I hadn't played at Pheasant Run since October 2009. Back then, they ran a fall special known as The Bitter End. As the name implies, the idea was for golfers to squeeze every possible round into the tail end of the season, weather be damned. The bitter end promotion may be gone, but my motivation was the same. I ventured out early afternoon, on a day when the temperature was expected to peak at just nine degrees Celsius. It turned out to be a spectacular day. Though the temperature was stuck in the single digits, there was plenty of sunshine and no wind whatsoever. The lack of wind made it very comfortable out there. I played alone and practically had the course all to myself. The course was in good shape, too. The greens had not been aerated, so it was like mid-summer golf.
I started on the Midlands nine, before moving on the the Highlands. If you want to score well on this combination, you have to make hay on Midlands #1 through #5. These holes are shorter than the rest and have a lot more room for error. Once you get to Midlands #6, the thick woods close in on you. Almost all of the Highlands is the same. I did pretty well on the opening stretch, collecting a couple of pars, two bogeys, and a double. The double came on a par-3, after my tee shot missed the green to the right. I made a good stroke with the lob wedge, but the club head slid right under the ball and it travelled half the intended distance. After I pitched on with my third shot, a good putt went for naught, barely missing the hole on the high side.
Though I scored reasonably well on the first five holes, I felt like I let a few strokes get away. Almost all of them were putts. I already described what happened on the par-3. Prior to that, I missed a very similar putt for birdie. They say when you miss on the high side that you've missed on the “pro” side. That may be the case, but a miss is a miss, no matter what. They all sting. Immediately after the par-3, I reached a green in regulation, only to 3-putt. Those sting even more! Even a 1-putt for par on the very next hole wasn't enough to erase the pain.
Midlands #6 is a par-5 measuring 451 yards from the white tees. Golfers tee off from an elevated teeing area to a fairway that bends slightly to the left. I struck a beauty, finishing on the right edge of the fairway, 180 yards from the green. Though it was only 180 yards away, going for the green in two is a little risky, because the green is situated on the side of a steep hill, with long fescue above and below on either side, plus a depression directly in front. The ball wasn't flying as far as it does in warmer weather, so I went for it with a 3-iron. I favoured the right side, as the left is certain death if you miss. I hit a good shot, but the ball got caught up just two feet into the fescue above the green. I chopped the ball out of there, but after it hit the green it kept rolling and rolling...right off the other side. I had to pitch to the green 10 feet above me, then 2-putt for bogey. Sigh.
That bogey was a little disappointing after I began the hole with two very good shots, but I put it out of mind and proceeded to the next hole. Midlands #7 is a 145-yard par-3. It was playing more like 165 yards in the colder weather, so I had to make sure to select the right club. I hit a beauty right near the flag, leaving 8 feet for birdie. Unfortunately, the ball stopped right on the edge of the cup and I settled for par. It's a good thing too, because the last two holes on the Midlands nine are really tough.
Hole #8 is rated as the #5 handicap, but that's misleading. With forest on both sides of the fairway, you simply can't miss anywhere. The green is perched on a bit of a shelf and tucked behind the trees on the right. Hole #9 is the #1 handicap and rightly so. The fairway landing area is bordered by water on one side and forest on the other. If you manage to find it, your next shot has to carry some of that water to an open area further ahead. Finally, the green on this par-5 is way up on a hill, 30 feet above the fairway. I finished bogey, double-bogey to make the turn with a score of 44.
The first four holes of Highlands were magical. I played conservatively on hole #1, a par-5, striping my ball safely through the forest and toward the green. A decent chip gave me a chance at par, but I was satisfied with bogey on this tough hole. On each of the next three holes, I went up and down from beside the green to make par! On hole #2, it was a little chip shot, followed by a five footer. On #3, it was a pitch from the hillside above the green and a 2-foot tap-in. On hole #3, it was a pitch from behind and below the green, followed by a nice 10-footer. Par, par, par. Woohoo!
Highlands #5 put a damper on things, all because of a poor drive. I smother hooked my tee shot into the woods on the left. Miraculously, I found my ball in the leaves, but I didn't have much of a swing and all I could do was get the ball out a few yards. Next, I pulled an iron into the woods up ahead. My ball came backwards and my only option was to chip out sideways into the fairway. From there, I hit a wedge on, then 3-putt for a terrible quadruple-bogey.
I managed bogey on Highlands #6 and #7, which are both par-5 holes. My drives straightened out again and I advanced the ball well with the irons. Only my putter let me down. Once again, I burned the edge on a couple of par putts. To finish the round, I made a spectacular approach shot into Highlands #9 green. My tee shot had gone into the left rough, leaving some tall pine trees between me and the target. I was 150 yards away, which is normally an 8-iron. Since the balls weren't flying, I needed a 6-iron to cover the distance. Unfortunately, that brought the risk that I wouldn't clear the very high pines that were in my way. To complicate things, I was on a bit of a side hill lie. I committed fully to the shot and went for it. I opened the club face to get a tad more loft and it was perfect. The ball jumped up, right on line, and was headed for the top of the pines. It cleared them by no more than two feet as I held my breath. I crouched down to get a view of the ball beyond the pines. It dropped just ahead of a bunker and onto the green, flag high! Shot of the day, for sure. I made a good attempt at birdie, but settled for an easy par.
Now here's the best part. With a slope of 131, this was technically the toughest course I played all year. The final score of 90 (on a par 73) was good enough to lower my handicap factor from 18.0 to 17.6, which is less than two points off my personal best. I may only play one or two more rounds this year, but those will be in November. As such, those scores won't count for my official handicap. All this means that I will remain at 17.6 over the winter months. I set a goal to get below 18 this year, so now I've done it!
Score: 90
Putts: 35
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
Penalties: 2
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