In earlier visits to The Club at Bond Head, I played the South Course. Back in 2010, when my game was at a pretty good level, I managed to shoot 97 there. In 2012, in the middle of a terrible slump, I got scorched for a score of 115. With my level of play now close to what it was in 2010, I was anxious to get back to the club. This time, however, I tried my luck on the North Course. Most people I've talked to prefer the South for some reason. It may have something to do with the fact that the North has some quirky holes, including a few with fairways that rise steeply up to the greens. I didn't mind these, and overall, I enjoyed the course quite a bit. As on the South Course, the greens on the North are very undulating, which complicates putting greatly, especially if you find yourself above the hole.
The first hole was magical – a textbook par, as they say. I split the fairway with the driver, then hit pitching wedge to the fat of the green. A lag putt to within two feet set up an easy tap-in to finish. With very little exception, my driving of the ball continued this way for the rest of the round. I hit 10 of 13 fairways, employing a swing that was free of any particular thoughts. I basically trusted my swing and let the ball go wherever it may. Most importantly, I didn't let the layout of a hole change my swing. Hole #12, for example, is a par-5 that was playing 467 yards from the blue tees. The tee shot must carry a wide and deep valley, covered in brush. Once I took my stance, I swung as if I had nothing but open, flat land between me and the target. The result was a laser of a drive that left me with 200 yards to the green. After hitting my second shot flag high, 30 yards right of the green, I went on to make a mess of things and finished with double-bogey. The point is, I had my driving dialled in.
Iron play was less steady, featuring a mix of good shots and poor ones. At times, such as on holes #1, 4, 6, and 9, I managed to hit a short iron to reach the green in regulation. You expect to do that almost every time from inside 150 yards, but it's a weakness of mine. I hit some nice long irons, too. On hole #5, a long par-4, I hit a beautiful 4-iron into the green from 190 yards. I had taken a drop after a wayward drive and had to draw the ball to avoid trees on the left.
On hole #8, the hardest on the course, I hit a beautiful 3-iron that barely missed panning out. This is a par-5 that measures 546 yards from the blue tees. It's all uphill to the the green, so the hole plays a lot longer still. After hitting driver, 5-wood, I found myself right of the fairway in some fescue. However, the ball was propped up on the grass, which was laying sideways beneath it. Deep bunkers protect the front of the green and there is no bailout area, so your options are either go for it, or lay up well back. I went for it, and with the ball in the air, it looked like a perfect shot. As it turned out, I came up a couple yards short, hitting the grassy slope above the bunker. The ball hung up in the grass for a second, but then trickled down twelve feet into the bunker. After an amazing out, two putts finished things up for a bogey.
One place where the irons failed me, at times, was off the tee. On holes #3 and #16, par-3 holes measuring 155 and 132 yards respectively, I pulled my irons badly. On #3 this left me in a terrible position, from which I could only manage double-bogey. On #16, the situation was marginally better, and I managed to pitch on and 2-putt for bogey. It's a perplexing thing: my percentages from the same distance are better through the green than they are from the teeing ground. It must be a mental thing.
The way I was driving the ball, and with some serviceable iron play, I really should have broken 90. Unfortunately, my short game was not the best. I had five 3-putts and 38 putts overall. The greens were not in the best shape – they appear to have sustained a lot of traffic recently and were absolutely full of spike marks – but I can't blame that. Bond Head is simply a tough place to putt from any sort of distance. If you're somewhere near the hole, you have a fair chance of walking away with one or two putts. Get out beyond a certain distance, however, and the undulation makes it challenging to read the break and speed. I tallied 44 and 42 putts on earlier visits to the South Course, so I guess I'm starting to learn (and respect) the greens.
The end of the season is here. I'm aiming to play one more round.
Score: 93
Putts: 38
Fairways: 10
Greens: 5
Penalties: 2
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