On a quiet, overcast afternoon, I headed out to play the Ruby course at Granite Ridge. What a fun round! I guess it's getting late in the season and everybody feared the weather. I played in blissful solitude, barely coming across any other players on either of the two courses at Granite Ridge. Even a little drizzle over the last couple of holes couldn't spoil the experience. I basically had the entire course to myself – a rare treat.
I started hole #1, a short par-4, with a picture perfect 7-iron, my ball finishing 20 yards past the 150-yard stick in the middle of the fairway. My approach with the pitching wedge would settle in a greenside bunker, but I made a good out and almost saved par. Driver and gap wedge got me safely to the green on hole #2, and this time I made par. I went one better on hole #3, a 173-yard par-3. My 6-iron was just left of the green, but I pitched one right in the cup for birdie! Through three holes, I was even par. Woohoo!
My third shot into the par-5 fourth hole was from just left of the fairway, 135 yards from the flag. I missed the sweet spot and ended up in a bunker fronting the green. I got out safely, but was at the opposite end of the green, resulting in a 3-putt and double-bogey. I had the same result on holes #6 and #7, under different circumstances. On the former, my drive was left of the fairway. I successfully punched a 3-iron under a tree, but the ball rolled right across the entire green into a water hazard. After a penalty and a pitch, two putts closed things out. On the latter, my lob wedge slid under the ball from the right rough on my second shot, with my ball carrying only half the intended distance. My next pitch went a little long, requiring a chip and two putts to finish up. I wrapped up the front nine with a nice par and bogey, for a score of 43 at the turn. I slipped a little after the hot start, but I was on good pace to break 90.
Hole #10 is not overly difficult, but the tee shot looks more intimidating than it really is. The ball must carry a creek directly in front of the teeing ground. However, the creek angles up alongside the entire left side of the hole. The creek bed is wide and full of bushes and other vegetation. I hit a laser, right over a pair of taller trees on the left side of the fairway. When I drove up to the landing area, I found my ball in the middle of the fairway, 130 yards from the flag. What a feeling! I wasted it by finding a bunker with my approach shot, then 3-putting for double-bogey. LOL
Greatness would come, but before that, I needed to endure some horrific play on hole #13. It's been many years since I played the Ruby Course at Granite Ridge and I didn't really have any bad memories of this hole. However, it is easily the toughest hole on the course. A par 5, measuring 527 yards, there is water on the left side for the first half of the hole, and water on the right side for the second half right up to the green. My drive trickled into the left rough, but the lie seemed okay. A miss to the right side would certainly find water, so I played to miss left. As long as I made decent contact, I could carry the remaining water on the left side pretty easily. Unfortunately, contact was poor and I lost a lot of distance. I failed to clear the corner of the left pond by a yard or two. After a penalty and drop, I tried to blast one left of the green from 200 yards with the 5-wood. I topped the ball and it squirted into the right pond. Another penalty and drop. From 130 yards, I flared my approach short and right...into the water again. Another penalty and drop. From 60 yards, I shanked one...into the water again. Another penalty and drop. This time, I got on the green and 2-putt, but that was for a terrible score of 12.
With that bit of nonsense out of the way, I closed out the remaining five holes with a bogey and four consecutive pars! The bogey came on a par-4 after my approach from the fairway was short of the green. A mediocre pitch and 2 putts finished things up. The par on hole #15 was a bit of a gift, as I mis-hit my second shot on this par-4, leaving a 50 yard pitch from very near the out of bounds stakes. The pitch was great, but the ensuing putt for par was even better, especially with a light drizzle now coming down. Over the final three holes, everything was textbook. I hit fairways with the driver and nailed greens with a variety of irons in hand. The drive on hole #18 was especially satisfying, travelling deep and straight. It felt as good as the one on #10, but this time I capitalized on it. The 6-iron into hole #17, a par-3, was also impressive. A pond protects the green short, while out of bounds (and the lovely Greystone Golf Club) loom large on the left side.
In the end, I shot 91, for one of my better scores of the year. Just imagine what could have been without the debacle on hole #13. An 86 surely was in reach. Too bad. This may have been my last round of the year. If it is, I'll finish with my handicap factor at 20.5 – just outside my goal of reaching the teens again. If we're lucky enough to get some nice weather days in October, I may try to play up to three rounds more.
Score: 91
Putts: 34
Fairways: 9
Greens: 5
Penalties: 5
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