We've had a lot of heat and humidity this summer, which has made it difficult to schedule my golf rounds. The forecast was calling for highs in the mid 30s (Celsius), so I had little choice but to book a round on a day when the high was 30 degrees even. Every degree matters and it wasn't going to get any cooler than that. I chose a tee time at Sleepy Hollow Country Club – only my second visit to the club.
My first visit was back in 2010 when I played the GTA Amateur Tour. Incidentally, I shot 89 that day and finished in a 4-way tie for first place in the C flight. Unfortunately, I was eliminated from the 4-man playoff after the first playoff hole, which was hole #6. Officially, I finished in second place, as I had the lowest back nine score among the four who made the playoff. It was my best result ever on the GTA Amateur Tour.
With little experience on the course, I was somewhat unprepared for the start of the round. The most difficult holes on the front nine are stacked right at the start. There are some challenging tee shots, including a couple of long par-3 holes, measuring 188 and 201 yards. There are also a couple of severely sloped greens, on holes #2 and #3. If you're in the wrong spot on these greens, a 2-putt is very difficult.
I was in good shape after my tee shot on hole #1, a par-4 that doglegs to the left. From 150 yards, I aimed my shot to the right edge of the green, as there is water short and left. It was the smart play, as a miss to the right gives you a chance to get up and down for par, or take bogey at worse. Unfortunately, my ball hit the cart path leading to the 2nd tee and took a huge bounce out of bounds. I finished the hole with a double-bogey.
A bad second shot on hole #2 almost went out of bounds, but the ball stayed in and I was able to punch it back to the fairway hitting my blade putter left handed. I had 130 yards to the green for my fourth shot, so all was not terrible. Unfortunately, I came up 5 yards short of the green. I chipped on and 2-putt for another double, which was really all I could do given the hole position on the side of a severe slope.
Hole #3 is the 188-yard par-3 that looks very tough from the tee. The green is perched on the side of a big hill, which dominates the left side. A line of trees extends from tee to green on the right side, offering some separation from hole #4. Of course, I duffed the tee shot and put it behind a tree just 40 yards ahead. I had no opening to the green, so I needed two more shots to get on. The green is really sloped and I had to ride the edge of a bowl to approach the hole. All I could manage was a 3-putt and a triple-bogey.
My tee shot on hole #4 was decent, but still found a water hazard on the left. I took a penalty stroke and played a couple shots to get near the green. After pitching on, I 3-putt again for another triple. Hole #5 offered some respite, as I tallied bogey, but then came another triple on hole #6. This is the 201-yard par-3 that I played in the playoff back in 2010. Back then, we played from the white tees at 170 yards. I sliced a wicked 3-iron straight across fairway #1 toward the driving range and had to re-tee. What a rough start!
Beginning with hole #7, I played just fine for the remainder of the round. During that stretch, I registered 4 pars, 6 bogeys, and 2 doubles. Ten over par through twelve holes is solid – it's a shame I blew up so huge on the opening third of the round. I won't bore you with more shot by shot accounts – suffice to say I was simply putting the ball in play and avoiding trouble. I added a couple more penalty strokes, but finished those particular holes error-free to limit the damage.
While I was playing well, I was also doing my best to manage the heat. I drank plenty of water throughout and was towelling off frequently. Suddenly, by the 17th green, I felt nauseous and then vomited. I quickly wrapped up the round and drove to the clubhouse. The air conditioning was welcome, and I doused myself liberally with cold water. Still, I vomited a couple more times. I've suffered heat exhaustion symptoms, such as headaches, in the past, but had only reached the point of vomiting on two previous occasions. It's no fun, I tell you. This time, my heart rate also seemed elevated and it took me longer to recover. I definitely have to get that checked out.
I'm not perturbed about my final score. I survived and I played well long enough to feel encouraged.
Score: 98
Putts: 35
Fairways: 5
Greens: 4
Penalties: 2
No comments:
Post a Comment