Despite playing most of my golf with strangers, I usually enjoy myself thoroughly. However, nothing beats playing a round with your buddies. So it was for my latest outing on the West Course at The Country Club. Fall weather arrived within the last week and this was my first round played under cool conditions. These rounds have to be savoured, as it won't be long before the season comes to a close.
I had played the West Course at The Country Club once before, but it was seven years ago. I was absolutely slaughtered on that occasion. I took at least a dozen penalties, especially on the front nine, as I seemed to find water hazards at every opportunity. I also remember that the greens were very sloped and undulating. Looking back at my records, I collected 37 putts on that day. I could have sworn it was more than that. One thing is certain – none of the putts made was from outside more than a couple of feet.
I'm happy to say that I solved the water hazard and penalty stroke problem this time around. In fact, I recorded just one penalty stroke for the entire round – it came after pulling my tee shot on hole #6, a 166-yard par-3, into a creek. I've only had one penalty-free round this year, and usually tally three or more per outing, so this was a good result. Unfortunately, my game slipped in other areas, and the net result was one of my poorer scores.
One area that slipped was general consistency with the irons. I hit a lot of good irons – some even felt spectacular. A 7-iron from the fairway on hole #1, a 4-iron off the tee on hole #3, another 7-iron into the green on hole #5, and another 4-iron into the green on hole #8 all come to mind as examples on the front nine. There were more on the back nine, but best of all were my second and third shots on hole #18, a par-5. An absolutely pure 6-iron from the fairway left me 110 yards away from the flag for my approach, and another pure shot with the gap wedge gave me a birdie chance. I pushed the putt slightly, but tapped in for a good par.
As good as these iron shots were, there were other wasted ones. A couple of fat shots contributed to a quadruple bogey on hole #2. Two successive fat shots wasted an excellent drive on hole #4. A pitch attempt from 50 yards on hole #13 came up just short of the green. Worst of all were a couple of shots on hole #17, a long, uphill par-4. In one case, the ball was well above my feet on a sharp mound, while the other was a sand wedge shot from 100 yards that slid right under the ball. I pulled a couple of irons, but those didn't really bother me. It was the duffs that were really costly.
The other area that slipped, despite my previous experience at the course, was putting. I had a 4-putt on hole #2, along with a trio of 3-putts on the front nine alone. On all of these occasions, I was putting from above the hole and blasted the ball way past the target. The greens were the fastest I've played this year, so I wasn't used to them. Combined with the degree of slope on all of them, it was a recipe for disaster. I made 17 putts on the back nine, so I was able to adjust, but didn't do so quickly enough. With a total of 40 putts for the round, I matched my worst putting performance of the year.
Finally, there was one other area of concern. In recent rounds, I have been playing a baby cut, or fade, with the driver. This fits a little better with my natural swing, and as a result, I achieved significantly greater control over my drives. The tradeoff was a reduction in distance. I didn't mind so much, as I still had enough distance to attack par-4 holes with a reasonably lofted club. However, as is often the case, an adjustment that initially helped began to actually hinder my game. My drives got shorter and shorter, until they began to be a liability.
At The Country Club, I hit some drives that were literally only 200 yards. I was in the fairway, but far from the hole. Worst was when I trickled a yard into the rough. From the fairway, I could get those longer shots to the green, but with the added loft required to escape the rough, I could only get to within pitching range. It's time to swing the pendulum back closer to my previous swing. There is the danger of reduced control, but it must be done.
Also in recent rounds, I was setting up my iron shots with a more open club face at address. It did wonders to eliminate the low hooks that I was hitting previously. I was producing straight, high shots that were lovely. However, recent misses have been shots that flare slightly right and come up short. Again, the pendulum has moved too far in one direction and it's time to dial it back.
Score: 101
Putts: 40
Fairways: 7
Greens: 2
Penalties: 1
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