I like to try new courses every now and then. There are relatively few public courses in the Golden Horseshoe area that I haven't played, so it's always nice to experience something different. For my latest round, I headed to the virgin territory of Caledon Country Club. The course features a lot of elevation changes, with a couple of short holes and a couple of sharp doglegs that can greatly lengthen the holes. Mature trees pinch in on some holes, while others are largely wide open. Conditioning was good on the day I played.
Over the first eight holes, I was in complete control. I made par on the opening hole, a short par-4 that dares you to drive the green. I had the same result on holes #4 and #6 – a pair of contrasting par-5 holes. The first is a gradual uphill that bends to the left, while the second is dead straight and all downhill. I hit 4-iron, 7-iron, 7-iron to reach the green on #4, while hitting driver, 3-iron and a chip with the 8-iron to reach the green on #6. I also made par on hole #7, a pretty straightforward par-4. The green can be tricky, but I had no trouble.
The rest of this stretch produced three bogeys and a double. The bogey on hole #3 was actually fantastic. Thick trees line both sides of a narrow fairway, with a creek adding more trouble down the left side. I pulled my driver ever so slightly, into the creek. After taking a penalty and drop, I was 170 yards from the flag, in the left rough. I hit a beautiful 6-iron that bounced through the green opening and cozied up just below the hole. I missed the 6-footer for par, but was satisfied with bogey.
Hole #9 gave me trouble, for no real reason. It is one of the short par-4 holes, at just 269 yards from the white tees. One can lay up to the end of the fairway – a shot of about 120 yards – and then go for the green from 150 yards over the creek. Alternately, one can drive over the creek – a carry of about 180 yards – which shouldn't be a problem. I opted to carry the creek, but opened the club face badly and flared the ball way to the right. The ball was lost in the area marked as a hazard, so I had to take a penalty and drop. That would be fine, except I proceeded to shank my next shot with the pitching wedge. My next shot landed awkwardly in a greenside bunker. I got out, but was far from the hole and 3-putt for a quadruple-bogey. What a disaster!
Over the next three holes, I got back on track, recording a trio of bogeys. Hole #10 plays long if you are unable to hook your tee shot, which is exactly what happened to me. For that reason, I was more than content with bogey. My real trouble began on hole #13, a relatively easy par-4. I pushed my drive well right, finishing behind a spruce tree, 150 yards from the flag. I tried a hook shot to avoid trees further ahead and get back to in front of the green, but my ball barely got past another spruce tree. I was only 30 yards from the green, but branches took away any backswing I had. I was only able to squirt the ball ahead a few yards. Unfortunately, I duffed the next pitch attempt, landing in a large bunker. Next, I rolled off the back of the green, chipped on, and 2-putt for my second quad of the day.
Of the remaining five holes, three were played reasonably well, producing two bogeys and a par. The two that were played poorly were par-5 holes, resulting in a pair of triple-bogeys. One of these was hole #14, the signature hole at Caledon. Teeing off from atop a huge cliff, one can either carry the corner of the sharp dogleg left with driver or aim further right with less club. I took a good line, but caught the ball thin. Without any of the necessary elevation, the ball found the woods on the inside corner of the dogleg. That area is a lateral hazard, so I was able to drop my ball nearby, but the rest of the hole is no picnic from that position. You still have to get around the corner and it's a long, long way to the green. I hit three good shots in a row to reach the green in five, but then 3-putt.
My problem on the other par-5, which is hole #17, was another flared drive attempt over a creek. I have been playing a slight cut with my drives recently, giving up some distance for a lot more control. However, as is usually the case, something that helps me eventually strays too far and starts to become a problem. I think I reached that point at Caledon, so I may have to adjust to more of a draw swing on my drives moving forward. The danger, of course, is that I will overdo it. We shall see.
Score: 96
Putts: 38
Fairways: 5
Greens: 6
Penalties: 3
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