I booked a last minute round for Saturday afternoon at Carlisle Golf Club. I was a little worried about the temperature, but it ended up being a very comfortable day. I also had some concern about finishing before sundown, but we managed to finish with plenty of light to spare. The course was in good condition, although the greens had been aerated recently, which made putting less than ideal.
We began on the South course, which I had not played in ages. I have a good memory for golf courses, but I couldn't remember a single hole. This wasn't really a problem, as virtually all of the holes stretch out before you in plain sight. A bigger problem was the fact that I had not played in almost two weeks. It took a while to get comfortable, both with full shots and with the short game. Arguably, I never got fully comfortable, as I alternated between good and bad shots for the entire round.
Things were shakiest at the start, as I made one bogey and four doubles over the first five holes. On hole #1, a par-4, I was just off the green collar after two shots. Unfortunately, I sculled a chip attempt and left my first putt way short. I went on to 3-putt this hole, as well as #2. I hit a great drive on hole #3, a par-5, leaving just 166 yards to the green on my second shot. I went for it, but a mis-hit trickled into some water fronting the green. After a penalty and drop, I pitched on and 2-putt for bogey. A slicing tee shot made hole #4 play harder than it should have, while another poor iron shot from the fairway killed me on hole #5. From 170 yards, I flared the 6-iron badly on this par-4, finding some water on the right side.
The remainder of the South course was a little better, but just barely, as I added two bogeys and two doubles to my scorecard. The first of the bogeys came on hole #6, a par-3, thanks to a 3-putt after a very decent tee shot. A 3-putt was also responsible for bogey on hole #8, a dogleg par-4. I nailed the centre of the fairway with my drive and finished flag high on the right edge of the green after my approach with the gap wedge. Double bogeys came on holes #7 and #9, a par-3 and par-5, respectively. On both occasions, a bad tee shot put me behind the 8-ball early. I did make a nice putt to close out the front 9, however, making the turn with a score of 51.
My first par of the day came on hole #1 of the East course, a straightaway par-5. I hit a good drive, followed by a half-swing 5-iron, leaving 110 yards to the flag. The half-swing is a shot that has been working for me lately; I may have to use it more often. It allows me to keep the ball low with a less lofted club. More importantly, it greatly increases the accuracy of my line of play. I opted for a different strategy from the fairway on hole #2 and it backfired miserably. I slid the lob wedge right under the ball, failing to reach the green. I compounded the problem by duffing a subsequent chip, en route to double bogey.
I finished the last seven holes of the East course on a similar pace as the first two, going 8-over par. Back to back 3-putts on holes #4 and #5 ensured that I wouldn't finish with a terribly good score. On #4, the result was a bogey, after reaching the green in regulation. On #5, the result was a double, after beginning the hole with a sliced drive well right of target. My drives were good again on holes #6 and #7, leading to a bogey and par, respectively. Hole #7 is a challenging par-5, with a fairway that narrows significantly as you get closer to the green. From 200 yards, I hit my second shot well, drawing ever so slightly around a large tree and finishing flag high, just right of the green. After a chip, I left myself an uphill putt of modest length, but I burned the edge.
On the last hole, I pulled my tee shot behind a spruce tree. After chipping back to the fairway, I flared a shot with the gap wedge into a pond right of the green. For fun, I played practice shot from the same location, but this time, it was a half-swing 8-iron. The ball traveled directly on my intended line and settled on the green 12 feet from the pin. Lesson learned? We shall see. I finished with a double-bogey and overall score of 97.
Looking at my stats, what stands out is the fact that I had 40 putts. Aerated greens had a little to do with this, but the truth is I also made some bad putts.
Score: 97
Putts: 40
Fairways: 7
Greens: 5
Penalties: 3
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