With the 2014 season just about done, I headed out to Lowville Golf Club for the first round of a weekend double header. The high was 10 degrees Celsius, but cloud cover and wind gusts made it feel a little worse than that. Considering we're in late October, the weather actually wasn't that bad. What I found more problematic was the fact that I had only one October round under my belt. There were definite signs of rust, especially with the driver. I had one of my poorer results of the season, but I enjoyed myself, so it wasn't all bad. Rather than providing my typical post-round narrative, here's a look at the best and worst shots of the day.
Worst Shots
5. Hole #7 is an uphill par-5. My third shot was just two yards off the back of the green. I sculled a chip attempt clear across the entire green, but my next shot was even worse. I completely duffed the second chip attempt, and still wasn't on the green. It was a bad shot, made worse by the fact it was the second stinker in a row.
4. Hole #4 is also a par-5. My fourth shot was into the green from 107 yards out, in the centre of the fairway. I thinned a shot badly with the heel of the sand wedge. The ball went screaming towards out of bounds, but was kept in by some mounding. Unfortunately, I was in the bushes, needing two more shots to get on the green.
3. Hole #5 is a par-3 that was playing 170 yards. I hit my tee shot fat, but worse would come very soon. From 50 yards out in the rough, I slid right under the ball with the lob wedge. Then, I fluffed another from 30 yards out. Any of those shots could make the list, but the last one gets the pick, due to the cumulative effect.
2. Hole #2 is a par-4 from an elevated tee. I had already messed up my first driver attempt on hole #1, catching the ball off the heel with a terrible outside-in swing. On the second hole, I did the very same thing, but this time I paid a greater penalty, as my ball dove into a pond just in front of the teeing ground.
1. Hole #15 is a 175-yard par-3 from an elevated tee. Shots must carry a valley to the green on the other side. It's only about 90 yards to clear a hazard in the lowest part of the valley, but when you duff a 6-iron, as I did, you're going to find the junk. It was a horrific shot and a horrific hole, as I finished with a 3-putt for a quad.
Best Shots
5. Hole #1 is an uphill par-5 with a highly sloped fairway. After messing up my drive attempt, I was in the left rough short of the fairway. Needing to make up some lost ground, I pulled 5-wood from the bag. I've struggled with the woods recently, but this time I hit a straight and deep shot to the fairway, 145 yards from the hole.
4. Hole #18 is a par-4 featuring a long carry off the tee. After hitting my third from the tee, I found myself in the fairway centre, 180 yards from the flag. Next came an absolutely pure 5-iron that found the centre of the green. Contact was crisp and the flight was a lovely baby draw. These are the shots that keep me going.
3. Hole #9 is a downhill par-4. My drive attempt could have made the Worst Shots list, as I pulled one off the heel, almost 45 degrees left of target. Fortunately, I cleared a pond, settling on the other side of the opposite fairway. Judging distance was near impossible, but I had to be about 230 yards from the flag. I could see the green and hit a cracker of a 5-wood. It was dead straight and high. While in the air, I thought it would land softly right near the pin. As it turned out, it came up about ten yards short, landing in a bunker. Still, it was great.
2. Hole #3 is a basic, 180-yard par-3, which inexplicably ranks as the #1 handicap hole. I hit a picture perfect 5-iron off the tee. Contact was perfect and the ball flight was even better. The ball moved slightly from right to left, directly at the flag. I don't know if it was a draw, or if the wind was responsible. Either way, it was lovely.
1. Hole #2 was the scene of the second-worst shot of the day, but it was also the scene of the best. On the green fringe of this par-4 after five shots, I was just thinking about 2-putting for triple-bogey. I faced an uphill breaking putt of 25 feet. I picked my line, took a stroke, and watched the ball curl smoothly into the centre of the cup!
Score: 103
Putts: 33
Fairways: 4
Greens: 1
Penalties: 4
No comments:
Post a Comment