained a tap-in for bogey.
Overall, a nice day of work. Game management was ideal. Control was fabulous, especially with the irons. I made many nice putts that just happened to burn the edges. As a result, my putt total was not great. If there was one area that could have been better, it might have been chipping. I had about four or so that could have been more precise.
Score: 94
Putts: 37
Fairways: 3
Greens: 4
Penalties: 1
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